Comparison of fractional order modelling and integer order modelling of fractional order buck converter in continuous condition mode operation

Producing a mathematical model with high accuracy is the first and important step in control of systems. Nowadays fractional calculus has been in the spotlight and it has a lot of application especially in control engineering. Fractional modelling on one of the conventional converters is done in this paper. Fractional state space model and related fractional transfer functions for a fractional DC/DC Buck converter is established and achieved results are compared to integer order models. At the end of this paper Oustaloup's recursive approximation is introduced and imposed for one of gathered fractional transfer function

Comparative evaluation of prophylactic single-dose intravenous antibiotic with postoperative antibiotics in elective urologic surgery

Mohammad K Moslemi1, Seyed M Moosavi Movahed2, Akram Heidari3, Hossein Saghafi2, Mehdi Abedinzadeh41Department of Urology, 2Department of Nephrology, 3Department of Health, Kamkar Hospital, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran; 4Department of Urology, Moradi Hospital, School of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, IranBackground: Unrestricted antibiotic use is very common in Iran. As a result, emergence of resistant organisms is commonplace. Antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery consists of a short antibiotic course given immediately before the procedure in order to prevent development of a surgical site infection. The basic principle of prophylaxis is to maintain effective concentrations of an antibiotic active against the commonest pathogens during the entire surgery.Materials and methods: We prospectively investigated 427 urologic surgery cases in our department between August 2008 and September 2009 (Group1). As reference cases, we retrospectively reviewed 966 patients who underwent urologic surgery between May 2004 and May 2008 (Group 2) who were administered antibiotics without any restriction. Prophylactic antibiotics such as cefazolin were administered intravenously according to our protocol. Postoperative body temperature, peripheral white blood cell counts, urinalysis, and urine culture were checked.Results: To judge perioperative infections, wound condition and general condition were evaluated in terms of surgical site infection, as well as remote infection and urinary tract infection, up to postoperative day 30. Surgical site infection was defined as the presence of swelling, tenderness, redness, or drainage of pus from the wound, superficially or deeply. Remote infection was defined as occurrence of pneumonia, sepsis, or urinary tract infection. Perioperative infection rates (for surgical site and remote infection) in Group 1 and Group 2 were nine of 427 (2.6%) and 24 of 966 (2.5%), respectively. Surgical site infection rates of categories A and B in Group 1 were 0 and two (0.86%), respectively, while those in Group 2 were 0 and five (0.92%), respectively. There was no significant difference in infection rates in terms of remote infection and surgical site infection between Group 1 and Group 2 (P = 0.670). The amounts, as well as the prices, for intravenously administered antibiotics decreased to approximately one quarter.Conclusion: Our protocol effectively decreased the amount of antibiotics used without increasing perioperative infection rates. Thus, our protocol of prophylactic antibiotic therapy can be recommended as an appropriate method for preventing perioperative infection in urologic surgery. Keywords: surgical site infection, antibiotic prophylaxis, single dose, urologic surger

Agricultural expansion and its impacts on climate change: evidence from Iran

peer reviewedExcessive concentration of greenhouse gases in atmosphere emitted from human activities has been considerably changing the world’s climate, especially in the last 50 years. Agriculture, as humans’ food production system, has undoubtedly interrelated with climate change (CC). During current decades, the impacts of CC on agriculture have been properly investigated; however, the impacts of agriculture on CC have received lower attention. This may be due to the scarcity of long-term spatiotemporal climatic and agricultural data to analyze coupling trends and interactions. Benefiting from a comprehensive database and using structural equation modeling, this study seeks to investigate the contribution of agriculture to CC in Iran for more than half a century. For this, two indicators were developed to evaluate structural characteristics of agricultural expansion (AEI) and CC at the province level. Then, the effect of AEI on CC was investigated using the structural equation modeling technique. The results showed that AEI has not had a positive contribution to raising the long-term average surface temperature. Precisely, the provinces with a higher level of surface temperature have had a lower AEI, indicating that other sectors outweigh agriculture in exacerbating long-term CC in the country. Nevertheless, Iran still needs to improve and sustain its agricultural practices and technologies. The main conclusion of this study is that if the government and policymakers aspire to manage CC, they should have a more holistic and systematic view. In other words, not only do they need to consider all drivers of CC, but they also have to pay close attention to the network of relationships among the drivers

The Impact of Adolescent Friendships on Unhealthy Eating Behaviors of Overweight and Obese Adolescents: A Qualitative Study

