Feasibility Study of Development of International Liability of Ultra-Hazardous Activities to Epidemics

The occurrence of global epidemics such as SARS, Covid-19, Zika, etc. showed that the conventional rules of international law can hardly prevent the occurrence of catastrophes that apparently can not be attributed to the violation of the obligation by one of the subjects of international law. The reliance of the mechanism of reparations of the system of responsibility for wrongful acts on the occurrence of a prior wrongdoing provides an opportunity for states of origin of epidemics to be free from the obligation to compensate. In these circumstances, it can be beneficial to pay attention to the relatively emerging concept of "Liability for ultra-hazardous activity", which implies the establishment of liability beyond the wrongful act. This article, while explaining this type of liability and examining its legal origin, tries to examine whether it is possible to extend the rules of this kind of liability to the activities that cause epidemics. This article concludes that there are similarities between ultra-hazardous activities and those that lead to epidemics, but in order to use the concept of liability for not-prohibited activities, some components need to be met

Investigating the factors affecting the competitiveness of small and medium companies in Sanandaj

The present study is conducted to investigate the factors affecting the competitiveness of small and medium companies in Sanandaj city, Iran. 177 small and medium companies were investigated and 130 questionnaires were prepared by using stratified random sampling and 121 experts and administrators have responded to the questionnaire. According to the theoretical principles, samples are provided that the research findings confirmed the model and result of path analysis showed the direct effect of variables of industry and specialized environment on companies' competitiveness. In the present study in order to analyze the data obtained from the questionnaires, due to the statistical needs the social sciences statistical software, structural equation of partial least squares model methods were used in form of descriptive and correlations statistics. Finally, these factors were prioritized by using the Friedman test. According to the obtained results from this research, the mean of the existing competitors' rate was 4.41 which has the lowest rate in affecting the competitiveness of small and medium companies. But we can see the highest rates of influencing the competitiveness of small and medium companies in the management dimension with the mean rate of 7.70. Therefore, the highest and lowest influencing rate can be seen in both industry and specialized environment sectors by comparing the mean of rates

Investigating the factors affecting the competitiveness of small and medium companies in Sanandaj

The present study is conducted to investigate the factors affecting the competitiveness of small and medium companies in Sanandaj city, Iran. 177 small and medium companies were investigated and 130 questionnaires were prepared by using stratified random sampling and 121 experts and administrators have responded to the questionnaire. According to the theoretical principles, samples are provided that the research findings confirmed the model and result of path analysis showed the direct effect of variables of industry and specialized environment on companies' competitiveness. In the present study in order to analyze the data obtained from the questionnaires, due to the statistical needs the social sciences statistical software, structural equation of partial least squares model methods were used in form of descriptive and correlations statistics. Finally, these factors were prioritized by using the Friedman test. According to the obtained results from this research, the mean of the existing competitors' rate was 4.41 which has the lowest rate in affecting the competitiveness of small and medium companies. But we can see the highest rates of influencing the competitiveness of small and medium companies in the management dimension with the mean rate of 7.70. Therefore, the highest and lowest influencing rate can be seen in both industry and specialized environment sectors by comparing the mean of rates

A multi‐layer framework for energy efficiency assessment of shore‐to‐ship fast charging systems including onshore batteries

This paper proposes a three-layer framework for energy efficiency evaluation of Shore-to-Ship Charging (S2SC) systems using load-dependent loss models of the components. The considered S2SC system is supplied by the grid but is also supported by On-Shore Batteries (OSB). The presented approach is then used to investigate the impact of the specific design and operational parameters on energy efficiency. Power system architectures for three general S2SC solutions for ac, dc, and inductive charging are defined and compared in terms of energy efficiency. Operational parameters are also considered in the analysis, namely, the grid power ratio, determining the load sharing between the grid and the OSB, as well as the OSB charging profile. A case study is performed with peak charging power of 1 MW, and the most efficient S2SC solutions are identified for both ac- and dc-based onboard power systems. Moreover, it is shown that charging OSB with the highest available power from the grid between the charging breaks would often lead to higher energy efficiency than the maximum utilization of the available charging time. Field data from a real S2SC system is used to verify the estimated energy efficiency by the proposed framework. The analysis of the real case S2SC is then extended to include and verify a projected OSB. © 2022 The Authors. IET Electrical Systems in Transportation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Institution of Engineering and Technology.A multi‐layer framework for energy efficiency assessment of shore‐to‐ship fast charging systems including onshore batteriespublishedVersio

