Gender Differential in the Association of Body Mass Index and Abdominal Obesity with Prehypertension and Hypertension in Iranian Adults

*Objective:* The aim of this study was to determine the gender differential in the relationship of body mass index (BMI) and abdominal obesity with blood pressure (BP) and prevalence of hypertension (HTN) and prehypertension (Pre-HTN) among the adult population of Iran.

*Design:* A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted from December 2004 to February 2005. The selection was conducted by stratified probability cluster sampling through household family members in Iran.

*Subjects and Measurements:* Weight, height, waist circumference (WC), and systolic and diastolic BP of 45,082 men and 44,322 women aged 15-65 (mean 39.2) were measured. 

*Results:* The prevalence of HTN was 25.2% in men and 24.8% in women; and 50.1% of men and 39.1% of women were pre-hypertensive. WC and BMI were strongly associated with BP in both genders. Multivariate analysis revealed that both WC and BMI had the stronger association with HTN and Pre-HTN in men than women. Compared to men and women with normal weight, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval) of HTN was 5.75 (5.13, 6.44) for men and 4.29 (3.95, 4.66) for women with BMI ≥ 30. The multivariate OR of prevalence HTN in men with abdominal obesity compared with men without was 3.76 (3.41, 4.22) and in women, 2.92 (2.73, 3.13).

*Conclusion:* These data indicate that both BMI and WC had the stronger association with HTN and Pre-HTN in men than women. 
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Vehicle Routing and Scheduling Problem for a multi-period, multi-perishable product system with time window: A Case study

[EN] The well-known Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is to find proper sequence of routes in order to minimize transportation costs. In this paper, a mixed-integer programming model is presented for a food distributer company and the model outputs are to determine the optimal routes and amount of pickup and delivery. In the objective function, the costs of transportation, holding, tardiness and earliness are considered simultaneously. The proposed model with respect to real conditions is multi-period and has two different time periods: one for dispatching vehicles to customers and suppliers and the other for receiving customers’ orders. Time window and split pickup and delivery are considered for perishable products. The proposed model is nonlinear and will be linearized using exact techniques. At the end, model is solved using GAMS and the sensitivity analysis is performed. The results indicate that the trend of changes in holding and transportation costs in compared to tardiness and earliness costs are closed together and are not so sensitive to demand changes.Rashidi Komijan, A.; Delavari, D. (2017). Vehicle Routing and Scheduling Problem for a multi-period, multi-perishable product system with time window: A Case study. International Journal of Production Management and Engineering. 5(2):45-53. doi:10.4995/ijpme.2017.5960SWORD455352DENG, A., MAO, C., & ZHOU, Y. (2009). Optimizing Research of an Improved Simulated Annealing Algorithm to Soft Time Windows Vehicle Routing Problem with Pick-up and Delivery. Systems Engineering - Theory & Practice, 29(5), 186-192. doi:10.1016/s1874-8651(10)60049-xAndersson, H., Hoff, A., Christiansen, M., Hasle, G., & Løkketangen, A. (2010). Industrial aspects and literature survey: Combined inventory management and routing. Computers & Operations Research, 37(9), 1515-1536. doi:10.1016/j.cor.2009.11.009Baldacci, R., Mingozzi, A., & Roberti, R. (2012). Recent exact algorithms for solving the vehicle routing problem under capacity and time window constraints. European Journal of Operational Research, 218(1), 1-6. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2011.07.037Belfiore, P., & Yoshizaki, H. T. Y. (2013). Heuristic methods for the fleet size and mix vehicle routing problem with time windows and split deliveries. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 64(2), 589-601. doi:10.1016/j.cie.2012.11.007Cacchiani, V., Hemmelmayr, V.C., Tricoire, F., (2012). A set-covering based heuristic algorithm for the periodic vehicle routing problem. Discrete Applied Mathematics, 163(1), 53-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dam.2012.08.032Cattaruzza, D., Absi, N., Feillet, D., & Vidal, T. (2014). A memetic algorithm for the Multi Trip Vehicle Routing Problem. European Journal of Operational Research, 236(3), 833-848. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2013.06.012Çetinkaya, C., Karaoglan, I., & Gökçen, H. (2013). Two-stage vehicle routing problem with arc time windows: A mixed integer programming formulation and a heuristic approach. European Journal of Operational Research, 230(3), 539-550. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2013.05.001Eksioglu, B., Vural, A. V., & Reisman, A. (2009). The vehicle routing problem: A taxonomic review. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 57(4), 1472-1483. doi:10.1016/j.cie.2009.05.009Hasani-Goodarzi, A., & Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, R. (2012). Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem for Multi-Product Cross- Docking with Split Deliveries and Pickups. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 62, 1360-1365. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.232Rahimi-Vahed, A., Gabriel Crainic, T., Gendreau, M., & Rei, W. (2015). Fleet-sizing for multi-depot and periodic vehicle routing problems using a modular heuristic algorithm. Computers & Operations Research, 53, 9-23. doi:10.1016/j.cor.2014.07.004Shahin Moghadam, S., Fatemi Ghomi, S. M. T., & Karimi, B. (2014). Vehicle routing scheduling problem with cross docking and split deliveries. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 69, 98-107. doi:10.1016/j.compchemeng.2014.06.015Silva, M. M., Subramanian, A., & Ochi, L. S. (2015). An iterated local search heuristic for the split delivery vehicle routing problem. Computers & Operations Research, 53, 234-249. doi:10.1016/j.cor.2014.08.005Taş, D., Jabali, O., & Van Woensel, T. (2014). A Vehicle Routing Problem with Flexible Time Windows. Computers & Operations Research, 52, 39-54. doi:10.1016/j.cor.2014.07.005Yu, B., & Yang, Z. Z. (2011). An ant colony optimization model: The period vehicle routing problem with time windows. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 47(2), 166-181. doi:10.1016/j.tre.2010.09.010Zhang, S., Lee, C. K. M., Choy, K. L., Ho, W., & Ip, W. H. (2014). Design and development of a hybrid artificial bee colony algorithm for the environmental vehicle routing problem. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 31, 85-99. doi:10.1016/j.trd.2014.05.01

