Search results for: reducing waste

Authors: Nicolò Vaiana, Giorgio Serino

Abstract:

In this paper, an advanced Nonlinear Exponential Model (NEM), able to simulate the uniaxial dynamic behavior of seismic isolators having a continuously decreasing tangent stiffness with increasing displacement in the relatively large displacements range and a hardening or softening behavior at large displacements, is presented. The mathematical model is validated by comparing the experimental force-displacement hysteresis loops obtained during cyclic tests, conducted on a helical wire rope isolator and a recycled rubber-fiber reinforced bearing, with those predicted analytically. Good agreement between the experimental and simulated results shows that the proposed model can be an effective numerical tool to predict the force-displacement relationship of seismic isolation devices within the large displacements range. Compared to the widely used Bouc-Wen model, unable to simulate the response of seismic isolators at large displacements, the proposed one allows to avoid the numerical solution of a first order nonlinear ordinary differential equation for each time step of a nonlinear time history analysis, thus reducing the computation effort. Furthermore, the proposed model can simulate the smooth transition of the hysteresis loops from small to large displacements by adopting only one set of five parameters determined from the experimental hysteresis loops having the largest amplitude.

Keywords: base isolation, hardening behavior, nonlinear exponential model, seismic isolators, softening behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 329

Authors: Salman Naseer

Abstract:

One of the main challenges of operating a smart city (SC) is collecting the massive data generated from multiple data sources (DS) and to transmit them to the control units (CU) for further data processing and analysis. These ever-increasing data demands require not only more and more capacity of the transmission channels but also results in resource over-provision to meet the resilience requirements, thus the unavoidable waste because of the data fluctuations throughout the day. In addition, the high energy consumption (EC) and carbon discharges from these data transmissions posing serious issues to the environment we live in. Therefore, to overcome the issues of intensive EC and carbon emissions (CE) of massive data dissemination in Smart Cities, we propose an energy efficient and carbon reduction approach by utilizing the daily mobility of the existing vehicles as an alternative communications channel to accommodate the data dissemination in smart cities. To illustrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach, we take the Auckland City in New Zealand as an example, assuming massive data generated by various sources geographically scattered throughout the Auckland region to the control centres located in city centre. The numerical results show that our proposed approach can provide up to 5 times lower delay as transferring the large volume of data by utilizing the existing daily vehicles’ mobility than the conventional transmission network. Moreover, our proposed approach offers about 30% less EC and CE than that of conventional network transmission approach.

Keywords: smart city, delay tolerant network, infrastructure offloading, opportunistic network, vehicular mobility, energy consumption, carbon emission

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Nurul Aini Abdul Wahab, Nor Syamim Halidin, Sayidatina Aisah Masnan, Nur Izzati Romli

Abstract:

There are many applications of principle component method for reducing the large set of variables in various fields. Fisher’s Discriminant function is also a popular tool for classification. In this research, the researcher focuses on studying the performance of Principle Component-Fisher’s Discriminant function in helping to classify rice kernels to their defined classes. The data were collected on the smells or odour of the rice kernel using odour-detection sensor, Cyranose. 32 variables were captured by this electronic nose (e-nose). The objective of this research is to measure how well a combination model, between principle component and linear discriminant, to be as a classification model. Principle component method was used to reduce all 32 variables to a smaller and manageable set of components. Then, the reduced components were used to develop the Fisher’s Discriminant function. In this research, there are 4 defined classes of rice kernel which are Aromatic, Brown, Ordinary and Others. Based on the output from principle component method, the 32 variables were reduced to only 2 components. Based on the output of classification table from the discriminant analysis, 40.76% from the total observations were correctly classified into their classes by the PC-Discriminant function. Indirectly, it gives an idea that the classification model developed has committed to more than 50% of misclassifying the observations. As a conclusion, the Fisher’s Discriminant function that was built on a 2-component from PCA (2-PC-D) is not satisfying to classify the rice kernels into its defined classes.

Keywords: classification model, discriminant function, principle component analysis, variable reduction

Procedia PDF Downloads 332

Authors: Kiran Shehzadi, Yasmeen Akhtar, Mujahid Ameen, Tabinda Ijaz, Shoukat Siddique

Abstract:

Nanoparticles, due to their different sizes and morphologies, are employed in various fields such as the medical field, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, textile industry as well as in paints, adhesives, and electronics. Metal nanoparticles exhibit excellent antimicrobial activity, dye degradation and can be used as anti-cancerous drug loading agents. In this study, sZilver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) were synthesized employing doxycycline (antibiotic) as a reducing and capping agent (biological/green synthesis). Produced Ag-NPS were characterized using UV/VIS spectrophotometry, XRD, SEM, and FTIR. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of silver nanoparticles was observed at 411nm with 90nm size with homogenized spherical shape. These particles revealed good inhibition zones for Fungi such as Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. In this study, toxic properties of Ag-NPs were monitored by allowing them to penetrate in the cell, causing an abrupt increase in oxidative stress, which resulted ultimately in cell death. Histopathological analysis of mice organs was performed by administering definite concentrations of silver nanoparticles orally to mice for 14 days. Toxic properties were determined, and it was revealed that the toxicity of silver nanoparticles mainly depends on the size. Silver nanoparticles of this work presented mild toxicity for different organs (liver, kidney, spleen, heart, and stomach) of mice.

