gholami

ADHD is the most prevalent psychiatric health issue in youth, which may also affect adults. Environmental and genetic factors both contribute significantly to the development and progression of this condition. Monoamine oxidases, which catalyze the metabolism of dopaminergic neurotransmitters, are involved in the pathogenesis of ADHD. The purpose of this study was to determine the connection between polymorphic variations rs6323 and uVNTR in the (Un translate variable nucleotide tandem repeat) MAO-A gene and the risk for ADHD in Iranian-Azeri children.
Clinical evaluation was used to recruit 137 ADHD patients (female 22, male 115) and 100 controls (female 48, male 52) from the East Azerbaijan region in northern Iran. Genomic DNA was taken from their peripheral blood samples and genotyping was performed using PCR-based amplification of target sites. SPSS (Version 16) and the javastat online statistics program (http://statpages.org/ctab2x2.html) were used for statistical analysis.
The rs6323TT genotype was shown to be a significant risk factor for ADHD (OR 3.619, 95 percent CI 0.878-17.213, p = 0.044). In comparison, no significant differences in allele frequencies were observed between ADHD patients and the control group (p > 0.05). The 5R allele of uVNTR was shown to have a substantial protective impact against the development of ADHD (OR0.349, 95 percent confidence interval 0.151-0.797, p = 0.006).
Our findings indicate that MAOA gene polymorphisms may play a role in the start and development of ADHD in Iranian-Azeri youngsters. However, more research with larger sample sizes is necessary to corroborate these results.

The electronic industry has grown vastly in recent years, and researchers are trying to minimize circuits delay, occupied area and power consumption as much as possible. In this regard, many technologies have been introduced. Quantum Cellular Automata (QCA) is one of the schemes to design nano-scale digital electronic circuits. This technology has high speed and low power consumption, and occupies very little area. Phase-locked loops (PLLs) and delay-locked loops (DLLs) are blocks that are commonly used in telecommunication applications. One of the most important parts in DLL and PLL is the phase-frequency detector. Therefore, the design of this circuit in QCA technology is of great importance. In this paper, two new phase-frequency detectors sensitive to falling and rising edge have been introduced in QCA technology. Both of the designs are composed of 104 cells; occupy only 0.13 μm2 of an area and 1.5 QCA clock cycles latency. The designs are in one layer and all the inputs and outputs are available to be used by another circuit.

In order to study the effects of nano iron oxide and different biofertilizers on the quantitative and qualitative yield of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.), a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replications was conducted in the research field of Shahrood Industrial University in 2017 growing season. Experimental treatments included the foliar spray of nano iron oxide at three levels of 0, 1.5 and 3 g L-1 as the first factor and five levels of biofertilizer including no biofertilizer (control), Glomus intraradices, G. mosseae, Azospirillum, and Azotobacter as the second factor. The results of this experiment showed that the application of fungal and bacterial treatments significantly increased the grain yield and yield components as well as the concentration of nitrogen and iron in seed, and also had a significant effect on increasing essential oil content, thymoquinone content of the essential oil, and seed oil. The most effective treatment was G. intraradices, which was able to significantly improve all traits measured. The foliar application of nano iron oxide had a significant and positive effect only on the essential oil content, biological yield, and iron and nitrogen content of the seed. The highest amount of iron and nitrogen content of the seed was obtained in nano iron oxide treatment at 3 g L-1 level. However, the essential oil content, essential oil thymoquinone percentage, seed oil content, and also biological yield did not differ significantly between the two concentrations of nano iron oxide. Therefore, it seems that the application of a lower concentration of nano iron oxide (1.5 g L-1) together with G. intraradices can improve the quantitative and qualitative yield in the medicinal plant black cumin by saving fertilizer consumption without a significant decrease in the qualitative traits measured.

The torque feedback of the vehicle's steering wheel or driver perception of the steering wheel is one of the aspects of steering quality that has been investigated extensively in recent decades. In this paper, the driver model for sensing torque feedback or haptic interaction between the vehicle equipped with a steer-by-wire system (SWB) and the driver has been designed. The driver model consists of a preview model and a neuromuscular model. The preview driver model calculates the desired angle of the steering wheel to follow the path, and the neuromuscular driver model that can perceive real-time torque feedback determines the real angle of the steering wheel according to muscular system transfer functions to follow its desired angle. Calculating of torques on the steering wheel requires estimation of the tire-road forces. Whereas directly calculating the tire-road forces is too difficult, particularly in the lateral vehicle dynamics, suitable estimator to estimate these forces designed. The simulation results using the Carsim and Simulink software indicate that the driver model performance improved 63 % when torque feedback is enabled. So the designed driver model with torque feedback has an important role in controlling and vehicle steering in conducting double lane-change maneuvers.

