Search results for: step input

Authors: William Batson, Yunsik Song, Abel Simie

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Recent trends in suburban design and planning have centered on economic efficiency in construction and completion. In doing so, developers, builders, and architects have bypassed free and reliable sustainable solutions to minimize the carbon footprint and improve the environment. Often, suburban areas are designed without landscape features, sidewalks, parks, adequate lighting, or walking space. Much of the design concern involves minimizing construction costs and streamlining streets and utilities. A new development in creating retention ponds to mitigate flooding and slow runoff is one step in the positive direction. However, "if you build them (suburbs), they (fauna) will come." The inevitable flora and fauna that soon propagate and take refuge within these artificial retention ponds create an additional dilemma. Architects, planners, and developers know the requirements and current strategies to provide residents and wildlife with a viable and sustainable environment. This includes habitat for hibernating animals and facilitating opportunities, especially for cold-blooded mammals. Many species that migrate to these artificial ponds struggle to survive, especially during flooding and when the water table drains below the artificial rim, preventing aquatic mammals from climbing on land. This flooding often results from large areas of impervious asphalt and concrete. These impervious surfaces retain and dispense large amounts of rainwater and contaminants that carry industrial pollutants, oil, plastics, animal waste, and fertilizers into storm drains and then deposited in these retention ponds. This paper will identify and show how simple and logical solutions are used to create a sustainable suburb and reduce the carbon footprint using landscape architectural strategies and cost-free design solutions. We will also demonstrate simple changes in the present suburban design model to provide a viable and sustainable suburb for the 21st century.

Keywords: sustainavilty, suburban, flora, fauna, carbon footprint

Procedia PDF Downloads 42

Authors: Deepa Kundu, Prabhakar Sharma, Sayan Bhattacharya, Jianying Shang

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The discharge of dye-containing effluents in the water bodies has raised concern due to the potential hazards related to their toxicity in the environment. There are various treatment technologies available for the removal of dyes from wastewaters. The use of biosorbent to remove dyes from wastewater is one of the effective and inexpensive techniques. In the study, the adsorption of phenothiazine dye methylene blue onto biosorbent prepared from Lantana camara L. has been studied in aqueous solutions. The batch adsorption experiments were conducted and the effects of various parameters such as pH (3-12), contact time, adsorbent dose (100-400 mg/L), initial dye concentration (5-20 mg/L), and temperature (303, 313 and 323 K) were investigated. The prepared leaf (BCL600) and shoot (BCS600) biochar of Lantana were characterized using FTIR, SEM, elemental analysis, and zeta potential (pH~7). A comparison between the adsorption potential of both the biosorbent was also evaluated. The results indicated that the amount of methylene blue dye (mg/g) adsorbed onto the surface of biochar was highly dependent on the pH of the dye solutions as it increased with an increase in pH from 3 to 12. It was observed that the dye treated with BCS600 and BCL600 attained an equilibrium within 60 and 100 minutes, respectively. The rate of the adsorption process was determined by performing the Lagergren pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetics. It was found that dye treated with both BCS600 and BCL600 followed pseudo-second-order kinetics implying the multi-step nature of the adsorption process involving external adsorption and diffusion of dye molecules into the interior of the adsorbents. The data obtained from batch experiments were fitted well with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms (R² > 0.98) to indicate the multilayer adsorption of dye over the biochar surfaces. The thermodynamic studies revealed that the adsorption process is favourable, spontaneous, and endothermic in nature. Based on the results, the inexpensive and easily available Lantana camara biomass can be used to remove methylene blue dye from wastewater. It can also help in managing the growth of the notorious weed in the environment.

Keywords: adsorption kinetics, biochar, Lantana camara, methylene blue dye, possible mechanism, thermodynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Samuel O. Alamu, Seong W. Lee, Blaise Kalmia, Marc J. Louise Caballes, Xuejun Qian

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The application of combustion technologies for thermal conversion of biomass and solid wastes to energy has been a major solution to the effective handling of wastes over a long period of time. Lab-scale biomass combustion systems have been observed to be economically viable and socially acceptable, but major concerns are the environmental impacts of the process and deviation of temperature distribution within the combustion chamber. Both high and low combustion chamber temperature may affect the overall combustion efficiency and gaseous emissions. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a control system which measures the deviations of chamber temperature from set target values, sends these deviations (which generates disturbances in the system) in the form of feedback signal (as input), and control operating conditions for correcting the errors. In this research study, major components of the feedback control system were determined, assembled, and tested. In addition, control algorithms were developed to actuate operating conditions (e.g., air velocity, fuel feeding rate) using ladder logic functions embedded in the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). The developed control algorithm having chamber temperature as a feedback signal is integrated into the lab-scale swirling fluidized bed combustor (SFBC) to investigate the temperature distribution at different heights of the combustion chamber based on various operating conditions. The air blower rates and the fuel feeding rates obtained from automatic control operations were correlated with manual inputs. There was no observable difference in the correlated results, thus indicating that the written PLC program functions were adequate in designing the experimental study of the lab-scale SFBC. The experimental results were analyzed to study the effect of air velocity operating at 222-273 ft/min and fuel feeding rate of 60-90 rpm on the chamber temperature. The developed temperature-based feedback control system was shown to be adequate in controlling the airflow and the fuel feeding rate for the overall biomass combustion process as it helps to minimize the steady-state error.

Keywords: air flow, biomass combustion, feedback control signal, fuel feeding, ladder logic, programmable logic controller, temperature

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Authors: Goksen Arik, Mihriban Korukluoglu

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Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and some yeast species are common microorganisms found in dairy products and most of them are responsible for the fermentation of foods. Such cultures are isolated and used as a starter culture in the food industry because of providing standardisation of the final product during the food processing. Choice of starter culture is the most important step for the production of fermented food. Isolated LAB and yeast cultures which have the ability to create a biofilm layer can be preferred as a starter in the food industry. The biofilm formation could be beneficial to extend the period of usage time of microorganisms as a starter. On the other hand, it is an undesirable property in pathogens, since biofilm structure allows a microorganism become more resistant to stress conditions such as antibiotic presence. It is thought that the resistance mechanism could be turned into an advantage by promoting the effective microorganisms which are used in the food industry as starter culture and also which have potential to stimulate the gastrointestinal system. Development of the biofilm layer is observed in some LAB and yeast strains. The resistance could make LAB and yeast strains dominant microflora in the human gastrointestinal system; thus, competition against pathogen microorganisms can be provided more easily. Based on this circumstance, in the study, 10 LAB and 10 yeast strains were isolated from various dairy products, such as cheese, yoghurt, kefir, and cream. Samples were obtained from farmer markets and bazaars in Bursa, Turkey. As a part of this research, all isolated strains were identified and their ability of biofilm formation was detected with two different methods and compared with each other. The first goal of this research was to determine whether isolates have the potential for biofilm production, and the second was to compare the validity of two different methods, which are known as “Tube method” and “96-well plate-based method”. This study may offer an insight into developing a point of view about biofilm formation and its beneficial properties in LAB and yeast cultures used as a starter in the food industry.

