s. ghobadi

Climate change is one of the most important challenges that influence different parts of human life. An important consequence of climate change is its effects on water resources and the occurrence of drought. Since the agricultural sector is influenced by drought, the present research aimed to evaluate the livelihood resilience of farmers to drought in Kermanshah Township, Iran. The research used both primary and secondary data. First, the drought status of Kermanshah Township was evaluated with Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Percent of Normal Index (PNI) and the Drought Indices Calculator (DIC) software package for a 51-year statistical period. Based on the results, the years 1973, 1978, 1979, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2013, and 2015 were dry. It was observed that, as we approached 2020, the number of years with a negative SPI increased. Then, the dimensions of livelihood capital were studied with the focus group method in the form of three focus groups from the perspective of 19 key experts. Data in this phase were analyzed by the content analysis method. The output of this phase was the development of a questionnaire for the final phase. Finally, to check the livelihood capitals influencing the enhancement of farmers’ resilience to drought in the region, 380 farmers were selected by the multistage sampling method. The potential of the independent variables in accounting for the variance in the farmers’ livelihood resilience was checked by stepwise multivariate linear regression. Based on the results, the variables of financial capital, social capital, and human capital with beta values of, respectively, 0.378, 0.324, and 0.152 had the greatest role in capturing the variance in farmers’ resilience to drought in Kermanshah Township.

A mathematical programming based non-parametric technique for the performance assessment of decision-makingunits (DMUs) with multiple inputs and outputs is considered in a general framework called data envelopment analysis (DEA). DEA models have been utilized for estimating the eciency scores of the DMUs with certain input-output levels. However, in the last two decades, various studies have been concentrated on the inverse DEA as an analytical framework of DEA to nd the required inputs and outputs levels for achieving a predetermined eciency target. The main aim in the inverse DEA is to estimate the inputs and/or outputs for a special DMU to attain a given eciency target while evaluating the performance of a specic DMU is the main objective in the DEA analysis. Inverse DEA has been studied from both theoretical and practical aspects including sensitivity analysis, resource allocation, preserving or improving eciency scores, and merging DMUs to achieve the predetermined eciency target. Also, inverse DEA has been employed for modeling generalized restructuring DMUs. In a generalized restructuring a set of pre-restructuring DMUs through consolidation/split to create synergy/reverse synergy, proceed with a restructuring to produce a new set of post-restructuring DMUs to achieve predened eciency targets.
This paper deals with the problem of units' restructuring using inverse data envelopment analysis (DEA). A generalized restructuring refers that a set of decision-making units based on synergies through mergers/acquisitions or reverse synergies through split, proceed with a restructuring to produce a new set of post-restructuring entities to improve eciency. The problem of units' restructuring is investigated in this paper, and to achieve a pre-specied eciency level for each post-restructuring decision-making units, models for estimating inputs (outputs) have been proposed. The most important advantages of the proposed models, compared to other the provided models, as follows: i) Due to the use of multiobjective programming (MOP) tools, allows the decision maker to pursue multiple goals in the problem of restructuring units. ii) The proposed method has less computational complexity because the number of variables is greatly reduced. In addition, a numerical example with real data is employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed models.

Considering development of dense aquaculture systems and necessity of using herbs as growth stimulants, the present investigation aimed to explore the effect of different levels of turmeric feed supplement on growth indicators and expression of some growth genes in juvenile sevruga (Acipenser stellatus). Duration of the experiment was 60 days. For this purpose, 120 fish were distributed in to 12 fiberglass tanks (2000L) with average weight of 45±0.5 g and length of 26±0.5 cm. The fish were fed in 4 groups with 4 experimental diets containing different levels of turmeric with 0, 0.5, 1 and 2% formulations. At the end of the trial (60 day), growth indicators and expression of growth genes were evaluated. The results revealed that with increasing dosage of turmeric at concentration of 2%, dietary growth index increased significantly (p<0.05). Also, dose elevation of 2% turmeric in the diet increased expression of growth genes (GH, IGF), though no significant difference was observed among treatments (p>0.05). According to the results of this study, use of 2% turmeric powder in the diet is suggested to improve growth indicators and expression of growth genes in juvenile sevruga (Acipenser stellatus).

