m.hosseini

Lavender has garnered interest because of its potential therapeutic effects. The objective of this research was to examine the healing properties of corn starch nanoparticles that contain lavender extract on skin wounds in Wistar rats. The scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscopy, and dynamic light scattering techniques were utilized. The analysis revealed that the nanoparticles have a diameter of around 60 nm and exhibit a spherical morphology. Furthermore, a histological investigation was conducted by procuring tissue samples from the wound site on days 3, 7, 14, and 21 after the surgical procedure. Statistical studies were performed to ascertain the mean wound area, rate of wound healing, and percentage of wound healing among the different treatment groups. The data were analyzed using the TUKEY and Duncan multiple range tests in the SAS statistical software to discover statistically significant differences and evaluate intergroup variances across different time points. In addition, the group that received the 5% nanoformulation treatment showed healing percentages of approximately 60%, 86%, and 100% on the 7th, 14th, and 21st days, respectively, as compared to the day the wounds were formed. The results indicate that maize starch nanoparticles containing lavender extract have beneficial and efficient capabilities for enhancing wound healing.

This paper studies numerical radius inequalities in Hilbert space operators. We obtain some bounds for the accretive dissipative matrices, extending and improving earlier bounds. We also give results concerning block matrices.

Transfusion of blood and its products is one of the necessary and life-saving interventions for patients, and errors in any of its steps can be life-threatening. The aim of this study was to identify operational errors according to the voluntary reported errors compared to the guidelines of the Global Trigger Tool.

The study is of a descriptive-analytical and applied type and was conducted retrospectively at one of the Hospital in Tehran on 88 cases with a history of blood transfusion and its products with a checklist. Comparison of the average number of errors by section was done using the Kruskal-Wallis rank test as well as chi-square analysis using SPSS22 software. A significant level p value <0.05 was considered.

From the 88 cases, 346 errors were obtained from the checklist, which was much higher compared to 2 cases of voluntarily reported errors.The reported error was unique to category B and C, in which the accident related to blood transfusion and its products was not reported.

Conclusions:

  Identification of errors using the global clue tool was significantly higher than voluntary reporting of errors, indicating that it is a more accurate tool for identifying adverse events. The use of this tool and planning and preventive measures can improve the safety of patients and improve the quality of care in hospitals.

When evaluating the sustainability of any subject, appropriate indicators must be selected and utilized. The functions and services of forest ecosystems serve as indicators of their capacity and effectiveness. Therefore, to align with fundamental policies regarding forest resources and to facilitate planning, decision-making, and success in this field, it is crucial to fully understand these capacities and effective indicators. This research aims to identify, weight, and prioritize the functions of Hyrcanian forests in Iran based on the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) method.

In this study, the functions, goods, and services of forest ecosystems were first extracted using the CICES method, which is recognized as one of the most comprehensive classification systems for ecosystem functions and services. Subsequently, the functions, goods, and services of Hyrcanian forests were identified through the Delphi method, incorporating insights from experts and specialists. Data were collected via field surveys, random sampling, questionnaires, and face-to-face interviews. The Delphi group comprised 50 experts in forest sciences with a minimum of five years of relevant experience who provided their opinions on the identification of functions, goods, and services related to Hyrcanian forest ecosystems. After preparing the questionnaire, respondents rated their answers using a five-point Likert scale. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which yielded a value of α = 0.97, confirming its reliability. Following the completion of the questionnaires by experts, multi-criteria decision-making methods were employed to determine the weight of the functions, goods, and services of Hyrcanian forests. These methods included Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) for calculating function weights and Simple Additive Weighting (SAW), Additive Ratio Assessment (ARAS), and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) for prioritization.

Analysis of the questionnaire findings using the CICES method identified three functions and twenty services for the Hyrcanian forest ecosystem. Weighting results from the SWARA technique indicated that climate regulation, biodiversity, and genetic resources received the highest weights among the evaluated services. Additionally, the final weights derived from implementing gradual weighting evaluation techniques revealed that the regulating function (0.505) had the highest weight among all functions, followed by provisioning (0.248) and cultural (0.246) functions in subsequent priority order. Comparisons of prioritization among ARAS, TOPSIS, and SAW models showed similar results regarding function prioritization; however, the ARAS model exhibited a steeper slope in relative closeness to one compared to the other two models from various perspectives. Based on this finding and expert consensus, prioritization using the ARAS model was deemed more reflective of reality. Thus, the ARAS model is proposed as a suitable approach for prioritizing the functions, services, and goods of the Hyrcanian forest ecosystem.

