Feeding habits of the scalloped spiny lobster, Panulirus homarus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda: Palinuridae) from the South East Coast of Iran

Certain ecological aspects of the feeding habits of 260 scalloped lobsters Panulirus homarus collected during monthly dives off the southeast coast of Iran were considered. Parameters under consideration included: water temperature, salinity, turbidity, pH, dissolved oxygen and macrobenthose of the lobsters habitat. The mean number of empty stomachs varied from 25% to 62%. Statistical analysis revealed no monthly or seasonal significant difference in the frequency of non-empty stomachs (P>0.05). 1 to 6 prey items were distinguishable in each non-empty stomach. Monthly mean of point counts of prey obtained was from 8.76±4.18 to 154.95±73.62, without any significant difference by Tukeys’ HSD test. Bivalves often had the maximum amounts of Fi and Pi amongst different prey items. Pearson χ2 test did not show any significant difference between frequency of occurrence of each prey item with different length classes, sex, moulting condition and presence of eggs in females (P>0.05). Ivlev electivity index of crabs, gastropods and bivalves was close to 1 and sloped to -1 for polychaetes and echinoderms. This index revealed crabs, bivalves and gastropods were more important in the diet than sediment throughout the year. Frequencies of food occurrence suggest bivalves as the main food; crabs, gastropods, barnacles and algae as secondary food and polychaetes, fish, echinoderms and Ascidiacea as incidental food for P. homarus in the area. Spearmans’ correlation coefficients of stomach fullness against different length classes, sexes, moulting and ovigerous females were not significantly different (P>0.05). There was only a significant Pearsons' correlation between the number of point for bivalves in the stomach against body weight (P<0.05)

Identification of different species of squids in Oman Sea (Iranian waters)

Identification of different species of oceanic and neritic squids in Iranian waters of Oman Sea was carried out from December 1996 to February 1997. The trawl surveys were conducted during a 12-months period. Fishing was also undertaken by Mid-water and bottom trawl for species confirmation purposes in deep (200-350m) and shallow (0-100m) waters to collect enough specimens that could be used for later species identification. The RN Ferdows-I was used for sampling with an approximate hauling speed of 3.0 knots. Three oegopsid species including Ancistrocheirus lesueuri, Liocranchia reinhardti, Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis and neritic squid, Loligo duvauceli were identified. Another loliginid squid different from Loligo duvauceli was also observed. A. lesueuri (Enoploteuthidae Family) and Liocranchia reinhardti (Cranchiidae Family) are here reported from this area for the first time. Neither was any report about these two families of oegopsid squids in Oman Sea nor Persian Gulf

Moisture-Dependent Some Engineering Properties of Soybean Grains

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of moisture content on some physical properties and mechanical behaviour under compression load of soybean grains. Four levels of moisture content ranging from 6.92 to 21.19% d.b. were used. The average length, width, thickness, arithmetic and geometric mean diameter, surface area, thousand grains mass and angle of repose increased as the moisture content increased from 6.92 to 21.19%. As the moisture content increased from 6.92 to 21.19% d.b., the bulk density and true density were found to decrease from 650.95 to 625.36 kg/m3 and 1147.86 to 1126.43 kg/m3 respectively, while the porosity was found to increase from 43.29 to 44.48%. The static coefficient of friction of soybean increased linearly against various surfaces as the moisture content increased from 6.92 to 21.19% d.b. The rupture energy of the grains increased in magnitude with an increase in moisture content, while rupture force decreased

Interlaminar Shear Properties of Bamboo Composite for Structural Applications

Interlaminar shear strength in bamboo composite (BC) is mainly provided by epoxy resin as the matrix in BC. This may greatly change due to humidity. This study aims at evaluating the shear strength of BC by testing and developing probabilistic relationships. The interlaminar shear strength of bamboo composite (BC) in different moisture conditions was tested according to ASTM D2344. The results show that the maximum shear stress does not generally occur at the centroid of samples, which could be associated with imperfections in BC layers. An extreme value theory-based model is suggested to evaluate the probability of shear failure in BC samples. The shear capacity decreased from 20.4 MPa to 14 MPa as the humidity increased from 60% to 90%. A summary of findings is as follows: It was found that under transient moisture conditions, local failure is likely to happen before the first significant crack occurs. Local failure is suggested to be considered in the design for serviceability. Stress drop caused by the local failure could exceed 10% of total shear strength and, therefore, should be regarded as a serviceability design. The probabilistic model developed in this study could be used for developing structural design safety factors

