Search results for: four water concept

Authors: Djehich Mohamed Yousri

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This paper aims to address the dialectic of law and politics in the philosophy of the state of the philosopher Hegel by addressing the concept of law, which refers to its general meaning to the set of rules and legislation that man sets to apply them within society, as it is considered one of the primary and necessary conditions for the functioning of And organizing social life, when it defines the rights and duties of every individual belonging to the state, by approaching it with central concepts in political philosophy, such as the state, freedom and the people. The most prominent result that we reached through our analysis of the details of the problematic research is the relationship between law and politics in the philosophical system of Hegel; on the one hand, We find that the state is rational only to the extent that it resorts to the law and works under it, and the latter does not realize its essence and effectiveness unless it is extracted from the customs, traditions, and culture of the people so that it does not conflict with the ideal goal of its existence, which is to achieve freedom and protect it from all possible. A state does not mean at all to reduce the freedom of the people, so there is no conflict between law and freedom.

Keywords: hegel, the law, country, freedom, citizen

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Authors: Muhammad Naeem Chaudhry, Fahim Nawaz, Rana Nauman Shabbir

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New strategies aimed at increasing the resilience of crop plants to the negative effects of climate change represent important research priorities of plant scientists. The use of soil microorganisms to alleviate abiotic stresses like drought has gained particular importance in recent past. A field experiment was planned to investigate the effect of phosphorous solubilizing bacteria on yield and seed quality of Camelina (Camelina sativa L.) under water deficit conditions. The study was conducted at Agronomic Research Farm, University College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, The Islamia University Bahawalpur, during 4th week of November, 2013. The available seeds of Camelina sativa were inoculated with two bacterial strains (pseudomonas and Bacillus spp.) and grown under various water stress levels i.e. D0, (four irrigations), D3 (three irrigation), D2 (two irrigations), and D1 (one irrigation). The results revealed that drought stress significantly reduced the plant growth and yield, consequently reducing protein contents and oil concentration in camelina. The exposure to drought stress decreased plant height (16%), plant population (27%), number of fertile branches (41-59%), number of pods per plant (35%) and seed per pod (33%). Drought stress also exerted a negative impact on yield characteristics by reducing the 1000-seed weight (65%), final seed yield (52%), biological yield (22%) and harvest index (39%) of camelina. However, the inoculation of seeds with Pseudomonas and Bacillus spp. promoted the plant growth characterized by increased plant height and enhanced plant population. It was noted that inoculation of seeds with Pseudomonas resulted in the maximum plant population (113.4 cm), primary branches (19 plant-1), and number of pods (664 plant-1), whereas Bacillus inoculation resulted in maximum plant height (113.4 cm), seeds per pod (15.9), 1000-seed weight (1.85 g), and seed yield (3378.8 kg ha-1). Moreover, the inoculation with Bacillus also significantly improved the quality attributes of camelina and gave 3.5% and 2.1% higher oil contents than Pseudomonas and control (no-inoculation), respectively. Similarly, the same strain also resulted in maximum protein contents (33.3%). Our results confirmed the hypothesis that inoculation of seeds with phosphorous solubilizing bacterial strains is an effective, viable and environment-friendly approach to improve yield and quality of camelina under water deficit conditions. However, further studies are suggested to investigate the physiological and molecular processes, stimulated by bacterial strains, for increasing drought tolerance in food crops.

Keywords: Camelina, drought stress, phosphate solubilizing bacteria, seed quality

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Authors: Zemlianskaya Daria, Egor Stadnichuk, Ekaterina Svechnikova

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Relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREAs) are generally accepted as a source of thunderstorms gamma-ray radiation. Avalanches' dynamics in the electric fields can lead to their multiplication via gamma-rays and positrons, which is called relativistic feedback. This report shows that a non-uniform electric field geometry leads to the new RREAs multiplication mechanism - “geometric feedback”, which occurs due to the exchange of high-energy particles between different accelerating regions within a thundercloud. This report will present the results of the simulation in GEANT4 of feedback in a spherical cell. Necessary conditions for the occurrence of geometric feedback were obtained from it.

