Search results for: snow water equivalent

Authors: Pantana Tor-Ngern

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In the global water cycle, tree water use (Tr) largely contributes to evapotranspiration which is the total amount of water evaporated from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere, regulating climates. Tree water use responds to environmental factors, including atmospheric humidity and sunlight (represented by vapor pressure deficit or VPD and photosynthetically active radiation or PAR, respectively) and soil moisture. In forests, Tr responses to such factors depend on species and their spatial and temporal variations. Tropical forests in Southeast Asia (SEA) have experienced land-use conversion from abandoned agricultural practices, resulting in patches of forests at different stages including old-growth and secondary forests. Because the inherent structures, such as canopy height and tree density, significantly vary among forests at different stages and can strongly affect their respective microclimate, Tr and its responses to changing environmental conditions in successional forests may differ. Daily and seasonal variations in the environmental factors may exert significant impacts on the respective Tr patterns. Extrapolating Tr data from short periods of days to longer periods of seasons or years can be complex and is important for estimating long-term ecosystem water use which often includes normal and abnormal climatic conditions. Thus, this study aims to investigate the diurnal variation of Tr, using measured sap flux density (JS) data, with changes in VPD in eight evergreen tree species in an old-growth forest (hereafter OF; >200 years old) and a young forest (hereafter YF, <10 years old) in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. The studied species included Sysygium syzygoides, Aquilaria crassna, Cinnamomum subavenium, Nephelium melliferum, Altingia excelsa in OF, and Syzygium nervosum and Adinandra integerrima in YF. Only Sysygium antisepticum was found in both forest stages. Specifically, hysteresis, which indicates the asymmetrical changes of JS in response to changing VPD across daily timescale, was examined in these species. Results showed no hysteresis in all species in OF, except Altingia excelsa which exhibited a 3-hour delayed JS response to VPD. In contrast, JS of all species in YF displayed one-hour delayed responses to VPD. The OF species that showed no hysteresis indicated their well-coupling of their canopies with the atmosphere, facilitating the gas exchange which is essential for tree growth. The delayed responses in Altingia excelsa in OF and all species in YF were associated with higher JS in the morning than that in the afternoon. This implies that these species were sensitive to drying air, closing stomata relatively rapidly compared to the decreasing atmospheric humidity (VPD). Such behavior is often observed in trees growing in dry environments. This study suggests that detailed investigation of JS at sub-daily timescales is imperative for better understanding of mechanistic responses of trees to the changing climate, which will benefit the improvement of earth system models.

Keywords: sap flow, tropical forest, forest succession, thermal dissipcation probe

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Authors: L. Sasikala, Bhaarathi Dhurai

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Increase in antibiotic resistance bacteria leads to the development of active wound dressings, which absorb any bodily fluid, evaporation of moisture at a certain rate and can be easily removed after healing. Natural materials like chitosan, herbs, and honey have number of active materials present in them to accelerate wound healing and to arrest wound in infections. Hence with the advantages of biomaterials, a film was prepared using chitosan and honey. There are a lot of practical considerations with respect to honey. Honey exerts many beneficial actions on the wound surface only when it remains. The attempts to hold honey on the surface of the wound remain a question because honey becomes a very runny liquid when it comes to body temperature. Hence, this research was focused on development of a new form of wound dressing, by holding honey on the wound surface in different form and also which has a combined effect of manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honey and chitosan. Chitosan-honey film was prepared using casting technique. Films were prepared in different variations; with acetic acid and with lactic acid; with and without honey. In summary, the film produced from 2% chitosan- 1% lactic acid as a solvent, with 10% honey shows optimum inclined values in all the tests, like thickness, folding endurance, weight, water vapor transmission, tensile strength, swelling ratio and antimicrobial activity, with specific reference to wound dressings. The film has water vapor transmission of 1680 g/m²/day, water absorption of 225%, tensile strength of 39.1N/mm² and elongation of 50.3%. There is a notable inhibition zone of 29 mm against S. aureus and 24 mm against E. coli in the case of chitosan-lactic acid-honey film. The film also arrests, microbes transmitting from the outside environment to wound bed, which can be used as an effective wound dressing material.

Keywords: casting technique, chitosan, honey, film, wound dressings

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Authors: Gordana Branković, Vesna Dragičević, Dejan Dodig, Desimir Knežević, Srbislav Denčić, Gordana Šurlan-Momirović

