Search results for: microencapsulated phase change materials

Authors: Sudipta Garai

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Films as a cultural, social practice remains a dominant space for creation and destruction of ideologies and practices which make the sociological viewing, analysis, and interpretation of the same a complex affair. It remains the doorway between the interpretations and understanding of the writer/director and the reader/viewer. India, being a multi-linguistic culture, the media plays a much intriguing role than that of newspaper, books, stories, novels or any other medium of expression. Known to be the largest democracy, the State seem to guarantee and safeguard people’s choices and life of dignity through its Fundamental Rights and Directives. However, the laws contradict themselves when it comes to IPC 377 criminalizing anything except penovaginal sexual intercourse restricting alternative sexual preferences and practices questioning its sense of ‘democracy.' In this context, the issue of homosexuality came up in bits and pieces through various representations in ‘popular’ cinema mostly with sudden references of mockery and laughter where the explicit narratives of ‘queer’ seemed missing. Rituparno Ghosh, an eminent film maker of Bengal, came up as the ‘queer’ face in Kolkata specifically through his ‘queer’ trilogy (Memories in March, 2010; Arekti Premer Golpo, 2010; Chitrangada: A Crowning Wish, 2012) coming out of his own closet and speaking about his own sexual choices not only through the explicit narratives in films but also in person which made these films an important point of departure in Bengali film history. A sociological reading of these films through a discourse analysis is being done with the critical questions of ‘choice,' ’freedom,' ‘love and marriage’ and most importantly the ‘change.' This study not only focuses on the films and its analysis of content but also to engage with its audience, queer and not in order to extend beyond the art form into the actual vulnerabilities of life and experiences through informal interviews, focused group discussions and engaging with the real life narratives. A research of this kind is always looked upon as a medium of change hoping for a better world wiping away the discrimination and ‘shame’ the ‘queer’ faces in their everyday life, but a social science research is limited but its ‘time’ and academic boundary where the hope of change might be initiated but not fulfilled. The experiences and reflections of the ‘queer’ not only redefined the narratives of the films but also me as a researcher. The perspectives of the ‘hetero-normative’ informants gave a broader picture of the study and the socio-cultural complications that are intrigued with the ideas of resistance and change. The issues on subjectivity, power, and position couldn’t be wiped out in a study of this kind as both politics and aesthetics become integrated with each other in the creation of any art form be it films or a study of research.

Keywords: cinema, alternative sexualities, narratives, sexual choices, state and society

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Authors: Satyananda Behera, Ritwik Sarkar

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In iron and steel industries, MgO–C refractories are widely used in basic oxygen furnaces, electric arc furnaces and steel ladles due to their excellent corrosion resistance, thermal shock resistance, and other excellent hot properties. Conventionally magnesia carbon refractories contain about 8-20 wt% of carbon but the use of carbon is also associate with disadvantages like oxidation, low fracture strength, high heat loss and higher carbon pick up in steel. So, MgO-C refractory having low carbon content without compromising the beneficial properties is the challenge. Nano carbon, having finer particles, can mix and distribute within the entire matrix uniformly and can result in improved mechanical, thermo-mechanical, corrosion and other refractory properties. Previous experiences with the use of nano carbon in low carbon MgO-C refractory have indicated an optimum range of use of nano carbon around 1 wt%. This optimum nano carbon content was used in MgO-C compositions with flaky graphite followed by aluminum and silicon metal powder as an anti-oxidant. These low carbon MgO-C refractory compositions were prepared by conventional manufacturing techniques. At the same time 16 wt. % flaky graphite containing conventional MgO-C refractory was also prepared parallel under similar conditions. The developed products were characterized for various refractory related properties. Nano carbon containing compositions showed better mechanical, thermo-mechanical properties, and oxidation resistance compared to that of conventional composition. Improvement in the properties is associated with the formation of in-situ ceramic phase-like aluminum carbide, silicon carbide, and magnesium aluminum spinel. Higher surface area and higher reactivity of N220 nano carbon black resulted in greater formation in-situ ceramic phases, even at a much lower amount. Nano carbon containing compositions were found to have improved properties in MgO-C refractories compared to that of the conventional ones at much lower total carbon content.

Keywords: N220nano carbon black, refractory properties, conventionally manufacturing techniques, conventional magnesia carbon refractories

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Authors: Temesgen Geremew

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Functionalized nanoparticles have emerged as a revolutionary class of materials with immense potential in various biomedical applications. These engineered nanoparticles possess unique properties tailored to interact with biological systems, offering unprecedented opportunities in drug delivery, imaging, diagnostics, and therapy. This research delves into the design, synthesis, and characterization of functionalized nanoparticles for targeted biomedical applications. The primary focus lies on developing nanoparticles with precisely controlled size, surface chemistry, and biocompatibility for specific medical purposes. The research will also explore the crucial interaction of these nanoparticles with biological systems, encompassing cellular uptake, biodistribution, and potential toxicity evaluation. The successful development of functionalized nanoparticles holds the promise to revolutionize various aspects of healthcare. This research aspires to contribute significantly to this advancement by providing valuable insights into the design and application of these versatile materials within the ever-evolving field of biomedicine.