The global trend has shifted towards the reduction of synthetic pesticide application in agriculture in general and in postharvest in particular. Currently there is a growing interest in using natural antifungal compounds, like plant extracts for the preservation of foods. In order to develop fungicide formulation of natural origin as postharvest treatments, this study was conducted on the antifungal activity of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) extract against Penicillium italicum and P. digitatum. The experiment was set up according to a completely randomized design with 4 replications using ‘Satsuma’ mandarin. The experimental factors included extract concentration (0, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100%) and the effect of treatments (preventive or curative). The fruits were wounded on the outer surface on four locations to a depth of 2 mm and a diameter of 1 mm. Preventive treatments were carried out by dipping wounded fruit into the formulations of extract and thereafter, each wound site was infected by inoculating 20 μL of the inoculum of P. italicum or P. digitatum. For curative treatments, fruits were wounded as above, and then inoculated with P. italicum or P. digitatum (20 μL of inoculum per wound site). The results showed that the 75% or 100% pomegranate extract applied to ʻSatsuma mandarin produced a significant antimicrobal effect, reduced spore or mycelium diameter, decay severity and infection index and increased sporing time and healthly fruit percentage. Our study showed that 100% pomegranate peel extract application could decrease weight loss rate during storage of “Satsuma” mandarin fruit inoculated with spores of P. digitatum or P. italicum. The obtained results showed that the tested pomegranate extract can be effectively utilized for controlling and curing infections caused by P. italicum and P. digitatum.

Biodegradable polymers have widespread usages in the biomedical field, such as stents, sutures, scaffolds, and implants. Due to the importance of behavior of these materials exposed to environmental effects, whether in nature or the human body, extensive researches have been carried out in the last decade that most of them are experimental results and very few are theoretical results. These researches have mainly been performed for specific loading and temperature conditions and so on. For this purpose, in addition to validating the theoretical and empirical relationships derived through the experimental results, the effects of more complex conditions can be considered using the finite element method and numerical solution. In this paper, an analytical relationship extraction method has been presented, as well as the abilities and weaknesses of biodegradable polymers have been investigated by presenting the experimental results of biodegradable polymers. A numerical and finite element analysis is also provided to analyze the behavior of biodegradable polymers. The theoretical analysis and numerical simulation of biodegradable polymers have been carried out using the neo-Hookean hyperelastic model. First, the relationship of stress, versus the stretch has been derived using the strain energy of neo-Hookean material. Next, by assuming a degradation parameter, changes in the properties of the material exposed to environmental effects, according to the time in Abaqus Umat subroutine have been applied to the model. Finally, the accuracy of the simulation has been studied by a comparison between the experimental results and theoretical analyses with numerical solutions.

This paper studies the free vibration charachterstics of post-buckled functionally graded nanocomposite annular plates reinforced by single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The analysis is performed by employing a generalized differenitail quadrature (GDQ)-type numerical technique and psedue arc-length continuation scheme. The SWCNT reinforcement is considered to be either uniformly distributed (UD) or functionally graded (FG) in the thickness direction. The material properties of functionally graded carbon nanotube reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) plates are estimated using an equivalent continuum model based on the modified rule of mixture. The vibration problem is formulated on the basis of the first-order shear deformation theory for moderately thick laminated plates and von Kármán geometric nonlinearity. By employing Hamilton’s principle and a variational approach, the governing equations and the associated boundary conditions (BCs) are derived which are then discretized via the GDQ method. The postbuckling characteristics of FG-CNTRC annular plates are investigated by plotting the equilibrium postbuckling path as the load-deflection curves. Thereafter, the free vibration behavior of FG-CNTRC annular plates in pre- and post-buckled states is examined. Effects of different parameters including type of BCs, CNT volume fraction, outer radius-to-thickness ratio and inner-to-outer radius ratio are investigated in detail.

