Assessment of relative efficiency of countries in attaining human development sub indexes

Competitiveness and human development are two major aspects of nations' performance. However, the main objective of competitiveness should be to improve human development. In the current study, we aimed to examine the relative efficiency of countries in achieving the aforementioned target. In other words, the question is whether competitiveness has led to human development. To this end, we selected 31 countries with the same category in human development (high human development) and also with available data on competitiveness and its components. Due to the nature of the study, we used Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. The model used in this study employed three subindexes of global competitiveness including basic requirements, efficiency enhancers, and innovation and sophistication factors as input variables and three subindexes of human development including life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, and per capita national income as output variables. Since, as noted, the goal of countries (DMUs) is to improve human development; this study employed an output-oriented DEA model. Though, a DEA model with either constant or variable return to scale could be used, this paper employs DEA with constant return to scale because variable case has extended to accommodate scale effects while in our case (where countries in the role of units under assessment are large enough) intrinsic scale effects do not exist and also CRS models have higher separable power for differentiating efficient and inefficient units. And finally after running the model we found that 9 out of 31 assessed countries are technically efficient which implies that these 9 countries have used competitiveness subindexes to attain expected values of human development sub-indexes. In 2012 Iran is an inefficient unit, having a technical efficiency rank of 19th among the assessed countries. As in this paper there are two kinds of variables, i.e. input and output variables, the most effective subindex which have lowered Iran's rank are life expectancy at birth for input variables and efficiency enhancers for output variables. Moreover, Albania and Venezuela have been introduced as reference set for Iran in this year

The effects of liquid extract of Allium sativum on the basic and speed-dependent electrophysiological properties of islolated atrioventicular nodal of rabbit

زمینه و هدف: گیاهان دارویی، به علت سهولت دسترسی، کاهش عوارض جانبی و قیمت مناسب، به عنوان جایگزین‌های شایسته داروهای شیمیایی، همواره مورد توجه بوده‌اند. مطالعات قبلی در مورد اثرات فارماکولوژیک و بیوشیمیایی گیاه سیر (Allium sativum) بیانگر اثرات کاهندگی فشارخون، اثرات آنتی آریتمیک، خاصیت اینوتروپ و کرونوتروپ منفی می باشد. هدف از این مطالعه تعیین اثرات عصاره آبی سیر بر روی خواص پایه و کارکردی گره دهلیزی بطنی می باشد. روش بررسی: در تحقیق حاضر از گستره بافتی جدا شده گره دهلیزی بطنی خرگوش (2-5/1 کیلوگرم) شامل دهلیز راست، سپتوم بین دهلیزی و دسته هیس جهت تعیین تاثیر غلظت های مختلف عصاره آبی سیر استفاده شد. پروتکل های انتخابی تحریکی (تسهیل، خستگی، ریکاوری) برای بررسی خواص گره دهلیزی – بطنی در 14 خرگوش (2 گروه) به صورت مستقل مورد استفاده قرار گرفتند. در گروه اول آزمایشی (8 خرگوش) غلظت های مختلف سیر (20، 30، 100 و 850 میلی گرم در لیتر) و در گروه دوم وراپامیل (1/0 میکرومولار) بکار برده شد. داده ها با استفاده از آزمون های آماری ویکاکسون و آنالیز واریانس تجزیه و تحلیل شد. یافته ها: نتایج این تحقیق بیانگر تاثیر معنی دار غلظت های مختلف عصاره گیاه در افزایش پارامترهای الکتروفیزیولوژیک پایه (زمان هدایت دهلیزی–بطنی، ونکباخ، زمان تحریک ناپذیری کارکردی و زمان تحریک نپذیری موثر) و همچنین میزان خستگی می باشد (05/0

Selecting model for treatmentof oily wastewater by MF-PAC hybrid process using mullite-alumina ceramic membranes

Hermia’s models for cross flow filtration were used to investigate the fouling mechanisms of mullite-alumina ceramic membranes in treatment of oily wastewaters in a hybrid microfiltration-powdered activated carbon process (MF-PAC). Results show that cake filtration model can be applied for prediction of permeation flux decline for MF and MF-PAC process up to 400 ppm PAC. The complete pore blocking model and the intermediate pore blocking model can predict permeation flux decline with time for MF-PAC with 800 and 1200 ppm PAC respectively. Average error for prediction of permeation flux with cake filtration model is 2.19% for MF process and 2.16; 2.06 and 1.31% for MF-PAC process with 100; 200 and 400 ppm PAC respectively. Also for MF-PAC process with 800 and 1200 ppm PAC, average error for prediction of permeation flux with complete pore blocking model and intermediate pore blocking model was 6.11 and 6% respectively

Modeling of coagulation-microfiltration hybrid process for treatment of oily wastewater using ceramic membranes

In this novel paper, fouling mechanisms of Mullite-alumina ceramic membranes in treatment of oily wastewaters in hybrid coagulation — microfiltration (MF) process have been presented

Fairness in representation: quantifying stereotyping as a representational harm

While harms of allocation have been increasingly studied as part of the subfield of algorithmic fairness, harms of representation have received considerably less attention. In this paper, we formalize two notions of stereotyping and show how they manifest in later allocative harms within the machine learning pipeline. We also propose mitigation strategies and demonstrate their effectiveness on synthetic datasets.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, Siam International Conference on Data Minin

