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Aims: The assessment of threats and vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure such as urban water infrastructure can, in many cases, significantly reduce vulnerabilities or minimize the consequences of a threat. The aim of this research was to evaluate the components of the contingency and impact severity of human-oriented and natural-based threats in urban water infrastructure.
Instrument and Methods: In this analytical-descriptive study, a library collection method, including the study of books, research, and domestic and International articles of researchers as well as Internet search was used. The data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed by Hazop model and Friedman test, using SPSS 21 software.
Findings: According to the experts, the highest scores were assigned to terrorism acts and suppression, and, ultimately, human error. The most critical type of threat was recognized as chemical attack, military attack, and drought by the Hazop model. The second threat was rocket attacks, earthquakes, and terrorism. The human error ranked next in critical threats. The military attack and drought were recognized as an unacceptable crisis and the probability of a flood, a military attack (ground) and human error were ranked one to three. The impact severity (damage) of the military attack (ground), earthquake, and chemical pollution were ranked one to three, respectively.
Conclusion: The most critical types of threats are chemical pollution in urban water infrastructure, military attack, and drought and are recognized as unacceptable crisis. The probability of flood, military attack (ground), and human error are ranked one to three, and the impact severity (damage) of the military attack (ground), earthquake, and chemical pollution are ranked one to three, respectively.
 

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Abstract
Aims: Today, due to a large change in economic, political, and other relations, the spatial structure of cities, especially metropolises, is subject to rapid changes. Regarding the influence of structural components, especially the component of politics (power), on space, on
one hand, and the existence of oil revenues and structural features of Iran on the other hand, consideration of the spatial transformations of metropolises is necessary in terms of politics and power. The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of spatial transformations of Tehran and Tabriz metropolises in the context of Iranian oil economy.
Instruments and Methods: In this analytical-descriptive study, the required data, information, and concepts related to the indices explaining the spatial transformations of Tehran and Tabriz metropolises were collected directly with access to some information sources, including the Central Bank site and the Statistical Center. In the theoretical foundation, the most part of the study was done in library. Pearson correlation coefficient and Simultaneous regression test were used to determine the relationship between oil revenues of the country and building approval certificates issued by the municipality of Tehran and Tabriz.
Findings: The oil revenues had a direct correlation with the number of building approval certificates issued in Tabriz (r=0.5663; p=0.0025) and Tehran (r=0.7440; p=0.0005). The oil revenues could explain 56.63% of the building approval certificates issued in Tabriz and 74.44% of the building approval certificates issued in Tehran.
Conclusion: Production, spatial transformations, and construction activities in Tehran and Tabriz metropolises are directly affected by oil revenues.
 

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Almost all western theorists in the field of urban studies pointed to urban vitality in their books and articles. Also, vitality is a fashionable word in the lexicon of urbanism in Iran, but in fact, it received little support from urban planners, urban designers, and geographers. During the years of confrontation with western achievements and modernism in Iran, people experience the incorrect manner of using imported terms, theories and inventions. Urban vitality is another example of such experiences, and the exact meaning and position of vitality in Iranian urban contexts is still unclear. There are lots of articles and projects focusing on urban vitality without clarifying the situation on which people can pursue vitality for an urban context. In the present study, the meaning and position for urban vitality, and the misuses of this concept in Iranian urban contexts is discussed.
 

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This article highlights some Islamic jurisprudential (fiqhī) principles which require reduction and restriction of death penalty. According to this article, in Islamic view the permissibility of capital punishment is very limited and narrow. Minimalistic approach to capital punishment includes fixed punishment (had), just retaliation (qisās) and discretionary punishment (ta’zir). The article also studies some procedural factors, which in their turn, result in the reduction of the numbers of capital punishment. Of them is proportionality between the epistemic value of the evidence and the content it is supposed to prove. The necessity of observing humane considerations in the performance of death penalty, in a few cases in which it is permitted, is also briefly discussed. In other words, performance of death penalty should be with the lowest level of pain when it is permitted.

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Abstract
Aims: Affected by natural and human phenomena, the spatial order forms the urban network. In a balanced urban system, due to hierarchical functions and activities in different cities, and fair provision of services to the existing population, there are hierarchical links between cities. The aim of this study was to investigate the urban network based on functional analysis and factors affecting the urban network deformation in Khorasan Razavi province.
Instruments and Methods: Using survey research method, the present descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2015 among 118 experts of the provincial government, Road and Urban Development Office of Khorasan Razavi province, Governorate, Municipalities, University Jihad of Ferdowsi University, Geography professors of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, and mayors of Khorasan Razavi province; In this study, convenience sampling method was used. The research tool was researcher made questionnaire. Factors affecting spatial imbalance were evaluated through structural equation modeling and confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis, using SPSS 22 and Lisrel 8.52 software.
Findings: Economic, infrastructural, and political factors had the greatest effect on spatial imbalance with factor loading of 0.77, 0.75, and 0.75, respectively.
Conclusion:  Mashhad is at the highest and Bajgiran is at the lowest level in terms of development factors. Among the factors influencing the spatial imbalance, the changes in the country's division in the provincal level (change village to city), centralized system governance, the lack of attention to the role of the middle cities in division of labor (political factors), the focus of activities in metropolises, disproportionate allocation of credits at the provincial level, the focus of roles in Mashhad (economic factors), and the focus of superior educational and health-care services (infrastructural factors) have a more effective role.

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Abstract
Aims: By 1404, Tehran will be a knowledge-based, smart, and global city. Having the proper infrastructure and consequently a metropolis with national and global functions with a modern economy are its other features. The global experience of metropolises management shows that optimal urban management requires comprehensive attention to the city's economic, social, and environmental structures, and this has been measured in recent decades, globally, by the urban competitiveness index. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the urban competitiveness and Tehran’s status among the metropolises of Iran.
Instruments and Methods: The present study is an applied and survey research that was conducted in 2011. Eleven variables were selected as economic indices of urban competitiveness such as unemployment rate, economic participation rate, etc., by the library method and from three official sources of the country: statistical yearbooks of the provinces, results of census of industrial workshops with 10 employees and more, published by the Statistical Center of Iran and statistics of Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare. Standardized score and numerical taxonomy were used.
Findings: Tehran metropolis ranked first in terms of urban competitiveness index and economic aspect. Tehran was the first metropolis of Iran with a score of 3.13 in terms of the urban competitiveness index in standardized score method and 0.72 in numerical taxonomy.
Conclusion: Although Tehran does not have a good status in terms of the urban competitiveness index compared to other metropolises in the world, it ranked first in this index among Iranian metropolises.
 

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Abstract
Introduction: Nowadays, Tehran is the most important challenge of political management of space in Iran due to the accumulation of problems in natural and human dimensions. The most important dimensions of this challenge are population density and the lack of coordinated management to overcome this problem and its consequences. Since one cannot consider Tehran separated from far and near hinterland, the first issue is the lack of spatial/geographical justice in these hinterlands. Tehran's problems can be analyzed in three levels: physical-residential, regional, and national. This descriptive-analytical research was carried out based on library resources with the aim of analyzing spatial justice in Iran and organizing political space in Tehran.
Conclusion: The lack of spatial planning and sustainable development approach on the national, regional, and local scale in the Iranian planning system has, above all, resulted in intense centralization, institutionalized, and has led to the formation of the center of the periphery pattern in the country. The performance of development programs, before and after the revolution, has led to the imbalance of the governing pattern of the spatial structure of the country. Also, the spatial/geographical injustice in the country and consequently in Tehran province, as well as the lack of integrated management in Tehran's urban management have caused Tehran's current problems. In order to solve the problems of Tehran and its optimal administration, it should be planned based on the available resources with the fair spatial planning approach to space and in the framework of the spatial planning strategy, using the space justice in three short, medium, and long periods, in order to provide the optimal administration of Tehran.
 

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Abstract
Aims: Metropolises play a vital role in the continuity of human life, the future of human society, and the determination of the future direction. Finding an appropriate pattern for the development of these areas can help to develop sustainable national development and reduce instabilities. The expansion of the scope in the immediate area of the periphery to pyhsical forms, change in land use and roles are of the functions of metropolises. The metropolitan areas are formed through the expansion of the peripheral realm and the spatial-functional integration of immediate areas in the core space of metropolis. The key to organizing Tehran is on its suborb. The linkage of margine and core in metropolitan areas can form opportunities and threats for the core and its periphery. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the role of urban periphery in organizing Tehran metropolis with emphasis on new cities.
Conclusion: The methods of organizing Tehran in the spatial, functional, and identity reconstruction of Tehran, in the metropolitan area and regional planning approach, are to engage urban periphery communities in the process of incorporation and integration. An integrated approach to the metropolitan area and analysis of roles and currents within the framework of a single spatial system, the establishment of an integrated management syastem in the metropolitan area and the strengthening of spatial cells and nodes in the form of new cities are required for organizing the political, social, cultural, and economic space of Tehran. Preventing the process of marginalization of the urban periphery area, reconstruction of urban periphery areas, rehabilitation and enhancement of social life in the metropolitan area by creating hierarchies of functional-spatial, social, and economic identity in the urban periphery area, the strategy of replacing new cities and revising their experiences are the key for growth and balanced development of metropolis of Tehran as the capital on its margin.
 

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The overarching goal of this research is to use polymeric composites enriched with diatomic soil to improve petroleum-contaminated clayey soil. The effect of petroleum on the geotechnical properties of clayey soil was investigated in the laboratory in the first stage using uniaxial, direct shear, and permeability tests. The polymeric composite material was then created and mixed with the diatomic soil. The geotechnical properties of petroleum-contaminated clayey soil were studied using a polymeric composite material mixed with diatomic soil (PCD). Petroleum reduced the shear resistance, internal friction angle, and uniaxial resistance of the clay for contamination percentages ranging from 0% to 12%. Whereas 12 percent petroleum content causes the greatest changes in soil mechanical resistance. According to the results of the direct shear test, adding 5.5 percent PCD increases the shear resistance of the base material and contaminated base material to average values of 32 and 48 percent, respectively. Furthermore, the results of the petroleum permeability test show that adding 5.5 percent PCD reduces soil permeability. The results show that the improved clay by PCD can be used as a liner for the base of petroleum reservoirs.

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The dust produced by the electric arc method in the ferrochrome factory contains high amounts of hexavalent chromium, which has a high solubility in water and causes high environmental pollution. The present research has proposed a new method for neutralization of hexavalent chromium present in ferrochrome dust in solution environment by using chemical precipitation method. After checking conventional and non-conventional additives for neutralization by co-precipitation method, Iron sulfate is added to the aforementioned wastewater before release into the environment as a reducing agent of hexavalent chromium to trivalent chromium. Next, calcium sulfate was used as a stable complex forming factor in the system to remove chromium. XRD and XRF analyzes were used to characterize the dust and UV-Visible to determine the amount of chromium removed from the wastewater. The results showed that for 100 g/l of dust dissolved in water, adding 30 g of iron sulfate in the first stage and 20 g of calcium sulfate in the second stage reduces the content of hexavalent chromium from high values to below 10 ppm. Easy, high speed, cheapness and availability of additives are the merits of this method.


 

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Rice farmers in the study area as elsewhere in some developing parts of the world have been negatively affected by floods annually. There have been several solutions, some suggested and others implemented to mitigate the effect of these floods on the farmers. Different initiatives have been undertaken by various stakeholders in the food production chain. Providing a multidimensional approach to highlighting these initiatives is essential to an effective and efficient resolution. The prospects and challenges of incorporating technology, capacity development, business and government support have been evaluated. The solutions proposed in this paper would bring economic benefits to the rice farmers, private companies, and government, leading to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2- Zero Hunger and the other 16 SDGs.
 

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Nowadays, application of enhanced oil recovery methods has increased; therefore it’s necessary to determine their impacts on environment and human life. So, this research investigates the environmental impacts of conventional enhanced oil recovery methods and new methods such as using electromagnetic waves, ultrasound waves, and nanoparticles. The investigations show that electromagnetic waves and ultrasound can effectively remove many environmental pollutants. Characteristics of the wave and the type of formation determine that these waves have different effects on the formation, and efforts should be made to understand these effects to prevent damage to the formation. Nanoparticles can also reduce the quantity of pollutants in the environment. According to the mechanisms of entrapment of nanoparticles in the porous medium, they may remain in the reservoir and find their way to the underground water over time, so their environmental effects should be considered in the long term. A better knowledge of new methods of increasing oil extraction will lead to the identification and use of more suitable methods with less environmental effects (compared to conventional methods).

 

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Treatment of organic leachate is one the most controversial topics around the world which led this study to assess the efficiency of the combined oxidation and adsorption treatment (COAT) process in the treatment of leachate by considering local experiments. The removal of effluent parameters (TDS, COD, BOD) was enhanced by oxidizing the GAC surface as a catalyst with NaOH before the process and by ozone within the procedure as well. Assessing the interacting effect of operating variables (i.e., ozone concentration, GAC density, reaction time and pH) provides valuable information for optimization. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed. The optimized model’s circumstances are the reaction time of 30.77 min, ozone dosage of 141.29 mg/l, pH of 7.2, and the GAC density of 1.29 gr/cm³ with the predicted removal percentage of 51.63%,62.84% and 56.13% for TDS, COD and, BOD respectively.
 

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Low Intensity Magnetic Separators (LIMS) are widely used in research and industry. The design of this separator is based on drum rotation inside a tank media, so that a permanent magnets placing inside the drum as an angle form, produces a magnetic field. In this study, the behavior of magnetic and none-magnetic particles of a pulp, flowing through a magnetic field in the wet LIMS, was simulated and validated by experimental results. The magnetic field variables were calculated in an FEM based simulator (COMSOL Multiphysics); while particles’ tracking was done applying CFD numerical method, enhanced by discrete phase model (DPM). The difference between the results of the simulation and the magnetic separation experimental test (recovery of magnetic particles in the concentrate product) was 16.4%. In order to quantify the results of the simulation, magnetic separation simulation was performed by changing two variables affecting the magnetic separation process (variables of particle size of the input pulp feed particles and solid percentage of input pulp) and corresponding experiments. Comparison of laboratory and simulation results showed that the trend of simulation results is consistent with laboratory results of the weight recovery (in both variables under study), so that the maximum simulation error is related to the size of 125 microns (16.5 %) and the lowest simulation error was in 180 microns (11.4 %). Also, the lowest simulation error in the weight recovery prediction was related to the pulp feed solid percentage of 15% (equivalent to 14%) and the highest simulation error was in 30% pulp feed solid percentage (16.9 %). This proposes that FEM-DPM-CFD coupling model, can be applied for simulation, optimization, design and construct