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Phytic acid is a major pool in the flux of phosphorus through agroecosystems and represents a sum equivalent to > 50% of all phosphorus fertilizer used annually. Nutrition rich in phytic acid can substantially decrease micronutrients apsorption as calcium, zink, iron, manganese, copper due to phytate salts excretion by human and non-ruminant animals as poultry, swine and fish, having in common very scarce phytase activity, and consequently the ability to digest and utilize phytic acid, thus phytic acid derived phosphorus in animal waste contributes to water pollution. The tested accessions consisted of 15 genotypes of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ssp. vulgare) and of 15 genotypes of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.). The trials were sown at the three test sites in Serbia: Rimski Šančevi (RS) (45º19´51´´N; 19º50´59´´E), Zemun Polje (ZP) (44º52´N; 20º19´E) and Padinska Skela (PS) (44º57´N 20º26´E) during two vegetation seasons 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. The experimental design was randomized complete block design with four replications. The elementary plot consisted of 3 internal rows of 0.6 m2 area (3 × 0.2 m × 1 m). Grains were grinded with Laboratory Mill 120 Perten (“Perten”, Sweden) (particles size < 500 μm) and flour was used for the analysis. Phytic acid grain content was determined spectrophotometrically with the Shimadzu UV-1601 spectrophotometer (Shimadzu Corporation, Japan). Objectives of this study were to determine: i) variability and stability of the phytic acid content among selected genotypes of bread and durum wheat, ii) predominant source of variation regarding genotype (G), environment (E) and genotype × environment interaction (GEI) from the multi-environment trial, iii) influence of climatic variables on the GEI for the phytic acid content. Based on the analysis of variance it had been determined that the variation of phytic acid content was predominantly influenced by environment in durum wheat, while the GEI prevailed for the variation of the phytic acid content in bread wheat. Phytic acid content expressed on the dry mass basis was in the range 14.21-17.86 mg g-1 with the average of 16.05 mg g-1 for bread wheat and 14.63-16.78 mg g-1 with the average of 15.91 mg g-1 for durum wheat. Average-environment coordination view of the genotype by environment (GGE) biplot was used for the selection of the most desirable genotypes for breeding for low phytic acid content in the sense of good stability and lower level of phytic acid content. The most desirable genotypes of bread and durum wheat for breeding for phytic acid were Apache and 37EDUYT /07 No. 7849. Models of climatic factors in the highest percentage (> 91%) were useful in interpreting GEI for phytic acid content, and included relative humidity in June, sunshine hours in April, mean temperature in April and winter moisture reserves for genotypes of bread wheat, as well as precipitation in June and April, maximum temperature in April and mean temperature in June for genotypes of durum wheat.

Keywords: genotype × environment interaction, phytic acid, stability, variability

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Authors: Chatrabhuti Pipop, Visessri Supattra, Charinpanitkul Tawatchai

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Durian is one of the top agricultural products exported by Thailand. There is the massive market potential for the durian industry. While the global demand for Thai durians, especially the demand from China, is very high, Thailand's durian supply is far from satisfying strong demand. Poor agricultural practices result in low yields and poor quality of fruit. Most irrigation systems currently used by the farmers are fixed schedule or fixed rates that ignore actual weather conditions and crop water requirements. In addition, the technologies emerging are too difficult and complex and prices are too high for the farmers to adopt and afford. Many farmers leave the durian trees to grow naturally. With improper irrigation and nutrient management system, durians are vulnerable to a variety of issues, including stunted growth, not flowering, diseases, and death. Technical development or research for durian is much needed to support the wellbeing of the farmers and the economic development of the country. However, there are a limited number of studies or development projects for durian because durian is a perennial crop requiring a long time to obtain the results to report. This study, therefore, aims to address the problem of durian production by developing an autonomous and precision irrigation system. The system is designed and equipped with an industrial programmable controller, a weather station, and a digital flow meter. Daily water requirements are computed based on weather data such as rainfall and evapotranspiration for daily irrigation with variable flow rates. A prediction model is also designed as a part of the system to enhance the irrigation schedule. Before the system was installed in the field, a simulation model was built and tested in a laboratory setting to ensure its accuracy. Water consumption was measured daily before and after the experiment for further analysis. With this system, the crop water requirement is precisely estimated and optimized based on the data from the weather station. Durian will be irrigated at the right amount and at the right time, offering the opportunity for higher yield and higher income to the farmers.

Keywords: Durian, precision irrigation, precision agriculture, smart farm

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Authors: N. S. Achour, M. Hamdaoui, S. Ben Nasrallah

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Wicking and evaporation of water in porous knitted fabrics is investigated by combining experimental and analytical approaches: The standard wicking model from Lucas and Washburn is enhanced to account for evaporation and gravity effects. The goal is to model the effect of gravity and evaporation on wicking using simple analytical expressions and investigate the influence of fabrics geometrical parameters, such as porosity and thickness on evaporation impact on maximum reachable height values. The results show that fabric properties have a significant influence on evaporation effect. In this paper, an experimental study of determining water kinetics from different knitted fabrics were gravimetrically investigated permitting the measure of the mass and the height of liquid rising in fabrics in various atmospheric conditions. From these measurements, characteristic pore parameters (capillary radius and permeability) can be determined.

Keywords: evaporation, experimental study, geometrical parameters, model, porous knitted fabrics, wicking

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Authors: Jayesh Mahitkar, V. K. Singh, Surendra Singh Kachhwaha

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Wire Mesh Heat Pipe (WMHP) as an effective component of thermal control system in the payload of spacecraft, utilizing ammonia to transfer efficient amount of heat. One dimensional generic and robust mathematical model with partial-analytical hydraulic approach (PAHA) is developed to study inside behaviour of WMHP. In this model, inside performance during operation is investigated like mass flow rate, and velocity along the wire mesh as well as vapour core is modeled respectively. This numerical model investigate heat flow along length, pressure drop along wire mesh as well as vapour line in axial direction. Furthermore, WMHP is modeled into equivalent resistance network such that total thermal resistance of heat pipe, temperature drop across evaporator end and condenser end is evaluated. This numerical investigation should be carried out for single layer and double layer wire mesh each with heat input at evaporator section is 10W, 20 W and 30 W at condenser temperature maintained at 20˚C.

