رویا فرهادی

The exclusive human milk diet refers to the feeding with breast milk or donated human milk along with human milk-derived fortifiers. This article is a narrative review about feeding of premature infants, especially very low birth weight babies with this type of diet. By searching the articles published in English in the Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar databases, finally the 15 articles was reviewed in terms of different neonatal outcomes and the information was collected and reported based on the year of publication, the outcomes investigated and the impact. The results of the present study showed that the effect of this nutrition in the limited studies that have been conducted so far, despite its economic efficiency and clinical benefits, has had  different results on many important neonatal outcomes. Reducing the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis, retinopathy of prematurity, reducing intraventricular bleeding,improving   nutrition tolerance and growth parameters have been among the benefits of this diet in some studies, while in other studies, some of these morbidities have not changed. Therefore, due to the novelty of the fortifiers derived from human milk, more studies are needed to investigate its short-term and long-term effects by conducting more clinical trials.

Neonatal period is a very important and vulnerable period that causes physiological adaptations to the ectopic environment. Undoubtedly, the first step in reducing infant mortality is to identify associated factors. The main cause of infant mortality is preterm birth. This study aimed at investigating the prevalence and factors associated with preterm infant death.

In this cross-sectional study, 150 infants were classified into four groups: 24-28 weeks, 28-32 weeks, 32-34 weeks, and 34-37 weeks. Infant mortality rate and related factors were compared between the groups. Data analysis was performed in SPSS V20.

Findings showed a significant relationship between infant mortality and gestational age (P<00.01). There were no significant relationships between infant mortality and neonatal gender (P= 0.264), type of pregnancy (P= 0.548), type of maternity delivery (P= 0.999), and causes of preterm delivery (P = 0.770).

The most important factor in reducing infant mortality is preventing preterm birth which requires more effective interventions on prenatal care and treatment of complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Prenatal levels of care programs, establishing neonatal intensive care centers, and appropriate premature neonatal care equipment are also necessary in preventing infant mortality.

Nowadays, application of machine vision techniques had been extensively used in agriculture and particularly in food industries. This system can be used in quality separation, especially for valuable products such as walnut. The high nutritional value of walnuts has caused the crop to be widely processed in many processed foods. The texture is one of the most important features of agricultural crops which has been widely applied in food industry for quality evaluation. The texture of images reflects changes in pixel intensity values, which may include information from the geometric structure of objects. In this study, the possibility of walnut separating in three categories, based on quality, including: light-intact , dark-intact and damaged kernel using image processing and color systems such as RGB, HSV and L*a*b* on Kaghazi varieties was investigated. The machine vision system includes a lighting box, a camera (model SC-W12 SONY with resolution of 4 mega pixels), a computer and MATLAB software. So that, all samples are captured in RGB color system, then using transfer functions the other color systems components were calculated. Also, separation of intact samples from non-intact was evaluated using statistical analyzing on color space of RGB, L*a*b* and HSV. The results showed that in the RGB color space using of components of R (redness intensity) and G (green color intensity), and in the HSV color space based on component H and V, separation of healthy samples was possible. The success of this method was 92%. Also, in the L*a*b* color space, components of L* and b* be able to clear healthy samples from the other two categories. The success of this method was 90%. However, separating dark-intact samples from damaged samples were not possible because of overlapping of colors area. In case of surface tissue indices, contrast and energy were able to separate intact samples from non-intact samples.

