Night, Space and Urban design: case study of Mashhad, Iran

In contemporary societies time distinctions are being reconfigured. Although in modernlife technology enables new forms of social activities and entertainments and the possibility to experience them day and night, night has been known and experienced differently in various cultures and in different time periods. Discussions of the city at night are dominated by the framework and experience of Western Europe, the USA and Australia. However, night-life in other places could be different and in order to achieve an in-depth understanding of the concepts of a night-time economy and a 24-hour society it is important to study night-life in various parts of the world. In this thesis Mashhad is investigated as a 24-hour city in Iran. Night-life in Iran, as a Middle-Eastern country, is different from the available literature as a result of various social and cultural factors. In Iran, because of religious discipline, there are no pubs, bars, casinos or clubs. However, cities work at night with a continuity of their day-time activities. Mashhad, as one of the holiest cities in Shiite Islam with the shrine of Imam Reza located at its centre, is visited annually by over 25 million pilgrims. The large number of visitors and the shrine are characteristics of the city and its 24-hour activity. Boundaries between day and night in Mashhad are less clear cut and night-life includes all kinds of activities including religious, business, recreational, social or commercial. However, the Regeneration and Reconstruction Plan of Imam Reza’s Shrine Area, started in 2001, is threatening the 24-hour features of the shrine area by attempting to modernise it in order to attract and accommodate more pilgrims. This study aims to investigate how to improve nightlife by considering the impact of urban design. It studies the night-life of the shrine area in Mashhad through a multi-method approach and investigates the impact of recent urban design interventions. In addition, a series of guidelines are proposed for revitalisation of the shrine area whilst keeping and supporting its local active night-life. This study fills a part of the gap in the literature of a 24-hour society and night-time economy through investigating a less-studied type of 24-hour society in a context that has not been considered previously and is helpful in redefining the ideas which have been formed because of this gap. By investigating the interconnections between the temporal structure of cities, their spatial form and mass pilgrimage this study argues that social, cultural, economic, political and climatic factors are all important in the formation of night-life in a city and highlights the possible threats to the night-life of cities that might result from urban design approaches that ignore a local context. It also shows that the social and temporal habits of the people who shape a city’s night-life are a product of the discussed factors which may change through time. By emphasising the importance of the local night-time economy in the formation of 24-hour societies, the findings of this study highlight the necessity of considering the night-life of urban areas in regeneration plans. These findings have direct policy relevance in the regeneration plan of the shrine area in Mashhad and are helpful for regeneration plans of similar cases with local active night-life

Time of Development of Occlusal and Proximal Lesions: Implications for Fissure Sealants

Analysis of surface and tooth-specific data from NHANES I and HHANES shows that the pattern of dental caries differs greatly from tooth to tooth and surface to surface. Occlusal caries precedes all other types, and increases most rapidly and to the highest levels in the molars. Caries on the proximal surfaces comes later. For sealants to be of value, they must reduce the need for restorations. Therefore, the value of sealants will be determined by the balance between high enough levels of potential caries on occlusal surfaces to give them something to prevent, and low levels of, or sufficiently delayed, proximal lesions to prevent the loss of the otherwise saved occlusal surface. The data presented demonstrate that as of the time of NHANES I, the number of permanent molars that could have had surfaces saved from restoration, at least for a number of years, appears to be sufficient to warrant widespread use of sealants on those teeth. More recent data (HHANES) suggest that the current decline in caries prevalence is likely to reduce the value of sealants in the short run because there are fewer occlusal lesions in young children, but may increase the value of sealants in the long run because proximal caries in older children and adults is also declining.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65756/1/j.1752-7325.1986.tb03119.x.pd

Periodontal disease, tooth loss, and oral hygiene among older Americans

– Recent research has suggested that susceptibility to destructive periodontal disease may not be as universal as was previously thought. This report analyzes data from a representative national sample of 11 338 American adults aged 25–74, examined in a national survey in 1971–74. Results showed that 46.1% of those aged 65–74 were edentulous, but half of the dentate persons in that age group were diagnosed as free of destructive periodontal disease. Periodontal (PI) and oral hygiene (OHI-S) index scores in this group were significantly better in those persons who had lost fewest teeth. When persons aged 65–74 who retained 25 or more teeth were compared with younger adults who also had 25 or more teeth, OHI-S and CI scores were similar. H is hypothesized that maintenance of oral hygiene levels corresponding to OHI-S scores of 0.3–0.6, and calculus levels corresponding to CI scores of 0.1–0.2, is sufficient to maintain a dentition free of periodontal disease throughout life. Slightly higher OHI-S levels (0.7–1.3) and CI levels (0.3–0.6) might be compatible with acceptably low levels of periodontal disease.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72103/1/j.1600-0528.1985.tb01684.x.pd

Prevalence of Deep Periodontal Pockets in New Mexico Adults Aged 27 to 74 Years *