Keywords: metal nanoparticles, green/biological methods, toxicity, Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Ibrahim A. Al-Sulaihi, Khalid S. Al-Gahtani, Abdullah M. Al-Sugair, Aref A. Abadel

Abstract:

Achieving environmental sustainability is one of the important issues considered in many countries’ vision. Green/Sustainable building is widely used terminology for describing a friendly environmental construction. Applying sustainable practices has a significant importance in various fields, including construction field that consumes an enormous amount of resource and causes a considerable amount of waste. The need for sustainability is increased in the regions that suffering from the limitation of natural resource and extreme weather conditions such as Saudi Arabia. Since buildings designs are getting sophisticated, the need for tools, which support decision-making for sustainability issues, is increasing, especially in the design and preconstruction stages. In this context, Building Information Modeling (BIM) can aid in performing complex building performance analyses to ensure an optimized sustainable building design. Accordingly, this paper introduces a roadmap towards developing a systematic approach for presenting the sustainability of buildings using BIM. The approach includes set of main processes including; identifying the sustainability parameters that can be used for sustainability assessment in Saudi Arabia, developing sustainability assessment method that fits the special circumstances in the Kingdom, identifying the sustainability requirements and BIM functions that can be used for satisfying these requirements, and integrating these requirements with identified functions. As a result, the sustainability-BIM approach can be developed which helps designers in assessing the sustainability and exploring different design alternatives at the early stage of the construction project.

Keywords: green buildings, sustainability, BIM, rating systems, environment, Saudi Arabia

Procedia PDF Downloads 378

Authors: Won Man Park, Dae Kyung Choi, Kyungsoo Kim, Yoon Hyuk Kim

Abstract:

Traction therapy has been used in the treatment of spinal pain for decades. However, a case study reported the occurrence of large disc protrusion during motorized traction therapy. In this study, we hypothesized that additional local decompression with a global axial traction could be helpful for risk reduction of intervertebral disc damage. A validated three dimensional finite element model of the lumbar spine was used. Two-step traction therapy using the axial global traction (the first step) with 1/3 body weight and the additional local decompression (the second step) with 7 mm translation of L4 spinal bone was determined for the traction therapy. During two-step traction therapy, the sacrum was constrained in all translational directions. Reduced lordosis angle by the global axial traction recovered with the additional local decompression. Stress on fibers of the annulus fibrosus by the axial global traction decreased with the local decompression by 17%~96% in the posterior region of intervertebral disc. Stresses on ligaments except anterior longitudinal ligaments in all motion segments decreased till 4.9 mm~5.6 mm translation of L4 spinal bone. The results of this study showed that the additional local decompression is very useful for reducing risk of damage in the intervertebral disc and ligaments caused by the global axial traction force. Moreover, the local decompression could be used to enhance reduction of intradiscal pressure.

Keywords: lumbar spine, traction-therapy, biomechanics, finite element analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 486

Authors: Zahra Azizi, Ashkan Karbasi, Farzin Firouzian, Sara Soleimani Asl, Akram Ranjbar

Abstract:

Background: One of the most often used herbicides in agriculture is paraquat (PQ), which is very harmful to both people and animals. Chitosan is a well-known, non-toxic polymer commonly used in preparing particles via ionotropic gelation facilitated by negatively charged agents such as sodium alginate. This study aimed to compare the effects of PQ and nanoparaquat (PQNPs) on liver function in male rats. Materials & Methods: Rats were exposed to PQ & PQNPs (4 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneally) for seven days. Then, rats were anesthetized, and serum and liver samples were collected. Later, enzymatic activities such as alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in serum and oxidative stress biomarkers such as lipid peroxidation (LPO), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total thiol groups (TTG) levels in liver tissue were measured by colorimetric methods. Also, histological changes in the liver were evaluated. Results: PQ altered the levels of ALT, AST, and ALP while inducing oxidative stress in the liver. Additionally, liver homogenates with PQ exposure had challenged LPO, TAC, and TTG levels. The severe liver damage is indicated by a significant increase in the enzyme activity of AST, ALT, and ALP in serum. According to the results of the current study, PQNPs, as compared to PQ and the control group, lowered ALT, AST, ALP, and LPO levels while increasing TAC and TTG levels. Conclusion: According to biochemical and histological investigations, PQ loaded in chitosan-alginate particles is more efficient than free PQ at reducing liver toxicity.

Keywords: paraquat, paraquat nanoparticles, liver, oxidative stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Zhou Luchen, Wu Yubing, Burra Venkata Durga Kumar

Abstract:

As the scale of the network becomes larger and more complex than before, the density of user devices is also increasing. The development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) networks is able to collect and transform data in an efficient way by using software-defined networks (SDN) technology. This paper proposed a three-layer distributed and dynamic cluster architecture to manage UAVs by using an AI-based resource allocation calculation algorithm to address the overloading network problem. Through separating services of each UAV, the UAV hierarchical cluster system performs the main function of reducing the network load and transferring user requests, with three sub-tasks including data collection, communication channel organization, and data relaying. In this cluster, a head node and a vice head node UAV are selected considering the Central Processing Unit (CPU), operational (RAM), and permanent (ROM) memory of devices, battery charge, and capacity. The vice head node acts as a backup that stores all the data in the head node. The k-means clustering algorithm is used in order to detect high load regions and form the UAV layered clusters. The whole process of detecting high load areas, forming and selecting UAV clusters, and moving the selected UAV cluster to that area is proposed as offloading traffic algorithm.

