Search results for: variable range hopping

Authors: Abdelaziz Messis, Azzeddine Bettache, Nawel Boucherba, Said Benallaoua, Mouloud Kecha

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Actinobacteria are of special biotechnological interest since they are known to produce chemically diverse compounds with a wide range of biological activity. This distinct clade of Gram-positve bacteria include some of the key antibiotic producers and are also sources of several bioactive compounds, established commercially a newly filamentous bacteria was recovered from Tikjda forest soil (Algeria) for its high antifungal activity against various pathogenic and phytopathogenic fungi. The nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene (1454 pb) of Streptomyces sp. TKJ2 exhibited close similarity (99 %) with other Streptomyces16S rRNA genes. Antifungal metabolite production of Streptomyces sp TKJ2 was evaluated using six different fermentation media. The extracellular products contained potent antifungal agents. Antifungal protein produced by Streptomyces sp. TKJ2 on PCA medium has been purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, SPE column chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography in a reverse-phase column. The UV chromatograms of the active fractions obtained at 214 nm by NanoLC-ESI-MS/MS have different molecular weights. The F20 Peptidic fraction obtained from culture filtrat of Streptomyces sp. TKJ2 precipitated at 30% of ammonium sulfate was selected for analysis by infusion ESI-MS which yielded a singly charged ion mass of 437.17 Da.

Keywords: actinobacteria, antifungal protein, chromatography, Streptomyces

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Authors: Olusegun Ayodeji Olagunju, Christine Tyreesa Pillay

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Biodiesel from waste sources is regarded as an economical and most viable fuel alternative to depleting fossil fuels. In this work, biodiesel was produced from three different sources of waste cooking oil; from cafeterias, which is vegetable-based using the transesterification method. The free fatty acids (% FFA) of the feedstocks were conducted successfully through the titration method. The results for sources 1, 2, and 3 were 0.86 %, 0.54 % and 0.20 %, respectively. The three variables considered in this process were temperature, reaction time, and catalyst concentration within the following range: 50 oC – 70 oC, 30 min – 90 min, and 0.5 % – 1.5 % catalyst. Produced biodiesel was characterized using ASTM standard methods for biodiesel property testing to determine the fuel properties, including kinematic viscosity, specific gravity, flash point, pour point, cloud point, and acid number. The results obtained indicate that the biodiesel yield from source 3 was greater than the other sources. All produced biodiesel fuel properties are within the standard biodiesel fuel specifications ASTM D6751. The optimum yield of biodiesel was obtained at 98.76%, 96.4%, and 94.53% from source 3, source 2, and source 1, respectively at optimum operating variables of 65 oC temperature, 90 minutes reaction time, and 0.5 wt% potassium hydroxide.

Keywords: waste cooking oil, biodiesel, free fatty acid content, potassium hydroxide catalyst, optimization analysis

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Authors: Satpal Singh, Subhash Chander

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An experimental study has been conducted to evaluate the thermal performance of the CNG/air dual flame impinging normally on to a flat surface. The stability limits for the dual flame under both impinging and free conditions have been evaluated to select experimental operating range. Dual flame shape and structure have been explained with direct flame image and schematic diagram indicating modification in recirculation zone in presence of inner flame. Effects of various operating parameters like H/Dh, Re(o), Φ(o), and θ(o) on heat transfer characteristics have been discussed. Inner non-swirling flame Reynolds number (Re(i)) and equivalence ratio (Φ(i)) were kept constant. Heating patterns in the impingement region around the stagnation point have been altered significantly with change in the values of H/Dh, Re(o), Φ(o), and θ(o). The axial flow of inner flame has been notably effected with increase in Re(o). Heating was most favorable near stoichiometeric conditions of the outer swirling flame. However, the effect of change in swirl intensity (expressed in terms of θ(o)) on overall heat transfer efficiency was not as significant as in the case of other parameters. It has been inferred that best performance (higher uniformity and efficiency) of the dual flame impinging on a flat surface can be achieved at moderate value of separation distance (H/Dh of 2-3) and outer swirling flame Reynolds number (Re(o) of 7000-9000) under stoichiometeric conditions.

Keywords: dual flame, heat transfer, impingement, swirling insert, transmission efficiency

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Authors: Janaina Pereira, Barbara Gonzalez, Valentina Chitas, Teresa Molina

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Intro: The positive impact of opioid maintenance programs on the health of heroin addicts, and on public health in general, has been widely recognized, namely on the prevalence reduction of infectious diseases as HIV, and on the social reintegration of this population. Nevertheless, a part of patients in these programs cannot remain heroin abstinent, or has relapses, during the treatment. Method: Thus, this cross-sectional research aims at analyzing the relation between a set of psychological and psychosocial variables, which have been associated with the onset of heroin use, and assess if they are also associated with absence of abstinence in participants in an opioid maintenance program. A total of 62 patients, aged between 26 and 58 years old (M= 40.87, DP= 7.39) with a time in opioid maintenance program between 1 and 10 years (M= 5.42, DP= 3.05), 77.4% male and 22.6% female, participated in this research. To assess the criterion variable (heroin use) we used the mean value of positive results in urine tests during the participation in the program, weighted according to the number of months in program. The predictor variables were the coping strategies, the dispositional sensation seeking, and the existence of Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Results: The results showed that only 33.87% of the patients were totally abstinent of heroin use since the beginning of the program, and the absence of abstinence, as the number of positive heroin tests, was primarily predicted by less proactive coping, and secondarily by a higher level of sensation seeking. 16.13% of the sample fulfilled diagnosis criteria for PTSD, and 67.74 % had at least one traumatic experience throughout their lives. The total of PTSD symptoms had a positive correlation with the number of physical health problems, and with the lack of professional occupation. These results have several implications for the clinical practice in this field, and we suggest the promotion of proactive coping strategies should integrate these opioid maintenance programs, as they represent the tendency to face future events as challenges and opportunities, being positively related to positive results on several fields. The early identification of PTSD in the participants, before entering the opioid maintenance programs, would be important as it is related to negative features that hinder social reintegration, Finally, to identify individuals with a sensation seeking profile would be relevant, not only because they face a higher risk of relapse, but also because the therapeutical approaches should not ignore this dispositional feature in the alternatives they propose to the patients.

