Aims: Time prediction of the main failure is of great assistance in managing the risk involved in landslide occurrence. The complexity of subsurface structure, lack of sufficient information about the slip surface, and complexity of seasonal factors make the prediction more difficult. Most of the solutions proposed for modeling the prediction of the main failure are not efficient and are associated with considerable errors due to the oversimplification. It makes the simultaneous incorporation of all effective factors nearly impossible. In this study, a reliable method was proposed for selecting the appropriate time to analyze the landslide movement and providing the speed threshold leading to the main landslide occurrence in a large-scale rockslide in the Anguran Open-Pit Mine.
Materials & Methods: In this study, the data set of two years movement of a reliable creep type landslide in Anguran Mine (Zanjan, Iran) were implemented to modify the prediction method suggested by the previous study. The method of this study was a careful comparison of accelerator factors and landslide motion.
Findings: The independence of the movement speed from the effective factors such as precipitation could be a reliable situation that can be used to predict the critical condition of landslide motion toward final and rapid failure. In this rockslide, 1.5 million m³ block of stone slid into the open pit.
Conclusion: The employed method presented in this study allows predicting the occurrence of a final rockslide within a reasonable interval of time and preventing the damage occurred through the timely evacuation of workers and equipment.
 

Aims: Wheat is one of the most important crops products in Iran. Considering the role of nanotechnology in the production of crops, the study of the effect of nanoparticles on its growth processes is very important. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of silver nanoparticles on germination characteristics of wheat in in vitro situation.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, germination characteristics of 10 wheat cultivars were performed in 4 concentrations including silver nanoparticles, 10000, 5000, 1000, and zero (Control) with 4 replications in factorial design based on completely randomized design. Root and shoots length, root to shoot ratio, germination rate, percentage of germination, time average and index of germination, daily mean germination, seedling emergence and, vigor index were measured. Analysis of variance and Pearson correlation as well as SPSS 18 and Excel 2013 were used to analyze the data.
Findings: All traits had a significant correlation with each other (p<0.01). There was a significant difference between cultivars and also between different concentrations of nanosilver for all traits (p<0.01). Major decomposition and cluster analysis showed the highest level of germination at the control and further at 1000 ppm level. Also, with increasing nanoparticle concentration, the germination characteristics also showed a significant decrease (p<0.01). Orom and Parsi were the best cultivars because of the highest value of germination characteristics.
Conclusion: High concentrations of silver nanoparticles have an effect on germinating characteristics and reducing their amounts. There are variations between the wheat cultivars for the studied characteristics. Orom and Parsi cultivars are superior to other cultivars.
 

​Genome editing using targetable nucleases is an emerging technology for precise genome modification in many organisms with hight ability and capability. All targeted genome engineering relies on the introduction of a site-specific double-strand break (DSB) in a pre-determined genomic locus by a rare-cutting DNA endonuclease. Subsequent repair of this DSB by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) or homology-directed repair (HDR) generates the desired genetic modifications such as gene disruption, gene insertion, gene correction, etc. Three types of endonucleases, namely ZFNs (zinc finger nucleases), TALENs (transcription activator-like effector nucleases), and the CRISPR (clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic regions) associated (Cas9) system have been predominantly utilized for gene editing. Targeted genome engineering or editing enables researchers to modify genomic loci of interest in a precise manner, which has a turning point in medicine, biological research, and biotechnology. Treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection with ZFN-mediated CCR5 gene disruption is one of the indicator examples of the ability of ZFNs in genome editing. The emergence of TALENs in 2010 has enabled the genome modification of non- model organisms, while the emergence of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in 2013 as a revolutionary genome-editing tool has allowed us to anticipate the forthcoming new era of genome editing research. Soon, it is likely that tgenome editing also will provide the possibility of treating genetic diseases. Genome editing is also hoped to be available for use in the generation of crops and livestock with useful traits. An example would be the production of edible fungi resistant to browning by inactivation of the genes encoding polyphenol oxidase in 2016 under the non-GMO genetically edited crop plants and production of herbicide-resistant rice and rapeseed using CRISPR/Cas9 systems. In this article, we review essential genome editing tools, summarize their applications in crop improvement, as well as, next-generation crop breeding and their computational resources will be discussed.

In this research, the development of technical knowledge and the implementation of modern control strategies on the IoT platform has been investigated. In this regard, using multi-layer hierarchical control over the IoT platform enables the communication and transfer of information from lower layers to upper layers, and the ability to process data and provide of control solutions considering new conditions from upper layers to lower layers. One of the main applications of this approach is the control of high-inertia systems, by optimizing the local layer by the main layer. For this purpose, a two-layer controller has been considered, that controls the soil temperature and humidity time-delay systems in the bottom layer in the form of PID and IFTTT control, respectively. Meanwhile, the upper layer uses the obtained information and the differential evolution algorithm (DE) and ANFIS controller, adjust the PID controller coefficients applied to the subsystem and IFTTT workstations, respectively. This reduces the size and complexity of the hardware used in the lower layers and consequently reduces the costs involved. It allows the implementation of sophisticated controllers, especially on large-scale plants. On the other hand, it is also possible to control high-inertia systems. The simulation results and practical tests indicated that this control strategy was very effective in IoT platforms.