najafi

Olive soft scales Euphyllura straminea Loginova and olive psyllid Euphyllura straminea Loginova are important pests of olive trees in Tarom region of Zanjan province. The use of dormant oil in winter to control of these pests is recommended based on research done in the past years. Due to reports of inefficiency of dormant oil for the control of olive soft scales and olive psyllid, this project was conducted to evaluate the results of previous findings as well as to evaluate the possibility of simultaneous control olive soft scales and olive psyllid. Experiment was carried out based on RCBD with split plot arrangement in four replications. Main factor was time of application in three levels:  1- winter 2- winter + spring and 3- spring and sub-factor was type of spraying solution in four levels:  1- dormant oil, 2- mixture of oil (1.5%) + chlorpyrifos (0.2%), 3- chlorpyrifos (0.2%), and 4- control treatment. Sampling was performed once before and 3 times including 2, 3 and 4 weeks after treatments and subsequently number of alive and dead specimens were counted. Based on results, the mixture of oil + chlorpyrifos caused 94.25 and 100% mortality and chlorpyrifos caused 85.75 and 100% mortality on olive soft scales and olive psyllid respectively in winter (preferably the second half of March in Tarom climatic conditions).

In this paper, an intelligent powerful control scheme is presented for a lower-limb rehabilitation robot. The focus of this study is on maintaining patient safety, focusing on the concept of assist as needed to improve the efficacy of robotic rehabilitation exercises and intelligent controller behavior. The proposed control scheme is consists of force field control and fuzzy logic control. Gravity compensation, friction forces, and interaction torque have been considered to the dynamic model of the system. The force field control method creates a virtual wall along the desired trajectory in the sagittal plane that can guide the patient's gait. Force field control parameters are selected using the fuzzy logic control rules o improve the concept of assist as needed for the rehabilitation robot in order to make a freedom of action for the patient. Therefore, the fuzzy logic control algorithm was proposed to improve the behavioral quality of the rehabilitation robot depending on the patient's ability in the gait process. In this regard, the proposed control scheme has been implemented for the lower-limb rehabilitation robot system. Simulation results show the efficiency of the proposed controller to improve the quality of motorized gait training.

Human being has always been looking for optimal use of his surrounding materials that has been able to invent various structures through getting inspired by nature. Some of these structures are lattice structures. Due to their lower weight, high compressive strength and high stiffness, lattice structures are widely used in various applications, including energy absorbers. A new type of lattice structure is auxetic structures that have a negative Poisson’s ratio due to their geometric structure. This characteristic has caused auxetic structures to have unique properties such as shear strength, indentation resistance, and high-energy absorption. In this study, the experimental and numerical investigation of in-plane uniaxial quasi-static loading on three auxetic structures and one non-auxetic structure have been conducted. The specimens have three different auxetic geometries including re-entrant, arrowhead and anti-tetra chiral and one honeycomb geometry that is non-auxetic. The specimens have been manufactured using additive manufacturing technology (3D printing). Experimental results were compared with finite element simulation results, which were in a good agreement. As expected, auxetic structures showed a much better performance in energy absorption compared to the honeycomb structure. So that the energy absorption of the arrowhead structure was 161% higher than the honeycomb structure.

Feminist theories, especially the existentialist theory of Simon de Beauvoir, not only has left a great impact on Western societies, has also affected the Iranian society. De Beauvoir’s definition of woman as “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman” is a statement that expresses the ontological position of feminists with regard to women. In this definition, she views the nature of woman and femininity as a social product and a historical and cultural thing, not a divine one. This kind of approach to women has many contradictions with Islamic and cultural foundations which will be discussed below from the Islamic point of view. The findings show that, while denying the constant nature of women, de Beauvoir has considered the natural and biological role of woman, such as motherhood and marriage, as an artificial, cultural, and historical issues. However, the existence of these natural and biological differences over the centuries proves a constant nature for human being which itself is an evidence against her claim.

