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Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is widespread in various regions around the world. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of different concentrations of salicylic acid, gibberellic acid, and naphthalene acetic acid, as well as the application of mechanical and salinity stresses, on morpho-physiological traits, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and photosynthetic pigments. Salinity stress at 160 mM NaCl was applied four weeks after seed sowing (seedling stage). Plant growth regulators such as salicylic acid (50 and 100 mg L-1), gibberellic acid (50 and 100 mg L1), and naphthalene acetic acid (130 and 200 mg L-1) and control treatment (distilled water), were sprayed on the leaves during the vegetative stage with two intervals 14 days apart. Wounding treatment was applied eight weeks after sowing (beginning of the reproductive stage) and then all plants were harvested after 24 h. The highest dry weight of the aerial parts and roots was related to the external application of 100 mg L-1 salicylic acid and the control treatment, respectively. Salinity, wounding, and external application of growth regulators significantly increased cell membrane stability and the content of photosynthetic pigments. The highest total phenol and flavonoid content was associated with the 50 mg L-1 gibberellic acid and 160 mM salinity stress, respectively. It seems that the increased activity of enzymes involved in anabolic processes, particularly phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, plays a key role in enhancing phenolic and flavonoid content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives. Beans are one of the most important food sources in many parts of the world due to their high protein content. According to geographical conditions, drought stress in Iran is one of the most important threats to agricultural products. Disruption of photosynthesis, destruction of cell structures, reduction of stomatal conductance and plant growth are among the effects of drought stress. Today, the use of biofertilizers based on soil microorganisms is one of the main goals of sustainable agriculture to improve plant condition. In addition to improving soil structure, biofertilizers improve plant growth and yield under stress conditions by increasing root morphology, increasing nutrient uptake and increasing antioxidant power. Due to the negative effect of drought stress on crop yield, an experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of biofertilizers on physiological characteristics and grain yield of red beans in different irrigation regimes. Materials and methods. This experiment was performed as a split plot base on randomized complete block design with three replications in the research farm of Yasouj University in 2016. Experimental treatments include irrigation at three levels (normal irrigation, irrigation cut-off at the beginning of flowering to the beginning of podding and irrigation cut-off at the beginning of podding to maturity) and biofertilizer at four levels (control (no application) Biofertilizer (application of mycorrhiza fungus, phosphorus solubilizing bacteria and combined application of mycorrhizal fungus and phosphorus solubilizing bacteria). The red bean seed (phaseolus vulgaris) used in this experiment was a Derakhshan cultivar and the mycorrhizal fungus used was Funneliformis mosseae. Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (Phosphate barvar2) base on Pseudomonas putida Strain P13 and Pantoea agglomerans Strain P5 were used as seed inoculation at planting time. Sampling was done randomly at the beginning of podding stage and in the middle of grain filling with respect to the marginal effect in each block in order to measure percentage of electrolyte leakage, leaf relative water content (RWC), content of photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, proline and malondialdehyde (MDA). Results and Discussion. The results showed that different levels of irrigation were significant for traits such as RWC, electrolyte leakage percentage, MDA content, leaf proline content, leaf protein, soluble sugar concentration, total chlorophyll content and carotenoids. The effect of biofertilizer was significant on all traits except the RWC. It should be noted that the interaction of irrigation and biofertilizer was not significant on any of the studied physiological traits except for MDA. Irrigation levels and application of biofertilizers also had a significant effect on grain yield, the combination of both biofertilizers was very effective on grain yield, especially in stress conditions. The grain yield was more than control in the case of irrigation cut-off in the flowering stage and in the case of irrigation cut-off in the stage of podding to maturity by 45 and 38%, respectively. Conclusion. The results of this experiment showed that drought stress in the form of irrigation cut-off reduced the concentration of photosynthetic pigments, increased the levels of physiological degradation and thus reduced the grain yield of red beans. In conditions of drought stress application of mycorrhiza biofertilizers and phosphorus solubilizing bacteria, by reducing the damage caused by drought stress, prevented the reduction of bean yield. Also, the application of biofertilizers in normal conditions significantly increased the yield of red beans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Today, quality of life as a powerful tool for monitoring community development planners and expresses the general social, economic and environmental characteristics in the regions. Due to the special place of quality of life in sustainable development and social and economic development planning, non-governmental organizations and the government at the