a. rahimi

Honey bees are vital to the economy of the people of Kurdistan Province, Iran. They produce honey and other hive products like royal jelly, wax, venom, and collect pollen and propolis. They also provide food security, create jobs in secondary industries, and prevent rural migration to cities. In addition to their significant role in pollination, they also increase the quantity and quality of agricultural products, develop and expand forests and pastures, preserve biodiversity, and increase income. Despite all these economic and social benefits, honeybee colonies and the beekeeping profession in Iran have been adversely affected by several adverse factors, one of the most important of which is the lack of access for beekeepers to improved, highly productive, and economical queens. The use of improved queens with desirable functional and behavioral traits is one of the most important factors of success in beekeeping. The current study was conducted to evaluate the performance of improved Iranian honey bee queens, "Aram", with native queens and their hybrids in three apiaries located in different climates of Kurdistan province during 2022-2023.

The present study was conducted in the form of a factorial experiment (3×3) and based on a completely randomized design with nine treatments and five replications. The treatments included improved and mated queens (improved and mated queens in the central core of the Iranian honey bee breeding plan), hybrid queens (improved and mated queens in the apiaries of Kurdistan province), and native queens (as control). In total, the current study was carried out on 45 honey bee colonies. After the preparation of colonies in each apiary and the successful introduction of queens, the colonies were homogenized in terms of population (adults and brood) and honey storage according to standard instructions. In the present study, the traits of calmness behavior, swarming, homozygosity of sex alleles, population (adults and brood), and honey production were evaluated in the studied bee colonies in each apiary. Data analysis was conducted by SAS 9.4 software.

Variance analysis results of calmness trait showed that the effect of treatment (P<0.01), queen (P<0.01), and the apiary (P<0.05) were significant on the calmness trait of the studied honey bee colonies. Based on the mean comparison results, the highest amount of this trait, with an average of 0.4 ± 0.12 related to the improved queens in the apiary located in the Saral region, and the lowest with an average of 1.7 ± 0.19 related to the native queens in the apiary located in the Genghis Ghalea village. Variance analysis results of swarming trait showed that the effect of treatment, apiary, queen, and the interaction effect of apiary × queen were significant on the swarming trait of the studied honey bee colonies (P<0.01). Based on the mean comparison results, the highest rate of swarming trait with an average of 20 queen cells is related to the native queens of apiary 2 (an apiary located in the Qazalali village), and the lowest rate of this trait with an average of 0.2 queen cells is related to the improved queens of apiary 2 (an apiary located in the Qazalali village). Variance analysis results of homozygosity of sex alleles showed that the effect of treatment and the interaction effect of apiary × queen (P<0.01) and the effect of apiary and queen (P<0.05) were significant on homozygosity of sex alleles of honey bee colonies in the studied apiaries. Based on the mean comparison results, the highest and lowest homozygosity of sex alleles was related to the improved queens of the third apiary (the apiary located in the Saral area) and the hybrid queens of the second apiary (the apiary located in the Qazalali village), respectively. Variance analysis results of the adult population trait showed that the effect of treatment and queen (P<0.01), and the apiary and the interaction effects of queen × apiary (P<0.05) were significant on the adult population trait of the studied honey bee colonies. Based on the mean comparison results, the highest amount of adult population was observed in improved queens of apiary 3, and the lowest in native queens of apiary 3 (apiary located in the Saral region). Variance analysis results of brood population trait showed that the effect of treatment, apiary, queen, and the interaction effects of apiary × queen were significant on the brood population of the studied honey bee colonies (P<0.01). Based on the mean comparison results, the highest average of this trait was related to the improved queens in apiary 3 (the apiary located in the Saral area), and the lowest was related to the native queens of apiary 1 (the apiary located in the Genghis Ghalea village). Variance analysis results of the honey production trait showed that the effect of treatment, apiary, and queen was significant on the honey production trait of honey bee colonies of the studied apiaries (P<0.01). Based on the mean comparison results, the highest production of honey, with an average of 8.2 kg, is related to the improved queens of the second apiary (the apiary located in the Qazalali village), and the lowest, with an average of 3.4 kg, is related to the native queens of the third apiary (the apiary located in the Saral region).

