Research Paper: Brain CT Scan Findings in Patients Admitted to the Poisoning ICU of Baharloo Hospital, Tehran, Iran

Background: Timely and correct diagnosis of poisoning is an important part of the management of poisoned patients. This study aimed to investigate the abnormal findings of brain CT scans of patients with drug overdose poisoning. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with poisoning admitted to Baharloo Hospital, Tehran, Iran during 2015. Moreover, they underwent radiological assessment as a result of their decreased level of consciousness. For the purpose of the study, we examined patients’ Computerized Tomography (CT) scan reports. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS 16. Frequency and percentage frequency were calculated for qualitative variables, and mean and standard deviation were calculated for the quantitative variables. Results: Overall, 191 patients admitted with poisoning were evaluated. Of them, 119(62.3%) had normal brain CT scans and the remaining had pathologic findings. The most common pathologic findings in the brain CT scans comprised cerebral edema (24.6%) followed by infarction (5.2%). The least common pathologic finding was cerebral herniation (0.5%). This pattern was similar in both genders and in different subtypes of poisonings, with the exception of poisoning with cardio-respiratory drugs. The most common finding in the latter type of poisoning was herniation. In cases of simultaneous head trauma, the most common pathological brain CT scan findings were cerebral edema and hemorrhage. Conclusion: The radiological assessment of the brain following poisoning and decreased level of consciousness can help in the diagnostic evaluation of patients. It can be a life-saving measure, through timely detection of the type of poisoning and brain damage

Science Creatting Strategy based on Organizational Structures and Management Style for High Educations Centers

The aim of this research was to examine the barriers to academic development from the viewpoint of Shahid Beheshti University staff in the academic year 1389-90. The research method was descriptive (survey) and statistical population) 546 professors (included all faculty members at Shahid Beheshti University. A sample of 226 professors was selected through stratified random sampling to participate in the study. Participants completed the questionnaire developed by the researcher. One-sample T-test and Friedman test results showed that obstacles including strategic, financial and organizational -managerial ones have great impact on the academic development from the faculty viewpoint. Among the factors lack of proper interaction between universities and research centers with industrial and government departments of the country, inadequate funding for research and inability of the executive and administrative structure in application of research findings were located at the top barriers mentioned respectively

Improvements in Case History Knowledge for Tailings Dam Failures by Statistical and Remote Sensing Methods (CanBreach Project)

Conducting a tailings dam breach assessment (TDBA) is an important step in emergency preparedness and response planning. Following the occurrences of high-profile failure incidents, a multi-institution research project, called CanBreach, was started in 2019 to improve the state-of-the-art in TDBA practice. The University of Waterloo, through a four-year doctoral program, led the detailed statistical and remote sensing (i.e., satellite-based GIS and InSAR) components of the CanBreach project, with the central goal of enhancing case history knowledge. There were three main objectives in this doctoral program: 1. Understand the background hazard-risk: estimate the number of tailings dams to quantify the historical failure rate, in comparison to water-retention dams for context. 2. Map the consequences: geospatial analysis of archived satellite imagery and compilation of case history data to develop new empirical relations for tailings dam failures. 3. Evaluate modern solutions: application of Sentinel-1 InSAR technology, including multiple processing algorithms, to a ground-truth test site for comparison to monitoring prism data, and to several forensic case study sites to check if failures could have been predicted in advance. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the main contributions resulting from this doctoral program. The outcomes included: 1) a representative estimate of the number of tailings dams worldwide; 2) new insights into magnitude-frequency and failure statistics; 3) new case history databases of tailings dam failures and tailings flows supplemented with satellite images; and 4) a better understanding of the capabilities and limitations of Sentinel-1 InSAR for monitoring tailings dams. These contributions have implications for the hazard and risk assessment of tailings dams.Science, Faculty ofEarth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department ofNon UBCUnreviewedGraduateFacultyOthe