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Background: Barley (H. vulgare L.) is an important cereal crop cultivated across various climates globally. Barley and its ancestor (H. vulgare subsp. spontaneum) are an economically valuable model for genetic research and improvement. Drought, among various abiotic stresses, is a substantial threat to agriculture due to its unpredictable nature and significant impact on crop yield. Results: This study was conducted in both greenhouse and laboratory settings. Prior to the study, wild barley accessions were pre-selected based on their sensitivity or tolerance to drought as determined from fieldwork in the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 cropping seasons. The effects of three levels of drought stress were evaluated (control, 90–95% field capacity [FC]; mild stress, 50–55% FC; and severe stress, 25–30% FC). Several parameters were assessed, including seedling and root growth, enzymatic activity (CAT, SOD, POD), soluble protein levels, chlorophyll content, carotenoids, abaxial and adaxial stomatal density and dimensions, and relative gene expression of Dhn1, SOD, POD, and CAT. Drought stress significantly increased enzyme activities, especially at 25–30% FC, and more in the tolerant genotype. On the other hand, sensitive genotypes showed a notable increase in stomatal density. Under drought stress, there was a general decline in seedling and root growth, protein content, chlorophyll and carotenoids, and stomatal dimensions. Importantly, gene expression analysis revealed that Dhn1, SOD, POD, and CAT were upregulated under drought, with the highest expression levels observed in the drought-tolerant genotype under severe stress conditions (25–30% FC). Conclusions: Our investigation highlights the distinct morphological, physiological, biochemical, and gene-expression profiles of drought-resistant and drought-sensitive wild barley genotypes under varying degrees of drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, antibiotic residues as a global concern pose a threat not only to public health, but also to the food industry all around the world. There have been many studies on contamination sources of bee products, which the most important of them is evaluation of honey contamination extent with various antibiotics used in colonies. Antibiotic residues have a relatively long half life and may have direct toxic effects on consumers. Considering the adverse effects of this residues, we decided to measure the residual erythromycin in different samples of honey consumes in Qazvin, Iran. The present study is a cross-sectional study which conducted in different regions of Qazvin, Iran, in 2019. 80 samples of honey were collected from different regions in Qazvin. Using semi-quantitative ELISA, honey samples were evaluated for the presence of residual erythromycin. Based on the results obtained by ELISA, residual erythromycin was detected only in 8 samples (10.66%), of which, 5 samples (6.66%) and 3 samples (4%) had between 10-120 ng g-1 erythromycin and higher than 120 ng g-1 erythromycin (higher than detection limit of kit), respectively. According to the results, more than 96 percent of our honey samples lacked any erythromycin or had erythromycin concentration lower than allowable limit. The present study demonstrated that most of the honey samples collected from different regions of Qazvin lacked erythromycin residues, but due to the importance of drug residues on community health, annual screening of produced honey for the presence of drug residues by competent authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metals (HMs) such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, aluminum, iron, and barium can accumulate in tea herbs and pose health risks to consumers. This systematic review analyzes research from 2000- 2022 on HM contamination in tea, associated health effects, and strategies to minimize exposure. Initial searches yielded 961 articles, with 157 selected for final review after the screening. HMs have no biological role; their toxicity depends on metal type, oxidation state, and solubility. Chronic ingestion of HM-contaminated tea can impair numerous organs and biochemical processes, potentially causing cancer, cardiovascular, neurological, reproductive, and developmental damage. Factors influencing HM levels in tea herbs include soil, air, and water contamination, proximity to pollution sources, genetic differences, brewing methods, and steeping time. Strategies to reduce HM uptake and toxicity include using cleaner irrigation water, avoiding acidic fertilizers, liming soil, and restricting tea cultivation near pollution sources. Processing methods and shorter brewing can also decrease HMs extracted into tea infusions. Ongoing research should further investigate phytoremediation and genetically engineering tea cultivars. Consuming contaminated tea poses cumulative risks, so sustainable agriculture and pollution control are vital to minimize HM exposure and protect public health. This review enhances understanding HM dynamics, toxicity, and mitigation strategies for producing safer tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Honey is a unique food product containing bioactive compounds derived from bees and plants Nowadays, animal food products that may contain antibiotic residues have caused a lot of concern for the consumers. The presence of antibiotic residues in honey may be harmful to human health. One of the most important risks of antibiotic residues in food products is the occurrence of drug resistance in pathogenic bacteria in the body. Regarding the complications caused by these residues, the present research has investigated sulfonamide antibiotic residues in the honey samples consumed in Qazvin province. The present research is a cross-sectional study performed in different regions of Qazvin province in 2019. For this purpose, 80 honey samples were collected from different regions of Qazvin. The samples were transferred to the food safety laboratory of the Health Faculty under proper conditions. First, the samples were tested to check the sulfonamide antibiotic residue by the semi-quantitative ELISA assay. The data were recorded in SPSS 23, and data analysis was done by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and (post hoc) Tukey test at the significant level of P 0.05. According to the results of the ELISA assay, 10-120 ng of sulfonamide antibiotic residue was found in 23.75% (19 samples) of the samples. The findings showed that the highest and the lowest sulfonamide concentrations were respectively reported as 30.81 and 6.26 ppb, and the average sulfonamide residue was obtained as 14.50 ppb. According to the results, more than 75% of the honey samples collected from Qazvin province are free of sulfonamide or contain a little sulfonamide concentration. The research showed that most of the honey samples collected from different regions of Qazvin province are free of sulfonamide or contain a little sulfonamide concentration. Regarding the important role of honey consumption in health and the wide use of antibiotics in beehives, it is necessary to take the necessary actions to control the quality of this product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operation of the three-cavity magneto mercury reciprocating (MMR) micropump, whose prototype were presented in an earlier companion paper, was numerically explored. In the three-cavity MMR micropump, three mercury slugs are moved by a periodic Lorentz force with a phase difference in three separate cavities. A consecutive motion of the slugs in their cavities transfer air from the inlet to the outlet. Two-dimensional OpenFOAM simulations were carried out to explore the influence of electric current excitation phase difference and back-pressure. The numerical simulations predicted the MMR micropump (with no valve) with a phase difference of 90 ∘ and 120 ∘ produces a mean pumping flow rate of 2.7 and 6.1 mL/min at a back-pressure of 10 Pa and maintains a maximum back-pressure of 17.8 and 20 Pa, respectively. However, it was found that there was a reverse flow at large back-pressures with an excitation phase difference of 90 ∘ . The numerical results showed that employing a diffuser/nozzle valve with a length of 5 mm and an angle of 10 ∘ improves the mean flow rate of the micropump with a phase difference of 90 ∘ at a back-pressure of 10 Pa by 140% from 2.7 to 6.5 mL/min, and its maximum back-pressure by 125% from 17.8 to 40 Pa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance improvement of heat exchangers is important since their size and manufacturing cost can be decreased. This study aims to evaluate two techniques, namely use of nanofluid and employment of vortex generator (VG) applicable in performance improvement of a fin–plate heat exchanger. In the present article, a numerical investigation is carried out on a fin–plate heat exchanger by considering effects of employment of hybrid nanofluid, MWCNT-Fe3O4/water with 0.3% concentration, and winglet VG with different angles. In this regard, computational