Parallelization and Implementation of Approximate Root Isolation for Nonlinear System by Monte Carlo.

This dissertation solves a fundamental problem of isolating the real roots of nonlinear systems of equations by Monte-Carlo that were published by Bush Jones. This algorithm requires only function values and can be applied readily to complicated systems of transcendental functions. The implementation of this sequential algorithm provides scientists with the means to utilize function analysis in mathematics or other fields of science. The algorithm, however, is so computationally intensive that the system is limited to a very small set of variables, and this will make it unfeasible for large systems of equations. Also a computational technique was needed for investigating a metrology of preventing the algorithm structure from converging to the same root along different paths of computation. The research provides techniques for improving the efficiency and correctness of the algorithm. The sequential algorithm for this technique was corrected and a parallel algorithm is presented. This parallel method has been formally analyzed and is compared with other known methods of root isolation. The effectiveness, efficiency, enhanced overall performance of the parallel processing of the program in comparison to sequential processing is discussed. The message passing model was used for this parallel processing, and it is presented and implemented on Intel/860 MIMD architecture. The parallel processing proposed in this research has been implemented in an ongoing high energy physics experiment: this algorithm has been used to track neutrinoes in a super K detector. This experiment is located in Japan, and data can be processed on-line or off-line locally or remotely

The effects of improvement plan on the emergency services in Kashani & Hajar Hospitals of Shahrekord

زمینه و هدف: به دلیل نقش و اهمیت بخش اورژانس، وزارت بهداشت درمان و آموزش پزشکی از مدتها پیش به دنبال ساماندهی بخش های اورژانس بوده است. طرح بهینه سازی اورژانس ها از سال 1381 در دو مرکز آموزشی درمانی کاشانی و هاجر شهرکرد به مرحله اجرا در آمد. مطالعه حاضر با هدف بررسی تأثیرات اجرای این طرح انجام شد تا ضمن مشخص نمودن نقاط قوت و ضعف اجرای طرح، جهت توسعه آن در سایر بخش های اورژانس استان برنامه ریزی لازم بعمل آید. روش بررسی: این مطالعه از نوع مطالعات مداخله ای و با روش مطالعه قبل و بعد در جامعه مورد مطالعه صورت گرفته است. با توجه به اهداف پژوهش بخش های اورژانس دو مرکز درمانی آیت اله کاشانی و هاجر شهرکرد به عنوان جامعه پژوهش انتخاب و مورد ارزیابی قرار گرفتند. بدین منظور 264 نفر در قبل و بعد از اجرای طرح بر حسب نوع بیماری در مراکز مذکور به روش غیر احتمالی آسان انتخاب و به منظور زمان سنجی ارائه خدمات از حداقل 35 تا حداکثر 60 مورد بر حسب واحد خدمت دهنده و جنبه های مورد ارزیابی در واحدهای مختلف چون آزمایشگاه رادیولوژی و سی سی یو انتخاب و مورد بررسی قرار گرفتند. اطلاعات به روش استفاده از پرونده و سوابق بیماران، روش مشاهده به منظور ارزیابی ساختار، فرآیند و عملکرد اورژانسها و با استفاده از سه نوع پرسشنامه در 6 ماهه اول سال 81 و 82 جمع آوری و با استفاده از آزمون آماری t-test مورد تجزیه و تحلیل قرار گرفت. یافته ها: با توجه به ارزیابی ساختار نیروی انسانی، اجرای طرح موجب ارتقاء وضعیت ساختار با شرح وظایف و عملکرد به میزان 98/13 و 67/16 به ترتیب در اورژانس کاشانی و هاجر گردیده همچنین وضعیت آموزش بخش های مذکور نسبت به قبل، بیمارستان کاشانی با 29/14 و بیمارستان هاجر با 72/10 و هر دو به وضعیت متوسط بهبود یافته است. میانگین فاصله زمانی بین ورود تا اولین ویزیت بیماران با ایسکمی مغزی به میزان 9 دقیقه افزایش یافت که معنی دار نبود. همچنین میانگین فاصله زمانی ورود بیماران با سکته مغزی و انجام سی تی اسکن به میزان 56 دقیقه کاهش یافته که معنی دار نیست. میانگین فاصله زمانی ورود بیماران جراحی مغز و اعصاب تا اولین ویزیت 9 دقیقه کاهش یافته است (01/0