Keywords: biofilm, dairy products, lactic acid bacteria, yeast

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Authors: Feleke Tsegaye

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The work in this thesis mainly focuses on trajectory tracking of fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicle (FWUAV) by using fuzzy based sliding mode controller(FSMC) for surveillance applications. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are general-purpose aircraft built to fly autonomously. This technology is applied in a variety of sectors, including the military, to improve defense, surveillance, and logistics. The model of FWUAV is complex due to its high non-linearity and coupling effect. In this thesis, input decoupling is done through extracting the dominant inputs during the design of the controller and considering the remaining inputs as uncertainty. The proper and steady flight maneuvering of UAVs under uncertain and unstable circumstances is the most critical problem for researchers studying UAVs. A FSMC technique was suggested to tackle the complexity of FWUAV systems. The trajectory tracking control algorithm primarily uses the sliding-mode (SM) variable structure control method to address the system’s control issue. In the SM control, a fuzzy logic control(FLC) algorithm is utilized in place of the discontinuous phase of the SM controller to reduce the chattering impact. In the reaching and sliding stages of SM control, Lyapunov theory is used to assure finite-time convergence. A comparison between the conventional SM controller and the suggested controller is done in relation to the chattering effect as well as tracking performance. It is evident that the chattering is effectively reduced, the suggested controller provides a quick response with a minimum steady-state error, and the controller is robust in the face of unknown disturbances. The designed control strategy is simulated with the nonlinear model of FWUAV using the MATLAB® / Simulink® environments. The simulation result shows the suggested controller operates effectively, maintains an aircraft’s stability, and will hold the aircraft’s targeted flight path despite the presence of uncertainty and disturbances.

Keywords: fixed-wing UAVs, sliding mode controller, fuzzy logic controller, chattering, coupling effect, surveillance, finite-time convergence, Lyapunov theory, flight path

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Authors: Sivakumar Kottapalli, Abdesselam Abdelouas, Christoph Hartnack

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Spent nuclear fuel generates a mixed field of ionizing radiation to the water. This radiation field is generally dominated by gamma rays and a limited flux of fast neutrons. The fuel cladding effectively attenuates beta and alpha particle radiation. Small fraction of the spent nuclear fuel exhibits some degree of fuel cladding penetration due to pitting corrosion and mechanical failure. Breaches in the fuel cladding allow the exposure of small volumes of water in the cask to alpha and beta ionizing radiation. The safety of the transport of radioactive material is assured by the package complying with the IAEA Requirements for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material SSR-6. It is of high interest to avoid generation of hydrogen inside the cavity which may to an explosive mixture. The risk of hydrogen production along with other radiation gases should be analyzed for a typical spent fuel for safety issues. This work aims to perform a realistic study of the production of hydrogen by radiolysis assuming most penalizing initial conditions. It consists in the calculation of the radionuclide inventory of a pellet taking into account the burn up and decays. Westinghouse 17X17 PWR fuel has been chosen and data has been analyzed for different sets of enrichment, burnup, cycles of irradiation and storage conditions. The inventory is calculated as the entry point for the simulation studies of hydrogen production by radiolysis kinetic models by MAKSIMA-CHEMIST. Dose rates decrease strongly within ~45 μm from the fuel surface towards the solution(water) in case of alpha radiation, while the dose rate decrease is lower in case of beta and even slower in case of gamma radiation. Calculations are carried out to obtain spectra as a function of time. Radiation dose rate profiles are taken as the input data for the iterative calculations. Hydrogen yield has been found to be around 0.02 mol/L. Calculations have been performed for a realistic scenario considering a capsule containing the spent fuel rod. Thus, hydrogen yield has been debated. Experiments are under progress to validate the hydrogen production rate using cyclotron at > 5MeV (at ARRONAX, Nantes).

Keywords: radiolysis, spent fuel, hydrogen, cyclotron

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Authors: Shan Wang, Fahad Alhathal, Daniel Hobson

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User-centered design skills play an important role in crafting a positive and intuitive user experience for software applications. Embracing a user-centric design approach involves understanding the needs, preferences, and behaviors of the end-users throughout the design process. This mindset not only enhances the usability of the software but also fosters a deeper connection between the digital product and its users. This paper encompasses a 6-month knowledge exchange collaboration project between an academic institution and an external industry in 2023, aims to improve the user experience of a digital platform utilized for a knowledge management tool, to understand users' preferences for features, identify sources of frustration, and pinpoint areas for enhancement. This research conducted one of the most effective methods to implement user-centered design through co-design workshops for testing user onboarding experiences that involve the active participation of users in the design process. More specifically, in January 2023, we organized eight workshops with a diverse group of 11 individuals. Throughout these sessions, we accumulated a total of 11 hours of qualitative data in both video and audio formats. Subsequently, we conducted an analysis of user journeys, identifying common issues and potential areas for improvement. This analysis was pivotal in guiding the knowledge management software in prioritizing feature enhancements and design improvements. Employing a user-centered design thinking process, we developed a series of graphic design solutions in collaboration with the software management tool company. These solutions were targeted at refining onboarding user experiences, workplace interfaces, and interactive design. Some of these design solutions were translated into tangible interfaces for the knowledge management tool. By actively involving users in the design process and valuing their input, developers can create products that are not only functional but also resonate with the end-users, ultimately leading to greater success in the competitive software landscape. In conclusion, this paper not only contributes insights into designing onboarding user experiences for software within a co-design approach but also presents key theories on leveraging the user-centered design process in software design to enhance overall user experiences.

Keywords: user experiences, co-design, design process, knowledge management tool, user-centered design

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Authors: Laura Mclean

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A recurring point of interest in computational phylogenetic analysis of Indo-European family trees is the inference of a Germano-Italo-Celtic clade in some versions of the trees produced. The presence of this clade in the models is intriguing as there is little evidence for innovations shared among Germanic, Italic, and Celtic, the evidence generally used in the traditional method to construct a subgroup. One source of this unexpected outcome could be the input to the models. The datasets in the various models used so far, for the most part, take as their basis the Swadesh list, a list compiled by Morris Swadesh and then revised several times, containing up to 207 words that he believed were resistant to change among languages. The judgments made by Swadesh for this list, however, were subjective and based on his intuition rather than rigorous analysis. Some scholars used the Swadesh 200 list as the basis for their Indo-European dataset and made cognacy judgements for each of the words on the list. Another dataset is largely based on the Swadesh 207 list as well although the authors include additional lexical and non-lexical data, and they implement ‘split coding’ to deal with cases of polymorphic characters. A different team of scholars uses a different dataset, IECoR, which combines several different lists, one of which is the Swadesh 200 list. In fact, the Swadesh list is used in some form in every study surveyed and each dataset has three words that, when they are coded as cognates, seemingly contribute to the inference of a Germano-Italo-Celtic clade which could happen due to these clades sharing three words among only themselves. These three words are ‘fish’, ‘flower’, and ‘man’ (in the case of ‘man’, one dataset includes Lithuanian in the cognacy coding and removes the word ‘man’ from the screened data). This collection of cognates shared among Germanic, Italic, and Celtic that were deemed important enough to be included on the Swadesh list, without the ability to account for possible reasons for shared cognates that are not shared innovations, gives an impression of affinity between the Germanic, Celtic, and Italic branches without adequate methodological support. However, by changing how cognacy is defined (ie. root cognates, borrowings vs inherited cognates etc.), we will be able to identify whether these three cognates are significant enough to infer a clade for Germanic, Celtic, and Italic. This paper examines the question of what definition of cognacy should be used for phylogenetic datasets by examining the Germano-Italo-Celtic clade as a case study and offers insights into the reconstruction of a Germano-Italo-Celtic clade.

