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The main contribution of this study is the multi-objective size optimization of a standalone hybrid energy system (HES) to supply the electricity demand of a health care center in Kerman province, south of Iran, in which fuel cell, photovoltaic, and diesel generator produces electricity, while the combination of electrolyzer and hydrogen tank is the storage system. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) is applied to find the Pareto front of optimal solutions, where the loss of power supply probability (LPSP) and total net present cost (TNPC) are the objective functions. The results show that considering operating reserve and uncertainty, the TNPC increases 30.50% compared to the base load. Moreover, the fuel cell has a smaller share of energy production, which is due to the high cost of the storage system, while about 50% of the demand load is provided by DG in the cold seasons. The sensitivity analysis reveals that TNPC decreases by 8.93% for a 50% reduction of the storage system cost, while increases by 24.55% for a 50% increase in the fuel cost. Moreover, AHP/TOPSIS-based multi-criteria decision-making is implemented to find the best solution according to the opinions of three different managers/experts, which shows that the HES with LPSP = 0.2503% and TNPC = 2.1038 × 106 $ is the best solution in which uncertainties and operating reserve are also considered. • An optimum HES is designed to supply the load demand of a health care center. • Multi-objective size optimization is applied using NSGA-II based on TNPC and LPSP. • An extensive AHP/TOPSIS-based MCDM is presented to find the best optimal solution. • A comprehensive sensitivity analysis is performed for cost of fuel and storage system. • TNPC changes more with the cost of the storage system than the cost of the fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important potentials of the agricultural sector according to the weather conditions of Iran is the production of tropical products in the villages of the southeast of the country, which can play a very important role in providing food security, employment and preserving and sustaining the environment of the region. This increases the importance of future research in the field of tropical products. In this regard, the aim of this research is to prioritize the important drivers of the development of tropical products in the rural areas of the southeast of the country (provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan and Hormozgan) in such a way that first different scenarios are determined and then it is tried by presenting strategies. To effectively help stabilize and develop these products in the villages of the region. The current research method is based on prospective studies. In the first step, key factors were identified through deep and targeted interviews with 29 experts in the agricultural sector, and then the information was analyzed by forming a matrix of mutual effects and Micmac future research software, and finally, scenarios using The expert panel method was created with the presence of 29 people and with the Scenario Wizard software. The findings show that among the drivers, six drivers are infrastructure development (transportation, cold storage, road and railway), upstream policies in the field of tropical products, strengthening the export potential of tropical products, using New methods of production, guaranteed purchase of tropical products and branding of tropical products are more effective than their effectiveness. Based on this, it is suggested that in order to develop these products in the villages, spiritual (upstream policies) and material support for the production of these products is on the agenda and by creating infrastructure and introducing new production methods, The field of self-sufficiency and supply of domestic demand for these products is provided and with branding, the field of export of these products is created. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seedless barberry fruit is one of the important horticultural products of Iran, which has health benefits due to great amounts of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity. However, fresh barberry fruit has a short shelf life even at cold storage, mainly due to high water content and thin skin that leads to fungal decay and high postharvest loss. We examined the effectiveness of the postharvest ultrasonic technology on the quality preservation and nutritional value of fresh seedless barberry fruit and their decay reduction during cold storage. Experimental treatments were the time and temperature of ultrasound (US) and included: (1) control, fruit without US, (2) 5 min US at 20°C, (3) 5 min US at 30°C, (4) 5 min US at 40°C, (5) 10 min US at 20°C, (6) 10 min US at 30°C, (7) 10 min US at 40°C, (8) 15 min US at 20°C, (9) 15 min US at 30°C, and (10) 15 min US at 40°C. After applying the treatments, the fruits were sealed in polyethylene bags and stored at 4 ± 1°C for 20 days. The results showed that all US treatments had higher titratable acidity, antioxidant activity, phenol content, and vitamin C content than the control. However, the highest titratable acidity and antioxidant activity values were obtained in US treatments at 40°C and 30°C for 15 min. Also, US treatment significantly reduced the total soluble solids, decay percentage, and microbial load of fresh barberry fruit. As the US treatment temperature increased from 20°C to 40°C, the decay and microbial load of fruit significantly decreased. In conclusion, this study proved the potential application of the US for preserving the quality of fresh seedless barberry fruit, and the most optimal US temperature and its application time was 40°C