Keywords: k-means, resource allocation, SDN, UAV network, unmanned aerial vehicles

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Rabia Khaliala, Adi Vitman-Schorr

Abstract:

Background: The increase in longevity of people on one hand, and on the other hand the fact that the social networks in later life become increasingly narrower, highlight the importance of Internet use to enhance quality of life (QoL). However, whether Internet use increases or decreases social networks, loneliness and quality of life is not clear-cut. Purposes: To explore the direct and/or indirect effects of Internet use on QoL, and to examine whether ethnicity and time the elderly spent with family moderate the mediation effect of Internet use on quality of life throughout loneliness. Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was carried out in 2016 by structured interviews with a convenience sample of 502 respondents aged 50 and older, living in northern Israel. Bootstrapping with resampling strategies was used for testing mediation a model. Results: Use of the Internet was found to be positively associated with QoL. However, this relationship was mediated by loneliness, and moderated by the time the elderly spent with family members. In addition, respondents' ethnicity significantly moderated the mediation effect between Internet use and loneliness. Conclusions: Internet use can enhance QoL of older adults directly or indirectly by reducing loneliness. However, these effects are conditional on other variables. The indirect effect moderated by ethnicity, and the direct effect moderated by the time the elderly spend with their families. Researchers and practitioners should be aware of these interactions which can impact loneliness and quality of life of older persons differently.

Keywords: internet use, loneliness, quality of life, social contacts

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Tarang Varmora, Krupa Shah, Karan Patel

Abstract:

Environmental pollution and shortage of conventional fuel are the main concerns in the transportation sector. Most of the vehicles use an internal combustion engine (ICE), powered by gasoline fuels. This results into emission of toxic gases. Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) powered by electric machine and ICE is capable of reducing emission of toxic gases and fuel consumption. However to build HEV, it is required to accommodate motor and batteries in the vehicle along with engine and fuel tank. Thus, overall weight of the vehicle increases. To improve the fuel economy and acceleration, the weight of the HEV can be minimized. In this paper, the design methodology to reduce the weight of the hybrid racing car is proposed. To this end, the chassis design is optimized. Further, attempt is made to obtain the maximum strength with minimum material weight. The best configuration out of the three main configurations such as series, parallel and the dual-mode (series-parallel) is chosen. Moreover, the most suitable type of motor, battery, braking system, steering system and suspension system are identified. The racing car is designed and analyzed in the simulating software. The safety of the vehicle is assured by performing static and dynamic analysis on the chassis frame. From the results, it is observed that, the weight of the racing car is reduced by 11 % without compromising on safety and cost. It is believed that the proposed design and specifications can be implemented practically for manufacturing hybrid racing car.

Keywords: design optimization, hybrid racing car, simulation, vehicle, weight reduction

Procedia PDF Downloads 294

Authors: Mohiuddin Sakib, Fatin Nihal, Rabeya Akter, Anisul Haque, Munsur Rahman, Wasif-E-Elahi

Abstract:

Surge generating cyclones are one of the deadliest natural disasters that threaten the life of coastal environment and communities worldwide. Due to the geographic location, ‘low lying alluvial plain, geomorphologic characteristics and 710 kilometers exposed coastline, Bangladesh is considered as one of the greatest vulnerable country for storm surge flooding. Bay of Bengal is possessing the highest potential of creating storm surge inundation to the coastal areas. Bangladesh is the most exposed country to tropical cyclone with an average of four cyclone striking every years. Frequent cyclone landfall made the country one of the worst sufferer within the world for cyclone induced storm surge flooding and casualties. During the years from 1797 to 2009 Bangladesh has been hit by 63 severe cyclones with strengths of different magnitudes. Though detailed studies were done focusing on the specific cyclone like Sidr or Aila, no study was conducted where vulnerable areas of exposed coast were identified based on the strength of cyclones. This study classifies the vulnerable areas of the exposed coast based on storm surge inundation depth and area due to cyclones of varying strengths. Classification of the exposed coast based on hazard induced cyclonic vulnerability will help the decision makers to take appropriate policies for reducing damage and loss.

Keywords: cyclone, landfall, storm surge, exposed coastline, vulnerability

Procedia PDF Downloads 399

Authors: Rajani S. Pujar, Pandurangarao N. Kulkarni

Abstract:

Increased temporal masking affects the speech perception in persons with sensorineural hearing impairment especially under adverse listening conditions. This paper presents a cascaded scheme, which employs a noise reduction algorithm as well as temporal splitting of the speech signal. Earlier investigations have shown that by splitting the speech temporally and presenting alternate segments to the two ears help in reducing the effect of temporal masking. In this technique, the speech signal is processed by two fading functions, complementary to each other, and presented to left and right ears for binaural dichotic presentation. In the present study, half cosine signal is used as a fading function with crossover gain of 6 dB for the perceptual balance of loudness. Temporal splitting is combined with noise reduction algorithm to improve speech perception in the background noise. Two noise reduction schemes, namely spectral subtraction and Wiener filter are used. Listening tests were conducted on six normal-hearing subjects, with sensorineural loss simulated by adding broadband noise to the speech signal at different signal-to-noise ratios (∞, 3, 0, and -3 dB). Objective evaluation using PESQ was also carried out. The MOS score for VCV syllable /asha/ for SNR values of ∞, 3, 0, and -3 dB were 5, 4.46, 4.4 and 4.05 respectively, while the corresponding MOS scores for unprocessed speech were 5, 1.2, 0.9 and 0.65, indicating significant improvement in the perceived speech quality for the proposed scheme compared to the unprocessed speech.

