Measuring Socioeconomic Disparities in Cancer Incidence in Tehran, 2008

Rohani-Rasaf, Marzieh,Moradi-Lakeh, Maziar,Ramezani, Rashid,Asadi-Lari, Mohsen Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.6

Background: Health disparities exist among and within countries, while developing and low income countries suffer more. The aim of this study was to quantify cancer disparities with regard to socioeconomic position (SEP) in 22 districts of Tehran, Iran. Method: According to the national cancer registry, 7599 new cancer cases were recorded within 22 districts of Tehran in 2008. Based on combined data from census and a population-based health equity study (Urban HEART), socioeconomic position (SEP) was calculated for each district. Index of disparity, absolute and relative concentration indices (ACI & RCI) were used for measuring disparities in cancer incidence. Results: The overall cancer age standardised rate (ASR) was 117.2 per 100,000 individuals (120.4 for men and 113.5 for women). Maximum ASR in both genders was seen in districts 6, 3, 1 and 2. Breast, colorectal, stomach, skin and prostate were the most common cancers. Districts with higher SEP had higher ASR (r=0.9, p<0.001). Positive ACI and RCI indicated that cancer cases accumulated in districts with high SEP. Female disparity was greater than for men in all measures. Breast, colorectal, prostate and bladder ASR ascended across SEP groups. Negative ACI and RCI in cervical and skin cancers in women indicate their aggregation in lower SEP groups. Breast cancer had the highest absolute disparities measure. Conclusion: This report provides an appropriate guide and new evidence on disparities across geographical, demographic and particular SEP groups. Higher ASR in specific districts warrants further research to investigate the background predisposing factors.

Combined Design of PSS and STATCOM Controllers for Power System Stability Enhancement

Rohani, Ahmad,Tirtashi, M. Reza Safari,Noroozian, Reza The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2011 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.11 No.5

In this paper a robust method is presented for the combined design of STATCOM and Power System Stabilizer (PSS) controllers in order to enhance the damping of the low frequency oscillations in power systems. The combined design problems among PSS and STATCOM internal ac and dc voltage controllers has been taken into consideration. The equations that describe the proposed system have been linearized and a Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) has been designed for the PSS. Then, the Particle Swarm Optimization technique (PSO) which has a strong ability to find the most optimistic results is employed to search for the optimal STATCOM controller parameters. The proposed controllers are evaluated on a single machine infinite bus power system with the STATCOM installed in the midpoint of the transmission line. The results analysis reveals that the combined design has an excellent capability in damping a power system's low frequency oscillations, and that it greatly enhances the dynamic stability of power systems. Moreover, a system performance analysis under different operating conditions and some performance indices studies show the effectiveness of the combined design.

Morphology and nano-structure of soot in diesel spray and in engine exhaust

Rohani, Behzad,Bae, Choongsik Elsevier 2017 Fuel Vol.203 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>This work investigates how morphology and nano-structure of the soot particles produced in a diesel spray flame evolve due to the rise in the temperature/pressure caused by the piston motion. The soot particles were sampled from the exhaust line of a diesel engine and were compared to the soot particles directly sampled from the spray flame of the same injector, in a constant volume chamber. Analysis of the high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) images acquired from the soot samples at two axial locations in the spray flame shows that the soot aggregates grow in size, become longer, more fractal and attain lower surface to volume ratio along the spray axis. However, the soot particles produced in the spray flame become smaller, shorter, less fractal, more compact and attain higher surface to volume ratio when emitted from the engine. This is discussed to be due to the increase in the oxidation rate by temperature rise caused by piston motion, and the consequent oxidation induced fragmentation of the soot aggregates. The effect of oxidation is also evident on the size of the soot primary particles, as the engine-out soot is found to have smaller primary particles compared to the soot initially produced in the spray flame. Nano-structural analysis shows that the crystallite size in the engine-out soot is increased compared to the soot originally produced in the spray flame. This suggests that among two possible effects of temperature on diesel soot crystallite size, being crystallite size increase due to enhanced graphitization from one hand, and crystallite size reduction due to oxidation enhancement from the other hand, the former effect is dominant and the soot particles become structurally more ordered under the effect of temperature rise caused by piston motion.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Soot was sampled in two locations in diesel spray flame and also at engine exhaust. </LI> <LI> Morphological and nano-structural analysis was done by TEM image processing. </LI> <LI> Soot particles become larger and more fractal along the spray axis. </LI> <LI> Engine-out particulates become smaller and less fractal compared to spray soot. </LI> <LI> Engine-out particulates become nano-structurally more ordered compared to spray soot. </LI> </UL> </P>

