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Background: Duplicate publication is publication of a paper which overlaps with another published paper in many important parts and is essentially considered unethical. So, this study was carried out to evaluate the pattern of duplicate publication as well as determining the causes of this phenomenon among the papers of researchers of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: All cases of discovered duplicate publication during 2005 to 2008 referred to the committee of ethics were studied. After confirmation of duplicate publication, the cases were assessed by interviewing and reviewing the documents; then the fundamental roots was drawn. After analyzing the cases and categorizing the fundamental causes, a classification and definition of duplicate publication phenomenon was presented. Findings: Out of the nine underwent duplicate publication papers, eight were "Copy publishing" and the other was "Least publishable unit" (or Salami Slicing). From sixteen journals where papers were published, only five had impact factor and six were Iranian. Seven papers were in Persian and two in English. Conclusion: According to our findings, our country's scientific community is not familiar with the professional rules of scientific and research work, so most of the duplicate publications are uninformed and non-intentional. To prevent duplicate publishing, besides taking legal action against duplicate publication with copy right infringement, the way to interact with the trend of review of papers, correspondence with the editors of journals, and announcement of rules of committee of ethics in research should be taught to faculty members and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this correlational study was to investigate the multiple relationships between anxiety sensitivity, social support, and perception of pain with life expectancy. Methods: The statistical population consisted of all older adults in Isfahan (males and females) in spring 2016, of whom 250 individuals were selected by convenience sampling method from different places. In order to measure the variables, Hope Based on Islamic Sources, Perceived Social Support, Anxiety Sensitivity, and the Perception of Pain questionnaires were used. Data analysis was conducted by Pearson correlation and simultaneous multiple regression analysis. Results: The results indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between anxiety sensitivity, social support, and the perception of pain with life expectancy (P<0.01). Conclusion: This result implies that social protection enhancement, not only increases hope but also affects the fear of one’s anxiety observed by others, the perception of pain, and the fear of lack of cognitive control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Due to the limitations of conventional urban planning, it is essential to develop novel techniques of urban futruing. This paper aimed to use the scenario technique to create four plausible narratives of the future of Isfahan. Also, the authors described the problems of city foresight in the Global South. Design/methodology/approach: This paper chronicles the Schwartzian steps taken to build explorative scenarios of Isfahan City in Iran in 2040. After using a STEEPV (Social, Technological, Environmental, Economic, Political, Value) analysis, the authors prioritized the collected variables by combining influence diagrams, the iceberg metaphor and an expert-based survey. Once the key uncertainties were derived, four scenarios were developed and discussed. Findings: Through thematic analysis of the official visions of Isfahan's future and the juxtaposition of these narratives with insight yielded in the scenario-development process, the paper concludes that the Northernness of the prevailing urban imaginaries, uncritical mimetic benchmarking, depoliticization of urban futures and the decorative reductionistic visions colonize urban futures in Isfahan/Iran. Critical/deconstructive city foresight and application of discomfort/ignorance criteria in the generation of scenarios can improve the rigor and quality of city foresight in the Global South. Originality/value: The application of city foresight in the Global South has been limited. The paper is a step toward bridging this gap and providing some recommendations on how city foresight in the Global South might differ from its counterparts in the Global North. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gulzar script is one of the many types of decorative scripts in the history of Persian calligraphy. Most of the works that created in this way belong to the late Qajar era. However, the formal and visual bases of this type of calligraphy go back to the pre-Qajar centuries; this research aims to identify, introduce and determine the origin of its formation based on the available evidences. Therefore, the main question is: When has the Gulzar script been formed? The sampling method of the 23 architectural arrays is Convenience Sampling that based on library and field studies. The samples are in the historical monuments of Samarkand, Mashhad, Farumad, Taybad, Soltanieh, Qom, Tabriz, Yazd, Isfahan and Oshtorjan. The date of construction of these monuments includes from the Seljuk period (429-590 AH/1037-1194 AD) to the end of the Safavid period (906-1135 AH/1501-1736 AD). The results indicate that the early examples of Gulzar can be seen in the form of an architectural decoration so called "Kalouk-band" in the Seljuq and Ilkhanid periods. Its use extends to at least the beginning of the 12th century AD. In addition, this method of decoration is used in the Square Kufic Inscriptions and include the geometrical, herbal and written motifs. The result shows that the use of Gulzar style in calligraphy pieces on paper has been influenced by architectural decorations, because the oldest examples of this type are several centuries after the squared Kufic inscriptions in Jame Mosque of Isfahan, Pir Bakran's tomb, Chalabioglu's tomb etc. The decoration of the inner surface of Squared Kufic inscriptions started from the end of the Seljuk era and continued until the 17th century AD. One of the changes made in the design of decorating the surface of the inscriptions is the use of written motifs in the form of "Kalouk-band" decorated with words (in Oshtorjan and Qom). Another change was the forming of a kind of nested square Kufic which has appeared in the Jame Mosque of Isfahan and Amir Chakhmaq Mosque in Yazd. This method has been continued later in Isfahan's Hakim Mosque (17th century AD) and Nimavard School in Isfahan (18th century AD). In the Safavid era, an example of square Kufic in the western entrance hall of Imam Mosque in Isfahan was decorated with Arabesque motifs, which shows the first use of this kind of ornaments in inscriptions. About 80 years before the formation of this inscription, Zain al-Din Mahmoud Mozahheb created a piece that inspite of having many distinctive features some similarities can be seen in them. The latter work is the oldest known piece that carried out the tradition of ornament on the calligraphic surface on paper. Despite the major difference in the structure of these two works, both of these works are decorated with herbal motifs (Arabesque and Khatai). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying a qualitative content analysis and focusing on the politics of memory, this paper aimed to examine two top-down implemented monumental public spaces in Iran, Hefdah-e Shahrivar street in Tehran, and Imam Ali Square in Isfahan. The city authorities envisioned both projects to regenerate the surrounding historic urban area and embody specific collective values. Through thematic coding of the local shopkeepersʼ narratives, as a group excluded from decision-making, this paper identifies the narrative strategies that they apply to negotiate these projects. The study formulates three concepts: (1) Reclaiming the space, (2) Reproducing a sense of distrust, (3) Reproducing memories of loss. The three identified narrative strategies indicate a situation in which the contested space, the contested process, and the contested memory frame a contested collective in both projects. The paper illuminates how the value system, which the two top-down implemented projects aimed to embody, transformed through the everyday lives of the local shopkeepers. The research findings also discuss the concept of semantic inversion in the context of monumental public spaces. It illustrates how the imposed value system is inverted and questioned within the narrative strategies of the excluded locals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development in freight transportation networks is becoming increasingly important due to its significant role in the economic development process and its impacts on the environment. Governments usually improve sustainability dimensions in freight transportation by imposing taxes on transportation networks. Therefore, they should extend their knowledge of interactions between sustainability dimensions and how their