Islamic Azad University North Tehran Branch

About: Islamic Azad University North Tehran Branch is a education organization based out in Tehran, Iran. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Adsorption & Catalysis. The organization has 868 authors who have published 968 publications receiving 9987 citations.

The Application of the semi-Markov Model in Predicting the Earthquake Occurrences in Alborz Fault Region, Northern Iran

Abstract: The Alborz Mountain in northern Iran forms an active fold thrust belt. This belt is an area of deformation in the wide ranging Arabia-Eurasia collision zone. In this study the semiMarkov model was applied for predicting the probability of earthquake occurrence in this region. This model supposes that the consecutive earthquakes in the same formational discontinuity are dependent events and the elapsed time interval between them has influence on these events. Eighty five earthquakes with magnitudes which occurred in this region between 1900 and December 2012 were considered. The transition probabilities and holding times for the next 13 years were estimated. Calculating the interval transition probabilities for magnitude to magnitude and region to region transitions for these earthquakes denoted the forecasting occurrence probabilities. The earthquake occurrence was examined in three dimensions of time, magnitude and space by determining the joint probabilities.

Colorful ESL Test Papers And Spatial Intelligence

Abstract: The purpose of this research was to find out whether introducing color as an element which may appeal to spatially-intelligent candidates affects their performance on ESL grammar tests. 52 participants were given two parallel grammar tests, one in black and white and the other bearing the full spectrum of colors in the natural daylight. In order to identify the candidates with visual-spatial learning style, the participants and their teachers were asked to respond to Visual-Spatial Identifier rating scale. Based on the results, no significant relationship was found between the performance of candidates on the colorful and black and white grammar tests and their visual-spatial intelligence. It was concluded that other variables including the method of applying colors, the type and combination of colors as well as the differential impact of different colors on candidates with different cultural backgrounds needed to be addressed before any conclusions can be drawn about the application of color in language assessment.

Determining the effectiveness of Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) management system based on anomaly report measurement in oil projects

Abstract: Today, development of a Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) management system which can protect human resources and the environment, while remaining accountable for demands of the companies involved in the large and national projects, seems to be essential. Certificates issued for developing such management systems are an evidence for the claim on existence of HSE management systems. However, the question which still remains is whether the established systems have any real effect on the organization’s performance in HSE management. Do the instruments designed to measure the performance of an HSE management system properly reflect the performance realities? This study seeks to measure the field performance of companies based on indicators of anomalies (reporting all cases of potential damage) and compare it with scores of HSE management system performance obtained by MCAT, in order to find out whether the companies having more robust management systems, especially those with a management certificate, gain better results in practice. A total of 24 contractor companies involved in construction of Phase 19 of South Pars were randomly selected from the statistical population and studied for 6 months in terms of operating results and management system performance. The obtained results were analyzed using a statistical software. Comparisons between the two groups of companies (with and without a certificate) in terms of management system score indicated the superiority of the group with a certificate. The superiority, however, was negligible with a difference score of 3.69 compared to the total score of 200. Considering the incident indicator, the average severity rate of incidents in the companies with a certificate was lower than in the ones without a certificate. However, the abundance indicator and its level revealed a better condition in the companies without a certificate. Considering the number of the anomalies reported per one million total man-hours worked, the companies without a certificate (with 821.5 anomalies) superperformed the companies with a certificate (with 937.8 anomalies). The number of lost working days to close each anomaly per one million total man-hours worked was calculated to be 283.9 lost working days for the companies with a certificate and 317.1 working days for the companies without a certificate, showing the better performance of the companies with a certificate.

An Efficient Utilization of Waste Date Pit Oil for Ethyl Ester Production

Abstract: As a green material, used date pits oil is increasingly utilized as inexpensive feedstock for ethyl ester (biodiesel) production. Waste date pits as a raw material are one of the highly produced agricultural wastes in Iran. This study investigated the effect of several procedure parameters including the ethanol/oil molar ratio, reaction temperature and amount of catalysts on the yield of the produced ethyl ester. The activity of date pits oil can be considered a method of second-generation biofuels production including green diesel fractions. Efficient from waste date pits and synthesis of ethyl ester have made a breakthrough in biodiesel production. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) were employed to determine the composition of production. The optimized ethyl ester yield obtained was 92% when the procedure temperature was 65 ℃, within 6h, with 7:1 ethanol/oil molar ratio with 0.75 wt.% of catalyst (KOH). Waste date pits oil as feedstock can be an efficient platform for ethyl ester production. The purified ethyl ester satisfies the stringent quality standards imposed by ASTM D-6751 (USA standard) and EN-14214 (European standard).

Correction to: Cloud-based vehicular networks: a taxonomy, survey, and conceptual hybrid architecture

Abstract: The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in the title. The correct title has been published with this erratum.