Active vs Passive Dictation

This paper concentrates on dictation as a beneficial tool in both teaching and testing.  The goal is to discuss about the points that were ignored during the years in foreign language classes. In fact this paper aims at investigating helpful techniques in reviving active dictation. Here some discussion is presented theoretically about the strategies that can be used to assist learners to develop the other skills during dictation sessions. An effective tool that can help teachers and learners during language teaching/learning processes to promote learning is dictation, if it is utilized in a proper procedure while considering all four skills in learning a foreign/second language. So the significance of the topic leads the researcher to study it. The aim is to identify the most appropriate strategies in using dictation in the classroom that may assist learners in learning a language communicatively. Therefore the current study came to existence to gain this target and to present some techniques to help in promoting such skills in language classes.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v2i3.171

Power of Sentences in Foreign Language Classes

Memorizing and rote learning are the simplest ways to get mark, but they won't help learners to use what they have memorized. In fact, learners will carry out a huge amount of knowledge but they can't apply them. In this study a powerful and important tool is introduced to solve the problem in Iranian classes. And it is utilizing sentences. In this article, a flowchart of sentence plan, which was constructed to aid learners in applying what they have learned, was included. The study highlights the importance of sentences in learning a language and introduces playing as an effective procedure to assist learners in learning how to construct correct sentences.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v2i2.166

The Impacts of Climate Change on Communities of Fungi in Boreal Peatlands

Peatlands have an important role in global climate change through sequestration of atmospheric CO2. Climate change is already affecting these ecosystems, including both above- and below- ground communities and their functions. Fungi play a central role in these communities. As a result, there is concern that altered fungal community function may turn peatlands from carbon sinks to carbon sources, greatly exacerbating the impacts of climate change. In order to gain a better insight into effects of climate change on the structure and function of these carbon sequestrating ecosystems, this thesis focuses on diversity and structure of fungal communities in natural environment in boreal peatlands and in mesocosm experiments to better understand the main and interactive effects of multiple drivers of climate change (increased temperature, elevated CO2, lowered water table) on fungal communities, and their function. The results of these studies suggest that moisture content of peat is probably one of the key factors driving changes in community composition of fungi in boreal peatlands under natural conditions. However, the effects of water table drawdown is likely to appear as a short-term effect. Following this short-term effect of water table drawdown, fungal groups are mainly affected by increased temperatures over a longer period of time, such that increased temperatures of 4 and 8°C above ambient conditions provoke a compositional shift in communities of fungi towards decomposers and vascular plant root-associates. These findings are valuable in providing a broader conceptual context of climate change and its consequences for carbon dynamics of boreal peatlands

Dynamic simulation and optimization of an industrial-scale absorption tower for CO2 capturing from ethane gas

AbstractThis article considers a process technology based on absorption for CO2 capturing of ethane gas in phase 9 and 10 of south pars in Iran using diethanolamine (DEA) as absorbent solvent. This CO2 capture plant was designed to achieve 85% CO2 recovery and obtain 19 ppm the CO2 concentration in the outlet of absorber. ASPEN–HYSYS software was used for the dynamic simulation of a commercial-scale CO2 capture plant and amine Pkg equation was chosen from the fluid property package for calculating the thermodynamic properties of the process. A static approach for optimization was used to evaluate the optimum conditions. This research revealed that pressure variation does not have any considerable changes in the absorption process, while both amine inlet temperature and volumetric flow rate increment enhance the absorption tower efficiency. The effect of temperature was very significant as shown in the dynamic study plots. The optimum condition for CO2 absorption from a stream of ethane gas with molar flow rate of 2118 kg mol h−1 was obtained 75 m3  h−1 of amine at 53 °C and 24 bar. This optimized condition is acceptable from economical, safe as well as feasible point of view

Return to work after traumatic spinal fractures and spinal cord injuries:a retrospective cohort study

This study aimed to determine the factors associated with return to work (RTW) after traumatic spinal fracture and spinal cord injury. It provided a predictive model for RTW among patients with spinal fractures and spinal cord injury and determined important factors influencing the time to RTW after injury. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in Poursina Tertiary Hospital, Guilan, Iran between May 2017 and May 2020. Patients aged 18 to 65 who were hospitalized with traumatic spinal fractures and spinal cord injuries were included. Demographic and clinical data were collected from the National Spinal Column/Cord Injury Registry of Iran (NSCIR-IR). A researcher-administered questionnaire was used through a telephone interview to obtain complementary data on social and occupational variables. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used to estimate the average time to RTW and the predictors of RTW were determined by multivariate Cox regression model. Of the 300 patients included, 78.6% returned to work and the average time to RTW was about 7 months. The mean age of the participants was 45.63 ± 14.76 years old. Among the study variables, having a Bachelor’s degree (HR 2.59; 95% CI 1.16–5.77; P = 0.019), complications after injury (HR 0.47; 95% CI 0.35–0.62; P = 0.0001), full coverage health insurance (HR 1.73; 95% CI 1.10–2.72; P = 0.016), opium use (HR 0.48; 95% CI 0.26–0.90; P = 0.023), number of vertebral fractures (HR 0.82; 95% CI 0.67–0.99; P = 0.046), and length of hospital stay (HR 0.95; 95% CI 0.93–0.98; P = 0.001) were found to be significant in predicting RTW in Cox regression analysis. Our analysis showed that wealthier people and those with high job mobility returned to work later.</p

