119 research outputs found
Woodside Energy Ltd. Cossack Pioneer Facility Engineering Team
No full textCossack Pioneer is a floating production storage and offloading vessel located 112 km North West of Karratha. This report details the work performed during a 16 week internship with Woodside Energy Ltd working in the Cossack Pioneer Facility Engineering Team. This Perth based team provides engineering support to the production facility. The report incorporates a description of the facility and topsides process and discusses the systems used for process control.
The earlier work performed during the internship focussed on small engineering design and control system modifications for the instrumentation and control group within the facility engineering team. Partway through the internship focus changed and the challenging role of Facility Control Engineer for Cossack Pioneer was assumed during the absence of the facility Senior Control Engineer. The report provides discussion of learning outcomes acheived and experience gained during the internship
Corrigendum to Developing a Sustainability Indicator Set for Measuring Green Infrastructure Performance
No full textThere was only one correction in corresponding author. It should be Parisa Pakzad
Living alpha-olefin polymerization by cationic zirconium and hafnium complexes containing chelating diamidopyridine ligands
No full textThesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemistry, 2002.Vita.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-199).This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.by Parisa Mehrkhodavandi.Ph.D
Designing and Psychometry of the Evaluation Checklist for the Registration and Labeling Guidelines of Anesthetic Drugs in the Operating Room
No full textAims: The correct registration and labeling of anesthetic drugs in the operating room are the basic and important principles in order to maintain patient safety, reduce the wastage of drugs and their subsequent costs, and reduce environmental pollution. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of designing and psychometry of evaluation checklist for the registration and labeling guidelines of anesthetic drugs in the operating room.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical research was conducted in 2022 in the Iran University of Medical Sciences. In order to design the checklist, the latest and most reliable scientific sources in the field of anesthesia were examined and the opinions of experts of the university's Department of Anesthesia were used. To determine the validity of the checklist, face and content validity (content validity index and content validity ratio) were calculated. In order to determine the reliability of the checklist, two methods of test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability were used. The research results were analyzed using SPSS 22 software.
Findings: All the examined items in the checklist had good status in terms of face validity index and terms of the obtained importance score in comparison with the optimal level of effect (1.5 and more) (Table 1). Based on this, all items on the checklist obtained the necessary criteria for face validity and remained on the checklist. The evaluation results of the content validity index and value of the content validity index showed that most of the items had the desired statistical limits in the field of content validity, and their validity was confirmed in this respect; in other words, the measurement of the content validity ratio (CVR) showed that the score of 15 of the 19 initial items of the checklist was greater than the value of the Lawshe table (0.62) and these items remained in the checklist. This indicated that essential and important items were used in this checklist (Table 2). The score of the item of "the method of writing capital letters is used for drugs with similar names" was obtained as 0.60; due to the closeness of this number to the optimal level and due to the high content validity index of this item which was obtained as 1, and using the opinion of experts, this item was retained. Also, based on the research findings, the content validity index (CVI) in all items was more than 0.79; therefore, the mentioned items were recognized as suitable, and there was no change in the appearance of the items. Finally, using the results of CVR and CVI and considering the optimal level for these indicators, three items were removed from the checklist, and the final checklist with 16 items was designed and psychometrically evaluated (Table 2).
The results of the retest method using the intraclass correlation coefficient are presented in Table 3. In this method, ICC value was 0.992 (95% confidence interval). Also, Cronbach's alpha was 0.912 for the preliminary test and 0.992 for the second test (retest), which results showed that the checklist designed in terms of reliability over time (using the test-retest or test-retest validity method) has good reliability.
The results of the inter-rater agreement method using the intraclass correlation coefficient to check the reliability are presented in Table 4. In this method, the ICC rate was 0.987 (with a 95% confidence interval), which indicated that the checklist designed with the method of an inter-rater agreement had good reliability.
Conclusion: The research findings show the checklist's face and content validity and good reliability. Therefore, it can be used to evaluate the level of observance of the guidelines for registering and labeling anesthetic drugs.