Considering the superiority and significant improvements of the improved queens of the Iranian honey bee breeding plan in the majority of the traits studied in the current research, it can be concluded that breeding has been effective in improving the target traits. Also, it can be suggested to use improved queens of Iranian honey bees to increase the performance of honey bee colonies in the country.

Honey bees need nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, lipids, minerals, and vitamins. Among nutrients, vitamins are particularly important for their roles in brood rearing, hypopharyngeal gland development, ovary development, longevity, bee immunity, bee weight, and flight muscle development. The vitamins stored in the body of the bees are vitally important in strengthening the immune system, normal growth, and development of broods, producing royal jelly, longevity of bees, and especially wintering quality of honey bees. Among the vitamins required by the honey bees, the most important are thiamine and riboflavin. Pollen quality depends on the supply of vitamins required by honey bees. Most pollen grains are poor and deficient in thiamine and riboflavin. This study aimed to investigate the effect of thiamine and riboflavin on population growth, functional traits, and fat and protein reserves of the bee body in Iranian honey bee colonies.

An experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with four treatments and seven repetitions from April 2022 to September 2023 in the climatic conditions of Kurdistan province, Iran. Experimental treatments included the sugar syrup (control), thiamine (1500 ppm), riboflavin (1500 ppm), and the combination of thiamine and riboflavin (1500 ppm). From the beginning of 14 April 2023, experimental treatments were fed with the mentioned concentrations of vitamins thiamine, riboflavin, and their combination of 0.5 liters every other day for 45 days and 15 days without feeding. Then, traits such as honey production, pollen collection, population (adults and broods), and protein and fat content of carcass were measured in experimental treatments.

The results of the effect of thiamine, riboflavin, and their combination on the population of adult bees showed that the addition of thiamine and riboflavin in the bees' nutrition was significantly effective in the increase of adult bees' population in the investigated periods as well as the average of the entire period (P<0.05). A comparison of the averages of the experimental treatments revealed that the highest and lowest adult bee populations were associated with the treatments fed the vitamin combination and the control group, respectively. The results of the effect of thiamine, riboflavin, and their combination on the population of broods showed that the addition of thiamine and riboflavin in the diet of bee colonies during the studied periods did not have a significant effect on the increase in the population of newborns, but it showed a significant effect on the average of the entire period (P<0.05). The results of the mean comparison showed that the highest population of broods in the studied honey bee colonies was related to the treatments fed with the combination of thiamine and riboflavin, and the lowest population of broods was related to the control treatment. The results of the effect of thiamine and riboflavin on honey and pollen production traits showed that the use of vitamins and their combination in honey bee nutrition caused a significant increase in honey and pollen production traits of experimental treatments (P<0.05). The results of the mean comparison showed that the highest and lowest amounts of honey and pollen production of the studied honey bee colonies were observed in the treatment fed with the combination of vitamins and the control group, respectively. The effect of thiamine and riboflavin on the carcass protein and fat showed that the use of thiamine, riboflavin, and their combination in feeding the colonies had a significant effect on the amount of carcass protein and fat (P<0.01). A comparison of treatments showed that honey bees in the treatment fed the vitamin combination had the highest carcass protein and fat, and honey bees in the control treatment had the lowest carcass fat and protein.

Based on the results of the present experiment, it could be concluded that the use of thiamine and riboflavin, and their combination in feeding honey bees had a positive effect on population growth, functional traits, and fat and protein reserves of the bees' body in the colonies and improved the performance and increased the economic efficiency of the colony.

