Search results for: ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene

Authors: Tahereh Talebi, Reza Ghomashchi, Pejman Talemi, Sima Aminorroaya

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Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of p-type Bi₂Te₃ material has been accomplished, and a high quality crack-free thick film has been achieved for thermoelectric (TE) applications. TE generators (TEG) can convert waste heat into electricity, which can potentially solve global warming problems. However, TEG is expensive due to the high cost of materials, as well as the complex and expensive manufacturing process. EPD is a simple and cost-effective method which has been used recently for advanced applications. In EPD, when a DC electric field is applied to the charged powder particles suspended in a suspension, they are attracted and deposited on the substrate with the opposite charge. In this study, it has been shown that it is possible to prepare a TE film using the EPD method and potentially achieve high TE properties at low cost. The relationship between the deposition weight and the EPD-related process parameters, such as applied voltage and time, has been investigated and a linear dependence has been observed, which is in good agreement with the theoretical principles of EPD. A stable EPD suspension of p-type Bi₂Te₃ was prepared in a mixture of acetone-ethanol with triethanolamine as a stabilizer. To achieve a high quality homogenous film on a copper substrate, the optimum voltage and time of the EPD process was investigated. The morphology and microstructures of the green deposited films have been investigated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The green Bi₂Te₃ films have shown good adhesion to the substrate. In summary, this study has shown that not only EPD of p-type Bi₂Te₃ material is possible, but its thick film is of high quality for TE applications.

Keywords: electrical conductivity, electrophoretic deposition, mechanical property, p-type Bi2Te3, Seebeck coefficient, thermoelectric materials, thick films

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Gordon Weight, Hermione Tsoi, Patrick Cutinha, Sanjay Rajpal

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Aim: Greenlight-laser prostatectomy (GLLP) is becoming a popular treatment option for bladder outlet obstruction and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). In this retrospective study, we aim to explore the patient selection, perioperative morbidity, and functional outcomes of GLLP. Methods: Patients who underwent GLLP at a UK tertiary centre between June 2018 and November 2021 were included in this study. Retrospective data covering patient demographics, perioperative parameters and postoperative outcomes were collected using the electronic records systems. Results: 305 patients were included in this study with a mean age of 73 (range 30-90) years. The most common indication (62.6%) for the procedure was patient’s wish to be free from long-term catheters (LTC) or intermittent catheterisation (ISC), followed by failed medical therapy for LUTS (36.4%). 84.6% of patients had an ASA ≥2, and 32.1% took anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy. Inpatient stays were minimal, with the majority (68.2%) of patients were performed as day case, and only 10.5% of patients requiring more than a single night admission. The 3-month readmission rate was 10.8%, with the most common causes being haematuria and urinary-tract infection. The successful TWOC rate at follow up was 91.2%. Amongst the 19 patients who failed TWOC, 14 had LTC prior to the procedure and 4 had been performing ISC. Conclusions: Our study shows that GLLP is a safe and effective day case treatment and can be suitable for elderly and comorbid patients. Patients requiring LTC or ISC pre-operatively should be counselled carefully about the risk of not being catheter-free post procedure.

Keywords: urology, endourology, prostate, bladder outlet obstruction, laser

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: Carl J. Caspersen, Kenneth E. Powell, Gregory M. Christenson, Kirupa V. Patel

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‘Physical activity’, ‘exercise’, and ‘physical fitness’ are terms that describe different concepts. However, they are often confused with one another, and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. This paper proposes definitions to distinguish them. Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that result in energy expenditure. The energy expenditure can be measured in kilocalories. Physical activity in daily life can be categorized into occupational, sports, Conditioning, household, or other activities. Exercise is a subset of physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive and has as a final or an intermediate objective the improvement or maintenance of physical fitness. Physical fitness is a set of attributes that are either health- or skill-related. The degree to which people have these attributes can be measured with specific tests. These definitions are offered as an interpretational framework for comparing studies that relate physical activity, exercise, and physical fitness to health. Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that require energy expenditure. Physical inactivity has been identified as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality causing an estimated 3.2 million deaths globally. Regular moderate intensity physical activity – such as walking, cycling, or participating in sports – has significant benefits for health. For instance, it can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, colon and breast cancer, and depression. Moreover, adequate levels of physical activity will decrease the risk of a hip or vertebral fracture and help control weight. Any bodily movement produced by the contraction of skeletal muscle that increases energy expenditure above a basal level. In these guidelines, physical activity generally refers to the subset of physical activity that enhances health.

Keywords: physical activity, exercise, physical fitness, sports

Procedia PDF Downloads 344

Authors: Mirco Tarozzi, Giacomo Pignagnoli, Andrea Benedetti

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Structural systems are often subjected to degradation processes due to different kind of phenomena like unexpected loadings, ageing of the materials and fatigue cycles. This is true especially for bridges, in which their safety evaluation is crucial for the purpose of a design of planning maintenance. This paper discusses the experimental evaluation of the stiffness reduction from frequency changes due to uniform damage scenario. For this purpose, a 1:4 scaled bridge has been built in the laboratory of the University of Bologna. It is made of concrete and its cross section is composed by a slab linked to four beams. This concrete deck is 6 m long and 3 m wide, and its natural frequencies have been identified dynamically by exciting it with an impact hammer, a dropping weight, or by walking on it randomly. After that, a set of loading cycles has been applied to this bridge in order to produce a uniformly distributed crack pattern. During the loading phase, either cracking moment and yielding moment has been reached. In order to define the relationship between frequency variation and loss in stiffness, the identification of the natural frequencies of the bridge has been performed, before and after the occurrence of the damage, corresponding to each load step. The behavior of breathing cracks and its effect on the natural frequencies has been taken into account in the analytical calculations. By using a sort of exponential function given from the study of lot of experimental tests in the literature, it has been possible to predict the stiffness reduction through the frequency variation measurements. During the load test also crack opening and middle span vertical displacement has been monitored.

