m. farhoodi

Stance detection is a recent research topic that has become an emerging paradigm  of the importance of opinion-mining. It is intended to determine the author’s views toward a specific topic or claim. Stance detection has become an important module in numerous applications such as fake news detection, argument search, claim validation, and author profiling. Despite considerable progress made in this regard in languages like English, unfortunately, we have not made good progress in some languages such as Persian, where we are confronted with a lack of datasets in this area. In this paper, two solutions are used to address this issue: 1) the use of data augmentation and 2) the application of different learning approaches (machine learning, deep learning, and transfer learning) and a meaningful combination of their outcomes. The results show that each of these solutions can not only enhance stance detection performance, but when both are combined, a very significant improvement in the results is achieved.

In recent years, studies have focused on biodegradable packaging films and increase of their antimicrobial ability. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate usability of beta-glucan to produce antimicrobial films incorporated with extracts of oak trees.

In this study, physical, mechanical, optical and antioxidant characteristics of β-glucan based films incorporated by 1, 2 and 4% of oak tree extracts were investigated. Moreover, antimicrobial effects of the prepared films on four pathogens were studied.

Results showed that by addition of oak tree extracts, film thickness and water permeability rate significantly increased and decreased, respectively. Prepared films were more flexible, while their elongation in breaks significantly decreased. Film solubility decreased with increases in quantity of the added extracts. Addition of oak tree extracts increased redness and decreased lightness and yellowness parameters. Films incorporated with the extracts showed significant increases in antioxidant characteristics. Prepared films significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited the bacterial growth.

Oak tree extracts as natural antibacterial inhibitors include good potentials to incorporate into films of packaging to extend food shelf-life, in particular the oxygen sensible foods.

Having a short postharvest life, cucumber undergoes rapid loss of quality. In this research, the effects of temperature, oxygen, and postharvest storage time on the respiration rate of Royal cucumbers were investigated. To design a Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) for cucumber in order to extend its shelf-life, a mathematical model using Michaelis–Menten’s equation, with the model constants described by means of an Arrhenius-type relationship, was applied to predict respiration rate at various temperatures (4, 10, and 20ºC) and O2 concentrations. Results revealed that all three factors affected respiration rate of the cucumbers, but the influence of temperature was most pronounced. The model was validated in a commercial passive and active MAP. The model could well predict the O2 change in the package but the modeling of CO2 change, mainly at 20ºC, was not satisfactory, which might be due to occurrence of anaerobic condition. The mathematical model was verified as long as the O2 concentration did not reach anaerobic levels at 20°C. Applying the corresponding respiration, the model will also be applicable for other variety of cucumbers with similar metabolic and respiratory behavior to design the optimal MAP conditions.

Cold plasma is a novel non-thermal technology for the food and packaging industry. In this study, the effects of argon glow discharge plasma on the mechanical properties, surface topography, chemical composition, film hydrophilicity, film solubility, and barrier properties of the starch films were examined. Plasma treatment improved Tensile Strength (TS) of the starch film. In contrast to TS, elongation at the break of the plasma-treated films remained unchanged. The surface roughness of starch film increased after plasma treatment. An apparent increase in the surface hydrophilicity was observed due to formation of oxygen-containing polar groups. FTIR analysis confirmed the increase in the oxygen containing groups in plasma-treated starch film. However, film surface hydrophilicity caused no significant change in the solubility of films. No significant difference was found in the barrier properties of the starch films. The evaluation of films modifications by glow discharge plasma will contribute to in-package decontamination studies of food products by plasma.

Clostridium septicum, the anaerobic toxigenic bacterium is the agent that causes dangerous disease in man and animals. There is a lethal toxin of the bacterium namely alpha toxin. The ɑ-toxin has hemolytic, necrotic and lethal activities. Today, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute of Iran produced the C. septicum vaccine in the form of bacterin/toxoid. Because of some problems, the vaccine needs to improve on an industrial scale. The study is going to find an appropriate supplement to improve growth and ɑ-toxin production. Three strains of C. septicum (vaccine, NH1 and NH8 strains) were cultured in the basic vaccine media. Magnesium sulfate, Copper, Ferrous, yeast extract, and trace elements plus vitamins' solution were added to the basic vaccine media in different cultures. The effect of the ingredients on the growth was measured by a spectrophotometer and the α-toxin secretion was assayed by hemolysin test. Growth of the bacterium and α-toxin secretion were increased by Magnesium (80 mg/l) in NH8 and vaccine strains significantly. The black precipitate was difficult to dissolve in magnesium media that must be solved. Trace elements plus vitamins solution mildly influence on NH1strain growth and toxin secretion. Other supplements (Cu, Fe, yeast extract) were not showen any significant changes in the growth and α-toxin production of C. septicum. Overflowing peptone (4%) in the vaccine media, fixes essentials of proteolysis activity, allows the sufficient growth and toxin production without Cu, Fe, and yeast extract. Due to essentially of Mg for growth, extra magnesium was added for improvement of media culture. The study suggests for Magnesium addition in the C. septicum vaccine media during production procedure after precipitation solving problem.

Cold plasma is an eco-friendly and non-thermal technique, which has become an important technology to change the physical and chemical features of polymers. Recently, cold plasma has been considered in the decontamination and modification of packaging materials in the food industry. Therefore, the objective of this study was to survey the effect of using low-pressure oxygen plasma treatment on the surface and physicochemical properties of starch-chitosan composite films.

The low-pressure oxygen plasma treatment of starch-chitosan composite films was carried out using a plasma cleaner system at various times (4, 8 and 12 min). Afterwards, the surface properties and physicochemical properties of untreated and plasma-treated films were compared.

The surface roughness and hydrophilicity of the films were increased after tlasma treatment. The tensile strength of the plasma-treated films was improved. Plasma treatments decreased the oxygen permeability of the films but no significant change in their water vapor permeability was observed.

In this study, although plasma treatment increased the tensile strength and decreased oxygen permeability of the films, their surface hydrophilicity was increased too. There is a need for further studies to modify the starch-chitosan composite film by plasma treatment.

Cucumber includes a short postharvest life and loses its quality fast. Novel technologies such as coating and modified atmosphere packaging are promising methods in preserving fresh products. Therefore, the aim of this study was to use a combination of chitosan coating and modified atmosphere packaging to preserve quality attributes of the cucumber Royal var. and to estimate the vegetable shelf-life.

In this study, cucumber (Royal var.) was coated using chitosan and packed under three various atmospheres of A) air; B) active MAP (10% of O2 and 5% of CO2); and C) passive MAP (21% of O2 and 0.1% of CO2). Texture firmness, total soluble solid, chlorophyll content and organoleptic properties of the cucumbers were determined at 5-day intervals during 15 days of storage at 4, 10 and 20 °C. Shelf-life of the cucumbers was modeled under various treatments.

Variance analysis showed a significant effect (P<0.05) of four factors (coating, gas concentration, temperature and time) on postharvest properties of the cucumbers. The most change in TSS was observed in Package A cucumbers stored at 20 °C. These also showed the most weight loss. At 4 and 10 °C, firmness was well preserved in Package B; in which, the coated cucumbers included the least firmness loss compared to uncoated ones. Combination of chitosan coating and modified atmosphere packaging positively affected quality parameters of the cucumbers Royal var. Relatively, effects of active MAP were significant at 10 °C. The maximum shelf life was seen for the coated samples stored in active MAP at 4 °C (17 days) following by 10 °C (15 days).

Based on the current results, combination of chitosan coating and active MAP can be suggested for the packaging of cucumbers (Royal var.).