Improving participation in voluntary activities in Iran is important because increasing productivity among young people, given the country's young population, contributes to community sustainability. Therefore, a better understanding of volunteer motivation in Iranian youth is needed. The Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) for assessing volunteer motivations has good psychometric properties and is adapted to several languages, but no validated Iranian translation yet exists. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric CHARACTERISTICS of voluntary functions inventory in members of Iranian Red Crescent Society. Sample size was 595 members of Youth Organization of Iranian Red Crescent Society from 31 provinces and 175 cities of Iran that were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method and responded to voluntary functions inventory. Data were collected using a demographic sample and voluntary functions inventory (VFI). Confirmatory factor analysis using principal components method was used for data analysis. The results of the present study showed that the voluntary functions inventory had validity and reliability. Also, the factor structure showed that 29 items and 6 factors well assess people's attitudes to volunteering, and the structure of this inventory was well-fitted and confirmed all goodness of fit models. The present study provides the use of the Iranian translation of the Voluntary Functions Inventory (6 scales and 29 items) to assess volunteer motivation among young Iranian volunteers.

This work investigated effect of height and cultivar on MORPHOLOGICAL properties of bast and core fiber of tobacco stalk (Nicotiana tabacum). Also, in this research cultivar effect on chemical properties of tobacco stalk were investigated. Selected cultivars include Barley and Virginia, and investigative height positions were chosen 5, 50 and 75% of stalk height. Results indicated that bast fiber length, diameter and wall thickness are more effective than those of core fiber. Chemical analysis of stalk’s parts indicated that cellulose and ash contents of bast were higher than those of core, but lignin content of bast was significantly less than that of core.Also, extractive material of bast was less. Statistic results showed that length and wall thickness of Barley’s bast fiber were higher compare to Virginia, but there was no significant difference in terms of MORPHOLOGICAL properties of core fibers between these cultivars. Cellulose percentage of Barley cultivar was higher, where as lignin, extractives and ash contents of Barley were lower than that of Virginia cultivar. Also, cultivar type didn’t have significant effect on contents of tobacco stalk parts (bast, core and pith). Results indicated that, fiber length, diameter and wall thickness of bast decreased as height increases, but in core fiber, just fiber length decreased and other properties of core fiber had different behavior. Moreover, bast and pith percentages increased by height increasing while, core percentage decreased. In general, results of this research showed that, tobacco stalk are a suitable row material for pulp and paper production, re fiber dimensions and chemical components.

Background and Objectives: Mulberry (Morus spp. L.) is one of species belong to Moraceae family. There are twenty-four species of Morus and one subspecies, with 100 known varieties. The various methods used in classification of Morus were mainly based on the conventional systematic studies and agronomic characters. Despite the widespread genetic diversity in Iranian mulberry, so far, the identification of these plants have not been selected, and introduce for cultivation. Field expeditions were carried out in 2008 and 2014. Collections were made from different regions (Tehran, Mazandaran, Kurdistan, Markazi, Khuzestan, Fars, West Azarbaijan, Isfahan, Hamedan, Khorasan, South Khorasan, Semnan, Ardabil, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, East Azerbaijan) in Iran. Characterization of leaf and fruits was based on Morus descriptors developed by the International. Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI). The aim of this study was evaluation of genetic diversity and mulberry clustering genotypes, on the basis and quantitative traits and to determine the genetic distance among studied genotypes.Material and Methods: Mulberry trees are widely distributed in Iran. 118 samples selected from Mulberry population based on descriptor developed by International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) were evaluated for their MORPHOLOGICAL trait. The quantitative and qualitative traits were measured according to International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). When the data was denoted through descriptive statistics, were conducted. The analysis of variance with the PROC GLM procedure was applied to distinguish the effect of the genotype into treatment and regions within each area as replication on the analyses traits. The mean separation was conducted through the LSD test.Results: Results reflected a significant diversity in the assayed Mulberry germplasm. It was noted that the characteristic trait of leaf margin, petiole length, and flower diameter were reflected higher coefficients of variation that were higher diversity among investigated genotypes. Therefore, there is the possibility of selecting genotypes for different values of an attribute. All other related traits with high coefficients of variation are more diverse than other trait, which reflected low variable. coefficient variation value.Discussions: The value of the correlation coefficient (r) was noted to be positive significant for the harvest time of fruit ripening (r = 0.82, P<0.001), the shape of inflorescence at the time of fruit ripening (r=0.71, P<0.001). Some value correlation obtained for 'Brix' versus time of fruit ripening (r= 0.60), Brix and fruit shape (r=0.28), fresh weight vs. the time of ripening (r= 0.81), which were found to be positive at 5% level. The result indicates that the fruits are harvested almost simultaneously ripened in a long time unlike other fruits. Clustering (Ward linkage) based on MORPHOLOGICAL trait clearly separated genotypes into three main groups. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the MORPHOLOGICAL distinction between the populations. The first component contributed 0.65% the total variation contributed by all traits. Overall, the results showed that great MORPHOLOGICAL variation among the plant population.