Keywords: concrete bridge, damage detection, dynamic test, frequency shifts, operational modal analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: A. Nurgiartiningsih, G. Ciptadi, S. B. Siswijono

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This research was done to identify the performance and breeding potency of Local Buffalo in Kangean Island, Sumenep, East Java, Indonesia. Materials used were buffalo and farmer in Kangean Island. Method used was survey with purposive sampling method. Qualitative trait and existing breeding system including the type of production system were directly observed. Quantitative trait consisted of chest girth, body weight and wither height were measured and recorded. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance applying software GENSTAT 14. Results showed the purposes of buffalo breeding in Kangean Island were for production of calves, saving, religion tradition, and buffalo racing. The combination between grazing and cut and carry system were applied in Kangean Island. Forage, grass and agricultural waste product were available abundantly especially, during the wet season. Buffalo in Kangean Island was categorized as swamp buffalo with 48 chromosomes. Observation on qualitative trait indicated that there were three skin color types: gray (81.25%), red (10.42%) and white/albino (8.33%). Analysis on quantitative trait showed that there was no significant difference between male and female buffalo. The performance of male buffalo was 132.56 cm, 119.33 cm and 174.11 cm, for the mean of body length, whither height and chest girth, respectively. The performance of female buffalo were 129.8 cm, 114.0 cm and 166.2 cm, for mean of body length, wither height and chest girth (CG), respectively. The performance of local buffalo in Kangean Island was categorized well. Kangean Island could be promoted as center of buffalo breeding and conservation. For optimal improvement of population number and its genetics value, government policy in buffalo breeding program should be implemented.

Keywords: chromosome, qualitative trait, quantitative trait, swamp buffalo

Procedia PDF Downloads 256

Authors: Stephanie Boue, Nicolas Sierro, Julia Hoeng, Manuel C. Peitsch

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Systems biology relies on large numbers of data points and sophisticated methods to extract biologically meaningful signal and mechanistic understanding. For example, analyses of transcriptomics and proteomics data enable to gain insights into the molecular differences in tissues exposed to diverse stimuli or test items. Whereas the interpretation of endpoints specifically measuring a mechanism is relatively straightforward, the interpretation of big data is more complex and would benefit from comparing results obtained with diverse analysis methods. The sbv IMPROVER project was created to implement solutions to verify systems biology data, methods, and conclusions. Computational challenges leveraging the wisdom of the crowd allow benchmarking methods for specific tasks, such as signature extraction and/or samples classification. Four challenges have already been successfully conducted and confirmed that the aggregation of predictions often leads to better results than individual predictions and that methods perform best in specific contexts. Whenever the scientific question of interest does not have a gold standard, but may greatly benefit from the scientific community to come together and discuss their approaches and results, datathons are set up. The inaugural sbv IMPROVER datathon was held in Singapore on 23-24 September 2016. It allowed bioinformaticians and data scientists to consolidate their ideas and work on the most promising methods as teams, after having initially reflected on the problem on their own. The outcome is a set of visualization and analysis methods that will be shared with the scientific community via the Garuda platform, an open connectivity platform that provides a framework to navigate through different applications, databases and services in biology and medicine. We will present the results we obtained when analyzing data with our network-based method, and introduce a datathon that will take place in Japan to encourage the analysis of the same datasets with other methods to allow for the consolidation of conclusions.

Keywords: big data interpretation, datathon, systems toxicology, verification

Procedia PDF Downloads 270

Authors: M. Z. Bin Mohd Ghazali, N. C. Wilson, A. F. Bin Ahmad Fuad, M. A. H. B. Musa, M. U. Mohamad Sani, F. Zulkifli, M. S. Zainal Abidin

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Physical activity levels are low in Malaysia and this study was undertaken to determine if a four week work-based intervention program would be effective in changing physical activity levels. The study was conducted in a Malaysian Government Department and had three stages: baseline data collection, four-week intervention and two-month post intervention data collection. During the intervention and two-month post intervention phases, physical activity levels (determined by a pedometer) and basic health profiles (BMI, abdominal obesity, blood pressure) were measured. Staff (58 males, 47 females) with an average age of 33 years completed baseline data collection. Pedometer steps averaged 7,102 steps/day at baseline, although male step counts were significantly higher than females (7,861 vs. 6114). Health profiles were poor: over 50% were overweight/obese (males 66%, females 40%); hypertension (males 23%, females 6%); excess waist circumference (males 52%, females 17%). While 86 staff participated in the intervention, only 49 regularly reported their steps. There was a significant increase (17%) in average daily steps from 8,965 (week 1) to 10,436 (week 4). Unfortunately, participation in the intervention program was avoided by the less healthy staff. Two months after the intervention there was no significant difference in average steps/day, despite the fact that 89% of staff reporting they planned to make long-term changes to their lifestyle. An unexpected average increase of 2kg in body weight occurred in participants, although this was less than the 5.6kg in non-participants. A number of recommendations are made for future interventions, including the conclusion that pedometers were a useful tool and popular with participants.

Keywords: pedometers, walking, health, intervention

Procedia PDF Downloads 289

Authors: L. Sasikala, Bhaarathi Dhurai

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Increase in antibiotic resistance bacteria leads to the development of active wound dressings, which absorb any bodily fluid, evaporation of moisture at a certain rate and can be easily removed after healing. Natural materials like chitosan, herbs, and honey have number of active materials present in them to accelerate wound healing and to arrest wound in infections. Hence with the advantages of biomaterials, a film was prepared using chitosan and honey. There are a lot of practical considerations with respect to honey. Honey exerts many beneficial actions on the wound surface only when it remains. The attempts to hold honey on the surface of the wound remain a question because honey becomes a very runny liquid when it comes to body temperature. Hence, this research was focused on development of a new form of wound dressing, by holding honey on the wound surface in different form and also which has a combined effect of manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honey and chitosan. Chitosan-honey film was prepared using casting technique. Films were prepared in different variations; with acetic acid and with lactic acid; with and without honey. In summary, the film produced from 2% chitosan- 1% lactic acid as a solvent, with 10% honey shows optimum inclined values in all the tests, like thickness, folding endurance, weight, water vapor transmission, tensile strength, swelling ratio and antimicrobial activity, with specific reference to wound dressings. The film has water vapor transmission of 1680 g/m²/day, water absorption of 225%, tensile strength of 39.1N/mm² and elongation of 50.3%. There is a notable inhibition zone of 29 mm against S. aureus and 24 mm against E. coli in the case of chitosan-lactic acid-honey film. The film also arrests, microbes transmitting from the outside environment to wound bed, which can be used as an effective wound dressing material.

