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In this paper, the thermo-electric, phonon, electronic, and optical properties of the C3N monolayer have been investigated using the Wien2K computational code based on first principles calculations in the framework of the density functional theory. The study of electronic properties shows the behavior of non-magnetic semiconductors with an indirect gap with a value of 0.5 electron volts for this two-dimensional structure. Also, optical properties such as dielectric function, reflection, energy loss function, absorption coefficient, and optical conductivity are calculated. C3N monolayer is optically anisotropic in z and x direction, which according to the refractive index diagram leads to birefringence, which is a key parameter for this compound's linear optical performance. The results provide a fundamental understanding of the design of composite structures used in nanodevices based on two-dimensional advanced materials. The linear response approach along the symmetric points calculates the phonon dispersion diagram. The results indicate the absence of negative modes in the phonon spectrum, indicating that the structure is dynamically stable. Investigating the thermoelectric properties of the C3N monolayer using the semi-classical Boltzmann theory shows that this monolayer has a value coefficient (ZT) close to one at room temperature and temperatures lower than room temperature. As a result, it can be proposed as a candidate for thermoelectric applications.

Many non-classicality indicators are used to measure the quantum effects of different systems. Kenfack's and Sadeghi's non-classicality indicators are introduced regarding the amount of Wigner distribution function's negativities and interferences in phase space quantum mechanics, respectively. Kenfack’s non-classicality indicator is used for cases just in the Wigner representation, whereas Sadeghi’s non-classicality indicator is effectively, applied for some real distribution functions. In this paper, we investigate these non-classicality indicators for the entangled photon number states in the Wigner, Husimi, and Rivier representations. It is shown that for a two-level entangled state, Sadeghi's indicator has more benefits to measure entanglement with respect to Kenfack's indicator. For the two-level entangled state, we also show a correspondence between Sadeghi's non-classicality indicator and the Von Neumann entropy. It is also shown that for the superposition of the squeezed number state and ground number state, the squeezing parameter affects the entanglement feature and Sadeghi's non-classicality indicator increases with the increase of the squeezing parameter.

Using the experimental results and data, the thermodynamic characteristics and thermal analysis of the electrical arc of torch electrodes and energy deposition in the waste-incinerator primary designed chamber were investigated. The temperature of arc in the intermediate electrode which is called the float nozzle was measured at 7000-8000 Kelvin based on the input power of 2 kW. The plasma plume temperature implied to be lower than the arc temperature according to the cold gas flow in the nozzle. The efficiency of energy transferring to the plasma plume is dependent on the geometrical electrode and nozzle design, and gas flow rate. After ten seconds, the chamber temperature was measured at 1193 Kelvin by thermocouple with the performance of electrical elements and plasma torch. The chamber temperature increasing in an adiabatic process was calculated at 1230 Kelvin after this time. According to the isothermal approach, the heat flow rate, and conduction loss calculation, the chamber temperature was obtained at about 900-1000 Kelvin. Using two approaches with inevitable approximations, the calculated temperature ranges for arc and plasma plume energy estimation have reasonable compatibility and this led to the road map of optimization and development for future torch planning and waste-incinerator chamber design.

In this work, considering the moment theory propagation of the laser beam with relativistic intensity in thermal quantum plasma is studied. Using the Maxwell equation and dielectric function obtained by the quantum hydrodynamic model, the mathematical equation for the laser beam width parameter is achieved and solved numerically by the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. The results show that the stronger self-focusing effect is found in the moment theory compared to paraxial approximation. Also, similar to paraxial approximation, with growing Fermi temperature, plasma density and laser intensity, the oscillation frequency of the beam width parameter increases and focusing length decreases which means improving the self-focusing effect. Furthermore, it is seen that behaviors of the critical radius are not similar in the two theories, as in the moment theory, with increasing laser intensity, critical radius decreases until it becomes independent of the beam intensity, but in the paraxial approximation, the critical radius after a minimum value is enhanced with increasing laser intensity.

Gene expression is known as a phenomenon that shapes human life. This very complex phenomenon is formed from two stages: transcription and translation. In this study, we used the Nose-Hoover thermostat to model the effect of ambient temperature on gene expression since temperature regulates the biological clock of living systems. We have used the Lyapunov exponent approach to investigate the effect of control parameters on gene expression, including the degradation rates of messenger RNA and proteins, and to find critical points (phenomenon boundary limits), mRNA, and protein level boundary values. The rate of degradation in the process of protein synthesis has been investigated with the help of the Lyapunov exponent approach. According to this study, the optimal temperature for the production of mRNA molecules by Escherichia coli bacteria is 306 Kelvin. The study also used the chaos approach to show that the faster the mRNA molecules are degraded, the more they are transcribed, and the more chaotic the system becomes.

Entanglement plays a fundamental role in the field of quantum computing and quantum communication. In real conditions, a physical system is never isolated and inevitably interacts with its surroundings. Temperature is one of these effects that mainly reduces entanglement. In real conditions, the system is at a non-zero temperature, which will lead to a mixed state. Therefore, in the present work, the combined thermal entanglement of electron spin-oscillation in an anisotropic two-dimensional quantum dot is investigated using the negativity criterion. The results show that the combined entanglements are strongly dependent on the changes of the controllable parameters, such as the Rashba parameter and the magnetic field. The thermal entanglement between the spin and the assembly of oscillators is zero at absolute zero temperature and reaches a maximum with increasing temperature and then tends to zero asymptotically. This temperature, at which the amount of entanglement reaches its maximum value, can be controlled by changing the magnetic field and the coupling of the Rashba parameter. These two factors also control the rate of reaching the asymptotic state. These results provide a way to control the degree of entanglement between electron degrees of freedom, which is a fundamental requirement of quantum information processing.

In the last two decades, photonic crystals and structures that are based on them (photonic structures) have been examined and have been widely utilized in various optical applications. In this article, a theoretical and numerical model for the propagation of electromagnetic waves in multilayer dielectric structures is developed. The propagation of ultra-short light pulses in multilayer media and microresonators is investigated, and the energy reflection and transmission coefficients depending on the parameters of the environment and duration of the optical pulse are calculated. A method for calculating the transmission and reflection spectra of one-dimensional photonic crystal based on FDTD modeling with the emission of ultra-short optical pulses is proposed. To calculate the transmission and reflection spectrum of a one-dimensional photonic crystal and to simulate the propagation of ultra-short light pulses, in multilayer dielectric structures and microresonators, based on the numerical solution of Maxwell's equations with the finite difference approximation in the space-time domain, is performed.

In this study, The surface plasmon excitations in a dimer structure of closely spaced metallic nanospheres with different radii are investigated using the hydrodynamic model. Initially, an expression was derived to calculate this structure's multipolar surface plasmon excitations. Subsequently, the surface plasmon excitations in the dipole approximation were examined.The surface plasmon excitations in a dimer structure of closely spaced metallic nanospheres with different radii are examined using the hydrodynamic model in this study. It has been observed that the energy of in-phase modes is lower than that of out-of-phase modes in longitudinal or transverse excitations. Furthermore, at each separation distance between the nanospheres, the energy difference between in-phase and out-of-phase longitudinal modes is greater than that of transverse modes. The results show that with an increase in the separation distance between the nanospheres, the energies of in-phase modes increase, and the energies of out-of-phase modes decrease. At large separation distances, two plasmon modes are obtained, with the higher energy mode corresponding to the smaller nanosphere and the lower energy mode corresponding to the larger nanosphere. Finally, the local limit results are presented for comparison.

In this study, the optical and electronic properties of bulk and nano-layer of zinc selenide (ZnSe) and zinc sulfide (ZnS) are investigated. The calculations for solving the many-body Schrodinger equations are performed in the framework of density functional theory using the WIEN2K computational package. The Engel-Vosko and gradient generalized approximation (GGA) treat the exchange-correlation potential. To investigate the electronic and optical properties of zinc selenide and zinc sulfide nano layers, the electronic band structure and the real and imaginary parts of complex dielectric function for the bulk and nano-layer with different thicknesses are calculated and compared. The results of electronic band structures show that the energy band gap of zinc selenide and zinc sulfide nano-layers with various thicknesses decreases to zero and are metal. In contrast, the bulk of zinc selenide and zinc sulfide compounds are semiconductors. The results also show that for each compounds the static dielectric function for the perpendicular and parallel direction to the nano-layer surface is different from the bulk static dielectric function. Comparison between the real parts of complex dielectric function for the bulk and nano-layer shows that absorption of electromagnetic radiation for the ZnSe and ZnS nano-layer in comparison to corresponding bulk results occur in lower energies.

