An evaluation of harvesting costs in present and planned operations: case study—Waston District of Mazandaran Wood and Paper Industries

Amongst all forest utilization phases, harvesting plays a key role as the beginning phase of the utilization cycle and has a significant effect on the following phases.In this research, in order to examine the reduction of costs with respect to present and planned operations, the starting time of the harvesting or cutting phase and work flow were recorded. The starting time of each phase of the entire operation was recorded as well. Before harvesting the marked tree, the appropriate felling direction was determined and the azimuth of the correct direction was taken.The results indicate that there was not a meaningful relationship between the differences in direction of a leaning tree compared with the felling direction. However, there was a significant relationship between the difference of the defined and felling direction and the difference in tree leaning and defined direction. The same trend was observed between tree leaning and felling directions and tree leaning and defined directions. On the other hand,there was no significant relationship between tree leaning and felling directions and the defined and tree felling directions. In addition, this research shows that with an increase in tree volume, the time for tree cutting rose.Furthermore, when the difference of tree leaning and felling direction decreased, the time to cut the tree declined.The regression equation is Y = 168.9–0.14(the difference between tree leaning and felling direction) + 0.7(volume).     

The effect of silver nanoparticle on Fenugreek seed germination under salinity levels

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect s of silver nanoparticles for ameliorating negative effects of salinity on germination and growth of Fenugreek seeds. In order to investigate salinity stress on Fenugreek germination indices, an experiment was carried out in Iran from October 2014 to November 2014 at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, in the biotechnology Laboratory, to create salinity stress, sodium chloride (NaCl) at the levels of 0 (as control), 5, 10, 15 and 20 dS/m and Five levels of silver nanoparticles (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 μg mL^–1) on Fenugreek seed (Trigonella foenum-graecum); were tested Germination characteristics such as total germination (GT), Germination Speed Index (GSI), Shoot and Root of seedling long, Fresh Mass and Dry Mass were measured. Results showed the great effects of silver nanoparticles to improve salinity stress on Fenugreek seed germination. Results showed a significant reduction in germination percent and seedling growth due to the salinity stress while significantly increased with silicon nano-particles application. In without silver nanoparticle low level of salinity (0 dS/m) increased seed germination percentage, while the high levels (5, 10, 15 and 20 dS/m) inhibited the seed germination significantly. The results showed that the effect of AgNPs was significant on germination percentage in P ≤ 0.05. Overall, application of AgNPs was beneficial in improving salinity tolerance in the Fenugreek seedling and its application may stimulate the differences defense mechanisms of plants against salt toxicity.     

Positive effects of Penconazole on growth of Brassica napus under drought stress

The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of drought on some physiological and biochemical parameters and to assess the inducing effects of Penconazole (PEN) on drought tolerance in two cultivars (RGS003 as a drought tolerant and Sarigol as a drought sensitive) of canola. Plants were treated with various PEG concentrations (0, 5, 10, and 15%) without or with PEN (15 mg l^?1). Decrease in fresh weight (FW) and dry weight (DW) in Sarigol under drought was higher than that of RGS003. Surprisingly, PEN reversed prominently the negative effects of drought on FW and DW in RGS003. Concomitantly, PEN treatment decreased malondialdehyde content in RGS003 under drought. Moreover, higher content of proline in RGS003 under all drought levels could be considered as a factor for drought tolerance of this cultivar. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities were induced by PEN in both cultivars under drought. Inducing effects of PEN on phenylalanine ammonia lyase and thyrosine ammonia lyase activities decreased by increasing of drought levels in both cultivars. In summary, PEN alleviated the negative effects of drought in RGS003 cultivar by inducing activities of SOD, CAT and PPO and proline content comparing to Sarigol.     

Ocimum basilicum L. growth and nutrient status as influenced by biochar and potassium-nano chelate fertilizers

In sustainable agriculture, the protection of environment against pollution is the main goal for consumers. Nowadays, the overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, are one of the main causes of environmental pollution. It is claimed that incorporation of organic compound into soil enhances nutrient availability and plant productivity. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the effects of 0%, 1.5% and 3% cattle manure biochar and 0, 300 and 600 mg K-nano chelate kg^?1 soil on agronomic properties and nutrient status of Ocimum basilicum L. Biochar increased leaf area and plant height, significantly. Application of 1.5% and 3% biochar increased fresh weight by 40% and 42% and dry weight by 50% and 49%, respectively. Addition of 3% biochar increased P, K and Mn concentrations by 45%, 17% and 109%, respectively. Biochar increased N, P, K, Zn and Mn uptake, significantly. Addition of 300 mg K increased dry weight by 15%; while application of 600 mg K decreased it. Application of 300 and 600 mg K-nano chelate increased K and Zn concentration and K uptake significantly. Furthermore, 300 mg K increased Cu and Zn uptake. In order to achieve sustainable agricultural productions, biochar application is recommended especially in the soils of arid and semiarid regions.     

Growth parameters of whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei and red seaweed Gracilaria corticata in integrated culturing method under zero water exchange system

Growth parameters of whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei and red seaweed Gracilaria corticata were measured using integrated culturing method under zero‐water exchange system in a 45‐day period. A 2 × 3 factorial design was used with two levels of shrimp stocking densities and three levels of seaweed weight densities. G. corticata was cultured on a net tied to a round polyethylene frame. Culture tanks were filled with 750‐L filtered seawater. A 40‐W compact fluorescent lamp was hung over each tank to provide adequate and sufficient light for seaweed growth. Growth parameters of shrimp and seaweed such as specific growth rate (SGR), weight gained (WG) and average daily growth (ADG) were computed based on the initial and final weight of shrimp and seaweed. The maximum and minimum SGR of L. vannamei (1.97 and 1.69%/day) were observed in treatment S₁A₃ (25 shrimp/m² and 400 g seaweed/m²) and S₂A₁ (50 shrimp/m² without seaweed) respectively. The best survival rate (94.67 ± 1.33%), WG (129.9 ± 2.9%) and feed conversion ratio (1.67 ± 0.04) were also observed in treatment S₁A₃. The SGR of G.corticata in the treatment S₁A₃ (1.97 ± 0.00%/day) was significantly higher, compared to others. Strong positive correlations were obtained between the density of G. corticata and the growth parameters of L. vannamei. The red seaweed G. corticata could boost the growth parameters, survival rate and total production of L. vannamei under zero‐water exchange system.     

Evaluation of Outer Membrane Vesicles Obtained from Predominant Local Isolate of Bordetella pertussis as a Vaccine Candidate

Background:Pertussis is a current contagious bacterial disease caused by Bp. Given the prevalence of pertussis, development of new vaccines is important. This study was attempted to evaluate the expression of main virulence factors (PTX, PRN, and FHA) from Bp predominant strains and also compare the expression of these factors in the OMVs obtained from predominant circulating Bp isolate. Methods:The physicochemical features of the prepared OMVs were analyzed by electron microscopy and SDS-PAGE. The presence of the mentioned virulence factors was confirmed by Western blotting. BALB/c mice (n = 21) immunized with characterized OMVs were challenged intranasally with sublethal doses of Bp, to examine their protective capacity. Results:Electron microscopic examination of the OMVs indicated vesicles within the range of 40 to 200 nm. SDS-PAGE and Western blotting demonstrated the expression of all three main protective immunogens (PTX, PRN, and FHA), prevalent in the predominant, challenge, and vaccine strains, and OMVs of the predominant IR37 strain and BP134 vaccine strain. Significant differences were observed in lung bacterial counts between the immunized mice with OMV (30 CFU/lung) compared to the negative control group ((6 10⁴ CFU/lung; p < 0.001). In mice immunized with OMVs (3 µg), the number of lungs recovered colonies after five days dropped at least five orders of magnitude compared to the control group. Conclusion:OMVs obtained from circulating isolates with the predominant profile may constitute a highly promising vaccine quality. They also can be proposed as a potential basic material for the development of new pertussis vaccine candidate. Key Words: Bordetella pertussis, Vaccines, Virulence factors