A CMC Approach to Teaching Phrasal-verbs to Iranian EFL Senior High School Students: The Case of Blended Learning

AbstractCMC has received a lot of ink in the literature related to L2 acquisition. It is generally agreed that one of the concerns of teaching English to Iranian society of EFL learners is whether blended learning is pedagogically effective. This study investigated the efficacy of teaching phrasal verbs via blended learning to Iranian EFL senior high school students. For this purpose, two groups of Iranian EFL students, 40 each, aged 15 to 20, were randomly selected from a population of 300 students at Iranian senior high school, in Shahrekord. The criterion for selection was Oxford Placement Test. The group called “e-class” was taught by the internet through CMC approach. While the second group; namely, control group received no internet feedback. At the end of treatment, which was a full term; the two groups were tested on a phrasal verbs test. The findings of this research revealed that the online tasks can motivate students to have an active role in the phrasal verbs learning

Study of Changes in Cholesterol 7 Alpha Hydroxylase in Patients with Gall Stone in Babylon Province

المرارة (GB) هوالجهازالمساعدمنالجهاز الهضمي،وهي تقعتحتالكبد وتعلق علىنظامالصفراوي،وأنها مسؤولة عنالتحكم فيإطلاقالصفراءوالتخزين. مرضحصوةمشكلة صحية كبيرةفي جميع أنحاء العالم. في 10-15٪ من البالغيناحتواءمرضحصوة. هذه الدراسة (مراقبةحالة) ويتكون من 160 (160) وشملتالمرضىفيهذه الدراسةتم اختيارها عشوائيا، ويتألفمن 130 من الإناث و 30 من الذكور. ويتم فحصجميع المرضى 24 ساعة. قبل العملية،داخلالجراحةوبعدالجراحة 24hr. انخفاضالحركةالمرارةوانخفاضالكولسترول 7 -alpha النشاطهيدروكسيلاز،التي تنظمنوفوتوليفالصفراء الملح. والحد من معدل خطوةمنتركيب الحامض المرارييتصرفبين 7A1 CYP الكبدمعين (CYP450). وهكذا،والتعديلاتفي السيطرةالجينات CYP أيضا له تأثيرعلىتركيب الحامض المراريوالتمثيل الغذائي للدهون.The gallbladder (GB) is an assistant organ of the digestive system, It is  located under the liver and attached to the biliary system, And it is responsible for controlling release of bile and the storage. Gallstone disease a major health problem worldwide. In 10–15% of adults contain gallstone disease. This study (case control) consists of  one hundred sixty (160) patients are included in this study randomly selected  and consisted of 130 females and 30 males. All patients are examined 24 hr. Before operation, Intra operatively and 24hr post operatively. Decreased gallbladder motility and the decrease of cholesterol 7 –alpha hydroxylase activity, which regulate the novo bile salt synthesis. The rate-limiting step of bile acid synthesis is acting between the liver-specific CYP 7A1 (CYP450). Thus, Alteration in CYP gene control also has an impact on bile acid synthesis and lipid metabolism

A Survey on Environmentally Friendly Vehicle Routing Problem and a Proposal of Its Classification

The growth of environmental awareness and more robust enforcement of numerous regulations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have directed efforts towards addressing current environmental challenges. Considering the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), one of the effective strategies to control greenhouse gas emissions is to convert the fossil fuel-powered fleet into Environmentally Friendly Vehicles (EFVs). Given the multitude of constraints and assumptions defined for different types of VRPs, as well as assumptions and operational constraints specific to each type of EFV, many variants of environmentally friendly VRPs (EF-VRP) have been introduced. In this paper, studies conducted on the subject of EF-VRP are reviewed, considering all the road transport EFV types and problem variants, and classifying and discussing with a single holistic vision. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it determines a classification of EF-VRP studies based on different types of EFVs, i.e., Alternative-Fuel Vehicles (AFVs), Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Hybrid Vehicles (HVs). Second, it presents a comprehensive survey by considering each variant of the classification, technical constraints and solution methods arising in the literature. The results of this paper show that studies on EF-VRP are relatively novel and there is still room for large improvements in several areas. So, to determine future insights, for each classification of EF-VRP studies, the paper provides the literature gaps and future research needs

