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Nowadays, application of enhanced oil recovery methods has increased; therefore it’s necessary to determine their impacts on environment and human life. So, this research investigates the environmental impacts of conventional enhanced oil recovery methods and new methods such as using electromagnetic waves, ultrasound waves, and nanoparticles. The investigations show that electromagnetic waves and ultrasound can effectively remove many environmental pollutants. Characteristics of the wave and the type of formation determine that these waves have different effects on the formation, and efforts should be made to understand these effects to prevent damage to the formation. Nanoparticles can also reduce the quantity of pollutants in the environment. According to the mechanisms of entrapment of nanoparticles in the porous medium, they may remain in the reservoir and find their way to the underground water over time, so their environmental effects should be considered in the long term. A better knowledge of new methods of increasing oil extraction will lead to the identification and use of more suitable methods with less environmental effects (compared to conventional methods).

 

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Different types of soil erosion including gully erosion occur in many parts of Iran. The west of Iran is further threatened by gully erosion due to its specific physical and climatic conditions. However, few studies have been carried out to study the sediment production of gully erosion in Iran. This research was therefore conducted to measure storm-wise sediment production of gully erosion in the west of Iran. To achieve the study objectives, 48 gullies located in three small watersheds viz. Darreh-Shahr, Abbas-Abad and Hollowsh in Ilam and Lorestan Provinces were monitored. The volumes of gullies were measured before and after 5 rainstorms for Darreh-Shahr and Abbas Abad watersheds and 6 rainstorms for Hollowsh watershed from 2005 to 2007. Sediment production was calculated on storm basis for each gully. The results revealed that the minimum and maximum volumes of gully erosion were 0.002 and 1.010 m³, respectively, for one millimeter of rainfall. The results indicated that soil moisture, percentage of silt and clay, amount and intensity of rainfall and drainage area were the most important factors on formation and sediment production of gully erosion.

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The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) is a serious and economically important pest of cruciferous crops worldwide. The nutritional indices of this pest on four host plants including two canola (SLM₀₄₆ and RGS₀₀₃) and two cabbage cultivars (Green-Cornet and Glob-Master) were determined under laboratory conditions (25 ± 0.5 °C, 65 ± 5% RH and 16: 8 L: D h). The highest relative consumption rate (RCR) and relative growth rate (RGR) were recorded on RGS₀₀₃ (95.68 ± 14.52 mg/mg/day) and SLM₀₄₆(0.382 ± 0.041 mg/mg/day), respectively. The efficiency of the conversion of ingested food (ECI) and efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) were significantly higher on SLM₀₄₆ (2.298 ± 0.646 and 2.471 ± 0.719%, respectively). However, there was no significant difference among cultivars regarding approximate digestibility (AD) index. The highest feeding performance of the larvae of P. xylostella was found on SLM₀₄₆. The nutritional indices are appropriate tools in host plant resistance evaluation and they also could provide profound understanding of the behavioral and physiological bases of insect-host plant interactions.  

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Research subject: The use of scrap tires to recover energy and their compounds is an effective way to protect the environment and recover energy and materials.
Research approach: In this research, the aim is to investigate the process of tire pyrolysis as well as the simultaneous pyrolysis (co-pyrolysis) process of tire and fuel oil. Here, the effect of different operating conditions such as temperature, volumetric nitrogen gas, heating rate and tire parts size on the physical quantities and physical properties of the products manufactured by these processes have been investigated.
Main results: The optimal operating conditions for these experiments are 420C, the volumetric gas flow rate is 100 ml / min and the heating rate is           3 C / min. The volume of the reactor used is 500 ml and the amount of mazut in the coprolysis process is 30 wt%. The highest amount of liquid produced in the process of pyrolysis of used tire was achieved using feed with a particle size of 4×2×0.5cm³, which is 43.3% by weight. In contrast, the largest liquid product produced in the simultaneous pyrolysis process of the tire and mazut was obtained using tire parts with a size of 4×4×0.5cm³, which is 52.3% by weight. In this study, the physical properties of liquid products produced by two processes of pyrolysis of tire and co-pyrolysis of tire and mazut, such as kinematic viscosity, density and refractive index, have been investigated.

