Search results for: Leila M. Carvalho

Authors: Reza Mokhtari Malekabadi, Leila Jalalabadi, Zahra Kiyani Ghaleh No

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Today, systems of management and urban planning, attempt to reach more sustainable development through monitoring developments, urban development and development plans. Monitoring of changes in the urban places and sustainable urban development accounted a base for the realization of worthy goals urban sustainable development. The importance of women in environmental protection programs is high enough that in 21 agenda has been requested from all countries to allocate more shares to women in their policies. On the other hand, urban waste landfill has become one of the environmental concerns in modern cities. This research assumes that the impact of women on recycling, reduction and proper waste landfill is much more than men. For this reason, three districts; Yousef Abad, Heshmatieh and Nezam Abad are gauged through questionnaire and using the analytical research hypothesis model. This research will be categorized as functional research. The results have shown that noticing the power of women, their participation towards realization of the development objectives and programs can be used in solving their problems.

Keywords: citizens, urban, environmental, sustainability, solid waste, Tehran

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Authors: Larissa Negris de Souza, Ana Regina Mizrahy Cuperschmid, Daniel de Carvalho Moreira

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Augmented Reality (AR) alters the elaboration of the architectural project, which relates to project cognition: representation, visualization, and perception of information. Understanding these features from the earliest stages of the design can facilitate the study of relationships, zoning, and overall dimensions of the forms. This paper’s goal was to explore a new approach for information visualization during the early stages of architectural design using Augmented Reality (AR). A three-dimensional marker inspired by the Rubik’s Cube was developed, and its performance, evaluated. This investigation interwovens the acquired knowledge of traditional briefing methods and contemporary technology. We considered the concept of patterns (Alexander et al. 1977) to outline geometric forms and associations using visual programming. The Design Science Research was applied to develop the study. An SDK was used in a game engine to generate the AR app. The tool's functionality was assessed by verifying the readability and precision of the reconfigurable 3D marker. The results indicated an inconsistent response. To use AR in the early stages of architectural design the system must provide consistent information and appropriate feedback. Nevertheless, we conclude that our framework sets the ground for looking deep into AR tools for briefing design.

Keywords: augmented reality, cuboid marker, early design stages, graphic representation, patterns

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Authors: Leila Goosen, Toppie N. Mukasa-Lwanga

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The purpose of this paper relates to exploring academics’ use of distance education technologies for empowerment and equity in an Information Technology environment. Literature was studied on academics’ technology use towards effective teaching and meaningful learning in a distance education Information Technology environment. Main arguments presented center on formulating and situating significant concepts within an appropriate theoretical and conceptual framework, including those related to distance education, throughput and other measures of academic efficiency. The research design, sampling, data collection instrument and the validity and reliability thereof, as well as the data analysis method used is described. The paper discusses results related to academics’ use of technology towards effective teaching and meaningful learning in a distance education Information Technology environment. Conclusions are finally presented on the way in which this paper makes a significant and original contribution regarding academics’ use of technology towards effective teaching and meaningful learning in a distance education Information Technology environment.

Keywords: distance, education, technologies, Information Technology Environment

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Authors: Leila Trabelsi

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The urbanization of Information Systems (IS) is an effective approach to master the complexity of the organization. It strengthens the coherence of IS and aligns it with the business strategy. Moreover, this approach has significant advantages such as reducing Information Technologies (IT) costs, enhancing the IS position in a competitive environment and ensuring the scalability of the IS through the integration of technological innovations. Therefore, the urbanization is considered as a business strategic decision. Thus, its embedding becomes a necessity in order to improve the IS practice. However, there is a lack of experimental cases studying meta-modelling of Urbanized Information System (UIS). The aim of this paper addresses new urbanization content meta-model which permits modelling, testing and taking into consideration organizational aspects. This methodological framework is structured according to two main abstraction levels, a conceptual level and an operational level. For each of these levels, different models are proposed and presented. The proposed model for has been empirically tested on company. The findings of this paper present an experimental study of urbanization meta-model. The paper points out the significant relationships between dimensions and their evolution.