Keywords: opioid maintenance programs, proactive coping, PTSD, sensation seeking

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Authors: J. Jarolímek, P. Urban, P. Pavlínek, D. Dzúrová

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The industry constitutes a dominant economic sector in Czechia. The automotive industry represents the most important industrial sector in terms of gross value added and the number of employees. The objective of this study was to analyse the occurrence of occupational diseases (OD) in the automotive industry in Czechia during the 2001-2014 period. Whereas the occurrence of OD in other sectors has generally been decreasing, it has been increasing in the automotive industry, including growing spatial discrepancies. Data on OD cases were retrieved from the National Registry of Occupational Diseases. Further, we conducted a survey in automotive companies with a focus on occupational health services and positions of the companies in global production networks (GPNs). An analysis of OD distribution in the automotive industry was performed (age, gender, company size and its role in GPNs, regional distribution of studied companies, and regional unemployment rate), and was accompanied by an assessment of the quality and range of occupational health services. The employees older than 40 years had nearly 2.5 times higher probability of OD occurrence compared with employees younger than 40 years (OR 2.41; 95% CI: 2.05-2.85). The OD occurrence probability was 3 times higher for women than for men (OR 3.01; 95 % CI: 2.55-3.55). The OD incidence rate was increasing with the size of the company. An association between the OD incidence and the unemployment rate was not confirmed.

Keywords: occupational diseases, automotive industry, health geography, unemployment

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Authors: Muzaffar Iqbal, Essam Ezzeldin, Khalid A. Al-Rashood

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Pomalidomide is a second generation oral immunomodulatory agent, being used for the treatment of multiple myeloma in patients with disease refractory to lenalidomide and bortezomib. In this study, a sensitive UPLC-MS/MS assay was developed and validated for high-throughput determination of pomalidomide in rat plasma using celecoxib as an internal standard (IS). Liquid liquid extraction using dichloromethane as extracting agent was employed to extract pomalidomide and IS from 200 µL of plasma. Chromatographic separation was carried on Acquity BEHTM C18 column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm) using an isocratic mobile phase of acetonitrile:10 mM ammonium acetate (80:20, v/v), at a flow rate of 0.250 mL/min. Both pomalidomide and IS were eluted at 0.66 ± 0.03 and 0.80 ± 0.03 min, respectively with a total run time of 1.5 min only. Detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer using electrospray ionization in negative mode. The precursor to product ion transitions of m/z 272.01 → 160.89 for pomalidomide and m/z 380.08 → 316.01 for IS were used to quantify them respectively, using multiple reaction monitoring mode. The developed method was validated according to regulatory guideline for bioanalytical method validation. The linearity in plasma sample was achieved in the concentration range of 0.47–400 ng/mL (r2 ≥ 0.997). The intra and inter-day precision values were ≤ 11.1% (RSD, %) whereas accuracy values ranged from - 6.8 – 8.5% (RE, %). In addition, other validation results were within the acceptance criteria and the method was successfully applied in a pharmacokinetic study of pomalidomide in rats.

Keywords: pomalidomide, pharmacokinetics, LC-MS/MS, celecoxib

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Authors: Rafi Ullah, Shah Muhammad Emaduddin, Taha Jilani

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Vehicle Adhoc Networks (VANET) belongs to a special class of Mobile Adhoc Network (MANET) with high mobility. Network is created by road side vehicles equipped with communication devices like GPS and Wifi etc. Since the environment is highly dynamic due to difference in speed and high mobility of vehicles and weak stability of the network connection, it is a challenging task to design an efficient routing protocol for such an unstable environment. Our proposed algorithm uses heuristic for the calculation of optimal path for routing the packet efficiently in collaboration with several other parameters like geographical location, speed, priority, the distance among the vehicles, communication range, and networks congestion. We have incorporated probabilistic, heuristic and machine learning based approach inconsistency with the relay function of the memory buffer to keep the packet moving towards the destination. These parameters when used in collaboration provide us a very strong and admissible heuristics. We have mathematically proved that the proposed technique is efficient for the routing of packets, especially in a medical emergency situation. These networks can be used for medical emergency, security, entertainment and routing purposes.

Keywords: heuristics routing, intelligent routing, VANET, route optimization

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Authors: Bingjie Wang, Su-Yeon Kwon, Ik-Joong Kang

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A Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) as the principle for enhancing Raman scattering by molecules adsorbed on rough metal surfaces or by nanostructures is used to detect the concentration change of γ-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA). As for the gold-chitosan nanoshell, it is made by using chitosan nanoparticles crosslinking with sodium tripolyphosphate(TPP) for the first step to form the chitosan nanoparticles, which would be covered with the gold sequentially. The size of the fabricated product was around 100nm. Based on the method that the sulfur end of the MPA linked to gold can form the very strong S–Au bond, and the carboxyl group, the other end of the MPA, can easily absorb the GABA. GABA is the mainly inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system in the human body. It plays such significant role in reducing neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system. When the system formed, it generated SERS, which made a clear difference in the intensity of Raman scattering within the range of GABA concentration. So it is obtained from the experiment that the calibration curve according to the GABA concentration relevant with the SERS scattering. In this study, DLS, SEM, FT-IR, UV, SERS were used to analyze the products to obtain the conclusion.

