ARTIFICIAL AGENTS MODELING FOR INTIMATE TELEPRESENCE

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Comparing the neuropsychological functions in obese and normal people

Background: Obesity is a chronic heterogeneous disorder causing mental health problems and disorders. This study was aimed at comparing the neuropsychological functions between the obese and normal people. Methods: This study was a descriptive and causal-comparative study conducted on obese and normal people between January and June of 2020. Participants consisted of 100 people (50 obese and 50 normal people) referred to Arian and Saremi clinics in Mashhad. Purposive sampling method was used and the participants were divided into two groups. The instrument was Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) and Go / No-Go Task. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21 software and multivariate analysis of covariance. Results: The results of the WCST showed that there were no significant differences between the obese and normal people in the variables of neuropsychological functions (P>0.05). Likewise, based on the Go / No-Go homework test, no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in the variables of neuropsychological functions (P>0.05). Conclusion: The finding showed that there was no difference between neuropsychological functions of the obese and normal people. It can be argued that obesity cannot affect neuropsychological functions

Significance of community in Malaysian Higher Educational Institutions sustainability

Since the beginning of environmental movement, academicians and policy makers have been focusing on the institutions of higher learning. The first document on campus sustainability, the Talloires Declaration, which was ratified by 413 universities, including University Malaya, addressed the concept of community aspect of Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) sustainability. This article is a position paper with the objective to highlight the importance of community in the sustainability of Malaysian Higher Learning Institutions (MHLE). In carrying out this study, the archival and document analysis method was employed, whereby different scholars’ articles, dissertations, and tools were reviewed. Further validation of the findings was accomplished by employing the questionnaire survey method. Various documents were analysed thoroughly to figure out how the issue of community and the effects on campus sustainability were addressed. Besides a literature review, observation and interview were also utilized to figure out the challenges faced by Malaysian Higher Educational Institutions. The results indicated that community and campus sustainability have a linear relationship. In the context of MHEI, ethnical polarization, poor command of English and imbalance distribution of gender are the challenges. Likewise, the community is one of the most important aspects and is given high priority. Thus, the findings of this study could serve as a reference for researchers, institutions, and universities that are working on topics related to sustainability in higher educatio

Thermal comfort investigation in traditional and modern urban canyons in Bandar Abbas, Iran

Urban design plays an important role in a city’s daily life. Therefore, accessibility to thermal comfort spaces for citizens engaged in urban outdoor activities could be one of the main goals of urban designers. Urban forms and canyons have important roles in microclimate and thermal comfort situation in outdoor spaces. The hot humid climate of Bandar Abbas, especially in long summers, causes thermal stress for urban activities. In this study, two different urban fabrics were investigated using thermal comfort and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods. Eight provisional measuring points in the selected prevailing canyons were used to obtain the data. The results correlated with the effects of the urban canyon orientation to variation of the microclimate factors, and consequently, the thermal comfort situation in the hottest period of the year. In addition, the results also indicated that the traditional urban fabric is more thermally comfortable than the new residential urban fabric. According to field measurements, thermal comfort calculation and wind simulations, the canyons with the north-south direction present a better orientation for air circulation benefiting from the sea breezes as compared to the other canyon orientations. Hence, this study provides insights for urban designers and policy makers residing in the hot and humid climate in the Middle East

Effects of Irrigation Period on Biochemical Changes of some Citrus Species

Water is the most important factor for plant growth, and deficiency of water is a reason for drought stress. In drought stress situations, antioxidant system and some biochemical properties are changed. To identify the effect of drought stress on some types of citrus species, we examined different irrigation periods on citrus cultivars. In this study, plants were irrigated every four, eight, twelve, and sixteen days. Antioxidant, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), chlorophyll content, relative water content (RWC), and proline were measured. Results showed that with increased irrigation period antioxidant capacity, SOD, POD, and proline were increased in all three citrus cultivars, but chlorophyll content and RWC were decreased. All cultivars expressed similar changing pattern and it means that with decrease of water availability antioxidant system activity increases to protect plants against drought stress

Effects of urban canyons and thermal comfort in the Persian Gulf region

Accessibility to thermal comfort spaces for citizens and urban outdoor activities could be one of the main goals of urban designers. The objective of this paper is to conduct a comparative study on two different urban fabrics, using thermal comfort and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods. Results relate the effects of urban canyon's orientation on variation of the microclimate factors and consequently, on the thermal comfort situation in the hottest period of the year. The results indicate that traditional urban fabric is more thermally comfortable than the new residential urban fabric. According to the field measurements, thermal comfort calculation, and wind simulations, the canyons with North-South direction represent a better orientation for air circulation benefiting from sea breezes as compared to other canyon orientations. The result will throw light for the urban designers and policy makers of hot and humid climate in the Middle East

Grape Cultivars Classification by Biochemical Constituents and HPLC Profiles

The germplasm of grapevines possesses a great degree of variability and can be divided into geographic groups. Recent genetic investigations have validated these classifications, and further divided types into geographic-genetic groups to better describe their similarities and differences. The purpose of this research was to analyze the biochemical components of nine different varieties of fruit and to categorize different types of grapes using multivariate analysis. Grapes include a number of significant secondary metabolites, including polyphenolic chemicals, which influence the overall quality of the fruit as well as its sensory qualities. The fruit extracts of the Sitkan cultivar yielded the greatest total phenolic content of any other cultivar tested. Both the Ranya and the Rost Cultivars had exceptionally high levels of antioxidant activity. The HPLC analysis of natural compounds (including, rosmaric acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid, rutin, apigenin, gallic acid and quercetin) showed that chlorogenic acid and gallic acid were the most common phenolic compounds in the grape samples. Caffeic acid was the third most prevalent compound, followed by p-coumaric acid and cinnamic acid. Using multivariate analysis, the various varieties of grapes were categorized into one of three primary groupings. According to the findings, the various cultivars of grapes are the most important source of antioxidants and other useful phytochemical components. According to the findings of HPLC testing, the Alan cultivar contained a significant amount of phytochemical components