Search results for: heat recovery boiler

Authors: Suchitra Sivakumar, Hajime Shingyouchi, Toshinori Okajima, Kyohei Yamaguchi, Jin Kusaka

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The progressing need for powertrain electrification calls for more accurate and reliable simulation models. A battery pack serves as the most vital component for energy storage in an electrified powertrain. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) do not behave the same way as they age, and there are several environmental factors that account for the degradation of the battery on a system level. Therefore, in this work, a battery model was proposed to study the state of charge (SOC) variation and the internal dynamic changes that contribute to aging and performance degradation in HEV batteries. An equivalent circuit battery model (ECM) is built using MATLAB Simulink to investigate the output characteristics of the lithium-ion battery. The ECM comprises of circuit elements like a voltage source, a series resistor and a parallel RC network connected in series. A parameter estimation study is conducted on the ECM to study the dependencies of the circuit elements with the state of charge (SOC) and the terminal voltage of the battery. The battery model is extended to simulate the temperature dependence of the individual battery cell and the battery pack with the environment. The temperature dependence model accounts for the heat loss due to internal resistance build up in the battery pack during charging, discharging, and due to atmospheric temperature. The model was validated for a lithium-ion battery pack with an independent drive cycle showing a voltage accuracy of 4% and SOC accuracy of about 2%.

Keywords: battery model, hybrid electric vehicle, lithium-ion battery, thermal model

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Authors: Deva Kanta Phukan

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An investigation is made to carry out to study the thermal-diffusion and diffusion thermo-effects in hydro-magnetic unsteady flow by a mixed convection boundary layer past an impermeable vertical stretching sheet embedded in a conducting fluid-saturated porous medium in the presence of a chemical reaction effect. The velocity of stretching surface, the surface temperature and the concentration are assumed to vary linearly with the distance along the surface. The governing partial differential equations are transformed in to self similar unsteady equations using similarity transformations and solved numerically by the Runge kutta fourth order scheme in association with the shooting method for the whole transient domain from the initial state to the final steady state flow. Numerical results for the velocity, temperature, the concentration, the skin friction , and the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are shown graphically for various flow parameters. The results reveal that there is a smooth transition of flow from unsteady state to the final steady state. A special case of our results is in good agreement with an earlier published work.

Keywords: heat and mass transfer, boundary layer flow, porous media, magnetic field, Soret number, Dufour’s number

Procedia PDF Downloads 428

Authors: Imran Ullah Khana, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othmanb, Haslenda Hashima, Takeshi Matsuurad, A.F. Ismailb, M. Rezaei-DashtArzhandib, I. Wan Azelee

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Biogas upgrading is a widely studied and discussed topic, and its utilization as a natural gas substitute has gained significant attention in recent years. The production of biomethane provides a versatile application in both heat and power generation and as a vehicular fuel. This paper systematically reviews the state of the art of biogas upgrading technologies with upgrading efficiency, methane (CH4) loss, environmental effect, development and commercialization, and challenges in terms of energy consumption and economic assessment. The market situation for biogas upgrading has changed rapidly in recent years, giving membrane separation a significant market share with traditional biogas upgrading technologies. In addition, the potential utilization of biogas, efficient conversion into bio-compressed natural gas (bio-CNG), and storage systems are investigated in depth. Two storing systems for bio-CNG at filling stations, namely buffer and cascade storage systems are used. The best storage system should be selected on the basis of the advantages of both systems. Also, the fuel economy and mass emissions for bio-CNG and CNG-filled vehicles are studied. There is the same fuel economy and less carbon dioxide (CO2) emission for bio-CNG. Based on the results of comparisons between the technical features of upgrading technologies, various specific requirements for biogas utilization and the relevant investment, and operating and maintenance costs, future recommendations are made for biogas upgrading.

Keywords: biogas upgrading, cost, utilization, bio-CNG, storage, energy

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Authors: Sofia F. Franco, Jacob Macdonald

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This paper estimates the value of urban public street trees and their complementary and substitution value with other broader urban amenities and dis-amenities via the residential housing market. We estimate a lower bound value on a city’s tree amenities under instrumental variable and geographic regression discontinuity approaches with an application to Lisbon, Portugal. For completeness, we also explore how urban trees and in particular public street trees impact house prices across the city. Finally, we jointly analyze the planting and maintenance costs and benefits of urban street trees. The estimated value of all public trees in Lisbon is €8.84M. When considering specifically trees planted alongside roads and in public squares, the value is €6.06M or €126.64 per tree. This value is conditional on the distribution of trees in terms of their broader density, with higher effects coming from the overall greening of larger areas of the city compared to the greening of the direct neighborhood. Detrimental impacts are found when the number of trees is higher near street canyons, where they may exacerbate the stagnation of air pollution from traffic. Urban street trees also have important spillover benefits due to pollution mitigation around €6.21 million, or an additional €129.93 per tree. There are added benefits of €26.32 and €28.58 per tree in terms of flooding and heat mitigation, respectively. With significant resources and policies aimed at urban greening, the value obtained is shown to be important for discussions on the benefits of urban trees as compared to mitigation and abatement costs undertaken by a municipality.

