Search results for: multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)

Authors: Sony Baral, Bijendra Basnyat, Kalyan Gauli

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Forests are depleted throughout the world in the 1990s, and since then, various efforts have been undertaken for the restoration of the forest. A government of Nepal promoted various community based forest management in which leasehold forestry was the one introduce in 1990s, aiming to restore degraded forests land. However, few attempts have been made to systematically evaluate its cost effectiveness. Hence the study assesses the cost effectiveness of leasehold forestry intervention in the mid-hill district of Nepal following the cost and benefit analysis approach. The study followed quasi-experimental design and collected costs and benefits information from 320 leasehold forestry groups (with intervention) and 154 comparison groups (without intervention) through household survey, forest inventory and then validated with the stakeholders’ consultative workshop. The study found that both the benefits and costs from intervention outweighed without situation. The members of leasehold forestry groups were generating multiple benefits from the forests, such as firewood, grasses, fodder, and fruits, whereas those from comparison groups were mostly getting a single benefit. Likewise, extent of soil carbon is high in leasehold forests. Average expense per unit area is high in intervention sites due to high government investment for capacity building. Nevertheless, positive net present value and internal rate of return was observed for both situations. However, net present value from intervention, i.e., leasehold forestry, is almost double compared to comparison sites, revealing that community are getting higher benefits from restoration. The study concludes that leasehold forestry is a highly cost-effective intervention that contributes towards forest restoration that brings multiple benefits to rural poor.

Keywords: cost effectiveness, economic efficiency, intervention, restoration, leasehold forestry, nepal

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Authors: L. P. K. Liyanage, N. R. P. Withana, A. L. Sandika

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The purpose of this study was to determine tourist and community perception-based sustainable tourism indicators as well as Human Pressure Index (HPI) and Tourist Activity Index (TAI). Study was carried out in Sinharaja forest which is considered as one of the major eco-tourism destination in Sri Lanka. Data were gathered using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire as well as records from Forest department. Convenient sampling technique was applied. For the majority of issues, the responses were obtained on multi-point Likert-type scales. Visual portrayal was used for display analyzed data. The study revealed that the host community of the Kudawa gets many benefits from tourism. Also, tourism has caused negative impacts upon the environment and community. The study further revealed the need of proper waste management and involvement of local cultural events for the tourism business in the Kudawa conservation center. The TAI, which accounted to be 1.27 and monthly evolution of HPI revealed that congestion can be occurred in the Sinharaja rainforest during peak season. The results provide useful information to any party involved with tourism planning anywhere, since such attempts would be more effective once the people’s perceptions on these aspects are taken into account.

Keywords: Kudawa Conservation Center, Sinharaja World Heritage Rainforest, sustainability indicators, community perception

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Authors: Chaouki Ghenai

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Computational fluid dynamics analysis of the burning of syngas fuels derived from biomass and plastic solid waste mixture through gasification process is presented in this paper. The syngas fuel is burned in gas turbine can combustor. Gas turbine can combustor with swirl is designed to burn the fuel efficiently and reduce the emissions. The main objective is to test the impact of the alternative syngas fuel compositions and lower heating value on the combustion performance and emissions. The syngas fuel is produced by blending Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) with Polyethylene (PE) waste via catalytic steam gasification (fluidized bed reactor). High hydrogen content syngas fuel was obtained by mixing 30% PE waste with PKS. The syngas composition obtained through the gasification process is 76.2% H2, 8.53% CO, 4.39% CO2 and 10.90% CH4. The lower heating value of the syngas fuel is LHV = 15.98 MJ/m3. Three fuels were tested in this study natural gas (100%CH4), syngas fuel and pure hydrogen (100% H2). The power from the combustor was kept constant for all the fuels tested in this study. The effect of syngas fuel composition and lower heating value on the flame shape, gas temperature, mass of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) per unit of energy generation is presented in this paper. The results show an increase of the peak flame temperature and NO mass fractions for the syngas and hydrogen fuels compared to natural gas fuel combustion. Lower average CO2 emissions at the exit of the combustor are obtained for the syngas compared to the natural gas fuel.

Keywords: CFD, combustion, emissions, gas turbine combustor, gasification, solid waste, syngas, waste to energy

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Authors: Evgeniia Surkova, Manal Assaad, Hleb Makeyeu, Juho Makio

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The main objective of STIMEY (Science, Technology, Innovation, Mathematics, Engineering for the Young) project is the delivery of a hybrid learning environment that combines multi-level components such as social media concepts, robotic artefacts, and radio, among others. It is based on a well-researched pedagogical framework to attract European youths to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and careers. To develop and integrate these various components, STIMEY is executed in iterative research cycles leading to progressive improvements. Scrum was the development methodology of choice in the project, as studies indicated its benefits as an agile methodology in global software development, especially of e-learning and integrated learning projects. This paper describes the project partners’ experience with the Scrum framework, discussing the challenges faced in its implementation and the mitigation practices employed. The authors conclude with exploring user experience tools and principles for future research, as a novel direction in supporting the Scrum development team.