According to results from the ARAS model, climate regulation, biodiversity, genetic resources, habitat services, and water cycle services rank as the first through fifth priority services within Hyrcanian forest ecosystems. Given the significance of regulating functions in these ecosystems and their beneficiaries, it is recommended that relevant organizations engage in more effective planning and management to ensure their protection and sustainability for present and future generations. Furthermore, maintaining ecosystem integrity is essential for promoting sustainable development while safeguarding environmental health.

Quality improvement in the field of public health depends on improving the quality of medical education. The national committee for quality improvement has emphasized on creating a transformation in the management and leadership system of medical science education in the Ministry of Health and Treatment. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine and predict the attitude towards organizational changes based on the components of transformational and interactional leadership styles in clinical and basic sciences faculty members of Yasuj University of Medical Sciences.

In the present cross-sectional descriptive research conducted in 2019, the statistical population which included all the clinical and basic sciences faculty members teaching at Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, the participants were selected from the entire census and available for selection. The Bass multi-factor leadership questionnaire and Dunham scale were used to collect data. The collected data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, t and univariate and multivariate regression analysis.

255 clinical and basic science faculty members with an average age of 44.68 ± 7.49 (minimum 28 and maximum 65 years) participated in the present study, 89% of the participants were official or contract faculty members and 11% were professors. 56.5% were faculty members of basic sciences and the rest were clinical. The results of univariate regression analysis indicated that transformational and interactional leadership styles explain 15.3% and 14.7% of the variance or dispersion of attitude scores of clinical and basic medical science professors respectively. The order was not statistically significant (p = 0.387) and (p = 0.979). The results of multivariate or multiple regression analysis (based on transformational and interactional leadership components) also indicated that transformational and interactional leadership style components were 13.5% and 12.7%, respectively. They explain the variance of the scores of attitude towards organizational change in clinical professors and basic sciences of medical sciences, which were not statistically significant (p>0.05).

The components of leadership styles, both transformational and interactional, was not able to predict the attitude towards organizational changes in clinical professors and basic sciences of the University of Medical Sciences.

This research was conducted with the aim of comparing the combined effect of Benson relaxation and warm foot bath on sleep quality and anxiety in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

This study is a controlled clinical trial that was conducted during the winter of 2017 and the spring of 2018 on 64 patients with acute coronary syndrome who were hospitalized in the CCU department of Shahid Rajaei Gachsaran Hospital. The patients were randomly assigned to four Relaxation group (16 people), warm foot bath (16 people), combination of both (16 people) and control group (16 people) were divided. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software and Chi-square statistical tests, variance analysis of data based on repetition and Friedman test.

The results showed that the amount of anxiety decreased significantly with the passage of time during the intervention in the groups of Benson relaxation, foot bath and their combination, but in the control group, the observed difference was not significant. . Also, at the end of the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference between the intervention groups of Benson relaxation, foot bath and their combination, while all 3 groups had a significant difference with the control group.

Benson relaxation and warm foot bath separately or in combination improve sleep quality and reduce anxiety in these patients, so using each of them separately can be suggested as part of the treatment.

Panic buying, characterized by consumers purchasing unusually large quantities of products in response to disasters, perceived threats, or anticipated price raises or shortages, remains a multifaceted phenomenon requiring further investigation. The COVID-19 crisis has provided a unique opportunity to conduct thorough analyses of panic buying behavior in a real-world context. Furthermore, the pandemic has underscored the importance of understanding panic buying dynamics, given its significant impact on consumer behavior and supply chain resilience. While many studies have concentrated on the psychological aspects of this phenomenon, there exists a gap in exploring its impact on products and goods. Therefore, there is a critical need to examine its effects across various product categories. In this study, we employed innovative topic modeling techniques to examine panic buying behavior and its implications during the COVID-19 crisis. Leveraging data from the X platform, our study adopts a novel approach integrating Sentence-BERT and BERTopic methodologies to identify key topics across diverse product categories. By providing insights into the outcomes of panic buying, this study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior during crisis. Moreover, our findings hold considerable significance for policymakers and supply chain managers, offering insights to develop targeted interventions aimed at mitigating the impact of panic buying on supply chains and ensuring efficient resource allocation during future crises.