Cross-Reaction between the Crude Hydatid Cyst Fluid Antigens of Human and Animals Origin in Response to Human IgG Class and Subclasses

The current work aimed to evaluate the cross-reactivity of human immune sera against crude hydatid fluid antigens of sheep, human, mouse, cattle, as well as B fraction of cystic fluid antigen. 30 balb/c mice were infected with sheep hydatid cyct fluid antigen containing protoscolex after the viability of these protoscolices was assessed. ANOVA was used to test the difference of themean of optical density (OD) values among case and control groups. The highest human IgG class antibody was against antigen B (0.93) and the lowest against cattle HCF antigen (0.32). The differences between responses to these antigens were statistically significant (P < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA test used for evaluating the responses of human total IgG to different hydatid cyst fluid (HCF) antigens among the case and control groups were 100 and 95.8%, respectively. Cross-reaction of human IgG class and subclasses responses was found almost for all the antigens with the best reaction against human and cattle (HCF) antigens and antigen B using a ratio of mean OD value to each antigen divided by the cut-off point value for the same antigen. Human sera showed a considerable cross-reactivity against all antigens by using ELISA

Structural Modeling of Safety Performance in Construction Industry

Background: With rapid economic development and industrialization, the construction industry continues to rank among the most hazardous industries in the world. Therefore, construction safety is always a significant concern for both practitioners and researchers. The objective of this study was to create a structural modeling of components that influence the safety performance in construction projects. Methods: We followed a two-stage Structural Equation Model based on a questionnaire study (n=230). In the first stage, we applied the Structural Equation Model to the proposed model to test the validity of the observed variables of each latent variable. In the next stage, we modified the proposed model. The LISREL 8.8 software was used to conduct the analysis of the structural model. Results: A good-fit structural model (Goodness of Fit Index=0.92; Root Mean Square Residual=0.04; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation=0.04; Comparative Fit Index=0.98; Normalized Fit Index=0.96) indicated that social and organizational constructs influence safety performance via the general component of the safety climate. Conclusion: The new structural model can be used to provide better understanding of the links between safety performance indicators and contributing components, and make stronger recommendations for effective intervention in construction projects

Application of the Taguchi Design for Production of Poly( -hydroxybutyrate) by Ralstonia eutropha

ABSTRACT: The Taguchi design of experiments was used to test the relative importance of medium components and environmental factors on poly( -hydroxybutyrate)(PHB) production by Ralstonia eutropha. The optimum condition was obtained as: fructose concentration, 15 g/L; C/N ratio, 7.4; agitation speed 200 rpm; culture time, 40 h; temperature, 25 ° C; seed age, 15 h. At optimum condition the yield of PHB production was found to be 92.36%

Comparison of Physical Literacy and Upper Extremity Functions in Girls With and Without Upper Crossed Syndrome

Introduction: Upper crossed syndrome causes movement limitation and weakness in people's movement functions. This study aimed to compare physical literacy and upper extremity movement functions in girls with and without the upper crossed syndrome.Methods: The method of this research was descriptive and causal-comparative using field data collection. The statistical population of the research included two groups of healthy 10- to 12-year-old female students and also students with the upper crossed syndrome in Khalkhal City in the academic year of 2022-2023. Using G-power software, the statistical sample size was determined to be 60 people. These people were screened using a checkerboard and after quantitative height assessment, they were assigned to two Healthy (30 people) and the Upper Cross Syndrome (30 people) groups. Forward head angle and forward shoulder angle were measured using photography, kyphosis angle was measured using the Goniometer-pro app. The Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy – version 2 (CAPL-2) questionnaire was used for the evaluation of physical literacy and Upper Quarter Y-Balance Test (UQYBT) was used to assess upper limb function. The Data were analyzed using an independent t-test in SPSS-26 software at the significant level of 0.05.Results The results showed that healthy girls were significantly in a better condition in all variables of physical literacy and upper limb function than girls with the upper crossed syndrome.Conclusion: According to the results of this research, it is suggested that coaches and sports and health professionals use the results of this study to develop the physical literacy and functions of students with the upper crossed syndrome