This research was carried out in a completely randomized as potted experiment with eight treatments in order to investigate the effect of different fertilizers and super absorbent polymer on the growth of agave plant. Experimental treatments included two types of iron chelate fertilizer (foreign and Iranian), zinc chelate, complete fertilizer 20-20-20, complete fertilizer 15-5-30, complete fertilizer 12-12-36, super absorbent polymer and control. The results showed that the highest concentration of saponin was observed in the treatment of 12-12-36 (with an amount of 19756 ppm) and the lowest concentration was observed in the control treatment (10681 ppm). In terms of the amount of chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll, the 20-20-20 fertilizer treatment produced the highest amount, while the dry weight in the zinc fertilizer treatment was more than the other treatments. Although all fertilizer treatments increased dry weight compared to the control, no significant difference was observed between these treatments. According to the test results, it is recommended to use complete fertilizers as well as iron and zinc chelates in order to increase the amount of agave medicinal plant metabolites (especially saponin and hecogenin).

Carboxyl-terminated polybutadiene (CTPB) is a widely used polymer as a resin for fabrication of elastomers, sealants, electric insulation, and as a modifier of epoxy resins. In this paper, carboxyl-terminated polybutadiene resin was synthesized via the oxidative chain cleavage of polybutadiene rubber followed by the oxidation of aldehyde end-groups. The cleavage of polybutadiene rubber was performed using periodic acid and the solid rubber was converted to a liquid resin due to the decrease in the molecular weight of the polymer. This reaction also leads to the formation of aldehyde groups at the end of the cleaved chains. Then, CTPB resin was synthesized by oxidation of terminal aldehyde groups to carboxyl groups using Jones reagent. The microstructure and other properties of the polymers were characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and GPC. The results indicated that the molecular weight (Mn) and functionality (F) of the resulting CTPB are 1652 g/mol and 1.8, respectively. In this method, the product was successfully synthesized with preserved microstructure.

In this paper, we have proved Diaz-Metcalf inequality for fuzzy integrals. More precisely:\\If $f, g: [0, 1]\to\mathbb{R}$ are continuous and strictly increasing functions, then the fuzzy integral inequality$$ - \hspace{-1em} \int_0^1 f^s d\mu\cdot  - \hspace{-1em} \int_0^1  g^sd\mu\le  - \hspace{-1em} \int_0^1\left(f\cdot g\right)^sd\mu,$$holds, where $s>1$ and $\mu$ is  the Lebesgue measure on $\mathbb{R}$. In addition, we have shown this inequality for pseudo-integrals.

To investigate the response of some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) to organic fertilizers under low water stress, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture of Urmia University in 2017-2018 crop year. Experimental treatments included organic fertilizer at five levels (control, cattle manure (20 ton ha-1), poultry manure (7 ton ha-1), vermicompost (10 ton ha-1), and compost (15 ton ha-1)) and soil moisture at three levels (50 (severe stress), 70 (moderate stress), and 90% (control: without stress) of field capacity). Low water stress decreased the content of leaf phosphorus or potassium, leaf phenols or flavonoids, and leaf relative water content and increased the leaf essential oil yield at full flowering stage. The highest amount of essential oil (1.58%) was observed under moderate stress conditions. Poultry manure and vermicompost significantly increased the amount of nitrogen, protein, and percentage of DPPH radical scavenging of leaves under low water stress compared to without stress conditions. The highest yield of essential oil (32.34 kg ha-1), stem dry weight (852.53 kg ha-1), leaf dry weight (1010.40 kg ha-1), and aerial parts dry weight (1863.93 kg ha-1) was obtained in the poultry manure treatment under optimal irrigation. Overall, organic fertilizers application under low water stress could be recommended to increase the plant yield and achieve sustainable agriculture.

Tooth mobility, which is prevalent among patients seeking dental healthcare services, happens when the tooth is reversibly displaced horizontally or vertically beyond its normal physiological limits. Tooth mobility is classified into 2 subgroups: localized and generalized. Generalized tooth mobility occurs when more than 2 teeth are mobile. In this review, the available studies regarding the common etiologies of generalized tooth mobility are discussed.  

In this review article, data were collected by reviewing the available articles published between 2011 to 2021 in national and international journals by searching the PubMed, PubMed Central, Medline, EBSCO, Google Scholar, and Embase databases using the key words “Tooth Mobility”, “Tooth Movement” “Periodontal Disease”, “Systemic Disease”, and “Malignant Disease”. Among the relevant articles, 51 were chosen.

It seems that numerous etiologies, which can be either physiological or pathological, can result in generalized tooth mobility.

