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Solar dryers are equipped with photovoltaic panels to increase energy efficiency, profitability and independency on nonrenewable energy. Also, these dryers need to be assessed from economic, environmental, and energy-exergy perspectives to determine whether the devices are cost-effective and feasible on a large scale. This study has performed energy, exergy, economic, and environmental evaluations on the newest solar dryers equipped with photovoltaic panels and photovoltaic thermal collectors. In this regard, solar dryers with hot air collectors, concentrating solar dryers, photovoltaic thermal dryers, infrared, greenhouse, and heat pump solar dryers equipped with photovoltaic panels and photovoltaic thermal collectors were investigated. Then, studied dryers were categorized. Initially, this classification was carried out regarding the dried products and subsequently, their economic-environmental and energy-exergy were compared. Despite the short drying time of infrared and heat pump solar dryers, these dryers' construction and energy costs are relatively high. Comparatively to other solar dryers, concentrating solar dryers have high energy efficiency and short drying times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most important oilseed crops in the world. However, its cultivation is limited in many areas with water shortage, and is affected by drought. This study investigated the expression of genes involved in drought stress in two soybean cultivars, i.e. Williams (tolerant) and L17 (sensitive) after drought stress and treatment with methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and salicylic acid (SA). In addition, the impact of drought and hormone treatments were validated with morpho-physiological evaluation of these two cultivars. Experiment was conducted in a factorial basis with completely randomized design. The results showed that the expression of basic-leucine zipper (BZIP19), NAM-ATAF1, 2-CUC2 (NAC), dehydration-responsive element-binding (DREB1), and vascular plant one zinc finger protein (VOZ1G) was higher in the resistant cultivar, i.e. Williams. Gene expression was induced after simultaneous application of SA and MeJA in Williams cultivar. According to the morpho-physiological results, plant height and root length, fresh and dry weight of roots and shoots, nodes and number of lateral roots, number of pods and number of seeds per pod, leaf area, and percentage of relative leaf moisture, number of stem nodes and internode distance, pod weight and harvest index were significantly different between the two cultivars. Increase in the expression of VOZ gene, under treatment with SA was more effective on shoot height and nodule formation of Williams than in L17. Results of this investigation should be useful for developing tools for breeding new soybean genotypes with an improved tolerance to drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural and chemical compounds are used to increase the biochemical and shelf life of citrus fruits. The effect of nano silver particles and three essential oils: peppermint, carnation, cumin, were investigated on morphological, biochemical and shelf life of the lemon fruit. The first factor consisted of 13 different substances and the second factor was three the level of storage periods (zero, one, and two months after harvest). The results showed that the treatments significantly affected the fruit weight, diameter, length, decay percentage, total soluble solids, vitamin C, electrolyte leakage and titratable acidity. Peppermint essential oil showed a 70% reduction of decay percentage compared to with the control. Five percent of nano silver and 500 µL/L of clove essential oil maintained better fruit quality than control. Although the effects of silver nano-particle were significant, considering the environmental concerns we recommend using plant essential oils to prolong the postharvest shelf life of lemon fruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Drug abuse is one of the main problems of human's life; thus communities have been thinking about the solution of this problem. The present study aimed to compare the general features of drug abuse treatment policies, war on drugs (WOD), and harm reduction (HR), in the selected countries. Methods: The present study was a comparative and desk research that sought to compare context, stewardship, financing, type of substance abuse treatment services, reasons of paradigm shift, and executive challenges of treatment policies in the selected countries (China, Malaysia, Germany, Netherland, and Iran). The necessary data for comparison of the countries were collected through valid databases, review of documents, and reports of international organizations. Findings: Context conditions were better in the HR countries. In most countries, the central government played a key role in the stewardship, financing, and service providing. In WOD countries, the presence of judicial structure was higher in the treatment of drug abuse. The policy-making approach was ideological in WOD countries, but evidence-based in HR countries. Conclusion: It seems that performance of HR countries is better than WOD countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jumping plant lice (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) are considered important vectors of plant diseases and also economically important pests in agriculture and forest ecosystems. Three psyllid species Psyllopsis repens Loginova, 1963, Psyllopsis securicola Loginova, 1963, and Psyllopsis machinosus Loginova, 1963 associated with the ash tree Fraxinus are morphologically very similar. So far, their distinction has been possible only by comparing their male and female genitalia. In this research, forewing shape and size characteristics, sexual dimorphism and their allometric effects, using geometric morphometric analysis, were examined for identification purposes. The results showed significant differences in wing shape and size between the species studied. Based on the results, two species P. machinosus and P. securicola can be differentiated with the vein M1+2, as in P. securicola the vein M1+2 is located between Rs and M3+4 veins, but the vein M1+2 is closer to the vein M3+4 in P. machinosus; also, P. repens can be differentiated from the two species P. machinosus and P. securicola by vein M. Hence, the veins M1+2, M3+4, Rs and M were the most important wing characters for discrimination of the three species, especially in the field. The analysis also showed significant differences in wing shape and size between male and female of the three species, and the allometric analysis showed that significant shape differences still remain in constant size in P. machinosus and P. repens. Geometric changes in the forewings of both sexes for the three species are illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper some mistakes arising in Singh and Mogi (2010) that are: (1) wrong formulation of the intrinsic impedance of the layers of an N-layered earth (Z i ) and reflection coefficient of the EM wave in TM-mode (r TM ), (2) using wrong and the very same algorithms for computing reflection coefficients of the EM wave in both the TE- and the TM-mode (r TE and r TM ) and (3) using flawed algorithms for computing phase and normalized phase values, relating to electric and magnetic components of the EM wave, are noted and corrected form of these mistakes are presented. Moreover, in order to illustrate how these mistakes can affect forward modeling results different two- and three-layered earth models, the same as the models used in Singh and Mogi (2010), are chosen; afterwards EMDPLER and corrected version of this program, presented in this paper titled "EMDPLER_Corr", are conducted on these models and real and imaginary parts of H z and H y components of the magnetic field intensity, their normalized amplitudes ( | H z / H z 0 | and | H y / H y 0 | ) and the corresponding normalized phases are computed, plotted versus frequency and compared with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of modern agriculture is based on immense populations of genetically identical or near-identical varieties, called cultivars. However, advancement of knowledge, and thus experimental utility, is found through biodiversity, whether naturally-found or induced by the experimenter. Globally we are confronted by ever-growing food and energy challenges. Here we demonstrate how such biodiversity from the food legume crop soybean ( Glycine max L. Merr) and the bioenergy legume tree Pongamia ( Millettia ) pinnata is a great value. Legume plants are diverse and are represented by over 18,000 species on this planet. Some, such as soybean, pea and medics are used as food and animal feed crops. Others serve as ornamental ( e.g ., wisteria), timber ( e.g. , acacia/wattle) or biofuel ( e.g. , Pongamia pinnata ) resources. Most legumes develop root organs (nodules) after microsymbiont induction that serve as their habitat for biological nitrogen fixation. Through this, nitrogen fertiliser demand is reduced by the efficient symbiosis between soil Rhizobium- type bacteria and the appropriate legume partner. Mechanistic research into the genetics, biochemistry and physiology of legumes is thus strategically essential for future global agriculture. Here we demonstrate how molecular plant science analysis of the genetics of an established food crop (soybean) and an emerging biofuel P. pinnata feedstock contributes to their utility by sustainable production aided by symbiotic nitrogen fixation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]