a. samadi

The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different programs of feed restriction on performance and ascites syndrome occurrence in Arian broiler chickens under cold stress. Four hundred Arian male broiler chicks were used in a completely randomized design with four experimental groups (control (no restriction feed); feed restriction as 25 gram feed per chick since 9 until 14 days old; feed restriction as 8 hour per day since 9 until 24 days old; intermittent feed restriction since 9 until 18 days old) and four replicates of twenty five chicks (totally 16 pens) under stress condition. The house temperature was gradually decreased from 32°C and reached to 25, 20, 15 and 15 °C respectively in the end of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and until 6th weeks to induce cold stress and the development of ascites syndrome. Results indicated feed restriction programs decreased body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio in some periods. However, in the period of 1 to 42 days, these effects weren’t significant except for feed intake with feed restriction as 25-gram feed per chick (since 9 until 14 days old). Effect of the programs was respectively insignificant on total mortality, carcass traits percentages and haematocrit amount and significant on decreasing ascites mortality rate with the intermittent feed restriction. In conclusion, the feed restriction programs especially the intermittent feed restriction are effective in decreasing of ascites mortality and feed intake without any negative effect on the performance of broilers under cold stress.

The knowledge of virus and replication kinetics plays a key role in developing a vaccine. This study aimed to monitor the replication process and determine the best harvesting time of the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) V4 vaccine strain in the allantoic fluids of specific pathogen-free (SPF)-embryonated chicken eggs (ECEs) by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), hemagglutination (HA), and egg infective dose 50% (EID50) tests. For this purpose, the V4 vaccine strain of the virus was intra-allantoically inoculated into 96 10-day-old SPF-ECEs at the rate of 0.1 mL/ECE. The allantoic fluids of the inoculated eggs were collected from six eggs at six-hour intervals up to 96 hours post-infection (hpi). The harvested suspensions were confirmed to contain the NDV by the mentioned serologic and molecular techniques. Based on the results, the virus was first detected at 36 hpi in ECEs by RT-PCR. The peak of HA and EID50 titers in allantoic fluids started at 42 hpi, and the titers were at the highest level until the end of the experiment. The results indicated that the best virus harvesting time for the NDV V4 vaccine strain in ECEs is between 42-60 hpi. These findings pave the way for adequate and enhanced production rate, immunogenicity, and cost-related parameters in the V4 Newcastle vaccine development.

Potassium (K) is abundant in soil, however, only 1 to 2 % of Potassium is available to plants. Depending on soil type, 90 to 98% of soil K is in the structure of various minerals such as feldspar (orthoclase and microcline) and mica (biotite and muscovite). About 1 to 10 % of soil K, in the form of non-exchangeable K, is trapped between the layers of certain types of clay minerals. The concentration of soluble K, which is directly taken up by plants and microbes in the soil and is exposed to leaching, varies from 2 to 5 mg l-1 in agricultural soils. Imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers, a significant increase of crop yield (depletion of soil soluble K), and the removal of K in the soil system result in a large rate of K fixation in the soil. As a result, K deficiency has been reported in most plants. The annual increase in the price of K fertilizers and the destructive effects of them on the environment have made it necessary to find a solution for the use of indigenous K of soil. The use of biofertilizers containing beneficial microorganisms is one of these strategies. Although K solubilizing bacteria can be an alternative and reliable technology for dissolving insoluble forms of K, lack of awareness among farmers, the slow impact of K biofertilizers on yield, less willingness of researchers to develop K biofertilizers technology and deficiencies of technology in respect to carrier suitability and proper formulation, are the major reasons for why potassium solubilizing microorganisms and K biofertilizers draw low attention.

The purpose of this study was modeling and evaluating the effects of different vermicompost, phlogopite and sulfur ratios on the solubility and release of K by Pseudomonas fluorescens and indicating the optimized levels of these variables for efficient biofertilizer preparation. 20 experiments were carried out using the response surface methodology (RSM) based on the central composite design and the effect of different values of vermicompost, phlogopite and sulfur variables, in the four coded levels (+α, +1, 0, -1 and -α), was evaluated on K dissolution. The applied vermicompost, phlogopite and sulfur in the experiment were ground and filtered through a 140 mesh sieve and their water holding capacity were determined. According to experimental design, different amounts of mentioned materials were combined and samples were sterilized in autoclave. The required amount of water along with 1 ml of bacterial inoculant were added to the samples. The samples were kept in incubator for 2 months. At the end of experiment, amount of soluble K were measured by the flame photometer.