Keywords: chitosan-gold nanoshell, mercaptopropionic acid, γ-aminobutyric acid, surface-enhanced Raman scattering

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Authors: Mohiuddin Ahsanul Kabir Chowdhury, Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman, Nazia Binte Ali, Abdullah Nurus Salam Khan, Afrin Iqbal, Mohammad Mehedi Hasan, Salma Morium, Afsana Bhuiyan, Shams El Arifeen

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Violence against women has been treated as a global epidemic which is as fatal as any serious disease or accidents. Like many other low-income countries it is also common in Bangladesh. In spite of existence of a few documented evidences in some other countries, in Bangladesh, domestic violence against women (DVAW) is not considered as a factor for malnutrition in children yet. Hence, the aim of the study was to investigate the association between DVAW and the nutritional status of their under-5 children in the context of slum areas of Chittagong, Bangladesh. A Cross-sectional survey was conducted among 87 women of reproductive age having at least one child under-5 years of age and staying with husband for at least last 1 year in selected slums under Chittagong City Corporation area. Data collection tools were structured questionnaire for the study participants and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) to measure the nutritional status of the under-5 children. The data underwent descriptive and regression analysis. Out of 87 respondents, 50 (57.5%) reported to suffer from domestic violence by their husband during last one year. Physical violence was found to be significantly associated with age (p=0.02), age at marriage (p=0.043), wealth score (p=0.000), and with knowledge regarding law (p=0.017). According to the measurement of mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) 21% children were suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and the same percentage of children were suffering from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). However, unadjusted odds ratio suggested that there was negative association with domestic violence and nutritional status. But, the logistic regression confounding for other variable showed significant association with total family income (p=0.006), wealth score (p=0.031), age at marriage (p=0.029) and number of child (p=0.006). Domestic violence against women and under nutrition of the children, both are highly prevalent in Bangladesh. More extensive research should be performed to identify the factors contributing to the high prevalence of domestic violence and malnutrition in urban slums of Bangladesh. Household-based intervention is needed to limit this burning problem. In a nutshell, effective community participation, education and counseling are essential to create awareness among the community.

Keywords: Bangladesh, cross sectional survey, domestic violence against women, nutritional status, under-5 children, urban slums

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Authors: V. Pourmostaghimi, M. Zadshakoyan

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Efficiency and productivity of the finish hard turning can be enhanced impressively by utilizing accurate predictive models for cutting tool wear. However, the ability of genetic programming in presenting an accurate analytical model is a notable characteristic which makes it more applicable than other predictive modeling methods. In this paper, the genetic equation for modeling of tool flank wear is developed with the use of the experimentally measured flank wear values and genetic programming during finish turning of hardened AISI D2. Series of tests were conducted over a range of cutting parameters and the values of tool flank wear were measured. On the basis of obtained results, genetic model presenting connection between cutting parameters and tool flank wear were extracted. The accuracy of the genetically obtained model was assessed by using two statistical measures, which were root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R²). Evaluation results revealed that presented genetic model predicted flank wear over the study area accurately (R² = 0.9902 and RMSE = 0.0102). These results allow concluding that the proposed genetic equation corresponds well with experimental data and can be implemented in real industrial applications.

Keywords: cutting parameters, flank wear, genetic programming, hard turning

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Authors: Lucksini Raveendran

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Introduction: This mixed-methods study focuses on the experiences of ethnocultural youth and families in Canada, identifying key barriers and opportunities to inform service programming and policies that can better meet their mental health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Methods: Mental Health Commission of Canada's Headstrong initiative administered the youth survey (April – June 2020) and family survey (June – August 2020) with a total sample size of 137 and 481 respondents, respectively. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify key challenges faced, coping strategies used, and help-seeking behaviours. A similar approach was also applied to the family survey data, but instead, a representative sample was collated to analyze geographically variable and ethnically diverse subgroups. Results and analysis: Multiple challenges have impacted families, including increased feelings of loneliness and distress from border travel restrictions, especially among those navigating pregnancy alone or managing children with developmental needs, which is often understudied. Also, marginalized groups were disproportionately affected by inequitable access to communication technologies, further deepening the digital divide. Some reported living in congregated homes with regular conflicts, thus leading to increased anxiety and exposure to violence. For many families, urbanicity and ethnicity played a key role in how families reported coping with feelings of uncertainty while managing work commitments, navigating community resources, fulfilling care responsibilities, and homeschooling children of all ages. Despite these challenges, there was evidence of post-traumatic growth and building community resiliency. Conclusions and implications for policy, practice, or additional research: There is a need to foster opportunities to promote and sustain mental health, wellness, and resilience for families through social connections. Also, intersectionality must be embedded in the collection, analysis, and application of data to improve equitable access to evidence-based and recovery-oriented mental health supports among diverse families in Canada. Lastly, address future research on the long-term COVID-19 impacts of travel border restrictions on family wellness.