Keywords: e-learning, global software development, scrum, STEM education

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Authors: Yongxin Chen, Min Zhang

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As industrial enterprises are the primary source of national pollution, environmental information disclosure is a crucial way to demonstrate to stakeholders the work they have done in fulfilling their environmental responsibilities and accepting social supervision. In the era of the digital economy, many companies, actively embracing the opportunities that come with digital transformation, have begun to apply digital technology to information collection and disclosure within the enterprise. However, less is known about the relationship between digital transformation and environmental disclosure. This study investigates how enterprise digital transformation affects environmental disclosure in 643 Chinese industrial companies, according to information processing theory. What is intriguing is that the depth (size) and breadth (diversity) of environmental disclosure linearly increase with the rise in the collection, processing, and analytical capabilities in the digital transformation process. However, the volume of data will grow exponentially, leading to a marginal increase in the economic and environmental costs of utilizing, storing, and managing data. In our empirical findings, linearly increasing benefits and marginal costs create a unique inverted U-shaped relationship between the degree of digital transformation and environmental disclosure in the Chinese industrial sector. Besides, based on the upper echelons theory, we also propose that the top management team with high stability and managerial capabilities will invest more effort and expense into improving environmental disclosure quality, lowering the carbon footprint caused by digital technology, maintaining data security etc. In both these contexts, the increasing marginal cost curves would become steeper, weakening the inverted U-shaped slope between DT and ED.

Keywords: digital transformation, environmental disclosure, the top management team, information processing theory, upper echelon theory

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Authors: Shoufeng Cao, Kim Bryceson, Damian Hine

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The existing supply chain risk management (SCRM) research is currently chaotic and somewhat disorganized, and the topic has been addressed conceptually more often than empirically. This paper, using both qualitative and quantitative data, employs a modified Meta-study method to investigate the SCRM empirical research published in quality journals over the period of 12 years (2004-2015). The purpose is to outline the extent research trends and the employed research methodologies (i.e., research method, data collection and data analysis) across the sub-field that will guide future research. The synthesized findings indicate that empirical study on risk ripple effect along an entire supply chain, industry-specific supply chain risk management and global/export supply chain risk management has not yet given much attention than it deserves in the SCRM field. Besides, it is suggested that future empirical research should employ multiple and/or mixed methods and multi-source data collection techniques to reduce common method bias and single-source bias, thus improving research validity and reliability. In conclusion, this paper helps to stimulate more quality empirical research in the SCRM field via identifying promising research directions and providing some methodology guidelines.

Keywords: empirical research, meta-study, methodology guideline, research direction, supply chain risk management

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Authors: Bello Ali

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The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in tertiary institutions by lecturers and students has become a necessity for the enhancement of quality teaching and learning. This study examined availability, accessibility and utilization of ICT in Teaching-Learning Islamic Studies in Colleges of Education, North-East, Nigeria. The study adopted multi-stage sampling technique, in which, five out of the eleven Colleges of Education (both Federal and State owned) were purposively selected for the study. Primary data was drawn from the respondents by the use of questionnaire, interviews and observations. The results of the study, generally, indicate that the availability and accessibility to ICT facilities in Colleges of Education in North-East, Nigeria, especially in teaching/learning delivery of Islamic studies were relatively inadequate and rare to lecturers and students. The study further reveals that the respondents’ level of utilization of ICT is low and only few computer packages and internet services were involved in the ICT utilization, which is yet to reach the real expected situation of the globalization and advancement in the application of ICT if compared to other parts of the world, as far as the teaching and learning of Islamic studies is concerned. Observations and conclusion were drawn from the findings and finally, recommendations on how to improve on ICT availability, accessibility and utilization in teaching/ learning were suggested.

Keywords: accessibility, availability, college of education, ICT, Islamic studies, learning, North-East, teaching, utilization

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Authors: Fuling Deng

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Today’s children are frequently exposed to multimodal texts that adopt diverse modes to communicate myriad meanings within different cultural contexts. To respond to the new textual landscape, scholars have considered new literacy theories which propose picturebooks as important educational resources. Picturebooks are multimodal, with their meaning conveyed through the synchronisation of multiple modes, including linguistic, visual, spatial, and gestural acting as access to multimodal literacy. Picturebooks have been popular reading materials in primary educational settings in China. However, often viewed as “easy” texts directed at the youngest readers, picturebooks remain on the margins of Chinese upper primary classrooms, where they are predominantly used for linguistic tasks, with little value placed on their multimodal affordances. Practices with picturebooks in the upper grades in Chinese primary schools also encounter many challenges associated with the curation of texts for use, designing curriculum, and assessment. To respond to these issues, a qualitative study was conducted with a community of Chinese primary teachers using multi-methods such as interviews, focus groups, and documents. The findings showed the impact of the teachers’ increased awareness of picturebooks' multimodal affordances on their pedagogical decisions in using picturebooks as educational resources in upper primary classrooms.