interventions affect the sustainability of the transportation sector. In this regard, we analyze duopoly competition in three freight transportation networks in the context of government intervention. These networks include green, semi-green, and non-green modes, where the green and semi-green networks are regarded as environmentally sustainable networks. In this paper, two bi-level mathematical models are proposed, in which a government, as a Stackelberg leader, levies fuel consumption taxes based on environmental and economic concerns. A Nash game was built at the lower level to examine price competitiveness in the transportation market. A case study was conducted in the Tehran-Esfahan freight transportation networks (Iran). Due to the complexity of the bi-level models, the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker approach was adopted to unify the models. Finally, the relevant calculations were performed based on actual information. The results of the problems in the case study showed the economic and environmental dimensions are contradictory and that the government's minimization of economic risks aids in ensuring environmental sustainability. Also, improving energy efficiency in transportation networks can have negative environmental consequences. However, when accompanied by government intervention, improving energy efficiency effectively reduces the fuel consumption rate. Moreover, government support will reduce total fuel consumption by reducing green vehicle fuel taxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preservation of historic buildings is a main challenge in the civil engineering field. One of the main concerns about this subject is to be sure of environmental effects like noise and vibration on monuments. To overcome these problems, a wide range of noise and vibration mitigation measures could be applied. To reach a proper evaluation, in this paper, a detailed assessment is made on the efficiency of various vibration mitigation measures by a series of field tests and sensitivity analysis in Isfahan metro lines close to some vibration-sensitive cultural structures. The sensitivity analysis was performed in possible ranges of vertical stiffness of track superstructure materials. Results showed that vertical track stiffness equal to 5 kn/mm would lead to a 5 db reduction with regarding 4 millimeters limit of rail deflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric arc furnace (EAF) is one of the most disturbing loads in the power system as it is highly time‐varying and nonlinear. In this paper, new models based on the instantaneous EAF voltage and current, recorded from EAFs in Mobarakeh steel company in Isfahan/Iran are proposed. The focus of this paper is on developing efficient models based on the Schwarz model where three modified types are proposed. The original Schwarz model has four constant parameters. Unlike the original Schwarz model which uses invariant parameters, the time‐varying nature of the arc's parameters is considered in the proposed models. The first modified model has two constant model orders and two time‐varying coefficients. Additionally, to further enhance the model's accuracy, in the second modified model, six parameters include three constant model orders, and three time‐varying coefficients exist. The third model uses all the original model's parameters as time‐series parameters. The parameters of the time‐varying model are derived using autoregressive moving average (ARMA) models. The accuracy of the proposed model is evaluated by calculating the active power, harmonics, instantaneous flicker, and short‐term flicker. Finally, three MATLAB codes are provided to generate the model parameters time series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Street furniture are installed in different locations of a city, are daily used by a large public, and have the closest contact and most dynamic interaction with people and the environment. Hence, they have a great responsibility to benefit the society and urban development. In this paper, we focus on street furniture for adopting the concept of sustainability through the local cities. This paper presents an experiment which is conducted at Art University of Isfahan (AUI) in order to explore the promises and challenges of designing for deep sustainability within different contexts of the city (Isfahan). The main objective of the experiment is to develop design interventions which affect and guide the community toward sustainability. Specifically students are asked to design street furniture or define an urban intervention which is not neutral but improves sustainability within the context. Finally, the proposed design interventions are evaluated based on their level of success for establishing sustainability. Final results indicate that although a common approach was applied for all the projects in in this experiment, the developed design interventions are not equally contributed to sustainability. While some of the projects only focused on eco-design strategies, some projects succeeded to provide a higher level of sustainability within their context and developed more influential and longer-term sustainable design interventions. It is achieved by the projects that conducted behavioral, social and contextual analysis in order to enhance environmental responsible behavior among the public (e.g. raise public awareness of sustainability, sensate or educate people, or support sustainable behavior). This paper is the extended version of the paper that has been published in the proceedings of the Creative Construction Conference 2018 (Allameh and Heidari, 2018). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper expands further on a category theoretical formulation of Hochschild cohomology for monoid objects in monoidal categories enriched over abelian groups, which has been studied in Hellstrøm-Finnsen (Commun Algebra 46(12):5202–5233, 2018). This topic was also presented at ISCRA, Isfahan, Iran, April 2019. The present paper aims to provide a more intuitive formulation of the Hochschild cochain complex and extend the definition to Hochschild cohomology with values in a bimodule object. In addition, an equivalent formulation of the Hochschild cochain complex in terms of a cosimplicial object in the category of abelian groups is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining the geophyte flora is of principal significance, not only for the conservation of plant diversity but also for its economic impact. Many geophytes hold economic value, serving as food sources, medicinal plants, and ornamental species. This paper presents the first comprehensive study of monocot geophytes in Isfahan province, Iran, focusing on their composition and species diversity. The study exposed a total of 187 taxa (including species and subspecies), covering 61 genera and 15 families among monocotyledonous geophytes in Isfahan province. Remarkable families comprise Poaceae (44 taxa; 23.52%), Amaryllidaceae (35 taxa; 18.72%), Liliaceae (27 taxa; 14.43%), Iridaceae and Asparagaceae (17 taxa; 9.09%). Moreover, the research identified that 66 species (35.29% of all taxa) belong to the Irano-Turanian region (monoregional), ten species (5.35%) are pluriregional, 14 species (7.48%) exhibit cosmopolitan distribution, while 97 taxa (51.87%) are shared across the Irano-Turanian region and other floristic regions. The study also determined 25 taxa as endemic to Iran, creating 13.36% of all monocotyledonous geophytes in Isfahan province. The conclusions highlight the critical need for the application of effective conservation strategies to conservation these valuable geophyte species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban sprawl is a universal phenomenon and can be seen as a city's low-density and haphazard development from the centre to suburban areas, and it has different adverse environmental effects at local and regional scales, including increasing the cost of infrastructure. Geospatial data and technology can be used to measure urban sprawl and predict urban expansion. This technology can shed light on the characteristics, causes, and consequences of urban expansion. Unlike other studies, the methodology proposed in this paper works on a regional level rather than an individual city. In this article, Land Use Land Cover changes and the magnitude and direction of city-region sprawl in the Isfahan Metropolitan area were modelled using a multi-temporal analysis of remote sensing imagery. Shannon's Entropy was used to quantify city-region dispersion during the last fifty years. A Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network and Markov Chain Analysis were then used to forecast future city-region sprawl based on past patterns and physical constraints. The results revealed that this region has been suffering from sprawl during this period in different directions. Moreover, it will continue in specific directions due to several economic, political, demographic, environmental, and (urban) planning factors. In addition, the size and speed of city-region sprawl were higher than core city