Potato storage is essential to ensure the continued supplying of potatoes to consumers and the potato processing industry. During storage, physiological changes and water loss lead to changes in color, shape, size, and texture of potatoes. Therefore, there is a need for a quick and accurate method to measure the quality of the product. In this study, machine vision and neural network methods were used in classification and modeling of two stored potato samples (Agria and Clone 8-397009)  under constant and variable conditions. Among 29 measured parameters relating to color, texture and morphological features of potato, some features were selected as the main parameters to monitor the chnges in product during storage period: Major Axis Length, Compactness, and area (morphological features), L* and b* (color features) and Average contrast (Ac) and Average gray level (Agl) (texture features). Among the training algorithms, Levenberg–Marquardt (LM)  training algorithm with the lowest root mean square error (RMSE=0.012) and the highest coefficient of determination (R2=95.01) were considered as an optimal model for classification of two samples stored in non-technical and technical storage. The accuracy of identification of the Agria genotype was 89.2% and 87.6%, and the accuracy of the genotype Clone 8-397009 was 92.4% and 90.3%, in non-technical and technical storage respectively.

Neonatal jaundice is as a disease caused by the abnormality of bilirubin metabolism that tendency of people to traditional medicine is very high for the treatment.

The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic strategies, especially herbal treatments, in the neonatal jaundice, for mother and infant, based on verbally traditional medicine recommended by medicinal herbalists in Mazandaran province.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on all medicinal herbalists in Mazandaran province in 1394 and a snowball questionnaire was used for sampling. Data on demographic characteristics and treat neonatal jaundice using natural products were collected by direct method and the results were analyzed.

In this study, 12 medicinal plants for the baby and 49 herbal preparations for the mother were recommended. Moreover, based on recommendation of eighty-nine (98.9%) of the medicinal herbalists, Cotoneaster discolor (shir-e-khesht) was first choice of herbal medicine for prescribing to mother and baby.

As based on this study, the medicinal plants such as: Cotoneaster discolor, Descurainia sophia, Cichorium intybus, and Alhagi maurorum are used for neonatal jaundice as the main herbal remedies in Mazandaran province. However, this study is the first step in identifying and developing new drugs to treat neonatal jaundice, and requires additional pharmacological studies, pharmacology, toxicology, animal studies, and in particular different clinical phases to assess the exact effects of these drugs.

To determine the mechanical behavior (creep) of potato under constant load, two potato cultivars were stored in two different conditions and the effects of storage time and temperature were investigated on creep behavior of the samples. Creep parameters included instantaneous elastic coefficient, delay elastic coefficient, initial viscoelastic coefficient, delayed viscoelastic coefficient and delay time. Two samples showed different mechanical properties, However, in both samples, there was a significant decrease (P <0.05) in all creep parameters except retardation time with increasing storage time. The effect of storage temperature on these parameters was also checked that results showed the reduction of these parameters in the non-technical storage especially in the Clone variety compared to the technical storage. A mathematical model showed as well the creep behavior of stored potatoes. Regression equations showed good results (R2 = 0.73-0.85) for the effect of storage time and temperature on creep parameters. The results of these equations showed that the Instantaneous modulus of elasticity parameter had the most effect on the creep parameters. According to these results, it can be said that in technical storage due to low temperature and controlled moisture than non-technical storage, there are better conditions for tuber durability than non-technical warehouse. The length of storage period of ‘Agria’ genotype is higher due to lower loss of moisture content and starch content and no sprouting compared to ‘Clone’ genotype. However, the tissue of the ‘Clone’ genotype is softened in comparison to the fresh sample less than two months in non-technical storage and less than three months in the technical storage due to the loss of moisture and the reduction of starch content that directly affected on tissue.

Storage of potato is essential for the continuous supply of raw materials for domestic and industrial use.Dueto structural changes (tissue) and followed by changes in the mechanical properties of the tubers during storage and its impact on product quality, the information of the mechanical properties of potato tubers reduces losses and economic lossespartly along with other factors.In this research two potato genotype (Agria and Clone397009-8) were stored in two technical and non-technical storage for three monthsin Ardebil.The uniaxial compression test was used to measure the effect of variety,storage temperature and storage duration on elastic modulus, failure force and failure energy, and penetration test to measure hardness and penetration energy.Measurement was done weekly and the final results were reported after the storage period. The results showed thatcultivar, storage temperature and storage duration have a significant effect on all mechanical properties in both cultivars.With increase storage time, the elastic modulus, failure force, failure energy, hardness and penetration energy in technicalstorage were lower than non-technical storage,which this difference was statistically significant (P <0.05). The results showed that cultivar Agria has a higher elastic coefficient and rigidity than Clone genotype because of rigid texture and asa result, the storage period is longer.