Effect of Text Messaging-based Psychiatric Nursing Program on Quality of Life in Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Recurrent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can devastate the life of a veteran. Despite the widespread use of mobile learning technology in health care and nursing, few studies have examined its potential in PTSD patients and the effect on quality of life (QoL). The present study aimed to investigate the effect of a text messaging-based psychiatric nursing program on QoL in veterans with PTSD symptoms. Methods: A single-blinded, randomized, controlled trial was conducted at the outpatient clinic of Sadr Hospital in Tehran (Iran) from January 2014 to October 2015. A total of 98 veterans with PTSD who referred to the outpatient clinic of the hospital were initially assessed for eligibility to participate in the study. Based on the inclusion criteria, 66 veterans were recruited in the study and randomly allocated to a control group (n=33) and an intervention group (n=33). Due to the lost to follow-up, 9 participants (control=4, intervention=5) were excluded from the analysis phase. The intervention group received psychiatric support via short text messages for 6 months, whereas the control group received the routine hospital care. The self-rating scale for PTSD (SRS-PTSD) and the short form 36 (SF-36) were used to evaluate the severity of symptoms and the QoL, respectively. The results were analyzed using the SPSS software (version 18.0) with the Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, independent sample t test, and paired sample t test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A significant improvement in PTSD (P=0.001) and QoL (P=0.001) was observed in the intervention group compared to the control group. Moreover, the recurrence frequency in the intervention group was significantly lower (P=0.03). Conclusion: The text messaging-based psychiatric nursing program reduced the severity of symptoms in veterans with PTSD and improved their QoL. Trial Registration Number: IRCT2013101214983N

Explaining the psychological experiences of nurses during the first peak COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: The unexpected spread of COVID-19 with high risk of transmission, fear and anxiety, and a load of negative emotions followed for nurses. It is necessary to assess the psychological experiences of nurses during the first peak COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: In this qualitative study, with the approach of conventional content analysis approach, the participants were selected through proposed-based sampling and snowball from the COVID-19 centers of Guilan province in March 2020. The number of 20 participants with various demographic characteristics (Gender, age ...) entered the study. The tools used were in-depth and semi-structured interviews. Results: Most of the participants were women, married and nurses. Six categories were obtained: not perception, worries, and pretending, horrible observations, pre-psychological symptoms and psychological symptoms. Conclusion: Psychological experiences of nurses in COVID-19 center in Guilan were expressed in a range of not perceptions and worry until the appearance of numerous pre and psychological symptoms. The psychological needs of this group must be considered at all stages of the crisis. Psychological support by mental health workers should be considered in line with the development of the crisis to reduce the stress on nurses

Dynamic assessment and optimization of catalytic hydroprocessing process: sensitivity analysis and practical tips