national and local levels are working on measuring and indexing it. Method: The purpose of this study is to spatially measure the combined quality of life index in different provinces of Iran. Using the statistical data of 2016, this research has been completed. Economic, infrastructural, educational, social and health components are included in this research, analytical-descriptive method and hierarchical-TOPSIS method have been used. Findings: The results show that Tehran province with a weight of 0.351 is in the first place and Bushehr, Isfahan and Fars provinces with the weights of 0.097, 0.096 and 0.087 are in the second to fourth place in terms of quality of life, respectively. Kurdistan, North Khorasan, Sistan and Baluchestan and South Khorasan are in the last ranks in terms of quality of life with weights of 0.0365, 0.0319, 0.0304 and 0.0269, respectively. Discussion: Given that the quality of life in the provinces and cities is of particular importance, so far there are no specific factors to measure the quality of life. Therefore, addressing the various components for measuring it can provide appropriate ways to achieve a comprehensive system for measuring quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimization of mineral nutrition in aeroponic systems is one of the most significant factors in producing high-quality and high yields of healthy seed tubers in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). The present study was conducted at the Research Farm and Greenhouse of Agricultural and Natural Resources Center of Ardabil during two successive years (2018-2019). For the aeroponic system an experiment was set up as factorial based on completely randomized design with three replicates. There were three experimental treatments viz: seedlings of three potato cultivars (Agria, Caeser, and Banba), chemical fertilizer (fertilizer application and no fertilizer application), and three bacterial combined inoculants (without inoculation as control, Pseudomonas putida 169, Azospirillum lipoferum OF, and Azetobacter chroococcum 5). In the second year, a trial was set up under field conditions as factorial based on RCBD (completely randomized block design) using two factors in three replications. These factors included mini-tubers of potato cultivars (Agria, Caeser and Banba) produced in aeroponic culture and PGPRs (without PGPRs and PGPRs inoculation including Pseudomonas putida, Azospirillum lipoferum, and Azetobacter chroococcum). Results of the aeroponic culture revealed that the largest and highest mini-tuber numbers was produced by cv. Banba and the greatest number of stolons and number of days to tuber set belonged to cv. Caeser due to nutrition by chemical fertilizer. Compared with fertilization treatment, combined bacterial inoculation increased the plant height. Among the cultivars tested, plants of Caeser was significantly taller. The highest number of stolon was produced in cv. Banba. Regarding the field experiment results, inoculation of cv. Agria and Banba with A. lipoferum caused a drastic increase in tuber numbers, and inoculation with P. putida resulted in significant increases in tuber numbers in cv. Banba. Agria and Caeser produced the largest tubers when were inoculated with A. lipoferum and the greatest tuber dry weight for Agria was obtained when was inoculated with A. lipoferum. Caeser had the highest mean number of branches among cultivars. Based on these findings, chemical fertilizers application in aeroponic cultivation and treating with A. lipoferum in the field-grown plants may improve potato yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saffron (Crocus sativus) is an important medicinal and economical plant of Iran. It is rich in flavor, aroma and color, along with medicinal properties in addition to nutritional benefits. The effects of chitosan on Crocin and Safranal amounts as two important medicinal components and expression of their controlling genes in the suspension culture of saffron were considered the main aims of this study. For this purpose, saffron bulbs were cultured in 1/2 MS medium that was treated with 100 and 150 mg.l -1 of chitosan under cell the suspension medium and callus optimal growth conditions. Samples were taken at 24 and 72 hours after the application of treatment in 3 replications. Measurement of secondary metabolites was done with HPLC and analysis of genes' expression was performed with real-time PCR. The results showed that after the use of 100 and 150 mg/l of chitosan and after 24 and 72 hours, the two CsLYC and CsGT-2 genes expression significantly increased. Also, the results showed that Safranal and Crocin levels by the use of chitosan are significantly different at both harvesting times. Thus we may conclude that 150 mg.l -1 at harvest time of 72 hours after applying of the treatment resulted in the highest amount of Crocin and Safranal. Usage of chitosan as a bio-stimulant in the growth of medicinal and economic plants of saffron increased the amount of valuable secondary metabolites in the plant's cell suspension culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmacological properties of Papaver family plants referred to Benzylisoquinoline alkaloid (BIAs) production. The BIAs alkaloids are a diverse group of nitrogenous compounds which have a limited distribution among various plant species. In addition to their medicinal properties, they have a crucial role in the plant defense mechanisms. In the current study, the effects of elicitors including green silver nanoparticles, chemical silver nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, graphene coated with chemical silver nanoparticles, and combination of graphene and green silver nanoparticles were investigated on the relative expression of BIAs biosynthesis pathway genes (DBOX, COR, and T6ODM) in the Papaver orientale