The analysis of variance (ANOVA) depicted the reliable performance of the central composite predictive model of K dissolution (R2= 0.949 and RMSE=0.8). Based on the results, the interaction of vermicompost with sulfur (p < 0.038) and the interaction of phlogopite with sulfur (p < 0.0083) were relatively high and significant. Sensitivity analysis of the central composite design revealed that the vermicompost (X1), phlogopite (X2) and sulfur (X3) had positive and negative impact on potassium dissolution, respectively. Therefore, when sulfur content increased to 91.70%, K dissolution decreased to around 31.61%. According to the prediction under optimized condition, maximum potassium dissolution was obtained at the presence of 41.78, 24.35 and 10.25% of vermicompost, phlogopite and sulfur, respectively.

The results indicated that the applied fertilizer composition (vermicompost + phlogopite + sulfur) had a desirable impact on Pseudomonas fluorescens solubilizing ability on a laboratory scale. Due to the fact that Iran soils are often calcareous, there are high amounts of insoluble and unavailable nutrients. Under these unsuitable conditions, the application of these nutrients chemical fertilizers cannot reduce deficiencies. Therefore, we must use the ability of efficient microorganisms to dissolve and mobilize soil native elements. A combination of 41.78% vermicompost, 24.35% phlogopite and 10.55% sulfur could create a proper potassium biofertilizer by providing favorable conditions for bacterial activity. Along with solubilizing activities of bacteria, the presence of sulfur reduces soil pH and thereby nutrients availability and stability increase in these soils. Because of its acidity, sulfur has a significant effect on nutrients dissolution such as phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium, and micronutrients. On the other hand, the presence of vermicompost in this fertilizer, while meeting the carbon and energy requirements of bacteria and acting as a suitable carrier, improves the physicochemical properties of the soil, increases the biodiversity of the microbial community and, as a result, promotes the soil quality and health. The evaluation of this fertilizer composition efficiency (using optimal amounts of materials) at the greenhouse and field scales is suggested.

In this paper we introduced two types of common household demand, time limited and controlling demands. In this model based on the idea of mutual interaction between these two demands, we propose a new model for home load management. After assigning an innovative concave utility-function model for each demand, we change the common method of summing up the individual utility-functions with multiplication. The introduced model is developed as an MINLP problem that can be successfully handled by available commercial software. The analysis of the numerical examples indicates that they are acceptable in terms of optimality and compliance with actual conditions in human experience.

Some of the heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are toxic and represent hazardous pollutants due to their persistence in the environment. These metals have adverse effects on human health, which include growth retardation, cancer, damage to the nervous and heart system. Heavy metals can cause malfunctioning of the cellular processes via the displacement of essential metals from their respective sites. Mainly heavy metals discharge into the environment from industrial and urban sewage. There are different methods to reduce water pollution and the removal of heavy metals from water that one of them is sorption by using organic and inorganic adsorbents such as sepiolite. The low cost of sepiolite along with the high specific surface area, chemical and mechanical stability, and layered structure have made these clay minerals as excellent adsorbent materials for the removal of heavy metals from wastewaters. This study aims to investigate the sorption of Cd and Pb by sepiolite as an inorganic absorbent and optimize process variables (initial concentration, pH and ionic strength) using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Box–Behnken design (BBD).
 

Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is a statistical method that uses quantitative data from appropriate experiments to determine regression model equations and operating conditions. RSM is a collection of mathematical and statistical techniques for modeling and analysis of problems in which a response of interest is influenced by several variables. A standard RSM design called Box-Behnken Design (BBD) was applied in this work to study the variables for sorption of Cd and Pb by sepiolite from aqueous solution using a batch process. BBD for three variables (initial Cd and Pb concentrations, pH and ionic strength), each with two levels (the minimum and maximum), was used as an experimental design model. Sepiolite sample used in this study was taken from a mine in Fariman region, northeastern Iran. In the experimental design model, initial concentration (0-200 mg L-1), pH (3-6) and ionic strength (0.01-0.06 mol L-1) were taken as input variables. Design-Expert program was used for regression and graphical analysis of the data obtained. The optimum values of the selected variables were obtained by solving the regression equation and by analyzing the response surface contour plots. The variability independent variables were explained by the multiple coefficients of determination, R 2 and the model equation was used to predict the optimum value and subsequently to elucidate the interaction between the factors within the specified range.

The results showed that the sorption of Cd and Pb intensified by increasing initial concentration and pH but ionic strength had an inverse effect. The sorption of Pb and Cd ions onto the sepiolite minerals were lowest at pH =3 and IS=0.06 but increased with an increase in pH and initial concentration of the solution. High value for R2 (0.99) and adjusted R2 (0.99) showed that the removal of Cd and Pb can be described by the response surface method. One-way ANOVA showed (p< 0.0001) that the quadratic model is the best model for determining the interaction variables. According to optimization results, the sorption of Cd and Pb are maximized when pH: 6, concentration: 200 mg.L-1 and ionic strength: 0.02 mol.L-1. The predicted adsorption at these settings for Pb and Cd are 44.4 and 34.28 mg.g-1, respectively. It was found that the initial concentration is the most effective parameter in the sorption of Cd and Pb by sepiolite. Sepiolite adsorbed more lead ions than cadmium ions from aqueous solution.

