Web Content Delivery Optimization

Milliseconds matters, when they’re counted. If we consider the life of the universe into one single year, then on 31 December at 11:59:59.5 PM, “speed” was transportation’s concern, and now after 500 milliseconds it is web’s, and no one knows whose concern it would be in coming milliseconds, but at this very moment; this thesis proposes an optimization method, mainly for content delivery on slow connections. The method utilizes a proxy as a middle box to fetch the content; requested by a client, from a single or multiple web servers, and bundles all of the fetched image content types that fits into the bundling policy; inside a JavaScript file in Base64 format. This optimization method reduces the number of HTTP requests between the client and multiple web servers as a result of its proposed bundling solution, and at the same time optimizes the HTTP compression efficiency as a result of its proposed method of aggregative textual content compression. Page loading time results of the test web pages; which were specially designed and developed to capture the optimum benefits of the proposed method; proved up to 81% faster page loading time for all connection types. However, other tests in non-optimal situations such as webpages which use “Lazy Loading” techniques, showed just 35% to 50% benefits, that is only achievable on 2G and 3G connections (0.2 Mbps – 15 Mbps downlink) and not faster connections

PEDOTRANSFER FUNCTIONS CAPABILITY TO SIMULATE BEHAVIOUR OF SMECTITIC SOILS IN ESTIMATION OF VARIOUS SOIL WATER RETENTION CURVE MODELS

For modelling the flow transport in unsaturated conditions, we can use hydraulic properties which are expensive and time-consuming to be obtained directly because of high variability and complexity of soil systems. Few studies have been done about pedotransfer functions (PTFs) in smectitic soils. Moreover, the utility of fractal parameters in the prediction of soil water retention curve (SWRC) have not been investigated in these soils. In this study, PTFs have been made for estimating the parameters of van Genuchten (VG) and Dexter models by regression and artificial neural networks methods. Therefore, 69 soil samples were collected from Guilan Province, Iran. Fractal and non-fractal models were fitted to the particle size distribution (PSD) and micro-aggregate size distribution (ASD) and their parameters were calculated. To create PTFs, the parameters of PSD and ASD models were used as estimators. The comparison of the results of the two models of Dexter and VG shows the priority of Dexter model for the purpose of testing of smectitic soils. The results showed the superiority of Fredlund et al. PSD model parameters and fractal parameters of ASD, in the estimation of Dexter and VG SWRC models, respectively. This outcome may be related to the higher accuracy of Fredlund et al. PSD model in the description of the PSD data in the clayey soils. However, the higher number of parameters in comparison to the number of fractal model parameters may be another reason

Simultaneous Use of Ground-Based and Satellite Observation to Evaluate Atmospheric Air Pollution over Amman, Jordan

In this study, a combination of ground-based particulate matter measurements in synergy with space-borne CALIOP lidar recordings, meteorological observations, and reanalysis models have been used to study atmospheric air pollution over Amman, Jordan. The measurement was conducted over a 24-month period spanning from January 2018 to the end of December 2019. The CALIOP aerosol profiles and aerosol layer products version 4.21, level 2, with 5 km horizontal resolution were used to evaluate the vertical structure of the atmospheric constituent over the Amman region. The particle depolarization ratio (PDR) was extracted from CALIOP recordings and has been utilized to classify the type of atmospheric aerosols. This method reveals that the atmosphere above Amman mostly contains three different aerosol types including coarse-mode dust, fine-mode dust (polluted dust), and non-dust aerosols (pollution). Aerosols with 0 < δp≤ 0.075 are categorized as pollution, aerosols with 0.075 < δp≤ 0.20 as polluted dust, and aerosols with 0.20 < δp≤ 0.40 are classified as dust. Both the one- and two-step POlarization-LIdar PHOtometer Networking (POLIPHON) approaches have been applied to the CALIOP aerosol profile product to retrieve the vertical profile of the optical and micro-physical properties of each aerosol type. Lofted-layer top heights and layer thickness in the atmosphere above Amman during the study period were also extracted from the CALIOP aerosol layer products. The highest frequency of occurrence was observed for layers with a top height of 0.5 to 2.5 km with a second smaller peak at 3.5 km. The maximum frequency of the lofted layers (40% of cases) were observed with layer thickness below 0.5 km. For layers with a top height lower than 500 m above ground level, the atmosphere was mostly impacted by polluted dust and pollution aerosols. On the other hand, for layers with a top height above 2500 m agl, the atmosphere was contaminated by depolarizing dust particles