Background and aim: Nowadays, increase in population have caused increasing demand for paper, and in addition, greater restrictions on raw materials, initiated the production of high-yield pulps and mechanical pulps has found special status. These pulps are produced with the yield greater than 85%. The utilization of these pulps due to the presence of lignin, extractives, and metal ions, is limited to short-term usage, as in the long they suffer from brightness reversion and photo-yellowing. This study aimed to investigate the effect of DTPA, nano-cellulose, and nanochitosan spray on the optical properties of chemical-mechanical pulp (CMP). Materials and methods: For this purpose, first, a quantity of bleached chemical-mechanical pulp (CMP) was selected as a control sample from Mazandaran wood and paper industry. Papers with a basis weight of 60 gr/m² were prepared from the mentioned paper pulp. In this study, the nano-fibrillated cellulose (NFC) was purchased from Nano Novin Polymer Co. (Sari, Iran), which was prepared from softwood alpha cellulose pulp with an average fiber diameter of 32 nm. The NFC was sprayed at 2% on paper sheets. Nanochitosan (“Seafresh”, Thailand), with a deacetylation degree of 93% and a molecular weight of 270 kDa was used. Nanochitosan was sprayed at 1 and 2% of the dry pulp weight. Diethylene triamine penta acetic acid (DTPA) was prepared from DIPER-Samchun (South Korea(. To spray the DTPA onto the paper surface, 0.5% DTPA solution was prepared. To prepare samples for the surface modification, paper sheets with a basis weight of 60 g/m² were made. Then, 0.5% DTPA, 2% nanochitosan, and 2% nanocellulose were sprayed separately on the paper sheets. In addition, another treatment named mixed-solution (containing 0.5 % DTPA + 2% nanochitosan + 2% nanocellulose) was sprayed on the handsheets. The spraying time and distance were 20 s and 20 cm, respectively, and the treatment process was named “spray-coated”. Then, the optical properties (brightness, opacity, yellowness, and greenness) of the hand-sheets were measured according to ASTM and TAPPI standard methods. Results: The results showed that by DTPA, nano-cellulose, and nano-chitosan spray on the handsheet paper, brightness, yellowness, greenness, L* factor, and the opacity increased and the a* factor decreased. By spraying nano-cellulose on the test samples, most of the optical properties were significantly improved except for the yellowness of the handsheet paper. In addition, the most appropriate properties were observed in the paper obtained from DTPA spray and also in the simultaneous spray treatment of DTPA, nano-cellulose, and nano-chitosan on hand-sheet papers. Therefore, it has caused a very sensible increase and improvement in all the optical properties, which can be selected and suggested as the best treatment. The evaluation results of the brightness reversion of the hand-sheet paper from CMP pulp showed that most of the treatments led to a relative reduction of the return of the paper brightness. On the other hand, the lowest and highest brightness return values in the hand-sheet paper were obtained from 0.5% DTPA spray and nano-chitosan spray, respectively. The evaluation results of the SEM images of the test samples compared to the control sample showed that the hand-sheet paper with nanochitosan and nano-cellulose spray and also in the simultaneous spray treatment of DTPA, nanocellulose, and nano-chitosan had more favorable surface and structural properties. The existence of less empty spaces (cavity) and more overlap of fibers in the test samples can be a reason for the higher quality of the properties, as well. Conclusion: The results showed that by spraying nanocellulose, nano- chitosan and DTPA on the test samples, the optical properties, brightness, greenness, opacity, a* factor, l* factor, yellowness and brightness stability improved. In addition, among the various treatments, the DTPA treatment in long-term thermal aging and the use of chitosan-nano and nano-cellulose in the short-term aging had noticeable effects on brightness stability and decrease in the color reversion. As a result, there was an increase in the durability of the paper against thermal deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Some medicinal herb extracts have the antibacterial capability. On the other hand, herb extract is one of the organic, natural, and environmentally friendly substances. In recent years, the production of environmental and safe packaging materials has attracted the attention of scientists and industrialists. Paper is one of the biodegradables and lowcost options for packaging in various industries, including the food industry. Also, the raw materials of paper can be modified and changed with different materials. As a result, paper fibers can be treated with herb extracts and used in the production of renewable papers with antibacterial properties. Methodology: In this research, thyme plant residue (Zataria Multiflora) was used for extraction. The thyme obtained from the research farm was dried and then powdered. 10 grams of thyme powder was poured on 100 ml of ethanol and then it was treated with an ultrasonic probe. In this method, two amplitudes of 40 and 60 amplitudes and three time levels of 3, 6, and 9 minutes were used for extraction. Then the papers with 120 grammage were treated with herbal extract prepared using two dosages of 15 and 20% based on the dry weight of the paper by spraying. The antibacterial properties of the papers were investigated with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. The chemical structure of the extract from the thyme was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR) analysis. Also, gas chromatography (GC-MASS) analysis was used to investigate the components of thyme extract. The optical properties of the paper, including brightness and opacity, and the strengths properties of the produced papers were measured by tensile, tear, and burst strengths. Results: The highest inhibition zone diameter in the treated paper with the thyme extracted by ultrasonic method was 20 mm in 40 amplitude and 9 minutes for Escherichia coli bacteria. Also, the highest inhibition zone diameter for Staphylococcus aureus bacteria was 14 mm in 60 amplitude and 6 minutes. According to the results of the papers analysis, the papers showed better antibacterial properties and higher inhibition zone against the Escherichia coli bacteria. The chemical compounds in the thyme extract including various substances such as hexane and furans. The most important chemical components that caused the antibacterial properties of the papers is carvenone, which was observed in the thyme extract. The results of the strength test of the treated papers showed that the sample of the thyme extracted by the ultrasonic method at 40 amplitudes, 3 minutes, and the 20% consumption amount based on the dry weight of the paper has the highest tensile and burst index. As well as, the highest tear index of the treated papers was in the treated sample with the thyme extracted at 60 amplitudes, 3 minutes, and 15% consumption amount based on the dry weight of the paper. The results of the optical tests showed that the opacity of the papers decreased and the brightness increased. Conclusion: The results of this research showed that the paper as a biodegradable and environmentally friendly material has the ability to be treated with herbal and natural antibacterial materials such as the thyme extract. Also, the herbal extracts are a suitable alternative to inorganic and metallic materials in the production of materials with antibacterial properties due to the herbal extracts are cheap, available and natural materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Research theses can have a significant impact on the development of applied sciences, especially when their results are published. Objective This study aims to determine publication rate of papers extracted from the medical residency and master’s degree theses of Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS) during 2008-2018. Methods This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The data were collected from the medical residency and master’s degree theses of GUMS from 2008 to 2018. Then, they were searched in international and national databases according to the title, keywords, and names of supervisors, advisors, and students. Results Of 774 theses, 449 (58 %) papers had been extracted and published in journals indexed by ISI/ PubMed (41.2%), Scopus (11.8%), BIOSIS, Chemical Abstract, and Embase (0.44%) and others (46.56%). Most of them (98.66%) were original research. Moreover, in 383(85.3%) of the theses, there was no statistician or data advisor. The median time from defending theses to the publication of a paper from them was two years. Conclusion The publication of papers extracted from the theses of GUMS has increased, and more than 50% of them have been published in journals indexed by ISI, PubMed, and Scopus. However, the factors associated with the publication of papers need to be surveyed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Bacterial nanocellulose is known as a potential carrier for a widespread spectrum of biological compounds, including antibacterial and antifungal compounds. The present study was conducted to determine the impact of bacterial nanocellulose containing Natamycin and Amphotericin B on Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium citrinum in an in vitro environment. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical research, Aspergillus flavus-PTCC: 5006 and Penicillium citrinum-PTCC: 5304 fungi were prepared from the Fungal Collection of the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of Natamycin and Amphotericin B against Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium citrinum were evaluated by the microdilution method. Bacterial nanocellulose was prepared using Komagata xylinum bacterium, and Natamycin and Amphotericin B were added in three concentrations of 0.01%, 0.05%, and 0.1% to wet and lyophilized nanocellulose films by the immersion method. Then, the antifungal effects of the film containing the above compounds against the investigated fungi were investigated by the agar diffusion method. Parchment paper was used as a control for comparison. Spectral properties of nanocellulose film containing antifungal compounds were evaluated by the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) method. Results: MIC and MFC of Natamycin for Aspergillus flavus were determined as 3.9 μg/mL and 7.81 μg/mL, and for Penicillium citrinum as 7.81 μg/mL and 15.62 μg/mL, respectively. MIC and MFC of Amphotericin B for Aspergillus flavus were determined as 7.81 μg/mL and 15.62 μg/mL, and for Penicillium citrinum as 15.62 μg/mL and 31.25 μg/mL, respectively. The increased concentration had a statistically significant impact on the antifungal properties of all films (P<0.05). The best antifungal effects of the film were related to the film containing Natamycin. Conclusion: Bacterial nanocellulose containing Natamycin showed stronger antifungal effects in an in vitro environment compared to Amphotericin B against Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium citrinum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Contamination in pulp mill wastewater and subsequently surface and underground water sources contamination with heavy metals is one of the most important problems which threatens the health of human being and other creatures. These metals penetrate and pollute the soil and water. In this regard, this study investigated and determined heavy metals in the pulp mill wastewater before and after the wastewater treatment process. In this study the newspaper adsorbent was prepared and the efficiency of the adsorbent in the adsorption of copper, lead and cadmium metals was studied. Methodology: The adsorption experiments were performed to investigate the effect of the time of contact of the newspaper adsorbent and metals, and dose of the adsorbent. For this purpose, waste newspapers were first treated with sodium bicarbonate for one hour and then refluxed with 5% disodium hydrogen phosphate for 4 hours at 100 degrees Celsius and finally washed. Aqueous solutions with an initial concentration of 30 ppm for three metals lead, copper and cadmium were prepared by diluting the standard solution with distilled water. A specific amount of adsorbent was added to 10 ml of each solution and stirred in a mechanical shaker for specific times. Then they were filtered by filter paper purified and analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopic device. After drying, the solid phase of the wastewater sample was subjected to acid digestion with nitric acid at a ratio of one to five. Then, the digested samples were analyzed with an atomic absorption spectrometer after washing. Results: The results of wastewater analysis in the basins before and after treatment showed that the amount of lead, copper and cadmium in the wastewater before treatment were 0.2129, 0.5983 and 0.0004 ppm, respectively. The amount of metals after the treatment process was 0.0469, 0.134 and 0.0001 ppm for lead, copper and cadmium, respectively. Also, according to the results, taking into account that the absorption rate was high and the same in the amount of absorbent used and the treatment times; the amount and time of the desired treatment in this experiment were not effective factors in the amount of metal absorption. Conclusion: The newspaper adsorbent is a good adsorbent for removing heavy metals from aqueous solutions due to high absorption capacity and low cost, which make the newspaper a potential adsorbent for the removal and wastewater treatment of the heavy metals. According to the results, the dosage and time of treatment with the newspaper adsorbent were not effective factors in metal removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The first trainers and preparers of a wise and knowledgeable generation in a society for creating and preparing the contexts of advancement and development in a country and nation, are women. Therefore, this is enough to consider the development and advancement of women in a society, equal to advancement and development of that country. The review of previous studies showed that there is a research gap regarding the psychological meta-analysis of studies of femininity and social development in Iran. Aims: The present research was conducted with the aim of meta-analysis (combination) of studies conducted in the field of femininity and development. Methods: Method which is used in this paper, is Meta-analysis. Statistical population were consisted of related and available studies which were accessible in Iran using Persian language, in paper form, from 1385 to 1401. After investigating the criterion of inputs and outputs, 52 effect sizes from 17 studies which have Meta-analysis condition, were obtained. In order to analyze data from sensitivity data, funnel chart, stochastic models and heterogeneity analysis, CMA2 software was used. Results: Analysis of obtained information from research showed that the amount of combined effect in this stochastic model (chosen model for this Meta-analysis) was obtained equally to 0/497, which was significant. Size of obtained effect from studies(p<0/001) were calculated averagely according to interpretation of Cohen's scale and results illustrated that women and femininity have effect on development.Also by considering social development as moderator variable,this coefficient was calculated as social development 0/603 respectively.that in level of p<0/001 are significant. Conclusion: According to the results obtained in the present study, the largest size of the combined effect was related to social development and the smallest was related to economic development. Despite the fact that 50% of the potential forces in any society are women, but Iranian women have a moderate impact on development due to household responsibilities and existing restrictions in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): The Covid-19 pandemic indicated that our biological characteristics alone are not enough to deal with diseases. Resilience refers to the dynamic process of positive adaptation to unpleasant and unfortunate experiences which reflects our ability to control the situation and manipulate the situation optimally. This capability includes internal dimensions, the role of experiences and mental patterns, and external dimensions including the coordinates or community's efforts in mastering challenges. However, studies only focus on the concept of social resilience as an external dimension, and the role of culture as an independent component of identity has been ignored. In this review, the need to conceptualize cultural resilience has been put on the agenda. In fact, the capabilities that culture provides through the various components that enable us