Analysis of climate hazards in relation to urban designing in Iran

In order to study the climate hazards, daily rainfall and temperature data of 61 weather stations over the country were obtained from the Meteorological Organization of Iran for the 1951–2007 period. The following indices are defined as indications of climate hazards: sultriness of the air or the heat index, cold days with minimum temperature below −5 °C, warm days with maximum temperature above 32 °C, the share of extreme rain days from the annual rainfall. The annual frequencies of these indices are analyzed and the overall hazard index is computed using the Analytical Hierarchical Process method. The results show that the southern coastal areas and central deserts are the most hazardous parts of the country, whereas, the northern Caspian coastal lands and mountainous regions experience lower hazard alerts. The problem of the northern parts is the cold days and that of the southern areas is the hot and humid days. Despite the relatively equal occurrence of torrential rains over the country, they are more harmful in the south than in the other parts of the country

Diaphragmatic hernia following oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer – Are we too radical?

Background: Diaphragmatic herniation (DH) of abdominal contents into the thorax after oesophageal resection is a recognised and serious complication of surgery. While differences in pressure between the abdominal and thoracic cavities are important, the size of the hiatal defect is something that can be influenced surgically. As with all oncological surgery, safe resection margins are essential without adversely affecting necessary anatomical structure and function. However very little has been published looking at the extent of the hiatal resection. We aim to present a case series of patients who developed DH herniation post operatively in order to raise discussion about the ideal extent of surgical resection required. Methods: We present a series of cases of two male and one female who had oesophagectomies for moderately and poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas of the lower oesophagus who developed post-operative DH. We then conducted a detailed literature review using Medline, Pubmed and Google Scholar to identify existing guidance to avoid this complication with particular emphasis on the extent of hiatal resection. Discussion: Extended incision and partial resection of the diaphragm are associated with an increased risk of postoperative DH formation. However, these more extensive excisions can ensure clear surgical margins. Post-operative herniation can be an early or late complication of surgery and despite the clear importance of hiatal resection only one paper has been published on this subject which recommends a more limited resection than was carried out in our cases. Conclusion: This case series investigated the recommended extent of hiatal dissection in oesophageal surgery. Currently there is no clear guidance available on this subject and further studies are needed to ascertain the optimum resection margin that results in the best balance of oncological parameters vs. post operative morbidity

Estimation of genetic parameters and comparison of random regression animal and sire models of production traits in the first three lactations of Iranian Holsteins

This study was conducted to compare of random regression (RR) animal and sire models for estimation of the genetic parameters for production traits of Iranian Holstein dairy cows. For this purpose, the test day records were used belonged to first three lactations of cows and for, milk, fat and protein yields traits where, collected from 2003 to 2010, by the national breeding center of Iran. The genetic parameters were estimated using restricted maximum likelihood algorithm. To compare the model, different criterion -2logL value, AIC, BIC and RV were used for considered traits. Residual variances were considered homogeneous over the lactation period. Obtained results showed that additive genetic variance was highest in the beginning and end lactation and permanent environmental variance was highest in beginning of lactation than other lactation period. Heritabilities estimate for milk, fat and protein yields by RR animal and sire models were found to be lowest during early lactation (0.05, 0.04 and 0.07; 0.05, 0.19 and 0.13; 0.14, 0.19 and 0.15, for milk, fat and protein yields and in first, second and third lactation respectively). However, estimated heritabilities during lactation did not vary among different order Legendre polynomials, and also between RR animal and sire models. The variation in genetic correlations estimate in the RR animal and sire models was larger in the first lactation than in the second and third lactations. Thus, based on the results obtained, it can be inferred that the RR animal model is better for modeling yield traits in Iranian Holsteins

Social Achievement Goal Theory in Education: A Validity and Reliability Study

The objective of this study was to validate the Iranian version of the Social Achievement Goal Orientation Scale and test the Social Achievement Goal Orientation theory in the context of Iranian students. A total of 403 Iranian high school students completed a Social Achievement Goal Orientation Scale and an Achievement Goal Questionnaire. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the hypothesized model of social achievement goals. The fit of the proposed three-factor model was promising and moderate support for the three factor structure of social goal orientation was found using scores from an abbreviated 13-item SAGOS. Graded Response Model showed an information function that was peaked at the upper end of the scale, indicating that severe social goal orientation is measured with most precision. Convergent validity for the new measure of social achievement goals was established. Findings generally supported the trichotomous framework of the social achievement goal orientation theory with Iranian students. Consistent with the academic goal orientation theory, findings indicated that social mastery and performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals had positive relationships with academic goals

Capping agent effect on Pd-supported nanoparticles in the hydrogenation of furfural

The catalytic performance of a series of 1 wt % Pd/C catalysts prepared by the sol-immobilization method has been studied in the liquid-phase hydrogenation of furfural. The temperature range studied was 25\u201375 \ub0C, keeping the H2 pressure constant at 5 bar. The effect of the catalyst preparation using different capping agents containing oxygen or nitrogen groups was assessed. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and poly (diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) were chosen. The catalysts were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The characterization data suggest that the different capping agents affected the initial activity of the catalysts by adjusting the available Pd surface sites, without producing a significant change in the Pd particle size. The different activity of the three catalysts followed the trend: PdPVA/C > PdPDDA/C > PdPVP/C. In terms of selectivity to furfuryl alcohol, the opposite trend has been observed: PdPVP/C > PdPDDA/C > PdPVA/C. The different reactivity has been ascribed to the different shielding effect of the three ligands used; they influence the adsorption of the reactant on Pd active sites

Calculating economic weights for growth, reproduction and wool traits in Makui sheep breed by Ecoweight software

Production, reproduction, management and economical parameters obtained from data collected from 1993 to 2012 Makui sheep research station of West Azerbaijan province in Iran were evaluated in the present study. Traits included of fertility, pregnancy rate, lamb weights from birth to the end of period, survival rate of lambs, wool production weight, average daily gain and milk production. The present value of profit computed as the difference between total revenues and total costs per ewe per year. The numeric derivation of each considered trait is calculated by increasing and decreasing the average value of the trait while was kept the other characters in the average. First all costs, revenues, profits and flock structure determined then interned input files and running the software ECOWEIGHT. The results showed that economic values per unit increase in the traits of birth weight, daily gain from birth until weaning, daily gain from weaning until end of period, conception rates ewes, little size, lamb survival, lifetime for ewes, milk yield and wool yield were 0.66, 0.51, 0.03, 0.66, 0.25, 0.85, 0.93, 0.53 and 1, respectively. Breeding objective in Makui sheep breed were productive wool yield, lifetime, lamb survival at weaning, conception rates ewes, birth weight, milk yield, daily gain from birth until weaning, little size, daily gain from weaning until end of period

High-frequency stochastic switching of graphene resonators near room temperature

Stochastic switching between the two bistable states of a strongly driven mechanical resonator enables detection of weak signals based on probability distributions, in a manner that mimics biological systems. However, conventional silicon resonators at the microscale require a large amount of fluctuation power to achieve a switching rate in the order of a few Hertz. Here, we employ graphene membrane resonators of atomic thickness to achieve a stochastic switching rate of 7.8 kHz, which is 200 times faster than current state-of-the-art. The (effective) temperature of the fluctuations is approximately 400 K, which is 3000 times lower than the state-of-the-art. This shows that these membranes are potentially useful to transduce weak signals in the audible frequency domain. Furthermore, we perform numerical simulations to understand the transition dynamics of the resonator and derive simple analytical expressions to investigate the relevant scaling parameters that allow high-frequency, low-temperature stochastic switching to be achieved in mechanical resonators