Keywords: picturebook education, multimodal literacy, teachers' response to contemporary picturebooks, community of practice

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Authors: S. Jaikeaw, S. Chavadej

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The objective of this study was to determine the effects of COD loading rate on hydrogen and methane production and micronutrient transportation using a two-stage upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) system under mesophilic temperature (37°C) with a constant recycle ratio of 1:1 (final effluent flow rate: feed flow rate). The first (hydrogen) UASB unit having 4 L liquid holding volume was controlled at pH 5.5 but the second (methane) UASB unit having 24 L liquid holding volume had no pH control. The two-stage UASB system operated at different COD loading rates from 8 to 20 kg/m³d based on total UASB working volume. The results showed that, at the optimum COD loading rate of 13 kg/m³d, the produced gas from the hydrogen UASB unit contained 1.5% H₂, 16.5% CH₄, and 82% CO₂ with H₂S of 252 ppm and also provided a hydrogen yield of 1.66 mL/g COD removed (or 0.56 mL/g COD applied) and a specific hydrogen production rate of 156.85 ml H₂/LRd (or 5.12 ml H₂/g MLVSS d). Under the optimum COD loading rate, the produced gas from the methane UASB unit mainly contained methane and carbon dioxide without hydrogen of 74 and 26%, respectively with hydrogen sulfide of 287 ppm and the system also provided a maximum methane yield of 407.00 mL/g COD removed (or 263.23 mL/g COD applied) and a specific methane production rate of 2081.44 ml CH₄/LRd (or 99.75 ml CH₄/g MLVSS d). Under the optimum COD loading rate, all micronutrients markedly dropped by the sulfide precipitation reactions. The reduction of micronutrients mostly appeared in the methane UASB unit. Under the studied conditions, both Co and Ni were found to be greatly precipitated out, causing the deficiency to microbial activity. It is hypothesized that an addition of both Co and Ni can improve the methanogenic activity.

Keywords: hydrogen and methane production, ethanol wastewater, a two-stage upflow anaerobic blanket (UASB) system, mesophillic temperature, microbial concentration (MLVSS), micronutrients

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Authors: Esma Birisci, Ronald McGarvey

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One of the common problems in food service industry is demand uncertainty. This research presents a multi-criteria optimization approach to identify the efficient frontier of points lying between the minimum-waste and minimum-shortfall solutions within uncertain demand environment. It also addresses correlation across demands for items (e.g., hamburgers are often demanded with french fries). Reducing overproduction food waste (and its corresponding environmental impacts) and an aversion to shortfalls (leave some customer hungry) need to consider as two contradictory objectives in an all-you-care-to-eat environment food service operation. We identify optimal production adjustments relative to demand forecasts, demand thresholds for utilization of leftovers, and percentages of demand to be satisfied by leftovers, considering two alternative metrics for overproduction waste: mass; and greenhouse gas emissions. Demand uncertainty and demand correlations are addressed using a kernel density estimation approach. A statistical analysis of the changes in decision variable values across each of the efficient frontiers can then be performed to identify the key variables that could be modified to reduce the amount of wasted food at minimal increase in shortfalls. We illustrate our approach with an application to empirical data from Campus Dining Services operations at the University of Missouri.

Keywords: environmental studies, food waste, production planning, uncertain and correlated demand

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Authors: A. Saimen, E. Armstrong, C. Manitshana

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Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been recognised as a global human rights violation. It is universally under diagnosed and the institution of timeous multi-faceted interventions has been noted to benefit IPV victims. Currently, the concept of using a screening tool to detect IPV has not been widely explored in a primary healthcare setting in South Africa, and it was for this reason that this study has been undertaken. A systematic random sampling of 1 in 8 women over a period of 3 months was conducted prospectively at the OPD of a Level 1 Hospital. Participants were asked about their experience of IPV during the past 12 months. The WAST-short, a two-question tool, was used to screen patients for IPV. To verify the result of the screening, women were also asked the remaining questions from the WAST. Data was collected from 400 participants, with a response rate of 99.3%. The prevalence of IPV in the sample was 32%. The WAST-short was shown to have the following operating characteristics: sensitivity 45.2%, specificity 98%,positive predictive value 98%, negative predictive value 79%. The WAST-short lacks sufficient sensitivity and therefore is not an ideal screening tool for this setting. Improvement in the sensitivity of the WAST-short in this setting may be achieved by lowering the threshold for a positive result for IPV screening, and modification of the screening questions to better reflect IPV as understood by the local population.