Keywords: casting technique, chitosan, honey, film, wound dressings

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Sanjeev K. Singh, Maloy B. Mandal, Revand R.

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The physiology of baroreceptors and chemoreceptors present in large blood vessels of the heart is well known in regulation of cardiorespiratory functions. Since large blood vessels and peripheral blood vessels are of same mesodermal origin, therefore, involvement of the latter in regulation of cardiorespiratory system is expected. Role of perivascular nerves in mediating cardiorespiratory alterations produced after intra-arterial injection of a nociceptive agent (bradykinin) was examined in urethane anesthetized male rats. Respiratory frequency, blood pressure, and heart rate were recorded for 30 min after the retrograde injection of bradykinin/saline in the femoral artery. In addition, paw edema was determined and water content was expressed as percentage of wet weight. Injection of bradykinin produced immediate tachypnoeic, hypotensive and bradycardiac responses of shorter latency (5-8 s) favoring the neural mechanisms involved in it. Injection of equi-volume of saline did not produce any responses and served as time matched control. Paw edema was observed in the ipsilateral hind limb. Pretreatment with diclofenac sodium significantly attenuated the bradykinin-induced responses and also blocked the paw edema. Ipsilateral femoral and sciatic nerve sectioning attenuated bradykinin-induced responses significantly indicating the origin of responses from the local vascular bed. Administration of bradykinin in the segment of an artery produced reflex cardiorespiratory changes by stimulating the perivascular nociceptors involving prostaglandins. This is a novel study exhibiting the role of peripheral blood vessels in regulation of cardiorespiratory system.

Keywords: vasosensory reflex, cardiorespiratory changes, nociceptive agent, bradykinin, VR1 receptors

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Yemane Kahsay Berhe

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The multipurpose cactus pear plant with great potential as a source of food and livestock feed faced a threat from Dactylopius spp in different countries. Specifically, D. coccus is an important pest damaging significant areas in Tigray-Ethiopia. Using pest-resistant cultivars is an important element of an integrated pest management strategy, and studying the mechanisms of resistance is vital. It can be chemical or physical, such as oxalate crystals and other cladode characteristics. Cladode features of six cultivars (three O. ficus-indica, two O. cochenillifera, and one O. robusta) were examined for resistance to D. coccus in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. ‘Rojo Pelón’ (O. ficus-indica), ‘Robusta’ (O. robusta), and ‘Bioplástico’ (O. cochinillifera) are resistant cultivars; and ‘Atlixco’ and ‘Chicomostoc’ (O. ficus-indica) and ‘Nopalea’ (O. cochinillifera) are susceptible. Cultivars showed a significant difference in cladode weight in g, cladode length, cladode width, and cladode thickness in cm, where cladode thickness was higher in ‘Rojo Pelón’ followed by ‘Robusta’. Calcium oxalates number per mm was higher in ‘Bioplástico’ (20.7+2.08) followed by ‘Robusta’ (18.9+2.31) and ‘Rojo Pelón’ (15.9+0.34); and similarly, epidermis thickness found higher in ‘Bioplástico’ (0.21+0.032) and ‘Robusta’ (0.19+0.014), but similar with ‘Rojo Pelón’ (0.18+0.026). However, cuticle thickness didn’t show a difference among cultivars. Cladode thickness, calcium oxalates number, and epidermis thickness had positive correlations with resistance. These results demonstrate that calcium oxalates number and epidermis thickness might positively affect D. coccus resistance in O. ficus-indica. This feeding-barring role and the insect-plant interaction need to be studied.

Keywords: cactus pear, resiatnce, druses, epidermis thickness

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Authors: Firas Rashad Al-Samarai

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Introduction: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition as men get older. An enlarged prostate gland can cause uncomfortable urinary symptoms, such as blocking the flow of urine out of the bladder. It can also cause bladder, urinary tract, or kidney problems. Objective: to evaluate the efficacy and interaction of tamsulosin with finasteride treatment on induced benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) in mice. Methods: BPH was induced by subcutaneous injection of testosterone propionate (20 mg/kg) for 30 days. Eighty-five mice were divided into five groups. The first group (G1): twenty-five mice induced BPH treated with tamsulosin orally and divided into five equal subgroups with doses (0.017, 0.052, 0.087, 0. 123, and 0.158) mg/kg, the second group (G2): twenty-five mice induced BPH treated with finasteride orally and divided into five equal subgroups with doses (0.175, 0.527, 0.878, 1.23, and 1.580) mg/kg. the third group (G3): twenty-five mice induced BPH treated with a combination of tamsulosin with finasteride orally, and divided into five equal subgroups with doses (0.0085, 0.0875), (0.026, 0.2635), (0.0435, 0.439) , (0.0615, 0.615) and ( 0.079 , 0.790 ) mg/kg respectively. Fourth group (G4): five mice induced BPH and treated distilled water. Fifth group (G5): five mice were not inducing BPH and without any treatment. Results: The results showed a gradual significant increase in prostate weight % and prostate index % Inhibitions until reached saturation in the last two doses of tamsulosin, finasteride, and combination groups, the maximum effective dose of tamsulosin and finasteride were (0.156) and (1.495) mg/kg respectively. Moreover, the effective dose of the combination (tamsulosin and finasteride) was estimated (0.06876, 0.6876) mg/kg, respectively, as well as the type of interaction was synergism and the value of the combination index was 0.046. Conclusions: We concluded that the combination of tamsulosin with finasteride showed a synergistic effect in BPH treatment by minimizing the side effect of each drug as s result of decreasing the dose of each one.