Examining the Validity and Reliability of the Persian Version of the Empathy Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Empathy Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents. In terms of methodology, this study was a correlational analysis for the purpose of test validation. The statistical population included all 9-to-16-year-old male & female students in Yazd during the academic year of 2017-2018, the sample consisted of 912 students selected through the random sampling process. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were used to examine the Persian version of the test. The findings showed that the questionnaire included 3 subscales (community empathy, cognitive empathy, and effective empathy). The indices of the confirmatory factor analysis seemed to be a fit model, and the instrument explains the 48.81 percentage of the variance in empathy in children and adolescents. Also, the value of Cronbach's alpha was 0.72. The results of this study confirms the overall validity and reliability of the Persian version of the questionnaire. Therefore, this tool may be used for clinical and research purposes

Cumulative Infiltration and Infiltration Rate Prediction Using Optimized Deep Learning Algorithms: A Study in Western Iran

Study region: Sixteen different sites from two provinces (Lorestan and Illam) in the western part of Iran were considered for the field data measurement of cumulative infiltration, infiltration rate, and other effective variables that affect infiltration process. Study focus: Soil infiltration is recognized as a fundamental process of the hydrologic cycle affecting surface runoff, soil erosion, and groundwater recharge. Hence, accurate prediction of the infiltration process is one of the most important tasks in hydrological science. As direct measurement is difficult and costly, and empirical models are inaccurate, the current study proposed a standalone, and optimized deep learning algorithm of a convolutional neural network (CNN) using gray wolf optimization (GWO), a genetic algorithm (GA), and an independent component analysis (ICA) for cumulative infiltration and infiltration rate prediction. First, 154 raw datasets were collected including the time of measuring; sand, clay, and silt percent; bulk density; soil moisture percent; infiltration rate; and cumulative infiltration using field survey. Next, 70 % of the dataset were used for model building and the remaining 30 % was used for model validation. Then, based on the correlation coefficient between input variables and outputs, different input combinations were constructed. Finally, the prediction power of each developed algorithm was evaluated using different visually-based (scatter plot, box plot and Taylor diagram) and quantitatively-based [root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and percentage of bias (PBIAS)] metrics. New Hydrological Insights for the Region: Finding revealed that the time of measurement is more important for cumulative infiltration, while soil characteristics (i.e. silt content) are more significant in infiltration rate prediction. This shows that in the study area, silt parameter, which is the dominant constituent parameter, can control infiltration process more effectively. Effectiveness of the variables in the present study, in the order of importance are time, silt, clay, moisture content, sand, and bulk density. This can be related to the fact that most of study area is rangeland and thus, overgrazing leads to compaction of the silt soil that can lead to a slow infiltration process. Soil moisture content and bulk density are not highly effective in our study because these two factors do not significantly change across the study area. Findings demonstrated that the optimum input variable combination, is the one in which all input variables are considered. The results illustrated that CNN algorithms have a very high performance, while a metaheuristic algorithm enhanced the performance of a standalone CNN algorithm (from 7% to 28 %). The results also showed that a CNN-GWO algorithm outperformed the other algorithms, followed by CNN-ICA, CNN-GA, and CNN for both cumulative infiltration and infiltration rate prediction. All developed algorithms underestimated cumulative infiltration, while overestimating infiltration rates

Association of Diabetic Retinopathy and Sleep Quality

Sleep disorders are more common in diabetes mellitus (DM) cases rather than normal ones. In addition, this condition could be associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR) development with more inflammatory indices in circulation. In the present study, we have evaluated the association between DR and sleep quality. This cross-sectional study is a part of the second phase of the study of the elderly cohort of Amirkola City, which was conducted in 2015-2016 on all people aged 60 and higher. Of all diabetic cases, 44 cases had retinopathy and were selected as the case group. To compare two control groups, 135 diabetic patients without retinopathy and 135 people without diabetes were randomly selected. The presence and type of retinopathy were determined based on an eye physical examination by an ophthalmologist. In addition, sleep quality was evaluated based on the Pittsburgh Questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed by ANOVA, t-test, and linear regression tests. In the present study, there was a significant difference in the score of the Pittsburgh questionnaire between people with DR (45.5±68.2) compared to diabetic people without retinopathy (76.5±48.2) and people without diabetes (95.4±36.2) (P=0.470), but diabetic people without retinopathy had significantly worse sleep quality than people without diabetes (P=0.019). Also, sleep quality in women with DR was worse than in men (P=014). In the linear regression analysis, it was observed that age, gender, diabetes, and history of depression significantly affect the sleep quality of the evaluated cases (P<0.05 for all). According to the results of the present study, DR does not negatively influence the quality of sleep, and DR is not related to sleep disorders