Keywords: electric field, GEANT4, gamma-rays, relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREAs), relativistic feedback, the thundercloud

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Authors: Mateusz Rak

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Objective: The paper aims to present various sources of competitive advantage which may occur when an enterprise strategically applies its concept of corporate philanthropy. Methodology: The review of the literature and available reports on the research regarding corporate philanthropy. Results: Strategic philanthropy is a positive phenomenon. Unfortunately, enterprises in Poland do not see all positive sides of such activities yet. Three kinds of corporate philanthropy may be described. They are to fulfil a social duty, improve the company reputation and gain a competitive edge. Practical implications: Showing enterprises the advantages of taking philanthropic actions, in particular, a large role of strategic philanthropy in gaining a competitive edge in the market as well as how to avoid negative consequences of corporate philanthropy. The paper presents corporate philanthropy on a few layers: as a CSR element, actions generating values in products, actions improving a corporate image in the market, altruist actions of employees.

Keywords: corporate philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, corporate foundations, CSR

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Authors: Andrew Fox, Qingping Yang, Yuanhong Zhao, Tao Zhang

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Furniture is a very significant subdivision of architecture and its inherent interior design activities. The furniture industry has developed from an artisan-driven craft industry, whose forerunners saw themselves manifested in their crafts and treasured a sense of pride in the creativity of their designs, these days largely reduced to an anonymous collective mass-produced output. Although a very conservative industry, there is great potential for the implementation of collaborative digital technologies allowing a reconfigured artisan experience to be reawakened in a new and exciting form. The furniture manufacturing industry, in general, has been slow to adopt new methodologies for a design using artificial and rule-based generative design. This tardiness has meant the loss of potential to enhance its capabilities in producing sustainable, flexible, and mass customizable ‘right first-time’ designs. This paper aims to demonstrate the concept methodology for the creation of alternative and inspiring aesthetic structures for robot-based additive manufacturing (RBAM). These technologies can enable the economic creation of previously unachievable structures, which traditionally would not have been commercially economic to manufacture. The integration of these technologies with the computing power of generative design provides the tools for practitioners to create concepts which are well beyond the insight of even the most accomplished traditional design teams. This paper aims to address the problem by introducing generative design methodologies employing the Autodesk Fusion 360 platform. Examination of the alternative methods for its use has the potential to significantly reduce the estimated 80% contribution to environmental impact at the initial design phase. Though predominantly a design methodology, generative design combined with RBAM has the potential to leverage many lean manufacturing and quality assurance benefits, enhancing the efficiency and agility of modern furniture manufacturing. Through a case study examination of a furniture artifact, the results will be compared to a traditionally designed and manufactured product employing the Ecochain Mobius product life cycle analysis (LCA) platform. This will highlight the benefits of both generative design and robot-based additive manufacturing from an environmental impact and manufacturing efficiency standpoint. These step changes in design methodology and environmental assessment have the potential to revolutionise the design to manufacturing workflow, giving momentum to the concept of conceiving a pre-industrial model of manufacturing, with the global demand for a circular economy and bespoke sustainable design at its heart.

Keywords: robot, manufacturing, generative design, sustainability, circular econonmy, product life cycle assessment, furniture

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Authors: Alan C. Lin, Tran Anh Son

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This study proposes an approach to determine the undercut regions and their releasing directions for slider design of complex parts represented by the file format of STL (STereoLithography). In order to delineate the border of undercut regions, orthogonal cutting planes are firstly employed to automatically find the inner loops of a part model. To discover the facets belonging to undercut regions, attributes are then assigned to the facets of the part model based on the topological relationship of adjacent facets of each inner loop. After that, the undercut regions are separated from other facets in the model. Through the recognized facets of the undercut regions, the concept of 'visibility map (V-map)' is further applied to determine feasible releasing directions for each of the undercut regions. The undercut regions having the same releasing direction are finally grouped to form a slider in the injection mold.

Keywords: solid model, STL data, injection mold design, visibility map

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Authors: Mario Calabrese, Francesca Iandolo, Pietro Vito, Raffaele D'Amore, Francesco Caputo

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This article presents a synopsis of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), a fresh and emerging concept in mitigating and adapting to climate change. It outlines a classification of NBS, from the least intrusive to the most advanced engineering, and provides illustrations of each. Moreover, it gives an overview of the 'Life Metro Adapt' initiative, which dealt with the climatic challenges faced by the Milan Metropolitan City and encouraged the development of climate change adaptation methods using alternative, nature-focused solutions. Lastly, the article emphasizes the necessity of raising awareness about environmental issues to ensure that NBS becomes a regular practice today and can be refined in the future.

Keywords: nature-based solutions, urban resilience, climate change adaptation, life metro adapt initiative

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Authors: Yip Mei Loh

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Plato, as a poet, employs muthos extensively to express his philosophical dialectical development, so the majority of his dialogues are comprised of muthoi. We cannot separate his muthos from his philosophical thought, since the former has great influence in the latter. So the methodology of this paper is first to discuss the dialogue Theaetetus to find out why he compares Socrates to the Greek goddess Artemis; then his concept of Maieutikē will be investigated. At the beginning of Plato’s Theaetetus, Socrates first likens himself to the goddess Artemis, who, though unmarried, has a duty to assist women in labour. Socrates’ role, as Plato portrays, is the same as that of Artemis; and the technē he possesses is Maieutikē, which is to assist his students in giving birth to their mental offspring. This paper will focus on discussion on the Socratic mythological role in Platonic interpretation and dialectics so as to reveal the philosophical meaning of Socratic ignorance.

Keywords: Artemis, ignorance, Maieutikē, muthos

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Authors: Raquel Dafouz Neus Cáceres, Javier Fernandez-Rubio, Belinda Huerta José Luis Rodríguez-Gil, Nicola Mastroianni, Miren López de Alda, Damià Barceló, Yolanda Valcárcel

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The region of Galicia, found in north-western (NW) Spain, is a national and world leader in shellfish, especially mussel production, and recognized for its fishing industry. Few studies have evaluated the presence of emerging contaminants in NW Spain, with those published mainly concerning the continental aquatic environment. The objective of this study was to identify the environmental risk posed by the presence of pharmaceuticals and drugs of abuse in this important coastal region. The presence of sixteen pharmaceuticals (benzodiazepines, anxiolytics, and caffeine), and 19 drugs of abuse (cocainics, amphetamine-like compounds, opiates and opioids, lysergic compounds, and cannabinoids) was assessed in 23 sites located in the Rías (Coastal inlets) of Muros, Arousa, and Pontevedra (NW Spain). Twenty-two of these locations were affected by waste-water treatment plant (WWTP) effluents, and one represented the effluent of one of these WWTPs. Venlafaxine was the pharmaceutical compound detected at higher concentration in the three Rías, with a maximum value of 291 ng/L at the site Porto do Son (Ría de Muros). Total concentration in the three Rías was 819,26 ng/L. Next, citalopram and lorazepam were the most prevalent compounds detected. Metabolite of cocaine benzoylecgonine was the drug of abuse with the highest concentration, measured at 972 ng/L in the Ría of Noia WWTP (no dilution). This compound was also detected at 142 ng/L in the site La Isla de Aros, Ría of Pontevedra. Total concentration for the three Rías was 1210 ng/L. Ephedrine was also detected at high level in the three Rías, with a total concentration of 579,28 ng/L. The results obtained for caffeine show maximum and average concentrations of 857 ng/L Isla de Arosa, Ría de Pontevedra the highest measured in seawater in Spain. A preliminary hazard assessment was carried out by comparing these measured environmental concentrations (MEC) to predicted no-effect concentrations (PNECs) for aquatic organisms. Six out of the 22 seawater samples resulted in a Hazard Quotient (HQ) from chronic exposure higher than 1 with the highest being 17.14, indicating a high probability of adverse effects in the aquatic environment. In addition, the risk was assessed on the basis of persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity (PBT). This work was financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the Carlos III Health Institute and the program 'Proyectos de Investigacion en Salud 2015-2017' FIS (PI14/00516), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Catalan Government (Consolidated Research Groups '2014 SGR 418 - Water and Soil Quality Unit' and 2014 SGR 291 - ICRA), and the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 603437. The poster entitled 'Environmental Risk of Pharmaceuticals, Drugs of Abuse and Stimulant Caffeine in Marine Water: A Case Study in the North-Western of Spain'.

Keywords: drug of abuse, pharmaceuticals, caffeine, environmental risk, seawater

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Authors: Kebede Gamo Sebehanie, Olu Emmanuel Femi, Alberto Velázquez Del Rosario, Abubeker Yimam Ali, Gudeta Jafo Muleta