One of the decisive factors in obtaining the desired properties in coatings is their complete curing, which necessitates the study of kinetics of curing. In recent years, many studies have been conducted on the use of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) in coatings. Creating functional groups on POSS and using it in formulation can create new or improve the properties of coatings. In this study, the cure kinetics between hydroxyl functional acrylic resin, aliphatic polyisocyanate and fluorinated POSS with terminal hydroxyl group (F-POSS-OH) was studied using both the Malek and model-free isoconversional method (Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Kissingere-Akahirae-Sunose) by DSC. The parameters of the cure kinetic equation for both systems were calculated and the effect of F-POSS-OH on the activation energy of polyurethane systems is investigated by free models. The results are shown that the m parameter in the cure kinetic equation for the coatings containing the F-POSS-OH increased, which indicates an increase in the autocatalytic effect of the curing system. Also, in the free model, the F-POSS-OH was reduced the activation energy of reaction.

The Coal Mine Methane (CMM) process involves: exploration, extraction and drainage of methane gas in underground mining during extraction process. Various factors affect the CMM operation efficiency. Investigating the relationship between these factors and their effect on the process of CMM is very important which has been less attractive to researchers so far. In this research, the effective criteria on the efficiency of CMM were identified using previous studies and expert opinions. Then, the criteria were classified in different levels using the Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM) method. Then, the underlying relationships between the variables were determined using the experience and practical knowledge of the experts. Finally, a multi-level structural model was created. The results of this study indicated that the coal rank, geomechanical parameters and technical specifications of drilling holes of gas drainage are in the first level with the maximum impact on the process of CMM of underground coal mines. The capital and operational costs related to the CMM process are also at the fifth level of the model and have the least effect on CMM operation. Eventually, by charting the “Matrice d’Impacts Croises-Multiplication Appliqúe an Classment” (MICMAC) and its review, the categorization was done for each criterion based on the degree of influence and dependency. The results of this research can be used for management purposes and methane optimization of underground coal mines.

Gamma Coronaviruses (GCoVs) are distributed worldwide, affecting a wide range of bird species, the beluga whale, and bottlenose dolphins. Because of the limited proofreading capability in the viral encoded polymerase, they emerge genetically diverse. There has been no molecular surveillance data to describe the epidemiology of GCOVs in avian species. The present study was conducted to detect GCOVs in Tehran birds’ parks, 2015. Cloacal swabs (267 samples) from eight  different bird species ((Chickens (Gallus gallus), Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), Partridge (Perdix perdix), Quail (Coturnix coturnix), Duck (Anas platyrhynchos), Goose (Anserini),and  Guinea fowl (Numididae)) were collected, the viral RNA was extracted, the RT-PCR was performed using QIAGEN one step RT-PCR kit and the primers targeting “3'-UTR” and “Nucleocapsid” genes. The detection rate was approximately 8.99%. GCOVs were detected in the chicken, quail, pheasant, turkey, and the partridge with different prevalence rates. Phylogenetic tree based on partial nucleotide sequences of the N gene clustered the samples into two groups. It is the first report of GCOVs in non-commercial birds in Iran.  According to our results, GCOVs are circulating in different avian species, and further studies are needed to isolate these viruses and evaluate their pathogenesis.

Hematopoietic stem cells are responsible for the production of blood cells in the bone marrow. During the process of differentiation, these cells commitment to two precursor cell lines include myeloid and lymphoid cells. Various blood cells, excluded lymphocytes, generates from myeloid cells. Some patients with severe anemia or thrombocytopenia receive hematopoietic stem cell through transplantation. Finding a potential component for inducing differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells before transplantation, could be an appropriate strategy for the acceleration of blood cells production in recipient persons. Various studies indicate the ability of Curcumin for inducing of cell differentiation. This component can alter many of cellular mechanisms.

The aim of this project was to evaluate the effects of Nanocurcumin on mRNA expression levels of GATA1, GATA2, c-Myb and Hhex genes and alteration of cellular ROS in umbilical cord blood-derived hematopoietic stem cells. Nanocurcumin was synthesized from Curcumin, Oleic acid, and PEG400. The rate of Nanocurcumin delivery into the cells was also evaluated.

Our results show that intracellular ROS and expression levels of GATA1, c-Myb, and Hhex transcription factors were significantly increased after treatment with Nanocurcumin (p<0.05). These transcription factors involve in myeloid differentiation.

Enhancement of these transcription factors expression making Nanocurcumin a potential candidate for applying in myeloid differentiation media and basic and clinical studies.