to have the ability to adapt, change conditions, and improve performance in critical situations are studied. Methods: This was a review of the literature. PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Magiran, and SID databases were investigated using the keywords resilience, community, culture, and hardness in Persian and English papers from 1990 to 2018. The articles were evaluated in multiple stages and finally 32 papers were analyzed. Results: As a result, we conceptualized that cultural resilience could include the following components: belongingness and rootedness, trust, commitment, sense of pride, and attachment. Conclusion: Cultural resilience can be considered as the ability to adapt and deal with a crisis with the help of historical styles, myths, customs, and cultural beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Data mining is known as a process of discovering patterns in large datasets through a combination of statistical tools and techniques. In recent years, data mining and its applications in different businesses have increasingly grown. Insurance industry is one of the data-driven businesses whose survival is so dependent on satisfying customers besides achieving the highest benefit. Information or data is a vital asset of the insurance industry; accordingly, using data mining techniques to discover patterns behind large datasets is a need. Having seen the increasingly high rate of information technology and recorded data in data-driven businesses, lots of industries like the insurance industry have been urged to use state-of-the-art data mining techniques to turn raw data into useful information using Big Data Analytics. METHODS: Looking at the current research on data mining applications in the insurance industry proves the fact that we should recognize the state-of-the art techniques in data mining and set new strategies to focus on Big Data Analytics more. Big Data Analytics consists of the algorithms which are more efficient and less time-consuming so it can help to identify patterns and rules in complex datasets. For this purpose, this paper presents a comprehensive literature review regarding the usage of data mining techniques in the insurance industry by the scientometrics approach. For this purpose, first we searched and gathered bibliometrics files of recent researches from Web of Science and Scopus into four different scenarios. In each scenario, we looked up for different keywords regarding “Data Mining”, “Insurance Industry”, and “Risk Management” to make sure that all the results would be specifically focused on the research topic. Then, we used R programming software to analyze the results of each scenario based on keywords co-occurrence in the given research. FINDINGS: The results of keywords co-occurrence and a word cloud of recent research confirm that insurance companies should focus on Big Data Analytics instead of traditional data processing to get information systematically from too large or complex datasets. Big Data Analytics has been used for several years, but in recent years many data-driven businesses, like the insurance industry, have used its techniques associated with risk and risk factor identification. Risk management in the insurance industry has been widely considered in recent researches. Therefore, in this paper, some high-ranked journals and the most significant researches have been identified and recommended in order to pave the way for future researches in this field. CONCLUSION: We hope that the comprehensive literature review provided in this paper can help the researchers to focus on the relative journals and researches published then get into more details. For this purpose, the lists of all journals and conferences besides the most cited researches are provided in the experimental section of this paper. Also, the ranking list of different countries from all around the world related to data mining and Big Data Analytics in the insurance industry is presented. The results show that Iran is the 15th country that uses data mining techniques and it is the 17th country in the world focusing on risk management in the insurance industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Urban regeneration, situated at the intersection of urban policies, represents a crucial strategic avenue for advancing global urban development. Analysis of the evolving trends in urban regeneration experiences underscores that success within urban areas hinges not solely on physical enhancements but also on social dimensions where residents actively participate in the regeneration process. This research aims to establish criteria for the feasibility of urban regeneration, with a specific focus on fostering the development of local community culture. The findings of the research, particularly in the context of Shahrekord, highlight that the cultivation of local community culture in the central core translates into enhanced control over the living environment and its content. Consequently, this socio-economic transformation contributes to an improved Quality of Life (QoL). The four pivotal criteria-structure (encompassing both natural and artificial dimensions), meaning (in terms of identity, authenticity, and motivational role), activity (spanning economic, social, and cultural aspects), and social factors (such as cultural needs, trust, and hope)-emerge as influential elements shaping the development of local community culture in the context of urban regeneration. Thus, a comprehensive approach is imperative, taking into account all cultural, economic, functional, and spatial components of the plan, as cultural elements and their indicators manifest across all the aforementioned dimensions. Theoretical Framework: Contrary to traditional approaches that focus solely on physical perspectives, this research recognizes the significance of metaphysical components-social assets, tools, and motivators-in achieving a more desirable and acceptable urban revitalization. The study challenges the one-dimensional (physical) approach prevalent in many Iranian urban regeneration efforts, emphasizing the need to involve residents in decision-making processes. In Shahrekord, the lack of coordination among organizations, neglect of residents' opinions, and indifference toward human structures have led to a spectrum of problems in the central core. The study aims to introduce and examine feasibility criteria for urban regeneration by investigating components influencing the development of local community culture, thereby leveraging the institutional capacity of the local culture sector for socio-political and socio-economic growth. Methodology: Ethnography, a qualitative approach delving into the social processes and mental nature of human life, serves as the research method for field studies. The study area, the central core of Shahrekord city, is characterized by shared behavioral, cognitive, and speech paradigms among local residents. Sixteen individuals from the local community were selected using purposive and snowball sampling methods. Ethnography allowed the researcher to understand shared patterns within the group. Themes/categories derived from previous research formed the basis for interview questions. The study population consisted of inhabitants in the central core, and themes were continuously revised and finalized through consistent comparison, resulting in ultimate concepts and themes. Conclusion: This paper explores the feasibility criteria for urban regeneration, emphasizing the development of local community culture in Shahrekord's central core. Urban regeneration, a multifaceted process, encompasses diverse strategies and planning policies. The research sheds light on interventions in Shahrekord, particularly the central core, highlighting deficiencies in residents' participation and urban regeneration education. The lack of trust between residents and the city management system, coupled with the absence of trust in residents' decision-making capabilities, impedes meaningful engagement. The research emphasizes the need for residents' participation in shaping their living environment, connecting it to residence and employment, which provide meaning to livelihood. Social and communicative participation, along with cultural mediation, enhances social ties, meets various human needs, and improves quality of life (QoL) and welfare. The development of local community culture in the central core enhances control over the living environment, leading to socioeconomic transformation and an elevated QoL. The identified criteria-structure, meaning, activity, and social factors-emphasize the importance of a comprehensive approach, considering cultural, economic, functional, and spatial components for successful urban regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a simple and highly accurate approximate method for solving optimal control problems (OCPs) is presented. In this method, initially, by using the necessary optimality conditions based on the Pontryagin's maximum principle, the given OCP is transformed into a twopoint boundary value problem (BVP). Then, by applying a secondorder finite difference formula, the resulting BVP is discretized, and a system of algebraic equations is formulated. Convergence analysis of the proposed method is also discussed, and matrix formulations are provided for ease of implementation. The numerical results obtained in this study are compared with some other methods, demonstrating the high accuracy, speed, and efficiency of the proposed method for solving both linear and nonlinear OCPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sequence of continuous linear mappings {Φn}∞ n=0 form a Hilbert C∗module M into M is called a local higher derivation if to each a ∈ M there is a continuous higher derivation {φa, n}∞ n=0 onMsuch that Φn(a) = φa,n(a) for each nonnegative integer n. In this paper we show that ifMis a Hilbert C∗module such that every local derivation onMis a derivation, then each local higher derivation on M is a higher derivation. Also, we prove that each local higher derivation on a unital C∗algebra is automatically continuous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Forage corn stands as a strategic and vital crop in Iran, assuming a significant role in fulfilling protein demands, particularly for red meat production. Iron and zinc micronutrients play pivotal roles in promoting plant growth and enhancing yield. Corn, in particular, exhibits a moderate need for iron and a high requirement for zinc. The calcareous composition prevalent in agricultural soils across most regions of Iran stands out as a significant factor diminishing the absorption efficiency of iron and zinc from the soil solution, consequently hampering agricultural plant yields. Moreover, in Iran, soil acidity coupled with high bicarbonate levels, sporadic land cultivation practices, overreliance on chemical fertilizers like nitrogen and phosphorus, and the limited use of fertilizers containing essential micronutrients collectively contribute to soil deficiencies in micronutrients, leading to corresponding deficits in crop yields. In various plants, insufficient absorption of micronutrient elements, especially iron and zinc, causes a decrease in the quantity and quality of the product. The present study aims to assess the influence of foliar application of iron and zinc sulfate on forage yield, iron and zinc concentration in forage corn (Zea mays L.). Methods and Materials This experiment was carried out in a field near the village of Takhshi Mahalle, located 5 km northwest of Gorgan city with geographical coordinates (54° 17' 56 " N) (52° 51' 36 " E) in 2022. The physical and chemical properties of the soil were measured at a depth of 0-30 cm in different parts of the farm and the final composite soil was analyzed in the laboratory. Water was measured using conventional methods of sampling and testing water and wastewater. The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. The treatments included control (with distilled water), foliar spraying of iron sulfate micronutrient elements [FeSO4.7H2O (20%Fe)], zinc sulfate [ZnSO4.7H2O (22% Zn)], and iron sulfate + zinc sulfate at a concentration of 5 per thousand at the 4-leaf stage, the 8-leaf stage and both stages (4-leaf and 8-leaf). Foliar spraying was done in the early morning and drip irrigation was used. Plants were harvested 120 days after planting, washed with distilled water and dried with tissue paper. The samples were air-dried and then oven dried at 70°C to a constant weight in a forced air-driven oven. Iron and zinc concentrations were determined by an atomic absorption device. In order to determine the protein percentage and yield in different treatments, total nitrogen was measured by the Kjeldahl method. The protein percentage and yield were calculated using the following formula: Protien percentage = Nitrogen percentage * 6.25 Protien yield = Nitrogen percentage * Dry forage Statistical data were analysed using SAS software (9.4) and the mean values were compared using LSD tests (at 5% level). Results and Discussion The obtained results showed that all treatments effects were significant (P<0.01) (fresh forage P<0.05). Among all the treatments and measured traits, the control treatment showed the lowest value. The highest iron concentration with an average of 175.14 mg kg-1 was obtained using iron foliar spraying in both 8 and 4 leaf stages, which increased 22.73 and 34.39% in comparison with only using iron foliar application in 4 and 8 leaf stages, respectively. Zinc foliar spraying at both the 4 and 8 leaf stages resulted in the highest zinc concentration of 71.02 mg kg-1 in forage corn, increasing zinc concentration by 89.86% over the control. In both 4 and 8 leaf stages, an iron and zinc foliar application had the highest chlorophyll index with an average of 57.63. The highest nitrogen content, averaging 2.80%, was observed following foliar spraying of iron and zinc during both the 4 and 8 leaf stages. This represents an increase of 5% and 23.92% compared to iron and zinc foliar application treatments during the respective stages. Consequently, the highest yield and protein percentage were also attained, averaging 310.75 grams per square meter and 17.50%, respectively, with simultaneous foliar application of iron and zinc during both the 4 and 8 leaf stages. Conclusion The optimal outcomes for measured traits were observed when iron and zinc were concurrently applied at both the 4 and 8 leaf stages. Therefore, it is advisable to administer iron and zinc simultaneously during these growth stages to ensure the attainment of forage with desirable quantitative and qualitative characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resolving problems resulting from stagflation conditions accompanied with low economic growth and slow employment growth needs some policies that one of them can be unconventional monetary policy. Thus, this paper proposes to evaluate the effects of unconventional monetary policy shocks using VAR with a new method called sign restrictions. To this aim, it was estimated the effects of three variables ordered as real interest rate, inflation and gross domestic product by imposing positive and negative restrictions on these variables for the period 1961-2021. In this paper, the results of model estimation and impulse response functions is done by identifying and estimating parameters on the basis of imposing negative sign on interest rate according to unconventional monetary policy shocks. Results indicate that decreasing in interest rate causes increasing in GDP. Unconventional monetary policy can raise liquidity in stock market. It also supports people by low interest rate loans for production with less cost and less sale price in Iran. Therefore, unconventional monetary policy can be a useful policy for resolving stagflation occurred current years in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultura sector due to extensive interaction with the environment, the agriculture receives the greatest impact from climate change and threatens rural communities depending on agriculture activity with serious risks. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of climate change on agriculture and to choose adaptation strategies in Najafabad. The research method in this study is descriptive and analytical and the data was prepared by field work and a questionnaire. The statistical population is Najafabad Farmers. The sample size is 300 farmers who were selected through Cochran's formula in the simple random. The main tool of the research was a questionnaire, the validity and reliability of were confirmed by experts with Cronbach's alpha 0/760. The analysis of the collected data was done with statistical methods and SPSS software. Results showed that farmers are aware of the increase in drought and the decrease in precipitation and the weather getting warmer. For 51% of farmers, crop diversity is one of the adaptation strategies. Almost 53% of farmers believe that the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides increases the capacity to adapt to climate change. 