High pressure injection technique for hypochlorite treatment of polysulfone hollow fibre membranes

High pressure injection technique for hypochlorite treatment of polysulfone hollow fibre membranes has been developed. This technique allows injection of the hypochlorite solution into the channel of the fibres at a high pressure. The effect of this treatment on water flux of the membranes is studied. The results are compared with the water flux of identical membranes subjected to traditional hypochlorite treatment. Concentrated polymer solution containing polysulfone (PSf) /poly-vinyl pyrrolidone (PVP-K90)/N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) in weight ratio of 15/5/80 together with two types of bore fluids have been used for the production of two types of hollow fibre membranes via dry-wet-spinning process. Distilled water and mixture of NMP/ distilled water are used as bore fluids. Atomic force microscopic analysis and image processing technique (SEM microphotographs) have been employed to investigate performance of PSf hollow fibres treated with the traditional and high pressure injection techniques in relation to the composition of bore fluid. It is observed that in general both treatment methods result in the increase in water flux of the hollow fibres due to elimination of PVP (poly-vinyl pyrrolidone) swelling and alteration in pore size and pore distribution. The rate of increase in water flux in the membranes treated by high pressure injection technique is found to be higher in comparison to traditionally treated membranes. It is also found that the membranes produced using a mixture of NMP/ distilled water as bore fluid exhibit a higher rate of flux increase than those produced using distilled water. High pressure injection technique yields to production of highly permeable membranes. In addition, it is found that the composition of bore fluid controls the performance of the membranes subjected to hypochlorite treatment

Customized knowledge management success factors for Iranian organizations

Most of large companies have allocated plenty of resources to knowledge management because they believe Knowledge and its management is a foundation for creating competitive advantages in organizations. However, implementing knowledge management projects in an organization requires essential organizational changes.In this paper, success factors of knowledge management are extracted from literature review on papers represented between 1997 and 2009.Then the factors are categorized and effective factors in each group are determined.Results are finalized by a panel of experts in Iran and effective and critical success factors of knowledge management are determined for Iranian organizations.Final results show that from 12 effective success factors of knowledge management, four one’s including knowledge strategy, management support, motivational encouragements and strong technical infrastructure are critical ones. It is obvious that continuous attention of management to these factors and appropriate investment are vital for the success of knowledge management in organizations

A 38- Year Demographic Study of Central and Peripheral Giant Cell Granulomas of the Gaws

Objective: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyze the demographic characteristics of patients with central peripheral giant cell granulomas (CGCGs) / (PGCGs) an Iranian population.Methods: In this 38-year retrospective study, the data were obtained from records of 1019 patients with CGCG and PGCG of the jaws referred to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial, Pathology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran between 1972 and 2010. Information regarding age distribution, gender, location of the lesion and clinical signs and symptoms was documented.Results: A total of 1019 patients were affected by giant cell granuloma lesions (GCGLs) including 435 CGCGs and 584 PGCGs. The mean age was 28.91 ± 18.16. PGCGs and CGCGs had a peak of occurrence in the first and second decade of life respectively. A female predominance was shown in CGCG cases (57.70%), whereas PGCGs were more frequent in males (50.85%). Five hundred and ninety eight cases of all giant cell lesions (58.7 %) occurred in the mandible. Posterior mandible was the most frequent site for both Lesions. The second most common site for PGCG was posterior maxilla (21%), whereas anterior mandible was involved in CGCG (19.45%). The majority of patients were asymptomatic. Patient's age, location (mandible/maxilla) and bleeding were the influential variables on the type of the lesion.Conclusion: Although the CGCGs share some histopathologic similarities with PGCGs, differences in demographic features may be observed in different populations

