Building the petro-polis: oil capitalism, imperialism, and the making of Abadan, 1908-1933

Abadan is the most prominent of all the oil company towns the British Petroleum Company built in Southwest Iran. Located at the border of Iran and present-day Iraq, by the mid twentieth century Abadan not only accommodated the world’s largest refinery, it had also become Iran’s most populous industrial city. This dissertation focuses on the process of urban development on Abadan Island between 1908 and 1933. Drawing on primary archival documents and secondary sources, this dissertation discusses how Abadan’s establishment and its changing urban form and spatial organization were the product of broader historical processes. Imperial intelligence and practical requirements of the oil industry helped determine the location of the refinery in 1908. Abadan was initially designed in 1909 as a fenced-in oil camp, its urban form representing the vernacular expression of industrial needs. The rapid growth of the refinery, particularly after WWI, turned the company town into a sprawling industrial landscape, with three separate residential quarters, where British employees resided in spacious residences on one end, international migrant laborers overcrowded barrack-type shacks in the middle, and local workmen lived in indigenous compounds on the other end. Driven by economic rationality, industrial order, and colonial ideology, the spatial structure of the Abadan refinery was engineered to accomplish the Company’s larger economic, social, and political goals. This pattern continued until 1924 when the Company management adopted a comprehensive plan and incorporated some elements of model company towns into Abadan’s spatial-physical structure to ameliorate the difficulties and inequalities created by rapid industrialization. The dissertation shows how urban reformation as well as town planning and design practices implemented between 1924 and 1933 aimed to boost industrial efficiency and prevent labor militancy by increasing the Company’s control over space and populations, while also addressing pressing urban issues, such as housing and public health

Influence of Root Canal Curvature on the Accuracy of Root ZX Electronic Foramen Locator: An In Vitro Study

Introduction: The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the correlation between accuracy of Root ZX electronic foramen locator and root canal curvature. Methods and Materials: One hundred and ten extracted mandibular molars were selected. Access cavity was prepared and coronal enlargement of mesiobuccal canal was performed. A #10 Flexofile was inserted into the mesiobuccal canal, and a radiography was taken to measure the degree of curvature by Schneider's method. The actual working length (AWL) was defined by inserting the file until its tip could be observed at a place tangential to the major apical foramen and then 0.5 mm was subtracted from this measurement. For the electronic working length (EWL) measurement, the apical 3 or 4 mm of the root was embedded in alginate as the electrolyte material. The file was inserted into the root canal to the major foramen, until the APEX reading was shown on the electronic device and then pulled back until the visual display showed the 0.5-mm mark. The AWL was subtracted from the EWL to define the distance between the file tip and the point 0.5 mm coronal to the major apical foramen. Data were analyzed using the Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results: The accuracy of Root ZX within ±0.1 mm and ±0.5 mm was 38.2% and 94.6%, respectively. There was no correlation between the distance from the EWL to the AWL and the degree of root canal curvature (r=0.097, P=0.317). Conclusion: Root canal curvature did not influence the accuracy of Root ZX foramen locator.Keywords: Accuracy; Curved Root Canals; Electronic Apex Locator; Working Lengt

Nanoporous Polyether Sulfone Membrane, Preparation and Characterization: Effect of Porosity and Mean Pore Size on Performance

Flat sheet membranes were prepared by phase inversion technique using polyether sulfone (PES) dissolved in dimethylacetamide (DMAc) with and without adding polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) or polyethyleneglycol (PEG). The characteristics of the prepared membranes were evaluated using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and Optical Contact Angle (OCA) measurements, and porosity tests. The porosity test and SEM images show that increasing additives to a certain value increases the porosity of the membrane. Also, as the coagulation bath temperature is increased, the porosity of the membrane is increased. The roughness of the membrane is increased by increasing the additive concentration. The analysis of AFM images confirms the nanoporous structure of the prepared membranes, and that the membranes with appropriate pore size distribution can be prepared by the applied method. Permeability tests using single-layer membranes show that the direct relationship between porosity and the flux of pure water or salt solution is dominated by the effect of applied additive while the salt rejection shows an inverse relationship with the mean pore size regardless of the applied additive. The salt permeation flux is a function of total porosity while the salt rejection is a function of surface porosity. Pervaporation tests show that both permeation flux and enrichment factor depend on the total porosity of the support membrane