fluid dynamics is applied by using SST turbulence models. Results of the simulation reveal that employment of the nanofluid and VG induces enhancement in the heat transfer. Heat transfer improvement by use of VG is mainly due to the boundary layer reduction and intensification of turbulent flow and nanofluids enhance thermal performance owing to the increase of the fluid thermal conductivity. The augmentation in the heat transfer in case of using VG was dependent on its configuration. Moreover, simultaneous usage of both of them would further augment the heat transfer. The maximum heat transfer rate improvement in case of using the nanofluid without VG, with vortex generator and without the nanofluid and with the nanofluid and vortex generator is around 5.2, 69.2 and 74.6%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the most important food crops in the world. Its physiological and morphological traits are closely related to yield. Therefore, it is generally important to discover the genomic region associated with these traits. In this research, associations between 21 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and 10 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers with some traits related to root structure at the embryonic and seedling stages and also some agromorphological traits at the whole plant stage were evaluated on a set of 102 wheat genotypes. A highly significant coefficient of variation among different genotypes was observed in all measured traits. A high level of polymorphism with SSR and ISSR markers was obtained. Genetic structure analysis revealed two distinct subpopulations. Significant correlations were found between genomic markers and evaluated traits. A total of nine markers, including four SSR markers in 1A, 3A, 5A and 2B chromosomal regions and five different ISSR markers were related to the studied traits. Several molecular markers were significantly associated with more than one phenotypic trait, suggesting the possible presence of pleiotropic or indirect effects. The phenotypic variation justified by these alleles ranged from 4 to 15%. Obtained genetic information can be targeted for further validation and genetic analysis in the relevant populations or other breeding sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Root system architecture (RSA) has positive effects on wheat growth and its yield performance. As root features are difficult to manipulate through conventional breeding strategies, marker-trait association (MTA) could be helpful for the improvement of RSA. In the present study, 112 durum wheat genotypes were investigated for several root system features as well as some agronomic traits. The population was genotyped using a 15K SNP and a total of 3321 markers were used in the association analysis. A total of 581 significant marker-trait associations were identified in all of the 14 chromosomes. The percentages of phenotypic variation (R2) of measured traits varied between 8.76 and 24.81%. Out of 581 associated markers, 125 loci were linked with multiple traits. The most significant associations on measured traits were detected for genome B compared to genome A (61% vs 39%). Also, major associated loci existed on chromosomes 1A, 1B, 2B, 3B, and 5B, which could be considered in the future breeding programs to manipulate relevant traits using marker-assisted selection procedures. Among associated SNP markers, most markers were related to the number of days to spike heading (181), anthesis (53), booting (69), physiological maturity (41), water use efficiency (109), and transpiration efficiency (24). Furthermore, the large number of QTLs (167 in total) for RSA and agronomic traits were detected. The highest numbers of QTLs were related to WUE (23), DAS (23), DB (21), and DA (20) than other traits. Among the detected QTLs, 16 QTLs for RSA overlapped with different agronomic traits, as well as 6 QTLs co-located with other RSA traits in at last one trait. These results are helpful for better understanding the genetic basis of root system features and agronomic traits. Furthermore, these results could be valuable for facilitating pyramiding of the ideal alleles using the MAS approach for favorable plant-type and high water use efficiency in the future durum wheat breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new association-biased Monte Carlo (MC) method is proposed for efficient simulation of association and dissociation of ions in an ionic fluid. The method is then utilized to carry out extensive MC simulations, in order to study the properties of ionic fluids in two-dimensional systems that consist of mobile ions. The size distributions of the ionic clusters, their conformations, as well as the clusters’ multipole distributions are computed over wide ranges of temperature T and ions’ density ρ. At any given T, bonded dipolar pairs are dominant in the insulating phase, but larger clusters with an even number of ions are also present. In the conducting phase at the same T, however, single (free) ions are abundant, while clusters of larger sizes are also present. As for the conformations of the clusters, at any T, perturbed folded structures are dominant in the insulating phase, whereas perturbed linear chains are the dominant conformation in the conducting phase at the same T. Moreover, ionic clusters with closed loops are rarely formed, if at all, over the range of T that we study. As T decreases, more clusters with symmetrical conformations are formed. The multipole distributions are shown to be accurate indicators for the various types of conformations of the ionic clusters. They are also shown to be accurate means of differentiating the conformations of ionic clusters that may appear to be only slightly different, and may be difficult to distinguish otherwise, as the multipoles are sensitive to the details of the conformations. Some exact results are presented for the dipoles and quadrupoles of several types of cluster conformations. These results give rise, for the first time, to a numerical “spectroscopy” of ionic fluids, whereby each conformation is associated with distinct values of the dipole and quadrupole of the ionic cluster. We also suggest a new method of locating the critical locus Tc(ρ) that separates the conducting and insulating phases—the Kosterlitz–Thouless transition—based only on the size distribution of the ionic clusters and its dependence on the ions’ density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is investigation the applicability of SSR and ISSR markers in evaluating the genetic relationships in twenty accessions of Aegilops and Triticum species with D genome in different ploidy levels. Totally, 119 bands and 46 alleles were detected using ten primers for ISSR and SSR markers, respectively. Polymorphism Information Content values for all primers ranged from 0.345 to 0.375 with an average of 0.367 for SSR, and varied from 0.29 to 0.44 with the average 0.37 for ISSR marker. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that 81% (ISSR) and 84% (SSR) of variability was partitioned among individuals within populations. Comparing the genetic diversity of Aegilops and Triticum accessions, based on genetic parameters, shows that genetic variation of Ae. crassa and Ae. tauschii species are higher than other species, especially in terms of Nei's gene diversity. Cluster analysis, based on both markers, separated total accessions in three groups. However, classification based on SSR marker data was not conformed to classification according to ISSR marker data. Principal co-ordinate analysis (PCoA) for SSR and ISSR data showed that, the first two components clarified 53.48% and 49.91% of the total variation, respectively. This analysis (PCoA), also, indicated consistent patterns of genetic relationships for ISSR data sets, however, the grouping of accessions was not completely accorded to their own geographical origins. Consequently, a high level of genetic diversity was revealed from the accessions sampled from different eco-geographical regions of Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low shrinkage is an important parameter in marketing of dried lime fruits. An experiment conducted in order to evaluate affective factors on shrinkage coefficient of a dried lime fruit. Factors are defined as position of rest (vertical and horizontal), mechanical processing (length needling, width needling, slotting and intact or no processing), and temperature (shadow dried, sun dried, 40°C, 105°C and 200°C). Measured characters on a fruit were initial volume, final volume, and shrinkage coefficient. The average initial moisture content of limes was 476 % kg (kg db)-1. The position factor had no significant effect on shrinkage coefficient, but mechanical processing and temperature affected the final volume and consequently the shrinkage coefficient of samples. Also different influence of temperature in various mechanical processing was observed. The best treatment was drying in 40°C and with width needling because low shrinkage was obtained moreover nutritive value of fruits can be conserved with