Keywords: domestic violence, intimate partner violence, screening, screening tools

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Authors: M. J. Alcedo, K. Ito, K. Maeda

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Measuring animal welfare is a newly emerging area of research and it needs multi-disciplinary way to do it. Due to the diversity of what constitutes the definition of animal welfare, different methods and models were developed and mostly conducted in semi and commercial farms in developed countries. Few studies have been conducted in developing countries and in backyard livestock operation. Recognizing that majority of livestock operations are categorized as backyard in developing countries, it is crucial to come up with parameters that can assess the welfare of the animal in the backyard level. This research had made use of stockmanship competence as the proxy indicator to assess animal welfare. Stockmanship competence in this study refers to the capacity of the animal owner to ensure the welfare of their animal by providing their needs for growth and reproduction. The Philippine recommend on goat production, tips on goat raising and goat scientific literatures were used as references to come up with indicators that are known to be important in meeting the needs of the animal and ensuring its welfare. Scores from -1 to +2 were assigned depending on how close it is of satisfying the animal’s need. It is hoped that this assessment method could contribute to the growing body of knowledge on animal welfare and can be utilized as logical and scientific framework in assessing welfare in backyard goat operation. It is suggested that further study needs to be conducted to refine and standardize indicators and identify other indicators for goat welfare assessment.

Keywords: backyard goat production, stockmanship competence, animal welfare, Philippines

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Authors: Chenyu Huang, Minrong Cui, Hua Fang, Luqing Zhang, Yunlong Yu

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The emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have become a pressing issue in global agricultural production. However, understanding how these ARGs spread across different spatial scales, especially when exposed to both pesticides and antibiotics, has remained a challenge. Here, metagenomic assembly and binning methodologies were used to determine the mechanism of ARG propagation within soil-lettuce systems exposed to both fungicides and antibiotics. The results of our study showed that the presence of fungicide and antibiotic stresses had a significant impact on certain bacterial communities. Notably, we observed that ARGs were primarily transferred from the soil to the plant through plasmids. The selective pressure exerted by fungicides and antibiotics contributed to an increase in unique ARGs present on lettuce leaves. Moreover, ARGs located on chromosomes and plasmids followed different transmission patterns. The presence of diverse selective pressures, a result of compound treatments involving antibiotics and fungicides, amplifies this phenomenon. Consequently, there is a higher probability of bacteria developing multi-antibiotic resistance under the combined pressure of fungicides and antibiotics. In summary, our findings highlight that combined fungicide and antibiotic treatments are more likely to drive the acquisition of ARGs within the soil-plant system and may increase the risk of human ingestion.

Keywords: soil-lettuce system, fungicide, antibiotic, ARG, transmission

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Authors: Ilirjan Malollari, Redi Buzo, Lorina Lici

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This study was done for the characterization of polyphenols changes of anthocyanins, flavonoids, the color intensity and total polyphenols index, maturity and oxidation index during the process of micro-oxygenation of wine that comes from a specific geographic area in the southeastern region of the country. Also, through mathematical modeling of the oxygen distribution within solution of wort for wine fermentation, was shown the strong impact of carbon dioxide present in the liquor. Analytical results show periodic increases of color intensity and tonality, reduction level of free anthocyanins and flavonoids free because of polycondensation reactions between tannins and anthocyanins, increased total polyphenols index and decrease the ratio between the flavonoids and anthocyanins offering a red stabilize wine proved by sensory degustation tasting for color intensity, tonality, body, tannic perception, taste and remained back taste which comes by specific area associated with environmental indications. Micro-oxygenation of wine is a wine-making technique, which consists in the addition of small and controlled amounts of oxygen in the different stages of wine production but more efficiently after end of alcoholic fermentation. The objectives of the process include improved mouth feel (body and texture), color enhanced stability, increased oxidative stability, and decreased vegetative aroma during polyphenols changes process. A very important factor is polyphenolics organic grape composition strongly associated with the environment geographical specifics area in which it is grown the grape.

Keywords: micro oxygenation, polyphenols, environment, wine stability, diffusion modeling

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Authors: Shan Jia, Jinbao Chen, Jinhua Zhou, Jiacheng Qian

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Lunar exploration is a necessary foundation for deep-space exploration. For the functional limitations of the fixed landers which are widely used currently and are to expand the detection range by the use of wheeled rovers with unavoidable path-repeatability, a movable lunar soft-landing device based on cantilever type buffer mechanism and leg-foot type walking mechanism is presented. Firstly, a 20 DoFs quadruped configuration based on pushrod is proposed. The configuration is of the bionic characteristics such as hip, knee and ankle joints, and can make the kinematics of the whole mechanism unchanged before and after buffering. Secondly, the multi-function main/auxiliary buffers based on crumple-energy absorption and screw-nut mechanism, as well as the telescopic device which could be used to protect the plantar force sensors during the buffer process are designed. Finally, the kinematic model of the whole mechanism is established, and the configuration optimization of the whole mechanism is completed based on the performance requirements of slope adaptation and obstacle crossing. This research can provide a technical solution integrating soft-landing, large-scale inspection and material-transfer for future lunar exploration and even mars exploration, and can also serve as the technical basis for developing the reusable landers.

