Numerical simulation of effect of non-spherical particle shape and bed size on hydrodynamics of packed beds

Fluid flow has a fundamental role in the performance of packed bed reactors. Some related issues, such as pressure drop, are strongly affected by porosity, so non-spherical particles are used in industry for enhancement or creation of the desired porosity. In this study, the effects of particle shape, size, and porosity of the bed on the hydrodynamics of packed beds are investigated with three non-spherical particles namely cylindrical, cone, and truncated cone in laminar and turbulent flow regimes (15 ≤ Re ≤ 2500) using computational fluid dynamics. According to results obtained from the simulations, it was observed that flow channelling occurs in the parts of the bed that are not well covered by particles, which is more near the wall. CFD simulations showed that the vortex flow around the cylindrical particles is more than the cone and truncated cone particles and are caused by increasing the pressure drop of fluid in the bed. It was also found that the particles creating less porosity in the bed, due to their shape, are caused by increasing the pressure drop of fluid. The numerical results showed good agreement with available empirical correlations in the literature

Immunogenicity of standard and extended dosing intervals of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine

Extension of the interval between vaccine doses for the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine was introduced in the United Kingdom to accelerate population coverage with a single dose. At this time, trial data were lacking, and we addressed this in a study of United Kingdom healthcare workers. The first vaccine dose induced protection from infection from the circulating alpha (B.1.1.7) variant over several weeks. In a substudy of 589 individuals, we show that this single dose induces severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses and a sustained B and T cell response to the spike protein. NAb levels were higher after the extended dosing interval (6–14 weeks) compared with the conventional 3- to 4-week regimen, accompanied by enrichment of CD4+ T cells expressing interleukin-2 (IL-2). Prior SARS-CoV-2 infection amplified and accelerated the response. These data on dynamic cellular and humoral responses indicate that extension of the dosing interval is an effective immunogenic protocol

Investigating the medical health of drivers and determining the predictive factors in the occurrence of traffic accidents in delinquent drivers

Aims: Traffic accidents and their resultant deaths are an important health problem in Iran. Among the three factors of human, road, and vehicle in the occurrence of traffic accidents, human factors have the largest share. The drivers’ physical health is one aspect of the human factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the health of drivers and determine the predictors of high-risk behaviors in the occurrence of traffic accidents in delinquent drivers. Materials & Methods: This is a cross-sectional-analytical study done between the years of 1394 to 1396. This study was conducted on a convenience sample of 360 traffic offenders whose cars had been seized by police. Demographic questionnaires and drivers' health screening questionnaire were used to collect information for this study. After collecting the questionnaires and extracting the raw data, the data obtained from the research were analyzed by SPSS software version 23 using descriptive statistics methods, Pearson correlation method, and regression analysis. Findings: In this study, 360 offending drivers were examined. Of those, 328 were male (91.1%), and 32 were female (8.9%). The principal component analysis method was used to obtain the main factors of drivers' health. Drivers' health was significantly associated with demographic variables (p <0.01). Among the demographic variables, level of education, having driving experience, type of job, income level, type of car, history of accidents in the last three years, and maximum speed within the city had a significant relationship with drivers' health (p <0.01). According to the regression analysis, drivers’ health status was considered a factor affecting the incidence of traffic accidents (p <0/001). Conclusion: Due to the significant relationship between drivers' health and the occurrence of road traffic crashes, these accidents can partly be prevented by improving the health of drivers. Given the importance and sensitivity of driving in the occurrence of road crashes, a more comprehensive physical evaluation before certification of the drivers and periodically after that seems necessary

The Syrian Crisis and Saudi Arabia’s Regional Policy (2011 - 2014)