In this paper, we prove that a non-Riemannian isotropic Berwald metric or a non-Riemannian (α,β) -metric admits no concurrent vector fields. We also prove that an L-reducible Finsler metric admitting a concurrent vector field reduces to a Landsberg metric.In this paper, we prove that a non-Riemannian isotropic Berwald metric or a non-Riemannian (α,β) -metric admits no concurrent vector fields. We also prove that an L-reducible Finsler metric admitting a concurrent vector field reduces to a Landsberg metric.In this paper, we prove that a non-Riemannian isotropic Berwald metric or a non-Riemannian (α,β) -metric admits no concurrent vector fields. We also prove that an L-reducible Finsler metric admitting a concurrent vector field reduces to a Landsberg metric.In this paper, we prove that a non-Riemannian isotropic Berwald metric or a non-Riemannian (α,β) -metric admits no concurrent vector fields. We also prove that an L-reducible Finsler metric admitting a concurrent vector field reduces to a Landsberg metric.

In this paper, we calculate the second virial coefficient for binary mixtures of Ar with CH4 and CO in order to evaluate the performance of equations of state (EOSs). The investigated EOSs are van der Waals (vdW), Redlich-Kwong (RK), Peng-Robinson (PR), Carnahan-Starling–van der Waals (CS-vdW) and Guggenheim-van der Waals (G-vdW) based on van der Waals model. In our work, we also use Dieterici model of EOS consists of Dieterici (D) and Dieterici-Carnahan-Starling (DCS). In this study, the ability of these EOSs to predict second virial coefficients of binary mixtures is illustrated and since these models represent two different physical attitudes of contribution of interaction between molecules to thermodynamic functions, therefor from this view point, a comparison between the two models of equations of state is also reported.

Establishment of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in plant roots can affect plant physiological and morphological characteristics and may induce tolerance to heavy metals in plants grown in polluted soils; therefore, it can play an important role in phytoremediation. In present study, to investigate the effect of mycorrhizae on alfalfa growth and Pb uptake, a factorial experiment was designed with two factor: (1) plants non-inoculated (NM) or inoculated with Rhizophagus intraradices (Ri) or Funeliformis mosseae (Fm) and (2) soil non-contaminated (Pb0) and contaminated with 200 (Pb1), 400 (Pb2) and 600 (Pb3) mg kg-1 Pb2+. All plants were evenly inoculated with Sinorhizobium meliloti. The results showed that at high levels of Pb2+, both fungi compared to the NM controls enhanced root nodulation and phosphorus nutrition. Moreover, the dry weight of shoots, leaf area and chlorophyll index of the leaves were significantly increased in mycorrhizal plants compared to the NM plants. Mycorrhizal dependency increased by four- and three-folds in Ri and Fm plants, respectively, at Pb3 level in comparison with the non-polluted condition (p < 0.05).  Moreover, Pb translocation from root to the shoot was significantly declined at Pb3 level in Ri plants by 1.75-folds as compared with NM plants (p < 0.05). The comparison of the results obtained by principal component analysis demonstrated that R. intraradices symbiosis was more efficient for host plant protection against the phytotoxic effect of Pb. These results highlight the assisting role of AM fungi in protecting plants from metal toxicity and in plant establishment in Pb polluted soils.

Hearing loss is a major concern in the patient with head and neck cancer (HNC) undergoing radiotherapy (RT) and/or chemotherapy (CHT). The present study aimed to assess the incidence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) at 6 months follow-up after RT and/or concurrent Cisplatin-based CHT. 

In this prospective study, 60 patients with histopathologically proven HNC underwent three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) (35 patients) and concurrent Cisplatin-based CHT and RT (25 patients). The status of the hearing was assessed pre-treatment (baseline), one day, 1, 3 and 6 months after treatment by pure tone audiometry (PTA) and other audiometric tests such as tympanometry (TM), acoustic reflex (AR), and speech audiometry (SA).

