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Introduction: There are several factors that affect the quality and quantity of active ingredients and essential oil (EO) content, including pre and postharvest practices such as drying conditions. One of the most important factors in drying is temperature and then selective drying temperature (DT). In general, DT has a direct effect on the aromatic properties of Anethum graveolens. Methods: On this basis, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different DTs on the aroma profile of A. graveolens ecotypes. Results and discussion: The results showed that different DTs, ecotypes, and their interaction significantly affect EO content and composition. The highest EO yield was obtained from the Parsabad ecotype (1.86%) followed by the Ardabil ecotype (1.4%), both at 40° C. More than 60 EO compounds were identified, mainly monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, highlighting α-Phellandrene, Germacrene D, and Dill apiole as major components in all treatments. Besides α-Phellandrene, the major EO compounds at shad drying (ShD) were β-Phellandrene and p-Cymene, while plant parts dried at 40° C showed l-Limonene and Limonene as the main constituents, and Dill apiole was detected in greater amounts in the samples dried at 60°C. To determine the appropriate DT, simple and factorial based-ANOVA together multivariate analysis demonstrated significant differences in the compounds produced under different DTs. The results indicated that more EO compounds, mainly monoterpenes, were extracted at ShD than other DTs. On the other hand, the content and composition of sesquiterpenes increased significantly when DT was increased to 60°C. From the genetic backgrounds point of view, the Parsabad ecotype (with 12 similar compounds) and Esfahan ecotype (with 10 similar compounds) were the most suitable ecotypes under all DTs in terms of EO compounds. Accordingly, the present study would help various industries to optimize specific DT(s) to obtain special EO compound(s) from different A. graveolens ecotypes based on commercial requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk assessment has an essential role in managing different risks and their effects. A failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), as one of the most famous risk assessment tools, has frequently been used in a wide range of industries and organizations. In this study, a new fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-based FMEA model is introduced for evaluating the risks of various failure modes more precisely. In this model, fuzzy weighted aggregated risk priority numbers (FWARPNs) are taken into consideration instead of risk priority numbers (RPNs) for the failure modes. Moreover, considering that an economic criterion is added to the three main risk factors, the FWARPNs are calculated by utilizing four risk factors of occurrence (O), severity (S), detection (D), and cost (C). The new criterion (C) denotes the required cost for eliminating the effects of failure occurred. Also, the weights of these four risk factors are computed by an extended fuzzy AHP method. For enhancing the efficiency of the proposed model, a novel fuzzy numbers ranking method is also applied in both suggested fuzzy FMEA and AHP methods. This new ranking method is based on creating different horizontal α-cuts in fuzzy numbers. Finally, to indicate the practicability and effectiveness of the proposed model, Kerman Ghete Gostar Casting Plant is considered as a case study in which the risks of toxic gas release are assessed by the suggested fuzzy FMEA model. The obtained results show that the proposed model is a practicable and advantageous risk assessment method in the real world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycyrrhiza glabra L. root essential oil (GGEO) has well‐known antimicrobial and therapeutic features. In this study, a new antimicrobial carboxymethyl cellulose–polyvinyl alcohol (CMC‐PVA) binary film was developed using GGEO as an active compound. The effects of various concentrations of GGEO (0.25%, 0.50%, and 0.75%) were scrutinized on the physicochemical and antibacterial properties of composites. It was discovered that GGEO significantly reduced the composite ultimate tensile strength from 17.01 to 3.86 MPa. Further, by increasing the concentration of GGEO to 0.75%, the water vapor permeability and moisture content increased to 13.61 × 10−9 g/m s−1 Pa−1 and 41.06%, respectively. The results indicated that the active films possessed good inhibitory effects against the gram‐positive bacteria (L. monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus) and were less powerful against gram‐negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and S. typhimurium). Finally, the results highlighted that GGEO can act as an excellent antimicrobial agent in combination with CMC‐PVA composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To find out more about the biochemical aspects of seed-softness trait in pomegranate (Punica granatumL.), some of the phenylpropanoid pathway enzymes as well as their products were evaluated in the various soft- and hard-seeded genotypes during fruit development. Results showed that peroxidase (POD) activity decreased in all studied genotypes during fruit growth, while increasing at the last stages only in the hard-seeded genotypes. Although laccase (LAC) activity did not show high differences during fruit ripening and in different genotypes, but its general trend was increasing. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity decreased during the fruit development and approximately diminished for the hard-seeded genotypes. All genotypes had lignin components in their seeds and amount of lignin increased during the growth season. Total phenolic decreased drastically and antioxidant capacity increased gradually showing an opposite trend and probable competitive effect for the same substrate during fruit development. Considerable differences that were observed in the POD activity at the last sampling stage, and higher activity that was observed in POD than LAC, may indicate that POD is more important for polymerization of lignin in the pomegranate seed and this enzyme might have some role in the development of seed softness trait in pomegranate. Also, this is the first report about lignin detection in the seeds of soft-seeded pomegranate genotypes, and represents a different mechanism (such as monolignol conformation in the final polymer) from lignin content for development of the soft-seeded pomegranate genotype. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this study, 39 Iranian apricot cultivars and accessions were evaluated by means of 27 morphological traits and 10 microsatellite molecular markers. The results showed a wide variation in fruit quality attributes such as fruit weight, total soluble solids (TSS), and titratable acidity (TA). Most apricots had a relatively medium fruit size. There was a high correlation between fruit, pit, and kernel size, TSS, TA. Molecular data obtained from microsatellite markers revealed a total of 53 alleles, ranging from 3 to 8 alleles. The average of expected heterozygosity (He), observed heterozygosity (Ho), and polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.63, 0.52, and 0.56, respectively. UPGMA cluster analysis divided apricot cultivars into seven main groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]