Clinical & Practical Tips in POLICE MEDICINE: The current checklist is a practical tool to evaluate the process of registering and labeling intravenous anesthetics in operating rooms. Police hospitals can use this checklist as a quick and safe method to evaluate compliance with the instructions for registration and labeling of anesthetic drugs by the anesthesia experts working in the operating room.
Acknowledgments: Iran University of Medical Sciences and the medical staff of Shafa Yahyayan Hospital in Tehran are gratefully acknowledged.
Conflict of interest: The article's authors stated that the present study has no conflict of interest.
Authors' Contribution: Data collection and article writing by Shaghayegh Taghizadeh; Presenting the idea and design of the study by Parisa Moradi Majd; Data collection by Shahnam Sediq Maroufi; Data interpretation by Azam Saei; Statistical data analysis by Jamile Abolghasemi. All authors have approved the present article, and they accept responsibility for the accuracy and correctness of the content.
Financial Sources: The financial sponsor of the present study was the Research Vice-Chancellor of the Paramedical Faculty of Iran University of Medical Sciences
Isolating, characterizing, and engineering novel Cu-proteins and peroxidases
No full textMetalloproteins are a fascinating class of proteins that function at the heart of several important biological processes including photosynthesis, respiration, and nitrogen fixation. It is even more amazing, considering that nature uses a small set of tertiary structures and metal centers to perform all these different functions with efficiency and selectivity. How nature tunes the activity within these scaffolds has been the area of research for many years. The goal of this work is to understand the underlying mechanisms of such tuning with a special focus on the role of subtle changes of residues in the secondary coordination sphere of the metal ion, an underexplored area of study. I use protein engineering techniques not only to shed light on the mechanisms underlying such changes, but also to design new functionalities within our scaffold proteins and to enhance their properties for specific purposes, such as fuel generation.
This work is divided into three main sections. In the first, I focus on characterizing a novel metalloprotein, N. mar_1307, from the organism Nitrosopumilus maritimus. While the protein shares a protein fold and Type 1 copper coordination site with other common electron transfer cupredoxins, the lack of an axial residue creates an open binding position in the Cu center, leading to a novel enzymatic function, NO oxidation. The purification, characterization, and activity assays of the protein are described in detail in chapter 2.
The second and major focus of this work is on tuning the reduction potential of azurin, a common electron transfer protein. In chapter 3 I demonstrate that how by making mutations around the Cu site, and replacing Cu with Ni I can obtain an azurin variant with a reduction potential of nearly 1V, the highest potential that can be observed under physiological conditions, along with other variants with negative potentials. Chapter 4 describes the characterization of a series of Phe114 mutants that were used to understand the role of this critical secondary sphere residue in tuning the reduction potential of the Cu site. Chapter 5 demonstrates the Marcus inverted region of electron transfer in a series of azurin variants with different reduction potentials. Finally, I show my initial attempts toward the design of a high-throughput screening platform for the directed evolution of azurin in chapter 6.