Keywords: urban public goods, urban street trees, spatial boundary discontinuities, geospatial and remote sensing methods

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Abdelhalim. N. Mohammed, Mohammed. Y. Esmail

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In the course of recent decades, medical imaging has been dominated by the use of costly film media for review and archival of medical investigation, however due to developments in networks technologies and common acceptance of a standard digital imaging and communication in medicine (DICOM) another approach in light of World Wide Web was produced. Web technologies successfully used in telemedicine applications, the combination of web technologies together with DICOM used to design a web-based and open source DICOM viewer. The Web server allowance to inquiry and recovery of images and the images viewed/manipulated inside a Web browser without need for any preinstalling software. The dynamic site page for medical images visualization and processing created by using JavaScript and HTML5 advancements. The XAMPP ‘apache server’ is used to create a local web server for testing and deployment of the dynamic site. The web-based viewer connected to multiples devices through local area network (LAN) to distribute the images inside healthcare facilities. The system offers a few focal points over ordinary picture archiving and communication systems (PACS): easy to introduce, maintain and independently platforms that allow images to display and manipulated efficiently, the system also user-friendly and easy to integrate with an existing system that have already been making use of web technologies. The wavelet-based image compression technique on which 2-D discrete wavelet transform used to decompose the image then wavelet coefficients are transmitted by entropy encoding after threshold to decrease transmission time, stockpiling cost and capacity. The performance of compression was estimated by using images quality metrics such as mean square error ‘MSE’, peak signal to noise ratio ‘PSNR’ and compression ratio ‘CR’ that achieved (83.86%) when ‘coif3’ wavelet filter is used.

Keywords: DICOM, discrete wavelet transform, PACS, HIS, LAN

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: C. S Lee, W. C. Hsu, H. Y. Liu, C. J. Lin, S. C. Yao, Y. T. Shen, Y. C. Lin

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In₀.₁₈Al₀.₈₂N/AlN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor heterostructure field-effect transistors (MOS-HFETs) having Al₂O₃ gate-dielectric and backside metal-trench structure are investigated. The Al₂O₃ gate oxide was formed by using a cost-effective non-vacuum ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition (USPD) method. In order to enhance the heat dissipation efficiency, metal trenches were etched 3-µm deep and evaporated with a 150-nm thick Ni film on the backside of the Si substrate. The present In₀.₁₈Al₀.₈₂N/AlN/GaN MOS-HFET (Schottky-gate HFET) has demonstrated improved maximum drain-source current density (IDS, max) of 1.08 (0.86) A/mm at VDS = 8 V, gate-voltage swing (GVS) of 4 (2) V, on/off-current ratio (Ion/Ioff) of 8.9 × 10⁸ (7.4 × 10⁴), subthreshold swing (SS) of 140 (244) mV/dec, two-terminal off-state gate-drain breakdown voltage (BVGD) of -191.1 (-173.8) V, turn-on voltage (Von) of 4.2 (1.2) V, and three-terminal on-state drain-source breakdown voltage (BVDS) of 155.9 (98.5) V. Enhanced power performances, including saturated output power (Pout) of 27.9 (21.5) dBm, power gain (Gₐ) of 20.3 (15.5) dB, and power-added efficiency (PAE) of 44.3% (34.8%), are obtained. Superior breakdown and RF power performances are achieved. The present In₀.₁₈Al₀.₈₂N/AlN/GaN MOS-HFET design with backside metal-trench is advantageous for high-power circuit applications.

Keywords: backside metal-trench, InAlN/AlN/GaN, MOS-HFET, non-vacuum ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition

Procedia PDF Downloads 242

Authors: Maarja Karbus, Elsbet Lippmaa, Kadri Kööp, Mare Tupits

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Aim: The aim is to describe the experiences and needs of mothers of children with cancer in coping with the child's illness. Background: Cancer affects different life areas. Especially if it is a child, in this case the whole family is involved. Loved ones are mentally affected, there are limitations, and life changes need to be made to make the whole treatment regimen and recovery as comfortable as possible. Also, the whole process is expensive and time consuming. The research is part of a larger project that covers the experiences and needs of parents of children with chronic illness and coping strategies related to the child's illness. Design: Qualitative, empirical, descriptive research. Method: Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data and inductive content analysis was used to analyze the data. The interviews were conducted in the autumn of 2020, 5 respondents participated in the research. Results and Conclusions: The research revealed that the mothers' experiences of coping with a child's disease included health-related experiences, material aspects, changes in lifestyle, support systems and contact with professionals. Regarding the organizational and material aspects of life, the subjects presented experiences with economic problems, adaptation of changes in lifestyle, access to information and changes in the treatment process. With regard to health, the respondents identified experiences with the mother's physical and mental health and experiences with the health of an ill child. The experience of different support systems was related to the support of family, friends, acquaintances, various organizations and specialists. Experiences with specialist support included experiences with family relationships and positive and negatiive experiences with staff. The mothers' needs in dealing with the child's disease included the mother's emotional needs, the support of other family members, and the need for various support systems and services. The needs of coping with the child were the need for understanding, support, confidence, the need to be strong and courageous, the need to ignore one's own needs, and the need for personal time and rest. The needs of other family members included the needs of an ill child and the need to pay attention to other children in the family. The needs of different supporters and services were related to different helpers and different services.