for 15 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study some steckling characteristics and quantitative and qualitative traits of sugar beet monogerm (Cv. Pars) seed under the influence of planting date, nitrogen amounts and density an experiment was conducted as split factorial based on RCBD with four replications at sugar beet elite seed research station of Firouzkooh during two years (2012-2013). Planting date at levels of 1 and 21 July and 10 August were assigned to main plots and density at levels of 10, 20, 30 and 40 plants per square meter and nitrogen levels including 25% less than optimum, optimum and 25% higher than optimum in a factorial arrangement were assigned to sub-plots. Increasing the density at different planting dates decreased steckling weight and increasing nitrogen consumption at different planting dates increased the average weight of stecklings. In the second year of trial stored and vernalized stecklings were evaluated for the traits of the quantitative and qualitative traits of seed in RCBD with four replications To achieve the greatest steckling yield (12.24 tons per hectare), planting 40 plants per square meter on july 1st and nitrogen consumption at 25% higher than optimum also to reach the highest crude seed yield (122.31 grams per plant) and marketable seed yield (43.74 grams per plant), seed bearing plants obtained from stecklings of planting date of 1 July x plant density of 10 plants per square meter x optimum nitrogen consumption and planting date of 1 July x plant density of 40 plants per square meterx nitrogen consumption at 25% less than optimum respectively are recommended for semi- arid and cold regions such as Firouzkooh and similar regions in terms of climate. Introduction The development of mechanization and cultivation of monogerm seeds in the beet growing areas in Iran has increased the importance of producing high quality seeds. The production of sugar beet seeds in Firouzkooh region is done in an indirect way, that is, the transfer of stecklings is done in two years. Nitrogen is necessary to arouse growth in the early stages of growing (steckling production) and increases seed yield also increases seed germination percentage. Generally, increasing the weight of stecklings and reducing density, accelerates ripening, makes the seeds larger and increases the seed viability. Reducing plant density causes an increase in plant biomass, rather than increasing the seed yield, and accordingly, to improve economic benefit from environmental factors, dense planting of small stecklings is better than thin planting of their large types. Also, early planting increases leaf area index and consequently increases dry weight and root yield. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to determine the most suitable seed planting date, plant density and management of nitrogen consumption, to produce the most stecklings with appropriate weight also to determine how the steckling size and agronomic management of steckling production affect the quantity and quality of the seed was produced. Materials and methods In this research, the effect of planting date, nitrogen amounts and plant density on some characteristics of stecklings and quantitative and qualitative traits of sugar beet monogerm seed of Pars cultivar at sugar beet elite seed research station of Firouzkooh for two years (2012 and 2013) was investigated. This research was conducted in two separate experiments in two consecutive years. The first experiment was conducted as a split factorial based on RCBD with four replications. Planting date at levels of 1 and 21 July and 10 August were assigned to main plots and density at levels of 10, 20, 30 and 40 (plants.m-2) and nitrogen levels including 25% less than optimum, optimum and 25% higher than optimum in a factorial arrangement were assigned to sub-plots. In the second experiment (in 2013), a part of the stored and vernalized stecklings that were the result of different combinations of different levels of the factors of the first experiment were investigated in the form of 36 treatments based on RCBD with four replications. The quantitative traits of steckling in the first experiment and quantitative and qualitative traits of seed in the second experiment were evaluated. The obtained data were analyzed using statistical software of SAS (V. 9.1.3) based on the statistical criteria of the design and Duncan's multiple range test was performed at the 5% level of probability. Results and discussion The results showed that planting date of 1 July, plant density of 40 (plant.m-2) and nitrogen consumption at 25% higher than optimum had the greatest steckling yield with 12.24 (t.ha-1). With earlier planting, increasing density and increasing nitrogen consumption, steckling dry weight and total dry weight with 324.44 and 576.05 (gr.m-2), respectively had the highest values. It seems that earlier planting has created suitable conditions for the growth of aerial and underground organs in the plant. Mean comparisons showed that the treatment combination of planting date of 1 July, plant density of 10 (plant.m-2) and nitrogen consumption at optimum level in steckling production, had the greatest crude seed yield with 122.3 (gr.plant-1) in the second year. The highest marketable seed yield (43.74 gr.plant-1) obtained from the stecklings of planting date of 1 July x plant density of 40 (plant.m-2) x nitrogen consumption at 25% less than optimum. The higher percentage of seed emptiness in most treatments of density and nitrogen consumption occurred in the later planting date. In general, the treatment combinations related to the first planting date were in a better condition in terms of the percentage of seed viability. It seems that from the earlier planting date, larger