Keywords: nanoparticles, biomedicals, cancer, biocompatibility

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Authors: Bojana Ž. Bajić, Siniša N. Dodić, Vladimir S. Puškaš, Jelena M. Dodić

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Increasing industrialization as a response to the demands of the consumer society greatly exploits resources and generates large amounts of waste effluents in addition to the desired product. This means it is a priority to implement technologies with the maximum utilization of raw materials and energy, minimum generation of waste effluents and/or their recycling (secondary use). Considering the process conditions and the nature of the raw materials used by the vegetable oil industry, its wastewaters can be used as substrates for the biotechnological production which requires large amounts of water. This way the waste effluents of one branch of industry become raw materials for another branch which produces a new product while reducing wastewater pollution and thereby reducing negative environmental impacts. Vegetable oil production generates wastewaters during the process of rinsing oils and fats which contain mainly fatty acid pollutants. The vegetable oil industry generates large amounts of waste effluents, especially in the processes of degumming, deacidification, deodorization and neutralization. Wastewaters from the vegetable oil industry are generated during the whole year in significant amounts, based on the capacity of the vegetable oil production. There are no known alternative applications for these wastewaters as raw materials for the production of marketable products. Since the literature has no data on the potential negative impact of fatty acids on the metabolism of the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris, these wastewaters were considered as potential raw materials for the biotechnological production of xanthan. In this research, vegetable oil industry wastewaters were used as the basis for the cultivation media for xanthan production with Xanthomonas campestris ATCC 13951. Examining the process of biosynthesis of xanthan on vegetable oil industry wastewaters as the basis for the cultivation media was performed to obtain insight into the possibility of its use in the aforementioned biotechnological process. Additionally, it was important to experimentally determine the absence of substances that have an inhibitory effect on the metabolism of the production microorganism. Xanthan content, rheological parameters of the cultivation media, carbon conversion into xanthan and conversions of the most significant nutrients for biosynthesis (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus sources) were determined as indicators of the success of biosynthesis. The obtained results show that biotechnological production of the biopolymer xanthan by bacterium Xanthomonas campestris on vegetable oil industry wastewaters based cultivation media simultaneously provides preservation of the environment and economic benefits which is a sustainable solution to the problem of wastewater treatment.

Keywords: biotechnology, sustainable bioprocess, vegetable oil industry wastewaters, Xanthomonas campestris

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Authors: Udayakumar Vee, Franck Quero

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Zwitterionic polymers generally have been viewed as a new class of antimicrobial and non-fouling materials. They offer a broad versatility for chemical modification and hence great freedom for accurate molecular design, which bear an equimolar number of homogenously distributed anionic and cationic groups along their polymer chains. This study explores the effectiveness of the auxetic zwitterion carboxylate/sulfonate hydrogel in the diabetic-induced mouse model. A series of silver metal-doped auxetic zwitterion carboxylate/sulfonate/vinylaniline copolymer hydrogels is designed via a 3D printer. Zwitterion monomers have been characterized by FT-IR and NMR techniques. The effect of changing the monomers and different loading ratios of Ag over zwitterion on the final hydrogel materials' antimicrobial properties and biocompatibility will be investigated in detail. The synthesized auxetic hydrogel has been characterized using a wide range of techniques to help establish the relationship between molecular level and macroscopic properties of these materials, including mechanical and antibacterial and biocompatibility and wound healing ability. This work's comparative studies and results provide new insights and guide us in choosing a better auxetic structured material for a broad spectrum of wound healing applications in the animal model. We expect this approach to provide a versatile and robust platform for biomaterial design that could lead to promising treatments for wound healing applications.

Keywords: auxetic, zwitterion, carboxylate, sulfonate, polymer, wound healing

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Authors: Khaldi Youcef

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This investigation seeks to inquire into the effectiveness of using authentic videos for grammar teaching purposes. In this investigation, an English animated situation, Hercules, was used as a type of authentic multimedia to teach a particular grammatical structure, namely conditional sentences. This study also aims at investigating the EFL learners’ attitudes toward grammar learning after being exposed to such an authentic video. To reach that purpose, 56 EFL learners were required ultimately to respond to a questionnaire with an aim to reveal their attitudes towards grammar as a language entity and as a subject for being learned. Then, as a second stage of the investigation, the EFL learners were divided into a control group and an experimental group with 28 learners in each. The first group was taught grammar -conditional sentences- using a deductive-inductive approach, while the second group was exposed to an authentic video to learn conditional sentences. There was a post-lesson stage that included a questionnaire to be answered by learners of each group. The aim of this stage is to capture any change in learners' attitudes shown in the pre-lesson questionnaire. The findings of the first stage revealed learners' negative attitudes towards grammar learning. And the third stage results showed the effectiveness of authentic videos in entirely turning learners' attitudes toward grammar learning to be significantly positive. Also, the utility of authentic videos in highly motivating EFL learners can be deduced. The findings of this survey asserted the need for incorporation and integration of authentic videos in EFL classrooms as they resulted in rising effectively learners’ awareness of grammar and looking at it from a communicative perspective.

Keywords: multimedia, authentic videos, negative attitudes, grammar learning, EFL learners

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Authors: Udayakumar Veerabagu, Franck Quero

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Zwitterion carboxylate and sulfonate polymers generally have been viewed as a new class of antimicrobial and non-fouling materials. They offer a broad versatility for chemical modification and hence great freedom for accurate molecular design, which bear an equimolar number of homogenously distributed anionic and cationic groups along their polymer chains. This study explores the effectiveness of the auxetic zwitterion carboxylate/sulfonate hydrogel in the diabetic-induced mouse model. A series of silver metal-doped auxetic zwitterion carboxylate/sulfonate/vinylaniline copolymer hydrogels is designed via a 3D printer. Zwitterion monomers have been characterized by FT-IR and NMR techniques. The effect of changing the monomers and different loading ratios of Ag over zwitterion on the final hydrogel materials' antimicrobial properties and biocompatibility will be investigated in detail. The synthesized auxetic hydrogel has been characterized using a wide range of techniques to help establish the relationship between molecular level and macroscopic properties of these materials, including mechanical and antibacterial and biocompatibility and wound healing ability. This work's comparative studies and results provide new insights and guide us in choosing a better auxetic structured material for a broad spectrum of wound healing applications in the animal model. We expect this approach to provide a versatile and robust platform for biomaterial design that could lead to promising treatments for wound healing applications.

