The Custodians of Rationality: Introducing Lydia Amir’s Rethinking Philosophers’ Responsibility

Lydia Amir 강원대학교 인문과학연구소 2017 Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol.8 No.2

Responsibility lies where one is capable of doing something that is needed. Even more so, when no one else can do it. Thus, it is up to philosophers to fulfill their responsibility as only they can properly answer specific needs in contemporary society. This responsibility is closely associated with their training, which consists in rational reflection on life’s issues. As rationality can be improved only by practice, philosophy, as the custodian of rationality, is a practical discipline. Rethinking Philosophers’ Responsibility (Amir, 2017) calls on philosophers to reconsider their responsibility toward the communities in which they live and toward the rational enterprise that civilization represents. It further exemplifies various practical paths philosophy may take: it restructures epistemology and ethics as practical disciplines, it indicates how philosophers’ rational visions of the human condition and unique training in love can be implemented to answer the need for values and ideals as well as to ease contemporary predicaments, including global concerns, and it advances a worldview to live by-Homo risibilis, or the Ridiculous Human Being.

An Answer to the Reviewers of Amir’s Rethinking Philosophers’ Responsibility(2017)

Lydia Amir 강원대학교 인문과학연구소 2018 Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol.9 No.1

This is my answer to the comments given by the six reviewers on my book, Rethinking Philosophers’ Responsibility (2017). After a few words of introduction, I will take the liberty of highlighting some recurrent themes I gathered from most essays through pitting together various comments as in a plurilogue, before I write to each of you in the order given to me by the editor.

Ability of polymicrobial probiotic and mono-strain probiotic to reduce functional abdominal pain in children: a randomized clinical trial

Jafari Seyed Sajad,Hashemi Seyed Mojtaba,Sadeghi Bahman,Almasi-Hashiani Amir 대한소아청소년과학회 2022 Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics (CEP) Vol.65 No.12

Background: Chronic abdominal pain is a common problem in childhood.Purpose: Due to the prevalence of functional abdominal pain (FAP) and the importance of probiotics, this study aimed to compare the ability of 2 probiotics to reduce and improve FAP in children.Methods: This open-label randomized clinical trial included 116 children aged 5–15 years with FAPP who met the ROME-4 criteria and were referred to the gastrointestinal clinic of Amir-Kabir Hospital in Arak in 2020–2021. The children were randomly allocated to receive polymicrobial probiotic (PMP group) or mono-strain probiotic (MSP group) once daily for 4 weeks. The standard Wong-Baker Faces scale was used to assess symptom severity.Results: Of the 116 subjects, 62 (53.5%) were boys; the mean participant age was 7.39 years (standard deviation, 3.4 years). A significant intergroup difference (<i>P</i>=0.003) was observed in pain severity; 10.34% of children in the PMP group had no pain, while all patients in the MSP group reported low-degree pain. There was no intergroup difference in mean pain score (<i>P</i>=0.466), but it decreased over time in both groups (<i>P</i>= 0.001).Conclusion: Although significantly more children were painless in the PMP versus MSP group, no significant intergroup difference in pain score was noted and symptom severity decreased in both groups. A future study with a placebo group is recommended to validate our findings. .

Formulation of Uplift Capacity of Suction Caissons Using Multi Expression Programming

Amir Hossein Gandomi,Amir Hossein Alavi,Gun Jin Yun 대한토목학회 2011 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.15 No.2

Suction caissons have increasingly been used as foundations and anchors for deepwater offshore structures in the last decade. The increased use of suction caissons defines a serious need to develop more authentic methods for simulating their behavior. Reliable assessment of uplift capacity of caissons in cohesive soils is a critical issue facing design engineers. This paper proposes a new approach for the formulation of the uplift capacity of suction caissons using a promising variant of Genetic Programming (GP),namely Multi Expression Programming (MEP). The proposed model is developed based on experimental results obtained from the literature. The derived MEP-based formula takes into account the effect of aspect ratio of caisson, shear strength of clayey soil, point of application and angle of inclination of loading, soil permeability and loading rate. A subsequent parametric analysis is carried out and the trends of the results are confirmed via previous studies. The results indicate that the MEP formulation can predict the uplift capacity of suction caissons with an acceptable level of accuracy. The proposed formula provides a prediction performance better than or comparable with the models found in the literature. The MEP-based simplified formulation is particularly valuable for providing an analysis tool accessible to practicing engineers.

