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• Increasing landscape openness (forest loss and fragmentation) reduces most forest attributes. • Forest loss has stronger negative effects than forest fragmentation. • Landscape openness reduces forest structure and animal-dispersed species but does not affect tree diversity. • Structure is affected at all, animal-dispersed species at large and seed size at small spatial scales. • The effects of landscape openness on forest attributes are landscape context-dependent. Landscape openness leads to harsher environmental conditions and reduced propagule dispersal, but how it affects different forest attributes and over what spatial scale remains unclear. We evaluate the effects of landscape openness (i.e., increased forest loss and fragmentation) on nine forest attributes related to structure, diversity, and composition for four different spatial scales, and three regions in Brazilian Atlantic forest. For 35 0.1 ha forest plots we calculated nine forest attributes related to structure (basal area, maximum height, structural heterogeneity), tree biodiversity (species richness, Simpson diversity, functional richness) and functional composition (proportion of animal-dispersed and shade-tolerant species, seed size). To assess at what spatial scales landscape characteristics play a role, we calculated for each plot local matrix openness and forest patch density using four concentric circles of 400 to 3200 m radius. Landscape openness negatively affected most forest attributes, but the magnitude of effect varied with 1) landscape attribute, 2) forest attribute, and 3) region. First, matrix openness had a negative stronger effect than patch density, indicating that landscape forest loss is more detrimental than forest fragmentation. Second, landscape openness reduced most strongly forest structure and animal-dispersed species, probably because open landscapes increase edge effects which especially affect large-sized trees, and reduce the abundance and activity of zoochorous seed dispersers, while landscape openness had opposite effects on diversity in different regions. Third, landscape openness had different effects in different regions, probably because of regional differences in tree species composition, landscape configuration and composition. Finally, landscape openness affected forest structural attributes at all spatial scales, animal-dispersed species at larger spatial scales (>1600 m), and seed size at small spatial scales (<400 m). In sum, landscape openness reduced most forest attributes, although the strength varied with the landscape attribute, forest attribute, and landscape context. Conservation and restoration projects should therefore restore landscape forest cover to improve forest structure, diversity and composition, and take into account the landscape context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, a production enterprise cannot survive without using computer-based machines. Nevertheless, not all enterprises have enough money to invest in such manufacturing resources. On the other hand, handling the resource or providing appropriate platform is not easy at all. For companies, Cloud-based strategies give them a chance to bring their inherent knowledge and intelligence to every business case and cause a quick response by reducing the cost of investment. Manufacturers know that providing capacity, according to demand will increase the profit and help them to get new work contracts. In the recent century, intelligent manufacturing would be the one in which all information is available in the most useful way, right where and when that it is needed to hold an optimum operation or response such as cloud manufacturing. This paper aims to provide a framework for how using cloud services emerge at obtaining lean concepts in the manufacturing companies. The research has conducted through semi-structured interviews among professionals in Cloud-based environments and production systems. Key managers or employees from different levels have selected. Analyzing interview transcripts using a constructivist approach to grounded theory is supposed to result in a model for how to develop cloud service models according to the lean concepts, especially in manufacturing frameworks.

Abstract We introduce analogue black holes (BHs) based on ideal magnetohydrodynamic equations. Similar to acoustic BHs, which trap phonons and emit Hawking radiation (HR) at the sonic horizon where the flow speed changes from super- to sub-sonic, in the horizon of magnetoacoustic and Alfvénic BHs, the magnetoacoustic and Alfvén waves will be trapped and emit HR made of quantized vibrations similar to phonons which we call magnephonons and Alphonons. We proposed that magnetoacoustic and Alfvénic BHs may be created in the laboratory using a tube with variable cross section embedded in a uniform magnetic field, and a super-magnetoacoustic or a super-Alfvénic flow. We show that the Hawking temperature for both BHs is a function of the background magnetic field, number density of fluid, and radius of the tube. For a typical setup, the temperature is estimated to be about 0.0266 K.