Keywords: cancer, mother, coping, child, need, experience, illness

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Makram El Bachawati, Rima Manneh, Thomas Dandres, Carla Nassab, Henri El Zakhem, Rafik Belarbi

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A vegetative roof, also called a garden roof, is a "roofing system that endorses the growth of plants on a rooftop". Garden roofs serve several purposes for a building, such as embellishing the roofing system, enhancing the water management, and reducing the energy consumption and heat island effects. Lebanon is a Middle East country that lacks the use of a sustainable energy system. It imports 98% of its non-renewable energy from neighboring countries and suffers flooding during heavy rains. The objective of this paper is to determine if the implementation of vegetative roofs is effectively better than the traditional roofs for the Lebanese context. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is performed in order to compare an existing extensive green roof to a traditional gravel-asphalted roof. The life cycle inventory (LCI) was established and modeled using the SimaPro 8.0 software, while the environmental impacts were classified using the IMPACT 2002+ methodology. Results indicated that, for the existing extensive green roof, the waterproofing membrane and the growing medium were the highest contributors to the potential environmental impacts. When comparing the vegetative to the traditional roof, results showed that, for all impact categories, the extensive green roof had the less environmental impacts.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, green roofs, vegatative roof, environmental impact

Procedia PDF Downloads 447

Authors: Hamitri-Guerfi Fatiha, Mekimene Lekhder, Madani Khodir, Youyou Ahcene

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Virgin olive oil is appreciated by consumers, the quality of the oil is regulated by the international olive oil council depends on its chemical composition, so, the correct packing conditions are a prerequisite to preserve oil color, flavor, and nutriments, from production to consumption. The contact of food with various materials of packaging, since the production, until their consumption constitutes one of the essential aspects of food safety (directive 76/833/CEE). In Algeria, plastic bottles, although, they are economic and light are largely used at packaging olive oil but not used in other countries. This is due to migration phenomena that can occur from these materials. Thus, the goal of this work is to examine the physicochemical behavior of the couple packaging plastic-oil during their exposure to three temperatures corresponding to the conditions of storage applied in Algeria. Like, it is difficult to compare blowers of bottles which are heavy engineering, it comes out from this study that the effect of heat, the absorption of water, the constraints of storage of acidity, as well as the composition of oil, the PET bottles showed a remarkable structural instability, this defect of quality was confirmed by the analysis of morphology by electronic scan microscopy. These bottles present a total migration significantly higher than the threshold of acceptance. Moreover, a metal contamination of oil by its packaging was confirmed by the spectroscopy of atomic absorption and a microanalysis. The differences observed between the results of the microanalysis applied and the mechanical characterizations of the various bottles are reported, showing the reality of the container-contents exchanges.

Keywords: interaction, stability, pet, virgin olive oil

Procedia PDF Downloads 429

Authors: W. Abu Rayyan, A. Singh, A. M. Al-Jaafreh, W. Abu Dayyih, M. Bustami, S. Salem, N. Seder, K. Schröppel

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Hyphal growth and the transcriptional regulation to the host environment are key issues during the pathogenesis of C. albicans. Tec1p is the C. albicans homolog of a TEA transcription factor family, which share a conserved DNA-binding TEA domain in their N-terminal. In order to define a structure-function relationship of the C. albicans Tec1p protein, we constructed several mutations on the N terminal, C terminal or in the TEA binding domain itself by homologous recombination technology. The modifications in the open reading frame of TEC1 were tested for reconstitution of the morphogenetic development of the tec1/tec1 mutant strain CaAS12. Mutation in the TEA consensus sequence did not confer transition to hyphae whereas the reconstitution of the full-length Tec1p has reconstituted hyphal development. A deletion in one of glutamine-rich regions either in the Tec1p N-terminal or the C-terminal in regions of 53-212 or 637–744 aa, respectively, did not restore morphological development in mutant CaAS12 strain. Whereas, the reconstitution with Tec1p mutants other than the glutamate-rich region has restored the morphogenetic switch. Additionally, the deletion of the glutamine-rich region has attenuated the invasive growth and the heat shock resistance of C. albicans. In conclusion, we show that a glutamine-rich region of Tec1p is essential for the hyphal development and mediating adaptation to the host environment of C. albicans.

Keywords: Candida albicans, morphogenetic development, TEA domain, hyphal formation, TEC1

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Liu Wei-Hsien, Chuang Hsiao-Li, Huang Yen-Te, Wu Chien-Chen, Chou Geng-Ting, Tsai Ying-Chieh

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Intestinal microflora play an important role in communication along the gut-brain axis. Probiotics, defined as live bacteria or bacterial products, confer a significant health benefit to the host. Here we administered Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 (PS128) to the germ-free (GF) mouse to investigate the impact of the gut-brain axis on emotional behavior. Administration of live PS128 significantly increased the total distance traveled in the open field test; it decreased the time spent in the closed arm and increased the time spent and total entries into the open arm in the elevated plus maze. In contrast, heat-killed PS128 caused no significant changes in the GF mice. Treatment with live PS128 significantly increased levels of both serotonin and dopamine in the striatum, but not in the prefrontal cortex or hippocampus. However, live PS128 did not alter pro- or anti-inflammatory cytokine production by mitogen-stimulated splenocytes. The above data indicate that the normalization of emotional behavior correlated with monoamine neurotransmission, but not with immune activity. Our findings suggest that daily intake of the probiotic PS128 could ameliorate neuropsychiatric disorders such as anxiety and excessive psychological stress.

Keywords: dopamine, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, intestinal microflora, serotonin

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Authors: Yan-Shiang Chiou, Yi-Huang Hsueh

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Bacillus cereus is a foodborne pathogen that causes two types of foodborne illness, the emetic and diarrheal syndromes. B. cereus consistently ranks among the top three among bacterial foodborne outbreaks in the ten years of 2001 to 2010 in Taiwan. Foodborne outbreak caused by B. cereus has been increased, and recently it ranks second foodborne pathogen after Vibrio parahaemolyticus. This pathogen is difficult to control due to its ubiquitousness in the environment, the psychrotrophic nature of many strains, and the heat resistance of their spores. Because complete elimination of biofilms is difficult, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of biofilm formation by B. cereus will help to develop better strategies to control this pathogen. Surface translocation can be an important factor in biofilm formation. In B. cereus, NprR is a quorum sensor, and its apo NprR is a dimer and changes to a tetramer in the presence of NprX. The small peptide NprX may induce conformational change allowing the apo dimer to switch to an active tetramer specifically recognizing target DNA sequences. Our result showed that mutation of nprRX causes surface spreading deficiency. Mutation of flagella, pili and surfactant genes (flgAB, bcpAB, krsABC), did not abolish spreading motility. Under nprRX mutant, mutation of spo0A restored the spreading deficiency. This suggests that spreading motility is not related surfactant, pili and flagella but other unknown mechanism and Spo0A, a sporulation initiation protein, inhibits spreading motility.

