A Comprehensive Decision Support Framework in the Front-End Phase of Major Transportation Projects

Identifying the best project alternative is a critical challenge facing major transportation projects (MTPs) at the front-end phase. The increasing complexity and dynamism of MTPs have imposed substantial uncertainties and subjectivities in the decision-making process. Despite the efforts made in previous studies, a stochastic framework to facilitate the comprehensive assessment is still missing. In this research, a stochastic decision support framework has been developed to cope with the considerable uncertainties in MTPs. The features of the proposed decision support framework are achieved by using the Bayesian belief network modeling technique to provide a comprehensive registry of the relevant decision factors, establish the interrelationships between these decision factors, and consequently quantify uncertainties of decision indicators. The calculated probabilities for decision indicators have been interpreted to a satisfaction level of stakeholders based on their constraints as a multi-criteria decision model. A Monte Carlo simulation has been conducted to simulate a real condition using the decision indicators probability as input. Finally, MTP alternatives prioritized according to the anticipated satisfactory gained among various stakeholders. The created framework is used in a preliminary alternative assessment for case study related to Detroit River International Crossing project. The case study investigates the decision-making of key stakeholders related to prioritization of alternative projects for a new access between Detroit, US and Winsdor, Canada. The project team verified applicability of the model. The developed framework and the case study highlight the significance of identification of a stochastic project alternative assessment method. The proposed framework provides decision-makers with a decision support tool to facilitate front-end phase of MTPs

Study on Hydrodynamic Pressure in Grinding Contact Zone Considering Grinding Parameters and Grinding Wheel Specifications

AbstractIn the grinding process, coolant lubricant is used to lubricate and mainly to transmit the heat generated in the contact zone. Grinding wheel accelerates a portion of the coolant lubricant into the contact zone. As e resault of the wedge effect between grinding wheel and workpiece in the contact zone a hydrodynamic pressure is generated, which influences the grinding results. In this paper, a new model for the hydrodynamic pressure of the coolant in the contact zone is presented. The simulation results show that the hydrodynamic pressure is proportion to grinding wheel velocity, and in inverse proportion to the minimum gap between wheel and workpiece. Furthermore, it could be investigated that the specification of the grinding wheel can affect the value of this pressure. The experimental results correspond to the simulation results, which show the validity of the simulation

A newly emerged cutaneous leishmaniasis focus in central Iran

SummaryObjectivesThis study was performed to evaluate the epidemiological status of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in the most important endemic foci of Qom Province, central Iran. The city of Qom is the largest center for Shi’a scholarship in the world and is a significant pilgrimage destination.MethodsDuring 2006–2011, all suspected CL patients with skin lesion(s) referred to regional health centers of Ghomrood and Ghanavat regions, and all actively detected cases, were examined clinically and parasitologically for CL. Patient information was recorded and patients were categorized based on the number and size of the lesions. Odds ratios (OR) of different risk factors were calculated.ResultsA total of 849 (59.2% male, 40.8% female) confirmed cases of CL were enrolled; the average incidence rate of the disease was 14.9 per 100000 people. During the study period 2006–2011, the trend in CL incidence showed no sudden variations in the areas studied, except for an outbreak of CL in 2009. Leishmania major was identified as the causative agent based on internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) ribosomal DNA PCR analysis. During the study period, the age distribution of CL cases was relatively stable, with the majority (50%) of patients aged 1–25 years. Most cases (n = 468; 55.1%) had a single lesion and 82 (9.6%) patients had four or more lesions (range 1–29). The risk of developing multiple lesions was significantly increased in patients with seasonal jobs (summer workers) (p = 0.023; OR 1.516) and significantly decreased in patients who were affected in winter (p = 0.010; OR 0.398). The risk of developing large-sized lesions (>1cm) was significantly increased in patients in the age groups >25 years (p = 0.001–0.015; OR 2.5–3.5) and decreased in patients with seasonal jobs (summer workers) (p = 0.005; OR 0.570).ConclusionsThe present data show the importance of CL as a health problem in suburban areas of Qom Province. In order to identify other epidemiological aspects of leishmaniasis in this area, studies on vectors and reservoirs are recommended. Since leishmaniasis caused by L. major is typically zoonotic, control measures should focus on rodents as the main reservoirs and Phlebotomus papatasi as the main vector. Awareness should be raised in the high-risk populations comprising people with diabetes, young adults (<25 years old), and those who work outdoors during the summer