sprawl. The proposed approach can be generalized for other city-regions with a similar spatial structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excavations carried out in the South domed hall of the Friday Mosque of Isfahan brought to light several features of this structure's building stage. Three pits were retrieved in the centre of the hall, which once was occupied by the pillars of the grid of the 'Abbasid mosque's hypostyle in 9th century. These were identified as probable foundation pits for the building of a domed space arranged as that of the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus during the Saljuq period. This possible connection was analysed from different perspectives using different data (archaeological, epigraphical, art, and historical data) and provide different conclusions. A comparison between the archaeological data and the epigraphical record may highlight the possible liaison between the two buildings. This paper discusses some results of the 1970s excavations to prove how unlikely a layout such as Damascus could ever be adopted in Isfahan. Nevertheless, proven by the epigraphical record, the presence of the pits discovered by the IsMEO mission and the interest shown by Malik Shah for Syria plead for a connection between the two mosques. Such connection could highlight the role the Damascene prototype could play in conceiving the pavilion the vizir Nizam al-Mulk in Isfahan demanded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: This study aims to bridge the literature gap and provide a comprehensive and clear vision of managing Human Capital risk through an easy-to-apply risk management methodology. In addition, to provide an integrated process to manage Human Capital risks. METHODOLOGY: This paper conducted a mixed-method approach; risks were gathered by analyzing 14 semi-structured interviews with corporate leaders and HR expertise in 14 ICT companies in Isfahan. In the quantitative phase, variables were assessed by two methods; FMEA and Fuzzy analysis in 14 companies. FINDINGS: Results show that despite realizing the importance of human capital in achieving goals and competitiveness, companies are not ready to mitigate the Human Capital risks. Detected Risks are divided into behavioural and attitudinal risks. The Employees' demotivation, Leaving work after receiving the required training, and Lack of commitment to the delivery time or quality are the most urgent risks that should be mitigated as prior in the ICT companies in Isfahan. ORIGINALITY: This paper is one of the few studies that holistically dealt with Human Capital risks by providing practical and managerial strategies and recommendations to mitigate the risk exposure. This paper is also one of the leading studies in introducing the FMEA method in measuring this type of risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to address one of the most important challenges faced during the history of Iran, namely Afghans' invasion to Isfahan and the abrupt fall of the Safavid dynasty, by collecting new data and relying on the regional study method. The current paper studies the role of a group of Sunnat wal Jamaat immigrants who migrated to the central places of Iran, namely the Sunnat wal jamaat who went from Mosul to the city of Dargazin in the province of Hamedan on behalf of Shah Abbas I. The present study researchers found that although Shah Abbas's accomplishment in moving the nomads (Eilat) to different areas was a very intelligent consideration, this was considered a secure work only during the days of his authoritative dynasty, and after him, during the days of his successors with the shrinking of the Safavid government, it was changed to a major problem for the government. Moreover, unsatisfied Sunnat wal Jamaat either joined the Ottomans or the other opponents of the Safavid dynasty when the Afghans invaded Iran and played a role as leading troops in the conquest of the Iranian territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the energy consumed worldwide is wasted as heat. The usage of this waste heat both increases the efficiency of the system and reduces environmental pollution. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) has been recognized as a dependable technology for turning low-temperature heat sources into electricity, and it is also a promising solution for recovering wasted heat. This paper investigated the possibility of generating power from the low-temperature waste heat using a Two-stage Compression Refrigeration Cycle (TCRC) integrated with the ORC. The energy, exergy, exergoeconomic, and environmental low-temperature ORC for six working fluids (Ammonia, R161, R410a, R152a, R407C, and R32) were thoroughly investigated. The temperature of the heat source required by the ORC is restricted to the experimental temperature of the TCRC, which is the basis for finding the appropriate working fluids. The study demonstrated that R152a, among the other six working fluids, has a maximum power generation of 44.79 kW, an energy efficiency of 5.37%, and an exergy efficiency of 52.48%, respectively. In addition, R161 and R407C, with a value of the product of 41.36 $ GJ−1, are also economical. Ammonia and R410a have the least exergy destruction in the system, with 104 kW and 109 kW, respectively. From an economic aspect, Ammonia and R152a are the most economical fluid for the suggested system, with a payback period of approximately 3 years. Also, R152a performs a significant role in keeping the environment clean by reducing the emission of CO2 and NOx, 187.3 tons/year and 30.96 tons/year, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing the stability of structures and reducing the maintenance cost of slab track superstructures compared to ballasted tracks are among the reasons for the tendency to use this category of superstructures in the railway industry. Vibration reduction methods can be divided into three categories, source, propagation path, and receiver. In general, the slab track structures in Iran are divided into three categories: direct fixation track (DFT), floating slab track (FST), and high resilient fastener (HRF). Although railway tracks are a safe, economical and fast transportation system and can lead to the strengthening of the tourism industry, in the long term, vibrations can damage many historical structures in the city of Isfahan. FST and HRF systems are used in the structure of Isfahan subway track. In this paper, the accelerations (longitudinal, lateral, and vertical) of the Isfahan subway vehicle were measured in 30 stations (15 go stations and 15 return stations). The results showed that the HRF system compared to the FST has a significant effect in reducing the range of vibrations and ultimately the safety of the train and the ride comfort. For example, in the area between Si-O-Se-Pol and Imam Hossein Square, due to the track structure type (HRF), the maximum acceleration and RMS acceleration are in the range of 1.5 and 0.3 m/s², respectively, while in other stations these values were extracted up to 4 and 0.7 m/s², respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use planning seeks to divide land, the most valuable resource in the hands of planners, among different land types. During this process, various conflicting objectives are emerged which land use planners should prepare land use plans satisfying these objectives and deal with a large set of data and variable. For this reason, land use allocation is a multi-objective NP-hard optimization problem which is not solvable by the current exact methods. Therefore, solving land use optimization problem relies on the application of meta-heuristics. In this paper, a novel meta-heuristic named parallel particle swarm is developed to allocate seven land types (residential, commercial, cultural, educational, medical, sportive and green space) to Baboldasht district of Isfahan covered by 200 allocation cells with size 1000 m² for maximizing compactness, compatibility and suitability objective functions. Afterwards, the outputs of the new developed algorithm are compared to the outputs of genetic algorithm. The results demonstrated that the parallel particle swarm is better than genetic algorithm in terms of both solution quality (1.35%) and algorithm efficiency (63.7%). The results also showed that the outputs achieved by both algorithms are better than the current state of land use distribution. Thus, the method represented in this paper can be used as a useful tool in the hands of urban planners and decision makers, and supports the land use planning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Window design affects the building's appearance. Besides, it has a significant impact on daylight performance and the visual comfort of interior spaces. Therefore, choosing the shape and position of windows can be a challenge for architects. This research aims to investigate the impact of window design on dynamic daylight performance to enhance visual comfort. The research examines five common window shapes that are located in two different positions on the southern-facing side. The