Keywords: Tamsulosin, Finasteride, combination, BPH

Procedia PDF Downloads 67

Authors: Mahmoud Huleihel, George Abu-Aqil, Manal Suleiman, Klaris Riesenberg, Itshak Lapidot, Ahmad Salman

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Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are considered to be the most common bacterial infections worldwide, which are caused mainly by Escherichia (E.) coli (about 80%). Klebsiella pneumoniae (about 10%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (about 6%). Although antibiotics are considered as the most effective treatment for bacterial infectious diseases, unfortunately, most of the bacteria already have developed resistance to the majority of the commonly available antibiotics. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the infecting bacteria and to determine its susceptibility to antibiotics for prescribing effective treatment. Classical methods are time consuming, require ~48 hours for determining bacterial susceptibility. Thus, it is highly urgent to develop a new method that can significantly reduce the time required for determining both infecting bacterium at the species level and diagnose its susceptibility to antibiotics. Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is well known as a sensitive and rapid method, which can detect minor molecular changes in bacterial genome associated with the development of resistance to antibiotics. The main goal of this study is to examine the potential of FTIR spectroscopy, in tandem with machine learning algorithms, to identify the infected bacteria at the species level and to determine E. coli susceptibility to different antibiotics directly from patients' urine in about 30minutes. For this goal, 1600 different E. coli isolates were isolated for different patients' urine sample, measured by FTIR, and analyzed using different machine learning algorithm like Random Forest, XGBoost, and CNN. We achieved 98% success in isolate level identification and 89% accuracy in susceptibility determination.

Keywords: urinary tract infections (UTIs), E. coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, bacterial, susceptibility to antibiotics, infrared microscopy, machine learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Farzad Doostishoar, Abdolreza Hasanzadeh, Seyed Amin Ayatolahi Mousavi

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Introduction and Goals: Deuterium has different action from its isotopes hydrogen in chemical reactions and biochemical processes. It is not a significant difference in heavier atoms between the behavior of heavier isotope and the lighter One but for very lighter atoms it is significant . According to that most of the weight of all creatures body is water natural rate can be significant. In this article we want to study the effect of reduced deuterium on the fungus cell. If we saw the dependence of deuterium concentration of environment on the cells growth we can test this in invivo models too. Methods: First we measured deuterium concentration of the distillated water this analyze was operated by Arak’s heavy water company. Then the deuterium was diluted to ½ ¼ 1/8 1/16 by adding water free of deuterium for making media. In tree of samples the deuterium concentration was increased by adding D2O up to 10,50,100 times more concentrated. For candida albicans growth we used sabor medium and for aspergillus fomigatis growth we used sabor medium containing chloramphenicol. After culturing the funguses species we put the mediums for each species in the shaker incubator for 10 days in 25 centigrade. In different days and times the plates were studied morphologically and some microscopic characteristics were studied too. This experiments and cultures were repeated 3 times. Results: Statistical analyzes by paired-sample T test showed that aspergilus fomigatoos growth was decreased in concentration of 72 ppm( half deuterium concentration of negative control) significantly. In deuterium concentration reduction the growth reduce into the negative control significantly. The project results showed that candida albicans was sensitive to reduce and decrease of the deuterium in all concentrations.

Keywords: deuterium, cancer cell, growth, candida albicans

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Authors: Ju Young Kim, Mohammad Zahirul Islam, Mahmuda Akter Mele, Su Jeong Han, Hyuk Sung Yoon, In-Lee Choi, Ho-Min Kang

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Strawberry and tomato fruits were harvested at the red ripens maturity stage in the Republic of Korea. The fruits were dipped in fungi solution and afterwards were sterilized with sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and chlorine dioxide (ClO2) gas. Some fruits were dipped in 150μL/L NaOCl solution for 10 minutes, and others were treated with 5μL/L ClO2 gas for 12 hours and packed with 20,000 cc OTR (oxygen transmission rate) film, the rest were packed in 10,000 cc OTR film inserted with 5μL/L ClO2 gas. 5μL/L ClO2 gas insert treatment showed the lowest carbon dioxide and ethylene, and the highest oxygen concentration was on the final storage day (15th day) in both strawberry and tomato fruits. Tomato fruits showed the lowest fresh weight loss in 5μL/L ClO2 gas insert treatment. The visual quality as well as shelf life showed the highest in 5μL/L ClO2 gas insert treatment of both strawberry and tomato fruits. In addition, the fungal incidence of strawberry and tomato fruits were the most suppressed in 5μL/L ClO2 gas insert treatment. 5μL/L ClO2 gas insert treatment showed higher firmness and soluble solids in both strawberry and tomato fruits. So, 5μL/L ClO2 gas insert treatment may be useful to prevent the fungal incidence as well as retaining the postharvest quality, and increase the shelf life of strawberry and tomato fruits for long term storage. This study was supported by Export Promotion Technology Development Program (314027-03), IPET, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Republic of Korea.

Keywords: chlorine dioxide, ethylene, fungi, sodium hypochlorite

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Authors: Dipanshu Sur, Ratnabali Chakravorty

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Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common metabolic abnormality such as changes in lipid profile, diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome occurring in women. Hypovitaminsis D was found to be associated with the development of obesity and insulin resistance in women with PCOS. Aim: To evaluate the association of vitamin D levels in obese and non-obese patients with PCOS in an East Indian populations. Methods: A case control study was conducted. It enrolled 100 cases of PCOS based on Rotterdam criteria and 100 ovulatory normal cases matched for their age and BMI. Vitamin D levels were compared in the obese and non-obese PCOS groups and also with the controls. Results: The mean age of subjects was 29.48 ± 3.29 years in the PCOS group and 26.24 ± 2.56 years in the control group. Hypovitaminosis D was present in 75 out of 100 PCOS women (75.0%) and 25 women (25.0%) showed sufficient 25OHD levels ≥30 ng/ml. Women with PCOS had significantly lower total serum calcium (8.4 ± 0.25 mg/dl versus 9.8 ± 0.17 mg/dl in controls), and 25 OHD (21.2 ± 2.56 ng/ml versus 32.6 ± 2.23 ng/ml in control group) than ovulatory normal women. This difference remained significant for both groups after adjustment for BMI. Obese women in both groups had significantly lower concentration of calcium and 25OHD than normal weight patients in this study. Conclusion: Our study shows majority of the patients and controls had vitamin D deficiency and there was significant difference in the vitamin D levels in PCOS group and controls as well as obese and non-obese groups. This may reflect the vitamin D deficiency status of the community. Vitamin D deficiency should demands immediate attention as it is a severe problem among the East Indian population.