Response surface methodology using BBD, proved a very effective and time-saving model for studying the influence of process parameters (pH, initial concentration and ionic strength) on response factor (sorb). This model significantly reduces the number of experiments and hence facilitating the optimum conditions. The experimental values and the predicted values are in perfect match with an R2 value of 0.99. The high correlation coefficient between the model and experimental data (R2=0.99) showed that the model was able to predict the removal of Cd and Pb from aqueous solution by using sepiolite. The model revealed that concentration, metal type and pH were the most effective parameters on the response yield (adsorption by sepiolite), respectively. According to the results, sepiolite showed a greater efficiency for sorption of Cd and Pb from aqueous solution, also usage of sepiolite as an inorganic absorbent due to its low cost and abundance can be economically justified.

Existence of heavy metals in water resources and wastewater can cause the environmental problems. Use of low-cost substances as adsorbents has been developed over recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of chitosan on sorption of Cd and Cu heavy metals from aqueous solutions using response surface method and Box–Behnken methods.  The batch experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of independent variables such as pH, metal concentration, and ionic strength on the metal sorption using response surface and Box–Behnken methods. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied on data. High values of R2 (0.99) and adjusted R2 (0.99) showed that the removal of Cu and Cd can be described by the response surface method. One-way ANOVA showed (p < 0.001) that quadratic was the best model for determining the interaction variables. The optimal conditions determined for Cu and Cd initial concentrations, pH and ionic strength values were 200 and 168.8 mg L-1, 5.47 and 5.26 and 0.03 M, respectively. The predicted adsorption at these settings for Cu and Cd were 83.68 and 45.07 mg g-1, respectively. Response Surface Method could be useful for optimization the adsorption of Cu and Cd from aqueous solutions by chitosan

In recent decades, soil pollution with heavy metals in world countries (such as Iran) has been one of the most challenging issues. Stabilization of heavy metals by using absorbent in remediation of heavy-metal-contaminated soils is one of the low-cost and fastest methods. In order to study the effect of diatomite on chemical forms of Cd in calcareous soils, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design (CRD) with 3 levels of diatomite application in soil (0, 2 and 5 %), 4 levels of incubation time (1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks) and twocontaminated soils in three replications. Chemical distribution of Cd in soils were determined using Tessier sequential extraction method at the above-mentioned incubation time and reduced partition index (IR) and mobility factor (MF) of metal were calculated as a Cd mobility index in soils. Results showed that application of diatomite significantly (p ≤ 0.01) decreased the exchangeable and carbonate fractions and increased iron and manganese oxide bound organic and residual fractions in comparison to the control treatment. In 5% diatomite treatment after 8 weeks’ incubation the IR (42-71%) and pH (5-8%) values increased but the amounts of MF (30-33%) and DTPA-extractable Cd (33-28%) decreased, demonstrating a decrease in the mobility of metal in soils. It was concluded that addition of diatomite in soil lead decreasing the mobility of Cd and Pb in soils. According to the results, diatomite due to greater efficiency for immobilization of Cd in contaminated soils as a low-cost amendment can be used for immobilization of the high amount of Cd ions from contaminated soils.

In order to study the effect of apple (Golden delicious variety) pruning residue biochar on chemical forms of Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn in a contaminated soil, an experiment was conducted as a factorial in a completely randomized design (CRD) in three replications with 4 levels of biochar (0, 2, 5 and 10 %) and 4 levels of incubation time (1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks). Chemical distribution of metals in soil was determined using Tessier sequential extraction method during the mentioned incubation times and the reduced partition index (IR) and mobility factor (MF) of the metals were calculated. Application of the biochar significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased the exchangeable and carbonate fractions and increased organic and iron and manganese oxide bound fractions in comparison to the control treatment. With increasing the biochar level and incubation time, the IR values were increased, but MF values decreased, demonstrating a decrease in the mobility of metal in soils. It was concluded that the addition of the apple biochar in soil may led to transformation of the metals from unstable forms (e.g. exchangeable and carbonate forms) to stable forms (e.g. iron and manganese oxide bound and residual forms), and consequently decreased the mobility of the metals in soil.