Effect of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and multiple injections on diesel soot nano-structure and reactivity

Rohani, Behzad,Bae, Choongsik Elsevier 2017 Applied thermal engineering Vol.116 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>The physio-chemical characteristics of soot particles are of importance with regard to performance of diesel after-treatment systems. In this study, the soot particles generated in a single-cylinder heavy-duty diesel engine are examined in terms of nanostructure, oxidative reactivity and volatile organic fraction (VOF), using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman micro-spectroscopy, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Five different injection strategies including single injection and multiple injections with various pilot injection amounts and dwell times were tested with and without exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), while combustion phasing, engine speed, and fuel injection quantity was matched for all cases. Results indicate that for the soot produced under EGR condition, nano-structural order (indicated by crystallite size obtained from XRD and AD1/AG resulted from the Raman Analysis) can explain the soot reactivity. However, in the absence of EGR, the reactivity trend cannot be explained by the structural order. It is discussed that a possible reason can be a higher level of in-cylinder oxidation in non-EGR cases (indicated by higher level of surface functional groups) which roughens the soot surface, and enhances the oxidation by increasing the specific soot surface area. It is also found that in the absence of EGR, different injection strategies impact the soot reactivity and VOF content, which can be explained mainly through the level of charge premixed-ness and the in-cylinder soot oxidation, and the consequent effect on the soot surface roughness. Results also show that the influence of injection strategy on the soot reactivity and VOF content tends to vanish as EGR is added.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> EGR reduced the nano-structural order, regardless of injection strategy. </LI> <LI> EGR reduces both VOF and reactivity, regardless of injection strategy. </LI> <LI> Longer dwell time between pilot and main injection increases VOF and reactivity. </LI> <LI> With EGR, VOF and reactivity are both reduced and un-affected by injection strategy. </LI> <LI> VOF-reactivity correlation (without causality) suggests role of surface roughness. </LI> </UL> </P>

Correlation of Cancer Incidence with Diet, Smoking and Socio-Economic Position Across 22 Districts of Tehran in 2008

Rohani-Rasaf, Marzieh,Abdollahi, Morteza,Jazayeri, Shima,Kalantari, Naser,Asadi-Lari, Mohsen Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.3

Background: Variation in cancer incidence in geographical locations is due to different lifestyles and risk factors. Diet and socio-economic position (SEP) have been identified as important for the etiology of cancer but patterns are changing and inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate correlations of the incidence of common cancers with food groups, total energy, smoking, and SEP. Materials and Methods: In an ecological study, disaggregated cancer data through the National Cancer Registry in Iran (2008) and dietary intake, smoking habits and SEP obtained through a population based survey within the Urban Health Equity Assessment (Urban-HEART) project were correlated across 22 districts of Tehran. Results: Consumption of fruit, meat and dairy products adjusted for energy were positively correlated with bladder, colorectal, prostate and breast and total cancers in men and women, while these cancers were adversely correlated with bread and fat intake. Also prostate, breast, colorectal, bladder and ovarian cancers had a positive correlation with SEP; there was no correlation between SEP and skin cancer in both genders and stomach cancer in men. Conclusions: The incidence of cancer was higher in some regions of Tehran which appeared to be mainly determined by SEP rather than dietary intake. Further individual data are required to investigate reasons of cancer clustering.

Correlation Between Functional Myocardial Perfusion Imaging and Anatomical Cardiac CT in a Case of Myocardial Bridging

Rohani Mohd Fazrin Mohd,Yusof Ahmad Khairuddin Mohamed,Hashim Hazlin 아시아심장혈관영상의학회 2019 Cardiovascular Imaging Asia Vol.3 No.1

Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is generally used to evaluate myocardial ischemia in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease. Cardiac CT, on the other hand, enables non-invasive visualization of the coronary vessels. Myocardial bridging (MB) is a congenital anomaly characterized by an intramyocardial route of a coronary artery. It is commonly considered benign and rarely requires further evaluation or intervention. However, its clinical complications can be hazardous. We report a patient whose SPECT MPI study demonstrated a mild reversible perfusion defect at the apical anterior segment of the left ventricle that was later attributed to MB visualized on cardiac CT.