roots were obtained and this increased the growth rate of the stecklings, the quantitative and qualitative yield in the second year. Other researchers also stated that in general, increase in steckling weight (caused by early planting) and decreasing density has caused the seed to grow larger and increasing the seed viability. Conclusions According to the results of this research to achieve the greatest steckling yield (12.24 t.ha-1), planting 40 (plant.m-2) on July 1[sup st] and nitrogen consumption at 25% higher than optimum also to reach the highest crude seed yield (122.31 gr.plant-1) and marketable seed yield (43.74 gr.plant-1), seed bearing plants obtained from stecklings of planting date of 1 July x plant density of 10 (plant.m-2) x optimum nitrogen consumption and planting date of 1 July x plant density of 40 (plant.m-2)x nitrogen consumption at 25% less than optimum respectively are recommended for semi-arid and cold regions such as Firouzkooh and similar regions in terms of climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important problems in the field of cultivation and production of garden products, especially oranges, is the irrigation of the plant and its amount. Iran has many challenges in growing and producing orange fruit due to its diverse climate and being located in a dry region. Based on, in the present study, the effect of water stress and storage time of the product in cold storage (fruits of Thomson Novell cultivar after harvest in cold storage at 5 ° C and 85% humidity for 90 days and Valencia oranges at 20 ° C for Stored for 30 days) on chemical properties (antioxidant activity, ascorbic acid content), physical (weight, width, length, volume, volume, weight and weight of the extract), color characteristics and sensory properties were evaluated. The physical changes of Thomson and Valencia oranges in the samples without water stress on the first day were not significantly different, although minor reduction in storage time. According to the results, the highest weight loss, extract weight, antioxidant, ascorbic acid and volume of orange varieties during storage were in samples under dehydration stress. The color components include brightness, a * and b * decreased in Thomson orange samples under water stress and during storage, but the Valencia orange but did not significant difference was observed. Sensory properties of bad taste and bitterness were higher in oranges under water stress and scored lower in terms of sensory evaluators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Seedless barberry is one of the most important small fruits, which is cultivated in dry areas of east of Iran. However, due to high water content (~80%) and thin skin it is susceptible to postharvest decay, and thus it has a short postharvest life. Research Method: This study was carried out to investigate the impact of pre-harvest application of calcium nitrate 0.5% and potassium nitrate 0.5%, and cold storage on biochemical and postharvest quality attributes of fresh seedless barberry fruits in the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons. Findings: The results showed that both chemicals applied resulted in better appearance and firmness in both years. In addition, control fruit were redder in the 2017 season. Fruit at harvest had the highest content of vitamin C (21.11 mg.100g-1) in 2017 and total phenolic content (7.36 mg.100g-1) in 2018 compared to stored fruit. Interestingly, the highest total anthocyanin was obtained after 30 days of cold storage, 1146.13 and 3071.32 mg.L-1, respectively, in both growing seasons. The appearance and firmness of seedless barberry decreased with an increment of the storage period in both seasons, and the best taste was assessed at harvest time. Moreover, the fruit brightness in 2017 and 'b*' and hue color parameters in 2018 decreased as storage time progressed. The highest weight loss percentage in stored fruit was obtained in harvested fruit in both seasons. Research Limitation: The high sensitivity of barberry fruit due to high water content and its thin skin. Originality/Value: Both chemicals preserved some of the quality properties of barberry fruit during cold storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strawberry is one of the highly consumed fruits which are cultivated in wide areas of the world. The most important problem of the strawberry is low storability and high postharvest losses; hence, more than 50% of harvested fruit is lost in Iran. The purpose of this research was to investigate biochemical and shelf life reaction of Camarosa cultivar to different concentrations of methyl jasmonate. The investigation was performed in split plot experiments in a completely randomized design with three replications. The main factor included different concentrations of methyl jasmonate (8 and 12 μM /L), along with control (distilled water) and the sub-factor included different storage times (7, 14 and 21 days). The fruits were transferred to a cold storage with a temperature of 2 ± 0.5 °C, relative humidity of 90-95% and carbon dioxide content of 15% over the course of the research. Methyl jasmonate treatment improved antioxidant capacity and catalase enzyme activity of the treated fruits. The highest antioxidant capacity and catalase enzyme activity were observed at 12 μM/L. Ethylene biosynthesis was significantly affected by the storage time of the treated fruits; so that methyl jasmonate at 12 μM/L reduced the ethylene production. Also, fruit firmness was improved at 5 μM/L methyl jasmonate concentration. Based on the results, methyl jasmonate is potent to increase the strawberry marketability with minimal side effects and, hence, may be chosen for decreasing the postharvest losses of strawberry