Evaluation of techniques to break seed dormancy in Redroot pigweed ().

By identifying the factors that initiate seed dormancy release, we can reliably predict whether a seed will remain dormant within or exit the seed bank and become a seedling. With regard to annual weed species, assessing which factors efficiently break seed dormancy is critical for estimating the number of weed seeds that will develop into problematic weeds. To better understand dormancy breaking in Redroot pigweed (), dormant seeds were treated with cold stratification (4°C for 30 days), application of gibberellic acid (at 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 parts per million), ultrasound (for 10, 20, 30, and 40 min), soaking in hot water (90°C for 3, 5, 7, and 10 min), and 98% sulfuric acid (for 1, 2, and 3 min).

Ecological indicators for qualitative assessment of Ojarud River: A case study.

Today, the application of ecological indicators based on organisms has replaced traditional saprobic approaches for assessment of the quality of rivers impaired due to organic pollution and some other environmental disturbances. This study aimed to weigh the quality of the Ojarud River in Ardabil, Iran, applying biological and physiological indices of macro-invertebrates. A total of 12,524 samplings were fulfilled at four stations (S1, S2, S3, S4) from the headstream to downstream by a Surber sampler (30 × 30 cm) from June/2020 to April/2021.

Cognitive flexibility and emotional self-regulation of the elderly with Empty nest syndrome: Benefits of acceptance and commitment therapy.

Background And Aims: Empty nest syndrome (ENS) is a mental condition that affects both parents. When children leave their parents' home, the parents experience such feelings as unhappiness, loss, fear, inability, difficulty in adjusting roles, and changing their relationships. The present study aimed to evaluate the cognitive flexibility and emotional self-regulation of the elderly with ENS: benefits of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

COVID-19 Related Stresses, Conspiracy Beliefs, Uncertainty, and Non-adherence to Safety Guidelines.

Introduction: Inconsistent use of protective preventive measures and nonadherence of the guidelines set by the World Health Organization regarding the coronavirus are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, as well as increased health care costs.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the role of COVID-19 related worries, conspiracy beliefs, and uncertainty in adherence to preventative measures in Iran.

Method: In a large survey with data collected online from a volunteer sample of 599 individuals, assessments were made of the distress associated with the anticipated potential consequences associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, extent of agreement with conspiracy beliefs, level of situation-specific uncertainty, and self-reports of compliance with preventive measures.

Prediction of winter wheat leaf chlorophyll content based on VIS/NIR spectroscopy using ANN and PLSR.

Visible-near-infrared spectroscopy is known for its rapid and nondestructive characteristics designed to predict leaf chlorophyll content (LCC) of winter wheat. It is believed that the nonlinear technique is preferable to the linear method. The canopy reflectance was applied to generate the LCC prediction model.

Providing a health-promotion behaviors model in elderly: Psychological capital, perceived social support, and attitudes toward death with mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies.

Background And Aims: The aim of this study was to present a health-promotion behaviors model in the elderly based on psychological capital, social support, and attitudes toward death mediated with mediating role of emotional cognitive regulation strategies in the elderly in Ardabil.

Methods: The research method was correlational which was done by the path analysis method. The statistical population of the study consisted of all elderly people in Ardabil in 2020, from which 250 people were selected by convenient sampling method and were investigated with research tools including Health-Promotion Lifestyle Profile (1998), attitudes toward death profile (1994), Psychological Capitals (2007), social support (1988) and Cognitive Emotion Regulation (2001).

N-doped graphene for electrocatalytic O and CO reduction.

The electrocatalytic CO reduction reaction (CORR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are important approaches to realize energy conversion and sustainable development. However, sluggish reaction kinetics severely hinders the practical application of devices related to these reactions. N-doped graphene (NG) with unique properties exhibits great potential in catalyzing the CORR and ORR, which is attributed to the electron redistribution.

Self-care behavior prevention of COVID-19 in the general population based on Pender Health Promotion Model: A cross-sectional study.

Background And Aims: Coronavirus with its sudden and widespread outbreak has obviously imposed devastating consequences in various aspects of human life. The purpose of this study was to determine the predictive value of Pender's Health Promotion Model (HPM) structures in self-care preventive behavior against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among the general population of Ardabil, Iran.

Methods: The present retrospective descriptive-correlational study was conducted on citizens of Ardabil aged 18 years and over in 2021.

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Enhance Drought Tolerance in Wheat via Physio-Biochemical Changes and Stress Genes Expression.

Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the expression analysis of genes involved in drought tolerance and the use of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) to mitigate the undesirable effects of drought stress in wheat.

Materials And Methods: A factorial experiment based on completely randomized design (CRD) was performed with three replicates. The experiment was carried out in the greenhouse of Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Ardabil, Iran in 2017.

Zr@IL-FeO MNPs as an efficient and green heterogeneous magnetic nanocatalyst for the one-pot three-component synthesis of highly substituted pyran derivatives under solvent-free conditions.

The present study was conducted to synthesize Zr@IL-FeO MNPs as a new magnetically recoverable heterogeneous catalyst, which was then characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The catalytic behavior of the Zr@IL-FeO MNPs was efficiently used for the synthesis of highly substituted pyran derivatives a one-pot three-component condensation of 4-hydroxycoumarin/dimedone, malononitrile, and arylaldehydes under solvent-free conditions. This new methodology demonstrated some important features, including short reaction times, excellent yields, lower loading of the catalyst, easy work-up, and recyclability of the catalyst for a minimum of six times without any noticeable decrease in catalytic activity.

