Search results for: idling conditions

Authors: M. Chojak

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Recently, more and more scientific disciplines refer to research in the field of neurobiology. Interdisciplinary research procedures are created using modern methods of brain imaging. Neither did the pedagogues start looking for neuronal conditions for various processes. The publications began to show concepts such as ‘neuropedagogy’, ‘neuroeducation’, ‘neurodidactics’, ‘brain-friendly education’. They were and are still used interchangeably. In the offer of training for teachers, the topics of multiple intelligences or educational kinesiology began to be more and more popular. These and other ideas have been actively introduced into the curricula. To our best knowledge, the literature on the subject lacks articles organizing the new nomenclature and indicating the methodological framework for research that would confirm the effectiveness of the above-mentioned innovations. The author of this article tries to find the place for neuropedagogy in the system of sciences, define its subject of research, methodological framework and basic concepts. This is necessary to plan studies that will verify the so-called neuromyths.

Keywords: brain, education, neuropedagogy, research

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Authors: Malory Jonata

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Chlordecone (CLD) is an organochlorine pesticide used between 1971 and 1993 in both Guadeloupe and Martinique for the control of banana black weevil. The bishomocubane structure which characterizes this chemical compound led to high stability in organic matter and high persistence in the environment. Recently, researchers found that CLD can be degraded by isolated bacteria consortiums and, particularly, by bacteria such as Citrobacter sp 86 and Delsulfovibrio sp 86. Actually, six transformation product families of CLD are known. Moreover, the latest discovery showed that CLD was disappearing faster than first predicted in highly contaminated soil in Guadeloupe. However, the toxicity of transformation products is still unknown, and knowledge has to be deepened on the degradation ways and chemical characteristics of chlordecone and its transformation products. Microbial fuel cells (MFC) are electrochemical systems that can convert organic matter into electricity thanks to electroactive bacteria. These bacteria can exchange electrons through their membranes to solid surfaces or molecules. MFC have proven their efficiency as bioremediation systems in water and soils. They are already used for the bioremediation of several organochlorine compounds such as perchlorate, trichlorophenol or hexachlorobenzene. In this study, a three-electrodes system, inspired by MFC, is used to try to degrade chlordecone using bacteria from a mangrove swamp in Martinique. As we know, some mangrove bacteria are electroactive. Furthermore, the CLD rate seems to decline in mangrove swamp sediments. This study aims to prove that electroactive bacteria from a mangrove swamp in Martinique can degrade CLD thanks to a three-electrodes bioelectrochemical system. To achieve this goal, the tree-electrodes assembly has been connected to a potentiostat. The substrate used is mangrove water and sediments sampled in the mangrove swamp of La Trinité, a coastal city in Martinique, where CLD contamination has already been studied. Electroactive biofilms are formed by imposing a potential relative to Saturated Calomel Electrode using chronoamperometry. Moreover, their comportment has been studied by using cyclic voltametry. Biofilms have been studied under different imposed potentials, several conditions of the substrate and with or without CLD. In order to quantify the evolution of CLD rates in the substrate’s system, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was performed on pre-treated samples of water and sediments after short, medium and long-term contact with the electroactive biofilms. Results showed that between -0,8V and -0,2V, the three-electrodes system was able to reduce the chemical in the substrate solution. The first GC-MS analysis result of samples spiked with CLD seems to reveal decreased CLD concentration over time. In conclusion, the designed bioelectrochemical system can provide the necessary conditions for chlordecone degradation. However, it is necessary to improve three-electrodes control settings in order to increase degradation rates. The biological pathways are yet to enlighten by biologicals analysis of electroactive biofilms formed in this system. Moreover, the electrochemical study of mangrove substrate gives new informations on the potential use of this substrate for bioremediation. But further studies are needed to a better understanding of the electrochemical potential of this environment.

Keywords: bioelectrochemistry, bioremediation, chlordecone, mangrove swamp

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Authors: M. J. Eichner, Y. S. Sarhan

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Overall study purpose has been the evaluation of ‘Vertical Villages’ as a new sustainable building typology, reducing significantly negative impacts of rapid urbanization processes in third world capital cities. Commonly in fast-growing cities, housing and job supply, educational and recreational opportunities, as well as public transportation infrastructure, are not accommodating rapid population growth, exposing people to high noise and emission polluted living environments with low-quality neighborhoods and a lack of recreational areas. Like many others, Egypt’s capital city Cairo, according to the UN facing annual population growth rates of up to 428.000 people, is struggling to address the general deterioration of urban living conditions. New settlements typologies and urban reconstruction approach hardly follow sustainable urbanization principles or socio-ecologic urbanization models with severe effects not only for inhabitants but also for the local environment and global climate. The authors prove that ‘Vertical Village’ buildings can offer a sustainable solution for increasing urban density with at the same time improving the living quality and urban environment significantly. Inserting them within high-density urban fabrics the ecologic and socio-cultural conditions of low-quality neighborhoods can be transformed towards districts, considering all needs of sustainable and social urban life. This study analyzes existing building typologies in Cairo’s «low quality - high density» districts Ard el Lewa, Dokki and Mohandesen according to benchmarks for sustainable residential buildings, identifying major problems and deficits. In 3 case study design projects, the sustainable transformation potential through ‘Vertical Village’ buildings are laid out and comparative studies show the improvement of the urban microclimate, safety, social diversity, sense of community, aesthetics, privacy, efficiency, healthiness and accessibility. The main result of the paper is that the disadvantages of density and overpopulation in developing countries can be converted with ‘Vertical Village’ buildings into advantages, achieving attractive and environmentally friendly living environments with multiple synergies. The paper is documenting based on scientific criteria that mixed-use vertical building structures, designed according to sustainable principles of low rise housing, can serve as an alternative to convert «low quality - high density» districts in megacities, opening a pathway for governments to achieve sustainable urban transformation goals. Neglected informal urban districts, home to millions of the poorer population groups, can be converted into healthier living and working environments.