An experimental study of the subcooled boiling heat transfer of axial and swirling upward flows inside vertical mini annular gaps was conducted using deionized water. The subcooled boiling heat transfer coefficients and the boiling curves of the flow inside mini annular gaps with different gap sizes have been investigated. The experimental results both for the single phase heat transfer and subcooled boiling heat transfer inside mini annular gaps showed very good agreement with correlations in the literature. The results showed that the subcooled boiling heat transfer coefficient for a given heat flux increases as the size of the annular gap is decreased. The maximum wall superheat is also influenced negligibly by mass flux. Furthermore, the effects of swirl flow by using spring insets inside the mini annuli on the single phase and subcooled boiling heat transfer have been studied. The results showed that the single phase and subcooled boiling heat transfer coefficients are increased by having swirl flow inside mini annuli using spring inserts. The obtained results also showed that the heat transfer enhancement by having swirl flow inside the annuli using spring inserts decreases as the applied heat flux is increased in the subcooled boiling heat transfer region.

We present a novel approach for the joint study of the spatial and temporal correlations of the wideband random microwave propagation in a disordered environment. We specifically address the issue of the time dependence of small-scale spatial variations in the transmitted field resulting from pulse propagation. Using Fourier transform techniques performed on the field spectra measured in indoor environment over an area of several square wavelengths, λ2, in steps of λ/10 we obtain very fine maps of the spatial variations of pulse responses in different moments of time with a one-ns resolution. A transition from a well-defined wavefront at the time of first arrivals to a complex interference pattern of waves coming from multiple directions shortly thereafter can be clearly seen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The molecular epidemiology of meningitis in children is unclear in Iran, and data are scarce. We aimed to characterize its clinical and paraclinical features as well as to determine the distribution of genotype/capsular types of common bacterial meningitis agents in children in Iran. All children suspected to have meningitis aged 4 days to 15 years were enrolled onto a prospective cross-sectional study from January 2015 to September 2017. Diagnostic values of clinical features, cerebrospinal fluid and serum parameters were evaluated independently and in combination with each other by multivariate logistic regression to develop a diagnostic rule. Genotype/capsular types of all the isolates were determined by targeting serotype-specific genes with uniplex or multiplex PCR. Among 119 patients suspected of having meningitis, 43 had bacterial meningitis, 19 aseptic and one tuberculous; and there were 56 nonmeningitis cases (NMC). Presentation of four features at the same time—cerebrospinal fluid white blood cell count, protein, polymorphonuclear leukocytes and serum C-reactive protein—revealed 100% sensitivity and 86.4% specificity for diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. Haemophilus influenzae type b (60%), Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3 (28.5%) and Neisseria meningitidis B (63.5%) were the most prevalent serotypes. This study demonstrated that a well-designed combination of clinical and paraclinical features is useful, but these combinations are not good enough to be relied on as stand-alone exclusionary tests for the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. In addition, public immunization of infants with the most prevalent bacterial meningitis serotypes is recommended. Keywords: Children, diagnosis, genotype, meningitis, molecular epidemiology

The present study aimed to test a mobile device equipped with ultrasonic and spectral sensors for the assessment of biomass from diverse pastures and to compare its prediction accuracy to that from static measurements. Prediction of biomass by mobile application of sensors explained > 63 % of the variation in manually determined reference plots representing the biomass range of each paddock. Accuracy of biomass prediction improved with increasing grazing intensity. A slight overestimation of the true values was observed at low levels of biomass, whereas an underestimation occurred at high values, irrespective of stocking rate and years. Prediction accuracy with a mobile application of sensors was always lower than when sensors were applied statically. Differences between mobile and static measurements may be caused by position errors, which accounted for 8.5 cm on average. Beside GPS errors (±1–2 cm horizontal accuracy and twice that vertically), position inaccuracy predominantly originated from undirected vehicle movements due to heaps and hollows on the ground surface. However, the mobile sensor system in connection with biomass prediction models may provide acceptable prediction accuracies for practical application, such as mapping. The findings also show the limits even sophisticated sensor combinations have in the assessment of biomass of extremely heterogeneous grasslands, which is typical for very leniently stocked pastures. Thus, further research is needed to develop improved sensor systems for supporting practical grassland farming.