most common dynamic daylight metrics of LEED v4.1 were used to investigate the spatial daylight autonomy (sDA), and annual sunlight exposure (ASE). Furthermore, useful daylight illuminance (UDI) was considered a complementary approach to assess useful daylight levels. The metrics are examined in three cities including Mashhad, Isfahan, and Bandar Abbas, which are located in the northeast, center, and south of Iran, respectively. Thirty simulations in each city are conducted by Grasshopper Graphical editor as a parametric interface and its plugins, ladybug, and honeybee for dynamic daylight analysis. The results emphasize that window design has a significant impact on dynamic daylight performance. The square window meets the LEED needs in three cities by achieving maximum sDA and minimum ASE by up to 68.8% and 20% in both positions, respectively. Moreover, the centrally positioned square window presents the lowest ASE level of 14.4% among other cases. However, the windows in a higher position, especially horizontal windows obtain the highest values of sDA, UDI, and ASE by up to 77%, 59%, and 30%, respectively. Therefore, the ASE rates deteriorate by increasing the sill height and head height of windows. This paper can provide window design recommendations based on the comparison of dynamic daylight metrics for five common window shapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper studies J.M. Coetzee’s Life & Times of Michael K (1983) and Jafar Modarres Sadeqi’s Gavkhuni (The Marsh) (1362 [1983]) through a spatial perspective. To this end, the study avails itself of a constellation of concepts formed around Edward Soja’s Thirdspace, Michel Foucault’s heterotopia, and Mikhail Bakhtin’s chronotope. Reading the selected novels through these key terms shows that despite striking differences concerning the nature and manifestation of space, both novels configure space as belonging to the realm of the father. In Life & Times of Michael K, Michael begins a journey across South Africa to escape this paternal realm, while the unnamed narrator of Gavkhuni, having failed to escape the memory of Isfahan even after moving to Tehran, starts to write to get rid of his nightmares about his father. At the end of the novels, both protagonists return to their first places: Cape Town and Tehran, respectively. However, as the beginning and ending points of the novels, these cities do not remain the same for them: Michael preserves his identity as a gardener even in Cape Town, and the narrator of Gavkhuni reconciles with the ever-present image of the father and Zayandehrud in Tehran through writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the nineteenth century, imported wallpapers covered interior walls of Persian palaces and mansions, of which Vasiq-Ansari House in Isfahan, Iran, exhibits very highly elaborated examples. In this study, micro-Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and light microscopy were used to identify pigments and other materials used in the wallpapers of Vasiq-Ansari House. Results indicated that chrome yellow, artificial ultramarine blue, brass metallic leaf, an organic red dyestuff (probably cochineal), and a copper-based green were used as colourants in the wallpapers. Different shades of brown were achieved by mixing various combinations of red lead, carbon black, and calcium carbonate. The white calcium carbonate was also used as a ground layer, applied to a paper support composed of bast and softwood fibres. Based on knowledge of the materials used, these wallpapers are most probably manufactured from the mid- to late-nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing people participation in preventive healthcare programs can improve the quality of their life and create a lot of saving. Governments can more effectively utilize their healthcare expenditures, as well. Usually, governments do not make it mandatory for people to participate in these programs but encourage them. It is necessary to design the network of preventive healthcare facilities optimally based on client choice and requirements for increasing the participation of people in such programs. Therefore, this research focuses on two models of probabilistic selection and optimal selection as different client choice for predicting and managing the preventive services networks. The limits of waiting time and the workload of each facility are also considered for ensuring the quality of care. The main characteristics of the network configuration in this paper are the number of facilities, their location, and capacity. Both models are formulated using mixed integer linear programming and a genetic algorithm is utilized in the high dimensions problems for solving them effectively and quickly. These models are implemented for actual data of Isfahan city and then their results are analyzed. The results demonstrate a significant impact of the client choice on network efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The milk production process on an industrial ranch consists of various and regular activities, with each requiring a proper management approach. Different variables also affect the milk production process, and the maximum milk production is achieved by identifying critical variables. This work was motivated by the Fereidan Ahrar ranch management in Isfahan, Iran, which seeks to identify and optimize important variables to increase milk production. This unit also considers livestock omission due to disease and losses as one of the important issues. This kind of omission is followed by the increased medical costs of the ranch. This paper investigated a system dynamics approach and Vensim software to simulate the milk production process considering the combination of demographic livestock and medical costs. System sensitivity was analyzed using the design of experiment (DOE) technique and some scenarios were proposed to maximize milk production by identifying and tuning important variables affecting milk production. The simulation results of the designed model showed five important variables affecting milk production. These variables include the production cycle rate, voluntary omission rate, change rates of female calves per year that are entered into the life cycle of the ranch, pregnant heifers that become dairy herds after calving, and finally, the effect of the medical costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: The presented paper conducted a comparative analysis based on well-known MLP, SVM, DT, and RF learning methods to assess/predict the safety factor (F.S) of earthslopes. Earth slopes' stability analysis is a key task in geotechnical engineering that provides a detailed view of the slope conditions used to implement appropriate stabilizations. In the stability analysis process, calculating the safety factor (F.S) plays an essential part in the stability assessment, which guarantees operations' success. Providing accurate and reliable F.S can be used to improve the stability analysis procedure as well as stabilizations. In this regard, researchers used computational intelligent methodologies to reach highly accurate F.S calculations. The presented study focused on the F.S estimation process and attempted to provide a comparative analysis based on computational intelligence and machine learning methods. In this regard, the well-known multilayer perceptron (MLP), decision tree (DT), support vector machines (SVM), and random forest (RF) learning algorithms were used to predict/calculate F.S for the earth slopes. These machine learning classifiers have a strong capability predict the F.S under certain conditions for slope failures and uncertainties. These models were implemented on a dataset containing 100 earth slopes' stabilities, recorded based on F.S from various locations in the provinces of Fars, Isfahan, and Tehran in Iran, which were randomly divided into the training and testing datasets. These predictive models were validated by Janbu's limit equilibrium analysis method (LEM) and GeoStudio commercial software. Regarding the study's results, MLP (accuracy = 0.901/precision = 0.90) provides more accurate results to predict the F.S than other classifiers, with good agreement with LEM results. The SVM algorithm follows MLP (accuracy = 0.873/precision = 0.85). Regarding the estimated loss function, MLP obtained a 0.29 average loss in the F.S prediction process, which is the lowest rate. The SVM, DT, and RF obtained 0.41, 0.62, and 0.45 losses, respectively. This article tried to fill the gap in traditional analysis procedures based on advanced procedures in slope stability assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since drought can mainly affect agriculture, especially rain-fed agriculture with high dependence on rainwater, and consequently jeopardize food security and social protection, it is absolutely essential to determine an appropriate drought index to assess the agricultural drought more accurately. In this paper, the random forest algorithm (RF) was employed to compare the capabilities of six more commonly used drought indices in agricultural drought