Background: Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Hyalomma marginatum are the most common species in sheep herds in Northeast of Iran. There is preliminary evidence that these species may be the vectors of Babesia ovis in Iran. We carried out two experiments in Mashhad area, Khorasan Razavi Province to determine whether B. ovis could be transovarially transmitted by R. sanguineus and H. marginatum.Methods: In experiment 1, adults of laboratory reared H. marginatum and R.sanguineus were infected with B. ovis isolated from naturally infected sheep in Mashhad area by feeding the ticks on the sheep inoculated intravenously by infected blood samples. The inoculated sheep showed clinical signs with parasitaemia while the adult ticks were engorging on them. The engorged females were collected and kept at 28°C and 85% relative humidity in incubator. Then, larval, nymphal and adult stages derived from engorged females were used to infest the clean sheep. In experiment 2, two splenectomized sheep were infested only with the same adult ticks of two species.Results: Examination of smears and PCR of blood samples to detect of B. ovis in infested sheep in two experiments were negative.Conclusion: It seems that R. sanguineus and H. marginatum can not transovarially transmit B. ovis in sheep.

Introduction: Spirochetes of Borrelia can be visualized directly in infected ticks by dark-field microscopy. Inoculation of in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) suspension of ground Argasid soft ticks to susceptible animals or allowing the ticks to feed on the same species followed by microscopic examination of the animals’ blood have also been practiced. With the advent of molecular methods and introduction of various gene markers, Borrelia persica DNA was detected in Ornithodoros tholozani ticks by using several gene markers, but the data on transovarial transmission of Borrelia in this tick by these methods is very scarce. Methods: In this study we tried to detect Borrelia in field collected O. tholozani ticks by allowing them to feed on guinea pigs and then to examine the animals’ blood for spirochetes by microscopy. We also used two PCR methods targeting highly repetitive regions of rrs gene to detect Borrelia DNA in adult ticks, larvae, and eggs. Results: All the guinea pig blood samples were negative for spirochetes by microscopy. However, out of the 17 adult ticks, 2 males and 5 females were positive for Borrelia DNA.  None of the larvae was positive, but two batches of eggs yielded the expected 540 bp amplicon by nested PCR. Conclusion: Presence of Borrelia DNA in adult O. tholozani ticks and their eggs is an indication for transovarial transmission of relapsing fever agent in this tick.

This paper proposes an optimal transmission expansion planning (TEP) which is based on determining share of each line in merchandizing surplus (MS) of system, determining by Independent System Operator (ISO). The more share of a line in MS of system denotes the priority of a line for expansion. The procedure of determining MS of each line in a power system is based on determining the MS share of each energy exchange between certain generator and certain demand bus in the power system. By analyzing all energy exchange the optimal planning of transmission line is obtained by ISO. The variable revenue of a Transco is related to performing the optimal planning of transmission lines which is obtained through ISO. The proposed method determines the TEP economical resources and the procedure of receiving these resources (MS of system) from generators and customers. By performing proposed method Transco capacity withholding and misusing is prevented spontaneously caused by relating the revenue of Transco to its optimal performance.

Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are hematophagous arthropods that can transmit various pathogens to animal hosts and humans causing detrimental infectious diseases including Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) (Farhadpour et al. 2016). They can readily be identified by their morphological traits. They are generally divided into three families of Nuttalliellidae, a small monotypic family present in South Africa, Argasidae (soft) and Ixodidae (hard) ticks. The latter has a worldwide distribution and are more frequent than soft ticks in temperate regions (Service 2008). Most ticks have a wide spectrum of animal hosts. Only a few species prefer a specific host species for their blood feeding activities (Estrada-Peñ a et al. 2004). Ticks usually feed on a variety of Mammalia, Aves, and Reptilia comprising tortoises (Service 2008). Hard ticks transmit a wide range of pathogens such as viruses, rickettsia, bacteria and protozoa to birds and mammals including man. Most of the diseases caused by these pathogens are carried out through tick bites. In most tick vectors, the transovarial transmission of certain pathogens could occur (Service 2008).