Keywords: configuration design, lunar soft-landing device, movable, optimization

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Authors: Albana Kashtanjeva-Bytyçi, Idriz Vehapi, Rifat Morina, Osman Fetoshi

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The purpose of this study is to determine the water quality in Batllava Leka through which a part of the population of the Prishtina region is supplied with drinking water. Batllava Leka is a lake built in the 70s. This lake is located in the village of Btlava in the municipality of Podujeva, with coordinates 42 ° 49′33 ″ V 21 ° 18′25 ″ L, with an area of 3.07 km2. Water supply is from the river Brvenica- Batllavë. In order to take preventive measures and improve water quality, we have conducted periodic/monthly monitoring of water quality in Lake Batllava, through microbiological and physico-chemical indicators. The monitoring was carried out during the period December 2020 - December 2021. Samples were taken at three sampling sites: at the entrance of the lake, in the middle and at the overflow, on two levels, water surface and at a depth of 30 cm. The microbiological parameters analyzed are: total coliforms, fecal coliforms, fecal streptococci, aerobic mesophilic bacteria and actinomycetes. Within the physico-chemical parameters: Dissolved Oxygen, Saturation with O2, water temperature, pH value, electrical conductivity, total soluble matter, total suspended matter, turbidity, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon, nitrate, total hardness, hardness of calcium, calcium, magnesium, ammonium ion, chloride, sulfates, flourine, M-alkalines, bicarbonates and heavy metals, such as: Fe, Pb, Mn, Cu, Cd. The results showed that most of the physico-chemical and microbiological parameters are within the limit allowed by the WHO, except in the case of the rainiest season that exceeded some parameters.

Keywords: batllava lake, monitoring of water, physico-chemical, microbiological, heavy metals

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Authors: Voodi Kalandhar, Veera Reddy, Yuva Tejasree

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Researchers have become interested in multilevel inverters (MLI) because of their potential for medium- and high-power applications. MLIs are becoming more popular as a result of their ability to generate higher voltage levels, minimal power losses, small size, and low price. These inverters used in high voltage and high-power applications because the stress on the switch is low. Even though many traditional topologies, such as the cascaded H-bridge MLI, the flying capacitor MLI, and the diode clamped MLI, exist, they all have some drawbacks. A complicated control system is needed for the flying capacitor MLI to balance the voltage across the capacitor and diode clamped MLI requires more no of diodes when no of levels increases. Even though the cascaded H-Bridge MLI is popular in terms of modularity and simple control, it requires more no of isolated DC source. Therefore, a topology with fewer devices has always been necessary for greater efficiency and reliability. A new single-phase MLI topology has been introduced to minimize the required switch count in the circuit and increase output levels. With 3 dc voltage sources, 8 switches, and 13 levels at the output, this new single- phase MLI topology was developed. To demonstrate the proposed converter's superiority over the other MLI topologies currently in use, a thorough analysis of the proposed topology will be conducted.

Keywords: DC-AC converter, multi-level inverter (MLI), diodes, H-bridge inverter, switches

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Authors: Muhammad A. Muhammad

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Butenafine (N-4-tert-butyl benzyl-N-methyl-1-naphthylene methylamine hydrochloride) is a benzylamine antimycotic (antifungal) agent that has a broad spectrum of action. The quest for improved antimycotic action brought about many research on the structure-activity properties of butenafine in relation to other antifungal agents. Of all those research, only little or no effort was recorded on the substituents attached to the aromatic systems in butenafine. In this research, N-(4-(tert-butyl) benzyl)-1-(4-tert-butyl) phenyl)-N-methyl methanaminium chloride, which is a butenafine analogue was synthesised from tert-butyl benzyl derivatives, by reductive amination using various solvents through a direct approach, where 1,2-dichloroethane gave the best solvent action at 40 °C (Yield: 75%) and of all the reducing agents used, sodium borohydride was found to give the best reducing action in the presence of silica chloride at room temperature (Yield: 50%). Characterization of the compound by 1H NMR showed a singlet peak of 18 hydrogen atoms with a chemical shift at 1.3-1.5 ppm for the presence of 6 methyl groups in the two tert-butyl substituents, the 13C NMR also indicated the presence of the two tert-butyl substituents by the peak with a chemical shift at 31-32 ppm for the six methyl carbon atoms, the IR indicated the presence of a tertiary ammonium ion by a strong band at 2460 cm-1 and finally the EIS-MS confirmed the molar mass of the compound by a mass to charge ratio of 324.2693. These results suggested that the target molecule was actually synthesised and therefore, 1,2-dichloroethane is a good solvent for this synthesis, and the most suitable reducing agent is sodium borohydride.

