In the present study, an active CASTER mechanism is introduced which will lead to improvement of the vehicle handling characteristics. In the presented survey, a 9-DOF nonlinear vehicle model which consists of steering system dynamic equations (which were derived by means of Kane dynamics method) and also the Magic Formula tyre model are being utilized for the simulation purposes. The relevant influences of the CASTER ANGLE variations on the steady state response of the vehicle were investigated at the first step of the analyses. With respect to the results which were achieved by the mentioned approach, a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) was designed for controlling the CASTER ANGLE. According to the yaw rate error (which will be defined as the difference between the actual and theoretically desired values), and the vehicle lateral acceleration, the mentioned controller alters the CASTER ANGLE in order to attain a stable state of the vehicle. The desired dynamic motion of the vehicle is assumed to be in the form of the steady motion of the two-wheel model. Here, it is worth mentioning that the variations of the CASTER ANGLE were limited in a conventional range. During some critical maneuvers, the performance of the CASTER ANGLE controller was surveyed and the outcomes were compared with the uncontrolled vehicle. The results Show that the CASTER variation controller provides substantial capability to improve vehicle handling characteristics.

In this paper, kinematics and dynamics of the MacPherson suspension are studied. Displacement Matrix Method is utilized for this purpose. Camber and toe ANGLE alterations are derived by means of the rotation matrix. Kinematical characteristics of the MacPherson suspension are displayed as functions of time and the wheel vertical displacement. Relations for velocities and accelerations of key points are also obtained. Since internal forces and external forces are important in stress analysis and for comfortability, these forces are calculated as functions of time as well. Subsequently, a general analysis of the mechanism under the wheel sinusoidal displacement is presented together with relevant figures and results.

An experiment was conducted in order to evaluate the density and dry weight of weeds and seed and oil yield of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) as a medicinal plant that affected by cover crops, at the Agricultural Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, during growing season of 2008-2009. Treatments were included four cover crops white clover (Trifolium repens L.), fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth.) and chickling pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) and control (without cover crop). Traits of study were included relative density, density and dry weight of weeds at five sampling stages and seed and oil yield of castor bean. The results showed that the lowest relative densities were observed in common knotgrass (0-1.75%), purslane and pigweed (5.88-23.80%), purslane (1.43-23.80%), redroot amaranth (5.88-27.77%) and field bind weed (5.55-26.66%) at the first to fifth sampling stages, respectively. The effect of cover crops was significant (p£0.05) on density and dry weight of weeds at the different sampling stages and seed and oil yield of castor bean. The minimum and maximum total densities of weeds were achieved in hairy vetch and control with 378.67 and 1021.39 plants. m-2, respectively. The highest seed and oil yield of castor bean were recorded in hairy vetch with 475.94 and 182.75 kg. ha-1, respectively. In overall, results showed that cover crops can be planted as an ecological approach to considered weed management and improvement quantitative and qualitative yield of medicinal plants such as castor bean.

Background and Objectives: Cutaneous wounds are seriously painful and their antibiotic treatments are expensive with adverse effects. Nowadays medicinal herbs are widely used because of lower cost and side effects.Calendula officinalis, Aloe arborescens and Ricinus communis herbs have antimicrobial and healing effects. The aim of the present study was comparing the effect of these three herbal medicines on cutaneous wound healing process in male rat.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 32 male adult rats were randomly divided into 4 equal groups of 8, including one control group (wound group and topical use of eucerine in the injured area) and three groups treated withCalendula officinalis, Aloe arborescens and Ricinus communis (topical use of 2cc extract 10%).Wounds with equal thickness were made on the rats’ back sides and their diameters were measured in the treatment period (21 days) and tissue samples were finally prepared. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc test.Results: Diameter measures of the wounds on the 5th day showed that the average of the wounds’ diameters in theCalendula officinalis and Ricinus communis treated groups were significantly lower than the control group (p<0.05). At the end of the experiment, the best improvement on cutaneous wound healing belonged to the group treated withRicinus communi s so that there was a significant difference between this group and the control group (p<0.05).Conclusion: Ricinus communis medicinal herb has more improving effect on cutaneous wound healing in rat.

Purpose: To quantitatively analyze central corneal thickness (CCT) in patients with primary ANGLE closure glaucoma (PACG) and primary open‑ANGLE glaucoma (POAG), and to evaluate its correlation with severity of glaucoma.Methods: In this retrospective study, records of patients with previously diagnosed POAG or PACG at a tertiary glaucoma service were reviewed. CCT was measured by ultrasound pachymetry. Mean deviation (MD) on visual field (VF) testing was recorded for glaucoma severity determination. CCT and age‑ and sex‑adjusted CCT were compared among the study groups using Student’s t‑test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), respectively. Univariate and multivariate regression models were used for correlation of age, MD and CCT.Results: A total of 115 patients with PACG, 215 with POAG, and 100 normal controls were included with mean age of 64.1±10.4, 59.9±10.5, and 62.04±10.80 years, respectively. CCT was thicker in PACG eyes (545.5±46.1 mm) as compared to POAG eyes (531.7±37.3 mm) and controls (531.0±38.3 mm) even after age and gender adjustment (ANCOVA, P=0.05). CCT was found to decrease with increasing age only in the POAG group (b=-0.57, P=0.01). Disease severity (MD of VF) was significantly and inversely correlated with CCT in both POAG and PACG eyes (b=1.89, P=0.02; and b=1.38, P=0.04, respectively) after age and sex correction.Conclusion: PACG eyes had thicker CCT as compared to POAG and normal healthy eyes in Iranian subjects. Severity of the disease was inversely correlated with CCT in eyes with both POAG and PACG.