Among the processes in petrochemical industry, hydroprocessing is an imperative process to produce clean fuels. This process is still being improved despite its 70-year maturity. Catalyst deactivation is a key aspect in the design and operation of catalytic processes in petrochemical industry. In this research, a dynamic heterogeneous model is presented to evaluate the performance of an industrial hydropurification/hydrotreating process in the purified terephthalic acid (PTA) production plant. This process includes a trickle-bed reactor (TBR) packed with palladium supported on carbon (0.5wt.% Pd/C) catalyst. In fact, this chemical production unit represents a three-phase catalytic system where some chemical reactions take place. Therefore, an accurate and meticulous analysis is required to develop a proper mathematical model, taking into account all transport phenomena occurring in the system. The model considers the axial back-mixing, flow non-ideality, and the catalyst deactivation. Model development leads to a set of partial differential equations consisting of nonlinear equations of the reaction rates, nonlinear expression of the catalyst deactivation rate, mass balance of each component in the reaction mixture, and energy balance of each phase. The model parameters are calculated using suitable correlations. The set of partial differential equations is solved using proper numerical techniques, including method of lines and finite difference method, in MATLAB software environment. First, the model reliability is assessed through the comparison of the model results with the industrial data. The validation phase confirms that the model results are accurate, and the developed model can be used for further process evaluation. A sensitivity analysis is then implemented to assess the effects of different operating parameters on the performance of the hydropurification/hydrotreating process. The results reveal that axial dispersion model is more accurate than the plug flow model. Moreover, 4- carboxybenzaldehyde (4-CBA) impurity in the reactor feed is the most detrimental parameter, affecting the catalytic performance. It is found that reduction in the catalyst particle size can improve the catalyst performance by about 16%, and an increase in the catalyst particle porosity can enhance the catalyst lifetime by around 8%. In this condition, the catalyst bed pressure drop is maintained at an acceptable level. In addition, 13% increase in the hydrogen partial pressure enhances the catalyst lifetime by about 20%. It should be noted that pressure increase might lead to the reactor pressure fluctuation, leading to an increase in the PTA powder turbidity. Therefore, reactor operation control is a critical factor. Considering other hydrodynamic parameters, a decrease in liquid hourly space velocity and the catalyst bed porosity improves the system performance in terms of catalyst lifetime and product quality. An increase in the liquid-solid mass transfer and contacting efficiency has a slight positive impact on the catalytic system performance. Product quality control can be carried out more properly if the feed impurity concentration is managed/controlled efficiently. In this research, a practical strategy is presented to effectively mix the feed streams having varying concentrations of the impurities (e.g., high and low concentrations of 4-CBA). This can be achieved by suggesting a proper ratio control, keeping the feed composition and flowrate at normal operating conditions. This strategy can also be employed to deal with the off-spec PTA powder product. In addition, the effect of temperature on the sintering mechanism of the Pd/C catalyst deactivation is investigated. The results reveal that temperature increase can accelerate the decline rate of the Pd/C catalyst surface area. The reduced activity of Pd/C catalyst is in an acceptable agreement with the normalized ratio of reduction in the surface area of pure Pd with increasing temperature. In the last phase, an efficient methodology is proposed to assess the hydroprocessing process in terms of energy and exergy performance. The process simulation and exergy analysis are conducted using Aspen Plus® and MATLAB software packages. The results are in a satisfactory agreement with the industrial data. It is concluded that the optimal operating conditions result in 15% reduction in the exergy destruction; the optimal scenario can also reduce the operation costs and the carbon tax at 9.96% ($20.5/h) and 14.75$14.54/h), respectively

Failure analysis of railway switches and crossings for the purpose of preventive maintenance.

In the Swedish railway network there are about 12000 units of track switches and crossings, which at 13000 Km, make up about 5.5 percent of the total track length. However, the maintenance cost for S&amp;C is more than 13 percent of the total maintenance cost which is high in comparison with their proportion. The aim of the project is to conduct research into classification of the different modes of failure in S&amp;C components and to perform a statistical analysis to converge the data in order to determine the most important failures that occur in turnouts

Innendørs bruk av tre i helsebygg

Focus on the use of renewable materials in new buildings is very relevant in today’s society. This is because buildings including the industry sector account for 27 percent of greenhouse gas emissions leading to global warming. This value is 52 percent if power consumption and heat production are taken into account (Edenhofer et al., 2014). This is important for people's health, especially physical health, which in turn affects our mental health. Society needs new knowledge and methods in building and health in order to contribute to better indoor climate The goal of this study had been to find out whether natural materials such as wood in hospital buildings could affect the patients' improvement process. The thesis was inspired by previous studies focusing on the effect of nature on human health. We should consider whether using natural elements in buildings could be a good alternative to nature, since we in modern society not always have access to nature in everyday life. This experiment was done at St. Olav Hospital in Trondheim during the period 2009 to 2011. Oak and birch plates were installed in selected rooms at the Orthopedic Department. These two room types were compared to regular hospital rooms that had artworks and landscape pictures on the walls, to determine whether wooden boards could affect stress and pain levels as well as length of stay for the users of the four room types. The study also considered the effect of types of operations on the factors above. The effect of wood species and types of operations together were also considered in the study. The analysis showed that wood types did not have a significant impact on psychological outcomes such as stress and pain levels. Types of surgery showed a significant difference in the level of pain, while it did not have any significant impact on stress levels. Patients undergoing hip surgery had significantly lower pain than patients who underwent knee surgery. Assessment of room types and types of surgery together also had a significant impact on stress and pain levels. Neither room types nor operating types, or the two factors together did affect the length of stay at the same time. Similarities were observed between wooden rooms and rooms with art pieces, and this might be related to the fact that art can have equally positive effects on people as natural materials