Supernova pencil beam survey

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) can be calibrated to be good standard candles at cosmological distances. We propose a supernova pencil beam survey that could yield between dozens to hundreds of SNe Ia in redshift bins of 0.1 up to $z=1.5$, which would compliment space based SN searches, and enable the proper consideration of the systematic uncertainties of SNe Ia as standard candles, in particular, luminosity evolution and gravitational lensing. We simulate SNe Ia luminosities by adding weak lensing noise (using empirical fitting formulae) and scatter in SN Ia absolute magnitudes to standard candles placed at random redshifts. We show that flux-averaging is powerful in reducing the combined noise due to gravitational lensing and scatter in SN Ia absolute magnitudes. The SN number count is not sensitive to matter distribution in the universe; it can be used to test models of cosmology or to measure the SN rate. The SN pencil beam survey can yield a wealth of data which should enable accurate determination of the cosmological parameters and the SN rate, and provide valuable information on the formation and evolution of galaxies. The SN pencil beam survey can be accomplished on a dedicated 4 meter telescope with a square degree field of view. This telescope can be used to conduct other important observational projects compatible with the SN pencil beam survey, such as QSOs, Kuiper belt objects, and in particular, weak lensing measurements of field galaxies, and the search for gamma-ray burst afterglows.Comment: Final version, to appear in ApJ, 531, #2 (March 10, 2000). 22 pages including 5 figures. Improved presentatio

Evaluation of effective indicators on formation of informal settlements of SHAHR GHODS

Iran has faced with the growing urbanization in recent years and if we do not adopt effective planning and efficiency in the face of this sudden change these challenges will become irreparable consequences. Informal settlements are one of the symbols of this change. But with a good understanding of the phenomenon of the change in attitude it can be turned into opportunities. The purpose of this study is identifying and prioritizing effective indicators on formation of informal settlements of SHAHR GHODS and tries to some extent know the situation in these settlements and by studying main factors creating and expanding these settlements, a few suggestions are given. Effective indicators of Informal settlements can be divided in three general categories, cultural - social, economic and physical – services. Thus the survey method was used and for statistical population the residents of SHAHR GHODS informal settlements have chosen by random sampling. The required information was collected using a questionnaire and factor analysis method was examined by SPSS21 software.The results indicate that the social - cultural aspects and physical infrastructure – service are the most influential factors in the formation and development of SHAHR GHODS informal settlements.Keywords: informal settlements, SHAHR GHODS, Factor Analysi

Spectral analysis perspective of why misinformation containment is still an unsolved problem

Misinformation is still a major societal problem. The arrival of ChatGPT only added to the problem. This paper analyzes misinformation in the form of text from a spectral analysis perspective to find the answer to why the problem is still unsolved despite multiple years of research and a plethora of solutions in the literature. A variety of embedding techniques are used to represent information for the purpose. The diverse spectral methods used on these embeddings include t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The analysis shows that misinformation is quite closely intertwined with genuine information and the machine learning algorithms are not as effective in separating the two despite the claims in the literature

How Secure are Library Collections? An Evaluation of Polytechnic Libraries in Ghana

Libraries are key ingredients for institutional successes as they enhance the quality of human resources for development. The need for preservation of stock through control measures has become imperative particularly for the third world. Thus, this article explores the existence of library security policies, common breaches and prevention measures in Ghanaian polytechnics. The study employed questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews in 5 polytechnics selected through simple random sampling. Data was analysed using frequency tables and interpretative techniques.  The study revealed a male-dominated library staff mostly aged between 18 and 40 years, majority of whom had first degrees and above. None had any form of written security policies and common breaches included theft, book non-return, mutilation, mis-shelving and impersonation. Periodic searches, not allowing entry with lethal materials as well as inventory and weeding were some of the preventive measures. However, major setbacks to these efforts included lack of electronic surveillance, inadequate management support, staff lackadaisical attitudes and no proper procedures upon lending. Keywords: Library, Security Policy, Collections, Polytechnics, Ghan

A Comparative 6-Month Clinical Study of Acellular Dermal Matrix Allograft and Subepithelial Connective Tissue Graft for Root Coverage

Objective: Different surgical procedures have been proposed for the treatment of gingival recessions. The goal of this study was to compare the clinical results of gingival recession treatment using Subepithelial Connective Tissue Graft and an Acellular Dermal MatrixAllograft.Materials and Methods: The present study was performed on 5 patients with 9 bilateral Miller`s class I or II gingival recessions. This included 15 premolars and 3 canines. In each patient the teeth were randomly divided in two groups of test (ADMA) and control (SCTG).Clinical parameters including recession height (RH), recession width (RW), keratinized gingiva (KG), clinical attachment level (CAL) and probing depth (PD) were measured at baseline, 2, 4 and 6 months after surgery and data analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test.Results: The mean changes (mm) from baseline to 6 months in SCTG and ADMA were 2.22±0.83 and 1.77±0.66 decrease in RH, 2.55±0.88 and 2.33±0.86 decrease in RW,1.44±0.88 and 2.0±1.11 increase in KG, 2.33±1.22 and 2.11±0.6 decrease in CAL and finally 0.22±0.66 and 0.33±0.7 decrease in PD, respectively. The differences in meanchanges were not significant between the two groups in any of the parameters. The percentage of root coverage was 85.7% and 71.1% for the control and test group,respectively. The changes from baseline to the 6 month visit were significant for both groups in all parameters but PD.Conclusion: Alloderm may be suggested as an acceptable substitute for connective tissue graft considering the root coverage effect and KG width increase

Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Among Premarital Couples: A Need for Future Educational Programs

Background: A significant number of youths have insufficient awareness about sexual health; whereas, correct sexual information is the main factor to prevent adverse consequences. Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the sexual knowledge and attitudes in a sample of Iranian premarital couples. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a sequential sample of 500 males and females who met the inclusion criteria was selected. This study was conducted in Kashan, Iran. Participants were in the age range of 16 to 40 years referred for premarital testing and educational classes. Two questionnaires containing demographic data and a culturally based sexual knowledge and attitudes scale were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test, independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U, analysis of variance and multivariate regression. Results: About 50% of premarital couples had poor sexual knowledge and attitudes. The mean score of total sexual knowledge was 12.45 ± 8.54 out of a possible score of 33; and the mean score of total sexual attitudes was 121.63 ± 14.51 out of a possible score of 170. A significant association existed between the score of sexual knowledge and the level of education (P < 0.01), participants’ age (P < 0.01) and the score of sexual attitudes (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The majority of participants had poor sexual knowledge and attitudes regarding different aspects of sexual health

FLOOD SUSCEPTIBILITY MODELLING USING GEOSPATIAL-BASED MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING IN LARGE SCALE AREAS

Flood is one of the most hazardous natural disasters that cause damages and poses a major threat to human lives and infrastructures worldwide, and its prevention is almost unfeasible. Thus, the detection of flood susceptible areas can be a key to lessen the amount of destruction and mortality. This study aims to implement a framework to identify flood potential zones in an ungauged large-scale area with frequent flood events in recent years. We used two Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approaches combined with geospatial analysis, and remote sensing observations for this susceptibility analysis. Nine geomorphological and environmental factors that have an impact on flood behaviour were selected and used for susceptibility modelling. At first, the criteria’s weights were estimated using two MCDM approaches and based on experts’ knowledge. The resultant weights revealed that Flow Accumulation, Topographic wetness index, and Distance to River were the most influential flood susceptibility criteria. After calculating these weights, the criteria’s layers were aggregated through geospatial analysis, which resulted in generating flood susceptibility map. The area under the curve (AUC) and statistical measures such as the Kappa index were used to evaluate the proposed method's efficiency. The validation results illustrate that hybrid FAHP, with AUC= 96.68 and Kappa = 81.36 performed more efficiently than standard AHP, with AUC= 94.53 and Kappa=76.35. Overlaying these maps with the historical flood inventory dataset revealed that 86.43% of flooded areas were categorized as “high” and “very high”. Therefore, the flood susceptibility maps generated through the proposed approach can help the decision-makers and managers allocate the mitigation equipment and facility in data-scarce and ungauged large-scale areas

The cluster M-T relation from temperature profiles observed with ASCA and ROSAT

We calibrate the galaxy cluster mass - temperature relation using the temperature profiles of intracluster gas observed with ASCA (for hot clusters) and ROSAT (for cool groups). Our sample consists of apparently relaxed clusters for which the total masses are derived assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. The sample provides data on cluster X-ray emission-weighted cooling flow-corrected temperatures and total masses up to r_1000. The resulting M-T scaling in the 1-10 keV temperature range is M_1000 = (1.23 +- 0.20)/h_50 10^15 Msun (T/10 keV)^{1.79 +- 0.14} with 90% confidence errors, or significantly (99.99% confidence) steeper than the self-similar relation M propto T^{3/2}. For any given temperature, our measured mass values are significantly smaller compared to the simulation results of Evrard et al. (1996) that are frequently used for mass-temperature scaling. The higher-temperature subsample (kT > 4 keV) is consistent with M propto T^{3/2}, allowing the possibility that the self-similar scaling breaks down at low temperatures, perhaps due to heating by supernovae that is more important for low-temperature groups and galaxies as suggested by earlier works.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted by Ap

IDENTIFYING SUITABLE LOCATIONS FOR MANGROVE PLANTATION USING GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION SYSTEM AND REMOTE SENSING

Mangroves provide numerous environmental benefits, such as carbon sequestration, water purification, climate change mitigation, and flood and Tsunami impact reduction. Despite these unique advantages, mangroves are threatened by the combined adverse impacts of human activities and climate change. Therefore, it is essential to implement reasonable practices to avoid further degradation of mangroves and provide efficient workflows to increase their extent. Accordingly, better plantation policies are principally required for their conservation and rehabilitation. In this study, we desired to detect suitable locations for mangrove plantation in coastal areas of Hormozgan Province, Iran. We considered a relatively new Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) technique to combine ten criteria derived from remote sensing in a GIS environment. The Best Worst Method (BWM), as an MDCM technique, was implemented to determine the relative importance of each criterion. Afterward, all criteria were aggregated using the Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) method to produce a mangrove plantation suitability map. Statistical measures, including Overall Accuracy (OA = 95%), Kappa Coefficient (KC = 87.9%), and Area Under Curve (AUC = 98.79%), indicated the high applicability of the implemented method for mangrove plantation site allocation. The produced map could give managers a profound insight into finding optimal spots to plant mangroves