Keywords: sustainable, architecture, urbanization, urban transformation, vertical village

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Authors: Chouabbia Khedidja, Lazri Youcef, Mouhoubi Nedjima

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In optics and in ambition to break into the ranks of international metropolis cities, Constantine, a regional metropolis of eastern Algeria, is facing multiple challenges shared between the response to the urban crisis plaguing the city and the creation of territorial attractiveness in the metropolisation process. This ambition cannot be achieve in conditions of poor governance and lack of cooperation especially between the actors involved in major development projects, these last qualified by change and hope carriers to make the city more attractive and pleasant. Thus, governance or good governance has become not only a necessity but also a challenge for the city of Constantine. Through this example of Constantine. We will analyze the challenges facing a metropolis amongst other urban governance and the constraints that affect the smooth running of major development projects when governance is missing or inoperative.

Keywords: urban governance, metropolis, big development project, actors, constantine

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Authors: Simran Gill, Samuel Bartels

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Turfgrass is an important component of urban and rural lawns and landscapes. However, broadleaf weeds such as dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) and white clovers (Trifolium repens) pose major challenges to the health and aesthetics of turfgrass fields. Chemical weed control methods, such as 2,4-D weedicides, have been widely deployed; however, their safety and environmental impacts are often debated. Alternative, environmentally friendly control methods have been considered, but experimental tests for their effectiveness have been limited. This study investigates the use and effectiveness of nitrogen and iron compounds as nutrient management methods of weed control. In a two-phase experiment, the first conducted on a blend of cool season turfgrasses in plastic containers, the blend included Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) and Creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra) grown under controlled conditions in the greenhouse, involved the application of different combinations of nitrogen (urea and ammonium sulphate) and iron (chelated iron and iron sulphate) compounds and their combinations (urea × chelated iron, urea × iron sulphate, ammonium sulphate × chelated iron, ammonium sulphate × iron sulphate) contrasted with chemical 2, 4-D weedicide and a control (no application) treatment. There were three replicates of each of the treatments, resulting in a total of 30 treatment combinations. The parameters assessed during weekly data collection included a visual quality rating of weeds (nominal scale of 0-9), number of leaves, longest leaf span, number of weeds, chlorophyll fluorescence of grass, the visual quality rating of grass (0-9), and the weight of dried grass clippings. The results drawn from the experiment conducted over the period of 12 weeks, with three applications each at an interval of every 4 weeks, stated that the combination of ammonium sulphate and iron sulphate appeared to be most effective in halting the growth and establishment of dandelions and clovers while it also improved turf health. The second phase of the experiment, which involved the ammonium sulphate × iron sulphate, weedicide, and control treatments, was conducted outdoors on already established perennial turf with weeds under natural field conditions. After 12 weeks of observation, the results were comparable among the treatments in terms of weed control, but the ammonium sulphate × iron sulphate treatment fared much better in terms of the improved visual quality of the turf and other quality ratings. Preliminary results from these experiments thus suggest that nutrient management based on nitrogen and iron compounds could be a useful environmentally friendly alternative for controlling broadleaf weeds and improving the health and quality of turfgrass.

Keywords: broadleaf weeds, nitrogen, iron, turfgrass

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Authors: Ijaz Ahmed Khan, Zaheen Ullah, Rahamdad, Gul Hassan

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A field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station Ahmad Wala, Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province during rabi season of 2010-011 to study the effect of different weed management practices on weed control in chickpea under field conditions. The results revealed that treatments showed significant influence on weed density, seed yield kg ha-1 and other growth parameters. Significantly lower weed density (98 m-2) was recorded with the application of Isoproturon 500 EW as compared to control plots having 368.3 weeds m-2. Moreover, significantly highest seed yield (1583.3 kg ha-1) was produced in the plots assigned with Isoproturon 500 EW followed by Eucalyptus extract that produce seed yield of 1416.7 kg ha-1. It was concluded from the study that Isoproturon 500 EW is the best option for controlling weeds and increase the seed yield kg ha-1 of chickpea.

Keywords: chickpea, herbicides, weed control, weeds extracts

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Authors: P. Ghann, J. Shiguang, C. Zhou

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Access control is one of the most challenging issues facing information security. Access control is defined as, the ability to permit or deny access to a particular computational resource or digital information by an unauthorized user or subject. The concept of usage control (UCON) has been introduced as a unified approach to capture a number of extensions for access control models and systems. In UCON, an access decision is determined by three factors: Authorizations, obligations and conditions. Attribute mutability and decision continuity are two distinct characteristics introduced by UCON for the first time. An observation of UCON components indicates that, the components are predefined and static. In this paper, we propose a new and flexible model of usage control for the creation and elimination of some of these components; for example new objects, subjects, attributes and integrate these with the original UCON model. We also propose a model for concurrent usage scenarios in UCON.

