Although wolves have the ability to live in different habitat types, in recent years their population has been drastically reduced in most parts of the country and in some areas has become extinct. Conservation programs are essential to ensure the viability of the remaining wolf populations. Wildlife management programs are depended on estimation of population size. With the development of molecular ecology in recent years and considering the ineffectiveness of traditional methods to estimate population size, population genetics methods have been developed to estimate population size more accurately than traditional methods. The mitochondrial genome is a strong indicator in predicting changes of population size of wild animals and calculating the effective population size (Ne) of female animals. Using mt DNA markers, we calculated the female effective population size in Hamedan, Qazvin, and Zanjan provinces. According to sex ratio (1:1) and ratio of effective population size to the census population size (Ne/N), the total population size was calculated between 90 to 360 wolves in these provinces. Our results suggest that estimating the effective population size by molecular markers is a useful tool for management of small and isolated populations.

Background & Aims: Antidepressants are very common therapeutic agents in medicine. Design and using new antidepressants have built a new scope for depression treatment. Bupropion is an atypical antidepressant but it is used as an anti-smoke agent widely due to its smoke cessation. Its effectiveness in producing smoking cessation seems independent of its antidepressant effects. The study of synaptic effects of bupropion can reveal its mechanism for nicotine dependence cessation. This study has tested the effects of bupropion on evoked responses of rat hippocampal slices.Materials & Methods: 16 hippocampal slices from 18-25 old age rat pops were tested. The hippocampal slices have been prepared according to standard techniques. Bupropion was perfused in ACSF (2 mmol) for 30 minutes. The amplitude of population spikes (PS) amplitude of Stratum Radiatum was measured before and after bupropion perfusion. Amplitude of PS before bupropion perfusion fitted as 100% for baseline.Results: Bupropion (2 mmol) abolished PS of all slices for different periods. PS disappeared in 37.5% of slices for 1 hour, 25% for 1.5 hour, 12.5 % for 2 hour, and 25% for 4 hour or more. Bupropion disappeared PS 5-15 minutes after perfusion.Conclusion: Bupropion abolished or decreased PS amplitude. The results have showed that bupropion can decreases LTP or synaptic plasticity and alters the synaptic behavior in drug dependence.

Background: Estimating the population who use drugs is essential for planning, monitoring, and evaluation of substance use prevention and treatment. This study aims to estimate the population who misuse tramadol in urban population in Iran. Methods: We used the wisdom of the experts (WOTE) and network scale-up (NSU) methods to calculate the population of tramadol misusers in 10 provincial capitals of Iran, in 2016. The WOTE was conducted among pharmacists in drugstores and the personnel of traditional medicinal herbs stores. They guessed the best estimation of tramadol misusers population in their cities. The NSU method was conducted among the general population and participants were questioned about ever and daily, non-medical use of tramadol during last 12 months in their network. The median of the methods was used to calculate the proportion of the adult population (15-49 years old). Findings: The population size of tramadol misusers in studied cities was 83300 [95% uncertainty limits (UL): 47960-256220]. This corresponded to 6. 6 per 1000 (95% UL: 3. 88-20. 30) of the 15-49-year-old population. The projected number of tramadol misusers for all 31 provincial capitals was 118290 (95% UL: 68100-363130840) and 212440 (95% UL: 122310-653410) for all urban areas. NSU also estimated the number of people who misuse tramadol on daily basis. These numbers were 52000 (95% UL: 19940-176570) for studied cities, 73840 (95% UL: 28320-250740) for all 31 provincial capital cities, and 132610 (95% UL: 50860-450310) for all urban areas in Iran. Conclusion: This study presents information on high prevalence of tramadol misuse in urban population. We need national control measures and demand reduction programs to control tramadol misuse.

Optimal population size and an appropriate policy approach towards its achievement has been among the most important concerns of governments, particularly in developing countries. Over-population can expose each country to various challenges. Unlike educational, health care and accommodation constraints, which can be handled with long-term or midterm planning, natural resources are limited and mostly non-compensable by plans and human activities. Thus it could be asserted that the biggest obstacle against population growth is limitation of natural resources. Fresh water as an example is vital for human life-cycle, and any shortage or contamination of water would cause serious and inevitable problems to the environment and people’ s life. In this paper, first, water resources and its capacity in Iran are assessed and as a next step, an index has been defined for annual consumption of fresh water using economic panel data. Then, by comparing this index with the Iranian water consumption, optimal population size has been estimated. We can conclude that with no serious change in current water consumption, Iran will encounter a serious challenge in water resources. Hence, according to these results, it is suggested New Population policies should consider natural resource and water limitations.

Background and aim: Understanding demographic characteristics, including the size and structure of a population, is foundational for strategic planning. This study aims to analyze historical shifts in Iran’s demographic composition and size, projecting these trends into the future. Data and method: Utilizing a secondary research approach, this study analyzed data from the 2016 General Population and Housing Census and annual vital events records from the Civil Registry Organization of Iran. Demographic methods were applied to assess past population changes and forecast future shifts. Findings: The findings reveal that Iran’s population growth has varied over time. Initially, the growth was modest, with a 2.1-fold increase from 1920 to 1940. The most significant surge occurred between 1970 and 1990. Under a scenario of rising fertility, the population is projected to reach 98 million by 2040. Conclusion: Iran’s population is aging, with an expected rise in the number and proportion of the elderly. To address the age composition of the population, it is necessary to increase the fertility rate through incentive policies and reduce the migration of young people. Regarding the size of the elderly population, there will be a need for special services such as social security, geriatric medicine, suitable recreation, appropriate housing, and overall, an elderly-friendly city. Key Message: The aging of Iran’s population is inevitable and accelerating. It is crucial to anticipate the future needs of the elderly and develop appropriate policies to address them effectively.

In order to estimate the effective population size (Ne) in Iranian water buffalo blood and hair samples of 407 individual from Azari (N=260), Khuzestani (N=120) and Mazandrani (N=27) buffalo populations were gathered. After DNA extaraction, the samples were genotyped using Axiom® Buffalo Genotyping 90K Array. The Ne was estimated from 700 to 4 generations ago and also for the present generation by linkage disequiblirum data and based on heterozygote-excess method using NeEstimator (V2), respectively. Estimated Ne for Azari, Khuzestani and Mazandarani were calculated 1530, 1375 and 1141, respectively, for 700 generations ago. Ne for the present generation in Azeri, Khuzestani and Mazandarani were estimated 447, 226 and 35, respectively. The Ne for Azeri and Khuzestani were relatively high and these two populations were not endanger to extinction, but their Ne has been declined in the resent generations massively and it is necessary to care about the maintenance of Ne and relatively high diversity for these populations. However, the Mazandarani population is endangered because of low Ne and so it is necessary to carefully monitor their effective population size, improve the profitability of production and planning a suitable mating scheme to control inbreeding and genetically conserve this population.