Keywords: MOS, PESQ, spectral subtraction, temporal splitting, wiener filter

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Khairul Zahreen Mohd Arof, Rahimah Muhamad

Abstract:

Oil palm fiber (OPF) is a fibrous material produced from the waste of palm oil industry which is suitable to be used in construction industry. The applications of OPF in concrete can reduce the material costs and enhance concrete behavior. Dog-bone test provides significant results for investigating the behavior of fiber reinforced concrete under tensile loading. It is able to provide stress-strain profile, modulus of elasticity, stress at cracking point and total crack width. In this research, dog-bone tests have been conducted to analyze total crack width, stress-strain profile, and modulus of elasticity of OPFC. Specimens are in a dog-bone shape with a long notch in the middle as compared to the end, to ensure cracks occur only within the notch. Tests were instrumented using a universal testing machine Shimadzu 300kN, a linear variable differential transformer and two strain gauges. A total of nine specimens with different fibers at fiber volume fractions of 0.75%, 1.00%, and 1.25% have been tested to analyze the behavior under tensile loading. Also, three specimens of plain concrete fiber have been tested as control specimens. The tensile test of all specimens have been carried out for concrete age exceed 28 days. It shows that OPFC able to reduce total crack width. In addition, OPFC has higher cracking stress than plain concrete. The study shows plain concrete can be improved with the addition of OPF.

Keywords: cracks, crack width, dog-bone test, oil palm fiber concrete

Procedia PDF Downloads 344

Authors: Ruchi Vyas, Sanjay Singh, Rashmi Sisodia

Abstract:

Chlorophytum borivillianum root extract (CBE) was chosen as a reducing agent to fabricate silver nanoparticles with the aim of studying its radioprotective efficacy. The formation of synthesized nanoparticles was characterized by UV–visible analysis (UV–vis), Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Scanning electron microscope (SEM). TEM analysis showed particles size in the range of 20-30 nm. For this study, Swiss albino mice were selected from inbred colony and were divided into 4 groups: group I- control (irradiated-6 Gy), group II- normal (vehicle treated), group III- plant extract alone and group IV- CB-AgNPs (dose of 50 mg/kg body wt./day) administered orally for 7 consecutive days before irradiation to serve as experimental. CB-AgNPs pretreatment rendered significant increase in body weight and testes weight at various post irradiation intervals in comparison to irradiated group. Supplementation of CB-AgNPs reversed the adverse effects of gamma radiation on biochemical parameters as it notably ameliorated the elevation in lipid peroxidation and decline in glutathione concentration in testes. These observations indicate the radio-protective potential of CB-AgNPs in testicular constituents against gamma irradiation in mice.

Keywords: Chlorophytum borivillianum, gamma radiation, radioprotective, silver nanoparticles

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Gehan A. Hegazy, Hesham N. Mustafa, Sally A. El Awdan, Marawan AbdelBaset

Abstract:

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a chemotherapeutic agent used for the treatment of different cancers and its clinical usage is hindered by the oxidative injury-related cardiotoxicity. This work aims to declare if the harmful effects of DOX on the heart can be alleviated with the use of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) or L-carnitine. The study was performed on seventy-two female Wistar albino rats divided into six groups, 12 animals each: Control group; DOX group (10 mg/kg); CoQ10 group (200 mg/kg); L-carnitine group (100 mg/kg); DOX + CoQ10 group; DOX + L-carnitine group. CoQ10 and L-carnitine treatment orally started five days before a single dose of 10 mg/kg DOX that injected intraperitoneally (IP) then the treatment continued for ten days. At the end of the study, serum biochemical parameters of cardiac damage, oxidative stress indices, and histopathological changes were investigated. CoQ10 or L-carnitine showed noticeable effects in improving cardiac functions evidenced reducing serum enzymes as serum interleukin-1 beta (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-), leptin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Cardiotrophin-1, Troponin-I and Troponin-T. Also, alleviate oxidative stress, decrease of cardiac Malondialdehyde (MDA), Nitric oxide (NO) and restoring cardiac reduced glutathione levels to normal levels. Both corrected the cardiac alterations histologically and ultrastructurally. With visible improvements in -SMA, vimentin and eNOS immunohistochemical markers. CoQ10 or L-carnitine supplementation improves the functional and structural integrity of the myocardium.