congenital foot deformities are among the most common congenital abnormalities causing morbidities, disturbing the normal gait and affecting patients’ quality of life. The aim of our study was to find out the prevalence of such abnormalities in neonates born at a referral center in northern Iran. This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study on the neonates born in Imam Khomeini hospital of Sari in a two-year period. The variables considered in our study were gestational age at the time of delivery, medical conditions complicating the pregnancy including diabetes, chronic hypertension, obstetrical complications like olygohydramnios, polyhydramnios, and malpresentations, mothers' age, chronic diabetes, hypertension, mothers' addiction, sex and birth weight of the newborn, history of having a child with congenital limb anomaly and the type of delivery. Photography of newborns' feet was taken on first day of birth to be assessed by an orthopaedic surgeon. In addition, the babies were examined the day after birth by one of the two neonatologists and the suspicious cases were referred to the orthopedic surgeon. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS software. From 2025 neonates studied, 210(10.4%) calcaneovalgus, 7 (0.3%) clubfoot, 156(7%) cases of ''PesVarus'', 22 cases of (1.1%) metatarsus adductus, and 1 case of polydactyl were recognized. Among all variables, only mothers' age and cigarette smoking during pregnancy had association with congenital foot abnormalities. The most prevalent congenital abnormalities in our study was Pes Calcaneovalgus and a positional mild ''Pes Varus''. The low rate of club foot, polydactyly and metatarsus adductus are notable,

Background and Low birth weight (LBW) is a serious health problem of neonates in the world. Most of these babies need to stay in hospital and may not have enough calories and protein intake that leads to inappropriate weight gain. This study aimed at investigating the amount of calories and protein intake in neonates admitted in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Sari Bu-Ali Sina Hospital.
This cross sectional study was carried out in 100 newborns admitted to NICU in 2015. All information including relevant demographic characteristics and calories, dextrose and lipid intake was calculated. SPSS V.16 was used for data analysis.
The newborns were 68% male and 32% female. Exclusively breastfed infants included 51% of the cases and 42% had combination feeding (dietary supplements and breast milk). Mean intake of daily calorie was 63.2± 22.6 calories per kilogram per day.
Despite the efforts of NICU staff to promote breastfeeding, calorie and protein intake was less than standard amounts due to many reasons and this requires more attention.

Retinopathy OF prematurity (ROP) is a developmental disorder of retinal vessels in premature neonates. In recent years, because of advances in the care of neonates hospitalized in equipped Intensive care units, retinopathy of prematurity has become a major cause of blindness in those who are survived. This study assessed the incidence and severity of retinopathy and related risk factors in premature infants in Bo-Alisina and Emam Khomeini Hospitals in Sari.
This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted for one year. All neonates hospitalized in NICU and neonatal wards of selected Hospitals with a gestational age less than 30 weeks or gestational age less than 34 weeks with unstable conditions were included for clinical and laboratory studies.
The incidence of ROP in 146 studied neonates was 16.4% (24 cases), of which 6 cases were of grade 1, 14 cases of grade 2 and four cases were grade 3. All four cases with grade 3 ROP were recovered with injection of intravitreal avastin or without medical therapy. Sixty six percent of patients with ROP, had a gestational age of less than 30 weeks and all of them had birth weights less than 2000grams. There was statistical correlation between the incidence of ROP and gestational age, birth weight, history of intubation, Intraventricular hemorrhage, PH The incidence of retinopathy of prematurity in Bo-Alisina and Emam Khomeini Hospitals in Sari was similar to other studies. The most important risk factors were low gestational age and birth weight. Considering the risk of the disease in premature infants, ROP screening is recommended not only for prematures under 30 weeks of gestational age but also in more mature ones who have any risk factor for ROP.