Keywords: auxetic, zwitterion, carboxylate, sulfonate, polymer, wound healing

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Authors: John Hardy

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The early twenty-first century national security environment has been characterized by political coercion. Despite an abundance of political commentary on the various forms of non-state coercion leveraged against the state, there is a lack of literature which distinguishes between the mechanisms and the mediums of coercion. Frequently non-state movements seeking to coerce the state are labelled by their tactics, not their strategies. Terrorists, insurgencies and social movements are largely defined by the ways in which they seek to influence the state, rather than by their political aims. This study examines the strategies of coercion used by non-state actors against states. This approach includes terrorist groups, insurgencies, and social movements who seek to coerce state politics. Not all non-state actors seek political coercion, so not all examples of different group types are considered. This approach also excludes political coercion by states, focusing on the non-state actor as the primary unit of analysis. The study applies a general theory of political coercion, which is defined as attempts to change the policies or action of a polity against its will, to the strategies employed by terrorist groups, insurgencies, and social movements. This distinguishes non-state actors’ strategic objectives from their actions and motives, which are variables that are often used to differentiate between types of non-state actors and the labels commonly used to describe them. It also allows for a comparative analysis of theoretical perspectives from the disciplines of terrorism, insurgency and counterinsurgency, and social movements. The study finds that there is a significant degree of overlap in the way that different disciplines conceptualize the mechanism of political coercion by non-state actors. Studies of terrorism and counterterrorism focus more on the notions of cost tolerance and collective punishment, while studies of insurgency focus on a contest of legitimacy between actors, and social movement theory tend to link political objectives, social capital, and a mechanism of influence to leverage against the state. Each discipline has a particular vernacular for the mechanism of coercion, which is often linked to the means of coercion, but they converge on three core theoretical components of compelling a polity to change its policies or actions: exceeding resistance to change, using political or violent punishments, and withholding legitimacy or consent from a government.

Keywords: counter terrorism, homeland security, insurgency, political coercion, social movement theory, terrorism

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Authors: Igho Ekiugbo, Christos Papanagnou

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The energy sector continues to face increased scrutiny due to climate change challenges emanating from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas. These climate change challenges have motivated industry practitioners and researchers alike to gain an interest in the way businesses operate. This paper aimed to investigate and assess how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are reducing the impact of their operations, especially those within their supply chains, by assessing the sustainability practices they have adopted and implemented as well as the benefits and challenges of adopting such practices. Data will be collected from SMEs operating across the downstream oil and gas sector in Nigeria using questionnaire surveys. To analyse the data, confirmatory factor analysis and regression analysis will be performed. This method is deemed more suitable and appropriate for testing predefined measurements of sustainable supply chain practices as contained in the extant literature. Preliminary observations indicate a consensus on the awareness of the sustainability concept amongst the target participants. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is among the first to investigate the sustainability practices of SMEs operating in the Nigerian oil and gas sector and will therefore contribute to the sustainability and circular economic literature.

Keywords: small and medium-sized enterprises, sustainability practices, supply chains, sustainable supply chain management, corporate sustainability, oil and gas, business performance

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Authors: Shaik Ayesha Fathima, Shaik Noor Jahan, Duvvada Rajeswara Rao

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Earth's environment and its evolution can be seen through satellite images in near real-time. Through satellite imagery, remote sensing data provide crucial information that can be used for a variety of applications, including image fusion, change detection, land cover classification, agriculture, mining, disaster mitigation, and monitoring climate change. The objective of this project is to propose a method for classifying satellite images according to multiple predefined land cover classes. The proposed approach involves collecting data in image format. The data is then pre-processed using data pre-processing techniques. The processed data is fed into the proposed algorithm and the obtained result is analyzed. Some of the algorithms used in satellite imagery classification are U-Net, Random Forest, Deep Labv3, CNN, ANN, Resnet etc. In this project, we are using the DeepLabv3 (Atrous convolution) algorithm for land cover classification. The dataset used is the deep globe land cover classification dataset. DeepLabv3 is a semantic segmentation system that uses atrous convolution to capture multi-scale context by adopting multiple atrous rates in cascade or in parallel to determine the scale of segments.

Keywords: area calculation, atrous convolution, deep globe land cover classification, deepLabv3, land cover classification, resnet 50

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Authors: Ahmet Emre Yonder

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The concept of present time is inevitably and rapidly changing. That provokes unbalanced, uncertain and elusive platform in the world order. Keeping up with this fluctuation requires a willingness to step beyond the comfort zones and to take a step through unknown. That is the perspectives of organizations in which the shareholders persistently create and then they share their creation. Moreover they are adapted to the unpredictable shifts and they establish vision. These are the meaning of innovation which is a process that converts new ideas to invaluable outcomes and that process can be ensured via innovative leaders. Leaders’ creativity is needed when challenging against countless complicated and unsteady situations in the battlefield. However, little attention has been paid to the importance of being innovative leader apart from innovating new technologies so far. Additionally, in most situation militarist organizations are hesitant to welcome different attitudes and that may discourage new ideas. Furthermore military leaders may complain about the lack of sources in today's world where the sources are very rare. In that point military leaders should change the strategies they apply from conventional views to the innovation of different point of views. But the constant occupation in Air Forces can be counted as a huge obstacle for innovative thinking. An organizational structure is needed to be developed for solutions of the problems which the creative leaders will encounter.This article focuses on how to raise innovative military leaders with innovative thinking skills and the need for a change from conventional to the innovative leadership in Air Forces. It also gives important suggestions to encourage raising innovative military leaders.