low energy consuming [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The goal of this study was to see whether there was a link between the monocyte/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in people with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Duplex ultrasonography parameters and demographic, physical, and paraclinical assessments were recorded. Using the t-test, the MHR and CIMT were compared between the two groups. Regression models were also constructed. Results: A total of 118 diabetics and 126 non-diabetics were included in the cross-sectional research. According to the stated diabetes duration, the observed age difference of 7 years might be considered. The MHR and CIMT were not substantially different between the two groups. In the DM and non-DM groups, the Spearman correlations between MHR and CIMT were 0.32 and − 0.08, respectively (p-values = 0.001 and 0.379). Thus, regression models (stratified for DM/non-DM and male/female) revealed that the MHR is a significant predictor of CIMT, but only in the case of male DM individuals, when crudely adjusted for confounders. Conclusions: In diabetes mellitus, the current investigation found a direct link between MHR and CIMT. In addition, in male diabetic subjects, MHR was demonstrated to be a predictor of CIMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical simulation and analysis of long-range correlations in curved space are studied. The study is motivated by the problem of constructing accurate models of large-scale porous media which usually contain long-range correlations in their various properties (such as their permeability, porosity, and elastic moduli) within and between their strata that are typically curved layers. The problem is, however, relevant to many other important models and phenomena in which extended correlations in curved space play a prominent role. Examples include the nonlinear σ-model in a curved space, models for describing the long-range structural correlations of amorphous semiconductors that consist of polytopes (tilings of positively-curved three-dimensional space), long-range correlations in the extrapolar total zone, and models in which the Universe is created by bubble nucleations and contain long-range correlations in the fluctuations in the curved spacetime. The study is also relevant to the important industrial problem of designing highly curved objects, such as cars and ships, which use composite materials that contain extended correlations in their property values. We study such correlations along two- and three-dimensional curves, as well as curved surfaces. We show that such correlations are well-defined only on developable surfaces, i.e. those that can be flattened to form planar surfaces without any stretching or distortion, and preserve the distance between two points on such surfaces after the stretching. If a given curved surface is not developable, but can be approximated as piecewise developable, one may still define and analyze extended correlations on it. Representative examples are presented and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) monitors surface change and displacement over a large area with millimeter-level precision and meter-level resolution. Anar fault, with a length of ~200 km, is located in central Iran. Recent seismological studies on the fault indicated that it is approaching the end of its seismic cycle. Although a large earthquake is imminent, the mechanism of the fault is not well understood. Therefore, understanding and discovering the mechanism of Anar fault remains a challenge. Here, we present an approach of displacement fault analysis utilizing a combination of InSAR data obtained from the persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) method and 178 Sentinel-1 images (ascending and descending) (2017–2020). We incorporated groundwater samples from 40 wells, radon concentration anomaly mapping, Global Positioning System (GPS), and 3D displacement measurement acquired over four years (2016–2020). We investigated and monitored the deformation of the fault plate's behavior over the last three years (2017–2020) to explore new evidence and signature of displacement. The results show that the time series analysis in the fault range has an increasing displacement rate in all dimensions. We observed that the line-of-sight (LOS) displacement rate varied from −15 mm to 5 mm per year. Our calculations show that the E–W, N–S, and vertical displacement rates of the fault blocks are 2 mm to −2 mm, 6 mm to −6 mm, and 2 mm to −4 mm per year, respectively. An anomaly map of the radon concentration shows that the complete alignment of the high concentration ranges with the fault strike and the radon concentration increased on average from 23.85 Bq/L to 25.30 Bq/L over these three years. Therefore, we predict rising the radon concentration is due to the increase in activity which resulted in a deformation. Finally, our findings show that the Anar fault is an oblique and right-lateral strike-slip with a normal component mechanism. We validated the proposed method and our results by comparing the GPS field data and PSI measurements. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the PSI measurement is estimated to be 0.142 mm. Based on the supporting evidence and signature, we conclude that the Anar fault activity increased between 2017 and 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minced meat (MM) has a high surface-to-volume ratio, which makes it prone to the growth of pathogenic and spoilage bacteria due to increased exposure to oxygen and high nutrient levels. In this study, postbiotics were used as a natural preservative to extend the shelf life of MM. Lyophilized postbiotics from Lactobacillus rhamnosus were incorporated into bacterial nanocellulose (BNNC) to create an antimicrobial film for packaging MM. The effectiveness of the postbiotic-embedded BNNC film against Staphylococcus aureus was tested using the disk diffusion method and the optimal postbiotic concentrations were determined using the microdilution broth method. Structural changes of the BNNC film after immersion in postbiotics were examined using scanning electron microscopy, and the attachment and chemical nature of the functional groups in the sample were confirmed using FTIR. The antimicrobial efficacy of the postbiotic-embedded BNNC film against S. aureus in MM was also tested. The results showed that BNNC with 10% (P10-BNNC) and 4% (P4-BNNC) postbiotic concentrations were the optimal films, as confirmed by SEM and FTIR. The P-BNNC films significantly reduced the number of S. aureus during storage of MM for 9 days at 4°C. In conclusion, BNNC can serve as a suitable carrier for creating antimicrobial films using postbiotics derived from LAB for food packaging applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milk serves as a vital source of essential nutrients in human diets and must be safe for consumption. In the dairy industry, it is crucial to analyze the physicochemical and microbiological properties of raw cow milk (RCM) throughout the year to gather fundamental information, as milk quality significantly influences the final quality of dairy products. This study aimed to investigate the physicochemical and microbiological properties of 60 RCM samples collected from 15 primary milk collection centers in Qazvin, Iran, and assess the impact of seasonal variation on these properties. The study discovered that the RCM samples contained >7 Log10 cfu/mL of Staphylococcus aureus, total coliform count, aerobic mesophilic plate count, and mold and yeast in 15%, 30%, 37%, and 28% of the samples, respectively. The results indicated that aerobic mesophilic plate count, mold and yeast, total coliform count, and Staphylococcus aureus were higher in warmer seasons compared to colder seasons. Furthermore, the study revealed that the average pH, freezing point, solid-not-fat, and protein content were higher in warm seasons, while the average acidity, lactose, and fat content were higher in cold seasons. The physicochemical and microbiological properties of RCM in the Qazvin region were found to be below the acceptable quality value. Although seasonal variation throughout the year affected the microbial and physicochemical quality of RCM, the differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05), except for the solid-not-fat value in winter (p<0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were to investigate different species of Triticum and Aegilops in terms of the expression pattern of ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and guaiacol peroxidase encoding genes along with the wheat dehydrin gene, wdhn13, which is involved in the induction of tolerance to drought stress. The study also explored the enzyme activity of these three antioxidant enzymes under drought stress. There was a significant difference in the expression level of the four studied genes, Wdhn13, APX, SOD and GPX, between the well-watered and drought stress (FC = 100% and FC = 25%) treatments and among the examined species. The relative expression