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Forest stand structure is influenced by artificial factors such as silvicultural activities, and by natural factors such as wildfires, floods, windstorms, diseases, and insect infestations. The silvicultural treatments used during the transformation of coppice to the coppice-with-standard system are a main source of coarse woody debris (CWD). Even small changes in the amounts and/or types of CWD can threaten forest biodiversity, including plant and bird diversity. In this study, we compared managed and unmanaged forest stands in Northwest Iran to better understand changes in species composition and stand characteristics (with particular reference to CWD) in relation to silvicultural practices. In total, thirty-six 0.5-hectare sampling plots were surveyed (total area: 18 ha). We found significant differences between the cut (active management) and uncut areas (proforestation) in indices of height, number of tree species, canopy cover of live and fallen trees, dead tree density, and relative frequency of dead trees. The sample plots included 22 species of live trees, and the CWD was generated by 16 of these species. The number of stems of live trees in the sample plots was 2.653 (SE = 181), with Carpinus orientalis accounting for the highest mean density of live trees. C. orientalis also provided the highest total frequency of downed logs (70%) in the stands, followed by Quercus macranthera (20%). Q. macranthera accounted for the highest relative frequency of dead trees in the stands. In total, around 42% of the CWD consisted of logs lying on the forest floor, followed by dead trees (39%) and stumps (19%). Most of the CWD was included in decay class (DC) 2 (71.6%), followed by DC1 (16.7%) and DC3 (11.3%). Forest managers must balance the amount of CWD, especially from dead trees, in these stands to conserve the diversity of the material in terms of both decay class and tree species.

Introduction: In the era of technological promotion, considering technological approaches in education is a necessity, not a choice. The importance of paying attention to such approaches in universities of medical sciences is more obvious, because new information replaces previous ones constantly and if universities wish to transfer this information in the shortest time, there is a need for modern teaching methods, as traditional methods do not account for the transmission of such large volume of information. The purpose of this study was to investigate the barriers of developing virtual education in Urmia University of Medical Sciences from the viewpoint of faculty members. Method: The statistical population of this research consisted of all the faculty members of Urmia University of Medical Sciences in 2017, from which 137 subjects were selected randomly. The data collection tool was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability by Cronbach's alpha (89%). The Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 19. Results: The results showed that the cumulative percentage of variance for the eight factors was 62/575 percent, which prevented technical support with 9/720 percent of the major share of the variance percentage, and cultural barrier with 3/315 percent of the lowest share of the percentage of variance Allocated. Conclusion: According to faculty members, technical support was considered the most important barrier so with the increasing speed of the Internet, new systems must be replaced for disabled ones and through strengthening technological infrastructures, hindering factors for application of virtual learning is reduced.

Sanobar Golshani,1,* Sahel Ghanbari,1,* Ali Firoozabadi,2 Jalal Shakeri,1 Sarah Hookari,1 Bahareh Rahami,1 Dena Sadeghi Bahmani,1,3,4 Serge Brand1,3– 6 1Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran; 2Research Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Psychiatry, Hafez Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; 3Sleep Disorders Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran; 4University of Basel, Psychiatric Clinics (UPK), Center for Affective-, Stress- and Sleep Disorders (ZASS), Basel 4002, Switzerland; 5Department of Sport, Exercise, and Health, Division of Sport Science and Psychosocial Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 6Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Serge BrandUniversity of Basel, Psychiatric Clinics (UPK), Center for Affective-, Stress- and Sleep Disorders (ZASS), Basel 4002, SwitzerlandTel +4161 32 55 097Email serge.brand@unibas.chBackground: There is evidence that incarcerated people show higher rates of symptoms of psychopathology. In the present study, we assessed male Iranian incarcerated people with borderline personality disorders (BPD) and investigated the occurrence of past and current trauma and their associations with dissociative experiences.Methods: A total of 69 male Iranian incarcerated people (mean age: 33.76 years) diagnosed with PBD completed questionnaires covering sociodemographic information, dissociative experiences, and past and current traumatic events.Results: Participants reporting the occurrence of childhood trauma also reported the occurrence of adulthood trauma. Dissociation and adulthood trauma were associated in a U-shaped, non-linear fashion: Low and high adulthood trauma were associated with higher dissociation. Younger age, the presence of childhood trauma, and being single or divorced predicted adulthood trauma.Conclusion: The pattern of results suggests that both childhood and adulthood trauma are highly prevalent among male incarcerated people, while the association between adulthood trauma and dissociation appeared to be more complex. When treating male incarcerated people, a complex interplay between past and current traumas and dissociation should be considered.Keywords: male incarcerated people, childhood trauma, adulthood trauma, dissociation, borderline personality disorders

To improve the resolution of ground penetrating radar (GPR) signals, the Compensated Time-Reversal (CTR) method is applied, especially in lossy media, where the conventional time reversal method has the negative effect of dispersion and loss in the propagation medium. To create the CTR method, Time-Reversal (TR) processing combined with attenuation compensation based on continuous wavelet transform is applied. The application of both the TR and CTR methods to synthetic data showed a significant improvement of the radargram resolution, effectively differentiating anomalies within a low-loss medium, especially when the latter approach was implemented. To test the method in a real-world situation, a forensic GPR investigation was carried out to detect the body of a climber buried by a snow avalanche in the Karkas Mountains, Natanz, Iran. Both the TR and CTR methods successfully located the body, but the CTR method provided better definition of both the body and nearby reflectors related to the subsurface features like specific layers of snow. These results demonstrate that the CTR application is efficient at enhancing the spatial resolution of GPR radargrams and proves to have substantial promise as a GPR processing technique, although the method is relatively time consuming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of heavy metals Nickel and Cadmium in muscle and liver tissues of Pomadasys kaakan in Bushehr seaport during 2015. 20 samples of Pomadasys kaakan were caught completely at random from Bushehr seaport by the area local fishermen should be omitted. After biometry of the samples, the muscle and liver tissues of the samples were separated and chemical digestion of the samples was done by MOOPAM, then Nickel and Cadmium accumulation levels in tissues were measured using Graphite furnace atomic absorption instrument (VARIAN AA 100). Based on the obtained results the mean concentrations of Nickel in muscle and liver tissues of Pomadasys kaakan were calculated 0.284 ± 0.074 and 0.344 ± 0.081 mg/kg dry weight respectively and showed that there were no significant differences (P>0.05). Moreover, based on the obtained results the mean concentrations of Cadmium in muscle and liver tissues of Pomadasys kaakan were calculated 0.118 ± 0.011 and 0.132 ± 0.021 mg/kg dry weight respectively and showed that there were significant differences (P

Aim: The Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAAS) is a well-established selfreport measure for research purposes. Its three-factor structure has been employed in Iranian populations for years, despite the lack of evidence to support its psychometric properties. The current study aimed to assess the factor structure, convergent validity, and reliability of RAAS in Iranian community adults. Method: A sample of 605 participants (354 females, 251 males) was randomly divided into two samples (n1 = 303, n2 = 302) for factor analytic purposes. Along with RAAS, measures of mentalizing capacity, emotion dysregulation and borderline personality disorder were administered. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to evaluate the factor structures proposed for its original version. Results: Overall, factor analyses suggested the two-factor structure (i.e., anxiety and avoidance) to be the better fit for the data. Due to weak factor loading, six items were removed, resulting in a 12-item scale. Furthermore, Anxiety and avoidance demonstrated significant correlations with attachment-related instruments (p<.001) and their internal consistencies were also acceptable (α = .83 and .76, respectively). Conclusion: Our findings were congruent with previous theoretical underpinnings and provided support for the Iranian adaptation of RAAS in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience engineering (RE) is a proactive approach that enables complex systems to deal with adverse events and improve safety management by enhancing structural and organizational capabilities. A methodological examination of RE‐related studies showed that they had only focused on some major indicators so that subindicators have been mostly neglected. This study aims to present a hierarchical analysis to identify the importance degree of indicators and subindicators of RE using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in a petrochemical plant. To accomplish this, a pairwise comparison matrix of the indicators and subindicators was used to collect the data required for AHP approach. To demonstrate the applicability of the AHP results, this study ranks the units of the petrochemical plant using the technique for the order of preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) approach based on the importance degree of RE indicators. A questionnaire was used to gather data related to RE indicators so we could use the TOPSIS method. The results of the AHP showed that management commitment, buffering capacity, and reporting culture were the most influential RE indicators. In addition, anticipation had the lowest impact on RE. The most important subindicators of the RE indicators were also identified using a hierarchical analysis through AHP. The results of TOPSIS provided a best–worst analysis of the units of the petrochemical plant. The findings of this study could help safety managers formulate better‐targeted safety policies by investing in influential indicators and subindicators of RE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arasbaran Forests are the main habitat of Caucasian black grouse (Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi Taczanowski) as