Keywords: air force, creativity, leadership, military, innovation

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Authors: Omid Tavakol, Mahnaz Gholami

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Introduction : In this oral presentation the main goal is discussing immediate loading in dental implants , from treatment planning and surgical guide designing to delivery , follow up and occlusal consideration . Methods and materials : first of all systematic reviews about immediate loading will be considered . besides , a comparison will be made between immediate loading and conventional loading in terms of success rate and complications . After that different methods , prosthetic options and materials best used in immediate loading will be explained. Particularly multi unit abutments and their mechanism of function will be explained .Digital impressions and designing the temporaries is the next topic we are to explicate .Next issue is the differences between single unit , multiple unit and full arch implantation in immediate loading .Following we are going to describe methods for tissue engineering and papilla formation after extraction . Last slides are about a full mouth rehabilitation via immediate loading technique from surgical designing to follow up .At the end we would talk about potential complications , how to prevent from occurrence and what to do if we face up with .

Keywords: guided surgery, digital implantology, immediate loading, digital dentistry

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Authors: Nur Amalina Dayana Abd Aziz

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Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning in any syllabus in the world. Recently, a new assessment system, School-Based Assessment (SBA) was introduced and implemented in the Malaysian education system to promote a more holistic, integrated and balanced assessment system. This effort is part of the reformation made in the Government Transformation Plan (GTP) to produce a world-class human capital as we are reaching and achieving the Vision 2020 in the near future. However, this new change has raised awareness and concerns from teachers, students, parents and non-profit organizations on how the new assessment is to be implemented and how it is affecting the students and teachers particularly. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the issues that teachers face in implementing SBA in primary schools, the measures taken to address the issues and to propose ways of managing school-based assessment. Five national primary schools focusing in the urban areas in the Selangor state are chosen for this study to carry out. Data for the study will be gathered from interviews with teachers from each school, surveys and classrooms observation will be conducted in each school, and relevant documents are collected from the selected schools. The findings of this study will present the current issues that teachers from various types of national primary schools are facing and what actions they took to overcome the problems in carrying out SBA. Suggestions on how to better manage school-based assessment for teachers are also provided in this paper.

Keywords: community of practice, curriculum, managing change, school-based assessment

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Authors: Ayad Salih Sabbar, Amin Chegenizadeh, Hamid Nikraz

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Investigation of liquefaction susceptibility of materials that have been used in embankments, slopes, dams, and foundations is very essential. Many catastrophic geo-hazards such as flow slides, declination of foundations, and damage to earth structure are associated with static liquefaction that may occur during abrupt shearing of these materials. Many artificial backfill materials are mixtures of sand with fines and other composition. In order to provide some clarifications and evaluations on the role of fines in static liquefaction behaviour of sand sandy soils, the effect of fines on the liquefaction susceptibility of sand was experimentally examined in the present work over a range of fines content, relative density, and initial confining pressure. The results of an experimental study on various sand-fines mixtures are presented. Undrained static triaxial compression tests were conducted on saturated Perth sand containing 5% bentonite at three different relative densities (10, 50, and 90%), and saturated Perth sand containing both 5% bentonite and slag (2%, 4%, and 6%) at single relative density 10%. Undrained static triaxial tests were performed at three different initial confining pressures (100, 150, and 200 kPa). The brittleness index was used to quantify the liquefaction potential of sand-bentonite-slag mixtures. The results demonstrated that the liquefaction susceptibility of sand-5% bentonite mixture was more than liquefaction susceptibility of clean sandy soil. However, liquefaction potential decreased when both of two fines (bentonite and slag) were used. Liquefaction susceptibility of all mixtures decreased with increasing relative density and initial confining pressure.  

Keywords: liquefaction, bentonite, slag, brittleness index

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Authors: Esra Yaldız, Dicle Aydın

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Sustainability is a term that provides deciding about the future considering environment and investigates the harmony and balance between protection and usage of the resource. The main objective of sustainability is creating residential areas is nature compatible or providing continuance thereby adapting existing residential area to nature. In this context, historical and traditional areas must have utilized according to sustainability. Traditional housing texture are identified as a traditional architectural product has been designed based on this term. General characteristics of traditional housing within the context of sustainable architecture are their specific dynamics and components and their harmonisation of environment and nature. Owing to the fact that traditional housing texture harmonizes natural conditions of the region, topography, climate and their context, construction materials are provided from environment and traditional techniques and their forms are used and due to construction materials has natural insulation traditional housing create healthy and comfortable living environment, traditional housing is rather significant in terms of sustainable architecture. The basis of this study comprise the routers in traditional housing design in accordance with the principles of sustainability. These are, accommodating topography, climate, and geography, accessibility, structuring at the scale of human, utilization of green zones, unique to the region used construction materials, the form of construction, building envelope and space organization of dwelling. In this context, the purpose of this study is that vernacular architecture approaches of traditional housing textures which are in Central Anatolia Region Located in Anatolia are utilized with regard to sustainability.

Keywords: Anatolia, sustainability, traditional housing texture, vernacular architecture

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Authors: Jeremy Faludi, Zhongyin Hu, Shahd Alrashed, Christopher Braunholz, Suneesh Kaul, Leulekal Kassaye

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Environmental impacts of six 3D printers using various materials were compared to determine if material choice drove sustainability, or if other factors such as machine type, machine size, or machine utilization dominate. Cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessments were performed, comparing a commercial-scale FDM machine printing in ABS plastic, a desktop FDM machine printing in ABS, a desktop FDM machine printing in PET and PLA plastics, a polyjet machine printing in its proprietary polymer, an SLA machine printing in its polymer, and an inkjet machine hacked to print in salt and dextrose. All scenarios were scored using ReCiPe Endpoint H methodology to combine multiple impact categories, comparing environmental impacts per part made for several scenarios per machine. Results showed that most printers’ ecological impacts were dominated by electricity use, not materials, and the changes in electricity use due to different plastics was not significant compared to variation from one machine to another. Variation in machine idle time determined impacts per part most strongly. However, material impacts were quite important for the inkjet printer hacked to print in salt: In its optimal scenario, it had up to 1/38th the impacts coreper part as the worst-performing machine in the same scenario. If salt parts were infused with epoxy to make them more physically robust, then much of this advantage disappeared, and material impacts actually dominated or equaled electricity use. Future studies should also measure DMLS and SLS processes / materials.