In the RT group, SNHL was observed in 18 patients and hearing loss occurred in 47 % (33 of 70 ears) of ears. In the chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) group, SNHL was discerned in 20 patients and hearing loss appeared in 88 % (44 of 50 ears) of ears. Perforation of the tympanic membrane occurred in 2/35 patients in the RT group and 1/25 patients in the CRT group. The AR threshold (ART) of patients with CRT significantly increased compared to the RT group at the end of 6 months after treatment (P <0.05). Meanwhile, there was a significant difference in the speech discrimination score (SDS) and speech recognition threshold (SRT) between the CRT group and RT group at the 6 months after treatment (P <0.05).

The incidence of hearing loss in patients that underwent CRT was higher. The auditory system should be considered as a critical organ at risk (OAR) in treatment planning.

The post-harvest damage caused by several pests is a major problem in stored grain product industry. Recently, synthesizing NanoParticles (NPs) with plant extracts act as an alternative approach in reduction of this damage. An attempt was made to synthesize and test the mortality effect of green synthesized silver NanoParticles (AgNPs) with peels extract of sweet orange, Citrus sinensis (L.) (Rutaceae, Sapindales), against the adult tenebrionid beetle Tribolium confusum (Duval). The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized with UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction, and Transmission Electron Microscopy. Five bioassays were conducted by filter-paper residue and feeding methods with different concentrations of both green synthesizing and commercial AgNPs. Results showed that citrus extract by itself was not toxic against beetles, however, the green AgNPs showed 83-77% mortality in filter-paper residue and feeding methods. The impact of commercial AgNPs in both methods led to 75 and 40% mortality. The lowest LC50 and LT50 for green synthesized AgNPs were recorded (30.62 ppm and 9.92 day) for filter-paper residue tests. According to the results, the green silver nanoparticles, showed more efficiency than the commercial ones. This provides an evidence that green synthesized AgNPs have a great potential as an alternative option in stored products pest management.

Zeolite application to clayey soils may change potassium (K) pools distribution and its release rate. To test this hypothesis, two heavy-textured calcareous soils with different mineralogy (smectitic and mixed by XRD) from southern Iran were selected. Experiment was a completely randomized factorial arrangement. Treatments consisted of two soils and two zeolite levels (0 and 5%) and wetting-drying treatment. Soil samples were incubated in 50% of saturation percentage for 90 days. Then, three wetting-drying cycles were done on samples. Different forms of K and K release to 0.01 M CaCl2, HCl and CH3COOH by 12 successive 15 min extractions of soil samples were determined. Zeolite increased the content of different K forms in soil 1 (smectitic), while it increased soluble and exchangeable K and decreased non-exchangeable K in soil 2 (mixed mineralogy). This may be due to the high CEC (189 cmol(+)/kg) and K content (2.13% K2O) of the used zeolite. Wetting-drying cycles increased non-exchangeable K in soil 1 and exchangeable K in zeolite treated soils. CaCl2 extracted more K than HCl and CH3COOH solutions (682, 281 and 292 mg kg-1, respectively) because Ca ions are more efficient than H ions in replacing K from surface sites in the K-bearing minerals. Zeolite and wetting-drying had no effect on K release from soil 1 while they significantly decreased K release rate from soil 2.

Longwall mining is one of the methods for coal extraction with high production efficiency, which requires a lot of initial investment to equip and prepare it. In the longwall mining process, with the advance of the coal face, the roof is damaged at the back of the coal face. To protect the main tunnels and access tunnels (Gaterodas) of the mine, the stresses created from the panel extraction are utilized in two ways. The first solution, which has the most important effect on the stability of the panel, is the placement of the chain pillar and the barrier pillar, and another way of installing the support in the main tunnels to control the tunnel convergence. Therefore, it is important to determine the width of the barrier pillar, which has the highest effect on mineral productivity and the least effect on the distribution of stress around the main tunnels. The main objective of this research is to obtain the appropriate width of the barrier pillar at the end of the E3 panel in the Tabas mechanized coal mine, so that the main tunnels of the mine have the lowest convergence. The FLAC3D software was used for numerical modeling. The results of various numerical models of the advancing coal face shows that width of the barrier pillar has an effect on the distribution of stress. Finally the result shows that the suitable width of the barrier pillar is 80 meters. Also, the result of economical investigation shows that 80 m pillar width causes more than 6000 tons of coal to be extracted.