Keywords: antimicrobial agents, antimycotic agents, butenafine, chemotherapeutic agents, semisynthetic agents

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Authors: John M. Lyne, K. Andrea Scott

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In fluid dynamics, direct numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulent flows require large amounts of nodes to appropriately resolve all scales of energy transfer. Due to the size of these databases, sharing these datasets amongst the academic community is a challenge. Recent work has been done to investigate the use of super-resolution to enable database sharing, where a low-resolution flow field is super-resolved to high resolutions using a neural network. Recently, Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) have grown in popularity with impressive results in the generation of faces, landscapes, and more. This work investigates the generation of unique high-resolution channel flow velocity fields from a low-dimensional latent space using a GAN. The training objective of the GAN is to generate samples in which the distribution of the generated samplesis ideally indistinguishable from the distribution of the training data. In this study, the network is trained using samples drawn from a statistically stationary channel flow at a Reynolds number of 560. Results show that the turbulent statistics and energy spectra of the generated flow fields are within reasonable agreement with those of the DNS data, demonstrating that GANscan produce the intricate multi-scale phenomena of turbulence.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, channel flow, turbulence, generative adversarial network

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Authors: Olivia Kurucz

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Gamification is one of the outstanding new methodological possibilities of urban public participation processes to make the most informed decision possible for the future steps of urban development. This paper examines four Hungarian experimental projects in which gamified tools were applied during the public participation progresses by the Urban Future Laboratory (UFLab) research workshop of Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE). The recently implemented future planning projects (in the cities of Pécel, Kistarcsa, Budapest, and Salgótarján) were initiated by various motives, but the multi-stakeholder dialogues were facilitated through physical gamified tools in all cases. Based on the urban gamification hypothesis, the use of gamified tools supported certain steps of participatory processes in several aspects: it helped to increase the attractiveness of public events, to create a more informal atmosphere, to ensure equal conditions for actors, to recall a design mindset, to bridge contrasting social or cultural differences, to fix opinions and to assist dialogue between city actors, designers, and residents. This statement is confirmed by assessing the applied tools, analyzing the case studies, and comparing them to perceive their effects and interrelations.

Keywords: experimental projects, future planning, gamification, gamified tools, Hungary, public participation, UFLab, urban gamification

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Authors: Vinayambika S. Bhat, S. Shanmuga Priya, I. Thirunavukkarasu, Shreeranga Bhat

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An attempt has been made to design a decoupling controller for systems with more inputs more outputs with dead time in it. The de-coupler is designed for the chemical process industry 3×3 plant transfer function with dead time. The Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT) based controller has also been designed here for the 2×2 distillation column transfer function. The developed control techniques were simulated using the MATLAB/Simulink. Also, the stability of the process was analyzed, together with the presence of various perturbations in it. Time domain specifications like setting time along with overshoot and oscillations were analyzed to prove the efficiency of the de-coupler method. The load disturbance rejection was tested along with its performance. The QFT control technique was synthesized based on the stability and performance specifications in the presence of uncertainty in time constant of the plant transfer function through sequential loop shaping technique. Further, the energy efficiency of the distillation column was improved by proper tuning of the controller. A distillation column consumes 3% of the total energy consumption of the world. A suitable control technique is very important from an economic point of view. The real time implementation of the process is under process in our laboratory.

Keywords: distillation, energy, MIMO process, time delay, robust stability

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Authors: Aboozar Dehghan, S. Sharifi, S. A. Dehghan, Ali Aliabadi, Arash Esfandiari

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Ultrasonography is a safe, available and particular method in diagnostic imaging science. In ultrasonography most of body soft tissue imaged in B mode display. Iranian Qashqaeian sheep is an old and domestic breed in Zagros mountain area in central plateau of Iran. Population of this breed in Fars state (study location) is 250000 animals. Gestation age detection in sheep was performed by ultarasonography in Kivircik breed in 2010 in turkey. In this study 5 adult, clinically healthy, Iranian ewes and 1 Iranian ram were selected. We measured biparital diameter that thickened part of fetal skull include (BPD), trunk diameter (TD), fetal heart diameter(FHD), intercostals space of fetus (ICS) and fetal heart rate per minute (FHR) weekly after day 60 after pregnancy. Inguinal area in both sides shaved and cleaned by alcohol 70 degree and covered by enough copulating gel. Trans abdominal Ultarasonography was performed by a convex multi frequency transducer with 2.5-5 MHz frequency. Data were collected and analyzed by on way Annova method in Spss15 software. Mean of BPD, TD, FHD and ICS in day 60 were 14.58, 25.92, 3.53, 2.3mm. FHR can measure on day 109 to 150. TD after day 109 cannot displayed in 1 frame in scanning. Ultrasonography in sheep pregnancy is a particular method. Using this study can help in theriogeniologic disease that affected fetal growth. Differentiating between various sheep breed is a functional result of this study.