 

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Anthocoris nemoralis (F.) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) is one of the most prominent predators of the pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyricola (Forster) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) and is considered as a biological control agent against this pest. In order to investigate the effects of plant varieties on predation of C. pyricola by A. nemoralis, the functional response of both the sexes of A. nemoralis to pear psylla nymphs was studied on three pear varieties including ‘Shahmiveh’, as a susceptible host plant and ‘Sebri’ and ‘Coscia’, as partially-resistant host plants. Different densities of C. pyricola nymphs were offered to single A. nemoralis and predation proceeded for 24 h. The experiments were carried out under constant environmental conditions (27 ± 1 °C, 70 ± 5% RH and L: D 16: 8 h). Logistic regression and nonlinear least-squares regression were used to determine the type of functional response and to estimate attack rate (a) and handling time (T_h), respectively. The results showed a type II functional response on all varieties. The asymptotic 95% confidence intervals, estimated by the model with indicator variable revealed that there was no significant difference between either the attack rates or between handling times of same sex of the predator on the tested varieties. However, when sexes were compared, the females of A. nemoralis had a shorter handling time and higher searching efficiency than the males on all varieties. The maximum predicted daily prey consumption by a female predator (T/T_h) was the highest on the susceptible variety. Based on the type of functional response and its parameter values, the effectiveness of A. nemoralis was not affected by plant resistance; these findings may be promising for the integration of the partially-resistant varieties and A. nemoralis in sustainable pest management programs against the pear psylla. The implications of the results for biological control of pear psylla are discussed in a tritrophic context.  

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In this research, the possibility of asphaltene separation from the vacuum tower residue using the low cost industrial solvents such as 402, 404, 406, and 410 was investigated. In order to separate asphaltene the IP143/01 and ASTM D 3279-07 separation methods were utilized. In order to find the optimal state of asphaltene precipitation, Design of experiments software with three factors of residence time, the solvent-to-feed ratio and the volume percent of 406 solvent to the total solvent of 406 and 410 were used. The results showed that the effectiveness of each parameter in precipitating the asphaltene attributed to the ratio of solvent to feed, the ratio of solvent 406 to total solvent, and the residence time, respectively and there was a significant interaction between the basic parameters. The best asphaltene precipitation of 5.06% of 7.5% happens at the residence time of 36.97 hours, the ratio of solvent to feed of 35.95 ml/gr and the volume percent of 406 solvent to the total solvent of 27.20%. Asphaltene precipitation percentage for the optimal mixture of industrial solvents was 22.5% lower than the precipitated asphaltene from normal heptane solvent. However, according to the solvents price, industrial solvents (410 and 406) were approximately 50% cheaper than normal heptane, and hence on overall, there was a cost savings of more than 20%

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... But its a letter to editor!

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Research subject: Activated carbon is a porous absorbent with reasonable specific surface area, pore volume, and pore size distribution for many applications such as adsorption. This material is obtained from various natural sources of carbon. Due to increasing demand for activated carbon, the economical precursors have been highly noticed. In the meanwhile, black liquor, industrial residue from Lignin Kraft process in paper factories, has high amount of carbon which can be used as an appropriate and cheap precursor for activated carbon production, and make high value added.
Research approach: In this study, at first, lignin was extracted from black liquor, prepared from Iran wood & paper industries-Chouka factory, under defined conditions and investigation of pH effect, and then, powdered carbon was synthesized from extracted lignin using chemical activation method by phosphoric acid chemical agent. To consider the effects of activation temperature parameter on activated carbon structure, including specific surface area, pore volume, and pore size distribution, three activation temperature of 400, 500 and 600 ^⁰C in impregnation ratio of 2 were investigated. To study the physical and morphological properties of sensitized absorbents, they were analyzed by BET, SEM, and FTIR methods.
Main results: The results confirmed that the highest amount of lignin with a similar structure to the degraded lignin was recovered at pH = 2. Investigation of the effect of activation temperature parameter suggested that the activation temperature of 500 ^°C can be a reasonable temperature for the synthesis of high specific surface area activated carbon and increasing the temperature above 500 ^°C is not effective. Among these sensitized adsorbents, the activated carbon sensitized in activation temperature of 500 ^⁰C showed the highest specific surface area and the pore volume of 1573.31 m²/g and 0.89 cm³/g respectively, which exhibits the high potential of this precursor as activated carbon adsorbent.

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Research subject: Electromagnetic heating is one of the new methods of upgrading and increasing heavy oil extraction. In this method, electromagnetic waves will increase temperature, break heavy compounds, reduce viscosity, and improve and increase oil recovery.
Research approach: In this research, magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄) were synthesized by the co-precipitation method, and the efficiency of these nanoparticles in the process of electromagnetic heating and heavy oil upgrading was investigated. Also, a comparison was made between the effect of these nanoparticles in the process of electromagnetic heating and activated carbon. In this process, oil samples containing 0.1% of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles or activated carbon were irradiated with microwave (frequency 2.54 GHz and power 400 W) for 0 to 8 minutes, and the temperature and viscosity variation were investigated.
Main results: The results showed that microwave radiation increased the temperature of the samples. The temperature of the sample of crude oil, crude oil with activated carbon, and crude oil with Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles increased from ambient temperature to 70, 82, and 90°C, respectively, under wave radiation for 8 minutes. Also, the most significant decrease in viscosity was reported in 4 minutes: the viscosity of crude oil sample, crude oil with activated carbon, and crude oil with Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles under wave irradiation for 4 minutes decreased 295 mP.a to 261, 254, and 223 mP.a, respectively. In other words, the viscosity of the samples under wave irradiation for 4 minutes for crude oil, crude oil with activated carbon, and crude oil with Fe3O4 nanoparticles decreased by 11.5, 13.9 and 24.4%, respectively.
 

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Small walnut aphid (SWA) Chromaphis juglandicola is an economic pest of walnut trees. Population fluctuation of SWA was studied in Mamaghan walnut orchards (East Azarbaijan Province, Iran).Three factors affecting population density of SWA, including vertical divisions of canopy (upper and lower half), geographical orientations of canopy (at four levels) and elongation of branch (basal and distal ends), were investigated. Sampling unit was a cluster of five leaves. Totally 128 samples were taken weekly from all strata upon eight chosen trees, repeating 30 times during the season. Natural enemies also were counted. The first SWA individuals were observed early May, consisting of first instar larvae and alate females. A sudden population increase occurred in mid-May. Maximum 40 aphids/leaf were observed in early June with first and second instars dominant, followed by a sudden decline in late June. A small peak was observed at early October. A partial tendency was observed toward north of canopy, at basal half of downward branches. Positive linear correlation between natural enemies' and SWA populations suggests density dependence. Moreover 2-4 week delay was present between them. Trioxys pallidus (Holliday) was dominant natural enemy in the region. Contrary to previous works, overwintering stages of the SWA in the region were predominantly developed stages (third and fourth instars as well as pre-reproductive winged females).

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Understanding the spatial dynamics of insect distributions provides useful information about their ecological requirements and can also be used in site-specific pest management programs. Interactions between prey and predator are spatially and temporally dynamic and can be affected by several factors. In this study, geostatistics was used to characterize the spatial variability of spotted alfalfa aphid, Therioaphis maculata Buckton and coccinellid lady beetles in alfalfa fields. Global positioning and geographic information systems were used for spatial sampling and mapping the distribution pattern of these insects. This study was conducted in three alfalfa fields with areas of 7.3, 3.1 and 0.5 ha and two growing seasons, 2013 and 2014. The 0.5 ha field was divided into 10 × 10m grids and 3.1 and 7.3 ha fields were divided into 30 × 30m grids. Weekly sampling began when height of alfalfa plants reached about 15cm and was continued until the cuttings of alfalfa hay. For sampling, 40 and 10 stems were chosen randomly in 30 × 30m and 10 × 10m grids, respectively and shaken into a white pan three times. Aphids and coccinellids fallen in the pan were counted and recorded. Semivariance analysis indicated that distribution of T. maculata and coccinellids was aggregated in the fields. Comparison of the distribution maps of aphid and lady beetles indicated that there was an overlap between the maps, but they did not coincide completely. This study revealed that relationship between spotted alfalfa aphid and lady beetles was spatially dynamic. These results can be used in biological control and site-specific management programs of T. maculata.
 

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The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) is one of the most destructive insect pests, feeding exclusively on wild and cultivated cruciferous species. The attacked plants produce considerable amount of glucosinolates in response to insects’ feeding. Herein, we studied digestive activities of P. xylostella on four different genotypes of family Brassicaceae including two canola cultivars (SLM₀₄₆ and RGS₀₀₃) and two cabbage cultivars (Green-Cornet and Glob-Master). The highest proteolytic and amylolytic activities of P. xylostella were observed on Green-Cornet and the lowest occurred on RGS₀₀₃ and Glob-Master, respectively. The highest activity of α-glucosidase and β-glucosidases were observed on Green-Cornet and SLM₀₄₆ and the lowest was observed on Glob-Master and RGS₀₀₃. The zymogram analysis revealed different isozymes of protease, trypsin-like and α-amylase in the midgut extract of P. xylostella. Activity of the above mentioned isozymes was inhibited in larvae feeding on RGS₀₀₃ and Glob Master as resistant host cultivars. Also, larvae feeding on the resistant genotypes showed more glucosidase activities, indicating possibility of high glycosinolate existence in the resistant genotypes. By these results we can state that host plant property can affect insect digestive physiology through inhibiting digestive enzyme activities. These findings provide insights into the direct effects of host plants on insect physiology which are conducive to change in insect fitness.