The abrasivity of materials is of vital importance in selecting an affordable excavation method in the early stages of a tunneling project. The amount of specific energy and the Mode I and Mode II stress intensity factors in the eroded disc is more than the non-eroded disc. Vickers hardness number rock (VHNR), rock abrasivity index (RAI), Cerchar abrasivity index (CAI), LCPC abrasivity coefficient, and Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) abrasion test are among the methods for estimating rock abrasivity. Correlations were proposed in this study for estimating the CAI of sandstone and tuff. To achieve reliable comprehensive results, various kinds of sandstone and tuff with different geological properties were selected. Sandstone and tuff samples were collected from different regions. Various tests were then carried out on prepared rock specimens to determine the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), tensile strength, longitudinal waves velocity, Schmidt hammer rebound hardness, and the equivalent quartz content (EQC). Two correlations were presented by analyzing the experimental results with the help of SPSS and Excel. The first correlation estimated the CAI of sandstone based on the UCS and EQC with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.81. Moreover, using data analysis in Excel, another correlation was proposed to estimate the CAI of tuff. The second correlation estimated the Schmidt hammer rebound hardness of tuff with an R2 of 0.88.

In the present investigation, Variational Iteration Method (VIM) is applied to solve the dynamic oscillation of a current-carrying wire in a magnetic field which is generated by a fixed current-carrying conductor parallel to the wire. Two linear springs are considered to restrict the wire to a rigid wall. In a special case, the periodic solution of the problem is obtained by VIM and compared with numerical solutions for different parameters. Results indicate high accuracy of this method which can be easily extended to solve other non-linear vibration equations, therefore can be applicable in other engineering problems.

The optimal food basket is a scientific and powerful tool for developing food and nutrition policies, executive planning and assessment of programs to ensure food security and maintain the nutritional health of the community. This cross-sectional study was carried out with the aim of a) revising the optimal food basket of Iranians-2013 based on the principles of sustainable food and nutrition systems as a guide for policy making in the field of food and nutrition; and b) compiling a thrifty optimal food basket of Iran-2023 as a necessary tool in welfare and social support studies and planning.

After collecting opinions of experts and stakeholders from various fields, data of the reports on the comprehensive study of the food consumption patterns and the nutritional status of the Iranian households and individuals, 2017–2018, and information of the statistics center (quantity of consumption of food groups by people, quantitative share of food items, average and price range of food groups, necessary quantities of energy, macronutrients and micronutrients) as well as the Iranian food composition table were used as inputs of the model. Energy, protein and nutrients were defined for age and sex groups based on the latest WHO/FAO references as 100% of the energy needs in the optimal food basket, at least 95% of the energy requirements and 80% of the key nutrients (vitamin B2, vitamin A, Fe and Ca) for the thrifty food basket were covered. Considerations of national and international dietary guidelines promoting health and preventing diseases included fats, 15–30%; carbohydrates, 55–75%; proteins, 10–15%; saturated fatty acid, less than 10%; simple sugars, less than 10% energy; and total vegetables and fruits, more than 400 g. Solver was used as a Microsoft Excel add-in program to optimize the optimal and thrifty food basket values. To apply sustainability considerations, two environmental indicators of water and carbon footprint were calculated for the baskets.

