Performance Indices of Needle Biopsy Procedures for the Assessment of Screen Detected Abnormalities in Services Accredited by BreastScreen Australia

Farshid, Gelareh,Sullivan, Thomas,Jones, Simeon,Roder, David Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.24

Background: We wished to analyse patterns of use of needle biopsy procedures by BreastScreen Australia (BSA) accredited programs to identify areas for improvement. Design: BSA services provided anonymous data regarding percutaneous needle biopsy of screen detected lesions assessed between 2005-2009. Results: 12 services, from 5 of 7 Australian states and territories provided data for 18212 lesions biopsied. Preoperative diagnosis rates were 96.84% for lesion other than microcalcification (LOTM) and 93.21% for microcalcifications. At surgery 97.9% impalpable lesions were removed at the first procedure. Of 11548 Microcalcification (LOTM) biopsied, 46.9% were malignant. The final diagnosis was reached by conventional core biopsy (CCB) in 72.46%, FNAB in 21.33%, VACB in 1.69% and open biopsy in 4.52% of lesions. FNA is being limited to LOTM with benign imaging After FNAB, core biopsy was required for 38% of LOTM. In LOTM the mean false positive rate (FPR) was 0.36% for FNAB, 0.06% for NCB and 0% for VACB. Diagnostic accuracy was 72.75% for FNAB and 92.1% for core biopsies combined. Of 6441 microcalcifications biopsied 2305 (35.8%) were malignant. Microcalcifications are being assessed primarily by NCB but 6.57% underwent FNAB, 45.6% of which required NCB. False positive diagnoses were rare. FNR was 5% for NCB and 1.53% for VACB. Diagnostic accuracy was 73.52% for FNAB, 86.29% for NCB and 88.63% for VACB. Only 8 of 12 services had access to VACB facilities. Conclusions: BSA services are selecting lesions effectively for biopsy and are achieving high preoperative diagnosis rates. Gaps in the present accreditation standards require further consideration.

Nonlinear forced vibration of FG-CNTs-reinforced curved microbeam based on strain gradient theory considering out-of-plane motion

Farshid Allahkarami,Mansour Nikkhah Bahrami,Ghassabzadeh Saryazdi 국제구조공학회 2018 Steel and Composite Structures, An International J Vol.26 No.6

The main goal of this research is to examine the in-plane and out-of-plane forced vibration of a curved nanocomposite microbeam. The in-plane and out-of-plane displacements of the structure are considered based on the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT). The curved microbeam is reinforced by functionally graded carbon nanotubes (FG-CNTs) and thus the extended rule of mixture is employed to estimate the effective material properties of the structure. Also, the small scale effect is captured using the strain gradient theory. The structure is rested on a nonlinear orthotropic viscoelastic foundation and is subjected to concentrated transverse harmonic external force, thermal and magnetic loads. The derivation of the governing equations is performed using energy method and Hamilton's principle. Differential quadrature (DQ) method along with integral quadrature (IQ) and Newmark methods are employed to solve the problem. The effect of various parameters such as volume fraction and distribution type of CNTs, boundary conditions, elastic foundation, temperature changes, material length scale parameters, magnetic field, central angle and width to thickness ratio are studied on the frequency and force responses of the structure. The results indicate that the highest frequency and lowest vibration amplitude belongs to FGX distribution type while the inverse condition is observed for FGO distribution type. In addition, the hardening-type response of the structure with FGX distribution type is more intense with respect to the other distribution types.

The Relationship between Mental Toughness and Sport Motivation in Elite and non-Elite Athlete Students

( Farshid Tahmasbi ),( Hassan Abdi ),( Mohammad Taheri Hossin Abad ) 한국체육학회 2015 국제스포츠과학 학술대회 Vol.2015 No.1

Purpose: Mental Toughness in sport is a relatively new and growing area of sport psychology research, having caught the imagination of both the general sporting public and the academic community. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between Mental Toughness and Sport Motivation in elite and non-elite athlete students. Method: The study populations Consist of elite and non-elite athlete students of Iran, in 2013-2014 year. Selection Method of the study sample was not random but was available samples in sport fields. Participants consisted of 64 athletes students (27 female and 37 male). Two questionnaires involve Mental Toughness and Sport Motivation was used. The data were analyzed by correlation and regression in a descriptive research design. Result: The results revealed significant correlations between Mental Toughness and Sport Motivation. Mental Toughness was significantly and positively correlated to Sport Motivation. However, athletes who scored high on Mental Toughness attributes were significantly higher in Sport Motivation and differ than athletes in the middle and low Mental Toughness score. Conclusion: Results concluded support for using the measure of Mental, Emotional, and Bodily Toughness in the field of psychological skills and sport performance in competitions.

