Iris pseudomeda (Iridaceae), a new species of Iris section Oncocyclus from Iran

Iris pseudomeda is described and illustrated as a new species of Iris section Oncocyclus from Kurdistan province in northwestern Iran. It occurs among subalpine flora of Zagros mountain range, on stony calcareous hillsides and the brink of grassland fields. A complete morphological description, conservation status, botanical illustrations, notes on habitat and distribution range are presented for the new species. Furthermore, taxonomic relationships of I. pseudomeda with other members of this rhizomatous bearded section, particularly I. meda, are also discussed.

ANALYSIS OF ILKHANIDS SILVER COINS DISCOVERED IN THE GREAT MOSQUE OF ARDABIL CITY IN NORTHWESTERN IRAN, BY PIXE METHOD

Город Ардебиль - один из древних городов Ирана, где сохранилось более 10 исторических памятников доисламского и исламского периодов, в частности, остатки Большой мечети - одной из первых больших мечетей Ирана, некогда возвышавшейся на берегу реки Балыклы-Чай. В 2009-2012 гг. в ходе работ по восстановлению Большой мечети было обнаружено множество монет: золотых византийских, медных - эпохи Атабеков и серебряных - династии Илханидов XI-XIII вв. Этот факт указывает на использование данного религиозного памятника в течение длительного времени. В статье подробно описывается методика исследования серебряных монет, найденных в Большой мечети и связанных с началом истории Илханидов. Результаты анализа элементного состава металла пяти монет методом PIXE - высокое содержание серебра и наличие золота вместе со значительным снижением содержания меди -свидетельствуют о благоприятных экономических условиях и расцвете культуры в период правления Илханидов. Авторы предполагают, что и серебро, и медь добывались в месторождениях, находившихся в окрестностях Тебриза. Existence of more than 10 historical sites dating back to pre-Islamic and Islamic periods, especially, the architectural remains of the Great Mosque located on bank of the Balikhlli chai river running through Ardabil indicates the significance of the city of Ardabil. Numerous Byzantine golden coins, Atabegs copper and Ilkhanids silver coins belonging to 11th to 13th centuries AD were found during the extensive activities on reparation of the Great Mosque in 2009-2012. This fact evidences that this religious monument has been used for a long time. The article focuses on Ilkhanids silvers coins. The investigation of the silver coins from the Great Mosque shows that they are related with the beginnings of Ilkhanids' history. PIXE analysis of some of the silver coins shows high purity of silver and gold in metal composition of coins and points to good economic conditions, medicine improvement and cultural dehiscence during Ilkhanid period and the preceding periods. The authors suppose the extract of copper and presence of silver in Tabriz surroundings.

‘I Have Made a Highway of Biainili’:

After emerging in the Lake Van Basin of Turkey, the Urartian kingdom expanded its territory across Eastern Anatolia, Northwestern Iran, and Armenia between the late 9th and early 7th century BC. The high altitude of these regions and the climatic conditions, especially long and harsh winters with heavy snowfall, likely forced the Urartian monarchy to establish a reliable network of communication: new roads and new settlements along these roads were established between the capital city Tušpa and other parts of its territory. This study presents a reassessment of the archaeological and textual evidence on Urartian routes used for military campaigns, settlements located along these routes, ancient road remains and means of transportation.

A new species of Epeorus (Caucasiron) (Ephemeroptera, Heptageniidae) from Azerbaijan and Iran

A new species, Epeorus (Caucasiron) hyrcanicussp. nov., is described based on larval morphology and molecular data (COI) containing sequences from all Caucasian Caucasiron species described to date. The species is distributed in the Hyrcanian forest of southeastern Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran. Based on our wide-range sampling, the new species is likely endemic to this area. The most pronounced larval morphological diagnostic characters are the coloration pattern of abdominal sterna (a pair of oblique stripes and stripe-like medio-lateral maculae) and terga (triangular medial maculae), poorly developed projection of the costal margin of gill plates III, presence of hair-like setae on the surface of abdominal terga, and relatively wide shape of gill plates VII (in natural position from ventral view). The diagnostic characters are compared to related species, and primary information to habitat is provided.