The recommended per capita quantities of food in grams per day for the optimum food basket of Iran-1402 included bread, 290; rice, 70; pasta, 25; legumes and nuts, 30; potatoes, 70; vegetables and fruits, 200; red meat, 30; white meat (chicken and fish), 60; eggs, 40; dairies, 300; vegetable oils, 35; and sugar, 30. In the key micronutrients, riboflavin and vitamin A were provided more than the necessary quantity and iron and calcium in a range of 80–85% of the requirement. The optimal food basket designed-2023 included 5% less water footprint and 2% less carbon footprint than that the optimal food basket did for 2013. Mild increases in the environmental sustainability of the optimal food basket-2023 was majorly due to decreases in the share of meats, fruits and rice and increases in the share of legumes, compared to the food basket-2013. Increasing the quantity of dairy products is one of the reasons that weaken the environmental sustainability of the novel optimal food basket.

Availability of sufficient appropriate nutrition is a human right and a prerequisite for comprehensive sustainable development. Optimum and thrifty food baskets include a big step towards a healthier and more prosperous future for everyone. It is necessary to design and implement food and nutrition policies at macro-levels and continuously assessment and monitoring of their effects on the households and individuals.

The purpose of this paper is to present a new hybrid analytical model (HAM) based on winding function theory (WFT) for electromagnetic analysis of performance of one typical unbalanced two-phase induction motor (UTPIM). Different indexes of electromagnetic modeling such as winding distribution, slotting effect, and magnetic saturation can be accurately considered by using the proposed HAM. For obtaining this new hybrid technique, the winding function theory is reformulated for considering the magnetic saturation in addition to the influence of slotting and winding distribution. The conformal mappings (CMs) are used to accurately calculate the slotted air-gap length. The magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) model is used to consider the magneto-motive force (MMF) drop in iron parts of stator and rotor due to the excitation of one phase-winding. The obtained results of CMs and MEC are then utilized in reformulated WFT to calculate the inductances of respective phase-winding. Transient analysis is then done to calculate the indexes of performance such as air-gap magnetic field, phase currents, electromagnetic torque, and rotor speed by using the lookup table of inductances while considering different capacitors in auxiliary phase. In each step, the accuracy of analytical results is verified by comparing with corresponding results obtained through FEM.

Reflective learning has been studied in various studies. Reflecting while learning architecture alongside practice helps the student to evaluate and refine the design idea, and this round-trip process is mostly repeated. The application of reflective learning in the field of architecture while practicing needs to be examined to understand to which extent teachers are committed to this teaching method in studios. The investigation and recognition of assessment features along with reflection in architectural studios was the subject of this research.

In order to know the status of assessment in architecture schools, the behavior of teachers in this field and their preferences during assessment were studied through a semi-open questionnaire and the importance of reflective assessment indicators including rational assessment with micro-score was examined. In this study, the presence of students and round trip evaluation based on the design process were also asked from a sample of fifteen participants from the teaching community. For each question, Likert scale answers from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high) were collected and analyzed. Then, their preferences about choosing between twenty-three indicators in assessing each work were examined.

The study of reflective assessment indicators in the sample population of this study showed that 66% of teachers were committed to reflective assessment in practice and the others did not use it. The results showed that reflective assessment in architecture was equally applicable in all types of universities in the country. The study of the effect of gender factor revealed that females’ assessment was more committed to reflective assessment criteria than that of men. Examination of the age factor in refereeing demonstrated that older referees distanced themselves from microscopic and reciprocal refereeing and showed more tendency to single-stage and intuitive refereeing. The use of reflective assessment showed that for jurors who adhered to the reflective assessment, "efficiency and performance of the plan" were more important than anything else, and “innovation” was placed next, while other jurors called it "innovation". "Design aesthetics", "graphic presentation" and "form quality and composition in architectural design" were more important.

Assessment with reflection has been introduced as a new method in current research. By presenting a logical, step-by-step, interactive and back-and-forth form of teaching, this method has changed the assessing process from the end of the semester to the entire semester and made it as a tool for learning. The effect of this method, whose indicators were approved by the experts in this research, showed that changing the teaching method can improve learning the basic concepts among architecture students. The efficiency of this method is when the teachers change the current education process in a purposeful way which prioritizes the efficiency and performance of students' plans. This assessment method has changed from intuitive, single-step, product-oriented and independent of interaction with students towards the indicators presented in this research. The findings of the research show that this goal has been achieved in more than half of the architecture studios, but considering its positive results in improving students' learning and there is a need for more detailed planning and coherent management for this purpose.