Keywords: historical, computational, Italo-Celtic, Germanic

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Authors: Vaidehi Murarka, Sneha Mehta, Dishant Upadhyay

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Our project topic is “Alphabet Recognition using pixel probability distribution”. The project uses techniques of Image Processing and Machine Learning in Computer Vision. Alphabet recognition is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files etc. Alphabet Recognition based OCR application is sometimes used in signature recognition which is used in bank and other high security buildings. One of the popular mobile applications includes reading a visiting card and directly storing it to the contacts. OCR's are known to be used in radar systems for reading speeders license plates and lots of other things. The implementation of our project has been done using Visual Studio and Open CV (Open Source Computer Vision). Our algorithm is based on Neural Networks (machine learning). The project was implemented in three modules: (1) Training: This module aims “Database Generation”. Database was generated using two methods: (a) Run-time generation included database generation at compilation time using inbuilt fonts of OpenCV library. Human intervention is not necessary for generating this database. (b) Contour–detection: ‘jpeg’ template containing different fonts of an alphabet is converted to the weighted matrix using specialized functions (contour detection and blob detection) of OpenCV. The main advantage of this type of database generation is that the algorithm becomes self-learning and the final database requires little memory to be stored (119kb precisely). (2) Preprocessing: Input image is pre-processed using image processing concepts such as adaptive thresholding, binarizing, dilating etc. and is made ready for segmentation. “Segmentation” includes extraction of lines, words, and letters from the processed text image. (3) Testing and prediction: The extracted letters are classified and predicted using the neural networks algorithm. The algorithm recognizes an alphabet based on certain mathematical parameters calculated using the database and weight matrix of the segmented image.

Keywords: contour-detection, neural networks, pre-processing, recognition coefficient, runtime-template generation, segmentation, weight matrix

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Authors: Jagannath Koravadi, Archith Gupta

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In a world with constantly growing energy prices, and growing concerns about the global climate changes caused by increased energy consumption, it is becoming more and more essential to save energy wherever possible. Refrigeration systems are one of the major and bulk energy consuming systems now-a-days in industrial sectors, residential sectors and household environment. Refrigeration systems with considerable cooling requirements consume a large amount of electricity and thereby contribute greatly to the running costs. Therefore, a great deal of attention is being paid towards improvement of the performance of the refrigeration systems in this regard throughout the world. The Coefficient of Performance (COP) of a refrigeration system is used for determining the system's overall efficiency. The operating cost to the consumer and the overall environmental impact of a refrigeration system in turn depends on the COP or efficiency of the system. The COP of a refrigeration system should therefore be as high as possible. Slight modifications in the technical elements of the modern refrigeration systems have the potential to reduce the energy consumption, and improvements in simple operational practices with minimal expenses can have beneficial impact on COP of the system. Thus, the challenge is to determine the changes that can be made in a refrigeration system in order to improve its performance, reduce operating costs and power requirement, improve environmental outcomes, and achieve a higher COP. The opportunity here, and a better solution to this challenge, will be to incorporate modifications in conventional refrigeration systems for saving energy. Energy efficiency, in addition to improvement of COP, can deliver a range of savings such as reduced operation and maintenance costs, improved system reliability, improved safety, increased productivity, better matching of refrigeration load and equipment capacity, reduced resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, better working environment, and reduced energy costs. The present work aims at fabricating a working model of a refrigerator that will provide for effective heat recovery from superheated refrigerant with the help of an efficient de-superheater. The temperature of the refrigerant and water in the de-super heater at different intervals of time are measured to determine the quantity of waste heat recovered. It is found that the COP of the system improves by about 6% with the de-superheater and the power input to the compressor decreases by 4 % and also the refrigeration capacity increases by 4%.

Keywords: coefficiency of performance, de-superheater, refrigerant, refrigeration capacity, heat recovery

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Authors: Parul Goel, Jyeshtharaj B. Joshi, Arun K. Nayak

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Nucleate boiling is characterized by the nucleation, growth and departure of the tiny individual vapor bubbles that originate in the cavities or imperfections present in the heating surface. It finds a wide range of applications, e.g. in heat exchangers or steam generators, core cooling in power reactors or rockets, cooling of electronic circuits, owing to its highly efficient transfer of large amount of heat flux over small temperature differences. Hence, it is important to be able to predict the rate of heat transfer and the safety limit heat flux (critical heat flux, heat flux higher than this can lead to damage of the heating surface) applicable for any given system. A large number of experimental and analytical works exist in the literature, and are based on the idea that the knowledge of the bubble dynamics on the microscopic scale can lead to the understanding of the full picture of the boiling heat transfer. However, the existing data in the literature are scattered over various sets of conditions and often in disagreement with each other. The correlations obtained from such data are also limited to the range of conditions they were established for and no single correlation is applicable over a wide range of parameters. More recently, a number of researchers have been trying to remove empiricism in the heat transfer models to arrive at more phenomenological models using extensive numerical simulations; these models require state-of-the-art experimental data for a wide range of conditions, first for input and later, for their validation. With this idea in mind, experiments with sub-cooled and saturated demineralized water have been carried out under atmospheric pressure to study the bubble dynamics- growth rate, departure size and frequencies for nucleate pool boiling. A number of heating elements have been used to study the dependence of vapor bubble dynamics on the heater surface finish and heater geometry along with the experimental conditions like the degree of sub-cooling, super heat and the heat flux. An attempt has been made to compare the data obtained with the existing data and the correlations in the literature to generate an exhaustive database for the pool boiling conditions.

