Official Development Assistance and Economic Growth in Iran

Foreign aid is one of the most important policy tools that rich countries use for helping poor countries to improve population well-being and facilitate economic and institutional development. The concept of foreign aid orofficial development assistance (ODA) is widely used and accepted as a flow of financial resources from developed countries to developing countries on development grounds. However, the role and effects of foreign aid in the economic growth of developing countries have been and are controversial issues. This paper investigates the relationship between foreign aid and growth in per capita GDP using annual data from the 1980 to 2012 period for a sample of Iran. Three time series techniques (CCR, FMOLS and DOLS) were utilized to estimate the co-integrating equations. The results show that in long-run, effect of foreign aid on economic growth is positive, statistically significant, and sizable. Therefore, aid is more productive than domestic resources and other capital inflows

BECCS with combined heat and power: Assessing the energy penalty

Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is widely recognised as an important carbon dioxide removal technology. Nevertheless, BECCS has mostly failed to move beyond small-scale demonstration units. One main factor is the energy penalty incurred on power plants. In previous studies, this penalty has been determined to be 37.2 %?48.6 % for the amine capture technology. The aim of this study is to quantify the energy penalty for adding the hot potassium carbonate (HPC) capture technology to a biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant, connected to a district heating system. In this context, the energy driving the capture process is partly recovered as useful district heating. Therefore, a modified energy penalty is proposed, with the inclusion of recovered heat. This inclusion is especially meaningful if the heat has a substantial monetary value. The BECCS system is examined using thermodynamic analysis, coupled with modelling of the capture process in Aspen PlusTM. Model validation is performed with data from a BECCS test facility. The results of this study show that the modified energy penalty is in the range of 2%?4%. These findings could potentially increase the attractiveness of BECCS as a climate abatement option in a district heating CHP setting

Investigation of Visco-rheological Properties of Polymeric Fluid on Electrothermal Pumping

Electrothermal pumping is a recently trending method to force highly conductive fluids in a wide range of microfluidics applications with biological processes. Although most polymer fluids (biological and synthetic) are highly conductive exhibiting viscoelastic rheological properties that are relevant to biomedical applications, their behavior under the effect of electrothermal force has not yet been studied. To this aim, the PTT model (non-linear rheological constitutive equation) and electrothermal equations are implemented in the developed OpenFOAM solver. The effect of rheological characteristics of the fluids on the physical parameters such as velocity, elastic behavior, and vortices strength of electrothermal flow are investigated through the viscoelastic non-dimensional numbers. According to the results, electrothermal outlet velocity decreases by 726% as the retardation ratio (β number) increases from 0.2 to 0.9 and increases by 107% as the Weissenberg number raises from 0.001 to 10. Investigating all non-dimensional numbers simultaneously leads to the conclusion that higher electrothermal velocity is achieved by viscoelastic fluids with lower viscosity and higher relaxation time. This fact is useful for choosing the proper fluid for a particular application. As a practical example, 3000 ppm polyethylene oxide solution results in higher velocity in electrothermal flow compared to the 5% polyvinylpyrrolidone and 2000 ppm xanthan gum solution

Studying Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of OPEC Oil Basket Prices and Natural Gas on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Traded on Energy Exchange of Iran

In this paper, we examine the short-term and long-term effects of OPEC oil basket prices and natural gas on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) traded on Energy Exchange of Iran. tests of convergence (integration) and causality of variables have been used for 2-year period, from May 22, 2014 to July 21, 2016. The results of the study based on long-term relationship show that an increase of 1 percent in the logarithm of OPEC oil basket prices decreases 17.24 percent of the logarithm of the price of LPG. The direction of causality is from OPEC oil basket prices to LPG. Moreover, 1% increase in natural gas prices logarithm will increase 26.52 percent of the logarithm of the price of LPG. The direction of causality is from natural gas to LPG. Estimating the relationship between short-term error corrections for the logarithm of the price of LPG also confirms no statistically significant error correction component

