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Abstract A column‐weight k LDPC code with the parity‐check matrix H is called decomposable if there exists a permutation π on the rows of H, such that π(H) can be decomposed into k column‐weight one matrix. In this paper, some variations of edge coloring of graphs are used to construct some column‐weight three decomposable LDPC codes with girths at least six and eight. Applying the presented method on several known classes of bipartite graphs, some classes of column‐weight three decomposable LDPC codes are derived having flexibility in length and rate. Interestingly, the constructed parity‐check matrices based on the proper edge coloring of graphs can be considered as the base matrix of some high rate column‐weight three quasi‐cyclic (QC) LDPC codes with maximum‐achievable girth 20. The paper also leads to a simple characterization of elementary trapping sets of the decomposable codes based on the chromatic index of the corresponding normal graphs. This characterization corresponds to a simple search algorithm finds all possible existing elementary trapping sets in a girth‐6 or girth‐8 column‐weight 3 LDPC code which are layered super set of a short cycle in the Tanner graph of the code. Simulation results indicate that the QC‐LDPC codes with large girths lifted from the constructed base matrices have good performances over AWGN channel.

Abstract Conventional energy resource problems made power system planners apply more renewable energy sources (RESs) in the power system. RESs have a significant impact on fulfilling the world's energy demand, protecting the environment at least in the exploration phase, and providing energy reliability as well as security for the new generation of power grids. In this regard, wind power generation is considered a promising solution. However, by increasing the share of wind power generation units in the power sector, some challenges, such as voltage problems, transient stability, increasing system losses, and line congestions can occur. Consequently, an alternative solution is required to accelerate wind power units' connections to the grid by preventing the problems caused by the penetration of wind power. In this regard, Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems (FACTS) devices can play an important role while they can improve power grid dynamic performance. This paper presents a review of the optimization techniques applied to accelerate the penetration of wind energy by exploiting FACTS devices. The topic identifies the objectives and optimization formulations, as well as schemes and models available in the published literature. This survey gives noteworthy insights to the researchers to cover available solutions in these regards. The literature in the field is summarized in different aspects, such as FACTS technology, objective functions, constraints, optimization methods, planning or operation purposes, and load flow types. At each aspect, a comparison is derived to recognize the most important issues. The result of the review is the finding of future work and contributions which can be done in the field of wind energy integration acceleration using FACTS devices and the output of the paper can be used as a guide for researchers to find a new path for research in this area.

This study presents the effects of compressed natural gas fuel on a four-cylinder compression ignition engine. Compressed natural gas as the main fuel and diesel fuel as the igniter were used to investigate performance and emissions from the dual fuel engine. According to the engine speed and load, the amount of diesel fuel as igniter was adjusted using mechanical changes in the governor, while no ignition system was used. The engine experimental tests were performed at engine speeds of 1200, 1400, 1600, 1800 and 2000 rpm, using diesel fuel and dual fuel. These data were collected in the Engine Research Center of Tabriz Motorsazan Company and experimental runs were repeated three times. The maximum torque of the engine in diesel mode was 360 N m at 1400 rpm. Compared to the diesel mode, the dual fuel mode showed the maximum torque by 334 N m at 1600 rpm, which is about 26 N m less than that gained from the diesel mode. Considering emissions analysis at 2000 rpm, it is seen that the amount of NOX, HC, CO2 and CO emissions in the dual fuel mode was 20, 53, 16 and 86% more than diesel mode, respectively. However, O2 and soot showed the highest reduction at 2000 rpm for dual fuel mode by 51% and 69% respectively. This study indicated that there was a considerable enhancement in exhausted emissions when the injection of the diesel fuel as igniter was done mechanically. In this regard, control the amount and time of the igniter injection could likely be helped for better control of emissions. Therefore, further research on the modification of the diesel injection system as igniter or CNG injection system is needed towards reducing emissions.

Drought is one of the most common stresses experienced by plants and limits plant growth throughout the world, especially in the arid and semi-arid areas. In this research, the effect of vermicompost on olive (Olea europaea L. cv. Zard) morpho-physiological traits and drought tolerance was investigated. A factorial experiment was conducted in completely randomized design with two factors, including vermicompost application at four levels (0, 12.5%, 25% and 50%) and drought stress at two levels (full irrigation and non-irrigation) and 4 replications in the research greenhouse of the Department of Horticulture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran. Drought stress decreased relative leaf number, but addition of vermicompost increased it. Drought stress decreased the relative water content, chlorophyll a, b, carotenoids, and root P concentrations and increased leaf and root Na concentration, and application of vermicompost significantly decreased Na concentration of the roots. In spite of positive effects of all vermicompost levels on growth parameters and drought tolerance, the highest number of leaves, chlorophyll a, b and carotenoid concentrations and drought tolerance was observed in plants fertilized with 25% vermicompost. The results showed that applying 25% vermicompost to the soil led to improvements in an array of plant growth parameters and K and P concentrations of the roots, due presumably to an improvement in physical and chemical properties of the medium.

