High-fidelity inelastic post-buckling response for balanced design and performance improvement of X-braced moment resisting frames

In this paper, the nonlinear post buckling response of X-Braced Moment Resisting Frame (X-BMRF) systems are studied. The X-BMRF comprises of X-bracing diagonals attached to the moment frame by corner gusset plates to form the structural system acting as a dual frame. In common practice today, one of the X-bracing diagonal members is discontinuous, and a middle gusset plate is used to connect the diagonals to each other at the intersection. In this study, the effect of mid-connection details and different types sizes of corner gusset plate connection are well measured to evaluate behavioral characteristics of the above systems. An accurate and robust three-dimensional finite element modeling of the above systems validatedverified against available test data and numerical simulation are demonstrated. Then, a number of X-BMRFs are designed and analyzed under monotonic (and cyclic) loading(s), and later ductility values and energy dissipation ratios of such systems are appraised. The results are used to evaluate the secondary yield mechanisms, probable failure modes, and to quantify the loading share of story shear when different rigidity ratios between the X-bracing and moment frame systems are deliberated. Finally, the results can provide a suitable ground to present a new set of balanced design criteria which can improve nonlinear performance and assure maximum system ductility of such system

Couple stress effects in a thin film bonded to a half-space

This study investigates the contact mechanics of a thin film laying on an elastic substrate within the context of couple-stress elasticity. It aims to introduce the effects of material internal length scale, which has proven an effective way of modeling structures at micro to nano-scales, allowing to capture their size dependent behavior. Specifically, stress analysis for a thin film bonded to a couple stress elastic half-space is considered under plane strain loading conditions by assuming that both shear stress and couple tractions are exchanged between the thin film and the substrate. The problem is converted to a singular integral equation, which is solved by expanding the shear stress tractions as a Chebyshev series. The results show that the introduction of couple tractions decreases the shear stress tractions and the axial load in the thin film. When the characteristic length is sufficiently small, but still finite, the results for classical elastic behavior are approached

Boosting Iris Recognition by Margin-Based Loss Functions

Data Availability Statement: The analysed datasets are publicly available. Related references are reported in the References section. Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank Guowei Wang for providing the implementation of Keras_insightface, which is available on Github, accessed on April 2021 (https://github.com/ leondgarse/Keras_insightface/ access on 25 April 2021).Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. In recent years, the topic of contactless biometric identification has gained considerable traction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most well-known identification technologies is iris recognition. Determining the classification threshold for large datasets of iris images remains challenging. To solve this issue, it is essential to extract more discriminatory features from iris images. Choosing the appropriate loss function to enhance discrimination power is one of the most significant factors in deep learning networks. This paper proposes a novel iris identification framework that integrates the light-weight MobileNet architecture with customized ArcFace and Triplet loss functions. By combining two loss functions, it is possible to improve the compactness within a class and the discrepancies between classes. To reduce the amount of preprocessing, the normalization step is omitted and segmented iris images are used directly. In contrast to the original SoftMax loss, the EER for the combined loss from ArcFace and Triplet is decreased from 1.11% to 0.45%, and the TPR is increased from 99.77% to 100%. In CASIA-Iris-Thousand, EER decreased from 4.8% to 1.87%, while TPR improved from 97.42% to 99.66%. Experiments have demonstrated that the proposed approach with customized loss using ArcFace and Triplet can significantly improve state-of-the-art and achieve outstanding results.This research received no external funding

Occurrence and intensity of parasites in pike (Esox lucius) in River of Chamkhaleh

Pike (Esox lucius) of Chamkhaleh River in Langrood (Iran) was studied from winter 2003 to autumn 2004. We collected 123 specimens of the fish and sent them live to the lab for examinations. Biometrical measurements, age and sex determination were conducted on the samples. The eye, skin, gill, digestive system, muscle and other organs of the specimens were examined for parasite infestation. Seven parasites: Raphidascaris acus, Camallanus lacustris, Diplostomum spathaceum, Tetraonchus monenteron, Triaenophorus crassus, Corynosoma strumosoum, Lernaea sp. were found in the pikes of the Chamkhaleh River. The most prevalent parasite was R. acus (37.39%) and the least were C. strumosum and Lernaea sp. (0.81% each). The highest mean intensity of the parasites was related to T. crassus (8.45 specimens) and the lowest was detected for Lernaea sp. (0.01). The highest range in parasite infection was seen for R. acus (1-45) and the lowest for Lernaea sp. with only one individual parasite. We observed seasonal, age and sex differences in infection rate with the parasites. This is the first time report of the pike as a host for C. strumosum