Regulatory NK cells in autoimmune disease

NK cells are defined as the major components of the immunological network which exerts defense against tumors and viral infections as well as regulation of innate and adaptive immunity, shaped through interaction with other cells like T cells. According to the surface markers, NK cells can be divided into CD56dim NK and CD56bright NK subsets. CD56bright NK cells usually are known as regulatory NK cells. Once the immune system loses its self-tolerance, autoimmune diseases develop. NK cells and their subsets can be altered during autoimmune diseases, indicative of their prominent regulatory roles and even pathological and protective functions in autoimmune disorders. In this regard, activation of CD56bright NK cells can suppress activated autologous CD4+ T cells and subsequently prevent the initiation of autoimmunity. In this review article, we summarize the roles of regulatory NK cells in autoimmune disease occurrence which needs more research to uncover their exact related mechanism. It seems that targeting NK cells can be a promising therapeutic platform against autoimmune diseases

Proinflammatory Activation of Osteoclasts Due to High Prolactin Level

High concentrations of prolactin (PRL) during the lactation period have an essential role in milk production by mammary glands stimulation. PRL may have an impact on calcium regulation and bone mineral density. We investigated if the PRL concentration during the lactation period could influence osteoclast (OC) activation and bone mineral density (BMD). In vivo, the Calcium Detection Assay, and ELISA were used to detect serum calcium, PRL, and inflammatory cytokines, respectively. BMD was evaluated by µ-CT in six months old female mice during lactation. The osteoclast (OC) activity was detected by Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), Immunohistochemistry (IHC), and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). In vitro, osteoclast differentiation, resorption and their activity markers TRAP, Matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9), Cathepsin K (CTSK), C-reactive protein (CRP), Receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β (RANK) and inflammatory cytokines were measured in osteoclasts stimulated with recombinant prolactin protein (rPRL) or with an anti-prolactin blocker. We found that serum calcium, PRL, and inflammatory markers were increased. BMD was significantly reduced in lactating mice; TRAP activity was increased and tubercular was reduced in lactating mice compared to normal mice. In vitro, the osteoclast number, resorption, and activation markers TRAP, MMP-9, CTSK, CRP, and RANK were significantly increased after treatment with rPRL protein, but not in osteoclasts treated with anti-prolactin receptor antibody and rPRL. The gene expression of TNF-α, IL-6, and Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) but not IL-1b were significantly increased in osteoclasts with PRL treatment compared to the untreated osteoclasts. Taken together, the high level of PRL could activate osteoclasts and proinflammatory cytokines expression which reduce BMD in the lactation period

Assessment of COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare workers in Iraq; adverse effects and hesitancy

Several messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and inactivated COVID-19 vaccines are available to the global population as of 2022. The acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine will play a key role in combating the worldwide pandemic. Public confidence in this vaccine is largely based on its safety and effectiveness. This study was designed to provide independent evidence of the adverse effects associated with COVID-19 vaccines among healthcare workers in Iraq and to identify the attitudes of healthcare workers who rejected the vaccination. We conducted a cross-sectional study to collect data on the adverse effects of the Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Sinopharm vaccines. Data were collected between October 2021 and February 2022. A total of 2,202 participants were enrolled in the study: (89.97%) received injections of the COVID-19 vaccines and (10.03%) were hesitant to receive the vaccination. Participants received either the Pfizer vaccine (62.9%), AstraZeneca vaccine (23.5%) or Sinopharm vaccine (13.6%). Most adverse effects were significantly less prevalent in the second dose than in the first dose. Notably, the adverse effects associated with the Pfizer vaccine were significantly more prevalent in females than in males. Following the first dose, the participants experienced more adverse effects with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Following the second dose, more adverse effects were associated with the Pfizer vaccine. Interestingly, the prevalence of COVID-19 infection in participants who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine was significantly reduced compared to those who received two doses of either the AstraZeneca or Sinopharm vaccines. According to vaccine-hesitated participants, insufficient knowledge (29.9%), expeditious development (27.6%) and lack of trust in the vaccines (27.1%) were the three major reasons for refusing the vaccines. The results of our study indicated that these adverse effects do not present a significant problem and should not prevent successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic

Numerical analysis of the axial heat conduction with variable fluid properties in a forced laminar flow tube