Keywords: mental health, youth mental health, family wellness, health equity

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Authors: N. Akhavan, Sh. Tavousi Tafreshi, A. Ghasemi

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Seismic behavior of irregular structures through the past decades indicate that the stated buildings do not have appropriate performance. Among these subjects, the current paper has investigated the behavior of special steel moment frame with different configuration of soft storey vertically. The analyzing procedure has been evaluated with respect to incremental dynamic analysis (IDA), and numeric process was carried out by OpenSees finite element analysis package. To this end, nine 2D steel frames, with different numbers of stories and irregularity positions, which were subjected to seven pairs of ground motion records orthogonally with respect to Ibarra-Krawinkler deterioration model, have been investigated. This paper aims at evaluating the response of two-dimensional buildings incorporating soft storey which subjected to bi-directional seismic excitation. The IDAs were implemented for different stages of PGA with various ground motion records, in order to determine maximum inter-storey drift ratio. According to statistical elements and fracture range (standard deviation), the vulnerability or exceedance from above-mentioned cases has been examined. For this reason, fragility curves for different placement of soft storey in the first, middle and the last floor for 4, 8, and 16 storey buildings have been generated and compared properly.

Keywords: special steel moment frame, soft storey, incremental dynamic analysis, fragility curve

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Authors: Nicolò Vaiana, Giorgio Serino

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The nonlinear time history analysis of seismically base-isolated structures can require a significant computational effort when the behavior of each seismic isolator is predicted by adopting the widely used differential equation Bouc-Wen model. In this paper, a nonlinear exponential model, able to simulate the response of seismic isolation bearings within a relatively large displacements range, is described and adopted in order to reduce the numerical computations and speed up the nonlinear dynamic analysis. Compared to the Bouc-Wen model, the proposed one does not require the numerical solution of a nonlinear differential equation for each time step of the analysis. The seismic response of a 3d base-isolated structure with a lead rubber bearing system subjected to harmonic earthquake excitation is simulated by modeling each isolator using the proposed analytical model. The comparison of the numerical results and computational time with those obtained by modeling the lead rubber bearings using the Bouc-Wen model demonstrates the good accuracy of the proposed model and its capability to reduce significantly the computational effort of the analysis.

Keywords: base isolation, computational efficiency, nonlinear exponential model, nonlinear time history analysis

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Authors: Sabiha Sahin

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Background: Chest pain is a common complaint in children visiting the emergency department (ED). True organic problems like cardiac disease are rare. We assess the etiology of chest pain among children visiting a Pediatric ED in Eskisehir Osmangazi University. Method: We prospectively evaluated of children with chest pain who visited our Pediatric ED between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2014. Any case of trauma-associated chest pain was excluded from this study. Results: A total of 100 patients (54 boys, 46 girls), mean age: 11,86±3,51 (age range, 6–17 years) were enrolled into this study; 100 patients had chest radiograms (100 %). Pneumonia was identified in 15 patients. All patients had electrocardiogram study (100 %) and 16 of them showed abnormalities. Additional diagnostic tests were performed on all patients including complete blood count analysis, cardiac markers (CK-MB, Troponin I) and lactate (blood gas analysis). Echocardiograms were performed on all patients and 16 of them showed abnormality (five of majör abnormality). Panendoscopy was done in 20 patients, and gastroesophageal reflux was found in 12 (%12). Overall, idiopathic chest pain and myalgia was the most common diagnosis (32 %). Other associated disorders were asthma (12 %), panic attack (13 %). Conclusion: The most common cause of chest pain prompting a child to visit the ED is idiopathic chest pain. Careful physical examination can reveal important clues and save many unnecessary examinations.

Keywords: child, chest pain, pediatric emergency department, evaluation

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Authors: Adem Rama, Rabiha Seboussi, Mahmoud Muhamadin, Sultan Alzarooni, Fatima Mohamed, Khuloud Al Ali

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To assess public health hazards associated with the occurrence of Antibiotics and AFM1 residues in UHT milk, a survey was carried out in Sharjah, UAE. In the present study, a total of 42 UHT milk samples analyzed were from different commercial brands manufactured in industrial dairy units in the UAE and from foreign producers. Milk samples were collected for four months (January to April 2020). The occurrence and concentration range of Antibiotics (Streptomycin and Gentamycin) and AFM1 in the samples were investigated by applying the ELISA method. According to the methodology used in this study, in total, 2 (5%) out of 42(95%) samples tested positive on the presence of AFM1. While, 1(2.4%) out of 41(97.6%) positive samples were found to contain Streptomycin and Gentamycin, respectively. The positive incidence of AFM1 in the UHT milk samples ranged from 58.8 to 1074 µg/L, for Streptomycin from up to 1004 µg/L, and Gentamycin up to 6909 µg/L. There were no positive samples found in locally produced UHT milk. AFM1 and antibiotic levels in positive samples UHT milk samples exceeded the maximum tolerable limits as set by the European Union - EC guidelines/standards. These levels in the samples show a presence of contaminants that might constitute a human health risk in Sharjah. The results of this study imply that more emphasis should be given to the routine inspection of milk and dairy products in the Sharjah region.