Proptosis Due to Isolated Intra-Orbital Meningocele- A Case Report

Congenital orbital wall defects are very rare bone abnormalities that can cause protrusion of intracranial contents into the orbit. The protrusion of the meninges, which encompasses cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), result in a condition known as the orbital meningocele, a rare cause of pulsatile proptosis. Here, we present a 4-year-old female with left eye proptosis referred to our clinic. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a cystic structure was present. The patient underwent surgery for cyst removal. CSF leakage was noted during surgery. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a bony defect in the sphenoid greater wing and the resulting meningocele. Craniotomy surgery was performed to close and fill the defect

Removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions using raw and modified rice husk

ABSTRACT, one of the most important environmental pollutants is dye containing wastewaters. Methylene blue (MB) is a cationic dye that has carcinogenic and mutagenic effects on human. This study was investigated to remove methylene blue dye from aqueous solutions by raw and modified rice husk (Raw-RH and Modified-RH). The influence of various parameters including pH, contact time, adsorbent dose and initial dye concentration was studied on the dye removal efficiencyin a batch system. The results showed that the equilibrium was obtained at the contact time of 90 min and the maximum dye removal was also occurred at pH 10 for both the Raw-RH and Modified-RH adsorbents. The experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The findings showed that the data were best fitted with the Freundlich isotherm. The obtained data for MB adsorption onto the Raw-RH and Modified-RH were also fitted via the pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order kinetic models. The correlation coefficients values (R2 ) showed that the adsorption kinetic described well by the pseudo-second order model. The results of this study indicated that rice husk can be used as an effective and low-cost adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions

The study of potassium ferrate application efficiency for advanced treatment of sewage

زمینه و هدف: طیف وسیعی از منعقد کننده‌ها، اکسیدان‌ها و گندزداها در تصفیه آب و فاضلاب استفاده می‌شوند. یون فرات به عنوان یک اکسیدان قوی بالاترین پتانسیل اکسیداسیون-احیاء را بین همه اکسیدان‌ها و گندزداها در تصفیه آب و فاضلاب داراست. یون فرات (شش ظرفیتی) در آب به یون هیدروکسید فریک احیا می‌شود و می‌تواند در یک فرآیند چند منظوره به عنوان منعقد کننده، اکسیدان و گندزدا مورد استفاده قرار گیرد. هدف از این مطالعه بررسی فرآیند تصفیه پیشرفته پساب فاضلاب شهری با استفاده از فرات پتاسیم بود. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه نیمه تجربی تصفیه پیشرفته فاضلاب شهری توسط فرات‌پتاسیم در مقیاس آزمایشگاهی روی پساب فاضلاب گندزدایی نشده با تعیین اثر متغیرهای pH و غلظت بر میزان حذف کدورت، ترکیبات ارگانی آب (COD) و فسفر مورد بررسی قرار گرفت. به منظور تعیین کارایی گندزدایی فرات پتاسیم نیز اثر سه متغیر زمان تماس، غلظت فرات و pH روی فرآیند گندزدایی با استفاده از شاخص (MPN (Most Probable Number مشخص شد. یافته‌ها: بهترین راندمان حذف ترکیبات ارگانی آب و کدورت با استفاده از فرات‌پتاسیم در شرایط بهینه (5=pH و غلظت mg/L10) به ترتیب 65 و 90 بود. pH و غلظت بهینه فرات ‌پتاسیم در حذف فسفر نیز 5=pH و غلظت mg/L 12 بود که موجب حذف 72 درصدی فسفر شد. بهترین شرایط کاربرد فرات پتاسیم به عنوان گندزدا در غلظت mg/L 4 و زمان تماس های 25 دقیقه و 6=pH بود. نتیجه گیری: فرات ‌پتاسیم به عنوان یک ماده شیمیایی مؤثر اکسید کننده، گندزدا و منعقد کننده می ‌تواند در تصفیه انواع پساب های شهری و صنعتی مورد استفاده قرار گیرد و با این کار دسترسی به چند هدف در یک فرآیند را میسر گرداند

