Sharif Digital Repository

Unilateral coercive international political, diplomatic, and economic sanctions are regular events of international relations and international law within the landscape of foreign affairs. However, while they may be prescribed by international law, or national legal systems, for peace and security reasons they have also been imposed for political grounds by powerful States such as the United States. The US sanctions are now targeting science, academic and university domains. When applied in this way, these sanctions violate international law, principles of human rights, ethics, the autonomy of scientific institutions, and the norm of universalism in science. All of which protect and promote... 

Non-point source pollution of phosphorus (P) is a primary cause of eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems, and poses a persistent management challenge due to the dynamic and poorly understood processes controlling the transport and transformation of P at the watershed scale. We examined phosphorus inputs, retention, and riverine losses in 62 diverse watersheds that included a wide range of land cover and use (minimally disturbed to human dominated) and human P inputs in Minnesota, USA. Fertilizer inputs from row crop cultivation were the dominant source of P to agricultural watersheds. A large majority of P inputs was retained in watershed soils or removed in agricultural products. However,... 

In United States (U.S.), government-funded organizations, such as NLDAC, reimburse travel and subsistence expenses incurred during living-organ donation process. However, in Iran, there is a non-governmental organization called Iranian Kidney Foundation (IKF) that funds the direct and indirect costs of donors through charitable donations and contributions from participants in the exchange program. In this article, for countries outside the U.S. that currently use an equality approach, we propose a potential new compensation-apportionment approach (equitable approach) for kidney-exchange chains and compare it with the currently available system (equality approach) in terms of the... 

Land cover classification is one of the most important applications of POLSAR images. In this paper, a hybrid biogeography-based optimization support vector machine (HBBOSVM) has been introduced to classify POLSAR images of RADARSAT 2 in band C acquired from San Francisco, USA. The main purpose of this classification is to minimize the number of features and maximize classification accuracy. The proposed method consists of three main steps: preprocessing, feature selection and classification. As preprocessing, radiometric calibration, speckle reduction and feature extraction have been performed. In the proposed HBBO, the combination of onlooker bee of artificial bee colony (ABC) and... 

In this paper, a different interpretation of sustainable transportation, is introduced, in which sustainability with respect to transportation sector for the selected countries is evaluated. This interpretation characterizes "sustainable development" through "harmonic development". It means sustainable development with special focus on transportation can be measured by the degree of conformity between environment, economy, and social aspects on one hand, and transportation on the other hand. The best indicator to perform such a measurement is elasticity. The database used for the study encompasses a series of national indicators for each country Seventy nine countries were initially selected... 

Many cities are struggling to keep pace with limited budgets and rapid growth. Economic development models involving public-private partnerships (P3s) can help drive economic revitalization. The choice of partners plays a vital role in the success or failure of sustainable P3 initiatives. In this study, we propose a novel integrated sustainable private partner selection framework in P3s. The proposed model is composed of the best-worst method (BWM), the weighted influence non-linear gauge system (WINGS), and the technique of order preference similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS). The BWM is used to identify the importance weights of the economic, environmental, social, and technological... 

In the present paper, spatially variation input effects on seismic responses of arch dams have been studied. Recorded ground accelerations at the dam foundation interface of Pacoima dam during January 13, 2001 were used for the purpose of this investigation. A numerical finite element model was developed for dynamic analysis of the dam reservoir system. The modified version of NSAD-DRI finite element program was used for the analysis and the ground acceleration time histories were interpolated at all dam foundation interface nodal points. Total and pseudo static displacements as well as developed stresses due to uniform and non uniform excitations are obtained. The results reveal that... 

This paper develops a behavioral analysis of freight mode choice decisions that could provide a basis for an acceptable analytical tool for policy assessment. The paper specifically examines the way that truck and rail compete for commodity movement in the US. Two binary mode choice models are introduced in which some shipment-specific variables (e.g. distance, weight and value) and mode-specific variables (e.g. haul time and cost) are found to be determinants. The specifications of the non-selected choice are imputed in a machine learning module. Shipping cost is found to be a central factor for rail shipments, while road shipments are found to be more sensitive to haul time. Sensitivity of... 