Keywords: experiment, boiling, bubbles, bubble dynamics, pool boiling

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Authors: Bartosz Kedra, Robert Malkowski

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This paper provides description and presentation of laboratory test unit built basing on 150 kVA power frequency converter and Simulink RealTime platform. Assumptions, based on criteria which load and generator types may be simulated using discussed device, are presented, as well as control algorithm structure. As laboratory setup contains transformer with thyristor controlled tap changer, a wider scope of setup capabilities is presented. Information about used communication interface, data maintenance, and storage solution as well as used Simulink real-time features is presented. List and description of all measurements are provided. Potential of laboratory setup modifications is evaluated. For purposes of Rapid Control Prototyping, a dedicated environment was used Simulink RealTime. Therefore, load model Functional Unit Controller is based on a PC computer with I/O cards and Simulink RealTime software. Simulink RealTime was used to create real-time applications directly from Simulink models. In the next step, applications were loaded on a target computer connected to physical devices that provided opportunity to perform Hardware in the Loop (HIL) tests, as well as the mentioned Rapid Control Prototyping process. With Simulink RealTime, Simulink models were extended with I/O cards driver blocks that made automatic generation of real-time applications and performing interactive or automated runs on a dedicated target computer equipped with a real-time kernel, multicore CPU, and I/O cards possible. Results of performed laboratory tests are presented. Different load configurations are described and experimental results are presented. This includes simulation of under frequency load shedding, frequency and voltage dependent characteristics of groups of load units, time characteristics of group of different load units in a chosen area and arbitrary active and reactive power regulation basing on defined schedule.

Keywords: MATLAB, power converter, Simulink Real-Time, thyristor-controlled tap changer

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Authors: F. Zouai, F. Z. Benabid, S. Bouhelal, D. Benachour

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Nanocomposite polymer / clay are relatively important area of research. These reinforced plastics have attracted considerable attention in scientific and industrial fields because a very small amount of clay can significantly improve the properties of the polymer. The polymeric matrices used in this work are two saturated polyesters ie polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN).The success of processing compatible blends, based on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/ poly(ethylene naphthalene) (PEN)/clay nanocomposites in one step by reactive melt extrusion is described. Untreated clay was first purified and functionalized ‘in situ’ with a compound based on an organic peroxide/ sulfur mixture and (tetramethylthiuram disulfide) as the activator for sulfur. The PET and PEN materials were first separately mixed in the molten state with functionalized clay. The PET/4 wt% clay and PEN/7.5 wt% clay compositions showed total exfoliation. These compositions, denoted nPET and nPEN, respectively, were used to prepare new n(PET/PEN) nanoblends in the same mixing batch. The n(PET/PEN) nanoblends were compared to neat PET/PEN blends. The blends and nanocomposites were characterized using various techniques. Microstructural and nanostructural properties were investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results showed that the exfoliation of tetrahedral clay nanolayers is complete and the octahedral structure totally disappears. It was shown that total exfoliation, confirmed by wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) measurements, contributes to the enhancement of impact strength and tensile modulus. In addition, WAXS results indicated that all samples are amorphous. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) study indicated the occurrence of one glass transition temperature Tg, one crystallization temperature Tc and one melting temperature Tm for every composition. This was evidence that both PET/PEN and nPET/nPEN blends are compatible in the entire range of compositions. In addition, the nPET/nPEN blends showed lower Tc and higher Tm values than the corresponding neat PET/PEN blends. In conclusion, the results obtained indicate that n(PET/PEN) blends are different from the pure ones in nanostructure and physical behavior.

Keywords: blends, exfoliation, DRX, DSC, montmorillonite, nanocomposites, PEN, PET, plastograph, reactive melt-mixing

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Authors: Salman Obaidoon, Mohamed Hassan, Omer Bakather

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As environmental regulations increase, the need for a clean and inexpensive energy is becoming necessary these days using an available raw material with high efficiency and low emissions of toxic gases. This paper presents a study on modifying a gas turbine power plant fired by diesel, which is located in Saudi Arabia in order to increase the efficiency and capacity of the station as well as decrease the rate of emissions. The studied power plant consists of 30 units with different capacities and total net power is 1470 MW. The study was conducted on unit number 25 (GT-25) which produces 72.3 MW with 29.5% efficiency. In the beginning, the unit was modeled and simulated by using WinSim Design II software. In this step, actual unit data were used in order to test the validity of the model. The net power and efficiency obtained from software were 76.4 MW and 32.2% respectively. A difference of about 6% was found in the simulated power plant compared to the actual station which means that the model is valid. After the validation of the model, the simple gas turbine power plant was converted to a combined cycle power plant (CCPP). In this case, the exhausted gas released from the gas turbine was introduced to a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), which consists of three heat exchangers: an economizer, an evaporator and a superheater. In this proposed model, many scenarios were conducted in order to get the optimal operating conditions. The net power of CCPP was increased to 116.4 MW while the overall efficiency of the unit was reached to 49.02%, consuming the same amount of fuel for the gas turbine power plant. For the purpose of comparing the rate of emissions of carbon dioxide on each model. It was found that the rate of CO₂ emissions was decreased from 15.94 kg/s to 9.22 kg/s by using the combined cycle power model as a result of reducing of the amount of diesel from 5.08 kg/s to 2.94 kg/s needed to produce 76.5 MW. The results indicate that the rate of emissions of carbon dioxide was decreased by 42.133% in CCPP compared to the simple gas turbine power plant.

Keywords: combined cycle power plant, efficiency, heat recovery steam generator, simulation, validation, WinSim design II software

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Authors: Thirakorn Maneerat, Darunee Jongudomkarn, Jiraporn Khiewyoo

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Family quality of life of families who have persons with disabilities is a core concern in government services and community health promotion to deal with the multidimensionality of today’s health and societal issues. The number of families who have persons with disabilities in Thailand is gradually increasing. However, facilitation and evaluation of such family quality of life are limited by the lack of feasible tools. As a consequence, service provided for the families is not optimally facilitated and evaluated. This paper is part of a larger project which is aimed to develop a scale for measuring of family quality of life of families who have persons with developmental disabilities in Thailand, presenting the results of a three-round Delphi method involving 11 experts. The study was obtained during December 2013 to May 2014. The first round consisted of open-ended questionnaire and content analysis of the answers. The second round comprised a 5-point Likert scale structured questionnaire based on the first round analysis, with required the experts to identify the most relevant studied tool aspects. Their feedbacks levels of agreements were statistic analysis using the median, interquartile range and quartile deviation. The included criteria for items acceptance were greater than 3.50 of the median, lesser than 1.50 of interquartile range, and 0.65 or less of a quartile deviation. Finally, the proposed questionnaire was structured and validated by the experts in the third round. The results found that across all three rounds, the experts achieved 100% agreement on the five factors regarding to quality of life of a family who have person with disability were considered. These five factors with 38 items were included: 1) 10 items of family interactions; 2) 9 items of child rearing; 3) 7 items of physical and material resources; 4) 5 items of social-emotional status; and 7 items of disability-related services and welfare. Next step of the study was examined the construct validity by using factor analysis methods.