The Effect of Probiotics on Late-Onset Sepsis in Very Preterm Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background Late onset sepsis is a frequent complication of prematurity, associated with increased mortality and morbidity. Probiotics may prevent late onset sepsis in premature infants. The aim of this study was to determine prophylactic effect of oral probiotics in prevention of late onset sepsis of very preterm infants. Materials and Methods This study was a randomized, double blinded, placebo controlled trial. Eighty preterm infants born at 0.05). Conclusion According to the results, usage of prophylactic probiotics can reduce the incidence of late onset sepsis and its mortality. By consuming probiotics preterm infants could reach the full enteral feeding in a shorter period of time, but the duration of hospitalization not reduced

Techno-Economic Assessment of the AHP Based Selected Method for Separating Formic Acid from an Aqueous Effluent

Formic acid (FA) is used across the world for a wide variety of applications spanning from chemical production to textile and pharmaceutical industries. FA can be synthesized efficiently from the lignocellulosic biomass constituent carbohydrates by acid hydrolysis in a dilute aqueous reaction media. Since FA forms an azeotrope with water, its purification, water recycle and reuse are vital to establishing a cost-competitive process. In this study, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was implemented to determine the desired separation method for isolating FA from a 3 wt.% aqueous solution by considering the advantages and disadvantages of each process. Four parameters named as scalable, quality of the final product, repeatable, and energy consumption were defined as criteria to perform AHP analysis. Furthermore, six alternative approaches namely (i) azeotropic distillation, (ii) extractive distillation with a liquid solvent and (iii) solid salt, (iv) the combination of liquid solvent and solid salt, (v) pressure-swing distillation, and (vi) liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) were examined to decide the most preferred separation method with respect to the goal, which is the desired separation method. The AHP results indicated that the alternative approach, the LLE and the scalable criteria have the highest preference with 39.4% and 54% priority, respectively. The proposed process based on the alternative approach could extract 99% of FA by using diethyl ether. Moreover, an estimated minimum selling price (MSP) of 2.48 $/kg FA with 97.4% purity was achieved by using techno-economic assessment for a typical plant with 1715 ton/day capacity

Selenium supplementation in the form of selenium nanoparticles and selenite sodium improves mature male mice reproductive performances

Objective(s): The current study was conducted to examine the possible protective and retentive effects of one-week intra-peritoneal (IP) administration of selenium nanoparticles (Se-NPs), compared to its bulk counterpart, selenite sodium (Ss), after one complete cycle of spermatogenesis in mature male mice. Materials and Methods: Thirty adult male mice were divided into 3 groups. Control group was administrated phosphate-buffered saline (IP) and the other groups received Ss (0.50 mg kg-1) and Se-NPs (0.50 mg kg-1) for seven successive days. Then, the animals were monitored for 28 days and finally sacrificed and tissue and blood samples were taken. Histopathological features, sperm quality, in vitro fertilization (IVF) capability and selenium (Se) content in testicular tissue were analyzed. Antioxidant enzyme activities including catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase as well as total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde levels were assessed in blood and the tissue samples. Results: Remarkable differences were found in sperm characteristics, histopathological features and oxidative stress biomarkers between control and treatment groups. Moreover, IVF evaluation and tissue Se concentration examination weren’t similar for Se-NPs and Ss. Conclusion: Conclusively, Se-treated groups had more antioxidant capacity than the control group, but sperm quality and histopathological features revealed that Se-NPs might possess more antioxidative and retentive potential compared to Ss in one spermatogenesis cycle