Computer Implementation of a New Therapeutic Model for GBM Tumor

Modeling the tumor behavior in the host organ as function of time and radiation dose has been a major study in the previous decades. Here the effort in estimation of cancerous and normal cell proliferation and growth in glioblastoma multiform (GBM) tumor is presented. This paper introduces a new mathematical model in the form of differential equation of tumor growth. The model contains dose delivery amount in the treatment scheme as an input term. It also can be utilized to optimize the treatment process in order to increase the patient survival period. Gene expression programming (GEP) as a new concept is used for estimating this model. The LQ model has also been applied to GEP as an initial value, causing acceleration and improvement of the algorithm estimation. The model shows the number of the tumor and normal brain cells during the treatment process using the status of normal and cancerous cells in the initiation of treatment, the timing and amount of dose delivery to the patient, and a coefficient that describes the brain condition. A critical level is defined for normal cell when the patient’s death occurs. In the end the model has been verified by clinical data obtained from previous accepted formulae and some of our experimental resources. The proposed model helps to predict tumor growth during treatment process in which further treatment processes can be controlled

A system dynamics approach for water resources management with focusing on domestic water demand

Background: Due to the complexity and interdependence of water resources, the evaluation of the efficiency of water resources management is difficult. So, it is necessary to use effective modeling methods to study and recognize the feedback loops available in water resources systems. Regarding the importance of domestic water for the human health, the aim of this study was to develop a dynamic model with focusing on domestic water management. Methods: This study was performed using a system dynamics approach. The strategies used in this study include population scenarios (ps), water use education scenarios (wu education), and agricultural water management scenarios (Agriwm). Results: There was a significant relationship between education on water saving in domestic sector and water use per capita. In various scenarios of population growth, domestic water use was declined rapidly with education. According to the obtained results, under “ps3-wu education” scenario, lower population growth, and higher water use education, domestic water use will reach the minimum level, by 2041. The results showed that the proposed scenarios can lead to 60% reduction in domestic water use. Conclusion: With education strategy, water use per capita up to 2024 can reach the optimum level of 100 liters per person per day. However, without education even by 2041, this goal is unattainable. So, sustainable goals can be achieved by adopting education strategy. The developed systematic model can be applied in various conditions. In each study area, the regional water and population data should be provided

A system dynamics approach for water resources management with focusing on domestic water demand

Background: Due to the complexity and interdependence of water resources, the evaluation of the efficiency of water resources management is difficult. So, it is necessary to use effective modeling methods to study and recognize the feedback loops available in water resources systems. Regarding the importance of domestic water for the human health, the aim of this study was to develop a dynamic model with focusing on domestic water management. Methods: This study was performed using a system dynamics approach. The strategies used in this study include population scenarios (ps), water use education scenarios (wu education), and agricultural water management scenarios (Agriwm). Results: There was a significant relationship between education on water saving in domestic sector and water use per capita. In various scenarios of population growth, domestic water use was declined rapidly with education. According to the obtained results, under “ps3-wu education” scenario, lower population growth, and higher water use education, domestic water use will reach the minimum level, by 2041. The results showed that the proposed scenarios can lead to 60% reduction in domestic water use. Conclusion: With education strategy, water use per capita up to 2024 can reach the optimum level of 100 liters per person per day. However, without education even by 2041, this goal is unattainable. So, sustainable goals can be achieved by adopting education strategy. The developed systematic model can be applied in various conditions. In each study area, the regional water and population data should be provide

A system dynamics approach for water resources management with focusing on domestic water demand

Background: Due to the complexity and interdependence of water resources, the evaluation of the efficiency of water resources management is difficult. So, it is necessary to use effective modeling methods to study and recognize the feedback loops available in water resources systems. Regarding the importance of domestic water for the human health, the aim of this study was to develop a dynamic model with focusing on domestic water management. Methods: This study was performed using a system dynamics approach. The strategies used in this study include population scenarios (ps), water use education scenarios (wu education), and agricultural water management scenarios (Agriwm). Results: There was a significant relationship between education on water saving in domestic sector and water use per capita. In various scenarios of population growth, domestic water use was declined rapidly with education. According to the obtained results, under “ps3-wu education” scenario, lower population growth, and higher water use education, domestic water use will reach the minimum level, by 2041. The results showed that the proposed scenarios can lead to 60% reduction in domestic water use. Conclusion: With education strategy, water use per capita up to 2024 can reach the optimum level of 100 liters per person per day. However, without education even by 2041, this goal is unattainable. So, sustainable goals can be achieved by adopting education strategy. The developed systematic model can be applied in various conditions. In each study area, the regional water and population data should be provided. Keywords: Water resources, Population growth, System dynamics, Water use education, Agricultural water management scenarios (Agriwm

Effect of nociceptive stimulation on heart rate, respiratory rate and SPO2 in patients with traumatic brain injury

Background and purpose: Pain assessment is a challenge in traumatic brain injury (TBI) in critical care units. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effect of nociceptive stimulation on heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation (SPO2) in patients with traumatic brain injury. Materials and methods: A quasi-experimental research was conducted in 35 TBI patients, applying nociceptive and non-nociceptive procedures. Heart rate, respiratory rate, and SPO2 were measured one minute before, during, and 15 minutes after the procedures. Results: There was a significant association between the mean scores for physiological variables before, during, and after the intervention. Eta values of physiological variables in nociceptive procedure were higher than those of the non-nociceptive procedures. There were significant associations between the nociceptive procedure and heart rate and SPO2 changes. But, there was no association between nociceptive procedure and respiratory rate (P<0.05). Conclusion: Current findings suggest that painful stimulation could significantly increase heart rate and decrease SPO2 in patients with traumatic brain injury. Therefore, nurses could use these physiological markers as a convenient and easy-to-access method for initial assessment of pain in traumatic brain injury patients

Surface characterization of biodegradable nanocomposites by dynamic speckle analysis

Starch/kefiran/ZnO nanocomposite films may exhibit different physicochemical properties depending on the distribution of ZnO nanoparticles. As a result of UV exposure, the hydrophobicity of the nanoparticles may be modified, resulting in their dispersion in the polymer matrix. The aim of this paper is to characterize starch/kefiran/ZnO nanocomposite films using dynamic speckle analysis. In this experiment, speckle patterns of the nanocomposite are acquired in situ under controlled moisture, pressure, and temperature conditions. This is followed by a statistical postprocessing procedure to determine the deformation pattern of the nanocomposite. A numerical analysis of the successive speckle patterns is used to determine the time evolution of sample deformation. There is a correlation between the intensity and contrast of speckle patterns and the temporal alteration of the polymer. Several factors have been considered to examine the structural evolution of the nanocomposite, including time history speckle pattern, co-occurrence, graphical speckle contrast, roughness parameter, auto-correlation, and Shannon entropy. The variation and overall viscoelastic properties of the nanocomposites are expressed via several statistical parameters. The changes in the computed parameters are attributed to the time-varying activity of the samples during their higher hydrophilicity