Effect of Drying Rate on Shrinkage of Alkali-Activated Slag Cements

The volumetric instability of alkali-activated slag (AAS) binders has raised concerns and impeded the acceptance of this Portland cement-free material. The objective of this article is to characterize the influence of drying rate on drying shrinkage behavior of AAS mortars to better understand the mechanisms responsible for its large shrinkage deformation. A series of four AAS mortar mixtures with varying activator composition, as well as a reference Portland cement mortar, was cast and dried at different relative humidities, that is, 30, 50, 70, and 85% RH. Drying took place inside nitrogen-purged environmental chambers for the purpose of eliminating the contribution of carbonation to the total volumetric change of AAS. The shrinkage and corresponding mass loss of 1.27 cm × 1.27 cm × 12.7 cm prisms were measured as a function of time. The results show that shrinkage of AAS varies largely depending on the drying rate, that is, ambient RH. Interestingly, even though the drying mass loss increases with reducing the RH, the magnitude of shrinkage is the largest for samples stored at 50 and 70% RH, depending on the mixture type. Possible causes of these irregular behaviors are discussed. It is concluded that the drying rate has a much more significant influence on AAS than on ordinary Portland cement (OPC), which implies a more complicated shrinkage mechanism for AAS samples stored at various relative humidities

Physical properties of olive

&nbsp;B. Ghamary1,2, A. Rajabipour1, A. M. Borghei1, H. Sadeghi3(1. Agricultural Machinery Department., Faculty of Biosystems Engineering, University of Tehran, Karaj,Iran; 2. Ilam University, Ilam, Iran;3. Agricultural Machinery Department, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, University of Mazandaran, Mazandaran, Iran)&nbsp;Abstract: Physical properties of olive, a fruit of paradise, and of other agricultural products are important factors in the design of processing, grading, transporting and other agricultural machinery. &nbsp;As an initial step to help improve the design of the machinery, in this research physical characteristics of two varieties of local olives, &ldquo;yellow olive&rdquo; and &ldquo;oily olive&rdquo;, were studied. Having been randomly collected during harvest season, for each olive sample three basic diameters, weight, and volume were measured and the following physical characteristics were estimated. &nbsp;For yellow olive and oily olive, the averages of geometric mean diameter were 20.04 mm and 18.28 mm respectively and their sphericties were 0.81 and 0.79 respectively. &nbsp;Application of regression analysis addressing the relationship between the volume and weight of each variety of olive yielded a significant relationship. &nbsp;Also, the volume of the olive samples was compared with that of an assumed ellipsoid shape, which again indicated a significant relationship. &nbsp;Finally, the correlation sought between olive flesh and the whole olive fruit was similarly found to be quite significant.Keywords: Olive, physical properties, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, Iran&nbsp;Citation: Ghamary B, A. Rajabipour, A. M. Borghei, H. Sadeghi. &nbsp;Physical properties of olive. &nbsp;Agric Eng Int: CIGR Journal, 2010, 12(2): 104-110.&nbsp;&nbsp

Precision spray modeling using image processing and artificial neural network

This study employed artificial neural network method for predicting the sprayer drift under different conditions using image processing technique. A wind tunnel was used for providing air flow in different velocities. Water Sensitive Paper (WSP) was used to absorb spray droplets and an automatic algorithm processed the images of WSPs for measuring droplet properties including volume median diameter (Dv0.5) and Surface Coverage Percent (SCP). Four Levenberg-Marqurdt models were developed to correlate the sprayer drift (output parameter) to the input parameters (height, pressure, wind velocity and Dv0.5). The ANN models were capable of predicting the output variables in different conditions of spraying with a high performance. Both models predicted the output variables with R2 values higher than 0.96 indicating the accuracy of the selected networks. Therefore, the developed predictor models can be used in precision agriculture for decreasing spray costs and losses and also environmental contamination

Commercial catch management of spiny lobster, Panulirus homarus in the coastal waters of Sistan and Baluchestan Province