Keywords: ammonia, heat transfer, modeling, wire mesh

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Authors: Majid Afkhami, Maryam Ehsanpour, Reza Khoshnood, Zahra Khoshnood, Rastin Afkhami

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Marine pollution is a global environmental problem. Different human activities on land, in the water and in the air contribute to the contamination of seawater, sediments and organisms with potentially toxic substances. Contaminants can be natural substances or artificially produced compounds. After discharge into the sea, contaminants can stay in the water in dissolved form or they can be removed from the water column through sedimentation to the bottom sediments. Histopathological alterations can be used as indicators for the effects of various anthropogenic pollutants on organisms and are a reflection of the overall health of the entire population in the ecosystem. These histo pathological biomarkers are closely related to other biomarkers of stress since many pollutants have to undergo metabolic activation in order to be able to provoke cellular change in the affected organism. In order to make evaluation of the effects of oil pollution, some heavy metals bioaccumulation and explore their histopathological effects on hepatocytes of Oriental sole (Euryglossa orientalis) and Deep flounder (Psettodes erumei), fishes caught from two areas of north coast of the Persian Gulf: Bandar Abbass and Bandar Lengeh. Concentrations of Ni and V in liver of both species in two sampling regions were in following order: Bandar abbass Bandar lengeh; also between two species, these quantities were higher in P. erumei than E. orientalis in both sampling regions. Histopathology of the liver shows some cellular alterations including: degeneration, necrosis and tissue disruption, and histopathological effects were severe in P. erumei than E. orientalis. Results showed that Bandar Abbass region was more polluted than Bandar Lengeh, and because Ni and V were oil pollution indicators, and two flat fishes were benthic, they can receive considerable amount of oil pollution through their biological activities like feeding. Also higher amounts of heavy metal concentrations and major histopathological effects in E. orientalis showed strong relationship between benthic habitat of the fish and amounts of received pollutants from water and sediments, because E. orientalis is more related to the bottom than P. erumei.

Keywords: heavy metals, flatfishes, Persian Gulf, oil pollution

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Authors: Abdelaziz Nasr

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This work conducted numerical simulations to examine the impact of the static electric field on a falling-film evaporation system. A constant electric field can alter the dynamics of a liquid film by modifying the heat and mass transfer properties of the system. The geometry problem consists of two parallel plates in a vertical channel, with the left plate experiencing a constant heat flux and the liquid flowing downward over it, while the right plate remains dry and maintains a constant temperature. The gaseous component consists of dry air and water vapor, whilst the liquid component comprises a thin coating of water. The results suggest that the electric field's impact on heat and mass transport, as well as the evaporation of the liquid sheet, is minimal. Experimental evidence demonstrates that the electric field exerts a minor influence on heat, mass transport, and liquid film evaporation at elevated electric field intensities.

Keywords: electric field, evaporation, liquid film, heat and mass transfer

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Authors: Mohd Maniruzzaman, Md. Monjurul Alam, Md. Hafezur Rahaman, Anika Amir Mohona

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The consumption of water by various industries is increasing day by day, and the wastewaters from them are increasing as well. These wastewaters consist of various kinds of color, dissolved solids, toxic heavy metals, residual chlorine, and other non-degradable organic materials. If these wastewaters are exposed directly to the environment, it will be hazardous for the environment and personal health. So, it is very necessary to treat these wastewaters before exposing into the environment. In this research, we have demonstrated the successful processing and utilization of fully bio-based cellulose micro crystal (CMC) composite for the removal of heavy metals, dyes, and salinity from industrial wastewaters. Banana rachis micro-cellulose were prepared by acid hydrolysis (H₂SO₄) of banana (Musa acuminata L.) rachis fiber, and Bijoypur raw clay were treated by organic solvent tri-ethyl amine. Composites were prepared with varying different composition of banana rachis nano-cellulose and modified Bijoypur (north-east part in Bangladesh) clay. After the successful characterization of cellulose micro crystal (CMC) and modified clay, our targeted filter was fabricated with different composition of cellulose micro crystal and clay in the locally fabricated packing column with 7.5 cm as thickness of composites fraction. Waste-water was collected from local small textile industries containing basic yellow 2 as dye, lead (II) nitrate [Pb(NO₃)₂] and chromium (III) nitrate [Cr(NO₃)₃] as heavy metals and saline water was collected from Khulna to test the efficiency of banana rachis cellulose micro crystal-clay composite for removing the above impurities. The filtering efficiency of wastewater purification was characterized by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (X-RD), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. Finally, our all characterizations data are shown with very high expected results for in industrial application of our fabricated filter.

Keywords: banana rachis, bio-based filter, cellulose micro crystal-clay composite, wastewaters, synthetic dyes, heavy metal, water salinity

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Authors: Benmalek M. Larbi, R. Harbi, S. Boukor

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This paper reports an experimental work that aimed to investigate the effects of clay brick waste, as part of fine aggregate, on rendering mortar performance. The brick, in crushed form, was from a local brick manufacturer that was rejected due to being of-standard. It was used to replace 33.33 %, 50 %, 66.66 % and 100 % by weight of the quarry sand in mortar. Effects of the brick replacement on the mortar key properties intended for wall plastering were investigated; these are workability, compressive strength, flexural strength, linear shrinkage, water absorption by total immersion and by capillary suction. The results showed that as the brick replacement level increased, the mortar workability reduced. The linear shrinkage increases over time and decreases with the introduction of brick waste. The compressive and flexural strengths decrease with the increase of brick waste because of their great water absorption.