of Wdhn13 under conditions of drought was higher in T. boeoticum and Ae. crassa compared to the tolerant reference cultivar (Sirvan) and the rest of the wild species. Ae. tauschii showed the highest expression of the APX gene, and the SOD and GPX genes were up-regulated in Ae. tauschii and T. boeoticum at the drought-stressed conditions. The highest APX, GPX and SOD enzyme activities under the drought-stressed conditions were observed in Ae. crassa, T. boeoticum and Ae. neglecta, respectively. The results indicated that there was relevant correspondence between the genetically determined tolerance of wheat species (i.e. the gene transcript levels) and their antioxidant enzyme activities. The species having Ab (T. boeoticum), D (Ae. tauschii) and D (Ae. tauschii and Ae.crassa) genomes had a higher expression of GPX, SOD, and APX genes, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the molecular diversity among 95 accessions of Aegilops tauschii was investigated using a CAAT-box derived polymorphism (CBDP) marker system. Fifteen CBDP primers produced a total of 73 bands (4.87 bands per primer), of which 66 bands (91.9%) were polymorphic. The mean of polymorphic information content (PIC=0.26) and resolving power (Rp=5.62) indicated the capability of this marker system in evaluating genetic diversity in Ae. tauschii. In addition, the mean percentage of polymorphic loci, the number of observed alleles, effective alleles, the Shannon information index, and genetic diversity criterion were estimated to be 91.90%, 1.83, 1.47, 0.44, and 0.27, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance revealed that intra-population variation accounted for 96% of the total variance, while the remaining 4% was related to inter-population variation. Cluster analysis grouped the accessions into 7 main clusters. Also, according to principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), accessions were classified into six main groups, where the first two principal coordinates explained 24.19% of the total variation. The results of cluster analysis were relatively consistent with the results of PCoA. In this study, although the CBDP marker system did not completely separate Iranian accessions from other accessions however, accessions from Turkmenistan, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Japan, and Kosovo were grouped in separate clades. Overall, the results showed that the CBDP marker system effectively identifies polymorphisms in the studied accessions. The results of this research suggest that the studied CBDP markers can be used in genetic fingerprinting and analysis of relationships between wheat and its related germplasm to evaluate various agronomic traits as well as tolerance to environmental stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salmonella serotypes are considered as one of the most important foodborne pathogens. Eggs are a main source of the contamination caused by these pathogens and diseases in humans and the prevalence of the salmonellosis. This study was aimed to isolate Salmonella enteritidis from industrial eggs collected from different areas of Qazvin city, Iran in the year 2020.In this cross-sectional study, 200 eggs were collected randomly (including 100 industrial packaged eggs and 100 industrial tray eggs) from the retail and stores located in Qazvin city, Iran. After culturing of eggshells and egg contents according to the classic methods, suspected colonies were confirmed by PCR assay. Salmonella was detected in 10% (4/40) among the egg samples. Salmonella was isolated from 0% (0/40) and 10% (4/40) of eggshells and egg contents, respectively. Isolates from positive egg samples were characterized as S. Typhimurium. Salmonella Typhimurium is the most prevalent serotype of egg contamination in Qazvin city, Iran. It can be regarded as the risk evaluation of possible human foodborne diseases associated with the consumption of contaminated eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A molecular assessment of genetic diversity was performed on a set of 228 selected accessions belonging to the different Aegilops and Triticum species using CAAT-box derived polymorphism (CBDP) markers. Fifteen CBDP primers generated 141 polymorphic fragments with an average of 9.40 per primer. The average of polymorphic information content and resolving power revealed a high efficiency of CBDP markers in analyzing genetic diversity among different wheat genotypes. The diversity indexes including polymorphic loci percent, number of observed and effective alleles, Shannon's index and gene diversity among different populations were 76.24%, 1.67, 1.49, 0.42 and 0.28, respectively. These essentially coincided with the analysis of molecular variance results, indicating that 86, 68, and 59.46% of genetic variation were found within two Aegilops and Triticum genera and their populations, respectively. Genetic relationships inferred from cluster analysis was matched with STRUCTURE analysis, disclosing the accessions were grouped based on their genomic constitution. Furthermore, these results were confirmed by principal coordinate analysis (PCoA). Taken together, our results suggest that CBDP markers will be useful for genetic diversity assessment in the domesticated and wild relatives of wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the following problem: preprocess a set O of objects into a data structure that allows us to efficiently report all pairs of objects from O that intersect inside an axis-aligned query range Q. We present data structures of size O(n·polylogn) and with query time O((k+1)·polylogn) time, where k is the number of reported pairs, for two classes of objects in R2: axis-aligned rectangles and objects with small union complexity. For the 3-dimensional case where the objects and the query range are axis-aligned boxes in R3, we present a data structure of size O(nn·polylogn) and query time O((n+k)·polylogn). When the objects and query are fat, we obtain O((k+1)·polylogn) query time using O(n·polylogn) storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed the molecular genetic diversity and relationships among some Aegilops and Triticum species using 15 start codon-targeted (SCoT) polymorphism markers. A total of 166 bands amplified, of which 164 (98.79%) were polymorphic. Analysis of molecular variance and inter-population differentiation (Gst) indicated high genetic variation within the studied populations. Our analyses revealed high genetic diversity in T. boeoticum, Ae. cylindrica, T. durum and Ae. umbellulata, low diversity in Ae. crassa, Ae. caudata and Ae. speltoides, and a close relationship among Ae. tauschii, T. aestivum, T. durum, T. urartu, and T. boeoticum. Cluster analysis indicated 180 individuals divided into 8 genome homogeneous clades and 11 sub-groups. T. aestivum and T. durum accessions were grouped together, and accessions with the C and U genomes were grouped into the same clade. Our results support the hypothesis that T. urartu and Ae. tauschii are two diploid ancestors of T. aestivum, and also that Ae. caudata and Ae. umbellulata are putative donors of C and U genomes for other Aegilops species that possess these genomes. Our results also revealed that the SCoT technique is informative and can be used to assess genetic relationships among wheat germplasm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pomegranate peel is a by-product which has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties and using it as an additive to improve the meat products shelf life in active packaging has increased in the last decade. The purpose of current study is to investigate the utilization of pomegranate peel powder (PPP) in bilayer film to increase the shelf life of ostrich meat (OM) at 4±1°C. In this research, OM was placed in bilayer films with different ratios of PPP (1,3,5%) then chemical and microbial experiments alongside sensory evaluation on OM were conducted on storage days (1,3,5,7,10). The results indicated that the values of chemical properties including pH, lipid oxidation and nitrogen, microbial, and sensory evaluation after 10 days in samples containing 5% PPP were lower than other samples. However, they had an undesirable color; Thus, the samples containing 3% PPP were preferred. This film was proposed as an active packaging for storing OM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current COVID-19 pandemic is associated with numerous psychological issues, such as anxiety and distress as a result of individual, health-related, social, and economic issues. This study aims to assess the general population in Iran for the negative impacts of the current pandemic on psychological well-being and to find possible protective and risk factors when facing such situations in the current COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A total of 317 people participated in an online survey in Iran from August 3, 2020, to September 20, 2020. Anxiety, depression, fear of COVID-19, emotion regulation, intolerance of uncertainty, illness perception, neuroticism, social support, and self-efficacy were evaluated. Results: The results showed that measures that assess anxiety, depression, emotion regulation, intolerance of uncertainty, illness perception, neuroticism, social support, and self-efficacy were significantly related to fear of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the results of regression analysis demonstrated that neuroticism, intolerance of uncertainty, and illness perception could predict fear of COVID-19 beyond and above anxiety and depression. Conclusion: Some factors, including neuroticism, illness perception, and intolerance of uncertainty are considered risk factors for mental health during this pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles about combinatorial instruments and techniques, published in the June 2005 issue of the periodical “Review of Scientific Instruments”.