Keywords: access control, concurrency, digital container, usage control

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Authors: Naeemeh Silvari

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The phenomenon of the spread and epidemic of the corona virus caused many aspects of the social life of the people of the world to face various challenges. In this regard, and in order to improve the living conditions of the people, the World Health Organization has tried to publish the necessary instructions for its contacts in the world in the form of its media capacities. Considering the importance of cultural differences in the discussion of health communication and the distinct needs of people in different societies, some production contents were produced and published exclusively. This research has studied six videos published on the official page of the World Health Organization in Iran as a case study. The published content has the least semantic affinity with Iranian culture, and it has been tried to show a uniform image of the Middle East with the predominance of the image of the culture of the developing Arab countries.

Keywords: corona, representation, semiotics, instagram, health communication

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Authors: Kevin Krupski

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Private Military Security Companies have grown to become a major force contributor to nations in military operations. Scholars have debated the implications of this in relation to control and efficiency related to the privatization of violence, but there has been little discussion on how these companies affect the profession of arms. Specifically, this paper seeks to address how the privatization of violence influences the military’s stewardship, whether private military security companies are capable of stewardship of the military profession, and whether there are aspects of stewardship of the military profession that private military security companies are capable of emulating. This paper reviews literature on stewardship, the relationship of the military to the state, and private military security companies in order to identify overlap between uniformed military services and the private sector. Then, it offers a typology for determining under what conditions an organization would act as a steward. Ultimately, there are insufficient reasons for private military security companies to act as stewards of the profession of arms.

Keywords: stewardship, military profession, civil-military, security

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Authors: Ahmad Aslizadeh, Farid Ghaderi

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Mapping organizational knowledge is an innovative concept and useful instrument of representation, capturing and visualization of implicit and explicit knowledge. There are a diversity of methods, instruments and techniques presented by different researchers following mapping organizational knowledge to reach determined goals. Implicating of these methods, it is necessary to know their exigencies and conditions in which those can be used. Integrating identified methods of knowledge mapping and comparing them would help knowledge managers to select the appropriate methods. This research conducted to presenting a model and framework to map organizational knowledge. At first, knowledge maps, their applications and necessity are introduced because of extracting comparative framework and detection of their structure. At the next step techniques of researchers such as Eppler, Kim, Egbu, Tandukar and Ebner as knowledge mapping models are presented and surveyed. Finally, they compare and a superior model would be introduced.

Keywords: knowledge mapping, knowledge management, comparative study, business and management

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Authors: Tarek S. Jamil, Ahmed M. Shaban, Eman S. Mansor, Ahmed A. Karim, Azza M. Abdel Aty

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In this manuscript, 35 m³/d NF unit was designed and applied for surface water treatment of river Nile water. Intake of Embaba drinking water treatment plant was selected to install that unit at since; it has the lowest water quality index value through the examined 6 sites in greater Cairo area. The optimized operating conditions were feed and permeate flow, 40 and 7 m³/d, feed pressure 2.68 bar and flux rate 37.7 l/m2.h. The permeate water was drinkable according to Egyptian Ministerial decree 458/2007 for the tested parameters (physic-chemical, heavy metals, organic, algal, bacteriological and parasitological). Single and double sand filters were used as pretreatment for NF membranes, but continuous clogging for sand filters moved us to use UF membrane as pretreatment for NF membrane.

Keywords: River Nile, NF membrane, pretreatment, UF membrane, water quality

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Authors: Elżbieta Cygan-Bączek, Piotr Wyżga, Sławomir Cygan

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In the presented work, the main goal was to investigate the retention properties, defined as the ability of the matrix material to hold diamond particles in relation to metallized (Ti, Si, Cr, Co, Cu, Ni) and non-metallized diamond crystals. For this purpose, diamond-impregnated specimens were tested for wear rate on abrasive sandstone using a test rig specially designed to simulate tool application conditions. The tests that involved 3- and 2-body abrasion ranked the alloys in different orders. The ability of the matrix to retain diamond crystals was determined using the electron microskopy (SEM, TEM). The specimens were also characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and hardness. The conducted research has shown that Si and Ti metallized diamonds, apart from mechanical jamming in the matrix, are also connected in a metallurgical manner, ensuring the improvement of the retention properties of the matrix material.

Keywords: diamond, metallic-diamond segments, retention, abrasive wear resistance

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Authors: J. Fernandez, R. Fernandez de Canete, J. Perea-Paizal, J. C. Ramos-Diaz

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The high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases has provoked a raising interest in the development of mathematical models in order to evaluate the cardiovascular function both under physiological and pathological conditions. In this paper, a physical model of the cardiovascular system with intrinsic regulation is presented and implemented by using the object-oriented Modelica simulation software tools.  For this task, a multi-compartmental system previously validated with physiological data has been built, based on the interconnection of cardiovascular elements such as resistances, capacitances and pumping among others, by following an electrohydraulic analogy. The results obtained under both physiological and pathological scenarios provide an easy interpretative key to analyze the hemodynamic behavior of the patient. The described approach represents a valuable tool in the teaching of physiology for graduate medical and nursing students among others.