Incidence, mortality, and burden of crimean congo hemorrhagic fever and its geographical distribution in Iran during 2009-2015

Background: This study aimed at estimating the incidence, mortality, burden, and geographical distribution of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) using Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) in Iran 2009-2015. Methods: CCHF-related DALYs was calculated using a method developed by WHO for the investigation of Global Burden of Diseases (GBD). DALYs was calculated through adding years of life lost due to premature death (YLLs) to years lived with disability (YLDs). To calculate YLD, the average duration of the disease and its disability weight were set at 25 d and 0.613, respectively. The data on the incidence and mortality were collected from the CCHF surveillance system from the governmental section. Results: The highest and the lowest incidence rates of CCHF were observed in 2009 (122 cases) and 2010 (254 cases), respectively. Moreover, the lowest and highest mortality rates were reported in 2009 (20 cases) and 2012 (52 cases), respectively. The mean rate of fatality from CCHF observed between 2009 and 2015 was about 21.1. In addition, the lowest and highest DALYs were observed in 2009 (483 cases) and 2010 (1156 cases), respectively. CCHF incidence, DALYs, and mortality rate over the studied period were higher among males than females. CCHF-related DALYs did not have an equal distribution in all provinces of Iran; some provinces were suffering from a higher burden of the disease. Conclusion: It is recommended to improve the CCHF surveillance system, identify high-risk areas, practice early diagnosis and intervention, develop vaccines, control, and fight tick, and screen livestock to control and prevent the spread of this disease. © 2019, Iranian Journal of Public Health. All rights reserved

Incidence, mortality, and burden of hepatitis B and C and geographical distribution in Iran during 2008-2015

Background: This study aimed at estimating the incidence, mortality, and burden of Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV) viruses and their trends from 2008 to 2015. Methods: The Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALYs) index was applied to calculate the burden of the diseases by age, sex, time, and locations. The incidence and demographic data were obtained from HBV and HCV surveillance system, and the data on natural history was extracted from the cohort studies; moreover, the data on the standard life expectancy was obtained from the Iranian life table 2016. The two values of 0.03 and 21.5 yr were set as the discount rate and mean standard duration of the disease for both types of hepatitis. Results: The burden of HBV decreased from 13735 to 78277.6 yr, but there was an increase in the burden of HCV from 5174 to 14395 yr over the studied period. The burden of both types of hepatitis was higher among males than females. The incidence of HBV increased from 46611 to 22996 cases, and the incidence of HCV increased from 1210 to 3939 cases. The HBV decreased from 1925 to 1394 cases; however, the number of deaths caused by HCV increased from 197 to 583 cases over the studied period. The share of YLLs raised from 5 to 10 for HBV whereas it changed from 23 to 62 for HCV over the studied years. Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, and Golestan had the highest and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah had the lowest adjusted burden of HBV per 1000 population. Conclusion: Although the incidence, mortality, and burden of HBV declined over the eight studied years, these values increased dramatically for HCV. © 2019, Iranian Journal of Public Health. All rights reserved

Distribution of ophthalmologists and optometrists in Islamic Republic of Iran and their associated factors Distribution des ophtalmologues et des optométristes en République islamique d�Iran et facteurs associés

We aimed to determine the distribution of ophthalmic care providers and its correlation with health and socioeconomic status and health system indicators. Data were gathered from the Iran Medical Council and the Iranian Societies of Ophthalmology and Optometry. Concurrent indicators were collected from the Statistical Center of Iran and national studies. A population-adjusted number of combined ophthalmologists and optometrists was used as the main dependent variable. Optometrist/ophthalmologist ratio was 0.9. We had 1 ophthalmologist and 1 optometrist for every 40 000 and 45 000 individuals, respectively. We observed a direct correlation between the number of ophthalmologists, optometrists and life expectancy at the provincial level. Gross provincial income and expenditure and provincial literacy were correlated as well. Provincial unemployment had a negative correlation. Provincial hospital statistics and population density were also significantly correlated. The Islamic Republic of Iran has met the World Health Organization�s desired per capita number of ophthalmologists and optometrists, but there is wide variation in their density. © 2016, World Health Organization. All rights reserved

Estimating utility value for female genital mutilation

Background: Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a clear violation of women's rights and can have adverse and irreversible health effects as well. Worldwide, more than 200 million women and girls have undergone FGM/C. Utility value of FGM/C has not been estimated yet, so we designed this study to extract the health utility value of FGM/C for the first time in the world. Methods: In a cross-sectional study in Iran, 125 girls and women who underwent FGM/C procedure were examined by the trained midwives in order to determine its type. In addition, a questionnaire was completed for identifying the socio-demographic factors and extracting the health utility of these individuals. Health utility was measured using Time Trade-off method and also to determine the effects of the socio-demographic factors on the health utility a two-limit censored regression model was applied. Results: The mean and median of the health utility of women with FGM/C were 0.971 (SE: 0.003) and 0.968 (IQR: 1-0.95), respectively. Number of non-Traders was 58 (46.4) who reported perfect health utility. However, the mean of health utility among traders was 0.946 (SE: 0.002). Only type 1 (Clitoridectomy) and type 2 (Excision) FGM/C were seen in this study. Women with Type 1 FGM/C had significantly lower health utility value (Mean: 0.968, Median: 0.957) than their type 2 counterparts (Mean: 0.987, Median: 1.00). Moreover, women in the age group of 31-45 years (Mean: 0.962, Median: 0.956), single (Mean: 0.950, Median: 0.954), divorced (Mean: 0.951, Median: 0.950), employed (Mean: 0.959, Median: 0.956), and with supplementary insurance (Mean: 0.962, Median: 0.950) had significantly lower health utility than their counterparts. Conclusion: FGM/C affects physical and psychological well-being of these individuals, resulting in a lack of personal and marital satisfaction, which ultimately leads to a 3 reduction in their health related quality of life. Therefore, preventing from this practice is very important and should be considered by health system policy makers more than before. © 2020 The Author(s)

Incidence, mortality, and burden of severe acute respiratory infection in Iran in 2015

Background: Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) is responsible for mortality and hospital admissions in millions of people across the world. The present study, for the first time, aimed at estimating the incidence, mortality, and burden of SARI in Iran in 2015. Methods: Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) was used as an index to estimate the burden of SARI. The SARI-related DALYs was calculated using a method developed by the WHO for assessing the Global Burden of Diseases. DALYs are calculated as the sum of the Years Lost due to Disability (YLDs) and the Years of Life Lost (YLLs) due to premature mortality. The data on the incidence and mortality were obtained from the SARI surveillance system of Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The average duration until remission or death and the disease disability weight were set at four weeks and 0.373, respectively. Results: In 2015, the incidence of SARI was 21309 and 20885 among males and females, respectively. Moreover, 773 males and 737 females died from this disease (Case fatality rate was about 0.035). Total SARI-related DALYs in males and females was 17264 and 16720, respectively. Furthermore, YLLs was responsible for more than 96 of SARI-related DALYs in 2015. Conclusion: There was no significant difference between males and females in terms of the incidence, mortality, and burden of SARI in 2015. Epidemiological data are required to adopt appropriate policies and responses to prevent and control SARI. The incidence, mortality, fatality, and burden of SARI are significant in Iran. It is necessary to develop appropriate strategies, such as vaccination against major pathogens of the disease at least in high-risk groups, strengthening the disease surveillance system, and attracting the attention of policy makers and health authorities of the country. © 2019, Iranian Journal of Public Health. All rights reserved