With the onset of the political crisis in Syria, regional and trans-regional actors began to adopt different stances according to their interests in relation to this country which has a special geopolitical and geostrategic importance in the Middle East. Meanwhile, continuous efforts of some governments to put pressure on and overthrow the Assad regime are one of the obvious factors in Syrian dilemma which have added to the complexity of the situation in this country. In order to contain Iran as part of its foreign policy strategy, Saudi Arabia as a regional actor has played a significant role in the changes in Syria. Saudi Arabia has initiated extensive measures, from financial and spiritual support of al-Qaeda militants to active participation in the Western-Arab axis, in order to persuade other countries to support the Syrian opposition and launched ceaseless efforts to attack this country. This article studies the foreign policy of Saudi Arabia and the interests and efforts of this country in the internal changes of Syria. The results of this analysis show that Saudi Arabia has entered the Syrian crisis with the aim of improving its own regional position and, in this regard, has adopted policies that will cause damage to the long-term interests of this country

Social factors affecting women\'s social health in Uremia: Case Study on Married Women 25-45 Years

Background and objective: Health is one of the main pillars of sustainable development and an essential part of flourishing and promoting quality of life. The health of the community depends on the physical, psychological and social health of individuals and individuals in a healthy society that is being raised. On this basis, in order to be aware of the level of health of women, both in their health and in the health of the family and the community involved. In this research, it has been tried to analyze the factors affecting the social health of women. Methods:The present study was a descriptive survey that was conducted by cluster sampling and by the standard questionnaire of Keyes and Shapiro on 380 married women aged 25-45 years old in Uremia in 1395. In order to test the hypothesis of the research, Pearson correlation coefficient, independent t-test, variance analysis, multivariate regression and spss software were used. The reliability coefficient of the standard social health questionnaire was 0.86 based on Cranach&rsquo;s alpha. Results: research`s results showed that there is a direct and positive relationship between the level of social support of the family, religiosity and social trust of women and the social health of married women. Regarding the regression model, family social support and social trust have the greatest impact on the social health of married women. Also, the social health of women varies according to employment. But the social health of women is not different from their education. Conclusion: Considering the findings of the research, family is the most important source of social support for married women in Uremia. Therefore, it is necessary to provide support in such a way that families can create a friendly and friendly atmosphere in their families by increasing their level of knowledge Paper Type:Research Article

Genetic Diversity Assessment and Identification of New Sour Cherry Genotypes Using Intersimple Sequence Repeat Markers

Iran is one of the chief origins of subgenus Cerasus germplasm. In this study, the genetic variation of new Iranian sour cherries (which had such superior growth characteristics and fruit quality as to be considered for the introduction of new cultivars) was investigated and identified using 23 intersimple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. Results indicated a high level of polymorphism of the genotypes based on these markers. According to these results, primers tested in this study specially ISSR-4, ISSR-6, ISSR-13, ISSR-14, ISSR-16, and ISSR-19 produced good and various levels of amplifications which can be effectively used in genetic studies of the sour cherry. The genetic similarity among genotypes showed a high diversity among the genotypes. Cluster analysis separated improved cultivars from promising Iranian genotypes, and the PCoA supported the cluster analysis results. Since the Iranian genotypes were superior to the improved cultivars and were separated from them in most groups, these genotypes can be considered as distinct genotypes for further evaluations in the framework of breeding programs and new cultivar identification in cherries. Results also confirmed that ISSR is a reliable DNA marker that can be used for exact genetic studies and in sour cherry breeding programs

Driver’s Effective Factors in Traffic Accident: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods

Background: Human factors have the most significant effects on the occurrence of traffic accidents among the three factors of human, road, and vehicle. The driver is a significant traffic safety concern. Interventions that enhance driver safety are required. Risky behaviors of drivers on the road influence physical healthy and personality. The aim of this study is to report the protocol for a sequential explanatory mixed methods study that set out to determine the drivers traffic factors, the associated factors and exploring the perception of drivers about the risky traffic factors on the road. The ultimate purpose of the study is to design a preventive and cultural based strategy to promote driver safety. Materials and Methods: This is a sequential explanatory mixed methods design. The study has two sequential strands. The follow-up explanation model has used to develop the quantitative results by gathering qualitative data from participants who could assist in elucidating the results correctly. During the first strand (a quantitative phase) and a population-based cross-sectional survey of a sample of drivers of all ages and level of experiences will be carried out using the proportional random sampling method, in Tehran, Iran. Data will be collected by questionnaires involving items on socio-demographic information, items on measuring health (Drivers Medical Questionnaire), and questions on five-factor Personality (NEO-FFI), drivers risky behaviors (Manchester driving behavior questionnaire). Questionnaires will be completed through a face-to-face interview. In the second strand, a qualitative study will be conducted. A purposeful sampling strategy will be used, and participants who can help to explain the quantitative findings will be selected. Individual fully developed interviews will predominate data collection in the qualitative strand the. A qualitative content analysis approach will be undertaken to create an itemized understanding of the traffic-risky behaviors among drivers of all ages and level of experiences. Conclusion: The findings of this explanatory mixed methods study will provide information on traffic-risky behaviors by all drivers. The results will be implemented to design a cultural based strategy, and intervention programs are to be designed to promote driver health in the community

Effect of the Temporal Gradient of Vegetation Indices on Early-Season Wheat Classification Using the Random Forest Classifier

Early-season area estimation of the winter wheat crop as a strategic product is important for decision-makers. Multi-temporal images are the best tool to measure early-season winter wheat crops, but there are issues with classification. Classification of multi-temporal images is affected by factors such as training sample size, temporal resolution, vegetation index (VI) type, temporal gradient of spectral bands and VIs, classifiers, and values missed under cloudy conditions. This study addresses the effect of the temporal resolution and VIs, along with the spectral and VIs gradient on the random forest (RF) classifier when missing data occurs in multi-temporal images. To investigate the appropriate temporal resolution for image acquisition, a study area is selected on an overlapping area between two Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) paths. In the proposed method, the missing data from cloudy pixels are retrieved using the average of the k-nearest cloudless pixels in the feature space. Next, multi-temporal image analysis is performed by considering different scenarios provided by decision-makers for the desired crop types, which should be extracted early in the season in the study areas. The classification results obtained by RF improved by 2.2% when the temporally-missing data were retrieved using the proposed method. Moreover, the experimental results demonstrated that when the temporal resolution of Landsat-8 is increased to one week, the classification task can be conducted earlier with slightly better overall accuracy (OA) and kappa values. The effect of incorporating VIs along with the temporal gradients of spectral bands and VIs into the RF classifier improved the OA by 3.1% and the kappa value by 6.6%, on average. The results show that if only three optimum images from seasonal changes in crops are available, the temporal gradient of the VIs and spectral bands becomes the primary tool available for discriminating wheat from barley. The results also showed that if wheat and barley are considered as single class versus other classes, with the use of images associated with 162 and 163 paths, both crops can be classified in March (at the beginning of the growth stage) with an overall accuracy of 97.1% and kappa coefficient of 93.5%

Impact of acceptance and commitment–based psychoeducation on the adjustment of expressed emotion in families of patients with bipolar disorder

Background: Expressed emotion is one of the key factors resulting in relapse of psychiatric disorders. Expressed emotion is a critical, hostile and emotionally over-involved attitude that relatives have toward a family member with such disorder. Since stress from the expressed emotion leads to relapse in person with a disorder, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of mental training based on the acceptance and commitment on the regulation of expressed emotion in families of patients with bipolar disorder. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was carried out on families of patients with bipolar disorder referring to Kargarnejad hospital (Kashan, Iran). The purposive sampling method was used to select the participants. As an intervention acceptance and commitment-based psychoeducation of the families was held in 10 sessions. Expressed emotion questionnaire was completed by relatives pre- and post-intervention. Results: The results showed that the level of expressed emotion reduced after the intervention in families of patients with bipolar disorder (P<0.001). A significant reduction was observed in the level of expressed emotion in all four subscales (negative attitudes, tolerance/expectations, harassment and intervention and emotional response) (P<0.001). Conclusion: Family psychoeducation based on the acceptance and commitment can be effective in the regulation of expressed emotion in families of patients suffering from bipolar disorder