Background: Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions and become one the most important public health issues globally. One of the significant determinants of childhood obesity-related behaviors such as poor dietary habits relates to role of friends and peers. This study aimed toexplore the role of interaction within the social network of friends on unhealthy eating behaviors of overweight and obese adolescents. Materials and Methods: This qualitative study was conducted between 2016 and 2017 in Mashhad and Isfahan, two large cities of Iran. Ten parents and 52 overweight and obese adolescents were selected through purposeful sampling. To obtain perceptions and experiences regarding the role of adolescent friendships on unhealthy eating behaviors, in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted. Data were analyzed based on conventional content analysis. Results: Six themes which contributed to following unhealthy dietary habits when adolescents are in the friend networks were identified: "Eating in the peer networks as a usual way for social interaction", "Peers’ pressure to have unhealthy dietary habits", "High availability and accessibility to unhealthy foods", "Lack of nutritional knowledge", "Neglectful parenting style", and "Passive interaction in the friendship networks". Conclusion: Our findings indicate that peer support along with appropriate parenting style are necessary to affect adolescent eating behaviors when they are in the friend social networks, but are not sufficient per se. Being a confident, decisive and self-determined adolescent and owing a high level of behavioral confidence and self-esteem might reduce the impact of friends for adhering to unhealthy dietary habits in youth

Apoptin Overexpression Efficiently Amplified Cytotoxic Effects of PI3K Inhibition Using BKM120 in Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cell Lines

Purpose: Although the complex structure of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and involvement of diverse pathways in its pathogenesis have put an obstacle in the way of efficient treatments, identification of strategies to manipulate the genome of neoplastic cells has made the treatment prospective more optimisticMethods: To evaluate whether the transduction of apoptin -a gene encoding a protein that participates in the induction of apoptosis- could reduce the survival of leukemic cells, we generated recombinant lentivirus expressing apoptin, and then, MTT assay, flow cytometric analysis of DNA content, western blotting, and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were applied.Results: Transduction of apoptin into different leukemic cells was coupled with the reduction in the viability and proliferative capacity of the cells. Among all tested cell lines, Nal na-6 arid C8166 were more sensitive to the anti-leukemic property of apoptin. Moreover, we found that the transduction of apoptin in the indicated cell lines not only induced G2/M cell cycle arrest but also induced apoptotic cell death by altering the balance between pro- and anti-apoptotic target genes. The efficacy of apoptin transduction was not limited to these findings, as we reported for the first time that the overexpression of this gene could potentiate the anti-leukemic property of pan PI3K inhibitor BKM120.Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the transduction of apoptin into lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines induced cytotoxic effects and enhanced therapeutic value of PI3K inhibition; however, further investigations are demanded to ascertain the safety and the efficacy of apoptin transduction in patients with ALL.</p

Smart Land Governance: Towards a Conceptual Framework

peer reviewedGlobal environmental governance (GEG) is one of the world’s major attempts to address climate change issues through mitigation and adaptation strategies. Despite a significant improvement in GEG’s structural, human, and financial capital, the global commons are decaying at an unprecedented pace. Among the global commons, land has the largest share in GEG. Land use change, which is rooted in increasing populations and urbanization, has a significant role in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As a response, land governance and, consequently, good land governance, have arisen as normative concepts emerging from a series of success factors (notably economic development, environmental conservation, and social justice) to achieve greater sustainability. However, global land governance has shown little success in helping GEG due to the lack of intellectual and flexible thinking over governing the land sector. Consequently, reforming land governance “in a smart way” is one of the most critical actions that could contribute to achieving GEG goals. Hence, we propose a smart land governance (SLG) system that will be well addressed, understood, and modeled in a systemic and dynamic way. A smart system may be smart enough to adapt to different contexts and intellectual responses in a timely fashion. Accordingly, SLG is able to promote shared growth and solve many land sector problems by considering all principles of good land governance. Therefore, in order to enhance adaptive land governance systems, efficient land administration and management are required. This study’s outcomes will raise the comprehension of the problems of land management, providing an excellent framework to help land planners and policy-makers, as well as the development of strategic principles with respect to the principal multidimensional components of SLG

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Asthma and Allergic Diseases in Primary Schoolchildren Living in Bushehr, Iran: Phase I, III ISAAC Protocol

Asthma and allergic diseases present a major health burden. Information on the prevalence of these diseases indicates that these diseases are increasing in various parts of the world. It was hoped that this study would be helpful to health system policy-makers in planning allergy prevention programs in the region. The prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases and relation between the various risk factors involved were assessed among schoolchildren in the city of Bushehr, Iran. The ISAAC Phase I and III questionnaires were completed by parents of 1280 children aged 6-7 years and self-completed by 1115 students aged 13-14 years. The prevalence of atopic eczema, allergic rhinitis and asthma among 6-7 year-old students were 12.1%, 11.8% and 6.7%, respectively. While, the prevalence of these diseases among 13-14 year-old students were found to be 19%, 30% and 7.6%, respectively. There was an association between asthma and allergic rhinitis as well as eczema (p<0.05). Consumption of fast food as a risk factor was significantly associated with asthma (p=0.03). The prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases was high among schoolchildren in the city of Bushehr, Iran. Also an association was observed between the fast food consumption and asthma. Keywords: Allergic rhinitis; Asthma, Atopic eczema; Children; ISAAC; Prevalenc