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Water pollution is one of the most serious worldwide issues today. Among water pollution, heavy metals are becoming a concern to the environment and human health due to their non-biodegradability and bioaccumulation. In this study, a magnetite-cellulose nanocomposite derived from renewable resources is employed for hexavalent chromium elimination by adsorption. Magnetite nanoparticles were synthesized directly from iron ore using solvent extraction and co-precipitation technique. Cellulose nanofiber was extracted from sugarcane bagasse using the alkaline treatment and acid hydrolysis method. Before and after the adsorption process, the MNPs-CNF composites were evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and Vibrator sample magnetometer (VSM), and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The impacts of several parameters such as pH, contact time, initial pollutant concentration, and adsorbent dose on adsorption efficiency and capacity were examined. The kinetic and isotherm adsorption of Cr (VI) was also studied. The highest removal was obtained at pH 3, and it took 80 minutes to establish adsorption equilibrium. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were used, and the experimental data fit well with the Langmuir model, which has a maximum adsorption capacity of 8.27 mg/g. The kinetic study of the adsorption process using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equations revealed that the pseudo-second-order equation was more suited for representing the adsorption kinetic data. Based on the findings, pure MNPs and MNPs-CNF nanocomposites could be used as effective adsorbents for the removal of Cr (VI) from wastewater.

Keywords: magnetite-cellulose nanocomposite, hexavalent chromium, adsorption, sugarcane bagasse

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Authors: Biplab Singha, Mausumi Sen, Nidul Sinha

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In order to deal with the impreciseness and uncertainty of a system, D. Molodtsov has introduced the concept of ‘Soft Set’ in the year 1999. Since then, a number of related definitions have been conceptualized. This paper includes a study on various forms of Soft Sets with examples. The paper contains the concepts of domain and co-domain of a soft set, conversion to one-one and onto function, matrix representation of a soft set and its relation with one-one function, upper and lower triangular matrix, transpose and Kernel of a soft set. This paper also gives the idea of the extension of soft sets in medical diagnosis. Here, two soft sets related to disease and symptoms are considered and using AND operation and OR operation, diagnosis of the disease is calculated through appropriate examples.

Keywords: kernel of a soft set, soft set, transpose of a soft set, upper and lower triangular matrix of a soft set

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Authors: R. Hosny, Mahmoud F. Mubarak, Heba M. Salem, Asmaa A. Abdelrahman

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Oilfield scaling is a major problem in the oil and gas industry. Scale issues cost the industry millions of dollars in damage and lost production every year. One of the main causes of global production decline is scale. In this study, solid scale inhibitors based on silver tungstate loaded KIT-6 were synthesized and evaluated in both static and scale inhibition modeling. The silver tungstate loaded KIT-6 catalysts were synthesized via a simple impregnated method using 3D mesoporous KIT-6 as support. The synthesized materials were characterized using wide and low XRD, N2 adsorption–desorption analysis, TGA analysis, and FTIR, SEM, and XPS analysis. The scale inhibition efficiency of the synthesized materials was evaluated using a static scale inhibition test. The results of this study demonstrate the potential application of silver tungstate-loaded KIT-6 solid scale inhibitors for the oil and gas industry. The results of this study will contribute to the development of new and innovative solid scale inhibitors based on silver tungstate-loaded KIT-6. The inhibition efficiency of the scale inhibitor increases, and calcite scale inhibitor decreases with increasing pH (2 to8), it proposes that the scale inhibitor was more effective under alkaline conditions. An inhibition efficiency of 99% on calcium carbonate can be achieved at the optimal dosage of 7.5 ppm at 55oC, indicating that the scale inhibitor exhibits a relatively good inhibition performance on calcium carbonate. The use of these materials can potentially lead to more efficient and cost-effective solutions for scaling inhibition in various industrial processes.

Keywords: produced water treatment, solid scale inhibitors, calcite, silver tungestate, 3 D mesoporous KIT-6, oilfield scales, adsorption

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Authors: Daniela Rimnacova, Maryna Vorokhta, Martina Svabova

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CO₂ adsorption capacity of several materials - waste (power fly ash, slag, carbonized sewage sludge), rocks (Czech Silurian shale, black coal), and carbon (synthesized carbon, activated carbon as a reference material) - were measured on dry samples using a unique hand-made manometric sorption apparatus at a temperature of 45 °C and pressures of up to 7 MPa. The main aim was finding utilization of the waste materials and rocks for removal of the air or water pollutants caused by anthropogenic activities, as well as for the carbon dioxide storage. The equilibrium amount of the adsorbate depends on temperature, gas saturation pressure, porosity, surface area and volume of pores, and last but not least, on the composition of the adsorbents. Given experimental conditions can simulate in-situ situations in the rock bed and can be achieved just by a high-pressure apparatus. The CO₂ excess adsorption capacities ranged from 0.018 mmol/g (ash) to 13.55 mmol/g (synthesized carbon). The synthetized carbon had the highest adsorption capacity among all studied materials as well as the highest price. This material is usually used for the adsorption of specific pollutants. The excess adsorption capacity of activated carbon was 9.19 mmol/g. It is used for water and air cleaning. Ash can be used for chemisorption onto ash particle surfaces or capture of special pollutants. Shale is a potential material for enhanced gas recovery or CO₂ sequestration in-situ. Slag is a potential material for capture of gases with a possibility of the underground gas storage after the adsorption process. The carbonized sewage sludge is quite a good adsorbent for the removal and capture of pollutants, as well as shales or black coal which show an interesting relationship between the price and adsorption capacity.