Keywords: cardiovascular system, MODELICA simulation software, physical modelling, teaching tool

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Authors: Buket Celik Ünal, Onur Ünal

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Communication is the most challenging part of maintenance operations. Communication between expert and fieldworker is crucial for effective maintenance and this also affects the safety of the fieldworkers. To support a machine user in a remote collaborative physical task, both, a mobile and a stationary device are needed. Such a system is called a shared vision system and the system supports two people to solve a problem from different places. This system reduces the errors and provides a reliable support for qualified and less qualified users. Through this research, it was aimed to validate the effectiveness of using a shared vision system to facilitate communication between on-site workers and those issuing instructions regarding maintenance or inspection works over long distances. The system is designed with head-worn display which is called a shared vision system. As a part of this study, a substitute system is used and implemented by using a shared vision system for maintenance operation. The benefits of the use of a shared vision system are analyzed and results are adapted to the wind turbines to improve the occupational safety and health for maintenance technicians. The motivation for the research effort in this study can be summarized in the following research questions: -How can expert support technician over long distances during maintenance operation? -What are the advantages of using a shared vision system? Experience from the experiment shows that using a shared vision system is an advantage for both electrical and mechanical system failures. Results support that the shared vision system can be used for wind turbine maintenance and repair tasks. Because wind turbine generator/gearbox and the substitute system have similar failures. Electrical failures, such as voltage irregularities, wiring failures and mechanical failures, such as alignment, vibration, over-speed conditions are the common and similar failures for both. Furthermore, it was analyzed the effectiveness of the shared vision system by using a smart glasses in connection with the maintenance task performed by a substitute system under four different circumstances, namely by using a shared vision system, an audio communication, a smartphone and by yourself condition. A suitable method for determining dependencies between factors measured in Chi Square Test, and Chi Square Test for Independence measured for determining a relationship between two qualitative variables and finally Mann Whitney U Test is used to compare any two data sets. While based on this experiment, no relation was found between the results and the gender. Participants` responses confirmed that the shared vision system is efficient and helpful for maintenance operations. From the results of the research, there was a statistically significant difference in the average time taken by subjects on works using a shared vision system under the other conditions. Additionally, this study confirmed that a shared vision system provides reduction in time to diagnose and resolve maintenance issues, reduction in diagnosis errors, reduced travel costs for experts, and increased reliability in service.

Keywords: communication support, maintenance and inspection tasks, occupational health and safety, shared vision system

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Authors: Dian Mayasari, Yosi Bayu Murti, Sylvia Utami Tunjung Pratiwi, Sudarsono

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Melastoma malabathricum L. is an Indo-Pacific herb that has been traditionally used to treat several ailments such as wounds, dysentery, diarrhea, toothache, and diabetes. This plant is common across tropical Indo-Pacific archipelagos and is tolerant of a range of soils, from low-lying areas subject to saltwater inundation to the salt-free conditions of mountain slopes. How the soil and environmental variation influences secondary metabolite production in the herb, and an understanding of the plant’s utility as traditional medicine, remain largely unknown and unexplored. The objective of this study is to evaluate the variability of the metabolic profiles of M. malabathricum L. across its geographic distribution. By employing high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD), a highly established, simple, sensitive, and reliable method was employed for establishing the chemical fingerprints of 72 samples of M. malabathricum L. leaves from various geographical locations in Indonesia. Specimens collected from six terrestrial and archipelago regions of Indonesia were analyzed by HPLC to generate chromatogram peak profiles that could be compared across each region. Data corresponding to the common peak areas of HPLC chromatographic fingerprint were analyzed by hierarchical component analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) to extract information on the most significant variables contributing to characterization and classification of analyzed samples data. Principal component values were identified as PC1 and PC2 with 41.14% and 19.32%, respectively. Based on variety and origin, the high-performance liquid chromatography method validated the chemical fingerprint results used to screen the in vitro antioxidant activity of M. malabathricum L. The result shows that the developed method has potential values for the quality of similar M. malabathrium L. samples. These findings provide a pathway for the development and utilization of references for the identification of M. malabathricum L. Our results indicate the importance of considering geographic distribution during field-collection efforts as they demonstrate regional metabolic variation in secondary metabolites of M. malabathricum L., as illustrated by HPLC chromatogram peaks and their antioxidant activities. The results also confirm the utility of this simple approach to a rapid evaluation of metabolic variation between plants and their potential ethnobotanical properties, potentially due to the environments from whence they were collected. This information will facilitate the optimization of growth conditions to suit particular medicinal qualities.

Keywords: fingerprint, high performance liquid chromatography, Melastoma malabathricum l., metabolic profiles, principal component analysis

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Authors: Bo Yang, Hali̇l Ceylan, Ali Ulvi̇ Uzer

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This experimental study was performed to investigate the effect of biofuel co-products (BCPs) with sulfur-free lignin addition on the unconsolidated on strength and durability behavior in pavement soil stabilization subjected to freezing–thawing cycles. For strength behavior, a series of unconfined compression tests were conducted. Mass losses were also calculated after freezing–thawing cycles as criteria for durability behavior. To investigate the effect of the biofuel co-products on the durability behavior of the four type’s soils, mass losses were calculated after 12 freezing–thawing cycles. The co-products tested are promising additives for improving durability under freeze-thaw conditions, and each type has specific advantages.