Fitting soil particle-size distribution (PSD) models by PSD curve fitting software

This paper describes a particle-size distribution (PSD) curve fitting software for analyzing the soil PSD and soil physical properties. A better characterization of soil texture can be obtained by describing the soil PSD using mathematical models. The mathematical equations of soil PSD are mainly used as a basis to estimate the soil hydraulic properties. Until now, many attempts are made to represent PSD curves using mathematical models, but selecting the best PSD model requires fitting all models to the PSD data, which would be difficult and time-consuming. So far, no specific program has been developed to fit the PSD models to the experimental data. A practical user-friendly software called "PSD Curve Fitting Software" was developed and introduced to program a simultaneous fitting of all models on soil PSD data of all samples. Some of the capabilities of this software are calculating evaluation statistics for all models and soils and their statistical properties such as average, standard deviation, minimum and maximum for all models, the amount of models’ fitting parameters and their statistical properties for all soil samples, soil water retention curve by Arya and Paris (1981) and Meskini-Vishkaee et al. (2014) methods, soil hydraulic conductivity by Arya et al. (1999) method, different textural and hydraulic properties, specific surface area, and other descriptive statistics of PSD for all soil samples. All calculated parameters are presented in an output Excel file format by the software. The software runs under Windows XP/7/8/10

In vitro antifungal effect of Thymus vulgaris essence on Candida albicans isolated from patients with oral candidiasis

زمینه و هدف: کاندیدا آلبیکنس شایع ترین عامل اتیولوژیک بیماری های ناشی از مخمرهای جنس کاندیدا است. با توجه به این که مقاومت قارچ ها نسبت به تعدادی از داروهای ضد قارچی افزایش یافته و بسیاری از این داروها سمی و گران هستند، بررسی فرآورده های طبیعی گیاهی موثر بر این قارچ ها ضروری است. لذا هدف این تحقیق بررسی اثر اسانس آویشن بر ممانعت از رشد کاندیدا آلبیکنس در شرایط آزمایشگاهی بود. روش بررسی: این مطالعه تجربی بر روی 50 بیمار مبتلا به کاندیدیازیس دهانی، صورت گرفت. نمونه های حاصل از سواپ در محیط سابورودکستروز آگار همراه با سیکلوهگزیمید و کلرآمفنیکل کشت و در نهایت با انجام آزمایشات تکمیلی، تعداد 32 ایزوله به عنوان کاندیدا آلبیکنس شناسایی و در محیط کشت رشد داده شدند. سپس اسانس آویشن در غلظت های مختلف به این محیط اضافه و حداقل غلظت مهار کننده اسانس برای رقت های مختلف سوسپانسیونی حاوی کاندیدا آلبیکنس محاسبه گردید. یافته ها: حداقل غلظت مهار کننده اسانس آویشن برای رقت های 10، 1-10 و 2-10 برابر با 390/0 میکرولیتر در هر میلی لیتر و برای رقت 3-10 و 4-10 به ترتیب برابر با 195/0 و 0975/0 میکرولیتر در هر میلی لیتر از محیط کشت تعیین شد. نتیجه گیری: اسانس آویشن دارای اثر ضد قارچی بسیار خوب علیه کاندیدا آلبیکنس می باشد و در مقادیر نسبتاً کم می تواند از رشد کاندیدا آلبیکنس در محیط کشت جلوگیری نماید

The Role of Watershed Management Projects in Reducing Erosion and Sediment of Watersheds

Soil erosion is a phenomenon that leads to destruction and loss of valuable soil, especially under accelerated conditions. As the life of human societies requires water and soil, variety of biological and mechanical operations are practiced in order to prevent soil erosion and water loss, runoff control, and to improve the soil vegetative coverage. In order to evaluate the role of biological and mechanical watershed management projects on the erosion and sediments of Chehel Gazi Watershed, Sanandaj, the erosion and sediment of the watershed was determined using MPSIAC Model after identifying the performed operations. Then using paired T-test method, the impact of watershed practices on decreasing erosion and sediment was investigated. The results showed that specific sediment of watershed has decreased from 2.7 to 2.5 ton/hectare. Moreover, the level of higher sediment classes decreased and level of lower sediment classes increased. The statistical analyses showed that there is a significant difference between sedimentation before and after the watershed management project

Effect of Implant Diameter on its Survival Rate among a Group of Iranian Warfare Victims Presenting to QaziTabatabai Clinic Affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University during 2000-2010

Objective: At present, treatment of edentulous areas with implant-supported prosthesis has greatly increased. The aim of this study was to assess the survival rate of implants with different diameters. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 239 warfare victims presenting to Qazi Tabatabaie Clinic during 2000-2010. A total of 1,649 implants were placed. The success criteria included presence of osteointegrated implants with no sign of infection, mobility, or lucency around them. Data were extracted from patients’ records and recorded in questionnaires. Statistical analysis was carried out using Chi-square or Log-Rank test.Results: A total of 1,533 implants were evaluated out of which, 61 (4%) had failed. Survival rate of implants of different brands had a significant association with implant diameter as the highest failure rate was observed in implants with 5-6.5 mm diameter and the lowest failure rate belonged to 3-3.5 mm diameter implants.Conclusion: Study results demonstrated that the survival of implants may be affected by their diameter as the failure rate was higher in implants with greater diameters

Exogenous application of ascorbic acid alleviates chilling injury in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L. cv. Shahroudi) flowers

One of the most important limiting factors in spread of apricot in Iran is late spring frost, which damages flower bud and decrease total yield of crop. It has been found that ascorbic acid (AA) plays a beneficial role during plant response to chilling and freezing stresses. To evaluate the effects of AA on alleviating of cold stress, the flower buds of Prunus armeniaca L. cv. Shahroudi were sprayed at pink cluster stage with AS at 4 levels (0, 100, 200 and 300 mg. L-1) and were then exposed to artificial cold stress (4 h at –4 °C) or without cold stress (+ 25°C). Experimental attributes including electrolyte leakage (EL) of flower buds and percentage of damage of pistil, anthers and petals to temperature treatments were determined. The results showed that at - 4°C the lowest and highest percentage of damage and EL of flower buds were observed in application of 200 and 0 mg. L-1 AA, respectively. The highest and lowest percentage of damage of flower organs and EL were obtained in application of 300 and 200 mg. L-1 AA, respectively at + 25 °C. Based on the results of this experiment, AA alleviates the negative effect of cold stress on EL and flower organ damages in apricot cv. Shahroudi, depending on the concentrations of AA used

Stress Factors in Dental Students of Babol University

Objective: Dental profession is associated with a high level of stress experienced by clinicians in private practice as well as students and instructors in dental school environment. The purpose of this study was to detect the main stressors in dental students of School of dentistry, Babol University of Medical Sciences in 2011-2012.Methods: In this descriptive, analytical study, data were collected via Dental Environment Stress (DES) questionnaire. Understudy subjects were all dental students in Babol University (n=199) selected by census sampling. Data were analyzed using chi-square and t-tests.Results: Six factors were found to be the main stressors in dental students: 1. More than one exam in the same day (2.76 (0.596)); 2.Insufficient time interval between exams (2.74 (0.581)); 3.Insufficient exam time (2.62 (0.693)); 4.Instructors humiliating students or showing their dissatisfaction of the procedure done by the students in front of patients (2.61 (0.618)); 5.Too many credits offered per semester (2.35 (0.849)) and 6. In appropriate behavior of the staff (2.33 (0.793)). Of all departments in Babol Dental School, departments of Prosthodontics, Radiology and Endodontics caused the highest level of stress and anxiety in students and had statistically significant differences in this regard with other departments.Conclusion: The stressors had greater impacts on female students particularly the fourth year dental students. Attempts must be made to modify the curricula and exam schedules particularly in the most stressful departments to decrease the level of stress in dental students

Congenital Fusion of Maxilla and Mandible: A Case Report

Objective: Congenital fusion of jaws is a rare disorder which is observed in infants and cab ne syndromic and non-syndromic. Limited mouth opening in patients can affect the child growth and cause difficulties in feeding, swallowing and breathing.Case: A In this study, a female infant from Afghanistan, settled in Qom referred to  AlZahra maternity with upper and lower fusion jaws is reported. According to clinical and laboratory examinations, infant had no other disorders except the above said disease, and her jaw fusion was non-syndromic.Conclusion: Treatment of this disease in early stages not only is easier, but also can be effective in terms of child’s growth and feeding; because in most cases TMJ ankylosis occurs due to the lack of mobility and loss of function which leads to difficulties in oral operations