This study evaluated the effects of α-lipoic acid (LA) supplementation on antioxidants responses in intestine and liver of Cyprinus carpio juveniles. Four experimental groups were fed in duration of 60 days with a diet containing different levels (0 as control, 0.5, 1 and 1.5g kg−1) of LA evaluating glutathione (GSH) activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant activity (TAC) in two organs. Parameters, including survival, weight gain and specific growth rates were also evaluated. The results showed that adding LA supplementation to carp diet led to increased activity of antioxidant enzymes in 1.5 g dose and the difference was significant in 0.5 and 1g groups (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in survival among experimental and control groups (p>0.05). Weight gain in 1 g group was significantly higher than other groups (p<0.05). Specific growth rates exhibited the same response pattern as that of weight gain (p<0.05). The obtained results regarding growth and antioxidant status indicated that LA could be supplemented in diets for Cyprinus carpio at doses between 1 and 1.5g LA kg−1 dry food.

This study assessed the effects of diets supplemented with canola protein hydrolysate (CPH) on growth performance, blood biochemistry, immunity, and gastrointestinal microbiota of beluga (Huso huso) juveniles. CPH concentrations of 0, 300, 400, and 500 mg kg-1 diet were denoted as control, CPH300, CPH400, and CPH500, respectively and were added to fish basal diet. 840 beluga juveniles (30±6 g) were assigned into the four dietary treatments and fed for 56 days. The diet supplemented with 500 mg kg-1 of CPH significantly decreased food conversion ratio (FCR). Condition factor (CF), specific growth rate (SGR), body weight gain (BWI), standard length (SL), total length (TL), survival rate, and food consumption demonstrated a CPH dose-dependent increase, with highest values in the fish treated with CPH500. Concentrations of blood (serum) cholesterol, triglyceride, and glucose decreased in a CPH-concentration dependent manner as well. Red blood cells (RBC) and white blood cells (WBC) increased and decreased, respectively in all fish treated with CHP, especially in CPH500 treatment. Moreover, gastrointestinal population of Lactobacillus spp. and total bacteria were significantly enhanced in the treated groups, with the highest loads of total bacterial (2.1×106 CFU) and Lactobacillus spp. (1.6×104 CFU) in CPH500 treatment. Taken together, CPH could be introduced as an alternative for fishmeal in beluga diet, although more studies are needed to be conducted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms by which CPH improves fish growth.

In this paper, the problem of exploring a grid environment in the offline setting has been studied. The goal is to propose an algorithm to find the minimum number of robots for exploring a rectangular grid environment with $n$ rows and $m$ columns, denoted by $R(n,m)$, in a predefined time $T$. In the case that there are no obstacles in the environment, an optimal solution has been proposed for the problem. In the other case when the environment may contain some obstacles, it has been pointed out that the problem is NP-complete and cannot be approximated within better than a factor 2. Finally, a $4$-approximation algorithm has been presented in order to explore $R(n,m)$ in the presence of obstacles.

Liver is the largest single solid organ of human body. It weighs about 1.5 kg and is located in the right upper part of abdomen. Liver acts in body as the kitchen. All the food that we eat has to pass through and get processed by liver after being absorbed in the intestines. Then only, they are allowed to be used by our body. Different medicines that we take pass through liver and it keeps up the correct amounts and components of the medicines in our body and excretes the unwanted excess. Liver breaks down various hormones, enzymes and other biologically active substances and prevent them from being excess in the blood. Liver is a multifunctional organ of the body and needs especial attention. This report consists of some cautions suggested by personified liver.

To determine genetic diversity among some Iranian local varieties of alfalfa, six geographically diverse populations including: Bami, Rahnani, Nikshahri, Yazdi, Hamadani (from Isfahan), Hamadani (from Shiraz) along with Ranger, an American commercial variety, were evaluated using a set of 24 EST-SSR primers developed from cDNA library of Medicago truncatula and three microsatellite loci, identified from genomic library of M. sativa. Of the pairs of primers tested, four loci from EST-SSRs (AW9, BEE, TC6 and TC7) and genomic microsatellite (Afctt32), were found appropriate for assessing genetic diversity between these alfalfa genotypes. In total, 46 alleles were detected from the five loci in the samples of alfalfa examined. The number of alleles per locus in populations ranged from six to eleven and genetic diversity indices of loci were variable from 0.62 to 0.87 for the populations. Genetic relationship analysis of EST-SSR data revealed separation of Iranian populations from Ranger. It is likely that the parental origin of primary population from which Ranger has been derived is different from that of Iranian populations. Iranian local populations of alfalfa in this study were grouped in two main clusters. Alfalfa populations Hamadani and Rahnani, which are adapted to cold claimates, were grouped in one cluster and populations Bami, Yazdi and Nikshahri, belonging to the trpoical areas, were placed in the next cluster. The positioning of EST-SSR loci in coding regions of genome, possibly increases the usefulness of these markers to clarify inter specific genetic relationships among alfalfa populations.