Traffic accidents reduce the capacity of transportation networks and increase the travel delays. Advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) provide the drivers with information about these accidents, so that the uncertainty about the route capacities decreases and drivers can choose better routes to their destinations. Congestion pricing is among the traffic management policies, whose performance is directly affected by the availability of information to drivers. In this paper, an analytical dynamic traffic assignment model is proposed which can take account of tolls charged to drivers. An iterative algorithm is also proposed to solve the model for large-scale networks. Moreover, the assignment model is used as the sub-model within an optimization model proposed for dynamic cordon pricing problem. To solve the pricing model, a solution algorithm is developed which works based on a grid search method. Two pricing strategies are considered: fixed tolls for all days within the analysis period, and variable tolls in response to the network conditions in each day. Also, depended on providing information, the drivers can be either aware or unaware of accident occurrence. The problem is solved for combinations of different states of pricing schemes (fixed or responsive) and information provision (no or full) for the network of Sioux-Falls. Numerical results show that providing information to drivers becomes more important than congestion pricing as the level of uncertainty increases, and especially when severe accidents occur. Besides, applying fixed tolls is no longer beneficial when drivers are equipped with ATIS. Applying responsive pricing and ATIS can reduce the total travel time of the network by 11.8 percent. Moreover, some results from a sensitivity analysis on accident severity and accident probability are reported, showing that as accident severity increases, fixed tolls become more useful for congestion reduction.

This study aimed to consider the lead-induced oxidative damage of the kidney of male rats and the role of antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in preserving cells against Pb toxicity. Rats were randomly divided into five groups including G1 (control), G2 (single 70 mg/kg dose of Pb), G3 (continuous daily 2 mg/kg dosing of Pb for 4 weeks), G4 (single dose of Pb + 50 mg/kg NAC), and G5 (continuous daily dosing of Pb + 50 mg/kg NAC). The level of malonic dialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity were measured spectrophotometrically.The level of Pb in serum and kidney tissue was measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Expression of Bax and Bcl2 genes was estimated using RT-PCR. It was shown that single and continuous exposure to Pb caused a considerable increase of Pb content in serum and kidney tissue of rats in G2 and G3 groups compared to other groups. NAC treatment significantly improved TAC values and decreased MDA values in the serum of rats exposed to Pb. Single and continuous Pb dosing caused a 3.9- and 13.1-fold increase in Bax expression and 1.5-fold and 2.1-fold decrease in Bcl2 expression in a kidney tissue respectively. The current study revealed that single and especially continuous Pb exposure was strongly associated with Pb accumulation, antioxidant depletion, oxidative stress and kidney cells apoptosis. NAC can help protect kidney tissue against Pb by elevating antioxidant capacity, mitigating oxidative stress and normalizing Bax and Bcl2 genes expression.

Recently, a class of low-density parity-check codes based on affine permutation matrices, called APM-LDPC codes, have been considered which have some advantages than quasi-cyclic (QC) LDPC codes in terms of minimum-distance, cycle distribution, and error-rate performance. Moreover, some explicit constructions for exponent matrices of conventional APM-LDPC codes with girth at least 6 have been investigated. In this paper, a class of 4-cycle free APM-LDPC codes is constructed by a new explicit method such that the constructed codes have better cycle distributions rather than the recently proposed APM codes with girth 6. As simulation results show, the constructed codes outperform PEG and random-like LDPC codes with the same rates and lengths.

The global trend has shifted towards the reduction of synthetic pesticide application in agriculture in general and in postharvest in particular. Currently there is a growing interest in using natural antifungal compounds, like plant extracts for the preservation of foods. In order to develop fungicide formulation of natural origin as postharvest treatments, this study was conducted on the antifungal activity of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) extract against Penicillium italicum and P. digitatum. The experiment was set up according to a completely randomized design with 4 replications using ‘Satsuma’ mandarin. The experimental factors included extract concentration (0, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100%) and the effect of treatments (preventive or curative). The fruits were wounded on the outer surface on four locations to a depth of 2 mm and a diameter of 1 mm. Preventive treatments were carried out by dipping wounded fruit into the formulations of extract and thereafter, each wound site was infected by inoculating 20 μL of the inoculum of P. italicum or P. digitatum. For curative treatments, fruits were wounded as above, and then inoculated with P. italicum or P. digitatum (20 μL of inoculum per wound site). The results showed that the 75% or 100% pomegranate extract applied to ʻSatsuma mandarin produced a significant antimicrobal effect, reduced spore or mycelium diameter, decay severity and infection index and increased sporing time and healthly fruit percentage. Our study showed that 100% pomegranate peel extract application could decrease weight loss rate during storage of “Satsuma” mandarin fruit inoculated with spores of P. digitatum or P. italicum. The obtained results showed that the tested pomegranate extract can be effectively utilized for controlling and curing infections caused by P. italicum and P. digitatum.

OBJECTIVE: Thyroid cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers of the endocrine system. Allium jesdianum from the Liliaceae family is suggested as an herbal remedy for numerous human disorders. Due to the need to identify a new treatment strategy for thyroid cancer and due to the many therapeutic properties of Allium jesdianum, beneficial biologically active compounds, and the anti-cancer activity of these compounds, this study aimed to investigate the effect of this herb extract on thyroid cancer cells (B-CPAP and Thr.C1-PI 33). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The hydro-alcoholic extract of Allium jesdianum was prepared. The effects of the extract on the viability, apoptosis, and nitric oxide production of human thyroid cancer cell lines were investigated. Real-time PCR is used to analyze the apoptosis-related genes expression pattern. RESULTS: MTT assay showed that the extract had cytotoxic activity against both cell lines. In addition, treatment of cells with various concentrations of the extract caused the release of lactate dehydrogenase and induction of apoptosis cell death. NO production was decreased by the treatments in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The extract stimulated apoptosis cell death by decreasing the expression of Bcl-2 and increasing the expression of Bax, p53, and Caspase 3. CONCLUSIONS: The extract possesses potent cytotoxic activity and anti-cancer properties which are possibly due to the principal bioactive phytochemical composites existing in this plant. These results can be used to develop new drugs for thyroid cancer treatment.

Drought stress is one of the most important limiting factors for cultivation and production of grapes in the world and Iran. To study the effect of drought stress on some physiological traits of three cultivars, i.e. ‘Fakhri’, ‘Molaei’ and ‘Ghalati’, a factorial experiment in completely randomized design with three soil water potential treatments. i.e. -0.2 (control), -0.7 and -1.2 MPa was implemented in greenhouse conditions in 2016. In this study, non- grafted grape vines were placed in large 26-liter pots filled with a clay loam textured soil. According to the results of this study, both levels of stress had a significant effect on dry matter to leaf area ratio, cell membrane stability, chlorophyll, proline, and soluble carbohydrates concertation, leaf relative water content, catalase and peroxidase activities. Soluble carbohydrates concentration showed a significant increase of 47 percent compared to control (10.57 mg g-1 DM) in -1.2 MPa stress level. Drought stress decreased the RWC (2 Percent) and increased proline (9 Percent) and malondialdehyde (55 percent) concentration, the peroxidase (15 to 20 percent) and catalase activity (9 Percent). The highest and the lowest chlorophyll concentrations were observed in ‘Ghalati’ (1.63 mg g-1 FM) and ‘Fakhri’ (1.31 mg g-1 FM), respectively. In conclusion, ‘Ghalati’ cultivar had higher potential to withstand drought stress conditions than ‘Molaei’ and ‘Fakhri’ cultivars.

In order to evaluate the role of paclobutrazol (PBZ) and prohexadione-calcium (ProCa) in reduction of vegetative growth and improvement of reproductive growth of strawberry (cultivar Paros), a 4-replicate completely randomized design was carried out in greenhouse. ProCa in three concentrations of 0, 100 and 150 mg L-1 and PBZ in four concentrations of 0, 60, 90 and 120 mg L-1 were sprayed on the strawberry plants in two stages (four weeks after planting and three weeks after the first stage). The results showed that the application of PBZ, ProCa and also their interaction had a significant effect on plant height, plant fresh weight, petiole length, specific leaf weight, root weight ratio, crown number, fruit number, fruit yield and harvest index. Application of 120 mg L-1 of PBZ without the use of ProCa resulted in the lowest plant height. The interaction of 100 mg L-1 of ProCa and 60 mg L-1 PBZ resulted in the highest number of flowers and crowns. The use of these retardants did not have a significant effect on fruit weight. The effect of ProCa and its interaction with PBZ was significant on the number of flowers and the interaction of PBZ and ProCa was significant on fruit set. Treatment with 100 mg L-1 ProCa without PBZ was the most effective treatment on increasing fruit set. In general, the results showed that the use of retardants reduced the vegetative growth and increased reproductive growth of the Paros strawberry genotype. The concentration of 100 mg L-1 ProCa and 60 mg L-1 PBZ was the most effective treatment for increase in reproductive growth of the examined strawberry cultivar.

Fruits and vegetables contain an array of antioxidant compounds. In this experiment, the effect of pomegranate, grape and kiwifruit juice or extract viz., pomegranate husk on pear fruits were investigated and compared with chitosan 1.5% and distilled water (control). The changes in the ascorbic acid, total soluble solids, total acid, weight loss, firmness and peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase activity of fruits were monitored during 60 days storage at 4±2°C. Combination of kiwifruit juice with pomegranate or grape juices reduced ascorbic acid and total soluble solids losses, suppressed peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase activity and maintained the firmness of intact pear fruits in storage compared to the control. Based on the findings of this study, natural fruit antioxidants can be recommended as a potent source of antioxidant coating for intact pears, as these compounds may delay pear fruit ripening and reduce the loss of fruit nutritional value.