66% of farmers have chosen advanced irrigation systems to deal with climate change. The results of logistic regression showed that the variables of gender, awareness of climate change, information received from extension service offices and adaptation to climate change play an important and decisive role in the production of agricultural products. Three regression models as agricultural product, unemployment and food shortage were compiled all of which were significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The monolithic scintillation crystal detector has the ability to position the three-dimension interaction location of the gamma ray in the detector depending on accurate acquisition of scintillation light distribution. Depth estimation of light field can be solved by a lens array in light field technology. A new detector model was designed in the paper which introduced a lens array for positioning the interaction in the monolithic detector. The scintillation light is focused by each lens unit in the lens array. Photons in some discrete pixels of the photon counter array where the scintillation light is focus on are detected to form an image of multiple focus points instead of the scintillation light distribution detection based on continuous crystal. The position of the scintillation light source in the crystal can be reconstructed from the focus image through optical path inversion. The detector model consisting of a monolithic crystal, a lens array and a multi-pixel photon counter was established in the paper. The monolithic scintillator was a lutetium-yttrium silicate (LYSO) scintillator with dimensions 48 mm×48 mm×45 mm. The lens was hemispherical with a radius of 15 mm supposed to be uniformly distributed in 3×3 array and the material was as same as the crystal. The crystal and the lens array were considered as a whole in the simulation. The multi-pixel photon counter was set at 44.4 mm from the crystal surface. The pixel size of the photon counter array was 3 mm and the quantum efficiency was 30%. The axis of symmetry of the three parts was same. The reconstruction algorithm was based on optical path inversion from multiple focus points for locating the 3D position of gamma-ray interaction. The intersection points of the inverted optical paths and the set z plane with different depths in the crystal was calculated in the reconstruction process. When the intersection points converged towards the same point in the z0 plane, the depth of interaction was z0 and the intersection point in the z0 plane was the interaction point. The reconstruction results were analyzed to evaluate the performance of the monolithic scintillation crystal detector based on the lens array. The x/y resolution is better than 1.54 mm and the z resolution is better than 3.13 mm. The two interaction points when coincidence occurs are reconstruced in the condition that the energy is the same. The detector is feasible for the positioning of two interaction points by the reconstruction results of three groups of selected positions. The monolithic scintillation detector based on a lens array has both good positioning ability and position resolution. The detector is suitable for the position reconstruction of multiple interaction points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diffusion coefficient of oxygen in zirconium alloy oxide film and matrix is an important parameter in corrosion kinetics of zirconium alloys. At present, there are some reports on the diffusion coefficient of oxygen in zirconium and oxide film, but the numerical values in the literature are quite different. In this paper, zirconium alloy was corroded in pure water to obtain a sample with an oxide film thickness of 1 μm. Through vacuum annealing test, the oxygen concentration distribution of the oxide film at four different temperatures was obtained, the diffusion coefficient of oxygen in zirconium alloy matrix was calculated, and the Arrhenius relation of the diffusion coefficient in this temperature range was obtained by fitting. Compared with the literature data, the trend is similar, but the values are different. The main reasons may be the following two aspects:One is the measurement deviation of oxygen concentration distribution curve, including spatial position deviation and concentration error, and the other is the different grain size of samples. The diffusion coefficient of oxygen in zirconium metal without irradiation obtained in this work can be mutually verified with the literature data, which has high reliability. Based on the corrosion weight gain curves of two zirconium alloys at four different temperatures, the diffusion coefficient of oxygen in the zirconium alloy oxide film was estimated by the equivalent diffusion model of the oxide film and the corrosion weight gain curve before the corrosion transition. It is found that the diffusion coefficient of oxygen in the zirconium alloy oxide film increases obviously with the increase of temperature, and the diffusion speed of atoms is significantly affected by the microstructure of the diffusion medium except temperature. Based on the research of two parts, it is found that the diffusion coefficient of oxygen in the oxide film is greater than that in zirconium metal when the temperature is below 440℃, and the diffusion coefficient of oxygen in the oxide film is more than twice that in zirconium metal when the temperature is below 400℃, which shows that the diffusion of oxygen in the oxide film of zirconium alloy is main at the interface at lower temperature (440℃ in this paper), and further shows that grain boundaries, pores and microcracks in the oxide film play a very important role in the corrosion behavior of the alloy. The above research provides important calculation parameters and basic research theory for the corrosion kinetic model of zirconium alloy. The results show that the diffusion coefficient of oxygen in Zr-Sn-Nb matrix follows a relationship as DZr(cm²/s)=0.18·exp(-180 000/RT). The diffusion coefficient of oxygen in oxide film, which follows a relationship as Dox(cm²/s)=3×10-7exp(-101 550/RT), is also evaluated by the weight gain profile in pre-transition stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the Internet has played a significant and substantial role in people's lives. However, the content available in the global web environment should align with users' daily needs, providing them with useful and up-to-date information tailored to their tastes. In this context, recommender systems assist users by suggesting items that closely match their preferences in less time. Today, with the exponential growth of data, the utilization of recommender systems has surged. Conversely, these systems encounter challenges such as evolving user preferences over time, cold start problem, sparsity within the user-item matrix, the infiltration of fake users in the systems, and their adverse impact on the recommendation lists. The objective of this paper is to propose a recommender system grounded in time and trust factors to enhance the efficiency and precision of system recommendations. Initially, the proposed system addresses the data sparsity dilemma by incorporating reliable implicit ratings into the user-item matrix. Subsequently, it constructs a weighted user-user network based on user rating timestamps and trust relationships among users, thereby mitigating the cold start problem and accounting for changing user preferences over time. The proposed recommender system employs a novel community detection algorithm introduced in this paper to identify the nearest neighbors of active users and recommends the top @k items based on the collaborative filtering approach. Evaluation results of the proposed system, tested on a film recommender system using the Epinions dataset, demonstrate its superior efficiency compared to basic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Phytases are classified as 3-phytases (E.C.3.1.3.8), 5-phytases (E.C. 3.1.3.72) and 6-phytases (E.C. 3.1.3.26) based on the position of the first phosphate residue removed from the myo-inositol ring of phytate. P. pastoris has been of interest in the last few years as an industrial expression system. Among the advantages of this expression system, can mention strong and adjustable progress, high density of cells in culture medium and convenient genetic manipulation. The methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris requires a simpler environment (only one carbon source and one nitrogen source) than other yeasts to produce recombinant products at high cell density. The coexpression of digestive enzymes in a single recombinant cell system would thus be advantageous. The objective of this study is to determine whether combining fungal phytases (3- phytase) with bacterial phytase (6-phytase) was more effective than each phytase alone in degrading of plant phytate. In the paper, we tested the new vector, aimed to clone and coexpress the phytase genes (appA and phyA) isolated from E. coli and aspergillus niger, respectively, and transformed into Pichia pastoris. Evaluations were made for the biochemical properties of the active expressed phytase. Materials and methods The nucleotide sequence of phyA and appA2, 2a peptide and alpha factor were obtained from NCBI database. A coexpression system for the extracellular production of phytase of Aspergillus Niger (3-phytase) and phytase of E. coli (6-phytase) will be established in Pichia pastoris yeast. Plasmid that used in this study was pPIC9k. The genes for each enzyme are fused in-frame with the “a-factor” secretion signal and linked by the 2A-peptide-encoding sequence. After receiving the synthetic plasmid with fragments, plasmid that contained phyA and appA2 was cloned in DH5@ and after that digested by SacI and transfered by electroporation into Pichia pastoris. Positive cells are resuspended at 5 mL of BMMY containing 0.5 percent methanol as an inducer. To follow the induction, methanol was injected into the culture every 24 hours in order to reach a definitive concentration of 0.5 percent. The recombinant protein was analyzed using sds-page. Results The results of present study showed that the recombinant phytase gene was transferred to Pichia pastoris and the results of PCR confirmed that. The molecular weight of the produced recombinant phytases was estimated to be around 45 and 80 kDa for appA and phyA, respectively by SDS-PAGE. The recombinant protein has phytase activity equal to 160.97 U/ml. Conclusions In general, this study has shown successful results in the production and expression of two phytases in Pichia pastoris yeast and can be used to increase phytate decomposition in poultry. Recombinant yeast will be used for further experiments (farm experiments). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world's most expensive agricultural and medicinal product, saffron holds a special place among Iran's industrial and export goods. Customers constantly seek the best products in terms of price, quality, and timely delivery. Thus, it is crucial and necessary to ensure quality control in the saffron production process in order to satisfy customers and enhance profitability. To thrive in the competitive market, greater attention should be given to the critical quality characteristics of saffron, namely crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal. Moreover, statistical process control, a method for monitoring processes to identify the underlying causes of specific changes and deviations, is essential. Control charts and process capability indicators serve as necessary tools in statistical process control. Therefore, this paper primarily focuses on the use of the exponentially weighted moving average control chart, which is effective for handling minor deviations, to monitor and control the saffron production process in a data set during the initial phase. The data sets pertain to the qualitative characteristics of saffron in the cities of Torbat Heydarieh, Zaveh, Roshtkhar, Bardeskan, and Kashmar. Following the examination of the quality aspects of the saffron production process and its sustainability, emphasis is placed on the control chart as the most crucial statistical process control tool. Efficiency indicators of the saffron production process are then calculated and analyzed using standards 259-1 and 259-2. Through this analysis, efforts can be made to reduce process variability and consequently compare and enhance the quality level of saffron produced in the investigated areas. The results showed that in premium cut string saffron, Torbat Heydarieh city has the best picrocrocin, Kashmar city saffron has the best safranal, and Rashtkhwar city saffron has the best crocin. Also, the best picrocrocin and saffron type 1 string saffron belong to the town of Torbat Heydarieh and the best safranal belongs to the town of Bardeskan. Utilizing these indicators in the saffron production process serves as a measure to evaluate the processes' ability to meet customer demands and comply with relevant industry standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theatrical performances, such as lamentation have always been part of Iranian society and have a long history. However, theater as a cultural and modern phenomenon was introduced to Iranian society in the late Qajar period. In theater, the content of the show, the performance or acting style, and the language used to convey concepts are three crucial elements. Historical studies and translation studies have so far addressed various aspects of theater translation. Nevertheless, the role of language and translation in theater in Mashhad, especially from the Constitutional Revolution to the Islamic Revolution, has been virtually ignored. This paper aims to examine the language and translation as two main elements of theater in Mashhad and analyzes what changes Mashhad's theater experienced from the first performances in the late Qajar period to the Islamic Revolution. In doing so, drawing on a library method, primary sources, including all Mashhad newspapers from the Constitutional period to the Islamic Revolution, such as Aftab-e-Shargh, Azadi, Bahar, Chaman, Khorasan, Seda-ye Khorasan, Nava-ye Khorasan, etc., were investigated and all the themes related to the theater were extracted. Then, using research and secondary sources, the results related to language and translation were presented in a descriptive-analytical manner. Findings suggest that the early forms of theaters in Mashhad were performed in Turkish. Then Turkish translation was replaced by theaters in Persian. In the first Pahlavi era, the translation of Russian works flourished in Iran, and the translation of prominent Turkish, English, and French works was also added to this trend since 1951. During this period, the quality of translation significantly declined as adaptation or free translation became the norm in play translation. In the 1960s, with the emergence of new theater groups in Mashhad, Persian became the dominant language of this art in Mashhad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): The Covid-19 pandemic indicated that our biological characteristics alone are not enough to deal with diseases. Resilience refers to the dynamic process of positive adaptation to unpleasant and unfortunate experiences which reflects our ability to control the situation and manipulate the situation optimally. This capability includes internal dimensions, the role of experiences and mental patterns, and external dimensions including the coordinates or community's efforts in mastering challenges. However, studies only focus on the concept of social resilience as an external dimension, and the role of culture as an independent component of identity has been ignored. In this review, the need to conceptualize cultural resilience has been put on the agenda. In fact, the capabilities that culture provides through the various components that enable us to have the ability to adapt, change conditions, and improve performance in critical situations are studied. Methods: This was a review of the literature. PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Magiran, and SID databases were investigated using the keywords resilience, community, culture, and hardness in Persian and English papers from 1990 to 2018. The articles were evaluated in multiple stages and finally 32 papers were analyzed. Results: As a result, we conceptualized that cultural resilience could include the following components: belongingness and rootedness, trust, commitment, sense of pride, and attachment. Conclusion: Cultural resilience can be considered as the ability to adapt and deal with a crisis with the help of historical styles, myths, customs, and cultural beliefs.