Anxiety caused by repeated venipuncture is common in patients with thalassemia in the thalassemia ward. Acupressure is one of the methods used to reduce patients' anxiety. This study aimed to determine the effect of the P6 point acupressure on anxiety caused by venipuncture in thalassemia patients.

This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 80 patients with thalassemia at Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Yasuj city in 2019, who were divided into two intervention and control groups by blocked random allocation. Acupressure intervention was performed at P6 point on the inner side of the arm and in the cavity between the bones of the forearm, above the crease of the wrist. The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to collect information. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (independent t-test, paired t-test, and chi-square test) through SPSS 21 software.

There was no significant difference in the state and trait anxiety between the intervention and control groups at the beginning of the study (p>0.05). However, a significant difference was observed in the state anxiety between the intervention and control groups after the intervention (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the trait anxiety score between the two groups (p>0.05).

Acupressure reduces trait anxiety caused by venipuncture in thalassemia patients hospitalized to the thalassemia ward, while it does not affect their trait anxiety.

Fracture toughness is an important concrete property that controls crack extension and concrete fracture. Concrete is the most widely used material in civil engineering containing the most conventional and cheapest materials. Accordingly, cracks and fractures may cause irreparable damages. To this end, fibre-reinforced concretes have been recently constructed in order to overcome the aforementioned weaknesses. Crack propagation and fracture toughness of various concrete specimens are analyzed by the straight notched Brazilian disc (SNBD) test. The specimens are conventional concrete lacking micro-silica and limestone powder, and those containing various volume percentages of fibers including the concrete specimens containing 0.35% individual polypropylene (PP) fibers, 0.35% individual glass fibers, concrete specimens containing 0.17% PP and 0.18% glass fibers, and concrete fibers containing 0.1% PP and 0.25% glass fibers. Micro-silica has replaced 10 wt% cement in all fiber-reinforced concrete specimens, and limestone has replaced 5 wt% cement. Crack extension from the pre-existing cracks in the specimens and mode I, mode II, and mixed-mode fracture toughness are calculated. The BD test is performed on the specimens at the crack inclination angles of 0°, 15°, 28.83°, 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90°. The experimental results show the initiation of wing cracks at angles less than 60° (0 < α < 60°) from the tip of the pre-existing cracks. The crack growth and propagation path approach the loading direction by continuing loading. However, the cracks are initiated at a distance of d from the crack tip at angles larger than 60°. The observed distance is larger in the fiber-less specimens than in the fiber-reinforced specimens. The concrete specimens reinforced by 0.17% PP and 0.18% glass hybrid fibers containing micro-silica and limestone powder showed the highest mode I, mode II, and mixed-mode fracture toughness compared to the other concrete specimens.

Concrete is the most widely used material in mining and civil projects and its mix design must be based on application, type of material and environmental conditions. In this study the effect of combined glass and polypropylene fibers on physical and mechanical properties of concrete and cement mortar was investigated. Nowadays, artificial fibers are used to improve the mechanical properties of concrete. Particularly, glass, polypropylene, carbon and steel fibers used in concrete lead to good results in improving its several properties. To this purpose, the concrete and cement mortar samples were made without fiber, with individual glass fibers (0.2, 0.35 and 0.5 volume percent of concrete or cement mortar), with individual polypropylene fibers (0.2, 0.35 and 0.5 volume polypropylene fibers 0.17 volume percent and glass fibers 0.18 volume percent of concrete or cement mortarpercent of concrete or cement mortar), and with combined glass and polypropylene fibers (). The physical properties including effective porosity, longitudinal waves velocity and the mechanical properties including Brazilian tensile strength and uniaxial compressive strength of the samples were analyzed. The results indicated that the effective porosity of concrete and cement mortar with combined glass and polypropylene fibers was less compared to the concrete and the cement mortar without fiber, with individual glass fibers and with individual polypropylene fibers. The velocity of longitudinal waves, tensile strength and uniaxial compressive strength of the concrete and the cement mortar samples with combined glass and polypropylene fibers were higher than the other samples. Compared to the concrete and the cement mortar samples without fibers, the tensile strength of the concrete and the cement mortar with combined glass and polypropylene fibers were increased by 15.22% and 16.44%, respectively, and their uniaxial compressive strength showed the increase of 27.3% and 20.56%, respectively.