Keywords: urbanization, information systems, enterprise architecture, meta-model

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Authors: Leila Ayat, Afak Meftah

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Amorphous-silicon alloys have great promise as low cost solar cell materials. They have excellent photo-conductivity and high optical absorption to sunlight. Now PIN a-Si:H based solar cells are widely used in power generation modules. However, to improve the performance of these cells further, a better fundamental under-standing of the factors limiting cell performance in the homo junction PIN structure is necessary. In this paper we discuss the sensitivity of light J-V characteristics to various device and material parameters in PIN homo junction solar cells. This work is a numerical simulation of the output parameters of a PIN a-Si:H solar cell under AM1.5 spectrum. These parameters are the short circuit current (Jsc), the open circuit voltage (Voc), the fill factor (FF), the conversion efficiency. The simulation was performed with SCAPS-1D software version 3.3 developed at ELIS in Belgium by Marc Burgelman et al. The obtained results are in agreement with experiment. In addition, the effect of the thickness, doping density, capture cross sections of the gap states and the band microscopic mobilities on the output parameters of the cell are also presented.

Keywords: amorphous silicon p-i-n junctions, thin film, solar cells, sensitivity

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Authors: Leila Ramezani, Mohammad Saeid Mossadegh

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Different uses of land by humans alter the physico chemical characteristics of the soil and affect the soil microhabitat. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of tillage in three different human land uses on microarthropods biodiversity in Khuzestan province, southwest of Iran. Three microhabitats including a permanent grassland with old Date-Palms around and no till system, and two wheat fields, one with conservative agricultural practices and low till system and the other with conventional agricultural practices (deep tillage), were compared for the biodiversity of the two main groups of soil microarthropods (Oribatida and Collembola). Soil samples were collected from the top to a depth of 15 cm bimonthly during a period of two years. Significant differences in the biodiversity index of microarthropods were observed between the different tillage systems (F = 36.748, P =0.000). Indeed, analysis of species diversity showed that the diversity index at the conservative field with low till (2.58 ± 0.01) was higher (p < 0.05) than the conventional tilled field (2.45 ± 0.08) and the diversity of natural grassland was the highest (2.79 ± 0.19, p < 0.05). Indeed, the index of biodiversity and population abundance differed significantly in different seasons (p < 0.00).

Keywords: biodiversity, Collembola, microarthropods, Oribatida

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Authors: Leila Jafari, Viliam Makis, G. B. Akram Khaleghei

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In this paper, we present a maintenance model of a two-unit series system with economic dependence. Unit#1, which is considered to be more expensive and more important, is subject to condition monitoring (CM) at equidistant, discrete time epochs and unit#2, which is not subject to CM, has a general lifetime distribution. The multivariate observation vectors obtained through condition monitoring carry partial information about the hidden state of unit#1, which can be in a healthy or a warning state while operating. Only the failure state is assumed to be observable for both units. The objective is to find an optimal opportunistic maintenance policy minimizing the long-run expected average cost per unit time. The problem is formulated and solved in the partially observable semi-Markov decision process framework. An effective computational algorithm for finding the optimal policy and the minimum average cost is developed and illustrated by a numerical example.

Keywords: condition-based maintenance, semi-Markov decision process, multivariate Bayesian control chart, partially observable system, two-unit system

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Authors: Leila Goosen, Dalize van Heerden

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The performance outcomes of first year Computer Science and Information Technology students across the world are of great concern, whether they are being taught in a face-to-face environment or via distance education. In the face-to-face environment, it is, however, somewhat easier to teach and support students than it is in a distance education environment. The face-to-face academic can more easily gauge the level of understanding and participation of students and implement interventions to address issues, which may arise. With the inroads that Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 technologies are making, the world of online teaching and learning are rapidly expanding, bringing about technologies, which allows for similar interactions between online academics and their students as available to their face-to-face counter parts. At the University of South Africa (UNISA), the Learning Management System (LMS) is called myUNISA and it is deployed on a SAKAI platform. In this paper, we will take a look at some of the myUNISA technologies implemented in the teaching of a first year programming course, how they are implemented and, in some cases, we will indicate how this affects the performance outcomes of students.