Keywords: vitamin D deficiency, polycystic ovary syndrome, obese, hypovitaminsis D

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Authors: Ghada M. El-Kassas, Maged A. El Wakeel, Salwa R. El-Zayat

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Background: Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is asymptomatic villous atrophy of the small bowel that is prevalent in the developing world and is associated with altered intestinal function and integrity. Evidence has suggested that supplementary omega-3 might ameliorate this damage by reducing gastrointestinal inflammation and may also benefit cognitive development. Objective: We tested whether omega-3 supplementation improves intestinal integrity, growth, and cognitive function in stunted children predicted to have EED. Methodology: 100 Egyptian stunted children aged 1-5 years and 100 age and gender-matched normal children as controls. At the primary phase of the study, we assessed anthropometric measures and fecal markers such as myeloperoxidase (MPO), neopterin (NEO), and alpha-1-anti-trypsin (AAT) (as predictors of EED). Cognitive development was assessed (Bayley or Wechsler scores). Oral n-3 (omega-3) LC-PUFA at a dosage of 500 mg/d was supplemented to all cases and followed up for 6 months after which the 2ry phase of the study included the previous clinical, laboratory and cognitive assessment. Results: Fecal inflammatory markers were significantly higher in cases compared to controls. (MPO), (NEO) and (AAT) showed a significant decline in cases at the end of the 2ry phase (P < 0.001 for all). Omega-3 supplementation resulted also in a significant increase in mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) (P < 0.01), weight for age z-score, and skinfold thicknesses (P< 0.05 for both). Cases showed significant improvement of cognitive function at phase 2 of the study. Conclusions: Omega-3 supplementation successfully improved intestinal inflammatory state related to EED. Also, some improvement of anthropometric and cognitive parameters showed obvious improvement with omega-3 supplementation.

Keywords: cognitive functions, EED, omega-3, stunting

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Authors: Kevin Giraldo, Juan A. Gallego, Uriel Zapata, Fanny L. Casado

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Compliant mechanisms are designed to deform in a controlled manner in response to external forces, utilizing the flexibility of their components to store potential elastic energy during deformation, gradually releasing it upon returning to its original form. This article explores the design of a knee orthosis intended to assist users during stand-up motion. The orthosis makes use of a compliant mechanism to balance the user’s weight, thereby minimizing the strain on leg muscles during standup motion. The primary function of the compliant mechanism is to store and exchange potential energy, so when coupled with the gravitational potential of the user, the total potential energy variation is minimized. The design process for the semi-rigid knee orthosis involved material selection and the development of a numerical model for the compliant mechanism seen as a spring. Geometric properties are obtained through the numerical modeling of the spring once the desired stiffness and safety factor values have been attained. Subsequently, a 3D finite element analysis was conducted. The study demonstrates a strong correlation between the maximum stress in the mathematical model (250.22 MPa) and the simulation (239.8 MPa), with a 4.16% error. Both analyses safety factors: 1.02 for the mathematical approach and 1.1 for the simulation, with a consistent 7.84% margin of error. The spring’s stiffness, calculated at 90.82 Nm/rad analytically and 85.71 Nm/rad in the simulation, exhibits a 5.62% difference. These results suggest significant potential for the proposed device in assisting patients with knee orthopedic restrictions, contributing to ongoing efforts in advancing the understanding and treatment of knee osteoarthritis.

Keywords: biomechanics, complaint mechanisms, gonarthrosis, orthoses

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Authors: Adeshina Fadeyibi

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Application of pure thermoplastic film in food packaging is greatly limited because of its poor service performance, often enhanced by the addition of organic or inorganic particles in the range of 1–100 nm. Thus, this study was conducted to develop cassava starch zinc-nanocomposite films for applications in food packaging. Three blending ratios of 1000 g cassava starch, 45–55 % (w/w) glycerol and 0–2 % (w/w) zinc nanoparticles were formulated, mixed and mechanically homogenized to form the nanocomposite. Thermoplastic were prepared, from a dispersed mixture of 24 g of the nanocomposite and 600 ml of distilled water, and heated to 90oC for 30 minutes. Plastic molds of 350 ×180 mm dimension and 8, 10 and 12 mm depths were used for film casting and drying at 60oC and 80 % RH for 24 hour. The average thicknesses of the dried films were found to be 15, 16 and 17 µm. The films were characterized based on their barrier, thermal, mechanical and structural properties. The results show that the oxygen and water vapor barrier properties increased with glycerol concentration and decreased with thickness; but the full width at half maximum (FWHM) and d- spacing increased with thickness. The higher degree of d- spacing obtained is a consequence of higher polymer intercalation and exfoliation. Also, only 2 % weight degradation was observed when the films were exposed to temperature between 30–60oC; indicating that they are thermally stable and can be used for packaging applications in the tropics. The mechanical properties of the film were higher than that of the pure thermoplastic but comparable with the LDPE films. The information on the characterized attributes and optimization of the cassava starch zinc-nanocomposite films justifies their alternative application to pure thermoplastic and conventional films for food packaging.

Keywords: synthesis, characterization, casaava Starch, nanocomposite film, packaging

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Authors: Mattea Carmen Castrovilli, Antonella Cartoni

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Electrospray ionisation (ESI), a well-established technique widely used to produce ion beams of biomolecules in mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), can be used for ambient soft landing of enzymes on a specific substrate. In this work, we show how the ambient electrospray deposition (ESD) technique can be successfully exploited for manufacturing a promising, green-friendly electrochemical amperometric laccase-based biosensor with unprecedented reuse and storage performance. These biosensors have been manufactured by spraying a laccase solution of 2μg/μL at 20% of methanol on a commercial carbon screen printed electrode (C-SPE) using a custom ESD set-up. The laccase-based ESD biosensor has been tested against catechol compounds in the linear range 2-100 μM, with a limit of detection of 1.7 μM, without interference from cadmium, chrome, arsenic, and zinc and without any memory effects, but showing a matrix effect in lake and well water. The ESD biosensor shows enhanced performances compared to the ones fabricated with other immobilization methods, like drop-casting. Indeed, it retains 100% activity up to two months of storage at ambient conditions without any special care and working stability up to 63 measurements on the same electrode just prepared and 20 on a one-year-old electrode subjected to redeposition together with a 100% resistance to use of the same electrode in subsequent days. The ESD method is a one-step, environmentally friendly method that allows the deposition of the bio-recognition layer without using any additional chemicals. The promising results in terms of storage and working stability also obtained with the more fragile lactate oxidase enzyme suggest these improvements should be attributed to the ESD technique rather than to the bioreceptor, highlighting how the ESD could be useful in reducing pollution from disposable devices. Acknowledgment: The understanding at the molecular level of this promising biosensor by using different spectroscopies, microscopies and analytical techniques is the subject of our PRIN 2022 project ESILARANTE.