Role of Culture and Gender in Rorschach Findings in 9 Year Old Iranian Children

AbstractThe main objective of this study was investigation of differences between 9 year old boy and girl subjects in Rorschach variables. Also for evaluation of role of culture, non-clinical and 9 year old Iranian sample responses to Rorschach cards were compared with non-clinical non-Iranian samples on Rorschach variables in similar ages. To this end, 110 nine year old children (52 boys and 58 girls) in the third grade of primary school from five regions North, South, East, West and downtown of Tehran were chosen. Comparing the results indicated that the girl and boy subjects responded to Rorschach test according to their gender

Glycated hemoglobin measurements from dried blood spots: Reliability and relation to results obtained from whole blood samples

Background: Main objective was to measure glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in dried blood spots on paper filter and in whole blood samples in diabetic patients to evaluate relationship between two methods and their respective reliability. Methods: The 20�10 μl of venous blood samples of 33 diabetics were blotted onto the filter paper allowed to dry at room temperature and then stored at 25°C and 4°C. HbA1c was measured via the Turbidimetric Inhibition Immunoassay Technique. The relation was evaluated with correlation and linear regression tests using STATA software and SPSS. Agreement between the results obtained from the dried blood spots and others was evaluated using the Bland and Altman. The pitman's permutation test was also employed to compare the difference in variance. Results: A high positive correlation was detected between whole blood samples and dried blood spots stored at 4°C (r2 =0.90) and at 25°C (r2 = 0.95). The Bland and Altman graphs, as well as the Pitman tests, showed statistically significant differences in variability between the values obtained from whole blood samples and those derived from dried spots stored at 4°C (p=0.05) or 25°C (p=0.004). Conclusion: HbA1c measurements from dried blood spots on the filter paper yielded reliable results. That the Hitachi autoanalyzer is available in most countries renders this assay less costly than the High Performance Liquid Chromatography Method (HPLC). In addition, the filter paper method for Immuno-turbidimetric estimations of HbA1c at different temperatures is reliable and may be particularly useful in outpatient diabetes clinic

Designing Manhole in Water Transmission Lines Using Flow3D Numerical Model

Using cascades and drops existing in flow path has a history of 3000 years. Particularly, Roman engineers employed stepped spillways with the same idea in several countries; however, there are few information about the hydraulic performance of aqueducts. Most of these channels have flat long cross sections with low torsions (variable slope) such that they can encompass cascade and steep spillways or dopshaft. Given that there are few studies conducted on dropshafts, the present paper attempted to discuss about such structures in flow path and water transmission lines as well as introducing the existing principles and relations and present, the obtained results of designing though Flow3D. The obtained error percentage was about 20% which is acceptable for numerical studies

A Critical Analysis of Business Process Management Education and Alignment with Industry Demand: An Australian Perspective