Since an optimal treatment outcome depends on accurate diagnosis, it is crucial for the dentists to be aware of the common etiologies of this condition.

Salinity stress is one of the major abiotic stresses which injures plants by limited water absorption and nutrient imbalance and limits crop growth. In order to study the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on physiological traits of quinoa at high salt concentrations, a greenhouse experiment was conducted in a factorial arrangement based on a randomized complete block with three replications in 2019. The first factor included 5 levels of salinity (100 (control), 200, 300, 400, 500 mM) and the second factor comprised of 4 levels of nitrogen fertilizer (50, 100, 150 and 200 ppm). Traits that were measured included quantum yield, photosynthetic efficiency index, shoot dry weight, proline content, soluble sugar content, malondialdehyde content, catalase and peroxidase activity, shoot potassium and sodium content. Results showed that quantum yield, proline content and soluble carbohydrate were affected by salinity and nitrogen concentration. With increasing salinity levels from 100 to 500 mM, quantum yield, proline and soluble carbohydrate content increased, but with increasing nitrogen levels from 50 ppm to 200 ppm soluble carbohydrate and proline content decreased and increased, respectively. Shoot dry weight, malondialdehyde content, catalase and peroxidase activity, shoot sodium and potassium content were affected by the interaction of salinity and nitrogen levels. Results showed that at high levels of salinity and increasing nitrogen levels to 150 and 200 ppm, shoot dry weight and shoot potassium content decreased, also malondialdehyde, catalase, and peroxidase activity and shoot sodium content increased. According to these results, in low (100 and 200 mM) and medium (300 mM) salinity levels application of 200 ppm nitrogen and in high salinity (400 and 500 mM) levels application of 50 ppm nitrogen in nutrient solution of quinoa is reasonable.

Being familiar with the factors that are effective in causing falls plays an important role in reducing the issues and costs related to its treatment. Considering the contradictory results about the use of antihypertensive drugs and falls in older adults, the present study was conducted to determine the association between the use of antihypertensive drugs and falls in older adults.

This cross-sectional study was a part of the first phase of Amirkola Health and Ageing Project (AHAP), which was conducted on three groups of 250 people including healthy elderly, and hypertensive patients with and without taking antihypertensive drugs. Antihypertensive drugs were divided into 6 groups based on the mechanism of action. The variables of age, gender, body mass index, physical activity, diabetes, number of medications, depression symptoms, cognitive status, number of comorbidities, and the frequency of falls during one year before the beginning of the study and during the six-month follow-up were evaluated and compared in different categories of antihypertensive drugs by asking older adults in the three groups.

Out of all studied older adults, 126 people (16.8%) fell during the last 12 months and 36 people (4.8%) fell during the six-month follow-up. No significant relationship was found between falls and the use of antihypertensive drugs, and between the use of different classes of antihypertensive drugs and falls. Variables such as depressive symptoms (OR=2.057, p=0.001), number of comorbidities (OR=0.189, p=0.006) and older age (OR=1.033, p=0.040) had an effective role in causing falls.

The results of the study showed that the use of antihypertensive drugs and their different classes was not associated with the increase in the frequency of falls in older adults.