Keywords: 3D printing, additive manufacturing, sustainability, life-cycle assessment, design for environment

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Authors: Suresh Vanguri, Suresh Palla, K. V. Kalyani, S. K. Chaturvedi, B. N. Mohapatra

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Enhancing the fly ash utilization in the manufacture of cement is identified as one of the key areas to mitigate the Green House Gas emissions from the cement industry. Though increasing the fly ash content in cement has economic and environmental benefits, it results in a decrease in the compressive strength values, particularly at early ages. Quality of clinker and fly ash were identified as predominant factors that govern the extent of absorption of fly ash in the manufacturing of cement. This paper presents systematic investigations on the effect of clinker and fly ash quality on the properties of resultant cement. Since mechanical activation alters the physicochemical properties such as particle size distribution, surface area, phase morphology, understanding the variation of these properties with activation is required for its applications. The effect of mechanical activation on fly ash surface area, specific gravity, flow properties, lime reactivity, comparative compressive strength (CCS), reactive silica and mineralogical properties were also studied. The fineness of fly ash was determined by Blaine’s method, specific gravity, lime reactivity, CCS were determined as per the method IS 1727-1967. The phase composition of fly ash was studied using the X-ray Diffraction technique. The changes in the microstructure and morphology with activation were examined using the scanning electron microscope. The studies presented in this paper also include evaluation of Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), prepared using high volume fly ash. Studies are being carried out using clinker from cement plants located in different regions/clusters in India. Blends of PPC containing higher contents of activated fly ash have been prepared and investigated for their chemical and physical properties, as per Indian Standard procedures. Changes in the microstructure of fly ash with activation and mechanical properties of resultant cement containing high volumes of fly ash indicated the significance of optimization of the quality of clinker and fly ash fineness for better techno-economical benefits.

Keywords: flow properties, fly ash enhancement, lime reactivity, microstructure, mineralogy

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Authors: Ashrafosadat Mousavi Laer, Elaheh Moravej

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The art of binding was simple and elementary at the beginning of Islam. This art thrived gradually and continued its development as an independent art. Identification of the binding techniques and used materials in covers and investigation of the arrays give us indexes for the better identification of different doctrines and methods of that time. The catalogers of the manuscripts usually pay attention to four items: gender, color, art elegances, injury, and exquisiteness of the cover. The criterion for classification of the covers is their art nature and gender. 15th century AD (9th century AH) was the period of the binding art development in which the most beautiful covers were produced by the so-called method of ‘burning’. At 16th century AD (10th century AH), in Safavid era, art changed completely and a fundamental evolution occurred in the technique and method of binding. The greatest change in this art was the extensive use of stamp that was made mostly of steel and copper. Theses stamps were presses against leather. These covers were called ‘beat’. In this paper, writing and bookbinding of about 32 Shahnamehs of Safavid era available in the Iranian libraries and museums are studied. An analytical-statistical study shows that four methods have been used including beat, burning, mosaic, and oily. 69 percent of the covers of these copies are cardboards with a leathery coating (goatskin) and have been produced by burning and beat methods. Its reasons are that these two methods have been common methods in Safavid era and performing them was only feasible on leather and the most desirable and commonly used leather of that time was goatskin which was the best option for cover legend durability and preserving the book and it was more durable because it had been made of goat skin. In addition, it had prepared a suitable opportunity for the binding artist’s creativity and innovation.

Keywords: Shahnameh, Safavid era, bookbinding, beat cover, burning cover

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Authors: Laura Jenkins, Tim Eschle, Joanne Ciafone, Colin Hamilton

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An original working memory model suggested the separation of visual and verbal systems in working memory architecture, in which only visual working memory components were used during visual working memory tasks. It was later suggested that the visuo spatial sketch pad was the only memory component at use during visual working memory tasks, and components such as the phonological loop were not considered. In more recent years, a contrasting approach has been developed with the use of an executive resource to incorporate both visual and verbal representations in visual working memory paradigms. This was supported using research demonstrating the use of verbal representations and an executive resource in a visual matrix patterns task. The aim of the current research is to investigate the working memory architecture during both a quantitative and a qualitative visual working memory task. A dual task method will be used. Three secondary tasks will be used which are designed to hit specific components within the working memory architecture – Dynamic Visual Noise (visual components), Visual Attention (spatial components) and Verbal Attention (verbal components). A comparison of the visual working memory tasks will be made to discover if verbal representations are at use, as the previous literature suggested. This direct comparison has not been made so far in the literature. Considerations will be made as to whether a domain specific approach should be employed when discussing visual working memory tasks, or whether a more domain general approach could be used instead.

Keywords: semantic organisation, visual memory, change detection

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Authors: Jin Lin, Shouxiang Lu, Kim Meow Liew

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In a fire accident, fire smoke often poses a serious threat to human safety especially in the enclosed space such as submarine and space-crafts environment. Efficient removal of the hazardous gas products particularly a large amount of CO and CO₂ gases from these confined space is critical for the security of the staff and necessary for the post-fire environment recovery. In this work, Cu-Mn-Ce composite oxide catalysts coupled with CO₂ sorbents were prepared using wet impregnation method, solid-state impregnation method and wet/solid-state impregnation method. The as-prepared samples were tested dynamically and isothermally for CO oxidation and CO₂ sorption and further characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption and desorption, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The results showed that all the samples were able to catalyze CO into CO₂ and capture CO₂ in situ by chemisorption. Among all the samples, the sample synthesized by the wet/solid-state impregnation method showed the highest catalytic activity toward CO oxidation and the fine ability of CO₂ sorption. The sample prepared by the solid-state impregnation method showed the second CO oxidation performance, while the coupled sample using the wet impregnation method exhibited much poor CO oxidation activity. The various CO oxidation and CO₂ sorption properties of the samples might arise from the different dispersed states of the CO₂ sorbent in the CO catalyst, owing to the different preparation methods. XRD results confirmed the high-dispersed sorbent phase in the samples prepared by the wet and solid impregnation method, while that of the sample prepared by wet/solid-state impregnation method showed the larger bulk phase as indicated by the high-intensity diffraction peaks. Nitrogen adsorption and desorption results further revealed that the latter sample had a higher surface area and pore volume, which were beneficial for the CO oxidation over the catalyst. Hence, the Cu-Mn-Ce oxide catalyst coupled with CO₂ sorbent using wet/solid-state impregnation method could be a good choice for fire smoke removal in the enclosed space.