Non-compliance to gluten-free diet (GFD), due to less of knowledge and inappropriate nutritional behaviors, is associated with an increase in disease progression and long-term complications in patients with celiac. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of nursing consultation on knowledge and practice of patients with celiac for adherence to GFD.

100 patients with celiac disease participated in this clinical trial study. They were divided into two groups (control and experimental) randomly. The patient in experimental group received a nursing counseling intervention and the control group received the celiac association routine care. Data collection tool was a reasearcher-made questionnaire including demographic variables and questions for assessing knowledge and practice for adherence to GFD. Data were collected before and after 7 weeks of intervention. Data were analyzed (descriptive and analytic) using SPSS software.

Before the intervention, the level of knowledge and practice of the subjects in adherence to GFD was 91.12 ± 8.63 and 54.12 ± 5.30 in control group and 91.18 ± 9.43 and 52.94 ± 6.06 in experimental group, respectively. After counseling, there was an increase in the knowledge and practice scores in GFD adherence in the experimental group (127.58 ± 1.80 and 73.78. ± 3.24, respectively) compared to the control (92.62 ± 7.43 and 54.82 ± 6.13, respectively) (P < 0.050).

 Nursing counseling results in greater adherence to GFD by raising knowledge of patients about celiac disease and related risk factors as well as the benefits of changing behavior and performance. The importance of the role of nursing counseling in following up the GFD was emphasized in this study.

Markets have been the places where earliest human communities have formed based on essential social needs. This survey evaluated and explained the function of weekly street markets in improvement of qualitative indexes of life and conditions of livelihood in the rural families. It was an applied study in terms of objective, and a descriptive-analytical and survey study in terms of methodology. On this basis, different questions were prepared in different measuring scales (names, orders, and relative scales) within questionnaires. The statistical population included the household heads settled in the villages that had weekly street markets in three sub-districts of the studied region. In order to analyze and measure the data, correlation analysis tests such as Chi-Square and Phi-Cramer as well as mean value comparison tests of Freidman and Kruskal Wallis were used. The study results showed that there was a significant relationship at a confidence level of 99 percent between formation and establishment of the weekly street markets in some of the villages and the improvement of economic and social indexes such as entrepreneurship, income increase, job variety, reduction of expenses, and increase in motivation to stay in the villages. In addition, the results from Freidman and Kruskal Wallis tests on the comparison of physical development indexes in different villages showed that establishment of the weekly markets had significant differences in improvement and elevation of some physical factors; accordingly, to an acceptable extent, improvement of physical situations in the villages depended on the formation of markets in the studied rural areas.

In today's world, there is not a country that can provide all the needs of its society without the products and services of other countries. As a result, exchanging goods and services between countries is based on the relative and absolute advantage. By increasing private sector investment and research on plants breeding in developed countries, intellectual property rights have gained special importance in the seed sector. Regarding Iran as a major country in importing seeds, especially the import of vegetable seeds, it is necessary to study the Factors affecting Seed Import to Iran .The present study seeks to answer the following questions: What are the factors affecting seed import to Iran? What is the implication of intellectual property treaties for Seed Import to Iran? And whether joining to international intellectual property treaties, the aspects related to intellectual property rights which is one of the conditions for joining to World Trade Organization or the acceptance of a new plant protection treaty will increase the seed import to selected countries, including Iran? Data from 10 countries in the period from 2005 to 2016 have been used to answer this question. Selected countries, including Iran and nine other countries with developmental level close to Iran, were able to access the data they needed. These include Azerbaijan, Colombia, Egypt, China, Indonesia, Peru, South Africa, Malaysia, Brazil and Iran.

This study used the gravity regression model to investigate the effects of membership in the law of intellectual and commercial law on the seeds of vegetables in Iran. Given the goal of studying the bilateral trade of countries in different years in gravity pattern, using combined data, it is possible to determine the specific trade effects of each pair of countries. But there is no such information about crosssectional data. In this way, the relationship between other variables at any given time can be measured in a concrete way. In order to determine these factors, panel data including import variables, distance between countries, GDP per capita, population of selected countries, cultivated area, and virtual variables of membership or non-membership in any intellectual property treaties in Trade and conservation of new plant varieties from 2005 to 2016 have been used.

