Hossein Hosseini

Epidemiology of Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus Genotypes in Iran (2010–2014)

SUMMARY Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in vaccinated chicken flocks continues to cause enormous economic losses to the poultry industry in Iran. A molecular surveillance of IBV genotypes involved in outbreaks of disease was performed. Specimens of trachea, kidney, and cecal tonsil were collected from 250 suspected flocks (more than 2500 samples) and identified between 2010 and 2014. Partial spike glycoprotein gene sequences revealed seven distinct genotypes, including Mass, 793/B, IS720, Variant 2, QX, IR-I, and IR-II, to be circulating in the chicken farms. The majority of flocks (67.6%) experienced infection with an IBV variant unrelated to the vaccine strains. These variants displayed homologies ranging from 54.1% to 78.5% and from 53% to 86% with H120 and 4/91, respectively. These findings reveal the existence of IBV variants genetically different from the vaccine strains currently in use and explain the outbreaks of disease observed in the field. The current work constitutes the first comprehensive survey of IBV in Iran and emphasizes the need for continuous monitoring and rethinking of current preventative measures.

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic study of Newcastle disease viruses isolated in Iran, 2010-2012.

SUMMARY Newcastle disease (ND) is a highly contagious viral disease and has been a constant threat to the poultry industry worldwide. In this study, partial sequences of ND virus (NDV) fusion genome collected from some provinces in Iran during 2010–2012 in vaccinated commercial farms were characterized and compared with other NDV sequences. All viruses showed the amino acid sequence 112 RRQKRF117 at the C-terminus of the F2 protein and phenylalanine at the N-terminus of the F1 protein, residue 117. These amino acid sequences were identical to a known virulent motif. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the Iranian ND isolates in this study are closely related to the genotype VIId of class II NDV strains. The emergence and identification of new sublineages provide an insight into the high rate of genetic drift occurring in NDV strains in Iran, and raise many concerns about the efficacy of current ND control measures in the country. RESUMEN Caracterización molecular y estudio filogenético de virus de la enfermedad de Newcastle aislados en Irán entre los años 2010–2012. La enfermedad de Newcastle (ND) es una enfermedad viral altamente contagiosa y ha sido una amenaza constante para la industria avícola en todo el mundo. En este estudio se caracterizaron las secuencias parciales del gene de la proteína de fusión de virus de Newcastle obtenidos de algunas provincias de Irán entre los años 2010–2012 de granjas comerciales vacunadas. Dichas secuencias también se compararon con las de otros virus de Newcastle. Todos los virus mostraron la secuencia de aminoácidos 112 RRQKRF117 en el extremo terminal C de la proteína F2 y mostraron fenilalanina en el extremo terminal N de la proteína F1, que es el residuo 117. Estas secuencias de aminoácidos eran idénticas a un motivo que es conocido se asocia con la virulencia. El análisis filogenético demostró que los virus de Newcastle iraníes aislados en este estudio estaban estrechamente relacionados con cepas del genotipo VIId de la clase II. La aparición e identificación de nuevos sublinajes dan una idea de la elevada tasa de derivación genética que está ocurriendo con las cepas de Newcastle en Irán y plantean muchas preocupaciones acerca de la eficacia de las actuales medidas de control contra esta enfermedad en el país.

Modeling of Deformation Processes in Vacuum Thermoforming of a Pre-stretched Sheet

Modeling of deformation processes in vacuum thermoforming for a preliminary stretched thermoplastic sheet (plug-assist vacuum thermoforming) is investigated in this paper. The model can be used for production of polymeric articles with minor wall-thickness variation. A nonlinear rheological model is implemented for developing the process model. It describes deformation process of a prestretched sheet at any phase of vacuum thermoforming process. This process is described by a set of deformation processes, each specified by appropriate boundary conditions. For model validation, a comparative analysis of the theoretical and experimental data is presented. The wall-thickness distributions obtained from modeling results corresponded well with experiments. A method for prediction and enhancement of the quality of the final products on the basis of wall-thickness distribution criterion has been established.

Automatic selection and fusion of color spaces for image thresholding

Automatic selection of color models has a great significance for machine vision purposes like image segmentation, object recognition, etc. Typically, selection of a proper color model is a problem that can just solve by testing the models on the target one by one. To achieve a proper color model, in this article, we propose a new method which is shaped on the basis of clustering and relation among models. The proposed method is verified experimentally for two different images (in thresholding purpose). The experimental results show that this method has a suitable power for automatic purposes.

Application of fuzzy subtractive clustering for optimal transient performance of automatic generation control in restructured power system

Nowadays, Automatic Generation Control AGC is a very impressive problem in restructured power system operation for providing electric power with high quality and reliability. In this paper, the three-area multi-units system has chosen for the AGC in restructured power system. Federal energy regulatory commission FERC supports an open market system for price based operation. The theory of DISCO participation matrix is used to simulate the bilateral contracts in the three area multi-units systems. In this paper Fuzzy logic damping controller FLDC for optimal transient performance of AGC has been used. An effective method, namely, Fuzzy Subtractive Clustering is used here, which reduces the number of rules and membership functions of Fuzzy system. This Method provides a mechanism to obtain the reduced rule set covering the whole input/ output space as well as membership functions for each input variable. Finally the results have been compared.

