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This study aimed to determine the effects of energy levels and sources on growth performance, antibody titers, and the gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in broilers exposed to heat stress. 450 one-day-old Ross chickens were assigned to six dietary treatments and five replicates in a completely randomized design. Chickens have received diets differentiated by main energy source (corn grain and soybean oil) and energy level (equal, 3 or 6% lower or higher than Ross 308 recommendation). Treatments were as follows: corn grain and equal as control (CON), corn grain, 3% lower (T1), corn grain, 6% lower (T2), corn grain and soybean oil, equal (T3), corn grain and soybean oil, 3% higher (T4), corn grain and soybean oil, 6% higher (T5). The room temperature was increased to 34 °C (6-h daily) from day 12 to 42 of age to induce heat stress. The highest corticosterone level was observed in the T1, T2, and T5 groups. The lowest antibody titers were observed in the T2 group and the highest expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines genes were in chickens receiving T5 diet. The highest feed conversion ratio (FCR) during the grower and finisher periods was observed in T2, and the lowest FCR was observed in T3 and T4 groups. It was recommended to feed Ross broiler chickens with a diet containing oil instead of a part of grain based on energy recommended by the strain recommendation.
 

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Endostatin suppresses growth and progression of many tumors through binding to endothelial cell surface and extracellular matrix proteins like integrin, heparin, matrix metalloproteinase-2 and transglutaminase-2. There is an arginine rich motif on the surface of endostatin that is essential for binding to some of aforementioned proteins. It has been shown that a 27 amino acid peptide derived from amino terminal of endostatin responsible for its anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor activities and mutation of histidines bound to Zn significantly reduce its activity. In the present study, as regards the importance of Zn-binding loop in amino terminal and arginine 27 in carboxyl terminal, peptides corresponding to this region and a mutated variant including isoleusin 26 to arginine mutation synthesized and their structure and interaction with matrix metalloproteinase-2 and transglutaminase-2 analyzed using fluorescence spectroscopy, molecular dynamic and docking simulation techniques. This study aimed to analyze effect of placing two positively charged arginines on the structure and interaction of this fragment of endostatin. Results showed that placing two arginines close together in the carboxyl terminal of peptide increases fluctuations in total structure of peptide, alters Zn-binding loop in the amino terminal and makes binding energy of peptide to matrix metalloproteinase-2 and transglutaminase-2 more negative. It can be inferred that repulsion of two positively charged arginines in carboxyl terminal induces conformational changes in the whole structure and in the amino terminal loop region.

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The use of stop drill holes is one of the most convenient methods for reducing the stress intensity factors and crack growth rate. The efficiency of stop drill holes on the crack growth retardation depends on the amount of reduction in stress intensity factors. The curved plates are frequently used in engineering structures. Therefore, in this paper, by using the finite element method, the effects of configurations and diameters of crack flank holes on the variations of stress intensity factor are studied for a curved plate. The numerical results indicate that the location and the size of stop drill holes affect the stress intensity factors which is mainly due to their interaction with the crack tip stresses. Closer distances to the crack tip and larger diameters of the flank holes provide more reduction in the stress intensity factors. Also, the finite element results show that the use of stop drill hole method for the curved plates has the same efficiency as that of the flat plates.

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For half a century, the limitations of obtaining cross-combinations in lilies because of the incompatibility and incongruity between different varieties have been known. Somatic hybridization is one of the most powerful tools for achieving distant interspecific hybrids. For this purpose, protoplast preparation is a first and important step in efficient system for the regeneration of plants from protoplasts. Protoplast isolation method was previously developed in Lilium ledebourii (Baker) Boiss. In this study, several valuable experiments were done based on completely randomized design with 3 replications and also each experiment was repeated twice. The results revealed that cell wall and colony formation were better in a liquid medium than those on a semi-solid medium. The highest plating efficiency (1.34×10⁶ per gr FW) and callus formation was obtained by using a medium containing 1 mg L^-1 2,4-D, 0.2 mg L^-1 Kin and 2 g L^-1 Yeast extract. Micro calli were formed after one month of culture. Many plantlets were formed on the calli after transfer of the proliferated calli to regeneration medium. The highest plantlet regeneration (91.66%) was obtained by using a medium containing 0.5mg L^-1 NAA, 1.5 mg L^-1 BA. Means comparison revealed that the semi- solid MS medium containing 0.5 mg L^-1 NAA and 1.5 mg L^-1 BA had the highest percentage of regeneration (91.66%), bulb number (8.83), and length (0.7366 cm), root length (0.421cm) and leaf number (13.66) and length (0.5052cm).

