IRANIAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGY
Year:2022 | Volume:5 | Issue:10|Papers Count:9

Pardisan Nature Park and its surrounding areas are located in western parts of Tehran (district 2) between two river valleys of Farahzad and Darakeh in the west and east, Hakim and Hemmat highways in the north and south. Iranian Department of Environment (DOA) planned to convert the park into a nature park representing world biomes in 1975. The area of the park is 300 hectares connected to the mountains of north Tehran by both rivers. The whole area and its surroundings include large green area covering 550 hectares (including Milad Tower, Fadak and Goftegoo Parks, and the hills in Molla Sadra and Geophysics, University of Tehran). Based on intensive botanical studies since 1998 a master plan is suggested for the area in order to protect and restore the natural vegetation, landscapes management considering biodiversity importance, recreational, scientific, and research demands. Presence of two river valleys, Pardisan Nature Park, Milad Tower, and the newly planned Tehran Botanical Garden (TBG) highlights the importance of this area for the environment. The establishment of a botanical garden is approved based on an agreement signed between University of Tehran and the Tehran Municipality in May, 23, 2021. Based on the long-term studies since 1998, 530 vascular plants including 443 native and 87 cultivated plants are known from Pardisan and surrounding areas in Milad Tower hill. Land use changes in particular, construction of Nahjolbalagheh Park, caused disappearing of ca. 74 native species in the area. The present vegetation of Pardisan represents a temperate grassland steppe vegetation having both montane elements growing in the foothills of Alborz Mountains and the dry steppes of the central Iran. The physiognomy of the area consists of grassland with perennial species belonging to the genera Astragalus, Stipa and shrubby and forest in the river valleys. Based on our studies, the central part of Pardisan is the most species-rich zone. The flora of Fahrazad consisted large number of highly valuable species. Pardisan is of high biodiversity importance to be considered as a National Natural Monument and a first urban protected area inside of Tehran. The restoration of river valleys to protect native biodiversity and management the area for scientific and educational program is a major output of this paper. Based on the agreement signed between University of Tehran and Tehran Municipality in May, 23rd 1400, construction of TBG is started. The western parts of the TBG located in the north of Goftegoo Park, the systematic section, Linnaeus corridor, medicinal plants and fruit garden, kid garden and the Zagros ecosystem. In its eastern side, Botanical Research Institute, greenhouses and phytogeographical section representing Hyrcanian forests, Alborz Mountains, and selected biomes/ecosytems/elements of five continents will be constructed. Herbarium is planned as part of the research institute and botanical museum (showing the world of plants, paleobotany, archaeobotany and ethnobotany) is going to be a part of the Science Museum. The registration of Pardisan Nature Park as a natural and biodiversity heritage site and establishing a Botanical Garden in Tehran was approved by the Islamic City Council of Tehran on 1 August 2021.

DNA sequencing is one of the most important techniques in biology which determine precise order of nucleotides within a DNA molecule. Old methods such as Sanger DNA sequencing, are time laboring and expensive methods. Therefore, researchers developed next generation sequencing (NGS) which are more economical and high-throughput methods comparing with old methods. NGS methods classified into three main generations. These methods are able to fast sequencing of long fragments of DNA. By means of NGS, whole genome sequencing, target specific sequencing, de-novo sequencing and assembly, RNA sequencing and investigation of genetically changes are possible. it's so important to consider befits and defects of each method, and choosing a suitable NGS method due to properties of research program.

CRISPR had been simply known as a prokaryotic DNA repeated element for several decades before it was recognized as the bacterial immune system and subsequently harnessed as a powerful reprogrammable gene-targeting tool. The CRISPR gene-editing technology is composed of an endonuclease protein (CRISPR-associated (Cas9 protein) whose DNA-targeting specificity and cutting activity can be programmed by a short guide RNA. During the gene editing process,HDR, NHEJ and base editing pathways are used as well. Among these three, nowadays more attention paid to base editing as it can edit epigenome without any cleavages. Overall, there are two classes of CRISPR systems,class I and class II. Notably, CRISPR still has several technical challenges. It may take a long time until we develop a‘, super’, CRISPR tool that shows excellent efficiency. This article describes the overall performance of the Crisper system, its limitations and how it is used.

To be an important educational method is using a concept map in the form of a two-or multi-dimensional patterned tool that presents the relationship, relationships and sequence of concepts in clear ways considered. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using concept maps in teaching biology. For this purpose, topics from biology courses have been selected and their capacity to be taught using a variety of common and special concept maps in teaching biology is discussed. The statistical sample includes all biology textbooks in the secondary high school. The research method was descriptive using documentary studies, the content of sites providing educational solutions and the use of personal experiences. Findings of this study show typical concept maps (including six main types of spider, hierarchical, flow, cyclic, tabular and system) and special concept maps (including three types of visual landscapes, three or more dimensions and mandala) are useful methods teaching biology. The results indicate that the provision of concept map-based education compared to that of conventional methods shows a positive effect on the understanding and application of content. On the other hand, due to the diversity of scientific topics, the use of different methods of concept maps will improve the teaching-learning activities, increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the educational system.

