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Currently, there is no confirmed drug intervention in the treatment of methamphetamine (MA) dependence. In the present study, we tested the possible influence of venlafaxine in individuals with MA dependence. A total of 52 male patients (mean age: 33.93 years) diagnosed with MA dependence referred to Farabi Hospital in Kermanshah, Iran, was randomly assigned either to enlafaxine or a placebo condition. At the baseline, as well as 4 to 8 weeks later, patients completed questionnaires on depression, withdrawal symptoms, and cravings. The mean scores of withdrawal symptoms (hyperarousal, anxiety, reversed vegetative), depression, and cravings (desire & intention, negative reinforcement, and control) during the study and in both groups had a descending trend. Unlike the effect of the studied groups, the effect of time on the repeated measure model was significant. The mean of inverse symptoms, desire, and control from the fourth week to the end of the study did not have a statistically significant difference. The results showed that venlafaxine can be effective in reducing depression, withdrawal symptoms, and cravings in people who are dependent on MA, though these results were observed in parallel in the placebo group, and as such warrants further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the optimal short-term scheduling of an integrated heat and power microgrid (MG) considering load uncertainty. The MG comprises combined heat and power (CHP) units, a small thermal power plant, a small boiler, an electrical energy storage system and a thermal storage tank, and can further engage in electrical energy transactions with the upstream network regarded as the day-ahead market. Given the uncertain nature of the electrical and thermal load, a novel scenario-based robust optimization framework is developed to overcome the problem uncertainties. The effectiveness of the proposed scenario-based robust scheme against conventional deterministic and stochastic scheduling methods is verified through numerical simulation on a prototype MG. The results suggest that the proposed approach can effectively forecast the uncertainties in MG load and provide the operator with more realistic results to handle the consuming load uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate students’ mathematical thinking of the tree concept, a fundamental concept in graph theory, using a combination of the APOS theory and Tall’s three worlds of mathematics. The qualitative research describes here is a phenomenological study drawing on task-based interviews with 18 undergraduate mathematics students. The findings indicate that students preferred to think in the embodied world when solving tasks related to the tree concept. This type of thinking, despite its great value, should not prevent students from thinking in the symbolic and formal worlds. Furthermore, the findings indicate that almost half of the participants had difficulties with the acyclicity and connectivity concepts, which are necessary prior knowledge to help students develop Process and Object for the tree concept. The results also suggest that more opportunities could be provided for students to engage with tasks that related to Process and Object in the three mathematics worlds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent COP27 has propelled nations towards achieving reduced environmental degradation. Governments are, therefore, required to develop effective policy tools to improve their environmental sustainability plans. In line with this, an empirical study is required to explore the all-inclusive effect of ecological sustainability policy on ecological footprint (EFP) among the world's top renewable energy consumption countries from 1994 to 2018. Recent studies on environmental degradation have focused on renewable energy while neglecting the role of environmental tax. Thus, the current study fills this gap by exploring the role of environmental tax on ecological footprint. Furthermore, the study evaluates the direct and indirect impact of environmental tax and renewable energy on different levels of EFP using the method of moment quantile regression (MMQR). The DOLS, FMOLS, and panel GMM techniques are also applied to check the robustness of the MMQR results. The empirical results indicate that environmental tax and renewable energy directly and significantly reduce the EFP; however, these impacts are insignificant in countries with lower levels of environmental pollution. Furthermore, the findings indicate that environmental tax plays a leading role in changing the energy structure towards environmentally friendly energies. The results also show that economic globalization and human capital impact ecological footprint negatively. Finally, the results suggest that GDP and nonrenewable energy aggravates ecological footprint. The study results propose insights for policymakers to mitigate environmental degradation by boosting environmental tax to deter polluters and investing more in renewable energy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional lecturing is the dominant method of teaching mathematics in undergraduate mathematical courses in many countries, whereas active student-centered approaches such as inquiry-based learning have been shown in some instances to be more effective. Most teaching resources (inquiry-based tasks) available at the tertiary level are related to calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations courses. In this paper, we focus on using an inquiry-based approach to explore the teaching and learning of vertex coloring, a common topic in graph theory and undergraduate discrete