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Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid existing in bacteria, plants, and vertebrates. GABA is especially well-known because of its physiological role in the neurotransmission, induction of hypotension, diuresis, and tranquility. GABA is biologically synthesized by GABA-producing lactic acid bacteria (GLAB) which are widely used as starters in the fermented foods. In this study, GABA-producing strain were chosen to be microencapsulated by soy protein isolate (SPI)-alginate using emulsion method. Encapsulation efficiency and entrapment of GLAB into soy protein-alginate microcapsules (SAE) was confirmed by scanning electron microscope. The GABA-producing ability and survivability of the microencapsulated GLABs were investigated in the human gastro-intestinal simulant. For screening of GLAB strains, the isolates from Tarkhineh and fermented carrot were separately cultivated in MRS broth supplemented with 1% (w/v) monosodium glutamate (MSG). The GABA production efficiency was studied by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). According to the recorded chromatograms, Lactobacillus brevis PML1 isolated from Tarkhineh and Lactobacillus brevis G42 from fermented carrot showed GABA producing ability of 304 mg/L and 2511 mg/L, after 30 h at 30 °C, respectively. The results indicated that survival and GABA production improved upon microencapsulating the bacteria due to the good cell protection provided by soy protein isolate-alginate coating. In long with previous reports, this study proves the potential of microencapsulation toward increased efficiency of GABA production in functional foods.
 

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The present study reports an efficient protocol for isolation and regeneration of protoplasts from callus of Fritillaria imperialis L. There is no published method recommended for protoplast isolation and regeneration from Fritillaria imperialis L. A range of factors, which influence the success of isolation and regeneration of F. imperialis protoplasts, were investigated. From the results obtained, callus Fresh Weight (FW) of 0.4 g produced the highest number of viable protoplasts, which was 1.12×10⁵ protoplasts g^-1 FW. The highest amount of viable protoplasts (1.01×10⁵ protoplasts g^-1 FW) was obtained when the mannitol concentration was maintained at 9% (w/v). The best treatment for isolation of F. imperialis protoplast (1.37×10⁵ protoplasts g^-1 FW) was treatment with 2% cellulase and 0.1% pectinase with 9% mannitol for 8 h. For enhancement of the protoplasts division and the percentage of colony formation, different concentrations from Casein Hydrolysate (CH), 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and Benzyl-Adenine (BA) were used. The results revealed that cell wall and colony formation were better in liquid medium than those on semi-solid medium. The highest plating efficiency (1.26×10⁶ per g FW) and highest callus formation were obtained using the medium containing 0.5 mg L^–1 2,4-D, 1 mg L^–1 BA, and 200 mg L^–1 CH. Micro-calli were formed after one month of culture. Many plantlets were formed on the calli after transfer of the proliferated calli to regeneration medium. The highest plantlet regeneration (100%) was obtained using the medium containing 0.5 mg L^–1 (NaphthaleneAcetic Acid) NAA and 1.5 mg L^–1 BA.

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In a tri-trophic system, guild members may engage in IntraGuild Predation (IGP) and their interactions may be affected by the host plants. We used a system composed of the predatory gall midge, Aphidoletes aphidimyza Rondani, the parasitoid wasp, Aphidius colemani Viereck, and the melon aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, to test how the outputs of IGP were affected by two cultivars of cucumber (Khasib and Karim). IGP between natural enemies were examined on a single cucumber plant of each cultivar infested with mummified, parasitized or healthy individuals of melon aphid in a controlled environment room at 25±2°C, 65±5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16L: 8D hours. According to the results, A. aphidimyza was the effective predator of parasitized aphids, but not on mummified ones. In treatments with either healthy or parasitized aphids alone, A. aphidimyza consumed significantly less numbers of healthy aphids or parasitized ones on Karim cultivar. When predators were provided with healthy aphids and parasitized aphids together on plants, the risk for parasitized aphids of being predated upon by A. aphidimyza larvae was significantly reduced on Karim cultivar. Manly’s Preference Index for healthy aphids on Karim cultivar was significantly the highest. The results revealed that the strength of IGP on IG-prey on Karim cultivar was less than Khasib cultivar. Therefore, better control of melon aphid population can be expected on this cultivar.