Introduction Reducing the genetic diversity of crops as a result of the use of breeding processes leads to the loss of a large number of useful genes and thus reduces the diversity of genetic resources, which is one of the undeniable tools of breeding programs. Therefore, researches aimed at studying the genetic diversity of crops can be an effective aid in preserving genetic resources and identifying superior genotypes. Electrophoresis of seed storage proteins is a useful tool to study the characteristics of wheat genotypes in terms of storage proteins diversity. Materials and Methods In the present study, the diversity of seed storage proteins of 25 durum wheat genotypes obtained from different regions of Iran, including some landraces and commercial cultivars, was investigated using SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. Storage proteins of the studied genotypes were scored and analyzed after extraction and electrophoresis. Grain protein content and total gluten were measured by NIR and glutomatic gluten washer machines, respectively. Results and Discussion Electrophoresis identified 14 polymorphic bands. Molecular analysis of variance between landraces and commercial cultivars showed 100% intragroup diversity. Cluster analysis using Jaccard coefficients by UPGMA method divided the studied genotypes into 4 groups. Genotypes No. 9 (Land race of Mashhad), 18 (Land race of Ahar) and 24 (Landrace of Islamabad Gharb) were placed each in a separate group and the rest of the genotypes formed another group. The two-dimensional graph resulting from principal component analysis also confirmed these four groups. Based on Jaccard similarity matrix, the lowest similarity and highest genetic distance were determined between genotypes No. 24 (Land race of Islamabad Gharb) with genotypes No. 21 (Dehdasht cultivar), 22 (Land race of Khorramabad), 23 (Dena cultivar) and 25 (Land race of Khorramabad) with a similarity coefficient of 0.41 was obtained. On the other hand, comparing the mean of genotypes for qualitative traits of grain protein content and total gluten, the highest amount of these two traits for genotypes No. 3 (Landrace of Kermanshah), 4 (Landrace of unknown-Iran), 1 (Landrace of Khoram Abad) and 2 (Landrace of Khoramabad) and the lowest values of both traits were obtained for genotype No. 24 (Landrace of Islamabad-West). Genotype No. 18 (Landrace of Ahar) is also one of the genotypes with high amounts of gluten. Conclusion The electrophoretic pattern of seed storage proteins can determine genetic diversity based on the presence or absence of protein bands. Therefore it can be a useful tool to identify the genetic diversity of different plants. It is also possible for genotypes that have the greatest genetic distance and at the same time have good quantitative and qualitative traits to participate in breeding programs as parents. In the present study, according to the study of genotypes by analyzing the variance of qualitative traits of grain protein content and total gluten and comparing the mean and grouping them using the information obtained by electrophoresis, a cross can be found between genotypes genotypes No. 3 (Landrace of Kermanshah), 4 (Landrace of unknown-Iran), 1 (Landrace of Khoram Abad) and 2 (Landrace of Khoramabad) Due to their high content of gluten and protein with genotype No. 18 (Landrace of Ahar) due to its high content of gluten and acceptable genetic distance with the mentioned genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we estimated genetic diversity and population structure in 186 accessions of Triticum and Aegilops species using 24 simple sequence repeat markers (SSR). Furthermore, an association analysis was performed for antioxidant activities, including guaiacol peroxidase (GPX), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), peroxidase (POX), catalase (CAT), and dry matter (DM) under two control and drought stress conditions. Our findings showed that drought treatment significantly decreased DM, whereas activities of all antioxidant enzymes were increased compared to the control conditions. The results of correlation analysis indicated that, under drought stress conditions, all biochemical traits had a positive and significant association with each other and with dry matter. In the molecular section, the results of the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that the molecular variation within species is more than within them. The dendrogram obtained by cluster analysis showed that grouping the investigated accessions was in accordance with their genomic constitutions. The results of association analysis revealed 8 and 9 significant marker–trait associations (MTA) under control and drought stress conditions, respectively. Among identified MTAs, two associations were simultaneously found in both growing conditions. Moreover, several SSR markers were associated with multiple traits across both conditions. In conclusion, our results could provide worthwhile information regarding marker-assisted selection for the activity of antioxidant enzymes in future breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of contaminated foodborne diseases has always been a major challenge all around the world. A huge amount of money is spent on treating these diseases every year. This study investigated the status of chemical and microbial contamination of confectionery products in Iran. Data were collected from electronic databases including Pubmed, Science Direct, Elsevier, SID, Magiran, and Google Scholar during 2001 - 2017. Search keywords included microbial contamination, chemical contamination, confectionery products, cream-filled pastry, and Iran. The results indicated that the highest contamination rates in South Khorasan, Tehran, Gorgan, and Isfahan were related to Staphylococcus aureus (80%), Escherichia coli (57%), Enterobacteriaceae (25.1%), and yeasts (100%), respectively. Moreover, the least prevalent pathogens in west of Tehran, Tabriz, east of Gilan, and south of Tehran were S. aureus (4.81%), Coliform (2.51%), Bacillus cereus (1.2%), and E. coli (2%), respectively. In addition, there was no Salmonella in southeast of Tehran and Yasouj. Most confectionery products contained unauthorized artificial dyes, and authorized artificial dyes were also overused. The most commonly used artificial dye was sunset yellow with 80% use in Arak. Moreover, 100% of the samples in Arak contained unauthorized artificial dyes. Confectionery products are an important part of food products in the country. The likelihood of microbial and chemical spoilage of these products increases due to the use of such ingredients as eggs, milk, and color additives. Further training and supervision on the preparation and maintenance of these products by the local health authorities can be effective in reducing the contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salmonella is a worldwide public health issue as one of the reasons for foodborne illness for humans and animals. Eggs can be a significant source of this bacterium and the prevalence of salmonellosis. Thus, the control of contamination by Salmonella has become essential for the consumer. This study investigates the prevalence, and serotype distribution of Salmonella isolates recovered from industrial quail eggs and local duck eggs collected from Qazvin city, Iran, in 2020. In this cross-sectional study, 130 eggs were collected randomly (including 100 industrial quail eggs and 30 local duck eggs) from the retail and stores in Qazvin city, Iran. Salmonella was isolated from eggshells and egg contents using conventional culture methods for selective isolation of Salmonella and biochemical identification, suspect colonies confirmed by Real-Time PCR assay for the amplification and detection of Salmonella using specific primers. A 16.67% prevalence of Salmonella was observed from duck eggs; however, no Salmonella recovered from quail eggs. Salmonella was isolated from 0% (0 groups of 6 groups) and 16.67% (1 group of 6 groups) of eggshells and contents of duck eggs, respectively. Isolates from positive egg samples characterized as S. Typhimurium. Although Salmonella infection was low in this study, Continuous monitoring is required to prevent health hazards associated with poultry