Management of commercial catch of the spiny lobster, Panulirus homarus Linnaeus, 1758; was studied in fishing season, from September to November 2001. P. homarus specimens were captured from different fishing sites of Ramin, Chabahar, Konarak, Puzm and west of Puzm. Carapace length and sex of specimens and presence of eggs and pleopods of females were considered. The latter factor was noticed to check of the eggs removed from pleopods. Fishing season takes about one and the half months. The maximum and minimum carapace length were observed in west of Puzm (80.04 + 9.02 mm) and puzm (76.46 6.66 mm), respectively. Minimum size limit specimens at different fishing sites were not significantly different, but frequency of them were more than years of 1999 and 2000, although fewer ovigerous females were caught. A better management of the lobster resources needs the collaboration on fishing, fisheries and research within the Iranian authorities, and also fisheries cooperation of the two neighboring countries

Design, construction and evaluation of a sprayer drift measurement system

Spray drift study for reducing environmental hazards and protecting crops is of high importance as the pesticides used today are more active and many are non-selective. Drift potential can be restricted by assessing and optimizing equipment design, application parameters, the liquid spray properties, type of formulation and environmental conditions. The aim of this research was to design, construct and assess an intelligent system to determine the level of the spraying drift. The main parts of the system were liquid supply mechanism, pipes and nozzles, a controlled pneumatic system to pressurize the liquid, a nozzle moving system with a controlling panel and a tunnel for wind providing and control. To assess the performance of sprayer and drift of droplets, water sensitive papers were placed in different distances from the nozzle considering different environmental conditions including: wind speed, spraying pressure and height. The evaluation results showed that the drift was increased with increasing of sparing pressure and nozzle height.

An exploration on the responsibility to social adequacy in adolescent learning environments affected by the type of design experience based on the biophilic attitude

What is considered as a serious concern in the contemporary urban system is the widening gap between man and natural systems. The extreme density of buildings has brought about interaction with technology instead of interaction with nature, and lack of interest in environmental concerns for the urbanite adolescents, which can lead to a serious crisis in the mental health of an adolescent due to being on the path of maturity. Many studies in the field of learning environments indicate the effectiveness of interaction with natural processes on the promotion of adolescents' social identity; therefore, creating a suitable environment for reducing social harm and acquiring social skills can be effective in reducing mental pressures. Background and Objectives: Researches have shown that adolescents' interaction with nature is effective in improving stress and promoting effective mental health, and also nature-based learning environments play an important role in improving adolescents' social identity. This study tries to improve the level of adolescents’ mental health by recognizing and analyzing biophilic approach patterns as a nature-based approach, along with acquiring related capabilities and skills in educational environments. In addition to the explanation of the patterns corresponding to the experiences of biophilic (bio-oriented) attitudes, the present study prioritizes the related environmental indicators to acquire the abilities (cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and motivational) of the adolescence period in the context of learning. Materials and Methods: The used method is applied in terms of purpose, and the study method is descriptive-analytical and survey in terms of nature. Data collection is based on the study of library resources, and in the field stage, it is based on the distribution of questionnaires and interviews; also, the SPSS software was used to analyze the data. The Chi-square test is used to examine the significance of the relationship between variables in the research hypotheses, and the Pearson test is used to examine the correlation of independent and dependent variables that indicates the establishment of a correlation between research variables, which shows that the accuracy between all variables is less than 0.05 and the correlation coefficient of all relations is positive. The correlation coefficient between all variables is above 0.6 that indicates the establishment of a positive and strong relationship between all of the variables. The Friedman test was used in order to prioritize the relationships and strategies, and the content validity method was used to determine the reliability of the measurement of the questionnaire’s validity; also, the Cronbach's alpha test was used to examine the reliability of the questionnaire in SPSS software. Results: There is a significant difference between the types of environmental experiences (direct experience of nature, the indirect experience of nature, and the experience of space and place) in order to establish a compatible interaction between adolescents and nature. Also, the experience of direct interaction between adolescents and cognitive competence acquisition has the greatest impact on the promotion of adolescents' mental health; subsequently, the indirect experience of nature with cognitive competence acquisition and experience of space and place with behavioral competence acquisition have the greatest impact on the promotion of adolescents' mental health. According to the obtained information, social competencies are prioritized through biophilic design experiences. Conclusion: The results indicate that design experiences in the context of learning according to the biophilic approach can meet the psychological needs of the adolescent period, because of the deep multifaceted relationship with nature. Providing solutions following the patterns of this approach in nature-based learning environments can provide the conditions for achieving social adequacy and promoting adolescents’ mental health.   ===================================================================================== COPYRIGHTS  ©2020 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.  ====================================================================================