Formulation of elastic modulus of concrete using linear genetic programming

Amir Hossein Gandomi,Amir Hossein Alavi,Mohammad Ghasem Sahab,Parvin Arjmandi 대한기계학회 2010 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.24 No.6

This paper proposes a novel approach for the formulation of elastic modulus of both normal-strength concrete (NSC) and high-strength concrete (HSC) using a variant of genetic programming (GP), namely linear genetic programming (LGP). LGP-based models relate the modulus of elasticity of NSC and HSC to the compressive strength, as similarly presented in several codes of practice. The models are developed based on experimental results collected from the literature. A subsequent parametric analysis is further carried out to evaluate the sensitivity of the elastic modulus to the compressive strength variations. The results demonstrate that the proposed formulas can predict the elastic modulus with an acceptable degree of accuracy. The LGP results are found to be more accurate than those obtained using the buildings codes and various solutions reported in the literature. The LGP-based formulas are quite simple and straightforward and can be used reliably for routine design practice.

Linkage of Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 and Phosphate in Serum: Phosphate and Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 Reduction by Increasing Dose of Sevelamer

Amir Ghorbanihaghjo,Hassan Argani,Zahra Golmohamadi,Nadereh Rashtchizadeh,Mehran Mesgari Abbasi,Nasrin Bargahi,Amir Mansour Vatankhah,Davoud Sanajou 대한골대사학회 2018 대한골대사학회지 Vol.25 No.3

Background: High serum phosphate and fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23) levels are well-recognized independent risk factors of mortality and morbidity in patients with chronic kidney diseases (CKDs). Sevelamer, as a phosphate chelating agent, reduces serum phosphate and FGF-23 levels produced by bone osteocytes. This study aimed to determine the best dose at which sevelamer could successfully reduce serum phosphate and FGF-23 levels in rat models of adenine-induced CKD. Methods: CKD was induced using adenine. Healthy and CKD-induced rats were divided into 6 groups as follows: healthy controls; CKD controls; rats treated with 1%, 2%, and 3% sevelamer for CKDs; and healthy rats administered 3% sevelamer. Biochemical factors and serum FGF-23 levels were measured using spectrophotometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods. Results: Serum phosphate levels were best decreased in rats receiving 3% sevelamer in their diet (5.91±1.48 mg/dL vs. 8.09±1.70 mg/dL, P<0.05) compared with the CKD control rats. A dose-dependent decrease in serum FGF-23 levels was observed, and the most significant results were obtained in rats receiving 3% sevelamer compared with the CKD control rats (142.60±83.95 pg/mL vs. 297.15±131.10 pg/mL, P<0.01). Conclusions: Higher sevelamer doses significantly reduced serum phosphate and FGF-23 levels in adenine-induced CKD rats.

Effects of a new generation of fish protein hydrolysate on performance, intestinal microbiology, and immunity of broiler chickens

Amir Hossein Alizadeh-Ghamsari,Amir Reza Shaviklo,Seyyed Abdullah Hosseini 한국축산학회 2023 한국축산학회지 Vol.65 No.4

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of co-dried fish protein hydrolysate (CFPH) on broilers performance, intestinal microbiology, and cellular immune responses. Five hundred one-day-old (Ross 308) male broilers were allocated to four treatments with five replicates of 25 birds in a completely randomized design. The experimental treatments included four levels of CFPH (0% as the control, 2.5%, 5%, and 7.5%) in the isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets. During the experiment, body weight (BW) and feed intake (FI) were periodically recorded in addition to calculating average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), liveability index, and European broiler index (EBI). In addition, cellular immune responses were evaluated at 30 days of age. On day 42, ileal contents were obtained to examine the microbial population. Based on the findings, Dietary supplementation of 5 and 7.5% CFPH increased the percentage of the thigh while decreasing the relative weight of the gizzard compared to the control group. The highest relative length of jejunum was observed in birds receiving 2.5 and 5% CFPH, and its highest relative weight belonged to birds fed with 5% CFPH. The number of coliforms, enterobacters, and total gram-negative bacteria in the intestines of birds receiving CFPH was less than that of the control group. In general, the application of CFPH in broiler nutrition can decrease the level of soybean meal in diet and it can be considered as a new protein supplement in poultry production. It is suggested to study the incorporation of this new supplement in other livestock’s diets.