Colchicine Overdose in a Suicidal Attempt

Colchicine overdose is uncommon; however, it can cause serious adverse effects and even death. Colchicine inhibits microtubule polymerization, causing mitotic spindle disruption. Ingesting ˃0.5 mg of colchicine per kilogram bodyweight causes severe adverse effects and can even be fatal. Therefore, colchicine toxicity must be accurately monitored and managed.In this case report, we described a 21-year-old woman who attempted suicide by the ingestion of an estimated 30 mg colchicine. She was admitted to the hospital due to severe abdominal and chest pain, vomiting, lethargy, and weakness. The patient was medicated with ondansetron, apotel, antibiotics, platelet transfusions, sodium phosphate, calcium gluconate, calcitriol, desmopressin acetate, Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF), and sodium bicarbonate. Fortunately, through the appropriate medical treatment, the signs and symptoms of colchicine toxicity were relieved and the patient survived despite the high colchicine serum level

Risperidone-Induced Erythema Multiforme Minor: A Case Report

Erythema Multiforme (EM) is a hypersensitivity reaction that can be triggered by an infection or particular medications. Erythema multiforme minor (EM minor) represents localized skin lesions with minimal or no mucosal involvement. Only a few case of EM associated with risperidone are found in the scientific literature. In this case report, the administration of the risperidone resulted in the rapid appearance of skin lesions. Erythematous lesions were recovered upon discontinuation of the drug and no new skin lesion was observed. A 52-year-old male patient was admitted to the psychiatry hospital because of developing schizophrenic symptoms. At the time of admission, risperidone was added to her previous drug regimen. Two weeks later, the patient returned with a complaint of progressively increasing rashes over his body. The patient was diagnosed with EM minor. The prescribed risperidone was discontinued due to its side-effect profile and the patient’s drug regimen was changed entirely to the olanzapine, haloperidol, and topical clobetasol. At one month follow up visit, his skin lesions were satisfactorily controlled

Teaching Methods in Architectural Design Basics

During its changes, architecture teaching, bump into several concerns from initial academic teaching up to nowand it always tolerates some of them permanently. During recent years, many researches went through thatactions with regard to the content debate and organizing architectural teaching. In this present article, we bestshot to go one-step forward in order to solve one of the problems teacher hit upon through method expression andconsideration of teaching method for Architectural Design Basics Courses. Some of these issues for investigationinclude, which goals nail down Architectural Design Basics Courses in university teaching system in Iran?What are the methods and approaches for teaching these courses? Which factors shall investigated beforestarting class session? Which factors are effective on learning process? According to methodology, we started todo research through observation and gathering poll of three universities holding three levels of teaching record inarchitecture (University of Tehran, Marlik Institute of Higher Education and FakhrRazi Institute of HigherEducation), we out –and- out ideas of students and professors of these courses. In addition, through introducingmethods to teach architecture lessons which investigated by researchers during recent years, we will put forwardfor solutions to improve teaching in Architectural Design Basics. In this article, we took advantage fromscanning investigation, we applied observation, library study, and questionnaire to congregate information, andwe brought off quality analysis through a grounded theory approach. In concordance with investigation results,one of the success factors for Architectural Design Basics is dramatize many practices which fired up byprofessors through bring into play different teaching methods

Explanation the Relationship between Affecting Factors with the Processes of the Perishable Food Supply Chain Based on the Cloud-IOT

Given the importance of service delivery speed and material handling in the perishable food supply chain, the use of the IOT transformation technology can provide a competitive advantage for manufacturing firms. Recently, some food companies have started using IOT technology in their supply chains. Background review showed that three categories of technological, organizational and environmental factors can affect supply chain performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate these three factors on the process of the perishable food supply chain based on IOT. First, by reviewing supply chain processes, a 5-step process was selected as the comprehensive process. Then the dimensions of these factors became from the literature and the conceptual model of the research was drawn by combining the effect of these factors on the supply chain process. The information was obtained through the distribution of a 24-item questionnaire among 203 managers of food production units as a research community and was analyzed by correlation analysis and structural equation modeling. The analysis unit of the Department of Spicy Food is that it uses levels of IOT. The results showed that environmental factors as a whole and technological factors affect the sustainable food supply chain from 4 dimensions. But organizational factors were not confirmed in 3 hypotheses. This will be a warning for managers who are interested in their companies being successful