Keywords: tool development, family quality of life scale, person with disability, Delphi study

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Authors: Mahdi Taheri Asl

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Using a variety of strategies to read text plays an important role to make students strategic independent, strategic, and metacognitive readers. Given the importance of comprehension instruction (CI), it is essential to support the fostering comprehension skills at elementary age students, particularly those who struggle with or dislike reading. One of the main components of CI is activating metacognitive skills, which double function of elementary students. Thus, it’s important to evaluate the implemented comprehension interventions to inform reading specialist and teachers. There has been limited review research in the area of CI, so the conduction review research is required. The purpose of this review is to examine the effectiveness of metacognitive reading strategies in a regular classroom environment with elementary aged students. We develop five inclusion criteria to identify researches relevant to our research. First, the article had to be published in a peer-reviewed journal from 2000 to 2023. second, the study had to include participants in elementary school it could include of special education students. Third, the intervention needed to be involved with metacognitive strategies. Fourth, the articles had to use experimental or quasi experimental design. The last one needed to include measurement of reading performance in pre and post intervention. We used computer data-based site like Eric, PsychoINFO, and google scholar to search for articles that met these criteria. we used the following search terms: comprehension instruction, meta cognitive strategies, and elementary school. The next step was to do an ancestral search that get in reviewing the relevant studies cited in the articles that were found in the database search. We identified 30studies in the initial searches. After coding agreement, we synthesized 13 with respect to the participant, setting, research design, dependent variables, measures, the intervention used by instructors, and general outcomes. The finding show metacognitive strategies were effective to empower student’s comprehension skills. It also showed that linguistic instruction will be effective if got mixed with metacognitive strategies. The research provides a useful view into reading intervention. Despite the positive effect of metacognitive instruction on students’ comprehension skills, it is not widely used in classroom.

Keywords: comprehension instruction, metacogntion, metacognitive skills, reading intervention

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Authors: Sukumar Namineni, Tracy O'Connor, Ulrich Kalinke, Percy Knolle, Mathias Heikenwaelder

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The liver is one of the pivotal organs in vertebrate animals, serving a multitude of functions such as metabolism, detoxification and protein synthesis and including a predominant role in innate immunity. The innate immune mechanisms pertaining to liver in controlling viral infections have largely been attributed to the Kupffer cells, the locally resident macrophages. However, all the cells of liver are equipped with innate immune functions including, in particular, the hepatocytes. Hence, our aim in this study was to elucidate the innate immune contribution of hepatocytes in viral clearance using mice lacking Ikkβ specifically in the hepatocytes, termed IkkβΔᴴᵉᵖ mice. Blockade of Ikkβ activation in IkkβΔᴴᵉᵖ mice affects the downstream signaling of canonical NF-κB signaling by preventing the nuclear translocation of NF-κB, an important step required for the initiation of innate immune responses. Interestingly, infection of IkkβΔᴴᵉᵖ mice with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) led to strongly increased hepatic viral titers – mainly confined in clusters of infected hepatocytes. This was due to reduced interferon stimulated gene (ISG) expression during the onset of infection and a reduced CD8+ T-cell-mediated response. Decreased ISG production correlated with increased liver LCMV protein and LCMV in isolated hepatocytes from IkkβΔᴴᵉᵖ mice. A similar phenotype was found in LCMV-infected mice lacking interferon signaling in hepatocytes (IFNARΔᴴᵉᵖ) suggesting a link between NFkB and interferon signaling in hepatocytes. We also observed a failure of interferon-mediated inhibition of HBV replication in HepaRG cells treated with NF-kB inhibitors corroborating our initial findings with LCMV infections. Collectively, these results clearly highlight a previously unknown and influential role of hepatocytes in the induction of innate immune responses leading to viral clearance during a systemic viral infection with LCMV-WE.

Keywords: CD8+ T cell responses, innate immune mechanisms in the liver, interferon signaling, interferon stimulated genes, NF-kB signaling, viral clearance

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Z. Wang, F. Pashaei Kamali, J. A. Posada Duque, P. Osseweijer

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Globally, the aviation sector is seeking for sustainable solutions to comply with the pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Jet fuels derived from biomass are generally perceived as a sustainable alternative compared with their fossil counterparts. However, the establishment of jet biofuels supply chains will have impacts on environment, economy, and society. While existing studies predominantly evaluated environmental impacts and techno-economic feasibility of jet biofuels, very few studies took the social / socioeconomic aspect into consideration. Therefore, this study aims to provide a focused evaluation of social sustainability for aviation biofuels with a supply chain perspective. Three potential jet biofuel supply chains based on different feedstocks, i.e. sugarcane, eucalyptus, and macauba were analyzed in the context of Brazil. The assessment of social sustainability is performed with a process-based approach combined with input-output analysis. Over the supply chains, a set of social sustainability issues including employment, working condition (occupational accident and wage level), labour right, education, equity, social development (GDP and trade balance) and food security were evaluated in a (semi)quantitative manner. The selection of these social issues is based on two criteria: (1) the issues are highly relevant and important to jet biofuel production; (2) methodologies are available for assessing these issues. The results show that the three jet biofuel supply chains lead to a differentiated level of social effects. The sugarcane-based supply chain creates the highest number of jobs whereas the biggest contributor of GDP turns out to be the macauba-based supply chain. In comparison, the eucalyptus-based supply chain stands out regarding working condition. It is also worth noting that biojet fuel supply chain with high level of social benefits could result in high level of social concerns (such as occupational accident, violation of labour right and trade imbalance). Further research is suggested to investigate the possible interactions between different social issues. In addition, the exploration of a wider range of social effects is needed to expand the comprehension of social sustainability for biofuel supply chains.

Keywords: biobased supply chain, jet biofuel, social assessment, social sustainability, socio-economic impacts

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Authors: Henok Hailemariam, Frank Wuttke

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Collapsible soils are weak soils that appear to be stable in their natural state, normally dry condition, but rapidly deform under saturation (wetting), thus generating large and unexpected settlements which often yield disastrous consequences for structures unwittingly built on such deposits. In this study, a prediction model for the relative subsidence of stressed collapsible soils based on dielectric permittivity measurement is presented. Unlike most existing methods for soil subsidence prediction, this model does not require moisture content as an input parameter, thus providing the opportunity to obtain accurate estimation of the relative subsidence of collapsible soils using dielectric measurement only. The prediction model is developed based on an existing relative subsidence prediction model (which is dependent on soil moisture condition) and an advanced theoretical frequency and temperature-dependent electromagnetic mixing equation (which effectively removes the moisture content dependence of the original relative subsidence prediction model). For large scale sub-surface soil exploration purposes, the spatial sub-surface soil dielectric data over wide areas and high depths of weak (collapsible) soil deposits can be obtained using non-destructive high frequency electromagnetic (HF-EM) measurement techniques such as ground penetrating radar (GPR). For laboratory or small scale in-situ measurements, techniques such as an open-ended coaxial line with widely applicable time domain reflectometry (TDR) or vector network analysers (VNAs) are usually employed to obtain the soil dielectric data. By using soil dielectric data obtained from small or large scale non-destructive HF-EM investigations, the new model can effectively predict the relative subsidence of weak soils without the need to extract samples for moisture content measurement. Some of the resulting benefits are the preservation of the undisturbed nature of the soil as well as a reduction in the investigation costs and analysis time in the identification of weak (problematic) soils. The accuracy of prediction of the presented model is assessed by conducting relative subsidence tests on a collapsible soil at various initial soil conditions and a good match between the model prediction and experimental results is obtained.

