Solving Time-Cost Tradeoff Problem with Resource Constraint Using Fuzzy Mathematical Model

Scheduling considered being one of the most fundamental and essential bases of the project management. Several methods are used for project scheduling such as CPM, PERT and GERT. Since too many uncertainties are involved in methods for estimating the duration and cost of activities, these methods lack the capability of modeling practical projects. Although schedules can be developed for construction projects at early stage, there is always a possibility for unexpected material or technical shortages during construction stage. The objective of this research is to build a fuzzy mathematical model including time cost tradeoff and resource constraints analysis to be applied concurrently. The proposed model has been formulated using fuzzy theory combining CPM computations, time-cost trade off analysis and resource constraint. MATLAB software has been adopted to perform ranking process, for each case, that facilitates obtaining the optimum solution. This research infers that it is possible to perform time-cost trade off analysis with resource restriction simultaneously, which ensures achieving scheduling optimum solution reducing the effort and the time when performing these techniques in succession using traditional methods

Identification of a novel mutation of MTP gene in a patient with abetalipoproteinemia

Abetalipoproteinemia (ABL), or Bassen-Kornzweig syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of lipoprotein metabolism, characterized by fat malabsorption, hypocholesterolemia retinitis pigmentosa, progressive neuropathy and acanthocytosis from early infancy. We describe the clinical and molecular characterization of a 6-month-old infant born of consanguineous, apparently healthy parents from Iran. The patient was hospitalized because of failure to thrive, greasy stool and vomiting. The patient's serum lipid profile, the clinical phenotype and the duodenal histology suggested the clinical diagnosis of ABL. The MTP gene analysis by direct sequencing revealed a novel homozygous mutation (c.1586 A > G-H529R). The parents were heterozygotes for the same mutation and interestingly the father showed a lipid profile characterized by a slight reduction of total and LDL-cholesterol plasma levels

Comparing the Design Alternatives Using Building Information Model (BIM) and Constructability in Iraqi Construction Projects

The Iraqi construction industry suffers from many issues that lead to many design errors, clashes, delays and cost overruns. Therefore, applying constructability will prevent these issues from happening, as it has proven its positive effect in different projects around the world. The goal of this paper is to use building information modelling (BIM) to assess the constructability, provide the opportunities for the project stakeholders to choose the best constructable design alternative and find the affection of applying constructability on project cost. The practical side of this research consists of two parts: in the first part, 37 factors are collected from the literature review as factors that effect on constructability. After that, a survey occurs in two sessions an open and closed questionnaire. The results were analyzed, and their mean, standard deviation, Cronbach's Alpha and developed weight will be found. The second part clears the method of linking these factors with BIM in order to assess the constructability in two different designs’ projects and find their cost. The method applies through a case study of an educational building located in Baghdad, Iraq; Rivet and Microsoft Excel programs are used in this paper. the result approves the success of using BIM technology to assess the constructability of a project in Iraq. Also, it shows how project cost will be affected when applying constructability factors

The adoption of green management in Iraqi construction industry: The challenges and benefits

Working locally acting Globally is the essential principle in the modern world, to achieve this principle all the countries should work together to protect the Natural environment and the ecosystem. The protection methods and procedures were developed and adapted to suit all fields of the life specially the industry fields, green management (GM) considered one of the important methods for this purpose because it provides the bases for environmental conservation. Industry of construction shares a high percentage of the world economy as well as adverse influence on the environment as natural. The current work paper tries to set the challenges and benefits of adopting the GM in Iraqi industry of construction throughout exploring the important aspects (main and sub aspects) that affect the applications of the GM as well as the motivation aspects. To achieve this goal a review of literatures was performed to collect the influencing aspects, then these aspects were evaluated by the experts using questionnaire survey and the questionnaire results were analyzed utilizing Process of Analytical Hierarchy (AHP). The results revealed that the main aspects are the financial aspects and the Project-related and technical aspects with 23% and 19% of important respectively. Accordingly, the conclusions were extracted with a set of recommendations which mainly state the important role of the Iraqi government in the application of GM in the industry of construction

Compliant Leg Architectures and a Linear Control Strategy for the Stable Running of Planar Biped Robots