Keywords: milk, contaminant residues, ELISA, public health, Sharjah

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Authors: Daniel Gredig, Annabelle Bartelsen-Raemy

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Social work professionals should underpin their decisions with scientific knowledge and research findings. Hence, research is used as a framework for social work education and research courses have become a taken-for-granted component of study programmes. However, it has been acknowledged that social work students have negative beliefs and attitudes as well as frequently feelings of fear of research courses. Against this background, the present study aimed to establish the relationship between student’s fear of research courses, their research orientation and interest in research courses. We hypothesized that fear predicts the interest in research courses. Further, we hypothesized that research orientation (perceived importance and attributed usefulness for research for social work practice and perceived unbiased nature of research) was a mediating variable. In the years 2014, 2015 and 2016, we invited students enrolled for a bachelor programme in social work in Switzerland to participate in the study during their introduction day to the school taking place two weeks before their programme started. For data collection, we used an anonymous self-administered on-line questionnaire filled in on site. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling (generalized least squares estimates method). The sample included 708 students enrolled in a social work bachelor-programme, 501 being female, 184 male, and 5 intersexual, aged 19–56, having various entitlements to study, and registered for three different types of programme modes (full time programme; part time study with field placements in blocks; part time study involving concurrent field placement). Analysis showed that the interest in research courses was predicted by fear of research courses (β = -0.29) as well as by the perceived importance (β = 0.27), attributed usefulness of research (β = 0.15) and perceived unbiased nature of research (β = 0.08). These variables were predicted, in turn, by fear of research courses (β = -0.10, β = -0.23, and β = -0.13). Moreover, interest was predicted by age (β = 0.13). Fear of research courses was predicted by age (β = -0.10) female gender (β = 0.28) and having completed a general baccalaureate (β = -0.09). (GFI = 0.997, AGFI = 0.988, SRMR = 0.016, CMIN/df = 0.946, adj. R2 = 0.312). Findings evidence a direct as well as a mediated impact of fear on the interest in research courses in entering first-year students in a social work bachelor-programme. It highlights one of the challenges social work education in a research framework has to meet with. It seems, there have been considerable efforts to address the research orientation of students. However, these findings point out that, additionally, research anxiety in terms of fear of research courses should be considered and addressed by teachers when conceptualizing research courses.

Keywords: research anxiety, research courses, research interest, research orientation, social work students, teaching

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Authors: Uchenna Sydney Mbamara, Bolu Olofinjana, Ezekiel Oladele B. Ajayi

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Elaborate surface metrology of undoped ZnO thin films, deposited by organometallic chemical vapour deposition (OMCVD) technique at different precursor flow rates, was carried out. Dicarbomethyl-zinc precursor was used. The films were deposited on AISI304L steel and soda-lime glass substrates. Ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UV-Vis-NIR) spectroscopy showed that all the thin films were over 80% transparent, with an average bandgap of 3.39 eV, X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that the thin films were crystalline with a hexagonal structure, while Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) results identified the elements present in each thin film as zinc and oxygen in the ratio of 1:1. Microscope and contactless profilometer results gave images with characteristic colours. The profilometer also gave the surface roughness data in both 2D and 3D. The asperity distribution of the thin film surfaces was Gaussian, while the average fractal dimension Da was in the range of 2.5 ≤ Da. The metrology proved the surfaces good for ‘touch electronics’ and coating mechanical parts for low friction.

Keywords: undoped ZnO, precursor flow rate, OMCVD, thin films, surface texture, tribology

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Authors: Abrar Abuzaid, Maha Alaaeddine, Haya Alesayi

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This project is centered around understanding the usage and impact of Alexa, Amazon's popular virtual assistant, in everyday life. Alexa, known for its integration into devices like Amazon Echo, offers functionalities such as voice interaction, media control, providing real-time information, and managing smart home devices. Our primary focus is to conduct a straightforward survey aimed at uncovering how people use Alexa in their daily routines. We plan to reach out to a wide range of individuals to get a diverse perspective on how Alexa is being utilized for various tasks, the frequency and context of its use, and the overall user experience. The survey will explore the most common uses of Alexa, its impact on daily life, features that users find most beneficial, and improvements they are looking for. This project is not just about collecting data but also about understanding the real-world applications of a technology like Alexa and how it fits into different lifestyles. By examining the responses, we aim to gain a practical understanding of Alexa's role in homes and possibly in workplaces. This project will provide insights into user satisfaction and areas where Alexa could be enhanced to meet the evolving needs of its users. It’s a step towards connecting technology with everyday life, making it more accessible and user-friendly

Keywords: Amazon Alexa, artificial intelligence, smart speaker, natural language processing

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Authors: Fatemehsadat Mortazavizadeh, Amin Dehghani, Majid Mirzaei, Nurulhuda Binti Mohammad Ramli, Adnan Dehghani

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Flood is Malaysia's most common and serious natural disaster. Kelantan River Basin is a tropical basin that experiences a rainy season during North-East Monsoon from November to March. It is also one of the hardest hit areas in Peninsular Malaysia during the heavy monsoon rainfall. Considering the consequences of the flood events, it is essential to develop the flood inundation map as part of the mitigation approach. In this study, the delineation of flood inundation zone in the area of Kelantan River basin using a hydrodynamic model is done by HEC-RAS, QGIS and ArcMap. The streamflow data has been generated with the weather generator based on the observation data. Then, the data is statistically analyzed with the Extreme Value (EV1) method for 2-, 5-, 25-, 50- and 100-year return periods. The minimum depth, maximum depth, mean depth, and the standard deviation of all the scenarios, including the OBS, are observed and analyzed. Based on the results, generally, the value of the data increases with the return period for all the scenarios. However, there are certain scenarios that have different results, which not all the data obtained are increasing with the return period. Besides, OBS data resulted in the middle range within Scenario 1 to Scenario 40.