Climate change components such as sea-level rise, high water events, changes in precipitation regime, temperature fluctuation and altered ocean circulation patterns, affect the health andfunctionally of mangrove ecosystems. Among these disturbances, the sea-level rise has been found to be the most significant threat to mangrove ecosystems. To date, the sea level rise represents the smaller threat than anthropogenic activities such as conversion for aquaculture and deforestation. The estimated annual economic value of mangrove forests is in the range of $200–, $900 per hectare. The disappearance of mangroves could have devastating effects on ecosystems and impair the services that they provide. Consequently, the water quality decreases, breeding and nursery ground of fishes are destroyed and species diversity decline under land use changes. Mangrove destruction can also release large quantities of stored carbon in sediments and exacerbate global warming and other climate change trends.

The increase in the price of fish meal as well as the decrease in its availability has led to a rapidly expanding search for suitable herbal alternatives over the years. Macroalgae are a good alternative because of its easy growing and reasonable price. Macroalgae are used as dietary supplements to enhance the health and growth and feeding performance of many species of marine and fresh water fish and ornamental fish. Most studies have reported acceptable results in using macroalgae as a relative alternative to fish meal. Meanwhile, the amount of crude protein and polysaccharides in red macrophages is higher than in other species. The results show that although the use of algae flour by up to 10 % in the culture of some species such as red seabream (Pagrus major), European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labraxa) and Asian sea bass (Lates calcarifer) has increased the growth and feeding performance but using more from algae flour in the diet of some species, the difference was not observed between treatments and even had negative effects. Therefore, it seems that more research is needed in this field.

Background: The human body needs both types of oxidants (free radicals) and antioxidants for normal metabolism, signal transduction mechanism, and the order of cellular activity. Free radicals can be either harmful or helpful to the body, in fact, they play a dual role as both toxic and beneficial compounds. The human body has the natural antioxidant defense mechanism to counteract the free radicals. A balance between free radicals and antioxidants is necessary for proper physiological function Oxidative stress is a phenomenon that reflects an imbalance between the production of free radicals and antioxidants. Method: This article is a review one. The related investigations were searched from articles and reliably published texts. Different databases were explored based on appropriate keywords. Results: Oxidative stress can seriously alter the cell membranes and other structures such as proteins, lipids, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and carbohydrates. Oxidative stress is one of the most effective factors in the incidence of many diseases. The present review provides a brief overview of oxidative stress-mediated cellular damages and role of oxidative stress in the connection with human diseases such as Cardiovascular disease, Stroke, Diabetes, Diabetic Nephropathy, Parkinson, Huntington, Alzheimer, Autism, Cancer and other diseases like Aging. Conclusion: This article reviews on the factors that cause oxidative stress in the human body and the diseases that are associated with it.

Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder in the world, affecting more than 70 million people (about 1%) [1]. Epilepsy is a series of chronic neurological disorders with heterogeneous symptoms that are characterized by recurrent spontaneous seizures. Seizures are transient signs or symptoms that occur in neurons in a part of the brain as a result of increased and at the same time unusual activity [1, 2]. Seizures are not called epilepsy until they become chronic [2]. The mechanism of development and development of epilepsy is not well known to date. Epilepsy is a complex malformation of the brain that results from injury and bleeding in the brain. Following these changes in the healthy brain, recurrent seizures occur [9]. Epilepsy is a slow process, which lasts for several months until spontaneous seizures occur [10]. Complex mechanisms of epilepsy and seizures cannot be identified using clinical studies in humans alone. Therefore, the use of appropriate animal models seems necessary [5]. This article tries to introduce the types of epilepsy, the process of epilepsy and the mechanism of epilepsy.

Today, the development of aquaculture activities has led to the transfer of many aquatic species to different countries. Due to its special geographical location and the development of these activities, Iran has been exposed to the invasion of exotic and invasive species. Considering the necessary permits for the development of tilapia farming by the Fisheries Organization in Iran and on the other hand, the ecological consequences of these exotic fish and invading the domestic ecosystems of Iran, it is necessary to provide comprehensive information about this group of fish for the scientific community. With this in mind, the authors of this paper decided to review a book recently published by Springer International Publishing in 2021 on cichlids. The title of the book is "Behavior, ecology and evolution of cichlid fish" which has studied the biological, ecological and evolutionary characteristics of cichlid fish from different perspectives. This paper proposes the book as an ideal and valid reference on cichlids or tilapias for the scientific community of the country due to its comprehensiveness in the subject.