The purpose of this study was to describe the distribution of advanced periodontal destruction (pocket depth equal to or deeper than six mm) in continuous residents, aged 27 to 74 years, of Lordsburg and Deming, New Mexico. The distance from the free gingival margin to the base of the gingival crevice or pocket was measured on the facial and mesiofacial sides of six index teeth. The presence of supragingival calculus, subgingival calculus, and plaque, as well as gingival bleeding around the index teeth, also were evaluated. Of the 372 examinees, only 46 individuals (12.4 percent) had at least one deep pocket equal to or deeper than six mm on at least one site on the six index teeth. Age was significantly associated with prevalence of deep pockets, although about 80 percent of those aged 47 to 74 years did not have deep pockets. Of those with deep pockets, 89.1 percent had fewer than four tooth sites (out of 12) affected. The only significant risk factor of the presence of deep pockets, other than age, was the number of teeth with plaque accumulations. Age and the number of teeth with plaque explained only 10.5 percent of the variability in the prevalence of deep pocketing, suggesting that risk factors other than those included in this study may be important. The results of this study indicate that destructive periodontal disease occurs at selected sites within the mouth, and that about 87 percent of the adults over age 27, in this population, do not have deep pockets in the si. index teeth examined.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66049/1/j.1752-7325.1986.tb03142.x.pd

PROTEOMICS AS TOOLS FOR BIOMARKERS DISCOVERY OF ADULTERATION IN SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURES

Slaughtering is an unavoidably sensitive issue among Muslim and Jews. This paper gives an outlook on possible detection methods in resolving the dilemma of religious slaughtering status. It will be rather easier to differentiate meat of different animal origins due to the exclusive genetic blueprint. However, in the case of adulteration in slaughtering procedure, the meat was taken from a similar source, thus, complicating the detection process. Therefore, an alternative approach employing proteomics were developed to identify protein expression patterns after external stimulation with electrical treatment. In the slaughtering process, the pain which is triggered by an external stimulus is expected to influence the protein profiles. Therefore, variations in stunning treatments which result in different patterns of protein profiles will pinpoint the specific biomarker for over stunned animals. This will inevitably help to detect adulterations in slaughtering procedure

Isolation and Identification of Bacteria-producing Cellulose from Tropical Fruit for Halal Capsule Application

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is pure cellulose synthesized by various species of bacteria. Raising demands on bacterial cellulose is due to its pure and simpler structure. It has plenty of applications in various industries such as food, medical and cosmetics, rendering it a choice in halal industry application as a substitute for non-halal gelatine. However, challenges arise during the BC production such as high production cost and low volumetric yield. In this study, BC is studied to overcome the barriers to BC production. Isolation and identification of cellulose producing bacteria were carried out on eight different tropical fruit sources using Hestrin-Schramm media in static culture condition. Morphological and molecular identification by microscopic observation, gram staining, and 16S rRNA analysis were conducted to identify the characteristics and strain of the new isolates. Next, the selected colonies were challenged to grow in agitating condition using modified HS media. The effects of carbon concentration and agitation speed on the production of cellulose were investigated using on central composite design (CCD). Three new cellulose producing bacteria were successfully isolated and identified to be similar to Enterobacter sp. SJZ-5, Bacterium sp NLAE-zl-H356, and Bulkhoderia sp. RD_DACAR_02 through morphological and molecular analysis. The most potent strain which is similar to Enterobacter sp. SJZ-5 (named as Enterobacter sp.M003) has been chosen for BC optimization study for high BC production using modified HS media. Optimization of bacterial cellulose production using response surface methodology (RSM) with 13 runs indicated that the optimal production parameters were 17.5 g/L for carbon concentration at 277 rpm for agitation speed gave 1.7g/L cellulose. It is expected that the newly isolated bacteria will be able to provide an alternative to gelatine for halal capsule production, thus minimizing and replacing non-halal gelatine usage

Development of a Field Robot Platform for Mechanical Weed Control in Greenhouse Cultivation of Cucumber

A prototype robot that moves on a monorail along the greenhouse for weed elimination between cucumber plants was designed and developed. The robot benefits from three arrays of ultrasonic sensors for weed detection and a PIC18 F4550-E/P microcontroller board for processing. The feedback from the sensors activates a robotic arm, which moves inside the rows of the cucumber plants for cutting the weeds using rotating blades. Several experiments were carried out inside a greenhouse to find the best combination of arm motor (AM) speed, blade rotation (BR) speed, and blade design. We assigned three BR speeds of 3500, 2500, and 1500 rpm, and two AM speed of 10 and 30 rpm to three blade designs of S-shape, triangular shape, and circular shape. Results indicated that different types of blades, different BR speed, and different AM speed had significant effects (P < 0.05) on the percentage of weeds cut (PWC); however, no significant interaction effects were observed. The comparison between the interaction effect of the factors (three blade designs, three BR speeds, and two AM speeds) showed that maximum mean PWC was equal to 78.2% with standard deviation of 3.9% and was achieved with the S-shape blade when the BR speed was 3500 rpm, and the AM speed was 10 rpm. Using this setting, the maximum PWC that the robot achieved in a random experiment was 95%. The lowest mean PWC was observed with the triangular-shaped blade (mean of 50.39% and SD = 1.86), which resulted from BR speed of 1500 rpm and AM speed of 30 rpm. This study can contribute to the commercialization of a reliable and affordable robot for automated weed control in greenhouse cultivation of cucumber

Evaluation of a brief tailored motivational intervention to prevent early childhood caries

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87108/1/j.1600-0528.2011.00613.x.pd