K‌n‌o‌w‌l‌e‌d‌g‌e o‌f a‌l‌l‌o‌w‌a‌b‌l‌e d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t i‌s n‌e‌c‌e‌s‌s‌a‌r‌y f‌o‌r f‌o‌u‌n‌d‌a‌t‌i‌o‌n d‌e‌s‌i‌g‌n. D‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s m‌a‌y c‌a‌u‌s‌e a‌d‌d‌i‌t‌i‌o‌n‌a‌l s‌t‌r‌e‌s‌s‌e‌s a‌n‌d s‌t‌r‌a‌i‌n‌s i‌n s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌a‌l m‌e‌m‌b‌e‌r‌s. T‌h‌e s‌t‌r‌e‌s‌s‌e‌s i‌n‌d‌u‌c‌e‌d b‌y d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s a‌r‌e n‌o‌t c‌o‌n‌v‌e‌n‌t‌i‌o‌n‌a‌l‌l‌y c‌o‌n‌s‌i‌d‌e‌r‌e‌d i‌n d‌e‌s‌i‌g‌n‌i‌n‌g s‌u‌p‌e‌r‌s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌e. T‌h‌e d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s a‌r‌e g‌e‌n‌e‌r‌a‌l‌l‌y d‌e‌t‌e‌r‌m‌i‌n‌e‌d f‌r‌o‌m s‌e‌p‌a‌r‌a‌t‌e a‌n‌a‌l‌y‌s‌i‌s o‌f f‌o‌u‌n‌d‌a‌t‌i‌o‌n s‌l‌a‌b o‌v‌e‌r‌l‌a‌i‌d o‌n s‌o‌i‌l b‌y a‌p‌p‌l‌y‌i‌n‌g t‌h‌e s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌a‌l l‌o‌a‌d‌s o‌n‌t‌o i‌t. T‌h‌e‌n, t‌h‌e c‌a‌l‌c‌u‌l‌a‌t‌e‌d s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s a‌r‌e l‌i‌m‌i‌t‌e‌d t‌o t‌h‌e a‌l‌l‌o‌w‌a‌b‌l‌e v‌a‌l‌u‌e‌s. T‌h‌e a‌l‌l‌o‌w‌a‌b‌l‌e d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s i‌n c‌o‌n‌s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌i‌o‌n c‌o‌d‌e‌s a‌r‌e n‌o‌t s‌t‌r‌o‌n‌g‌l‌y h‌o‌o‌k‌e‌d o‌n t‌h‌e t‌y‌p‌e, d‌e‌s‌i‌g‌n m‌e‌t‌h‌o‌d, a‌n‌d a‌p‌p‌l‌i‌c‌a‌t‌i‌o‌n o‌f s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌e‌s. T‌h‌e c‌u‌r‌r‌e‌n‌t a‌p‌p‌l‌i‌e‌d c‌r‌i‌t‌e‌r‌i‌a a‌r‌e m‌a‌i‌n‌l‌y b‌a‌s‌e‌d o‌n t‌h‌e o‌b‌s‌e‌r‌v‌a‌t‌i‌o‌n‌s o‌n a‌c‌t‌u‌a‌l p‌r‌o‌b‌l‌e‌m‌a‌t‌i‌c b‌u‌i‌l‌d‌i‌n‌g‌s. I‌t i‌s n‌e‌c‌e‌s‌s‌a‌r‌y t‌o n‌u‌m‌e‌r‌i‌c‌a‌l‌l‌y d‌e‌t‌e‌r‌m‌i‌n‌e t‌h‌e l‌i‌m‌i‌t‌i‌n‌g v‌a‌l‌u‌e‌s o‌f d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s w‌h‌i‌c‌h e‌n‌d‌a‌n‌g‌e‌r t‌h‌e p‌e‌r‌f‌o‌r‌m‌a‌n‌c‌e o‌f s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌e‌s. I‌n t‌h‌i‌s r‌e‌s‌e‌a‌r‌c‌h t‌h‌e a‌l‌l‌o‌w‌a‌b‌l‌e s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s o‌f s‌t‌e‌e‌l m‌o‌m‌e‌n‌t r‌e‌s‌i‌s‌t‌i‌n‌g f‌r‌a‌m‌e‌s a‌r‌e d‌e‌t‌e‌r‌m‌i‌n‌e‌d b‌a‌s‌e‌d o‌n s‌e‌i‌s‌m‌i‌c p‌e‌r‌f‌o‌r‌m‌a‌n‌c‌e l‌e‌v‌e‌l. F‌o‌u‌r m‌o‌m‌e‌n‌t-r‌e‌s‌i‌s‌t‌i‌n‌g s‌t‌e‌e‌l s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌e‌s w‌e‌r‌e a‌n‌a‌l‌y‌z‌e‌d a‌n‌d d‌e‌s‌i‌g‌n‌e‌d a‌c‌c‌o‌r‌d‌i‌n‌g t‌o c‌o‌n‌v‌e‌n‌t‌i‌o‌n‌a‌l m‌e‌t‌h‌o‌d‌s w‌i‌t‌h‌o‌u‌t a‌p‌p‌l‌y‌i‌n‌g a‌n‌y d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s. T‌h‌e‌n, d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t p‌a‌t‌t‌e‌r‌n‌s o‌f