Seismic fracture analysis of concrete arch dams incorporating the loading rate dependent size effect of concrete

Amir Pirooznia,Amir Javad Moradloo 국제구조공학회 2021 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.79 No.2

The purpose of this study is to investigate the size effect, loading rate, and smeared crack models in the nonlinear seismic behavior of concrete arch dams. One of the important parameters in the design of arch concrete dams is the tensile strength of unreinforced mass concrete. Various fracture parameters obtained from experimental results reported for concrete in order to study the size-effect is used in this paper. In the present analysis, the smeared crack method is used in finite element analysis of the Morrow Point arch dam subjected to three components of the TAFT earthquake as a case study. The dependence of fracture, and especially of the size effect, on the loading rate is described. Models incorporating nonlinear analysis in three cases with and without the size effect of dam concrete and fluid-structure interaction are employed to evaluate and compare them. The water is taken as an inviscid, compressible fluid, and the foundation is rigid. From the study, it is concluded that the participation of the size effect leads to higher values of maximum displacements and stresses in benchmark points compared to the model that ignores the size effect. The crack initiation criterion based on the maximum tensile stress according to the size effect of concrete, and also the dynamic loading range should be defined. Results show considering fixed smeared crack models used in the concrete specimen as well as the size effect of concrete materials, will lead to the crack profile is more realistic and will represent near to real behavior of concrete fracture. The results are of significant interest for the concrete fracture of dams; hence the loading rate should be adopted for fracture properties obtained in dams.

A Novel Model of HVDC Hybrid-Type Superconducting Circuit Breaker and Its Performance Analysis for Limiting and Breaking DC Fault Currents

Amir Khan, Umer,Jong-Geon Lee,Amir, Faisal,Bang-Wook Lee Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 2015 IEEE transactions on applied superconductivity Vol.25 No.6

<P>The key obstacle in integrating high-voltage direct current (HVDC) point-to-point networks into meshed multiterminal HVDC networks (MTDC) is the absence of dc circuit breakers (DCCBs), which can timely and reliably isolate the faulty HVDC network from the MTDC. In this paper, a novel hybrid-type superconducting DCCB model (SDCCB) is proposed. The SDCCB has a superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) located in the main line, to limit the fault current until the final trip signal to the SDCCB is given. After the trip signal, insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) switches located in the main line will commutate the fault current into a parallel line, where dc current is forced to zero by combination of IGBTs and surge arresters. DC fault current behavior in MTDC and fundamental requirements of DCCB for MTDC were described, followed by an explanation of the working principles of the SDCCB. To prove the viability of the SDCCB, a simulation analysis demonstrating SDCCB current interruption performance was done for changing the intensity of dc fault current. It was observed that the passive current limiting by SFCL caused significant reduction in fault current interruption stress for SDCCB. Furthermore, fundamental design requirements for SFCL, including the effect of SFCL quenching impedance on SFCL voltage rating and energy dissipation capacity, were investigated. Finally, advantages and limitations of the SDCCB were highlighted.</P>

Seismic response of built-up double-I column in steel moment resisting frame using welded external diaphragm plate

Amir Tabebordbar,Seyed Mehdi Dehghan,Farshid Fathi,Mohammad Amir Najafgholipour 국제구조공학회 2021 Steel and Composite Structures, An International J Vol.41 No.5

Built-up Double-I (BD-I) columns have been commonly used for mid-rise steel-frame structures in Iran. These columns consist of two hot rolled IPE sections which are connected by two cover plates and fillet welds. Until 2017, BD-I columns were employed in intermediate moment resisting frames (MRF) using welded flange plate (WFP) connections. To evaluate the seismic behavior of the connections, four samples were made and tested based on cyclic loading according to AISC 341-16. It was concluded that typical samples cannot satisfy the seismic provisions related to intermediate MRFs. In contrast, the proposed connections retrofitted with two-part external diaphragms were able to satisfy not only the seismic requirements related to intermediate MRFs but also those related to special MRFs according to AISC. The numerical modeling of these samples was performed using ABAQUS finite element software. This study compared the hysteresis moment-rotation curves, plastic strains, and behavior modes in both experimental samples and numerical models.