Keywords: durability, mass lose, freezing–thawing test, bio-energy co-product, soil stabilization

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Authors: C. Amer, M. Sahin

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The design of an optimised horizontal axis 5-meter-long wind turbine rotor blade in according with IEC 61400-2 standard is a research and development project in order to fulfil the requirements of high efficiency of torque from wind production and to optimise the structural components to the lightest and strongest way possible. For this purpose, a research study is presented here by focusing on the structural characteristics of a composite wind turbine blade via finite element modelling and analysis tools. In this work, first, the required data regarding the general geometrical parts are gathered. Then, the airfoil geometries are created at various sections along the span of the blade by using CATIA software to obtain the two surfaces, namely; the suction and the pressure side of the blade in which there is a hat shaped fibre reinforced plastic spar beam, so-called chassis starting at 0.5m from the root of the blade and extends up to 4 m and filled with a foam core. The root part connecting the blade to the main rotor differential metallic hub having twelve hollow threaded studs is then modelled. The materials are assigned as two different types of glass fabrics, polymeric foam core material and the steel-balsa wood combination for the root connection parts. The glass fabrics are applied using hand wet lay-up lamination with epoxy resin as METYX L600E10C-0, is the unidirectional continuous fibres and METYX XL800E10F having a tri-axial architecture with fibres in the 0,+45,-45 degree orientations in a ratio of 2:1:1. Divinycell H45 is used as the polymeric foam. The finite element modelling of the blade is performed via MSC PATRAN software with various meshes created on each structural part considering shell type for all surface geometries, and lumped mass were added to simulate extra adhesive locations. For the static analysis, the boundary conditions are assigned as fixed at the root through aforementioned bolts, where for dynamic analysis both fixed-free and free-free boundary conditions are made. By also taking the mesh independency into account, MSC NASTRAN is used as a solver for both analyses. The static analysis aims the tip deflection of the blade under its own weight and the dynamic analysis comprises normal mode dynamic analysis performed in order to obtain the natural frequencies and corresponding mode shapes focusing the first five in and out-of-plane bending and the torsional modes of the blade. The analyses results of this study are then used as a benchmark prior to modal testing, where the experiments over the produced wind turbine rotor blade has approved the analytical calculations.

Keywords: dynamic analysis, fiber reinforced composites, horizontal axis wind turbine blade, hand-wet layup, modal testing

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Authors: Wei-Hsuan Hsu, Yi-Xuan Huang

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Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) possesses the advantages of sub-10-nm feature and low cost. NIL patterns the resist with physical deformation using a mold, which can easily reproduce the required nano-scale pattern. However, the variation of process parameters and environmental conditions seriously affect reproduction quality. How to ensure the quality of imprinted pattern is essential for industry. In this study, the authors used the electrowetting technology to assist mold filling in the NIL process. A special mold structure was designed to cause electrowetting. During the imprinting process, when a voltage was applied between the mold and substrate, the hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of the surface of the mold can be converted. Both simulation and experiment confirmed that the electrowetting technology can assist mold filling and avoid incomplete filling rate. The proposed method can also reduce the crack formation during the de-molding process. Therefore, electrowetting technology can improve the process quality of NIL.

Keywords: electrowetting, mold filling, nano-imprint, surface modification

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Authors: Yiorgos Hadjichristou

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The paper will focus on the hybrid living typologies which are brought about due to the Global Crisis. Mixing of the generations and the groups of people, mingling the functions of living with working and socializing, merging the act of living in synergy with the urban realm and its constituent elements will be the springboard of proposing an essential sustainable housing approach and the respective urban development. The thematic will be based on methodologies developed both on the academic, educational environment including participation of students’ research and on the practical aspect of architecture including case studies executed by the author in the island of Cyprus. Both paths of the research will deal with the explorative understanding of the hybrid ways of living, testing the limits of its autonomy. The evolution of the living typologies into substantial hybrid entities, will deal with the understanding of new ways of living which include among others: re-introduction of natural phenomena, accommodation of the activity of work and services in the living realm, interchange of public and private, injections of communal events into the individual living territories. The issues and the binary questions raised by what is natural and artificial, what is private and what public, what is ephemeral and what permanent and all the in-between conditions are eloquently traced in the everyday life in the island. Additionally, given the situation of Cyprus with the eminent scar of the dividing ‘Green line’ and the waiting of the ‘ghost city’ of Famagusta to be resurrected, the conventional way of understanding the limits and the definitions of the properties is irreversibly shaken. The situation is further aggravated by the unprecedented phenomenon of the crisis on the island. All these observations set the premises of reexamining the urban development and the respective sustainable housing in a synergy where their characteristics start exchanging positions, merge into each other, contemporarily emerge and vanish, changing from permanent to ephemeral. This fluidity of conditions will attempt to render a future of the built- and unbuilt realm where the main focusing point will be redirected to the human and the social. Weather and social ritual scenographies together with ‘spontaneous urban landscapes’ of ‘momentary relationships’ will suggest a recipe for emerging urban environments and sustainable living. Thus, the paper will aim at opening a discourse on the future of the sustainable living merged in a sustainable urban development in relation to the imminent solution of the division of island, where the issue of property became the main obstacle to be overcome. At the same time, it will attempt to link this approach to the global need for a sustainable evolution of the urban and living realms.

Keywords: social ritual scenographies, spontaneous urban landscapes, substantial hybrid entities, re-introduction of natural phenomena

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Authors: A. D. Rao, Sachiko Mohanty, R. Gayathri, V. Ranga Rao