This study was performed to determine the prevalence of Linguatula serrata in sheep and goats by observing the parasite in the mesenteric lymph nodes and measuring the antibody titer by indirect haemagglutination test and also evaluating the activity of serum complement activity by classical method and lysozyme. 791 samples of blood and mesenteric lymph nodes from sheep (456) and goats (335) were collected in the slaughterhouse of Ahvaz (Khuzestan province). The results showed that 7.8% of all ruminants in the present study were infected with L. serrata. There was no significant difference in the level of complement activity by classical method and lysozyme activity between infected and non-infected animals. Also, using an indirect haemagglutination test, in addition to accurately identifying infected samples from non-infected animals, the levels of IgG and IgM antibodies against L. serrata were estimated. IgG levels in infected samples were higher than IgM levels and the levels of these antibodies were significantly lower in non-infected samples. Overall, the present study suggests that this parasite in the intermediate host may escape from some important components of the innate immune system (such as the complement and lysozyme). Although the results of the present study showed that infection with the parasite increased the level of some antibodies, but these changes do not seem to provide the conditions for the eradication of the parasite.

 Pregnancy poisoning or preeclampsia is a serious and specific disorder of pregnancy that affects 8% of the pregnant women. Similar studies conducted in this regard showed disagreement about the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and preeclampsia. Hence, the present study was conducted to evaluate the serum level of vitamin D in preeclampsia patients hospitalized in the maternity ward compared to healthy pregnant women.

 This descriptive comparative study was conducted on 180 pregnant women with a severe preeclampsia below the gestational age of 33 weeks and 200 non-preeclampsia pregnant women in Yasuj City from 2017 to 2019. Blood samples were taken from all subjects to measure vitamin D levels. The levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D were measured in the laboratory using the ELISA method. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20 software.

 There was no significant difference between the preeclampsia group and healthy pregnant women in terms of mean levels of vitamin D (p=0.49). Preeclamptic women with normal level of vitamin D and vitamin D deficiency showed no significant differences in the mean of uric acid, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and the number of previous pregnancies (p>0.05).

 There is no relationship between serum vitamin D3 levels and hypertensive conditions of pregnancy such as preeclampsia in pregnant women. Also, vitamin D3 levels are insufficient in both groups.

Mehdiabad zinc-lead-barite deposit is located in the Central Iran structural zone and about 116 km southeast of Yazd. The host rock of this deposit is Lower Cretaceous dolomitic limestone of the Taft Formation . The main ore minerals in the Mehdiabad East Ridge ore zone include hemimorphite, hydrozincite, cerussite, and chalcophanite. Ore textures are mainly replacement, brecciated, and open-space filling. As a result of supergene and weathering processes, the sulfide minerals (sphalerite and galena) have been changed to non-sulfide minerals such as hemimorphite, hydrozincite, and cerussite. Statistical analysis of geochemical data indicates that the elements in the ore could be divided into three groups: terrigenous, host rock-forming, and ore-forming elements. Formation of iron-rich dolomite, ankerite, and siderite indicates high concentrations of iron and manganese in the mineralizing fluid. Based on this study, the characteristics of the Mehdiabad deposit are very similar to the Mississippi-Valley type deposits.

The main purpose of this work is modeling the dispersion of the sarin gas in a subway station in a hypothetical scenario. The dispersion is modeled using the CFD approach. In the analysis of the environmental conditions of the underground spaces, the only factor that draws a distinction between a subway station and other spaces is the train piston effect. Therefore, the present research work models the sarin dispersion in the two general cases of with and without a train in the subway system. About 0.5 L of sarin is assumed to be released through the main air handling unit (AHU) of the station. The results obtained show that in the case with no train service in the station, after 20 minutes of sarin release, the concentration and dose of sarin in the station will be 8.9 mg/m3 and 80 mg minute/m3, respectively, and these values are highly dangerous and lethal, and would have severely adverse effects on many individuals, and lead to death. This is highly important, especially when the effect of ventilation chambers at the ground level is taken into consideration. The results obtained also show that the train piston effect reduces the concentration and dose of sarin in the station so that when train arrival at and departure from the station, the sarin dose considerably reduces to 25 mg min/m3 after the release, and contributes to lower casualties. Finally, the results obtained show that time is a key factor to save lives in the management of such incidents.