This paper investigates two fundamental structures for biped robots and a control strategy to achieve stable biped running. The first biped structure contains straight legs with telescopic springs, and the second one contains knees with compliant elements in parallel with the motors. With both configurations we can use a standard linear discrete-time state-feedback control strategy to achieve an active periodic stable biped running gait, using the Poincare map of one complete step to produce the discrete-time model. In this case, the Poincare map describes an open-loop system with an unstable equilibrium, requiring a closed loop control for tabilization. The discretization contains a stance phase, a flight phase and a touch-down. In the first approach, the control signals remain constant during each phase, while in the second approach both phases are discretized into a number of constant-torque intervals, so that its formulation can be applied easily to stabilize any active biped running gait. Simulation results with both the straight-legged and the kneed biped model demonstrate stable gaits on both horizontal and inclined surfaces

Normative values of visual evoked potentials in Northeastern of Iran Valores normativos de los potenciales evocados visuales en el Nordeste de Irán

Purpose: Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) provide important diagnostic information related to the functional integrity of the visual pathways. The aim of this study was to establish normative values of different components of pattern reversal VEPs on Iranian normal adult subjects. Methods: Monocular and binocular pattern reversal VEPs were recorded on 59 healthy participants (22.55 ± 3.79 years old) using the Roland RETI system for two check sizes of 15 and 60 min of arc. The measured VEP components were the latencies of N75, P100, N135 and amplitude of N75�P100. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA showed that viewing eye condition has a significant impact on the amplitude of N75�P100 (P < 0.001, F = 13.89). Also, the effect of check size on the latencies of N75, P100, N135, amplitude of N75�P100 (P � 0.010), as well as the intraocular difference of P100 latency and amplitude N75�P100 (P = 0.007) was significant. More specifically, the amplitude of N75�P100 in both check sizes significantly differed between gender groups (P < 0.023). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, VEPs components are affected by the stimulus size, monocular and binocular recording conditions and gender. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the normative values of VEPs in each population, so that the results could be used in clinical studies. © 2019 Spanish General Council of Optometr

Causes &clinical presentation of hypotonia in children

Background: Hypotonia is not a specific medical disorder, but a potential manifestation of many different diseases and disorders. The long-term effects of hypotonia on a child's development and later life depend primarily on the severity of the muscle weakness and the nature of the cause. Patients &Methods: A prospective, cross sectional descriptive study in which 62 patients with hypotonia, age 3months to13 years, were evaluated in children welfare teaching hospital /Baghdad (a tertiary care center), over 4months Period (1st of January to 1st of May,2008 ) . Children were categorized into groups of central , peripheral& systemic hypotonia, and specific diagnosis of each of groups was made by clinical findings, neuroimaging, metabolic, muscular enzymes, Electromyography-Nerve conduction velocity, thyroid function tests, Serum Calicium&X- RAY of left wrist,& TORCH (Toxoplasmosis,others, rubella, CMV, herps simplex) assay in our medical teaching laboratories. Results: The most common cause of hypotonia was central in 30 patients (48.4 %). (Four patient with unknown causes), the most common lesion was brain atrophy detected by CT scan examination in 23/30 (76.7%). Peripheral causes found in 14/58 (22.6%) which include myopathies in 7 patients (11.3%), anterior horn cell lesion in 7 patients (11.3%). Systemic causes were found in 14/58 (22.6%). Early Onset in 46/62 (74.2%), while late onset constituted 16/62 (25.8%).The most common mode of presentation is delayed mile stones found in 32 patients (51.6%). Conclusions: The most common cause of hypotonia in children enrolled in the study is central lesion and commonly occurs in pre natal, natal & post natal periods. The most common finding is brain atrophy diagnosed by CT scan, while the most common presentation is delayed milestones, and most common type of weakness is proximal

What the political economy literature tells us about blockades and sanctions

Economic sanctions are usually defined as restrictions on customary trade and financial relations imposed by one or more countries against a target country, group, or individual for political and security policy purposes. Most existing studies of the effects of sanctions and blockades, whether bilateral or multilateral, are conducted from the perspective of the initiating or ‘sender’ country, which is typically a great power, e.g., the United States. However, there is a lack of literature on the possible policies that target nations may develop to prevent compromising their security, especially economic security, as well as neutralize the negative impact of sanctions. Sanctions and blockades disrupt the flow of international trade in goods, services and capital. These have consequences for the composition of output, employment, consumption and investment, and may also exert substantial effects on households, firms and government expenditures in targeted nations. Thus, it is important to understand the effects of blockades and sanctions on economic growth and public expenditure on security, military, health and education. Apart from the long-run growth consequences of sanctions and blockades, many of the macroeconomic effects are likely to be relatively short-lived, decaying over time as the economy adjusts to sanctions. Therefore, econometric techniques applied to investigate the impact of sanctions should be able to capture the simultaneous interplay between economic outcomes, political factors and adjustment processes, as in reality economics and politics are inseparable

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2–4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease