Search results for: magnetic lines of force

Authors: A. F. Momin, D. V. Khakhar

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Granular materials consist of particulate particles found in nature and various industries that, due to gravity flow, behave macroscopically like liquids. A fundamental industrial unit operation is a hopper with inclined walls or a converging channel in which material flows downward under gravity and exits the storage bin through the bottom outlet. The simplest form of the flow corresponds to a wedge-shaped, quasi-two-dimensional geometry with smooth walls and radially directed gravitational force toward the apex of the wedge. These flows were examined using the Mohr-Coulomb criterion in the classic work of Savage (1965), while Ravi Prakash and Rao used the critical state theory (1988). The smooth-wall radial gravity (SWRG) wedge-shaped hopper is simulated using the discrete element method (DEM) to test existing theories. DEM simulations involve the solution of Newton's equations, taking particle-particle interactions into account to compute stress and velocity fields for the flow in the SWRG system. Our computational results are consistent with the predictions of Savage (1965) and Ravi Prakash and Rao (1988), except for the region near the exit, where both viscous and frictional effects are present. To further comprehend this behaviour, a parametric analysis is carried out to analyze the rheology of wedge-shaped hoppers by varying the orifice diameter, wedge angle, friction coefficient, and stiffness. The conclusion is that velocity increases as the flow rate increases but decreases as the wedge angle and friction coefficient increase. We observed no substantial changes in velocity due to varying stiffness. It is anticipated that stresses at the exit result from the transfer of momentum during particle collisions; for this reason, relationships between viscosity and shear rate are shown, and all data are collapsed into a single curve. In addition, it is demonstrated that viscosity and volume fraction exhibit power law correlations with the inertial number and that all the data collapse into a single curve. A continuum model for determining granular flows is presented using empirical correlations.

Keywords: discrete element method, gravity flow, smooth-wall, wedge-shaped hoppers

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Authors: Agnieszka Krzemińska, Katarzyna Świderek, Vicente Molinier, Piotr Paneth

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In order to understand in details the interactions between ligands and the enzyme isotope effects were studied between clinically used drugs that bind in the active site of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Reverse Transcriptase, HIV-1 RT, as well as triazole-based inhibitor that binds in the allosteric pocket of this enzyme. The magnitudes and origins of the resulting binding isotope effects were analyzed. Subsequently, binding isotope effect of the same triazole-based inhibitor bound in the active site were analyzed and compared. Together, these results show differences in binding origins in two sites of the enzyme and allow to analyze binding mode and place of newly synthesized inhibitors. Typical protocol is described below on the example of triazole ligand in the allosteric pocket. Triazole was docked into allosteric cavity of HIV-1 RT with Glide using extra-precision mode as implemented in Schroedinger software. The structure of HIV-1 RT was obtained from Protein Data Bank as structure of PDB ID 2RKI. The pKa for titratable amino acids was calculated using PROPKA software, and in order to neutralize the system 15 Cl- were added using tLEaP package implemented in AMBERTools ver.1.5. Also N-terminals and C-terminals were build using tLEaP. The system was placed in 144x160x144Å3 orthorhombic box of water molecules using NAMD program. Missing parameters for triazole were obtained at the AM1 level using Antechamber software implemented in AMBERTools. The energy minimizations were carried out by means of a conjugate gradient algorithm using NAMD. Then system was heated from 0 to 300 K with temperature increment 0.001 K. Subsequently 2 ns Langevin−Verlet (NVT) MM MD simulation with AMBER force field implemented in NAMD was carried out. Periodic Boundary Conditions and cut-offs for the nonbonding interactions, range radius from 14.5 to 16 Å, are used. After 2 ns relaxation 200 ps of QM/MM MD at 300 K were simulated. The triazole was treated quantum mechanically at the AM1 level, protein was described using AMBER and water molecules were described using TIP3P, as implemented in fDynamo library. Molecules 20 Å apart from the triazole were kept frozen, with cut-offs established on range radius from 14.5 to 16 Å. In order to describe interactions between triazole and RT free energy of binding using Free Energy Perturbation method was done. The change in frequencies from ligand in solution to ligand bounded in enzyme was used to calculate binding isotope effects.

Keywords: binding isotope effects, molecular dynamics, HIV, reverse transcriptase

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Authors: Maria Jędrzejczak, Patryk Pieniążek

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The European legal reality is on the eve of significant change. In European Union law, there is talk of a “fourth industrial revolution”, which is driven by massive data resources linked to powerful algorithms and powerful computing capacity. The above is closely linked to technological developments in the area of artificial intelligence, which has prompted an analysis covering both the legal environment as well as the economic and social impact, also from an ethical perspective. The discussion on the regulation of artificial intelligence is one of the most serious yet widely held at both European Union and Member State level. The literature expects legal solutions to guarantee security for fundamental rights, including privacy, in artificial intelligence systems. There is no doubt that personal data have been increasingly processed in recent years. It would be impossible for artificial intelligence to function without processing large amounts of data (both personal and non-personal). The main driving force behind the current development of artificial intelligence is advances in computing, but also the increasing availability of data. High-quality data are crucial to the effectiveness of many artificial intelligence systems, particularly when using techniques involving model training. The use of computers and artificial intelligence technology allows for an increase in the speed and efficiency of the actions taken, but also creates security risks for the data processed of an unprecedented magnitude. The proposed regulation in the field of artificial intelligence requires analysis in terms of its impact on the regulation on personal data protection. It is necessary to determine what the mutual relationship between these regulations is and what areas are particularly important in the personal data protection regulation for processing personal data in artificial intelligence systems. The adopted axis of considerations is a preliminary assessment of two issues: 1) what principles of data protection should be applied in particular during processing personal data in artificial intelligence systems, 2) what regulation on liability for personal data breaches is in such systems. The need to change the regulations regarding the rights and obligations of data subjects and entities processing personal data cannot be excluded. It is possible that changes will be required in the provisions regarding the assignment of liability for a breach of personal data protection processed in artificial intelligence systems. The research process in this case concerns the identification of areas in the field of personal data protection that are particularly important (and may require re-regulation) due to the introduction of the proposed legal regulation regarding artificial intelligence. The main question that the authors want to answer is how the European Union regulation against data protection breaches in artificial intelligence systems is shaping up. The answer to this question will include examples to illustrate the practical implications of these legal regulations.

Keywords: data protection law, personal data, AI law, personal data breach

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Authors: Xincheng Jiang, Yanyan An, Yaoyao Huang, Wei Ding, Manli Sun, Hong Li, Huaili Zheng

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The residual antibiotics in the environment will pose a threat to the environment and human health. Thus, efficient removal and rapid detection of norfloxacin (NOR) in wastewater is very important. The main sources of NOR pollution are the agricultural, pharmaceutical industry and hospital wastewater. The total consumption of NOR in China can reach 5440 tons per year. It is found that neither animals nor humans can totally absorb and metabolize NOR, resulting in the excretion of NOR into the environment. Therefore, residual NOR has been detected in water bodies. The hazards of NOR in wastewater lie in three aspects: (1) the removal capacity of the wastewater treatment plant for NOR is limited (it is reported that the average removal efficiency of NOR in the wastewater treatment plant is only 68%); (2) NOR entering the environment will lead to the emergence of drug-resistant strains; (3) NOR is toxic to many aquatic species. At present, the removal and detection technologies of NOR are applied separately, which leads to a cumbersome operation process. The development of simultaneous adsorption-flocculation removal and FTIR detection of pollutants has three advantages: (1) Adsorption-flocculation technology promotes the detection technology (the enrichment effect on the material surface improves the detection ability); (2) The integration of adsorption-flocculation technology and detection technology reduces the material cost and makes the operation easier; (3) FTIR detection technology endows the water treatment agent with the ability of molecular recognition and semi-quantitative detection for pollutants. Thus, it is of great significance to develop a smart water treatment material with high removal capacity and detection ability for pollutants. This study explored the feasibility of combining NOR removal method with the semi-quantitative detection method. A magnetic Cu-Ni-S/Ni foam was synthesized by in-situ loading Cu-Ni-S nanostructures on the surface of Ni foam. The novelty of this material is the combination of adsorption-flocculation technology and semi-quantitative detection technology. Batch experiments showed that Cu-Ni-S/Ni foam has a high removal rate of NOR (96.92%), wide pH adaptability (pH=4.0-10.0) and strong ion interference resistance (0.1-100 mmol/L). According to the Langmuir fitting model, the removal capacity can reach 417.4 mg/g at 25 °C, which is much higher than that of other water treatment agents reported in most studies. Characterization analysis indicated that the main removal mechanisms are surface complexation, cation bridging, electrostatic attraction, precipitation and flocculation. Transmission FTIR detection experiments showed that NOR on Cu-Ni-S/Ni foam has easily recognizable FTIR fingerprints; the intensity of characteristic peaks roughly reflects the concentration information to some extent. This semi-quantitative detection method has a wide linear range (5-100 mg/L) and a low limit of detection (4.6 mg/L). These results show that Cu-Ni-S/Ni foam has excellent removal performance and semi-quantitative detection ability of NOR molecules. This paper provides a new idea for designing and preparing multi-functional water treatment materials to achieve simultaneous removal and semi-quantitative detection of organic pollutants in water.

Keywords: adsorption-flocculation, antibiotics detection, Cu-Ni-S/Ni foam, norfloxacin

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Authors: Marcin Szlachetka, Rafal Sochaczewski, Lukasz Grabowski

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This paper presents the results of the load simulations of main bearings in a two-stroke Diesel engine. A model of an engine lubrication system with connections of its main lubrication nodes, i.e., a connection of its main bearings in the engine block with the crankshaft, a connection of its crankpins with its connecting rod and a connection of its pin and its piston has been created for our calculations performed using the AVL EXCITE Designer. The analysis covers the loads given as a pressure distribution in a hydrodynamic oil film, a temperature distribution on the main bush surfaces for the specified radial clearance values as well as the impact of the force of gas on the minimum oil film thickness in the main bearings depending on crankshaft rotational speeds and temperatures of oil in the bearings. One of the main goals of the research has been to determine whether the minimum thickness of the oil film at which fluid friction occurs can be achieved for each value of crankshaft speed. Our model calculates different oil film parameters, i.e., its thickness, a pressure distribution there, the change in oil temperature. Additional enables an analysis of an oil temperature distribution on the surfaces of the bearing seats. It allows verifying the selected clearances in the bearings of the main engine under normal operation conditions and extremal ones that show a significant increase in temperature above the limit value. The research has been conducted for several engine crankshaft speeds ranging from 1000 rpm to 4000 rpm. The oil pressure in the bearings has ranged 2-5 bar according to engine speeds and the oil temperature has ranged 90-120 °C. The main bearing clearance has been adopted for the calculation and analysis as 0.025 mm. The oil classified as SAE 5W-30 has been used for the simulations. The paper discusses the selected research results referring to several specific operating points and different temperatures of the lubricating oil in the bearings. The received research results show that for the investigated main bearing bushes of the shaft, the results fall within the ranges of the limit values despite the increase in the oil temperature of the bearings reaching 120˚C. The fact that the bearings are loaded with the maximum pressure makes no excessive temperature rise on the bush surfaces. The oil temperature increases by 17˚C, reaching 137˚C at a speed of 4000 rpm. The minimum film thickness at which fluid friction occurs has been achieved for each of the operating points at each of the engine crankshaft speeds. Acknowledgement: This work has been realized in the cooperation with The Construction Office of WSK ‘PZL-KALISZ’ S.A.’ and is part of Grant Agreement No. POIR.01.02.00-00-0002/15 financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development.

Keywords: diesel engine, main bearings, opposing pistons, two-stroke

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Authors: Basil Nkosilathi Dube, Wilson R. Nyemba, Panashe Mandevu

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In highway driving, over 50 percent of the power produced by the engine is used to overcome aerodynamic drag, which is a force that opposes a body’s motion through the air. Aerodynamic drag and thus fuel consumption increase rapidly at speeds above 90kph. It is desirable to minimize fuel consumption. Aerodynamic drag reduction in highway driving is the best approach to minimize fuel consumption and to reduce the negative impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on the natural environment. Fuel economy is the ultimate concern of automotive development. This study aims to design and analyze drag-reducing devices for a Mazda T3500 truck, namely, the cab roof and rear (trailer tail) fairings. The aerodynamic effects of adding these append devices were subsequently investigated. To accomplish this, two 3D CAD models of the Mazda truck were designed using the Design Modeler. One, with these, append devices and the other without. The models were exported to ANSYS Fluent for computational fluid dynamics analysis, no wind tunnel tests were performed. A fine mesh with more than 10 million cells was applied in the discretization of the models. The realizable k-ε turbulence model with enhanced wall treatment was used to solve the Reynold’s Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equation. In order to simulate the highway driving conditions, the tests were simulated with a speed of 100 km/h. The effects of these devices were also investigated for low-speed driving. The drag coefficients for both models were obtained from the numerical calculations. By adding the cab roof and rear (trailer tail) fairings, the simulations show a significant reduction in aerodynamic drag at a higher speed. The results show that the greatest drag reduction is obtained when both devices are used. Visuals from post-processing show that the rear fairing minimized the low-pressure region at the rear of the trailer when moving at highway speed. The rear fairing achieved this by streamlining the turbulent airflow, thereby delaying airflow separation. For lower speeds, there were no significant differences in drag coefficients for both models (original and modified). The results show that these devices can be adopted for improving the aerodynamic efficiency of the Mazda T3500 truck at highway speeds.

Keywords: aerodynamic drag, computation fluid dynamics, fluent, fuel consumption

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Authors: Emma Castiglioni, Nigel Scrutton, Derren Heyes, Alistair Fielding

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By using light as trigger, it is possible to study many biological processes, such as the activity of genes, proteins, and other molecules, with precise spatiotemporal control. Caged compounds, where biologically active molecules are generated from an inert precursor upon laser photolysis, offer the potential to initiate such biological reactions with high temporal resolution. As light acts as the trigger for cleaving the protecting group, the ‘caging’ technique provides a number of advantages as it can be intracellular, rapid and controlled in a quantitative manner. We are developing caging strategies to study the catalytic cycle of a number of enzyme systems, such as nitric oxide synthase and ethanolamine ammonia lyase. These include the use of caged substrates, caged electrons and the possibility of caging the enzyme itself. In addition, we are developing a novel freeze-quench instrument to study these reactions, which combines rapid mixing and flashing capabilities. Reaction intermediates will be trapped at low temperatures and will be analysed by using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to identify the involvement of any radical species during catalysis. EPR techniques typically require relatively long measurement times and very often, low temperatures to fully characterise these short-lived species. Therefore, common rapid mixing techniques, such as stopped-flow or quench-flow are not directly suitable. However, the combination of rapid freeze-quench (RFQ) followed by EPR analysis provides the ideal approach to kinetically trap and spectroscopically characterise these transient radical species. In a typical RFQ experiment, two reagent solutions are delivered to the mixer via two syringes driven by a pneumatic actuator or stepper motor. The new mixed solution is then sprayed into a cryogenic liquid or surface, and the frozen sample is then collected and packed into an EPR tube for analysis. The earliest RFQ instrument consisted of a hydraulic ram unit as a drive unit with direct spraying of the sample into a cryogenic liquid (nitrogen, isopentane or petroleum). Improvements to the RFQ technique have arisen from the design of new mixers in order to reduce both the volume and the mixing time. In addition, the cryogenic isopentane bath has been coupled to a filtering system or replaced by spraying the solution onto a surface that is frozen via thermal conductivity with a cryogenic liquid. In our work, we are developing a novel RFQ instrument which combines the freeze-quench technology with flashing capabilities to enable the studies of both thermally-activated and light-activated biological reactions. This instrument also uses a new rotating plate design based on magnetic couplings and removes the need for mechanical motorised rotation, which can otherwise be problematic at cryogenic temperatures.

Keywords: caged compounds, freeze-quench apparatus, photolysis, radicals

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Authors: Laura Pytel, Georg Baumann, Gregor Gstrein, Corina Klug

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Premium cars often coat the instrument panels with a bilaminate consisting of a soft foam and a plastic skin. The coating is torn open during the passenger airbag deployment under high strain rates. Characterizing and simulating the top coat layer is crucial for predicting the attenuation that delays the airbag deployment, effecting the design of the restrain system and to reduce the demand of simulation adjustments through expensive physical component testing.Up to now, bilaminates used within cars either have been modelled by using a two-dimensional shell formulation for the whole coating system as one which misses out the interaction of the two layers or by combining a three-dimensional formulation foam layer with a two-dimensional skin layer but omitting the foam in the significant parts like the expected tear line area and the hinge where high compression is expected. In both cases, the properties of the coating causing the attenuation are not considered. Further, at present, the availability of material information, as there are failure dependencies of the two layers, as well as the strain rate of up to 200 1/s, are insufficient. The velocity of the passenger airbag flap during an airbag shot has been measured with about 11.5 m/s during first ripping; the digital image correlation evaluation showed resulting strain rates of above 1500 1/s. This paper provides a high strain rate material characterization of a bilaminate consisting of a thin polypropylene foam and a thermoplasctic olefins (TPO) skin and the creation of validated material models. With the help of a Split Hopkinson tension bar, strain rates of 1500 1/s were within reach. The experimental data was used to calibrate and validate a more physical modelling approach of the forced ripping of the bilaminate. In the presented model, the three-dimensional foam layer is continuously tied to the two-dimensional skin layer, allowing failure in both layers at any possible position. The simulation results show a higher agreement in terms of the trajectory of the flaps and its velocity during ripping. The resulting attenuation of the airbag deployment measured by the contact force between airbag and flaps increases and serves usable data for dimensioning modules of an airbag system.

Keywords: bilaminate ripping behavior, High strain rate material characterization and modelling, induced material failure, TPO and foam

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Authors: Saad Mohamed Elsaid, Nabil Anwar, Mahmoud Rushdi

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One of the reasons for the intensive use of pesticides is to protect agricultural crops and orchards from pests or agricultural worms. The period of time that pesticides stay inside the soil is estimated at about (2) to (12) weeks. Perhaps the most important reason that led to groundwater pollution is the easy leakage of these harmful pesticides from the soil into the aquifers. This research aims to find the best ways to use traded activated charcoal with gold nitrate solution; for removing the deadly pesticides from the aqueous solution by adsorption phenomenon. The most used pesticides in Egypt were selected, such as Malathion, Methomyl Abamectin and, Thiamethoxam. Activated charcoal doped with gold ions was prepared by applying chemical and thermal treatments to activated charcoal using gold nitrate solution. Adsorption of studied pesticide onto activated carbon /Au was mainly by chemical adsorption, forming a complex with the gold metal immobilized on activated carbon surfaces. In addition, the gold atom was considered as a catalyst to cracking the pesticide molecule. Gold activated charcoal is a low cost material due to the use of very low concentrations of gold nitrate solution. its notice the great ability of activated charcoal in removing selected pesticides due to the presence of the positive charge of the gold ion, in addition to other active groups such as functional oxygen and lignin cellulose. The presence of pores of different sizes on the surface of activated charcoal is the driving force for the good adsorption efficiency for the removal of the pesticides under study The surface area of the prepared char as well as the active groups, were determined using infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Some factors affecting the ability of activated charcoal were applied in order to reach the highest adsorption capacity of activated charcoal, such as the weight of the charcoal, the concentration of the pesticide solution, the time of the experiment, and the pH. Experiments showed that the maximum limit revealed by the batch adsorption study for the adsorption of selected insecticides was in contact time (80) minutes at pH (7.70). These promising results were confirmed, and by establishing the practical application of the developed system, the effect of various operating factors with equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies is evident, using the Langmuir application on the effectiveness of the absorbent material with absorption capacities higher than most other adsorbents.

Keywords: waste water, pesticides pollution, adsorption, activated carbon

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

Authors: Abidin Tortum, Kubra Kocabey

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One of the sectors where the competition is experienced at the highest level in the world is the transformer sector, and sales can be made with a limited profit margin. For this reason, manufacturers must develop cost-cutting designs to achieve higher profits. The use of rectangular cores and coils in transformer design is one of the methods that can be used to reduce costs. According to the best knowledge we have obtained, we think that we are the first company producing rectangular core power transformers in our country. BETA, to reduce the cost of this project, more compact products to reveal, as we know it to increase the alleviate and competitiveness of the product, will perform cored coil design and production rectangle for the first-time power transformers in Turkey. The transformer to be designed shall be 16 MVA, 33/11 kV voltage level. With the rectangular design of the transformer core and windings, no-load losses can be reduced. Also, the least costly transformer type is rectangular. However, short-circuit forces on rectangular windings do not affect every point of the windings in the same way. Whereas more force is applied inwards to the mid-points of the low-voltage winding, the opposite occurs in the high-voltage winding. Therefore, the windings tend to deteriorate in the event of a short circuit. While trying to reach the project objectives, the difficulties in the design should be overcome. Rectangular core transformers to be produced in our country offer a more compact structure than conventional transformers. In other words, both height and width were smaller. Thus, the reducer takes up less space in the center. Because the transformer boiler is smaller, less oil is used, and its weight is lower. Biotemp natural ester fluid is used in rectangular transformer and the cooling performance of this oil is analyzed. The cost was also reduced with the reduction of dimensions. The decrease in the amount of oil used has also increased the environmental friendliness of the developed product. Transportation costs have been reduced by reducing the total weight. The amount of carbon emissions generated during the transportation process is reduced. Since the low-voltage winding is wound with a foil winding technique, a more resistant structure is obtained against short circuit forces. No-load losses were lower due to the use of a rectangular core. The project was handled in three phases. In the first stage, preliminary research and designs were carried out. In the second stage, the prototype manufacturing of the transformer whose designs have been completed has been started. The prototype developed in the last stage has been subjected to routine, type and special tests.

Keywords: rectangular core, power transformer, transformer, productivity

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Authors: Darren J. Ellis

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This paper investigates the key industry-level consequences and future prospects for the global airline industry of the requirement for airlines to have a home base. This industry context results in geographical location playing a central role in determining how and where international airlines can operate, and the extent to which their international networks can develop. Data from a five stage mixed-methods Delphi study into the global airline industry’s likely future trajectory conducted in 2013 and 2014 are utilized to better understand the likelihood and consequences of home base requirements changing in future. Expert views and forecasts were collected to gauge core industry trends over a ten year timeframe. Attempts to change or bypass this industry requirement have not been successful to date outside of the European single air market. Europe remains the only prominent exception to the general rule in this regard. Most of the industry is founded on air space sovereignty, the nationality rule, and the bilateral system of traffic rights. Europe’s exceptionalism has seen it evolve into a single air market with characteristics similar to a nation-state, rather than to become a force for wider industry change and regional multilateralism. Europe has indeed become a key actor in global aviation, but Europe seems to now be part of the industry’s status quo, not a vehicle for substantially wider multilateralism around the world. The findings from this research indicate that the bilateral system is not viewed by most study experts as disappearing or substantially weakening in the foreseeable future. However, regional multilateralism was also viewed as progressively taking hold in the industry in future, demonstrating that for most industry experts the two are not seen as mutually exclusive but rather as being able to co-exist with each other. This reality ensures that geographical location will continue to play an important role in the global airline industry in future and that, home base requirements will not disappear any time soon either. Even moves in some aviation jurisdictions to dilute nationality requirements for airlines, and instead replace ownership and control restrictions with principal place of business tests, do not ultimately free airlines from their home base. Likewise, an expansion of what constitutes home base to include a regional grouping of countries – again, a currently uncommon reality in global aviation – does not fundamentally weaken the continued relevance of geographical location to the global industry’s future growth and development realities and prospects.

Keywords: airline industry, air space sovereignty, geographical location, home base

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Authors: Lucas M. Furlan, Cesar A. Moreira, Jepherson F. Sales, Guilherme T. Bueno, Manuel E. Ferreira, Carla V. S. Coelho, Vania Rosolen

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Located in the western part of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, the study area consists of a savanna environment, represented by sedimentary plateau and a soil cover composed by lateritic and hydromorphic soils - in the latter, occurring the deferruginization and concentration of high-alumina clays, exploited as refractory material. In the hydromorphic topographic depressions (wetlands) the hydropedogical relationships are little known, but it is observed that in times of rainfall, the depressed region behaves like a natural seasonal reservoir - which suggests that the wetlands on the surface of the plateau are places of recharge of the aquifer. The aquifer recharge areas are extremely important for the sustainable social, economic and environmental development of societies. The understanding of hydrodynamics in relation to the functioning of the ferruginous and hydromorphic lateritic soils system in the savanna environment is a subject rarely explored in the literature, especially its understanding through the joint application of geoprocessing by UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and electrical tomography. The objective of this work is to understand the hydrogeological dynamics in a wetland (with an area of 426.064 m²), in the Brazilian savanna,as well as the understanding of the subsurface architecture of hydromorphic depressions in relation to the recharge of aquifers. The wetland was compartmentalized in three different regions, according to the geoprocessing. Hydraulic conductivity studies were performed in each of these three portions. Electrical tomography was performed on 9 lines of 80 meters in length and spaced 10 meters apart (direction N45), and a line with 80 meters perpendicular to all others. With the data, it was possible to generate a 3D cube. The integrated analysis showed that the area behaves like a natural seasonal reservoir in the months of greater precipitation (December – 289mm; January – 277,9mm; February – 213,2mm), because the hydraulic conductivity is very low in all areas. In the aerial images, geotag correction of the images was performed, that is, the correction of the coordinates of the images by means of the corrected coordinates of the Positioning by Precision Point of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE-PPP). Later, the orthomosaic and the digital surface model (DSM) were generated, which with specific geoprocessing generated the volume of water that the wetland can contain - 780,922m³ in total, 265,205m³ in the region with intermediate flooding and 49,140m³ in the central region, where a greater accumulation of water was observed. Through the electrical tomography it was possible to identify that up to the depth of 6 meters the water infiltrates vertically in the central region. From the 8 meters depth, the water encounters a more resistive layer and the infiltration begins to occur horizontally - tending to concentrate the recharge of the aquifer to the northeast and southwest of the wetland. The hydrodynamics of the area is complex and has many challenges in its understanding. The next step is to relate hydrodynamics to the evolution of the landscape, with the enrichment of high-alumina clays, and to propose a management model for the seasonal reservoir.

Keywords: electrical tomography, hydropedology, unmanned aerial vehicle, water resources management

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Authors: Liya Kalinnikova Magnusson

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The present and ongoing research investigation are focusing on special educational origins in Moldova for children with disabilities and its development towards inclusion. The research is coordinated with related research on inclusion in Ukraine and other countries. The research interest in these issues in Moldova is caused by several reasons. The first one is based upon one of the intensive processes of deconstruction of special education institutions in Moldova since 1989. A large number of children with disabilities have been dropping out of these institutions: from 11400 students in 1989 to 5800 students in 1996, corresponding to 1% of all school-age Moldovan learners. Despite the fact that a huge number of students was integrated into regular schools and the dynamics of this data across the country was uneven (the opposite, the dynamics of exclusion was raised in Trans-Dniester on the border of Moldova), the volume of the change was evident and traditional special educational provision was under stable decline. The second reason is tied to transitional challenges, which Moldova met under the force to economic liberalisation that led the country to poverty. Deinstitutionalization of the entire state system took place in the situation of economic polarization of the society. The level of social benefits was dramatically diminished, increasing inequality. The most vulnerable from the comprehensive income consideration were families with many children, children with disabilities, children with health problems, etc.: each third child belonged to the poorest population. In 2000-2001: 87,4% of all families with children had incomes below the minimum wage. The research question raised based upon these considerations has been addressed to the investigation of particular patterns of the origins of special education and its development towards inclusion in Moldova from 1980 until the present date: what is the pattern of special education origins and what are particular arrangements of special education development towards inclusion against inequality? This is a qualitative study, with relevant peer review resources connected to the research question and national documents of educational reforms towards inclusion retrospectively and contemporary, analysed by a content analysis approach. This study utilises long term statistics completed by the respective international agencies as a result of regular monitoring of the implementation of educational reforms. The main findings were composed in three big themes: adoption of the Soviet pattern of special education, ‘endemic stress’ of breaking the pattern, and ‘paradoxes of resolution’.

Keywords: special education, statistics, educational reforms, inclusion, children with disabilities, content analysis

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Authors: A. Schuchter, M. Promegger

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The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that online education is so much more than just a cool feature for teachers – it is an essential part of modern teaching. In online math teaching, it is common to use tools to share screens, compute and calculate mathematical examples, while the students can watch the process. On the other hand, flipped classroom models are on the rise, with their focus on how students can gather knowledge by watching videos and on the teacher’s use of technological tools for information transfer. This paper proposes a co-educational teaching approach for coding and engineering subjects with the help of drone-building to spark interest in technology and create a platform for knowledge transfer. The project combines aspects from mathematics (matrices, vectors, shaders, trigonometry), physics (force, pressure and rotation) and coding (computational thinking, block-based programming, JavaScript and Python) and makes use of collaborative-shared 3D Modeling with clara.io, where students create mathematics knowhow. The instructor follows a problem-based learning approach and encourages their students to find solutions in their own time and in their own way, which will help them develop new skills intuitively and boost logically structured thinking. The collaborative aspect of working in groups will help the students develop communication skills as well as structural and computational thinking. Students are not just listeners as in traditional classroom settings, but play an active part in creating content together by compiling a Handbook of Knowledge (called “open book”) with examples and solutions. Before students start calculating, they have to write down all their ideas and working steps in full sentences so other students can easily follow their train of thought. Therefore, students will learn to formulate goals, solve problems, and create a ready-to use product with the help of “reverse engineering”, cross-referencing and creative thinking. The work on drones gives the students the opportunity to create a real-life application with a practical purpose, while going through all stages of product development.

Keywords: flipped classroom, co-creational education, coding, making, drones, co-education, ARCS-model, problem-based learning

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Authors: Teemu Saressalo

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This article examines the evolution of the Israel Defence Forces’ information operation activities during an eight-year timespan from the 2006 war with Hezbollah to more recent operations such as Pillar of Defence and Protective Edge. To this end, the case study will show a change in the Israel Defence Forces’ activities in the information domain. In the 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel inflicted enormous damage on the Lebanese infrastructure, leaving more than 1,200 people dead and 4,400 injured. Casualties among Hezbollah, Israel’s main adversary, were estimated to range from 250 to 700 fighters. Damage to the Lebanese infrastructure was estimated at over USD 2.5bn, with almost 2,000 houses and buildings damaged and destroyed. Even this amount of destruction did not force Hezbollah to yield and while both sides were claiming victory in the war, Israel paid a heavier price in political backlashes and loss of reputation, mainly due to failures in the media and the way in which the war was portrayed and perceived in Israel and abroad. Much of this can be credited to Hezbollah’s efficient use of the media, and Israel’s failure to do so. Israel managed the next conflict it was engaged in completely differently – it had learnt its lessons and built up new ways to counter its adversary’s propaganda and media operations. In Operation Cast Lead at the turn of 2009, Hamas, Israel’s adversary and Gaza’s dominating faction, was not able to utilize the media in the same way that Hezbollah had. By creating a virtual and physical barrier around the Gaza Strip, Israel almost totally denied its adversary access to the worldwide media, and by restricting the movement of journalists in the area, Israel could let its voice be heard above all. The operation Cast Lead began with a deception operation, which caught Hamas totally off guard. The 21-day campaign left the Gaza Strip devastated, but did not cause as much protest in Israel during the operation as the 2006 war did, mainly due to almost total Israeli dominance in the information dimension. The most important outcome from the Israeli perspective was the fact that Operation Cast Lead was assessed to be a success and the operation enjoyed domestic support along with support from many western nations, which had condemned Israeli actions in the 2006 war. Later conflicts have shown the same tendency towards virtually total dominance in the information domain, which has had an impact on target audiences across the world. Thus, it is clear that well-planned and conducted information operations are able to shape public opinion and influence decision-makers, although Israel might have been outpaced by its rivals.

Keywords: Hamas, Hezbollah, information operations, Israel Defence Forces

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Authors: Fernando Nobre Cavalcante

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In Brazil, and more recently in the city of Fortaleza, there is a new form of entrepreneurship that is focused on the information and communication technology service sector and that draws the attention of young people, investors, governments, authors and media companies: it is known as the start-up movement. Today, it is considered to be a driving force behind the creative economy. Rooted on progressive discourse, the words enterprise and innovation seduce new economic agents motivated by success stories from Silicon Valley in America along with increasing commercial activity for digital goods and services. This article assesses, from a sociological point of view, the new productive wave problematized by the light of Manuel Castells’ informational capitalism. Considering the skeptical as well as the optimistic opinions about the impact of this new entrepreneurial rearrangement, the following question is asked: How Brazilian entrepreneurs evaluate public policy incentives for startups Brazilian Federal Government? The raised hypotheses are based on employability factors as well as cultural, economical, and political matters related to innovation and technology. This study has produced a nationwide quantitative assessment with a special focus on the reality of these Ceará firms; as well as comparative qualitative interviews on Brazilian experiences lived by identified agents. This article outlines the public incentive policy of the federal government, the Start-up Brasil Program, from the perspective of these companies and provides details as to the discipline methods of the new enterprising way born in the United States. The startups are very young companies that are headed towards the economic sustainment of the productive sector services. These companies are dropping the seeds that will produce the re-enchantment of young people and bring them back to participation in political debate; they provide relief and reheats the job market; and they produce a democratization of the entrepreneurial ‘Do-It-Yourself’ culture. They capitalize the pivot of the wall street wolves and of agents being charged for new masks. There are developmental logic’s prophylaxis in the face of dreadful innovation stagnation. The lack of continuity in Brazilian governmental politics and cultural nuances related to entrepreneurship are barring the desired regional success of this ecosystem.

Keywords: creative economy, entrepreneurship, informationalism, innovation, startups, start-up brasil program

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Authors: Jamie Sundvall, Lisa Jennings

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Site based field internship learning (SBL) is an educational approach within a Master’s of Social Work (MSW) university field placement department that promotes a more streamlined approach to the integration of theory and evidence based practices for social work students. The SBL model is founded on research in the field, consideration of current work force needs, United States national trends of MSW graduate skill and knowledge deficits, educational trends in students pursing a master’s degree in social work, and current social problems that require unique problem solving skills. This study explores the use of site-based learning in a hybrid social work program. In this setting, site based learning pairs online education courses and social work field education to create training opportunities for social work students within their own community and cultural context. Students engage in coursework in an online setting with both synchronous and asynchronous features that facilitate development of core competencies for MSW students. Through the SBL model, students are then partnered with faculty in a virtual course room and a university vetted site within their community. The study explores how this model of learning creates community partnerships, through which students engage in a learning loop to develop social work skills, while preparing students to address current community, social, and global issues with the engagement of technology. The goal of SBL is to more effectively equip social work students for practice according to current workforce demands, provide access to education and care to populations who have limited access, and create self-sustainable partnerships. Further, the model helps students learn integration of evidence based practices and helps instructors more effectively teach integration of ethics into practice. The study found that the SBL model increases the influence and professional relevance of the social work profession, and ultimately facilitates stronger approaches to integrating theory into practice. Current implementation of the practice in the United States will be presented in the study. dditionally, future research conceptualization of SBL models will be presented, in order to collaborate on advancing best approaches of translating theory into practice, according to the current needs of the profession and needs of social work students.

Keywords: collaboration, fieldwork, research, site-based learning, technology

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Authors: Mauricio Quintero Angel, Alexander Pereira, Selene Alarcón

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One of the elements of greatest importance in agricultural production is the harvesting; an activity associated to different occupational health risks such as harvesting in high altitudes, the transport of heavy materials and the application of excessive muscle strain that leads to muscular-bone disorders. Therefore, there is an urgent necessity to improve and validate interventions to reduce exposition and risk to harvesters. This article has the objective of describing the co-development under the ergonomic analysis framework of an assisted manual harvesting tool for peach palm oriented to reduce the risk of death and accidents as it avoid the harvest in heights. The peach palm is a palm tree that is cultivated in Colombia, Perú, Brasil, Costa Rica, among others and that reaches heights of over 20 m, with stipes covered with spines. The fruits are drupes of variable size. For the harvesting of peach palm, in Colombia farmers use the “Marota” or “Climber”, a tool in a closed X shape built in wood, that has two supports adjusted at the stipe, that elevate alternately until reaching a point high enough to grab the bunch that is brought down using a rope. An activity of high risk since it is done at a high altitude without any type of protection and safety measures. The Marota is alternated with a rod, which as variable height between 5 and 12 Meters with a harness system at one end to hold the bunch that is lowered with the whole system (bamboo bunch). The rod is used from the ground or from the Marota in height. As an alternative to traditional tools, the Bajachonta was co-developed with farmers, a tool that employs a traditional bamboo hook system with modifications, to be able to hold it with a rope that passes through a pulley. Once the bunch is hitched, the hook system is detached and this stays attached to the peduncle of the palm tree, afterwards through a pulling force being exerted towards the ground by tensioning the rope, the bunch comes loose to be taken down using a rope and the pulley system to the ground, reducing the risk and efforts in the operation. The bajachonta was evaluated in tree productive zones of Colombia, with innovative farmers, were the adoption is highly probable, with some modifications to improve its efficiency and effectiveness, keeping in mind that the farmers perceive in it an advantage in the reduction of death and accidents by not having to harvest in heights.

Keywords: assisted harvesting, ergonomics, harvesting in high altitudes, participative design, peach palm

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Authors: Ewelina Wisnik, Zsolt Regdon, Kinga Chmielewska, Laszlo Virag, Agnieszka Robaszkiewicz

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Apart from protecting genome, PARP1 has been documented to regulate many intracellular processes inter alia gene transcription by physically interacting with chromatin bound proteins and by their ADP-ribosylation. Our recent findings indicate that expression of PARP1 decreases during the differentiation of human CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells to monocytes as a consequence of differentiation-associated cell growth arrest and formation of E2F4-RBL2-HDAC1-SWI/SNF repressive complex at the promoter of this gene. Since the RBL2 complexes repress genes in a E2F-dependent manner and are widespread in the genome in G0 arrested cells, we asked (a) if RBL2 directly contributes to defining monocyte phenotype and function by targeting gene promoters and (b) if RBL2 controls gene transcription indirectly by repressing PARP1. For identification of genes controlled by RBL2 and/or PARP1,we used primer libraries for surface receptors and TLR signaling mediators, genes were silenced by siRNA or shRNA, analysis of gene promoter occupation by selected proteins was carried out by ChIP-qPCR, while statistical analysis in GraphPad Prism 5 and STATISTICA, ChIP-Seq data were analysed in Galaxy 2.5.0.0. On the list of 28 genes regulated by RBL2, we identified only four solely repressed by RBL2-E2F4-HDAC1-BRM complex. Surprisingly, 24 out of 28 emerged genes controlled by RBL2 were co-regulated by PARP1 in six different manners. In one mode of RBL2/PARP1 co-operation, represented by MAP2K6 and MAPK3, PARP1 was found to associate with gene promoters upon RBL2 silencing, which was previously shown to restore PARP1 expression in monocytes. PARP1 effect on gene transcription was observed only in the presence of active EP300, which acetylated gene promoters and activated transcription. Further analysis revealed that PARP1 binding to MA2K6 and MAPK3 promoters enabled recruitment of EP300 in monocytes, while in proliferating cancer cell lines, which actively transcribe PARP1, this protein maintained EP300 at the promoters of MA2K6 and MAPK3. Genome-wide analysis revealed a similar distribution of PARP1 and EP300 around transcription start sites and the co-occupancy of some gene promoters by PARP1 and EP300 in cancer cells. Here, we described a new RBL2/PARP1/EP300 axis which controls gene transcription regardless of the cell type. In this model cell, cycle-dependent transcription of PARP1 regulates expression of some genes repressed by RBL2 upon cell cycle limitation. Thus, RBL2 may indirectly regulate transcription of some genes by controlling the expression of EP300-recruiting PARP1. Acknowledgement: This work was financed by Polish National Science Centre grants nr DEC-2013/11/D/NZ2/00033 and DEC-2015/19/N/NZ2/01735. L.V. is funded by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office grants GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00020 TUMORDNS, GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00048-STAYALIVE and OTKA K112336. AR is supported by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education 776/STYP/11/2016.