Background and Aim: Job enrichment is a method that has been used to increase employee satisfaction and work motivation. The Hackman and Oldham job CHARACTERISTICS model (1976) has served as the foundation for many job enrichment efforts. In particular, a considerable amount of research has been devoted to the study of the job CHARACTERISTICS-job satisfaction relations. Te purpose of this study was to statistically determine the relation between job CHARACTERISTICS and job satisfaction among employees of hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in 2007. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional one, including 6 TUMS-affiliated hospitals-Emam, Shariati, Baharlo, Ziaeian, Madaen and Azadi. The sample size was 400, consisting of 200 administrative employees (50%), 151 nurses (38%) and 49 physicians (12%). The random sampling and stratified proportional sampling methods were used to select the hospitals and interviewees, respectively. Two questionnaires were developed and used to identify job CHARACTERISTICS and job satisfaction: 1) job diagnostics surveys (JDS) and 2) Hertzberg's job satisfaction questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaires was ascertained by test-retest using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r = 0.88). Linear-by-linear association and ordinal logistics regression analysis were used for analyzing the data gathered.Results:The relations between the Motivational Potential Score (MPS) and job CHARACTERISTICS (except for feedback) with job satisfaction were statistically significant (p<0.05). Task identity was the most effective determinant of job satisfaction. Conclusion: It appears that all the job CHARACTERISTICS (except feedback) are important determinants of job satisfaction of the hospital employees. Although the work environment is in need of restructuring, it is important to note, from a positive perspective, that the job CHARACTERISTICS discussed in this study are readily amenable to change job satisfaction at the organizational level.

Introduction: Abiotic stresses adversely affect agricultural productivity worldwide. In the arid and semi-arid areas, water is one of the most basic ecological units, which determines the growth and development of plants. Therefore, efficient use of water resources should be considered in order to achieve desirable plant growth. Aside different effective factors, minerals such as silicon are the most essential affecting the growth and development of plants. Silicon has beneficial effects on many crops, especially under biotic and abiotic stresses. Silicon can affect biochemical, physiological, and photosynthetic processes, consequently ameliorates drought stress. However, the effects of silicon on stevia (Stevia rebaudiana L. ) plants under drought stress has not well known. Stevia is a branched bushy shrub of the Asteraceae family and originated from South America, and its cultivation has spread worldwide. Stevia is well known for its high content of sweet components. Materials and Methods: The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of different silicon concentrations on physiological and MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS of stevia under drought stress conditions. The treatments were four levels of drought stress including: 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% pot capacity and three levels of silicon concentrations consisted of 0, 1, 1. 5 mM, which arranged in a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications. After the plants establishment, drought treatments were imposed. After 40 days of applying drought treatments, silicon was twice sprayed with 7 dyas interval. The leaves of plants were sampled one week after the last spraying and transferred to the laboratory and the amount of soluble sugars, proline and chlorophyll concentrations were measured. In order to analysis data, analysis two-way ANOVA were used and Duncan test compared means after normality test. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software, and Excel software was used for drawing the charts. Results and Discussion: Applying experimental treatments had only significant effect (p<0. 01) on plant height, shoot fresh weight, canopy diameter, and canopy volume, while had no significant effect on shoot dry weight and number of leaves. The effect of silicon foliar application was significant on plant height, canopy diameter and canopy volume at 1% probability level and on shoot fresh weight and shoot dry weight at 5% probability level. The interaction between stress and silicon only was significant (p<0. 01) on shoot dry weight, diameter and volume canopy, but had no significant effect on other traits. The results also showed that in no spraying, 1 and 1. 5 mM silicon treatments under 25% FC significantly increased soluble sugars compared to 100% PC, so that the maximum amount of soluble sugars found in 25% FC and 1. 5 mM silicon. Since the sugars are made from compatible osmolytes and its accumulation lead to osmotic adjustment, keep the cellular turgor and stability of protein. Thus increasing in soluble sugars such as sucrose, glucose and fructose as a result of environmental stresses, particularly drought are considered as a strategies of plants to tolerate adverse environmental conditions. Increasing drought stress to 25% PC significantly increased proline of stevia by 74% compared to the three levels of 100%, 75% and 50% PC. The results of several studies showed the positive effect of drought stress on proline, so that proline content is greater in drought stress than normal conditions. Increasing proline content in stress conditions might be due to increasing in activity of enzymes are responsible for the synthesis of this material, reducing the proline oxidation to glutamate and/or decreasing in consumption of proline in the process of making proteins. The results of evolution of different treatments of drought stress on chlorophyll content of stevia plant showed that the effect of drought stress was significant (p<0. 01) on chlorophyll b, so that the most of chlorophyll b was observed in 75% PC treatment, which had no significant difference to 50% and 25% PC treatments, and the lowest was observed in 100% PC. Increasing inconsiderably chlorophyll b in drought stress conditions showed that chlorophyll pigments are somewhat tolerance to water loss. Conclusions: The results of this experiment showed that height, shoot fresh weight of, diameter and volume of canopy, root volume, dry and root fresh weight of, and chlorophyll b were significantly decreased with increasing in drought stress level, however, using of both different silicon concentrations, especially 1 mM modulated damages of drought stress on stevia. Generally, the results of this research revealed the positive role of silicon in decreasing the negative effects of drought stress in stevia.

