Sabzevar University of New Technology

This study presents a CNN-based deep learning framework to automate the accurate authentication of mericarp seeds from 15 commercially important medicinal Apiaceae species, which exhibit subtle morphological overlaps and face risks of toxic adulteration (e.g., hemlock contamination), threatening consumer safety and trade integrity. Six CNN models were evaluated, with DenseNet121 demonstrating superior performance in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and convergence stability, followed by MobileNetV2, InceptionV3, and VGG16. Confusion matrix analysis revealed that higher-resolution inputs significantly improved discrimination, particularly for similar seeds like Anethum graveolens L. and Apium graveolens L. Batch size minimally influenced outcomes. Analysis of accuracy-loss dynamics further indicated that EfficientNetB0 and ResNet50 underperformed, while DenseNet121, which excelled in performance, convergence stability, strong generalization, and minimal overfitting, highlighted the critical role of architectural design in feature learning and optimization of key performance metrics. Additionally, t-SNE visualization confirmed DenseNet121's superior feature learning, achieving distinct separation of all 15 species and resolving intricate visual ambiguities that confound traditional methods and limit clearer clustering in other architectures. These findings underscore the potential of CNNs as scalable tools for botanical authentication-particularly for detecting adulteration and species complexities using seed digital morphometric characters-to safeguard public health and reinforce supply-chain safety.

Fungi of the genus Fusarium are well known as major plant pathogens but also cause a broad spectrum of human infections. Sixty-three clinical isolates, collected during 2014-2017, were identified using a part of the TEF1 gene as barcoding marker. Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFSC, n = 41, 65%) showed to be the dominant etiological agent, followed by F. solani species complex (FSSC, n = 14, 22%) and F. oxysporum species complex (FOSC, n = 7, 11%). There was one strain belonging to F. lateritium species complex (FLSC, n = 1, 1.5%). For final identification, a phylogenetic tree was constructed including the type strains of each species complex. Most cases of fusariosis were due to nail infection (n = 38, 60.3%), followed by keratitis (n = 22, 34%). Fusarium infections are difficult to be treated due to their intrinsic resistance to different azoles; however, accurate and fast identification of etiological agents may enhance management of the infection. We present the first phylogenetic study on clinical Fusarium spp. from Iran.

In this study, the concentrations of lead, cadmium, and chromium in lipstick samples were evaluated. The samples were from different brands and produced in different countries. The average lead, cadmium, and chromium concentrations in all lipstick samples were 1.851, 0.017, and 4.300mgkg-1ww, respectively. There was a significant difference in the concentrations of lead, cadmium, and chromium among the brands (p < 0.05). The concentrations of the measured elements in the brands did not exceed the values of the international standards provided for lipstick. The values of hazard quotient (HQ), health risk index (HI), relative intake index (RII), and estimated daily intake (EDI) indices were calculated. The results of the HQ and HI indices showed that in more than 50% of the lipstick brands, there is a potential threat to consumer health due to the presence of these elements in lipstick. Therefore, it can be concluded that, due to the simultaneous use of lipstick with other types of cosmetics and hence the potential exposure of consumers to toxic elements through all cosmetics, continuous monitoring of the concentrations of these elements in these types of products is necessary to avoid potential health risks.

30B2O3-40GeO2-(30-x)Gd2O3-xTb2O3 (x=1,2,3,5 ve 7 % mol) kompozisyonuna sahip cam sistemleri eritmetavlama yöntemi ile sentezlenmiştir. Hazırlanan camların optik ve lüminesans özellikleri soğurma, fotolüminesansve bozunma zamanı ölçümleri ile incelenmiştir. Tb+3 katkılı borogermanat camlarının 378 nm uyarma altında eldeedilen fotolüminesans spektrumları yeşil bölgede şiddetli yayınlanma (5D4→7FJ , J = 3,4,5 ve 6) ve mavi bölgedezayıf yayınlanma (5D3→7FJ , J = 3,4 ve 5) piklerinden oluşmaktadır. Bunların arasında en şiddetli 5D4→7F5 (541 nm)geçişi yeşil yayınlanma göstermektedir. x=5 katkı miktarından sonra konsantrasyon baskılanması gözlenmiştir.5D4→7F5 ve 5D3→7F4 yayınlanma piklerinin alanlarının oranı olan yeşil-mavi değerleri (G/B) Tb+3 iyon konsantrasyonununfonksiyonu olarak elde edilmiştir. Tb+3 iyonunun 5D4→7F5 geçişinin bozunma zamanı 1.801 ms olarakbulunmuştur. Hazırlanan camların elde edilen renk koordinatları CIE diyagramının yeşil bölgesinde yer almaktadır.