Keywords: retinoblastoma transcriptional co-repressor like 2 (RBL2), poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1), E1A binding protein p300 (EP300), monocytes

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Authors: Neha Adsul, Rohit Shah

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Background: The global history of nursing is exclusively a history of deep contradictions as it seeks to negotiate inclusion in an already gendered world. Although a powerful 'clinical gaze exists, nurses have toiled to re-negotiate and subvert the 'medical gaze' by practicing the 'therapeutic gaze' to tether back 'care into nursing practice.' This helps address the duality of the 'body' and 'mind' wherein the patient is not just limited to being an object of medical inquiry. Nevertheless, there has been a consistent effort to fit 'nursing' into being an art or an emerging science over the years. Especially with advances in hospital-based techno-centric medical practices, the boundaries between technology and nursing practices are becoming more blurred as the technical process becomes synonymous with nursing, eroding the essence of nursing care. Aim: This paper examines the history of nursing and offers insights into how gendered relations and the ideological belief of 'nursing as gendered work' have propagated to the subjugation of the nursing profession. It further aims to provide insights into the patriarchally imbibed techno-centrism that negates the gendered caregiving which lies at the crux of a nurse's work. Method: A literature search was carried out using Google Scholar, Web of Science and PubMed databases. Search words included: technology and nursing, medical technology and nursing, history of nursing, sociology and nursing and nursing care. The history of nursing is presented in a discussion that weaves together the historical events of the 'Birth of the Clinic' and the shift from 'bed-side medicine' to 'hospital-based medicine' that legitimizes exploitation of the bodies of patients to the 'medical gaze while the emergence of nursing as acquiescent to instrumental, technical, positivist and dominant views of medicine. The resultant power asymmetries, wherein in contemporary nursing, the constant struggle of nurses to juggle between being the physicians "operational right arm" to harboring that subjective understanding of the patients to refrain from de-humanizing nursing-care. Findings: The nursing profession suffers from being rendered invisible due to gendered relations having patrifocal societal roots. This perpetuates a notion rooted in the idea that emphasizes empiricism and has resulted in theoretical and epistemological fragmentation of the understanding of body and mind as separate entities. Nurses operate within this structure while constantly being at the brink of being pushed beyond the legitimate professional boundaries while being labeled as being 'unscientific' as the work does not always corroborate and align with the existing dominant positivist lines of inquiries. Conclusion: When understood in this broader context of how nursing as a practice has evolved over the years, it provides a particularly crucial testbed for understanding contemporary gender relations. Not because nurses like to live in a gendered work trap but because the gendered relations at work are written in a covert narcissistic patriarchal milieu that fails to recognize the value of intangible yet utmost necessary 'caring work in nursing. This research urges and calls for preserving and revering the humane aspect of nursing care alongside the emerging tech-savvy expectations from nursing work.

Keywords: nursing history, technocentric, power relations, scientific duality

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Authors: Jenson George, Thoa Nguyen, Garth Sanewski, Craig Hardner, Heather Eunice Smyth

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Pineapple (Ananas comosus), with its unique sweet flavour, is one of the most popular tropical, non-climacteric fruits consumed worldwide. It is also the third most important tropical fruit in world production. In Australia, 99% of the pineapple production is from the Queensland state due to the favourable subtropical climatic conditions. The flavourful fruit is known to contain around 500 volatile organic compounds (VOC) at varying concentrations and greatly contribute to the flavour quality of pineapple fruit by providing distinct aroma sensory properties that are sweet, fruity, tropical, pineapple-like, caramel-like, coconut-like, etc. The aroma of pineapple is one of the important factors attracting consumers and strengthening the marketplace. To better understand the aroma of Australian-grown pineapples, the matrix-matched Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Head Space - Solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME), Stable-isotope dilution analysis (SIDA) method was developed and validated. The developed method represents a significant improvement over current methods with the incorporation of multiple external reference standards, multiple isotopes labeled internal standards, and a matching model system of pineapple fruit matrix. This method was employed to quantify 28 key aroma compounds in more than 200 genetically diverse pineapple varieties from a breeding program. The Australian pineapple cultivars varied in content and composition of free volatile compounds, which were predominantly comprised of esters, followed by terpenes, alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones. Using selected commercial cultivars grown in Australia, and by employing the sensorial analysis, the appearance (colour), aroma (intensity, sweet, vinegar/tang, tropical fruits, floral, coconut, green, metallic, vegetal, fresh, peppery, fermented, eggy/sulphurous) and texture (crunchiness, fibrousness, and juiciness) were obtained. Relationships between sensory descriptors and volatiles were explored by applying multivariate analysis (PCA) to the sensorial and chemical data. The key aroma compounds of pineapple exhibited a positive correlation with corresponding sensory properties. The sensory and volatile data were also used to explore genetic diversity in the breeding population. GWAS was employed to unravel the genetic control of the pineapple volatilome and its interplay with fruit sensory characteristics. This study enhances our understanding of pineapple aroma (flavour) compounds, their biosynthetic pathways and expands breeding option for pineapple cultivars. This research provides foundational knowledge to support breeding programs, post-harvest and target market studies, and efforts to optimise the flavour of commercial pineapple varieties and their parent lines to produce better tasting fruits for consumers.

Keywords: Ananas comosus, pineapple, flavour, volatile organic compounds, aroma, Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Head Space - Solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME), Stable-isotope dilution analysis (SIDA).

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Authors: Nivedita Paul

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Marriages in India are part and parcel of kinship and cultural practices. Marriage practices differ in India because of cross-regional diversities in social relations which itself has evolved as a result of causal relationship between space and culture. As the place is important for the formation of culture and other social structures, therefore there is regional differentiation in cultural practices and marital customs. Based on the cultural practices some scholars have divided India into North and South kinship regions where women in the North get married early and have lesser autonomy compared to women in the South where marriages are mostly consanguineous. But, the emergence of new modes and alternative strategies such as matrimonial advertisements becoming popular, as well as the increase in women’s literacy and work force participation, matchmaking process in India has changed to some extent. The present study uses data from Indian Human Development Survey II (2011-12) which is a nationally representative multitopic survey that covers 41,554 households. Currently married women of age group 15-49 in their first marriage; whose year of marriage is from the 1970s to 2000s have been taken for the study. Based on spouse selection experiences, the sample of women has been divided into three marriage categories-self, semi and family arranged. Women in self-arranged or love marriage is the sole decision maker in choosing the partner, in semi-arranged marriage or arranged marriage with consent both parents and women together take the decision, whereas in family arranged or arranged marriage without consent only parents take the decision. The main aim of the study is to show the spatial and regional variations in spouse selection decision making. The basis for regionalization has been taken from Irawati Karve’s pioneering work on kinship studies in India called Kinship Organization in India. India is divided into four kinship regions-North, Central, South and East. Since this work was formulated in 1953, some of the states have experienced changes due to modernization; hence these have been regrouped. After mapping spouse selection patterns using GIS software, it is found that the northern region has mostly family arranged marriages (around 64.6%), the central zone shows a mixed pattern since family arranged marriages are less than north but more than south and semi-arranged marriages are more than north but less than south. The southern zone has the dominance of semi-arranged marriages (around 55%) whereas the eastern zone has more of semi-arranged marriage (around 53%) but there is also a high percentage of self-arranged marriage (around 42%). Thus, arranged marriage is the dominant form of marriage in all four regions, but with a difference in the degree of the involvement of the female and her parents and relatives.

Keywords: spouse selection, consent, kinship, regional pattern

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Authors: Jineetkumar Gawad, Chandrakant Bonde

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Tuberculosis (TB) is a major worldwide concern whose control has been exacerbated by HIV, the rise of multidrug-resistance (MDR-TB) and extensively drug resistance (XDR-TB) strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The interest for newer and faster acting antitubercular drugs are more remarkable than any time. To search potent compounds is need and challenge for researchers. Here, we tried to design lead for inhibition of Decaprenyl phosphoryl-β-D-ribose 2′-epimerase (DprE1) enzyme. Arabinose is an essential constituent of mycobacterial cell wall. DprE1 is a flavoenzyme that converts decaprenylphosphoryl-D-ribose into decaprenylphosphoryl-2-keto-ribose, which is intermediate in biosynthetic pathway of arabinose. Latter, DprE2 converts keto-ribose into decaprenylphosphoryl-D-arabinose. We had a selection of 23 compounds from azaindole series for computational study, and they were drawn using marvisketch. Ligands were prepared using Maestro molecular modeling interface, Schrodinger, v10.5. Common pharmacophore hypotheses were developed by applying dataset thresholds to yield active and inactive set of compounds. There were 326 hypotheses were developed. On the basis of survival score, ADRRR (Survival Score: 5.453) was selected. Selected pharmacophore hypotheses were subjected to virtual screening results into 1000 hits. Hits were prepared and docked with protein 4KW5 (oxydoreductase inhibitor) was downloaded in .pdb format from RCSB Protein Data Bank. Protein was prepared using protein preparation wizard. Protein was preprocessed, the workspace was analyzed using force field OPLS 2005. Glide grid was generated by picking single atom in molecule. Prepared ligands were docked with prepared protein 4KW5 using Glide docking. After docking, on the basis of glide score top-five compounds were selected, (5223, 5812, 0661, 0662, and 2945) and the glide docking score (-8.928, -8.534, -8.412, -8.411, -8.351) respectively. There were interactions of ligand and protein, specifically HIS 132, LYS 418, TRY 230, ASN 385. Pi-pi stacking was observed in few compounds with basic Imidazo [4,5-b] pyridine ring. We had basic azaindole ring in parent compounds, but after glide docking, we received compounds with Imidazo [4,5-b] pyridine as a basic ring. That might be the new lead in the process of drug discovery.

