Mathematical Modeling and Sensitivity Analysis on Cadmium Transport in Kaolinite under Direct Current Electric Field

Soil pollution is a challenging concern for environmentalists. Different remediation methods have been proposed to remediate polluted soils. Most of the existing methods cannot purify low permeable soils. Electrokinetic remediation (EKR) is an effective method which can remediate fine-grained soils. Understanding the physicochemical phenomena of the EKR is necessary to achieve efficient experimental framework. Therefore, the present study aims to introduce a theoretical and mathematical model for the EKR process. In the present model, different transport phenomena including ion migration, electroosmotic flow, and diffusion were considered. In addition, Chemical reactions such as adsorption/desorption, precipitation/dissolution, water autoionization reaction, and electrolysis reaction were considered. For modeling purpose, a set of partial differential and algebraic equations were used to model the remediation process. The implicit finite difference numerical model showed a good capability of simulating the EKR process. The sensitivity analysis on the retardation and tortuosity factors represented that the retardation factor had a considerable effect on the pH and cadmium concentration profiles. Although tortuosity factor did not have a significant impact on the pH profile, it had a non-negligible effect on the cadmium concentration profile

Homeopathy in Dentistry and Oral Medicine: A review

Objectives: Homeopathy is the most important field of alternative medicine. At present, over 3000 organic medications have been registered in the homeopathy pharmacopeia; out of which, 70% have herbal, 20% have mineral and the remaining have animal origins. Evidence shows that homeopathy may be beneficial in dentistry and oral medicine. However, this is a less known field for dentists. Therefore, this study aimed to do a review on the most common homeopathy medicines used for oral and dental problfems and to present it in a simple and practical way for general dental practitioners.Review of Literature: Google Scholar and PubMed data bases were searched for any article related to both homeopathy and dentistry. Several recent meta-analyses, randomized control trials, animal and laboratory trials, and other interventional papers were studied.Homeopathy drugs are basically produced from natural origin; they have less side effects in comparison with chemical drugs. In this method, only small doses of medications with low cost are used. The positive effects of homeopathy drugs on several oral conditions have been emphasized.Conclusion: Homeopathy may be a suitable adjunct to conventional medicine for management of many conditions since it is affordable, effective and uplifting for patients

Dosimetric Parameters Estimation for I-125 (model 6711) Brachytherapy Source

Determining dose distribution around the applied sources in brachytherapy, especially ones with low-energy is so crucial in treatment designing. In this study dosimetric parameters of a brachytherapy source I-125 (model6711) were calculated using Monte Carlo simulation method.A homogeneity water phantom with dimensions of 30´30´30 cm 3 were simulated with MCNPX(2.6.0) code. A brachytherapy source I-125 (model6711) considering its details (materials, dimensions and its emitted spectrum) was located in the center of phantom. Positioning the source inside the vacuum sphere its air kerma strength, S k , was calculated. Recommende

The Effect of Photobiomodulation Therapy on the Differentiation, Proliferation, and Migration of the Mesenchymal Stem Cell: A Review

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of a low-power laser on the proliferation, migration, differentiation of different types of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in different studies.Methods: The relevant articles that were published from 2004 to 2019 were collected from the sources of PubMed, Scopus, and only the articles specifically examining the effect of a low-power laser on the proliferation, differentiation, and migration of the MSCs were investigated.Results: After reviewing the literature, only 42 articles were found relevant. Generally, most of the studies demonstrated that different laser parameters increased the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of the MSCs, except the results of two studies which were contradictory. In fact, changing the parameters of a low-power laser would affect the results. On the other hand, the source of the stem cells was reported as a key factor. In addition, the combination of lasers with other therapeutic approaches was found to be more effective.Conclusion: The different parameters of lasers has been found to be effective in the proliferation, differentiation, and migration of the MSCs and in general, a low-power laser has a positive effect on the MSCs, helping to improve different disease models

Global burden of peripheral artery disease and its risk factors, 1990–2019 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

peripheral artery disease were modelled using the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 database. Prevalence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and mortality estimates of peripheral artery disease were extracted from GBD 2019. Total DALYs and age-standardised DALY rate of peripheral artery disease attributed to modifiable risk factors were also assessed. Findings In 2019, the number of people aged 40 years and older with peripheral artery disease was 113 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 99·2–128·4), with a global prevalence of 1·52% (95% UI 1·33–1·72), of which 42·6% was in countries with low to middle Socio-demographic Index (SDI). The global prevalence of peripheral artery disease was higher in older people, (14·91% [12·41–17·87] in those aged 80–84 years), and was generally higher in females than in males. Globally, the total number of DALYs attributable to modifiable risk factors in 2019 accounted for 69·4% (64·2–74·3) of total peripheral artery disease DALYs. The prevalence of peripheral artery disease was highest in countries with high SDI and lowest in countries with low SDI, whereas DALY and mortality rates showed U-shaped curves, with the highest burden in the high and low SDI quintiles. Interpretation The total number of people with peripheral artery disease has increased globally from 1990 to 2019. Despite the lower prevalence of peripheral artery disease in males and low-income countries, these groups showed similar DALY rates to females and higher-income countries, highlighting disproportionate burden in these groups. Modifiable risk factors were responsible for around 70% of the global peripheral artery disease burden. Public measures could mitigate the burden of peripheral artery disease by modifying risk factors