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Modeling on coupled physical and biogeochemical processes of coastal waters is vital to identify the primary production status under different natural and anthropogenic conditions. About 7, 500 km length of Indian coastline is occupied with number of semi enclosed coastal bodies such as estuaries, inlets, bays, lagoons, and other near shore, offshore shelf waters, etc. This coastline is also rich in wide varieties of ecosystem flora and fauna. Directly/indirectly extensive domestic and industrial sewage enter into these coastal water bodies affecting the ecosystem character and create environment problems such as water quality degradation, hypoxia, anoxia, harmful algal blooms, etc. lead to decline in fishery and other related biological production. The present study is focused on the southeast coast of India, starting from Pulicat to Gulf of Mannar, which is rich in marine diversity such as lagoon, mangrove and coral ecosystem. Three dimensional Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm) along with Darwin biogeochemical module is configured for the western Bay of Bengal (BoB) to study the biogeochemistry over this region. The biogeochemical module resolves the cycling of carbon, phosphorous, nitrogen, silica, iron and oxygen through inorganic, living, dissolved and particulate organic phases. The model domain extends from 4°N-16.5°N and 77°E-86°E with a horizontal resolution of 1 km. The bathymetry is derived from General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), which has a resolution of 30 sec. The model is initialized by using the temperature, salinity filed from the World Ocean Atlas (WOA2013) of National Oceanographic Data Centre with a resolution of 0.25°. The model is forced by the surface wind stress from ASCAT and the photosynthetically active radiation from the MODIS-Aqua satellite. Seasonal climatology of nutrients (phosphate, nitrate and silicate) for the southwest BoB region are prepared using available National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in-situ data sets and compared with the WOA2013 seasonal climatology data. The model simulations with the two different initial conditions viz., WOA2013 and the generated NIO climatology, showed evident changes in the concentration and the evolution of the nutrients in the study region. It is observed that the availability of nutrients is more in NIO data compared to WOA in the model domain. The model simulated primary productivity is compared with the spatially distributed satellite derived chlorophyll data and at various locations with the in-situ data. The seasonal variability of the model simulated primary productivity is also studied.

Keywords: Bay of Bengal, Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model, MITgcm, biogeochemistry, primary productivity

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Authors: Vivek Rangarajan, Kim G. Klarke

Abstract:

With overpopulation threatening the world’s ability to feed itself, food production and protection has become a major issue, especially in developing countries. Almost one-third of the food produced for human consumption, around 1.3 billion tonnes, is either wasted or lost annually. Postharvest decay in particular constitutes a major cause of crop loss with about 20% of fruits and vegetables produced lost during postharvest storage, mainly due to fungal disease. Some of the major phytopathogenic fungi affecting postharvest fruit crops in South Africa include Aspergillus, Botrytis, Penicillium, Alternaria and Sclerotinia spp. To date control of fungal phytopathogens has primarily been dependent on synthetic chemical fungicides, but these chemicals pose a significant threat to the environment, mainly due to their xenobiotic properties and tendency to generate resistance in the phytopathogens. Here, an environmentally benign alternative approach to control postharvest fungal phytopathogens in perishable fruit crops has been presented, namely the application of a bio-fungicide in the form of lipopeptide molecules. Lipopeptides are biosurfactants produced by Bacillus spp. which have been established as green, nontoxic and biodegradable molecules with antimicrobial properties. However, since the Bacillus are capable of producing a large number of lipopeptide homologues with differing efficacies against distinct target organisms, the lipopeptide production conditions and strategy are critical to produce the maximum lipopeptide concentration with homologue ratios to specification for optimum bio-fungicide efficacy. Process conditions, and their impact on Bacillus lipopeptide production, were evaluated in fully instrumented laboratory scale bioreactors under well-regulated controlled and defined environments. Factors such as the oxygen availability and trace element and nitrate concentrations had profound influences on lipopeptide yield, productivity and selectivity. Lipopeptide yield and homologue selectivity were enhanced in cultures where the oxygen in the sparge gas was increased from 21 to 30 mole%. The addition of trace elements, particularly Fe2+, increased the total concentration of lipopeptides and a nitrate concentration equivalent to 8 g/L ammonium nitrate resulted in optimum lipopeptide yield and homologue selectivity. Efficacy studies of the culture supernatant containing the crude lipopeptide mixture were conducted using phytopathogens isolated from fruit in the field, identified using genetic sequencing. The supernatant exhibited antifungal activity against all the test-isolates, namely Lewia, Botrytis, Penicillium, Alternaria and Sclerotinia spp., even in this crude form. Thus the lipopeptide product efficacy has been confirmed to control the main diseases, even in the basic crude form. Future studies will be directed towards purification of the lipopeptide product and enhancement of efficacy.

Keywords: antifungal efficacy, biocontrol, lipopeptide production, perishable crops

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Authors: Surbhi Rani, Sunita Gakkhar

Abstract:

The four-dimensional food web system consisting of two prey species for a generalist middle predator and a top predator is proposed and investigated. The middle predator is predating both the prey species with a modified Holling type-II functional response. The food web model is found to be well-posed, bounded, and dissipative. The proposed model's essential dynamical features are studied in terms of local stability. The four species' survival is explored, and persistence conditions are established. The numerical simulations reveal the persistence in the form of a chaotic attractor or stable focus. The conclusion is that providing additional food to the middle predator may help to control the food chain's chaos.

