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There are instances in which it is desirable to determine relationships among fruit physical attributes. For example, fruits are often graded on the basis of size and projected area, but it may be more suitable and/or economical to develop a machine which grades by mass. Therefore, a relationship between mass and dimensions or projected areas and/ or volume of fruits is needed. Various grading systems, size fruits on the basis of specific parameters. Sizing parameter depends on fruit and machine characteristics.Models for predicting mass of orange from its dimensions and projected areas were identified. Models were divided into three classifications: 1- Single and multiple variable regression of orange dimensions (1st classification). 2- Single and multiple variable regression of projected areas (2nd classification). 3- Estimation of orange shape; ellipsoid or spheroid based on volume (3rd classification). Ten Iranian varieties of oranges were selected for the study. 3rd classification models had the highest performance followed by 2nd and 1st classifications respectively, with R2close to unity. The 2nd classification models need electronic systems with cameras for projection whereas, 1st classification models are used in the simple mechanical systems, except multiple variable ones, of and 3rd classification models need more complex mechanical systems. Among the systems that sorted oranges based on one dimension (Model 2), system that applies intermediate diameter suited better with nonlinear relationship as: M = 0.07b2 – 2.95 b + 39.15 with R2= 0.97.

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"Rokub Al Kawsaj"or no beard man backing up, is a celebration, which was hold to exclaim farewell to winter and arrival of spring. "Sarvato Bost", or kāshmar cypress, is a tree, which has been by Zoroaster from Paradise in Predecessors’ belief, and planted in kāshmar by himself or by Garshāsb. Since the cypress tree was sacred in the eyes of Iranians, they respect this ancient tree. Kāshmar cypress was proud of Xorāsān people until the Mutawakkil Abbāsi era, until it was cutt off by the order of the Caliph. Abu Mansur Saʼālebi; this  has been mentioned in "Simār al qolub fil mozāf wal mansub" to "Rokub Al Kawsaj" and "Sarvato Bost" by two examples in the mentioned book. We intended to affirm Even these books in Arabic heritage, which apparently has no relation with Iran history, can encompass valuable subjects. .

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Aim: Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is the causative agent of several invasive and non-invasive diseases. Several virulence factors contribute to the pathogenesis of GAS, such as M protein, hemolysins, and extracellular enzymes. Due to the improper use of antibiotics, the resistance of these microorganisms to antibiotics is increasing. Bacteriocins as an alternative to antibiotics are of great importance. In this study, the effect of antimicrobial Bacteriocin nisin was investigated on the expression of smeZ gene.
Materials & Methods: Samples were taken from the site of infection on the skin surface of the patients at the dermatology clinics of Tehran public hospitals. The specimen was immediately transferred to the primary culture medium or basal medium. Chromosomal DNA extraction was performed using the standard method for the extraction of Streptococcus pyogenes genomes. Multiplex PCR was performed to identify the presence of smeZ, speI, and speH genes in the isolates. The expression of smeZ gene was evaluated using the real-time PCR technique.
Findings: The frequencies of smeZ, speI, and speH genes in 12 S. pyogenes isolates were 25, 8.3, and 8.3%, respectively. The fold change rate for smeZ gene was -1.209, indicating that this gene was decreased 1.209 folds in the treated group compared to the untreated group.
Conclusion: Bacteriocin not only reduces the number of pathogens but may also affect the metabolism of the bacteria by producing toxins. The use of new antimicrobial agents in place of previous drugs for psoriasis patients could be considered as a way to treat the disease more effectively in the future.
 

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In order to help in the engineering design of rice harvesting machines, there is a need to have exact information concerning the physical and mechanical properties of rice stems. The cutting force for rice stems, therefore, was measured by designing and fabricating a static and dynamic shear test apparatus. The effects of moisture levels and the cross-sectional area of stem as well as the variety, blade bevel angle, blade type and cutting speed on shearing strength have been evaluated. The results indicated that the cutting force increased with an increase in the cross-sectional area and decreased with an increase in moisture content. The static and dynamic shearing strength was different among the varieties. The maximum and minimum shearing strengths were related to the varieties Khazar and Hashemi, with an average of 1629 and 1429 kPa for static test and values of 187.4 and 144 kPa for the dynamic test, respectively. The shearing strength decreased from 234.4 kPa to 137.4 Kpa with an increase in blade cutting speed from 0.6 to 1.5 m/s. Blade bevel angle and blade type had no significant effect on the shearing strength of rice stem.

