The petroglyphs of Dowzdaghi, Northwestern Iran

This paper deals with recording and interpreting a complex of petroglyphs at Dowzdaghi in the northern part of Iranian Azerbaijan in Northwestern Iran. The assemblage can be divided into four sub-assemblages; the designs and images depicted on the surfaces of isolated boulders usually constitute a panel and sometimes individual motifs and inscriptions. The investigations have revealed more than 400 carved and scratched drawings on rock boulders on Mt. Dowzdaghi. The main themes include anthropomorphic figures, animals (ibex, with long elaborated curved horn, deer, dog, horse, bull, ram, fox, snake, alligator, and hedgehog), hunting scenes, Arabic and Persian inscriptions, and symbolic designs.V članku se ukvarjamo z dokumentiranjem in interpretiranjem kompleksa petroglifov na lokaciji Dowydaghi v severnem delu iranskega Azerbajdžana v severozahodnem Iranu. Skupek lahko razdelimo v štiri podskupine; vzorci in podobe, ki so upodobljeni na površini posameznih skal, običajno predstavljajo plošče, včasih pa posamezne motive in napise. Pri preiskavah smo ugotovili več kot 400 izrezljanih in izpraskanih risb na kamnitih skalah na gori Dowzdaghi. Glavne teme upodobitev so antropomorfne figure, živali (kozorog z dolgim, dobro izdelanim ukrivljenim rogom, jelen, pes, konj, bik, oven, lisica, kača, aligator in jež), lovski prizori, arabski in perzijski napisi ter simbolične upodobitve

Growth and reproduction of (Capoeta damascina Valenciennes 1842) from the Hanna wetland, Semirum

As part of ecological study of Hanna Wetland, Semirum, in Isfahan province, the age, growth, and reproductive characteristics of Capoeta damascina, a major species of the wetland were investigated. A total of 270 specimens were collected by cast net and gillnets of different mesh sizes (5-70mm) during fall and winter 2007, and spring and summer 2008. The ratio of males to females was 1.0: 2.2 (MT). Seven (1+ to n and six (1+ to 6+) year classes were recorded for females and males, respectively. In all class, females were always larger than males. Maximum fork length and weight of 44.2 cm and 1545g for females and 40.0cm and 1300g for males were recorded. The minimum, maximum, and average absolute fecundity were 2203, 36763, and 19121±9503, respectively. According to Gonadostomatic Index (GSI) values, spawning of C. damascina occurs from May to June. The Von Bertalanffy growth parameters fit to size-at-age data were: K=0.136, L∞=66.96cm, to .0.161 years for females and K=0.174, 1,0,=54.70cm, t, 0.37 for males. The weigh-length relationships were described as W=0.0143L3a^0.471 (r^2 = 0.9597) for females and W=0.009401695 (r^2 =7- 0.9768) for males. According to b values obtained, both sexes show a positive allometric growth. The growth performance index 9' was estimated at 7.071 and 6.092 for females and males respectively that indicated a faster growth rate for females

Intragenomic diversity and geographical adaptability of diploid cotton species revealed by cytogenetic studies

Cotton is one of the most important crops in Iran, and is cultivated in different regions of the country. Gossypium herbaceum is one of the A-genome cottons, which is a potentially important geneticresource for cotton breeding programs. Collecting native cultivars of this species growing in different regions is a vital step in broadening variability of the gene pool. The G. herbaceum is one of the twocultivated species under cultivation in Iran, which is specifically adapted to a given environment and includes more than 40 ecotypes, named as landrace cottons. The present paper reports theintragenomic characteristics analysis of 42 G. herbaceum cultivars in the cotton genebank using cytological methods. The karyological studies showed variations within the species in the size ofchromosome, chromosome volume and karyotype formulae. All cultivars possessed 2n=26 chromosome, but varied with regard to number of SAT-chromosomes (ranging from 1 to 3) and the chromosomes carrying secondary constructions. Karyotypes were of symmetrical type, having small chromosomes. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences between the cultivars as well as the chromosomes. Cluster analysis could group the cultivars in four distinct clusters. The present study indicates genomic differences among diploid G. herbaceum cultivars, which can be used in cotton hybridization programs in Iran or other countries

Development of a Data Mining System for Subscriber Classification (Case Study: Electricity Distribution Company)

Currently, organizations and companies tend to provide customers with good and suitable services in accordance with their interests and behaviors. Thus, the better the customers are classified, the better the services provided will be. Data mining is an efficient process for helping companies discover patterns in the database and it is important to identify target customers in this process. In fact, customers are selected to provide new products and services. Customer classification is based on data mining techniques for customer identification. This study tends to classify customers using data mining algorithms such as decision tree CART, neural network and regression. The case study is customers of Electricity Distribution Company. Simulation results based on Clementine software show that population had the highest effect on the amount of power consumed in each of the six household, public, industrial, agricultural, road and commercial classes. This is consistent with the opinion of experts in the electric power industry, because higher number of subscribers of each class surely increases the amount of electricity consumed (not steadily). The second effective feature of power consumption in six classes is humidity, which in many classes has a relatively equivalent effect with the effect of temperature on power consumption