To study the effects of different levels of iron and zinc chelates application and supplementary irrigation on the quantity and quality of Ferula assa-foetida L. asafetida, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in Neyriz City (Fars province) in 2018. The experimental treatments included the supplementary irrigation (no irrigation (control), once, and twice irrigation) and zinc and iron chelates foliar application (no foliar application (control), Zn (two per thousand) foliar application, Fe (two per thousand) foliar application, and combined Fe (1.5 per thousand) and Zn (1.5 per thousand) foliar application). The studied traits included the number of leaves, leaf length, crown diameter, aerial parts dry weight, plant survival percentage, concentration of elements Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn in the aerial parts, asafetida weight, and essential oil content. The results showed that the supplementary irrigation increased the number of leaves, aerial parts dry weight, and survival percentage of the plant. Twice supplementary irrigation resulted in the highest aerial parts Fe content. Also, the iron and zinc chelates foliar application increased the leaf length and survival percentage of the plant compared to the control. The highest aerial parts Fe content was obtained by iron chelate foliar application. Under both supplementary and control irrigation conditions, the zinc and iron chelates foliar application significantly increased the plant volume by 1.5 times, asafetida weight by 2 to 2.8 times, and essential oil content by 0.6 to 0.9%. In addition, under no supplementary irrigation conditions, the highest aerial parts Mn content of the plant was obtained by zinc chelate foliar application as well as combined iron and zinc chelates foliar application, but under once and twice supplementary irrigation conditions, the foliar application had no significant effect on this parameter. Under both supplementary and control irrigation conditions, the highest aerial parts Cu content of the plant was observed in no foliar application treatment. The Zn foliar application caused the highest aerial parts Zn content of the plant. Therefore, it seems that the supplementary irrigation with the foliar application of iron and zinc chelates could increase the asafetida yield and essential oil content in F. assa-foetida by improving the growth characteristics.

The grinding process is one of the most important and widely used machining processes to achieve the desired surface quality and dimensional accuracy. Since the undeformed chip thickness is not a constant value in the grinding process and is changing independently and momentarily for each abrasive, the determination of the undeformed chip thickness accurately is essential to determine the grinding forces and surface topography of the grinding wheel. Previous studies on grinding forces were mainly regardless of the micro-mechanisms between the abrasive and the workpiece. On the other hand, only the average values ​​of forces could be calculated by determining the average value for undeformed chip thickness. In this study, a new analytical model with the approach of kinematic-geometric analysis of abrasive grain trajectory is presented to determine the undeformed chip thickness and subsequent grinding forces. This model predicts the components of normal and tangential grinding forces (including sliding, plowing, and cutting forces) accurately and in detail based on the instantaneous undeformed chip thickness obtained from the kinematic analysis of abrasive movement and micro-mechanisms between abrasive and the workpiece. In the end, experimental tests were performed to validate the theoretical model.

The aim of this research is to fabricate a novel temperature sensor for any calorimetry system. A new mixed solution method was introduced to prepare polystyrene/multiwall carbon nanotube nanocomposite samples with different weight percentages as 0.05, 0.1, 0.28, 1, and 2 of MWCNTs. To demonstrate the dispersion state of the inclusion into the polymer matrix, the SEM analysis was applied. Also, XRD and Raman spectroscopy analyses were carried out. The electrical percolation threshold was investigated and achieved at about 0.28 weight percent of the inclusion. Finally, the electrical resistance of the samples was measured from room temperature up to ~100ºC. Consequently, positive temperature coefficient and negative temperature coefficient effects were observed before and after Tg for the most nanocomposite samples, respectively. The best linear response of the resistance-temperature curve was achieved at 20-50ºC, which using a second-order fitting curve it can be used up t0 ~70ºC. Results show that the polystyrene/multiwall carbon nanotube nanocomposite near the percolation threshold can be used as a temperature sensor for calorimetric purposes.

The significant progresses of Iran’s aerospace industry during last decades are undeniable. In spite of vast and international sanctions against Iran, these progresses were achieved through internal efforts. So, investigating the achievements of these industry can be used by other industries particularly defense industry. In this regard, this paper aims at examining the path of formation and accumulation of design and manufacturing technological capabilities of ballistic missiles in Iran’s aerospace industry as complex product systems, through applying qualitative approach and case study strategy. One of the industrial groups involved in aerospace industry was selected as a case and it was investigated through doing several interviews by its managers and specialists and studying some relevant and available documents. The identified path for formation and accumulation of technological capabilities in this group includes eight steps and four turning-points. The findings show that, in spite of some similarities with previous models of other industries and countries, there are some differences and distinctions in identified model in current research.