assessment, namely standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), modified SPEI (M-SPEI), reconnaissance drought index (RDI), modified RDI (M-RDI), standardized precipitation index (SPI) and modified SPI (M-SPI) based on the correlation between the drought indices (i.e., independent variables) and yield of rain-fed barley (i.e., response variable). In this study, the data series of 10 stations with appropriate climate variety from 1968 to 2017 were used on 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month time scales (27 time periods in total). The results indicated that the linear regression between the simulated and predicted yield of rain-fed barley using the AquaCrop model and the RF algorithm (respectively) had no difference with a perfect reliable line (Y = X) in 0.05 or 0.01 significant levels. The R2 between simulated and predicted barley yield (YB) was also significant at 0.01 levels in all stations, indicating the appropriate capability of the RF algorithm in YB prediction. The results also showed that some indices had better outcomes than others in stations; for example, the SPEI index in Arak, Mashhad, Shahre Kord, and Shiraz stations, the M-SPEI index in Babolsar, Gazvin, and Ramsar, the SPEI and M-SPEI indices in Esfahan and Gorgan stations, and the RDI and SPI indices in Rasht stations had the best outcome. Finally, it was recommended to use the SPEI and M-SPEI indices for agricultural drought assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modernization of Iranian cities during the 20th century has radically altered and, in some instances, completely destroyed parts of the historic fabric of cities. Two approaches have dominated efforts to address these impacts: development-driven and conservationdriven. Because both approaches originate outside the complex and fragile contexts of Iran's historic fabric, their respective and collective outcomes have proven neither logical nor practical. Scholars have proposed a third, context-driven option, which urban planners and municipal officials try to restore and preserve urban fabric according to their structure while also maintaining quality of life for residents. Applying the context-driven approach to the spatial structure of the Ali-Gholi-Agha quarter in Isfahan reveals one such discrete element: a semipublic type of space called "sahe-ja." By interrogating whether and to what extent sahe-ja serves as a determinative element in the quarter's historic urban fabric, this paper demonstrates the logic and practicality of the context-driven approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health issue. Physicians should play a key role to fight AMR, and medical education is a fundamental issue to combat it. Understanding the knowledge, attitudes and practices of physicians regarding antibiotic prescription and antibiotic resistance is fundamental for controlling the irrational antibiotic use. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes and the practices of physicians in Iran with respect to antibiotic resistance and usage. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed from June to October 2021 among physicians at primary care centers and academic hospitals in the region of Isfahan, Iran. A total of 182 physicians were surveyed. Participants were invited to complete a self-reported questionnaire (paper based or online questionnaire). The questions were based on knowledge, attitude, and practice toward antibiotic usage and AMR. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 18 software following the objective of the study. Results: Out of 182 study participants, 100, 50 and 32 responders were medical doctors (MD), internist and other specialists, respectively. Regarding the knowledge section of the questionnaire, almost less than 10% of participants declared to know the antibiotics of Iran's antimicrobial stewardship program. Also, the percentage of participants who correctly responded to clinical quizzes was 23% for treatment of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producers, 59.3% about the treatment of severe sepsis, 22% about the intrinsic resistance of Proteus mirabilis and 43.4% for experimental treatment with vancomycin in community-acquired pneumonia. Regarding attitude, most participants (97.2%) were aware of the antimicrobial resistance problem in Iran, and 95.6% agreed that prescribing antimicrobials was not the appropriate in our country. Regarding practice, only 65.9% of participants said that before prescribing antibiotics they use of local and international antimicrobial therapy guidelines and less than 50% of physicians were in contact with a microbiology laboratory. Conclusion: This data revealed that our physicians' level of knowledge about AMR and antimicrobial stewardship is poor, so there is the need to increase training on antibiotic resistance and antimicrobial stewardship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tunnelling is a vital geotechnical engineering feature of underground transportation systems that is potentially hazardous if not properly investigated, studied, planned, and executed. A reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) analysis is one of the main practical techniques in machinery-based projects to recognize the failure and repair rates of machines during or after their operations. RAM analysis of mechanized tunneling can help to manage the project safety and cost, and improve the availability and performance of the machine. There are several methods to obtain and predict the RAM of a system, including the Markov chain simulation and other statistical methods; however, the result of the analysis can be affected by the selected method. This paper presents the results of a critical investigation on the RAM of the Earth pressure balance machines (EPBMs) used in developing an urban metro project in Isfahan, Iran. The five kilometer length of the first line of the Isfahan metro project was excavated using EPBMs over four years. After overhauling the EPBMs and making some minor changes, excavation of the second line started, and to date, about 1.2 km has been excavated by the refurbished machines. In the present study, a RAM analysis has been applied to electrical, mechanical, and cutter head subsystems of the EPBMs in Lines 1 and 2 of the Isfahan metro project over an 18- and 7-month period of machine operation, respectively. The results show that the estimated availability, A(t), determined by the Markov method, is closer to reality but cannot be propagated to reliability R(t) and maintainability M(t) analysis. It was also revealed that by predicting the required maintenance and proper planning, the overall availability of the EPBM was improved from 45% in Line 1 to 61% in Line 2. The outcomes of this study can be used in the future planning of urban tunneling projects to estimate machine, staff, and logistic performance with the least possible error, and appropriately arrange the factors involved in the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Delay in the diagnosis of breast cancer is a major challenge that can lead to disease progression. Identifying the predictors of breast cancer screening behavior is necessary to promote early detection of breast cancer. This study aims to investigate the predictors of breast cancer screening behavior in women aged 20-69 referred to public health centers. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 17255 women aged 20-69 years old in Isfahan Province referred to Public Health Centers by the multi-stage random sampling method. data were collected based on the paper forms of women's care aged 20-69 at public health centers, Isfahan, Iran, in 2012. Using STATA 14, logistic regression was employed to explore predictors of breast cancer screening behavior at a 5% significance level. Results: The mean age of women was 36.75 ± 10.46. About 6006 (34.8%) of women had a history of breast self-examination, and among women aged over 40 years, 17.7% reported ever having a mammogram. The most important factors influencing breast self-examination were age 40-49 (OR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.06-1.33), history of hormone consumption (OR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.15-1.33), family history of breast cancer in first-degree relatives (OR = 14.22; 95% CI: 9.83-20.57. The most important factors influencing mammography were hormone consumption (OR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.05-1.51), and family history of breast cancer in first-degree relatives (OR = 32.55; 95% CI: 20.08-52.70). Conclusions: Our findings indicated that the performance of breast self-examination and mammography was low. The frequency of BC screening behavior was higher among women with BC risk factors The results revealed the need for health authorities to pay attention to education in BC detection methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of information and communication technology (ICT) has been influed the formation of creative tourism as a new approach in the use of existing capabilities and capacities for rural development. The