Concrete is among the widely used materials in all industries and mineral and civil activities worldwide, highlighting its significance. Most natural and non-natural phenomena can influence the concrete's physical and mechanical properties, causing many irreparable damages. Acid rain is a natural inevitable phenomenon, particularly in industrial zones with high pollution percentages.This work investigates the effect of acid rain on the concrete specimens containing micro-silica and limestone powder. To this end, the concrete specimens are divided into six groups. Throughout this paper, CN represents the concrete without micro-silica and limestone powder under no-rain conditions, CO is the concrete without micro-silica and limestone powder under normal rain conditions, CA  is the concrete without micro-silica and limestone powder under acid rain conditions, CMLN is the concrete containing micro-silica and limestone powder under no-rain conditions, CMLO is the concrete containing micro-silica and limestone powder under normal rain conditions, and CMLA shows the concrete containing micro-silica and limestone powder under acid rain conditions. The measured physical properties are the effective porosity, dry density, water absorption, and velocity of longitudinal waves. The mechanical properties including the Brazilian tensile strength, uniaxial compressive strength, triaxial compressive strength, cohesion, and internal friction angle are also measured. For the samples of CN and CMLN, they are tested under no rainfall conditions, whereas the samples of CA and CMLA are tested after 20 cycles of acid rain (pH = 2). The samples of CO and CMLO are also tested after undergoing 20 normal rain cycles (urban water with pH = 7). In each test cycle, there is 1 hour of rain and 1 hour of no rain. The results obtained show that adding micro-silica and limestone powder improves its properties so that the decrease in the effective porosity, longitudinal wave velocity, dry unit weight, water absorption, Brazilian tensile strength, uniaxial compressive strength, cohesion, and internal friction angle of the specimens of CMLA is less than those for the specimens of CA.

Bioactive packaging systems (coatings/films) are novel technology concepts in food industries. Bioactive compounds such as antioxidants, vitamins, probiotics and prebiotics are designed to be included in coatings or coating materials that directly affect health of consumers. The aim of this study was to assess feasibility of producing prebiotic edible films by adding inulin to the film based on carboxymethyl cellulose and beta-glucan and to investigate film mechanical, barrier and structural characteristics.

In this study, various concentrations of inulin (0, 2 and 4% w/v) were added to carboxymethylcellulose/beta-glucan solutions. Then, mechanical (tensile strength and elongation at break), barrier (oxygen and water permeability), optical (opacity, a, b and L) and structural characteristics of the films were compared with each other.

Inulin included plasticizing effects in all treatments. Thus, tensile strength decreased and hydrophilicity, oxygen permeability and elongation at break increased significantly (p < 0.05). Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis showed that hydrogen bonds were the major force between carboxymethylcellulose, beta-glucan and inulin, which increased flexibility and water affinity of the films.

Although addition of inulin improved composite films via increases in elongation at break and decreases in oxygen permeability of the composite films, their hydrophilicities increased as well. Therefore, these films include the potentials in cases, where packaging hydrophilicity is an advantage such as edible coating used in food products. However, further studies seem necessary.

In this study, camphor sulfonic acid doped polyaniline (CSA PANi) and its nanocomposite with α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized using in situ oxidative polymerization and were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The paste was prepared from synthesized compounds and applied to the pre-treated titanium substrates (sanded and etched) by Dr. Blade method and used as the photoanode for photoelectrochemical cathodic protection of mild steel. The Mott-Schottky analysis was performed to study the type of semiconductor compounds as well as the density of charge carriers. The performance of the prepared photoanodes in the photoelectrochemical cathodic protection of mild steel was studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel polarization. The results showed that the corrosion potential (Ecorr) of mild steel decreased from -706 mV in the case without photoanode connection to -842 mV in the case of connection to Ti / CSA PANI-Fe photoanode under light irradiation, indicating the flux of produced electrons from the photoanode to the surface of mild steel and its cathodic protection. The EIS results also showed that the charge transfer resistance (Rct) for Ti / CSA PANI-Fe was 578.6 Ωcm2 which is less compared to Ti / α-Fe2O3 (874.9 Ωcm2 ) and Ti / CSA PANi (693.4 Ωcm2 ), confirming the low recombination rate of electrons and holes and more flux of electrons to the surface of mild steel and the proper performance of Ti / CSA PANI-Fe photoanode in photoelectrochemical cathodic protection.