Keywords: computer science, Distance Education Technologies, Learning Management System, face-to-face environment

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Authors: Mohammad Haghighi, Amineh Akhondi, Leila Jahangard, Mohammad Ahmadpanah, Masoud Ansari

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Background: According to the recent estimation, approximately 4%-12% percent of Iranians have difficulty in learning to read and spell possibly as a result of developmental dyslexia. The study was planned to investigate spelling error patterns among Persian children with developmental dyslexia and compare that with the errors exhibited by control groups Participants: 90 students participated in this study. 30 students from Grade level five, diagnosed as dyslexics by professionals, 30 normal 5th Grade readers and 30 younger normal readers. There were 15 boys and 15 girls in each of the groups. Qualitative and quantitative methods for analysis of errors were used. Results and conclusion: results of this study indicate similar spelling error profiles among dyslexics and the reading level matched groups, and these profiles were different from age-matched group. However, performances of dyslexic group and reading level matched group were different and inconsistent in some cases.

Keywords: spelling, error types, developmental dyslexia, Persian, writing system, learning disabilities, processing

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Authors: Shahrokh Ranjbar-Bahadori, Nima Farhadifar, Leila Mohammadyar

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Plant preparations from thyme and garlic have been shown to be effective acaricides against the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae. In a layer house with a history of D. gallinae problem, mites were detected in the monitoring traps for the first time and number of them was counted. Then, some rows of layer house was sprayed twice using a concentration of 0.21 mg/cm2 thyme essential oil and 0.07 mg/cm2 garlic juice and a similar row was used as an untreated control group. Red mite traps made of cardboard were used to assess the mite density during days 1 and 7 after treatment and always removed after 24 h. the collected mites were counted and the efficacy against all mite stages (larvae, nymphs and adults) was calculated. Results showed that on day 1 and 7 after the administration of garlic extract efficacy rate was 92.05% and 74.62%, respectively. Moreover, efficacy rate on day 1 and 7 was 89.4% and 95.37% when treatment was done with thyme essential oil. It is concluded that using garlic juice to control of D. gallinae is more effective on short time. But thyme essential oil has a long time effect in compare to garlic preparation.

Keywords: Dermanyssus gallinae, essential oil, garlic, thyme, efficacy

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Authors: Lídia E. O. Cruz, Adriano P. C. Calvo, Renato J. Soares, Regiane A. Carvalho

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Individuals with non-specific chronic low back pain may present altered movement patterns during functional activities. However, muscle behavior before and after performing a functional task with different load conditions is not yet fully understood. The aim of this study is to analyze lumbar muscle activity before and after performing the functional task of picking up and placing an object on the ground (with and without load) in individuals with nonspecific chronic low back pain. 20 subjects with nonspecific chronic low back pain and 20 healthy subjects participated in this study. A surface electromyography was performed in the ilio-costal, longissimus and multifidus muscles to evaluate lumbar muscle activity before and after performing the functional task of picking up and placing an object on the ground, with and without load. The symptomatic participants had greater lumbar muscle activation compared to the asymptomatic group, more evident in performing the task without load, with statistically significant difference (p = 0,033) between groups for the right multifidus muscle. This study showed that individuals with nonspecific chronic low back pain have higher muscle activation before and after performing a functional task compared to healthy participants.

Keywords: chronic low back pain, functional task, lumbar muscles, muscle activity

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Authors: Salma Kaouthar Letaief

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This article investigates the experience of diaspora in the writings of Algerian diasporic writers, namely: Leila Sebbar’s Silence on the Shores (2000), Keltoum Staali’ December’s Mimosa (2012). The study discusses the collective trauma of violence in Algeria and overseas. The experience of displacement of the characters to an alien territory compel their journey with issues related to nostalgia, identity crisis, alienation, racism, and in-betweeness. The focus in this research is, thus, on Algerian immigrants’ experience in the host country and their psychological conflicts. The theories Multiculturalism and Psychoanalysis are used to analyse the novels in this paper. While Multiculturalism examines how characters negotiate and navigate their identities in multicultural settings, Psychoanalysis enables the analysis of how characters in diasporic novels grapple with issues of identity, belonging, and self-discovery. Hence, interweaving multiculturalism and psychoanalysis provides an interdisciplinary framework that addresses both the socio-cultural and psychological aspects of the diasporic experience. Accordingly, this paper is an attempt to examine the diasporic experience and cultural dialectics.