Database outsourcing in cloud computing is one of the main solutions to maintain and access a database easily without the need for large infrastructure investment. Although data owners usually trust service  providers and infrastructure providers in terms of maintainability and accessibility, but they are concerned about the privacy and confidentiality of information, and therefore prefer to keep data encrypted on cloud servers. Encrypted data is not searchable, and a solution needs to be provided by the server to search for that data. One solution is to use keyword indexing as metadata alongside the encrypted database. There are several key challenges to using these solutions: high volume of indexes, user error exposure and search speed. In this study, fuzzy keyword sets are used instead of fixed words when searching for users, and in order to reduce storage space using the keyword clustering method, appropriate fuzzy keyword sets are  selected and metadata with less production volume is used and encrypted. Using hierarchical clustering methods with specific metrics, the same keywords are placed in a cluster, and to find the desired keyword, it is not necessary to search all metadata and thus the search time is reduced. Practical results and evaluations show that the proposed method is practical, safe and efficient.

Urban public spaces are used for compulsory, voluntarily, and, more importantly, social activities and women certainly have the right to play an active role in, and they should benefit from equal right the same as men. This study aimed to address the amount of adaptation of public spaces in zone 8 of Tabriz the needs of women. The present study is applied and, in essence, is descriptive-analytic. 242 questionnaires were distributed, according to the Cochran formula, among women and data were analyzed using Factor-analysis and t-Test. The Cronbach Alpha was 88/3 which is ‘good’. The questions, based on Exploratory Factor Analysis model, have been categorized into four factors: physical, accessibility, social-cultural, and security. Overall, these factors specify %68/32 of variance of the variables. The result shows that the factors of infrastructure of physical, accessibility, social-cultural with the levels of significance, 0/04, 0/01, and 0/03, respectively, are not adapted desirably to the needs of women, but the level of significance for the security factor (0/217) shows a suitable condition through the lens of the respondents. According to results and due to the fact that citizens and tourists visit the zone regularly, this issue should be taken into account significantly by the authorities and the related organizations.

Solar energy is rapidly gaining attention in different industries, especially agricultural industries. Application of this clean energy in drying industry resulted in many investigations in academia. Dryers with energy storage can reduce thermal fluctuations of solar irradiations and also enhance drying efficiency of agricultural products. In this study, paraffin phase change material has been used as energy storage and the performance of a solar tray dryer with indirect forced convection has been investigated. The mathematical model of the energy balance for the process has been derived. The effect of parameters namely inlet air velocity and collector surface area on the final moisture content of samples and air outlet temperature have been studied. Air inlet temperature has been tested at two levels of 1 and 3m/s using a collector surface area of 2m2 with and without energy storage. The integration of energy storage enhances the efficiency by 37% and reduces the outlet moisture content. Lower inlet air velocity and larger collector surface area results in lower final moisture content of samples. On the other hand, for higher ambient temperature even higher inlet air velocity can result in lower moisture content of products. Comparison of experimental data with simulation results shows correlation coefficient of 96.27.

Nuclear fission of uranium atoms starts when a nuclear pellet is placed into the rod and then inside the nuclear reactor. Thus, the number of the produced atoms would be more than those of fission uranium atoms. No problem exists with solid products, but the gas products following the swelling of the pellets enter the gap between the pellet and rod. This causes destruction of the rod and the reactor safety reduction. It is better to exit the rod from the reactor before the event. Attempts are made to increase the life time and the generated energy with nuclear pellets to achieve higher efficiency. For this purpose, after the identification of the obstacles, the efficiency of the nuclear fuel pellets is increased by some modifications. This work is a review of the world activities to identify the obstacles and solutions provided for modifying the nuclear fuel pellets. The results demonstrate that the most important features of a nuclear fuel influence on the life time and efficiency of UO2 feul pellets are the largeness of grains along with intergranular porosities with controlled size, good creep and thermal conductivity properties.

Alkalinity stress caused by the alkaline salts such as Na2CO3 or NaHCO3 in the soil. Alkaline stress affected germination, growth and crop productivity. Moreover, the alkalinity stress can directly damage plant growth, alter the availability of nutrients, and disrupt the balance of ions and mineral nutrition. The application of different seed pretreatment methods is one of the ways to stimulate seed germination and growth in stress condition. One of the most common methods is the use of halopriming. Halopriming or soaking of seeds in salt solutions is one of method seed priming, which enhances germination and seedling emergence under adverse environmental conditions. So, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects halopriming on growth of sesame under alkaline stress condition.

