A fuzzy ANP application for prioritizing the productivity factors based on university employees' counterproductive behaviors

Measuring the relative efficiency of employee plays essential role on the success of any organization including universities. In this paper, we present a survey to detect and to prioritize important factors influencing on the productivity of employees who work for one of Iranian universities located in city of Tehran, Iran. The study also uses analytical network process to prioritize the factors. Based on the results of our survey, we have categorized effective productivity factors into three groups of research, educational and administration groups. In our survey, coherence and unity with no dispersion of the employee's duties, systematic job rotation and correct design communication job are among the most important factors influencing on employees’ productivity

Performance of alumina supported Ni catalyst with core-shell and supported structures in dry reforming of methane

Dry reforming of methane is one the interesting processes in which CH4 and CO2 are consumed at the same time and valuable syngas is produced. In this research, Ni@Al2O3 core shell structure catalyst is compared with the Ni/Al2O3 supported catalysts in terms of their catalytic stability, activity and carbon formation in dry reforming of methane. The core-shell structure catalysts were prepared by microemulsion method and impregnation technique was used for the supported catalysts. The Ni loadings were 5- 20 wt. % for the both types of catalysts. The prepared catalysts were analyzed with BET, XRD, TPR, XPS, TEM, XAS, and ICP analysis. BET analyses, TEM, and SEM-EDS images showed that core- shell structure catalysts were successfully prepared with smaller particle size and higher surface area (≥ 200 m2/ g) than the supported catalysts ( ˂ 200 m2/ g). Furthermore, TPR and XPS analysis revealed that NiAl2O4 species was the main Ni phase in all the catalysts, making strong interaction between Ni and Al2O3. XANES analysis revealed that all the catalysts were almost reduced completely. The catalytic test reaction was carried out at 750 ºC, GHSV= 144 L. g-1 .h-1 and CH4:CO2: N2= 1:1:1. The results demonstrated that core- shell catalysts had better catalytic activity than the supported catalysts due to encapsulation of Ni with shell, preventing Ni particle from agglomeration and sintering in comparison with the supported catalysts. The highest CH4 and CO2 conversions belonged to 20%Ni@Al2O3 catalyst with around 55% and 57%, respectively. Further, H2/CO ratio was almost 1 for the core-shell catalyst whereas this amount was around 0.9 for the supported catalysts. The lower amount of carbon was also deposited in the core- shell catalysts due to smaller particle size and Ni covered with the shell. The lowest amount (~2wt.%) of coke deposited on the 12% Ni@Al2O3 catalysts while this amount was about 5 wt. % for the supported catalysts with the same loading. The long term thermal stability test (24 h) showed great stability for the core-shell structure catalyst while it was gradually deactivated after 120 h in reaction due to carbon formation

A New 4-DOF Robot for Rehabilitation of Knee and Ankle-Foot Complex: Simulation and Experiment

Stationary robotic trainers are lower limb rehab robots which often incorporate an exoskeleton attached to a stationary base. The issue observed in the stationery trainers for simultaneous knee and ankle-foot complex joints is that they restrict the natural motion of ankle-foot in the rehab trainings due to the insufficient Degrees of Freedom (DOFs) of these trainers. A new stationary knee-ankle-foot rehab robot with all necessary DOFs is developed here. A typical rehab training is first implemented in simulation, and then tested on a healthy subject. Results show that the proposed system functions naturally and meets the requirements of the desired rehab training.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figure

Comparative Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy on Emotion Regulation, Positive and Negative Affection, Aggressive and Self-Harm Behaviors of 13-16-Year-Old Female Students

This study was aimed to compare the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy with dialectical behavior therapy on emotion regulation, positive and negative affection, aggressive and self-harm behaviors of 13 to 16-year-old female students. The results showed that both CBT and DBT have a significant effect on increasing emotional regulation and positive affect, and decreasing negative affect, reducing aggressive behavior and self-harm. Also there was no significant difference between two treatments in increasing the positive affection and decreasing negative affection, but the effect of DBT on increasing emotional regulation and reducing self-harm and aggressive behaviors was significantly more than CBT

Evaluation of Fractal Dimension of Fractures and Drainages in Determining the Tectonic Activity of Qameshlu Fault Zone (Northwestern Iran)

The study area is located in the northwest of Iran and in the Central Iranian zone (Urmia-Dokhtar volcanic belt). The aim of this study is deretmination of the tectonic activity of the Qameshlu fault. Field studies, evaluation of fractal dimensions and morphometric indices have been used in order to analyze the morphotectonic evidences of the study area. Firstly, the study area was first divided into 18 basins. Then five quantitative morphometric indices including asymmetry factor index (Af), transverse topographic symmetry index (T), stream length-gradient index (SL), Valley Floor Width to Height Ratio (Vf) and Hypsometric integral index (HI) have been calculated. The relative active tectoic index (Iat) is also calculated, in order to determination of amount of relative tectonic activity. This index is divided into three classes, class 1 (high tectonic activity), class 2 (medium tectonic activity), class 3 (low tectonic activity). The quadratic method has also been used to measure the fractal dimension of active faults and streams. For this purpose, the whole region is divided into six boxes and the amount of fractal dimension in each network is calculated using logarithm-logarithm diagram. The results of fractal analysis of faults indicate that section f is the most active part of the study area, while the results of fractal analysis of streams show more tectonic activity in part b. The results obtained from the study of morphometric indices, fractal analyzes and field evidences show more activity in the central part (in the middle of Qomshloo fault) and in the northern and southern parts due to fault density