Introduction: Dodder (Cascuta campestris Yuncker) is an annual parasitic plant from the Convolvulaceae family (Mishra et al., 2007). It wraps around many adjacent dicot and a few monocot plants, penetrates in their vascular tissue and exploits photosynthates, nutrients and water (Lanini & Kogan, 2005). Consequently, the growth, vigor and production of the host plant will be severely reduced (Nadler-Hasasr & Rubin, 2003). Dodder is not able to complete its cycle, if it is not attached to a host. Therefore, it is entirely dependent on its host for supplying water, assimilates and minerals (Mishra et al., 2007).Considering the nature of dodder habit, it is rarely possible to completely control dodder by using different chemical herbicides (Lanini & Kogan, 2005). In addition, because of increasing the environmental concerns caused by applying synthetic herbicides, there is considerable attention to alternative strategies for weeds management (Batish et al., 2002; Bowmik & Inderjit, 2003).In recent years, allelopathic plants, an alternative strategy for weed management, have received massive attention (Narwal, 2010; Jamil et al., 2009). Due to the importance of dodder as a parasitic weed, this research was conducted with the purpose of studying the allelopathic effects of aqueous extracts and decay durations of CASTER bean (Ricinus communis L.) organs on germination and emergence of dodder.Materials and methods: The current study was conducted based on three separate experiments using a completely randomized design (CRD) with factorial arrangement with three replications. The first experiment was conducted in petri dishes and consisted of CASTER bean organs at four levels (root, stem, leaf and total plant without inflorescence) and their aqueous extract concentrations at 11 levels (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10%). The second experiment was conducted in pots and factors were CASTER bean organs at 4 levels (root, stem, leaf and total plant without inflorescence) and their aqueous extract concentrations in 5 levels (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10%). The third experiment was conducted with CASTER bean organs at 4 levels (root, stem, leaf and total plant without inflorescence) and decay durations at 8 levels (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 days of decay and control).All experimental data were analyzed by ANOVA and the means were separated by Duncan's multiple range test at 5% probability level.Results and discussion: The results of the first and the second experiment showed that aqueous extract of CASTER bean organs has a significant effect on dry weight, length of seedling and germination of dodder. From the third experiment, decay duration had a significant effect on the mentioned traits. Leaf aqueous extract in comparison with other organs had the most effect on the studied traits. The complete suppression of emergence was observed in 0, 15, 30 and 45 days of decay by using CASTER bean leaves.In conclusion, CASTER bean residues showed great potential for reducing germination and growth of dodder.Therefore, allelopatic potential of CASTER bean can be considered as a sustainable approach in integrated dodder management systems. In the future, the effective concentrations of aqueous extracts of CASTER bean organs may be useful as sources for producing biological herbicides.

This study specifically examines the process of producing and analyzing biodiesel made from castor oil using base-catalyzed transesterification. The catalyst used in this process is potassium hydroxide (KOH), and the methanol (CH₃OH) used has a purity of 99.9%. The biodiesel obtained was analyzed extensively to assess its quality. The characterization techniques employed were Gas Chromatography (GC) for compositional analysis, Flash Point measurement for safety assessment, Kinematic Viscosity evaluation for flow properties, and Density determination for mass-volume relationships. To perform a statistical analysis, the Response Surface Method (RSM) was employed to determine the optimal conditions that would yield the highest rate of biodiesel production among the potential solutions. This study focused on three key variables affecting the transesterification process: ultrasonic duty cycle (using a 24 kHz ultrasonic method varying the duty cycle from 20% to 100%), ultrasonic amplitude (varying from 20% to 100%), and reaction time (spanning from 10 to 15 minutes). This investigation achieved a biodiesel yield of 88.38% using a 60% ultrasonic amplitude, a single ultrasonic cycle, and a 15-minute reaction time. The regression model developed can be used to predict biodiesel's percentage conversion.

Diarrhoea is one of the most important GI tract that reduces meaningful performance of the patient. Dried whole plant parts of Ludwigia hyssopifolia were subjected to successive cold extraction with n-hexane, ethylacetate and methanol. The methanol extract (LHM), obtained as 1% yield, showed significant antidiarrheal property by reducing diarrheal episodes in castor oil and serotonin induced diarrhea in laboratory mice at a dose of higher than 100mg/kg body weight as compared to standard drug loperamide given at a dose of 66.67 mg/kg body weight. The percent reduction in diarrheal episode by 56.32 and 89.66 after castor oil challenge and 59.09 and 86.36 in serotonin induced diarrhea was observed at doses of 200mg/kg and 400mg/kg body weight of the extract respectively. The extract LHM was also found to reduce the gastrointestinal motility by 53.8% at a dose of 100mg/kg body weight as compared to control, while no remarkable inhibition of gastrointestinal motility was seen at a dose of 50mg/kg body weight of the extract.