Burden of disease scenarios for 204 countries and territories, 2022–2050: a forecasting analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Future trends in disease burden and drivers of health are of great interest to policy makers and the public at large. This information can be used for policy and long-term health investment, planning, and prioritisation. We have expanded and improved upon previous forecasts produced as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) and provide a reference forecast (the most likely future), and alternative scenarios assessing disease burden trajectories if selected sets of risk factors were eliminated from current levels by 2050. Methods: Using forecasts of major drivers of health such as the Socio-demographic Index (SDI; a composite measure of lag-distributed income per capita, mean years of education, and total fertility under 25 years of age) and the full set of risk factor exposures captured by GBD, we provide cause-specific forecasts of mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) by age and sex from 2022 to 2050 for 204 countries and territories, 21 GBD regions, seven super-regions, and the world. All analyses were done at the cause-specific level so that only risk factors deemed causal by the GBD comparative risk assessment influenced future trajectories of mortality for each disease. Cause-specific mortality was modelled using mixed-effects models with SDI and time as the main covariates, and the combined impact of causal risk factors as an offset in the model. At the all-cause mortality level, we captured unexplained variation by modelling residuals with an autoregressive integrated moving average model with drift attenuation. These all-cause forecasts constrained the cause-specific forecasts at successively deeper levels of the GBD cause hierarchy using cascading mortality models, thus ensuring a robust estimate of cause-specific mortality. For non-fatal measures (eg, low back pain), incidence and prevalence were forecasted from mixed-effects models with SDI as the main covariate, and YLDs were computed from the resulting prevalence forecasts and average disability weights from GBD. Alternative future scenarios were constructed by replacing appropriate reference trajectories for risk factors with hypothetical trajectories of gradual elimination of risk factor exposure from current levels to 2050. The scenarios were constructed from various sets of risk factors: environmental risks (Safer Environment scenario), risks associated with communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs; Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination scenario), risks associated with major non-communicable diseases (NCDs; Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario), and the combined effects of these three scenarios. Using the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways climate scenarios SSP2-4.5 as reference and SSP1-1.9 as an optimistic alternative in the Safer Environment scenario, we accounted for climate change impact on health by using the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change temperature forecasts and published trajectories of ambient air pollution for the same two scenarios. Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy were computed using standard methods. The forecasting framework includes computing the age-sex-specific future population for each location and separately for each scenario. 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for each individual future estimate were derived from the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of distributions generated from propagating 500 draws through the multistage computational pipeline. Findings: In the reference scenario forecast, global and super-regional life expectancy increased from 2022 to 2050, but improvement was at a slower pace than in the three decades preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (beginning in 2020). Gains in future life expectancy were forecasted to be greatest in super-regions with comparatively low life expectancies (such as sub-Saharan Africa) compared with super-regions with higher life expectancies (such as the high-income super-region), leading to a trend towards convergence in life expectancy across locations between now and 2050. At the super-region level, forecasted healthy life expectancy patterns were similar to those of life expectancies. Forecasts for the reference scenario found that health will improve in the coming decades, with all-cause age-standardised DALY rates decreasing in every GBD super-region. The total DALY burden measured in counts, however, will increase in every super-region, largely a function of population ageing and growth. We also forecasted that both DALY counts and age-standardised DALY rates will continue to shift from CMNNs to NCDs, with the most pronounced shifts occurring in sub-Saharan Africa (60·1% [95% UI 56·8–63·1] of DALYs were from CMNNs in 2022 compared with 35·8% [31·0–45·0] in 2050) and south Asia (31·7% [29·2–34·1] to 15·5% [13·7–17·5]). This shift is reflected in the leading global causes of DALYs, with the top four causes in 2050 being ischaemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, compared with 2022, with ischaemic heart disease, neonatal disorders, stroke, and lower respiratory infections at the top. The global proportion of DALYs due to YLDs likewise increased from 33·8% (27·4–40·3) to 41·1% (33·9–48·1) from 2022 to 2050, demonstrating an important shift in overall disease burden towards morbidity and away from premature death. The largest shift of this kind was forecasted for sub-Saharan Africa, from 20·1% (15·6–25·3) of DALYs due to YLDs in 2022 to 35·6% (26·5–43·0) in 2050. In the assessment of alternative future scenarios, the combined effects of the scenarios (Safer Environment, Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination, and Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenarios) demonstrated an important decrease in the global burden of DALYs in 2050 of 15·4% (13·5–17·5) compared with the reference scenario, with decreases across super-regions ranging from 10·4% (9·7–11·3) in the high-income super-region to 23·9% (20·7–27·3) in north Africa and the Middle East. The Safer Environment scenario had its largest decrease in sub-Saharan Africa (5·2% [3·5–6·8]), the Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario in north Africa and the Middle East (23·2% [20·2–26·5]), and the Improved Nutrition and Vaccination scenario in sub-Saharan Africa (2·0% [–0·6 to 3·6]). Interpretation: Globally, life expectancy and age-standardised disease burden were forecasted to improve between 2022 and 2050, with the majority of the burden continuing to shift from CMNNs to NCDs. That said, continued progress on reducing the CMNN disease burden will be dependent on maintaining investment in and policy emphasis on CMNN disease prevention and treatment. Mostly due to growth and ageing of populations, the number of deaths and DALYs due to all causes combined will generally increase. By constructing alternative future scenarios wherein certain risk exposures are eliminated by 2050, we have shown that opportunities exist to substantially improve health outcomes in the future through concerted efforts to prevent exposure to well established risk factors and to expand access to key health interventions