d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s (p‌o‌i‌n‌t, a‌x‌i‌a‌l, a‌n‌d b‌l‌o‌c‌k p‌a‌t‌t‌e‌r‌n‌s) w‌e‌r‌e a‌p‌p‌l‌i‌e‌d t‌o t‌h‌e s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌e‌s a‌n‌d t‌h‌e s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌e‌s w‌e‌r‌e a‌n‌a‌l‌y‌z‌e‌d b‌y n‌o‌n‌l‌i‌n‌e‌a‌r f‌i‌n‌i‌t‌e-e‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t m‌e‌t‌h‌o‌d. B‌a‌s‌e‌d o‌n t‌h‌e a‌n‌a‌l‌y‌s‌i‌s r‌e‌s‌u‌l‌t‌s, t‌h‌e l‌i‌m‌i‌t‌i‌n‌g v‌a‌l‌u‌e‌s o‌f d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s a‌t l‌i‌f‌e s‌a‌f‌e‌t‌y p‌e‌r‌f‌o‌r‌m‌a‌n‌c‌e l‌e‌v‌e‌l w‌e‌r‌e c‌a‌l‌c‌u‌l‌a‌t‌e‌d a‌c‌c‌o‌r‌d‌i‌n‌g t‌o F‌E‌M‌A-356 c‌o‌d‌e. T‌h‌e r‌e‌s‌u‌l‌t‌s o‌f t‌h‌i‌s r‌e‌s‌e‌a‌r‌c‌h r‌e‌v‌e‌a‌l‌e‌d t‌h‌a‌t t‌h‌e h‌e‌i‌g‌h‌t o‌f s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌e c‌o‌n‌s‌i‌d‌e‌r‌a‌b‌l‌y a‌f‌f‌e‌c‌t‌s t‌h‌e a‌l‌l‌o‌w‌a‌b‌l‌e d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s s‌u‌c‌h t‌h‌a‌t i‌n‌c‌r‌e‌a‌s‌i‌n‌g s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌e h‌e‌i‌g‌h‌t c‌a‌n r‌e‌d‌u‌c‌e t‌h‌e a‌l‌l‌o‌w‌a‌b‌l‌e d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s u‌p t‌o 50\%. T‌h‌e r‌e‌s‌u‌l‌t‌s o‌f t‌h‌i‌s r‌e‌s‌e‌a‌r‌c‌h a‌l‌s‌o r‌e‌v‌e‌a‌l‌e‌d t‌h‌a‌t t‌h‌e g‌e‌o‌m‌e‌t‌r‌i‌c‌a‌l s‌h‌a‌p‌e a‌n‌d p‌r‌o‌p‌e‌r‌t‌i‌e‌s o‌f b‌u‌i‌l‌d‌i‌n‌g p‌l‌a‌n a‌f‌f‌e‌c‌t t‌h‌e a‌m‌o‌u‌n‌t o‌f a‌l‌l‌o‌w‌a‌b‌l‌e d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t‌s, s‌u‌c‌h t‌h‌a‌t m‌o‌m‌e‌n‌t-r‌e‌s‌i‌s‌t‌i‌n‌g s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌e‌s w‌i‌t‌h r‌e‌c‌t‌a‌n‌g‌u‌l‌a‌r p‌l‌a‌n t‌o‌l‌e‌r‌a‌t‌e h‌i‌g‌h‌e‌r d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t v‌a‌l‌u‌e‌s c‌o‌m‌p‌a‌r‌e‌d w‌i‌t‌h t‌h‌e s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌e‌s w‌i‌t‌h s‌q‌u‌a‌r‌e p‌l‌a‌n s‌h‌a‌p‌e. A‌c‌c‌o‌r‌d‌i‌n‌g t‌o t‌h‌e r‌e‌s‌u‌l‌t‌s o‌f t‌h‌e p‌r‌e‌s‌e‌n‌t s‌t‌u‌d‌y t‌h‌e a‌l‌l‌o‌w‌a‌b‌l‌e a‌n‌g‌u‌l‌a‌r d‌i‌s‌t‌o‌r‌t‌i‌o‌n a‌t l‌i‌f‌e s‌a‌f‌e‌t‌y p‌e‌r‌f‌o‌r‌m‌a‌n‌c‌e l‌e‌v‌e‌l o‌f m‌o‌m‌e‌n‌t-r‌e‌s‌i‌s‌t‌i‌n‌g s‌t‌e‌e‌l f‌r‌a‌m‌e s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌e‌s i‌s s‌u‌g‌g‌e‌s‌t‌e‌d t‌o b‌e l‌i‌m‌i‌t‌e‌d t‌o 1/94 i‌n t‌h‌e b‌u‌i‌l‌d‌i‌n‌g‌s w‌i‌t‌h m‌a‌x‌i‌m‌u‌m f‌i‌v‌e s‌t‌o‌r‌i‌e‌s, a‌n‌d 1/200 i‌n f‌i‌v‌e t‌o t‌e‌n-s‌t‌o‌r‌y b‌u‌i‌l‌d‌i‌n‌g‌s. T‌h‌e r‌e‌s‌u‌l‌t‌s i‌n‌d‌i‌c‌a‌t‌e t‌h‌a‌t t‌h‌e h‌e‌i‌g‌h‌t o‌f s‌t‌r‌u‌c‌t‌u‌r‌e s‌h‌o‌u‌l‌d b‌e t‌a‌k‌e‌n i‌n‌t‌o c‌o‌n‌s‌i‌d‌e‌r‌a‌t‌i‌o‌n i‌n t‌h‌e a‌l‌l‌o‌w‌a‌b‌l‌e d‌i‌f‌f‌e‌r‌e‌n‌t‌i‌a‌l s‌e‌t‌t‌l‌e‌m‌e‌n‌t c‌r‌i‌t‌e‌r‌i‌a.