In chapters 7 and 8, I focus on the design of novel functionalities in one of our model scaffolds, cytochrome c peroxidase (CcP). Chapter 7 describes the work done to enhance the Mn(II) oxidation activity in a designed model of manganese peroxidase within the CcP scaffold based on modifications of the second coordination sphere around the Mn(II) binding site. In chapter 8 I report the design and characterization of a novel CcP variant that shows catalase-like activity in “as-purified” form and forms a heme-protein crosslink in the heme-bound form.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2017-12-01The student, Parisa Hosseinzadeh, accepted the attached license on 2015-09-17 at 11:09.The student, Parisa Hosseinzadeh, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2015-09-17 at 11:57.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2015-10-08 at 14:46.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #8686 on 2016-03-02 at 14:11:52Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-02T20:57:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
HOSSEINZADEH-DISSERTATION-2015.pdf: 98456808 bytes, checksum: 844c86e9397dad83fa8a5e912a1322b0 (MD5)
LICENSE.txt: 4216 bytes, checksum: b764e0c5c4cd0619283ff8b157e984ac (MD5)
Previous issue date: 2015-10-08Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 91374
Lift date: 2018-03-02T20:57:40Z
Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 91374
Lift date: 2018-03-02T21:07:27Z
Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemLimited Restriction Lifted for Item 91374 on 2018-03-03T10:15:15Z
Correction: Recent Advances in Atmospheric Chemistry of Mercury
No full textThe published paper [1] has been updated to remove instances of copied text from otherpublications [2–6]. Changes have been made throughout the paper, with the most significant alterationsmade in Sections 2.1, 2.4, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and 4.The authors wish to provide the following explanation. Ref. [1] is a review article that was invitedfor the journal Atmosphere. The author Lin Si took the lead in writing the article, although this is thefirst time she has undertaken writing a review paper. Sections copied were cited, and a number ofthem were taken from Parisa A. Ariya’s previously published articles. The authors offered to retractthe paper. As scientists we are seeker of the truth, and our integrity and ethics are the most preciousgifts that we leave to future next generations.This Correction was deemed necessary to avoid the impression that the text presented in [1]was the original work of the authors. The Editorial Office accepts that the authors did not intend tomisrepresent the work, however, the original wording did not make it sufficiently clear that a numberof passages were direct quotations.We wish to thank the authors for their cooperation and apologize to readers that this case was notdetected earlier. Atmosphere routinely checks submitted manuscripts for duplication, but issues weremissed in this case due to human error
The politics of the night: feminine writing and mother-daughter relations in Djuna Barnes, Angela Carter, and Shahrnush Parsipur
No full text© 2018 Dr Parisa ShiranThis thesis uses Luce Irigaray’s philosophy of sexual difference and Maurice Blanchot’s orphic philosophy of literature to examine representations of night in the fiction of three women novelists, Djuna Barnes, Angela Carter and Shahrnush Parsipur. Performing a feminist psychoanalytical reading of Blanchot, I reveal the various ways in which his poststructuralist literary theory rests upon and reflects the phallocentric constitution of the symbolic whereby linguistic signification (the production of the literary work) depends upon the loss of the mother (Eurydice), and the nocturnal exteriority of maternal-female sexual difference. If literature is the impossible movement towards the darkness of maternal origin (the other night), then it is twice as impossible for the female author to move towards the prelinguistic night of maternal origin because of the incest taboo and the phallocentric relegation of maternal-female sexuality to the unconscious. Through a combination of feminist psychoanalysis and literary criticism, the thesis proposes that a feminine literary category marked by maternal-female sexuality is a near-impossibility. However, I go beyond a feminist appropriation of Blanchot’s concept of the other night in order to explain the political relevance of the author’s sex in writing. The thesis also has a comparative dimension because the night is a key concept in Persian literature and in Sufism. In so far as Parsipur’s imagery of the pre-Oedipal night takes on a mystical shape very different from that of Barnes and Carter, the thesis reveals the cultural formation of the unconscious across different socio-cultural geographies in world literature
The catalyst role of school architecture in enhancing children's environmental behavior
No full textThe interrelationships between school design and children learning are well established. Less evident is
the relationship between sustainable school design and the level of environmental behaviour of the
children in attendance. Newly erected primary schools in Australia have been broadly graded as either sustainable or conventional. This paper evaluates the impact of both sustainable and conventional school design on children’s environmental behaviour, and examines the correlation between school design and children’s environmental behaviour. 624 children, aged 10-12 years old, completed a survey. This sample, from seven selected primary schools in Victoria (Australia), includes four conventional schools and three sustainable ones. The survey was developed according to GEB (General Ecological Behavior) scale and a few more school specific variables. The outcome of the survey was analyzed using an independent sample t-test and two-way between groups ANOVA in order to assess environmental behavior differences of children in both sustainable and conventional schools taking into account factors that either explicitly and/or implicitly impact on
their behavior such as sustainable school design, teachers’ environmental behavior and parents’
environmental behavior. The results show statistically significant differences in environmental behavior of children in sustainable schools and those in conventional schools. Comparing the means of children’s environmental behavior indicates that children in sustainable schools posses higher levels of pro-environmental behavior than children in conventional schools. The paper highlights the strong relationships between school design and children’s environmental behavior, and expands recognition of the role of environmentally sensitive school design not only to improve learning environments but more specifically to engage children ecologically with their immediate built environment
Designing and Psychometrics of the Educational Booklet on the Principles of Radiation Protection to Promote Radiation Safety Culture among Surgical Team
No full textAims: Training and improving the surgical team's awareness of radiation protection is necessary to prevent severe and irreparable damage. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to compile and psychometrically evaluate (content and face validity) the educational booklet on the principles of radiation protection to promote the knowledge and culture of radiation safety of the operating room staff and prevent injuries.
Materials and Methods: The current research is a methodology carried out in Iran University of Medical Sciences in 2022-2023 in three stages: first, the content of the educational booklet was selected based on the needs of the target audience, and the related articles and sources were reviewed. Then, the initial draft of the educational manual was designed and prepared. After that, expert judges in related fields as well as anesthesia and operating room technologists evaluated the formal and content validity of the manual. The content validity index at the item level (I-CVI) and the content validity index at the scale level (S-CVI) equal to or greater than 0.78 and 0.9, respectively, were considered as criteria for validity of the booklet. The binomial test was used to check the reliability of the content validity index of the items so that the significance level was 0.05 and the expected agreement ratio was 0.8. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26 software.
Findings: In this research, 22 experts in related fields and 22 anesthesia and operating room technologists with an average work experience of 13.8±4.3 years and 15.6±6.3 years participated, respectively. After sending and receiving the draft version of the booklet along with its evaluation scale, the specialists and experts participating in the study were given the minimum values of I-CVI and S-CVI values for the desired scale items to check the face validity and content of the booklet. According to experts, it was equal to 0.9 and 0.97, respectively. The minimum observed agreement ratio of the binomial test was 0.9, which was more than the expected agreement ratio (0.8). The values of I-CVI, S-CVI, and agreement ratio between anesthesia and operating room technologists were all equal to 1.
Conclusion: The present educational booklet has an acceptable form and content validity based on the research findings. Therefore, it can be used as a simple tool to promote radiation safety culture and prevent radiation damage in operating rooms
Comparison of the effectiveness of radiation protection principles training through multimedia and instructional booklet on the awareness of operating room staff
No full textBACKGROUND:
Training and awareness regarding radiation protection is crucial for medical staff and operating room personnel to prevent potential hazards from radiation exposure. Various methods are employed to increase the awareness of operating room staff regarding radiation protection principles. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of two training methods, multimedia presentations and instructional booklets, in enhancing the awareness of operating room staff toward radiation protection principles.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
In this semi-experimental study, 60 anesthesia and operating room technologists, were purposefully selected and randomly (utilizing an engineering calculator) divided into two intervention groups and one control group. The first group received multimedia-based training, while the second group was provided training through an instructional booklet. Data was collected using a researcher-designed questionnaire before the intervention and again 30 days afterward. Subsequently, the data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, employing analysis of covariance) ANCOVA (and the Bonferroni post hoc test to compare the outcomes among the three groups.
RESULTS:
No significant difference in mean awareness scores was observed among the three groups before the intervention) P = 0.075(. After the intervention, both multimedia and instructional booklet-based education showed significant improvement in awareness scores compared to the control group) P < 0.001(. Furthermore, the differences between the mean awareness scores of the multimedia-based group and the instructional booklet-based group, as well as the multimedia-based group and the control group, were 26.25 and 40.95, respectively, both statistically significant (P < 0.001).
DISCUSSION:
The current research findings indicate the effectiveness of both educational methods. However, the multimedia-based education method proved to be more effective in increasing the awareness levels of the study participants compared to the other two groups which is important to increase compliance with standards and implement hospital accreditation criteria to ensure the safety of operating rooms personnel against radiation. Therefore, based on this study’s results, this educational approach is recommended for teaching topics related to radiation protection principles
- …
