In order to investigate the effect of operational parameters on corrosion resistance of trication zinc phosphate coating on iron steels substrate in dip system, a series of experiments were done in laboratory. After salt spray test, a test that indicates the corrosion resistance of a painted film, the following results were obtained: for free acidity, when it was gradually increased, corrosion resistance of coating increased so that in a certain range, it achieved the best resistance; when it was further increased, the corrosion resistance decreased. For total acidity, it was observed again that within a certain range of total acid, the corrosion resistance of coating was high enough and out of this range decreasing of resistance was observed. As far as the time is concerned, in an initial range, corrosion resistance increased but after this initial range, no considerable change in resistance observed. For operational temperature, it was observed again that in a certain range of temperature the coating had its best resistance and out of that this resistance decreased. For accelerators concentration, in its low concentrations the corrosion resistance was more comparing to its high concentrations. And as far as the activators concentration was concerned, in lower concentrations the coating had higher corrosion resistance than in higher ones.

Electrical conductivity (EC) is the ability to conduct electricity which is expressed as micro Siemens per centimeter (ms/cm). The conductance of the milk is attributed mainly to its salts content especially Na, K and Cl ions. Since measuring the milk’s EC is a rapid and inexpensive method for determining of the milk quality, therefore correlation between EC with pH, acidity, and total microbial count (TC) in raw milk was studied in order to assess the freshness of milk in this research. In a pilot study, using skim milk, pH, acidity, and TC were changed and EC measured at 25oc. Then a total of 200 samples of whole milk were obtained from the receiving platform of a dairy plant in Tehran. In one trial 100 samples of whole milk were examined for pH, acidity and TC. Also EC was measured in different temperatures of milk samples at the time of the analysis. In the second 100 samples of whole milk, pH, acidity and TC determined and EC measured at 25oC. According to the results obtained from the pilot study (with 10 repetition), increasing the pH caused a decrease in EC and vice versa (P<0.01). There was no significant correlation between EC and TC (P>0.05). No significant correlation was found between EC with pH, acidity and TC in other trials (P>0.05). It seems many factors may affect the EC in raw whole milk. Therefore measuring EC solely cannot determine the milk quality.

Background &Aim: Erosion has been defined as the irreversible loss of dental hard tissue by a chemical process not involving bacteria. Dental erosion is an important cause of tooth tissue loss in both children and adults. Acids of intrinsic and extrinsic origin (gastric juice and acidic food staffs, beverages) are thought to be the main etiologic factors for dental erosion. The reported incidence of tooth erosion caused by soft drinks has been increasingly documented because soft drinks consumption has increased dramatically over two decades. The aim of this study was to evaluate the PH and TA of some of the Iranian carbonated soft drinks.Methods and Materials: An experimental Lab study was designed in Kerman for controlling PH and Titratable Acidity (TA) of Iranian carbonated drinks cola, orange and Lemon lime. Twenty - three kinds of drink were collected from three different groups (cola, orange, lemon lime) and their PH and TA were assessed 10 days, 2 months and 4 months after their production. Data were analyzed with SPSS, paired T test and ANOVA.Results: Analysis of data showed PH of soft drinks was 2.5-3. PH of cola drinks was less than other drinks (P<0.05). TA of orange drinks was more than other drinks but there wasn't any significant different between groups of drinks. TA of soft drinks was 0.11-0.14.Conclusion: Chemical tests indicate that all soft drinks in this study have approximately suitable PH & TA.

One of the most important problems in date processing is unsuitable storage conditions and packaging type. In this research date fruits (Kabkab variety) were packed within aerobic atmosphere and vacuumed PA/PE pouches and stored at different temperatures (-20, 4, 25 and 40 oC). The samples were evaluated for different chemical parameters (moisture content, total soluble solids, titratable acidity and pH) monthly during the storage period up to 6 months. The storage temperatures and time greatly (P<0.01) affected all chemical parameters tested in date fruits during storage. Packaging type had a significant effect (P<0.01) on total soluble solids, titratable acidity and pH of dates, but did not affect moisture content. A significant decrease of moisture content was detected for all samples throughout the storage period. However, it was noted that moisture decreasing rate was significantly greater at 40 oC compared to other storage temperatures. The titratable acidity of vacuum packed dates stored at -20 oC and 4 oC was lower than the other samples. A significant increase of total soluble solids was observed for all samples during storage.