Background and Hypoglycemia is an important problem in newborns which requires early diagnosis and treatment. Laboratory testing of blood glucose level and glucometer readings are used to detect hypoglycemia but sometimes the results are given late. This study aimed at evaluating the accuracy of glucometer in detection of hypoglycemia in newborns at neonate intensive care unit (NICU), 2014-2015.
A diagnostic study was performed in which 408 blood samples (glucometer capillary and venous derived samples) were obtained from 204 neonates in NICU within two hours after birth. Blood glucose concentrations were measured by glucose oxidase and photometric analysis. The mean values for blood glucose level, correlation coefficient, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were determined. Data analysis was performed in SPSS V.19.
The mean neonatal weight was 2915 ± 840 gr. In our study, 92 neonates were females and 112 were males. In laboratory testing the prevalence of hypoglycemia was found to be 21.6% (CI 95% 15.9-27.3%). Mean values of blood glucose level (86.4 ± 60.9 mg/dl) with glucometer was significantly higher than that of laboratory level (77.8 ± 69.1 mg/dl), (P Glucometer was found to have appropriate sensitivity and NPV in detecting neonatal hypoglycemia, therefore, it is recommended in screening of neonatal hypoglycemia without any side effects.

Background and Those who inherit medical history of Iran have the crucial responsibility of transferring the scientific findings of traditional medicine to modern medicine through a scientific experimental process. Cotoneaster, scientifically known as purgative manna, is an herb with the capacity of being used both in traditional and in modern medicine. This study was conducted to review active ingredients of cotoneaster in Iranian traditional medicine.
Material and This library study was performed through a narrative review of books on traditional medicine and searching databases such as Google scholar, Pubmed, Magiran, SID, and Science Direct.
First, traditional medicine references and experiences of hakims on cotoneaster are presented, and then, new findings of modern scientists about medicinal properties of cotoneaster and its active ingredients. The last section of this study briefly describes the specific use of cotoneaster for treatment of infant jaundice.
Regarding the history of using cotoneaster for treatment of some diseases and that the cotoneaster shrub is native to Iran, research centers are recommended to use modern technologies to examine the efficiency of cotoneaster given its socioeconomic benefits.

The greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum is an important pest in vegetable and ornamental crop, especially in greenhouse condition. The predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii has been evaluated as a potential biological control agent for whiteflies. Functional response and mutual interference of adult female of this predator fed on young instars (first + second instar) of greenhouse whitefly were studied in laboratory conditions (25±1 °C, 70±10 % RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 h L:D). The experiments were carried out on leaf disks in petri dishes with 10-15 replicates. SAS program was used to determine the type of functional responses and estimate the functional responses parameters. Our results revealed that adult females of A. swirskii exhibited type II functional responses on different densities (2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 20, and 30) of prey. The rate of searching efficiency and handling time were estimated as 0.142 ±0.022 h-1 and 2.310±0.110 h, respectively. Nicholson’s model and linear regression were used to determine the per capita searching efficiency and interference coefficient, respectively. The per Capita searching efficiencies of this predator decreased significantly with increasing predator densities and the value of interference coefficient of this predator fed on 40 density of greenhouse whitefly was -0.167. The rate of predation increased as the host density increased from 2 to 30 and subsequently the predator density decreased from 6 to 1. Therefore, different host–predator ratios could affect the efficacy of A. swirskii.

Diabetes during pregnancy has considerable adverse effects on the mother and her fetus or neonate. Mother’s hyperglycemia may induce hyper insulinemia and pancreatic Beta cells hyperplasia in fetus. Excess Insulin secretion in fetus blood may cause macrosomia، increase basal metabolism rate، increase oxygen consumption and even fetus hypoxemia. Fetal hypoxia may fallow by erythropoietin over production، red blood cell hyperplasia and increased hematocrit level. Polycythemia may enhance blood circulation and cause hyper bilirubinemia. On the other hand hyperglycemia may cause exaggerated production of oxygen radicals in mitocondrias and produce hydroperoxides which are prostacyclin inhibitors. Erythropoietin excess and polycythemia induce catecholamine release، hypertension and myocardial hypertrophy respectively. The last may be one of the etiology of still birth in poor control diabetic pregnancies. Rigorous glycemic control before and during pregnancy may decrease the prevalence of these complications.