current research has been carried out to analyze this technology's impact on the infrastructure of creative tourism formation in the rural areas of Isfahan province. The research method in the present study is descriptive-analytical and its type is fundamental in terms of purpose and used to collect information from documentary and field methods. According to the total number of households (3038 households) in the sample community (including 19 tourism target villages of Isfahan province that have rural ICT offices) and with an error of 0.05% in the Cochran formula, a sample size equal to 349 households was calculated and with a systematic random method from The rural community was selected. To investigate the impact of rural information and communication technology on "creative tourism infrastructure", while confirming the positive and significant correlation of these two variables with Pearson's correlation test, the results of structural equation modeling with the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique approach show that the knowledge of Considering direct and indirect effects, services have had a greater impact on creative tourism infrastructures in sample settlements with a coefficient of 0.756. In general, according to the coefficient of determination (R2) for the variable of creative tourism infrastructure (0.967), it was found that the influence of rural informationcommunication technology on creative tourism infrastructure is strong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the utilization of printed circuit board Rogowski coils (PCBRCs) for differential protection of electric arc furnace (EAF) transformers in Mobarakeh Steel Company (MSC), Isfahan, Iran. Because of a high level of current (in the range of 100 kA) in the EAF transformers in the MSC, employment of differential protection is quite challenging. Conventional current transformers (CTs) cannot offer reliable performance for very high current levels. The PCBRCs are a branch of Rogowski coils (RCs) that can be manufactured with high precision using computer‐aided design approaches and have the capability for the measurement of very large currents. In this study, we have designed and manufactured two sets of PCBRCs to measure current in the primary and secondary sides of the EAF's transformers in the MSC. The PCBRCs are followed by a signal condition circuit (SCC) which includes a low‐pass filter, amplifier, and voltage‐to‐current (V‐to‐I) converter block. Thanks to the SCC, the high current of the transformers can be properly sensed and transmitted over a long cable that connects the PCBRCs to the relay. Furthermore, a novel model is suggested for the EAF that includes characteristics of both time and frequency domain models. The suggested model is developed using a large number of recorded data from the MSC and can model the non‐linear and time‐variant behaviours of the EAF. The proposed PCBRCs, SCC, and EAF modelling are evaluated by some simulations and experiments in the MSC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: Colors may have effects on our life and each color is a source of energy based on its chemical and psychological character. Color is one criterion of personality and health evaluation in modern psychology because any color influences a person's mental and physical. Purpose: The research aimed to investigate the psychological effect of librarians' uniforms in public libraries on their occupational engagement. Methodology: The quasi-experimental is applied with Pre-test, Post-test, control group, and experimental group. A statistical population was the library staff at "Iran Public Library Foundation, Isfahan". The sample was randomly selected and assigned to two exam groups experimental group (N=15) and the control group (N=15). Research tools consisted of Utrecht Work Engagement Questionnaire. Covariance analysis was used in the inferential analysis of the research hypothesis. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 22. Findings: The findings have shown that changing the color of the library staff's uniform to yellow and light blue had an impact on their occupational engagement at a meaningful level with an impact of 37%. Conclusion: This color-changing has a positive effect on their occupational engagement and they have more energy to meet the library users' information needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural factors such as ethnocentrism and cultural stereotypes also play a prominent role in consumers' perceptions of brands. This paper examines the impact of ethnocentrism on the image of Turkish textiles and the purchase intention of these goods among Isfahan and Tabriz citizens. The population of this research is residents of Isfahan and Tabriz cities. This study's hypotheses are examined using structural equation modelling through PLS software. The results showed that ethnocentrism has a significant relationship with the product image, but these results were inconsistent in Isfahan and Tabriz cities. On the other hand, the relationship between ethnocentrism and the cognitive image was confirmed. However, the result was not approved for the affective image in both cities either. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, the effect of the depth of the bedrock layer on the land subsidence of the Isfahan plain was studied. The geological bedrock layer was modeled by the results of obtained data from the geotechnical exploratory boreholes, depth of deep wells and geoelectrical in-situ imaging. Regarding the bedrock depth, the case study area was classified into six categories (None, very low, low, medium, high and very high) to show the land subsidence potential zones and to evaluate the risk of the vertical displacement of some critical places. The results indicate that the most of the historical buildings are located in very low-risk and low-risk of the land subsidence areas, however, some places such as Isfahan international airport need land subsidence consideration for any probable destructions due to the vertical displacements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The historic city of Esfahan is renowned for its Maydan-e-Naghsh-e-Jahȃn (literally, Square of the Image of the World), which was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, in 1979. Esfahan developed in the Safavid era (1598–1736) as the first Persian garden city. This feature has not been widely recognised. This paper briefly reviews the formation of the 'Garden City'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Islamic Republic of Iran has suffered a lot over the last 40 years to control and control and prevent social damage and drug abuse. The alarming spread of this issue, especially in the geographical distribution of Isfahan, family and other educational institutions, has faced new doubts and concerns. Therefore, cultural policy makers and urban management need to update information and their findings in order to design more effective plans in this area to provide them as soon as possible perspective on the status quo of addiction. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to answer the question of how geographical distribution of social damage in Isfahan and what are the trends and trends of drug use and its changes, type and age group and gender in Isfahan and what changes have they experienced. Method: This paper is carried out using a secondary analysis of surveys and national research. The results: data of the study, feminized and industrialization of drugs, globalization and, especially at the critical point of Isfahan. The results of this research show that Isfahan has seen a change in pattern of social damage among the age group of young people. The emergence of criminal and criminal families is a new pattern for social damage in the areas and hotbeds of tourism and also the change of the sex composition of social crimes is one of the characteristics of social damage in the geographical area of Isfahan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary sustainable urban set up, one of the critical issues adversely affecting the quality of life in urban areas and inflicting immense costs on cities is traffic congestion. Traffic congestion is an outgrowth of increased traffic flow in certain locations of large cities. Recently, urban decision-makers and transportation planners resort to one-way traffic system as an effective traffic management strategy, which has a profound effect on reducing traffic congestion and improving traffic flow, leading to urban sustainability. In the present paper, the authors endeavored to develop a novel methodological framework based on optimization techniques in order to mitigate traffic congestion through one-way traffic network reconfiguration. To test the efficacy of the proposed methodological framework, two cases were analyzed and evaluated: the Sioux Falls transportation network as a medium-sized one and a real-world large-scale transportation network of the city of Isfahan in Iran. Through the first instance, it can be seen that the proposed method can effectively reduce