Background: One of the most common visceral cancers among men in the world is prostate cancer. Screening for early detection has a positive effect on patients’ survival time. Measurement of serum level of total PSA and free PSA is abundantly used for screening and diagnosis of prostate cancer. However, no study has been done to determine the relation between serum level of total PSA and free PSA/total PSA ratio with malignancy degree on biopsy samples. The aim of this study was to determine the relation of serum level of total PSA and free PSA/total PSA ratio, with malignancy degree.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study done in Alzahra Hospital during 2012-2013. We selected 85 patients with prostate cancer whose disease was detected in the pathology ward. Serum level of total PSA and free PSA were measured, and the degree of malignancy was determined by pathology ward based on the Gleason scoring system. All data was recorded in the questionnaire and entered into the computer and analyzed by SPSS software.Findings: The results of this study showed that there is 38% correlation between Gleason score and free PSA/total PSA ratio. Based on the Pearson correlation, this relation was statistically significant (P=0.037). Moreover, there is a 37% relation between serum level of total PSA and the Gleason score; this relation was statistically significant (P<0.001).Conclusion: Prostate cancer is usually detected late and biopsy is rarely accepted by patients. Moreover, serum level of total PSA and total PSA/free PSA ratio has a relation with degree of malignancy. Therefore, serum level of PSA can help patients and physicians in early detection and treatment of prostate cancer.

Due to the properties of milk, control of this product and evaluation of its characteristics is necessary for milk producers and dairy products industries. In this study, 240 raw milk samples collected from livestock farms in Khuzestan province during different seasons of 1399-1400 were analyzed in terms of the total count of microorganisms, the number of corporal cells and acidity. The results showed that there is a significant difference in the data between the two types of animal husbandry (industrial and traditional) and also different seasons (spring and summer compared to the other two seasons). Also, results showed an inverse correlation between acidity with total bacterial count and somatic cell count (p<0. 05). So, the aforementioned factors are important for diagnosing the safety of raw milk. For this purpose, it seems establishing of industrial dairy farms, hygienic management through the milking and during the milk-to-factory transmission chain and also applying hygienic systems such as hazard analysis and critical control points, good manufacturing practice and good hygienic practice are required.

IntroductionDate palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is one of the most important horticultural products in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. One of the factors affecting the quality and nutritional elements of date fruit- as an important and strategic fruit in the country, with high nutritional and health value- is the proper use of different nutritional elements during its growth and fruiting period. There are many reports of the negative effects of salinity on dates, both in the vegetative and reproductive growth stages. The osmotic effects limiting the absorption of water and nutrients, the specific effect of chlorine and sodium ions, nutritional imbalance and preventing the physiological processes and metabolism of nutrients and the use of high energy in osmotic regulation are some of the negative effects of salinity stress. Salinity stress negatively affected date fruit quality. Silicon is one of the essential nutrients that plays an important role in the growth and development of plants. Silicon reduces the adverse effects of abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity by affecting on the leaf and stem growth, and other plant mechanisms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of foliar application of silicon on some qualitative characteristics and nutrient elements content of date fruit grown under high salinity soil. Materials and Methods This research was conducted in a randomized complete block design with 7 treatments and 3 replicates in two consecutive years. Silicon foliar spray treatments consisted of: control or no application of foliar spraying (T1), foliar spraying with a concentration of 0.1% in two stages (T2), foliar spraying with a concentration of 0.1% in three stages (T3), foliar spraying with a concentration of 0.2% in two stages (T4), foliar spraying with a concentration of 0.2% in three stages (T5), foliar spraying with a concentration of 0.3% in two stages (T6) and foliar spraying with a concentration of 0.3% in three stages (T7). The treatments were repeated in two consecutive years, and in each fruiting season, fruit quality characteristics including total soluble solids (TSS), acidity (TA), pH and total sugar content were measured. Total sugar was measured according to Iran's national standard method No. 2685 (ISIRI, 2007). The concentrations of potassium, calcium, iron and zinc were also measured at the end of the second year of the experiment. Fruit quality characteristics and concentration of fruit nutrients were measured and statistically analyzed. Results and DiscussionFoliar application of silicon fertilizer significantly increased the TSS of ‘Barhee’ date fruits while it decreased the pH of fruit juice. The lowest amount of total soluble solids was observed in T1 treatment at the rate of 63.69% and the highest amounts of fruit soluble solids were recorded in T5 and T6 treatments with values of 70.07% and 68.59% respectively. Fruit acidity and total sugar were not affected significantly by foliar application of silicon. The application of silicon significantly increased the contents of potassium, calcium, iron and zinc in date fruit, but it had no significant effect on the concentration of phosphorus in the fruit. The highest concentration of fruit potassium was observed in the T6 treatment (spraying with 0.3% silicon solution in two stages) at the amount of 1.54%. The lowest values of potassium concentration were observed in T3, T2 and T1 treatments with values of 0.89%, 1.01% and 1.06% respectively. Overall, Foliar application of silicon fertilizer can improve the quality characteristics and nutrient concentration of date fruit under salinity stress conditions. Among all the treatments, foliar application of silicon fertilizer with a concentration of 0.3% in two stages (three weeks before pollination and at the end of the Hababook stage) improved quality characteristics and the nutrient elements of ‘Barhee’ date fruit under high salinity soil.