Keywords: Bacillus cereus, nprRX, spo0A, spreading motility

Procedia PDF Downloads 238

Authors: Olga A. Krysiak, Grzegorz Cichowicz, Wojciech Hyk, Michal Cyranski, Jan Augustynski

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Metal oxides are known electrocatalyst in water oxidation reaction. Due to the fact that it is desirable for efficient oxygen evolution catalyst to contain numerous redox-active metal ions to guard four electron water oxidation reaction, mixed metal oxides exhibit enhanced catalytic activity towards oxygen evolution reaction compared to single metal oxide systems. On the surface of fluorine doped tin oxide coated glass slide (FTO) deposited (doctor blade technique) mixed metal oxide layer composed of nickel, iron, and chromium. Oxide coating was acquired by heat treatment of the aqueous precursors' solutions of the corresponding salts. As-prepared electrodes were photosensitive and acted as an efficient oxygen evolution catalyst. Our results showed that obtained by this method electrodes can be activated which leads to achieving of higher current densities. The recorded current and photocurrent associated with oxygen evolution process were at least two orders of magnitude higher in the presence of oxide layer compared to bare FTO electrode. The overpotential of the process is low (ca. 0,2 V). We have also checked the activity of the catalyst at different known photoanodes used in sun-driven water splitting. Herein, we demonstrate that we were able to achieve efficient oxygen evolution catalysts using relatively cheap precursor consisting of earth abundant metals and simple method of preparation.

Keywords: chromium, electrocatalysis, iron, metal oxides, nickel, oxygen evolution

Procedia PDF Downloads 193

Authors: Amatulraheem Al-Abassi, K. Khanafer, Ibrahim Deiab

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The coronary artery stent is a promising technology that can treat various coronary diseases. Materials used for manufacturing medical stents should have high biocompatible properties. Stent alloys, in particular, are remarkably promising good clinical outcomes, however, there is threaten of restenosis (reoccurring of artery narrowing due to fatty plaque), stent recoiling, or in long-term the occurrence of stent fracture. However, stents that are made of Nickel-titanium (Nitinol) can bare extensive plastic deformation and resist restenosis. This shape memory alloy has outstanding mechanical properties. Nitinol is a unique shape memory alloy as it has unique mechanical properties such as; biocompatibility, super-elasticity, and recovery to original shape under certain loads. Stent failure may cause complications in vascular diseases and possibly blockage of blood flow. Thus, studying the behaviors of the stent under different medical conditions will help the doctors and cardiologists to predict when it is necessary to change the stent in order to prevent any severe morbidity outcomes. To the best of our knowledge, there are limited published papers that analyze the stent behavior with regards to the contact surfaces of plaque layer and blood vessel. Thus, stent material properties will be discussed in this investigation to highlight the mechanical and clinical differences between various stents. This research analyzes the performance of Nitinol stent in well-known stent design to determine its bearing with stress and its dislocation in blood vessels, in comparison to stents made of different biocompatible materials. In addition, a study of its performance will be represented in the system. Finite Element Analysis is the core of this study. Thus, a physical representative model will be discussed to show the distribution of stress and strain along the interaction surface between the stent and the artery. The reaction of vascular tissue to the stent will be evaluated to predict the possibility of restenosis within the treated area.

Keywords: shape memory alloy, stent, coronary artery, finite element analysis

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Authors: M. Wasy Akhtar

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Multi-modal film boiling simulations are carried out on adaptive octree grids. The liquid-vapor interface is captured using the volume-of-fluid framework adjusted to account for exchanges of mass, momentum, and energy across the interface. Surface tension effects are included using a volumetric source term in the momentum equations. The phase change calculations are conducted based on the exact location and orientation of the interface; however, the source terms are calculated using the mixture variables to be consistent with the one field formulation used to represent the entire fluid domain. The numerical model on octree representation of the computational grid is first verified using test cases including advection tests in severely deforming velocity fields, gravity-based instabilities and bubble growth in uniformly superheated liquid under zero gravity. The model is then used to simulate both single and multi-modal film boiling simulations. The octree grid is dynamically adapted in order to maintain the highest grid resolution on the instability fronts using markers of interface location, volume fraction, and thermal gradients. The method thus provides an efficient platform to simulate fluid instabilities with or without phase change in the presence of body forces like gravity or shear layer instabilities.

Keywords: boiling flows, dynamic octree grids, heat transfer, interface capturing, phase change

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Authors: Chady El Hachem, Pan Ye, Kamilia Abahri, Rachid Bennacer

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Considered as a building construction material, and regarding its environmental benefits, wood fiber insulation is the material of interest in this work. The definition of adequate elementary representative volume that guarantees reliable understanding of the hygrothermal macroscopic phenomena is very critical. At the microscopic scale, when subjected to hygric solicitations, fibers undergo local dimensionless variations. It is therefore necessary to master this behavior, which affects the global response of the material. This study consists of an experimental procedure using the non-destructive method, X-ray tomography, followed by morphological post-processing analysis using ImageJ software. A refine investigation took place in order to identify the representative elementary volume and the sufficient resolution for accurate structural analysis. The second part of this work was to evaluate the microscopic hygric behavior of the studied material. Many parameters were taken into consideration, like the evolution of the fiber diameters, distribution along the sorption cycle and the porosity, and the water content evolution. In addition, heat transfer simulations based on the energy equation resolution were achieved on the real structure. Further, the problematic of representative elementary volume was elaborated for such heterogeneous material. Moreover, the material’s porosity and its fibers’ thicknesses show very big correlation with the water content. These results provide the literature with very good understanding of wood fiber insulation’s behavior.

