The Response of Residents of the Building and Non-structural Components, in Contrast to Explosions at Ground Level from the Standpoint of Passive Defense

The research by non-military research associations and assemblies on explosion have increased due to the growth in the death and damage rates resulting from explosion, particularly blasts induced by terroristic invasions which mostly occur on the ground. Most studies are conducted with a major focus on strengthening the structures against explosions. Further, scholars have focused on resistance and ductility criteria required for the design and control over structural elements. Now, the question is whether the health of a structure can represent its inhabitants’ health. Few studies have been done on the convenience of inhabitants and response of non-structural elements, which are limited to impact of vibrations on high-rise structures caused by the loads imposed by wind and earthquake. The important factors relevant to the health and convenience of building inhabitants are as follows: speed, acceleration, and variations in the acceleration of floors.In this paper, the aforementioned parameters are measured, according to which the convenience and health of inhabitants were assessed. For this purpose, two 4-story and 8-story buildings were selected on which four selective explosions were applied. The results were then presented in two forms of maximum values and dynamic response by performing dynamic modal linear time history analysis. The building's response under typical forces such as dead and live and earthquake forces was remarkably desirable and the behavior remained linear, but the building’s acceleration may cause serious injuries in terms of human comfort criteria. The obtained results indicated that the healthy state of the structure does not represent the health of the building inhabitants. Further, although the building was safe against the elective blasts, the lateral accelerations were capable of imposing significant damages to the building residents. This can be considered as a criterion for control and future designs from a passive defense point of view, as the explosions induced by terroristic attacks is increasing

Comparative Evaluation of Ultraviolet and Visible Light Transmittance through Prescriptive Ophthalmic Minus Lenses

Background: Wearing spectacles is the most common approach in correcting the refractive errors worldwide. Due to harmful effects of overexposure to solar ultraviolet radiations, the usage of multi-layer coatings in ophthalmic lenses has recently been increased. These lenses can reduce the reflections and hence increase the transmission of visible light; they can also decrease the transmission of ultraviolet rays. This study aims to compare the transmission of ultraviolet (A and B) and visible rays through coated and uncoated prescriptive ophthalmic plastic lenses.Materials and Methods: In this study, 39 minus non-photochromic multi-coated white plastic single-vision lenses; 9 similar lenses but without any coatings were assessed by spectral transmittancemeter for evaluation of the transmission of visible and ultraviolet rays.Results: The transmission of visible light was 97.9%±1.07% for coated lenses and 93.5%±0.54% for lenses without coating. Ultraviolet-A transmission was 12.15%±8.02% for coated lenses compared to 66.27%±23.92% in lenses without coating. The transmission of ultraviolet-B rays was 1.21%±0.4% and 23.0%±15.97% for lenses with and without coatings, respectively.Conclusion: The transmission of visible light was significantly higher in multi-coated lenses compared to uncoated samples; whereas the transmissions of ultraviolet rays in multi-coated lenses were significantly lower than uncoated ones. Therefore, it is recommended that, except for particular cases, prescribed lenses be equipped with this multi-layer coating

Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of Linear and Cyclic Peptide Analogues of Carnosine as Anticancer Agents

Aim Carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) is a naturally occurring dipeptide widely and abundantly distributed in the muscle and nervous tissues of animal species. Carnosine contains several beneficial biological properties such as antiglycating and antioxidant activities. It also contains antineoplastic effects in human cell culture as well as in animal experiments, however, the clear molecular basis of this activity has not been known yet. In the present study, in order to further examine structural basis of Carnosine for the anticancer activity, some linear and cyclic Carnosine peptide analogues were synthesized and their cytotoxicity were examined. Material and Methods  Linear and cyclic Carnosine peptide analogues were synthesized with appropriate protected amino acids and reagents using solid-phase peptide synthesis strategy, and anti-neoplastic activity of the synthesized compounds were examined on cancer cell lines of HepG2 (Human Liver Cancer Cell Line) and HT-29 (Human Colorectal Adenocarcinoma Cell Line) using MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis. Safety profile of the synthesized Carnosine analogues was also examined using skin fibroblast cells. Results  Our results showed that Carnosine analogues were toxic against HepG2 and HT-29 cell lines with a mean IC50 value 12.7 µg/mL. Flow cytometry analysis showed that such toxic activity could be, at least partly, through apoptosis induction. Conclusion  According to our experiments, in overall, compound 3b can be a good candidate for the further development of safe anticancer agents. On the other hand, cyclic peptides analogues of Carnosine, 1c and 2c, considering the properties of toxicity activities good enough on cancerous cell lines along with high safety profiles on normal skin cells, could be candidates for further works on finding anticancer agents with peptide structure giving better physicochemical properties for oral administration.   &nbsp