Business Process Management (BPM) is accepted globally as an organizational approach to enhance productivity and drive cost efficiencies. Studies confirm a shortage of BPM skilled professionals with limited opportunities to develop the required BPM expertise. This study investigates this gap starting from a critical analysis of BPM courses offered by Australian universities and training institutions. These courses were analyzed and mapped against a leading BPM capability framework to determine how well current BPM education and training offerings in Australia address the core capabilities required by BPM professionals globally. To determine the BPM skill-sets sought by industry, online recruitment advertisements were collated, analyzed, and mapped against this BPM capability framework. The outcomes provide a detailed overview on the alignment of available BPM education/training and industry demand. These insights are useful for BPM professionals and their employers to build awareness of the BPM capabilities required for a BPM mature organization. Universities and other training institutions will benefit from these results by understanding where demand is, where the gaps are, and what other BPM education providers are supplying. This structured comparison method could continue to provide a common ground for future discussion across university-industry boundaries and continuous alignment of their respective practices

Structure-activity investigation on laccases by computational and site directed mutagenesis studies

Laccases belong to multi copper oxidase enzyme family (EC 1.10.3.2). Their capacity to oxidíze a wide range of substrates makes them very attractive for the industry and are growing in importance for environmentally-friendly synthesis. Laccases have three different copper sites including, type 1 (T1), type 2 (T2) and type 3 (T3). The function of the T1 site is shuttling electrons from the substrate to the trinuclear copper cluster. During the catalytic cycle of laccase, four electrons are removed from four substrate molecules, which are finally transferred to reduce oxygen to two water molecules .Comparison of the kinetic parameters using several laccases and several substrates reveals that the reaction rate of laccase correlates with the redox potential difference between the T1 copper and the substrate. In recent years, the demonstrated potential of laccases in a range of applications has motivated the progress of laccase engineering efforts. Computational simulations can reveal targets for protein engineering to be explored by site-directed mutagenesis (or semi-rational approaches). In this work we used computational methods for studying interaction of different substrates with laccases and structural activity of the enzyme. The goal of the present study was to characterize the laccase binding pocket of fungal and bacterial laccases in order to establish their common pharmacophoríc characteristics. For this purpose, we first performed molecular docking studies to identify those residues involved in the interaction with diverse substrates. Our results indicate that bacterial laccase {1UVW) has less hydrophobic and aromatic residues in the activity site in comparison to other fugal structures of this study, as a result, find a pose that interacts with residues needs more energy. Subsequently, we evaluated the effect of protonation state of a conserved residue in fungal laccase, Asp/Glu, through molecular dynamics simulation. In a subsequent step, we applied QMMM-2QM-MD approach for one of the fungal laccase structure (3FU8) for calculating redox potential value. The result indicates that the difference in redox potentials changes from 7-17 to 74-92 kJ/mol if the redox state of T1Cu and DMP in the other subunit change and we correctly predict that CuT1ox/DMPred state is more stable than the CuT1red/DMPox state. After the insight gathered from computational studies we started site directed mutagenesis studies on two residues of the binding pocket in order to find their effect on the redox potential value. We made a combinatorial library for position 192 and 296 in MtlL T2. The clone contained A192P and L296W (3H12) mutation and clone contained A192P and 296L {19G8) showed activity with violuríc acid 1.23 and 1.33 fold higher than parental type, respectively. Moreover, the clone contained A192R and L296W (15H11) and clone with mutation A192R and L296L {5B4) showed higher activity with molybdenum compound in comparison to parental type. After experimental characterization of the 19G8 and 5B4 mutants, we studied the structural changes produced in the binding pocket. For this purpose we generated a three-dimensional structure of the two mutants using M.albomices laccase as template by homology modelling. Whereas the former mutant exhibits a similar binding pocket to the template, the latter appears to be smaller. In any case, subsequent docking studies did not show any differential behaviour and ligands could bind to both binding pockets in a similar way. Finally, we calculated the redox potential of the mutant A296L MaL that is similar to the former mutant, yielding a value of 167 kJ/mol. This is higher than the value obtained for MalL supporting the effect of this mutation on the redox potential.Las lacasas pertenecen a la familia de enzimas multícobre oxidadas (EC 1.10.3.2). Su capacidad de oxidar una amplia gama de sustratos las hace muy atractivas para la industria