Keywords: clay brick waste, mortar, properties, quarry sand

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Authors: R. Charoen, S. Tipkanon, W. Savedboworn, N. Phonsatta, A. Panya

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Rice bran protein hydrolysates (RBPH) were prepared from defatted rice bran of two different Thai rice cultivars (Plai-Ngahm-Prachinburi; PNP and Khao Dok Mali 105; KDM105) using an enzymatic method. This research aimed to optimize enzyme-assisted protein extraction. In addition, the functional properties of RBPH and their stabilities to environmental stresses including pH (3 to 8), ionic strength (0 mM to 500 mM) and the thermal treatment (30 °C to 90 °C) were investigated. Results showed that enzymatic process for protein extraction of defatted rice bran was as follows: enzyme concentration 0.075 g/ 5 g of protein, extraction temperature 50 °C and extraction time 4 h. The obtained protein hydrolysate powders had a degree of hydrolysis (%) of 21.05% in PNP and 19.92% in KDM105. The solubility of protein hydrolysates at pH 4-6 was ranged from 27.28-38.57% and 27.60-43.00% in PNP and KDM105, respectively. In general, antioxidant activities indicated by total phenolic content, FRAP, ferrous ion-chelating (FIC), and 2,2’-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) of KDM105 had higher than PNP. In terms of functional properties, the emulsifying activity index (EAI) was was 8.78 m²/g protein in KDM105, whereas PNP was 5.05 m²/g protein. The foaming capacity at 5 minutes (%) was 47.33 and 52.98 in PNP and KDM105, respectively. Glutamine, Alanine, Valine, and Leucine are the major amino acid in protein hydrolysates where the total amino acid of KDM105 gave higher than PNP. Furthermore, we investigated environmental stresses on the stability of 5% oil in water emulsion (5% oil, 10 mM citrate buffer) stabilized by RBPH (3.5%). The droplet diameter of emulsion stabilized by KDM105 was smaller (d < 250 nm) than produced by PNP. For environmental stresses, RBPH stabilized emulsions were stable at pH around 3 and 5-6, at high salt (< 400 mM, pH 7) and at temperatures range between 30-50°C.

Keywords: functional properties, oil in water emulsion, protein hydrolysates, rice bran protein

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Authors: Zhanzhao Fu, Chongyi Ling, Jinlan Wang

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Water splitting and rechargeable air-based batteries are emerging as new renewable energy storage and conversion technologies. However, the discovery of suitable catalysts with high activity and low cost remains a great challenge. In this work, we report a single-atom trifunctional catalyst, namely Ti₃C₂O₂ supported single Pd atom (Pd1@Ti₃C₂O₂), for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). This catalyst is selected from 12 candidates and possesses low overpotentials of 0.22 V, 0.31 V and 0.34 V for the HER, OER and ORR, respectively, making it an excellent electrocatalyst for both overall water splitting and rechargeable air-based batteries. The superior OER and ORR performance originates from the optimal d band center of the supported Pd atom. Moreover, the excellent activity can be maintained even if the single Pd atoms aggregate into small clusters. This work offers new opportunities for advancing the renewable energy storage and conversion technologies and paves a new way for the development of multifunctional electrocatalysts.

Keywords: DFT, SACs, OER, ORR, HER

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Authors: Kim Jin Sup

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This paper presents a vertical hall effect device using current-mode. Among different geometries that have been studied and simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics, optimized cross-shaped model displayed the best sensitivity. The cross-shaped model emerged as the optimum plate to fit the lowest noise and residual offset and the best sensitivity. The symmetrical cross-shaped hall plate is widely used because of its high sensitivity and immunity to alignment tolerances resulting from the fabrication process. The hall effect device has been designed using a 0.18-μm CMOS technology. The simulation uses the nominal bias current of 12μA. The applied magnetic field is from 0 mT to 20 mT. Simulation results achieved in COMSOL and validated with respect to the electrical behavior of equivalent circuit for Cadence. Simulation results of the one structure over the 13 available samples shows for the best geometry a current-mode sensitivity of 6.6 %/T at 20mT. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by Institute for Information & communications Technology Promotion (IITP) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. R7117-16-0165, Development of Hall Effect Semiconductor for Smart Car and Device).

Keywords: vertical hall device, current-mode, crossed-shaped model, CMOS technology

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Authors: William Sigvardsson, Christoffer Alenius, Jenny Lindblom, Andreas Johansson, Marcus Sandberg

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This article covers a study focusing on a subarctic greenhouse located in Nikkala, Sweden. Through a visit and the creation of a CFD model, the study investigates the differences in energy demand with high pressure sodium (HPS) lights and light emitting diode (LED) lights in combination with an air-carried and water-carried heating system accordingly. Through an IDA ICE model, the impact of insulating the parts of the greenhouse without active cultivation was also investigated. This, with the purpose of comparing the current system in the greenhouse to state-of-the-art alternatives and evaluating if an investment in either a water-carried heating system in combination with LED lights and insulating the non-cultivating parts of the greenhouse could be considered profitable. Operating a greenhouse in the harsh subarctic climate found in the northern parts of Sweden is not an easy task and especially if the operation is year-round. With an average temperature of under -5 °C from November through January, efficient growing techniques are a must to ensure a profitable business. Today the most crucial parts of a greenhouse are the heating system, lighting system, dehumidifying measures, as well as thermal screen, and the impact of a poorly designed system in a sub-arctic could be devastating as the margins are slim. The greenhouse studied uses a pellet burner to power their air- carried heating system which is used. The simulations found the resulting savings amounted to just under 14 800 SEK monthly or 18 % of the total cost of energy by implementing the water-carrying heating system in combination with the LED lamps. Given this, a payback period of 3-9 years could be expected given different scenarios, including specific time periods, financial aids, and the resale price of the current system. The insulation of the non-cultivating parts of the greenhouse was found to have possible savings of 25 300 SEK annually or 46 % of the current heat demand resulting in a payback period of just over 1-2 years. Given the possible energy savings, a reduction in emitted CO2 equivalents of almost 1,9 tonnes could be achieved annually. It was concluded that relatively inexpensive investments in modern greenhouse equipment could make a significant contribution to reducing the energy consumption of the greenhouse resulting in a more competitive business environment for sub-arctic greenhouse owners. New parts of the greenhouse should be built with the water-carried heating system in combination with state-of-the-art LED lights, and all parts which are not housing active cultivation should be insulated. If the greenhouse in Nikkala is eligible for financial aid or finds a resale value in the current system, an investment should be made in a new water-carried heating system in combination with LED lights.

Keywords: energy efficiency, sub-arctic greenhouses, energy measures, greenhouse climate control, greenhouse technology, CFD

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Authors: Filip Dodigovic, Kreso Ivandic, Damir Stuhec, S. Strelec

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The general difference analysis between the former and new design concepts in geotechnical engineering is carried out. The application of new regulations results in the need for real adaptation of the computation principles of limit states, i.e. by providing a uniform way of analyzing engineering tasks. Generally, it is not possible to unambiguously match the limit state verification procedure with those in the construction engineering. The reasons are the inability to fully consistency of the common probabilistic basis of the analysis, and the fundamental effect of material properties on the value of actions and the influence of actions on resistance. Consequently, it is not possible to apply separate factorization with partial coefficients, as in construction engineering. For the slope stability analysis design procedures problems in the light of the use of limit states in relation to the concept of allowable stresses is detailed in. The quantifications of the safety margins in the slope stability analysis for both approaches is done. When analyzing the stability of the slope, by the strict application of the adopted forms from the new regulations for significant external temporary and/or seismic actions, the equivalent margin of safety is increased. The consequence is the emergence of more conservative solutions.

Keywords: allowable pressure, Eurocode 7, limit states, slope stability

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Authors: Germán Díaz Flórez, Carlos Alberto Olvera Olvera, Domingo José Gómez Meléndez, Francisco Eneldo López Monteagudo

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In recent decades, population growth has exerted great pressure on natural resources. Two of the most scarce and difficult to obtain resources, arable land, and water, are closely interrelated, to the satisfaction of the demand for food production. In Mexico, the agricultural sector uses more than 70% of water consumption. Therefore, maximize the efficiency of current production systems is inescapable. It is essential to utilize techniques and tools that will enable us to the significant savings of water, labor and fertilizer. In this study, we present a production module of hydroponic green forage (HGF), which is a viable alternative in the production of livestock feed in the semi-arid and arid zones. The equipment in addition to having a forage production module, has a climate and irrigation control system that operated with photovoltaics. The climate control, irrigation and power management is based on fuzzy control techniques. The fuzzy control provides an accurate method in the design of controllers for nonlinear dynamic physical phenomena such as temperature and humidity, besides other as lighting level, aeration and irrigation control using heuristic information. In this working, firstly refers to the production of the hydroponic green forage, suitable weather conditions and fertigation subsequently presents the design of the production module and the design of the controller. A simulation of the behavior of the production module and the end results of actual operation of the equipment are presented, demonstrating its easy design, flexibility, robustness and low cost that represents this equipment in the primary sector.

Keywords: fuzzy, climate control system, hydroponic green forage, forage production module

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Authors: P. B. Sob, T. B. Tengen, A. A. Alugongo

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Mechanical behavior of 6082T6 aluminum is investigated at different temperatures. The strain rate sensitivity is investigated at different temperatures on the grain size variants. The sensitivity of the measured grain size variants on 3-D grain is discussed. It is shown that the strain rate sensitivities are negative for the grain size variants during the deformation of nanostructured materials. It is also observed that the strain rate sensitivities vary in different ways with the equivalent radius, semi minor axis radius, semi major axis radius and major axis radius. From the obtained results, it is shown that the variation of strain rate sensitivity with temperature suggests that the strain rate sensitivity at the low and the high temperature ends of the 6082T6 aluminum range is different. The obtained results revealed transition at different temperature from negative strain rate sensitivity as temperature increased on the grain size variants.

Keywords: nanostructured materials, grain size variants, temperature, yield stress, strain rate sensitivity

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Authors: Iris Vural Gursel, Andrea Ramirez