Phylogenetic study base on matrix gene of Iranian Newcastle disease virus isolates, 2011-2012

Newcastle disease (ND), caused by avian paramyxovirus type 1, is a highly contagious and devastating viral disease of poultry of worldwide distribution with an enormous economic impact. In this study, the sequences of matrix protein (M) gene of three ND virus strains isolated from outbreak in chickens in poultry farms of Iran in 2011–2012 were determined. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that both strains clustered with the class II viruses, with one phylogenetically close to the genotype VIIb Newcastle disease viruses and the other closer to genotype VIId. This finding is essential for improving the disease control strategies and development of vaccines for ND. The study results thus emphasize the importance of continuous surveillance of this disease and of sharing the information to the global scientific community, which would help to fill the epidemiological gaps in the regions and to validate the robustness of diagnostic screening.

Genotyping of Avian infectious bronchitis viruses in Iran (2015–2017) reveals domination of IS-1494 like virus

Abstract Avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is causing major economic losses to the poultry industry. The analysis of the S1 gene has been used to determine IBV genotype. The aim of this study was genotyping of IBVs circulating among the Iranian broiler flocks in the period between 2015 to 2017. Trachea samples from 278 broiler flocks were collected from broiler farms in eight provinces of Iran. After Real-time RT-PCR, IBV-positive samples were further characterized based on S1 gene. The results of the Real-time RT-PCR showed that 52.16% of flocks were IBV positive. Four genotypes were detected and the frequency of occurrence rates of IS-1494-like, 793/B, QX and Massachusetts IBV genotypes were 70.34%, 19.31%, 7.58% and 2.75%, respectively. Sequence analysis revealed that nucleotide identities within IS-1494-like group ranged between 98.86–100%, while each of the QX, Massachusetts and 793/B groups were 98.05–100%, 98.20–100% and 93.29–100% respectively. These results show that the IS-1494-like IBV is the dominant IBV genotype in Iran. Proper control strategies are essential to overcoming the high frequency of occurrence of IS-1494-like IBV. The phylogenetic relationship of the strains with respect to different sequences and geographical regions displayed complexity and diversity. Further studies are needed and should include the isolation and full-length molecular characterization of IBV in Iran.

Phylogenetic analysis of H9N2 avian influenza viruses in Afghanistan (2016-2017)

Avian influenza A virus (AIV) subtype H9N2 is the most prevalent subtype found in terrestrial poultry throughout Eurasia and has been isolated from poultry outbreaks worldwide. Tracheal tissue specimens from 100 commercial broiler flocks in Afghanistan were collected between 2016 and 2017. After real-time RT-PCR, AI-positive samples were further characterized. A part of the HA gene was amplified using RT-PCR and sequenced. The results of real-time RT-PCR showed that 40 percent of the flocks were AI positive. Phylogenetic studies showed that these H9N2 AIVs grouped within the Eurasian-lineage G1 AIVs and had a correlation with H9N2 AIV circulating in the poultry population of the neighboring countries over the past decade. Analysis of the amino acid sequence of HA revealed that the detected H9N2 viruses possessed molecular profiles suggestive of low pathogenicity and specificity for the avian-like SAα2,3 receptor, demonstrating their specificity for and adaptation to domestic poultry. The results of the current study provide great insights into H9N2 viruses circulating in Afghanistan’s poultry industry and demonstrate the necessity of planning an applied policy aimed at controlling and managing H9N2 infection in Afghan poultry.

A comparative corpus–based analysis of lexical collocations used in EFL textbooks

As collocations play an important role in second language learning, especially at intermediate-advanced levels, the present study not only seeks to examine distribution of Lexical collocations in three selected series of general English textbooks, Interchange Third Edition by (Jack C. Richards and Jonathan Hull, 2005), American Headway by (Liz and John Soars, 2003), American File by (Clive Oxenden and Christina Latham Koeing, 2008),through analyzing, face to face and telephone conversation scripts collected from intermediate and upper-intermediate level books of the aforementioned series, but also employs Open American National Corpus (OANC) available online and AntConc 3.2.1concordancer program to compare Lexical collocations from textbook to their real use by native-speakers. The findings of present research suggested that especial attention has been paid to specific types of lexical collocations noun + verb and adjective + noun while the frequency of collocations in series could not be affective on learners collocations learning and on the other hand comparing textbooks collocations to reference corpus (OANC) showed choice of collocations in these series did not have big refers to real use of language by native speakers.

Complete genome analysis of Iranian IS-1494 like avian infectious bronchitis virus

The nephropathogenic infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) strain IS-1494 like (variant-2; GI-23) was first isolated in the Middle East (1998). Despite intensive vaccinations, IS-1494 like IBVs are still circulating in Iran (the dominant genotype) and spread to other countries. Here, the full-length genome of this Iranian IS-1494 like IBV was (Mahed) determined to understand its evolutionary relationships. The genome consists of 27,652 nucleotides, with mutations in most of the structural genes. Thirteen open reading frames (ORFs) were predicted in the Mahed isolate (5′ UTR-1a-1b-S-3a-3b-E-M-4b-4c-5a-5b-N-6b-3′ UTR). ORFs 4b, 4c, and 6b, which has rarely been reported, were present in the Mahed genome. According to phylogenetic analysis of the full-length genome, 1a, S2, M, E, N protein, Mahed isolate clustered with the QX type strain. Based on the partial 1b, S1, Mahed clustered with the Q1 strain. The full-length genome of Mahed isolate shared the highest sequence homology with Gray and JMK (90.06–90.07%) and was least related to the Vic-s (86.21%). These data show that evolutionary variation because of recombination in IBV plays a major role in the adaptation and origin of IBV leading to new genetic and types of the virus strain.