According to the results of the Hausman test, random effects method has been used to estimate the model. In Brazil, after joining the new plant protection treaty, imports did not vary much and kept their downward trend. Peru has experienced a significant increase over a short period after joining the new plant protection treaty. Concerning the acceptance of the treaty, the aspects related to intellectual property rights for both Egyptian and Indonesian countries were regarded as an example. In Egypt, the import of vegetable seeds has been very short and temporary. Similarly, there is no significant change in the import of vegetable seeds for Indonesia. The results showed that the distance has a negative and significant effect on seed imports. Gross domestic product and population variables have a positive and significant effect on seed imports. Iran membership in each of the international treaties has a positive and significant effect on the seed imports.

This study examined the factors affecting seed import by Iran and selected countries. The results showed that, as expected, the distance variable with the negative coefficient was significant, which means that by increasing in distance, the amount of seed imports will decrease. Population variable obtained positive and significant coefficients. That denotes that by increase in population of Iran, the amount of seed imports into Iran will increase. The other variables in this study are not significant. The membership variables in each of the treaties, the new plant cultivar conservation treaty, and the aspects related to intellectual property rights treaty are statistically significant with positive coefficient. That means membership in intellectual property treaties has a positive effect on the amount of seed imports and the amount of increase in imports depends on the degree of implementation of the commitments and adherence to the rules of these treaties. Therefore, with regard to the positive effect of joining to international treaties on seed imports, it is suggested that before joining to international treaties strengthening the infrastructure in seed industry and improving the competitiveness of this industry against seed imports should have happened.

Accumulation of polyethylene (PE) wastes has become a major environmental problem. The objective of this research was to assess the potential for microbial degradation of sun-treated low-density PE as a natural way to eliminate PE wastes in semi-industrial condition. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films were exposed to one month of sun radiation treatment and then cultured with two PE-degrading bacteria (Sphigobacterium moltivorum IRN11 and Delftia tsuruhatensis IRN27) in aerobic bioreactors over 100 days. Weight loss percentage of the PE and the culture pH were measured. Also, Changes in the chemical structure of the LDPE were assessed by FT-IR and surface erosion and microbial layer formation by bacterial activity was observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy. Partial increases in the culture pH were recorded during the incubation period. The weight loss percentage for T-LDPE samples cultured with Sphigobacterium moltivorum IRN11 and Delftia tsuruhatensis IRN27 was 3.31%±0.013 and 3.98%±0.025 in TLDPE samples, respectively, and functional carbonyl-groups in the TLDPE samples decreased significantly due to bacterial hydrolysis. SEM images showed the different microbial layer formation on sun-treated low-density polyethylene (T-LDPE) for both bacteria. Our results suggest that exposure of LDPE to sun radiation had a significant effect on biodegradation of Ld-PE films and that the two bacteria tested were able to enhance the biodegradation the T-LDPE.

This paper presented a new two-stage green supply chain network, in which includes two innovations. Firstly, it presents a new multi-objective model for a two-stage green supply chain problem that considers the amount of shortage in the network, reworking, and carbon-trading cost produced in the green supply chain. Secondly, because of the complexity of this model, it uses a new multi-objective interior search algorithm (MOISA) to solve the presented model. The obtained results of the proposed algorithm were compared with the results of other multi-objective meta-heuristics, namely MOPSO, SPEA2, and NSGA-II. The outcomes demonstrate that the proposed MOISA gives better Pareto solutions and indicates the superiority of the proposed algorithm in most cases. This paper presented a new two-stage green supply chain network, in which includes two innovations. Firstly, it presents a new multi-objective model for a two-stage green supply chain problem that considers the amount of shortage in the network, reworking, and carbon-trading cost produced in the green supply chain. Secondly, because of the complexity of this model, it uses a new multi-objective interior search algorithm (MOISA) to solve the presented model. The obtained results of the proposed algorithm were compared with the results of other multi-objective meta-heuristics, namely MOPSO, SPEA2, and NSGA-II. The outcomes demonstrate that the proposed MOISA gives better Pareto solutions and indicates the superiority of the proposed algorithm in most cases.