Various morphologies of silica nanoparticles were synthesized by a microwave-assisted Pechini method. Silica nanostructures were synthesized via a fast reaction between tetra ethyl ortho silicate and ammonia at presence citric acid and other effective agents in Pechini procedure. Then for preparation of polymer-matrix nanocomposites, SiO2 nanoparticles were added to poly carbonate (PC) and poly styrene (PS) matrices. Nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). The influence of SiO2 nanostructures on the flame retardancy of the polymeric matrix was studied using UL- 94 analysis. Our results show that the SiO2 nanostructure can enhance the flame retardant property of the poly carbonate matrix. PC shows better flame retardancy compare to poly styrene.

The main goal of this paper is to present a new day-ahead energy acquisition model for a distribution company (Disco) in a competitive electricity market environment with Interruptible Load (IL). The work formulates the Disco energy acquisition model as a bi-level optimization problem with some of real issues, and then studies and designs a Genetic Algorithm (GA) of this optimization problem too. To achieve this goal, a novel two-step procedure is proposed. At the first step, a realistic model for an industrial interruptible load is introduced, and it is shown that Interruptible load model may affect the problem modeling and solving. At the second step, Disco energy acquisition program is formulated and solved with this realistic model. As a result, this paper shows energy acquisition programming model with ILs, by considering real assumptions. The introduced method shows a good performance of problem modeling and solving algorithm both in terms of solution quality and computational results. In addition, a case study is carried out considering a test system with some assumptions. Subsequently results show the general applicability of the proposed model with potential cost saving for the Disco

In this paper, tin dioxide nanoparticles were synthesized by a fast and simple co-precipitation method. For SnO2 preparation, we used ammonia as precipitation agent and bis (acetylacetone) ethylene diamineas as capping agent. By changing in SnCl4, acacen mole-ratio different morphologies were obtained. This semiconductor nanostructure has photo-catalyst activities and can degrade organic dyes as water pollution. The synthesized materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. In situ poly vinyl alcohol-tin dioxide nanocomposite was prepared and results show that the SnO2 nanostructure can improve flame retardant property of the PVA matrix.

Water deficiency stress as the most important abiotic stress plays an important role in the yield suppression of plants worldwide. Considering physiological indices to improve drought resistance is of paramount importance. The objective of present study was to evaluate the effects of different irrigation intervals (irrigation after 5, 7, 9 and 11 days) and rates of superabsorbent polymer (Nil, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 percent of pot medium weight) on some physiological parameters of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plant under greenhouse condition. The study carried out at College of Agriculture, Ilam University during 2009-2010 using a factorial layout in randomized complete blocks design (RCBD) with three replications. Statistical analysis showed significant effects of the irrigation and superabsorbent polymer on total yield and plant physiological parameters including leaf relative water content (RWC), water use efficiency (WUE), total soluble solids (TSS), chlorophyll, proline and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. In drought conditions total yield, RWC, WUE and chlorophyll a reduced but MDA accumulation, proline content and TSS increased. Application of superabsorbent polymer significantly caused increasing of total yield, RWC, WUE, chlorophyll a and decreasing of MDA content, proline and TSS. Our results showed that superabsorbent polymers can absorb and retain extremely large amounts of water and decreased adverse effects of drought stress on the plants.

Identification and tracking of solar coronal loops is key to understanding solar magnetic field. Slow and fast Magnetohydrodynamic oscillation of tracked loops from sequence 171Å extreme ultra – violet images was detected. The method was demonstrated using 171Å images taken by SDO/AIA on 14 August 2010 and 20 January 2012. Two dimensional continuous wavelet transform (CWT) was used to clarify images of loops and to eliminate additional noises. Applying OCCULT method, the loops were labeled and their widths were determined. The Zernike moments of loops as an invariant property (transformation, scale and rotation) of loops were calculated. Then, the Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) was used for identification of the same loops from sequence images. Slow longitudinal Magnetohydrodynamic oscillations were extracted by averaging pixels intensities perpendicular to tube axis. Fast oscillations in distinguishable tubs were observed observable by averaging pixels’ intensities in direction of tube axis. Also, periods, phase velocity, and damping time of oscillations were computed