Neonatal sepsis is a major cause of death in neonates in developing countries. In empiric treatment, antibiotic therapy is usually started before pathogen identification. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and antibiotic resistance of common bacteria in late onset sepsis at the neonatal ward in Booali-Sina hospital of Sari, Iran. In this cross-sectional and descriptive study, a total of 100 neonates with clinical diagnosis of late onset septicemia were admitted. Two blood samples were taken before antibiotic therapy and transferred to the bacterial medium. After 72 hour incubation, the samples were analyzed to determine bacteria isolates and antibiotic susceptibility test was performed by disk diffusion technique. Among 100 neonates with suspected to late onset sepsis, 20 neonates had positive blood culture. Staphylococcus aureus (35%), klebseilla pneumonia (20%) and Escherichia coli (20%) were the major etiological agents. The percentage of the antibiotic resistance of the gram negative bacteria to ceftazidime, ceftizoxime, cefotaxime and ceftriaxone were 72.7%, 54.5%, 54.5% and 60%, respectively. The gram positive bacteria (100%) were resistant to oxacillin, and 77.7% were resistant to cefalotin and clindamycin. Vancomycin and imipenem were considered as the most potent antibiotic against gram positive and negative bacteria (sensitivity 100%). Gram negative bacteria developing resistance to cephalosporins was observed in this study. In conclusions, the empiric use of this drug should be associated with more attention.

Congenital hyperinsulinism is a rare disorder can be associated with serious brain damage and neurodevelopmental delay in neonates. This disorder is an uncommon cause of neonatal hypoglycemia and most of the affected newborns are results of term pregnancies. In this paper, we report a case of persistent hypoglycemia due to congenital hyperinsulinism in a preterm neonate who also had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. We describe the importance of early diagnosis and intervention in neonates who have persistent hypoglycemia unresponsive to medical treatments and we recommend performing of echocardiography in these patients.

Congenital dislocation of the knee (CDK) is a rare congenital anomaly and the incidence of the CDK is estimated as 1 per 100،000 births. Diagnosis is made through clinical inspection and X-ray radiography. Our patient is a newborn male with congenital dislocation of the left knee. After diagnosis، the knee was reduced successfully within 24 hours of birth and then serial casting was performed. After one year of follow-up، the knee appears normal and prognosis is excellent. In some reports the best time for reduction of dislocated knee is within 24 hours after birth and delayed reduction is suggested to increase the difficulty of treatment، but some authors have suggested waiting of 1 month for spontaneous reduction of CDK. The aim of this report is emphasis on early reduction of congenital dislocation of the knee، and also precise evaluation for ruling out related disorders.

Background and Hypothermia after the birth has serious complications and conventional methods for warming of preterm newborns are insufficient. New guideline of neonatal resuscitation program recommended wrapping of premature newborns in polyethylene bags and because of controversies in use of different transparent membranes in studies the aim of this study is determination of effect of “ZIPKIF«food grade plastic bag on prevention of hypothermia of ≤32 week neonates as a first study in Iran This was a randomized controlled trial of 40 neonates ≤ 32 weeks’ gestation including 2 groups. Experimental group immediately after birth wrapped in ZipKif plastic bag and control group dried according to conventional method. Axillary temperatures at the time of admission and 1 hour later were compared in two groups Mean axillary temperature in experimental group (36. 58 ± 0. 37) was significantly higher than control group (35. 56 ± 0. 86) (P=0. 000). Hypothermia was significantly lower in ZipKif plastic group (P=0. 000). Time of resuscitation significantly was higher in control group (P=0. 017). wrapping preterm neonates at birth time in ZipKif plastic bag without increase the risk of hyperthermia is an effective and inexpensive method for prevention of hypothermia.

