• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.113-132
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• 2015

In this study, lime (L), silica fume (SF), and lime-silica fume (L-SF) mix have been used for stabilizing and considering their effects on the soft clay soil. The improvement technique adopted in this study includes improving the behaviour, of a square footing over soft clay through grouting the clay with a slurry of lime-silica fume before and after installation of the footing. A grey-colored densified silica fume is used. Three percentages are used for lime (2%, 4% and 6%) and three percentages are used for silica fume (2.5%, 5%, 10%) and the optimum percentage of silica fume is mixed with the percentages of lime. Several tests are made to investigate the soil behaviour after adding the limeand silica fume. For grouting the soft clay underneath and around the footing, a 60 ml needle was used as a liquid tank of the lime-silica fume mix. Slurried silica fume typically contains 40 to 60% silica fume by mass. Four categories were studied to stabilize soft clay before and after footing construction and for each category, the effectiveness of grouting was investigated; the effect of injection hole spacing and depth of grout was investigated too. It was found that when the soft clay underneath or around a footing is injected by a slurry of lime-silica fume, an increase in the bearing capacity in the range of (6.58-88)% is obtained. The footing bearing capacity increases with increase of depth of grouting holes around the footing area due to increase in L-SF grout. The grouting near the footing to a distance of 0.5 B is more effective than grouting at a distance of 1.0 B due to shape of shear failure of soft clay around the footing.

• Advances in Energy Research
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.179-205
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• 2017

This research presents an in-depth analysis of location planning of the solar-hydrogen power plants for electricity production in different cities situated in Kerman province of Iran. Ten cities were analyzed in order to select the most suitable location for the construction of a solar-hydrogen power plant utilizing photovoltaic panels. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology was applied to prioritize cities for installing the solar-hydrogen power plant so that one candidate location was selected for each city. Different criteria including population, distance to main road, flood risk, wind speed, sunshine hours, air temperature, humidity, horizontal solar irradiation, dust, and land costare used for the analysis. From the analysis, it is found that among the candidates' cities, the site of Lalezar is ranked as the first priority for the solar-hydrogen system development. A measure of validity is obtained when results of the DEA method are compared with the results of the technique for ordering preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). Applying TOPSIS model, it was found that city of Lalezar ranked first, and Rafsanjan gained last priority for installing the solar-hydrogen power plants. Cities of Baft, Sirjan, Kerman, Shahrbabak, Kahnouj, Shahdad, Bam, and Jiroft ranked second to ninth, respectively. The validity of the DEA model is compared with the results of TOPSIS and it is demonstrated that the two methods produced similar results. The solar-hydrogen power plant is considered for installation in the city of Lalezar. It is demonstrated that installation of the proposed solar-hydrogen system in Lalezar can lead to yearly yield of 129 ton-H2 which covers 4.3% of total annual energy demands of the city.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.1255-1262
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• 2014

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate any associations between benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the VDR gene (FokI, BsmI, ApaI and Taq${\alpha}$I loci) and the CYP17 gene (MspA1I locus), as well as TA repeat polymorphism in SRD5A2 gene among Lebanese men. Materials and Methods: DNA extracted from blood of 68 subjects with confirmed BPH and 79 age-matched controls was subjected to PCR/PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The odds ra=tio (OR) of having a genotype and the relative risk (RR) of developing BPH for having the genotype were calculated and the alleles were designated risk-bearing or protective. Results: Our data indicated that the A and B alleles of the VDR ApaI and BsmI SNPs were highly associated with increased risk of BPH (p=0.0168 and 0.0002, respectively). Moreover, 63% of the controls compared to 43% of the subjects with BPH were homozygous for none of the risk-bearing alleles (p=0.0123) whereas 60% of the controls and 28% of the subjects with BPH were homozygous for two or more protective alleles (p<0.0001). Conclusions: For the first time, our study demonstrated that ApaI and BsmI of the VDR gene are associated with risk of BPH among Lebanese men. Our study also indicated that overall polymorphism profile of all the genes involved in prostate physiology could be a better predictor of BPH risk.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제49권8호
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• pp.1610-1616
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• 2017