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of sodium nitrate consumption on egg quality and quantity, and some blood parameters of native breeder hens of West Azerbaijan province. One hundred native hens were used from wk 25 to 32 of age. These birds were divided into two groups. One group was fed the control diet (CD) but the other fed the same diet supplemented with 4.2 g/kg sodium nitrate (ND). After 2 wks of adaptation, eggs were collected daily and egg mass and egg production were measured weekly for five weeks. To assess the egg quality parameters, two eggs from each replicate pen were collected for three consecutive days each week. At the end of experimental period (wk 32 of age), blood samples of 5 birds per replicate were collected from the wing vein into anticoagulant tubes. Dietary sodium nitrate didn’t affect the egg production, shell stiffness, shell thickness and Haugh unit (p>0.05) but it decreased the both egg production and egg mass during the last three weeks (wks 30, 31 and 32) (p0.05). No effect of time or treatment×time were observed for shell stiffness (p>0.05). Over time, shell thickness was decreased while Haugh unit increased (p0.05). Sodium nitrite decreased both the TAC and TC at wk 32 of age (p

In order to study the effect of genotype × environment interaction and stability of sugar beet varieties, four cultivars, including Shirine, Zarghan, Laetitia and 7112 hybrid were planted in five major areas near to sugar beet factory of Biseton as Kangavar, Sahneh, Chamchamal, Dinavar and Ravansar for three years (2006-2008) using a randomized complete block designs, with three replications. Analysis of variance for root yield, sugar yield and sugar content showed that the environment and genotype main effects and genotype × environment interaction were significant. AMMI model with the first two principal components explained most of the genotype × environment interaction (99.9%, 99.3 % and 99.4 %) for root yield, sugar yield and sugar content, respec-tively. Laetitia was the best genotype based on the biplots, but had the least general adaptation to the environments and showed specific adaptation to Sahneh location. Zarghan had the most highest general adaptation to the locations, but had the average value for the traits studied. 7112 hybrid had the specific adaptation to Kangavar location. Among the locations, Sahneh was the best location, and was more similar to Chamchamal. Based on means and the first two interaction components, Dinavar was the poorest location. Therefore, Sahneh and Ravansar are recommended as suitable places for planting of sugar beet and Laetitia is suggested as the best genotype for these locations.

Social capital which is resources and rewards that people achieve through social relations has gained a wide acceptance in recent decades. However, there has been little research regarding the impact of social capital on occupational activity. The purpose of writing this paper is to study the effects of social capital on occupational activities, of public university faculty members based in Tehran. In order to do this the researcher has taken advantage Putnam and Coleman’s measure of social capital among the university faculty members and then the relationship and its impact on their business activities have been discussed. The components of social capital include the quality of relationships (trustworthiness) and quantity of relationships (membership in groups and associations and cooperative relations) were measured and assessed. This research is correlational. The participants include 160 faculty members of the public universities located in Tehran in the first half of the year 1388. Based on the Cochrane formula, 120 subjects were selected by random sampling. Information was collected through a questionnaire. The questionnaire is considered reliable with a Cranbach alpha coefficient of 0.901. The findings indicate that social capital had a positive and significant impact on the employment aspects of faculty activity. Therefore, the hypotheses of the study stating the relation between social capital and faculty members occupational activity level, quality of education and quality of work was supported.

Developing the production centers of knowledge, technology and technical skills is the requirement of economic growth in the third millennium. Entrepreneurship can be considered as one of the important engines of growth and development. At this point, the role of entrepreneur and entrepreneurship in the community is determined which can be more clearly realized through universities and centers of entrepreneurship. In this paper, we tried to find the administrative process of entrepreneurship as well as the relationship between education and the kind of necessary training for entrepreneurship. Three tests including: 1 – Kalmogrof-Asmyronf tests, 2- one sample t-test, 3- Friedman rank test were used in this research in a cross-sectional form to test the hypotheses of the research and to analyze them inferentially. The research conclusion has shown that the evolutionary leadership among the internal factors of the university, the university process and the revival factors of the university and also creating a scientific and dynamic environment among the basic and fundamental changes in the university are the most effective ones in the stability of entrepreneur universities. At the end of the paper, some suggestions have been presented regarding the development of "entrepreneurship education" in order to stabilize entrepreneur universities.