Keywords: DprE1 inhibitors, in silico drug designing, imidazo [4, 5-b] pyridine, lead, tuberculosis

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Authors: Emiliano Matta

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Passive resonant vibration absorbers are among the most widely used dynamic control systems in civil engineering. They typically consist in a single-degree-of-freedom mechanical appendage of the main structure, tuned to one structural target mode through frequency and damping optimization. One classical scheme is the pendulum absorber, whose mass is constrained to move along a curved trajectory and is damped by viscous dashpots. Even though the principle is well known, the search for improved arrangements is still under way. In recent years this investigation inspired a type of bidirectional pendulum absorber (BPA), consisting of a mass constrained to move along an optimal three-dimensional (3D) concave surface. For such a BPA, the surface principal curvatures are designed to ensure a bidirectional tuning of the absorber to both principal modes of the main structure, while damping is produced either by horizontal viscous dashpots or by vertical friction dashpots, connecting the BPA to the main structure. In this paper, a variant of BPA is proposed, where damping originates from the variable tangential friction force which develops between the pendulum mass and the 3D surface as a result of a spatially-varying friction coefficient pattern. Namely, a friction coefficient is proposed that varies along the pendulum surface in proportion to the modulus of the 3D surface gradient. With such an assumption, the dissipative model of the absorber can be proven to be nonlinear homogeneous in the small displacement domain. The resulting homogeneous BPA (HBPA) has a fundamental advantage over conventional friction-type absorbers, because its equivalent damping ratio results independent on the amplitude of oscillations, and therefore its optimal performance does not depend on the excitation level. On the other hand, the HBPA is more compact than viscously damped BPAs because it does not need the installation of dampers. This paper presents the analytical model of the HBPA and an optimal methodology for its design. Numerical simulations of single- and multi-story building structures under wind and earthquake loads are presented to compare the HBPA with classical viscously damped BPAs. It is shown that the HBPA is a promising alternative to existing BPA types and that homogeneous tangential friction is an effective means to realize systems provided with amplitude-independent damping.

Keywords: amplitude-independent damping, homogeneous friction, pendulum nonlinear dynamics, structural control, vibration resonant absorbers

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Authors: Yaser S. Kishawi, Sadi R. Ali

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Part of Palestine, Gaza Strip (365 km2 and 1.8 million inhabitants) is considered a semi-arid zone relies solely on the Coastal Aquifer. The coastal aquifer is only source of water with only 5-10% suitable for human use. This barely cover the domestic and agricultural needs of Gaza Strip. Palestinian Water Authority Strategy is finding non-conventional water resource from treated wastewater to cover agricultural requirements and serve the population. A new WWTP project is to replace the old-overloaded Biet Lahia WWTP. The project consists of three parts; phase A (pressure line & infiltration basins - IBs), phase B (a new WWTP) and phase C (Recovery and Reuse Scheme – RRS – to capture the spreading plume). Currently, only phase A is functioning. Nearly 23 Mm3 of partially treated wastewater were infiltrated into the aquifer. Phase B and phase C witnessed many delays and this forced a reassessment of the RRS original design. An Environmental Management Plan was conducted from Jul 2013 to Jun 2014 on 13 existing monitoring wells surrounding the project location. This is to measure the efficiency of the SAT system and the spread of the contamination plume with relation to the efficiency of the proposed RRS. Along with the proposed location of the 27 recovery wells as part of the proposed RRS. The results of monitored wells were assessed compared with PWA baseline data. This was put into a groundwater model to simulate the plume to propose the best suitable solution to the delays. The redesign mainly manipulated the pumping rate of wells, proposed locations and functioning schedules (including wells groupings). The proposed simulations were examined using visual MODFLOW V4.2 to simulate the results. The results of monitored wells were assessed based on the location of the monitoring wells related to the proposed recovery wells locations (200m, 500m and 750m away from the IBs). Near the 500m line (the first row of proposed recovery wells), an increase of nitrate (from 30 to 70mg/L) compare to a decrease in Chloride (1500 to below 900mg/L) was found during the monitoring period which indicated an expansion of plume to this distance. On this rate with the required time to construct the recovery scheme, keeping the original design the RRS will fail to capture the plume. Based on that many simulations were conducted leading into three main scenarios. The scenarios manipulated the starting dates, the pumping rate and the locations of recovery wells. A simulation of plume expansion and path-lines were extracted from the model monitoring how to prevent the expansion towards the nearby municipal wells. It was concluded that the location is the most important factor in determining the RRS efficiency. Scenario III was adopted and showed an effective results even with a reduced pumping rates. This scenario proposed adding two additional recovery wells in a location beyond the 750m line to compensate the delays and effectively capture the plume. A continuous monitoring program for current and future monitoring wells should be in place to support the proposed scenario and ensure maximum protection.

Keywords: soil aquifer treatment, recovery and reuse scheme, infiltration basins, north gaza

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Authors: G. Kontochristopoulos, T. Spiliopoulos, V. Markantoni, E. Platsidaki, A. Kouris, E. Balamoti, C. Bokotas, G. Haidemenos

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Introduction: There is a high patient demand for periorbital rejuvenation since the facial area is often the first to show visible signs of aging. With advancing age, there are sometimes marked changes that occur in the skin, fat, muscle and bone of the periorbital region, resulting to wrinkles and skin laxity. These changes are among the easiest areas to correct using several minimally invasive techniques, which have become increasingly popular over the last decade. Lasers, radiofrequency, botulinum toxin, fat grafting and fillers are available treatments sometimes in combination to traditional blepharoplasty. This study attempts to show the benefits of a minimally invasive approach to periorbital wrinkles and skin laxity that combine microneedling and 10% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) peels. Method: Eleven female patients aged 34-72 enrolled in the study. They all gave informed consent after receiving detailed information regarding the treatment procedure. Exclusion criteria in the study were previous treatment for the same condition in the past six months, pregnancy, allergy or hypersensitivity to the components, infection, inflammation and photosensitivity on the affected region. All patients had diffuse periorbital wrinkles and mild to moderate upper or lower eyelid skin laxity. They were treated with Automatic Microneedle Therapy System-Handhold and topical application of 10% trichloroacetic acid solution to each periorbital area for five minutes. Needling at a 0,25 mm depth was performed in both latelar (x-y) directions. Subsequently, the peeling agent was applied to each periorbital area for five minutes. Patients were subjected to the above combination every two weeks for a series of four treatments. Subsequently they were followed up regularly every month for two months. The effect was photo-documented. A Physician's and a Patient's Global Assessment Scale was used to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment (0-25% indicated poor response, 25%-50% fair, 50%-75% good and 75%-100% excellent response). Safety was assessed by monitoring early and delayed adverse events. Results: At the end of the study, almost all patients demonstrated significant aesthetic improvement. Physicians assessed a fair and a good improvement in 9(81.8% of patients) and 2(18.1% of patients) participants respectively. Patients Global Assessment rated a fair and a good response in 6 (54.5%) and 5 (45.4%) participants respectively. The procedure was well tolerated and all patients were satisfied. Mild discomfort and transient erythema were quite common during or immediately after the procedure, however only temporary. During the monthly follow up, no complications or scars were observed. Conclusions: Microneedling is known as a simple, office–based collagen induction therapy. Low concentration TCA solution applied to the epidermis that has been more permeable by microneedling, can reach the dermis more effectively. In the present study, chemical peels with 10% TCA acted as an adjuvant to microneedling, as it causes controlled skin damage, promoting regeneration and rejuvenation of tissues. This combined therapy improved periorbital fine lines, wrinkles, and overall appearance of the skin. Thus it constitutes an alternative treatment of periorbital skin aging, with encouraging results and minor side-effects.