In this study, calcium-phosphate (Ca-P) and graphene oxide (GO)/ calcium-phosphate (Ca-P) coatings were electrodeposited with different pulsed current densities on TiO2 nanotubes. Results showed that the co-electrodeposition rate in the presence of GO, especially at low current densities of 2 and 5 mA/cm2, significantly decreased. This might be due to the large size of GO sheets as compared to the size of calcium and phosphate ions. The SEM micrographs revealed that the surface of the anodized titanium could not be completely covered with the GO/Ca-P coatings applied at such low current densities. However, producing a considerable amount of H2 gases at higher current densities of 10 and 15 mA/cm2 caused the formation of a coating with poor quality. Regarding this, increasing the off part of the pulsed current by changing duty cycle from 0.3 to 0.1 led to the co-electrodeposition of GO/Ca-P coating with an acceptable quality. The FTIR and micro-Raman analyses also demonstrated that the current density of 15 mA/cm2 was more favorable to apply the coating predominantly consisting of hydroxyapatite (HA) phase. At last, studying the ability of apatite mineralization in simulated body fluid (SBF) displayed that both Ca-P and GO/Ca-P coatings electrodeposited at the current density of 15 mA/cm2 and duty cycle of 0.1 are acceptable for biomedical applications.

Ajowan (Trachyspermum copticum L.), belonging to the Apiaceae family, is remarked as an important pharmaceutical and economical product. In order to determine the most important traits affecting grain yield, a split plot experiment was conducted in two conditions of irrigation (normal and drought stress) as the main factor and 36 ecotypes of ajowan, belonging to nine different provinces of Iran, as a sub plot based on a randomized complete block design with two replications in 2015 and 2016 crop year in Kerman. The results of linear multiple regression analysis with stepwise method showed that in drought stress condition, number of umbrellas per plant, number of seeds per umbrella and essential oil yield, and in normal irrigation conditions, biological yield, 1000-seed weight and seed number per umbrella had the highest effect on grain yield, explaining 87% and 99% of the changes, respectively. Based on the results of path analysis, traits including number of umbels per plant under stress conditions and biological yield under normal conditions had the most direct effect on the grain yield and were recognized as the most important components of the grain yield. Therefore, these traits can be considered as main appropriate criteria for facilitating the indirect selection process and evaluating the seed yield potential in ajowan breeding programs.