Centrifugal casting process, in both horizontal and vertical mode, is considered as an efficient method to produce bimetallic components. Al/Cu65Zn35 couples were prepared by the vertical centrifugal casting process. In this study, different volume of molten aluminum having melt-to-solid (m/s) volume ratios (VR) of 1.5 and 2.5, were cast into preheated brass bush rotating at 800, 1600, and 2000 (rpm), respectively. The thickness of the interface, which is composed of three different zones, is depended on the rotational speed and the (VR) and was at least 490µm (at VR=1.5 and 2000 rpm) and at most 1480 µm (at VR=2.5 and 800 rpm). The results of optical microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the interface layers are composed of Al2Cu5Zn4, Al3Cu3Zn, Al2Cu precipitates dispersed in the matrix and finally α-Al/Al2Cu anomalous eutectic structure near the aluminum side. Gas pore entrapment and oxide film entrainment defect was detected within the interface next to the aluminum base metal.

To study the effect of mulch and two irrigation levels on olive cultivar ‘Manzanila’, two experiments were conducted. The first experiment evaluated the effect of seven types of mulch in plant-less pots; the second one was conducted on olives as a factorial according to a complete randomized design with 4 replications. In this experiment, seven mulch types (gravel mulch, pistachio shell mulch, wheat straw mulch, de-oiled olive pomace mulch, super absorbent polymer, organic-based emulsion polymer, and control (no mulch)) in the presence of two irrigation levels (control: irrigation to reach 100% of field capacity) and water stress (irrigation to reach 50% of field capacity) were investigated. The results showed that mulching decreased surface evaporation rate and improved soil water content, keeping the underneath soil moist longer than bare soil; the best types of mulch for conserving soil water were de-oiled olive pomace mulch and pistachio shell mulch. The results of the second experiment indicated that the shoot water potential and the olive chlorophyll index were decreased significantly in the water stressed treatment; however, using pistachio shell mulch improved the latter traits under stress conditions. The stomatal size and stomatal density were also affected by irrigation conditions; on the other hand, mulch usage, especially de-oiled olive pomace mulch, could decrease drought effects in drought stress conditions, improving leaf conditions for photosynthesis, and growth. All types of mulch in the experiment increased stomatal conductance in the water stress treatment (50% of crop capacity), as compared to the control (100% of crop capacity). Overall, the results showed that the application of pistachio shell mulch and de-oiled olive pomace mulch could be a suitable criterion to reduce the damaging effects of drought stress in olive.

Antibiotics are commonly prescribed for humans and animals for the prevention and treatment of various microbial diseases. This study was carried out for the evaluation of enrofloxacin residue in quail meat in Yazd city by HPLC. For this, 50 meat samples were collected from quail meats that supplied in Yazd from winter to spring in 2014-2015. Results showed that 11 samples (22%) were positive for enrofloxacin residue. The minimum and maximum concentrations of enrofloxacin in the samples were 3.08 and 117.09 μg/Kg, respectively. The mean value of enrofloxacin concentration in the positive samples was 8.6 ± 21.28 μg/Kg. The concentration of enrofloxacin in 14% of the samples was higher than European Maximum Residual Level (30 μg/Kg). In conclusion, for improvement of hygienic quality of quail meat, it is necessary to apply suitable strategy for legality of withdrawal time for antibiotic consumption.

Analytical and numerical analyses have been performed to study the problem of magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) flow and heat transfer of an upper-convected Maxwell fluid in a parallel plate channel. The governing equations of continuity, momentum and energy are reduced to two ordinary differential equation forms by introducing a similarity transformation. The Homotopy Analysis Method (HAM), Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) and fourth-order Runge-Kutta numerical method (NUM) are used to solve this problem. Also, velocity and temperature fields have been computed and shown graphically for various values of the physical parameters. The objectives of the present work are to investigate the effect of the Deborah numbers (De), Hartman electric number (Ha), Reynolds number (Rew) and Prandtl number (Pr) on the velocity and temperature fields. As an important outcome, it is observed that increasing the Hartman number leads to a reduction in the velocity values while increasing the Deborah number has negligible impact on the velocity increment.

In this paper, analytical and numerical solutions for thermoelastic functionally graded (FG) rotating disks with non-uniform thickness under lateral pressure are studied. The study is performed based on Mindlin’s theory. Considering the fact that bending and thermal loadings in analysis of rotating disk are necessary to study the components such as brake and clutch disks. The governing differential equations arising from FG rotating disk are firstly extracted. Then, Liao’s homotopy analysis method (HAM) and Adomian’s decomposition method (ADM) are applied as two analytical approaches. Calculation of stress components and then comparison of the results of HAM and ADM with Runge-Kutta’s and FEM are performed to survey compatibility of their results. The distributions of radial and circumferential stresses of rotating disks are studied and discussed. Finaly, the effects of temperature, grading index, angular velocity and lateral loading on the components of displacement and stresses are presented and discussed, in detail.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of pecs training on social skills of children (boys) with autistic disorders. Study procedure was experimental with pretest-posttest design with control group. The statistical population of this research includes all children with autistic disorders in Shiraz in the academic year 2012- 2013. The sample size was 30 boys with autistic disorders that were selected in an available sampling method and assigned into experimental and control group, randomly. So each group consisted of 15 students. Both groups were assessed pre-test. The Experimental group received pecs training in 16 sessions while control group did not. After completion of intervention period for Experimental group the post-test was administered for both groups. The Children's Social Behavior Questionnaire (Jackson, Volkmar & Minderaa, 1998) were administered to assess the social skills. The data analyses by ANCOVA showed that there were significantly increase in the mean scores of social skills and subscales (Not tune, Tendency to withdraw, Orientation problems, Not understanding, Stereotyped behavior, Fear of changes) in experimental group (P

Knowledge on physical and mechanical properties of fruits is necessary for designing and optimizing processing systems. In this study, several physical and mechanical properties of date fruit (Kabkab cultivar) and its seed were determined. The average of length, width, thickness, unit mass, 1000 fruit mass, geometric mean diameter, unit volume, surface and projected areas, sphericity, fruit true and bulk densities, porosity of Kabkab cultivar date fruit were 36.89, 18.68, 23.56 mm, 8264.07 and 8.25 g, 25.24 mm, 8507.8 mm3, 2008.27 mm2, 502.07 mm2, 0.96 g/cm3, 0.51 g/cm3, 46.20%, respectively. The respective values for its seeds were 22.98, 6.25, 7.48 mm, 789.2 and 0.79 g, 10.23 mm, 568.24 mm3, 330.30 mm2, 82.58 mm2, 0.99 g/cm3, 0.65 g/cm3, 30.45%, respectively. The static coefficients of friction were 0.34 for galvanized, 0.30 for steel, 0.32 for plexiglass, 0.31 for glass and 0.42 for plywood. Compressive loading testes were conducted at three loading rates of 5, 15 and 25 mm/min for deformation of fruit until 15%, 30% and 45% of thickness of fruit with seven replications. Some mechanical parameters such as force-deformation, energy and toughness were determined. The results showed that the loading rates affected the mechanical parameters significantly. By increasing the loading rate, the mean values of the mechanical parameters increased significantly.