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Effective utilization of lignin is an important mean for developing economically profitable biorefineries. Current literature suggests that large amounts of lignin will become available in second generation biorefineries. New conversion technologies will, therefore, be needed to carry lignin transformation well beyond combustion to produce energy, but towards high-value products such as chemicals and transportation fuels. In recent years, significant progress on catalysis has been made to improve transformation of lignin, and new catalytic processes are emerging. In this work, a techno-economic assessment of two of these novel conversion routes and comparison with more established lignin pyrolysis route were made. The aim is to provide insights into the potential performance and potential hotspots in order to guide the experimental research and ease the commercialization by early identifying cost drivers, strengths, and challenges. The lignin conversion routes selected for detailed assessment were: (non-catalytic) lignin pyrolysis as the benchmark, direct hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of lignin and hydrothermal lignin depolymerisation. Products generated were mixed oxygenated aromatic monomers (MOAMON), light organics, heavy organics, and char. For the technical assessment, a basis design followed by process modelling in Aspen was done using experimental yields. A design capacity of 200 kt/year lignin feed was chosen that is equivalent to a 1 Mt/y scale lignocellulosic biorefinery. The downstream equipment was modelled to achieve the separation of the product streams defined. For determining external utility requirement, heat integration was considered and when possible gasses were combusted to cover heating demand. The models made were used in generating necessary data on material and energy flows. Next, an economic assessment was carried out by estimating operating and capital costs. Return on investment (ROI) and payback period (PBP) were used as indicators. The results of the process modelling indicate that series of separation steps are required. The downstream processing was found especially demanding in the hydrothermal upgrading process due to the presence of significant amount of unconverted lignin (34%) and water. Also, external utility requirements were found to be high. Due to the complex separations, hydrothermal upgrading process showed the highest capital cost (50 M€ more than benchmark). Whereas operating costs were found the highest for the direct HDO process (20 M€/year more than benchmark) due to the use of hydrogen. Because of high yields to valuable heavy organics (32%) and MOAMON (24%), direct HDO process showed the highest ROI (12%) and the shortest PBP (5 years). This process is found feasible with a positive net present value. However, it is very sensitive to the prices used in the calculation. The assessments at this stage are associated with large uncertainties. Nevertheless, they are useful for comparing alternatives and identifying whether a certain process should be given further consideration. Among the three processes investigated here, the direct HDO process was seen to be the most promising.

Keywords: biorefinery, economic assessment, lignin conversion, process design

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Authors: Olushola S. Ayanda, Olalekan S. Fatoki, Folahan A. Adekola, Bhekumusa J. Ximba, Cecilia O. Akintayo

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In the present study, the kinetics, equilibrium and thermodynamics of the adsorption of triphenyltin (TPT) from TPT-contaminated water onto nanoSiO2/fly ash/activated carbon composite was investigated in batch adsorption system. Equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed using Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D-R) isotherm models. Pseudo first- and second-order, Elovich and fractional power models were applied to test the kinetic data and in order to understand the mechanism of adsorption, thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG°, ΔSo and ΔH° were also calculated. The results showed a very good compliance with pseudo second-order equation while the Freundlich and D-R models fit the experiment data. Approximately 99.999 % TPT was removed from the initial concentration of 100 mg/L TPT at 80oC, contact time of 60 min, pH 8 and a stirring speed of 200 rpm. Thus, nanoSiO2/fly ash/activated carbon composite could be used as effective adsorbent for the removal of TPT from contaminated water and wastewater.

Keywords: isotherm, kinetics, nanoSiO₂/fly ash/activated carbon composite, tributyltin

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Authors: M. Khallaf, R. Khalil, H. Ghetas

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In the present study, V. harveyi and V. alginolyticus were isolated from cultured seabass and seabream at Damietta Governorate, Egypt, during summer season. Isolates were biochemically and molecularly identified using primers for Vhh and Collagenase genes. The most prominent clinical observations of diseased fish were exophthalmia, abdominal distension, and multifocal cutaneous hemorrhagic ulceration on the dorsal musculature and caudal peduncle. Physicochemical characteristics of water samples indicated that the unionized ammonia, nitrate, and hydrogen sulphate concentrations were higher than the acceptable limits. Heavy metals concentrations in water samples exhibited higher concentrations than the permissible levels for fish culture, which was considered as chemical stressors that increase the prevalence of these bacterial diseases. Immune parameters were lower in diseased seabass and seabream than apparently healthy fish. Lesions of different fish organs were identified histopathologically.

Keywords: seabass, seabream, Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio harveyi

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Authors: John Pomerat, Aviv Segev

Abstract:

Recently, deep learning has had many theoretical breakthroughs. For deep learning to be successful in the industry, however, there need to be practical algorithms capable of handling many real-world hiccups preventing the immediate application of a learning algorithm. Although AI promises to revolutionize the healthcare industry, getting access to patient data in order to train learning algorithms has not been easy. One proposed solution to this is data- sharing. In this paper, we propose an alternative protocol, based on multi-party computation, to train deep learning models while maintaining both the privacy and security of training data. We examine three methods of training neural networks in this way: Transfer learning, average ensemble learning, and series network learning. We compare these methods to the equivalent model obtained through data-sharing across two different experiments. Additionally, we address the security concerns of this protocol. While the motivating example is healthcare, our findings regarding multi-party computation of neural network training are purely theoretical and have use-cases outside the domain of healthcare.

Keywords: neural network aggregation, multi-party computation, transfer learning, average ensemble learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Joaquin Navarro Perales, Ana Lidia Franzoni Velázquez, Francisco Cervantes Pérez

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The Mexican educational system faces diverse challenges related with the quality and coverage of education. The development of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) may help to solve some of them by helping teachers to customize their classes according to the performance of the students in online courses. In this work, we propose the adaptation of a functional ITS based on Bloom’s taxonomy called Sistema de Apoyo Generalizado para la Enseñanza Individualizada (SAGE), to measure student’s metacognition and their emotional response based on Marzano’s taxonomy. The students and the system will share the control over the advance in the course, so they can improve their metacognitive skills. The system will not allow students to get access to subjects not mastered yet. The interaction between the system and the student will be implemented through Natural Language Processing techniques, thus avoiding the use of sensors to evaluate student’s response. The teacher will evaluate student’s knowledge utilization, which is equivalent to the last cognitive level in Marzano’s taxonomy.