The division of domestic labor or the distribution of responsibilities and necessary tasks for maintaining the home and family members has historically evolved since the industrialization period and has had important as a social phenomenon in academic discussions since the 1970s. Social and economic contexts have always influenced the relationships and interactions between men and women and their gender roles in the family. They have regulated the relationships between them throughout the history of family development. This paper describes the women's experience of domestic labor division with their husbands in the family. In addition, analytical concepts such as gender equality in the division of domestic labor, economic dependency, and gender deviation neutralization (in gender roles) under the theory of relative resources have been used. Also, the thematic analysis method and semi-structured interviews with 15 women, including employed women and housewives in the age groups of 20 to 60 years used in this paper. Then interviews were analyzed by Max QDA 2018 software to extract the relationship pattern of couples in the division of domestic labor. The findings indicate the extraction of 2 main themes of non-participation in the division of domestic labor and participation in the division of domestic labor, seven sub-themes including stubborn femininity, hegemonic masculinity, favorable or unfavorable obvious challenge, economic triangulation, passive/hidden resistance, gradual participation of men. and equality in relations, and 228 concepts. stubborn femininity or hidden feminism theme refers to the power and dominance of women in the family. The second theme refers to self-sufficiency because of absence of a man at home, the man's imprisonment, the man's incapacity, or the death of a man are forced to take care of and breadwinner. In relationships based on persuasion, women accept more tasks because of some reasonable evaluation of men’s function during other areas. The economic triangulation of women is a form of the relationship between men and women when they are equal in strength and power. Women’s hidden and passive resistance gradually causes men to participate in household chores. In gradual participation, men learn to participate in household chores through socialization from the group of relatives and friends and the assignment of partial and incremental tasks from the woman to the man. The last theme of couples' relationships is based on the understanding or extensive participation of men and women in household chores which ends to equal involvement. Both men and women try to participate intellectually, emotionally, psychologically, and behaviorally and experience gender roles as much as possible. The variety of types introduced in the Iranian family shows the change and evolution in the traditional Iranian society and the agency and rethinking by women in gender roles and the division of conventional domestic work.However, regarding the causes and contexts of the formation of this ideal relationship between the studied couples, it is not possible to refer to foreign studies and the experiences of women in other countries, such as Eastern European countries and France, which are based on egalitarian ideas through the promotion of women's participation in the workforce or countries with family policies such as Norway and gender ideology, he said. Instead, the ethnic, cultural, and social diversity under the macro-policy strategies in the field of the Iranian family under Islamic thought and influenced by the characteristic of collectivism in the Iranian culture creates a different experience for Iranian women and can be a debatable issue in future studies. But what can be accepted without a doubt is that Iranian women are entering a process of rethinking the division of work and power in the family and the beginning of the process of redistributing family responsibilities.