Keywords: hygric behavior, morphological characterization, wood fiber insulation material, x-ray tomography

Procedia PDF Downloads 247

Authors: O. Elkana, O Heyman, S. Hamdan, M. Franko, J. Vatine

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Objective: To investigate whether a direct link exists between perceived pain (PP) and executive functions (EF), above and beyond the influence of depression symptoms, in the context of medical rehabilitation. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Rehabilitation Hospital. Participants: 125 medical records of hospitalized patients were screened for matching to our inclusion criteria. Only 60 patients were found fit and were asked to participate. 19 decline to participate on personal basis. The 41 neurologically intact patients (mean age 46, SD 14.96) that participated in this study were in their sub-acute stage of recovery, with fluent Hebrew, with intact upper limb (to neutralize influence on psychomotor performances) and without an organic brain damage. Main Outcome Measures: EF were assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Stop-Signal Test (SST). PP was measured using 3 well-known pain questionnaires: Pain Disability Index (PDI), The Short-Form McGill Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). Perceived pain index (PPI) was calculated by the mean score composite from the 3 pain questionnaires. Depression symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Results: The results indicate that irrespective of the presence of depression symptoms, PP is directly correlated with response inhibition (SST partial correlation: r=0.5; p=0.001) and mental flexibility (WSCT partial correlation: r=-0.37; p=0.021), suggesting decreased performance in EF as PP severity increases. High correlations were found between the 3 pain measurements: SF-MPQ with PDI (r=0.62, p<0.001), SF-MPQ with PCS (r=0.58, p<0.001) and PDI with PCS (r=0.38, p=0.016) and each questionnaire alone was also significantly associated with EF; thus, no specific questionnaires ‘pulled’ the results obtained by the general index (PPI). Conclusion: Examining the direct association between PP and EF, beyond the contribution of depression symptoms, provides further clinical evidence suggesting that EF and PP share underlying mediating neuronal mechanisms. Clinically, the importance of assessing patients' EF abilities as well as PP severity during rehabilitation is underscored.

Keywords: depression, executive functions, mental-flexibility, neuropsychology, pain perception, perceived pain, response inhibition

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Authors: Adha Bayu Wijaya, A. Zainal Abidin, Naufal Baihaqi, Joko Suprayitno, Astika Titistiti, Muslim Adi Wijaya, Endah Tri Lestari, Agung Wibowo

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Sulfur is a non-metallic chemical element in the form of a yellow crystalline solid with the chemical formula, and is formed from several types of natural and artificial chemical reactions. Commercial applications of sulfur processed products can be found in various aspects of life, for example in the use of processed sulfur as paving blocks. The Gundih Central Processing Plant (CPP) is capable of producing 14 tons/day of sulfur pellets. This amount comes from the high H2S content of the wells with a total concentration of 20,000 ppm and a volume accumulation of 14 MMSCFD acid gas. H2S is converted to sulfur using the thiobacillus microbe in the Biological Sulfur Recovery Unit (BSRU) with a sulfur product purity level greater than 95%. In 2018 sulfur production at Gundih CPP was recorded at 4044 tons which could potentially trigger serious problems from an environmental aspect. The use of sulfur as material for making paving blocks is an alternative solution in addressing the potential impact on the environment, as regulated by Government Regulation No.22 of Year 2021 concerning the Waste Management of Non-Hazardous and Toxic Substances (B3), and the high cost of handling sulfur by third parties. The design mix of ratio sulfur paving blocks is 22% cements, rock ash 67%, and 11% of sulfur pellets. The sulfur used in making the paving mixture is pure sulfur, namely the side product category without any contaminants, thereby eliminating the potential for environmental pollution when implementing sulfur paving. Strength tests of sulfur paving materials have also been confirmed by external laboratories. The standard used in making sulfur paving blocks refers to the SNI 03-0691-1996 standard. With the results of sulfur paving blocks made according to quality B. Currently, sulfur paving blocks are used in building access to wells locations and in public roads in the Cepu Field area as a contribution from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Keywords: sulphur, innovation, paving block, CSR, sulphur paving

Procedia PDF Downloads 49

Authors: Soledad Carinelli, Iñigo Fernández, José Luis González-Mora, Pedro A. Salazar-Carballo

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Mastitis is the most relevant inflammatory disease in cattle, affecting the animal health and causing important economic losses on dairy farms. This disease takes place in the mammary gland or udder when some opportunistic microorganisms, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Corynebacterium bovis, etc., invade the teat canal. According to the severity of the inflammation, mastitis can be classified as sub-clinical, clinical and chronic. Standard methods for mastitis detection include counts of somatic cells, cell culture, electrical conductivity of the milk, and California test (evaluation of “gel-like” matrix consistency after cell lysed with detergents). However, these assays present some limitations for accurate detection of subclinical mastitis. Currently, haptoglobin, an acute phase protein, has been proposed as novel and effective biomarker for mastitis detection. In this work, an electrochemical biosensor based on polydopamine-modified magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs@pDA) for haptoglobin detection is reported. Thus, MNPs@pDA has been synthesized by our group and functionalized with hemoglobin due to its high affinity to haptoglobin protein. The protein was labeled with specific antibodies modified with alkaline phosphatase enzyme for its electrochemical detection using an electroactive substrate (1-naphthyl phosphate) by differential pulse voltammetry. After the optimization of assay parameters, the haptoglobin determination was evaluated in milk. The strategy presented in this work shows a wide range of detection, achieving a limit of detection of 43 ng/mL. The accuracy of the strategy was determined by recovery assays, being of 84 and 94.5% for two Hp levels around the cut off value. Milk real samples were tested and the prediction capacity of the electrochemical biosensor was compared with a Haptoglobin commercial ELISA kit. The performance of the assay has demonstrated this strategy is an excellent and real alternative as screen method for sub-clinical bovine mastitis detection.

