University of Zanjan

This research aimed to utilize California bearing ratio (CBR), plate loading test (PLT), and light-weight deflectometer (LWD) tests for quality control of unbound pavement layers and correlate the results with new genetic algorithms (GAs). Seven unbound pavements for subgrade, subbase, and base layers, classified as clayey sand, clayey gravel, silty sand, and silty gravel, were constructed with different gradations at a real scale. These layers, along with a field subbase from a road under construction, were tested by CBR, LWD, and PLT methods. Finally, three different GAs—offspring selection genetic programming, grammatical evolution, and genetic programming—were applied for the correlative study, and their results were compared to those from the conventional linear regression (LR) method. The elastic modulus of LWD and PLT tests diminished with increasing the percentage of fine-grained aggregates in the layers. Compared to LR models, the obtained GA models had higher accuracy, appropriate correlation coefficient, and low error; however, the relationships were complicated to analyze. The GA models can obtain PLT and CBR results using LWD data with high precision at the minimum cost and time. More studies should be conducted to determine an applicable relation in various local conditions.

Since males and females have different number of X chromosome, different mechanisms have evolved to equalize dosage of gene products from the X chromosome between XX females and XY males. The aim of this study was to study X chromosome dosage compensation for growth rate (GR), Kleiber ratio (KR), efficiency of growth (EF) and relative growth rate (RGR) in Zandi sheep. A two steps procedure was adopted to analysis data. In the first step, each trait was analyzed with a series of 6 animal models including different combinations of direct and maternal effects. Using Akanke’s Information Criterion (AIC) the best model (Model I) was selected for each trait. In the second step, five additional models were fitted by adding X chromosome effects to the Model I, considering 5 strategies for modeling X chromosome dosage compensation: (1) no global dosage compensation (ngdc), (2) random inactivation in the homogametic sex (hori), (3) doubling of the single shared sex chromosome in the heterogametic sex (hedo), (4) halving expression of both sex chromosomes in the homogametic sex (hoha) or (5) inactivation of the paternal sex chromosome in the homogametic sex (hopi). Predictive ability of models was measured using the mean squared error of prediction (MSE) and Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the real and predicted values of records $(\text{r}(y,\widehat{y})).$ Correlations between traits due to autosomal- and X-linked genetic effects were estimated by bi-variate analyses. For GR and KR, models including X-linked effects lead to a much better fit of data, expressed by the strong decrease in the AIC criterion. Models including X-linked effects had also better predictive ability as they provided smaller MSE and higher $\text{r}(y, \widehat{y}).$ For GR and KR, although all strategies for modeling X chromosome dosage compensation improved general properties of the model, the model “ngdc” fitted the data significantly better than other models. Including X-linked genetic effects in the model led to 10% (GR, KR) decrease in the autosomal additive variance, and 7% (KR) to 19% (GR) decrease in the residual variance. Estimates of autosomal heritability (${\mathbf{h}}_{\mathbf{a}}^{2}$), were 0.15 ± 0.03, 0.13 ± 0.03, 0.9 ± 0.03 and 0.13 ± 0.03 for GR, KR, EF and RGR, respectively. X-linked heritability (${\mathbf{h}}_{\mathbf{s}}^{2}$) was 0.08 ± 0.03 for GR and 0.04 ± 0.03 for KR, respectively. Maternal heritability (${\mathbf{h}}_{\mathbf{m}}^{2}$) were 0.02 ± 0.01, 0.01 ± 0.01, 0.03 ± 0.02 and 0.03 ± 0.02 for GR, KR, EF and RGR, respectively. For GR and KR, the Spearman’s correlation between breeding values obtained from the best model and model I deviated from unity, indicating re-ranking of top animals across models. The X-linked additive genetic correlation and autosomal additive genetic correlation were similar in terms of sign and magnitude in a way that they were all positive and high. As considering X-linked genetic effects resulted to an improvement in the general properties of the model and possibility of re-ranking of top animals, including these effects in the model, considering dosage compensation on the X chromosome was recommended.