Standardized Uptake Value from Semiquantitative Bone Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography/Computed Tomography in Normal Thoracic and Lumbar Vertebrae of Breast Cancer Patients

Rohani Mohd Fazrin Mohd,Yonan Siti Nurshahirah Mohd,Tagiling Nashrulhaq,Zainon Wan Mohd Nazlee Wan,Udin Yusri,Nawi Norazlina Mat 대한척추외과학회 2020 Asian Spine Journal Vol.14 No.5

Study Design: Retrospective study.Purpose: This study aims to semiquantitatively evaluate the standardized uptake value (SUV) of ^99mTc-methylene diphosphonate (MDP) radionuclide tracer in the normal vertebrae of breast cancer patients using an integrated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) scanner.Overview of Literature: Molecular imaging techniques using gamma cameras and stand-alone SPECT have traditionally been utilized to evaluate metastatic bone diseases. However, these methods lack quantitative analysis capabilities, impeding accurate uptake characterization.Methods: A total of 30 randomly selected female breast cancer patients were enrolled in this study. The SUVmean and SUVmax values for 286 normal vertebrae at the thoracic and lumbar levels were calculated based on the patients’ body weight (BW), body surface area (BSA), and lean body mass (LBM). Additionally, 106 degenerative joint disease (DJD) lesions of the spine were also characterized, and both their BW SUVmean and SUVmax values were obtained. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was then performed to determine the cutoff value of SUV for differentiating DJD from normal vertebrae.Results: The mean±standard deviations for the SUVmean and SUVmax in the normal vertebrae displayed a relatively wide variability: BW=3.92±0.27 and 6.51±0.72, BSA=1.05±0.07 and 1.75±0.17, and LBM=2.70±0.19 and 4.50±0.44, respectively. Generally, the SUVmean had a lower coefficient of variation than the SUVmax. For DJD, the mean±standard deviation for the BW SUVmean and SUVmax was 5.26±3.24 and 7.50±4.34, respectively. Based on the ROC curve, no optimal cutoff value was found to differentiate DJD from normal vertebrae.Conclusions: In this study, the SUV of ^99mTc-MDP was successfully determined using SPECT/CT. This research provides an approach that could potentially aid in the clinical quantification of radionuclide uptake in normal vertebrae for the management of breast cancer patients.

Composite locomotive frontend analysis and optimization using genetic algorithm

Rohani, S.M.,Vafaeesefat, A.,Esmkhani, M.,Partovi, M.,Molladavoudi, H.R. Techno-Press 2013 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.47 No.5

This paper addresses the structural design of the front end of Siemens ER24 locomotive body. The steel structure of the frontend is replaced with composite. Optimization of the composite lay-up is performed using Genetic Algorithms. Initially an optimized single design for the entire structure is presented. Then a more refined optimum is developed by considering the separate optimization of 7 separate regions of the structure. Significant savings in the weight of the structure are achieved.

Guess and Determine Attack on Bivium

Rohani, Neda,Noferesti, Zainab,Mohajeri, Javad,Aref, Mohammad Reza Korea Information Processing Society 2011 Journal of information processing systems Vol.7 No.1

Bivium is a simplified version of Trivium, a hardware profile finalist of the eSTREAM project. Bivium has an internal state size of 177 bits and a key length of 80 bits. In this paper, a guess and determine attack on this cipher is introduced. In the proposed method, the best linear approximations for the updating functions are first defined. Then by using these calculated approximations, a system of linear equations is built. By guessing 30 bits of internal state, the system is solved and all the other 147 remaining bits are determined. The complexity of the attack is O ($2^{30}$), which is an improvement to the previous guess and determine attack with a complexity of order O($2^{52.3}$).

Combined Design of PSS and STATCOM Controllers for Power System Stability Enhancement

Ahmad Rohani,M. Reza Safari Tirtashi,Reza Noroozian 전력전자학회 2011 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.11 No.5

In this paper a robust method is presented for the combined design of STATCOM and Power System Stabilizer (PSS) controllers in order to enhance the damping of the low frequency oscillations in power systems. The combined design problems among PSS and STATCOM internal ac and dc voltage controllers has been taken into consideration. The equations that describe the proposed system have been linearized and a Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) has been designed for the PSS. Then, the Particle Swarm Optimization technique (PSO) which has a strong ability to find the most optimistic results is employed to search for the optimal STATCOM controller parameters. The proposed controllers are evaluated on a single machine infinite bus power system with the STATCOM installed in the midpoint of the transmission line. The results analysis reveals that the combined design has an excellent capability in damping a power system’s low frequency oscillations, and that it greatly enhances the dynamic stability of power systems. Moreover, a system performance analysis under different operating conditions and some performance indices studies show the effectiveness of the combined design.