The redundancy allocation is one of the most important and useful problems in system optimization, especially in electrical and mechanical systems. The object of this problem is to maximize system reliability or availability within a minimum operation cost. Many works have been proposed in this area so far to draw the problem near to real-world situations. While in classic models the system com...

In the presented work, sulfur concrete and rubber were used for producing functionally graded materials (FGM). The physical and mechanical properties of sulfur concrete and rubber were changed continuously across the thickness. On one side, there was just rubber and, on the other, there was pure sulfur; the properties of each substance were moved to reach another. This kind of material was cons...

Semisolid processing is one of the modern routes in sound and near net shape parts production.  Preparation of semisolid slurry using a cooling slope is increasingly becoming popular, primarily because of its simplicity in design and ease of control of the process. In this research, the microstructures of Al6061 semisolid alloy cast via a miniature cooling slope were investigated. The propertie...

Optimization of turning process is a non-linear optimization with constrains and it is difficult for the conventional optimization algorithms to solve this problem. The purpose of present study is to demonstrate the potential of Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA) for optimization of multipass turning process. This algorithm is inspired by competition mechanism among imperialists and coloni...

background: workplace stress is known to be related with many behavioral and disease outcomes. however, little is known about its prospective relationship with measures of cognitive decline. objective: to investigate the association of job strain, psychological demands and job control on cognitive decline. methods: participants from framingham offspring cohort (n=1429), were assessed on job str...

United States prisons release more than 600,000 individuals each year. Within three years of release, 50 percent of released prisoners are back in prison. Work release has the potential to serve as a structured re-entry into the mainstream labor market. In an economic model of crime, an improvement in legal labor market opportunities should reduce criminal activity. After using a variety of eco...

Human-Centered Computing column " The State of Cog-nitive Systems Engineering, " 1 we had a lengthy discussion on the question, What is a user-hostile system? The following quote is from that essay: The road to user-hostile systems is paved with user-centered intentions on the part of the designers. Even smart, clever, well-intentioned people can build devices that are fragile and hostile, devi...

purpose: to compare fusional vergence amplitudes in patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic near exophoria methods: this cross-sectional study included 102 patients with near exophoria and asthenopia and 86 with asymptomatic near exophoria, all of whom were aged 15-35 years and had best corrected far visual acuity better than 20/25. far and near fusional vergence amplitudes were evaluated in...

accidents and their resulting losses are one of the critical public health issues. identification the near misses offer the opportunity to improve safety by developing effective prevention approach. the main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of two types of intervention in increasing the participation of first line managers in reporting near misses. in order to increase the...