the total travel time in the area of interest by approximately 9%. The numerical results for the transportation network of Isfahan, justified the practical value of the model and solution method through converting proper links to one-way. As the calculation results of two cases have demonstrated, the solution can effectively reduce the total travel time of travelers in a certain congested urban area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to study the effects of acidic and alkaline waters on the geotechnical properties of a particular type of clay with low plasticity from the northeast areas of Isfahan that have been evaluated with pH values adjusted from 3 to 8. The remoulded specimens were placed in moulds under the influence of acid and alkaline rains with different pH values and years of precipitation. Atterberg limits tests, soil permeability coefficient, California bearing ratio (CBR) test and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of soil specimens with various pH values were used to evaluate soil mechanical changes relative to soil with neutral acidity. In order to identify internal structural mechanisms of soil before and after artificial raining on the specimens, scanning electron microscopy and pH drainage tests of specimens were performed. The results of the interaction of rain and soil with shifting from neutral values were evaluated over a period of precipitation fluxes from 1 to 20 years. In overall, the more is the acidity or alkalinity of the artificial rain, the more will increase the Atterberg limits and the soil permeability compared to the soil specimens under artificial rain with pH = 7; and the decreasing trend is observed in UCS values and CBR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural areas have experienced various evolutions in terms of structure and function, causing some vagueness regarding rural conceptions and identities. Agriculture, as the most fundamental rural activity, has had severe evolutions. This paper aims to structurally analyze the spatio-temporal evolutions of agricultural rurality in Isfahan province by conducting a comparative study considering villages consisting of more than four households during two agricultural censuses in 2003 and 2014. The same variables were extracted and two series of cross-sectional and one series of longitudinal indicators of agricultural rurality and its evolutions were calculated. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal evolutions were modeled using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping procedure. Rate of employment in agriculture, stakeholders' per capita land, irrigated lands and irrigated cultivation were the indicators affecting agricultural rurality in both years. Results generally showed that water as input and its sub-indicators have a more determinant role in agricultural functionality than land; also, this functionality has mainly been based on farming rather than gardening. Regional analysis on the mean structures of agricultural rurality indicated the negative impact of the changes in employment rate in agriculture and farming stakeholders and contrarily the positive impact of the changes in farmers' literacy rate and gardening stakeholders on the evolution of agricultural rurality among three groups of mountainous, plain and desert rural regions. This impact has been more influential in terms of employment and literacy rates. The changes of irrigated lands have only affected the evolution of agricultural rurality in desert rural regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since mobile sources are one of the most important sources of air pollution, this paper tries to estimate the health effects and economic burden due to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations from motor vehicles. In this regard, we calculate the economic costs of air pollution emitted by vehicles in Isfahan over the period from March 2018 to March 2020. The concentration of urban traffic pollution based on the generalized additive model (GAM) as well as spatial distribution of pollution is estimated. Health effects are evaluated using AirQ+ updated by the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health. Economic burden of mortality attributable air pollution from traffic is calculated using value of a statistical life (VOSL), and the value of life years (VOLY) approach. The results indicated that the number of deaths attributable to PM2.5 from motor vehicles in these two consecutive years was 136 (95%CI: 89–179), and 147 cases (95%CI: 96–194), respectively. The number of years of life lost due to premature death from air pollution was 2079 years annually. The economic costs imposed under VOSL approach were on average USD 51.7 (95%CI: 43–75) million per year, and according to VOLY approach USD 11.5 (95%CI: 9–13) million per year. These results help to analyze the cost-benefit and prioritize control measures to reduce air pollution. In addition, combination of these results with other externality cost of road traffic can take account for urban transportation planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reading and writing disorders cause many problems for people and affect their future. Therefore, timely identification of each of these disorders can prevent many negative consequences in individuals, family, and social life of these people, which requires accurate knowledge of the factors affecting the development of these disorders. This paper aimed to investigate the effect of phonological awareness and reading disorders on students' writing disabilities in spelling lessons. The research type was causalcomparative method. The population of this study included all girl and boy students in the second and third grades of an elementary school in Isfahan city of Iran in the academic year 2019-2020. A sample of 80 were selected and studied in two groups of normal and dyslexic. Phonological awareness tests and spelling tests were used to collect data. The obtained data were analyzed at both descriptive and inferential levels using independent t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient. Findings showed that misspellings of dyslexic students are higher than normal students. The study of three components, phonological awareness, reading disorder, and misspellings, showed that weakness in phonological awareness tests leads to reading disorders. As a result, it increases misspellings. This study also showed that among the three components of phonological awareness, including phonological awareness, Syllable awareness, and intra-Syllable awareness, misspellings are inversely related to phonological awareness but have no significant relationship with the other two components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, one of the concerns of consumers of animal protein sources is bacterial contamination and the residue of heavy metals in meat and by-products. The zoonotic infection can risk human health and accumulation of heavy metals in meat and its consumption by humans can cause acute and chronic disorders in the function of vital organs. For evaluation of Campylobacter contamination and estimation of cadmium and zinc in Turkey meat, 100 Turkey breast and thigh samples and 100 of heart and liver samples that supplied in markets in Isfahan province (Central of Iran) were collected. After tissue digestion and passing from filter paper, the elements of cadmium and zinc were measured in tissue samples by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. After isolation of Campylobacter, the C. jejuni and C. coli were detected by LAMP technique. The results of Campylobacter isolation and detection in Turkey meat samples showed Campylobacter was isolated from 20 Turkey meat samples (20%) that in LAMP, 16 samples harbored the genome of C. jejuni (80%) and the genome of C. coli was identified in 4 samples of Turkey meats (40%). The mean (±SD) of cadmium concentration in Turkey thigh, breast, liver and heart samples was 0.068 ± 0.031, 0.055 ± 0.038, 0.084 ± 0.061, and 0.033 ± 0.025 mg/kg, respectively. Mean (±SD) of zinc concentration in Turkey thigh, breast, liver and heart samples were 19.82 ±12.46, 16.81 ± 13.03, 26.22 ± 16.20, and 22.70 ± 11.53 mg/kg, respectively. The amount of cadmium and zinc in all examined samples is below the international permissible limit. Since, the heavy metal residues and bacterial contamination in food animal can risk human health, so observing the standard principles of cultivation and processing of poultry feed inputs and continuous monitoring of bacterial contamination and metal residue in poultry meat is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Purpose: Second/foreign language learners face problems in different areas such as correct word usage, grammatical accuracy, and pronunciation fluency. This paper responds to one of these problems by investigating the impact of strategic Google Search on Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ grammar learning. Methodology: Sixty Iranian intermediate EFL learners from a private English language institute in Isfahan, Iran were