Major and minor criteria for gastric dystemperaments in Persian Medicine: Sari gastric dystemperament criteria-I (SGDC-I)

&#60;div class="msocomtxt" id="com1" language="JavaScript" onmouseout="msoCommentHide('com1')" onmouseover="msoCommentShow('anchor1','com1')"&#62;Background: Gastric disorders are one of the most common human ailments, which impose a huge economic burden on countries. In Persian Medicine (PM), it is possible to predict the susceptibility to gastric diseases with diagnosis of gastric Mizajes (temperaments) and dystemperaments. The semiology of gastric dystemperaments has been investigated in PM textbooks, although the value of each sign and symptom is not mentioned. Consequently, this research is designed to determine the major and minor criteria for classifying gastric dystemperaments on the basis of valid manuscripts and with the help of PM specialists in the present era. Methods: This was a consensus-based study consisting of four phases. In the first phase, reference PM textbooks were studied. Symptoms and signs of gastric dystemperaments were collected and listed in four groups. In the second phase, semi-structured interviews with a sample of PM experts were carried out. Phase three included a focused group discussion with experts. Eventually, findings were integrated from the three study phases in a two-day meeting in Sari City. Results: Selected criteria included eight major and eight minor criteria for hot-cold dystemperament, as well as six major and eight minor criteria for wet-dry gastric dystemperament. Conclusion: Modern lifestyles and the interfering factors are responsible for some changes in diagnostic signs and symptoms according to PM. This was the first step to coordinate PM diagnostic criteria for gastric dystemperaments. Further studies are recommended to reach a unique protocol in the field of PM diagnostics. The next step includes design and validation of national diagnostic tools. &#160

Determining and Analyzing Corrosion Potential of Groundwater in Ghorveh through Simulating Corrosion Indices

Background and Objective: Scaling and corrosion are factors that cause loss of drinking water quality. They create problems for public health, reduce water quality, and decrease useful life of plumbing equipment. Therefore, their control substantially influences public health and water quality. Consequently, the present research intended to study corrosion or scaling indices of groundwater resources in Ghorveh County in Kurdistan Province using the Monte Carlo statistical method in order to reduce uncertainty and increase accuracy in estimating the values of the indices. Materials and Methods: Sixty four samples from 16 wells supplying water for Ghorveh County were taken during a 12- month period in 2012-2013 in order to study the qualitative characteristics of water and identify the corrosion and scaling potential of the water in the region using the Langelier, Ryznar, Larson-Skold, and Puckorius indices. Results: The mean values for the Langelier, Ryznar, Puckorius, and Larson-Skold indices were 0.5449&plusmn;0.015, 6.8878&plusmn;0.017, 7.3754&plusmn;0.0078, and 0.0919&plusmn;0.0390, respectively. Moreover, the estimated probabilities for the occurrence of corrosion and scaling phenomena were 6.59% and 47.57% for the Langelier index, less than 11.77% and 54.33% for the Ryznar index, less than 17.47% and 36.33% for the Puckorius index, and 0.15% and 99.74% for the Larson-Skold index. Conclusions All of the studied indices yielded identical results for the water status: they indicated a relatively high scaling potential of the water in the region. Based on Pearson&rsquo;s test, the most important factors influencing the values of the studied indices were pH and concentration of calcium ions. &nbsp

Health education in primary school textbooks in iran in school year 2010-2011.

Health education in schools is one of the most effective ways of promoting health in a society. Studies have shown the effectiveness of health interventions aimed at improving students' knowledge, attitude, and behaviors about health issues. The aim of this study was to evaluate health issues in primary school textbooks in Iran.In school year 2010-2011, the contents of all primary school textbooks in Iran were assessed in accordance to their health-related teachings. Health lessons of these 27 textbooks in the form of picture and text were retrieved and analyzed using content analysis method.In total, 502 health-related lessons were found. The textbooks of the third grade contained the highest (144) and those of the fourth grade had the lowest (26) number of health lessons. Among health-related issues, the largest number (87) of lessons were about personal hygiene, while prevention of high risk behaviors comprised the least number (8). Some important health issues such as nutrition, oral health, and prevention of high-risk behaviors were not adequately discussed in the textbooks.The potential of primary school textbooks in delivering health messages has been neglected in Iran. Taking the critical importance of school ages into account, incorporating health issues in textbooks should be more strongly emphasized