Virtual Education, a Complementary Element of the Puzzle of Holistic Education in The Relationship Between Humans and Environment or Iranian Citizens

This paper explores the impact of modernization and globalization on Iranians' cultural and identity-based relationship with the environment, resulting in a loss of mental and semantic dimensions. This has led to environmental numbness and disregard for the natural world. The study argues that virtual education can complement holistic education and provide a platform for Iranians to learn about the mental and semantic aspects of their relationship with nature, thereby restoring their sense of connection to the natural world. The paper suggests that virtual education can help develop environmental awareness, critical thinking skills, and social responsibility while providing access to educational resources for individuals who may be geographically or socially isolated. Integrating virtual education into formal and non-formal education in Iran can play a critical role in promoting sustainable development, addressing environmental challenges, and preserving cultural identity. The study uses qualitative and descriptive research methods

Motion Challenge of Thoracic Tumors at Radiotherapy by Introducing an Available Compensation Strategy

In this chapter a description is explained about radiotherapy as common available method in treatment of thoracic tumors located at thorax region of patient body and move mainly due to respiration. In radiotherapy of dynamic tumors, the correct and accurate information of tumor position during the therapeutic irradiation determine the degree of treatment success. In this chapter we investigate quantitatively the effect of tumor motion on treatment quality by considering to possible drawbacks and errors at external surrogate’s radiotherapy as clinical treatment modality. For this aim, tumor motion information of a group of real patients treated with Cybeknife Synchrony system (from Georgetown University Hospital) was taken into account. A fuzzy logic based correlation model was employed for tumor motion tracking. Final results represent graphically the amount of tumor motion estimated by our utilized correlation model on three dimensions with targeting error calculation. It’s worth mentioning that each strategy that can improve targeting accuracy of dynamic tumors may strongly enhance treatment quality by saving healthy tissues against additional high dose. In this chapter we just tried to introduce readers with thoracic tumor motion error as challenging issue in radiotherapy and motion compensation solutions, implemented clinically up to now

Transient stability evaluation of wind farms implemented with induction generators

The progress of wind-energy generation around the world in recent years has been consistently impressive. As more and more attention is paid to the increase of wind-turbine farms, a number of problems should be investigated in more detail. Among these problems, the transient stability of wind farms implemented with induction generators becomes necessary, especially when operating into a weak connection. The transient behavior and stability of wind farms with induction generators have been studied in this paper and some important operating conditions are analyzed. The impact of some important parameters such as strength of main grid, of X/R ratio of the transmission line on the transient stability of wind farm, and operation during severe faults are all investigated. The results of simulation show that these parameters have a great impact on the transient stability of wind farm. Power-system oscillation caused by a transient fault in the vicinity of a wind turbine is the worst case scenario, as the wind turbine has to ride through the fault and keep its stability

Small-disturbance voltage stability of distribution systems with wind turbine implemented with WRIG

The small-disturbance voltage stability of a grid-connected wound-rotor induction-generator (WRIG) wind-turbine system is analyzed under different operating conditions. This theoretical study shows the effect of the wound-rotor induction generator and its parameters on load-bus voltage collapse phenomena. Results show that the rotor resistance of the induction generators may decrease the system voltage stability margin and that the transmission line length has an important effect on the maximum loading point and critical point of loading

Perceived Educational Needs of Postmenopausal Iranian Women: A Qualitative Study

Background: Menopause is a natural change that almost all women experience in middle age. Just like puberty, menopause is considered a turning point in a woman’s life. Postmenopausal women experience a wide range of symptoms that may affect their health and well-being, but in most cases, they are unaware of the postmenopausal symptoms they are experiencing or will experience. This study aimed to investigate the perceived educational needs of postmenopausal women in southern Iran. Methods: This study was conducted using a conventional qualitative content analysis approach in 2021 in Jiroft (southern Iran). The main research question was, ‘What educational needs do postmenopausal women experience?’ To answer this question, 15 participants were selected using purposive sampling (seven postmenopausal women, four gynecologists, three midwifery experts, and one nutritionist). The data were collected using semi-structured interviews, which continued until data saturation. The collected data were analyzed using the method proposed by Graneheim and Lundman. The MAXQDA 12 software was used to manage qualitative data analysis. Results: Data analysis revealed one main theme (perceived educational needs) with two categories and five subcategories: (a) Perceived information and medical needs (the need to know about the healthy transition to menopause, the need for support and advice in health-related decisions, and health-promoting educational needs) and (b) The need for self-control (the need for self-management of physical symptoms and the need for self-management of psychological symptoms). Conclusion: This study showed that postmenopausal women face many physical and psychological challenges and need more education to better meet these challenges. Thus, officials and experts in charge of women’s health such as gynecologists, midwives, nurses, and care providers need to pay special attention to problems and issues of postmenopausal women and plan to promote their awareness and knowledge