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Lijing Zhai, et al, ‘Numerical analysis of the axial heat conduction with variable fluid properties in a forced laminar flow tube’, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 114: 238-251, November 2017. Under embargo until 22 June 2018. The final, definitive version is available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2017.06.041.In this article, a theoretical model is developed to investigate the effects of the axial heat conduction on the laminar forced convection in a circular tube with uniform internal heat generation in the solid wall. In the current work, three different fluids, i.e. water, n-decane and air, are selected on purpose since their thermophysical properties show different behavior with temperature. The effects of the axial heat conduction with varying dynamic viscosity and/or varying thermal conductivity are investigated in a systematic manner. Results indicate that the variable-property effects could alleviate the reduction in Nusselt number (Nu) due to the axial heat conduction. For the case of Peclet number (Pe) equal to 100, wall thickness to inner diameter ratio of 1 and solid wall to fluid thermal conductivity ratio of 100, the maximum Nu deviation between constant and variable properties are up to 7.33% at the entrance part for water in the temperature range of 50℃, and 4.45% at the entrance part for n-decane in the temperature range of 120℃, as well as 2.20% at the ending part for air in the temperature range of 475℃, respectively. In addition, the average Nu deviation for water, n-decane and air are 3.24%, 1.94% and 1.74%, respectively. Besides, Nu decreases drastically with decreasing Pe when Pe≤500 and with increasing solid wall to fluid thermal conductivity ratio ( ) when ≤100. It is also found that variable properties have more obvious effects on the velocity profile at the upstream part while more obvious effects on the temperature profile at the downstream part.Peer reviewe

The influence of yakuwarigo and gendered language on character portrayals : A case study of the Japanese translation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling

The book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, written by the prolific author J.K.Rowling, is a popular piece of fiction that has been adapted into a film as well as severalvideogames. The book has also been translated from its original English into dozens oflanguages, including Japanese. Translations can differ from their original counterparts,especially when the languages in question differ in their syntax and cultural norms. Thesedifferences can potentially alter the original author’s intended character portrayals.This project aimed to evaluate the effect of gendered language and yakuwarigo on charactervoices in the Japanese translation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Fourcharacters – Hermione, Hagrid, Dumbledore, and McGonagall – were evaluated bymeans of their spoken dialogue in the book. The English lines of dialogue and their Japanesecounterparts were extracted from the book and analysed.The results of the dialogue-analysis show that the dialogue in the Japanese version of thebook was more gendered, and exhibited typical signs of role language. These findingswere corroborated through the use of separate questionnaires for Japanese and Englishparticipants. The questionnaires asked participants to determine the gender and role ofcharacters purely on the basis of certain lines in the book, with no external contextprovided. Japanese participants managed to identify both the gender and role of charactersmore accurately

Modeling in Biomass Harvesting, Biomass Pyrolysis and Producer Gas Cleaning

Biomass is a viable alternative in order to mitigate the environmental effectscaused by the aggressive use of fossil feedstock during the last century.This thesis builds around the idea of a biofuel production process that iscomprised of biomass production, biomass gasication, gas cleaning andfuel production. Biomass production includes microalgae synthesis followedby harvesting to supply microalgae to the gasication process. In the gasi-cation process, the prepared microalgae is dried, pyrolyzed and gasiedto obtain a producer gas containing syngas and impurities. The producergas is cleaned from the impurities and fed to a fuel production unit, e.g. amethanation process.This thesis investigates three distinct aspects related to this processscheme, namely the occulation of microalgae as part of harvesting, biomasspyrolysis as a part of gasication, and sulfur removal from the producer gasas a part of gas cleaning.The investigation of occulation focuses on secondary phenomena thataccompany the aggregation and breakup of the suspended particles, namelyrestructuring, decay of oc strength and settling. For the study of theconsidered phenomena, a population balance model is developed.Slow pyrolysis of biomass is studied on both the reactor scale and thepellet scale. A model for a rotary drum reactor, using principles of isoconversionalanalysis, is developed for the study of dierent biomass feedstock.The proposed model allows for deriving a preliminary reactor design withminimal experimental input data. A one-dimensional nite volume schemeis developed for the investigation of pyrolysis on the pellet scale. The proposedscheme accounts for convective and diusive heat and mass transfer,and is tested against analytical solutions and commercial software packages.Sulfur removal by metal oxides in a packed bed is studied on both thesystem level and the process level. Criteria for the selection of metal oxidesand the design of packed bed units are derived. A detailed analysis isundertaken to study the reaction of H2S with ZnO in a packed bed, wherethe nano-particles of ZnO experience void formation and outward growth.QC 2019-10-29</p