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Agriculture is one of the responsible sectors for adequate food production and contribution to food security. However, due to the rapid population growth and increasing demand for food, this responsibility is becoming more and more challenging. The consequence of this challenge is the excessive exploitation of natural resources and destruction of the environment. This study aimed to investigate the cost structure, economies of scale, and inputs elasticities for the major farm crops of the Qorveh-Dehgolan Plain, in Kurdistan Province, through a translog cost function. The needed data were collected through a multi-stage cluster sampling survey in the 2017-2018 cropping year. The results showed that the average share of water input in the total production cost of the studied products was 12%. Results also showed that all ordinary own-price elasticities of demand for inputs were negative and smaller than one. However, the results of Allen-Uzawa's own price elasticities showed that demands for inputs could be elastic. Ordinary and Allen-Uzawa own price elasticity of water input were -0.76 and -6.7, respectively. The results also showed that wheat, tomato, barley, and alfalfa farms in the area under study were facing economies of scale, on average, while potato, cucumbers, and sugar-beet farms were facing diseconomies of scale.

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The genetic evaluation of dairy bulls is based on their daughters’ production, type traits, and fertility. It is unknown how the different number of days open of the daughters of a bull influences its Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) and ranking in the population. The present study aimed to examine the effect of days open on milk production of Holstein dairy cows and the ranking of the bulls according to their predicted breeding values. A total number of 706,653 test day records of the first parity of 78,517 Iranian Holstein cows in 448 herds during 1991 to 2016 were used. The daughters of the same bulls were allocated into nine groups of days open, the differences of which were 21 days. Data were analyzed using a random regression model and predicted the breeding values of bulls. The effect of herd-year-season on milk yield were significant (P≤ 0.001). The heritability of 270 days milk for the first to ninth groups were estimated to be 0.24(±0.04), 0.26(±0.02), 0.23(±0.02), 0.21(±0.03), 0.18(±0.03), 0.19(±0.04), 0.16(±0.05), 0.17(±0.05) and 0.11(±0.04), respectively. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient of predicted breeding value of the same sires in different groups were 0.60-0.75 (P≤ 0.01). The results showed a negative relation between the number of days open and the predicted breeding value of bulls. It can be concluded that the number of days open affects the prediction of breeding value and ranking of the sires and it should be corrected for, while predicting the breeding value of sires.
 

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Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome (FLHS) is common in poultry. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate gene expression in a variety of ways at epigenetic, chromatin remodeling, transcriptional, and translational levels. Chicken liver produces lipoproteins and most of the precursors to egg yolk with the help of RNA such as MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and lncRNAs. In order to analyze lncRNAs in liver, RNA-seq data of six samples were downloaded from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) (3 birds with fatty livers from the paternal group and 3 control birds).Then, using the DESeq2 package, the difference in expression of lncRNAs in the samples was analyzed. Functional enrichment analysis was established by STRING and the PPI network visualized by Cytoscape. Annotation of the data was carried out by DAVID 6.8. The biological pathways were searched in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). The results of the analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) showed that there were 24356 annotated genes. Also, 101 lncRNAs were found. Gene Ontology (GO) term enrichment analysis suggested that DEGs significantly enriched in metallocarboxypeptidase activity, protein ubiquitination, etc. KEGG pathway analysis showed that DEGs related with biosynthesis of antibiotics and biosynthesis of amino acids (P< 0.05). Examination of gene loci revealed that the expression process of GCGR, PDK3 and PCK1 genes was in line with the expression of neighboring lncRNAs. Examination of this number of lncRNAs along with their target genes can help in selecting laying hen lines with less chance of developing fatty livers.