Degeneracy and Para-supersymmetry of Dirac Hamiltonian in (2+1)- Spacetime

The quantum mechanics of a spin 1/2 particle on a locally spatial constant curvature part of a (2+1)- spacetime in the presence of a constant magnetic field of a magnetic monopole has been investigated. It has been shown that these 2-dimensional Hamiltonians have the degeneracy group of SL(2,c), and para-supersymmetry of arbitrary order or shape invariance. Using this symmetry we have obtained its spectrum algebraically. The Dirac's quantization condition has been obtained from the representation theory. Also, it is shown that the presence of angular deficit suppresses both the degeneracy and shape invariance.Comment: 31 pages, Latex, no figures, to be published in J. Math. Phy

Exact solutions of Dirac equation on (1+1)-dimensional spacetime coupled to a static scalar field

We use a generalized scheme of supersymmetric quantum mechanics to obtain the energy spectrum and wave function for Dirac equation in (1+1)-dimensional spacetime coupled to a static scalar field.Comment: 7 pages, Late

Status Epilepticus: Etiology, Outcome and Predictors of Mortality

ObjectiveThis study was designed to determine the etiology of status epilepticus (SE) andits relation to mortality.Materials and MethodsThis descriptive study was carried out based on the medical records of 40 patients with diagnosis of SE discharged from pediatric hospital of Bandar Abbas between March 2002 and March 2004. Multivariant analysis was pereformed to determine the prevalence of the disorder and the relation between SE and other factors such as gender, age, response to treatment, and mortality. We classified the etiology according to international league against epilepsy (ILAE) classification and also uses another classification regarding underlying causes such as fever (non-CNS infection), central nervous system infection, hypoxia, and metabolic causes.ResultsStatus epilepticus was responsible for 0.3% of all hospital  dmissions during the study period. Based on the ILAE classification, frequencies for acute symptomatic, febrile, progressive encephalopathic, remote, and cryptogenic SE were 42.5%, 32.5%, 10%, 7.5%, and 7.5%, respectively.The most common underlying causes resulting in SE were fever (45%), metabolic disorders (15%), CNS infection (12.5%), chronic neurologic diseases (7.5%), idiopathic (7.5%), hypoxia (5%), drug withdrawal (2.5%), CNS hemorrhage (2.5%), neurodegenerative disease (2.5%), brain abscess (2.5%), and post DPT (Diphteria,Pertusis,Tetanus) vaccination (2.5%). Mortality rate was 25% (80% in the patients younger than 5 years and 40% in those aged less than 1 year). Occurrence of SE and its mortality was found to be related to age (p< 0.05).ConclusionFor SE, if seizures continue for more than 5 minutes, treatment must beinitiated. The outcome is determined by etiology, age, seizure duration and management; however, all we can do is enhance the management and increase its effectiveness

Optimizing an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System for Spatial Prediction of Landslide Susceptibility Using Four State-of-the-art Metaheuristic Techniques.

Four state-of-the-art metaheuristic algorithms including the genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), differential evolutionary (DE), and ant colony optimization (ACO) are applied to an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) for spatial prediction of landslide susceptibility in Qazvin Province (Iran). To this end, the landslide inventory map, composed of 199 identified landslides, is divided into training and testing landslides with a 70:30 ratio. To create the spatial database, thirteen landslide conditioning factors are considered within the geographic information system (GIS). Notably, the spatial interaction between the landslides and mentioned conditioning factors is analyzed by means of frequency ratio (FR) theory. After the optimization process, it was shown that the DE-based model reaches the best response more quickly than other ensembles. The landslide susceptibility maps were developed, and the accuracy of the models was evaluated by a ranking system, based on the calculated area under the receiving operating characteristic curve (AUROC), mean absolute error, and mean square error (MSE) accuracy indices. According to the results, the GA-ANFIS with a total ranking score (TRS) = 24 presented the most accurate prediction, followed by PSO-ANFIS (TRS = 17), DE-ANFIS (TRS = 13), and ACO-ANFIS (TRS = 6). Due to the excellent results of this research, the developed landslide susceptibility maps can be applied for future planning and decision making of the related area

Forecasting and retrospection analysis of Tehran Municipality’s five years plan in human resource sector

