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Research subject: Iran is a country with high potentials for access to renewable energy sources such as solar, hydropower, wind, and biomass. Biodiesel is one of the renewable fuels that has always been proposed as a suitable and stable alternative (non-toxic, safe, and degradable) to fossil fuels.
Research approach: The experiences of different countries in the use of edible sources for biodiesel production shows that the use of edible sources has caused problems such as lack of food resources for human communities, lack of feed for livestock, and upsetting the balance in the food industry, and it can lead to a significant increase in the price of these resources. Therefore, many researchers have proposed the use of non-edible sources to address these problems. So far, very large non-edible sources for biodiesel production have been identified. In this paper, non-edible sources of biodiesel that are produced or have the potential to be produced in Iran are introduced and studied and a potential assessment study is presented for them.
Main results: In this work, the non-edible sources for biodiesel production are classified into four categories: agricultural waste, waste cooking oils, microalgae, and non-edible seeds. These sources are compared based on various parameters such as oil percentage, oil content per hectare, biodiesel production efficiency, viscosity, saponification number, and cultivation period, which according to the results, non-edible seeds, especially Nowruzak seeds, Castor, and safflower have been identified as the most rational and sustainable sources of biodiesel production in Iran. The present work also deals with the policies and incentives that the responsible institutions can apply for the prosperity of the biodiesel industry.

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Backgrounds: Candida albicans (C. albicans) as a fungal pathogen is part of the normal flora of the human body, which could cause various infections in patients with defective immune systems. Nowadays, there is a need to design and synthesis new drug formulations to overcome drug resistance in this genus. Thymoquinone (TQ) is the main ingredient in Nigella sativa, which has considerable antifungal properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of thymoquinone-zein nanoparticles (TQ-ZNPs) on C. albicans.
Materials & Methods: In the current study, TQ was encapsulated in zein (as a biodegradable carrier) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). The antifungal activity of TQ-ZNPs against C. albicans (ATCC 10231; standard strain) and their inhibitory effects on biofilm formation were examined using standardized broth microdilution and MTT assays, respectively. The total oxidant status (TOS) of C. albicans was assessed using colorimetric method, and the toxic effect of nanoparticles on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was evaluated by MTT assay.
Findings: The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of TQ-ZNPs was significantly reduced compared to that of free TQ. MIC values of TQ-ZNPs and free TQ were determined to be 7.4 and 50 µg/mL, respectively. Biofilm formation was inhibited, and oxidant production by fungal cells was increased. The findings of this study showed that TQ-ZNPs had no toxic effect on PBMCs.
Conclusion: This study results revealed that the synthesized nanoparticles had a good antifungal activity without any toxicity. The results demonstrated the superior efficiency of TQ-ZNPs over free TQ. Hence, this structure could be used to load hydrophobic drugs. However, more studies are needed to evaluate the beneficial properties of TQ-ZNPs.
 

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Objective: The global HIV epidemic continues to expand and exceeding previous predictions. An effective vaccine represents the best hope to curtail the HIV epidemic. DNA vaccines induce humoral and cellular responses and mimic live vaccines without their pathogenic potential. The importance of CD8+ CTL responses in controlling HIV and SIV viremia has led to production of a series of vaccine candidates that effectively induce these responses. It is now widely believed that an HIV vaccine strategy must stimulate both a strong humoral (antibody) as well as cell-mediated (CTL) immune response.The p24 and gp41 play many important roles in host-virus interaction and pathogenesis. These proteins are considered as attractive vaccine candidate in which their immunogenecity and immunomodulatory effects have been confirmed. Materials and Methods: In this study, a construct, pcDNA3.1Hygro- (p24-gp41), was evaluated as a DNA vaccine candidate in Balb/C mice for generation of effective cellular immune responses. For immunizing, we used dendrosome, a novel family of vehicles for transfection and therapy. IFN-γ cytokine production and total antibody were detected by ELISA. Lymphoprolifration assay was performed by MTT test. Results: ELISA and MTT assays confirmed that the cited p24-gp41 fusion gene is able to enhance immune responses in mice. Conclusion: The construct that was used in this research can be a good candidate for DNA vaccine against HIV-1, if the future complementary tests demonstrate the same trends of immunogenic responses shown in this study.

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Objective: Approximately three-fourths of women experience an episode of vaginal candidiasis. Candida albicans(C. albicans) is the etiological agent in over 80% of cases. C. albicans has numerous virulence factors such as the agglutinin-like sequence (ALS) genes which code the large glycoprotein family that has a role in the adherence of Candida. The present study aims to evaluate expressions of the ALS 2, 9 genes in C. albicans which have been isolated from vaginal candidiasis. Methods: We collected 150 wet vaginal swabs from patients diagnosed with vaginal candidiasis. Samples were cultured on sabouraud dextrose and CHROMagar for morphological analysis. Then, DNA was extracted by glass bead and lysis buffer. We performed RFLP-PCR to confirm the presence of C. albicans.  For investigation of semi-quantitative expression of ALS2 and ALS9 genes, we performed RT-PCR by using specific primers. Result: From 55 clinical isolates of C. albicans, 36.36% expressed both the ALS2 and ALS9 genes. There were 23 (41.81%) isolates that expressed only the ALS2 gene and 21 (38.1%) expressed the ALS9 gene. Conclusion: Expressions of the ALS9 (41.8%) and ALS 2 (38.1%) genes in Candida isolates may indicate that these genes play a critical role in adhesion and biofilm formation of vaginal infection. However the presence of both genes in 36.36% of the isolates suggests a positive role for these genes in augmentation of their activities.

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This study evaluated the quantitative and qualitative traits of 13 local summer squash populations. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design with 3 replications for two years (2019 to 2020). The following traits were considered in this study: number, weight, length, width, and length/width ratio of fruits, seed yield, seed yield/fruit yield ratio, 1000 seeds weight, percentage of empty seeds, seed length, seed width, seed kernel/whole seed ratio, and seed oil percent. Also, quality tests were conducted including ease of separation of skin from the kernel, taste quality, and desirability of seed shape and size from the consumer's point of view. The analysis of variance showed significant differences in most of the studied traits. Based on the results of the mean comparison of traits, the highest seed yield was observed in Ghalami-Kalaleh#1 and Mashhady-Azadshahr and then Mashhady-Khoy populations. The highest taste quality from the consumer point of view belonged to the Goushti-Kalaleh population. The results represent a positive and highly significant correlation between seed yield and fruit number. No significant correlation was observed between seed yield and other related traits. It is recommended that fruit number trait be considered in selecting programs and modifying high-yielding populations.