Keywords: CoQ10, doxorubicin, L-Carnitine, cardiotoxicity

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: M. Baldini, H. K. Jacobsen, M. Jaccard

Abstract:

In light of the international efforts to comply with the Paris agreement and emission targets for future energy systems, Denmark and Canada are among the front-runner countries dealing with climate change. The experiences in the energy sector have seen both countries coping with trade-offs between investments in renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency, thus tackling the climate issue from the supply and demand side respectively. On the demand side, the industrial sector is going through a remarkable transformation, with implementation of energy efficiency measures, change of input fuel for end-use processes and forecasted electrification as main features under the spotlight. By looking at Canada and Denmark's experiences as pathfinders on the demand and supply approach to climate change, it is possible to obtain valuable experience that may be applied to other countries aiming at the same goal. This paper presents a comparative study on industrial energy efficiency between Canada and Denmark. The study focuses on technologies and system options, policy design and implementation and modelling methodologies when implementing industrial energy savings in optimization models in comparison to simulation models. The study identifies gaps and junctures in the approach towards climate change actions and, learning from each other, lessen the differences to further foster the adoption of energy efficiency measurements in the industrial sector, aiming at reducing energy consumption and, consequently, CO₂ emissions.

Keywords: industrial energy efficiency, comparative study, CO₂ reduction, energy system modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Mohammad Aziz Shah Mohamed Arip, Aslina Ahmad, Fauziah Mohd Sa'ad, Samsiah Mohd Jais, Syed Sofian Syed Salim

Abstract:

This experimental study evaluates the effect of using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Multidimensional Self-Concept Model (MSCM) in a drug prevention programme to increase resiliency and reduce aggression among at-risk youth in Malaysia. A number of 60 (N=60) university students who were at-risk of taking drugs were involved in this study. Participants were identified with self-rating scales, Adolescent Resilience Attitude Scale (ARAS) and Aggression Questionnaire. Based on the mean score of these instruments, the participants were divided into the treatment group, and the control group. Data were analyzed using t-test. The finding showed that the mean score of resiliency was increased in the treatment group compared to the control group. It also shows that the mean score of aggression was reduced in the treatment group compared to the control group. Drug Prevention Programme was found to help in enhancing resiliency and reducing aggression among participants in the treatment group compared to the controlled group. Implications were given regarding the preventive actions on drug abuse among youth in Malaysia.

Keywords: drug prevention programme, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), multidimensional self concept model (MSCM), resiliency, aggression, at-risk youth

Procedia PDF Downloads 728

Authors: Guinevere Servis

Abstract:

This paper hypothesizes that withdrawal from positive self-awareness, and the increase of counterfactual-thinking and self-handicapping can help provide ample justification for an individual before, during and/or after committing a crime. The understanding of who someone is, one’s perspective on the world, and why they think the way they do is key to therapy in preventing recidivism. Developing habits to escape self-awareness, by using self-handicapping and counterfactual ideologies, may provide the necessary thinking patterns to decide disobeying the law is a worthy act to pursue. An increase in self-awareness is hypothesized to decrease the likelihood of recidivism, and ways of thinking that withdraw from self awareness can increase the likelihood of it. Especially for those who have been disadvantaged in life and disobeyed the law, self-handicapping and counterfactual thinking can also help to justify one's wrongdoing. The understanding of how a criminal views their disadvantages in the world, and one’s thinking patterns are hypothesized to help one better understand the entire scope on why a crime was committed and thus reduce the likelihood of recidivism. Utilizing therapy for prisoners to increase self-awareness of both thought and action can lead to a healthy, happier life and reduce the likelihood of reoffending. By discussing the terms associated with self-awareness theory and other psychological topics such as self-handicapping, counterfactual thinking, this paper argues the actions towards increasing positive self-awareness can help decrease likelihood of recidivism. Adversely, hypothesizing that increasing the ways of thinking that withdraw one from self-awareness, through counterfactual thinking and self-handicapping, can inherently increase the likelihood of recidivism. Evaluating these findings to further understand the needed changes in correctional institutions is fundamental to reducing crime, benefiting the criminal, the victim(s) and their family, and the state.

Keywords: crime, self-awareness theory, correctional institutions, self-regulate, counterfactual thinking, recidivism

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Sarekha Woranuch, Rangrong Yoksan

Abstract:

Active packaging has been developed based on the incorporation of certain additives, in particular antimicrobial and antioxidant agents, into packaging systems to maintain or extend product quality and shelf-life. Ferulic acid is one of the most effective natural phenolic antioxidants, which has been used in food, pharmaceutical and active packaging film applications. However, most phenolic compounds are sensitive to oxygen, light and heat; its activities are thus lost during product formulation and processing. Grafting ferulic acid onto polymer is an alternative to reduce its loss under thermal processes. Therefore, the objectives of the present research were to study the thermal stability of ferulic acid after grafting onto chitosan, and to investigate the possibility of using ferulic acid-grafted chitosan (FA-g-CTS) as an antioxidant for active biodegradable packaging film. FA-g-CTS was incorporated into biodegradable film via a two-step process, i.e. compounding extrusion at temperature up to 150 °C followed by blown film extrusion at temperature up to 175 °C. Although incorporating FA-g-CTS with a content of 0.02–0.16% (w/w) caused decreased water vapor barrier property and reduced extensibility, the films showed improved oxygen barrier property and antioxidant activity. Radical scavenging activity and reducing power of the film containing FA-g-CTS with a content of 0.04% (w/w) were higher than that of the naked film about 254% and 94%, respectively. Tensile strength and rigidity of the films were not significantly affected by adding FA-g-CTS with a content of 0.02–0.08% (w/w). The results indicated that FA-g-CTS could be potentially used as an antioxidant for active packaging film.