Semantic Multi-Resolution Communications

Deep learning based joint source-channel coding (JSCC) has demonstrated significant advancements in data reconstruction compared to separate source-channel coding (SSCC). This superiority arises from the suboptimality of SSCC when dealing with finite block-length data. Moreover, SSCC falls short in reconstructing data in a multi-user and/or multi-resolution fashion, as it only tries to satisfy the worst channel and/or the highest quality data. To overcome these limitations, we propose a novel deep learning multi-resolution JSCC framework inspired by the concept of multi-task learning (MTL). This proposed framework excels at encoding data for different resolutions through hierarchical layers and effectively decodes it by leveraging both current and past layers of encoded data. Moreover, this framework holds great potential for semantic communication, where the objective extends beyond data reconstruction to preserving specific semantic attributes throughout the communication process. These semantic features could be crucial elements such as class labels, essential for classification tasks, or other key attributes that require preservation. Within this framework, each level of encoded data can be carefully designed to retain specific data semantics. As a result, the precision of a semantic classifier can be progressively enhanced across successive layers, emphasizing the preservation of targeted semantics throughout the encoding and decoding stages. We conduct experiments on MNIST and CIFAR10 dataset. The experiment with both datasets illustrates that our proposed method is capable of surpassing the SSCC method in reconstructing data with different resolutions, enabling the extraction of semantic features with heightened confidence in successive layers. This capability is particularly advantageous for prioritizing and preserving more crucial semantic features within the datasets

Deep Learning-Based Real-Time Quality Control of Standard Video Compression for Live Streaming

Ensuring high-quality video content for wireless users has become increasingly vital. Nevertheless, maintaining a consistent level of video quality faces challenges due to the fluctuating encoded bitrate, primarily caused by dynamic video content, especially in live streaming scenarios. Video compression is typically employed to eliminate unnecessary redundancies within and between video frames, thereby reducing the required bandwidth for video transmission. The encoded bitrate and the quality of the compressed video depend on encoder parameters, specifically, the quantization parameter (QP). Poor choices of encoder parameters can result in reduced bandwidth efficiency and high likelihood of non-conformance. Non-conformance refers to the violation of the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) constraint for an encoded video segment. To address these issues, a real-time deep learning-based H.264 controller is proposed. This controller dynamically estimates the optimal encoder parameters based on the content of a video chunk with minimal delay. The objective is to maintain video quality in terms of PSNR above a specified threshold while minimizing the average bitrate of the compressed video. Experimental results, conducted on both QCIF dataset and a diverse range of random videos from public datasets, validate the effectiveness of this approach. Notably, it achieves improvements of up to 2.5 times in average bandwidth usage compared to the state-of-the-art adaptive bitrate video streaming, with a negligible non-conformance probability below $10^{-2}$.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2310.0685

Enhancement of NMP degradation under UV light by nitrogen-doped TiO2 thin films using a design of experiment

Doping nitrogen within TiO2 is an effective way to enhance visible light photocatalysis due to a direct electron excitation from the N2p states within the band gap. However, nitrogen doping is not always efficient for UV photocatalytic activity. Here, different structures of N-doped TiO2 (TiOxNy) have been prepared by reactive RF (13.56 MHz) magnetron sputtering. The morphological, optical, structural, and photocatalytic properties of the films have been studied in order to investigate the competitive effect of the morphology and the chemical composition on the efficiency of the photocatalytic activity. The variation of surface wettability of the film over time in the dark and under visible and UV irradiation was also studied. The reduction in wettability by dark storage can be explained by the adsorption of hydrocarbon contamination on the thin film’s surface. Additionally, from water contact angle experiments, it was found that these films developed hydrophilic properties upon UV and visible illumination. The photoinduced change in the contact angle of water was due to the removal of hydrocarbon contamination on the surface and also the photo-oxidation of the water droplet. Samples prepared at high pressure gave the best photocatalytic activity, even though the deposition rate was lower at higher pressures (lower film thicknesses), due to the high specific surface area and the optimal presence of TiOxNy crystals in the lattice. However, at low pressure, the TiN crystals became more predominant, and acted as recombination centers for the photo-generated charge carriers. A design of experiments was used in order to optimize the deposition parameters to have the best photocatalytic activity. The high photocatalytic activity under UV light was found to be due to the introduction of discrete energy levels within the band gap, the increased sample wettability, and the higher specific surface area. However, the post annealing process did not effect the activity under UV irradiation. Using the response surface methodology, RSM, based on a design of experiment, DOE, we are able to achieve a good understanding of the complex processes involved in the deposition of the thin films and their effect on the photocatalytic activity. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/930