Cardiovascular Property of Resistance Training With an Emphasis on PI3K/AKT1 Genes Expression in Type 2 Diabetic Rats

Background: The potential role of exercise in physiological cardiac hypertrophy is rooted in both hormonal and genetic components. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of resistance exercise on the expression of PI3K and AKT1 in cardiac tissue of type 2 diabetes (T2D) rats and their physiological cardiac hypertrophy. Methods: First, 21 male Wistar rats (220±20 g) were obese with 6-week high-fat diet (HFD) and were randomly assigned into non-diabetes, control T2D, and exercise diabetes groups. After inducing obesity, T2D was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (25 mg/kg) for diabetes groups. Rats in the exercise group completed a 6-week resistance exercise program, 5 sessions per week. PI3K/AKT1 expression and the weight ratio of left ventricular to heart, heart to body, and left ventricular to body were compared by analysis of variance (ANOVA) between groups. Results: In response to the induction of diabetes, the expression of PI3K/AKT1 in heart tissue decreased significantly compared to that of non-diabetic rats (P=0.001 and P=0.001, respectively). Further, resistance training led to a significant increase in PI3K expression (P=0.028) and AKT1 (P=0.032) and the weight ratio of left ventricular to heart (P=0.001), heart to the body (P=0.001), and left ventricular to the body (P=0.001) compared to control diabetic rats. Conclusion: Resistance training is associated with physiological cardiac hypertrophy in diabetic rats, and this improvement may be attributed to the PI3K/AKT1 signaling pathway

Small-disturbance voltage stability of distribution systems with wind turbine implemented with WRIG

The small-disturbance voltage stability of a grid-connected wound-rotor induction-generator (WRIG) wind-turbine system is analyzed under different operating conditions. This theoretical study shows the effect of the wound-rotor induction generator and its parameters on load-bus voltage collapse phenomena. Results show that the rotor resistance of the induction generators may decrease the system voltage stability margin and that the transmission line length has an important effect on the maximum loading point and critical point of loading

Transient stability evaluation of wind farms implemented with induction generators

The progress of wind-energy generation around the world in recent years has been consistently impressive. As more and more attention is paid to the increase of wind-turbine farms, a number of problems should be investigated in more detail. Among these problems, the transient stability of wind farms implemented with induction generators becomes necessary, especially when operating into a weak connection. The transient behavior and stability of wind farms with induction generators have been studied in this paper and some important operating conditions are analyzed. The impact of some important parameters such as strength of main grid, of X/R ratio of the transmission line on the transient stability of wind farm, and operation during severe faults are all investigated. The results of simulation show that these parameters have a great impact on the transient stability of wind farm. Power-system oscillation caused by a transient fault in the vicinity of a wind turbine is the worst case scenario, as the wind turbine has to ride through the fault and keep its stability

The Effects of Selenium Supplementation on Gene Expression Related to Insulin and Lipid Metabolism, and Pregnancy Outcomes in Patients with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

This study was performed to evaluate the effects of selenium supplementation on gene expression related to insulin and lipid metabolism, and pregnancy outcomes in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The current randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted in 36 patients with GDM. Participants were randomly divided into two groups to intake either 200 μg/day selenium supplements as selenium yeast or placebo (n = 18 each group) for 6 weeks. Selenium supplementation upregulated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (P = 0.03) and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT-1) (P = 0.01) in lymphocytes of subjects with GDM compared with the placebo. Selenium supplementation did not affect gene expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) and lipoprotein(a) Lp(a). Supplementation with selenium had a significant decrease in incidence of newborns� hyperbilirubinemia (5.6% vs. 33.3%, P = 0.03) and newborns� hospitalization (5.6% vs. 33.3%, P = 0.03) compared with the placebo. Overall, we found that selenium supplementation for 6 weeks among patients with GDM significantly increased PPAR-γ and GLUT-1 expression, but did not affect gene expression of LDLR and LP(a). It also reduced incidence of newborns� hyperbilirubinemia and newborns� hospitalization. Clinical trial registration number: http://www.irct.ir: IRCT20170513033941N35. © 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

Value-Added Products Derived from Waste Activated Sludge: A Biorefinery Perspective

Substantial research has been carried out on sustainable waste activated sludge (WAS) management in the last decade. In addition to the traditional approach to reduce its production volume, considering WAS as a feedstock to produce bio-products such as amino acids, proteins, short chain fatty acids, enzymes, bio-pesticides, bio-plastics, bio-flocculants and bio-surfactants represents a key component in the transformation of wastewater treatment plants into biorefineries. The quality of these bio-products is a key factor with respect to the feasibility of non-conventional WAS-based production processes. This review provides a critical assessment of the production process routes of a wide range of value-added products from WAS, their current limitations, and recommendations for future research to help promote more sustainable management of this under-utilised and ever-growing waste stream