Keywords: predator-prey model, existence of equilibrium points, local stability, chaos, numerical simulations

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: S. A. Bhat, Ahmad Arif, Muneeb U. Rehman, Manzoor R Mir, S. Bilal, Ishraq Hussain, H. M Khan, S. Shanaz, M. I Mir, Sabhiya Majid

Abstract:

Background: Geologically Climatic conditions of the state range from sub-tropical (Jammu), temperate (Kashmir) to cold artic (Ladakh) zones, which exerts significant influence on its agro-climatic conditions. Gastrointestinal parasitism is a major problem in sheep production worldwide. Materials and Methods: The present study was to evaluate the resistance status of sheep breeds reared in Kashmir Valley for natural resistance against Haemonchus contortus by natural pasture challenge infection. Ten microsatellite markers were used in the study for evaluation of association of Ovar-MHC with parasitic resistance in association with biochemical and parasitological parameters. Following deworming, 500 animals were subjected to selected contaminated pastures in a vicinity of the livestock farms of SKUAST-K and Sheep Husbandry Kashmir. For each animal about 10-15 ml blood was collected aseptically for molecular and biochemical analysis. Weekly fecal samples (3g) were taken, directly from the rectum of all experimental animals and examined for Fecal egg count (FEC) with modified McMaster technique. Packed cell volume (PCV) was determined within 2-5 h of blood collection, all the biochemical parameters were determined in serum by semi automated analyzer. DNA was extracted from all the blood samples with phenol-chloroform method. Microsatellite analysis was done by denaturing sequencing gel electrophoresis Results: Overall sheep from Bakerwal breed followed by Corriediale breed performed relatively better in the trial; however difference between breeds remained low. Both significant (P<0.05) and non-significant differences with respect to resistance against haemonchosis were noted at different intervals in all the parameters.. All the animals were typed for the microsatellites INRA132, OarCP73, DRB1 (U0022), OLA-DQA2, BM1818, TFAP2A, HH56, BM1815, IL-3 and BM-1258. An association study including the effect of FEC, PCV, TSP, SA, LW, and the number of alleles within each marker was done. All microsatellite markers showed degree of heterozygosity of 0.72, 0.72, 0.75, 0.62, 0.84, 0.69, 0.66, 0.65, 0.73 and 0.68 respectively. Significant association between alleles and the parameters measured were only found for the OarCP73, OLA-DQA2 and BM1815 microsatellite marker. Standard alleles of the above markers showed significant effect on the TP, SA and body weight. The three sheep breeds included in the study responded differently to the nematode infection, which may be attributed to their differences in their natural resistance against nematodes. Conclusion: Our data confirms that some markers (OarCP73, OLA-DQA2 and BM1815) within Ovar-MHC are associated with phenotypic parameters of resistance and suggest superiority of Bakerwal sheep breed in natural resistance against Haemonchus contortus.

Keywords: Ovar-Mhc, ovine leukocyte antigen (OLA), sheep, parasitic resistance, Haemonchus contortus, phenotypic & genotypic markers

Procedia PDF Downloads 715

Authors: D. H. Park, Y. H. Tak, H. H. Kwon, G. J. Kwon, H. G. Kim

Abstract:

This study focused on developing forging technology of a large-diameter cam ring gear from the small bar. The analyses of temperature variation and deformation behavior of the material are important to obtain the optimal forging products. The hot compression test was carried out to know formability at high temperature. In order to define the optimum forging conditions including material temperature, strain and forging load, the finite element method was used to simulate the forging process of cam ring gear parts. Test results were in good agreement with the simulations. An existing cam ring gear is presented the chips generated by cutting the rod material and the durability issues, but this would be to develop a large-diameter cam ring gear forging parts for truck in order to solve the durability problem and the material waste.

Keywords: forging technology, cam ring, gear, truck, small bar

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Adelina Vrancianu

Abstract:

A public procurement procedure starts with the publication of the contract notice and the tender documentation. The documentation provides bidders with general guidelines and rules governing the tender process. At this stage, the interested economic operators start to prepare their bid. During this process, they may encounter unclear elements that, if are not clarified, may have a negative impact on the future bid with the ultimate sanction of exclusion. Until the opening of the bids, the potential bidders have the right to ask questions in order to clarify certain aspects of the tender documentation. In correlation, the contracting authorities have the obligation to answer these questions in a reasoned time and with clarity. In practice, the two conditions are not met due to a number of factors. This essay tries to outline the general principles regarding the clarifications during the phase of tender preparation. The provisions of the new directive on public procurement will be taken in consideration in this process in regard to the old directive.

Keywords: tender preparation, tender documentation, clarifications, contract notice

Procedia PDF Downloads 297

Authors: Iyad Muslih, Azzah Alkhalailah, Ali Merdji

Abstract:

Photovoltaic efficiency is highly affected by dust accumulation; the dust particles prevent direct solar radiation from reaching the panel surface; therefore a reduction in output power will occur. A study of dust and soiling accumulation effect on the output power of PV panels was conducted for different periods of time from May to October in three countries of the MENA region, Jordan, Egypt, and Algeria, under local weather conditions. This study leads to build a more realistic equation to estimate the power reduction as a function of time. This logarithmic function shows the high reduction in power in the first days with 10% reduction in output power compared to the reference system, where it reaches a steady state value after 60 days to reach a maximum value of 30%.

Keywords: solar energy, PV system, soiling, MENA

Procedia PDF Downloads 222

Authors: M. Kubilay Önal

Abstract:

The objective of this study was to determine the adaptabilities of native apricot materials collected from Southeast Anatolia region of Turkey to Aegean Region conditions. Different phenological and pomological characteristics of the cultivars were observed during study. Determination of promising types for adaptation trials were performed employing the 'weighed-ranking' method. To determine them the relative points were given to the characteristics such as yield, average fruit weight, attractiveness, soluble solid, seed ratio by weight and aroma. As a result of two-year evaluation studies on the phenological and pomological characteristics of 22 types, 9 out of them, viz., nos. 2235, 2236, 2237, 2239, 2242, 2244, 2246, 2249, 2257 were selected as promising ones.