Keywords: reuse, storage performance, immobilization, electrospray deposition, biosensor, laccase, catechol detection, green chemistry

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Authors: Jonathan N. Nayga, Emelita B. Valdez, Mila R. Andres, Beulah B. Estrada, Emelina A. Lopez, Rogelio B. Tamayo, Aubrey Joy M. Balbin

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Goat production is one of the activities included in integrated farming in the Philippines. Goats are raised for its meat and regardless of breed the animal is slaughtered for this purpose. In order to document the carcass yield of different goats slaughtered, five (5) different breeds of goats to include Purebred Boer and Anglo-nubian, Crossbred Boer and Anglo-nubian and Philippine Native goat were used in the study. Data on slaughter parameters, carcass characteristics, and sensory evaluation were gathered and analyzed using Complete Random Design (CRD) at 5% level of significance and the results of carcass conformation were assessed descriptively. Results showed that slaughter data such as slaughter/live weight, hot and chilled carcass weights, dressing percentage and percentage drip loss were significantly different (P>0.05) among breeds. On carcass and meat characteristics, pure breed and upgraded Boer were found to be moderately muscular while Native goat was rated as thin muscular. The color of the carcass also revealed that Purebred and crossbred Boer were described dark red, while Native goat was noted to be slightly pale. On sensory evaluation, the results indicated that there was no significant difference (P>0.05) among breeds evaluated. It is therefore concluded that purebred goat has heavier carcass, while both purebred Boer and upgrade are rated slightly muscular. It is further confirms that regardless of breed, goat will have the same sensory characteristics. Thus, it is recommended to slaughter heavier goats to obtain more carcasses with better conformation and quality.

Keywords: carcass quality, goat, sensory evaluation, slaughter

Procedia PDF Downloads 336

Authors: Benbellil-Tafoughalt Saida, Tababouchet Meriem

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Sexual selection is the most supported explanation for genital extravagance occurring in animals. In promiscuous species, population density, as well as climate conditions, may act on the sperm competition intensity, one of the most important mechanism of post-copulatory sexual selection. The present study is empirical testing of sexual selection's potential role on genitalia variation in the simultanuously hermaphroditic land snail Helixaperta (Pulmonata, Stylommatophora). The purpose was to detect the patterns as well as the origin of the distal genitalia variability and especially to test the potential effect of sexual selection. The study was performed on four populations, H. aperta, different in habitat humidity regimes and presenting variable densities, which were mostly low. The organs of interest were those involved in spermatophore production, reception, and manipulation. We examined whether the evolution of those organs is connected to sperm competition intensity which is traduced by both population density and microclimate humidity. We also tested the hypothesis that those organs evolve in response to shell size. The results revealed remarkable differences in both snails’ size and organs lengths between populations. In most cases, the length of genitalia correlated positively to snails’ body size. Interestingly, snails from the more humid microclimate presented the highest mean weight and shell dimensions comparing to those from the less humid microclimate. However, we failed to establish any relation between snail densities and any of the measured genitalia traits.

Keywords: fertilization pouch, helix aperta, land snails, reproduction, sperm storage, spermatheca

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Shagufta Gulraiz, Abu Saeed Hashmi, Muhammad Mohsin Javed

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Lysine required for poultry feed is imported in Pakistan to fulfil the desired dietary needs. Present study was designed to produce maximum lysine by utilizing cheap sources to save the foreign exchange. To achieve the goal of lysine production through fermentation, large scale production of lysine was carried out in 7.5 L stirred glass vessel fermenter with wild and mutant Brevibacterium flavum (B. flavum) using all pre-optimized conditions. The identification of produced lysine was carried out by TLC and amino acid analyzer. Toxicity evaluation of produced lysine was performed before feeding to broiler chicks. During biological trial concentrated fermented broth having 8% lysine was used in poultry rations as a source of Lysine for test birds. Fermenter scale studies showed that the maximum lysine (20.8 g/L) was produced at 250 rpm, 1.5 vvm aeration, 6.0% inoculum under controlled pH conditions after 56 h of fermentation with wild culture but mutant (BFENU2) gave maximum yield of lysine 36.3 g/L under optimized condition after 48 h. Amino acid profiling showed 1.826% Lysine in fermented broth by wild B. flavum and 2.644% by mutant strain (BFENU2). Toxicity evaluation report showed that the produced lysine is safe for consumption by broilers. Biological evaluation results showed that produced lysine was equally good as commercial lysine in terms of weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio. A cheap and practical bioprocess of Lysine production was concluded, that can be exploited commercially in Pakistan to save foreign exchange.