Keywords: collapsible soil, dielectric permittivity, moisture content, relative subsidence

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Authors: Tigist Mekonnen Melesse

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Since rural households are basically entitled to food through own production, improving productivity might lead to enhance the welfare of rural population through higher food availability at the household level and lowering the price of agricultural products. Increasing agricultural productivity through the use of improved technology is one of the desired outcomes from sensible food security and agricultural policy. The ultimate objective of this study was to evaluate the potential impact of improved agricultural technology adoption on smallholders’ crop productivity and welfare. The study is conducted in Ethiopia covering 1500 rural households drawn from four regions and 15 rural villages based on data collected by Ethiopian Rural Household Survey. Endogenous treatment effect model is employed in order to account for the selection bias on adoption decision that is expected from the self-selection of households in technology adoption. The treatment indicator, technology adoption is a binary variable indicating whether the household used improved seeds and chemical fertilizer or not. The outcome variables were cereal crop productivity, measured in real value of production and welfare of households, measured in real per capita consumption expenditure. Results of the analysis indicate that there is positive and significant effect of improved technology use on rural households’ crop productivity and welfare in Ethiopia. Adoption of improved seeds and chemical fertilizer alone will increase the crop productivity by 7.38 and 6.32 percent per year of each. Adoption of such technologies is also found to improve households’ welfare by 1.17 and 0.25 percent per month of each. The combined effect of both technologies when adopted jointly is increasing crop productivity by 5.82 percent and improving welfare by 0.42 percent. Besides, educational level of household head, farm size, labor use, participation in extension program, expenditure for input and number of oxen positively affect crop productivity and household welfare, while large household size negatively affect welfare of households. In our estimation, the average treatment effect of technology adoption (average treatment effect on the treated, ATET) is the same as the average treatment effect (ATE). This implies that the average predicted outcome for the treatment group is similar to the average predicted outcome for the whole population.

Keywords: Endogenous treatment effect, technologies, productivity, welfare, Ethiopia

Procedia PDF Downloads 629

Authors: Liliana Rusu

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The goal of the proposed work is to provide a more comprehensive picture of the wind and wave climate in the Romanian nearshore, using the results provided by numerical models. The Romanian coastal environment is located in the western side of the Black Sea, the more energetic part of the sea, an area with heavy maritime traffic and various offshore operations. Information about the wind and wave climate in the Romanian waters is mainly based on observations at Gloria drilling platform (70 km from the coast). As regards the waves, the measurements of the wave characteristics are not so accurate due to the method used, being also available for a limited period. For this reason, the wave simulations that cover large temporal and spatial scales represent an option to describe better the wave climate. To assess the wind climate in the target area spanning 1992–2016, data provided by the NCEP-CFSR (U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction - Climate Forecast System Reanalysis) and consisting in wind fields at 10m above the sea level are used. The high spatial and temporal resolution of the wind fields is good enough to represent the wind variability over the area. For the same 25-year period, as considered for the wind climate, this study characterizes the wave climate from a wave hindcast data set that uses NCEP-CFSR winds as input for a model system SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) based. The wave simulation results with a two-level modelling scale have been validated against both in situ measurements and remotely sensed data. The second level of the system, with a higher resolution in the geographical space (0.02°×0.02°), is focused on the Romanian coastal environment. The main wave parameters simulated at this level are used to analyse the wave climate. The spatial distributions of the wind speed, wind direction and the mean significant wave height have been computed as the average of the total data. As resulted from the amount of data, the target area presents a generally moderate wave climate that is affected by the storm events developed in the Black Sea basin. Both wind and wave climate presents high seasonal variability. All the results are computed as maps that help to find the more dangerous areas. A local analysis has been also employed in some key locations corresponding to highly sensitive areas, as for example the main Romanian harbors.

Keywords: numerical simulations, Romanian nearshore, waves, wind

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Authors: Mehmet Halkaci, Ekrem Öztürk, Mevlüt Türköz, H. Selçuk Halkacı

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Hydromechanical deep drawing (HMD) process is an advanced manufacturing process used to form deep parts with only one forming step. In this process, sheet metal blank can be drawn deeper by means of fluid pressure acting on sheet surface in the opposite direction of punch movement. High limiting drawing ratio, good surface quality, less springback characteristic and high dimensional accuracy are some of the advantages of this process. The performance of the HMD process is affected by various process parameters such as fluid pressure, blank holder force, punch-die radius, pre-bulging pressure and height, punch diameter, friction between sheet-die and sheet-punch. The fluid pressure and bank older force are the main loading parameters and affect the formability of HMD process significantly. The punch diameter also influences the limiting drawing ratio (the ratio of initial sheet diameter to punch diameter) of the sheet metal blank. In this research, optimal loading (fluid pressure and blank holder force) profiles were determined for AA 5754-O sheet material through fuzzy control algorithm developed in previous study using LS-DYNA finite element analysis (FEA) software. In the preceding study, the fuzzy control algorithm was developed utilizing geometrical criteria such as thinning and wrinkling. In order to obtain the final desired part with the developed algorithm in terms of the punch diameter requested, the effect of punch diameter, which is the one of the process parameters, on loading profiles was investigated separately using blank thickness of 1 mm. Thus, the practicality of the previously developed fuzzy control algorithm with different punch diameters was clarified. Also, thickness distributions of the sheet metal blank along a curvilinear distance were compared for the FEA in which different punch diameters were used. Consequently, it was found that the use of different punch diameters did not affect the optimal loading profiles too much.

Keywords: Finite Element Analysis (FEA), fuzzy control, hydromechanical deep drawing, optimal loading profiles, punch diameter

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Authors: J. Tirano, H. Zea, C. Luhrs

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Photocatalysis has established as viable option in the development of processes for the treatment of pollutants and clean energy production. This option is based on the ability of semiconductors to generate an electron flow by means of the interaction with solar radiation. Owing to its electronic structure, TiO₂ is the most frequently used semiconductors in photocatalysis, although it has a high recombination of photogenerated charges and low solar energy absorption. An alternative to reduce these limitations is the use of nanostructured morphologies which can be produced during the synthesis of TiO₂ nanotubes (TNTs). Therefore, if possible to produce vertically oriented nanostructures it will be possible to generate a greater contact area with electrolyte and better charge transfer. At present, however, the development of these innovative structures still presents an important challenge for the development of competitive photoelectrochemical devices. This research focuses on established correlations between synthesis variables and 1D nanostructure morphology which has a direct effect on the photocatalytic performance. TNTs with controlled morphology were synthesized by two-step potentiostatic anodization of titanium foil. The anodization was carried out at room temperature in an electrolyte composed of ammonium fluoride, deionized water and ethylene glycol. Consequent thermal annealing of as-prepared TNTs was conducted in the air between 450 °C-550 °C. Morphology and crystalline phase of the TNTs were carried out by SEM, EDS and XRD analysis. As results, the synthesis conditions were established to produce nanostructures with specific morphological characteristics. Anatase was the predominant phase of TNTs after thermal treatment. Nanotubes with 10 μm in length, 40 nm in pore diameter and a surface-volume ratio of 50 are important in photoelectrochemical applications based on TiO₂ due to their 1D characteristics, high surface-volume ratio, reduced radial dimensions and high oxide/electrolyte interface. Finally, this knowledge can be used to improve the photocatalytic activity of TNTs by making additional surface modifications with dopants that improve their efficiency.