Walnut usually classified in different quality groups due to its high economic price and therefore it is required to determine physical properties of it, especially obtaining the necessary information for designing sorting and grading machines. In this research, the physical properties of Kaghazi cultivar of walnut, including dimensional properties: length, width, thickness, arithmetic mean diameter, geometric mean diameter, roundness, surface area, and also gravitational properties: mass, volume and true density and their variations were determined in three quality groups of white sound, dark sound and damaged kernels. The results indicated that the mean values of length, width, thickness, arithmetic mean diameter, geometric mean diameter, roundness, surface area, mass, volume and true density were equal to 27.74mm, 26.32mm, 10.78mm, 21.61mm, 19.85mm, 0.72, 1243.68mm2, 2.90gr, 2850mm3 and 1.03gr/mm3 in white sound kernels, respectively. In addition, the results of ANOVA showed a significant difference between quality groups based these physical quantities. In this relation, it is possible to distinguish between sound and damaged kernels according to their mass, volume and density. However, according to frequency diagrams of physical properties, it is not possible to reach the 100% of separation. Therefore, it is necessary to use a series of separating units, in which every unit use a specific property.

To provide reliable information concerning reproductive potential of Hippodamia variegata Goeze and its prey (Aphis fabae), their related life tables were studied under controlled laboratory conditions (at 23ºC). The unprocessed data of life tables were analyzed taking the Euler-Lotka as the basis model. Standard error of population growth parameters was calculated using the Jackknife re-sampling method. The Mann-Whitney U test was utilized to determine differences in population parameters of H. variegata and of A. fabae. The intrinsic rate of increase (rm) of ladybird was 0.197±0.002d-1. Other table parameters, including net reproductive rate (R0), mean generation time (T), the finite rate of increase (λ) and the Doubling Time (DT) were estimated as 365.43±22.09 offsprings, 29.96±0.37 d, 1.218±0.002 d-1 and 3.52±0.033 d, respectively. These parameters were estimated for A. fabae as: rm= 0.309.±0.01 d-1, R0= 41.98±4.6 offspring, T = 12.1±0.21 d, λ= 1.36±0.015 d-1 and DT=2.24±0.078 d. A comparison of the two life table parameters showed that there existed significant differences between life table parameters of H. variegata and those of A. fabae. In all cases, the aphid exhibited a more prominent reproductive trait.

Background and Since Low birth weight is significantly related to infant mortality and it is one of the most important health Ïndexes so this study was conducted to determine the direct and indirect effects important factors to response variable. For investigating this analytical Çross-sectional, a check list contains mother’s demographics, pregnancy and infant’s information was used. Ïnfants whose weights were less than 2500g were considered as LBW, they were register. Base on theory, probability casual paths were drawn, next path coefficients were calculated by LÏSRËL 8.8. Path analysis reveals the most effective factor on LBW is Preterm delivery and when it occurs, the chance of LBW will incredibly increase. The second important factor is pregnancy age and its negative path coefficient shows when it increases, the chance of LBW decreases.Çonclusion: LBW chance can be controlled by the accurate pregnancy and prevention of unnecessary end pregnancy.

Prey preference of natural enemies is among the phenomena that should be considered in determining the efficacy of natural enemies. When the predators are faced with a choice between two or more preys, they often show their preference to one from among them. Temperature is one of the environmental factors that can affect insect foraging behavior. Two aphid species namely Aphis fabae and Acyrthosiphon pisum are of the ability to attack and damage bean plants. Prey preference of Iranian native species Hippodamia variegata as one of the efficient aphid predators, was examined on bean plants and on the two named species of aphids at different temperatures. The experiment was carried out at 15±1?C, 19±1?C, 23±1?C, 25±1?C, and 27±1?C, plus 70±10% of RH, and a photoperiodism state of 16:8 (L: D). Predator preference was analyzed through an application of Manly’s index of preference to the data with statistical analysis showing that at all temperatures for fourth instar larvae, male and female (except 15?C for the fourth instar larvae), A. fabae was preferred to Acyrthosiphon pisum. This experiment showed that H. variegata does not change its preference in response to temperature and it is assumed that at variable conditions of releasing the same trend be effected