Chemical fertilizers can supply all the nutrients required by plants, but their high consumptions cause environmental pollution and increased agricultural production costs. Organic fertilizers can improve the biological, physical, and chemical properties of soil and improve soil fertility and productivity. However, these fertilizers alone cannot provide all the requirements of plants for different nutrients. In addition, these fertilizers are not sufficiently available to farmers everywhere. So, in order to increase effectiveness of organic and chemical fertilizers, to decrease environmental pollutions and to achieve sustainable agriculture, integrated application of organic and chemical fertilizers is recommended. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are essential elements for plant nutrition and growth. Wheat as a strategic crop is the most important cereal and plays a very important role in human and animal nutrition and health. The deficiencies of N, P and K in the most agricultural soils often reduce the growth and yield of wheat. Therefore, the appropriate concentrations of these nutrients in wheat seed, leaf and stem are important not only for the optimum growth of the wheat plant and its quality improvement but also for the health of humans and animals. This research work was carried out to study the effects of combining farmyard manure (FYM), municipal solid waste compost (MSWC) and municipal sewage sludge compost (MSSC) with different levels of urea on seed, leaf and stem yields of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar Alvand and concentrations of N, P and K in seed, leaf and stem in a randomized complete blocks design with 15 treatments and three replications under field conditions at Khalatposhan Agricultural Research Station, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran. The treatments included were: 1) control (without fertilizers), 2) 150 kg urea/ha, 3) 300 kg urea/ha, 4) 30 ton MSWC/ha, 5) 30 ton MSWC/ha + 150 kg urea/ha, 6) 60 ton MSWC/ha, 7) 60 ton MSWC/ha + 150 kg urea/ha, 8) 30 ton MSSC/ha, 9) 30 ton MSSC/ha + 150 kg urea/ha, 10) 60 ton MSSC/ha, 11) 60 ton MSSC/ha + 150 kg urea/ha, 12) 30 ton FYM/ha, 13) 30 ton FYM/ha + 150 kg urea/ha, 14) 60 ton FYM/ha, 15) 60 ton FYM/ha + 150 kg urea/ha. The size of each plot was 2.0m × 1.9m. At the end of growth period, the plants were harvested and different sections of wheat plant (seed, leaf and stem) were separated and the yield of each section was determined. The concentration of N in seed, leaf and stem were then measured by Kjeldahl method. After dry ashing of the seed, leaf and stem samples, the concentrations of P and K in their extracts were measured by spectrophotometer and flame photometer instruments, respectively. The results showed that application of 300 kg urea/ha increased the wheat grain yield and concentrations of N, P and K in seed, leaf and stem but it decreased the stem yield. Application of 150 kg urea/ha had no significant effect on the leaf yield but its integration with 60 ton MSWC/ha significantly increased the leaf yield of wheat. The combining of 150 kg urea with 30 and 60 ton FYM, MSWC and MSSC per hectare increased yields of wheat stem and seed and their N and P concentrations as compared with the control and application of solely organic fertilizers. The use of FYM, MSWC and MSSC significantly increased the wheat grain yield and concentrations of N, P and K in seed, leaf and stem relative to the control but their effects on yields of leaf and stem depended on the type and rate of organic fertilizer. The highest yields of grain, stem and leaf and the highest concentrations of N, P and K in wheat grain, stem and leaf were observed under combined application of 150 kg urea and 60 ton FYM, MSWC and MSSC per hectare. The minimum yields of seed, leaf and stem and the minimum concentrations of N, P and K in different organs of wheat plant were observed in the control treatment. The average wheat yield component was in the order of seed > stem > leaf. The mean concentrations of N, P and K in different sections of wheat were in the order of seed > leaf > stem, seed > leaf > stem and stem > leaf > seed, respectively. The grain yield of wheat had positive and significant correlations (p<0.01) with concentrations of N, P and K in different organs of wheat, which indicates the role of N, P and K nutrition of wheat plant in increasing its seed yield. The wheat seed had higher concentrations of N and P and lower concentration of K compared to leaf and stem. In general, in order to decrease nitrogen fertilizers use, enhance N, P and K nutrition of wheat plant, improve wheat seed quality, decline environmental pollution and increase wheat yield, application of 150 kg urea and 60 ton manure per hectare is recommended. However, if there is not enough manure, 150 kg urea and 60 ton municipal solid waste compost or municipal sewage sludge compost per hectare can be applied at similar conditions.

In this study, the performance of a wind turbine is compared with a bare one using wind tunnel results. wind turbines, which consist of a diffuser surrounding the rotor. The duct makes more air flow in rotor plain and as a result augments power production. The blade was fabricated, using armed by glass fiber. Duct is formed sheet metal rolling in slope to have an acceptable appearance. According to BEM design, predicted power the bare turbine is 300W in wind velocity 10 m/s considering due to bearing resistant, rotor inertia, and generator efficiency. Wind tunnel investigation revealed 165W for The evaluation of the system in the wind tunnel showed that the power augmentation of the system compared to the bare one was 37% higher on average. The maximum power augmentation of the turbine was 286W. The rotor 61% more than the bare turbine, which increased the speed of the tip of the blade.

In this paper, a probabilistic model for joint scheduling of energy and reserve (spinning and non-spinning) of an islanded microgrid is proposed considering demand response programs and security constraints. The objective of the problem is to maximize the expected profit of the microgrid operator with considering voltage and frequency security constraints. The presence of stochastic sources such as renewable resources and loads made the nature of the scheduling problem stochastic which is required to be formulated and solved in a scenario-based model. In the proposed method, to minimize the adverse effects of unfavorable scenarios, the cconditional value at risk (CVaR) criteria is used in the probabilistic model. In this method, the sensitivity of operator’s profit and the microgrid security margin in the cases with/ without the participation of responsive loads are assessed with considering risk criteria. Using this method, makes the operator capable to choose a proper risk factor as well as maximizing its expected profit and improving the security margin of voltage and frequency of the microgrid. In addition, in order to assess the system security more precisely and to determine the voltage and frequency deviations in each scenario, the AC optimal power flow (AC-OPF) is applied. Considering the security constraints of voltage and frequency simultaneously (at each hour) is a benefit of this method.