Keywords: diaspora, algerian diasporic writers, trauma, algeria, displacement, identity crisis, cultural dialects

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Authors: Renata Silva-Mann, Sheila Valéria Álvares Carvalho, Robério Anastácio Ferreira, Laura Jane Gomes

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There is growing interest in defining indicators of sustainability, which are important for monitoring the conservation of native forests, particularly in areas of permanent protection. These indicators are references for assessing the state of the forest and the status of the depredated area and its ability to maintain species populations. The aim of the present study was to select genetic parameters as indicators of sustainability for Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi. Fragments located in riparian areas between the Sergipe and Alagoas States in Brazil. This species has been exploited for traditional communities, which represent 20% of the incoming. This study was carried out using the indicators suggested by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which were identified as Driving-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) factors. The genetic parameters were obtained in five populations located on the shores and islands of the São Francisco River, one of the most important rivers in Brazil. The framework for Schinus conservation suggests seventeen indicators of sustainability. In accordance with genetic parameters, the populations are isolated, and these genetic parameters can be used to monitor the sustainability of those populations in riparian area with the aim of defining strategies for forest restoration.

Keywords: alleles, molecular markers, genetic diversity, biodiversity

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Authors: Leila Rashidian

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Temperature rise on Earth has had harmful effects on the Earth's surface and has led to change in precipitation patterns all around the world. The present research was aimed to study the process of climate change according to the data simulation in future and compare these parameters with current situation in the studied stations in Semnan province including Garmsar, Shahrood and Semnan. In this regard, LARS-WG software, HADCM₃ model and A₂ scenario were used for the 2010-2030 period. In this model, climatic parameters such as maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation and radiation were used daily. The obtained results indicated that there will be a 4.4% increase in precipitation in Semnan province compared with the observed data, and in general, there will be a 1.9% increase in temperature. This temperature rise has significant impact on precipitation patterns. Most of precipitation will be raining (torrential rains in some cases). According to the results, from west to east, the country will experience more temperature rise and will be warmer.

Keywords: climate change, Semnan province, Lars.WG model, climate parameters, HADCM₃ model

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Authors: Patricia Portugal Marques de Carvalho Lourenço

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Mental Health, mental illnesses, and suicide are old topics made young. While broadly addressed on a global scale to various extents and degrees, mental health, mental disorders, and suicide remain to a large extent a, taboo in a number of societies such as the Chinese. The country’s report on mental health was scrutinized for an in-depth understanding of the prevalence of mental disorders domestically, emphasizing depression, which is more accentuated in rural settings than urban, affecting a significant number of students, retired individuals and that unemployed country-wise. Depression in China is linked to anxiety in younger years, both decreasing as the population grows in age. Mental health, mental disorders and suicide remain for the most part, “forgotten”, despite statistically significant and the media’s yet small efforts in educating the population about the terms i.e. through online/television dramas that approach the topics, trying to demystify them. Whereas crucial to openly address mental health, mental disorders, and suicide, the issues remain an ongoing challenge in China, where series draw light into a reality the media and the population do not broadly converse about. The media in general and the entertainment media, in particular, have a vital role in helping China acknowledge mental health, mental disorders and suicide, albeit having a long way to go in assisting the Chinese population in dealing with the health of their inner minds.

Keywords: mental health, mental disorders, suicide, media, China, Chinese entertainment

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Authors: J. Cabral, C. Barreto Carvalho, C. da Motta, M. Sousa

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Community integration is a construct that an increasing body of research has shown to have a significant impact in well-being and recovery of people with psychiatric problems. However, there are few studies that explore which factors can be associated and predict community integration. Moreover, community integration has been mostly studied in minority groups, and currently literature on the definition and manifestation of community integration in the more general population is scarce. Thus, the current study aims to characterize community integration and explore possible predictor variables in a sample of participants with psychiatric problems (PP, N=183) and a sample of participants from the general population (GP, N=211). Results show that people with psychiatric problems present above average values of community integration, but are significantly lower than their healthy counterparts. It was also possible to observe that community integration does not vary in terms of the socio-demographic characteristics of both groups in this study. Correlation and multiple regression showed that, among several variables that literature present as relevant in the community integration process, only three variables emerged as having the most explanatory value in community integration of both groups: sense of community, basic needs satisfaction and submission. These results also shown that those variables have increased explanatory power in the PP sample, which leads us to emphasize the need to address this issue in future studies and increase the understanding of the factors that can be involved in the promotion of community integration, in order to devise more effective interventions in this field.