Congenital hypothyroidism is a neonatal disorder that late diagnosis and treatment of it can be resulted to mental retardation and irreversible brain damage. Neonatal goiter is a rare condition that can be associated with hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. The aim of this report is early diagnosis and treatment. CASE: In this article we report two female twins that had goiter and prenatal diagnosis by ultrasonography had been documented for them. At third days of life patients with diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism treated with Levothyroxin. Now they are 10 months old and developmentally normal. Size of goiter has been reduced and thyroid function tests are acceptable. Results of this report revealed that in conditions that prenatal management of fetal goiter is not available; brain damage in patients can be prevented by early etiologic diagnosis of neonatal goiter and early treatment of dyshormonogenesis.

Common wheat, Triticum aestivum L. is of the greatest importance among the few crop plants that are grown extensively and for food in Iran. Among the reported wheat's pests, greenbug Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) causes severe damage to the crop. Because of the adaptation of the aphid to different wheat varieties being varied, this study was designed to focus on the effect of some common wheat varieties in Karaj region, namely: Pishtaz, Shiraz, Chamran, Mahdavi and Marvdasht on the biological parameters pertaining to the greenbug. The experiments were carried out in incubator and under controlled conditions of 22±1?C, 70±10% humidity and 16:8 photoperiodism. The results indicated the longest nympahl period on Marvdasht (7.39 days) and the shortest on Shiraz variety (6.36 days). The highest number of nymphs was produced on Shiraz (46.42) and the lowest on Mahdavi (35.72). The parameters rm, R0,? , T, and DT in relation to the aphid were also assessed and statistically compared on each wheat variety. A comparison of rm as the most important parameter indicated that the highest rm was obtained for Shiraz (0.31) while the lowest for Mahdavi and Marvdasht variety (0.28). The fertility life table parameters revealed that Shiraz was the most sensitive to greenbug in comparison with the other varieties. For the calculated parameters, pseudo-replicates were produced through jackknife and bootstrap re-sampling methods, and the results from the two methods were compared.

The black bean aphid, Aphis fabae Scopoli, is a major pest of broad bean, Vicia faba L. and sugar beet, Beta vulgaris L., The most abundant parasitoid of A. fabae in agroecosystems is Lysiphlebus fabarum (Marshall), a multivoltine species with mainly thelytokous reproduction in central Europe. Since L. fabarum females mimic ants to obtain honeydew directly from aphids it was reasoned that a female's hunger level could influence her proportional time allocation to various behaviors associated with aphid exploitation. To test this, L. fabarum females were released individually onto bean leaf disks infested with A. fabae and continuous observations made. The females’ proportional time allocations were then recorded. Furthermore, instances of aphid defensive behaviors including kicking, raising and swiveling the body, releasing the plant and escaping from attack, as well as attempts to smear the attacker with cornicle secretions were numerically assessed. Hungry females spent 3.6 times longer in host patches (leaf disks with 15 second-third instar of A. fabae) than did females fed diluted citrus honey prior to testing, but there were no differences observed among number of aphids parasitized. All the assessed measured distinct behaviors were higher for unfed females than for fed ones. Because of the large effect of treatment on patch residence time, the incidence or duration of various behaviors was expressed as a fraction of patch residence time and then re-analyzed. Hungry females spent proportionally more of their time resting and antennating aphids with proportionally less time spent in searching, abdominal bending and probing aphids. A significantly smaller proportion of aphids kicked and escaped from attack following encounters with hungry females than when encountered with satedly fed females.