Keywords: intelligent tutoring systems, student modelling, metacognition, affective computing, natural language processing

Procedia PDF Downloads 206

Authors: Asma Bettahar, Imed Eddine Nezli, Sameh Habes

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Groundwater resources in the Oued Righ valley are represented like the parts of the eastern basin of the Algerian Sahara, superposed by two major aquifers: the Intercalary Continental (IC) and the Terminal Complex (TC). From a qualitative point of view, various studies have highlighted that the waters of this region showed excessive mineralization, including the waters of the terminal complex (EC Avg equal 5854.61 S/cm) .The present article is a statistical approach by two multi methods various complementary (ACP, CAH), applied to the analytical data of multilayered aquifer waters Terminal Complex of the Oued Righ valley. The approach is to establish a correlation between the chemical composition of water and the lithological nature of different aquifer levels formations, and predict possible connection between groundwater’s layers. The results show that the mineralization of water is from geological origin. They concern the composition of the layers that make up the complex terminal.

Keywords: complex terminal, mineralization, oued righ, statistical approach

Procedia PDF Downloads 395

Authors: Yu-Wen Lin, Li-Ni Liu

Abstract:

Introduction: Fatigue is the most common symptoms experienced by cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Patients receiving anticancer therapies develop a higher proportion of fatigue compared with patients who do not receive anticancer therapies. Fatigue has significant impacts on quality of life, daily activities, mood status, and social behaviors. A warm-water footbath (WWF) at 41℃ promotes circulation and removes metabolites resulting in improving sleep and relieving fatigue. The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of WWF for relieving fatigue with cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: This is a single-center, prospective, quasi-experimental design study in the oncology ward in Taiwan. Participants in this study were assigned to WWF group as experimental group and standard care group as a control group by purposive sampling. In the WWF group, the participants were asked to soak their feet in 42-43℃ water 15 minutes for consecutive 6 days at one day before chemotherapy. Each participant was evaluated for fatigue level by the Taiwanese version of the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI-T). BFI-T was completed for consecutive 8 days of the study. The primary outcome was compared the BFI-T score of WWF group to the standard care group. Results: There were 60 participants enrolled in this study. Thirty participants were assigned to WWF group and 30 participants were assigned to standard care group. Both groups have comparable characteristic. The BFI-T scores of both groups were increased associated with the days of chemotherapy. The highest BFI-T scores of both groups were on the day 4 of chemotherapy. The BFI-T scores of both groups were decreased since day 5 and significantly decreased in WWF group on day 5 compared to standard care group (4.17 vs. 5.7, P ＜ .05). At the end of the study the fatigue at its worse were significantly decreased in WWF group (2.33 vs. 4.37, P ＜ .001). There was no adverse event reported in this study. Conclusion: WWF is an easy, safe, non-invasive, and relatively inexpensive nursing intervention for improving fatigue of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. In summary, this study shows the WWF is a simple complementary care method, and it is effective for improving and relieving fatigue in a short time. Through improving fatigue is a way to enhance the quality of life which is important for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Larger prospective randomized controlled trial and long-term effectiveness and outcomes of WWF should be performed to confirm this study.

Keywords: chemotherapy, warm-water footbath, fatigue, Taiwanese version of the brief fatigue inventory

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: J. E. O. Hernandez

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In the next 20 years, energy production by burning fuels will increase and so will the atmospheric concentration of CO2 and its well-known threats to life on Earth. The technologies available for capturing CO2 are still dubious and this keeps fostering an interest in bio-inspired approaches. The leading one is the application of carbonic anhydrase (CA) –a superfast biocatalyst able to convert up to one million molecules of CO2 into carbonates in water. However, natural CA underperforms when applied to real smoky CO2 in chimneys and, so far, the efforts to create superior CAs in the lab rely on screening methods running under pristine conditions at the micro level, which are far from resembling those in chimneys. For the evolution of man-made enzymes, selection rather than screening would be ideal but this is challenging because of the need for a suitable artificial environment that is also sustainable for our society. Herein we present the stepwise design and construction of a bioprocess (from bench-scale to semi-pilot) for evolutionary selection experiments. In this bioprocess, reaction and adsorption took place simultaneously at atmospheric pressure in a spray tower. The scrubbing solution was fed countercurrently by reusing municipal pressure and it was mainly prepared with water, carbonic anhydrase and calcium chloride. This bioprocess allowed for the enzymatic carbonation of smoky CO2; the reuse of process water and the recovery of solid carbonates without cooling of smoke, pretreatments, solvent amines and compression of CO2. The average yield of solid carbonates was 0.54 g min-1 or 12-fold the amount produced in serum bottles at lab bench scale. This bioprocess could be used as a tailor-made environment for driving the selection of superior CAs. The bioprocess and its match CA could be sustainably used to reduce global warming by CO2 emissions from exhausts.