Keywords: community integration, mental illness, predictors, psychiatric problems

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Authors: Atef Abdallah Abouelmaaty

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The aim of this paper is to study the theme of alienation in some contemporary novels of the most prominent Arab writers who live in Britain and write in English. The paper will focus on three female novelists of Arab origins who won wide fame among reading public, and also won international prizes for their literary creation. The first is the Egyptian Ahdaf Soueif(born in 1950) whose novel The Map of Love(1999) was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and has been translated into twenty one languages and sold over a million copies. The second is the Jordanian Fadia Faqir (born in 1956) whose My Name is Salma(2007) was translated into thirteen languages, and was a runner up for the ALOA literary prize. The third is the Sudanese Leila Aboulela(born in 1964) who The Translator was nominated for the Orange Prize and was chosen as a a notable book of the year by the New York Times in 2006. The main reason of choosing the theme of alienation is that it is the qualifying feature of the above mentioned novels. This is because the theme is clearly projected and we can see different kinds of alienation: alienation of man from himself, alienation of man from other men, and alienation of man from society. The paper is concerned with studying this central theme together with its different forms. Moreover, the paper will try to identify the main causes of this alienation among which are frustrated love, the failure to adjust to change, and ethnic pride.

Keywords: alienation, Anglo-Arab, contemporary, novels

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Authors: Leila Vafajoo, Feria Ghanaat, Alireza Mohmadi Kartalaei, Amin Ghalebi

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Petrochemical industries are playing an important role in producing wastewaters. Nowadays different methods are employed to treat these materials. The goal of the present research was to reduce the COD of a petrochemical wastewater via adsorption technique using a commercial granular activated carbon (GAC) as adsorbent. In the current study, parameters of kinetic models as well as; adsorption isotherms were determined through utilizing the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The key parameters of KL= 0.0009 and qm= 33.33 for the former and nf=0.5 and Kf= 0.000004 for the latter isotherms resulted. Moreover, a correlation coefficient of above 90% for both cases proved logical use of such isotherms. On the other hand, pseudo-first and -second order kinetics equations were implemented. These resulted in coefficients of k1=0.005 and qe=2018 as well as; K2=0.009 and qe=1250; respectively. In addition, obtaining the correlation coefficients of 0.94 and 0.68 for these 1st and 2nd order kinetics; respectively indicated advantageous use of the former model. Furthermore, a significant experimental reduction of the petrochemical wastewater COD revealed that, using GAC for the process undertaken was an efficient mean of treatment. Ultimately, the current investigation paved down the road for predicting the system’s behavior on industrial scale.

Keywords: petrochemical wastewater, adsorption, granular activated carbon, equilibrium isotherm, kinetic model

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Authors: Farzad Khajavi, Farzaneh Jalilfar, Faranak Jafari, Leila Shokrani

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Formulation of gliclazide in the form of extended-release tablet in 30 and 60 mg dosage forms was performed using hypromellose (HPMC K4M) as a retarding agent. Drug-release profiles were investigated in comparison with references Diamicron MR 30 and 60 mg tablets. The effect of size of powder particles, the amount of hypromellose in formulation, hardness of tablets, and also the effect of halving the tablets were investigated on drug release profile. A mathematical model which describes hypromellose behavior in initial times of drug release was proposed for the estimation of hypromellose content in modified-release gliclazide 60 mg tablet. This model is based on erosion of hypromellose in dissolution media. The model is applicable to describe release profiles of insoluble drugs. Therefore, by using dissolved amount of drug in initial times of dissolution and the model, the amount of hypromellose in formulation can be predictable. The model was used to predict the HPMC K4M content in modified-release gliclazide 30 mg and extended-release quetiapine 200 mg tablets.

Keywords: Gliclazide, hypromellose, drug release, modified-release tablet, mathematical model

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Authors: Mimeche Leila, Debabeche Mahmoud

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It is question to study and to value the possibility of settling the process of purification by plants (constructed wetland) to treat the domestic waste water of Biskra, city in a semi-arid environment with grave problems of. According to the bibliography, the process of treatment by plants is considered as more advantageous than the classic techniques. It is the use of beds with macrophytes where the purification is made by the combined action of plants and micro-organisms in a filtering bed. The micro-organisms which are aerobic bacteria and\or anaerobic have for main function to degrade the polluting materials. Plants in the macrophytes beds have for function to serve as support in the development of bacteria and to favour also their development. In this study, we present a preliminary experimental analysis of the potentialities of treatment of some macrpohytes plants, implanted in basins filled of gravel. Analyses physico chemical and bacteriological of the waste water indicate a good elimination of the polluting materials, and put in evidence the purifier power of these plants, in association with bacteria. The obtained results seem to be interesting and encourage deepening the study for other types of plants in other conditions.

Keywords: constructed wetlands, macrophytes, sewage treatment, wastewater

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Authors: Leila Maleki, Ahmad Esmali Kooraneh, Hossein Taghi Derakhshi

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Neural activity in the human brain starts from the early stages of prenatal development. This activity or signals generated by the brain are electrical in nature and represent not only the brain function but also the status of the whole body. At the present moment, three methods can record functional and physiological changes within the brain with high temporal resolution of neuronal interactions at the network level: the electroencephalogram (EEG), the magnet oencephalogram (MEG), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); each of these has advantages and shortcomings. EEG recording with a large number of electrodes is now feasible in clinical practice. Multichannel EEG recorded from the scalp surface provides a very valuable but indirect information about the source distribution. However, deep electrode measurements yield more reliable information about the source locations، Intracranial recordings and scalp EEG are used with the source imaging techniques to determine the locations and strengths of the epileptic activity. As a source localization method, Low Resolution Electro-Magnetic Tomography (LORETA) is solved for the realistic geometry based on both forward methods, the Boundary Element Method (BEM) and the Finite Difference Method (FDM). In this paper, we review The findings EEG- LORETA about epilepsy.

Keywords: epilepsy, EEG, EEG-LORETA

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Authors: Leila Mohammadi

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This article discusses the technology of social egg freezing in the context of existing literature on medicalization, motherhood, and marketing. The social egg freezing technique offers to preserve some healthy eggs for age-related fertility decline in the future. The study draws on a qualitative analysis and participants observation of media publications, including text, images, or audio-visual about social egg freezing technology and postpone maternity, to identify and compare their communication strategies from a framing theory perspective. Using 442 surveys and 158 pieces of publications in Spanish media, this study demonstrated that the narratives used by these publications and their structures follow a marketing objective to medicalize motherhood. Within these frames, the market of preserving fertility is cast to show compassion and concern about women. In the opinion of participants, egg freezing technology liberates, empowers, and automates women from patriarchal control, and also gives them the responsibility of taking care of their body and reproductive system. This study showed this opinion is significantly influenced by media and their communication strategies supported by providers of this business.

Keywords: motherhood, social egg freezing, medicalization, marketing, media frames, fertility, assisted reproductive system

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Authors: Helena Macedo, Larissa Tomaz, Levi Guimarães, Luís Cerqueira-Pinto, José Dinis-Carvalho

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In the context of retail logistics, the pursuit of operational efficiency and cost optimization involves a rigorous distinction between value-added and non-value-added activities. In today's competitive market, optimizing efficiency and reducing operational costs are paramount for retail businesses. This research paper focuses on the development of a classification model adapted to the retail sector, specifically examining internal logistics processes. Based on a comprehensive analysis conducted in a retail supermarket located in the north of Portugal, which covered various aspects of internal retail logistics, this study questions the concept of value and the definition of wastes traditionally applied in a manufacturing context and proposes a new way to assess activities in the context of internal logistics. This study combines quantitative data analysis with qualitative evaluations. The proposed classification model offers a systematic approach to categorize operations within the retail logistics chain, providing actionable insights for decision-makers to streamline processes, enhance productivity, and allocate resources more effectively. This model contributes not only to academic discourse but also serves as a practical tool for retail businesses, aiding in the enhancement of their internal logistics dynamics.

Keywords: lean retail, lean logisitcs, retail logistics, value-added and non-value-added

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Authors: Sergio A. Carvalho, Jose Pinto-Gouveia, David Gillanders, Paula Castilho

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The role of psychological processes has long been recognized as crucial factors in depressive symptoms in chronic pain (CP). Although some studies have explored the negative impact of being entangled with internal experiences (e.g., thoughts, emotions, physical sensations) – cognitive fusion, it is not extensively explored 1) whether these are pain-related or rather general difficult experiences, and 2) how they relate to experiencing obstacles in committing to valued actions. The current study followed a cross-sectional design in a sample of 231 participants with CP, in which a mediational model was tested through path analyses in AMOS software. The model presented a very good model fit (Χ²/DF = 1.161; CFI = .999; TLI = .996; RMSEA = .026, PCLOSE = .550.), and results showed that pain intensity was not directly related to depressive symptoms (β = .055; p = .239) but was mediated by cognitive fusion with both general and pain-related internal experiences (β = .181, 95%CI [.097; .271]; p = .015). Additionally, results showed that only general cognitive fusion (but not pain-specific fusion) was associated with experiencing obstacles to living a meaningful life, which mediated its impact on depressive symptoms (β = .197, 95%CI [.102; .307]; p = .001). Overall, this study adds on current literature by suggesting that psychological interventions to pain management should not be focused only on management of pain-related experiences, but also on developing more effective ways of relating to overall internal experiences.

Keywords: cognitive fusion, chronic pain, depressive symptoms, valued living

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Authors: Elmo Thiago Lins Cöuras Ford, Valentina Alessandra Carvalho do Vale

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The sun is an inexhaustible source and harnessing its potential both for heating and for power generation is one of the most promising and necessary alternatives, mainly due to environmental issues. However, it should be noted that this has always been present in the generation of energy on the planet, only indirectly, as it is responsible for virtually all other energy sources, such as: Generates the evaporation source of the water cycle, which allows the impoundment and the consequent generation of electricity (hydroelectricity); Winds are caused by large-scale atmospheric induction caused by solar radiation; Oil, coal and natural gas were generated from waste plants and animals that originally obtained the energy needed for its development of solar radiation. Thus, the idea of using solar energy for practical purposes for the benefit of man is not new, as it accompanies the story since the beginning of time, which means that the sun was always of utmost importance in the design of shelters, or homes is, constructed by taking into consideration the use of sunlight, practicing what was being lost through the centuries, until a time when the buildings started to be designed completely independent of the sun. However, the climatic rigors still needed to be fought, only artificially and today seen as unsustainable, with additional facilities fueled by energy consumption. This paper presents a study on the feasibility of using solar energy for heating water in homes, developing a simplified methodology covering the mode of operation of solar water heaters, solar potential existing alternative systems of Brazil, the international market, and barriers encountered.

Keywords: solar energy, solar heating, solar project, water heating

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Authors: Natália Bruno Chaves, Richardes Caúla, Roosevelt do Vale, Daniela Toneti, Rafaela Carvalho, Renata Silva Lopes, Antônio Carlos Júnior, Adner Nobre, Viviane Santiago, Yara Alana Caldato, Estefania Rodriguez Urrego, André Buarque Lemos, Catarina Nucci Stetner, Marcos Mauro Barreto, Stefany Moreira Lima, Mara Cavalcante, Ticiane Ribeiro

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The Well Born (Nascer Bem – in Portuguese) Program was created in the Hapvida health network with the aim of improving access to safe and quality prenatal care for users. In addition to offering a line of prenatal care, the inclusion of obstetric nursing and the decentralization of childbirth, bring security that professionals did not indicate the route of delivery for professional convenience. The introduction of the nursing consultation came to reinforce the care to our users, strengthening their bond and reception. In 2021, the program maintained an average of 40% of normal births in the north, northeast and central-west regions of Brazil, an average above that observed in the rest of the country's private health systems, around 20%. In addition, the neonatal hospitalization rate of this population remained around 5.1%, a figure below the national average. With these data, the “Nascer Bem” program is affirmed as a safe and effective strategy for the promotion of safe normal birth.

Keywords: quality, safe, prenatal, obstetric nursing

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Authors: Armaghan Moravej Aleali, Hajieh Shahbazian, Seyed Mahmoud Latifi, Leila Yazdanpanah

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Objective: Metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance syndrome or syndrome X is a collection of abdominal obesity, hypertension, glucose intolerance and lipid abnormalities (elevated triglycerides, elevated LDL, and decrease the amount of HDL). That increases the incidence of diabetes and risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in people over 20 years of Ahvaz according to IDF, ATPIII, Harmonized I and Harmonized II. Material & Methods: A cross-sectional study with a random cluster sampling in six health centers in Ahvaz was done. After obtaining informed consent, questionnaire for each person filled up including demographic data and examinations, including blood pressure in sitting position, weight, height, waist circumference, and waist circumference measurement. Results: From all participating 912 people, (434 (2/47%) male and 478 (2/52%) female) were evaluated. Mean age was 42/27± 14years (44/2±14/26 for male and 40/5±13/5 for female). Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 22/8%, 28/4%, 30/9% and 16/9% according to ATPIII, IDF, Harmonized I and Harmonized II criteria respectively and increased with age in both sexes. IDF and Harmonized I had most kappa coordination (0/94). Conclusion: The results show a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Ahvaz. So, identification of the risk factors should be attempted to prevent metabolic syndrome.