The using of soil conditioners to water and soil conservation is essential and also, the effect study of soil moisture on the soil conservation process and its role on changing runoff, soil erosion and sediment yield is necessary for understanding and simulating the hydrologic response of soil. Therefore, the present study was carried with the aim of investigating the effect of biochar with amount of 1.6 t ha-1 on the components of  time to runoff, runoff volume, runoff coefficient, soil loss and sediment concentration in different soil moisture including air-dried, 15, 20 and 30 percent with three replications in plot scale. The results showed that after application of biochar conditioner, time to runoff compared with control treatment at soil moistures of air-dried of 15, 20 and 30 percent happened later 66.66, 186.6, 150.5, and 475.47 respectively. The results also showed that the runoff volume at soil moistures of air-dried of 15, 20 and 30 percent decreased 44.49, 55.65, 36.47 and 41.08 percent, respectively, and the runoff coefficient reduced 55.71, 66.39, 48.44 and 37.82 percent, respectively. The adding biochar caused the decreasing soil loss with rates of 91.19, 85.055, 85.63 and 88.066 percent, respectively, and the sediment concentration with amounts of 84.19, 66.53, 76.57 and 79.59 percent, respectively. Also the results showed that the changes of soil moisture had the significant effect on changing the time to runoff, runoff volume, and soil loss and sediment concentration in level of 99 percent.

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important causes of infections in hospitals. Although vancomycin is often prescribed for the treatment of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) isolates remain a major problem in hospitals. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant S. aureus isolates and also vanA gene in these clinical isolates in a hospital in Mazandaran Province, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, a total number of 60 S. aureus samples were identified from different clinical specimens after standard biochemical and microbiological tests. Disk agar diffusion test using Kirby-Bauer method was applied for antibiotics against S. aureus isolates. The presence of vanA gene was investigated in VRSA and intermediate resistance (VISA) isolates by PCR method using specific primers. Over 40% of isolates were resistant to commonly-used antibiotics, including gentamicin (46.67%), ceftazidime (45%) and carbenicillin (43.34%). Only few, however, were sensitive to gentamicin (33.33%) and ceftazidime (35%). Vancomycin was the most effective antibiotic against S. aureus isolates (56.66% sensitivity). Eleven isolates (18.34%) were resistant (VRSA) and 15 isolates (25%) were intermediate resistance (VISA) to vancomycin. Molecular analysis of vanA gene in 11 VRSA and 15 VISA showed that 8 VRSA (72.72%) and 6 VISA (40%) isolates were positive for vanA gene. The incidence of VRSA and VISA strains, as well as the frequency of vanA gene in these isolates are high and emerging in Mazandaran hospitals. There is a need to keep the emergence and spread of these strains to a minimum level.

Ammonium Perchlorate (AP) is one of the most important oxidizer in composite solid propellants. Therefore, synthesis and application of nanoparticles as catalyst for improving thermal decomposition of AP is an important issue in catalysis research. There are a lot of nanomaterials for the thermal decomposition of AP such as nano metal particles, metal oxides, metals salts, and organometallic compounds. In recent years, in order to enhance catalytic activity, nanoparticles deposited on the carbon supports (Such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, graphene aerogels, etc.)to increase active surface and prevent agglomeration of nanoparticles. The synergistic effect between nanoparticles and supports based carbon can enhance catalytic activity . These additives can enhance the burning rate and combustion efficiency of the corresponding solid propellants by changing the thermal conductivity, energy barrier of thermolysis, heat of reaction, and gas-phase reaction mechanisms of the main ingredients of AP. In this paper, the effects of nano metals and nano metal oxides on the thermal decomposition of AP are reviewed and then the effect of these additives on supports based carbon is investigated.