Keywords: apricot, phenological characters, pomological characters, weight-ranking method

Procedia PDF Downloads 284

Authors: Hengameh Hosseini

Abstract:

Design of large healthcare facilities – such as hospitals, multi-service line clinics, and nursing facilities - that can accommodate patients with wide-ranging disabilities is a challenging endeavor and one that is poorly understood among healthcare facility managers, administrators, and executives. An even less-understood extension of this problem is the implications of weakly or insufficiently accommodative design of facilities for healthcare workers in physically-intensive jobs who may also suffer from a range of disabilities and who are therefore at increased risk of workplace accident and injury. Combine this reality with the vast range of facility types, ages, and designs, and the problem of universal accommodation becomes even more daunting and complex. In this study, we focus on the implication of facility design for healthcare workers suffering with low vision who also have physically active jobs. The points of difficulty are myriad and could span health service infrastructure, the equipment used in health facilities, and transport to and from appointments and other services can all pose a barrier to health care if they are inaccessible, less accessible, or even simply less comfortable for people with various disabilities. We conduct a series of surveys and interviews with employees and administrators of 7 facilities of a range of sizes and ownership models in the Northeastern United States and combine that corpus with in-facility observations and data collection to identify five major points of failure common to all the facilities that we concluded could pose safety threats to employees with vision impairments, ranging from very minor to severe. We determine that lack of design empathy is a major commonality among facility management and ownership. We subsequently propose three methods for remedying this lack of empathy-informed design, to remedy the dangers posed to employees: the use of an existing open-sourced Augmented Reality application to simulate the low-vision experience for designers and managers; the use of a machine learning model we develop to automatically infer facility shortcomings from large datasets of recorded patient and employee reviews and feedback; and the use of a computer vision model fine tuned on images of each facility to infer and predict facility features, locations, and workflows, that could again pose meaningful dangers to visually impaired employees of each facility. After conducting a series of real-world comparative experiments with each of these approaches, we conclude that each of these are viable solutions under particular sets of conditions, and finally characterize the range of facility types, workforce composition profiles, and work conditions under which each of these methods would be most apt and successful.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, healthcare workers, facility design, disability, visually impaired, workplace safety

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Robert L. Fine, Zhiyong Yang, Christy Spivey, Bonnie Boardman, Maureen Courtney

Abstract:

Importance: Barriers to traditional advance care planning (ACP) and advance directive (AD) creation have limited the promise of ACP/AD for individuals and families, the healthcare team, and society. Reengineering ACP by using a web-based, consumer-driven process has recently been suggested. We report early experience with such a process. Objective: Begin to analyze the potential of the creation and use of ACP/ADs as generated by a consumer-friendly, digital process by 1) assessing the likelihood that consumers would create ACP/ADs without structured intervention by medical or legal professionals, and 2) analyzing the responses to determine if the plans can help doctors better understand a person’s goals, preferences, and priorities for their medical treatments and the naming of healthcare agents. Design: The authors chose 900 users of MyDirectives.com, a digital ACP/AD tool, solely based on their state of residence in order to achieve proportional representation of all 50 states by population size and then reviewed their responses, summarizing these through descriptive statistics including treatment preferences, demographics, and revision of preferences. Setting: General United States population. Participants: The 900 participants had an average age of 50.8 years (SD = 16.6); 84.3% of the men and 91% of the women were in self-reported good health when signing their ADs. Main measures: Preferences regarding the use of life-sustaining treatments, where to spend final days, consulting a supportive and palliative care team, attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), autopsy, and organ and tissue donation. Results: Nearly 85% of respondents prefer cessation of life-sustaining treatments during their final days whenever those may be, 76% prefer to spend their final days at home or in a hospice facility, and 94% wanted their future doctors to consult a supportive and palliative care team. 70% would accept attempted CPR in certain limited circumstances. Most respondents would want an autopsy under certain conditions, and 62% would like to donate their organs. Conclusions and relevance: Analysis of early experience with an all-digital web-based ACP/AD platform demonstrates that individuals from a wide range of ages and conditions can engage in an interrogatory process about values, goals, preferences, and priorities for their medical treatments by developing advance directives and easily make changes to the AD created. Online creation, storage, and retrieval of advance directives has the potential to remove barriers to ACP/AD and, thus, to further improve patient-centered end-of-life care.

Keywords: Advance Care Plan, Advance Decisions, Advance Directives, Consumer; Digital, End of Life Care, Goals, Living Wills, Prefences, Universal Advance Directive, Statements

Procedia PDF Downloads 329

Authors: D. M. Bassuney, W. A. Ibrahim, Medhat A. E. Moustafa

Abstract:

Appropriate start-up of an anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) is considered to be the most delicate and important issue in the anaerobic process, and depends on several factors such as wastewater composition, reactor configuration, inoculum and operating conditions. In this work, the start-up performance of an ABR with working volume of 30 liters, fed continuously with synthetic food industrial wastewater along with semi-batch study to measure the methangenic activity by specific methanogenic activity (SMA) test were carried out at various organic loading rates (OLRs) to determine the best OLR used to start up the reactor. The comparison was based on COD removal efficiencies, start-up time, pH stability and methane production. An OLR of 1.8 Kg COD/m3d (5400 gCOD/m3 and 3 days HRT) showed best overall performance with COD removal efficiency of 94.44% after four days from the feeding and methane production of 3802 ml/L with an overall SMA of 0.36 gCH4-COD/gVS.d

Keywords: anaerobic baffled reactor, anaerobic reactor start-up, food industrial wastewater, specific methanogenic activity

Procedia PDF Downloads 391