Keywords: lysine, fermentation, broiler chicks, biological evaluation

Procedia PDF Downloads 537

Authors: E. Riani, T. T. Irawadi, S. Nurjanah, K. Syamsu, E. G. Said, Suprihatin, M. R. Cordova

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Especially coastal, Indonesian and Chinese communities have utilized sandfish to improve reproduction quality of men. This study aimed to examine the nutrition on sandfish flesh that has the potency to improve reproduction quality of men. The materials used were sandfish with weight of 200-500 g, and then analysis of proximate, analysis of amino acid, analysis of fatty acid and analysis of mineral contained in the sandfish were performed. The results showed that protein content (39.96%) was the main component of the flesh; the carbohydrate and fat were 25.43% and 4.18%, respectively. Sandfish powder contains several essential amino acids and nonessential amino acids. Nine of ten amino acids needed by human body are contained in sandfish powder, i.e. arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, threonine and valine; only tryptophan that are not contained in sandfish powder. Sandfish powder contains saturated fatty acid kaproat, kaprilat, kaprat, laurat, miristat, stearat, arakhidat and behenat; monosaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). MUFA is composed of fatty acid oleat, while PUFA is composed fatty acid omega 3 (linonenat, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) and omega 6 (linoleat and arakhidonat). The minerals contained in sandfish powder are macrominerals and microminerals. Based on the findings, the nutrition in sandfish powder has a good potency to improve reproduction of men, especially PUFA for the maturation of spermatozoa, zinc for production function and spermatogenesis, motility of spermatozoa, acromoson reaction; Mg for transformation of genetic information and motility of spermatozoa; calcium for spermatogenesis, capacity and fertilization of spermatozoa. Thus, sandfish flesh powder has the potency to improve reproduction quality of men.

Keywords: sandfish flesh powder, nutrition, reproduction quality, men

Procedia PDF Downloads 442

Authors: Sabuj Kanti Mazumder, Mazlan Abd Ghaffar, Simon Kumar Das

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In this study, we analyzed the effects of water temperature and diet on the growth properties and gastric emptying period of juvenile Malabar blood snapper (Lutjanus malabaricus) over a 30day experimental period. Fish were collected from a local hatchery of Pulau Ketam, Selangor, Malaysia and immediately transferred to flow-through sea water system and subjected to four different temperatures (22, 26, 30, and 34 °C) and two diets (formulated pellet and shrimp). Body weight gain, food consumption, food conversion ratio, food consumption efficiency, specific growth rate, relative growth rate, daily growth rate, and gastric emptying period were significantly influenced by temperature and diet (P<0.05). The best food conversion ratio was with the shrimp group recorded at 30°C (1.33±0.08). The highest growth rate was observed in the shrimp group at 30°C (3.97±0.57% day-1), and the lowest was observed in the formulated pellet group at 22°C (1.63±0.29% day-1). No significant difference was observed between the groups subjected to temperatures of 26 and 30°C. Similarly, the lowest gastric emptying period was detected in the shrimp group at 30°C (16h), where the proportion of meal residues in the stomach decreased from 100% to less than 8% after 12h of starvation. A significantly longer gastric emptying period was observed in the formulated pellet group at 22°C (28h). Overall, the best results were observed on shrimp group subjected to a 30°C temperature. The data obtained from this study suggest that a shrimp diet fed on L. malabaricus at 30°C will optimize the commercial production of this commercially important fish species.

Keywords: aquaculture, diet, digestion rate, growth, Malabar blood snapper

Procedia PDF Downloads 272

Authors: Amruta Rout, Golak Bihari Mahanta, Gunji Bala Murali, Bibhuti Bhusan Biswal, B. B. V. L. Deepak

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The use of industrial robots for performing welding operation is one of the chief sign of contemporary welding in these days. The weld joint parameter and weld process parameter modeling is one of the most crucial aspects of robotic welding. As weld process parameters affect the weld joint parameters differently, a multi-objective optimization technique has to be utilized to obtain optimal setting of weld process parameter. In this paper, a hybrid optimization technique, i.e., Principal Component Analysis (PCA) combined with fuzzy logic has been proposed to get optimal setting of weld process parameters like wire feed rate, welding current. Gas flow rate, welding speed and nozzle tip to plate distance. The weld joint parameters considered for optimization are the depth of penetration, yield strength, and ultimate strength. PCA is a very efficient multi-objective technique for converting the correlated and dependent parameters into uncorrelated and independent variables like the weld joint parameters. Also in this approach, no need for checking the correlation among responses as no individual weight has been assigned to responses. Fuzzy Inference Engine can efficiently consider these aspects into an internal hierarchy of it thereby overcoming various limitations of existing optimization approaches. At last Taguchi method is used to get the optimal setting of weld process parameters. Therefore, it has been concluded the hybrid technique has its own advantages which can be used for quality improvement in industrial applications.

Keywords: robotic arc welding, weld process parameters, weld joint parameters, principal component analysis, fuzzy logic, Taguchi method

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: Suganiya Rama Rao, Yoon-Yen Yow, Thor-Seng Liew, Shyamala Ratnayeke

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Invasive snails in the genus Pomacea have spread across Southeast Asia including Peninsular Malaysia. Apart from significant economic costs to wetland crops, very little is known about the snails’ effects on native species, and wetland function through their alteration of macrophyte communities. This study was conducted to establish diagnostic characteristics of Pomacea species in the Malaysian environment using genetic and morphological criteria. Snails were collected from eight localities in northern and central regions of Peninsular Malaysia. The mitochondrial COI gene of 52 adult snails was amplified and sequenced. Maximum likelihood analysis was used to analyse species identity and assess phylogenetic relationships among snails from different geographic locations. Shells of the two species were compared using geometric morphometric analysis and covariance analyses. Shell height accounted for most of the observed variation between P. canaliculata and P. maculata, with the latter possessing a smaller mean ratio of shell height: aperture height (p < 0.0001) and shell height to shell width (give p < 0.0001). Genomic and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the presence of two monophyletic taxa, P. canaliculata and P. maculata, in Peninsular Malaysia samples. P. maculata co-occurred with P. canaliculata in 5 localities, but samples from 3 localities contained only P. canaliculata. This study is the first to confirm the presence of two of the most invasive species of Pomacea in Peninsular Malaysia using a genomic approach. P. canaliculata appears to be the more widespread species. Despite statistical differences, both quantitative and qualitative morphological characteristics demonstrate much interspecific overlap and intraspecific variability; thus morphology alone cannot reliably verify species identity. Molecular techniques for distinguishing between these two highly invasive Pomacea species are needed to understand their specific ecological niches and develop effective protocols for their management.