Background: Retracted articles have increased significantly in number. Orthopedic researchers should not use the results of retracted articles in their papers. The purpose of this research is to identify the reasons for citing retracted orthopedic articles by researchers. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted with a descriptive-survey approach. Retraction Watch was used to extract the articles. For each of the articles, Google Scholar was used to identify the citing authors. Web of Science and Scopus databases were used to collect and review the scientometric indicators of the journals. Databases and journal websites were utilized to check the open-access status of the articles. A standard questionnaire was sent to the authors by email. Statistical analysis was used to investigate the relationship between the articles’ citation and open access to them. Results: A total of 796 articles were retrieved, showing an increase in recent years. These articles are mostly published in top quartile journals. A large number of the researchers were not aware of the retraction status of their cited articles and also did not have a strategy to check the sources of their articles. Most of the authors stated that the reviewer or editor did not give them a warning about the retracted article. The researchers declared that the article has been used in their discussion section. There was a significant relationship (p-value=0.002) between the citation frequency and access type of retracted orthopedic articles. Conclusion: Authors should pay more attention to the ethical principles of research in order to prevent the spread and publication of retracted articles. Authors should not cite retracted orthopedic articles in their papers, as this is dangerous for the patients’ health.

In this paper, the aim is to use the least squares support vector regression (LS-SVR) for spatio-temporal modeling of the ionospheric total electron content (TEC). In order to do this, the observations of 15 GPS stations in the north-west of Iran have been used in the period from 193 to 228 at 2012. Comparing the results of the new model with support vector regression (SVR), artificial neural network (ANN), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), Kriging model, GIM and international reference ionosphere 2016 (IRI2016) as well as TEC obtained from GPS. The analyzes performed show that the averaged RMSE of ANN, ANFIS, SVR, LS-SVR, Kriging, GIM and IRI2016 models in two interior control stations are 3.91, 2.73, 1.27, 1.04, 2.70, 3.02 and 6.93 TECU, respectively. Also, the averaged relative error of the models in two interior control stations was calculated as 15.98%, 9.39%, 7.85%, 6.09%, 11.60%, 12.54% and 26.56%, respectively. Analysis of the PPP method shows an improvement of 50 mm in the coordinate components using the LS-SVR model. The results of this paper show that the LS-SVR model can be considered as an alternative to global and empirical models of the ionosphere in the study area.