Dendritic cells function as the main cellular population responsible for professional antigen presentation and hence for induction of primary immune responses. Although they are present in virtually every tissue, nevertheless their number is usually so low that it makes their isolation for studies very difficult. In this study, we purified dendritic cells from mouse spleen by a three-step enrichment method and evaluated MORPHOLOGICAL and cytochemical CHARACTERISTICS of isolated cells. We showed that isolated dendritic cells from mouse spleen had all lobulated nuclei with multiple cytoplasmic projections and their MORPHOLOGICAL features changed after an overnight incubation. It was also shown that typical dendritic cells lacked both Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and Non Specific Esterase (NSE) activity. In conclusion, for reaching a reasonable purity in isolation of dendritic cells from lymphoid tissues, many enrichment steps should be taken, and for determining the purity of isolated cells, we recommend that a combination of MORPHOLOGICAL and cytochemical studies be used.

Phalaris is a grass which is distributed throughout the temperate regions of the world. There are many taxonomic problems in this genus. In order to clarify the taxonomy and the interrelationships among Iranian Phalaris taxa, including Ph. minor, Ph. arundinaceae, Ph. brachystachys and Ph. paradoxa 70 qualitative and quantitative MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS were examined. Numerical taxonomy was performed on 36 accessions of 5 taxa, concerning intra- and interpopulations variations as well as inter-specific relationships. The most variable MORPHOLOGICAL characters in the species delimitation were also determined. The species differed significantly in most of chosen qualitative characters. Results show a clear similarity between two varieties of Ph. paradoxa. Despite the wide range of habitats where the accessions were gathered, they showed four definite spots in their PCA ordination graphs. This showed the efficiency of chosen MORPHOLOGICAL characters in this study. An identification key based on studied features was provided and the species relationships were discussed.

Effect of SiO2 nanoparticles on rangeland plant of Bromus kopetdaghensis Drobov organs is accomplished through factorial test in a completely randomized design with four replications at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, in 2014. Treatments included two levels of application (spray and impregnated with seeds), 5 concentrations level of SiO2 nanoparticles (1, 2, 10, 50, and 80 mg/l), and control (no SiO2 nanoparticles). Results showed that increase in concentration of nanoparticles, the plant organs such as height and weight parameters were decreased. However, SiO2 nanoparticles at low concentrations at the application of SiO2 nanoparticles method impregnated with the seed at a concentration of 10 mg/l and spraying nanoparticles at a concentration of 2 mg/l were increased plant height and weight, compared to treatment the control. Application of SiO2 nanoparticles are coated with seed treatments with a concentration of 10 mg/l was shown 24, 66 and 34 percent incensement, respectively for shoot dry weight, root dry weight and height compared to the control treatment. Application of spraying nanoparticles treated with 2 mg was shown 27, 68 and 35 percent incensement respectively for shoot dry weight, root dry weight and height compared to the control treatment. According to Bromus kopetdaghensis D. yield, it is suggested the method of SiO2 nanoparticles application impregnated with seed at a concentration of 10 mg/l due to lower consumption of nanoparticles, ease of nanoparticles use and being economical at natural lands.