In recent years, the utilization of clean energies, especially solar energy, has increased dramatically due to their advantages over fossil fuels. This increase has led to a sharp rise in research and development activities in order to improve and optimize the energy harvesting possesses. The installation of photovoltaic power plants is the most common method for converting solar energy to electricity. However, the performance of the photovoltaic systems is extensively a function of environmental conditions such as solar radiation, ambient temperature, wind, humidity, and dust. In this regard, regions with high solar potential such as the Middle East and North Africa are favorable for the installation of photovoltaic plants. However, these regions are typically considered to be arid and deserted areas, in which the dust activities would significantly affect the performance of photovoltaic panels. In such a region, which is repeatedly faced with dust activities and aerosol dispersion, the accumulation of dust on the surface of panels is much more serious. Therefore, understanding the various dust particles removing methods from the surface of photovoltaic panels is crucial in such regions. The present study conducted a comprehensive review of the related literature in the field of photovoltaic panels cleaning methods. It was shown that these methods could be divided into four categories of natural, mechanical and electromechanical, electrostatic protection, and utilization of micro and nanoscale coatings. Furthermore, in order to provide a deeper insight into the optical and thermal modeling of photovoltaic panels and dust impacts, the related governing equations were provided. Moreover, the chemical and physical properties of accumulated dust on panels such as its size and morphology were described in detail. Investigating the related literature shows the urgent need for further research in this area, especially in the climate of Iran. The results of the current study can serve as a thorough reference for researchers, designers, and engineers who deal with photovoltaic systems in regions struggling with dust events such as the Middle East and North Africa.

 Two-dimensional materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides TMDCs with direct band gaps have opened a new horizon for application in photonics and optoelectronic elements. Of various TMDCs, the WSe2 monolayer is chosen to study its absorption in the presence of the gold as a plasmonic layer and SiO2 as the spacer layer with alternative layer’s positions. Optical properties of these structures are calculated based on the transfer matrix method, TMM, in the visible wavelength region. We found that the presence of the spacer layer between the WSe2 and gold layer enhances the absorption significantly. In an optimal design and in the wavelength of 324 nm, while thickness of the spacer layer is 38 nm, the absorption is reached to 97. Our findings can be applied for designing any desirable optical absorbers for high performance photovoltaic devices.

Drought stress is one of the most important limiting factors for cultivation and production of grapes in the world and Iran. To study the effect of drought stress on some physiological traits of three cultivars, i.e. ‘Fakhri’, ‘Molaei’ and ‘Ghalati’, a factorial experiment in completely randomized design with three soil water potential treatments. i.e. -0.2 (control), -0.7 and -1.2 MPa was implemented in greenhouse conditions in 2016. In this study, non- grafted grape vines were placed in large 26-liter pots filled with a clay loam textured soil. According to the results of this study, both levels of stress had a significant effect on dry matter to leaf area ratio, cell membrane stability, chlorophyll, proline, and soluble carbohydrates concertation, leaf relative water content, catalase and peroxidase activities. Soluble carbohydrates concentration showed a significant increase of 47 percent compared to control (10.57 mg g-1 DM) in -1.2 MPa stress level. Drought stress decreased the RWC (2 Percent) and increased proline (9 Percent) and malondialdehyde (55 percent) concentration, the peroxidase (15 to 20 percent) and catalase activity (9 Percent). The highest and the lowest chlorophyll concentrations were observed in ‘Ghalati’ (1.63 mg g-1 FM) and ‘Fakhri’ (1.31 mg g-1 FM), respectively. In conclusion, ‘Ghalati’ cultivar had higher potential to withstand drought stress conditions than ‘Molaei’ and ‘Fakhri’ cultivars.

Kinematic and Kinetic Modeling of a 3PRS mechanism is performed in this paper and its related controller is designed according to Computed Torque Method (CTM). This mechanism is a kind of spatial parallel robot with 6 DOFs, which is controlled using three active prismatic joints and three passive revolute joints and thus the system is categorized as constrained mechanism. Kinematic modeling of the robot is performed using Homogenous transformation matrix and its related Jacobian matrix is exracted. Therefore the position and velocity relation between the joint space and workspace are provided both in its direct and inverse modes. Dynamic equation of the system is also derived using Lagrange equation in the joint space of the robot and considering Lagrange multipliers in order to engage the related constraints of the system. Thus both of forward and inverse kinetic of the system are solved for the presented system. Finally, by the aid of the extracted dynamic equation, the robot is controlled using Computed Torque Method (CTM) equipped by a PD controller for compensatingthe uncertainties and disturbances. All of the modeling are verified by simulating the equations in MATLAB and comparing the direct and inverse modes. It is shown that using the extracted modeling and the designed controller for this parallel robot, the desired path can be easily tracked within the workspace of the robot.