one of the most important endangered avian species in Iran. Quantitative analysis of the structure and composition of woodlands provides an appropriate basis for conservation programs in its habitat. This research was conducted to quantify the structural characteristics of woody communities in the Caucasian black grouse habitats in Iran. For this purpose, after determining the absence and presence regions, three one-hectare plots in each region were selected, in which all trees were inventoried. Results revealed that the greater amount of relatively large trees (DBH > 20 cm) and the vast range of tree diameter were observed in the presence area. The mean comparison showed that the mean of DBH (11.1±0.6 cm) in the bird's presence was significantly greater than that in the bird absences region (8.5±0.7 cm). The coefficient of variation of DBH, tree size diversity, tree species richness, tree height class richness, and tree heights in overstory were similar in both presence and absence areas. However, the tree and shrub heights in the understory were significantly greater in the presence area (1.5±0.06 m) compared with the absence area (1±0.02 m). Moreover, the abundance of dead trees was significantly different in those areas. In conclusion, the habitats with the relatively higher dominance of Quercus macranthera Fisch. & C.A.Mey. and the presence of dog rose (Rosa canina L.) and black currant (Ribes biebersteinii Berland.) are favorable for the black grouse. The relatively homogeneous structure with the presence of large diameter oak trees and the least amount of fallen dead trees provides suitable conditions for this species. This should be considered in the reconstruction of bird habitats and the restoration of previously manipulated habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: An internship course in the field gives students the opportunity to put what they have learned into practice; it allows students to understand and try to address potential shortcomings. It also increases their potential for future employment. The purpose of this study was to determine the challenges of internship training program in the field of public health in the School of Health of Golestan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This qualitative study will be conducted in 2019-2020 with inductive content analysis approach in Golestan province. Participants in the study were 31 undergraduate public health graduates who completed their internship at the School of Public Health, undergraduate public health students who had completed at least one semester of internship, instructors, and faculty members of the Department of Public Health. They were purposefully selected. Data were collected by group and individual interviews and analyzed by content analysis method and Atlas.ti 8 software. Findings: Challenges of internship in the field of public health were explained in 6 main thems (education system, students, pre-internship planning and preparation, internship management, internship field, student monitoring and evaluation) and 23 sub-thems. Conclusion: The need to pay more attention to the weaknesses of the internship resulting from the study and selection of appropriate strategies to improve the current situation in the framework of the operational plan, can lead to quantitative and qualitative improvement of internship in public health at Golestan University of Medical Sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea have a negative effect on the personal and social performance of patients. According to the background review, nutrition can play a key role in the prevalence and severity of premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea. Therefore, this study was performed to determine the relationship between nutritional pattern of female students and premenstrual syndrome and primary dysmenorrhea. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, 314 female students of Rafsanjan medical sciences departments participated in 2018 as a quota. Data were collected using the Feed Frequency Questionnaire, Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool, and Dysmenorrhea Scale. After collecting, data were entered into SPSS version 18 software and then analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: The average daily intake of various foods per day was 3208.21±1664.16, premenstrual syndrome score 27.67±10.99 and dysmenorrhea score 5.47±2.37. Among the different food groups, there was only a weak, inverse and significant relationship between dairy consumption and premenstrual syndrome (p0.005, r-0.164). There was also no significant relationship between dysmenorrhea score and dietary patterns. Conclusion: With increasing dairy consumption by female students, premenstrual syndrome in these students decreases. Due to the weakness of this relationship in the present study, there is a need for further research in this field. Key words: Premenstrual Syndrome, Dysmenorrhea, Nutrition, Students [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise tracking of the earthquake acceleration profile in the presence of uncertainties is a challenge for the shake table control design. Design and implementation of a fuzzy-sliding-mode super- visory controller for an electric seismic shake table with variable payload is addressed in this paper. The proposed controller contains two layers including a proportional–integral loop and a fuzzy-sliding-mode supervisory controller. The controller is then implemented in the shake table and its performance is evaluated. The test results reveal successful performance of the proposed controller at robust tracking of some harmonic and seismic excitations in the presence of parametric uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]