A TAXONOMY OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT OUTCOMES FOR SMES

The purpose of this paper is to systematically analyze the knowledge management research within small and medium-sized companies. The study includes a systematic review of 30 peer reviewed papers on knowledge management advantages for SMEs. Balanced scorecard perspectives cover all aspects of the organization, and, consequently, the balanced scorecard approach has been applied to classify the KM benefits. The reviewed scientific studies highlight the benefits of knowledge management in the areas of economic and social perspective (increased profits, flexibility, product reputation, financial performance), commercial and customers perspective (market share, sales growth, customer satisfaction, good external relationship), internal business processes perspective (operational performance, increased productivity, product/service quality, process improvement) and organizational learning and growth perspective (employee development, innovation, organizational creativity, learning).For future studies, determining stakeholder views is recommended in order to gain sustainable competitive advantage

Late clinical events of drug eluting versus bare metal stenting; OPCES' ancillary study

Objective: To compare one year clinical outcomes of patients with chronic stable angina who underwent implantation of bare metal stent (BMS) or drug eluting stent (DES). Methodology: Four hundred forty two (442) participants of OPCES study (Osvix versus Plavix in Cardiovascular Events after Stenting) were included in this sub-study. After evaluation of exclusion criteria (combined DES and BMS stenting (n=31) and incomplete data (n=48) patients were divided in two groups according to selected stent(DES or BMS). Follow-up was conducted by a structured telephone interview after 6 and 12 months. The patients' documents were reviewed by the Study Event Committee in the Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center to evaluate the occurrence of study endpoints which consisted of clinical success rate and major adverse cardiac events (Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE), cardiac death, non-fatal MI, target vessel revascularization and stroke) in hospital, after 6 and 12 months. Results: One hundred sixty six (45.7%) patients were in the DES and 197(54.3%) were in the BMS group. Procedural complications were seen more frequently in the DES group (1.0% vs. 4.8%, P=0.027), the prevalence of the in-hospital MACE, angiographic and clinical success rate were the same between both the groups. There was no significant difference regarding 6 and 12 months MACE rate in patients treated by BMS or DES (6 months: 1.1% vs. 0.6%, p>0.999 12 month: 3.4% vs 2.6%, P = 0.755). Conclusion: Considering the same clinical outcome and the economical parameters, use of the BMS after proper patient selection are recommended

Effect of a participatory intervention to reduce the number of unnecessary cesarean sections performed in Shahrekord, Iran

چکیده: زمینه و هدف: در سال های اخیر در کل جهان و از جمله ایران روند رو به رشد سزارین به چشم می خورد. در شهرکرد در سال 1380 سزارین 49 زایمان ها را به خود اختصاص داده است. در دنیا رویکرد جدیدی جهت کمک گرفتن از نیروهای مردمی در حل مشکلات سلامتی بوجود آمده است. در این تحقیق نقش مشارکت گروههای مردمی در کاهش میزان سزارین مورد بررسی قرار گرفته است. روش بررسی: در یک مطالعه میدانی (فیلد تریال) 171 زن باردار که سابقه قبلی سزارین نداشتند و کمتر از 3 بار زایمان داشته اند از زنان باردار به صورت تصادفی انتخاب شدند. ساختار یک گروه مردمی متشکل از پزشکان، ماماها، پرستاران علاقمند، زنان خانه دار، معلمین، رابطین بهداشتی، پرسنل بهداشت خانواده، خانم های فروشنده و نمایندگانی از سازمان های غیر دولتی فعال شهر شکل گرفت. این گروه، زنان باردار انتخاب شده را از طریق آموزش ترغیب به انجام زایمان طبیعی نمود. رضایت زنان باردار از آموزش ها و فراوانی سزارین قبل و بعد از مداخلات جمع آوری و با استفاده از آزمون های آماری t زوجی و مک نمار تجزیه و تحلیل گردید. یافته ها: در این مطالعه 70 زنان باردار از آموزش های ارائه شده راضی بودندو فراوانی سزارین از63 قبل از اجرای طرح به 52 بعد از انجام مداخلات کاهش داشت (05/0