Background The rate of caesarean section in Iran has significantly increased. The main reason cited by Iranian mothers for it is labor pain and fear of it. However, the experience of pain during childbirth has different meanings for mothers in various conditions. Therefore, this study aims to examine the components from the mothers’ perspective that helped them manage pain in labor. The findings of this article may help prevent unnecessary medical interventions. Methods The current article is one component of a mixed-method study conducted in Iran. Its primary objective was to develop protocols for maternity unit design to enhance maternal satisfaction, promote husbands’ involvement, and improve pain management. The current study focuses on examining contextual components that are effective in managing pain among 25 mothers selected through stratified purposive sampling. Data collection from mothers who gave birth in four large hospitals in Iran was carried out through unstructured in-depth interviews. The data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings The data show that two major environmental factors affect mothers’ perception of pain and their ability to control it: (1) Internal and (2) External environments. The main components of the internal factor are identified as “Personal beliefs”, “Self-confidence and lack of fear”, and the external environment includes three subfactors: “Spatial environment”, “Social environment”, and “Interactive environment”. The overall meaning attributed to pain caused by these factors determines how mothers can cope with it. Conclusion In this study, self-confidence and a positive mindset were significant factors in managing pain during labor among this group of mothers. Furthermore, each mother’s perception of pain was shaped by a combination of physical, social, and interactive influences. The research identified the importance of support during labor according to mothers’ individual, subjective needs, while improving the physical environment, with a view to reducing interventions and promoting positive experiences for mothers and husbands. Consequently, enhancing internal resources and the birthing environment during labor which involve identifying the optimal blend of physical, mental, and emotional strategies tailored to the specific needs of mothers, can be considered to a potential reduction in the perceived intensity of pain in future.

Nanotechnology offers promising strategies for topical drug delivery to treat melanoma. However, the enhanced permeability and retention of nanoparticles at the tumor sites provide a strong rationale for the further development of topical nanomedicines for the cure of melanoma. The current study aimed to develop a topical delivery system to combat melanoma using chitosan (CS) nanofibers coated with covalent triazine-based framework-Imatinib-loaded nanoparticles (CTF/IMA). CS nanofiber sheets were fabricated using the electrospinning technique and coated with CTF/IMA nanoparticles (CS-CTF/IMA). The ultrastructure of the nanofibers was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging. The biocompatibility and cytotoxicity of nanosheets against normal fibroblast and melanoma cancer cells were assayed by the MTT assay. The expression levels of apoptosis-related genes were analysed using real-time PCR. SEM imaging revealed the nano-structure of the fibers and the presence of nanoparticles on the surface of the sheets. Also, it confirmed that cells were properly adhered to the surface of the sheets. The MTT assay found that CS-CTF/IMA nanofiber sheets inhibited the growth of melanoma cells without causing toxicity to normal fibroblast cells. The expression levels of pro-apoptotic genes increased while those of anti-apoptotic genes decreased in melanoma cells cultured on CS-CTF/IMA nanosheets. The findings of the current experiment suggest that the CS-CTF/IMA composite skin dressing holds promise as a targeted therapy for melanoma treatment. This approach has the potential to enhance treatment efficacy and mitigate adverse effects on normal cells and tissues by selectively delivering the therapeutic agents to the tumor sites.

Among volatile organic compounds, benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) are the most harmful organic compounds and the removal of these harmful compounds is mandatory. In the current study, Ag/AgCl composite was successfully synthesized via deposition–precipitation along with the photoreduction method. The scanning electron microscopy, x-ray powder diffraction, photoluminescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectra, and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy were employed to characterize the synthesized products. The photocatalytic property of the products was investigated by evaluating on photodegradation of BTX vapors under the radiation of visible light. The results showed that Ag/AgCl exhibits enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity compared with AgCl. The strong surface plasmon resonance of metal Ag nanoparticles anchored on the AgCl surface can be responsible for the enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity of the Ag/AgCl. The influence of the basic operational parameters such as type of BTX, the concentration of BTX, photocatalyst shape, relative humidity, and radiation time on the removal efficiency of BTX was studied. The data obtained from removal tests were modeled by a three-layered feed-forward artificial neural network. The optimized ANN architecture was strong at predicting the removal efficiency of the BTX contaminants with R² > 0.99 and a very low mean square error. The sensitivity analysis using Garson’s method displayed that all explored process parameters influence the photocatalytic removal of the BTX contaminants. The obtained ANN model is used to predict the photodegradation of BTX at different conditions.