Hybrid Coupled Building Control for Similar Adjacent Buildings

Farshid Fathi,Omid Bahar 대한토목학회 2017 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.21 No.1

The concept of connecting two adjacent buildings has been effectively used to mitigate the structural responses of such buildings due to strong ground motions. Lots of analytical and experimental studies have shown the efficiency of this conventional strategy for dissimilar coupled buildings. However, it is absolutely inefficient for the similar connected buildings. The authors, in their previous works, have provided a new Hybrid Coupled Building Control method (HCBC method) which is applicable to all adjacent buildings. This control strategy reduces the structural responses, and thus reduces the internal forces, of the connected buildings more efficiently than the conventional Coupled Building Control method. In order to apply this strategy, one of the buildings is equipped with a base isolation system, and an active actuator link connects the upper floor of the shorter building to its corresponding floor of the other building. In this paper, the HCBC method is developed for the similar coupled buildings. Herein, this structural control method is applied to two similar connected moment-resisting frame buildings. The best performance of the system is obtained, by designing the control system, so that the two connected buildings stay within their elastic range due to the ground motions. The performances of the HCBC models using active and passive strategies are also compared in details.

Photocatalytic degradation of azo dye using nano-ZrO2/UV/Persulfate: Response surface modeling and optimization

Farshid Ghanbari,Mahsa Moradi,Mohammad Manshouri,Kambiz Ahmadi Angali 한국화학공학회 2016 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.33 No.2

Dyes have always been considered in the context of recalcitrant organic pollutants in water. The present research has focused on the decolorization of Direct Blue 71 (DB71) using photocatalysis process of nano-ZrO2/UV/ Persulfate. Response surface method with central composite design was applied to determine the effects of four main factors (time, ZrO2 dosage, persulfate dosage and pH) on decolorization of DB71. The results indicated that the obtained quadratic model had a high R-squared coefficient based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Time had the highest effect (45.5%) on decolorization of DB71. The optimum condition predicted for complete decolorization was pH=7, 0.4 g ZrO2, 0.75 mM persulfate and 40 min reaction time. Verification experiments confirmed that there was good agreement between the experimental and predicted responses. The studied photocatalytic process could oxidize and destruct the structure of the DB71, and average oxidation state (AOS) significantly increased from −1.5 to +1.33, indicating the presence of more oxidized by-products and, consequently, improvement of biodegradability. The quenching tests showed that sulfate radical was the major agent in DB71 decolorization. It can be concluded that nano-ZrO2/ UV/Persulfate is a very effective process for decolorization of colored wastewater.

Evaluation of peroxymonosulfate/O3/UV process on a real polluted water with landfill leachate: Feasibility and comparative study

Farshid Ghanbari,Masoumeh Khatebasreh,Mostafa Mahdavianpour,Ali Mashayekh-Salehi,Ehsan Aghayani,Kun-Yi Andrew Lin,Behnam Kazemi Noredinvand 한국화학공학회 2021 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.38 No.7

Landfill leachate is classified as special wastewater because it contains a large amount of hazardous materials that can lead to the pollution of surface water, generating polluted water with landfill leachate (PWLL) with high organic load. This study investigated the treatment of PWLL by peroxymonosulfate (PMS)/O3/UV process. The effects of several operating parameters such as pH, reaction time, O3 and PMS dosage were investigated in detail. The results showed that PMS/O3/UV removed total organic carbon (TOC) (74%), color (98%), ammonia (93%), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (81%), and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (69%) in 75 min at optimal conditions (pH=7, PMS=5mM, O3=1.7 mg/min). According to the results, O3 and UV can well activate PMS and promote the ability of the process to remove TOC from PWLL. Adding ferrous ion to PMS/O3/UV increased the TOC removal efficiency (77%), but cobalt ions had no significant effect on the TOC removal. The elimination of TOC by the PMS/O3/UV process follows pseudo-first-order kinetic model with the reaction rate constant of 0.0203 min1. Compared to peroxone/ UV, PMS/O3/UV showed high yield in TOC, COD, color and ammonia removal. Thus the PMS/O3/UV process can be a new approach for treatment of polluted water in low volume.