Interfacial thermal conductance between TiO2 nanoparticle and water: A molecular dynamics study

The interfacial thermal conductance (Kapitza conductance) between a TiO2 nanoparticle and water is investigated using transient non-equilibrium molecular dynamics. It is found that Kapitza conductance of TiO2 nanoparticles is one order of magnitude greater than other conventional nanoparticles such as gold, silver, silicon, platinum and also carbon nanotubes and graphene flakes. This difference can be explained by comparing the contribution of electrostatic interactions between the partially charged titanium and oxygen atoms and water atoms to the van der Waals interactions, which increases the cooling time by about 10 times. The effects of diameter and temperature of nanoparticle, surface wettability on the interfacial thermal conductance are also investigated. The results showed that by increasing the diameter of the nanoparticle from 4 to 9 nm, Kapitza conductance decreased slightly. Also, increasing the temperature of the heated nanoparticle from 400 K to 600 K led to thermal conductance enhancement. It has been found that increasing the coupling strength of Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential from 0.5 to 4 caused the increment of the Kapitza conductance about 20%. It is also shown that a continuum model which its input is provided by molecular dynamics can be a suitable approximation to describe the thermal relaxation of a nanoparticle in a liquid medium

Public Awareness, Attitudes, and First-Aid Measures on Epilepsy in Tehran

Background: People with epilepsy generally encounter misconceptions and negative attitudes about different aspects of the disease. They are also prone to physical injuries during seizures. Lack of awareness about first-aid measures results in taking inappropriate first-aid measures. The objective of this survey was to determine public awareness, attitudes, and first-aid measures about epilepsy in Tehran.Methods: This population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted during December 2016 to May 2017 throughout Tehran. Random stratified cluster sampling was used. Data were collected through interviews using a questionnaire. The awareness section included general awareness, causes, symptoms, seizure triggers, first-aid measures, and recommended treatments. The Likert scale was used for the attitudes section which included 20 statements. The answers about first-aid measures were categorized as helpful, or harmful.Results: A total of 833 adults participated in the survey. The level of total awareness score of 41 (4.9%) participants was very good, 194 (23.3%) good, 255 (30.6%) fair, 210 (25.2%) low, and 133(16.0%) very low. The mean (SD) score about general awareness was 4.6 (3.0), range=0 to 11; causes 5.8 (3.4), range=0 to 13; symptoms of seizures 7.0 (4.0), range=0 to 13; first-aid measures 7.5 (3.4), range=0 to 14. Among all participants, 260 (31.2%),  named at least one superstitious cause for epilepsy. Attitudes were generally positive except for marriage and having kids. The level of first-aid measures score of 74(42.5) was very good, 79(45.4) good, and 21(12.1) low.Conclusion: The awareness of people of Tehran about epilepsy was insufficient, attitudes were generally positive but rather conservative, and first-aid measures at the last witnessed seizure were fairly helpful

Global, regional, and national burden of colorectal cancer and its risk factors, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Given the recent increasing trends in colorectal cancer incidence globally, up-to-date information on the colorectal cancer burden could guide screening, early detection, and treatment strategies, and help effectively allocate resources. We examined the temporal patterns of the global, regional, and national burden of colorectal cancer and its risk factors in 204 countries and territories across the past three decades. Methods Estimates of incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for colorectal cancer were generated as a part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 by age, sex, and geographical location for the period 1990–2019. Mortality estimates were produced using the cause of death ensemble model. We also calculated DALYs attributable to risk factors that had evidence of causation with colorectal cancer. Findings Globally, between 1990 and 2019, colorectal cancer incident cases more than doubled, from 842 098 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 810 408–868 574) to 2·17 million (2·00–2·34), and deaths increased from 518 126 (493 682–537 877) to 1·09 million (1·02–1·15). The global age-standardised incidence rate increased from 22·2 (95% UI 21·3–23·0) per 100 000 to 26·7 (24·6–28·9) per 100 000, whereas the age-standardised mortality rate decreased from 14·3 (13·5–14·9) per 100 000 to 13·7 (12·6–14·5) per 100 000 and the age-standardised DALY rate decreased from 308·5 (294·7–320·7) per 100 000 to 295·5 (275·2–313·0) per 100 000 from 1990 through 2019. Taiwan (province of China; 62·0 [48·9–80·0] per 100 000), Monaco (60·7 [48·5–73·6] per 100 000), and Andorra (56·6 [42·8–71·9] per 100 000) had the highest age-standardised incidence rates, while Greenland (31·4 [26·0–37·1] per 100 000), Brunei (30·3 [26·6–34·1] per 100 000), and Hungary (28·6 [23·6–34·0] per 100 000) had the highest age-standardised mortality rates. From 1990 through 2019, a substantial rise in incidence rates was observed in younger adults (age <50 years), particularly in high Socio-demographic Index (SDI) countries. Globally, a diet low in milk (15·6%), smoking (13·3%), a diet low in calcium (12·9%), and alcohol use (9·9%) were the main contributors to colorectal cancer DALYs in 2019. Interpretation The increase in incidence rates in people younger than 50 years requires vigilance from researchers, clinicians, and policy makers and a possible reconsideration of screening guidelines. The fast-rising burden in low SDI and middle SDI countries in Asia and Africa calls for colorectal cancer prevention approaches, greater awareness, and cost-effective screening and therapeutic options in these regions.publishedVersio