| 1. |
- Ahmadi, Alireza, et al.
(författare)
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Prerequisites for a business-oriented fleet availability assurance program in aviation
- 2010
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 1st international workshop and congress on eMaintenance. - Luleå : Luleå tekniska universitet. ; , s. 168-175
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The air transport business is a large, integrated, automated and complex domain with high requirements on safety, security and dependability. In order to achieve customer satisfaction and gain a global competitive advantage, provision of services is essential. In air transport business with an extensive competition, the consequences of unreliable services become more critical which may increase cost of operation and reduce productivity. Furthermore, occurrence of unreliable services might also lead to annoyance, inconvenience and a lasting customer dissatisfaction that can create serious problem with regarding the responsible company‟s marketplace position. Hence, it is crucial for air transport companies to continuously improve the quality of the services they provide to customer. In the context of air transport, maintenance process and maintenance-related services have a high impact on effectiveness, productivity and costs. Maintenance departments are required to ensure that their fleet is expected to meet, or continues to meet, airline‟s established availability performance goals (e.g. operational readiness, dispatch reliability and cost affectivity) and to ensure that demands for deliveries will met. One way to align maintenance decisions and business objectives and at the same time highlight where the potential weakness in the systems and maintenance performance can be expected, is through Fleet Availability Assurance Program (FAAP). However, an effective implementation of FAAP needs adaptation to the usage context. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to present an availability assurance program in airline industries, in which the essential functional elements of such a program are discussed. The paper also proposes an integrated information logistic infrastructure for this management system.
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| 2. |
- Akbari, Ali, et al.
(författare)
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Free and hydrogel encapsulated exosome-based therapies in regenerative medicine.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Life sciences. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-0631 .- 0024-3205. ; 249
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Over the last few decades, mesenchymal stem cells-derived exosomes (MSCs-Ex) have attracted a lot of attention as a therapeutic tool in regenerative medicine. Exosomes are extracellular vehicles (EVs) that play important roles in cell-cell communication through various processes such as stress response, senescence, angiogenesis, and cell differentiation. Success in the field of regenerative medicine sparked exploration of the potential use of exosomes as key therapeutic effectors of MSCs to promote tissue regeneration. Various approaches including direct injection, intravenous injection, intraperitoneal injection, oral administration, and hydrogel-based encapsulation have been exploited to deliver exosomes to target tissues in different disease models. Despite significant advances in exosome therapy, it is unclear which approach is more effective for administering exosomes. Herein, we critically review the emerging progress in the applications of exosomes in the form of free or association with hydrogels as therapeutic agents for applications in regenerative medicine.
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| 3. |
- Aminian-Dehkordi, Javad, et al.
(författare)
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Synthetic biology tools for environmental protection
- 2023
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Ingår i: Biotechnology Advances. - 0734-9750. ; 68
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Synthetic biology transforms the way we perceive biological systems. Emerging technologies in this field affect many disciplines of science and engineering. Traditionally, synthetic biology approaches were commonly aimed at developing cost-effective microbial cell factories to produce chemicals from renewable sources. Based on this, the immediate beneficial impact of synthetic biology on the environment came from reducing our oil dependency. However, synthetic biology is starting to play a more direct role in environmental protection. Toxic chemicals released by industries and agriculture endanger the environment, disrupting ecosystem balance and biodiversity loss. This review highlights synthetic biology approaches that can help environmental protection by providing remediation systems capable of sensing and responding to specific pollutants. Remediation strategies based on genetically engineered microbes and plants are discussed. Further, an overview of computational approaches that facilitate the design and application of synthetic biology tools in environmental protection is presented.
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| 4. |
- Gholamiyan, Hadi, et al.