Alkaline treated raisin is one of the most important raisins produced from Bidaneh Sefid grape in large scale in Iran. In current research, effects of potassium carbonate on drying rate, antioxidant activity, total phenolics and color of raisin were investigated. Raisin was produced sun-dried (as control), cold and warm alkaline at four concentrations of 0.75, 1.5, 3 and 6 percent of potassium carbonate. Results indicated that by increasing concentration of potassium carbonate and using warm solution, drying time reduced. Furthermore, raisin pre-treatment highly affects on total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. The highest content of totol phenolic and antioxidant activity were observed in warm 6% potassium carbonate treated raisins. In addition, warm-alkaline treated raisin showed higher total phenolic and antioxidant activity in comparison to those of cold-alkaline treated raisins. Production method revealed a significant effect on color, drying rate and antioxidant properties of Bidaneh Sefid. It seems the higher speed of drying helped in marinating polyphenol content and higher antioxidant activity. Based on current result, pre-treatment of grape by warm potassium carbonate solutions at lower concentration is suggested for marinating phenolic compounds.

Background & objective: Synthetic dyes are extensively used in various industries such as textile, leather tanning, plastic, pulp and paper. Since dyes are toxic and even carcinogenic, discharging dye-containing wastewater into the environment poses serious environmental and health problems. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to evaluate the removal of Reactive Red 120 from aqueous solutions using surface modified natural zeolite. Materials &Methods: The Semnan zeolite was sieved using standard sieves in size of 0.2 - 0.3 mm and then was modified by cationic surfactant. Batch adsorption studies carried out to study various parameters included contact time, initial concentration of Reactive Red 120, pH, and adsorbent dosage. The concentration of dye was measured using a UV-vis Spectrophotometer at the wavelength of 537 nm. Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms and Pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order kinetics were used to analyze the isotherm and kinetic data respectively. Results: The adsorption studies indicated that increasing of the contact time, initial concentration of Reactive Red 120, decreasing pH and adsorbent dosage leads to increasing dye adsorption. Equilibration of Reactive Red 120 adsorption was reached at lapse of 90 min. Moreover, it was found that Langmuir isotherm (R2=0.9814) and pseudo second-order kinetic (R2=0.9814) are well fitted with our data. Conclusion: The results of the study show that Iranian modified zeolite can be used effectively for removal of Reactive Red 120 in comparison with other parts of the world. Considering the cost, availability and ease of modification, it can be used to remove dye in industrial wastewater.

Background: Groundwater is often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells. Nowadays, The need for clean water is increasing due to population growth and accelerated industrialization. From the viewpoint of WHO, approximately 80% of all human diseases caused by water. Groundwater can be a safe water for many communities and for this reason may be polluted by many ways. Therefore, it seems essential the protection and monitoring of them. The main object of this study was investigation the quality of Buin Zahra drinking water resources using GWQI. Methods: The current study was developed based on multivariate analysis to determine a groundwater quality index (GWQI) with using 9 GWQI parameters with the aim of monitoring the buin Zahra city. Sampling was carried out from seven city (Ardaq, Avaj, Buin Zahra, Shaal, Abgarm, Segzabad and Dansfhan) and representative wells that had the highest discharge. These water resources were monitored seasonally for a period of six month (between May to September). Results: The proportion of observed concentrations to the maximum allowable concentration is calculated as normalized value of each parameter in observing wells. Final indices for each well are calculated considering weight of each parameter. The measurement of parameters were experimented as a duplicate. The results showed that the lower levels of fluoride and higher values of parameters such as turbidity, total hardness, and magnesium in the selected wells that also higher than maximum contamination level for drinking purposes, with considering the rate of groundwater quality index. Conclusion: In terms of GWQI, the quality index of Ardaq, Buin Zahra, Shaal, Segzabad and Dansfhan wells were good, on the other hand. water quality in Avaj and Abgarm wells were in very good condition.

Background and aimsDespite increasing concerns about hospital waste management, scantattention has been paid to hospitals and medical research laboratories. These effluents containpathogenic microorganisms, incomplete metabolized Pharmaceutical, radioactive elements andother toxic chemicals. The purpose of present work is evaluation of hospitals wastewater treatmentplants performance of Iran University of medical science, analysis and comparison of thepollutants' removal and sludge quality with the national standards (Iran EPA).Methodsin this study that was conducted over a period of 6 months, 4 hospitals were selected out of hospitals of Iran University of medical science. Once in each month were sampled and Totally 72 Samples were obtained (including 6 samples from treatment plant input, treatment plant effluent and 6 samples from return activated sludge), respectively. Results The results showed that Shahid Hasheminejad hospital using integrated fixed activatedsludge had the highest efficiency in removal of COD, BOD5 and TSS and Sludge quality meet the B class of EPAstandard.ConclusionShahid Hasheminejad hospital wastewater treatment plant had the best performance, because of its treatment system and capability of treating variable organic and hydraulic loading and simple operation and maintenance.

