ICT Utilization in Administrative Tasks in Iranian Construction organizations

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have influenced areas of design and construction in the recent years. Much new software and hardware has been developed to aid administrating, planning, designing, and executing of projects and are being implemented by construction firms in different countries in the last two decades. Iranian construction firms also attempt to apply ICT in projects. However the extent and quality of ICT utilization in construction projects in Iran are still unknown. This paper explains how Iranian firms utilize ICT in administrative affairs. Trends and patterns of the Iranian organization towards administration ICT application are described. The research has a qualitative approach and focuses on meanings and opinions. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with highexperienced construction practitioners and software developers associated with the Iranian construction industry. Responses are qualitatively analyzed and a narrative interpretation is developed. The results showed that the Iranian construction organization acquire ICT facilities based on their needs and functionality of the facility. This paper also explains that important sections of a typical automation system in construction in Iran that are archiving, personnel management and communication

Chemical composition, free-radical-scavenging and insecticidal activities of the aerial parts of Stachys byzantina

Stachys byzantina K. Koch. is an Iranian endemic species of the genus Stachys L., which comprises about 300 species, and is one of the largest genera of the family Lamiaceae. A combination of solid phase extraction (SPE) and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) of the methanolic extract of the aerial parts of S. byzantina afforded three phenylethanoids, 2'-O-arabinosyl verbascoside (1), verbascoside (2), aeschynanthoside C (3) and three flavones apigenin 7-O-glucoside (4), apigenin 7-O-(6-p-coumaroyl)-glucoside (5) and apigenin (6). The structures of these compounds were determined by spectroscopic methods. Free-radical-scavenging and insecticidal properties of the crude extracts, the fractions and the isolated compounds were assessed.

A MASH simulation of the photoexcited dynamics of cyclobutanone

In response to a community prediction challenge, we simulate the nonadiabatic dynamics of cyclobutanone using the mapping approach to surface hopping (MASH). We consider the first 500 fs of relaxation following photo-excitation to the S2 state and predict the corresponding time-resolved electron-diffraction signal that will be measured by the planned experiment. 397 ab-initio trajectories were obtained on the fly with state-averaged complete active space self-consistent field (SA-CASSCF) using a (12,11) active space. To obtain an estimate of the potential systematic error 198 of the trajectories were calculated using an aug-cc-pVDZ basis set and 199 with a 6-31+G* basis set. MASH is a recently proposed independent trajectory method for simulating nonadiabatic dynamics, originally derived for two-state problems. As there are three relevant electronic states in this system, we used a newly developed multi-state generalisation of MASH for the simulation: the uncoupled spheres multi-state MASH method (unSMASH). This study therefore serves both as an investigation of the photo-dissociation dynamics of cyclobutanone, and also as a demonstration of the applicability of unSMASH to ab-initio simulations. In line with previous experimental studies, we observe that the simulated dynamics is dominated by three sets of dissociation products, C3H6+CO, C2H4+C2H2O and C2H4+CH2+CO, and we interpret our predicted electron-diffraction signal in terms of the key features of the associated dissociation pathways.Comment: 47 pages, 43 figure

Quantitative multiplex immunohistochemistry reveals inter-patient lymphovascular and immune heterogeneity in primary cutaneous melanoma

IntroductionQuantitative, multiplexed imaging is revealing complex spatial relationships between phenotypically diverse tumor infiltrating leukocyte populations and their prognostic implications. The underlying mechanisms and tissue structures that determine leukocyte distribution within and around tumor nests, however, remain poorly understood. While presumed players in metastatic dissemination, new preclinical data demonstrates that blood and lymphatic vessels (lymphovasculature) also dictate leukocyte trafficking within tumor microenvironments and thereby impact anti-tumor immunity. Here we interrogate these relationships in primary human cutaneous melanoma. MethodsWe established a quantitative, multiplexed imaging platform to simultaneously detect immune infiltrates and tumor-associated vessels in formalin-fixed paraffin embedded patient samples. We performed a discovery, retrospective analysis of 28 treatment-naïve, primary cutaneous melanomas. ResultsHere we find that the lymphvasculature and immune infiltrate is heterogenous across patients in treatment naïve, primary melanoma. We categorized five lymphovascular subtypes that differ by functionality and morphology and mapped their localization in and around primary tumors. Interestingly, the localization of specific vessel subtypes, but not overall vessel density, significantly associated with the presence of lymphoid aggregates, regional progression, and intratumoral T cell infiltrates. DiscussionWe describe a quantitative platform to enable simultaneous lymphovascular and immune infiltrate analysis and map their spatial relationships in primary melanoma. Our data indicate that tumor-associated vessels exist in different states and that their localization may determine potential for metastasis or immune infiltration. This platform will support future efforts to map tumor-associated lymphovascular evolution across stage, assess its prognostic value, and stratify patients for adjuvant therapy

Phytochemical analysis and biological activity evaluation of essential oil of Scrophularia atropatana

Background and objectives: Scrophularia atropatana (S. atropatana) is endemic to western and central regions of Iran. It belongs to the genus of Scrophularia (family: Scrophulariaceae). These species have been found to possess antibacterial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties. Most of these effects were proven to be attributed to the non-volatile components, which were known as secondary metabolites. Iridoids, phenylpropanoids, phenolic acids and flavonoids have been identified as their main secondary metabolites. This investigation was performed to analyze the composition of the essential oil (EO) of S. atropatana and evaluation of its anti-oxidant and total toxicity properties. Methods: About 150 g powder of the air dried parts of S. atropatana was submitted to hydro-distillation and also was successively extracted (with n-hexane, dichloromethane (DCM) and methanol (MeOH)), by using Clevenger and Soxhlet apparatus, respectively. In addition, Essential Oil (EO) was analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID. Furthermore, the anti-oxidant activity of the extracts, fractions and EO as well as general toxicity were investigated by DPPH and brine shrimp larva assay, respectively. Results: Totally, sixty eight volatile compounds were identified, which constituted 91.78% of the total oil composition. Among the compounds, major constituents were identified as non-terpenoides (59.59%). Moreover, among the extracts and EO, methanol extract demonstrated high free radical scavenging and general toxic activities with RC50 equal 0.143±0.13 mg/mL and LD50 0.271 mcg/mL respectively. Conclusion: Overall, the main constituents of S. atropatana were hydrocarbons. In comparison to other genesis of Scrophularia, antioxidant activity of the essential oil of S. atropatana was less noticeable

Phytochemical analysis of essential oil of Anthriscus nemorosa and evaluation of antioxidant and anti-malarial activity

Background and objectives: This investigation was performed in order to analyze the composition of the essential oil (EO) of Anthriscus nemorosa and evaluation of its anti-oxidant and anti-malarial activity of its extracts and determination of the total phenolics content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC). Methods: One hundred g dried powder of Anthriscus nemorosa was submitted to hydro-distillation and also was extracted (with n-hexane, dichloromethane (DCM) and methanol (MeOH)), by using Clevenger and Soxhlet apparatus, respectively. Moreover, extracted essential oil (EO) was analyzed by GC-MS. Furthermore, the anti-oxidant, anti- malaria, Total phenolics content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of EO and the extracts were investigated by DPPH, cell free -hematin formation, Folin- Ciocalteau and colorimetric methods, respectively. Results: Fifty nine compounds, representing 94% of total oil were identified High content of terpenoids (60.02%) were identified in the essential oil with isogeranol (28.86%), crystathenyl acetate  (13.86%) and farnesene (10.39%) as the most dominant compounds.. Methanol extract demonstrated free radical scavenging activity (RC50 0.192±0.133).Total phenol contents was (325.82±2.72 mg/g). Total flavonoid content was (140.4096±2.4 mg/g). None of the extracts showed anti-malaria effect. Conclusion: Main constituents of A. nemorosa were terpenoids. In comparison with other species of Anthriscus, antioxidant activity of A. nemorosa essential oil was less noticeable