Keywords: qashqaeian sheep, fetometry, ultrasonography

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Authors: Mohammad Ali Farrokhpour

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In the current decade and sustainable transportation systems, scooter sharing has attracted widespread attention as an environmentally-friendly means of public transportation which can help develop public transportation. The combination of scooters and subway in the area of sustainable transportation systems can provide a great many opportunities for developing access to public transportation. Of the challenges which have arisen and initiated discussions of interest about the implementation of a scooter-subway system to replace personal vehicles is the issue of routing in the aforementioned system. This has been chosen as the main subject of the present paper. Thus, the present paper provides an account for routing in this system. Because the issue of routing includes multiple factors such as time, costs, traffic, green spaces, etc., the above-mentioned problem is considered to be a multi-objective NP-hard optimization problem. For this purpose, the hybrid optimization approach of PSO-GA has been put forward in the present paper for the provided answers to be of higher accuracy and validity than those of normal optimization methods. The results obtained from modeling and problem solving for the case study in the MATLAB software are indicative of the efficiency and desirability of the model and the proposed approach for solving the model

Keywords: route planning, scooter sharing, public transportation, sharing system

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Authors: Aylin Mohammadalipour Tofighi

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Marine-based geoengineering methods, proposed to mitigate climate change, operate primarily through two mechanisms: reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and diminishing solar absorption by the oceans. While these approaches promise beneficial outcomes, they are fraught with environmental, legal, ethical, and political challenges, necessitating robust international governance. This paper underscores the critical role of international cooperation within the governance framework, offering a focused analysis of existing international environmental mechanisms applicable to marine-based geoengineering governance. It evaluates the efficacy and limitations of current international legal structures, including treaties and organizations, in managing marine-based geoengineering, noting significant gaps such as the absence of specific regulations, dedicated international entities, and explicit governance mechanisms such as monitoring. To rectify these problems, the paper advocates for concrete steps to bolster international cooperation. These include the formulation of dedicated marine-based geoengineering guidelines within international agreements, the establishment of specialized supervisory entities, and the promotion of transparent, global consensus-building. These recommendations aim to foster governance that is environmentally sustainable, ethically sound, and politically feasible, thereby enhancing knowledge exchange, spurring innovation, and advancing the development of marine-based geoengineering approaches. This study emphasizes the importance of collaborative approaches in managing the complexities of marine-based geoengineering, contributing significantly to the discourse on international environmental governance in the face of rapid climate and technological changes.

Keywords: climate change, environmental law, international cooperation, international governance, international law, marine-based geoengineering, marine law, regulatory frameworks

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Authors: Naghmeh Zamani, Ashkan Pourkand, David Grow

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This paper presents the design and mechanical model of a hybrid impedance/admittance haptic device optimized for applications, like bone drilling, spinal awl probe use, and other surgical techniques were high force is required in the tool-axial direction, and low impedance is needed in all other directions. The performance levels required cannot be satisfied by existing, off-the-shelf haptic devices. This design may allow critical improvements in simulator fidelity for surgery training. The device consists primarily of two low-mass (carbon fiber) plates with a rod passing through them. Collectively, the device provides 6 DOF. The rod slides through a bushing in the top plate and it is connected to the bottom plate with a universal joint, constrained to move in only 2 DOF, allowing axial torque display the user’s hand. The two parallel plates are actuated and located by means of four cables pulled by motors. The forward kinematic equations are derived to ensure that the plates orientation remains constant. The corresponding equations are solved using the Newton-Raphson method. The static force/torque equations are also presented. Finally, we present the predicted distribution of location error, cables velocity, cable tension, force and torque for the device. These results and preliminary hardware fabrication indicate that this design may provide a revolutionary approach for haptic display of many surgical procedures by means of an architecture that allows arbitrary workspace scaling. Scaling of the height and width can be scaled arbitrarily.

Keywords: cable direct driven robot, haptics, parallel plates, bone drilling

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Authors: Carl Eiselen, Stephen O’Hagan

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Background: Q fever, caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii, is an infectious disease with variable systemic manifestations. Its potential to cause ocular complications has not been reported before in Australia. This case study explores the unusual presentation of asymptomatic acute multifocal retinitis (AMR) in a patient with acute Q fever endocarditis and hepatitis in rural Queensland, Australia. Case Presentation: A 48-year-old male gardener presented with flu-like symptoms, weight loss, and encephalopathy. Despite systemic malaise, he had no ocular symptoms. Laboratory investigations confirmed acute Q fever, and imaging studies identified hepatic involvement and endocarditis. The retinal screening revealed asymptomatic AMR, corroborated by fundus examination and SD-OCT. Following treatment with Doxycycline and hydroxychloroquine, both systemic and ocular manifestations improved. Discussion: This is the first documented case of asymptomatic AMR associated with Q fever. The patient’s lack of autoantibodies challenges the established understanding of Q fever endocarditis and suggests potential alternative mechanisms. Conclusion: This case report expands our understanding of the multi-systemic impact of Q fever, highlighting the need for comprehensive clinical evaluation and including retinal screening in the setting of acute infection. The disease's underlying mechanism for ocular involvement is not yet established.

Keywords: Coxiella Burnetti, Q fever, ocular manifestation, acute multifocal retintis, endocarditis

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Authors: Victor Oyewumi Ogunbiyi

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Food waste is recognised as one of the major global challenges in achieving a sustainable future. Currently, very little is known about the multi-stakeholder approach to food waste management downstream of the supply chain, particularly in the foodservice sector. In order to better understand and explain the complex issues of food waste, a qualitative study was conducted on the generation of food waste in food services (restaurants, catering, canteens, and local food vendors) and policy initiatives to mitigate it from the perspective of the stakeholders. A semi-structured interview approach and observation were used to collect data from some 32 selected stakeholders in Garki, Abuja, Nigeria. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data from the qualitative instrument adopted in this study. Results revealed that the attitude of stakeholders, poor environmental hygiene, poor food cooking skills and handling, and lack of communication are the major causes of food waste. This study identified seven policy initiatives: regulations, information and education campaigns, economic instruments, mobile applications, stakeholders’ collaboration, firm internal action, and training. Finally, we link policy initiatives to food waste mitigation to provide a response to the damaging shock of food waste.

Keywords: food waste, foodservices, emerging opportunities, policy initiatives, food waste prevention, multistakeholder. garki district-abuja

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Authors: Abdullah Bal, Sevdenur Bal

Abstract:

This paper purposes a new type of hardware application for training of cellular neural networks (CNN) using optical joint transform correlation (JTC) architecture for image feature extraction. CNNs require much more computation during the training stage compare to test process. Since optoelectronic hardware applications offer possibility of parallel high speed processing capability for 2D data processing applications, CNN training algorithm can be realized using Fourier optics technique. JTC employs lens and CCD cameras with laser beam that realize 2D matrix multiplication and summation in the light speed. Therefore, in the each iteration of training, JTC carries more computation burden inherently and the rest of mathematical computation realized digitally. The bipolar data is encoded by phase and summation of correlation operations is realized using multi-object input joint images. Overlapping properties of JTC are then utilized for summation of two cross-correlations which provide less computation possibility for training stage. Phase-only JTC does not require data rearrangement, electronic pre-calculation and strict system alignment. The proposed system can be incorporated simultaneously with various optical image processing or optical pattern recognition techniques just in the same optical system.

Keywords: CNN training, image processing, joint transform correlation, optoelectronic hardware

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Authors: Salman Hameed

Abstract:

In this paper, a self-tuning fuzzy PI controller (STFPIC) is proposed for thyristor controlled series capacitor (TCSC) to improve power system dynamic performance. In a STFPIC controller, the output scaling factor is adjusted on-line by an updating factor (α). The value of α is determined from a fuzzy rule-base defined on error (e) and change of error (Δe) of the controlled variable. The proposed self-tuning controller is designed using a very simple control rule-base and the most natural and unbiased membership functions (MFs) (symmetric triangles with equal base and 50% overlap with neighboring MFs). The comparative performances of the proposed STFPIC and the standard fuzzy PI controller (FPIC) have been investigated on a multi-machine power system (namely, 4 machine two area system) through detailed non-linear simulation studies using MATLAB/SIMULINK. From the simulation studies it has been found out that for damping oscillations, the performance of the proposed STFPIC is better than that obtained by the standard FPIC. Moreover, the proposed STFPIC as well as the FPIC have been found to be quite effective in damping oscillations over a wide range of operating conditions and are quite effective in enhancing the power carrying capability of the power system significantly.

Keywords: genetic algorithm, power system stability, self-tuning fuzzy controller, thyristor controlled series capacitor

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Authors: Niranjana Devi N.

Abstract:

Test case selection is to select the subset of only the fit test cases and remove the unfit, ambiguous, redundant, unnecessary test cases which in turn improve the quality and reduce the cost of software testing. Test cases optimization is the problem of finding the best subset of test cases from a pool of the test cases to be audited. It will meet all the objectives of testing concurrently. But most of the research have evaluated the fitness of test cases only on single parameter fault detecting capability and optimize the test cases using a single objective. In the proposed approach, nine parameters are considered for test case selection and the best subset of parameters for test case selection is obtained using Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Rough Set. Test case selection is done in two stages. The first stage is the fuzzy entropy-based filtration technique, used for estimating and reducing the ambiguity in test case fitness evaluation and selection. The second stage is the ant colony optimization-based wrapper technique with a forward search strategy, employed to select test cases from the reduced test suite of the first stage. The results are evaluated using the Coverage parameters, Precision, Recall, F-Measure, APSC, APDC, and SSR. The experimental evaluation demonstrates that by this approach considerable computational effort can be avoided.

Keywords: ant colony optimization, fuzzy entropy, interval type-2 fuzzy rough set, test case selection

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