Keywords: active packaging film, antioxidant activity, chitosan, ferulic acid

Procedia PDF Downloads 503

Authors: Geeta Kumari, Prabu Vairakannu

Abstract:

Coal is the largest fossil fuel. In India, around 37 % of coal resources found at a depth of more than 300 meters. In India, more than 70% of electricity production depends on coal. Coal on combustion produces greenhouse and pollutant gases such as CO₂, SOₓ, NOₓ, and H₂S etc. Underground coal gasification (UCG) technology is an efficient and an economic in-situ clean coal technology, which converts these unmineable coals into valuable calorific gases. The UCG syngas (mainly H₂, CO, CH₄ and some lighter hydrocarbons) which can utilized for the production of electricity and manufacturing of various useful chemical feedstock. It is an inherent clean coal technology as it avoids ash disposal, mining, transportation and storage problems. Gasification of underground coal using steam as a gasifying medium is not an easy process because sending superheated steam to deep underground coal leads to major transportation difficulties and cost effective. Therefore, for reducing this problem, we have used CO₂ as a gasifying medium, which is a major greenhouse gas. This paper focus laboratory scale underground coal gasification experiment on a coal block by using CO₂ as a gasifying medium. In the present experiment, first, we inject oxygen for combustion for 1 hour and when the temperature of the zones reached to more than 1000 ºC, and then we started supplying of CO₂ as a gasifying medium. The gasification experiment was performed at an atmospheric pressure of CO₂, and it was found that the amount of CO produced due to Boudouard reaction (C+CO₂  2CO) is around 35%. The experiment conducted to almost 5 hours. The maximum gas composition observed, 35% CO, 22 % H₂, and 11% CH4 with LHV 248.1 kJ/mol at CO₂/O₂ ratio 0.4 by volume.

Keywords: underground coal gasification, clean coal technology, calorific value, syngas

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Julius Onyancha, Valentina Plekhanova

Abstract:

One of the significant issues facing web users is the amount of noise in web data which hinders the process of finding useful information in relation to their dynamic interests. Current research works consider noise as any data that does not form part of the main web page and propose noise web data reduction tools which mainly focus on eliminating noise in relation to the content and layout of web data. This paper argues that not all data that form part of the main web page is of a user interest and not all noise data is actually noise to a given user. Therefore, learning of noise web data allocated to the user requests ensures not only reduction of noisiness level in a web user profile, but also a decrease in the loss of useful information hence improves the quality of a web user profile. Noise Web Data Learning (NWDL) tool/algorithm capable of learning noise web data in web user profile is proposed. The proposed work considers elimination of noise data in relation to dynamic user interest. In order to validate the performance of the proposed work, an experimental design setup is presented. The results obtained are compared with the current algorithms applied in noise web data reduction process. The experimental results show that the proposed work considers the dynamic change of user interest prior to elimination of noise data. The proposed work contributes towards improving the quality of a web user profile by reducing the amount of useful information eliminated as noise.

Keywords: web log data, web user profile, user interest, noise web data learning, machine learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Anwesha Pathak

Abstract:

Space law refers to all legal provisions that may regulate or apply to space travel, as well as to space-related activity. Although there is undoubtedly a core corpus of “space law,” rather than designating a conceptually distinct single kind of law, the phrase can be seen as a label applied to a bucket that includes a variety of different laws and regulations. Similar to ‘family law' or ‘environmental law' "space law" refers to a variety of laws that are identified by the subject matter they address rather than by the logical extension of a single legal concept. The word "space law" refers to the Law of Space, which can cover anything from the specifics of an insurance agreement for a specific space launch to the most general guidelines that direct state behaviour in space. Space debris, often referred to as space junk, space pollution, space waste, space trash, or space garbage, is a term used to describe abandoned human-made objects in space, primarily in Earth orbit. These include disused spacecraft, discarded launch vehicle stages, mission-related detritus, and fragmentation material from the destruction of disused rocket bodies and spacecraft, which is particularly prevalent in Earth orbit. Other types of space debris, besides abandoned human-made objects in orbit, include pieces left over from collisions, erosion, and disintegration, or even paint specks, solidified liquids ejected from spacecraft, and unburned components from solid rocket engines. The initial action of launching or using a spacecraft in near-Earth orbit imposes an external cost on others that is typically not taken into account or fully accounted for in the cost by the launcher or payload owner.