mathematical courses. We designed seven inquiry-based tasks related to vertex coloring to teach vertex coloring in an undergraduate graph theory course to students majoring in mathematics. In sharing these tasks, describing students' engagement with them, and discussing how these tasks were perceived by the students and lecturer, we hope to promote using inquiry-based tasks in undergraduate discrete mathematical courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable and economic protection of DC grids against fault currents is the main challenge for the development of voltage source converter-based DC grids. Application of fault current limiters (FCLs) can limit the rapid increase of fault current and reduce the DC circuit breaker (DCCB) requirements to isolate the fault. This article reports a bidirectional solid-state FCL (BSSFCL) to protect the DC lines against DC short circuit fault. In addition, it can limit fault current in both directions. The circuit and principle operating of the proposed BSSFCL are presented. Then, the current limiting performance of the proposed BSSFCL is analyzed and its parameter design requirements are presented. Finally, the performance of the proposed BSFFCL is compared with that of the RL-current limiting circuit (RL-CLC), mutual inductance-type FCL (MIFCL), and restive mutual-inductance solid-state FCL (RMI-SSFCL). The numerical analysis and simulations were done using the PSCAD/EMTDC software. It was found that, the BSSFCL could effectively enhance the breaking capability of DCCBs. Moreover, it outperforms the RL-CLC, MIFCL, RMI-SSFCL in terms of the fault current limiting, the fault clearing time and metal oxide arrester (MOA) energy absorption of DCCBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing short-circuit fault currents is one of the critical challenges in microgrids (MGs). In this paper, a novel AC/DC fault current limiter (ADFCL) is proposed to limit short circuit current of both DC and AC sides in hybrid AC/DC MGs (ADMGs). It includes two AC and DC ports, installed between AC MG (ACMG) and DC MG (DCMG). Also, it has only one common limiting resistor for limiting short circuit current in faulty MG without affecting the performance of the healthy MG. The proposed ADFCL power circuit, its principle of operation and control system are presented. Then, the feasibility of the ADFCL is verified by simulation in PSCAD/EMTDC environment and finally, a prototype is built. Both experimental and simulation results reveal that the ADFCL can limit the faulty MG by using only one limiting resistor without affecting the performance of the healthy one, which reduces the cost of using FCL in ADMGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employees working in psychiatric hospitals are exposed to high occupational stress (OS) which increases the probability of taking drugs. The present study aims to determine the relationship between OS and addiction potential (AP) among psychiatric hospital staff. A total of 150 staff members of Farabi Hospital in Kermanshah in 2019 were selected using convenience methods. Data collection tools included demographic characteristics questionnaire, Elliott Occupational Stress Questionnaire (OSQ), and Weed et all's Addiction Potential Scale (APS). The 150 employees (59 females and 91 males) with mean age of 39.41 (7.84) were surveyed. The majority of employees, about 116 (77.3%), had low OS. Statistically significant relationships were found between OS plus AP and age group, marital status, educational level, and years of work experience of employees. The mean score of AP had a statistically significant difference between subjects with differences in working hours as well as smoking history. Also, the effect of OS was significant on the level of AP, active AP, and passive AP (all P <.05). Considering the effect of OS on the level of AP, it is suggested that targeted interventions are planned and designed to reduce OS among psychiatric hospital staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human progress has become detrimental to the environment. Moreover, the failure to mitigate pollution would eventually impact negatively on the economy. This study investigates the influence of technological innovation, research and development, and quality of governance on carbon emissions for the European Union countries while controlling for industrialization, renewable energy, trade openness and foreign direct investment from 1996 to 2018 by employing the method of moment quantile regression technique. The result revealed that renewable energy, trade openness, and quality governance boost environmental quality, while technological innovation and industrialization increase carbon emissions. Also, the interaction between technological innovation and quality governance, research and development and quality governance as well as industrialization and quality governance decreases carbon emission while that of foreign direct investment and quality governance increases carbon emission. From the causality analysis, there is a bidirectional relationship between research and development and carbon emission, technology innovation and carbon emission, renewable energy and carbon emission, trade openness and carbon emission as well as industrialization and carbon emission. Moreover, a unidirectional connection was obtained between foreign direct investment and carbon emission, as well as quality governance and carbon emission. Based on the outcomes, comprehensive policy directions are suggested for policymakers in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores university students' perceptions of factors that hinder student learning with particular attention to