Selecting an Appropriate Express Railway Pavement System Using VIKOR Multi-Criteria Decision Making Model

A gigantic evolution has been brought about in the railway transportation by the emergence of the expressways as the most efficient method of carrying passengers within short and medium interurban distances. Various types of expressway pavements have been offered during the recent years. A considerable amount of the repair and maintenance costs in railroad sector is allocated to the constituents forming the pavements. No thorough and precise research has been so far conducted on the railroad expressways featuring traffics with speeds over 250 km/h and the extant information have merely been trivial changes in the procedures existent for speeds below 200 km/h and these are not deemed of much use and applicability. Thus, the current research paper is devoted to the investigation and selection of express railways pavement system design using VIKOR method. The evaluations indicate that the commencement of the first high-speed train work in 1964 in Japan marked a turning point in the railroad passenger transportation in the world. The development of the high-speed railway transportation is enumerated as an important revolution helping the railroads retake their crucial role in passenger transportation in such a way that it is found overtaking the roadway and aerial transportation and even exposing some airlines to real crisis. The high-speed railroad is undergoing an intensive expansion worldwide and as a safe, sound and sustainable transportation system, it has well proved its role in the social and economic development of the nations

Computing edge version of eccentric connectivity index of nanostar dendrimers

Let G be a molecular graph, the edge version of eccentric connectivity index of G are defined as ( ) ( ) å ∈ ( ) = ⋅ GEf c e ξ (G) deg f ecc f , where deg( f ) denotes the degree of an edge f and ecc( f ) is the largest distance between f and any other edge g of G , namely, eccentricity of f . In this paper exact formulas for the edge version of eccentric connectivity index of two classes of nanostar dendrimers were computed

Motor Learning in children with ADHD and Normal Children: Comparison of Implicit and Explicit Motor Sequence

Introduction: Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) face many academic and training problems and also impose some problems on their teachers and classmates. Motor learning can be categorized into two main types: implicit and explicit. The main goal of the present study was to investigate the possible differences between implicit and explicit motor sequence learning in children with ADHD and normal children by using serial reaction time task. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 24 children with ADHD, who were equally assigned to explicit and implicit learning groups, and 24 normal children, also equally assigned to implicit and explicit learning groups. Each group, therefore, consisted of 12 participants. Repetitive Measure ANOVA was run to compare reaction time and error in different blocks, and squared t-test was used to compare regular and irregular blocks. Results: Comparison of implicit and explicit learning for accuracy (the number of reaction errors) and speed (response time) revealed the accuracy to be P=0.012 and speed P=0.012 in ADHD explicit group, and accuracy P=0.094 and speed P=0.954, in ADHD implicit group. Normal explicit group indicated accuracy of (P=0.008) and speed of (P=0.05) and normal implicit group indicated accuracy of (P=0.011) and speed of (P=0.442). Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that explanation and description of the task was more effective in motor sequence learning in ADHD children. It is, therefore, recommended that pre-exercise training be included in the programs provided to these children.Keywords: Motor Sequence, Explicit Learning, Implicit Learning, ADH

A sub-threshold differential cmos schmitt trigger with adjustable hysteresis based on body bias technique

This paper presents a sub-threshold differential CMOS Schmitt trigger with tunable hysteresis, which can be used to enhance the noise immunity of low-power electronic systems. By exploiting the body bias technique to the positive feedback transistors, the hysteresis of the proposed Schmitt trigger is generated, and it can be adjusted by the applied bias voltage to the bulk terminal of the utilized PMOS transistors. The principle of operation and the main formulas of the proposed circuit are discussed. The circuit is designed in a 0.18-μm standard CMOS process with a 0.6 V power supply. Post-layout simulation results show that the hysteresis width of the Schmitt trigger can be adjusted from 45.5 mV to 162 mV where the ratio of the hysteresis width variation to supply voltage is 19.4%. This circuit consumes 10.52 × 7.91 μm2 of silicon area, and its power consumption is only 1.38 μW, which makes it a suitable candidate for low-power applications such as portable electronic, biomedical, and bio-implantable systems

Examining and comparing the economic effects of spillovers of investment risk in Iran: Computable general equilibrium model approach

