Automated surface crack detection in historical constructions with various materials using deep learning-based YOLO network

Cultural heritage (CH) constructions involve the use of diverse masonry materials. Under natural and human influences, masonry materials can undergo various types of damages, with crack damages being most prevalent. Developing a robust model capable of detecting cracks in various CH materials is crucial for applying deep learning (DL) methods. In this study, we compared the performance of the DL method You Only Look Once (YOLO) object detection network based on images in different masonry materials (stone, brick, cob, and tile) with that in a modern material (concrete). The dataset used in the study comprised 1213 brick, 1116 concrete, 955 cob, 882 stone, and 208 tile images. YOLOv5 architecture, transfer learning, and object detection models were utilized for detecting cracks to observe and compare their performance in different materials. This study represents the first comparison of this kind using an original dataset. The model achieved mean average precision values of 94.4%, 93.9%, 92.7%, 87.2%, 83.4%, 81.6%, and 70.3% for concrete; concrete and cob, cob; stone; stone and brick; brick; and tile, respectively. The findings of this study indicate considerable potential for the widespread use of DL techniques in identifying cracks from images and detecting more damages across various materials.This research has been partly funded by the European Unions Horizon research and innovation program under the Marie Skodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101063722. This work was partly financed by FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC) under the R & D Unit Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE), under reference UIDB/04029/2020 (doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/04029/2020), and under the Associate Laboratory Advanced Production and Intelligent Systems ARISE under reference LA/P/0112/2020

Green and practical synthesis of benzopyran and 3-sunstituted coumarin derivatives by Brønsted acid ionic liquid [(CH2)4SO3HMIM][HSO4]

Different benzopyran and 3-substituted coumarin derivatives were synthesized by a green and practical procedure in the presence of catalytic amount of Brønsted acid ionic liquid (BAIL) [(CH2)4SO3HMIM][HSO4] in water.KEY WORDS: Benzopyran derivatives, 3-Substituted coumarin derivatives, Brønsted acid ionic liquid, 1-(4-Sulfonic acid)butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2011, 25(2), 315-320.

Manifestation of the Masnavi (Masnavi-ye-Manavi) poems related to the prophets stories in Safavid paintings

بیان مسئله: مثنوی معنوی مولوی یکی از برترین کتاب‌های ادبیات عرفانی کهن فارسی و حکمت پارسی پس از اسلام است که مضامین عرفانی و ادبی آن یکی از موضوع‌های اصلی نگاره‌های دوره صفویه (907-1135 ه.ق) محسوب می‌شود. حکایات موجود در مثنوی دستمایه‌ای برای بیان اندیشه‌های عرفانی مولوی است. سرچشمه این داستان‌ها، قرآن و احادیث و روایاتی است که مولوی از آن استفاده کرده و از داستان‌های پیامبران برای القاءِ مضامین عرفانی بهره گرفته است. از آنجا که تبیین زیبایی‌شناسی هنر نگارگری مبتنی بر آموزه‌های عرفانی به‌ویژه عالم خیال یا عالم مثال بوده است، هم‌راستا با حکایات مثنوی، هنرمندان نگارگر صفوی نیز با برداشت‌هایی از اشعار و اندیشه‌های عرفانی مولوی و تأثیر از آیات قرآنی به تصویرگری این داستان‌های دینی، به‌ویژه داستان‌های پیامبران همت گماشته‌اند و ماحصل بیان تصویری داستان‌های پیامبران به ‌شیوه فضاسازی چندساحتی نگارگری، نمود معانی حکمی و عرفانی در این نگاره‌هاست. سؤال اصلی تحقیق به این شرح است که کاربرد چه عناصر بصری از نگاره‌های مثنوی و معنوی داستان‌های زندگی پیامبران دوره‌ صفوی نمود مضامین عرفانی و حکمی است؟هدف: هدف اصلی پژوهش در بر دارندة بررسی مفاهیم موجود در اشعار مثنوی معنوی در نگاره‌های دوره صفوی (با تکیه بر داستان‌های مثنوی مولوی) است.روش پژوهش: این پژوهش به روش توصیفی و تحلیلی و شیوه گردآوری اطلاعات به‌‌صورت کتابخانه‌ای (اسنادی)، در صدد بررسی ارتباط بین دو موضوع کاربرد عناصر بصری و شیوه فضاسازی در نگاره‌های عصر صفوی با مضامین عرفانی و مذهبی مثنوی معنوی با تکیه بر داستان‌های پیامبران است.یافته‌ها: یافته‌های پژوهش حاکی از این است که با توجه به ارتباط نزدیک قوه‌خیال در نگارگری با مضامین عرفانی، انعکاس فضاهای چندساحتی، عدم بُعدنمایی، کاربرد فرم یا صورت در نگاره‌های دوره صفوی بی‌شک متأثر از بینش عرفانی اسلامی است که به نگارگری دوره صفوی معنا و مفهوم ویژه‌ای بخشیده و اوج کمال و انسجام نظام چندساحتی نگارگری ایرانی در کنار ادبیات عرفانی در این نگاره‌ها جلوه‌گر شده است

