Aluminum elicitation improves antioxidant potential and taxol production in hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cell suspension culture

Taxol was originaly found in yew (Taxus sp.) but it also ocurrs in other species like hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.). We investigated production of taxol in suspension cultures of hazelnut following elicitation by aluminium chloride supplemented at 0, 25, 50 and 100 µM concentration. Aluminium elicitation has a significant effect decreasing cell growth and protein content but increasing production of taxol, total phenolics, anthocyanin and flavonoids. It also increases antioxidant potential and other antioxidant system components such as proline and enzymes like catalases and peroxidases. Additionally, aluminium increased hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde content of cells. Apart from taxol production aluminium improved its release into the medium and total yield in comparison to controls. In general, for the increased taxol synthesis application of 50 and 100 µM of aluminium elicitor in cell culture provided acceptable results

Geotechnical Schemes for Constructing Light Structures on Instable Slopes

Slopes in soils and rocks are natural or man-made structures. Landslide and slope failure are responsible for millions of dollars of damage to public and private property every year. The great variety of slope movements reflects the diversity of conditions that cause the slope to become unstable and the processes that trigger the movement. The stability of a slope can be threatened by erosion due to surface water runoff, or more severe erosive forces associated with water. In this paper the geotechnical schemes which were done for constructing light structure (aviculture) in Noabad (Mazandaran-Iran) by regarding to the movement of site in previous years are described. In the first part of this paper the authors present bases of slope stability and safety factor of instable slope in case study area before geotechnical scheme then the reason of instability in case study area is described. In second part the geotechnical schemes were done and safety factor after geotechnical schemes is calculated. The factor of safety is calculated before geotechnical scheme which shows instability risk in study area and after geotechnical scheme the factor of safety is calculated for same sections again. And finally the result is checked. In general the authors believed that the schemes can provide useful and successful procedure for stabilization similar cases

Aluminum elicitation improves antioxidant potential and taxol production in hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cell suspension culture

Taxol was originaly found in yew (Taxus sp.) but it also ocurrs in other species like hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.). We investigated production of taxol in suspension cultures of hazelnut following elicitation by aluminium chloride supplemented at 0, 25, 50 and 100 µM concentration. Aluminium elicitation has a significant effect decreasing cell growth and protein content but increasing production of taxol, total phenolics, anthocyanin and flavonoids. It also increases antioxidant potential and other antioxidant system components such as proline and enzymes like catalases and peroxidases. Additionally, aluminium increased hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde content of cells. Apart from taxol production aluminium improved its release into the medium and total yield in comparison to controls. In general, for the increased taxol synthesis application of 50 and 100 µM of aluminium elicitor in cell culture provided acceptable results

Spectral-acceleration-based attenuation relation in seismic hazard analysis (Case study: Qazvin city)

Considering the situation of Iran on the seismic belt and its permanent exposure to earthquakes with different magnitudes, in design of structures, special attention should be paid to seismic parameters. To this effect, and in order to reduce the structures exposures to the expectable earthquakes short-term, mid-term and long-term planning is required. Numerous methods have been so far applied to assessment of earthquake magnitude some of which were built up on a single parameter such as PGA and PGV and some others were multi-parameters such as spectral displacement and spectral acceleration (SA). At any rate, today scientists using new parameters such as earthquake energy, earthquake intensity have introduced different methods for design purposes. One of the most widely applied design methods is the single parameter measure Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) which has its own limitations and shortcomings such as error input into the calculations and ignoring earthquake content. Therefore, researchers decided by applying spectrum-based attenuation relation to use direct relationships for determining input data of structure design. In line with these efforts, profiting from SA-based power attenuation relation, this research as a case study attempts to retry the seismic hazard analysis calculations on the Qazvin region

Spectral-acceleration-based attenuation relation in seismic hazard analysis (Case study: Qazvin city)

Considering the situation of Iran on the seismic belt and its permanent exposure to earthquakes with different magnitudes, in design of structures, special attention should be paid to seismic parameters. To this effect, and in order to reduce the structures exposures to the expectable earthquakes short-term, mid-term and long-term planning is required. Numerous methods have been so far applied to assessment of earthquake magnitude some of which were built up on a single parameter such as PGA and PGV and some others were multi-parameters such as spectral displacement and spectral acceleration (SA). At any rate, today scientists using new parameters such as earthquake energy, earthquake intensity have introduced different methods for design purposes. One of the most widely applied design methods is the single parameter measure Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) which has its own limitations and shortcomings such as error input into the calculations and ignoring earthquake content. Therefore, researchers decided by applying spectrum-based attenuation relation to use direct relationships for determining input data of structure design. In line with these efforts, profiting from SA-based power attenuation relation, this research as a case study attempts to retry the seismic hazard analysis calculations on the Qazvin region

Prediction of Slope Stability Using Artificial Neural Network (Case Study: Noabad, Mazandaran, Iran)

The surface of the earth is very rarely flat and so there are slopes nearly everywhere. The loads on slope are due to the self-weight of the soil and to external loads, which may come from foundation at the top and seismic loads. Geotechnical engineers have to pay particular attention to geology, ground water and shear strength of soils in assessing slop stability. Neural networks are very sophisticated modeling techniques, capable of modeling extremely complex functions. In particular, neural networks are non-linear. With respect to the above advantages, in this paper, artificial neural networks are developed to predict slope stability in a specified location. Then the results are compared with older analysis methods to check the ANN model’s validity

Artificial Neural Network Model for Prediction of Liquefaction Potential in Soil Deposits

With the increase in population, the evaluation of liquefaction is becoming more important for land use planning and development. In soil deposits under undrained condition, earthquakes induce cyclic shear stresses, may lead to soil liquefaction. Artificial neural network (ANN) is one of the, artificial intelligence (AI) approaches that can be classified as machine learning. Simplified methods have been practiced by researchers to assess nonlinear liquefaction potential of soil. In order to address the collective knowledge built up in conventional liquefaction engineering, an alternative general regression neural network model is proposed in this paper. To meet this objective, a total of 30 boreholes are introduced into the model. The data includes the results of field test from (Babol, Mazandaran, Iran). The results produced by the proposed Artificial Neural Network model compared well with the determined liquefaction decision obtained by simplified methods. It provides a viable liquefaction potential assessment tool that assist geotechnical engineers in making an accurate and realistic predictions. Furthermore, this study integrates knowledge learned from field test and seismic parameters to the ongoing development of liquefaction analysis. The results show that there is liquefaction potential in western part of Babol, and in southern part of Babol no liquefaction potential were seen. In middle part and eastern part low liquefaction potential were predicted by ANNs. This study shows that neural networks are a powerful computational tool which can analyze the complex relationship between soil liquefaction potential and effective parameters in liquefaction