Introduction: The interaction of genotype with the environment provides the possibility of selecting stable genotypes for a wide range of environments. Evaluation of the interaction of genotype with the environment is necessary to increase the efficiency of selecting varieties with high and stable performance in a wide range of different environments. The objectives of this paper are: (1) evaluating the stability of 60 potato genotypes for tuber yield in two years using parametric and non-parametric stability methods, (2) identifying genotypes with good and stable performance when evaluated in variable environments and (3) investigating the relationship and correlation between stability statistics of tuber performance under water deficit conditions in Iran. Materials and methods: To evaluate the performance stability and adaptability of the 60 potato genotypes, two cultivars and 58 advanced clones, 17 parametric and non-parametric statistics were evaluated for tuber yield across eight environments during the 2018-2019 growing seasons. The genotypes were evaluated under normal and water deficit conditions in Karaj and Ardabil. In this study, the parametric analysis for yield was determined by such parameters as regression coefficient (bi), environmental variance (Si2), coefficient of variation (CVi), deviation from regression (sdi2), and Wricke's ecovalence (Wi2), The non-parametric analysis included Nassar and Huhn's statistics (S(1) and S(2)), Huhn's equation (S(3) and S(6)), Shukla's stability variance (σ2i), Plaisted and Peterson's (θi), Thennarasu's non-parametric (NP(1), NP(2), NP(3), and NP(4)), and Kang's rank-sum (KR) parameter. Parametric and non-parametric statistics are used by agronomists and plant breeders. Currently, researchers are interested in applying several stability statistics to obtain the desired results, crucial for the selection of stable varieties Results and discussion: Composite variance analysis showed that the effect of place and year as well as the effect of genotype are significant. The interaction effect of year × location × genotype was significant at the probability level of 1%. The genotype effect was also significant at the 1% probability level. The interaction effect of genotype x location and genotype x year was not significant, which indicates that the average performance of genotypes is not different in different locations and years. Grouping of genotypes based on average performance and parametric and non-parametric stability statistics showed that genotypes are divided into four main groups. In general, based on the average rank of parametric and non-parametric stability parameters, genotypes G31, G21 and G36 had the least changes and were recognized as the most stable genotypes, and therefore they can be introduced as stable genotypes. The results of stability statistics and cluster analysis showed that G31, G21 and G36 genotypes can be introduced as stable and compatible genotypes. Conclusion: Our results showed that G21, G31 and G36 genotypes contributed the least to the genetic × environment interaction (G*E) and were considered as stable genotypes under water deficit conditions. The different parametric and non-parametric stability procedures can be proposed to select drought tolerant genotypes under different environments conditions; these procedures could be useable for recognition of the best genotypes under drought stress conditions. Therefore, the analysis of yield stability could be utilized in combination with parametric and non-parametric methods to evaluate and identify drought tolerance genotypes. Dendrogram results confirmed each other with the results of parametric and nonparametric statistics. While G49, G51, G53 and G56 genotypes with the highest values were the most unstable genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The initial model, Jacobian matrix, Frechet derivatives, and digital look-up tables are essential components in most time-domain electromagnetic (TEM) data modeling methods in layered earth. Computations of these components in the modeling process are time-consuming as their determinations need to use iterative operations. Zohdy introduced an alternative method for the rapid inversion of direct current (DC) resistivity data obtained using the Wenner and Schlumberger electrode configurations. The methodology allows for the inclusion of a flexible number of layers, which are chosen in conjunction with the initial model based on the data-derived knowledge, and avoids large and iterative calculations of Jacobian matrix and Frechet derivatives. This paper presents an endeavor to enhance the outcomes of TEM data modeling or inversion utilizing the Zohdy's technique through the elimination of the look-up tables. In this study, various synthetic models of stratified geological formations are examined using the the above-mentioned methodology. The modeling findings demonstrate robustness even when 5% and 10% noise levels are entered into the dataset. Hence, this approach can be considered as a worthy method for TEM data inversion accompanying some levels of noise in the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Plant extractives show unique properties. They impart colors and change the color of wood and generates attractive appearance. Since early days, societies have been utilizing plant extractives in industrial, medical and even as fungicides and biocides. In early times this application was based on the professional experiences, but as the sciences were advanced, then the technical and experimental identification and utilization was employed. In general, people look at walnut tree wood and fruit as its economic values. However, scientific research has proved the values of walnut tree extractives. In this study the chemical composition of walnut tree extractives and its variation in two periods of spring and summer as well as the impact of the drying on quantity and quality of the extractive components are investigated. Methodology: Walnut tree leaves from a selected location of an old walnut tree (100 years old) in mountain region of Karaj were collected in spring and summer. One part of the samples was air dried and another portion was used at green moisture condition. Totally four samples were obtained. Ethanol-acetone extraction was according to Tappi T204-05 procedure. The extractive was analyzed using GC-MASS spectroscopy and the chemical components in the extractives were identified and tabulated. Results: The results revealed that the dried leaves contain fewer chemical compounds compared to green samples which can be an indication that some of the compounds in green sample are volatile and vaporize upon drying. Furthermore, the extractives chemical composition and content varies between spring and summer samples. The major chemical compounds identified were 2-methylneptaline, tri-decan, tetradecan, 2,3-dimethyl naptaline and methylcyclobenzen. Conclusion: The results indicated the seasonal variation of walnut tree extractives. These is also considerable variation in wet and dry samples which can be attributed to the presence of volatile compounds. The odor of walnut leaves is the consequence of the presence of such volatile compounds. The absence of some of the compounds in summer samples indicate the seasonal changes of the extractives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This research aimed to measure the dependence and independence of documents in an Ego-centered citation network to evaluate the quality of scientific outputs in two subject areas "aerospace engineering" and "nuclear technology."Methodology: The present study is applied research and belongs to the category of scientometrics research. In the first step, the required data for creating ego-centric citation networks were extracted and stored from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) through web scraping (automated data extraction from websites) using the Mimfa Scraper (a software for automated data extraction) and the JavaScript programming language. Afterward, algorithm coding was performed in the MiMFa RAVAR DataLab, and the programming language C# was utilized to answer the research question.Findings: The research findings showed that the study conducted by Allison (2016) with 1535 citations is the most cited document in the field of nuclear technology and ranks first in terms of absolute dependence index. In comparison to the number of references in Allison's paper, 80 percent of the alters in Li's research (2018), the second most cited paper in terms of the absolute dependence index (512 citations), cited ego-related references (58 references); however, this percentage is 46 percent in Allison's paper. A study conducted by Shin has obtained the highest absolute independence index (2015 citations) compared to other highly cited articles in the field of nuclear technology. Leppanen's study (2015) ranks first in terms of the relative independence index with a score of 98 percent compared to other highly cited documents in the field of nuclear technology. Ricker (2015), along with 57 co-authors, has the highest number of citations (1542 citations) in aerospace engineering. Among these citations, 647 alters have cited the documents cited by the ego and obtained the highest absolute dependence index score. Wang's research (2020), with 52 citations, is the first paper to rank the relative independence index in the field of aerospace engineering.Conclusion: The results indicate that the level of relative dependence was higher than independence in both subject areas. Moreover, as the number of citations increases, both absolute dependence and independence increase; however, relative dependence decreases. Additionally, in recent years, the absolute dependence and independence indices have lower values than older years. However, the relative dependence index positively correlates with the year of publication. Moreover, the relative independence index positively correlates with the number of citations; its value has increased in recent years and the number of ego sources does not directly correlate with the increase in the dependence index.

This paper aims to evaluate whether features of the public sphere are present in the activities of Iranian Twitter users. To achieve this objective, the paper provides a synthesis of computational social sciences, network analysis, and Habermas’s approach to the public sphere. The data comes from all Iranian users, including those who are actively engaged in political issues on Twitter. This method of data collection focuses on the computational aspects of the users. Added information on how they conducted networking and facilitated public opinion, which resulted in increased user interaction, would complete the data-gathering process to align with the theoretical claims. It also indicates that Twitter was a platform on which Iranian users fulfilled the requirements of the public sphere. Some of the findings indicate that there were 48,076 users connected with 25,534,713 edges, and together, they formed three communities. While one of the communities focused solely on social issues, the other two engaged in a rival political challenge. It seems that this situation exemplified the main characteristic of the public sphere, namely, the freedom to express political views and the formation of diverse communities with competing ideas.

This paper discusses the application of the technology development envelop (TDE) as a road mapping tool in combination with Delphi method and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The method aids policy and decision makers in organizations to strategically manage emerging technologies by mapping their anticipated development path. The paper focused on creating a Technology Development Envelope (TDE) for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the food industry. At first step a list of AI technologies applicable to the food industry was identified through an expert panel. A hierarchical decision-making model, consisting of 5 criteria and 24 sub-criteria for technology evaluation, was extracted from literature and verified through the Delphi method. The AHP was used to determine the relative importance of criteria and sub-criteria for evaluating the identified technologies. At this step, food safety and social and political acceptance of technology were considered as the most important criteria. Then the expected value of each technology was then calculated over different time periods, resulting in the development of the TDE for AI technologies in the food industry within a ten-year horizon. The analysis of the future indicates that technologies such as computer vision, robotics, industrial automation, and machine learning will undergo improvements over time and eventually transform into dominant technologies in the food industry. These advancements can lead to an increase in quality and efficiency within the food industry. Finally sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the model's sensitivity and explore how policy makers' extreme strategies affects the model's outputs.

Introduction Agriculture is the largest consumer of fresh water in the whole world. Currently, almost 11% of the Earth’s total land surface is arable, which is expected to reach 13% by 2050. Roughly 17% of these lands are subject to modern form of irrigation management, which constitutes about 30-40% of the gross agricultural output. Reducing water consumption and increase water productivity in agriculture, requires a correct understanding of the biological response of crop to water. The ever-increasing growth of the population and the limitation of fresh water resources have led irrigation experts to new and efficient approaches in making decision to increase water productivity. The lack of scheduling in irrigation or their incompatibility with weather conditions, soil, irrigation system, agricultural restrictions and different phenological stages of crop, has caused severe losses in irrigated fields. Crop modeling and field data measurement can help irrigation experts improve irrigation scheduling in field and reduce water losses. Coupling in-situ measurement and crop modeling during the growing season is one of the useful solutions to improve irrigation scheduling in different farm conditions. In this paper, AquaCrop was calibrated for maize (Zea mays L.) in research farm of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad with comprehensive dataset. Variations of soil water content at different depths and also different growth indices was monitored during one growing season. The main novelty of this research is the targeted use of AquaCrop software to reduce water consumption by knowing the phenologically sensitive stages. Materials and Methods In-situ and in-lab measurements along with plant modeling, have been the two main parts of this research. First, the input files of the AquaCrop software were prepared and calibrated for maize during one growing season. The outputs of software including variations of moisture, biomass produced during the growing season and final yield were compared with the values measured in the field. After ensuring the accuracy of calibrated software, an improved irrigation scheduling was investigated. Subsequently, by means of crop modeling, the sensitive intervals of the crop to soil water stress as well as the thresholds of yield reduction in different stages of growing season were determined with the aim of improving irrigation scheduling in maize field. Biomass reduction, dry yield production, and the changes in water use efficiency during the growing season were investigated according to different amounts of moisture reduction in root zone, and irrigation scheduling was fulfilled by applying stress to less sensitive stages. The software was first run in Net Irrigation Requirement mode. Then, different amounts of drought stress were applied to each of the growth stages of the crop, and the other stages were kept constant in non-stressed condition. Dry yield and biomass reduction as well as water productivity changes were obtained for each stage. According to the threshold values and the amount of yield reduction at each stage, it is possible to fine-tune the time and amount of applying stress to crop. Furthermore, according to the moisture profile of the root zone, the drained water was significantly reduced in field. In this research, in order to increase accuracy in moisture measurement and prevent errors, an equation was developed to convert the mV output of sensor to volumetric moisture. At each moisture measurement, the PR2 sensor reports a number in mV for each depth, which is converted to volumetric moisture using device's conversion equation. This equation can vary according to field and soil condition. To develop the conversion equation, six same pots with a height of 40 cm and diameter of 30 cm were filled with the desired field soil, and the access tubes were placed horizontally inside them. The soil inside these pots was completely saturated and exposed to air for drying. During the drying period of the pots, the soil moisture was measured regularly using PR2 sensor and at the same time by weight method. After these measurements, calibration curves for PR2 sensor were obtained using the alpha mixing method for different depths. Results and Discussion The Pearson correlation coefficient for measured and simulated moisture by software, was 0.84 and the root mean square error was 12 mm. Also, the value of Pearson correlation coefficient for measured and simulated values of biomass was equal to 0.99 and mean square root of error was 1.3 ton/ha. The results showed that the vegetative stage of crop was sensitive to drought stress and caused a significant yield reduction at the end of the growing season. The stage of germination and flowering were less sensitive, such that the decrease of moisture up to 12.3% compared to the Net Irrigation Requirement mode would not change the final yield of the crop. The improvement made in the field resulted in no change in the amount of biomass and dry yield (0.38% increase in biomass and 0.52% increase in dry yield), at the same time 26.6% decrease in depth of irrigation water, 85.6% decrease In drainage and increasing the efficiency of evapotranspirated water, it has increased from 4.66% to 4.67% kg/m3 compared to condition before modify. Before modify, the farm was managed in traditional way. Conclusion More research in the field of irrigation scheduling and providing comprehensive instructions to farmers in different weather conditions and different irrigation systems, taking into account different management approaches in allocating water to different parts of the farm along with investigating the effects of saline water irrigation, can be topics for the next research should be for experts in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Atomic Energy Science & Technology is the property of Editorial Board of Atomic Energy Science & Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