Background: Air pollutants have not been associated with ambulatory electrocardiographic evidence of ST-segment depression ≥ 1 mm (probable cardiac ischemia). We previously found that markers of primary (combustion-related) organic aerosols and gases were positively associated with circulating biomarkers of inflammation and ambulatory blood pressure in the present cohort panel study of elderly subjects with coronary artery disease. Objectives: We specifically aimed to evaluate whether exposure markers of primary organic aerosols and ultrafine particles were more strongly associated with ST-segment depression of ≥ 1 mm than were secondary organic aerosols or PM 2.5 (particulate matter with... 

Quasi-ultrafine (quasi-UF) particulate matter (PM0.25) and its components were measured in indoor and outdoor environments at four retirement communities in Los Angeles Basin, California, as part of the Cardiovascular Health and Air Pollution Study (CHAPS). The present paper focuses on the characterization of the sources, organic constituents and indoor and outdoor relationships of quasi-UF PM. The average indoor/outdoor ratios of most of the measured polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hopanes, and steranes were close to or slightly lower than 1, and the corresponding indoor-outdoor correlation coefficients (R) were always positive and, for the most part, moderately strong (median R... 

Changes of morphological parameters of oil shale under thermal conditions are investigated. Analyses are based on 26 micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) images of Green River immature shale rock available under creative commons license. Several image processing and characterization algorithms are applied to sequential high-resolution micro-CT images of oil shale samples undergoing pyrolysis. Pore-scale morphology is extracted and quantified, providing results for pore size, throat size, grain size, specific surface, coordination number, and fracture aperture. The results demonstrate critical increases of porosity, coordination number and fracture aperture in the temperature range from 390... 

Understanding controls of P movement through watersheds are essential for improved landscape management in intensively managed regions. Here, we analyze observational data from 104 gaged river sites and 176 nongaged river sites within agriculturally dominated watersheds of Minnesota, USA, to understand the role of landscape features, land use practices, climate variability, and biogeochemical processes in total, dissolved and particulate P dynamics at daily to annual scales. Our analyses demonstrate that factors mediating P concentration-discharge relationships varied greatly across watersheds and included near-channel sediment sources, lake and wetland interception, assimilation by algal P,... 

Epistemic uncertainty in seismic hazard analysis is traditionally addressed by utilizing a logic-tree structure with subjective probabilities for branches. However, many studies have argued that probability is not a suitable choice for addressing epistemic uncertainties; in particular in addressing the background knowledge supporting the probabilities. In this regard, the application of imprecise probability (IP) is investigated. It is discussed that IP could provide a flexible tool for a more objective presentation of experts' knowledge. Moreover, the importance of addressing the strength of knowledge and surprises relative to knowledge in seismic hazard analysis along with methods to do... 

Observatory-scale data collection efforts allow unprecedented opportunities for integrative, multidisciplinary investigations in large, complex watersheds, which can affect management decisions and policy. Through the National Science Foundation-funded REACH (REsilience under Accelerated CHange) project, in collaboration with the Intensively Managed Landscapes-Critical Zone Observatory, we have collected a series of multidisciplinary data sets throughout the Minnesota River Basin in south-central Minnesota, USA, a 43,400-km2 tributary to the Upper Mississippi River. Postglacial incision within the Minnesota River valley created an erosional landscape highly responsive to hydrologic change,... 

Background: The burden of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is rising globally, with substantial variation in levels and trends of disease in different countries and regions. Understanding these geographical differences is crucial for formulating effective strategies for preventing and treating IBD. We report the prevalence, mortality, and overall burden of IBD in 195 countries and territories between 1990 and 2017, based on data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017. Methods: We modelled mortality due to IBD using a standard Cause of Death Ensemble model including data mainly from vital registrations. To estimate the non-fatal burden, we used data...