In first experiment, factors were priming with NaCl with concentrations 0, 50, 100 and 150 mM for 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours. In second experiment, factors were priming with NaHCO3 with concentrations 0, 10, 20 and 30 mM for different times 6, 12, 18 and 24. Third experiment was conducted basis on result were obtained from two previous tests. In this experiment, factors were priming (non-primed (control), distilled water (hydropriming), NaCl and NaHCO3) and alkalinity stress (0, 15, 30 and 45 mM). Alkaline stress in the pots was created by adding NaHCO3, to half strength Hoagland’s solution. Control plants were only irrigated with half strength Hoagland’s solution. In this experiment, shoot and root height, potential quantum yield (Fv/Fm), performance index (PI), proline, carbohydrate, malondialdehyde content, potassium content, sodium content and sodium to potassium rate were measured.

Results obtained from first experiment suggested that 50 mM NaCl for 24 hours as the best treatment. Results second experiment suggested that 30 mM of NaHCO3 for 18 hours duration as the best treatment. Results third experiment showed that alkalinity stress reduced shoot length, leaf area, potential quantum yield (Fv/Fm), performance index (PI), potassium content and potassium to sodium rate, whereas increased proline, carbohydrate content and sodium content. Priming different treatments was increased root length, shoot length, leaf area, potassium and potassium to sodium rate compared to control (non-primed). In all of alkalinity levels, priming different treatments decreased malondialdehyde content, whereas increased Fv/Fm and root length.

Totally, results showed that alkalinity stress decreased growth of sesame and in alkalinity stress, seed halopriming decreased membrane damage (as indicated by low MDA concentration) and improved plant growth in sesame.

In this study, the effects of drought and nitrogen were analyzed on morphological traits and dry matter allocation of Isabgul (Plantago ovata) at Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan in 2010. The research was conducted using factorial experiment based on RCD design with 3 replications. The factors included nitrogen (0, 60, 120 and 180 mg N.Kg-1 soil) and soil moisture (100, 80, 60, 40 % FC). Results indicated that drought, nitrogen and their interaction significantly affected seed yield and total dry weight. The highest seed yield (1.72 g.plant-1) was obtained at 120 mg N.Kg-1 soil which was 77% higher than that in control. In 80% FC treatment, using 120 mg N.Kg-1 soil caused 93% increase in total dry weight, compared to control. In addition, with increasing drought stress, dry matter partitioning benefited the root and root mass ratio (RMR) increased significantly. However, no significant changes were recorded for shoot mass ratio (SMR) and grain mass ratio (GMR). Also, with increasing nitrogen fertilizer, more dry matter was transferred to the leaves and less dry matter was transferred to the seed.

In order to investigate the effects of supplementary calcium chloride and potassium nitrate on proline, protein content, chlorophyll and growth of Ammi (Carum copticum L.) under different salinity levels and nutrient solutions (NS), a RCBD design with factorial arrangement was conducted at the Agriculture Research Field, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, during September 2009. The treatments were three levels of salinity (0, 50 and 100 mMol) and five different nutrition solutions including: Control: Hoagland solution only (N1); Hoagland solution plus 20 mM CaCl2 in nutrition solution (N2); Hoagland solution plus 20 mM CaCl2 as spray (N3); Hoagland solution plus 20 mM KNO3 in nutrition solution (N4) and Hoagland solution plus 20 mM KNO3 as spray (N5). Results showed that proline content was significantly affected by salinity and the type of nutrient solution and their interactions. Increasing salinity, especially at 100 Mmol NaCl, significantly reduced chlorophyll a,b and total chlorophyll. Chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll content were not significantly affected by the type of nutrition solution. The highest and lowest protein content were observed by control and 100 Mm NaCl treatments respectively. The type of nutrient solution also influenced protein content. The highest and lowest protein contents were related to N3 and N5, respectively. Total dry weight and stem dry weight were significantly reduced by salinity while root dry weight was not affected by salinity. The highest leaf area was achieved on control and nutrition solution N5. Generally, it is concluded that Ammi could tolerate salinity up to 50 mMol NaCl and leaf spraying of Ca and K would be better to ameliorate salinity rather than using in nutrition solution.