Keywords: space, outer space treaty, geostationary orbit, satellites, spacecrafts

Procedia PDF Downloads 92

Authors: Liubov Magerramova, Eugene Kratt, Pavel Presniakov

Abstract:

A detailed analysis has been performed for several schemes of Gas Turbine Wheels production based on additive and powder technologies including metal, ceramic, and stereolithography 3-D printing. During the process of development and debugging of gas turbine engine components, different versions of these components must be manufactured and tested. Cooled blades of the turbine are among of these components. They are usually produced by traditional casting methods. This method requires long and costly design and manufacture of casting molds. Moreover, traditional manufacturing methods limit the design possibilities of complex critical parts of engine, so capabilities of Powder Metallurgy Techniques (PMT) were analyzed to manufacture the turbine wheel with air-cooled blades. PMT dramatically reduce time needed for such production and allow creating new complex design solutions aimed at improving the technical characteristics of the engine: improving fuel efficiency and environmental performance, increasing reliability, and reducing weight. To accelerate and simplify the blades manufacturing process, several options based on additive technologies were used. The options were implemented in the form of various casting equipment for the manufacturing of blades. Methods of powder metallurgy were applied for connecting the blades with the disc. The optimal production scheme and a set of technologies for the manufacturing of blades and turbine wheel and other parts of the engine can be selected on the basis of the options considered.

Keywords: additive technologies, gas turbine engine, powder technology, turbine wheel

Procedia PDF Downloads 320

Authors: Isabella Jabbour

Abstract:

The world's population is expected to reach over 10 billion by 2050, creating a significant demand for food production, particularly in the agricultural industry. Cellular agriculture presents a solution to this challenge by producing meat that resembles traditionally produced meat, but with significantly less land use. Decellularized plant scaffolds, such as spinach leaves, have been shown to be a suitable edible scaffold for growing animal muscle, enabling cultured cells to grow and organize into three-dimensional structures that mimic the texture and flavor of conventionally produced meat. However, the use of freshwater to remove the intact extracellular material from these plants remains a concern, particularly when considering scaling up the production process. In this study, two protocols were used, 1X SDS and Boom Sauce, to decellularize spinach leaves with both distilled water and ocean water. The decellularization process was confirmed by histology, which showed an absence of cell nuclei, DNA and protein quantification. Results showed that spinach decellularized with ocean water contained 9.9 ± 1.4 ng DNA/mg tissue, which is comparable to the 9.2 ± 1.1 ng DNA/mg tissue obtained with DI water. These findings suggest that decellularized spinach leaves using ocean water hold promise as an eco-friendly and cost-effective scaffold for laboratory-grown meat production, which could ultimately transform the meat industry by providing a sustainable alternative to traditional animal farming practices while reducing freshwater use.

Keywords: cellular agriculture, plant scaffold, decellularization, ocean water usage

Procedia PDF Downloads 94

Authors: Hossein Mottaghi T., Amir R. Masoodi

Abstract:

This study presents a finite curved element for analyzing the static behavior of curved beams within the elastic range. The objective is to enhance accuracy while reducing the number of elements by incorporating first-order shear deformations of Timoshenko beams. Initially, finite element formulations are developed by considering polynomial initial functions for axial, shear, and rotational deformations for a three-node element. Subsequently, nodal interpolation functions for this element are derived, followed by the construction of the element stiffness matrix. To enable the utilization of the stiffness matrix in the static analysis of curved beams, the constructed matrix in the local coordinates of the element is transformed to the global coordinate system using the rotation matrix. A numerical benchmark example is investigated to assess the accuracy and effectiveness of this method. Moreover, the influence of spring stiffness on the rotation of the endpoint of a clamped beam is examined by substituting each support reaction of the beam with a spring. In the parametric study, the effect of the central angle of the beam on the rotation of the beam's endpoint in a cantilever beam under a concentrated load is examined. This research encompasses various mechanical, geometrical, and boundary configurations to evaluate the static characteristics of curved beams, thus providing valuable insights for their analysis and examination.

Keywords: curved beam, finite element method, first-order shear deformation theory, elastic support

Procedia PDF Downloads 70

Authors: Wenwen Lei, David R. Mckenzie

Abstract:

Recent findings of anomalously high gas flow rates in carbon nanotubes show smooth hydrophobic walls can increase specular reflection of molecules and reduce the tangential momentum accommodation coefficient (TMAC). Here we report the first measurements of water vapor flows in microtubes over a wide humidity range and show that for hydrophobic silica there is a range of humidity over which an adsorbed water layer reduces TMAC and accelerates flow. Our results show that this association between hydrophobicity and accelerated moisture flow occurs in readily available materials. We develop a hierarchical theory that unifies Maxwell’s ideas on TMAC with Langmuir’s ideas on adsorption. We fit the TMAC data as a function of humidity with the hierarchical theory based on two stages of Langmuir adsorption and derive total adsorption isotherms for water on hydrophobic silica that agree with direct observations. We propose structures for each stage of the water adsorption, the first reducing TMAC by a passivation of adsorptive patches and a smoothing of the surface, the second resembling bulk water with large TMAC. We find that leak testing of moisture barriers with an ideal gas such as helium may not be accurate enough for critical applications and that direct measurements of the water leak rate should be made.