Prevalence of Stroke in neonates who admitted with seizures in neonatal intensive care unit

How to Cite This Article: Farhadi R, Alaee AR, Alipour Z, Abbaskhanian A, Nakhshab M, Derakhshanfar H. Prevalence of Stroke in NeonatesWho Admitted With Seizures in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Iran J Child Neurol. Autumn 2015;9(4):41-47.AbstractObjectivePrevalence of neonatal stroke has been reported 1/2300-1/4000 live births and accounts for 12-20% of the cases of neonatal seizures. Although stroke has been introduced as the second cause of the neonatal seizures in literatures, it may remain unclear in diagnostic evaluations of seizure in neonates. This study was performed to assess the prevalence of stroke in neonates with seizure.Materials & MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, all neonates ≥ 28 weeks of gestation with a diagnosis of seizures admitted to the NICU of Boo-Ali Sina Hospital in Sari, north of Iran, were enrolled. Brain CT scan and a Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography were performed for the all cases. In cases that stroke were reported in one or two above modalities, an MRI was also performed and prevalence of stroke was reported. Putative risk factors of stroke were analyzed with univariate and multivariate statistical methods.ResultsFrom 174 newborn infants, 75.3% of neonates were male. Prevalence of stroke was 8%, 2.3% and 3.4% in Doppler ultrasonography, CT scan and MRI reports respectively. Umbilical venous catheterization was the risk factor of stroke in the univariate and multivariate analysis (P= 0.001; OR, 10.39; 95% CI, 2.72-39.77). The most common form of seizure was focal clonic seizures (78.6%) in neonates with stroke.ConclusionInvestigation of stroke as an etiology of neonatal seizures is essential because seizure may be the only symptom of neonatal cerebral infarction. Doppler ultrasonography can be a valuable diagnostic tool at first in critically ill neonates or in situations that MRI is not available primarily. Further studies with notice to outcome assessment of these infants recommended.

Educational Costs of Residents in a Teaching Hospital: a case study

Background & Objectives: Residents spend much of their time at the hospitals to earn their required educational skills and although they act as a kind of human resource in the hospital, they increase hospital costs. The present study was designed to calculate the share of educational costs of different medical residents in hospitals. Methods: In this descriptive and applied study performed in one of the hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences, the hospital cost items of education of residents in different medical fields during the academic year of 2017-2018 were identified by use of two scenarios. Results: In short, mean educational cost of one resident in the studied academic year was about 5357$based on the first scenario and about 5404$ according to the second scenario. Based on both scenarios, salaries paid to residents accounted for more than 50% of the costs followed by the cost of consumed materials by residents. Forensic Medicine and Anesthesiology residency programs had respectively the lowest and highest share of costs in both scenarios. Conclusion: The cost of training in the hospital is different among residency fields based on the required tests and errors in each field. But, in order to save hospital costs, the culture of optimal use of materials as well as medical equipment should be taught to residents. Key­words: Education Economics, Costing, Direct Costs, Residents, Teaching hospital ­Citation: Aleboyeh MR, Reza pour A, Meshkani Z, Alipour V, Soleimani movahed M. Educational Costs of Residents in a Teaching Hospital: a case study. Journal of Health Based Research 2019; 5(2): 117-30

The Effect of Different Mixing Methods on the Properties of Calcium-enriched Mixture Cement: A Systematic Review of in Vitro Studies

Introduction: It has been shown that the mechanical and physical properties of Calcium Enriched Mixture (CEM) cement are influenced by the mixing methods. Despite several studies conducted on different mixing methods of CEM cement, there is no systematic review to summarize the results. This systematic review was conducted to investigate the effect of different mixing techniques on mechanical and physical characteristics of CEM cement. Methods and Materials: A professional librarian with skills in informatics conducted a systematic search by searching electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus and Ovid for English language peer-reviewed articles published between 1992 and April 2019. Results: Initial searches from all sources identified 1175 references. Two of the authors examined the titles, abstracts of these articles and the full reports of 20 studies were obtained, and data extraction was performed. Seven studies satisfied the eligibility criteria for the review. The effect of different mixing methods was investigated on bacterial microleakage, push-out bond strength, flow rate, compressive strength, solubility, pH, film thickness, dimensional changes, working time, setting time and quality of the apical plug. Conclusion: Based on the results of this systematic review, some of the important properties of CEM cement were affected by different mixing methods. Although none of these mixing methods could improve all the properties, mechanical and manual methods were more effective compared to ultrasonic method.  Keywords: Calcium-enriched Mixture Cement; Systematic Review; Ultrasoni

Comparison of Face to Face vs. Group Training on Self-pulse Rate taking Ability of Patients

Introduction: Determining the rate and regularity of peripheral arterial pulses has a major role in assessing the clinical status of patients with cardiovascular disorders. We compared two training methods on the ability of patients to take their radial pulse rate accurately.Methods: Three-hundred patients were randomly divided into two arms. One arm received individual face-to-face training and the other arm received group training via displaying an animation movie. Immediately after the training and then after 48 hours, the patients were tested by a nurse to find out whether they have learned the correct technique of taking radial pulse rate or not.Results: Immediately after the intervention, 84.9% in face-to-face arm and 81.8% in group training arm were able to correctly count their radial pulse rate (P = 0.536). After 48 hours, 71.7% in face-to-face and 60.8% in group training arm were able to correctly count their radial pulse rate (P = 0.051).Conclusions: Both methods were effective to improve the ability of the patients to count their radial pulse rate correctly though face-to-face method was marginally superior to group training