Zeolite imidazolate framework 8 (ZIF-8), which is a special subgroup of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), has gained more interest due to its desirable characteristics. ZIF-8 was synthesized at room temperature to prepare an efficient adsorbent. The synthesized ZIF-8 was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis. This adsorbent was employed for the preconcentration of trace amounts of Cd (II) and Co (II) ions in soil, vegetable juice, and water samples with vortex-assisted dispersive solid phase microextraction (DSPME) before their identification by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS). The experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin Radushkevich (D-R) isotherm models. The monolayer adsorption capacity of ZIF-8 was found to be 238.10 mg g−1 and 90.90 mg g−1 for Cd (II) and Co (II) ions, respectively. The kinetics of the adsorption were tested using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle diffusion models. The results showed that the adsorption of Cd (II) and Co(II) ions onto ZIF-8 proceeds according to the pseudo-second-order- model. Under the optimum conditions, the method showed a good linear dynamic range (2–2000 µg L−1), (0.9–4000µg L−1) with a lower limit of detection (0.6 µg L−1), (0.27 µg L−1) and preconcentration factor (62.5), (33.33) for Co (II) and Cd(II) respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 1.0% for 0.5 mg L−1. The method is highly selective as there are no significant interferences from matrix cations and anions even at high concentrations. These results reveal the potential use of the synthesized ZIF-8 as an effective adsorbent and used for preconcentration of Cd(II) and Co(II) ions from environmental samples.

We study the electron and phonon transport coefficients of graphene disks and rings in the presence of Klein edges. We examine the transport characteristics by changing of the outer and inner radius using the non-equilibrium Green’s function approach. We find that the effect of the nanodisk radius is highly influenced by the Klein edges, such that at small radii, armchair Klein edges can help preserve the electronic transport coefficient from suppression, while zigzag Klein edges significantly suppress the transmission spectrum, highlighting the importance of the edge atom sublattice. The behavior is also observed in cases where only one side of the circular disk is preserved, showing that it is not rooted in the symmetric geometry of the circle. The value of the outer radius has a more regular influence on the electronic conductance than the value of the inner one. However, in the examined sizes, the phononic spectrum does not exhibit a clear dependence on the edges. Our results contribute to the understanding of the behavior of Klein edges, which is crucial for the design of high-performance nanoscale electronic devices, the creation of stable qubits for advances in quantum computing.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are main component of agro-ecosystem present in the majority of natural habitats and have multiple functions in agriculture ecosystems. AMF–plant colonization can stimulate nutrient uptake such as N and P, and water. This alliance concerns the majority of plants and might considerably reduce their dependence on chemical fertilizers. In addition, colonization with AMF mitigates the adverse impacts of abiotic/biotic stresses and increases the protection of plants against pathogen. Despite AMF’s high prevalence in natural ecosystems, agricultural management such as conventional tillage, high P and N fertilizer, application of biocides reduces the AMF population size in soils. AMF can adversely affect the growth of some weed species demonstrating that AMF can be beneficial for integrated weed control. In contrast, increased growth, seed production and secondary metabolites in weeds make them a strong competitor against other plant species in the environment. Mycorrhizal fungi can impact the competitive relationship between crop-weed and have a remarkable impact on plant community structure. As a result, AMF communities are essential in improving sustainable agriculture because of their contribution to enhanced crop production and sustainable weed management techniques.

This research is on lactating mothers in the city of Chah Bahar in Iran. This descriptive-analytical and questionnaire study selected a random sample of 80 mothers to examine mercury levels in their hair, milk, and saliva. The average concentration of mercury in milk, hair and saliva of mothers was 1.23 ± 0.48 µg/l, 1.81 ± 0.55 µg/g and 1.10 ± 0.63 µg/l, respectively. There was a significant correlation between mercury levels in mothers saliva and hair. Still, only a weak correlation was found between mercury levels in milk and hair, and milk and saliva, possibly associated with the high lipid content in milk. The number of children and length of the mother's pregnancy were related to the amount of mercury in the mother's milk. The number of teeth filled with amalgam, consumption of fish and marine products, consumption of fruit, and infant's weight at birth were also associated with the amount of mercury in breast milk. Chewing gum, fish consumption, infant's birth weight, weight, and length of pregnancy were among the factors associated with the amount of mercury in mothers' saliva. The mercury concentration in milk exceeded the WHO (1.4–1.7 µg/g) normal level in 8.5% mothers, and hair mercury was found in 12.5% mothers. It should be kept in mind that any amount of mercury can be harmful.

This review focuses on the state-of-the-art of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) prepared with transition metal complexes featuring thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) mechanism.

This study investigated the efficacy of chemically modified diatomite as a novel agent in soil remediation, focusing on its impact on chemical properties, enzymatic activities, and heavy metal removal. Natural diatomite was modified by grinding and acid treatment to increase surface area and to decrease the impurities. Surface area and pore volume of the modified diatomite were 67.45 m2 g−1 and 0.105 cm3 g−1 respectively, and used to immobilize Pb, Zn and Cu in an urban soil. The modified diatomite was added to soil samples at the rates of 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10% and the samples incubated for 60 days. The addition of modified diatomite increased SSA of the soil. The SSAs of soils with 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10% modified diatomite were 20.82, 22.02, 23.21 and 24.41 m2 g−1 respectively. Increasing the SSAs of the soils by the application of modified diatomite reduced the DTPA extractable concentrations of heavy metals compared with un-amendment control. The concentration of Pb, Zn and Cu were reduced by 91.1%, 82% and 91.1% respectively. Modified diatomite reduced the concentration of Exchangeable (EXCH) and Carbonate bounded species (CAR) of Pb, Zn and Cu, compared with the control. Also significantly increased the concentration of Fe–Mn Oxides (OX) and Organic Matter (OM) bound and Residual fraction (Res). Modified diatomite increased the urease, dehydrogenase, and alkaline phosphatase activity by 52%, 57% and 56.6% respectively. The results demonstrated that modified diatomite significantly improved soil chemical properties and enhanced enzymatic activities, indicating a positive impact on soil health. Furthermore, a substantial reduction in the bioavailability of heavy metals was observed, highlighting the material's potential in immobilizing heavy metals and mitigating environmental risks.

A rotary solar furnace is conceptually introduced. In contrast to a conventional solar furnace, where the concentrator is fixed, in a rotary solar furnace both the concentrator and the heliostat rotate in concentric circular path around the concentrator's focus such that at each instant of time they face each other. The angular velocity of this motion equals the angular velocity of the Sun's projection line onto the Earth. In this dynamic solar furnace, the Sun appears always right above the heliostat. Consequently, the heliostat needs only a single-axis elevation tracking to redirect the sunlight along the concentrator's optical axis. This implies that the amount of harvested energy is maximal while the focus remains fixed in space. The daily concentrated radiation energy is analytically computed for each day of the year given the geographical latitude. It is shown the daily energy increase percentage crucially depends on the day of year and geographical latitude. This increase percentage reaches it maximum value in the summer solstice, which is slightly above 140 percent, for instance, in Tehran, Iran.

A cover of a finite ring R is a set of proper subrings of R whose union is R. If R has a multiplicative identity $1_R$ and every member of a cover of R contains $1_R$, then such cover is called unital. In this paper, we determine all commutative rings R having a unital cover with $|R|=p_1^{\alpha _1}p_2^{\alpha _2}\cdots p_k^{\alpha _k}$ where $p_1,\cdots , p_k$ are distinct primes and $1\le \alpha _i\le 4$ for each i.

Tribenuron-methyl (TBM) is among the herbicides that are widely used for controlling broadleaf weeds in wheat fields in Iran due to its low mammalian toxicity and environmental risk, use at low doses, the broad spectrum of weed control, and low price compared to other herbicides. However, wheat farmers’ repeated application and dissatisfaction with the optimal and effective control of the TBM herbicide have led to investigating broadleaf weed resistance in Iranian wheat fields. For this purpose, through a national call in 2018, a total of 240 broadleaf weed populations belonging to 13 species and 7 plant families were collected from 153 wheat fields in 72 counties across 14 provinces suspected to be resistant to the TBM herbicide. Then, a screening test was conducted in a completely randomized design with 5 replications of each biotype using the recommended dose of 25 g a.i. ha− 1 of TBM in the greenhouse. Overall, the results indicated that 124 (51.7%) of the screened populations were resisted to TBM. Specifically, 44 populations (81%) of Sinapis arvensis L., 18 populations (45%) of Malva neglecta Wallr., 25 populations (45%) of Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn, 2 populations (66.6%) of Ammi majus L., 1 population (50%) of Rapistrum rugosum L., 3 populations (21%) of Descurainia Sophia (L.) Webb ex Prantl, 9 populations (36%) of Vaccaria hispanica Mill., 8 populations (48%) of Galium aparine L., 9 populations (75%) of Melilotus indicus L. According to the Adkins and Maas evaluation, 4 populations (100%) of Raphanus raphanistrum L. were classified as resistant to TBM. This study is the first comprehensive investigation of broadleaf weed resistance to TBM across Iranian wheat fields, providing crucial insights for future herbicide management strategies. Given the high incidence of resistance, continued use of TBM in Iranian wheat fields may lead to increased yield loss and environmental pollution. Additionally, it is necessary to investigate cross-resistance in resistant populations to other ALS-inhibiting herbicides.