Keywords: bovine mastitis, haptoglobin, electrochemistry, magnetic nanoparticles, polydopamine

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Authors: Sara Lamari, Toufik Madani

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This study aimed to explore the relationship between reproduction performances and coat characteristics of Montbéliarde cows born in Algeria or imported from Europe during the hot season in Algeria. Hair coat traits (hair coat color, Hair Weight, hair length, the number of hair per unit area, total hair diameters and hair medulla diameters) were estimated in 18 imported cattle and 49 locally born cows. These traits were measured in an area of 20cm below the dorsal line in the center of the thorax. Results showed that hair coats were significantly different between locally born and imported cows. Imported cows had whiter coats when compared to locally born cows for Montbéliarde cows. A significant effect of total hair diameter was observed on the interval from calving to conception (IC) for imported Montbéliarde cows, suggesting less incidence of heat stress on reproduction efficiency of cows with thin diameter hair coats. Montbéliarde cows with short hair coat registered significantly more number of mating per conception (2, 28±1, 93 Vs. 1,67±0,92) and IC (98,04±78,81Vs 74.53 ± 35.60 days) when compared to cows with long hairs. Hair works as a temperature regulator in association with muscles in the skin and may affect reproduction performances during hit stress season. It can be assumed that the length and a total diameter of hairs for the Montbeliarde breed appears to be related to their reproductive efficiency.

Keywords: hair coat, reproduction, Montbeliarde cow, hot season

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Authors: Cristian Cazacu, Bela Kobulniczky

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Even though nowadays the median area of the Bucharest’s Sector 1 owns one of the best reputations in terms of quality of life level, the problems in urban planning from the last twenty years, as well as those related to the urban environment, became more and more obvious and shrill. And all this happened as long as non-compliance with urban and spatial planning laws, corroborated with uncontrolled territorial expansion on certain areas and faulty management of public and private spaces were more acute. The action of all these factors has been felt more and more strongly in the territory in the last twenty years, generating the degradation of the quality of the urban environment and affecting in parallel the general level of the inhabitants¬’ quality of life. Our methodology is based on analyzing a wide range of environmental parameters and it is also based on using advanced resources and skills for mapping planning and environmental dysfunctions as well as the possibility of integrating information into GIS programs, all data sets corroborated with problems related to spatial planning management and inaccuracies of the urbanistic sector. In the end, we managed to obtain a calculated and realistic image of the dysfunctions and a quantitative view of their magnitude in the territory. We also succeeded to create a full general map of the degree of degradation of the urban environment by typologies of urban tissues. Moreover, the methods applied by us can also be used globally to calculate and create realistic images and intelligent maps over the quality of the environment in areas larger than this one. Our study shows that environmental degradation occurred differently in the urban tissues from our study area, depending on several factors, reviewing the faulty way in which the processes of recovery / urban regeneration of the gap in recent years have led to the creation of new territorial dysfunctions. The general, centralized results show that the analyzed space has a much wider range of problems than initially thought, although notoriety and social etiquette place them far above other spaces from the same city of study.

Keywords: environment, GIS, planning, urban tissues

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Authors: B. Adebayo, A. A. Adebayo

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Adequate power generation and supply are enormous challenges confronting Nigeria state today. This is a powerful mechanism that drives industrial development and socio-economy of any nation. The present level of power generation and supply have become national embarrassment to both government and the citizens of Nigeria, where over 60% of the population have no access to electricity. This paper is set to review the abundant clean energy alternative sources available in abundance that are capable of boosting power generation. The clean energy sources waiting to be exploited include: nuclear, solar and wind energy. The environmental benefits of these sources of power generation are identified. Nuclear energy is a powerful clean energy source. However, Africa accounted for 20% of known recoverable reserve and uranium produces heat of 500,000 MJ/kg. Moreover, Nigeria receives average daily solar radiation of over 5.249 kWh/m2/day. Researchers have shown that wind speed and power flux densities varied from 1.5 – 4.1 m/s and 5.7 – 22.5 W/m2 respectively. It is a fact that the cost of doing business in Nigeria is very high, leading to winding up of the multi-national companies and then led to increase unemployment level. More importantly, readily available vast quantity of energy will reduce cost of running industries. Hence, more industries will come on board, goods, services, and more job creation will be achieved. This clean source of power generation is devoid of production of green house gases, elimination of environmental pollution, and reduced waste disposal. Then Nigerians will live in harmony with the environment.