The direct and indirect effects of bioactive compounds against coronavirus.

Emerging viruses are known to pose a threat to humans in the world. COVID-19, a newly emerging viral respiratory disease, can spread quickly from people to people via respiratory droplets, cough, sneeze, or exhale. Up to now, there are no specific therapies found for the treatment of COVID-19.

The oxidative and thermal stability of optimal synergistic mixture of sesame and grapeseed oils as affected by frying process.

In spite of grapeseed oil high contents of linoleic acid, its oxidative stability is relatively low, and mixing with more stable oils such as sesame oil can be a good way to improve the oxidative stability of this oil. The aim of this study was to increase the oil oxidative stability by producing an optimum formulation due to the combination of grapeseed and sesame oil. For this purpose, some of the qualitative properties of the optimum formulation were investigated during frying process.

Antifungal activity of TiO/AgBr nanocomposites on some phytopathogenic fungi.

TiO/AgBr composites were synthesized by a simple ultrasonic strategy. Various instruments such as SEM, EDX, XRD, and FT-IR were exploited to investigate their characteristics. Antifungal activities of the as-obtained samples were assessed through the inactivation of in the spore suspension method and mycelial growth inhibition of , , and in the microdilution method.

Prediction of some quality properties of rice and its flour by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) analysis.

The measurement of different quality properties requires particular tools and chemical materials, most of which are time-using. The present research was accomplished to survey the possibility of using NIRS (870-2450 nm) to predict the amylose content (AC), protein content (PC), breakdown (BDV), and setback viscosity (SBV) of white rice ( variety) and its flour. Determination coefficients of calibration models to flour samples of AC, PC, BDV, and SBV generated by the partial least-squares (PLS) regression were obtained as  ≥ .

Antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities of extracts from the seed and pulp of Jujube () grown in Iran.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the biological activities of the ultrasound-assisted extracts obtained from pulp and seed of jujube () fruits. To reach this purpose, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), total pro-anthocyanin, DPPH radical scavenging activity, rancimat test, as well as antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity test of both jujube pulp and seed extracts were evaluated. Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and total pro-anthocyanin in pulp extract were higher than those obtained from seed extract.

Effect of foliar application of selenium on morphological and physiological indices of savory () under cadmium stress.

Cadmium is a heavy metal that pollutes the environment and affects plants physiologically and morphologically. Selenium is considered as a beneficial element, with effective roles in increasing plant tolerance to environmental stresses. A greenhouse factorial pot experiment was conducted to study the impact of selenium on traits of Savory plants under Cd stress.

Effects of biofertilizers and iron nano-oxide on maize yield and physiological properties under optimal irrigation and drought stress conditions.

In this research, effects iron nano-oxide and biofertilizers and chemical was investigated on the yield and some traits of Maize under normal and drought stress conditions in two years (2018 and 2019). The experiment was performed in the form of split-spilt plot in a complete random block design with three replications. The studied irrigation treatment included three levels (normal, 85% and 65% optimum water requirement) in the main plots and iron nano-oxide at four levels (0, 0.

Mathematical modeling for the prediction of some quality parameters of white rice based on the strength properties of samples using response surface methodology (RSM).

One of the major problems in predicting the quality properties of rice is that conducting experiments in the food industry can be highly expensive. The objective of this study was to predict some quality properties in varieties (, and ) via compression test at moisture levels 9 and 14% w.b.

Effects of physical and chemical pretreatments on drying and quality properties of blackberry ( spp.) in hot air dryer.

This research examines the impact of various pretreatments on effective moisture diffusivity coefficient ( ), activation energy ( ), specific energy consumption (), color, and shrinkage of blackberry ( spp.). Hot air drying experiments were conducted under three different temperatures (50, 60, and 70°C) and four pretreatments, including thermal pretreatment by hot water blanching at 70, 80, and 90°C, pulse pretreatment with microwave having power of 90, 180, and 360 W, chemical pretreatment using ascorbic acid (1% in distilled water), and mechanical pretreatment using ultrasonic vibration with working frequency of 28 ± 5% kHz for 15, 30, and 45 min.

Evaluation of image processing technique and discriminant analysis methods in postharvest processing of carrot fruit.

The most important process before packaging and preserving agricultural products is sorting operation. Sort of carrot by human labor is involved in many problems such as high cost and product waste. Image processing is a modern method, which has different applications in agriculture including classification and sorting.

Evaluation of ultrasound technology to break seed dormancy of common lambsquarters ().

Although seed dormancy is advantageous for annual plants in the wild, unsynchronized germination in the laboratory leads to increased error in measurements. Therefore, techniques to promote and synchronize germination are routinely used. Ultrasound is one of the newest methods for breaking dormancy in weed seeds.

Evaluating the efficiency of TaqMan real-time PCR and serological methods in the detection of Brucella spp. in clinical specimens collected from suspected patients in Ardabil, Iran.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of the TaqMan real-time PCR and serological methods in detecting Brucella spp. in clinical specimens that have been collected from suspected patients in Ardabil, Iran.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 113 consecutive patients suspected of brucellosis who were referred to the three hospitals in Ardabil province were selected.

Determination of the creep behavior of potato tubers during storage period by means of uniaxial and triaxial creep tests.

The analysis of static forces is essential in the storage of agricultural products because these forces are applied in fruits, vegetables, or grains that can lead to their permanent deformation. This mechanical damage increases the product waste. Given that the potato tuber is surrounded by other tubers in the storage, then every tuber is pressurized from all sides or so-called triaxial stress.