Keywords: flood inundation, kelantan river basin, hydrodynamic model, extreme value analysis

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Authors: Nazli Eslamirad, Peter C. Junk, Jun Wang, Glen B. Deacon

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Since coordination behavior of pyrazoles and pyrazolate ions are widely versatile towards a great range of metals such as d-block, f-block as well as main group elements; they attract interest as ligands for preparing compounds. A variety of rare-earth pyrazolate complexes have been synthesized by redox transmetalation/protolysis (RTP) previously, therefore, a variety of rare-earth pyrazolate complexes using two pyrazoles, 3,5-dimethylpyrazole (Me₂pzH) and 3,5-di-tert -butylpyrazolate (t-Bu₂pzH), in which the structures span the whole La-Lu array beside Sc and Y has been synthesized by RTP reaction. There have been further developments in this study: Synthesizing structure of [Tb(Me₂pz)₃(thf)]₂ which is isomorphous with those of the previously reported [Dy(Me₂pz)₃(thf)]₂ and [Lu(Me₂pz)₃(thf)]₂ analogous that has two µ-1(N):2(Nʹ)-Me2pz ligands (the most common pyrazolate ligation for non-rare-earth complexes). Previously most of the reported compounds using t-Bu2pzH were monomeric compounds however the lanthanum derivative [La(Me₂pz)₃thf₂] ,which has been reported previously without crystal structure, has now been structurally characterized, along with cerium and lutetium analogue. Also a polymeric structure with samarium has now been synthesized which the neodymium analogue has been reported previously and comparing these polymeric structures can support the idea that the geometry of Sm(tBu₂pz)₃ affect the coordination of the solvent. Also, by using 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) instead of tetrahydrofuran (THF) new [Er(tBu₂pz)₃ (dme)₂] has now been reported.

Keywords: lanthanoid complexes, pyrazolate, redox transmetalation/protolysis, x-ray crystal structures

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Authors: K. P. Shinde, M. V. Tien, H. Lin, H.-R. Park, S.-C.Yu, K. C. Chung, D.-H. Kim

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Magnetic refrigeration provides an attractive alternative cooling technology due to its potential advantages such as high cooling efficiency, environmental friendliness, low noise, and compactness over the conventional cooling techniques based on gas compression. Magnetocaloric effect (MCE) occurs by changes in entropy (ΔS) and temperature (ΔT) under external magnetic fields. We have been focused on identifying materials with large MCE in two temperature regimes, not only room temperature but also at cryogenic temperature for specific technological applications, such as space science and liquefaction of hydrogen in fuel industry. To date, the commonly used materials for cryogenic refrigeration are based on hydrated salts. In the present work, we report giant MCE in rare earth Ho2O3 nanopowder at cryogenic temperature. HoN nanoparticles with average size of 30 nm were prepared by using plasma arc discharge method with gas composition of N2/H2 (80%/20%). The prepared HoN was sintered in air atmosphere at 1200 oC for 24 hrs to convert it into oxide. Structural and morphological properties were studied by XRD and SEM. XRD confirms the pure phase and cubic crystal structure of Ho2O3 without any impurity within error range. It has been discovered that Holmium oxide exhibits giant MCE at low temperature without magnetic hysteresis loss with the second-order antiferromagnetic phase transition with Néels temperature around 2 K. The maximum entropy change was found to be 25.2 J/kgK at an applied field of 6 T.

Keywords: magnetocaloric effect, Ho₂O₃, magnetic entropy change, nanopowder

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Authors: Sudheer Gupta

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Approximately 4 billion citizens of the world live on the equivalent of less than $8 a day. This segment constitutes a $5 trillion global market that remains under-served. Multinational corporations have historically tended to focus their innovation efforts on the upper segments of the economic pyramid. The academic literature has also been dominated by theories and frameworks of innovation that are valid when applied to the developed markets and consumer segments, but fail to adequately account for the challenges and realities of new product and service creation for the poor. Theories of entrepreneurship developed in the context of developed markets similarly ignore the challenges and realities of operating in developing economies that can be characterized by missing institutions, missing markets, information and infrastructural challenges, and resource constraints. Social entrepreneurs working in such contexts develop solutions differently. In this talk, we summarize lessons learnt from a long-term research project that involves data collection from a broad range of social entrepreneurs in developing countries working towards solutions to alleviate poverty, and grounded theory-building efforts. We aim to develop a better understanding of consumers, producers, and other stakeholder involvement, thus laying the foundation to build a robust theory of innovation and entrepreneurship for the poor.

Keywords: poverty alleviation, social enterprise, social innovation, development

Procedia PDF Downloads 388

Authors: Habu Musa, Nusaibah Binti Syd Ali

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Oil palm industries particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia are being devastated by Ganoderma disease caused by Ganoderma spp. To date, this disease has been causing serious oil palm yield losses and collapse of oil palm trees, thus affecting its contribution to the producer’s economy. Research on sustainable and eco-friendly remedy to counter Ganoderma disease is on the upsurge to avoid the current control measures via synthetic fungicides. Trichoderma species have been the most studied and valued microbes as biological control agents in an effort to combat a wide range of plant diseases sustainably. Therefore, in this current study, the potential of Trichoderma spp. (Trichoderma asperellum, Trichoderma harzianum, and Trichoderma virens) as a consortium approach was evaluated as biological control agents against Ganoderma disease on oil palm. The consortium of Trichoderma spp. applied found to be the most effective treatment in suppressing Ganoderma disease with 83.03% and 89.16% from the foliar and bole symptoms respectively. Besides, it exhibited tremendous enhancement in the oil palm seedling vegetative growth parameters. Also, it had highly induced significant activity of peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and total phenolic content was recorded in the consortium treatment compared to the control treatment. Disease development was slower in the seedlings treated with consortium of Trichoderma spp. compared to the positive control, which exhibited with the highest percentage of disease severity.