Keywords: electrochemical anodization, morphology, self-organized nanotubes, TiO₂ nanotubes

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Jeonghwan Jeon, Mintak Han, Youngjun Kim

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Due to the rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT), a substantial transformation is currently happening in the society. As the range of intelligent technologies and services is continuously expanding, ‘things’ are becoming capable of communicating one another and even with people. However, such “Internet of Things” has the technical weakness so that a great amount of such information transferred in real-time may be widely exposed to the threat of security. User’s personal data are a typical example which is faced with a serious security threat. The threats of security will be diversified and arose more frequently because next generation of unfamiliar technology develops. Moreover, as the society is becoming increasingly complex, security vulnerability will be increased as well. In the existing literature, a considerable number of private and public reports that forecast future society have been published as a precedent step of the selection of future technology and the establishment of strategies for competitiveness. Although there are previous studies that forecast security technology, they have focused only on technical issues and overlooked the interrelationships between security technology and social factors are. Therefore, investigations of security threats in the future and security technology that is able to protect people from various threats are required. In response, this study aims to derive potential security threats associated with the development of technology and to explore the security technology that can protect against them. To do this, first of all, private and public reports that forecast future and online documents from technology-related communities are collected. By analyzing the data, future issues are extracted and categorized in terms of STEEP (Society, Technology, Economy, Environment, and Politics), as well as security. Second, the components of potential security threats are developed based on classified future issues. Then, points that the security threats may occur –for example, mobile payment system based on a finger scan technology– are identified. Lastly, alternatives that prevent potential security threats are proposed by matching security threats with points and investigating related security technologies from patent data. Proposed approach can identify the ICT-related latent security menaces and provide the guidelines in the ‘problem – alternative’ form by linking the threat point with security technologies.

Keywords: future society, information and communication technology, security technology, technology forecasting

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Authors: Baba Mbaye

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In collaborative filtering recommendation systems, a user receives suggested items based on the opinions and evaluations of a community of users. This type of recommendation system uses only the information (notes in numerical values) contained in a usage matrix as input data. This matrix can be constructed based on users' behaviors or by offering users to declare their opinions on the items they know. The cold start problem leads to very poor performance for new users. It is a phenomenon that occurs at the beginning of use, in the situation where the system lacks data to make recommendations. There are three types of cold start problems: cold start for a new item, a new system, and a new user. We are interested in this article at the cold start for a new user. When the system welcomes a new user, the profile exists but does not have enough data, and its communities with other users profiles are still unknown. This leads to recommendations not adapted to the profile of the new user. In this paper, we propose an approach that improves cold start by using the notions of similarity and semantic proximity between users profiles during cold start. We will use the cold-metadata available (metadata extracted from the new user's data) useful in positioning the new user within a community. The aim is to look for similarities and semantic proximities with the old and current user profiles of the system. Proximity is represented by close concepts considered to belong to the same group, while similarity groups together elements that appear similar. Similarity and proximity are two close but not similar concepts. This similarity leads us to the construction of similarity which is based on: a) the concepts (properties, terms, instances) independent of ontology structure and, b) the simultaneous representation of the two concepts (relations, presence of terms in a document, simultaneous presence of the authorities). We propose an ontology, OIVCSRS (Ontology of Improvement Visitor Cold Start in Recommender Systems), in order to structure the terms and concepts representing the meaning of an information field, whether by the metadata of a namespace, or the elements of a knowledge domain. This approach allows us to automatically attach the new user to a user community, partially compensate for the data that was not initially provided and ultimately to associate a better first profile with the cold start. Thus, the aim of this paper is to propose an approach to improving cold start using semantic technologies.

Keywords: visitor cold start, recommender systems, collaborative filtering, semantic filtering

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Authors: Elmira Solati, Atousa Mehrani, Davoud Dorranian

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Generation of ZnO-Au nanocomposite under laser irradiation of a mixture of the ZnO and Au colloidal suspensions are experimentally investigated. In this work, firstly ZnO and Au nanoparticles are prepared by pulsed laser ablation of the corresponding metals in water using the 1064 nm wavelength of Nd:YAG laser. In a second step, the produced ZnO and Au colloidal suspensions were mixed in different volumetric ratio and irradiated using the second harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser operating at 532 nm wavelength. The changes in the size of the nanostructure and optical properties of the ZnO-Au nanocomposite are studied as a function of the volumetric ratio of ZnO and Au colloidal suspensions. The crystalline structure of the ZnO-Au nanocomposites was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The optical properties of the samples were examined at room temperature by a UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectrophotometer. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was done by placing a drop of the concentrated suspension on a carbon-coated copper grid. To further confirm the morphology of ZnO-Au nanocomposites, we performed Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) of the ZnO-Au nanocomposites was measured to characterize the luminescence properties of the ZnO-Au nanocomposites. The ZnO-Au nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction pattern shows that the ZnO-Au nanocomposites had the polycrystalline structure of Au. The behavior observed by images of transmission electron microscope reveals that soldering of Au and ZnO nanoparticles include their adhesion. The plasmon peak in ZnO-Au nanocomposites was red-shifted and broadened in comparison with pure Au nanoparticles. By using the Tauc’s equation, the band gap energy for ZnO-Au nanocomposites is calculated to be 3.15–3.27 eV. In this work, the formation of ZnO-Au nanocomposites shifts the FTIR peak of metal oxide bands to higher wavenumbers. PL spectra of the ZnO-Au nanocomposites show that several weak peaks in the ultraviolet region and several relatively strong peaks in the visible region. SEM image indicates that the morphology of ZnO-Au nanocomposites produced in water was spherical. The TEM images of ZnO-Au nanocomposites demonstrate that with increasing the volumetric ratio of Au colloidal suspension the adhesion increased. According to the size distribution graphs of ZnO-Au nanocomposites with increasing the volumetric ratio of Au colloidal suspension the amount of ZnO-Au nanocomposites with the smaller size is further.