Investment is as much as important for economic and social development that it is considered as one of the powerful levers for achieving the development. Accordingly, it is of great importance to assess the investment risk and its spillovers in all developed and developing countries because the risk phenomenon is one of the key features of decision making in the field of investment, affairs related to financial markets and a variety of economic activities. In this regard, the present paper evaluates the effect of investment risk spillover on key economic indicators using a computable general equilibrium model and the GTAP.9 database and the 2011 social accounting matrix (SAM) have been used for this purpose. Two scenarios of 10% and 3% increase in investment risk are considered in order to investigate the effect of these changes according to a recent trend analysis of economic indicators in Iran and the trend of the Iranian economy towards globalization and opening of the economy windows. The results show that both scenarios reduce investment risk, inflation, gross domestic product and total investment. Government expenditures are reduced in all sectors of the economy except for the service sector, which is almost unchanged. The exports are increased in all sectors and the imports are declined in sectors of agriculture, industry and services. As well as, the results show that the import of the oil and gas sector has not been heavily influenced by the investment risk due to its governmental status. By assessing these two scenarios and the sensitivity of the macroeconomic indicators to the degree of risk change, it can be stated that the key economic indicators will be significantly improved by managing the risk of investment; and the country will ultimately follow the development path more quickly

Relationship between thyroid hormone levels in euthyroid patients before HSCT and time to achieve neutrophil and platelet engraftment: an analytical cross-sectional study

Introduction. The time to reach neutrophil (NE) and platelet engraftment (PE) in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is one of the most important factors indicating transplantation survival. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between thyroid hormone levels before HSCT and the time to achieve NE and PE. Material and methods. The relationship between thyroid hormone levels before HSCT, age, gender, type of HSCT, type of disease and cluster of differentiation 34+ (CD34+) cell count and the number of days to reach NE and PE was examined in 37 clinically and laboratorially euthyroid patients. Results. An odds ratio (OR) of > 6 was observed in the probability of time to NE > 10 days in patients with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) > 2.89 mU/L in the upper normal range (UNR) and male patients, also in the probability of time to PE > 15 days in patients with TSH > 2.89 mU/L in the UNR. Statistically significant p-value and confidence interval were found in the probability of time to NE > 10 days in male patients (OR = 8.58, p-value = 0.036) and time to PE > 15 days in patients with TSH > 2.89 mU/L in the UNR (OR = 14.32, p-value = 0.041). Conclusions. Treatment with low dose levothyroxine can be cautiously recommended to achieve TSH to ≤2.8 mU/L in the lower normal range before performing HSCT in euthyroid patients, which will reduce the times to NE and PE and help earlier discharge of patients

Quality of life in the Iranian Blind War Survivors in 2007: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Quality of Life measurements are necessary tools for effectively evaluating health services. In the population of patients afflicted with war-related blindness in Iran, such measurements have yet to be documented and utilized. "The design and implementation of this study involved the determination of a baseline score for QOL in a population of Iranian blinded in the Iraq-Iran war in order to facilitate the design of interventions intended to improve the population's QOL."</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a cross-sectional study of a representative population of 250 war victims blind in both eyes at a 14-day recreational conference.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Participants had a mean age of 43.20(SD8.34) and their composition was 96.5% male and 3.5% female with a mean SF-36 QOL score of 59.20(SD22.80). An increasing level of education among the participants correlated with a higher QOL score (p = 0.006). The QOL also has a significant correlation to number of injuries (p < 0.0001). High systolic and diastolic blood pressure, hearing loss, and tinnitus had negative individual correlations to QOL (p = 0.016, 0.016, 0.005, p < 0.0001). The male sexual disorders of erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation both had significant correlations to QOL (p = 0.026, p < 0.0001). Hypercholesterolemia showed significant correlation to QOL (p = 0.021).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>As blind war survivors' age, they will present with a greater set of burdens despite their relatively better QOL in the physical component scale when compared with lower limb amputees. Risk factors of cardiovascular attack such as high blood pressure and hypercholesterolemia were present and need future interventions.</p> <p>Key words</p> <p>Quality of life, blindness, SF36, health</p

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe