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Agricultural sector is one of the most significant sectors in Iran. This sector accounts for a significant share of GDP, employment and non-oil exports in the economy. Moreover, it produces food and also raw materials used to produce manufacturing products. Therefore, the effects of macro policies on agriculture need to be well understood. This study aims to investigate the effects of exports and tax policy on agricultural employment in Iran during the period 1979 – 2005. Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach is used to estimate the empirical model. The findings of this study show that direct tax has significant and negative effect on agricultural employment while exports have significant and positive effect.

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Clayey soils usually have low bearing capacity, high compressibility, shrinkage and swell characteristics. Several methods have been adopted to improve the geotechnical properties of such soils. Soil stabilizing by chemical materials is one of the most common methods for treating fine grained soils. Lime has been used to improve some mechanical and plastic properties of fine grained soils since many years ego. In recent years some studies has been also carried out to investigate the influence of adding pozzolany materials on the geotechnical properties of lime – treated clayey soils. Geotechnical behavior of clayey soils depends on chemistry of pore fluid. When drinking water is used to provide the needed moisture of soil in the laboratory, it will be lead to incorrect interpretation in engineering properties of soil where specific water such as sea water is utilized. Therefore, if the undrinkable water has been used to provide soil moisture, it is necessary to examine the behavior characteristics of the materials by the same water. For example, presence of some sulphates in the soil stabilized with lime leads to problems such as reduction of strength and increase of swelling in clay. In this laboratory study, effect of sea water on strength of stabilized kaolinite has been investigated by conducting several unconfined compression tests. The specimens were prepared at fore percentage of lime and pozzolan (i.e.0%,1%,3%,5%) by weight of dry soil and distilled water and three saline water which were taken from Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf and Urmia Lake. for every combination ,weight of each material was determined exactly based on the optimum moisture content and maximum dry density which is obtained from the standard proctor compaction test. Clay and lime and pozzolan were mixed in dry condition properly and then water was added gradually. Afterwards, the mixtures were kept in plastic bags for 24 hours. Weight of each specimen was determined in accordance with given specific volume and obtained maximum dry density from compaction test. This weight was divided into four portion and each portion was compacted in 20 mm layer in a PVC mold . The specimens were cured in a oven having a temperature about 35 ֠ C for 3, 7 and 14 days. After each curing time a extruder was used to remove the specimens from the molds with constant rate vertically to avoid bending and formation of tensile cracks. Then the specimens were immediately tested under strain controlled at constant loading rate of 1.0 mm per minute , according to requirements of ASTM D 2166. For each combination , three specimens were examined to assure repeatability of results. The results of conducted experiments indicate that unconfined strength of samples without additives (lime and pozzolan) prepared by sea water are higher than specimens containing distilled water. For the samples containing Urmia lake water, the unconfined strength were higher than the other samples. Also, for the specimens in which additive has been used, the strength of the samples containing Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf water were more than that with distilled water and the strength of samples containing Urmia lake water was less because of differences in the concentration of salts existed in the water . Finally, the results show that water minerals are higher in Urmia lake water, Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea, respectively.

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The consumer demand to use natural preservatives in food products instead of synthetic ones and awareness about not using plastic is increasing. In this research, chitosan-potato starch film containing celery seed extract was prepared at different concentration levels (0.5, 2 and 8%) and the physical properties of the film (thickness, moisture content and solubility), mechanical properties and antioxidant activity also determined. Then, the chicken fillet wrapped by the film was kept in the refrigerator for 15 days and the microbial growth and primary and secondary oxidation compounds formation with peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid and sensory evaluation was also monitored during the storage time. The results showed that the total phenol and flavonoid content of celery seed extract was 70.67±7.8 mgGA/g of extract and 62.81±5.65 mg Quercetin/g of extract, respectively. Addition of celery seed extract (2 and 8%) decreased the moisture content and solubility of the film due to the increase of the film hydrophobicity. Also, by adding the celey seed extract, the elongation at break of the film increased, while the tensile strength and elastic modulus decreased. With the increase in the concentration of the celery seed extract in the film, the DPPH free radical inhibition increases from 14.69 to 73.94%. According to the results of microbial and oxidation tests as well as sensory evaluation, coating a chicken fillet with a chitosan-potato starch film containing 8% celery seed extract would increase its shelf life by up to 15 days.
 

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Despite the development of methods to increase the shelf life and safety of food products, the economic loss caused by food spoilage is still considered one of the main challenges of  food industry. Due to the culture of the use of natural products and functional foods, the consumer's desire for natural products with extended shelf life has increased. Phenolic compounds, like many bioactive compounds, gradually become inactive and usually cause a bitter taste in food. Microliposome is one of the effective solutions to increase the stability and reduce the unpleasant taste of bioactive compounds. In this research, the Ferula leaves was extracted with ethanol and its phenolic and flavonoid properties were determined. Then, the antioxidant properties of the extract were determined by DPPH and β-carotene/linoleic acid assay at different concentration (400, 800, 1600 and 3200 PPM). Then it was added to beef burger in the form of liposomes and the oxidative, microbial and sensory characteristics and the release rate of phenolic compounds in beef burger were investigated over two weeks’ storage. The results showed that the total phenolic and flavonoid content of the Ferula leaves extract was 270.67 ± 5.8 mgGA/ g extract and 160.81±5.65 mg Quercetin/g extract, respectively. With the increase in the concentration of Ferula extract, the DPPH radical inhibition increases from 33.73 to 84.42% and β-carotene-linoleic acid from 32.56 to 74.90% at 400 to 3200 PPM. The results obtained on the shelf life of beef burger showed that the highest microbial growth and lipid oxidation were observed in the control, and the lowest one was observed in the sample containing 3200 PPM Ferula extract. Based on the oxidation test and sensory evaluation, adding microliposome of Ferula leaves extract at 1600 PPM can significantly increase the shelf life of beef burger in the refrigerator.