Keywords: power, generation, energy, mix, clean, industrial

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Authors: M.Younus, M. Athar Khan, Asif Adrees

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The present research endeavour was made to investigate the Public Health impact of Salmonellosis through consuming the meat and eggs of the carrier’s birds and to see the prevalence of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium from poultry feed, poultry meat, and poultry eggs and their role in the chain of transmission of salmonellae to human beings and causing food poisoning. The ultimate objective was to generate data to improve the quality of poultry products and human health awareness. Salmonellosis is one of the most wide spread food borne zoonoses in all the continents of the world. The etiological agents Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium not only produce the disease but during the convalescent phase (after the recovery of disease) remain carriers for indefinite period of time. The carrier state was not only the source of spread of disease with in the poultry but also caused typhoid fever in humans. The chain of transmission started from poultry feed to poultry meat and ultimately to humans as dead end hosts. In this experiment a total number of 200 samples of human stool and blood were collected randomly (100 samples of human stool and 100 samples of human blood) of 100 patients suspected from food poisoning patients from different hospitals of Lahore area for the identification of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium through PCR method in order to see the public health impact of Salmonellosis through consuming the meat and eggs of the carrier birds. On the average 14 and 10 stool samples were found positive against Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium from each of the 25 patients from each hospital respectively in case of suspected food poisoning patients. Similarly on an average 5% and 6% blood samples were found positive from 25 patients of each hospital respectively. There was a significant difference (P< 0.05) in the sero positivity of stool and blood samples of suspected food poisoning patients as far as Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium was concerned. However there was no significant difference (P<0.05) between the hospitals.

Keywords: salmonella, zoonosis, food, transmission, eggs

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Authors: Magdalena Wilk-Kozubek, Jakub Pawłów, Maciej Czajkowski, Maria Zdończyk, Katarzyna Ślepokura, Joanna Cybińska

Abstract:

Thermochromic materials belong to the family of intelligent materials that change their color in response to temperature changes; this ability is called thermochromism. Thermochromic behavior can be displayed by both isolated compounds and multicomponent mixtures. Fluoran leuco dye-based mixtures are well-known thermochromic systems used, for example, in heat-sensitive FAX paper. Weak acids often serve as color developers for such systems. As the temperature increases, the acids melt, and the mixtures become colored. The objective of this research is to determine the influence of acids showing a liquid crystalline nematic phase on the development of the fluoran dye. For this purpose, fluoran-based mixtures with 4-n-alkylbenzoic acids were prepared. The mixtures are colored at room temperature, but they become colorless upon the melting of the acids. The melting of acids is associated not only with a change in the color of the mixtures but also with a change in their emission color. Phase transitions were investigated by temperature-dependent powder X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry; nematic phases were visualized by polarized optical microscopy, and color and emission changes were studied by UV-Vis diffuse reflectance and photoluminescence spectroscopies, respectively. When 4-n-alkylbenzoic acids are used as color developers, the fluoran-based mixtures become colorless after the melting of the acids. This is because the melting of acids is accompanied by the transition from the crystalline phase to the nematic phase, in which the molecular arrangement of the acids does not allow the fluoran dye to be developed.

Keywords: color developer, leuco dye, liquid crystal, thermochromism

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Authors: E. Moradimaram, H. Sayehvand

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In recent years the increasing use of fossil fuels has led to various environmental problems including urban pollution, ozone layer depletion and acid rains. Moreover, with the increased number of industrial centers and higher consumption of these fuels, the end point of the fossil energy reserves has become more evident. Considering the environmental pollution caused by fossil fuels and their limited availability, renewable sources can be considered as the main substitute for non-renewable resources. One of these resources is the Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs). These cycles while having high safety, have low maintenance requirements. Combining the ORCs with other systems, such as ejector and reheater will increase overall cycle efficiency. In this study, ejector and reheater are used to improve the thermal efficiency (ηth), exergy efficiency (η_ex) and net output power (w_net); therefore, the ORCs with reheater (RORCs) are proposed. A computational program has been developed to calculate the thermodynamic parameters required in Engineering Equations Solver (EES). In this program, the analysis of the first and second law in RORC is conducted, and a comparison is made between them and the ORCs with Ejector (EORC). R245fa is selected as the working fluid and water is chosen as low temperature heat source with a temperature of 95 °C and a mass transfer rate of 1 kg/s. The pressures of the second evaporator and reheater are optimized in terms of maximum exergy efficiency. The environment is at 298.15 k and at 101.325 kpa. The results indicate that the thermodynamic parameters in the RORC have improved compared to EORC.

Keywords: Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), Organic Rankine Cycle with Reheater (RORC), Organic Rankine Cycle with Ejector (EORC), exergy efficiency

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Authors: Tie-Gang Wang, De-Qiang Meng, Yan-Mei Liu

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Ternary AlCrN coatings were widely used to prolong cutting tool life because of their high hardness and excellent abrasion resistance. However, the friction between the workpiece and cutter surface was increased remarkably during machining difficult-to-cut materials (such as superalloy, titanium, etc.). As a result, a lot of cutting heat was generated and cutting tool life was shortened. In this work, an appropriate amount of solid lubricant MoS₂ was added into the AlCrN coating to reduce the friction between the tool and the workpiece. A series of Al-Cr-N/MoS₂ self-lubricating coatings with different MoS₂ contents were prepared by high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) and pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering (Pulsed DC) compound system. The MoS₂ content in the coatings was changed by adjusting the sputtering power of the MoS₂ target. The composition, structure and mechanical properties of the Al-Cr-N/MoS2 coatings were systematically evaluated by energy dispersive spectrometer, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer, nano-indenter tester, scratch tester, and ball-on-disk tribometer. The results indicated the lubricant content played an important role in the coating properties. As the sputtering power of the MoS₂ target was 0.1 kW, the coating possessed the highest hardness 14.1GPa, the highest critical load 44.8 N, and the lowest wear rate 4.4×10−3μm2/N.