Keywords: Pomacea canaliculata, Pomacea maculata, invasive species, phylog enetic analysis, geometric morphometric analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 248

Authors: Firoozeh Ghazanfari, Kourosh Amraei, Parisa Poorabadi

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Mild cognitive impairment is one of the neurocognitive disorders that go beyond age-related decline in cognitive functions, but in fact, it is not so severe which affects daily activities. This study aimed to investigate and compare the effectiveness of treatment with cranial electrical stimulation, brain training and their double combination on the language and verbal fluency of the elderly with mild cognitive impairment. This is a single-subject method with comparative intervention designs. Four patients with a definitive diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment by a psychiatrist were selected via purposive and convenience sampling method. Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Scale (2017) was used to assess language and verbal fluency. Two groups were formed with different order of cranial electrical stimulation treatment, brain training by pencil and paper method and their double combination, and two patients were randomly replaced in each group. The arrangement of the first group included cranial electrical stimulation, brain training, double combination and the second group included double combination, cranial electrical stimulation and brain training, respectively. Treatment plan included: A1, B, A2, C, A3, D, A4, where electrical stimulation treatment was given in ten 30-minutes sessions (5 mA and frequency of 0.5-500 Hz) and brain training in ten 30-minutes sessions. Each baseline lasted four weeks. Patients in first group who first received cranial electrical stimulation treatment showed a higher percentage of improvement in the language and verbal fluency subscale of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination in comparison to patients of the second group. Based on the results, it seems that cranial electrical stimulation with its effect on neurotransmitters and brain blood flow, especially in the brain stem, may prepare the brain at the neurochemical and molecular level for a better effectiveness of brain training at the behavioral level, and the selective treatment of electrical stimulation solitude in the first place may be more effective than combining it with paper-pencil brain training.

Keywords: cranial electrical stimulation, treatment, brain training, verbal fluency, cognitive impairment

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Diego Cruz, Helbert Arevalo, Diana Vernot

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In 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said that insect production for food and feed could become an economic opportunity for rural women in developing countries. However, since then, just a few initiatives worldwide had tried to implement this kind of project in zones of tropical countries without previous experience in cricket production and insect human consumption, such as Colombia. In this project, ArthroFood company and the University of La Sabana join efforts to make a holistic multi-perspective analysis from biological, economic, culinary, and social sides of the Gryllodes sigillatus production by rural women of the municipality of La Mesa, Cundinamarca, Colombia. From a biological and economic perspective, G. sigillatus production in a 60m2 greenhouse was evaluated considering the effect of rearing density and substrates on final weight and length, developing time, survival rate, and proximate composition. Additionally, the production cost and labor hours were recorded for five months. On the other hand, from a socio- economic side, the intention of the rural women to implement cricket farms or micro-entrepreneurship around insect production was evaluated after developing ethnographies and empowerment, entrepreneurship, and cricket production workshops. Finally, the results of the elaboration of culinary recipes with cricket powder incorporating cultural aspects of the context of La Mesa, Cundinamarca, will be presented. This project represents Colombia's first attempt to create a social business model of cricket production involving rural women, academies, the private sector, and local authorities.

Keywords: cricket production, developing country, edible insects, entrepreneurship, insect culinary recipes

Procedia PDF Downloads 97

Authors: Hassnen M. Jafer, W. Atherton, F. Ruddock, E. Loffil

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Waste materials or sometimes called by-product materials have been increasingly used as construction material to reduce the usage of cement in different construction projects. In the field of soil stabilisation, waste materials such as pulverised fuel ash (PFA), biomass fly ash (BFA), sewage sludge ash (SSA), etc., have been used since 1960s in last century. In this study, a particular type of a waste material (WM) was used in soft soil stabilisation as a cement replacement, as well as, the effect of mechanical activation, using grinding, on the performance of this WM was also investigated. The WM used in this study is a by-product resulted from the incineration processes between 1000 and 1200oc in domestic power generation plant using a fluidized bed combustion system. The stabilised soil in this study was an intermediate plasticity silty clayey soil with medium organic matter content. The experimental works were conducted first to find the optimum content of WM by carrying out Atterberg limits and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests on soil samples contained (0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15%) of WM by the dry weight of soil. The UCS test was carried out on specimens provided to different curing periods (zero, 7, 14, and 28 days). Moreover, the optimum percentage of the WM was subject to different periods of grinding (10, 20, 30, 40mins) using mortar and pestle grinder to find the effect of grinding and its optimum time by conducting UCS test. The results indicated that the WM used in this study improved the physical properties of the soft soil where the index of plasticity (IP) was decreased significantly from 21 to 13.10 with 15% of WM. Meanwhile, the results of UCS test indicated that 12% of WM was the optimum and this percentage developed the UCS value from 202kPa to 700kPa for 28 days cured samples. Along with the time of grinding, the results revealed that 10 minutes of grinding was the best for mechanical activation for the WM used in this study.

Keywords: soft soil stabilisation, waste materials, grinding, and unconfined compressive strength

Procedia PDF Downloads 268

Authors: Jan Dahlhaus, Alejandro Cardenas Miranda, Frederik Scholer, Maximilian Leonhardt, Matthias Moullion, Frank Beutenmuller, Julia Eckhardt, Josef Wasner, Frank Nittel, Sebastian Stoll, Devin Atukalp, Daniel Folgmann, Tobias Mayer, Obrad Dordevic, Paul Riley, Jean-Marc Le Peuvedic

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Electrical and hybrid aerospace technologies pose very challenging demands on the battery pack – especially with respect to weight and power. In the Clean Sky 2 research project LiBAT (funded by the EU), the consortium is currently building an ambitious prototype with state-of-the art cells that shows the potential of an intelligent pack design with a high level of integration, especially with respect to thermal management and power electronics. For the latter, innovative multi-level-inverter technology is used to realize the required power converting functions with reduced equipment. In this talk the key approaches and methods of the LiBat project will be presented and central results shown. Special focus will be set on the simulative methods used to support the early design and development stages from an overall system perspective. The applied methods can efficiently handle multiple domains and deal with different time and length scales, thus allowing the analysis and optimization of overall- or sub-system behavior. It will be shown how these simulations provide valuable information and insights for the efficient evaluation of concepts. As a result, the construction and iteration of hardware prototypes has been reduced and development cycles shortened.

Keywords: electric aircraft, battery, Li-ion, multi-level-inverter, Novec

Procedia PDF Downloads 153