Genetic Diversity and Differentiation of Colletotrichum spp. Isolates Associated with Leguminosae Using Multigene Loci, RAPD and ISSR

Farshid Mahmodi,J. B. Kadir,A. Puteh,A. Nasehi,N. Soleimani,S. S. Pourdad 한국식물병리학회 2014 Plant Pathology Journal Vol.30 No.1

Genetic diversity and differentiation of 50 Colletotrichumspp. isolates from legume crops studied through multigeneloci, RAPD and ISSR analysis. DNA sequence comparisonsby six genes (ITS, ACT, Tub2, CHS-1, GAPDH, and HIS3)verified species identity of C. truncatum, C. dematium andC. gloeosporiodes and identity C. capsici as a synonymof C. truncatum. Based on the matrix distance analysis ofmultigene sequences, the Colletotrichum species showeddiverse degrees of intera and interspecific divergence (0.0 to1.4%) and (15.5-19.9), respectively. A multilocus molecularphylogenetic analysis clustered Colletotrichum spp. isolatesinto 3 well-defined clades, representing three distinctspecies; C. truncatum, C. dematium and C. gloeosporioides. The ISSR and RAPD and cluster analysis exhibited a highdegree of variability among different isolates and permittedthe grouping of isolates of Colletotrichum spp. into threedistinct clusters. Distinct populations of Colletotrichum spp. isolates were genetically in accordance with host specificityand inconsistent with geographical origins. The largepopulation of C. truncatum showed greater amounts ofgenetic diversity than smaller populations of C. dematiumand C. gloeosporioides species. Results of ISSR and RAPDmarkers were congruent, but the effective maker ratio andthe number of private alleles were greater in ISSR markers.

Robust Shape Control of Two SMA Actuators Attached to a Flexible Beam Based on DK Iteration

Farshid Alambeigi,Ali Zamani,Gholamreza Vossoughi,Mohammad Reza Zakerzadeh 제어로봇시스템학회 2012 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2012 No.10

There has been great demand for shape memory alloy (SMA) wires as actuators for shape control of flexible structures. The experimental setup of this study consists of a flexible beam actuated by two active SMA actuators. The input applied to the SMA actuator in this setup is electrical current while the output is the strain or position. To control strain of the actuator, the SMA wire is heated resistively in order to reach the desired temperature calculated by inverse of the phenomenological model. In heating the SMA wire resistively, the controllable quantity is the heat input to the wire via an applied current. In controller design, changes of physical properties of SMA wires and the surrounding air due to temperature change must be taken into consideration. This adds uncertainty to the presented model. Furthermore, both wires must approach the desired temperature while maintaining the same temperature history. Moreover, a suitable shape control requires overdamped response. A 2-DOF robust controller is designed in this study in order to achieve all the above requirements. The robust controller by the DK iteration method is designed after modeling of the system uncertainties. Required simulations are performed for evaluation of the controller. Obtained results show the ability of controller against time variant uncertainties.

PEDESTRIAN COLLISION AVOIDANCE USING DEEP REINFORCEMENT LEARNING

Farshid Hajati 한국자동차공학회 2022 International journal of automotive technology Vol.23 No.3

The use of intelligent systems to prevent accidents and safety enhancement in vehicles is becoming a requirement. Besides, the development of autonomous cars is progressing every day. One of the main challenges in transportation is the high mortality rate of vehicles colliding with pedestrians. This issue becomes severe due to various and abnormal situations. This paper proposes a new intelligent algorithm for pedestrian collision avoidance based on deep reinforcement learning. A deep Q-network (DQN) is designed to discover an optimal driving policy for pedestrian collision avoidance in diverse environments and conditions. The algorithm interacts with the vehicle and the pedestrian agents and uses a specific reward function to train the model. We have used Car Learning to Act (CARLA), an open-source autonomous driving simulator, for training and verifying the model in various conditions. Applying the proposed algorithm to a simulated environment reduces vehicles and pedestrians’ collision by about 64 %, depending on the environment. Our findings offer an early-warning solution to mitigate the risk of a crash of vehicles and pedestrians in the real world.

Isolation and Identification of Endosulfan- Degrading Bacteria and Evaluation of Their Bioremediation in Kor River, Iran

Farshid Kafilzadeh,Moslem Ebrahimnezhad,Yaghoob Tahery 질병관리본부 2015 Osong Public Health and Research Persptectives Vol.6 No.1

Objectives: Endosulfan is a lipophilic insecticide, which causes severe health issues due to its environmental stability, toxicity, and biological reservation in organisms. It is found in the atmosphere, soil, sediments, surface waters, rain, and food in almost equal proportions. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify endosulfan-degrading bacteria from the Kor River and evaluate the possibility of applying bioremediation in reducing environmental pollution in the desired region. Methods: Samples of surface sediments and water were collected from three different stations in two seasons (summer and autumn), as these are areas with high agricultural activity. Isolated bacteria were identified by various biochemical tests and morphological characteristics. The amounts of degradation of endosulfan isomers and metabolites produced as a result of biodegradation were then analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results: In this study, the following five bacterial genera were able to degrade endosulfan: Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Flavobacterium, and Bacillus. During biodegradation, metabolites of endosulfan diol, endosulfan lactone, and endosulfan ether were also produced, but these had lesser toxicity compared with the original compound (i.e., endosulfan). Conclusion: The five genera isolated can be used as a biocatalyst for bioremediation of endosulfan.