Keywords: biological control, ganoderma disease, trichoderma, disease severity

Procedia PDF Downloads 270

Authors: Milind S. Patil, Purushottam S. Desale, Eknath R. Deore

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Thermal analysis of reheat, regenerative, inter-cooled gas turbine cycle is presented. Specific work output, thermal efficiency and SFC is simulated with respect to operating conditions. Analytical formulas were developed taking into account the effect of operational parameters like ambient temperature, compression ratio, compressor efficiency, turbine efficiency, regenerator effectiveness, pressure loss in inter cooling, reheating and regenerator. Calculations were made for wide range of parameters using engineering equation solver and the results were presented here. For pressure ratio of 12, regenerator effectiveness 0.95, and maximum turbine inlet temperature 1200 K, thermal efficiency decreases by 27% with increase in ambient temperature (278 K to 328 K). With decrease in regenerator effectiveness thermal efficiency decreases linearly. With increase in ambient temperature (278 K to 328 K) for the same maximum temperature and regenerator effectiveness SFC decreases up to a pressure ratio of 10 and then increases. Sharp rise in SFC is noted for higher ambient temperature. With increase in isentropic efficiency of compressor and turbine, thermal efficiency increases by about 40% for low ambient temperature (278 K to 298 K) however, for higher ambient temperature (308 K to 328 K) thermal efficiency increases by about 70%.

Keywords: gas turbine, reheating, regeneration, inter-cooled, thermal analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 331

Authors: Illyas Md Isa, Maryam Musfirah Che Sobry, Mohamad Syahrizal Ahmad, Nurashikin Abd Azis

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A single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) that has been modified with magnesium layered hydroxide 3-(4-methoxyphenyl)propionic acid nanocomposite was proposed for the determination of uric acid and bisphenol A by square wave voltammetry. The results obtained denote that MLH-MPP nanocomposites enhance the sensitivity of the voltammetry detection responses. The best performance is shown by the modified carbon nanotube paste electrode (CNTPE) with the composition of single-walled carbon nanotube: magnesium layered hydroxide 3-(4-methoxyphenyl)propionic acid nanocomposite at 100:15 (% w/w). The linear range where the sensor works well is within the concentration 1.0 10-7 – 1.0 10-4 and 3.0 10-7 – 1.0 10-4 for uric acid and bisphenol A respectively with the limit of detection of 1.0 10-7 M for both organics. The interferences of uric acid and bisphenol A with other organic were studied and most of them did not interfere. The results shown for each experimental parameter on the proposed CNTPE showed that it has high sensitivity, good selectivity, repeatability and reproducibility. Therefore, the modified CNTPE can be used for the determination of uric acid and bisphenol A in real samples such as blood, plastic bottles and foods.

Keywords: bisphenol A, magnesium layered hydroxide 3-(4-methoxyphenyl)propionic acid nanocomposite, Nanocomposite, uric acid

Procedia PDF Downloads 206

Authors: Papakonstantinou Apostolos, Argyrios Moustakas, Panagiotis Zervos, Dimitrios Stefanakis, Manolis Tsapakis, Nektarios Spyridakis, Mary Paspaliari, Christos Kontos, Antonis Legakis, Sarantis Houzouris, Konstantinos Topouzelis

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For years unmanned and remotely operated robots have been used as tools in industry research and education. The rapid development and miniaturization of sensors that can be attached to remotely operated vehicles in recent years allowed industry leaders and researchers to utilize them as an affordable means for data acquisition in air, land, and sea. Despite the recent developments in the ground and unmanned airborne vehicles, a small number of Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) platforms are targeted for mapping and monitoring environmental parameters for research and industry purposes. The ARGO project is developed an open-design USV equipped with multi-level control hardware architecture and state-of-the-art sensors and payloads for the autonomous monitoring of environmental parameters in large sea areas. The proposed USV is a catamaran-type USV controlled over a wireless radio link (5G) for long-range mapping capabilities and control for a ground-based control station. The ARGO USV has a propulsion control using 2x fully redundant electric trolling motors with active vector thrust for omnidirectional movement, navigation with opensource autopilot system with high accuracy GNSS device, and communication with the 2.4Ghz digital link able to provide 20km of Line of Sight (Los) range distance. The 3-meter dual hull design and composite structure offer well above 80kg of usable payload capacity. Furthermore, sun and friction energy harvesting methods provide clean energy to the propulsion system. The design is highly modular, where each component or payload can be replaced or modified according to the desired task (industrial or research). The system can be equipped with Multiparameter Sonde, measuring up to 20 water parameters simultaneously, such as conductivity, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, etc. Furthermore, a high-end multibeam echo sounder can be installed in a specific boat datum for shallow water high-resolution seabed mapping. The system is designed to operate in the Aegean Sea. The developed USV is planned to be utilized as a system for autonomous data acquisition, mapping, and monitoring bathymetry and various environmental parameters. ARGO USV can operate in small or large ports with high maneuverability and endurance to map large geographical extends at sea. The system presents state of the art solutions in the following areas i) the on-board/real-time data processing/analysis capabilities, ii) the energy-independent and environmentally friendly platform entirely made using the latest aeronautical and marine materials, iii) the integration of advanced technology sensors, all in one system (photogrammetric and radiometric footprint, as well as its connection with various environmental and inertial sensors) and iv) the information management application. The ARGO web-based application enables the system to depict the results of the data acquisition process in near real-time. All the recorded environmental variables and indices are presented, allowing users to remotely access all the raw and processed information using the implemented web-based GIS application.