fruit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to investigate the degradation kinetics of the major quality properties of medlar (Mespilus germanica) during cold storage. Medlar is a widely growth in northern Iran and its fruit is used as a nutritional component and as a medicinal remedy. In fruits, quality properties are used as a consumer-based criteria of acceptability. So it is important to evaluate parameters that affected the medlar quality. Measurement of these parameters is an expensive and time-consuming process. Therefore, parameter prediction due to affecting factors will be more useful. In the present research, mathematical models and artificial neural networks (ANN) were used for modelling the relationship between physicochemical properties and color attributes with cold storage time. Five kinetic models viz. zero order, first order, Second order, fractional conversion and Weibull models were used for modelling using MATLAB. Among the kinetics models, the Weibull model was found to be more suitable to predict the changes in all physicochemical (R2 ≥0.9402 & RMSE ≤0.578 ) and color (R2 ≥0.8250 & RMSE ≤ 0.578) parameters. In ANN, multi-layer perception (MLP) used with different number of neurons. The network’s inputs include storage time, medlar moisture content and ripening stage and the network’s output were the values of the physicochemical and color properties. The training rule was Momentum Levenberg-Marquardt. The transfer functions were Tansig, Purelin and Logsig. The results showed that MLP network with Levenberg-Marquardt training function, Purelin transfer function and 3-8-4-3 and 3-7- 2 topologies had the best accuracy for prediction of for physicochemical and color properties. This network can predict physicochemical and color properties of the medlar with coefficient of 0.9983 and 0.9992 and MSE of 0.021, 0.000008 and 0.000059 respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psix saccharicola (Mani) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) is a solitary egg parasitoid of the pistachio green stink bug, Acrosternum arabicum (Wagner) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), which is one of the most important pests of pistachio in Iran. Augmentation of P. saccharicola field populations using mass-reared individuals may provide an alternative to conventional pesticide use for pistachio green stink bug control. Cold storage is an important component of mass-rearing protocols for optimum timing of host egg parasitization and potentially extended storage of P. saccharicola pupae prior to adult emergence. The impact of cold storage on A. arabicum eggs for various time intervals at 4.0°C was investigated. Results indicated that host eggs stored at 4.0°C for up to 60 d could be exploited by P. sacchricola, whereas no offspring were produced when eggs were stored for 120 d. The emergence rates of the F1 and F2 generations declined with increased host egg storage time. Both sex ratio and survival rate of the F2 generation decreased as the refrigeration time of host eggs increased. The impact of cold storage on P. saccharicola pupae was evaluated. Reared pupae of P. saccharicola were held for 1 wk at three temperatures and compared with a control (27 ± 1°C). Psix saccharicola pupae were tolerant to cold storage at 8 and 12°C. Cold storage adversely affected mean adult emergence at 4°C, which decreased following low temperature exposure. Furthermore, mean percentage survivorship was unaffected by storage at low temperatures in the F1 generation, but was reduced at 4°C. The sex ratio of the F1 generation became more male-biased when held at lower storage temperatures. The highest female proportion was observed at 12°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the hot seasons, the balance between power generation and consumption is disrupted due to the higher demand for cooling load and the lower power plant efficiency occurred due to the enhanced temperature of the inlet air to the turbine. The costly cold storage method in consumption centers (residential or official) is usually suggested to overcome the power generation problem in hot seasons. In this paper, the application of the cold storage system in the inlet of the gas turbine is proposed and the performance of the power generation system with cold storage is evaluated. The improvement of power generation with cold storage system compared to other cooling methods such as fog and electrical chiller, is discussed to determine which cooling method works best in reducing the network peak problem. Different methods of cold storage (partial/full) are also compared. The results for the proposed cooling system with cold storage used in hot seasons showed that, the 16-h cold storage method with the air condenser performed better during peak time compared to the other cooling methods. In June, July and August, this method improved the net generated power by 11.07%, 19.06% and 18.40%, respectively, compared with the normal condition of power plant without any cooling solution. the results of comparing the different storage strategies showed that the net output power in the full storage strategy was 2.14% higher than the partial storage strategy. Using a water condenser instead of an air condenser results in a slight increase of 0.96% in the net power output of the turbine. • Cold storage for cooling air inlet of gas turbines is evaluated for peak management. • 3 methods of air inlet cooling for gas turbines are compared. • Effects of partial/full storage strategies on turbine output power are studied. • Effects of water/air condensers on performance of cold storage system are studied. • The average power increase of 16.18% is obtained by implementing cold storage plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]