The fully mixed continuous stirred tank reactor is an important type of industrial reactors mainly used to produce high volume products such as petrochemicals, detergents, sanitary products and products that are in demand in the market. Knowing the dynamic behavior of chemical reactors is of great importance in setting up, designing, controlling and stopping reactors. In this paper, the effect of non-dimensional numbers Damkohler and Stanton on the stability of a continuous stirred tank reactor in which a first-order exothermic reaction takes place is investigated. First, a mathematical model of the system's dynamic behavior was presented. Then, by simultaneous solving of the equations of mass and energy around the fixed point in MATLAB software, the effect of the mentioned numbers was investigated. The results show that the continuous stirred tank reactor shows different behaviors in different ranges of Damkohler and Stanton numbers. This reactor behaves unstable in small and large ranges of Damkohler and Stanton numbers due to the presence of mixed or positive and negative eigenvalues. The best range for Damkohler and Stanton numbers is close to 1, because in this range the reactor shows stable behavior due to having two negative eigenvalues. In this range, in addition to the stability, the conversion is also 100%. Finaly the ratio of Stanton to DamKohler was investigated as St / Da˃1 and St / Da = 1. If St / Da = 1, the system is in steady state, but in St / Da˃1, the system moves away from steady state.

Integrated assessment of the watershed is critical in arid and semi-arid areas due to the severe water stress in these regions. Data and information are an essential part of decision making and water governance to obtain integrated water resources management at the watershed scale. Water accounting is a helpful tool to organize information and present them as the standard indicators to achieve this goal. Therefore, the objective of this study is to implement the Water Accounting Plus framework (WA+) in the Ferizi watershed located in the Khorasan-e Razavi Province. In this study, water accounting indicators of the Ferizi watershed for a period of 28 years (1990-2017) and wet (1990-1997) and dry (1998-2009) periods were calculated using the SWAT model. The calculated indicators showed that the amount of manageable water and usefulness of consumption (transpiration) is low in the watershed and a large part of the share of irrigation in the watershed is provided by groundwater resources. Generally, the results of this study showed that the use of the SWAT model, WA+ framework, and analysis of water accounting indicators play a significant role in assessing the agricultural and hydrological conditions of the watershed. The proposed approach in this study can help managers make enlightened decisions to keep the sustainability of the watershed.

The aim of this study is synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and evaluation for extraction of catechin. Catechin is a bioactive compound which is found abundantly in green tea. In this paper, MIPs was synthesized by precipitation polymerization technique for catechin, acrylic acid and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate as a template, functional monomer and cross-linker in a molecular ratio of (1:12:12), respectively. Surface morphology in the MIPs by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated spheres with nanometric scale. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of the polymers showed that catechin molecule was captured in the network copolymers. Porosity of the polymers were analyzed using Brouneur Emmet Teller (BET) technique. Based on BET analysis, specific surface area of the MIPs was 45.5 m2.g-1 while it was 42.2 m2.g-1 for non-imprinted polymers (NIPs). It means that the imprinting process was carried out successfully. Adsorption properties of the polymers were characterized too.  The best binding capacity of the MIPs was reported equal to 440 mg. g-1 in 750 ppm of the feed concentration whereas it was 84mg.g-1 for quercetin (similar structure of catechin). It confirms that the MIPs technology can be introduced as a good candidate for separation process with a satisfactory result in selectivity. The binding capacity of the MIPs was evaluated for natural extract of green tea using a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) device which similar results were obtained. According to above mentioned results, separation and pre-concentration of the bioactive compounds from the extract of medicinal plants can be suggested via MIPs technique.