Keywords: CO oxidation, CO₂ sorption, preparation methods, smoke removal

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Authors: Prashant S. Humnabad

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The objective of this work is to carry out a thermal heat transfer analysis to obtain the time dependent temperature field in welding process friction stir welded dissimilar materials with different preheating temperature. A series of joints were made on four mm thick aluminum and steel plates. The temperature used was 100ºC, 150ºC and 200ºC. The welding operation was performed with different rotational speeds and traverse speed (1000, 1400 and 2000 rmp and 16, 20 and 25 mm/min..). In numerical model, the welded plate was modeled as the weld line is the symmetric line. The work-piece has dimensions of 100x100x4 mm. The obtained result was compared with experimental result, which shows good agreement and within the acceptable limit. The peak temperature at the weld zone increases significantly with respect to increase in process time.

Keywords: FEA, thermal analysis, preheating, friction stir welding

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Authors: Ivan D. Ortega, Juan D. Castro, Alberto Pertuz, Manuel Martinez

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One of the problems considered when scientists talk about climate change is the necessity of utilizing renewable sources of energy, on this category there are many approaches to the problem, one of them is wind energy and wind turbines whose designs have frequently changed along many years trying to achieve a better overall performance on different conditions. From that situation, we get the two main types known today: Vertical and Horizontal axis wind turbines, which have acronyms VAWT and HAWT, respectively. This research aims to understand how well suited a composite material, which is still in development, made with natural origin fibers is for its implementation on vertical axis wind turbines blades under certain wind loads. The study consisted on acquiring the mechanical properties of the materials to be used which where bactris guineenis, also known as pama de lata in Colombia, and adhesive that acts as the matrix which had not been previously studied to the point required for this project. Then, a simplified 3D model of the airfoil was developed and tested under some preliminary loads using finite element analysis (FEA), these loads were acquired in the Colombian Chicamocha Canyon. Afterwards, a more realistic pressure profile was obtained using computational fluid dynamics which took into account the 3D shape of the complete blade and its rotation. Finally, the blade model was subjected to the wind loads using what is known as one way fluidstructure interaction (FSI) and its behavior analyzed to draw conclusions. The observed overall results were positive since the material behaved fairly as expected. Data suggests the material would be really useful in this kind of applications in small to medium size turbines if it is given more attention and time to develop.

Keywords: CFD, FEA, FSI, natural fiber, VAWT

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Authors: Ramin Mansouri

Abstract:

The manhole is one of the types of structures that are installed at the site of change direction or change in the pipe diameter or sewage pipes as well as in step slope areas to reduce the flow velocity. In this study, the flow characteristics of hydraulic structures in a manhole structure have been investigated with a numerical model. In this research, the types of computational grid coarse, medium, and fines have been used for simulation. In order to simulate flow, k-ε model (standard, RNG, Realizable) and k-w model (standard SST) are used. Also, in order to find the best wall conditions, two types of standard and non-equilibrium wall functions were investigated. The turbulent model k-ε has the highest correlation with experimental results or all models. In terms of boundary conditions, constant speed is set for the flow input boundary, the output pressure is set in the boundaries which are in contact with the air, and the standard wall function is used for the effect of the wall function. In the numerical model, the depth at the output of the second manhole is estimated to be less than that of the laboratory and the output jet from the span. In the second regime, the jet flow collides with the manhole wall and divides into two parts, so hydraulic characteristics are the same as large vertical shaft hydraulic characteristics. In this situation, the turbulence is in a high range since it can be seen more energy loss in it. According to the results, energy loss in numerical is estimated at 9.359%, which is more than experimental data.

Keywords: manhole, energy, depreciation, turbulence model, wall function, flow

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Authors: Kinga Mylkie, Pawel Nowak, Marta Z. Borowska

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The most important proteins in human serum responsible for drug binding are human serum albumin (HSA) and α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP). The AGP molecule is a glycoconjugate containing a single polypeptide chain composed of 183 amino acids (the core of the protein), and five glycan branched chains (sugar part) covalently linked by an N-glycosidic bond with aspartyl residues (Asp(N) -15, -38, -54, -75, - 85) of polypeptide chain. This protein plays an important role in binding alkaline drugs, a large group of drugs used in psychiatry, some acid drugs (e.g., coumarin anticoagulants), and neutral drugs (steroid hormones). The main goal of the research was to obtain magnetic nanoparticles coated with biopolymers in a chemically modified form, which will have highly reactive functional groups able to effectively immobilize the glycoprotein (acid α1-glycoprotein) without losing the ability to bind active substances. The first phase of the project involved the chemical modification of biopolymer starch. Modification of starch was carried out by methods of organic synthesis, leading to the preparation of a polymer enriched on its surface with aldehyde groups, which in the next step was coupled with 3-aminophenylboronic acid. Magnetite nanoparticles coated with starch were prepared by in situ co-precipitation and then oxidized with a 1 M sodium periodate solution to form a dialdehyde starch coating. Afterward, the reaction between the magnetite nanoparticles coated with dialdehyde starch and 3-aminophenylboronic acid was carried out. The obtained materials consist of a magnetite core surrounded by a layer of modified polymer, which contains on its surface dihydroxyboryl groups of boronic acids which are capable of binding glycoproteins. Magnetic nanoparticles obtained as carriers for plasma protein immobilization were fully characterized by ATR-FTIR, TEM, SEM, and DLS. The glycoprotein was immobilized on the obtained nanoparticles. The amount of mobilized protein was determined by the Bradford method.