Aging is associated with the reduction of interleukin-15 levels (IL-15), muscles atrophy and consequently loss of muscular strength. The purpose of present study was to investigate the effect of 8-weeks resistance training with Thera-band on the serum levels of IL-15, balance and muscle strength in elderly women. In a quasi-experimental study, 18 elderly women (age: 73.66 ±4.79 years; BMI: 25.6±3.25) randomly were divided into following groups: experimental (n=10) and control (n=8). Resistance training program included 40 min workouts with Thera-Band for 8 weeks and 3 times per week. Forty eight hours before and after the training protocol balance, hand grip and trunk strength were measured using dynamometer, and blood samples were taken in fasted state. Serum levels of IL-15 were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that the serum levels of IL-15 (P= 0.029), balance (P= 0.003) right hand strength (P= 0.010), left hand strength (P=0.001) and low extremely strength (P=0.001) increased significantly in resistance training with Thera- band group in compared to control group. Based on these findings it could be concluded that Thera-band training may improve the balance in elderly women and there is a relationship between the changes of muscular strength and IL-15 levels.

This study was carried out to determine effects of phosphorus residual applied to wheat on vetch (Vicia Panonioca) growth, yields and some soil physical, chemical properties in soil. The experiment was conducted with randomized completely block design in a field with three replications including four levels of P residual (applied for wheat P0, P15, P30, and P45 kg P2O5 in hectare) from Triple Super Phosphate fertilizer sources. Vetch seeds were planted at same place of planted wheat and applied P according to our package. After harvesting of vetch, plant samples were collected and soil samples prepared from 0-25 cm of soil depth. Results showed that phosphorus residual had significant effects on yields of seed and vetch biomass, number of cluster, root nodules, seed phosphorus concentration and uptake (P≤ 0.05), and weight of thousand vetch seed (P≤ 0.001). Phosphorus residual increased vetch growth significantly leading to increased soil organic matter, structural size and cation exchange capacity (P≤ 0.001). With increasing applied phosphorus fertilizer to wheat or soil phosphorus residual, vetch length, number of cluster, and number of effective nodules of vetch roots, also increased. Greater grain and biomass yields were observed in P45 treatment. It can be concluded that phosphorus residual can effect on P uptake and vetch growth and increase P uptake. In addition soil structural stability and cation exchange capacity improved by greater vetch growth. Vetch has also ability to use phosphorous residual from soil.

Successive cropping of potassium-demanding crops like sunflower leads to depletion of soil potassium (K). This study was conducted to investigate the different forms of K and quantity–intensity (Q/I) relationship for sunflower growing soils in Khoy region, West Azarbaijan province. Twenty composite soil samples were collected from different soil series. Different forms of K, including solution K (Kso), exchangeable K (Kex) and non-exchangeable K (Knex) were determined. The results showed that Kso values varied from 0.061 to 0.54 (mmol L-1), with an average of 0.28 (mmol L-1), Kav values ranged from 55 to 699 (mg kg-1), 265 mg Kg-1 on average, and Kex values ranged from 54 to 694 (mg Kg-1) with an average of 261 (mg kg-1). Furthermore, Knex values varied from 160 to 612 (mg kg-1), 261 (mg kg-1) on average. Available K (NH4OAc- extraction) was less than 250 mg Kg-1 in half of the soils indicating the depletion of potassium from these soils. The Q/I curves were predominantly located in the adsorption regions. The Q/I curves were linear and lacked the curvature part relating to loss and gain of potassium present in the specific sites. The PBCK values varied from 11 to 108 (cmolc kg-1)/ (mol L-1) 0.5 and an average of 38 (cmolc kg-1)/(mol L-1)0.5. There was a linear significant relationship between PBCK and CEC (r2=0.82***). The AReK values ranged from 0.0014 to 0.027 (mol L-1) 0.5 and 0.0076 (mol L-1)0.5 on average. There was a significant relationship between the values of AReK and those of the soil solution K (r=0.68**). The Ko values varied from 0.0050 to 0.49 cmolc kg-1and an average of 0.21cmolc kg-1. Additionally, there was a high significant relationship between the values of Ko and ARoK (r= 0.95***) in the soils under study.

Knowledge of forms of phosphorus (P) is important in the evaluation of soil P status and also in understanding soil genesis and fertility. Amounts and distribution of P in different organic and inorganic fractions were examined in 39 soil samples of Fars province. Soils were sequentially extracted to determine organic P and inorganic P fractions. Total P with an average of 597 mg/kg soil was lower in the light soils (482 mg/kg) as compared with the heavy soils (690 mg/kg). Organic P constituted considerable portions of TP (27%). Calcium phosphates with an average of 424 mg/kg soil and being comprised of 71% inorganic P was the dominant form of soil phosphorus. Simple regression analysis indicated that there were significant positive relationships between organic P, Ca phosphates and Al-Fe phosphate values with CEC and clay content. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that a combination of soil properties such as clay content and equivalent calcium carbonate (CCE) increased correlation coefficients (R). Alghough multiple regression model was significant (at P<0.05), the relative contribution of each soil property in Al-Fe-P fraction was not considerable.