Using new analytical algorithm to study the effect of temperature variations on static shape of contact wire of OCS

The vibrations of pantograph passing underneath the overhead system can be reduced by using droppers to place the contact wire in the designed curve. Nowadays, various software programs are used to estimate dynamic interaction of pantographs and overhead catenary system. In order to implement the software program, the necessary static force for each dropper should be estimated initially to place the contact wire in the designed curve. Unlike most available software programs, the implemented software program in this research consists of a heuristic analytical algorithm to estimate the static shape of the overhead catenary system. Accordingly, the variable separation and eigen function expansion method were used to calculate the static shape of contact wire and messenger cable under a given loading condition. At the next step, the stiffness matrix of contact wire in catenary was obtained and a procedure was defined to calculate the necessary static force for each dropper, which would then place the contact wire in the target curve. Finally, effort was made to examine the function of automatic tension device in OCS (Tension Wheel considering the Coulomb’s friction). Moreover, the deformations in the contact wire and messenger cable due to temperature changes were estimated and the results shows that allowable friction in the tension wheel can cause 27 % deviation in sag of the contact wire

Person and Personality in Cyber Space: A Legal Analysis of Virtual Identity

The day by day expansion of the Internet in all of human’s life put him or her between two worlds: real and virtual. The lifestyle of individuals has changed drastically in the challenge of these two worlds. Domination of virtual environments in all aspects of human personality, especially on the Identity, is clearly observable. The emergence of a virtual identity in cyberspace; beside the real identity of people is one of the challenges of the virtual environment of the Internet. The rise of some novel challenges about the question of identity in cyberspace may need appearing law on the issue of virtual identity. Freedom of identity, anonymity, irresponsibility, authenticity and identification in cyberspace are some of the legal issues, considered as challenges of virtual identity. Rule of cyberspace and protect the rights of cyber society, citizens (Netizens) are on the shoulder of law which makes constructing a legal framework as an irresistible matter of the future of the virtual society. For this, a correct understanding of the virtual environment and its related legal issues is needed. Virtual identity as a new topic may need a new legal approach and analysis

A study on factors that drive variation in the levels of social capital among people living with HIV/AIDS in Iran

INTRODUCTION: Social capital is increasingly used in relation to health issues, particularly in sexually transmitted diseases/infections and health behaviors. Experiences indicated that social capital can contribute in changing HIV related risk behaviors and a decline of HIV infection through social groups and networking and make more effective use of HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment services. We aimed to assess social capital in these persons through a quantitative study. METHOD: This cross-sectional study was performed with a convenience sample of 300 people living HIV/AIDS referred to a counseling center of behavioral diseases, in Imam Khomeini Hospital, in Tehran, the capital of Iran, during September 2011 to May 2012. Data collection tools were a demographic questionnaire and World Bank Social Capital Questionnaire (SC-IQ). The analysis of data was performed by the SPSS statistic software version 18. To identify factors influencing social capital in participations, Pearson correlation coefficient, ANOVA, t-test, and a multiple regression were applied. The significant level was considered 0.05 in this study. RESULTS: 165 (55) were male and the rest female. The mean age of participants was 34.3 ± 7.5. The mean score of total social capital was 2.34 ± 0.5 in all participants. The domain of individual trust had the highest mean score (2.53 ± 0.66). The lowest mean score was related to the domain of social trust and associative relations (2.23 ± 0.62). Variables such as ethnicity, age, and middle economic status had a significant impact on the domain of individual trust so that the mean score of this component of social capital was lower among women (0.396) than men. Factors affecting total social capital were ethnicity and middle economic status. CONCLUSION: Finding emphasized on the role of economic status, ethnicity and gender in persons living with HIV/AIDS. Thus recommended that policy makers and program managers consider social groups and networks, especially in women in the design and delivery of intervention strategies to reduce HIV transmission

Investigation of relationship between social capital and quality of life in female headed families

Background: Although most studies on female-headed families focus on women's access to social support, the associations between social capital and quality of life in these families are unclear in many societies (such as Iran). This study aimed to determine the associations between social capital and quality of life in Iranian female headed families. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 152 female-headed households supported by Tehran Municipality, district 9 from April 2011 to July 2012. Convenience sampling was employed. Data were collected using demographic questionnaire, the Iranian version of World Health Organization Quality of Life, and the Word Bank Social Capital. Descriptive and multiple regression methods were used to analyze the data. Results: The mean±SD age of participants was 50.8±13.8 years. Findings revealed that in quality of life, the domains of environment health and social relation received the lowest (9.87 ± 2.41) and the highest (12.61 ±3.43) scores respectively; and with respect to social capital, membership in groups and social trust had the least (19.61 ± 17.11) and the most (51.04 ± 17.37) scores, respectively. The multiple regression model revealed a significant positive association between total score of the quality of life and the total score for the social capital (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Findings suggest that quality of life of female-headed families and social capital domains are strongly related. This means that by improving the social capital, women's life can also be improved

Database for CO2 separation performances of MOFs based on computational materials screening

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are potential adsorbents for CO2 capture. Because thousands of MOFs exist, computational studies become very useful in identifying the top performing materials for target applications in a time-effective manner. In this study, molecular simulations were performed to screen the MOF database to identify the best materials for CO2 separation from flue gas (CO2/N-2) and landfill gas (CO2/CH4) under realistic operating conditions. We validated the accuracy of our computational approach by comparing the simulation results for the CO2 uptakes, CO2/N-2 and CO2/CH4 selectivities of various types of MOFs with the available experimental data. Binary CO2/N-2 and CO2/CH4 mixture adsorption data were then calculated for the entire MOF database. These data were then used to predict selectivity, working capacity, regenerability, and separation potential of MOFs. The top performing MOF adsorbents that can separate CO2/N-2 and CO2/CH4 with high performance were identified. Molecular simulations for the adsorption of a ternary CO2/N-2/CH4 mixture were performed for these top materials to provide a more realistic performance assessment of MOF adsorbents. The structure-performance analysis showed that MOFs with Delta Q(st)(0) > 30 kJ/mol, 3.8 angstrom 1 g/cm(3) are the best candidates for selective separation of CO2 from flue gas and landfill gas. This information will be very useful to design novel MOFs exhibiting high CO2 separation potentials. Finally, an online, freely accessible database https://cosmoserc.ku.edu.tr was established, for the first time in the literature, which reports all of the computed adsorbent metrics of 3816 MOFs for CO2/N-2, CO2/CH4, and CO2/N-2/CH4 separations in addition to various structural properties of MOFs.European Research Counci

A new mathematical drying model for paddy rice via thermal imaging

This study presents a new drying model for paddy rice that uses thermal imaging as the measurement instrument. The proposed model is in the form of an ordinary differential equation and a change in mean intensity with respect to time required for establishing a drying model. The main aim of this research was to design a new drying model that incorporates computer vision for detecting the rate of changes in paddy rice moisture over time. Employing this approach provides us rapid control of the moisture content. The efficiency of the suggested model and its practical insights are presented in a numerical form

Protein metabolism in leg muscle following an endotoxin injection in healthy volunteers

A B S T R A C T The human endotoxin model has been used to study the early phase of sepsis. The aim of the present study was to assess leg muscle protein kinetics after an endotoxin challenge given to healthy human volunteers. Six healthy male subjects were studied in the post-absorptive state before and during 4 h following an intravenous endotoxin bolus (4 ng/kg of body weight). Primed continuous infusion of [ 2 H 5 ]phenylalanine and [ 2 H 3 ]3-methylhistidine in combination with sampling from the radial artery, femoral vein and muscle tissue were used to assess leg muscle protein kinetics. Both two-and three-compartment models were used to calculate protein kinetics. In addition 26S proteasome activity and protein ubiquitination were assessed. An increase in the net release of phenylalanine from the leg following the endotoxin challenge was observed; however, this phenylalanine originates from the free intracellular pool and not from protein. Net protein balance was unchanged, whereas both protein synthesis and breakdown were decreased. Degradation rates of contractile proteins were not affected by endotoxin, as indicated by an unchanged rate of appearance of 3-methylhistidine from leg muscle. In addition, proteasome activity and protein ubiquitination were unaffected by endotoxaemia. In conclusion, intravenous endotoxin administration to healthy volunteers resulted in an increased release of free phenylalanine from skeletal muscle, whereas protein balance was unaffected. Both protein synthesis and breakdown were decreased to a similar extent