Keywords: glycoproteins, immobilization, magnetic nanoparticles, polysaccharides

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Warinthorn Kiadtikornthaweeyot Evans, Nawattakorn Kaikaew

Abstract:

The communication system between the ground station and the satellite is very important to guarantee contact between both sides. Thailand, led by Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), has received satellite images from other nation's satellites for a number of years. In 2008, Thailand Earth Observation Satellite (THEOS) was the first Earth observation satellite owned by Thailand. The mission was monitoring our country with affordable access to space-based Earth imagery. At this time, the control ground station was initially used to control the THEOS satellite by our Thai engineers. The Tele-commands were sent to the satellite according to requests from government and private sectors. Since then, GISTDA's engineers have gained their skill and experience to operate the satellite. Recently the desire to use satellite data is increasing rapidly due to space technology moving fast and giving us more benefits. It is essential to ensure that Thailand remains competitive in space technology. Thai Engineers have started to improve the performance of the control ground station in many different sections, also developing skills and knowledge in areas of satellite communication. Human resource skills are being enforced with development projects through capacity building. This paper focuses on the hands-on capacity building of GISTDA's engineers to develop a small automatic tracking antenna. The final achievement of the project is the first phase prototype of a small automatic tracking antenna to support the new technology of the satellites. There are two main subsystems that have been developed and tested; the tracking system and the monitoring and control software. The prototype first phase functions testing has been performed with Two Line Element (TLE) and the mission planning plan (MPP) file calculated from THEOS satellite by GISTDA.

Keywords: capacity building, small tracking antenna, automatic tracking system, project development procedure

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Authors: L. Shafiq, A. Rigby

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All polyethylene processes are highly exothermic, and the safe removal of the heat of reaction is a fundamental issue in the process design. In slurry and gas processes, the velocity of the polymer particles in the reactor and external coolers can be very high, and under certain conditions, this can lead to static charging of these particles. Such static charged polymer particles may start building up on the reactor wall, limiting heat transfer, and ultimately leading to severe reactor fouling and forced reactor shut down. Statsafe™ is an FDA approved anti-fouling additive currently used around the world for polyolefin production as an anti-fouling additive. The unique polymer chemistry aids static discharge, which prevents the build-up of charged polyolefin particles, which could lead to fouling. Statsafe™ is being used and trailed in gas, slurry, and a combination of these technologies around the world. We will share data to demonstrate how the use of Statsafe™ allows more stable operation at higher solids level by eliminating static, which would otherwise prevent closer packing of particles in the hydrocarbon slurry. Because static charge generation depends also on the concentration of polymer particles in the slurry, the maximum slurry concentration can be higher when using Statsafe™, leading to higher production rates. The elimination of fouling also leads to less downtime. Special focus will be made on the impact anti-static additives have on catalyst performance within the polymerization process and how this has been measured. Lab-scale studies have investigated the effect on the activity of Ziegler Natta catalysts when anti-static additives are used at various concentrations in gas and slurry, polyethylene and polypropylene processes. An in-depth gas phase study investigated the effect of additives on the final polyethylene properties such as particle size, morphology, fines, bulk density, melt flow index, gradient density, and melting point.

Keywords: anti-static additives, catalyst performance, FDA approved anti-fouling additive, polymerisation

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Muhammad Umar Mushtaq, Muhammad Bilal Khan Niazi, Nouman Ahmad, Dooa Arif

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Apart from organic dyes, heavy metals such as Pb, Ni, Cr, and Cu are present in textile effluent and pose a threat to humans and the environment. Many studies on removing heavy metallic ions from textile wastewater have been conducted in recent decades using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). In this study new polyether sulfone ultrafiltration membrane, modified with Cu/Co and Cu/Zn-based bimetal-organic frameworks (MOFs), was produced. Phase inversion was used to produce the membrane, and atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize it. The bimetallic MOFs-based membrane structure is complex and can be comprehended using characterization techniques. The bimetallic MOF-based filtration membranes are designed to selectively adsorb specific contaminants while allowing the passage of water molecules, improving the ultrafiltration efficiency. MOFs' adsorption capacity and selectivity are enhanced by functionalizing them with particular chemical groups or incorporating them into composite membranes with other materials, such as polymers. The morphology and performance of the bimetallic MOF-based membrane were investigated regarding pure water flux and metal ion rejection. The advantages of developed bimetallic MOFs based membranes for wastewater treatment include enhanced adsorption capacity because of the presence of two metals in their structure, which provides additional binding sites for contaminants, leading to a higher adsorption capacity and more efficient removal of pollutants from wastewater. Based on the experimental findings, bimetallic MOF-based membranes are more capable of rejecting metal ions from industrial wastewater than conventional membranes that have already been developed. Furthermore, the difficulties associated with operational parameters, including pressure gradients and velocity profiles, are simulated using Ansys Fluent software. The simulation results obtained for the operating parameters are in complete agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: bimetallic MOFs, heavy metal ions, industrial wastewater treatment, ultrafiltration.

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Shih-Fang Lo, Tzu-Wei Guo, Chih-Hsuan Lee

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Tropical fisheries are vulnerable to the physical and biogeochemical oceanic changes associated with climate change. Warmer temperatures and extreme weather have beendamaging the abundance and growth patterns of aquatic organisms. In recent year, the shrinking of fish stock and labor shortage have increased the threat to global aquacultural production. Thus, building a climate-resilient and sustainable mechanism becomes an urgent, important task for global citizens. To tackle the problem, Taiwanese fishermen applies the artificial intelligence (AI) technology. In brief, the AI system (1) measures real-time water quality and chemical parameters infish ponds; (2) monitors fish stock through segmentation, detection, and classification; and (3) implements fishermen’sprevious experiences, perceptions, and real-life practices. Applying this system can stabilize the aquacultural production and potentially increase the labor force. Furthermore, this AI technology can build up a more resilient and sustainable system for the fishermen so that they can mitigate the influence of extreme weather while maintaining or even increasing their aquacultural production. In the future, when the AI system collected and analyzed more and more data, it can be applied to different regions of the world or even adapt to the future technological or societal changes, continuously providing the most relevant and useful information for fishermen in the world.

Keywords: aquaculture, artificial intelligence (AI), real-time system, sustainable fishery

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Adriana Anselmo Oliveira

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The present project showcases a tile work from the Franco-Portuguese artist Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908-1992). It is a set of 8 panels composed of figurative and geometric tiles, with extra tiles framing nearby doors and windows in a study room in the (UFRRJ, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro). The aforementioned work was created between 1942 and 1943, during the artist's 6 year exile in the Brazilian city. This one-of-a-kind tileset was designed and made by Vieira da Silva between 1942 and 1943. Over the years, several units were lost, which led to their replacement in the nineties. However, these replacements don't do justice to the original work of art. In 2007, a project was initiated to fully repair and maintain the set. Three panels are removed and restored, but the project is halted. To this day, the three fully restored panels remain in boxes. In 2016 a new restoration project is submitted by the (Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade de Lisboa) in collaboration with de (Fundacão Árpád Szenes-Vieira da Silva). There are many varied opinions on restoring and conserving older pieces of art, however, we have the moral duty to safeguard the original materials used by the artist along with the artists original vision and also to care for the future generations of students who will use the space in which the tile-work was inserted. Many tiles have been replaced by white tiles, tiles with a divergent colour pallet and technique, and in a few cases, the incorrect place or way around. These many factors make it increasingly difficult to maintain the artists original vision and destroy and chance of coherence within the artwork itself. The conservative technician cannot make new images to fill the empty spaces or mark the remaining images with their own creative input. with reliable photographic documentation that can provide us with the necessary vision to allow us to proceed with an accurate reconstruction, we have the obligation to proceed and return the piece of art to its true form, as in its current state, it is impossible to maintain its original glory. Using the information we have, we must find a way to differentiate the original tiles from the reconstructions in order to recreate and reclaim the original message from the artist. The objective of this project is to understand the significance of tiles in Vieira da Silva's art as well as the influence they had on the artist's pictorial language since the colour definition on tile work is vastly different from the painting process as the materials change during their merger. Another primary goal is to understand what the previous interventions achieved besides increasing the artworks durability. The main objective is to submit a proposal that can salvage the artist's visual intention and supports it for posteriority. In summary, this proposal goes further than the usual conservative interventions as it intends to recreate the original artistic worth, prioritising the aesthetics and keeping its soul alive.

Keywords: Vieira da Silva, tiles, conservation, restoration

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Authors: E. A. Abdel-Hakim

Abstract:

The corn stemborer Sesamia cretica (Lederer), has been viewed in many parts of the world as a major pest of cultivated maize, graminaceous crops and sugarcane. Its life cycle is comprised of two different phases, one is the growth and developmental phase (non-diapause) and the other is diapause phase which takes place at the last larval instar. Several problems associated with the use of conventional insecticides, have strongly demonstrated the need for applying alternative safe compounds. Prominent among the prototypes of such prospective chemicals are the juvenoids; i.e. the insect (JH) mimics. In fact, the hormonal effect on metabolism has long been viewed as a secondary consequence of its direct action on specific energy-requiring biosynthetic mechanisms. Therefore, the present study was undertaken essentially in a rather systematic fashion as a contribution towards clarifying metabolic and energetic changes taking place during non-diapause wandering larvae as regulated by (JH) mimic. For this purpose, we applied two different doses of JH mimic (Ro 11-0111) in a single (standard) dose of 100µg or in a single dose of 20 µg/g bw in1µl acetone topically at the onset of nondiapause wandering larvae (WL). Energetic data were obtained by indirect calorimetry methods by conversion of respiratory gas exchange volumetric data, as measured manometrically using a Warburg constant respirometer, to caloric units (g-cal/g fw/h). The findings obtained can be given in brief; these treated larvae underwent supernumerary larval moults. However, this potential the wandering larvae proved to possess whereby restoration of larval programming for S. cretica to overcome stresses even at this critical developmental period. The results obtained, particularly with the high dose used, show that 98% wandering larvae were rescued to survive up to one month (vs. 5 days for normal controls), finally the formation of larval-adult intermediates. Also, the solvent controls had resulted in about 22% additional, but stationary moultings. The basal respiratory metabolism (O2 uptake and CO2 output) of the (WL), whether un-treated or larvae not had followed reciprocal U-shaped curves all along of their developmental duration. The lowest points stood nearly to the day of prepupal formation (571±187 µl O2/gfw/h and 553±181 µl CO2/gfw/h) during un-treated in contrast to the larvae treated with JH (210±48 µl O2/gfw/h and 335±81 µl CO2/gfw/h). Un-treated (normal) larvae proved to utilize carbohydrates as the principal source for energy supply; being fully oxidised without sparing any appreciable amount for endergonic conversion to fats. While, the juvenoid-treated larvae and compared with the acetone-treated control equivalents, there existed no distinguishable differences between them; both had been observed utilising carbohydrates as the sole source of energy demand and converting endergonically almost similar percentages to fats. The overall profile, treated and un-treated (WL) utilized carbohydrates as the principal source for energy demand during this stage.

Keywords: juvenile hormone, respiratory metabolism, Sesamia cretica, wandering phase

Procedia PDF Downloads 287