Keywords: chemical peels, microneedling, periorbital wrinkles, skin laxity

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Authors: Abel Mahowe

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Furrow erosion is the major problem menacing sustainability of irrigation in Malawi and polluting water bodies resulting in death of many aquatic animals. Many rivers in Malawi are drying due to some poor practices that are being practiced around these water bodies, furrow erosion is one of the cause of sedimentation in these rivers although it has gradual effect on deteriorating of these rivers hence neglected, but has got long term disastrous effect on water bodies. Many aquatic animals also suffer when these sediments are taken into these water bodies. An assessment of effect of manure treatment on furrow erosion was carried out in Sagawika irrigation scheme located in Kasungu District north part of Malawi. The soil on the field was clay loam and had just been tilled. The average furrow slope of 0.2% and was divided into two blocks, A and B. Each block had 20V-shaped furrow having a length of 10 m. Three different manure were used to construct these furrows by mixing it with soil which was moderately moist and 5 furrows from each block were constructed without manure. In each block 5furrow were made using a specific type of manure, and one set of five furrows in each block was made without manure treatment. The types of manure that were used were goat manure, pig manure, and manure from crop residuals. The manure application late was 5 kg/m. The furrow was constructed at a spacing of 0.6 m. Tomato was planted in the two blocks at spacing of 0.15 m between rows and 0.15 m between planting stations. Irrigation water was led from feeder canal into the irrigation furrows using siphons. The siphons discharge into each furrow was set at 1.86 L/S. The ¾ rule was used to determine the cut-off time for the irrigation cycles in order to reduce the run-off at the tail end. During each irrigation cycle, samples of the runoff water were collected at one-minute intervals and analyzed for total sediment concentration for use in estimating the total soil sediment loss. The results of the study have shown that a significant amount of soil is lost in soils without many organic matters, there was a low level of erosion in furrows that were constructed using manure treatment within the blocks. In addition, the results have shown that manure also differs in their ability to control erosion since pig manure proved to have greater abilities in binding the soil together than other manure since they were reduction in the amount of sediments at the tail end of furrows constructed by this type of manure. The results prove that manure contains organic matters which helps soil particles to bind together hence resisting the erosive force of water. The use of manure when constructing furrows in soil with less organic matter can highly reduce erosion hence reducing also pollution of water bodies and improve the conditions of aquatic animals.

Keywords: aquatic, erosion, furrow, soil

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Authors: Kalayanee Senasu

Abstract:

Research on happiness has been growing in recent decades. In the early stages, scholars were primarily concerned with establishing the validity of happiness measures and with exploring socio-economic correlates of happiness. More recent studies have focused on outcomes of happiness as well as the identification of happiness policies. This research investigates the happiness levels and influences of quality of life in terms of mental health satisfaction, family satisfaction, community satisfaction, and work satisfaction as determinants of happiness in Thailand during 2009-2014. The data collected by the National Statistic Office of Thailand in the project of Socio-economic Survey inclusion of Mental Health Survey in 2009, 2010, and 2012; and in the project of Labor Force Survey inclusion of Mental Health Survey in August 2014 were employed. There was a total of 59,430, 64,720, 54,736, and 9,997 respondents who were at least 15 years old in the survey during 2009-2014. Statistical analyses include both descriptive and inferential statistics. All research hypotheses were tested by means of hierarchical regression analysis. The analysis results reveal that happiness means during the studied period are quite at high levels (in the range of 7.42 to 7.60 from the scale 0-10). And the results indicate that all model variables (i.e., mental health satisfaction, family satisfaction, community satisfaction, and work satisfaction), have positive effects on happiness in Thailand. Additionally, the mental health satisfaction plays the most important role in predicting happiness. Further, our results indicate significant positive relationship between education, and income/expense and happiness, while other socio-economic variables reveal variety relationships during the studied period. Our results not only validate research findings in other countries but also verify the importance of quality of life (in terms of mental health satisfaction, family satisfaction, community satisfaction, and work satisfaction) as important factors of happiness for public policy makers. One conclusion stands firm in our study: happiness can be advanced in many ways. At the society level, greater happiness for people can be achieved by policies that aim to promote good health, an engaged family relationship, a high community as well as work qualities. A contented population is advantaged in many ways over one that is not. Government or policy makers should understand and realize that happiness is a valuable and tangible aspect of the population for which they are responsible. Therefore, they should include happiness issues in their political agenda.

Keywords: community satisfaction, family satisfaction, mental health satisfaction, work satisfaction, happiness, Thailand

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Authors: Shivani Yadav

Abstract:

The Study of terrorism lends itself to the constructivist framework as constructivism focuses on the importance of ideas and norms in shaping interests and identities. Constructivism is pertinent to understand the phenomenon of a terrorist organization like the Islamic State (IS), which opportunistically utilizes radical ideas and norms to shape its ‘politics of identity’. This ‘identity’, which is at the helm of preferences and interests of actors, in turn, shapes actions. The paper argues that an effective counter-terrorism policy must recognize the importance of ideas in order to counter the threat arising from acts of radicalism and terrorism. Traditional theories of international relations, with an emphasis on state-centric security problematic, exhibit several limitations and problems in interpreting the phenomena of terrorism. With the changing global order, these theories have failed to adapt to the changing dimensions of terrorism, especially ‘newer’ actors like the Islamic State (IS). The paper observes that IS distinguishes itself from other terrorist organizations in the way that it recruits and spreads its propaganda. Not only are its methods different, but also its tools (like social media) are new. Traditionally, too, force alone has rarely been sufficient to counter terrorism, but it seems especially impossible to completely root out an organization like IS. Time is ripe to change the discourse around terrorism and counter-terrorism strategies. The counter-terrorism measures adopted by states, which primarily focus on mitigating threats to the national security of the state, are preoccupied with statist objectives of the continuance of state institutions and maintenance of order. This limitation prevents these theories from addressing the questions of justice and the ‘human’ aspects of ideas and identity. These counter-terrorism strategies adopt a problem-solving approach that attempts to treat the symptoms without diagnosing the disease. Hence, these restrictive strategies fail to look beyond calculated retaliation against violent actions in order to address the underlying causes of discontent pertaining to ‘why’ actors turn violent in the first place. What traditional theories also overlook is that overt acts of violence may have several causal factors behind them, some of which are rooted in the structural state system. Exploring these root causes through the constructivist framework helps to decipher the process of ‘construction of terror’ and to move beyond the ‘what’ in theorization in order to describe ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘when’ terrorism occurs. Study of terrorism would much benefit from a constructivist analysis in order to explore non-military options while countering the ideology propagated by the IS.

Keywords: constructivism, counter terrorism, Islamic State, politics of identity

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Authors: Darren A. Whitaker, Dan Palmer, Jens Wesholowski, James Flaherty, John Mack, Ahmad B. Albadarin, Gavin Walker

Abstract:

Traditional mechanosynthesis has been performed by either ball milling or manual grinding. However, neither of these techniques allow the easy application of process control. The temperature may change unpredictably due to friction in the process. Hence the amount of energy transferred to the reactants is intrinsically non-uniform. Recently, it has been shown that the use of Twin-Screw extrusion (TSE) can overcome these limitations. Additionally, TSE enables a platform for continuous synthesis or manufacturing as it is an open-ended process, with feedstocks at one end and product at the other. Several materials including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), co-crystals and small organic molecules have been produced mechanochemically using TSE. The described advantages of TSE are offset by drawbacks such as increased process complexity (a large number of process parameters) and variation in feedstock flow impacting on product quality. To handle the above-mentioned drawbacks, this study utilizes UV-Vis spectrophotometry (InSpectroX, ColVisTec) as an online tool to gain real-time information about the quality of the product. Additionally, this is combined with real-time process information in an Advanced Process Control system (PharmaMV, Perceptive Engineering) allowing full supervision and control of the TSE process. Further, by characterizing the dynamic behavior of the TSE, a model predictive controller (MPC) can be employed to ensure the process remains under control when perturbed by external disturbances. Two reactions were studied; a Knoevenagel condensation reaction of barbituric acid and vanillin and, the direct amidation of hydroquinone by ammonium acetate to form N-Acetyl-para-aminophenol (APAP) commonly known as paracetamol. Both reactions could be carried out continuously using TSE, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to confirm the percentage conversion of starting materials to product. This information was used to construct partial least squares (PLS) calibration models within the PharmaMV development system, which relates the percent conversion to product to the acquired UV-Vis spectrum. Once this was complete, the model was deployed within the PharmaMV Real-Time System to carry out automated optimization experiments to maximize the percentage conversion based on a set of process parameters in a design of experiments (DoE) style methodology. With the optimum set of process parameters established, a series of PRBS process response tests (i.e. Pseudo-Random Binary Sequences) around the optimum were conducted. The resultant dataset was used to build a statistical model and associated MPC. The controller maximizes product quality whilst ensuring the process remains at the optimum even as disturbances such as raw material variability are introduced into the system. To summarize, a combination of online spectral monitoring and advanced process control was used to develop a robust system for optimization and control of two TSE based mechanosynthetic processes.

Keywords: continuous synthesis, pharmaceutical, spectroscopy, advanced process control

Procedia PDF Downloads 151