The effect of knowledge based view on sustainable competitive advantage

This study investigates the quantitative relationship between knowledge based view (i.e. empowering employees, promoting confidence, coding rules) and sustainability competitive advantage (i.e. market, customer, financial) within the banking industry of Iran. A valid research instrument was utilized to conduct a survey of 150 top- and middle-level managers from Mellat bank of Iran. With a response rate of 81.3 percent, 122 questionnaires are returned; the number of valid and usable questionnaires was 101. In order to determine validity of questionnaire, the content validity was used and Cronbach's alpha was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire (KBV questionnaire 0.886, SCA questionnaire 0.843). Utilizing the structural equation modeling, and after a series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, it was found that KBV had the greatest effect on the market centered SCA, while it had the least influence on the customer centered

Dynamic capability in an under-researched cultural environment

During the past few years, dynamic capability (DC) has been considered as an important issue in banking industry. This paper presents a survey on dynamic capability and its role on reaching sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) within Mellat bank of Iran (MBI). A valid research instrument is utilized to conduct a survey among 150 managers from MBI. The study utilizes structural equation modelling to examine different hypotheses based on an integrated model of DC and SCA. According to literature studies, expert opinions and exploratory factor analysis, DC is classified into sensing, learning, reconfiguration, and coordination. Furthermore, SCA of the banking industry is classified into three dimensions: market, customer, and financial performance. The results indicate that DC had the greatest effect on the market centered, while it had the least influence on the customer centered

The effect of resource based view on sustainable capability advantage

Nowadays, it is important to achieve and to sustain an organization’s competitive advantage in complex environments. This paper evaluates different concepts that have led to such benefits. The study sheds light on resource based view (RBV) and its role to reach sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) within banking industry of Iran. A valid research instrument was utilized to conduct a survey of 150 top- and middle-level managers from Mellat bank of Iran. With a response rate of 81.3 percent, 122 questionnaires were returned while a number of valid and usable questionnaires were 101. In order to determine validity of questionnaire, the content validity and Cronbach's alpha were used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire (RBV questionnaire 0.934, SCA questionnaire 0.843). The study utilized structural equation modelling, and a series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and they tested the integrated model of MKM and SCA. Statistical support was found for the hypothesized relationships. Moreover it has been shown that RBV had the greatest effect on the market centered SCA, while it had the least influence on the financial centered. The findings offer valuable insights on the generalizability of MKM in a research setting. Structural equation modeling has been implemented and the study also used freedman test to rank the factors and the results show that communication was the most important factor (4.41), followed by process (4.03), knowledge implementation (2.79), decision making (2.54) and human resources (1.22) was the last important factor

The effect of marketing knowledge management on sustainable competitive advantage: Evidence from banking industry

Nowadays, the importance of achieving sustainable organization with competitive advantage in complex environments has many researchers’ interest. So, in this study, we evaluate different views of MKM and its role to reach SCA within banking industry. This research is relatively the scarce empirical study and adds to its originality. The findings offer valuable insights on the generalizability of MKM in a research setting. In fact, the purpose of this study is to empirically test the effect of the marketing knowledge management (MKM) on sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) within banking industry of Iran. A valid research instrument was utilized to conduct a survey of 150 top- and middle-level managers from Mellat bank of Iran (MBI). With a response rate of 81.3 percent, 122 questionnaires were returned; the number of valid and usable questionnaires was 101. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, MKM were classified into organizational strategies, culture and performance of senior manager, information technology (IT), research and development (R & D), internal customer (personnel), and external customer (client). Moreover, MBI’ SCA was classified into three dimensions: market, customer, finance. Structural equation modelling was utilized to test the stated hypotheses and model. Statistical support was found for the hypothesized relationships. Moreover it has been shown that MKM maintained the greatest effect on the market centered SCA, while it had the least influence on the customer centered

Application of fuzzy Delphi analysis to shorten the time of new product development based knowledge management tool

This paper proposes a model to priority effective tools of knowledge management to reduce time of new product development process. The proposed process of the study has been implemented among some professors of knowledge management. After weighting the parameters of the model using fuzzy Delphi analysis, values of these parameters has been process. The results show that the parameters of human-based are preferred over process-based knowledge management in new product development. The process-based knowledge management is contained both part of knowledge-led and software-led knowledge management. In knowledge-led knowledge management respectively knowledge integrated production, knowledge acquisition, and knowledge diffusion and integration system are located in the priority of the first to third. And also in knowledge management respectively management information system, knowledge network, and Humans-computers interaction are located in the priority of the first to third