students' discipline (STEM vs non-STEM) and ethnicity. A sample of 1684 university students in New Zealand participated in this study. Students' responses to an open-ended question were first inductively coded and then quantitatively analyzed using Chi-square independence test and logistic regression. The findings identified several situational, dispositional, and institutional factors that hinder student learning, among them financial difficulties and work commitments, health, and family issues were more dominant. These factors are perceived differently by students of different disciplines and ethnicities. For instance, Asian students were less likely to refer to financial difficulties and work commitments compared to the other ethnicities, whereas Pasifika and then Māori students perceived family issues more than other ethnic groups. STEM major students were more likely to believe the teaching quality restricts their learning than their non-STEM counterparts. The study findings have several educational and well-being implications for diverse bodies of students in tertiary education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a modified solid-state fault current limiter (SSFCL) based on AC/DC reactor, which limits both transient and steady-state fault currents under fault condition. It includes two diodes and one insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) switch. The number of semiconductor switches in the proposed AC/DC reactor SSFCL is a quarter and half of the semiconductor switches employed in the fully-controlled and conventional AC/DC reactor BFCL, respectively. It offers lower cost, simple structure and more reliability comparing with the conventional models. Also, the inductance and current rating of AC/DC reactor used in the proposed AC/DC reactor SSFCL is equal to the fully-controlled and conventional AC/DC reactor BFCL. The power circuit and principle operation of the modified AC/DC reactor SSFCL are presented. Then, the analysis of normal and fault operating conditions of the proposed AC/DC reactor SSFCL is provided. Finally, the performance of the proposed AC/DC SSFCL is verified by both PSCAD/EMTDC simulation and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics education faculty working in mathematics departments are commonly involved in teaching undergraduate mathematics courses, teaching and supervising postgraduate students of mathematics education, and developing mathematics teachers (pre-service and/or in-service). This paper proposes a new elective course that can be taken by either undergraduate mathematics majors or by graduate teaching assistants pursuing degrees in mathematics and teaching undergraduates themselves. Twenty-eight topics are suggested, and the rationale for each is briefly described. Offering such a course provides different opportunities for students; for example, familiarizing them with effective ways to teach and learn mathematics, which has the potential to improve their effectiveness as tutors within the department. A similar course has been successfully taught to undergraduate students majoring in mathematics at an Iranian university for nearly two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have suggested that problem-posing activities could be used to improve the teaching, learning, and assessment of mathematics. The purpose of this study is to explore undergraduate engineering students' problem posing in relation to the integral-area relationship. The goal is to help fill a gap in tertiary level research about students' mathematical problem posing, particularly of engineering students. The mathematical problem posing of 135 undergraduate engineering students was explored using four problem-posing tasks and semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that many of the problems the students posed were solvable and in a pure mathematics context, while those problems students attempted to set in a real-world setting did not provide a realistic situation. In addition, students faced a number of difficulties when posing problems related to the integral-area relationship and mathematics in general, and several students had a limited understanding of the applications and uses of the integral-area relationship in the real-world. This study suggests that using problem-posing activities in teaching and assessment can help identify engineering students' mathematical understanding and misunderstanding. Furthermore, using problem-posing tasks can help developing engineering students' understanding of the applications of integral calculus. More broadly, the findings suggest that problem-posing tasks could be used more often, alongside problem-solving tasks, as part of the teaching and assessment of mathematics at the university level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To produce a customized birthweight standard for Iran.Method: Retrospective study of a pregnancy database collected from five hospitals across Iran. The cohort consisted of 4994 consecutive term births with complete data, delivered between July 2013 and November 2014. Coefficients were derived using a backwards stepwise multiple regression technique.Results: Maternal height, weight in early pregnancy and parity as well as the baby's sex were identified as significant physiological variables affecting birthweight. Paternal height and weight were also significant although weaker factors. The expected 280-day birthweight, free from pathological influences, of a standard size mother (height 163 cm, weight 64 kg) in her first pregnancy was 3390 g. Pathological factors found to affect birthweight in this cohort included village housing, anemia, preexisting and gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.Conclusion: The analysis confirmed the main physiological variables that affect birthweight in other countries and shows paternal factors also to be significant variables. Development of a country-specific customized birthweight standard will aid clinicians in Iran to distinguish between fetuses that are either constitutionally or pathologically small, thereby avoiding unnecessary interventions, and improving identification of at-risk pregnancies and perinatal outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of methamphetamine has had arising trend among Iranian women in recent years. The present study was conducted to assess the effect of self-compassion training on craving and self-efficacy in female patients with methamphetamine users and the rate of relapse over a one-year follow-up in 2017–2018 in the city of Kermanshah, Iran. Methods: This study was a randomized, controlled, clinical trial. A total of 40 female patients diagnosed with methamphetamine dependency were randomly assigned either to self-compassion training and control groups. Both groups were assessed before and one month after the educational intervention using craving and self-efficacy questionnaires. The groups were followed-up in terms of methamphetamine use relapse one year after the intervention. Results: After the intervention, the mean craving score decreased (51.82) while the mean self-efficacy score increased (28.82) in the trial group. In the one-year follow-up, ten participants (27.7%) from the trial group and 28 (75.7%) from the control group relapsed into methamphetamine users. Conclusions: Given the present findings regarding the effect of self-compassion training on reduced craving and increased self-efficacy in female patients with methamphetamine dependence, the researchers recommend that self-compassion skills training be applied in drug rehabilitation centers and hospital wards to complement conventional therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The present study was conducted to validate the Persian version of the AWAER questionnaire (Preventive Warning of Relapse – Revised Form) in methamphetamine users. Method: The statistical population consisted of all the methamphetamine users referring to the addiction treatment centers of Kermanshah, Iran, and 388 people were selected by two-step random cluster sampling. Result: The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the AWARE questionnaire was 0.95, indicating the desired validity of the Persian form. Exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation indicated three factors, namely depression, anxiety, and relapse, with a total variance explanation of 63.3%. Also, the correlation coefficient obtained between the extracted factors with each other and the entire items indicated a desirable structural validity. Given the elimination of three items, the Persian version of the questionnaire was finally obtained with 25 items and three factors. Test–retest reliability was 0.79 with a one-week interval. The correlation coefficient between the AWARE questionnaire and AWQ-V2 scores was obtained as 0.526 for determining the convergent validity (P <.01). Conclusion: The Persian version of the AWARE questionnaire in methamphetamine users' community has a favorable validity and reliability and can therefore be used to assess the symptoms of advance warning of relapse in Persian-speaking methamphetamine users, such as those in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the present study is to investigate the impact of procedural and conceptual teaching on students' mathematical performance over time. For this purpose, implicit differentiation and integration by parts were taught in two different ways to first-year university students of two different calculus courses: one course with Conceptual Teaching (CT) and the other course with Procedural Teaching (PT). In the CT class, the lecturer taught mathematical concepts conceptually and helped students to understand the reasons behind techniques and formulas. In the PT class, the lecturer helped students to solve problems without necessarily knowing the reasons for each step of solving problems. Both groups took a same test at the end of these lessons. The results of the test showed that there is no significant difference between the performance of the two groups. After three months, another test including the same topics had been taken by the two groups. The results of this test showed that the CT group had a better performance compared to the PT group. The findings suggest that conceptual understanding could create more sustainability in learning mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We quantified the impact of consumer awareness about beef safety on U.S. beef exports. An index to reflect consumer awareness is constructed based on publicized reports in the media. Results showed a 0.8% reduction in U.S. beef exports arose from foodborne-disease news. In addition, using impulse response functions derived from a panel vector autoregressive model (panel VAR with the system GMM estimator), we found that the negative impact of a shock in food safety news intensified after three quarters and then diminished. Investing in any scheme that minimizes the impact of food safety events, such as quality labeling, is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Although many manual operations have been replaced by automation in the manufacturing domain in various industries, skilled operators still carry out critical manual tasks such as final assembly. The business case for automation in these areas is difficult to justify due to increased complexity and costs arising out of