Tehran Municipality has had two five-year plans so far and the third one is being formulated these days. However, investigating the sector relating to the human resources shows that there is a gap between present condition and the optimal situation in several domains. This article is an attempt to investigate the five-year plans in the domain of human resources via a practical model of forecasting and retrospection analysis. It is an applied research, in which the necessary data is gathered through interview, documents and library information from formal resources. The results indicate that what is happening currently based on the policies is not optimal at all. Moreover, through explaining the normative and acceptable future, some advices are provided in order to eliminate gaps and strengthen policies along with enhancing productivity in the human resource domain of Tehran Municipality. These recommendations are about recruitment, training, management and promotion of administrative health and other areas of human resources management

Effects of Using Pozzolan and Portland Cement in the Treatment of Dispersive Clay

Use of dispersive clay as construction material requires treatment such as by chemical addition. Treatments to dispersive clay using pozzolan and Portland cement, singly and simultaneously, were carried out in this study. When used alone, the optimum amount of pozzolan required to treat a fully dispersive clay sample was 5%, but the curing time to reduce dispersion potential, from 100% to 30% or less, was 3 month long. On the other hand, also when used alone, a 3% cement content was capable of reducing dispersion potential to almost zero percent in only 7 days; and a 2% cement content was capable of achieving similar result in 14 days. However, treatment by cement alone is costly and could jeopardize the long term performance. Thus, a combined 5% pozzolan and 1.5% cement content was found capable of reducing dispersion potential from 100% to zero percent in 14 days. The results indicate that although simultaneous treatment with pozzolan and cement would extend the required curing time in comparison to treatment by cement alone of a higher content, the task could still be carried out in a reasonable period of curing time while avoiding the drawbacks of using either pozzolan or cement alone

Amygdalar Functional Connectivity Differences Associated With Reduced Pain Intensity in Pediatric Peripheral Neuropathic Pain

Background: There is evidence of altered corticolimbic circuitry in adults with chronic pain, but relatively little is known of functional brain mechanisms in adolescents with neuropathic pain (NeuP). Pediatric NeuP is etiologically and phenotypically different from NeuP in adults, highlighting the need for pediatric-focused research. The amygdala is a key limbic region with important roles in the emotional-affective dimension of pain and in pain modulation. Objective: To investigate amygdalar resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) in adolescents with NeuP. Methods This cross-sectional observational cohort study compared resting state functional MRI scans in adolescents aged 11–18 years with clinical features of chronic peripheral NeuP (n = 17), recruited from a tertiary clinic, relative to healthy adolescents (n = 17). We performed seed-to-voxel whole-brain rsFC analysis of the bilateral amygdalae. Next, we performed post hoc exploratory correlations with clinical variables to further explain rsFC differences. Results: Adolescents with NeuP had stronger negative rsFC between right amygdala and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and stronger positive rsFC between right amygdala and left angular gyrus (AG), compared to controls (PFDR<0.025). Furthermore, lower pain intensity correlated with stronger negative amygdala-dlPFC rsFC in males (r = 0.67, P = 0.034, n = 10), and with stronger positive amygdala-AG rsFC in females (r = −0.90, P = 0.006, n = 7). These amygdalar rsFC differences may thus be pain inhibitory. Conclusions: Consistent with the considerable affective and cognitive factors reported in a larger cohort, there are rsFC differences in limbic pain modulatory circuits in adolescents with NeuP. Findings also highlight the need for assessing sex-dependent brain mechanisms in future studies, where possible

The effects of discontinuities on stability of rock blocks in tunnel.

This paper presents the results of an investigation that was carried out using important parameters such as discontinuities in forming rock block and instability in tunnel. The discontinuities like bedding and joints are one of the most important factors compared with parameters such as engineering features of rock mass. In this review, numerous features like Rock Quality Designation (RQD), rock classification (RMR), stress and strain, and distributions of discontinuities in a sample tunnel were evaluated. However, most of them were suitable in the tunnel, but because of creating more intersection points in critical zone, the movement of blocks in tunnel roof and wall of the tunnel are possible. It also demonstrates the simple factors such as step-over joints in rock mass, having important effect in instability