ANN-based ground motion model for Turkey using stochastic simulation of earthquakes

Turkey is characterized by a high level of seismic activity attributed to its complex tectonic structure. The country has a dense network to record earthquake ground motions; however, to study previous earthquakes and to account for potential future ones, ground motion sim- ulations are required. Ground motion simulation techniques offer an alternative means of generating region-specific time-series data for locations with limited seismic networks or re- gions with seismic data gaps, facilitating the study of potential catastrophic earthquakes. In this research, a local ground motion model (GMM) for Turkey is developed using region- specific simulated records, thus constructing a homogeneous data set. The simulations employ the stochastic finite-fault approach and utilize validated input-model parameters in distinct re- gions, namely Afyon, Erzincan, Duzce, Istanbul and Van. To overcome the limitations of linear regression-based models, artificial neural network is used to establish the form of equations and coefficients. The predictive input parameters encompass fault mechanism (FM), focal depth (FD), moment magnitude (Mw), Joyner and Boore distance (RJB) and average shear wave velocity in the top 30 m (Vs30). The data set comprises 7359 records with Mw ranging between 5.0 and 7.5 and RJB ranging from 0 to 272 km. The results are presented in terms of spectral ordinates within the period range of 0.03–2.0 s, as well as peak ground acceleration and peak ground velocity. The quantification of the GMM uncertainty is achieved through the analysis of residuals, enabling insights into inter- and intra-event uncertainties. The simulation results and the effectiveness of the model are verified by comparing the predicted values of ground motion parameters with the observed values recorded during previous events in the region. The results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed model in simulating physical phenomena.This work was partly financed by FCT/MCTES through National funds (PIDDAC) under the R&D Unit Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE), under reference UIDB/04029/2020, and under the Associate Laboratory Advanced Production and Intelligent Systems ARISE under refer ence LA/P/0112/2020. This study has been partly funded by the STAND4HERITAGE project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement no. 833123), as an advanced grant. This work is financed by national funds through FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology, under grant agreement 2020.08876.BD attributed to the second author. This work is financed by national funds through FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology, under grant agreement UI/BD/153379/2022 attributed to the third author. Shaghayegh Karimzadeh: Conceptualisation, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualisation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. Amirhossein Mohammadi: Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Visualisation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. Sayed Mohammad Sajad Hussaini: Formal anal ysis, Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. Daniel Caicedo: Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing— original draft, Writing—review & editing. Aysegul Askan: Data curation, Resources, Writing—review & editing. Paulo B. Lourenço: Funding acquisition, Resources, Supervision, Writing—review & editing

Quantification of Health Impacts Related to PM10 and O3 Pollutants in Karaj City

Although the numbers of death related to air pollution appear to be low, the incidence of related disease to air pollution would be too high that is because of exposure of the large population to air pollutants and also the existence of certain sensitive groups. The aim of this study was to quantification health impacts of two pollutants PM10 and O3 in Karaj city during 2012- 2013. In this study, the air quality data were obtained from Karaj Department of Environment Protection. Quantification the health impacts of air pollutants were assessed using AirQ2.2.3 model which is a proposed method for assessing the health impact of air pollutants by World Health Organization. The annual, warm, and cold average concentrations of PM10 were 77.48, 87.86, and 62µg/m3, respectively. O3 average concentration in the warm semester was 63.5µg/m3 and it is more than a cold season which was 60µg/m3. Total mortality rate related to PM10 and O3 were assessed 282 and 164, respectively, which are 3.9 and 1.53 percent of all deaths, respectively. The Average cases of obstructive lung disease related to O3 were 58 people and average cases of hospitalization due to cardiovascular diseases related to PM10 were 492 people. This study was the first attempt to reveal the health outcome of air pollutants on a human in Karaj as one of the crowded city of Iran. Totally we found that the average concentration of 8-hours O3 and 24-hours PM10 were higher than the national standard of Iran and WHO guideline