products in this area, and the presence of duck eggs can be a public health problem. The results of this study are essential for the government, consumers, regulators of poultry products, producers like poultry farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central to the diversity of wheat products was the origin of hexaploid bread wheat, which added the D-genome of Aegilops tauschii to tetraploid wheat giving rise to superior dough properties in leavened breads. The polyploidization, however, imposed a genetic bottleneck, with only limited diversity introduced in the wheat D-subgenome. To understand genetic variants for quality, we sequenced 273 accessions spanning the known diversity of Ae. tauschii. We discovered 45 haplotypes in Glu-D1, a major determinant of quality, relative to the two predominant haplotypes in wheat. The wheat allele 2 + 12 was found in Ae. tauschii Lineage 2, the donor of the wheat D-subgenome. Conversely, the superior quality wheat allele 5 + 10 allele originated in Lineage 3, a recently characterized lineage of Ae. tauschii, showing a unique origin of this important allele. These two wheat alleles were also quite similar relative to the total observed molecular diversity in Ae. tauschii at Glu-D1. Ae. tauschii is thus a reservoir for unique Glu-D1 alleles and provides the genomic resource to begin utilizing new alleles for end-use quality improvement in wheat breeding programs. Delorean et al., along with colleagues from the Open Wild Wheat Consortium, present an analysis of Aegilops tauschii genomes to investigate the origins of the Glu-D1 gene in modern wheats. They discover an abundance of novel Glu-D1 gene alleles that could serve as a reservoir for generating higher quality wheat varieties. This is a companion to the Consortium paper which is available in Nature Biotechnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pastoralists' knowledge of adaptive rangeland management in Iran has long been only selectively analyzed and documented. This study attempts to rectify that by outlining the indigenous ecological knowledge of the pastoralists of Nariyan village in the Taleghan region of northern Iran, and by evaluating the influence of such knowledge on rangeland management. Local herd owners operate according to traditional herding practices; their knowledge of rangeland plants and principles of sustainable rangeland management is indigenous and is based on centuries of experience and observation. Their in-depth knowledge covers the medicinal properties of various local plant species and the palatability of the most salient forage species in terms of sustaining the sheep and goats that are their livelihood. This study investigates some of the traditional strategies of rangeland management used in the Taleghan region, the rationale and timing of livestock rotation in the rangelands, local landscape classification, and local know-how in animal husbandry, all of which are indispensable in contributing to the pastoralists' survival and maintenance of the local environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aegilops tauschii, the diploid progenitor of the wheat D-genome, is a valuable genetic resource for wheat breeders. In this study, we compared the efficiency of inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) (as an arbitrary technique) and start codon targeted (SCoT) (as a gene-targeting technique) markers in determining the genetic diversity and population structure of 90 accessions of Ae. tauschii. SCoT markers indicated the highest values for polymorphism information content, marker index and effective multiplex ratio compared to ISSR markers. The total genetic diversity (Ht) and genetic diversity within populations (Hs) parameters were comparably modest for the two marker systems. The results of the analysis of molecular variance showed that the genetic variation within populations was significantly higher than among them (ISSR: 92 versus 8%; SCoT: 88 versus 12%). Furthermore, SCoT markers discovered a high level of genetic differentiation among populations than ISSRs (0.19 versus 0.05), while the amount of gene flow detected by ISSR was higher than SCoT (2.13 versus 8.62). Cluster analysis and population structure of SCoT and ISSR data divided all investigated accessions into two and four main clusters, respectively. Our results revealed that SCoT and ISSR fingerprinting could be used to further molecular analysis in Ae. tauschii and other wild species. The high-genetic variability found in this study also indicates the valuable genetic potential present in the investigated Ae. tauschii germplasm, which could be utilized for future genetic analysis and linkage mapping in breeding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These days, making use of synthetic dyes in producing and processing food, such as nuts, is enhancing due to customer attention. Considering that the application of this type of dyes is not permitted in accordance with the current regulations of the country, controlling nut products in terms of dye is required and overriding. In this study, sampling was performed randomly in 10 nut distribution centers at one-week intervals. Samples were tested respecting the type of dye. A Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) method was applied to identify the types of dye. After conducting tests on different samples of nuts, it was recognized that different synthetic dyes such as tartrazine, quinoline yellow, and Ponceau 4R were used in the sample nuts. Of the 50 samples tested and analyzed, 23 samples (46%) had non-permitted synthetic dye, and 27 samples (54%) had permitted synthetic dye. The frequency distribution of synthetic dye among different nuts was significantly different. Furthermore, consumption of almond is associated with lower risk of permitted and non-permitted synthetic compared to pistachio (p< 0.05). Application of these types of dye, due to their glamorous appearance, will be significantly improved in the future. Therefore, with regard to the high consumption of synthetic dyes in food and their adverse effects on health, it seems that measures like increasing the level of awareness of producers and consumers about the effects of consumption or non-consumption of these compounds as well as continuous monitoring of units by health inspectors are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The earthquake that struck Barn, Iran, in December 2003 was one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in recent years. Medical and assistance activities conducted by Iranian military forces in this event are discussed in light of the special capabilities of the military forces in search and rescue missions. Among the most significant activities of the Iranian military forces in this event are the following: reporting the first news about the event, starting search and rescue missions in the first hour alter the disaster by the 1st Brigade of Barn as the first assisting force, setting up two field hospitals as the first Iranian field hospitals in the disaster area, transporting 937 assistance, medical, and health care personnel to the disaster area in the first day, setting up 23 field emergency and 13 field assistance centers in the area, running 8 post-hospital care centers throughout the country, and playing a significant role in airlifting 11,792 casualties to different hospitals around the country. Based on the recent experience and the exclusive abilities of military forces, a special role for these forces in search and rescue missions should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let P be a set of n points in the plane. We consider the problem of partitioning P into two subsets P 1 and P 2 such that the sum of the perimeters of C H (P 1) and C H (P 2) is minimized, where C H (P i) denotes the convex hull of P i . The problem was first studied by Mitchell and Wynters in 1991 who gave an O (n 2) time algorithm. Despite considerable progress on related problems, no subquadratic time algorithm for this problem was found so far. We present an exact algorithm solving the problem in O (n log 2 n) time and a (1 + ε) -approximation algorithm running in O (n + 1 / ε 2 · log 2 (1 / ε)) time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we selected 180 accessions from different wild relatives of wheat (Aegilops-Triticum species) and tested them in the presence of a tolerant and a sensitive control variety under well-watered and drought-stressed conditions. The results of analysis of variance for dry masses and all measured root traits showed that water regimes, accession and species main effects were highly significant. Drought stress significantly declined shoot dry mass (59.42%), root length (37.85%) and the total number of branch roots (36.25%), but increased the root-to-shoot ratio (75.00%), specific root length (64.19%) and root tissue density (29.46%). Principal component analysis for 182 individuals and 12 species groups identified two components that explained 75.67 and 82.39% of the total variation in dry mass and root traits under drought-stressed