High thrust nuclear-powered spacecraft is the key technology for deep space exploration and low Earth orbit transportation in the future, the nuclear thermal propulsion system has the advantages of high specific impulse, high thrust, long operating life and repeatable start-up, which can provide reliable power support for future deep space exploration missions. Multi-element (U, Zr, Nb)C fuel is one of the selected fuels for high-power space nuclear propulsion reactors due to its high melting point, high thermal conductivity, low fission gas release rate and excellent high-temperature mechanical properties. In this paper, multi-element (U, Zr, Nb)C fuel pellets were prepared by powder metallurgy process combining carbothermal reduction and liquid phase sintering. The mechanism and influence of process parameters on reaction kinetics, phase structure, thermal conductivity and microstructure of sintered pellets were studied. The results show that according to the calculation of reaction thermodynamics, the carbothermal reduction temperatures for UO2 and Nb2O5 are 2 122 K and 1 206 K at standard pressure, respectively; Under the sintering conditions of 1 800℃, 50 MPa and 1 h, the pellet density can reach 95.5%TD by adding 0.5% metallic uranium to form liquid phase sintering, liquid phase sintering accelerates the densification process of the pellets; When the raw material M/C (M is the total metal element) is 1:6.5, the stoichiometric carbide fuel with M/C ratio of 1 can be prepared, using ZrC powders as raw materials can not only reduce the reaction temperature, but also reduce the difficulty of adjusting the M/C ratio of the reaction product; The lattice constant of (U0.2, Zr, Nb)C is slightly higher than that of (U0.1, Zr, Nb)C; The thermal conductivity of carbide fuel is related to phase composition, density and temperature; The thermal conductivity of (U0.1, Zr, Nb)C and (U0.2, Zr, Nb)C fuels increases with the increase of the content of uranium carbide, and the increase of Zr content is beneficial to the increase of the thermal conductivity of the pellets, the thermal conductivity of (U0.1, Zr, Nb)C and (U0.2, Zr, Nb)C pellets are 17.89 W/(m·K) and 18.81 W/(m·K), respectively. With the increase of sintering density, the thermal conductivity of (U, Zr, Nb)C fuels increases, and the fuels with different compositions show different thermal conductivity changing trend under the same sintering density. The thermal conductivity of (U0.1, Zr0.55, Nb0.35)C and (U0.2, Zr0.5, Nb0.3)C pellets at 90%TD relative density are 16.43 W/(m·K) and 17.90 W/(m·K), respectively, and the thermal conductivity decreases by 8.2% and 4.8% respectively compared with that at 94%TD theoretical density. The pore distribution of the pellet is relatively uniform, there is no connected open pore, and the pore size is 1-3 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nuclear criticality safety issue in spent fuel reprocessing facilities is closely related to the main process and is almost equally important. It is closely related to the design and operation of reprocessing facilities. The requirement of nuclear criticality safety greatly restricts the operational capacity of the spent fuel reprocessing process, thereby affecting the economic efficiency of reprocessing. In the post-processing process, both multiphase uranium-plutonium mixed systems and multi body interaction systems are involved. The system characteristics are complex, and experimental simulation is difficult, which greatly restricts the further improvement of the production and operation capabilities of the pilot plant. However, due to the criticality safety challenges caused by reactivity changes such as the non-uniformity, dynamic complexity, and instability of the solution in the reactor under boiling nitric acid during the dissolution process, it has become a key research topic in various countries. According to the criticality safety problem of nuclear fuel dissolution process, the criticality effect of nitric acid concentration was studied. The criticality experiment data of nuclear fuel dissolution process were obtained by keeping the concentration of nitric acid in the same fuel concentration. Four experiments were conducted with different concentrations of nitric acid. During the experiment, the subcritical extrapolation method, reactivity interpolation method, and stable power method were used to complete the criticality experiment. The experimental results show that with the increase of nitric acid concentration, the relative deviation of the criticality experiment data is 0.068%, and the relative deviation between the criticality experiment results and the theoretical calculated values is 0.39%. The research results show that the reactivity of the system gradually increases as the concentration of nitric acid decreases. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the reactivity changes caused by changes in the criticality safety of the spent fuel dissolution process, and high attention is needed. According to the agreement between the experiment and the theoretical calculation, it is appropriate to use the Monte Carlo code MONK to calculate and analyze the acidity effect of the solid-liquid two-phase solution system, which can be used as a nuclear criticality safety control engineering design process for the solid-liquid two-phase nuclear fuel dissolution system. This series of experiment data can be used for calculation, verification, and safety evaluation of critical analysis under solid-liquid coexistence conditions of nuclear fuel. This paper results provide data support for improving the criticality safety control level of critical post-processing equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to realize the real-time interaction between virtual space and real space, the digital twin system of nuclear reactor was built according to the actual nuclear reactor, with a large number of sensor devices and a large amount of data, resulting in problems of large storage space demand, low transmission efficiency and high complexity of data analysis. To solve the above problems, it is necessary to optimize the sensor arrangement and achieve efficient data storage, transmission and analysis. Few studies have been made to find feature parameters while obtaining their physical meaning and maintaining high efficiency simultaneously, which is the purpose of this paper. In this study, a parameter inversion model was built for the digital twin system of space thermionic reactors by combining clustering algorithm and artificial neural network based on random search optimization, so as to realize the inversion of core temperature data under heat pipe failure conditions. The main process of the model can be grouped into two parts, feature parameter extraction and parameter inversion. In the part of feature extraction, data were reduced from high dimension to low dimension, which constituted a data reduction. The temperature data were extracted from four areas of the space thermionic reactors core from the inside out, which were fuel, emitter, receiving pole and coolant, under 20% heat pipe failure condition. Temperature parameters can be regarded as numerical vectors with the same dimension as the number of time nodes, so the clustering method can divide these temperature parameters into different categories, and the parameter closest to the center of each category was taken as the parameter with typical change characteristics. Silhouette Score is usually used for evaluating the effect of clustering, which can be used to find the proper number of clusters. Therefore, K-means clustering algorithm and Silhouette Score were used as evaluation indicators to select the feature parameters of different regions of the core. In the second part, the feature parameters were inverted to other parameters by a fully connected artificial neural network, its hyper parameters optimized by random search configuration. The optimizing process was executed by setting a range for different hyper parameters like the number of hidden layers, the nodes of each layer and the learning rate, and then choosing a combination that had the smallest loss. Then the feature parameters were used as input and inverted to the rest as output. The inversion model was then verified with the temperature data of 15% heat pipe failure condition. The results show that by using the parameter inversion of fuel, emitter, receiving pole and coolant, the relative error of temperature inversion value is 0.55%, 0.41%, 0.19% and 0.18% respectively, and the feature parameters used for inversion are no more than 8% of the total parameters. Therefore, the parameter inversion model established in this study can obtain the physical meaning of the feature parameters and reverse the space reactor core temperature parameters with high accuracy, therefore resisting the influence of probe damage and data loss. The application of this method in the digital twin system of nuclear reactor can also provide an evaluation basis for the future installation of detectors in small nuclear reactors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Heat pipe cooled reactors (HPRs) have been considered as one of the most promising candidates for deep space and deep-sea missions due to their advantages of simple structure, high power density and high reliability, etc. To investigate the transient characteristics of such heat pipe cooled reactors, including startup, shutdown, power transients and accident conditions, it is necessary to develop suitable and efficient models for describing the core, the heat pipe and the power conversion system. Especially, for the startup process, an accurate and efficient model for the simulation of high-temperature heat pipe startup from the frozen state is indispensable. In this study, two transient models based on the dusty gas model (DGM) were developed. The first model (model 1) solved the mass and momentum equations of vapor flow, while the second model (model 2) simplified the vapor flow as a 1D steady-state heat conduction problem using an equivalent network model. The models considered the evaporation/condensation flux at the vapor/liquid interface using the kinetic theory of gases. The wick and wall were modeled using an improved network model, which took into account the phase transition of the working fluid in the wick. Different methods were used to solve these models in this paper. For the model considering the vapor flow, the finite-difference discretization scheme and the SIMPLEC algorithm were used to solve the governing equations. For the equivalent network model, a loosely coupled numerical method is employed. The solution of wick and wall equations was in a transient state, while the equivalent heat conduction equation of the vapor flow was solved in a steady state mode. The alternating direction implicit (ADI) was adopted to solve the equations for the wick and wall regions. The startup experiments of high-temperature heat pipes with different working fluids are simulated to validate the accuracy of these models. The results indicate that the simulation results agree well with the experimental data. Compared with the flat-front startup model, the temperature distribution calculated by model 2 is more accurate, and the description of startup is more plausible. Meanwhile, model 2 gives quite reasonable results although it is less accurate than the model 1. The calculation efficiency of the model 2 is significantly improved compared to model 1. Consequently, in the feasibility study stage of an HPR system, the simplified equivalent network model (model 2) with considering both accuracy and efficiency is suitable for the simulation of heat pipe startup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The accurate and scientific assessment of the risk to issue an insurance policy is one of the most critical and important stages of risk assessment frameworks. This leads companies to identify high-risk customers and determine the policy rates in accordance with their risks, and as a result, the claims will be covered appropriately through the insurance premiums. In this paper, a new method is presented to define the concept of risk factor in more practical, flexible and accurate way. In this method, which is based on an unsupervised clustering algorithm, initially, every single factor is examined based on different ranges and their corresponding impact on customer loss levels. Then, considering their connection with the ranges of other factors in terms of creating similar levels of customer loss, they are combined to form a package. Thus, different packages are created, each of which is considered a risk factor and comprise the ranges of factors affecting different levels of loss. METHODS: The k-means clustering method was used to divide insurers into clusters with similar risks, which correspond to the risk packages associated with the customers’ risk level. The number of desired clusters should be determined in advance, which is the main challenge of using this algorithm. Two main approaches for validation, namely the silhouette score and the elbow method, were presented. FINDINGS: Based on the elbow plot and silhouette coefficient, as well as considering the practical and realistic evaluation needed by insurance companies, four clusters were obtained. Cluster 2 and 3 are similar and can be merged to form a cluster of medium risk level. Therefore, three clusters were considered the best outcome for categorizing insurance policyholders. CONCLUSION: The risk packages can be introduced from the examination of the 3 clusters including People with high, medium and low age (confidence interval) with low price car whose gender is male can be introduced as the highest level of risk; People with medium and high ages (confidence interval) with medium and high car prices can be considered as medium risks, and Middle-aged and older people (confidence interval) with expensive cars were considered the lowest level of risk. From the results of these risk packages, it can be concluded that although a significant population of older policyholders falls into the first package (first cluster), they have the highest level of risk. On the other hand, the older people in the third package (even though their average age is the highest among the clusters) have the lowest level of risk. Another important point is that the risk level decreases as income increases simultaneously with age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Unpredictable climate change and the resulting risks have always been one of the serious challenges for agricultural development in developing countries, including Iran. Ranchers and farmers in arid and semi-arid regions are at risk of losing part of their property due to pests, diseases, and climatic shocks. But, climatic shocks such as drought and floods are considered to be the most important causes of macro-level damage )Karanja Ng’ang’a et al 2016(. Therefore, there is a need to limit the effects of natural disasters such as floods, which increase the active role of residents in flood-prone areas. Because, research has shown that risk management at the property level can reduce the effects of floods (Hudson et al 2019). Crop insurance could act as an effective tool for managing risks. For many years, livestock herders have been confronted with losses from natural disasters without livestock insurance. On average, 30% of natural disaster damages are covered by insurance worldwide. Also, in developed countries such as the United States and Canada, the compensation rate is much higher and is about 50 to 60 percent (Re 2017). Due to the relatively slow expansion of insurance in agricultural farms during economic development programs, as well as the requirements related to the performance of the functions of through the agricultural insurance fund, compulsory insurance as the main mechanism of insurance development and performance of the expected function of the agricultural insurance institution received more attention than before (Agricultural insurance fund 2009). Therefore, using the legal capacities and authorities to develop insurance, provide statistical information and details of members of provincial and city unions and cooperatives, make the allocation of all inputs and services to ranchers to receive and provide livestock insurance by the rancher and preparation and delivery. The list of insurable livestock along with the premium to the relevant agency, expresses the need for ranchers to participate in the compulsory insurance plan (Agricultural insurance fund 2013). Compulsory small ruminant insurance is considered an effective way to reduce livestock production risk and the most important strategies to achieve to security of income and stability of production. However, few empirical studies have been done on the influence of socio-economic factors on compulsory livestock insurance in Iran. However, in our country, due to the possibility of climate change and other natural disasters, farmers and ranchers in the event of events such as drought or sudden rains and hail, floods, storms and other events that are under control. They do not have much power, they suffer a lot of damage. Given this important issue, in the present study, the various economic and social factors affecting the adoption of compulsory small ruminant insurance in Ahwaz County in the south of Iran, is survived. According to the 2019 flood in Ahwaz County as one of the most important regions of livestock production, this county selected as the case study of the present study. The main goal of the present paper was to study the economic and social factors affecting the adoption of compulsory small ruminant insurance in Ahwaz County. Material and methods: This study investigates various economic and social factors affecting the adoption of compulsory small ruminant insurance in rural areas of Ahwaz County, using the Logit regression model. The main purpose of using the logit model is to answer the question of what factors affect the acceptance or non-acceptance of insurance by ranchers. Also, at this stage, the main question of the research is answered whether farmers affected by the flood of 2019 are more willing to accept compulsory livestock insurance or not. Therefore, small ruminant ranchers in Ahvaz County should be divided into two general groups. The first group consisted of ranchers who accepted compulsory small ruminant insurance, and the second group included ranchers who did not accept compulsory insurance. In this model, the dependent variable is zero (non-acceptance of insurance) and one (acceptance of insurance). Data and information required for this study are collected using simple sampling and questionnaires completed by the livestock producers in 2019. In the first part of the questionnaire, information about economic variables such as number of livestock, and income, as well as social variables including age, household size, rancher experience, literacy level, etc. were asked. In this questionnaire, in addition to the above information, the impact of damage caused by natural disasters (floods) and as well as the amount of damage in terms of the number of livestock and the amount of damage were also included in the questionnaire. In the second part, ranchers were asked about accepting or not accepting compulsory insurance. Therefore, based on the Cochran formula the sample size of 328 ranchers of Ahwaz County were selected in 2019. Also, the reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by calculating Cranach’s alpha coefficient. The factors that affect by livestock herder’s purchase or not pay for the premium of compulsory livestock insurance are age, education, herd size, type of livestock, awareness of compulsory livestock insurance, 2019 flood experience, livestock ownership, access to the brokers and veterinary services, benefits and receive of compensation. Results and discussion: The results of the Logit model showed that age, awareness of insurance benefits, education, type of livestock ownership, access to the broker, access to veterinary services, and the experience of the 2019 flood have a significant effect on compulsory insurance acceptance. Also, all variables have a positive and significant effect on the acceptance of compulsory small ruminant insurance in Ahwaz county and increase the possibility of accepting insurance. The results also showed that, according to the classification intended for the level of satisfaction with previous insurance policies, the level of satisfaction of ranchers (55% of ranchers) with these policies is very low (maximum frequency). Conclusion: According to the results obtained some suggestions were provided such as focusing on the relevant institutions on risk reduction strategies before the disaster, providing the conditions for the presence of veterinarians in remote areas, and monitoring the government on the fair payment of compensations. Allocating facilities and credits to institutions, fulfilling the obligations of the insurer, providing higher-quality educational services, and informing ranchers to accept insurance were presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: Since, feeding in animal husbandry is one of the most critical and costly issues, therefore should focus on cheap resources like agricultural wastes which provide adequate nutrients for livestock. Olive pomace is a residue of the oil extraction of olive fruit, which after drying can be used as a by-product in animal feed. Olive pomace contains high lignin (32% DM), cellulose and hemicellulose (Sadeghi et al. 2009). Raw olive pomace contains high amounts of 16 and 18 fatty acids; and about 96% of olive pomace fatty acids include linoleic acid and oleic acid (Nazari et al. 2009). Olive pomace is containing anti-nutritional components such as phenolic compounds and tannins (0.58 to 1.1 g/kg DM), and it may have adverse effects on livestock (Molina et al, 2003). Feeding dairy ruminants with non-core olive cake containing tocopherol, retinol and phenols can cause positive changes on milk quality, and improved oxidative stability of milk (Pauselli et al, 2007). Some of buffalo breeders use wheat flour in buffalo diet. Using wheat flour, can destroy the rumen microbial population and as an important part in human foods, increases costs. However, there is no research on wheat flour replaced with olive pomace in buffalo nutrition. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the effect of olive cake on digestibility, blood biochemical parameters and production performance of Khuzestani dairy Buffalo. Material and methods: Fifteen dairy buffaloes average 4 years, average body weight 570 kg and 2 parities were used in a completely randomized design with 3 treatments and 5 repeats. Experimental treatments were included 0%, 7.5%, and 15% olive pomace substituted with wheat flour, which fed two times daily for 45 days in a completely randomized design. Diets were formulated according to the NRC. The olive pomace used in this study dried by air drying. The pomaces were stirred and mixed several times daily. The crude protein, metabolizable energy, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fibers, and fat of olive pomace were 6.5%, 2.65 Mk / kg DM, 56, 45, and 9 %, respectively. At the end of the experiment, feed intake, nutrient digestibility, production performance and blood parameters were measured. The diets were prepared completely mixed and given daily at 7:00 and 17:00. Fresh water was also available to them. The combination of control diet consisted of corn silage, wheat straw, olive cake, wheat flour, wheat bran, rice bran, mineral supplement and vitamins, limestone. Milking was done every day in the morning and evening and milk production was recorded. Milk scanner was used to measure milk protein, fat, and lactose. The milk pH determined by using pH papers or electrical pH meters; and milk solids and non-fat solids (SNF), by lactometer. Also, blood samples were taken from all buffaloes at the end of the period, 3 to 4 hours after morning intake and blood metabolites determined. For apparent digestibility of the diets, during three consecutive days, buffalo feces were collected. Also, sampling of feed residuals in the last three days of the period was weighed. Then, the digestibility of organic matter, dry matter, crude protein, crude fat, acid detergent fibers and neutral detergent fibers were measured. The obtained data were analyzed using the General Linear Model procedure of the SAS. A comparison of the mean was made with Duncan. The model of this design was a completely randomized design with three treatments, and each treatment includes five replications based on the statistical model: Yij= µ + Ti+ eij. Also, repeated data per time were analyzed based on the mixed statistical model. Yci = µ + Tc + Ɛic + (T*P) ik. Results: Milk fat and SNF increased in experimental treatments at the end of the period (P<0.05). However, milk production, protein, acidity, density and pH of milk were not affected by the experimental treatments (P>0.05). Milk production increased by using dried olive kernels in dairy buffaloes (Terramoccia et al. 2013). Inclusion of unsaturated fatty acids often reduces the saturated fatty acids of milk. Also, high fat in olive pomace can be a major reason for high percentage of milk fat in the olive pomace treatment compared to control (Chilofalo et al. 2003). Also, the concentration of blood parameters was not affected by experimental diets. But, blood cholesterol in 7.5% olive cake increased and the concentration of alkaline phosphatase enzyme increased by 15% olive cake compared to the other treatments (P<0.05). Obeidat (2017) reported that adding olive pomace to the diet of Awasi lambs had no effect on blood parameters (glucose, blood urea nitrogen, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase). But Hashish and Al-Sameh (2012) declared that saturated fatty acids in olive pomace can increase the concentration of saturated fatty acids and blood cholesterol. Other researchers also concluded that with the increase in dietary fat concentration, blood cholesterol increased (Bhatta et al. 2011). Nutrient digestibility was not affected by experimental treatments (P>0.05). Using olive pomace up to 20% instead of barley in Lori lambs increased microbial protein production in the rumen. Also, olive pomace in the Dalagh sheep diet increased feeding efficiency and carcass weight; and reduced production costs up to 66% (Samadi 2009). The use of olive pomace in Awasi lambs, did not influence dry matter intake, digestibility of crude protein, neutral detergent fiber and acidic detergent fiber (Obeidat 2017). Conclusion: According to the recent study, replacing wheat flour with olive cake had no negative effect on production, blood parameters and digestibility of nutrients in dairy buffaloes, and due to the reasonable price of olive cake; replacing olive cake up to 15% with wheat flour in the diet of dairy buffaloes is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]