Keywords: monitor marine environment, unmanned surface vehicle, mapping bythometry, sea environmental monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Azhar Jabareen, Mahmoud Huleihel

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BRCA-1 is a multifunctional tumor suppressor, whose expression is activated by the estrogen (E2)-liganded ERα receptor. The activated ERα is a transcriptional factor which activates various genes either by direct binding to the DNA at E2-responsive elements (EREs) and indirectly associated with a range of alternative non-ERE elements. Interference with BRCA-1 expression and/or functions leads to high risk of breast or/and ovarian cancer. Our lab investigated the involvement of Human T-cell leukemia Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) in breast cancer, since HTLV-1 Tax was found to strongly inhibit BRCA-1 expression. In addition, long exposure of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), which is one of the stress-inducing agents activated the HTLV-1 promoter. So here the involvement of TPA in breast cancer had been examined by testing the effect of TPA on BRCA-1 and ERE expression. The results showed that TPA activated both BRCA-1 and ERE expression. In the 12 hours TPA activated the tow promoters more than others time, and after 24 hours the level of the tow promoters was decreased. Tax inhibited BRCA-1 expression but did not succeed to inhibit the effect of TPA. Then the activation of the two promoters was not through ERα pathway because TPA had no effect on ERα binding to the two promoters of the BRCA-1 and ERE. Also, the activation was not via nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway because when the inhibitory of NF-κB had been added to the TPA, it still activated the tow promoters. However, it seems that 53BP1 may be involved in TPA activation of these promoters because ectopic high expression of 53BP1 significantly reduced the TPA activity. In addition, in the presence of Bisindolylmaleimide-I (BI)- the inhibitor of Protein Kinase C (PKC)- there was no activation for the two promoters, so the PKC is agonized BRCA-1 and ERE activation.

Keywords: BRCA-1, ERE, HTLV-1, TPA

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Christos Chaschatzis, Chrysoula Karaiskou, Pantelis Angelidis, Sotirios K. Goudos, Igor Kotsiuba, Panagiotis Sarigiannidis

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Over the past few decades, the rapid growth of the global population has led to the need to increase agricultural production and improve the quality of agricultural goods. There is a growing focus on environmentally eco-friendly solutions, sustainable production, and biologically minimally fertilized products in contemporary society. Precision agriculture has the potential to incorporate a wide range of innovative solutions with the development of machine learning algorithms. YOLOv5 and YOLOv8 are two of the most advanced object detection algorithms capable of accurately recognizing objects in real time. Detecting tree diseases is crucial for improving the food production rate and ensuring sustainability. This research aims to evaluate the efficacy of YOLOv5 and YOLOv8 in detecting the symptoms of Armillaria spp. in sweet cherry trees and determining their health status, with the goal of enhancing the robustness of precision agriculture. Additionally, this study will explore Computer Vision (CV) techniques with machine learning algorithms to improve the detection process’s efficiency.

Keywords: Armillaria spp., machine learning, precision agriculture, smart farming, sweet cherries trees, YOLOv5, YOLOv8

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Farej Ahmed Emhmmed Alhegagi

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Duplex stainless steels are attractive material for apparatus working with sea water, petroleum, refineries, chemical plants,vessels, and pipes operating at high temperatures and/or pressures. The role of austenite phase in duplex stainless steels performance was investigated. Zeron 100, stainless steels with 50/50 ferrite / austenite %, specimens were tested for strength, toughness, embrittlement susceptibility, and assisted environmental cracking (AEC) resistance. Specimens were heat treated at 475°C for different times and loaded to well- selected values of load. The load values were chosen to be within the range of higher / lower than the expected toughness. Sodium chloride solution 3.5wt% environment with polarity of -900mV / SCE was used to investigate the material susceptibility to (AEC). Results showed important effect of austenite on specimens overall mechanical properties. Strength was affected by the ductile nature of austenite phase leading to plastic deformation accommodated by austenite slip system. Austenite embrittlement, either by decomposition or nucleation and growth process, was not observed to take place during specimens heat treatment. Cracking due to (AEC) took place in the ferrite grains and avoided the austenite phase. Specimens showed the austenite to act as a crack arrestor during (AEC) of duplex stainless steels.

Keywords: austenite phase, mechanical properties, embrittlement susceptibility, duplex stainless steels

Procedia PDF Downloads 349

Authors: Manasvi Pinnaka, Brianna Chrisman

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Cystic fibrosis patients often develop lung infections that range anywhere in severity from mild to life-threatening due to the presence of thick and sticky mucus that fills their airways. Since many of these infections are chronic, they not only affect a patient’s ability to breathe but also increase the chances of mortality by respiratory failure. With a publicly available dataset of DNA sequences from bacterial species in the lung microbiome of cystic fibrosis patients, the correlations between different microbial species in the lung and the extent of deterioration of lung function were investigated. 16S sequencing technologies were used to determine the microbiome composition of the samples in the dataset. For the statistical analyses, referencing helped distinguish between taxonomies, and the proportions of certain taxa relative to another were determined. It was found that the Fusobacterium, Actinomyces, and Leptotrichia microbial types all had a positive correlation with the FEV1 score, indicating the potential displacement of these species by pathogens as the disease progresses. However, the dominant pathogens themselves, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, did not have statistically significant negative correlations with the FEV1 score as described by past literature. Examining the lung microbiology of cystic fibrosis patients can help with the prediction of the current condition of lung function, with the potential to guide doctors when designing personalized treatment plans for patients.

Keywords: bacterial infections, cystic fibrosis, lung microbiome, 16S sequencing

Procedia PDF Downloads 96