Homeostatic generative design process: Emergence of the adaptive architectural form and skin to excessive solar radiation

Natural organisms through their evolutionary developments, acquire adaptive morphological and behavioural characteristics within their environmental contexts. Through homeostatic behaviours, organisms, individually and collectively, will sustain internal and external equilibrium in face of environmental fluctuations. There is a wide range of morphological and behavioural traits across multiple species that are rooted in their homeostatic mechanisms throughout their lives. This paper presents an evolutionary design workflow with embedded homeostatic principles to generate a building cluster that is adapted to the contexts with extreme solar radiation

A Cross-Cultural and Trans-Generational Study: Links between Psychological Characteristics and Socio-Political Tendency amongst Urban Population in Afghanistan

Aim: This study examined how psychosocial characteristics might relate to adherence to democratic values among young and older people within two different cultural contexts in Afghanistan. Method: Self-report questionnaires were employed to measure empathy, theory of mind, gender role equality, openness to experiences, suggestibility, authoritarianism and support for democracy. A sample of 669 people from younger (18–25 years) and older (45 years and above) age groups from different cultural backgrounds in Afghanistan participated in the study. A series of MANOVAs were conducted to examine the cultural (Dari, Pashto), generational and gender differences on the study variables. Dari and Pashto speakers showed equal degrees of support for authoritarianism regardless of age difference. Results: The findings reveal that Dari speakers scored more highly on empathy, theory of mind, openness, gender role equality, democratic values and lower on suggestibility than Pashto speakers. Older Pashtun participants had lower scores on theory of mind than their younger counterparts. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis yields that gender role equality, openness and suggestibility predict support for democracy with gender role equality being the strongest predictor. Conclusion: The knowledge gained here would potentially be incorporated into the development of practical guidelines to be used by policy makers, education systems and the media to facilitate the process of democratization

Evolutionary Designed Building Skins with Embedded Biomimetic Adaptation Lessons

The ambition of this study is to create a computational design engine that develops testable simulated models that can adapt to various situations or environments by abstracting some adoption lessons from biology and their relationship to the evolutionary growth of natural systems. With an emphasis on the optimisation of thermal and visual comfort across specific floor areas, the abstracted principles of biology are used to develop building skin tissues. These designs, evaluations, and implementation principles are conceptualised and computationally simulated. The idea of nature as a repository of interconnected dynamic processes that are open to investigation and simulation has changed from a formal metaphor to credible applications that can be implemented to improve the built environment. Environmental catastrophes during the past 20 years have accelerated efforts to gain a deeper understanding of natural systems and processes. A greater congruence between architecture and nature is believed to be possible with the help of applying the principles of natural systems and processes to the construction of buildings. Examining and reflecting on the interrelations of forms, processes, and behaviours can yield useful strategies to develop architectural morphologies that require significant environmental performance enhancements. This paper aims to propose an evolutionary design process with embedded biomimetic principles to generate building skins with morphological characteristics that can be applied in the context of excessive solar radiation e.g. the Persian Gulf region, to maximise thermal comfort by blocking unwanted the solar radiatio

Short view of leukemia diagnosis and treatment in Iran

Background: Early diagnosis and treatment of leukemia patients remains a fundamental aim in clinical oncology, especially in developing country. Present study highlights the basic requirements of these patients in Iran. Better understanding of these issues may lead to improve the healthcare standards toward leukemia diagnosis and treatment. Methods: This descriptive study included 101 specialists in hematology-oncology and pathology serving in oncology centers. The participants were then asked to fill out a standard questionnaire on the issues around diagnosis and treatment of blood malignancies. Results: According to specialists, unfair distribution of facilities across the country, delayed diagnosis of disease, absence of psychological support for patients, and insufficient financial support were the main reasons of inappropriate diagnosis and treatment in leukemia patients. Conclusions: Our results show that making an amendment to health policies by preparing well-equipped medical centers in all provinces, improving the morale of patients through consultation during the process of treatment, and above all, subsiding leukemia patients' financial problems will promote the health standard regarding the leukemia diagnosis and treatment in Iran. © 2015, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). All rights reserved

The southern Zagros collisional orogen: new insights from transdimensional‐trees inversion of seismic noise

Imaging and resolving the lateral continuity of 3‐D crustal structures enhances our ability to interpret seismicity, and to understand how orogens are created. We apply a Bayesian, hierarchical inversion approach based on a transdimensional trees‐structured wavelet parameterisation to recover phase‐velocity maps at 2‐40 second periods. We then invert phase‐velocity dispersion to constrain a 3‐D shear‐velocity model of the crust beneath south‐central Iran. Together with accurate earthquake centroid depths and focal mechanisms, the pattern of 3‐D velocity variations supports recent suggestions that most large earthquakes in the Zagros occur within the lower sedimentary cover, or close to the sediment‐basement interface. Furthermore, we find evidence for Arabian basement underthrusting beneath central Iran, although only in one location does it appear to generate earthquakes. Our new 3‐D tomographic model clarifies and throws new light on the crustal structure of the SE Zagros and its relation to seismicity and active faulting

The Southern Zagros Collisional Orogen: New Insights From Transdimensional Trees Inversion of Seismic Noise

Imaging and resolving the lateral continuity of 3-D crustal structures enhances our ability to interpret seismicity, and to understand how orogens are created. We apply a Bayesian, hierarchical inversion approach based on a transdimensional trees-structured wavelet parameterisation to recover phase-velocity maps at 2-40 second periods. We then invert phase-velocity dispersion to constrain a 3-D shear-velocity model of the crust beneath south-central Iran. Together with accurate earthquake centroid depths and focal mechanisms, the pattern of 3-D velocity variations supports recent suggestions that most large earthquakes in the Zagros occur within the lower sedimentary cover, or close to the sediment-basement interface. Furthermore, we fi nd evidence for Arabian basement underthrusting beneath central Iran, although only in one location does it appear to generate earthquakes. Our new 3-D tomographic model clarifi es and throws new light on the crustal structure of the SE Zagros and its relation to seismicity and active faulting.NERC Horizon 2020 Petroleum Institute Research Centr

Caffeine and Sodium Bicarbonate Supplementation Alone or Together Improve Karate Performance

Background: The ergogenic properties of acute caffeine (CAF) and sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) ingestion on athletic performance have been previously investigated. However, each sport has unique physiological and technical characteristics which warrants optimizing supplementations strategies for maximizing performance. This study examined the effects of CAF and NaHCO3 ingestion on physiological responses and rate of perceived exertion during a Karate-specific aerobic test (KSAT) in competitive karatekas. Methods: In a double-blind, crossover, randomized placebo-controlled trial, eight Karatekas underwent five experimental conditions including control (CON), placebo (PLA), CAF, NaHCO3, and CAF + NaHCO3 before completing KSAT. Capsules containing 6 mg/kg BW CAF were consumed 50 min prior to a KSAT whilst 0.3 g/kg BW NaHCO3 was consumed for 3 days leading to and 120, 90, and 60 min prior to a KSAT. Time to exhaustion (TTE), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and blood lactate (BL) were measured before, immediately after and 3 min following KSAT. Results: TTE was significantly greater following CAF, NaHCO3, and CAF + NaHCO3 consumption compared to PLA and CON. However, the differences between CAF, NaHCO3, and CAF+NaHCO3 were not statistically significant (p \u3e 0.05). BL increased significantly from baseline to immediately after and 3 min following KSAT in all conditions (p \u3c 0.01), while RPE at the end of KSAT was not significantly different between conditions (p = 0.11). Conclusions: Karate practitioners may benefit from the ergogenic effects of CAF and NaHCO3 when consumed separately or together