L. cell suspension of with the concentration of 50 mg/L at 48 and 72 h after the elicitor applications. There were significant changes in the relative expression of these genes due to elicitor applications. However, the highest transcriptional activity of DBOX and COR genes observed at 48 h after utilization of graphene coated with chemical silver nanoparticles with the values of 57.96 and 8.34 fold-change, respectively. While, there was an up-regulation of T6ODM gene in the combination application of graphene and Green silver nanoparticles (45.77 fold). These results suggested that the application of various elicitors in this plant could accompany by diverse changes in the expression of alkaloids biosynthetic genes, which depends on the toxicity level of elicitors and elicitors' mediated-activation of signaling paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyssopus officinalis and frankincense (Boswellia carteri), as valuable medicinal herbs, are widely used in traditional medicine. Due to the increased resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to antibiotics and increasing of treatment costs, attentions has been focused to compounds of natural origin. In this study, Hyssop and Frankincense oils were extracted separately by water distillation. The essential oils components were identified by GC/MS. Determination of inhibition zone diameter and minimum inhibitory concentration were performed by disk agar diffusion and macro dilution methods, respectively. Wells with no discoloration were used to detect the minimum bactericidal (fungicidal) concentration. In this research, 24 and 22 compounds were identified in Hyssop and Frankincense, respectively. The main component of Hyssop oil was cis-3-pinanone (%28.2), and the main component of Frankincense oil was α- pinene (%22). Both Hyssop and Frankincense oils had the highest effect on Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, and the lowest growth zone diameter was related on Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Also, it was found that the Candida albicans was more sensitive than Aspergillus niger against both essential oils (p<0.05). The results showed that plants are rich in secondary products such as terpenoids, alkaloids and flavonoids, most of which have antimicrobial activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Increasing population growth and construction of high-rise buildings have doubled the amount of environmental pollution in the cities. Moreover, people use the open urban spaces more than before in order to meet their ecological needs. Accordingly, some parameters such as various vegetation and continuous winds streams can be considerably influential in transmittance of the particle pollution. Therefore, the aim of this research was to study the impacts of different green roofs on the dispersion of pollutants in the standpoint of height and density for urban airflow condition of Shiraz City, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this study, a literature review in the field computer simulation with the help of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model in Envi-met software environment was used. Results: Regarding the importance of using vegetation in the urban spaces, vertical dispersion of the particles in presence of vegetation was explored. By comparing the basic model (without vegetation) results with models including vegetation with short, medium and high crowns, it was revealed that vegetation with medium crowns is the closest model to the basic model with a difference of 7.65 m2/s in terms of vertical dispersion of particles; in fact, it was the most optimized condition for maximizing the dispersion of environmental pollutants. Conclusion: The results showed that the green roofs in the buildings increase the horizontal dispersion of the particulate pollution and decrease this term in the vertical dispersion. Finally, by an expansion of green roof usage in the buildings the sustainability in architecture and urbanism can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theory is a tool for descriptions, interpretations, predictions and recommendations so it is inevitable in the field of urban design. In other words, urban design can't be done without any theory; whether there is any awareness about the existence of this theory or not. There are several reasons for clarifying the importance of theories in urban studies. Friedman stated three basic requirements for urban theories: prediction, prescription, evaluation andjudgment in the action. Also Lang stated that theory in "chaotic situations helps understanding" and "saves the ideas and knowledge". Variety of theories in the field of urban studies and particularly in urban design indicates that the typology of theories is important. Typology helps to classify and organize topics in the mind. Yiftachel and Tiryakian classify three basic principles for typology which are: correcting ambiguities and missing concepts, organized by definition of parameters of a topic, and facilitating the creation theory by defining the characteristics of the main components for further research. Development of urban design theories on the one hand and the need to understand and analyze their content to use on the other hand, explain the need to identify the nature of new approaches in typology of urban design theories. Among all the existing issues of urban design studies what has the greatest impact on the nature of cities is urban quality of life that is rooted in the people's lives and fulfilling the demands and needs of its residents. Quality of life is one of topics in many fields. It began on 1930s and continued through researchers' efforts to define, evaluate and measure quality of life from different perspectives. Nevertheless the beginning application of this approach in