conditions, respectively. Taking together, our results identified 12 accessions with superior tolerance to drought stress. Remarkably, four species of wild relatives - Ae. cylindrica (DC genome), Ae. neglecta (UM genome), Ae. speltoides (B genome) and Ae. tauschii (D genome) - responded well to drought stress. The potential of these species could be used for molecular analysis such as marker assisted selection and gene mapping, ultimately aimed at breeding for root traits with improved adaptation to drought environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild relatives of wheat have served as a pool of genetic variation for understanding salinity tolerance mechanisms. Two separate experiments were performed to evaluate the natural diversity in root and shoot Na+ exclusion and K+ accumulation, and the activity of four antioxidant enzymes within an extensive collection of ancestral wheat accessions. In the initial screening experiment, salinity stress (300mM NaCl) significantly increased Na+ concentration in roots and leaves and led to a significant decline in root and shoot fresh weights, dry weights, and K+ contents. Principal component analysis of the 181 accessions and 12 species identified three first components accounted for 63.47% and 78.55% of the variation under salinity stress. We identified 12 accessions of each species with superior tolerance to salinity for further assessment of their antioxidant defence systems in response to salinity. Both mild (250 mM NaCl) and severe (350 mM NaCl) levels of salinity significantly increased activities of four enzymes, indicating an enhanced antioxidant-scavenging system for minimising the damaging effects of H2O2. Some of the wild relatives--Aegilops speltoides (putative B genome), Ae. caudata (C genome), Ae. cylindrica (DC genome) and Triticum boeoticum (Ab genome)--responded to salinity stress by increasing antioxidants as the dominant mechanism to retain oxidative balance in cells. Further evaluation of salt-tolerance mechanisms in these superior wild relatives will help us to understand the potential of wheat progenitors in the development of more salt-tolerant varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let P be an orthogonal polygon with n vertices. A sliding camera travels back and forth along an orthogonal line segment s ⊆ P corresponding to its trajectory . The camera sees a point p ∈ P if there is a point q ∈ s such that p q ‾ is a line segment normal to s that is completely contained in P . In the Minimum-Cardinality Sliding Cameras (MCSC) problem , the objective is to find a set S of sliding cameras of minimum cardinality to guard P (i.e., every point in P can be seen by some sliding camera in S ), while in the Minimum-Length Sliding Cameras (MLSC) problem the goal is to find such a set S so as to minimize the total length of trajectories along which the cameras in S travel. In this paper, we answer questions posed by Katz and Morgenstern (2011) by presenting the following results: (i) the MLSC problem is polynomially tractable even for orthogonal polygons with holes, (ii) the MCSC problem is NP -complete when P is allowed to have holes, and (iii) an O ( n 3 log ⁡ n ) -time 2-approximation algorithm for the MCSC problem on [NE]-star-shaped orthogonal polygons with n vertices (similarly, [NW]-, [SE]-, or [SW]-star-shaped orthogonal polygons). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In seasonally dry environments such as the Zagros woodlands (Iran), severe drought stress and lack of appropriate management practices can cause failure of oak afforestation or reforestation. We investigated the effect of soil properties and burial depth on Persian oak ( Quercus brantii Lindl.) establishment in different microhabitats resulting from traditional forest practices. Four microhabitats that were based on forest structure were considered for oak acorn seeding: (1) inside old sprout clumps (ISPC); (2) under the canopy of tall trees (UCTT); (3) outside the canopy of tall trees and sprout clumps; and (4) near recent stumps or sprout clumps. Acorns were seeded at two depths (2 and 5 cm), and seedling survival and growth variables were recorded for 4 years, together with soil chemical and biological attributes. Stepwise discriminant analysis showed that a combination of total soil nitrogen, cation exchange capacity, available phosphorus and potassium, litter depth, microbial quotient, metabolic coefficient, substrate-induced respiration and earthworm abundance was the best variables to characterise the microhabitats. With the exception of pH, bulk density and soil texture, these variables were higher in UCTT and ISPC than in the other microhabitats. Seedling emergence and survival were greater at a seed depth of 5 cm than at 2 cm. Seedling height and shoot, root and leaf biomasses were higher in the UCTT microhabitat compared to the other microhabitats and correlated positively with soil nutrients contents and most of the soil biological variables but negatively with soil bulk density. This study emphasised the role of microhabitats in creating a 'canopy effect' producing favourable physical, chemical and biological soil conditions. In particular, large oak trees form islands of fertility and therefore are of key importance for successful seedling establishment in forests subjected to intense human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An imprecise point p in the plane is a point represented by an imprecision region I p indicating the set of possible locations of the point p . We study separability problems for a set R of red imprecise points and a set B of blue imprecise points, where the imprecision regions are axis-parallel rectangles and each point p ∈ R ∪ B is drawn uniformly at random from I p . Our results include algorithms for finding certain separators (which separate R from B with probability 1), possible separators (which separate R from B with non-zero probability), most likely separators (which separate R from B with maximum probability), and maximal separators (which maximize the expected number of correctly classified points). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to evaluate and classify morphological and morpho-physiological traits of durum wheat genotypes in drought and irrigated conditions 200 durum wheat genotypes were sown in modify augmented design with four replications during 2013- 2014 farming season. Two replications were considered as drought condition and two as irrigated. Factor analysis based on principal component analysis method and varimax rotation indicated that four important factors accounted for about 87 and 92 percent of the total variation among traits in drought and irrigated conditions, respectively. In drought stress condition, the first factor assigned 37 percent of total variation between traits and was significantly related with spike yield and it's components. Therefore, this factor was regarded as spike seed yield factor. Other factors in drought stress condition accounted for 22, 16 and 12 percent of variation between traits and were entitled as plant seed yield, spike density and assimilate transmission factors, respectively. In irrigated condition, the first factor assigned 36 percent of total variation between traits and was significantly related with traits plant and spike seed yield, plant and spike harvest index, No. seed/spike and plant height. This factor was regarded as plant seed yield factor. Other factors in irrigated condition accounted for 24, 18 and 14 percent of variation between traits and were entitled as production, assimilate transmission and spike density factors, respectively. Overall, results revealed effect of different environments on extracted factors, percent of variation accounted for by factors and traits related with each factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) has a lot of complications such as macrovessel and microvessel disease. Another complication of DM is cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN), which have effect on automatic nervous system of heart. Failure in heart rate slowing after exercise is a presentation of this abnormality. METHODS: We selected diabetic patients and divided them to case and control group based on microalbuminuria. Case group comprised of diabetic patients with microalbuminuria and control group included those without microalbuminuria. Patients in both groups exercised on treadmill using Bruce protocol and heart rate was measured in first and second minutes in the recovery period. RESULTS: We selected 35 patients with microalbuminuria (case group) and 35 without microalbuminuria (control group) among diabetic patients. No statistically significant difference was seen in sex and age between case and control groups. Heart rate recovery in the first minute of recovery in the case and control groups did not show significant difference; but in the second minute of recovery, it was significantly higher in control group (97 ± 19.4 vs. 101.9 ± 12.4 beat per minute, P = 0.04). CONCLUSION: In this study we evaluated the heart rate recovery or deceleration in diabetic