Quantitative development of velvet maple (Acer velutinum Boiss.) afforestation in Emamzadeh Abdullah- Amol 20 years after thinning

This research was started in 1995 in order to investigate the effect of thinning on the young plantations of velvet maple (Acer velutinum Boiss.). The silvicultural interventions comprised three main treatments (medium and heavy thinning), two secondary treatments (3-year and 5-year rotations) in the fully randomized design with three replications. There were 9 sample plots in the experimental design with an area of 0.3-0.4 hectare each. A full calipering of the future trees was done after 20 years and 6 thinning operations. The results for DBH, total height, trunk height and trunk diameter showed significant differences between the control treatment and thinning intensities. However, no significant difference was observed between the secondary sub- treatment (circulation 3 years and 5 years) and the intersection between the main and sub plots treatments for DBH, total height, trunk height and trunk diameter. For the intensive thinning treatment, the largest value of 32.95 cm was observed for the DBH, while the lowest value of 27.39 cm was observed for the slight thinning. In addition, the largest height of 24.42 m was observed for intensive thinning, whereas the lowest rate of 23.63 m was observed for the control treatment

International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health Developing Criteria for Complementary Health Insurance (CHI) Benefit Packages for a Medical Service Insurance Organization in Iran: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Abstract Introduction: Development of Complementary Health Insurance (CHI) benefit packages has always been one of the main challenges of Health Insurance Organizations in Iran. Records related to developing a health insurance package in Iran show that there is no specific criterion for developing such packages. This study aimed at developing criteria for providing CHI benefit packages presented by the Medical Service Insurance Organization in Iran. Methods: The current research is a qualitative and applied research which has been conducted in 2014. The sample size included 24 authorities in the domain of CHI, and a semi-structured interview was used for collecting data. Data analysis was based on framework method applying Atlas-Ti 5.2 software. Results: Nineteen main themes and 53 sub-themes and finally 20 criteria were identified for four main dimensions of the benefit package including the insured, commitments of insurance services, financial resources and Medical Service Insurance Organization special priorities. Conclusion: In this study, various criteria were identified for developing CHI. It seems that applying important criteria such as equity, clinical guidelines, effectiveness, and efficiency of CHI benefit package presented by Medical Service Insurance Organization can decrease the shortcomings of the current system and using standardization can lead to targeting the service benefit package, removing its defects and improving the health of insured people

Numerical Simulation of Natural Convection in Heterogeneous Porous media for CO2 Geological Storage

We report a modeling and numerical simulation study of density-driven natural convection during geological CO2 storage in heterogeneous formations. We consider an aquifer or depleted oilfield overlain by gaseous CO2, where the water density increases due to CO2 dissolution. The heterogeneity of the aquifer is represented by spatial variations of the permeability, generated using Sequential Gaussian Simulation method. The convective motion of the liquid with dissolved CO2 is investigated. Special attention is paid to instability characteristics of theCO2 concentration profiles, variation ofmixing length, and averageCO2 mass flux as a function of the heterogeneity characterized by the standard deviation and the correlation length of the log-normal permeability fields. The CO2 concentration profiles show different flow patterns of convective mixing such as gravity fingering, channeling, and dispersive based on the heterogeneity medium of the aquifer. The variation of mixing length with dimensionless time shows three separate regimes such as diffusion, convection, and second diffusion. The average CO2 mass flux at the top boundary decreases quickly at early times then it increases, reaching a constant value at later times for various heterogeneity parameters.Geoscience & EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience