5 research outputs found
Determining infertility treatment costs and out of pocket payments imposed on couples
Background: Infertility and infertility treatment costs are considered as one of the main challenges that human society increasingly face with.Objective: To determine infertility treatment costs and out of pocket expenditures imposed on couples referred to infertility treatment center in Yazd, Iran.Design: A descriptive cross sectional studySubjects: A total of 216 couples were selected and contributed in the study through convenient sampling method.Setting: Telephone interviews with couples and medical documents review were also used to ensure the accuracy of collected information.Results: Lost opportunity, direct and indirect costs were 5.562.526, 37.812.354 and 11.125.395 rial respectively (1USD=33,000 rial). Among direct costs the most and the least expenditures belonged to surgery (24.042.137 rial) and clinical visits (174.053 rial). The greatest portion of indirect costs was related to accommodation expenses and the least was due to travel costs (4.898.099 and 2.738.491 rial). Findings confirmed a significant statistical relation between indirect costs and patients’ living place, also a significant relation between lost opportunity cost and patients’ occupation (P<0.05).Conclusion: Due to the high expenditures related to infertility treatment services also lack of insurance coverage, policy makers should pay a particular attention on meeting the reproductive health needs of a society
Energy Saving in Tehran International Flower Exhibition's Building
The municipality ofTehran isintending to construct a permanent
international flower exhibition. The activities for construction began
in the year 2006. The exhibition has three distinct areas namely
"northern area","southern area" and "central area". In northern and
southern area the flowers are supposed to be preserved and in central
area, they will be sold out. In the present study, energy consumption
in the exhibition building is analyzed. To calculate cooling and
heating load TABESH software was used. The heat loss from the building
envelope is more than twice as much the standard in Iran. Insulation of
walls with 5 cm wool stone and first floor with 3 cm polystyrene can
reduce heating and cooling energy consumption by 18% with payback
period of two and four years respectively ,according to international
energy prices. Other energy saving measures such as double glazing
windows are not economical both at national & international energy
prices. To achieve national and international building energy
standards, more energy subsidies must be provided on costly energy
efficiency
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN TABRIZPETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX
Tabriz petrochemical complex is located in the northwest of Iran. Major
products of this industry include raw plastics like, polyethylene,
polystyrene, acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene, etc. Sources of waste
generation include service units, health and cure units, water, power,
steam and industrial processes units. In this study, different types of
solid waste including hazardous and non hazardous solid wastes were
investigated separately. The aim of the study was to focus on the
management of the industrial wastes in order to minimize the adverse
environmental impacts. In the first stage, locating map and dispersion
limits were prepared. Then, the types and amounts of industrial waste
generated in were evaluated by an inventory and inspection. Wastes were
classified according to Environmental Protection Agency and Basel
Standards and subsequently hazards of different types were
investigated. The waste management of TPC is quite complex because of
the different types of waste and their pollution. In some cases
recycling/reuse of waste is the best option, but treatment and disposal
are also necessary tools. In this study, using different sources and
references, generally petrochemical sources, various solid waste
management practices were investigated and the best options were
selected. Some wastes should be treated before land filling and some of
them should be reused or recycled. In the case of solid waste
optimization, source reduction ways were recommended as well as prior
incineration system was modified