We studied the Vallesian records from Türkiye and Iran, and uncovered a diverse record of Cormohipparion species from Yeniyaylacık and Sinap, Türkiye, and their apparent descendant, Hipparion gettyi from Maragheh, Iran. This prompted us to examine the early evolutionary diversification, biogeography and paleoclimatology of western Eurasian hipparions. Our study also included the early hipparion records from Austria, Germany and the Iberian Peninsula. Whereas the Vienna Basin, Austria, has the oldest recorded occurrence of Hippotherium sp. at 11.4–11.0 Ma, our investigation revealed that the most primitive Old World hipparions belonged to the North American genus Cormohipparion. We integrated the data on crania, dentitions, 3rd metacarpals and 3rd metatarsals to further evaluate the systematics of Vallesian hipparions (11.2–9.6 Ma). Sinap, Türkiye, has the most primitive Cormohipparion in Eurasia, Co. sinapensis, but based on postcranial anatomy, we found that also Co. kecigibi is a second Cormohipparion species of Sinap's early Vallesian. The locality of Yeniyaylacık, Türkiye, dated ca. 9.1 Ma, has the latest occurrence of Eurasian Cormohipparion, Co. cappadocium. Our analyses also revealed that the genus Hipparion sensu stricto was probably directly derived from Subparatethyan (including Türkiye) Cormohipparion, with the most primitive taxa being Hipparion gettyi and Hipparion prostylum. Hipparion gettyi first occurred at Maragheh, Iran, ca. 9.0 Ma at the end of MN 10. Hipparion sensu stricto includes H. gettyi, H. prostylum, H. dietrichi and H. hippidiodus and had a range that extended from France through Greece and Türkiye to China.

Bacterial endophytes within plant tissues can be used to develop sustainable disease protection strategies. This study aimed to identify endophytic bacteria with biocontrol ability of walnut bacterial canker disease. For this purpose, leaf, stem, and root samples from healthy walnut trees (cv. Chandler) were collected, resulting in the selection of 340 bacterial endophytes on nutrient agar and King’s medium B. In vitro, 16%, 32%, and 12% of the strains produced the inhibition zone diameters of more than 5 mm against Brenneria rosae subsp. rosae strain 181 (Br181), Gibbsiella quercinecans strain 128 (Gq128) and Brenneria nigrifluens strain 200 (Bn200) respectively, displaying a significant difference at the 1% level. Among them, eight antagonist strains showed antibacterial activity against all three pathogenic species. The partial 16S rRNA gene sequences and multilocus sequence analysis, followed by a phylogenetic analysis revealed that the strains JD62, JD81 and JD87, JD82’, and JD46 belonged to Pseudomonas protegens (rpoB, rpoD and gyrB), Bacillus velezensis (gyrA and rpoB), Serratia liquefaciens (rpoB and infB), and Chryseobacterium lathyri (rpoB), respectively. Strains JD61, JD105, and JD42 were identified as Delftia tsuruhatensis and Delftia sp., respectively. In greenhouse conditions, strain JD81 demonstrated an 84.74% and 87.93% reduction in symptom severity caused by Br181 and Bn200, respectively, on the trunk. Moreover, strain JD62 significantly reduced symptom severity caused by Br181 and Gq128 by 71.18% and 81.01%, respectively, on the trunk. Thus, B. velezensis strain JD81 and P. protegens strain JD62 can be used to develop effective agents to manage bacterial cankers on walnut trees.