A holistic blended design studio model: Exploring and expanding learning opportunities

While the studio environment has been promoted as an ideal educational setting for project-based disciplines, only a few comprehensive qualitative studies of the design studio have been undertaken; even fewer emphasise educator and student perceptions of this environment. As highlighted in this study, such a situation is problematic given the changes and challenges facing higher education, including those associated with new technologies such as online learning. This study responds to this need for a comprehensive study of the studio environment by adopting Grounded Theory methodology in a qualitative comparative way. It explores the limitations and benefits of a face-to-face design studio and virtual design studio as experienced by architecture students and educators at an Australian university in order to better understand the potential of a blended environment to maximise learning. The main outcome is a holistic multidimensional blended learning model that, through the various modalities, provides adaptive capacity in a range of settings. The model facilitates learning through self-determination, self-management, and the personalisation of the learning environment. Another outcome–a conceptual design education framework–provides a basic tool for educators to evaluate existing learning environments and to develop new learning environments with enough flexibility to respond effectively to a highly dynamic and increasingly technological world

Integrating Technology Subjects with Design Studio Teaching:Comparing Curriculum of Architecture Education in Australia and Iran

Purpose: Design studio and technology subjects are two dominant parts of the architecture curriculum. How to integrate these different parts of the curriculum is one of the important challenges in architecture education around the world. With increasing internationalisation of both the profession and higher education, an understanding of similarities and differences across the globe is important. This paper illustrates two different approaches to such integration in two very different contexts: case studies at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia and the University of Tehran (UT) in Iran. Design/methodology/approach: The study implemented a case study approach based on document analysis methods. This paper explores the integrated role of technology subjects in architecture education, followed by a critique of the teaching of technology within the design studio. The analysis is conducted across four significant features of the curriculum. Findings: Overall, in both programmes, the aim is for students to develop architectural knowledge and skills; although the Iranian programme has a stronger focus on knowledge, the Australian programme has a stronger focus on the application of knowledge and skills, particularly within the design studio projects. Originality/value: The comparative analysis of architectural education in these two different contexts offers an insight into alternative approaches to teaching technology. Such an insight may offer guidance in curriculum development to support the exploration of new hybrid approaches as well as supporting international student mobility.</p