process variabilities associated with those tasks. The lack of understanding of process variability in automation design means that industrial automation often does not realize the full benefits at the first attempt, resulting in the need to spend additional resource and time, to fully realize the potential. This article describes a taxonomy of variability when considering the automation of manufacturing processes. Three industrial case studies were analyzed to develop the proposed taxonomy. The results obtained from the taxonomy are discussed with a further case study to demonstrate its value in supporting automation decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University student perceptions of effective teaching have been explored in previous studies, however, research is lacking regarding how perceptions of teaching efficacy vary by ethnicity and programme of study. In this study, student perceptions of effective teaching are explored between STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and non-STEM major students of four ethnic groups: Europeans, Asians, Māori, and Pasifika. The study sample comprised 2073 students from a New Zealand university who completed a survey in 2016. Firstly, the findings indicated that non-STEM major students were more likely to report culturally knowledgeable as an important characteristic compared to STEM major students. Secondly, the distribution referring to content knowledgeable, creative, culturally knowledgeable, and passionate as characteristics of effective teaching was different between the four ethnic groups. In detail, Europeans and Māori were more likely to refer to content knowledgeable than Pasifika students, while Pasifika students were more likely to refer to culturally knowledgeable compared to Europeans. Furthermore, the highest percentage of referring to creative as a characteristic of effective teaching was for Asians, and the highest percentage of referring to passionate was for Māori students. The findings imply that lecturers should be well informed about these differences to be able to improve the quality of their teaching and student learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract—To reduce the negative effects of wind farms connection on power system stability, many countries have elaborated grid code requirements. Low-voltage ride through (LVRT) capability is the core of these requirements. This paper presents a framework to design and apply the series resonance fault current limiter (SRFCL) with a metal oxide varistor (MOV) for LVRT performance enhancement of doubly fed induction Machine (DFIG)-based wind farms. The main advantages of the SRFCL are simplicity, high reliability and automatically operation during fault condition for enhancing the LVRT performance. To demonstrate the capability of the SRFCL, a comparative study of the SRFCL and the bridge-type fault current limiter (BFCL) is performed. The study wind farm has been modeled with equivalent aggregated DFIG. Simulations were carried out in PSCAD/EMTDC environment. Simulation results demonstrate that the SRFCL provides a simple and effective solution to enhance the LVRT and reduce the fault current contribution of wind farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (RBT) and some of the major theories and frameworks that influence the teaching, learning, and assessment of mathematics. This comparison has been made to help students and researchers make decisions about which of the available theories and frameworks might best suit their study. The comparison identifies that RBT has greater potential for analysing the teaching, learning, and assessment of mathematics than many other theories and frameworks because of its broad approach. While other theories and frameworks can be aligned to elements of RBT, they tend to overlook other elements. In particular, the strength of RBT comes from its two dimensional structure, its inclusion of metacognitive knowledge, and its rejection of strict hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the knowledge dimension for Revised Bloom's taxonomy (RBT) is unpacked for integral calculus. As part of this work, the 11 subtypes of the knowledge dimension are introduced, and through document analysis of chapter 4 of the RBT handbook, these subtypes are defined. Then, by consulting materials frequently used for teaching integral calculus, each subtype is exemplified. The developed dimension may enable or enhance opportunities for dialogue between lecturers, teachers, and researchers about how to develop and align educational objectives, teaching activities, and assessments in integral calculus, or how metacognition and metacognitive knowledge could be used to support teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Multi-epitope vaccines might cause immunity against multiple antigenic targets. Four immunodominant epitopes of HIV-1 genome were used to construct a polytope vaccine, formulated by dendrimer. Two regimens of polytopes mixture with dendrimer were utilized to immunize BALB/c mice. Adjuvants were also used to boost immune responses. The conjugated polytope could arouse significant cellular immune responses (P < 0.05) and Th1 response showed higher intensity compared to Th2 (P < 0.05). Our study depicted that conjugated dendrimer with multi-epitopic rHIVtop4 would efficiently induce cell-mediated immune responses and might be considered as promising delivery system for vaccines formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies have explored students’ understanding of the relationships between definite integrals and areas under curve(s). So far, however, there has been less attention to students’ understanding