selected and randomly divided into two groups. To find which areas of grammar are most problematic among the participants, a multiple-choice grammar pretest which was validated by five English experts was given to them. Then 10 questions that most participants answered wrongly were selected as the most challenging ones. During 10 class sessions, the participants were taught how to select the correct choice through Google Search. In fact, each participant in the class had a laptop connected to the internet. The researcher taught them how to search on Google strategically and the participants found out that in Google sites there are some sentences which are grammatically wrong and they should not trust them. They learned how to search strategically for the correct choices. At the end of the sessions they answered a posttest containing different questions but in the same grammatical areas. The pretest and posttest both were conducted while the participants were connected to internet sites. Findings: Data analysis was done through running t-test using SPSS software and statistically significant difference was revealed. The findings showed that those participants who were taught how to strategically use Google Search performed better in the posttest. Therefore, the results revealed that correct Google Search had improved the Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ grammar knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total quality management (TQM) and knowledge management (KM) play a significant role in improving the situation of the organization and creating and maintaining competitive advantage (CA). Therefore, harmonizing TQM and KM with the organizational goals and performance leads to the organization's greater capabilities. The current paper presents a decision support framework to evaluate the performance of organizations based on the success factors (SFs) of TQM and KM using the BCC model of data envelopment analysis (DEA). The SFs of KM are considered as input and the SFs of TQM are considered as output of the BCC model, and the efficiency scores of five pharmaceutical companies in Esfahan, Iran, are obtained. The results show that, among the aforementioned companies, three companies were recognized as efficient, while two of them were introduced as inefficient companies. Furthermore, in order to provide more recommendations for the managers of these companies, two area charts according to SFs of TQM and KM were drawn, and the results were analyzed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the concerns of consumers of animal protein sources is the residues of heavy metals in meat. The accumulation of these elements in meat and the consumption by humans can cause acute and chronic disorders in the function of vital organs. Methods: For the estimation of cadmium, zinc and silver in the poultry meat products, 100 samples of chicken breasts, thighs, hearts and livers were collected from meat markets in Isfahan Province. The tissues were digested and passed through filter paper, and the cadmium, zinc and silver contents were measured by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results: The mean contents of cadmium in the chicken thigh, breast, liver and heart samples were 0.055±0.021, 0.048±0.023, 0.074±0.031, and 0.012±0.004 mg/kg, respectively. The mean contents of zinc in the chicken thigh, breast, liver and heart samples were 17.19±8.10, 15.70±5.75, 22.10±10.87, and 19.70±10.38 mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of cadmium and zinc were below the international permissible limits in all samples. The mean concentrations of silver in some chicken thigh, breast, liver and heart samples were 0.0080±0.0044, 0.0048±0.0013, 0.012±0.009 and 0.0036±0.006, respectively. Of note, silver was not detected in most chicken samples. Conclusion: This study did not find cadmium, zinc and silver in the chicken meat samples above the international permissible limits. However, frequent monitoring for heavy metals in poultry meat sold in public markets is warranted to prevent their transmission to the human food chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the levels of food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of food technical assistants (FTAs) working in dairy processing plants (DPPs) with different grades of prerequisite programs (PRPs) checklist. Design/methodology/approach: An observational cross-sectional study was carried out by using a self-administered questionnaire and interviewing 76 FTAs occupied in DPPs in the city of Isfahan, Iran. Findings: Out of a total score of 100, the participants received scores for knowledge (79.5 ± 14.9), attitudes (75.2 ± 9.9) and practices (86 ± 11.6) referred to the principles of Hazard analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). It was found correlations between food safety knowledge and attitudes of FTAs (r = 0.38, p ≤ 0), knowledge and practices (r = 0.21, p = 0.03) and between attitudes and practices (r = 0.36, p ≤ 0). Moreover, there were also significant correlations between KAP scores and age (knowledge: r = 0.18, p = 0.06; attitude: r = 0.25, p = 0.01; practice: r = 0.22, p = 0.02) and KAP scores and job satisfaction level (knowledge: r = 0.27, p = 0. 01; attitude: r = 0.22, p = 0.02; practice: r = 0.27, p = 0). There was no significant correlation between educational background and KAP scores. Furthermore, no significant correlation was found in terms of gender. Originality/value: Education of FTAs about food safety issues seems necessary. Such training should not only focus on theoretical aspects of knowledge but also be practical to foster positive attitudes toward food safety and promote practices among FTAs. Consideration to all principles of PRPs is recommended to implement food safety management system (FSMS) in food processing plants (FPPs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper deals with the perception of Iranian EFL teachers and learners in using humor in language classrooms. To this end, 10 English classes with a population of 70 female and male students and 5 male and female teachers in English language institutes in Esfahan were observed during spring and summer 2019. Using an ethnographic approach, the data were collected through observation and interview. The results showed that both teachers and learners had a positive attitude towards the use of L2 humor in the classroom. Language learners reasoned that having a sense of humor is one of the important qualities a language teacher should possess. The teachers and language learners acknowledged the positive effects of humor such as reducing the distance between teachers and learners, lowering learners' anxiety, boosting learners' retention of the lesson, as well as increasing their concentration and motivation. Moreover, language learners showed a preference for the use L2 humor, course-related humor, and L1 norm-oriented types of humor in their classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reliable forecast of the prices of agricultural commodities can help to allocate resources optimally, enhance efficiency and farmer income, and alleviate fluctuations. Given the importance of accurate forecasts, the present paper investigates how one can forecast greenhouse tomato prices at one, two, three, and six-month horizons using different support vector machines and artificial neural network algorithms. The data on variables affecting the price of greenhouse tomatoes were collected through a field study for a shortterm period from November 2014 to January 2017. The wholesale price of the crop was drawn from a market study for this period. The results show that the trend forecasted through General Regression Neural Network along with activating function of reciprocal is more efficient to estimate the training data. The Epsilon-SVR SVM acquisition pattern alongside the linear activating function was taken into consideration to estimate the testing data in an efficient way for two-month, three-month or biannual periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home composting (HC) can be a cost-effective strategy for organic solid waste management. This option is also desirable since HC is increasingly automated, with HC machines composting faster than conventional composting in outdoor settings. Besides, HC may reduce organic solid waste management costs, especially for developing countries with scarcer resources. Taking Iran as a study case, the paper examines the influence of variables pertaining to the theory of planned behavior, the value-belief-norm framework, and the technology acceptance model. This study uses data collected from a territory-wide survey (n = 367) of Isfahan's residents to predict HC intentions. The results show that both attitude and subjective norms appear as the most impactful of all variables. These results further vary according to sex, with women being significantly more prone to HC than men. The findings may provide a reference to implement HC in Iran and other developing countries and possibly developed ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]