Inorganic-organic hybrid coatings with TiO2-SiO2 core/shell nanoparticles were prepared in order to develop the self-cleaning and corrosion resistant coatings. As proved in XRD test, the anatase TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by sol-gel method in two different thermal conditions namely high temperature and low temperature process. The size and the shape of the particles in amorphous TiO2 sol and the thickness of SiO2 layer on the anatase nanoparticles revealed a core/shell structure by transmission electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activities of the coatings using the prepared TiO2-SiO2 nanoparticles were investigated via the decomposition of methylene blue (MB) under UV-radiation and compared with those samples prepared using commercial TiO2, i.e. P25 Degussa. It was found that the photocatalytic activity of the coatings was significantly attributed to the crystallinity and the particle size of anatase nanoparticles. To find out the effect of photocatalytic activity on the corrosion resistance, the nanocomposites coatings were exposed under UV for 1080 h. The Tafel curves of the samples showed lower corrosion resistance for the coatings of higher photocatalytic activity. J. Color Sci. Tech. 7(2013), 151-164©. Institute for Color Science and Technology.

In order to evaluate the salinity and priming effects on vegetative growth and some physiological traits of safflower, cv. Goldasht, a factorial experiment, with completely randomized blocks design and 4 replications, was conducted in Research Greenhouse of Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan in 2009. Treatments included seed priming at 4 levels (no prime as control, priming with distilled water, priming with NaCl and priming with 20 Mm Ca(NO3)2 for 24 hours) and salinity at 4 levels (0, 8, 16 and 24 dS/m). Results indicated that dry weight of aerial parts, root dry weight, stem length, leaf area and head dry weight were decreased with increasing salinity. Salinity affected significantly the dry matter partitioning. As in higher salinities, more dry matter was translocated to stem and head, which was accompanied with less dry matter translocation to roots and leaves. The root/shoot ratio was significantly decreased with increasing salinity due to higher dry matter translocation to stems. Though, higher salinities decreased significantly the root dry weight. At salinity level of 24 dS/m, this safflower cultivar translocated more dry matter to shoots as compared to roots and leaves. Comparison of means showed that chlorophyll content and Spad index were decreased at higher salinity levels. Leaf area and plant height were significantly reduced only at salinities higher than 16 dS/m. The results of this experiment showed that in general, the Goldasht cultivar of safflower could tolerate salinity stress up to 16 dS/m in the vegetative stage with prominent decrease in stem and root dry weight, which could be due to some resistance mechanisms to salinity. This result must be accurately evaluated in a field experiment.

In order to investigate the effects of supplementary calcium chloride and potassium nitrate on plant growth of Ammi (Carum copticum L.) in different salinity levels and nutrient solutions (NS), an experiment based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with factorial arrangement was conducted under greenhouse condition in the faculty of agriculture, Vali-e-Asr university of Rafsanjan, during September to December 2009. The treatments were three levels of salinity levels (0, 5 and 100 mmol) and five different nutrition solution including: Control: Hoagland solution only (N1); Hoagland solution plus 40 mM CaCl2 in nutrition solution (N2); Hoagland solution plus 40 mM CaCl2 as spray (N3); (4) Nutrient solution plus 40 mM KNO3 in nutrition solution (N4) and Hoagland solution plus 40 mM KNO3 as spray (N5). Results showed that relative water content of leaf did not affected by salinity, type of nutrient solutions and the interaction of salinity and nutrient solution. The lowest and the highest sodium content were observed in the control and 100 Mm NaCl treatments, respectively. K, Ca and Mg content significantly reduced in Ammi shoot with increasing salinity. Salinity increased soluble sugars in plant while type of nutrient solution and interaction of salinity and nutrient solution were not significantly affected soluble sugars. The Highest and lowest protein content of plant organs were observed in the control and 100 Mm NaCl, respectively. Type of nutrient solution also influenced protein content. The highest protein content related to N3 and the lowest related to N5.