of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus (FTC). In addition, students’ metacognitive experiences and skills whilst solving FTC questions have not previously been explored. This paper explored students’ mathematical performance, metacognitive experiences and metacognitive skills in relation to FTC questions by interviewing nine university and eight Year 13 students. The findings show that several students had difficulty solving questions related to the FTC and that students’ metacognitive experiences and skills could be further developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was preparation, optimization andin vitrocharacterization of nanoparticles composed of 6-[O-carboxymethyl]-[N,N,N-trimethyl] (TMCMC) for oral delivery of low-molecular-weight heparin. The chitosan derivative was synthesized. Nanoparticles were prepared using the polyelectrolyte complexation method. Box–Behnken response surface experimental design methodology was used for optimization of nanoparticles. The morphology of nanoparticles was studied using transmission electron microscopy.In vitrorelease of enoxaparin from nanoparticles was determined under simulated intestinal fluid. The cytotoxicity of nanoparticles on a Caco-2 cell line was determined, and finally the transport of prepared nanoparticles across Caco-2 cell monolayer was defined. Optimized nanoparticles with proper physico-chemical properties were obtained. The size, zeta potential, poly-dispersity index, entrapment efficiency and loading efficiency of nanoparticles were reported as 235 ± 24.3 nm, +18.6 ± 2.57 mV, 0.230 ± 0.03, 76.4 ± 5.43% and 12.6 ± 1.37%, respectively. Morphological studies revealed spherical nanoparticles with no sign of aggregation.In vitrorelease studies demonstrated that 93.6 ± 1.17% of enoxaparin released from nanoparticles after 600 min of incubation. MTT cell cytotoxicity studies showed no cytotoxicity at 3 h post-incubation, while the study demonstrated concentration-dependent cytotoxicity after 24 h of exposure. The obtained data had shown that the nanoparticles prepared from trimethylcarboxymethyl chitosan may be considered as a good candidate for oral delivery of enoxaparin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual engineering (VE) environment helps to verify process and resource design through visualisation. By using VE, the impacts of re-configurability and new-process additions in the machine stops can be viewed down to the component level. On the other hand, discrete event simulation (DES) typically forecasts the system behaviour over a period of time to predict future performance. During pre-build stages of machines, DES analysis comes with uncertainties, as most of the parameters in the model are based on the assumptions. Therefore, it was aimed to use the validated and verified data, for example ‘process time’ of a machine component available from the VE-emulated systems, in the DES model. Thus, a systematic algorithm was proposed to integrate the VE tool data, with the DES. This article presents the development of a package known as ‘virtual-driven discrete event simulation’ (VDSim), used to establish an integration between the VE and DES domains. The success of this integration depends upon the quality of information and the compatibility of data flow between these independent domains. VDSim integration will help productivity planners and schedulers to get the best possible options for resource selection at stages even when the resource is not physically present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this research was the development, in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo characterization of lyophilized insulin nanoparticles prepared from quaternized N-aryl derivatives of chitosan. Methods: Insulin nanoparticles were prepared from methylated N-(4- N,N-dimethylaminobenzyl), methylated N-(4 pyridinyl) and methylated N-(benzyl). Insulin nanoparticles containing non-modified chitosan and also trimethyl chiotsan (TMC) were also prepared as control. The effects of the freeze-drying process on physico-chemical properties of nanoparticles were investigated. The release of insulin from the nanoparticles was studied in vitro. The mechanism of the release of insulin from different types of nanoparticles was determined using curve fitting. The secondary structure of the insulin released from the nanoparticles was analyzed using circular dichroism and the cell cytotoxicity of nanoparticles on a Caco-2 cell line was determined. Ex vivo studies were performed on excised rat jejunum using Frantz diffusion cells. In vivo studies were performed on diabetic male Wistar rats and blood glucose level and insulin serum concentration were determined. Results: Optimized nanoparticles with proper physico-chemical properties were obtained. The lyophilization process was found to cause a decrease in zeta potential and an increase in PdI as well as and a decrease in entrapment efficiency (EE%) and loading efficiency (LE%) but conservation in size of nanoparticles. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images showed non-aggregated, stable and spherical to sub-spherical nanoparticles. The in vitro release study revealed higher release rates for lyophilized compared to non-lyophilized nanoparticles. Cytotoxicity studies on Caco-2 cells revealed no significant cytotoxicity for prepared nanoparticles after 3-h post-incubation but did show the concentration-dependent cytotoxicity after 24 h. The percentage of cumulative insulin determined from ex vivo studies was significantly higher in nanoparticles prepared from quaternized aromatic derivatives of chitosan. In vivo data showed significantly higher insulin intestinal absorption in nanoparticles prepared from methylated N-(4- N, N-dimethylaminobenzyl) chitosan nanoparticles compared to trimethyl chitosan. Conclusion: These data obtained demonstrated that as the result of optimized physico-chemical properties, drug release rate, cytotoxicity profile, ex vivo permeation enhancement and increased in vivo absorption, nanoparticles prepared from N-aryl derivatives of chitosan can be considered as valuable method for the oral delivery of insulin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: COVID-19; infection control; orbital decompression; povidone-iodine EN COVID-19 infection control orbital decompression povidone-iodine 176 177 2 02/18/21 20210401 NES 210401 B Letter to the editor b Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS COV-2 was first identified in Wuhan, China, and due to its high transmission power, it quickly spread to other countries.[1]Since the load of virus in the nasal cavity, sinuses, and nasolacrimal system is high, virus shedding from sinonasal cavity and nasolacrimal duct is one of the important routes of disease transmission.[2]Oculoplastic surgeons are at high risk for infection during orbital decompression due to direct contact with the ocular surface, nasolacrimal system, and sinonasal cavities.[3] Since no definitive treatment has been introduced for COVID-19, prevention and reduction of the risk of disease transmission is the most important way to prevent infection.[3] For this reason, in the oculoplasty department of Feiz Ophthalmology Hospital, Isfahan, Iran, we implement a special protocol for patients who are candidates for orbital decompression, which is based on our experience and existing guidelines for surgery during COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, orbital decompression surgery should be limited to urgent cases, and the use of PVP-I solution before and during surgery can be one of the ways to reduce disease transmission. A surgical protocol to mitigate the SARS-CoV-2 transmission using multifocal povidone-iodine applications in lacrimal surgeries during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. [Extracted from the article]

Autonomous and intelligent control devices within the context of factory automation are seen as an essential ingredient in making time and cost savings in factory automation environments. In moving to mass customisation scenarios where production lines are subjected to frequent changes and mixed types of products, the agility and reconfigurability of automation systems are prime requirements to support changes in manufacturing lifecycles. In addition, intelligent functionalities including process monitoring, diagnostics and process reconfiguration are also desirable factors to facilitate an effective production unit with competitive costs and ease of use and maintenance. In this context, the adoption of Web Services on the distributed embedded control devices to enhance reconfigurability and integrability with supported manufacturing and business applications is proposed. This paper demonstrates the use of Web Services (WS) both in building device control functionality of control components and in business application integration. This WS approach offers the ability to integrate pervasive enterprise applications (e.g. process monitoring and planning systems) as well as the ability to reconfigure and manage lower level devices from higher manufacturing and business control levels through unifying WS interface and neutral Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) message communication between control systems and business applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a study conducted to assess the rate of neurotic disorders among opioid addicts and to re-assess the rate of those neurotic disorders after complete detoxification of the patients. Evaluation standards used in the study; Participants of the study; Form of opioid commonly used by substance abusers.

A literature review shows that, for the commonly used turbulence models, the predicted location of boundary layer transition is very sensitive to the initial profiles of turbulence quantities and starting location of calculation. To eliminate these effects, two independent solution approaches are proposed: (1) to solve the boundary layer equations over a flat plate with the starting location of calculation very close to the leading edge of the plate, and (2) to solve the elliptic Navier-Stokes equations over the whole plate, including the leading edge and some region upstream of it. Computations show both approaches lead to identical results. Three well-known low-Reynolds-number (LRN) turbulence models are evaluated with respect to the transition on a flat plate. None of the models are able to predict the quantitative aspects of transition correctly without an ad hoc adjustment. A satisfactory new turbulence model is presented in a companion paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new low-Reynolds-number (LRN) turbulence model is developed for the prediction of transition. In the definition of the LRN functions in the new model, only local quantities are used so that the model potentially can be used for a wide range of flows. The performance of the new model in predicting boundary layer transition is demonstrated by reference to a wide range of experimental data for boundary layers with free-stream turbulence and pressure gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Profiles Suhas V. Patankar, a professor on computational fluid dynamics and president of the Innovative Research Inc. in India. Educational background; Career highlights of Patankar; Contributions in the field of computational fluid dynamics.