In this study, the effect of salinomycin and lasalocid on coccidian oocyte shedding was investigated in 6 groups of broilers. The groups 1 and 2 received lasalocid, and the groups 3 and 4 received salinomycin. In addition to the reception of medication, the groups 2 and 4 challenged with suspension containing 4 common Eimeria species when 14 days old. Group 4 as negative control, did not receive any medication and did not challenge with Eimeria, as well. The group 6, as positive control, only challenged with Eimeria mixture. The number of fecal oocytes was counted 7, 14 and 21days after inoculation in all groups. Moreover, the feed consumption, feed conversion rate and body weight increase was cumulatively assayed and compared during the breeding period. The comparison of oocyte shedding amount among the groups receiving oocyte and medication indicated that minimum oocyte shedding was observed in broilers receiving salinomycin and lasalocid and the continuous consumption of these medications led to the reduction of oocyte shedding. Furthermore, maximum body weight increase, minimum feed consumption and minimum feed conversion rate were associated with the salinomycin and lasalocid receiving groups. Also, there was no statistically significant difference between salinomycin and lasalocid medications. Thus, it might be suggested that salinomycin or lasalocid may reduce the oocyte shedding and improve growth indices in broilers infected by the Eimeria species which are widespread in Iran.

This research examines the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between Holland's personality characteristics and the entrepreneurial conduct of students at Quchan University of Advanced Technologies Engineering. The method of research is the modeling of descriptive, correlational and structural equations. The statistical population in 2016-2017 is all students at Quchan University of Advanced Technologies Engineering and numbered 713 individuals. 250 randomly samples were chosen in this study based on the Cochran formula. Zampetakis & Moustakis (2007), Holland Questionnaire's Personality Types (1958) and Muris' Self-Efficacy Scale (2001) were the instruments used. Coefficient of correlation of Pearson and modeling of the structural equation were used to evaluate the data. In all analyses, SPSS-22 and AMOS-22 software have been used. The results demonstrated that self-efficacy is directly related to entrepreneurial conduct and plays a mediating role in the connection between Holland's personality traits and entrepreneurial behavior. (χ2=0.20, GFI=0.91, AGFI=0.93,CFI=0.91,PNFI=0.92, RMR=0.10, RMSEA=0.06(.In other words, with the Enter of self-efficacy in the equation, the appeal of people to entrepreneurial conduct becomes greater regardless of Holland's personality kinds. We, therefore, need to develop and reinforce the behavioral features of Holland's personality kinds and self-efficacy in order to develop entrepreneurial behavior.

Soil moisture content (SMC) is one of the most significant variables in drought assessment and climate change. Near-real time and accurate monitoring of this quantity by means of remote sensing (RS) is a useful strategy at regional scales. So far, various methods for the SMC estimation using a RS data have been developed. The use of spectral information based on a small range of electromagnetic spectrum in the form of a single index cannot be a suitable way to estimate the moisture content in the optical and thermal RS. Single use of each index has its own limitations. These limitations can include the effect of atmospheric conditions, solar illumination geometry, topographic conditions and soil characteristics. Therefore, the use of all potential of the electromagnetic spectrum (visible to short-wave infrared bands) in the form of regression combinations of spectral indices might be useful in improving the accuracy of SMC estimation. In this study, at first, the correlation of 20 indices commonly used in soil moisture estimation studies with in situ soil moisture measurements were evaluated. In the next step, based on the correlation results, the indices gradually were added into the soil moisture linear regression and the accuracy of each stage was evaluated. The best SMC estimation model was included the linear regression made of LST, VSDI, NDWI and SASI indices. This ended up with and improvement accuracy (RMSE = 0.048). Soil texture is one of the most important factors in the estimation of SMC by means of RS data especially in optical and thermal regions of spectrum. On the other hand, due to the fact that the soils have different levels of porosities, it seems that the SMC modelling should be based on soil texture. Therefore, the SMC model was evaluated for three dataset, medium textured, moderately coarse texture and coarse texture soils. The results showed that the medium texture soils have a profound relationship with in situ measured compared to coarse texture soils (RRMSE=29%…, RRMSE=0.032). On the other words, the SMC model is not generalizable for all soil types. The results showed an inverse relationship between the accuracy in the SMC estimation and the soil particle size. In other words, the accuracy of the SMC model decreased by the increase in soil particle size. In the case of medium texture soils, better response to the SMC estimation have been seen in optical bands. Coarse texture soils such as sandy soil, because of porosity, water penetrates rapidly and freely inside the soil due to the force of gravity and show a lower water content capacity. On the contrary, medium texture soils have the ability to retain more water in their textures and the length of capillary rise in these soils is greater than those of coarse texture soils. Thus, moisture variations in this type of soils have a greater effect on the soil spectral responses compared to the coarse texture soils where the results of the SMC modelling for loamy medium texture soils approves this.

