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Corn production rank is second among cereals after wheat crop, and usually, a large part of it is not used immediately after harvesting, but is kept in storage for gradual use in other seasons or exported to other regions. The spread of different types of fungi and the production of fungal toxins, especially in areas with high humidity, in addition to quantitative and qualitative damage to stored products, cause an increase in waste and endanger the health of society. To replace the low -risk methods of increasing the storage life, in this research, the effect of ozone gas with two variables of ozone concentration; (25, 50 and 75 ppm) in the duration of ozonation (1, 3, 5 and 7 days) on the dominant corn grain (Single cross number 407) in Golestan region, was evaluated. The microbial characteristics were compared with the control sample in terms of controlling the spread of fungi and changes in the seed qualitative aspects. The results showed that increasing the ozone concentration up to 50 ppm and the ozonation time of 3 days had a significant effect on reducing the growth of fungi and the production of aflatoxin (P<0.05). Also, the results indicated that the use of 75 ppm concentration in 1, 3, 5, and 7 days had caused significant oxidative changes in the characteristics of fat (increased acidity indices) and starch (increased carboxyl index) of corn kernels compared to the control sample. Different conditions of ozonation up to the concentration of 50 ppm at varying times did not have a significant effect on the amount of corn seed protein (P<0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Human adenoviruses transmitted from contaminated water are one of the major pathogens that has been introduced as one of the most important new qualitative water indicators due to their resistance against the purification processes. The main objective of this study was to evaluate efficiency of human adenovirus removal in different units of Isfahan Water Treatment Plant. Materials and Methods: Sampling was conducted from 5 points of a water treatment plant including raw water, clarifier, ozonation, filtration, and treated water for one year. Virosorb 1MDS electropositive cartridge filter was used for the concentration of water samples. To test the adenovirus antigens, enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed. Real-time PCR and PCR were also employed for quantitative identification and genotyping, respectively. Moreover, total and fecal coliform and physicochemical parameters of the samples were measured. Results: Out of the 60 samples examined, 12 (20%) samples were diagnosed with ELISA and 16 (26.67%) with molecular method. The highest number of adenoviruses detected in autumn was 7 (12%) in raw water influent, 6 (10%) in clarifier, and 3 (5%) samples in ozonation. The high frequency of adenovirus detection was in autumn (50%) and the lowest was in spring (12.5%). Furthermore, it was found that the total coliform in raw water influent was between 102-103 CFU/mL. Conclusion: The results showed that the removal efficiency of adenovirus in filtration and disinfection units of the treatment plant was high and the filtration unit in the plant was an effective unit for the virus removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]