(författare)
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Surface Wettability and Coating Performance of Plasma-Treated Wood-Based Composite Panels
- 2022
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Ingår i: Coatings. - : MDPI. - 2079-6412. ; 12:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effect of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment was studied on the surface characteristics and coating performance of transparent epoxy resin on the surface of particleboard (PB) and medium-density fiberboard (MDF). The plasma treatment was performed at three plasma energies (10, 15, and 20 kW) and three distances from the nozzle (10, 20, and 30 mm). Analyzing the samples by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicated the changes of their chemical structure by means of the plasma treatment. The contact angle study showed a significant increase in surface wettability after plasma treatment with a pronounced effect observed by treatment parameters. The surface roughness was also significantly increased by the plasma treatment. The strength of the coating adhesion to the surface of the PB and MDF composite panels was also significantly improved by the plasma treatment, while no obvious trend was observed by treatment parameters. The highest adhesion strength of 2.03 MPa and 3.63 MPa were obtained by the PB and MDF samples, respectively, treated at a 10 mm nozzle distance and 15 kW plasma energy. The scratch resistance of the epoxy coatings showed a similar trend as the adhesion strength illustrating an inferior isolated surface of the coating after the plasma treatment.
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| 5. |
- Hadidi, Hooman, et al.
(författare)
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Numerical investigation of capacitive deionization (CDI) with divergent and convergent channels
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 1572-6657. ; 944
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This research aims to explore the impact of tilted channel configurations of CDI cells on desalination performance. The results reveal that the titled convergent channels have a faster average salt adsorption rate (ASAR) than the regular straight geometry. For desalination operations that end at a quarter of the equilibrium salt adsorption capacity (SAC), the convergent spacer with a slight slope of 1.5 degrees has a 20 % higher ASAR than the typical straight geometry (0.15 mg/g/min for convergent and 0.12 mg/g/min for straight). This gain increases to about 24, 29.5, and 33%, respectively, for slopes of 3.5, 5.5, and 7 degrees, compared to the straight geometry with the same spacer thickness. By looking at the underlying mechanisms, the spacer geometry is found to shift the location of the initial adsorption. This affects how quickly the device outputs the cleaned water. Interestingly, the geometry angle can also affect the location of the depletion zone, so tilted spacers can also affect the behavior during electrode starvation. Specifically, the convergent geometry has the depletion zone in the middle of the electrode instead of the corner near the outlet, as seen for straight and divergent channels. Together, these findings indicate how to construct tilted spacers to enhance CDI performance.
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| 6. |
- Khajehei, Hamid, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
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Prediction of track geometry degradation using artificial neural network: a case study
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Rail transportation. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2324-8378 .- 2324-8386. ; 10:1, s. 24-43
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study has been to predict the track geometry degradation rate using artificial neural network. Tack geometry measurements, asset information, and maintenance history for five line sections from the Swedish railway network were collected, processed, and prepared to develop the ANN model. The information of track was taken into account and different features of track sections were considered as model input variables. In addition, Garson method was applied to explore the relative importance of the variables affecting geometry degradation rate. By analysing the performance of the model, we found out that the ANN has an acceptable capability in explaining the variability of degradation rates in different locations of the track. In addition, it is found that the maintenance history, the degradation level after tamping, and the frequency of trains passing along the track have the strongest contributions among the considered set of features in prediction of degradation rate.
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| 7. |
- Micah, Angela E., et al.