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between conflict of laws and conflict of courts. One of the most fundamental parts of private international law is related to the relationship between conflict of laws and conflict of the courts and the regulations present in this field. In this paper, we examine the relationship between conflict of laws and conflicts of courts and related issues and regulations. In domestic law, the jurisdiction of the judge and court is also discussed, which is called intrinsic competence or relative competence, and it is the personal residence that clarifies this competence. In the event of a conflict of laws, it is important that the national court may have jurisdiction, but this competence will not result in the application of national law. The relationship between conflicts of laws and conflicts of courts manifests in a number of ways; the shared aspects of the conflicts of laws and the conflicts of courts, the illumination aspects between the conflict of laws and the conflict of courts, the mutual impact of the conflict of laws and the conflict of courts will be examined. The present study concluded that in the relationship between the conflict of laws and the conflict of courts, solving the problem of the conflict of courts is prior to solving the conflict of laws.

Trust is an essential factor in many kinds of human interactions, allowing people to act under uncertainty and with the risk of negative consequences. In electronic commerce (EC) because the product not introduced like traditional business, the role of building trust is more prominent so that the trust between stores and customers in e-commerce can build relationships based on mutual trust and create important and positive impact on intention to purchase the product. Trust has an important influence on electronic customers activities and thereby on e-commerce success especially in B2C (business to consumer) model. Many factors influence the level of trust in the EC. One of the key factors to promote the level of trust is vendor's web site.The role of vendor's web site as the interface that is directly associated with online customer and as the symbol for the introduction of the vendor and the products is very critical. The rationale behind this approach is to gain insight into how and why people trust or distrust a website and to gather information about website characteristics related to trust and distrust. The statistical population of this research are all Iranian users of electronic stores and the sample size is 384. In the process of research, the theoretical model of research includes the impact of four factors which are electronic store, security, website content and structure on trust and distrust. The model variables are identified and asked in form of a questionnaire through members of the sample. After data collection we evaluate research model by using structural equation with SmartPLS 2.0 software. The research results confirmed the impact of all four factors on trust and distrust. Ultimately these factors are ranked in terms of impact on the trust and distrust. The most important factor to build online trust was identified security while electronic store was the most effective factor on distrust

Recognition of source areas of sand dunes is very important in wind erosion control projects. Due to the difficulties in application of traditional methods in recognition and determination of the sediment source apportionment, fingerprinting method (source identification), as an alternative and suitable method has been considered in several studies. This method, determines the source areas of sediment using physical and chemical characteristics of sediments, rocks and soils of different sources. In the current research, sediment production share of these sources is determined through the use of appropriate combination of separation properties of sediment. Furthermore, using appropriate combination of geochemical elements capable of isolating different land uses, the contribution of each land use to the production of sand dunes was determined in Gachin, Iran. Initially, 28 samples were taken from the possible sources of sediment and sand dunes, and then statistically investigated through analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis to identify the optimal combination of tracing tracers. The results revealed that of the all tracers, P, Na and Mg were the optimal combination for differentiating land uses in the region. Outputs of Composite Multivariate method showed that the percentage contribution of pasture land, agricultural land, forest planting, and bare land appeared to be 31/25, 2/85, 2/85 and 63/05, respectively. The relative error of the hybrid model to estimate the contribution of different applications in the production of sediment was equal to 7/65 % with a correlation coefficient of 92/35. In conclusion, considering the relative error and capabilities of fingerprinting technique, it has been demonstrated that this technique has an acceptable performance for the sediment source apportionment.