Keywords: Au nanoparticles, pulsed laser ablation, ZnO-Au nanocomposites, ZnO nanoparticles

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Authors: Mohammad Hossein Habibi, Atena Sadat Hosseini

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Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. Colorectal cancer screening, early detection, and treatment programs could benefit from the most up-to-date information on the disease's burden, given the present worldwide trend of increasing colorectal cancer incidence. Tumor recurrence and resistance are exacerbated by the presence of chemotherapy-resistant cancer stem cells that can generate rapidly proliferating tumor cells. In addition, tumor cells can evolve chemoresistance through adaptation mechanisms. In this work, we used in silico analysis to select suitable GEO datasets. In this study, we compared slow-growing cancer stem cells with high-growth colorectal cancer-derived cancer stem cells. We then evaluated the signal pathways, transcription factors, and kinases associated with these two types of cancer stem cells. A total of 980 upregulated genes and 870 downregulated genes were clustered. MAPK signaling pathway, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis, and Steroid biosynthesis signaling pathways were observed in upregulated genes. Also, caffeine metabolism, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, TNF signaling pathway, and cytosolic DNA-sensing pathway were involved in downregulated genes. In the next step, we evaluated the best transcription factors and kinases in two types of cancer stem cells. In this regard, NR2F2, ZEB2, HEY1, and HDGF as transcription factors and PRDM5, SMAD, CBP, and KDM2B as critical kinases in upregulated genes. On the other hand, IRF1, SPDEF, NCOA1, and STAT1 transcription factors and CTNNB1 and CDH7 kinases were regulated low expression genes. Using bioinformatics analysis in the present study, we conducted an in-depth study of colorectal cancer stem cells at low and high growth rates so that we could take further steps to detect and even target these cells. Naturally, more additional tests are needed in this direction.

Keywords: colorectal cancer, bioinformatics analysis, transcription factor, kinases, cancer stem cells

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Authors: Deborah L. Smith

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To review our program and determine the best redesign options, department members gathered feedback and input through focus groups, analysis of data, and a review of the current research to ensure that the changes proposed were not based solely on the state’s new professional standards. In designing course assignments and assessments, we listened to a variety of constituents, including students, other institutions of higher learning, MDE webinars, host teachers, literacy clinic personnel, and other disciplinary experts. As a result, we are designing a program that is more inclusive of a variety of field experiences for growth. We have determined ways to improve our program by connecting academic disciplinary knowledge, educational psychology, and community building both inside and outside the classroom for professional learning communities. The state’s release of new professional standards led my department members to question what is working and what needs improvement in our program. One aspect of our program that continues to be supported by research and data analysis is the function of supervised field experiences with meaningful feedback. We seek to expand in this area. Other data indicate that we have strengths in modeling a variety of approaches such as cooperative learning, discussions, literacy strategies, and workshops. In the new program, field assignments will be connected to multiple courses, and efforts to scaffold student learning to guide them toward best evidence-based practices will be continuous. Despite running a program that meets multiple sets of standards, there are areas of need that we directly address in our redesign proposal. Technology is ever-changing, so it’s inevitable that improving digital skills is a focus. In addition, scaffolding procedures for English Language Learners (ELL) or other students who struggle is imperative. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been an integral part of our curriculum, but the research indicates that more self-reflection and a deeper understanding of culturally relevant practices would help the program improve. Connections with professional learning communities will be expanded, as will leadership components, so that teacher candidates understand their role in changing the face of education. A pilot program will run in academic year 22/23, and additional data will be collected each semester through evaluations and continued program review.

Keywords: DEI, field experiences, program redesign, teacher preparation

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Authors: Siddhant Srivastav, Shilpa Singh, Sumanta Kumar Meher

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Innovative renewable energy sources for energy storage/conversion is the demand of the current scenario in electrochemical machinery. In this context, choosing suitable organic precipitants for tuning the crystal characteristics and microstructures is a challenge. On the same note, herein we report broccoli flower-like porous Mn3O4/NiSe2−MnSe2 composite synthesized using a simple two step hydrothermal synthesis procedure assisted by sluggish precipitating agent and an effective cappant followed by intermediated anion exchange. The as-synthesized material was exposed to physical and chemical measurements depicting poly-crystallinity, stronger bonding and broccoli flower-like porous arrangement. The material was assessed electrochemically by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronopotentiometry (CP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The Electrochemical studies reveal redox behavior, supercapacitive charge-discharge shape and extremely low charge transfer resistance. Further, the fabricated Mn3O4/NiSe2−MnSe2 composite based solid-state hybrid supercapacitor (Mn3O4/NiSe2−MnSe2 ||N-rGO) delivers excellent rate specific capacity, very low internal resistance, with energy density (~34 W h kg–1) of a typical rechargeable battery and power density (11995 W kg–1) of an ultra-supercapacitor. Consequently, it can be a favorable contender for supercapacitor applications for high performance energy storage utilizations. A definitive exhibition of the supercapacitor device is credited to electrolyte-ion buffering reservior alike behavior of broccoli flower like Mn3O4/NiSe2−MnSe2, enhanced by upgraded electronic and ionic conductivities of N- doped rGO (negative electrode) and PVA/KOH gel (electrolyte separator), respectively

Keywords: electrolyte-ion buffering reservoir, intermediated-anion exchange, solid-state hybrid supercapacitor, supercapacitive charge-dischargesupercapacitive charge-discharge

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Authors: Helena Bolini, Erick Esmerino, Adriano Cruz, Juliana Paixao

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The currently concern for health has increased demand for low-calorie ingredients and functional foods as probiotics. Understand the reasons that infer on food choice, besides a challenging task, it is important step for development and/or reformulation of existing food products. The use of appropriate multivariate statistical techniques, such as External Preference Map (PrefMap), associated with regression by Partial Least Squares (PLS) can help in determining those factors. Thus, this study aimed to determine, through PLS regression analysis, the sensory attributes considered drivers of liking in probiotic petit suisse cheeses, strawberry flavor, sweetened with different sweeteners. Five samples in same equivalent sweetness: PROB1 (Sucralose 0.0243%), PROB2 (Stevia 0.1520%), PROB3 (Aspartame 0.0877%), PROB4 (Neotame 0.0025%) and PROB5 (Sucrose 15.2%) determined by just-about-right and magnitude estimation methods, and three commercial samples COM1, COM2 and COM3, were studied. Analysis was done over data coming from QDA, performed by 12 expert (highly trained assessors) on 20 descriptor terms, correlated with data from assessment of overall liking in acceptance test, carried out by 125 consumers, on all samples. Sequentially, results were submitted to PLS regression using XLSTAT software from Byossistemes. As shown in results, it was possible determine, that three sensory descriptor terms might be considered drivers of liking of probiotic petit suisse cheese samples added with sweeteners (p<0.05). The milk flavor was noticed as a sensory characteristic with positive impact on acceptance, while descriptors bitter taste and sweet aftertaste were perceived as descriptor terms with negative impact on acceptance of petit suisse probiotic cheeses. It was possible conclude that PLS regression analysis is a practical and useful tool in determining drivers of liking of probiotic petit suisse cheeses sweetened with artificial and natural sweeteners, allowing food industry to understand and improve their formulations maximizing the acceptability of their products.

Keywords: acceptance, consumer, quantitative descriptive analysis, sweetener

Procedia PDF Downloads 431