Whole-brain deactivations precede uninduced mind-blanking reports

tMind-blanking (MB) is termed as the experience of inability to report mental contents. In contrast to other mental states, such as mind-wandering or sensory perceptions, the neural correlates of MB started getting elucidated only recently. A notable particularity that pertains to MB studies is the way MB is instructed for reports, like by deliberately asking participants to “empty their minds”. Such instructions were shown to induce fMRI activations in frontal brain regions, typically associated with metacognition and self-evaluative processes, suggesting that MB may be a result of intentional mental content suppression. Here, we aim at examining this hypothesis by determining the neural correlates of MB without induction. Using fMRI combined with experience-sampling, univariate analysis of MB reports revealed deactivations in occipital, frontal, somatosensory, and thalamic areas, but no activations in prefrontal regions. In fact, a Bayesian region-of-interest analysis on areas previously shown to be implicated in MB provided evidence for frontal deactivations during MB reports in comparison to other mental states. Further contrast analysis between reports of MB and content-oriented mental states also revealed deactivations in the L angular gyrus. We propose that these effects characterize a cortical profile of MB, where key cortical nodes are unable to communicate and formulate reportable content. Collectively, our results show that study instructions for MB may lead to cortical differences which provide different insights as to the underlying mechanisms leading to the phenomenology of MB.Significance StatementAn emergent research paradigm in the study of mental states has focused on periods of complete thought absence, where people report an inability to report mental content, termed mind blanking. The neural correlates supporting mind blanking are still debated and might vary depending on thought-report instructions. By reanalyzing an fMRI dataset utilizing an unguided, free-thinking paradigm, the present study provides critical insights into the neuronal events that preceded mind-blanking reports. Our findings demonstrate that spontaneous mind-blanking occurrences are associated with large-scale cortical deactivations in frontal, occipital, parietal and thalamical sites, with the frontal evaluative sites and the angular gyrus especially differentiating mind-blanking from other mental states associated with the presence of content

Age-dependent attentional style and arousal regulate reportability of spontaneous mental states

editorial reviewedThe reportability of spontaneous thoughts relies significantly on attention and arousal. As these cognitive faculties change with age, we aimed at testing how spontaneous mental state reportability is influenced accordingly. Using experience sampling, 20 senior (65-75yrs) and 20 young participants (20-30yrs) were prompted to report mind-wandering (MW), mind-blanking (MB), or sensory-related (S) mental states at random times. Attention was assessed with the Attentional Style Questionnaire, and arousal with continuous monitoring of pupil diameter. First, we found more MW occurrences than MB or S across all participants. For young responders, we replicated that MW was more prevalent in easily distracted participants. MW was also linked to higher arousal (pupil dilation) and MB was linked to lower arousal (pupil constriction) independently of attentional style. In seniors though, MW was more prevalent in participants with higher focused style. As participants were more easily distracted, MW was associated with lower arousal and MB with higher arousal. We postulate that these effects in seniors may result from intentional MW, during which they allocate attentional resources inwards, as opposed to younger participants who get more easily distracted by intrusive thoughts leading to unintentional MW. Together, our results highlight opposite mechanisms by which attentional style regulates the reportability of spontaneous mental states across age. They also point towards the role of attentional style in mediating the impact of arousal on spontaneous thinking in the senior population

Age-dependent attentional style and arousal regulate reportability of spontaneous mental states

editorial reviewedThe reportability of spontaneous thoughts relies significantly on attention and arousal. As these cognitive faculties change with age, we aimed at testing how spontaneous mental state reportability is influenced accordingly. Using experience sampling, 20 senior (65-75yrs) and 20 young participants (20-30yrs) were prompted to report mind-wandering (MW), mind-blanking (MB), or sensory-related (S) mental states at random times. Attention was assessed behaviorally with the Attentional Style Questionnaire, and arousal physiologically with continuous monitoring of pupil diameter. First, we found more MW occurrences compared to MB or S across all participants. For young responders, we replicated that MW was more prevalent in easily distracted participants. MW was also linked to higher arousal (pupil dilation) and MB was linked to lower arousal (pupil constriction) independently of attentional style. In seniors though, MW was more prevalent in participants reporting higher focused style. As participants were more easily distracted, MW was associated with lower arousal (pupil constriction) instead and MB with higher arousal (pupil dilation). We postulate that these effects in seniors may be a result of intentional MW, during which they allocate attentional resources inwards in order to stay on task, as opposed to younger participants who get more easily distracted by intrusive thoughts leading to unintentional MW. Together, our results highlight opposite mechanisms by which attentional style regulates the reportability of spontaneous mental states across age. They also point towards the role of attentional style in mediating the impact of arousal on spontaneous thinking in the senior population