Knowledge and Attitude toward Epilepsy of Close Family Members of People with Epilepsy in North of Iran

Background. Knowledge and attitudes are required for relatives of people with epilepsy to allow them to better understand and cope with this condition. This study evaluated the knowledge and attitudes of family members of people with epilepsy about the disease. Methods. This cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire completed by close family members of people with epilepsy at the outpatient clinic of a medical university. The questionnaire included 25 items that determined the demographics and information on the level of knowledge and attitudes about epilepsy. Results. The 124 participants had an average age of 36.88±10.68 years. The mean knowledge score was 10.32±2.25 (range: 4 to 15). 87.1% of respondents answered that epilepsy is a brain disorder, 39 (31.5%) said epilepsy is inherited. As a whole, 62 (50%) had good knowledge about the disease. The mean score of attitude was 7.25±1.54 (range: 2 to 10). 83.9% of respondents believed that a person with epilepsy can get married and get pregnant (76.6%). Overall, 15 (12.1%) had negative attitudes and 109 (87.9%) had positive attitudes. Conclusion. The main findings of this study indicated good knowledge and a positive attitude about epilepsy among family members of people with epilepsy

The Role of Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque’s Buttresses in Prevention of its Thrust and Reasons for its Recent Re-thrust

Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque is one of the important mosques in Isfahan located on the east side of Naghshejahan Square. The mosque was built from 1602 to 1606 A.D. by Mohammad Reza Isfahani. The structural balance was damaged after the destruction of the school behind the mosque and later the existing bathroom and Turkish closet. Afterwards, in 1934-1938, the project to construct the buttresses began, due to the thrust movement in the north and north-west side of the mosque. Currently, deformation and movement can be observed, despite the presence of these buttresses which are examined in this research using field studies, a careful examination of the buttresses and vulnerability analysis in the area according to library studies. The results of this study verify the presence of ascending moisture caused by leakage of water and sewage pipes in the area as the main reasons for this damage. Therefore, replacement of pipes, foundation grouting and organizing the area are among the restoration project requirements.

Comparative analysis of inflammatory markers produced by macrophages inoculated with invasive and colonizing strains of Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococcus) and evaluation of patients' clinical data

Introduction: Group B Streptococcus (GBS), infection and recurrence in newborns and pregnant women can lead to chronic medical illness resulting in significant morbidity, and mortality. Pathogenesis of GBS may be due to reasons such as activation of the immune system, followed by the production of inflammatory markers and toxic components by immune cells including macrophages. Methods: The studies on invasive and colonizing GBS strains inoculated either with peripheral or brain macrophages, the expression of nitric oxide (NO), cell viability, and CD40 were also measured by Griess assay, methyl tetrazolium assay (MTT), and flow cytometry, respectively. Furthermore, the clinical manifestations of the selected patients were also assessed for this study. Results: Outcome of inflammatory markers studies, after GBS inoculation indicated that, invasive GBS strains induced higher inflammatory markers in comparison to colonizing GBS strains. Furthermore, patients’ clinical data showed that patients with invasive GBS infections had severe condition unlike among patients with colonizing GBS strains. The fatality rate in patients with invasive GBS strain were 30.8% while there was no death among carriers. Conclusion: This study, aimed to understand the immune response to GBS, and strengthen the knowledge on GBS pathogenesis. It was concluded that invasive GBS strains not only showed higher expression of inflammatory markers on immune cells but also had higher pathogenesis effect in comparison to colonizing GBS strains

Effect of High- Fiber Diet alongside with Aerobic Exercise on HbA1c, Fasting Blood Glucose and BMI of Overweight Diabetic Women

Introduction: New lifestyle is one of the most important causes of increased prevalence of diabetes due to inappropriate nutrition, consecutive stress, and lack of physical activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of high- fiber diet and aerobic exercise on fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, and BMI in diabetic overweight women. Methods: 41 overweight females with type 2 diabetes (aged between 40- 60) were selected to participate in the study. Patients were randomly divided into four groups including (control, high-fiber diet, aerobic exercise, and high-fiber diet+ aerobic exercise). The high fiber diet group consumed 25-30 gr fiber daily during 12 weeks. The aerobic exercise intensity was 60% of maximum heart rate, and each session took 20- 45 minutes (every two weeks 5 minutes was added). High-fiber diet + exercise group did the aerobic exercises, in addition to receiving 25-30 gr fiber in a day. The control group had no regular exercise activities or a special diet. Fasting blood sugar (FBS) samples were taken before and after the test. Data was analysed by Mann-Whitney U-test and Covariance analysis tests. Results: The results of the study showed a significant reduction in HbA1c in the exercise group and in the high- fiber diet + exercise group compared to the control group (p=0.001). There were no significant differences in fasting blood glucose in the experimental groups compared to the control group (p=0.482). BMI changes were significantly higher in both control, and high- fiber diet + exercise groups (p=0.050). Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed that aerobic exercise can solely or combined with a high-fiber diet relieve the chronic symptoms of diabetes. Also, BMI could have a significant decrease due to exercise and high-fiber diet. As a result, it seems that a regular exercise program and a high-fiber diet can be a part of prevention and treatment of diabetes