Keywords: biological carbon capture and sequestration, carbonic anhydrase, directed evolution, global warming

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: S. M. Javad Davoodi, Mojtaba Shourian

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Groundwater table close to the ground surface causes major problems in construction and mining operation. One of the methods to control groundwater in such cases is using pumping wells. These pumping wells remove excess water from the site project and lower the water table to a desirable value. Although the efficiency of this method is acceptable, it needs high expenses to apply. It means even small improvement in a design of pumping wells can lead to substantial cost savings. In order to minimize the total cost in the method of pumping wells, a simulation-optimization approach is applied. The proposed model integrates MODFLOW as the simulation model with Firefly as the optimization algorithm. In fact, MODFLOW computes the drawdown due to pumping in an aquifer and the Firefly algorithm defines the optimum value of design parameters which are numbers, pumping rates and layout of the designing wells. The developed Firefly-MODFLOW model is applied to minimize the cost of the dewatering project for the ancient mosque of Kerman city in Iran. Repetitive runs of the Firefly-MODFLOW model indicates that drilling two wells with the total rate of pumping 5503 m3/day is the result of the minimization problem. Results show that implementing the proposed solution leads to at least 1.5 m drawdown in the aquifer beneath mosque region. Also, the subsidence due to groundwater depletion is less than 80 mm. Sensitivity analyses indicate that desirable groundwater depletion has an enormous impact on total cost of the project. Besides, in a hypothetical aquifer decreasing the hydraulic conductivity contributes to decrease in total water extraction for dewatering.

Keywords: groundwater dewatering, pumping wells, simulation-optimization, MODFLOW, firefly algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 296

Authors: Ivana Kašparová, Emilie Pecharová

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The experience of radiological contamination of land, especially after the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters have shown the need to explore possibilities to the capture of radionuclides in the area affected and to adapt the landscape management to this purpose ex –ante the considered accident in terms of prevention. The project‚ Minimizing the impact of radiation contamination on land in the emergency zone of Temelin NPP‘ (2012-2015), dealt with the possibility of utilization of wetlands as retention sites for water carrying radionuclides in the case of a radiation accident. A model artificial wetland was designed and adopted as a utility model by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic. The article shows the conditions of construction of designed wetlands in the landscape with regard to minimizing the negative effect on agricultural production and enhancing the hydrological functionality of the landscape.

Keywords: artificial wetland, land use/ land cover, old maps, surface-to-water transport of radionuclides

Procedia PDF Downloads 364

Authors: A. M. H. Shokry, N. S. M. El-Tayeb

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The environmental impacts caused by fertilizers call for the adaptation of more sustainable technologies in order to increase agricultural production and reduce pollution due to high nutrient emissions. One particular technique has been to coat urea fertilizer granules with less-soluble chemicals that permit the gradual release of nutrients in a slow and controlled manner. The aim of this research is to develop a biodegradable slow-release fertilizer (SRF) with materials that come from sustainable sources; starch and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The slow-release behavior and water retention capacity of the coated granules were determined. In addition, the aqueous release and absorbency rates were also tested. Results confirmed that the release rate from coated granules was slower than through plain membranes; and that the water absorption capacity of the coated urea decreased as PVA content increased. The SRF was also tested and gave positive results that confirmed the integrity of the product.

Keywords: biodegradability, nitrogen-use efficiency, poly-vinyl alcohol, slow-release fertilizer, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 218

Authors: Sergio Garcia, Alfredo Trueba, Luis M. Vega, Ernesto Madariaga

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Biofilms adhesion is one of the more important cost of industries plants on wide world, which use to water for cooling heat exchangers or are in contact with water. This study evaluated the effect of Electromagnetic Fields on biofilms in tubular heat exchangers using seawater cooling. The results showed an up to 40% reduction of the biofilm thickness compared to the untreated control tubes. The presence of organic matter was reduced by 75%, the inorganic mater was reduced by 87%, and 53% of the dissolved solids were eliminated. The biofilm thermal conductivity in the treated tube was reduced by 53% as compared to the control tube. The hardness in the effluent during the experimental period was decreased by 18% in the treated tubes compared with control tubes. Our results show that the electromagnetic fields treatment has a great potential in the process of removing biofilms in heat exchanger.

Keywords: biofilm, heat exchanger, electromagnetic fields, seawater

Procedia PDF Downloads 193

Authors: Serges Mendomo Meye, Li Guowei, Shen Zhenzhong, Gan Lei, Xu Liqun

Abstract:

Due to the characteristics of high-heap and large-volume, the complex layers of waste and the high-water level of leachate, environmental pollution, and slope instability are easily produced. It is therefore of great significance to research the heterogeneous seepage field and stability of landfills. This paper focuses on the heterogeneous characteristics of the landfill piles and analyzes the seepage field and slope stability of the landfill using statistical and numerical analysis methods. The calculated results are compared with the field measurement and literature research data to verify the reliability of the model, which may provide the basis for the design, safe, and eco-friendly operation of the landfill. The main innovations are as follows: (1) The saturated-unsaturated seepage equation of heterogeneous soil is derived theoretically. The heterogeneous landfill is regarded as composed of infinite layers of homogeneous waste, and a method for establishing the heterogeneous seepage model is proposed. Then the formation law of the stagnant water level of heterogeneous landfills is studied. It is found that the maximum stagnant water level of landfills is higher when considering the heterogeneous seepage characteristics, which harms the stability of landfills. (2) Considering the heterogeneity weight and strength characteristics of waste, a method of establishing a heterogeneous stability model is proposed, and it is extended to the three-dimensional stability study. It is found that the distribution of heterogeneous characteristics has a great influence on the stability of landfill slope. During the operation and management of the landfill, the reservoir bank should also be considered while considering the capacity of the landfill.

Keywords: heterogeneous characteristics, leachate levels, saturated-unsaturated seepage, seepage field, slope stability

Procedia PDF Downloads 261