Livestock graze is one of the significant factors affecting the structure and dynamicity of rangeland ecosystems. That is why analyzing the impact of grazing on the species diveristy indice of the vegetation appears essential. Species diversity is composed of two interrelated indices: species richness and species evenness. Evenness relates to the distribution of the species in the environment and richness stands for the number of species in the sampling plots. Considering the critical role of both indices in determining the species diversity, the ecologists are interested in analyzing the diversity indice in a way that the contribution of each of these two indices in determining the species diversity is identified. The new approach designed for so doing is called SHE Analysis. To determine the role of richness and evenness indices in diversity index in the rangelands of Nodooshan region in Yazd Province, a total of 108 random- systematic plots of 2 m2 were laid out in line with the grazing gradient. In each plot, the percentage of canopy cover by species was estimated and then the richness and evenness were counted in grazing gradient (i.e., light, moderate and heavy grazing). The results revealed that, in all three grazing intensities in the gradient, the richness indice (LnS) played a more significant role in determining the diversity compared to the evenness indice (LnE).

In order to evaluate the role of paclobutrazol (PBZ) and prohexadione-calcium (ProCa) in reduction of vegetative growth and improvement of reproductive growth of strawberry (cultivar Paros), a 4-replicate completely randomized design was carried out in greenhouse. ProCa in three concentrations of 0, 100 and 150 mg L-1 and PBZ in four concentrations of 0, 60, 90 and 120 mg L-1 were sprayed on the strawberry plants in two stages (four weeks after planting and three weeks after the first stage). The results showed that the application of PBZ, ProCa and also their interaction had a significant effect on plant height, plant fresh weight, petiole length, specific leaf weight, root weight ratio, crown number, fruit number, fruit yield and harvest index. Application of 120 mg L-1 of PBZ without the use of ProCa resulted in the lowest plant height. The interaction of 100 mg L-1 of ProCa and 60 mg L-1 PBZ resulted in the highest number of flowers and crowns. The use of these retardants did not have a significant effect on fruit weight. The effect of ProCa and its interaction with PBZ was significant on the number of flowers and the interaction of PBZ and ProCa was significant on fruit set. Treatment with 100 mg L-1 ProCa without PBZ was the most effective treatment on increasing fruit set. In general, the results showed that the use of retardants reduced the vegetative growth and increased reproductive growth of the Paros strawberry genotype. The concentration of 100 mg L-1 ProCa and 60 mg L-1 PBZ was the most effective treatment for increase in reproductive growth of the examined strawberry cultivar.

Conventional tillage systems disturb the soil in the long term and obstruct farmland sustainability. Hence, adoption of conservation tillage systems, for example no tillage and reduced tillage has been widely accepted in the last two decades.
The use of chemical fertilizers has increased in intensive farming systems, but this brings with environmental problems. Nowadays, due to the problems of chemical fertilizers, the use of organic fertilizers such as manure and biochar has been more prevalent in agriculture. Biochar is the product of incomplete combustion of biomass in the absence of oxygen. Its presence in the soil is reported to improve physical and chemical properties and crop yield. In order to evaluate the effect of nutrition management on yield and yield components of corn (Zea mays L.) under different tillage systems, a field experiment was carried out at research farm of Shahrood University of Technology in 2015. The experiment was conducted as a split plot arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main plots were tillage systems (conventional tillage and reduced tillage) and subplots were control, chemical fertilizer (300 kg.ha-1 urea and 100 kg.ha-1 triple superphosphate), manure (20 t.ha-1), biochar (20 t.ha-1), chemical fertilizer + manure (150 kg.ha-1 urea and 50 kg.ha-1 triple superphosphate and 10 t.ha-1 of manure), chemical fertilizer + biochar (150 kg.ha-1 urea and 50 kg.ha-1 triple superphosphate and 20 t.ha-1 biochar) and manure + biochar (20 t.ha-1 biochar and 10 t.ha-1 of manure). After adding manure, biochar and triple superphosphate, corn was planted on 10 days and urea was used in stages three. At full maturity 10 plants were randomly selected and the biological yield, grain yield, 100-grain weight, ear weight, number of row per ear, number of grains per row, ear length, ear diameter, height and stem diameter were measured. The results showed that the effect of tillage systems and the interaction of tillage systems and nutrient management were not significant on any of the measured traits. Tillage systems affect yield mainly by altering water and nitrate content in soil. The water content and nitrate concentration in the soil had no significant difference between tillage systems (data not shown). As well as tillage systems are site-specific, so the degree of their success depends on soil, climate and management practices. The nutrition management had significant effect on grain nutrients, grain protein, ear characteristics, 100-grain weight, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index. The highest and lowest grain nitrogen, ear weight, biological yield and grain yield were obtained in chemical fertilizer and control, respectively. The chemical fertilizer + manure increased grain nitrogen, ear weight, biological yield and grain yield 13.89, 56.19, 47.04 and 60.41 percent compared to the control, respectively. As well as chemical fertilizer + biochar increased grain nitrogen, ear weight, biological yield and grain yield compared to control 14.81, 52.78, 42.69 and 56.32 percent, respectively. Crops respond to nitrogen fertilization mainly by increasing aboveground and root biomass production. As a result of increasing nitrogen doses, the photosynthetic activity, leaf area index (LAI) and leaf area density (LAD) increase. Providing organic matter and nutrients create better conditions for photosynthesis and plant growth. The increased maize yield in biochar amended soil could be attributed to increased nutrient availability and to improved soil physical properties indicated by decreased soil bulk density. Based on results, the effect of nutrition management was significant on height, stem diameter, grain nutrients, grain protein, ear characteristics, 100-grain weight, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index. Maximum and minimum of stem diameter, grain nitrogen, grain protein, ear characteristics, 100-grain weight, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index were obtained in chemical and control, respectively. Although using of chemical fertilizer had the highest amount of traits, it had no significant difference with chemical fertilizer + manure and chemical fertilizer + biochar. Also, there were no significant effect between conventional tillage and reduced tillage. Therefore, due to the excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer and also due to the negative effects of conventional tillage on the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil, it can be concluded that use of reduced tillage and chemical fertilizer + manure and chemical fertilizer + biochar for corn production is recommended for similar conditions with the study area to reduce both chemical fertilizer and environmental pollution.