To validate the new Evaluated Nuclear Data File $(ENDF)/B-VIII.0{\beta}4$ library, 31 different critical cores were selected and used for a benchmark test of the important parameter keff. The four utilized libraries are processed using Nuclear Data Processing Code (NJOY2016). The results obtained with the $ENDF/B-VIII.0{\beta}4$ library were compared against those calculated with ENDF/B-VI.8, ENDF/B-VII.0, and ENDF/B-VII.1 libraries using the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP(X)) code. All the MCNP(X) calculations of keff values with these four libraries were compared with the experimentally measured results, which are available in the International Critically Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project. The obtained results are discussed and analyzed in this paper.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제84권4호
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• pp.437-452
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• 2022

For the first time, the higher-order shear and normal deformable plate theory (HOSNDPT) is used for the vibration and flutter analyses of the multilayer functionally graded graphene platelets reinforced composite (FG-GPLRC) plates under supersonic airflow. For modeling the supersonic airflow, the linear piston theory is adopted. In HOSNDPT, Legendre polynomials are used to approximate the components of the displacement field in the thickness direction. So, all stress and strain components are encountered. Either uniform or three kinds of non-uniform distribution of graphene platelets (GPLs) into polymer matrix are considered. The Young modulus of the FG-GPLRC plate is estimated by the modified Halpin-Tsai model, while the Poisson ratio and mass density are determined by the rule of mixtures. The Hamilton's principle is used to obtain the governing equations of motion and the associated boundary conditions of the plate. For solving the plate's equations of motion, the Galerkin approach is applied. A comparison for the natural frequencies obtained based on the present investigation and those of three-dimensional elasticity theory shows a very good agreement. The flutter boundaries for FG-GPLRC plates based on HOSNDPT are described and the effects of GPL distribution patterns, the geometrical parameters and the weight fraction of GPLs on the flutter frequencies and flutter aerodynamic pressure of the plate are studied in detail. The obtained results show that by increasing 0.5% of GPLs into polymer matrix, the flutter aerodynamic pressure increases approximately 117%, 145%, 166% and 196% for FG-O, FG-A, UD and FG-X distribution patterns, respectively.

• Advances in materials Research
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.233-241
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• 2024

Quantitative analysis of the Zingiber Officinale sample using subcritical water extraction (SWE) was developed employing High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to bolster the advancement of this innovative green extraction process. This research focuses on three principal ginger bioactive compounds: 6-gingerol, 6-shagoal, and 10-gingerol. Various stages were undertaken to establish the quantitative analysis method, encompassing the optimisation of HPLC operating conditions and the formulation of standard calibration curves, yielding individual compound equations. A robust correlation within the calibration curve was achieved, exhibiting an r² value of 0.9814 and an RSD of 5.00%. A simultaneous, swift, and dependable method was established with an injection time of 20 minutes and an 8-minute delay between injections, in contrast to the previous HPLC analysis requiring a 45-minute injection time for detecting and quantifying all components. Notably, no post-treatment was applied after the SWE process. This advancement allows for potential future online measurement of Zingiber Officinale bioactive compounds extracted using subcritical water extraction through this technology.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제52권2호
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• pp.131-139
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• 2019

Objectives: Self-reporting can be used to determine the incidence and prevalence of hypertension (HTN). The present study was conducted to determine the validity of self-reported HTN and to identify factors affecting discordance between self-reported and objectively measured HTN in participants in the Ravansar Non-Communicable Diseases (RaNCD) cohort. Methods: The RaNCD cohort included permanent residents of Ravansar, Iran aged 35-65 years. Self-reported data were collected before clinical examinations were conducted by well-trained staff members. The gold standard for HTN was anti-hypertensive medication use and blood pressure measurements. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and overall accuracy of self-reporting were calculated. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to examine the discordance between self-reported HTN and the gold standard. Results: Of the 10 065 participants in the RaNCD, 4755 (47.4%) were male. The prevalence of HTN was 16.8% based on self-reporting and 15.7% based on medical history and HTN measurements. Of the participants with HTN, 297 (18.8%) had no knowledge of their disease, and 313 (19.9%) had not properly controlled their HTN despite receiving treatment. The sensitivity, specificity, and kappa for self-reported HTN were 75.5%, 96.4%, and 73.4%, respectively. False positives became more likely with age, body mass index (BMI), low socioeconomic status, and female sex, whereas false negatives became more likely with age, BMI, high socioeconomic status, smoking, and urban residency. Conclusions: The sensitivity and specificity of self-reported HTN were acceptable, suggesting that this method can be used for public health initiatives in the absence of countrywide HTN control and detection programs.