Prevalence of Three-Rooted Deciduous Mandibular Molars in the Children of Northwestern Iran

Introduction. Although primary teeth have a determinative role in development of normal occlusion, few studies about anomalies related to deciduous dentition have been conducted so far. Regarding recent improvements in common knowledge and the importance of maintaining primary teeth until eruption of succedaneous teeth, identifying the morphology of primary teeth and probable variations is of great importance to achieve optimal therapeutic outcome. This study aims to determine the prevalence of three-rooted mandibular primary molars in a population of northwestern Iran. Materials and Methods. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, periapical radiographs of patients attending private oral and maxillofacial radiology offices in the northwestern region of Iran from 2017 to 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 300 cases in the 3– 10 -year age range having bilateral periapical radiographs from mandibular primary molars were screened. First and second primary molars were observed meticulously. Gender, side of the mandible (right or left), symmetry, overall prevalence, and prevalence considering the type of molar (D or E) were recorded and analyzed. Results. Overall prevalence of three-rooted mandibular primary molars was 9.33 % ( 28 / 300 ), 92.9 % of which were unilateral. The prevalence of teeth showing supernumerary roots among all teeth examined was 2.5 % ( 30 / 1200 ). Considering symmetry and gender, the occurrence of these three-rooted primary molars did not differ significantly (respectively, p = 0.832 and p = 0.541 ). However, there was a significant relationship between the occurrence of supernumerary roots and left side for three-rooted first molars and right side for three-rooted second molars ( p = 0.021 ). Conclusion. Obtained data show that three-rooted mandibular primary molars in children of northwest region of Iran have a prevalence of approximately 10 % which urges some specific considerations in exodontic and endodontic procedures.

Association study of rs17782313 polymorphism near MC4R gene with obesity/overweight, BMI, and hedonic hunger among women from Northwestern Iran

BACKGROUND: Obesity, as a medical condition, results from interactions between environmental and genetic factors. The rs17782313 polymorphism, located 188kb downstream of the Melanocortin 4 Receptor (MC4R) gene, is one of the essential candidate genetic markers that has shown the highest association with obesity in different populations. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the possible associations of rs17782313 polymorphism near the MC4R gene with obesity/overweight, body mass index (BMI), and hedonic hunger among women from the Iranian Azeri ethnic group. METHODS: Five hundred sixty-three women, composed of 396 patients with obesity/overweight and 167 unrelated healthy controls, were genotyped for the rs17782313 polymorphism by applying the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) method. RESULTS: This population was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P = 0.878). The study confirmed a significant association of rs17782313 with obesity, where subjects carrying the C/C genotype had higher odds of obesity (OR = 2.681, P = 0.005, 95%CI:1.340–5.365). Also, C allele carriers have statistically significantly higher BMI scores than those carrying the T allele (P = 0.029). However, no significant associations were found among PFS scores and genotypic/allelic groups of rs17782313 polymorphism (P = 0.368). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that rs17782313 polymorphism is strongly associated with obesity and BMI but not with hedonic hunger among Northwest Iran women. Moreover, the sequencing data analysis in several homozygous and heterozygous carriers of the C allele led to identifying a novel frameshift variant with TCT deletion (rs534212081) in the 166 upstream of rs17782313, which has not been reported so far.

Astragalus dinawarii (section Incani), a New Species from the Talesh Mountains, Northwestern Iran

Astragalus dinawarii Bidarlord & F. Ghahrem. (Fabaceae) is described as a new species based on material collected on the Talesh Mountains, northwestern Iran. This species belongs to a large bifurcating section, Astragalus L. sect. Incani DC. Morphologically, it is close to A. bukanensis Maassoumi & Podlech, A. diversus Podlech & Maassoumi, and A. dilutuloides Maassoumi, F. Ghahrem. & Bagheri, sharing several densely hairy leaflets and stipitate legumes. This species is easily distinguished from similar species by a set of both vegetative and reproductive characters such as size, shape, number of leaflets, shorter calyx, and longer legume stipe. A detailed description and comparisons with similar taxa, color images, distribution and habitat, and conservation status of the new species are provided.