Phylogenomic approaches have the potential to improve confidence about the inter-relationships of species in the order Mucorales within the fungal tree of life. Rhizopus species are especially important as plant and animal pathogens and bioindustrial fermenters for food and metabolite production. A dataset of 192 orthologous genes was used to construct a phylogenetic tree of 21 Rhizopus strains, classified into four species isolated from habitats of industrial, medical and environmental importance. The phylogeny indicates that the genus Rhizopus consists of three major clades, with R. microsporus as the basal species and the sister lineage to R. stolonifer and two closely related species R. arrhizus and R. delemar. A comparative analysis of the mating type locus across Rhizopus reveals that its structure is flexible even between different species in the same genus, but shows similarities between Rhizopus and other mucoralean fungi. The topology of single-gene phylogenies built for two genes involved in mating is similar to the phylogenomic tree. Comparison of the total length of the genome assemblies showed that genome size varies by as much as threefold within a species and is driven by changes in transposable element copy numbers and genome duplications.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the main sources and epidemiological patterns and speculate on the evolutionary origin of Sporothrix globosa in Asia. Case and case series literature on sporotrichosis in Asia from January 2007 onwards were reviewed using meta-analysis. Phylogenetic analysis of relevant S. globosa was carried out on the basis of concatenated sequences of ITS, TEF3 and CAL. A haplotype network of CAL sequences of 281 Sporothrix isolates was analysed to determine the population structure of S. globosa. Nearly all cases of sporotrichosis caused by S. globosa in Asia were human. In contrast to the remaining pathogenic Sporothrix species, feline transmission was exceptional; nearly all regional cat-associated cases were caused by Sporothrix schenckii. While the latter species was highly variable and showed recombination, S. globosa seemed to be a clonal offshoot, as was Sporothrix brasiliensis. The origin of the segregants was located in an area of high variability in S. schenckii with a relatively high frequency of Asian strains. In Asia, S. globosa was the prevalent species. The low diversity of S. globosa suggested a recent divergence with a founder effect of low variability from the variable ancestral species, S. schenckii.

Aluminum matrix composites reinforced with micro- and nano-sized Al2O3 particles provide desirable characteristics for high-performance applications in aerospace, automobile, and military industries, because of their improved physical and mechanical properties. Selection of the best combination of ultimate strength and formability properties of the composites is a multiple attribute decision making problem where some criteria must be considered. In this study, A356/Al2O3 composites were prepared with different conditions such as the fabrication method, size, and weight fraction of reinforcement. These alternatives were ranked by analytic hierarchy process method. Analytic hierarchy process results revealed that the composite with 2 wt% nano-Al2O3 fabricated by compo-casting method was the preferred composite material.

Introduction: Average glandular dose calculation in mammography with Mo-Rh target-filter and dose calculation for different situations is accurate and fast. Material and Methods: In this research, first of all, x-ray spectra of a Mo target bombarded by a 28 keV electron beam with and without a Rh filter were calculated using the MCNP code. Then, we used the Sobol-Wu parameters to write a FORTRAN code to calculate average glandular dose. Results: Average glandular dose variation was calculated against the voltage of the mammographic x-ray tube for d = 5 cm, HVL= 0.35 mm Al, and different value of g. Also, the results related to average glandular absorbed dose variation per unit roentgen radiation against the glandular fraction of breast tissue for kV = 28 and HVL = 0.400 mmAl and different values of d are presented. Finally, average glandular dose against d for g = 60% and three values of kV (23, 27, 35 kV) with corresponding HVLs have been calculated. Discussion and Conclusion: The absorbed dose computational program is accurate, complete, fast and user friendly. This program can be used for optimization of exposure dose in mammography. Also, the results of this research are in good agreement with the computational results of others.