Background and aims Wastes are defined as a solid, liquid and gas materials that is produced from human activities, as direct or indirect. There is the possibility of linking between different complex of Geographic Information, which have a descriptive and locative relationship, simultaneously. GIS (Geographic Information System) is as a bridge that it can relate resources and management database together. The objective of this study was to investigate the condition of hazardous solid waste of industries in Dashtestan township and specification of volume and type of solid pollutants which probably can bring them in the environment and use of these outcomes for more recognition of establishment position of industries. Methods This study was evaluated on 8 industries according to type of products and type of each industry's hazardous solid waste. Then the 1/25000 scale digital topographic map was provided and geographical coordination of each industries was determined by a GPS system. All of the obtained data were transferred to a GIS. Also a designed checklist and the existing standards were applied to determination of the list and the hazardous code of each industry. Results The obtained results showed that, 3 industries from 8, don't exactly conformed to the standards and in the sixth industry had susceptibility to be in the P category match to hazardous waste list. All of the eight industries produced 174.5 ton/year of solid waste that 99.1% of them recycled after daily, monthly and seasonal storage. Conclusion 62.5% of studied industries conformed to Iran protection agency's criteria, but some industries have a little problem in distance index from educational and residential centers. Disposal of wastes in most industries didn't have any problem except in the sixth industries that needs more investigation by experts and managers.

Background and objectives: More than 40 different alkaloids have been obtained from opium the most important of which are morphine, codeine, papaverine, noscapine and tabaine. Opioid alkaloids produce analgesia by affecting areas of the brain that have peptides with pharmacological pseudo-opioid properties. These alkaloids show important effects on some intracellular peptides like mu, delta, and kappa receptors. Therefore, studying the effects of these alkaloids on different receptors is essential. Methods: Molecular docking is a well-known method in exploring the protein-ligand interactions. In this research, five important alkaloids were docked to crystal structure of human mu opioid receptor (4DKL), human delta opioid receptor (4EJ4) and human kappa opioid receptor (4DJH) which were retrieved from protein databank. The 3D-structures of alkaloids were drawn by chembiooffice2010 and minimized with hyperchem package and submitted to molecular docking utilizing autodock-vina. Flexibility of the proteins was considered. The docking studies were performed to compare the affinity of these five alkaloids to the mentioned receptors. Results: We computationally docked each alkaloid compound onto each receptor structure and estimated their binding affinity based on dock scores. Dock score is a criteria including binding energy which utilized here for prediction and comparison of the binding affinities. Binding interactions of the docked alkaloids in receptor pockets were also visually inspected and compared. Conclusion: In this approach, using docking study as a computational method provided a valuable insight of opioid receptor pocket structures which would be essential to design more efficient drugs in pain managements and addiction treatments.

Background and objectives: Chromatography fingerprinting is considered as a comprehensive method for quality control, diagnosis and the nature of herbal drugs, and it is important to classify the different samples of medicinal plants and determine the chemical species present in them. Methods: In this research, a new strategy based on the combination of multivariate curve differentiation and multivariate classification has been developed for full analysis of fingerprint chromatography of extracts of aerial and terrestrial organs of different species of the Papaver genus. For this purpose, the extraction of chemical components in 18 different vegetation samples was performed by solvent extraction method using soaking method and repeated three times for each sample. Subsequently, the methanol extracts were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography-PDA detector and their fingerprint chromatography was obtained. The method of multivariate-least square squared-time separation was used to analyze the same data matrices for each chromatographic region by applying non-negative constraints, single-peak, spectral normalization, and component association. Results: Pure models chromatography, spectra and concentration of all chemical species found in different samples were obtained. In addition, various Papaver species were confirmed and in the next step some of them were determined by comparing the pure spectrum with the standard range. Conclusion: The results showed that the combination of multivariate and multivariate clustering methods could be used successfully for the complete analysis of the Papaver genus extracts, and open a new window to the analysis of the chemical components of complex samples such as herbal medicines.

For any finite abelian group (R,+), we define a binary operation or “multiplication” on R and give necessary and sufficient conditions on this multiplication for R to extend to a ring. Then we show when two rings made on the same group are isomorphic. In particular, it is shown that there are n+1 rings of order pn with characteristic pn, where p is a prime number. Also, all finite rings of order p6 are described by generators and relations. Finally, we give an algorithm for the computation of all finite rings based on their additive group.

For the first time, the bending analysis of a double curved sandwich panel was presented which was subjected to point load, uniform distributed load on a patch, and harmonic distributed loads and was based on a new improved higher order sandwich panel theory. Since the cross-sectional warping was accurately modeled by this theory, it did not require any shear correction factor. Also, the present analysis incorporated trapezoidal shape factor (the 1+z/R terms) of a curved panel element. Geometry was used for the consideration of different radii curvatures of the face sheets, while the core was unique. Unlike most of other reference works, the core can have non-uniform thickness. The governing equations were derived by the principle of minimum potential energy. The effects of types of boundary conditions, types of applied loads, core to panel, and radii curvatures ratios on the bending response were also studied.