Keywords: self-lubricating coating, Al-Cr-N/MoS₂ coating, wear rate, friction coefficient

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Authors: Bogale Tadesse, Krutik Parikh, Ndagha Mkandawire, Boris Albijanic, Nimal Subasinghe

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It is well established that the floatability and selectivity of mineral particles are highly dependent on the particle size. Generally, a particle size of 10 micron is considered as the critical size below which both flotation selectivity and recovery decline sharply. It is widely accepted that the majority of ultrafine particles, including highly liberated valuable minerals, will be lost in tailings during a conventional flotation process. This is highly undesirable particularly in the processing of finely disseminated complex and refractory ores where there is a requirement for fine grinding in order to liberate the valuable minerals. In addition, the continuing decline in ore grade worldwide necessitates intensive processing of low grade mineral deposits. Recent advances in comminution allow the economic grinding of particles down to 10 micron sizes to enhance the probability of liberating locked minerals from low grade ores. Thus, it is timely that the flotation of fine and ultrafine particles is improved in order to reduce the amount of valuable minerals lost as slimes. It is believed that the use of fine bubbles in flotation increases the bubble-particle collision efficiency and hence the flotation performance. Electroflotation, where bubbles are generated by the electrolytic breakdown of water to produce oxygen and hydrogen gases, leads to the formation of extremely finely dispersed gas bubbles with dimensions varying from 5 to 95 micron. The sizes of bubbles generated by this method are significantly smaller than those found in conventional flotation (> 600 micron). In this study, microbubbles generated by electrolysis of water were injected into a bench top flotation cell to assess the performance electroflotation in enhancing the flotation of fine and ultrafine pyrite particles of sizes ranging from 5 to 53 micron. The design of the cell and the results from optimization of the process variables such as current density, pH, percent solid and particle size will be presented at this conference.

Keywords: electroflotation, fine bubbles, pyrite, ultrafine particles

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Authors: Valdrina Ajeti, Icko Gjorgoski

Abstract:

Stress can be a reason for some physiological and biological disorders in the body. The antioxidative defense system is necessary for the maintenance of redox homeostasis in organisms. Because of its antioxidant effect, alkaline water (AW) is the focus of scientific interest. Adding AW and co-treatment with sodium ascorbate (SA) is expected for the organism to act preventively to hyperthermic stress. To investigate the effect of AW and SA on glucose and cortisol levels during acute hyperthermic stress, white female Wistar laboratory rats, divided into three groups of 10 individuals, were exposed to heat for 80 min, for 21 days. Acute hyperthermic exposure at 41˚C was a cause for oxidative stress. The first group is the control group, the second group is treated with AW, and the third group with AW and SA. Plasma glucose levels were determined by colorimetric method and cortisol was measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. The comparison of the means was made using the Tukey test. Differences were considered significant at a level of p < 0.05. Our results show that levels of glucose and cortisol have been increased in the group treated with AW on the 21st day after treatment (p < 0.0001), but not on the 7th and 14th day as compared to the control group. Also, co-treatment of animals with AW and SA significantly increased the levels of glucose and cortisol on the 21st day after treatment showing a synergistic effect. The individual action of AW, as well as synergism with SA, caused a high protective effect on oxidative damage.

Keywords: alkaline water, sodium ascorbate, hyperthermic stress, glucose, cortisol

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Huiqiang Yang, Domingo Santana

Abstract:

Reducing parasitic power consumption of concentrating solar power plants is the main challenge to increase the overall efficiency, particularly for molten salt tower technology. One of the most effective approaches to reduce the parasitic power consumption is to implement a natural draft dry cooling system instead of the standard utilized mechanical draft dry cooling system. In this paper, a thermo-economic analysis of a natural draft direct cooling system was performed based on a 100MWe commercial scale molten salt power plant. In this configuration with a natural draft direct cooling system, the exhaust steam from steam turbine flows directly to the heat exchanger bundles inside the natural draft dry cooling tower, which eliminates the power consumption of circulation pumps or fans, although the cooling tower shadows a portion of the heliostat field. The simulation results also show that compared to a mechanical draft cooling system the annual solar field efficiency is decreased by about 0.2% due to the shadow, which is equal to a reduction of approximately 13% of the solar field area. As a contrast, reducing the solar field size by 13% in purpose in a molten salt power plant with a natural draft drying cooling system actually will lead to a reduction of levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) by about 4.06% without interfering the power generated.

Keywords: molten salt power tower, natural draft dry cooling, parasitic power consumption, commercial scale

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Authors: N. Türkmenoğlu Bayraktar, E. Kishalı

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Campus buildings are educational facilities where various amount of energy consumption for lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation occurs. Some of the new universities in Turkey, where this investigation takes place, still continue their educational activities in existing buildings primarily designed for different architectural programs and converted to campus buildings via changes of function, space organizations and structural interventions but most of the time without consideration of appropriate micro climatic conditions. Reducing energy consumption in these structures not only contributes to the national economy but also mitigates the negative effects on environment. Furthermore, optimum thermal comfort conditions should be provided during the refurbishment of existing campus structures and their building envelope. Considering this issue, the first step is to investigate the climatic performance of building elements regarding refurbishment process. In the context of the study Kocaeli University, Faculty of Design and Architecture building constructed in 1980s in Anıtpark campus located in the central part of Kocaeli, Turkey was investigated. Climatic factors influencing thermal conditions; the deteriorations on building envelope; temperature distribution; heat losses from façade elements observed by thermography were presented in order to improve strategies for retrofit process for the building envelope. Within the scope of the survey, refurbishment strategies towards providing optimum climatic comfort conditions, increasing energy efficiency of building envelope were proposed.

Keywords: building envelope, IRT, refurbishment, non-destructive test

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