Keywords: metabolic syndrome, IDF, ATP III, prevalence

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Authors: Yassamina Berkane, Leila Kloul, Yoann Demoli

Abstract:

Quality of life, environmental impact, congestion of mobility means, and infrastructures remain significant challenges for urban mobility. Solutions like car sharing, spatial redesign, eCommerce, and autonomous vehicles will likely increase the unit veh-km and the density of cars in urban traffic, thus reducing congestion. However, the impact of such solutions is not clear for researchers. Congestion arises from growing populations that must travel greater distances to arrive at similar locations (e.g., workplaces, schools) during the same time frame (e.g., rush hours). This paper first reviews the research and application cases of urban congestion methods through recent years. Rethinking the question of time, it then investigates people’s willingness and flexibility to adapt their arrival and departure times from workplaces. We use neural networks and methods of supervised learning to apply a new methodology for predicting peoples' intentions from their responses in a questionnaire. We created and distributed a questionnaire to more than 50 companies in the Paris suburb. Obtained results illustrate that our methodology can predict peoples' intentions to reschedule their activities (work, study, commerce, etc.).

Keywords: urban mobility, decongestion, machine learning, neural network

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Authors: Leila Anjomshoa, Firooz Sadighi

Abstract:

This study investigated the effects of three types of pre-reading activities (vocabulary definitions, text summary and pre-passage questions) on EFL learners’ English reading comprehension. On the basis of the results of a placement test administered to two hundred and thirty English students at Kerman Azad University, 200 subjects (one hundred intermediate and one hundred advanced) were selected.Four texts, two of them at intermediate level and two of them at advanced level were chosen. The data gathered was subjected to the statistical procedures of ANOVA. A close examination of the results through Tukey’s HSD showed the fact that the experimental groups performed better than the control group, highlighting the effect of the treatment on them. Also, the experimental group C (text summary), performed remarkably better than the other three groups (both experimental & control). Group B subjects, vocabulary definitions, performed better than groups A and D. The pre-passage questions group’s (D) performance showed higher scores than the control condition.

Keywords: pre-reading activities, text summary, vocabulary definition, and pre-passage questions, reading comprehension

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Authors: A. Ribeiro, N. Pacheco, M. Soares, N. Valério, L. Nascimento, A. Silva, C. Vilarinho, J. Carvalho

Abstract:

Hydrogen will play a key role in changing the current global energy paradigm, associated with the high use of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases. This work intended to identify and quantify the potential of Solid Recovered Fuels (SFR) existing in Portugal and project the cost of hydrogen, produced through its steam gasification in different scenarios, associated with the size or capacity of the plant and the existence of carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems. Therefore, it was performed a techno-economic analysis simulation using an ASPEN base model, the H2A Hydrogen Production Model Version 3.2018. Regarding the production of SRF, it was possible to verify the annual production of more than 200 thousand tons of SRF in Portugal in 2019. The results of the techno-economic analysis simulations showed that in the scenarios containing a high (200,000 tons/year) and medium (40,000 tons/year) amount of SFR, the cost of hydrogen production was competitive concerning the current prices of hydrogen. The results indicate that scenarios 1 and 2, which use 200,000 tons of SRF per year, have lower hydrogen production values, 1.22 USD/kg H2 and 1.63 USD/kg H2, respectively. The cost of producing hydrogen without carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems in an average amount of SFR (40,000 tons/year) was 1.70 USD/kg H2. In turn, scenarios 5 (without CCS) and 6 (with CCS), which use only 683 tons of SFR from urban sources, have the highest costs, 6.54 USD/kg H2 and 908.97 USD/kg H2, respectively. Therefore, it was possible to conclude that there is a huge potential for the use of SRF for the production of hydrogen through steam gasification in Portugal.

Keywords: gasification, hydrogen, solid recovered fuels, techno-economic analysis, waste-to-energy

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