Keywords: water vapor flows, silica microtubes, TMAC, enhanced flow rates

Procedia PDF Downloads 275

Authors: T. Botelho de Sousa, F. Raphael Cabral Furtado, O. Eduardo da Silva Ferri, A. Batista, W. Augusto Varella, C. Eduardo Pinto, J. Mimar Santa Cruz Yabarrena, S. Gibran Ruwer, F. Müller Guerrini, L. Adalberto Philippsen Júnior

Abstract:

Lean Supply Chain Management (LSCM) is an emerging research field in Operations Management (OM). As a strategic model that focuses on reduced cost and waste with fulfilling the needs of customers, LSCM attracts great interest among researchers and practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of Lean Supply Chains literature, based on bibliometric analysis through 57 papers published in indexed journals by SCOPUS and/or Web of Science databases. The results indicate that the last three years (2015, 2016, and 2017) were the most productive on LSCM discussion, especially in Supply Chain Management and International Journal of Lean Six Sigma journals. India, USA, and UK are the most productive countries; nevertheless, cross-country studies by collaboration among researchers were detected, by social network analysis, as a research practice, appearing to play a more important role on LSCM studies. Despite existing limitation, such as limited indexed journal database, bibliometric analysis helps to enlighten ongoing efforts on LSCM researches, including most used technical procedures and collaboration network, showing important research gaps, especially, for development countries researchers.

Keywords: Lean Supply Chains, Bibliometric Study, SCOPUS, Web of Science

Procedia PDF Downloads 347

Authors: Mohamad Javad Shakouri, Behshad Riahipour

Abstract:

Today, the use of medicinal herbs in architecture and green space has a significant effect on the process of calming human and increases the reliability coefficient of design and design flexibility. The current research was conducted with the aim to design green roof and investigate the effect of medicinal herbs such as cress, leek, fenugreek, beet, sweet fennel, green basil, purple basil, and purslane on reducing the number of environmental pollutants (copper, zinc, and cadmium). Finally, the weight of the dry plant and the concentration of elements zinc, lead, and cadmium in the herbs was measured. According to the results, the maximum dry weight (88.10 and 73.79 g) was obtained in beet and purslane respectively and the minimum dry weight (24.12 and 25.21) was obtained in purple basil, and green basil respectively. The maximum amount of element zinc (235 and 213 mg/kg) and the maximum amount of lead (143 mg/kg) were seen in sweet fennel and purple basil. In addition, the maximum amount of cadmium (13 mg/kg) was seen in sweet fennel and purple basil and the minimum amount of lead and cadmium (78 and 7 mg/kg) was seen in green basil, and the minimum amount of zinc (110 mg/kg) was seen in leek. On the other hand, the absorption amount of element lead in the herbs beet and purslane was the same and both absorbed 123 mg/kg lead. Environmentally, if green roofs are implemented extensively and in wide dimensions in urban spaces, they will purify and reduce pollution significantly by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen.

Keywords: medicinal herbs, green space, green roof, heavy metals, lead, green basil

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Hazlin Kadir Shahar, Razaleigh Muhamat Kawangit, Badlihisham Mohd Nasir, Rosmawati Mohamad Rasit

Abstract:

Stigma and discrimination have become the main topic of discussion when dealing with HIV/AIDS issues. They affect the daily life of People Living With HIV(PLHIV), families, friends and people around them indirectly. This paper discusses the potential measurement in helping to reduce stigma and discrimination existence among Islamic Religious Officers towards PLHIV in Malaysia. These people have been trained with special programmes to tackle the HIV/AIDS issues by using a manual, namely as ‘The Manual of Islam and HIV/AIDS’, specifically designed by the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (JAKIM). The objectives of the training programmes are to give the accurate information about HIV/AIDS and to suggest ways on how to handle the PLHIV issues in Islamic perspective. This research used quantitative methodology by survey. A pilot test had been done over thirty (30) trained Islamic Religious Officers in Malaysia. The findings have shown that the trainings have given a positive impact for them as they managed to acquire the knowledge of HIV/AIDS from both primer and authorized sources such as medical practitioners, Muslim chaplains and social workers. The knowledge they have acquired from the trainings has guided them in changing their perception, thus helping to reduce their own stigma and discrimination towards PLHIV. The training programmes have given them opportunities to practice what they have learned through several outreach sessions as they have had the opportunities to approach PLHIV directly.

Keywords: Islamic religious officers, people with HIV, stigma and discrimination, training programmes

Procedia PDF Downloads 505

Authors: Lina Yang, Mao Wen, Jianhong Chen, Kan Zhang

Abstract:

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) represents a highly sought lubricant for reducing friction based on intrinsic layered structure, but for this reason, practical applications have been greatly restricted due to the fact that its low hardness would cause severe wear. Here, a novel TiMoN/MoSₓ composite coatings with TiMoN solid solution grains embedded into MoSₓ-based amorphous matrix has been successfully designed and synthesized, through magnetron co-sputtering technology. Desirably, in virtue of such special microstructure, superhardness and excellent toughness can be well achieved, along with an ultra-low wear rate at ~2×10⁻¹¹ mm³/Nm in the air environment, simultaneously, low friction at ~0.1 is maintained. It should be noted that this wear level is almost two orders of magnitude lower than that of pure TiN coating, and is, as we know, the lowest wear rate in dry sliding. Investigations of tribofilm reveal that it is amorphous MoS₂ in nature, and its formation arises directly from the MoSₓ amorphous matrix. Which contributes to effective lubrication behavior, coupled with excellent mechanical performances of such composite coating, exceptionally low wear can be guaranteed. The findings in this work suggest that the special composite structure makes it possible for the synthesis of super-hard and super-durable lubricative coating, offering guidance to synthesize ultrahigh performance protective coating for industrial application.

Keywords: hardness, MoS₂-containing composite coatings, toughness, tribological properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 152