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In this study, 32 plant samples with leaf spot symptoms were collected from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran, in the spring and summer of 2018. Isolation and purification of 26 fungal isolates were performed on 2% water agar and potato dextrose agar to identify the causal agents. Fungal species were identified according to morphological characteristics and molecular data obtained from glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpdh) gene sequences. In this research, 11 species belonging to four genera of hyphomycetous fungi, including Alternaria cantlous, A. consortialis, A. multiformis, Bipolaris sorokiniana, B. zeicola, Curvularia spicifera, C. nicotiae, C. inaequalis, Stemphylium beticola, S. symphyti, and S. vesicarium are introduced. Among them, three species, including C. nicotiae from Salvia officinalis L., S. beticola from Plantago major L., and S. symphyti from Mentha pulegium L., are reported as new records for mycobiota of Iran. All collected plant species are reported as new hosts (matrix nova) for the identified fungal taxa.

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Breast cancer is a serious health concern for women. It contributes to about 23% of the cancer cases, and accounts for the second largest number of deaths among all cancers. Expensive and time consuming recognition methods currently available for recognition of breast cancer potentiates the need for improvement of novel, specific and ultrasensitive strategies. Biosensors are sensitive, specific and cost effective procedures. These also display the benefit of quick response due to direct calculation in physiological fluids (saliva, blood, serum, milk, urine etc.) in a non-invasive way. Aptamer-based biosensors for cancer cell recognition have shown advantages of rapidness, simplicity and cost-efficiency over traditional approaches. In this study, by linking DNAzyme and aptamer together, we established colorimetric biosensor for the detection of MCF7 breast cancer cells.  MUC1 and PTK7 aptamers used as specific aptamers to binding to the breast cancer cells. This manner may also evade the modification of DNA and the use of labels, which can intensely rise the cost-efficiency and simplicity of cancer cell discovery. Our results indicated that these aptamers showed good activity for breast cancer cells detection in which in the control cells no activity was observed. Results also indicated that there is a good linear relationship between the cancer cell values and colorimetric signal. Finally, the obtained results indicated a cost effective and conveniently operated approach for cancer diagnosis in future.

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Ramsey model is one of the most important basic models to study intertemporal resource allocation. This model is derived from microeconomic optimal principle so it has a key role in macroeconomics with micro foundations. Hence, in many economic researches it is considered as a reference theory. Application of this model in economy of Iran will provide an appropriate theorem framework for explaining empirical facts of the Iranian economy and will introduce a new approach to researchers. The main idea of this study is generalizing Ramsey model through including terms of trade and its calibration in the economy of Iran. For this purpose first, the model is explained. Then, the first order condition is derived and mathematical optimal path of variables is solved.  Finally, the model is calibrated by GAMS package for economy of Iran in time period (2006-2036). The results indicate that there is a feasible solution for model and the optimal path of variables can be observed. The optimal path of Gross National Production and Consumption are increasing but the optimal path of capital stock and investment is primarily increasing then decreasing. In the final section of this paper a sensitivity analysis is presented. Some scenarios are designed for the important parameters of model like time preferences rate, intertemporal substitution elasticity of consumption, labour growth rate and output elasticity of capital. Sensitivity analysis shows that output elasticity of capital and labour growth rate increased the social welfare and shifted optimal path of variables upward. But time preferences rate and intertemporal substitution elasticity of consumption had inverse effect on social welfare and optimal path of variables.

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Thymus is a medicinal plant which contains one of the world's top ten essential oils, exhibiting antibacterial, antioxidative, food preservative and mammalian age-delaying properties. This work was aimed at identifying between-species variations requiring for selecting appropriate parents for hybridization. Six Iranian endemic Thymus accessions belonging to Thymus daënensis, T. eriocalyx and T. migricus were studied. Root tips were examined for karyological studies and fresh young leaves of the standard reference (Parsley, Petroselinum crispum, 2C DNA= 4.45 pg) and the Thymus samples stained with propidium iodide (PI) for flow cytometric (FCM) measurements. Two ploidy levels (diploid and tetraploid) and 3 chromosome numbers (30, 56, 60) were recognized. The latter chromosome number is being reported for the first time on T. daënensis accession. FCM measurements showed that 2C DNA contents varied from 1.02 to 2.42 pg, verifying more than 2-fold variations and showing a genome size range of 499 to 1182 Mbp, correspondingly. The mean amount of 2C DNA/chromosome and mean of monoploid genome size were not proportional to ploidy. 2C-values were correlated with, and linearly regressed upon somatic metaphase, considering either total chromosome volume (TCV) or total chromatin length (X).

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To identify the endophytic fungi of the caper plant, samples were collected from the healthy leaves, stems, and roots from Bushehr and Qom provinces during the summer and early autumn of 2022. Isolation and purification of fungal isolates were performed on potato dextrose agar and 2% water agar culture media, respectively. A total of 102 fungal isolates were obtained. Morphological characteristics and molecular data of the ITS region and TUB gene were used to identify the fungal species. Based on the results, Microascus cirrosus and M. terreus were identified as new endophytic fungi of caper for the first time in the world, and M. terreus was introduced as a new record for the funga of Iran.