patients with albuminuria and without microalbuminuria in recovery phase after exercise test. We found out that heart rate recovery at the second minute in the case and control groups has statistically significant difference but at the first minute, it did not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers a number of problems in a pharmaceutical downstream supply chain under specific constraints related to pharmaceutical products (e.g., their expiry date and regulations) and to inventory control (e.g., low prices of products, gift products or prices near zero, shortages prohibited but excess inventory allowed). As traditional models of inventory control and replenishment cannot optimize the total cost of the system, it is very important to consider the transportation cost as well. In this paper, we take into account some of these constraints and propose two models for multi-product replenishment policies, namely centralized and decentralized models. We seek to identify the best quantity and period of replenishment of products for a joint optimization of inventory and transportation costs. The proposed models can be applied to a specific family of products with a stable demand and high turnover rate, low prices (or gift products for some of them), and without any shortage. These two models are compared and the global approach is illustrated by a numerical example taken from a real-case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the usefulness of ultrasonography and scintigraphy in diagnosing the etiology of primary congenital hypothyroidism (CH). METHODS: The newborns that were examined by both thyroid scintigraphy and ultrasonography during CH screening program in Isfahan were included in this study. The ultrasonographic findings were compared with the scintigraphic findings and the sensitivity and specificity of the ultrasonography was determined. RESULTS: During this study, 102 CH newborns were studied. According to the ultrasonographic results, 61.8%, 26.5%, 2.9% and 8.8% of them had normal thyroid gland, agenesia, ectopia and hypoplasia, respectively, and according to scintigraphic results, 55.9%, 35.3% and 8.8% of them had normal thyroid gland, agenesia and ectopia, respectively. Ultrasound detected sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and positive and negative likelihood ratio were 77%, 92%, 89%, 84%, 9.6 and 0.25, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonography compared with thyroid scintigraphy in diagnosis of thyroid gland ectopia was 33% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Though thyroid ultrasonography failed to diagnose 67% of ectopic cases and nonfunctioning thyroid gland, it had the ability to determine the anatomy of thyroid gland. So, considering some limitations of scintigraphy, we concluded that ultrasonography is a relatively appropriate imaging tool for diagnosing CH etiologies, especially in the initial phase of CH screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the usefulness of ultrasonography and scintigraphy in diagnosing the etiology of primary congenital hypothyroidism (CH). METHODS: The newborns that were examined by both thyroid scintigraphy and ultrasonography during CH screening program in Isfahan were included in this study. The ultrasonographic findings were compared with the scintigraphic findings and the sensitivity and specificity of the ultrasonography was determined. RESULTS: During this study, 102 CH newborns were studied. According to the ultrasonographic results, 61.8%, 26.5%, 2.9% and 8.8% of them had normal thyroid gland, agenesia, ectopia and hypoplasia, respectively, and according to scintigraphic results, 55.9%, 35.3% and 8.8% of them had normal thyroid gland, agenesia and ectopia, respectively. Ultrasound detected sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and positive and negative likelihood ratio were 77%, 92%, 89%, 84%, 9.6 and 0.25, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonography compared with thyroid scintigraphy in diagnosis of thyroid gland ectopia was 33% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Though thyroid ultrasonography failed to diagnose 67% of ectopic cases and nonfunctioning thyroid gland, it had the ability to determine the anatomy of thyroid gland. So, considering some limitations of scintigraphy, we concluded that ultrasonography is a relatively appropriate imaging tool for diagnosing CH etiologies, especially in the initial phase of CH screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combinatorial methods have proven to be valuable tools for the development of new compounds, catalysts, and electronic materials. We have developed a combinatorial factory capable of preparing and evaluating about 100 organic clear coatings in a day. Successful application of combinatorial methods to coatings development requires rapid and uniform preparation of a large number of diverse coatings. We have found that centrifugal spin casting is an effective method of producing an array of 48 coatings samples, each 9 mm diameter. The uniformity and flatness of each sample is dependent on specific process details such as protection from air currents and control of the evaporation process to avoid the “coffee ring effect”. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Combinatorial chemistry has proven to be a valuable tool for the development of new compounds. The combinatorial methodology is well suited to the development of complex, multicomponent materials that, typically, require extensive experimentation for their development. As a result, coating development appeared to be a good candidate for the application of the combinatorial methodology. A “combinatorial factory” capable of preparing and testing over 100 coatings per day has been developed. The components of the factory consist of: (1) an automated system to prepare liquid coating formulations; (2) a novel coating application process capable of making high density arrays of coatings of controlled thickness; (3) curing of the coating arrays either thermally or with UV light; (4) testing of the coatings using newly developed high throughput screening methods; and (5) a data handling process to quickly identify the most promising coatings produced. Various aspects of the application of the combinatorial methodology to coating development are described. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Wild relatives of wheat serve as an extraordinary source of variability for breeding programs due to their capabilities to respond to various environmental stresses. Here, we investigated some species possessing a D genome (T. aestivum, Ae. tauschii, Ae. crassa and Ae. cylindrica) in terms of relative water content (RWC), stomatal conductance (Gs), relative chlorophyll content, initial fluorescence (Fo), maximum quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm), maximum primary yield of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fo), as well as shoot fresh and dry biomasses under control and water deficit conditions. Our results revealed that water deficit negatively affected all traits; shoot fresh weight, Gs and RWC showed the highest reduction compared to the control condition. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified two PCs that accounted for 53.36% of the total variation in the water deficit conditions. Correlation analysis and PCA-based biplots showed that stress tolerance index (STI) is significantly associated with Fv/Fm and Fv/Fo under water stress conditions, suggesting that these are the best parameters to evaluate when screening for tolerant samples at the seedling stage. We identified 19 accessions from Ae. crassa and one from Ae. tauschii as the most tolerant samples. In conclusion, Ae. crassa might provide an ideal genetic resource for drought-tolerant wheat breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The earthquake that struck Bam, Iran, in December 2003 was one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in recent years. Medical and assistance activities conducted by Iranian military forces in this event are discussed in light of the special capabilities of the military forces in search and rescue missions. Among the most significant activities of the Iranian military forces in this event are the following: reporting the first news about the event, starting search and rescue missions in the first hour after the disaster by the 1st Brigade of Bam as the first assisting force, setting up two field hospitals as the first Iranian field hospitals in the disaster area, transporting 937 assistance, medical, and health care personnel to the disaster area in the first day, setting up 23 field emergency and 13 field assistance centers in the area, running 8 post-hospital care centers throughout the country, and playing a significant role in airlifting 11,792 casualties to different hospitals around the country. Based on the recent experience and the exclusive abilities of military forces, a special role for these forces in search and rescue missions should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]