Asset Operation Detection Based on Fuzzy Logic and Phase Portrait

This article proposes a novel asset operation detection (AOD) solution by applying the fuzzy logic reasoning concept to the phase portraits (PPs) of time series data. Around the benefits of business insight and climate impact, we firstly provide relevant context to highlight the importance of asset operation features and necessity for efficient operation detection algorithms in the facility management industry. Then we will review several existing approaches for detecting asset operations and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. With these concerns in mind, we come to the operation detection solution proposed in this research, explaining the technical idea and mentioning two approaches regarding the algorithm inputs: physical phases and derivative phases. All the proposed analysis will be based on a real-case industrial dishwasher. Finally, we will come back to the benefits in terms of business insight and climate impact to showcase the application of detected operational features

Nutrition and osteoporosis prevention and treatment

Introduction: Osteoporosis falls among the major general health issues, specifically in the elderly, and is a widespread disease these days. According to various studies, good nutrition plays a significant role in osteoporosis prevention and treatment. The aim of this study was to conduct an extensive literature review on the effects of different nutrients to understand how macronutrients, micronutrients, and non-nutritive substances affect bone health. Methodology: To find relevant studies, the main keyword "osteoporosis" was searched in combination with "zinc," "vitamin K," "phosphorus," "vitamin D," "calcium," "lipid," "protein," and "phytoestrogens" in PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science, SID, and Iran Medex databases. Findings: The most important element for bone health is calcium, which has a direct link to the bone mass density (BMD). In the case of calcium deficiency, high phosphorus content can damage bone tissue. The acceptable ratio of phosphorus to calcium is 0.5-1.5:1. Vitamin D is another important nutrient for bones; serum levels of vitamin D less than 20 ng/ml reduce bone density and increase the risk of fracture. High protein intake results in calcium excretion and loss of bone mass. In addition, calcium deficiency increases the risk of osteoporosis, specifically in the elderly. According to the literature, there is an inverse correlation between saturated fats and BMD. Vitamin K and magnesium deficiencies are correlated with BMD reduction and increased risk of osteoporosis. Copper and zinc are used as co-factors in the formation of collagen and elastin, and in mineralization of bone. As a result, deficiency of these elements may disrupt the process of incorporating minerals into the bone matrix. Conclusion: Good nutrition may play a significant role in osteoporosis prevention and treatment. Indeed, a healthy diet containing calcium (1,200 mg/day); vitamin D (600 IU); and certain amounts of protein, magnesium, and vitamin K can contribute greatly to bone health

Rhabdomyosarcoma: Current Therapy, Challenges, and Future Approaches to Treatment Strategies

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare cancer arising in skeletal muscle that typically impacts children and young adults. It is a worldwide challenge in child health as treatment outcomes for metastatic and recurrent disease still pose a major concern for both basic and clinical scientists. The treatment strategies for rhabdomyosarcoma include multi-agent chemotherapies after surgical resection with or without ionization radiotherapy. In this comprehensive review, we first provide a detailed clinical understanding of rhabdomyosarcoma including its classification and subtypes, diagnosis, and treatment strategies. Later, we focus on chemotherapy strategies for this childhood sarcoma and discuss the impact of three mechanisms that are involved in the chemotherapy response including apoptosis, macro-autophagy, and the unfolded protein response. Finally, we discuss in vivo mouse and zebrafish models and in vitro three-dimensional bioengineering models of rhabdomyosarcoma to screen future therapeutic approaches and promote muscle regeneration.S.G. was supported by the URGP (56977) and CHRIM (OG2023-24-05) operating grant