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A non-linear finite element model could be a useful tool in the development of a method of predicting soil pressure-sinkage behaviour, and can be used to investigate and analyze soil compaction. This study was undertaken to emphasize that the finite element method (FEM) is a proper technique to model soil pressure-sinkage behaviour. For this purpose, the finite element method was used to model soil pressure-sinkage behaviour and a two-dimensional finite element program was developed to perform the required numerical calculations. This program was written in FORTRAN. The soil material was considered as an elastoplastic material and the Mohr-Coulomb elastoplastic material model was adopted with the flow rule of associated plasticity. In order to deal with material non-linearity, incremental method was adopted to gradually load the soil and a total Lagran-gian formulation was used to allow for the geometric non-linear behaviour in this study. The FEM model was verified against previously developed models for one circular footing problem and one strip footing problem and the finite element program was used to pre-dict the pressure-sinkage behaviour of the footing surfaces. Statistical analysis of the veri-fication confirmed the validity of the finite element model and demonstrated the potential use of the FEM in predicting soil pressure-sinkage behaviour. However, experimental verification of the model is necessary before the method can be recommended for exten-sive use.

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Background: The escalating prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) commensal intestinal bacteria characterized by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production is an alarming global health threat. Drug users have been introduced as a major source of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, possibly due to drug abuse. The present study aimed to investigate the potential factors related to fecal carriage of MDR ESBL-producing intestinal Escherichia coli (E. coli) in drug users in the southwest of Iran.
Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, stool samples of 109 drug users were collected and cultured. After the biochemical confirmation of E. coli isolates, the antimicrobial resistance pattern and ESBL production of the isolates were determined. Then logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine possible factors related to fecal carriage of MDR ESBL-producing intestinal E. coli.
Findings: Logistic regression analysis indicated that increasing age and duration of addiction were associated with increased risk of MDR ESBL-producing E. coli carriage in the intestinal flora of drug users (p< .05). Moreover, oral drug use compared to the smoking method led to a higher carriage rate of MDR ESBL-producing E. coli in the intestinal flora of drug users (p< .05). Also, self-employed drug users compared to those with fixed public occupation showed higher rates of MDR ESBL-producing E. coli carriage in their intestinal flora (p< .05).
Conclusion: Age, duration of addiction, method of drug use, and occupation were significantly associated with MDR ESBL-producing E. coli colonization.

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Routine verbal communication almost never occurs in quiet. Speech perception disorder in noise is one of the most common complaints of people of all ages. In our living environment, there are different types of background noise that have different masking effects. In general, verbal noises have more signal target masking. Babble noise as an interfering factor can lead to speech perception disorders. Speech phonemes are alienated into consonants and vowels across languages. These phonemes are different in terms of production and perceptual mechanism. Persian has 6 vowels /i/, /e/, /a/, /â/, /o/, and /u/. Vowels are the nucleus of the syllables and words, vowel errors can lead to disorders in speech perception process. Now the question arises as to whether the ability of vowel recognition in the presence of babble noise is influenced by age, signal to noise ratio, gender, and educational level? Also, if the above factors affect the recognition of the Persian vowel, which vowels are more vulnerable to these effects?
Therefore, due to the absence of similar studies on the effect of the aforementioned factors on the recognition of Persian vowels, the present study examined the effect of age, signal to noise ratio, sex, and educational level on the recognition of Persian vowel in the fourth and fifth decades of life. This observational and cross sectional study was performed on 60 adults with normal hearing in the age range of 30-49 years with mean and standard deviation (SD) of 38.88±6.23 years old (thirty people aged 30 to 39 years old with average age and standard deviation (SD) of 33.40±2.35 years and thirty aged 40 to 49 years with average age and standard deviation (SD) of 44.73±2.33 years) from available samples. After the auditory and speech evaluation, the recognition of Persian vowels were examined in consonant-vowel-consonant syllable in the presence of babble noise in signal-to-noise ratios of 0, -5 and -10, along with  the randomized presentation of stimuli to the right ear. The purpose of the random presentation of syllables in the present study was to avoid memorizing words.Comparison the recognition score of six Persian vowels showed significant differences in three signal-to-noise ratios (p = 0.001). Also, comparison the vowels recognition scores were significant in two age ranges of 30-39 and 40-49 years old in three signal-to-noise ratios (p = 0.001). However, not found significant differences between the sexes (P= 0.991) and different educational levels (P= 0.282). Also, in three signal to noise ratios of 0, -5 and -10, the recognition scores of the front vowels were better than the back vowels. In signal-to-noise ratios of 0 and -5, the highest mean of recognition score was associated with / a / vowel and in the signal-to-noise ratio of -10 with / i / was present. Also, there was the lowest mean of recognition score in signal-to-noise ratios 0, -5 and -10 with / u / vowel. The present study showed that the average recognition of Persian vowels is affected by age, signal-to-noise ratio, and type of vowel. As the age increases and the signal-to-noise ratio decreases, the average recognition score of the vowels decreases significantly in the presence of babble noise
 
 

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Regarding the differences among firms on financial position and access to various financial resources, the selection of a proper variable, which represents actual cost of capital of a firm, is of great importance in explaining the firms demand for money.  In order to improve the estimation of interest rate elasticity of demand for money by manufacturing firms, this paper computes the cost of capital for each firm. Using firm level panel data for 161 manufacturing companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange, the demand for money is estimated over the period 2000 to 2010. It is found that (a) the firms in which the cost of capital is higher, have low real balances; (b) the average cost of capital and its variations implies that the weight of cost of capital should be reexamined by monetary authority; and (c) the sensitivity of demand for money to fluctuations in wage  is more than to interest rate.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical compositions and antimicrobial activity of Satureja hortensis essential oil against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas fluorescens OS8, Alternaria alternata PTCC 5224 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 in vitro. In this study, S.hortensis essential oil was purchased from Barij Essence Pharmaceutical Company (Kashan, Iran). The chemical analysis of the essential oil was performed by using Gas chromatography/ mass spectrophotometer (GC/MS). The antimicrobial activity was determined through agar diffusion method (well and disc) and broth micro-dilution based on the CLSI protocol . The results showed that the main compounds in the oil were carvacrol (37.83%) and Isopropyl Myristate (59.14%). The oil showed activity against all tested strains. In all treatments, Gram-negative strains tested were more resistant to the antimicrobial activity of essential oil. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of S.hortensis essential oil on the Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Staphylococcus aureus and Alternaria alternata was 2 , 1 , 0.5 and 1( mg/ml) respectively. The agar difiusion tests showed, the reduction of essential oil concentration significantly reduces the diameter of inhibition zone for all tested microorganisms. According to the result of this study and increasing resistance of bacteria to chemical antibiotics, it is recommended that more studies on this plant and antibacterial compounds are needed for treating infections.

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Drying is one of the most important post-harvesting processes with the aim of increasing the storage time. The present study investigates and compares color changes and shrinkage of red beetroot thin layers in four different drying methods (hot air flow, microwave, vacuum and freeze drying). The process of changing these two parameters was simulated by fitting to different models. The experiments were carried out in hot air and vacuum air dryers at three temperature levels (50, 70 and 90 °C), in microwave dryer at a power level of 180, 360 and 600 W, and in a freeze dryer at -50 °C. The results showed that the changes in the brightness index (L) and yellowness (b) relative to the time were increasing and the trend of changes in the red index (a) was decreasing. The slightest changes in the parameters of brightness, redness and yellowness (values is 0.74, 0.23, and 0.03) occurred in freeze drying, microwave and vacuum, respectively. The overall results showed that the highest amount of color change (ΔE) was 1.59 in drying by microwave and at 180 W, and the lowest drying rate was 0.76 in freeze drying. Also, shrinkage changes in sugar beet samples showed that the use of freeze dryer reduced the amount of shrinkage by 10-25% compared to the other three methods of drying. Also, modeling of color parameters and shrinkage showed that exponential models have higher ability to predict the process of color variation and shrinkage.

 

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Chicken meat is one of the most popular and perishable foods. One of the effective ways to increase the retention time of fresh chicken meat is the use of appropriate packaging coatings containing natural antimicrobial compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial effect of soy protein coating containing tarragon essential oil on chicken meat stored in a refrigerator.Tarragon essential oil was extracted by water distillation method and its antimicrobial properties were tested on Staphylococcus aureus PTCC 1113, Salmonella enterica PTCC 1709, Escherichia coli PTCC 1399, and then the effect of concentration 0, 2 and 3% (vol / vol) soluble essential oil in soybean protein coating on these bacteria were studied. Finally, the antimicrobial effect of soy protein content containing tarragon essential oil on chicken fillets kept in the refrigerator was investigated and characteristics of the changes in its chemical and organoleptic properties were evaluated.The highest inhibitory concentration of essential oil was from Staphylococcus aureus, and the lowest was E.coli and Salmonella enterica. The total microbial count for the sample treated with 3% essential oil during the 12 days storage in the refrigerator was significantly lower than the control sample (P <0.05). The greatest effect of antimicrobial films after 12 days of storage in the refrigerator was on inoculated samples of Staphylococcus aureus. Protein film of 3% essential oil prevented the increase of pH and peroxide value during the storage period in the refrigerator. According to the sensory evaluation results, the film containing 2% essential oil obtained the highest overall acceptance rating. Although this property is reduced by the mixing of essential oil with film coating. The essential oil coating also has positive effects on the chemical and organoleptic properties of chicken fillet.

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Hyssopus officinalis and frankincense (Boswellia carteri), as valuable medicinal herbs, are widely used in traditional medicine. Due to the increased resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to antibiotics and increasing of treatment costs, attentions has been focused to compounds of natural origin. In this study, Hyssop and Frankincense oils were extracted separately by water distillation. The essential oils components were identified by GC/MS. Determination of inhibition zone diameter and minimum inhibitory concentration were performed by disk agar diffusion and macro dilution methods, respectively. Wells with no discoloration were used to detect the minimum bactericidal (fungicidal) concentration. In this research, 24 and 22 compounds were identified in Hyssop and Frankincense, respectively. The main component of Hyssop oil was cis-3-pinanone (%28.2), and the main component of Frankincense oil was α- pinene (%22). Both Hyssop and Frankincense oils had the highest effect on Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, and the lowest growth zone diameter was related on Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Also, it was found that the Candida albicans was more sensitive than Aspergillus niger against both essential oils (p<0.05). The results showed that plants are rich in secondary products such as terpenoids, alkaloids and flavonoids, most of which have antimicrobial activity.

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Drought stress is the major limitation for crop yield, which depending on the time of occurrence, could decrease the number of grain as well as their weight. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the tolerant cereals that its grain components have an important role in human and animal nutrition; however, physical and biochemical properties of grains affected through drought stress are still poorly understood. In this study, barley genotypes (n= 6) with different levels of drought tolerance were studied in a 2-year field experiment under well-watered and terminal drought stress conditions. In order to measure physical properties of grains, digital images were taken and some morphological features were obtained by using Image Analysis Toolbox of MATLAB software. Biochemical properties of grains were also measured. Results proved that size, weight and also quality of the grains were significantly affected by drought stress (P< 0.01). Grain starch content decreased and protein content increased under drought stress at anthesis stage in all genotypes, but drought-sensitive genotypes interestingly had more percentage increase in protein content. Furthermore, genotypes varied in total sugar, sucrose, glucose and fructose content. Drought stress affected grain size and finally 1,000-grain weight of barley genotypes by reducing area and minor axis length of grains. Correlations between 1,000-grain weight and minor axis length, grain area, starch and sucrose content were significant (P< 0.01). These results emphasized in both conditions that size-dependent features of grain particularly minor axis length and area may be serving as useful traits for estimation of 1,000-grain weight and biochemical properties in barley.

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Abstract
The perishable nature of strawberry fruit is one of the key factors that limit its consumption, specified by its decreased freshness and shelf life after harvest. The suitable packaging conditions, low temperature storage, and desired atmosphere composition inside packaged are important to preserve the quality attributes and extend the shelf life of perishable fruits. In this study, the packaging films based on PLA (such as neat PLA, PLA/TA10, and PLA/C20A1/TA10) with two different gas mixtures (such as 10 KPa O₂+15 KPa CO₂+75 KPa N₂ (MAP-A) and 15 KPa O₂+10 KPa CO₂+75 KPa N₂ (MAP-B)) and a control sample without gas injection on fresh strawberry fruit were evaluated. The effects of the mentioned treatments on some physicochemical properties such as weight loss, total soluble solid, tritratable acidity, pH, and firmness kept at 4 ⁰C for 23 days of storage period were evaluated based on a completely randomized design. The results showed that the weight loss and firmness of strawberry fruit decreased during storage time, while pH value increased. The total soluble solid and tritratable acidity of all the treatments increased throughout the storage time and decreased at the end of the storage time. It has been also reported that fruits packaged in PLA/C20A1/TA10 caused better quality attributes due to lower water vapor permeability and oxygen transmission rate than two films of neat PLA and PLA/TA10. In addition, the gas mixture of MAP-A was more suitable in comparison to MAP-B due to higher carbon dioxide inside packages and lower respiration rate of strawberry fruit. Therefore, the use of nanocomposite film with modified atmosphere has been proposed to maintain strawberry fruit at a low temperature.

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Meat products are highly perishable and require protection to maintain their quality. Bioedible films incorporated with essential oils have recently received attention due to their benefits as AntiMicrobial (AM) active packaging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physico-mechanical properties and antimicrobial activity of Isolated Soy Protein (ISP) film containing Peppermint Essential Oil (PEO) on shelf life and sensory quality of raw hamburger. The ISP film incorporated with PEO at 1, 2, and 3% (v/v) were prepared by solvent casting method. The results showed that the incorporation of PEO caused a significant decrease and an increase (P< 0.05) in tensile strength and elongation-at-break, respectively. Increment of thickness, Water Vapor Permeability (WVP), and decline in moisture content was recorded as the amount of oil increased (P< 0.05). In addition, Lightness/darkness (L*), Whiteness Index (WI), and redness/greenness (a*), and yellowness/blueness (b*) increased, while the total color difference (ΔE) decreased by adding PEO. PEO-incorporated film (at 3% v/v) exhibited higher inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and lower for Salmonella enterica using disc diffusion method. Microbial analysis and pH measurement of raw hamburger covered with ISP-PEO film showed no inhibitory effect against test bacteria when applied on raw hamburger, whereas the inhibited total bacterial growth exceeded the acceptable limit until the end of refrigerated storage. This film was able to prolong the shelf life of hamburger for up to 7 days. Therefore, this new antibacterial film has considerable potential to be used as meat packaging material.

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Recent statistics showed that larger number  of Iranian girls are being pushed to the state of absolute celibacy. This is in clear contrast with social, cultural and religious values in the country; therefore, it has made serious concerns for both policy makers and the public. The present study aimed to a) explore why do girls prefer to stay unmarried and what their perception and feeling is in regard to marriage and b) investigate the social adjustment of these girls as a significant facet of mental and social health. An open-ended questionnaire was used for the first aim and Bell Adjustment Inventory (Bell, 1962) was applied on 40 girls with absolute celibacy and 40 married  . The two groups were matched in demographic features and the  findings, which are all discussed in Iranina society along with its existed values, showed  that remaining  celibacy is an undesirable  status occurred mainly due to not finding and  the right person. The other contributing reasons leading to girls’ celibacy are their imaginary and sort of perfectionistic attitude about their future partner, family’s  arrangements and interferences, financial limitations and physical attractions.  The statistical results indicated that girls with absolute celibacy scored less in total adjustment score and two of the subscales of adjustment at home and social adjustment.