urban studies referred to 1980s. Although the quality of life has attractiveness and common sense but there isn't yet an accepted definition. Experts and organizations in different disciplines have provided different definitions for quality of life. Considering different definitions for quality of life, it can be used as an attractiveness of a location and the degree of compliance and expectations which is received by individuals. In other words, it is affected by objective and subjective aspects. The aim of this study is to explain a conceptual framework in order to investigate the nature of the urban quality of life approach in urban design theories to understand the main issues and different aspects in this field. Process of research is based on typology of urban design theories. It also has developed a framework and some parameters for doing research. This framework is provided based on library studies and scientific resources. The nature of this approach is explained by comparative and analytic method. Arguments and analysis are done by complaining the properties of urban quality of life with different types of urban design theories. Parameters that considered in this study to explain the nature of quality of life in urban design theories include: philosophical orientation, topic, foundations of studies, the relationship between human and environment, environmental factors, epistemic and scale application. Based on this analysis, the nature of urban quality of life approach in urban design theories is: This approach is based on understanding and interpretation of objective and subjective factors of existing conditions. On the other hand it provides general and specific values for the desired future conditions which can be categorized in positive-normative theories. Quality of life identifies and interprets the economic, social and environmental current status of the city and provides processes in urban planning and urban design for the improvement of urban life values so we can categorize it in substantive and procedural theories. This approach considers both environmental and human domains. In other words, it does not only focus on objective or subjective domains, it tries to improve residents' subjective perceptions based on physical changes so classify in probability environmental theories. Quality of life is classified in three-component theories because it considers physical, activate and mental thinking domains. Residents and subjective aspects have a significant role in urban quality of life approach and it's possible based on negotiation with them and participation of them in planning process, so this approach is close to experience- oriented approaches. This approach is applicable at different geographical scales, from over-city to neighborhood scale, however, indicators, components and concepts are different in every scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elicitors are compound with biotic or abiotic origin which induce defence responses including secondary metabolite production. Elicitors may activate new genes which induce enzymes and finally produce different biosynthesis pathways and secondary metabolites. Linum album is one of endemic species in Iran and has lignans like podophyllotoxin. In this study, we investigated the effect of fungal extracts of Fusarium graminearum, Rhizoctonia solani, Rhizopus stolonifer, Trichoderma viride and Sclerontinia sclerotiarum on cell growth and lignans production and phenylpropanoid compounds in cell suspension cultures of L. album. Various fungal extracts uniquely induced lignan production, so that F. graminearum extract induced the highest increase of podophyllotoxin [141 µg g-1 dry weight (DW)] which was 6-fold greater than the untreated control, while R. stolonifer extract enhanced the accumulation of lariciresinol up to 365 µg g-1 DW, which was 7-fold greater than the control. In addition, fungal elicitors increased the total phenol, flavonoid, flavonol and lignin. To study the mechanism of fungal elicitors action, phenylalanine ammonio-lyase (PAL) and cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) activity were investigated. The activity of PAL and CAD enzymes involved in the first steps of the phenylpropanoids biosynthesis was activated by fungal elicioes, reaching a peak at 3 days after treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elicitors are compound with biotic or abiotic origin which induce defence responses including secondary metabolite production. Elicitors may activate new genes which induce enzymes and finally produce different biosynthesis pathways and secondary metabolites. Linum album is one of endemic species in Iran and has lignans like podophyllotoxin. In this study, we investigated the effect of fungal extracts of Fusarium graminearum, Rhizoctonia solani, Rhizopus stolonifer, Trichoderma viride and Sclerontinia sclerotiarum on cell growth and lignans production and phenylpropanoid compounds in cell suspension cultures of L. album. Various fungal extracts uniquely induced lignan production, so that F. graminearum extract induced the highest increase of podophyllotoxin [141 μg g-1 dry weight (DW)] which was 6-fold greater than the untreated control, while R. stolonifer extract enhanced the accumulation of lariciresinol up to 365 μg g-1 DW, which was 7-fold greater than the control. In addition, fungal elicitors increased the total phenol, flavonoid, flavonol and lignin. To study the mechanism of fungal elicitors action, phenylalanine ammonio-lyase (PAL) and cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) activity were investigated. The activity of PAL and CAD enzymes involved in the first steps of the phenylpropanoids biosynthesis was activated by fungal elicioes, reaching a peak at 3 days after treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]