y su utilización está creciendo en importancia para la síntesis respetuosa del medio ambiente. Las lacasas tienen tres tipos diferentes de cobre: tipo 1 (T1), Tipo 2 (T2) y típo 3 (T3). La función del sitio de T1 es la de transportar electrones desde el sustrato al clúster de cobre trinuclear. Durante el ciclo catalítico de la lacasa, cuatro electrones son transferidos desde cuatro moléculas de sustrato para reducir oxígeno a dos moléculas de agua. La comparación de los parámetros cinéticos utilizando varias lacasas y varios sustratos revela que la velocidad de reacción de la lacasa se correlaciona con la diferencia de potencial redox entre el cobre T1 y el sustrato. En los últimos años, el potencial demostrado por las lacasas en una gama de aplicaciones ha motivado el progreso en la ingeniería de lacasas. Las simulaciones computacionales pueden revelar residuos clave que pueden ser cambiados por mutagénesís dirigida (o enfoques semi-racionales). En este trabajo se han utilizado métodos computacionales para el estudio de la interacción de diferentes sustratos con lacasas y ver su efecto sobre la actividad. El objetivo del presente estudio fue caracterizar la unión de lacasa bolsillo de lacasas fúngícas y bacterianas con el fin de establecer sus características farmacofórícas comunes. Para este propósito, hemos realizado estudios de anclaje moleculares para identificar aquellos residuos que participan en la interacción con diversos substratos. Nuestros resultados indican que la lacasa bacteriana (1UVN) tiene un número menor de residuos hidrófobos y aromáticos que las estructuras fúngicas, como consecuencia la unión no es tan fuerte. Posteriormente, se evaluó el efecto del estado de protonación de un residuo Asp / Glu conservado en lacasas fúngicas a través de dinámica molecular. En una etapa posterior, se aplicó enfoque QMMM-2QM-MD para uno de la estructura lacasa fúngica (3FU8) para calcular el valor potencial redox. El resultado índica que la diferencia en los potenciales redox cambios 7-17 a 74-92 kJ/mol sí el estado redox de T1Cu y DMP en la otra subunidad cambio y correctamente predecir qué estado CuT1ox / DMPred es más estable que el CuT1red / estado DMPox. Después de los estudios computacionales se llevó a cabo un estudio de mutagénesis dirigida sobre dos residuos del bolsillo de unión, con el fin de encontrar su efecto sobre el valor potencial redox. Con este objetivo se llevó a cabo una biblioteca combinatoria para la posición 192 y 296 en MtL T2. El clan contenía A192P y L296W (3H 12) y el clan contenía la mutación A192P y L296L (19G8) mostraron una actividad con ácido violurico 1,23 y 1,33 veces mayor que la de tipo parental, respectivamente. Por otra parte, el clon contenía A192R y L296W (15h11) y el clon con A192R mutación y L296L (5B4) mostraron una mayor actividad con el compuesto de molibdeno en comparación con el tipo parental. Después de la caracterización experimental de los mutantes 19G8 y 5B4, estudiamos los cambios estructurales que se producen en el bolsillo de unión. Con este fin generamos una estructura tridimensional de los dos mutantes utilizando la lacasa de M.albomices como plantilla, por medio de la modelización por homología. Mientras que el primer mutante exhibe un bolsillo de unión similar al de la plantilla, éste es más pequeño en el segundo mutante. En cualquier caso, los estudios de anclaje molecular posteriores no mostraron ningún comportamiento diferencial y los ligandos podrían unirse a los dos bolsillos de unión de una manera similar. Finalmente, se calculó el potencial redox de la mutante A296L MaL que es similar al mutante 19G8, obteniéndose un valor de 167 kJ/mol. Este valor es más alto que el obtenido para MaL, apoyando el efecto que tiene esta mutacíón sobre el potencial redox

Economic Austerity along with Resistive Economy as Two Actuating Forces in Iran's Economy

Resistive economy is an attempt to control and counteract effects of international limitations against a zone or any country. In fact, it is necessary to resist counteracting threats and turning them to opportunity and obtaining national strengths. In an ideal situation, resistive economy can remove the crisis resulted from international limitations. Certainly, public belief and cooperation and rational and wise management are prerequisites for such goal. Resistive economy is a decrease of dependencies and emphasis on benefits of domestic production, efficiency of human resources and trying for self-sufficiency. Of course, a real resistive economy is a dynamic one not a stable and closed economy, as resistance is defined to remove obstacles of development and to try for improving level of economy. By studying Iran's economy during recent years, it is found out that international limitations are not the only negative factor influencing the Iranian economy. Rather, other factors such as failure in proper execution of subsidies purposefulness law as a public service of government has caused shortage in budget and also improper consumption of national and natural resources. To counteract the negative effect of such factors, a kind of economic austerity at the same time with the Resistive economy should be executed by the policymakers of economy. The fact that austerity is imposed on the economy and its critical situation does not seem to be tolerable but in long term it can help restore the economy. Consequently, the Iranian economy should turn to austerity in long term