(författare)
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Tracking development assistance for health and for COVID-19 : a review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 204 countries and territories, 1990-2050
- 2021
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Ingår i: The Lancet. - : Elsevier. - 0140-6736 .- 1474-547X. ; 398:10308, s. 1317-1343
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background The rapid spread of COVID-19 renewed the focus on how health systems across the globe are financed, especially during public health emergencies. Development assistance is an important source of health financing in many low-income countries, yet little is known about how much of this funding was disbursed for COVID-19. We aimed to put development assistance for health for COVID-19 in the context of broader trends in global health financing, and to estimate total health spending from 1995 to 2050 and development assistance for COVID-19 in 2020. Methods We estimated domestic health spending and development assistance for health to generate total health-sector spending estimates for 204 countries and territories. We leveraged data from the WHO Global Health Expenditure Database to produce estimates of domestic health spending. To generate estimates for development assistance for health, we relied on project-level disbursement data from the major international development agencies' online databases and annual financial statements and reports for information on income sources. To adjust our estimates for 2020 to include disbursements related to COVID-19, we extracted project data on commitments and disbursements from a broader set of databases (because not all of the data sources used to estimate the historical series extend to 2020), including the UN Office of Humanitarian Assistance Financial Tracking Service and the International Aid Transparency Initiative. We reported all the historic and future spending estimates in inflation-adjusted 2020 US$, 2020 US$ per capita, purchasing-power parity-adjusted US$ per capita, and as a proportion of gross domestic product. We used various models to generate future health spending to 2050. Findings In 2019, health spending globally reached $8. 8 trillion (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 8.7-8.8) or $1132 (1119-1143) per person. Spending on health varied within and across income groups and geographical regions. Of this total, $40.4 billion (0.5%, 95% UI 0.5-0.5) was development assistance for health provided to low-income and middle-income countries, which made up 24.6% (UI 24.0-25.1) of total spending in low-income countries. We estimate that $54.8 billion in development assistance for health was disbursed in 2020. Of this, $13.7 billion was targeted toward the COVID-19 health response. $12.3 billion was newly committed and $1.4 billion was repurposed from existing health projects. $3.1 billion (22.4%) of the funds focused on country-level coordination and $2.4 billion (17.9%) was for supply chain and logistics. Only $714.4 million (7.7%) of COVID-19 development assistance for health went to Latin America, despite this region reporting 34.3% of total recorded COVID-19 deaths in low-income or middle-income countries in 2020. Spending on health is expected to rise to $1519 (1448-1591) per person in 2050, although spending across countries is expected to remain varied. Interpretation Global health spending is expected to continue to grow, but remain unequally distributed between countries. We estimate that development organisations substantially increased the amount of development assistance for health provided in 2020. Continued efforts are needed to raise sufficient resources to mitigate the pandemic for the most vulnerable, and to help curtail the pandemic for all. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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| 8. |
- Naeimi, Behrouz, et al.
(författare)
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Screening Candida auris through a multiplex stepwise PCR algorithm directly from clinical samples of patients suspected of otomycosis in south of Iran; Detection of five cases
- 2024
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Ingår i: MYCOSES. - 0933-7407 .- 1439-0507. ; 67:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Otomycosis is an infection of the external auditory canal caused by molds and yeasts with descending frequency. Laboratory diagnosis is usually confirmed by microscopy and culture. However, they are not specific enough to reliably differentiate the causative agents, especially for rare pathogens such as Candida auris. The purpose of the current study was to the molecular screening of C. auris species from direct clinical samples of patients with suspected otomycosis in Southern of Iran.Materials and Methods: A total of 221 ear aspirates collected from 221 patients with suspected otomycosis over a four-year period. All the ear aspirations were examined with pan-fungal primers, then those with a positive result was included in two separate reaction mixtures simultaneously to identify the most clinically relevant Aspergillus and Candida species. The validity of positive samples for C. auris was assessed by sequencing.Results: Of the 189 pan-fungal positive PCRs, 78 and 39 specimens contained Aspergillus spp. and Candida spp., respectively. Furthermore, 65 specimens showed simultaneous positive bands in both Candida and Aspergillus species-specific multiplex PCR including five samples/patients with positive result for C. auris (5/189; 2.6%). Four out of five cases with C. auris species-specific PCR were reconfirmed by sequencing, while none were positive for C. auris in culture.Conclusion: Unfortunately, due to high treatment failure rates of antifungal classes against C. auris species, rapid and accurate identification of patients colonised with C. auris is critical to overcome the challenge of preventing transmission. This PCR assay can be successfully applied for rapid and accurate detection of C. auris directly in patient samples and is able to differentiate C. auris from closely related Candida species.
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