Considering the resistance of the Plasmodium parasite (the causative agent of Malaria) to antimalarial drugs, it is essential to find an alternative medicine for treating patients. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the antimalarial effect of Zingiber Officinale hydroalcoholic extract on mice infected with Plasmodium berghei. In this experimental study, a number of 40 mice were infected with Plasmodium berghei and treated with different concentrations of the hydro-alcoholic extract of ginger plant (50, 100, 150, 200, 250 mg/ml) for four consecutive days. Toxicity testing was performed on liver and kidneys (hepatic and renal tissues) of mice. Finally, Data were statistically analyzed using the paired t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of this study showed that the hydro-alcoholic extract of ginger at a therapeutic dose of 250 mg/kg, had a suppressive effect (62%) on the growth of parasite in the mice, which was significantly different from the control group (p<0.05). The highest survival rate in the mice was at a concentration of 250 mg/kg with an average of 24± 2 days, which was significantly different from the other treatment groups (p<0.05). Comparing liver and kidney of mice with the negative control group showed that the extract had no toxicity for these organs (p=0.071). Considering the treatment effect (62%) of Ginger plant on the mice infected with Plasmodium berghei, further researches on the use of this plant in the treatment of malaria parasite with increasing the therapeutic dosage of the drug or preparation of various chloroformic and water extracts of the plant is recommended.

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of earthworm (Eisenia fetida) in diet for Oscar fish (Astronotus ocellatus) in a randomized design with three treatments in triplicates using 9 aquarium for 9 weeks. Twenty pieces of Oscar fish with average weight 3.6±0.5 g were stocked in each replication. The earthworm meal (as fed) at the levels of 0, 50 and 100% was replaced with Biomar diet in Oscar fish diet. Fish were fed with experiential diets included: 1-Biomar 2- Mixture of Biomar and earthworm meal with equal ratio 3- Earthworm meal. Daily food intake calculated by the weight of fish (3% of body weight) and fish were fed 3 times a day. Physical and chemical properties of water, such as temperature (28.2°C±0.5), oxygen (7.8ppm±0.2) and pH (8.1±0.11), were control.  At the end of study growth performance, feed utility and survival rates were measured. The highest body weight increase (173.2% (gr)±0.23), specific growth rate (2.02 (%)±0.26), average daily growth (17.4 (%)±3.15), protein efficiency ratio (1.85 (%)±0.16) and least feed conversion ratio (0.99 (%)±0.05) observed in Biomar treatment (p<0.05). But greatest survival ratio observed in diet contained earthworm powder. The results assessment showed that neither 50% nor 100% worm meal could not supply Oscar fish nutritional requirements.