Keywords: adsorption, CO₂, high pressure, porous materials

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Authors: A. V. Dolzhikova

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The article deals with the problems of labour migration in the Russian Federation in the context of Russia's national security, provides the typology of migrants residing in the territory of the Russian Federation and analyzes the risk factors. The author considers the structure of migration flows and the terms of legal, economic and socio-cultural adaptation of migrants in the Russian Federation. In this connection, the status of the Russian migration legislation, the concept of the comprehensive exam in Russian as a foreign language, history of Russia and the basics of the Russian Federation legislation for foreign citizens which was introduced in Russia on January 1, 2015, are analyzed. The article discloses its role as the adaptation strategy and the factor of Russia's migration security.

Keywords: comprehensive exam, migration policy, migration legislation, Russia's national security

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Authors: Adriana Garcia G., Alberto A. Escobar P., Amira D. Calvo L., Gabriel Lizama U., Alejandro Zepeda P., Fernando Martínez B., Susana Rincón A.

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Different studies have recently been focused on the use of antioxidants such as polyphenols because of to its anticarcinogenic capacity. However, these compounds are highly sensible to environmental factors such as light and heat, so lose its long-term stability, besides possess an astringent and bitter taste. Nevertheless, the polyphenols can be protected by microcapsule formulation. In this sense, a rich source of polyphenols is sorghum, besides presenting a high starch content. Due to the above, the aim of this work was to obtain modified starches from sorghum by extrusion to encapsulate polyphenols the sorghum by spray drying. Polyphenols were extracted by ethanol solution from sorghum (Pajarero/red) and determined by the method of Folin-Ciocalteu, obtaining GAE at 30 mg/g. Moreover, was extracted starch of sorghum (Sinaloense/white) through wet milling (yield 32 %). The hydrolyzed starch was modified with three treatments: acetic anhydride (2.5g/100g), sodium tripolyphosphate (4g/100g), and sodium tripolyphosphate/ acetic anhydride (2g/1.25g by each 100 g) by extrusion. Processing conditions of extrusion were as follows: barrel temperatures were of 60, 130 and 170 °C at the feeding, transition, and high-pressure extrusion zones, respectively. Analysis of Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), showed bands exhibited of acetyl groups (1735 cm-1) and phosphates (1170 cm-1, 910 cm-1 and 525 cm-1), indicating the respective modification of starch. Besides, all modified starches not developed viscosity, which is a characteristic required for use in the encapsulation of polyphenols using the spray drying technique. As result of the modification starch, was obtained a water solubility index (WSI) from 33.8 to 44.8 %, and crystallinity from 8 to 11 %, indicating the destruction of the starch granule. Afterwards, microencapsulation of polyphenols was developed by spray drying, with a blend of 10 g of modified starch, 60 ml polyphenol extract and 30 ml of distilled water. Drying conditions were as follows: inlet air temperature 150 °C ± 1, outlet air temperature 80°C ± 5. As result of the microencapsulation: were obtained yields of 56.8 to 77.4 % and an efficiency of encapsulation from 84.6 to 91.4 %. The FTIR analysis showed evidence of microcapsules loaded with polyphenols in bands 1042 cm-1, 1038 cm-1 and 1148 cm-1. Analysis Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed transition temperatures from 144.1 to 173.9 °C. For the order hand, analysis of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), were observed rounded surfaces with concavities, typical feature of microcapsules produced by spray drying, how result of rapid evaporation of water. Finally, the modified starches were obtained by extrusion with good characteristics for use as cover materials by spray drying, where the phosphorylated starch was the best treatment in this work, according to the encapsulation yield, efficiency, and transition temperature.

Keywords: encapsulation, extrusion, modified starch, polyphenols, spray drying

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Authors: Lina Wu

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The excessive discharge of nitrogen in sewage greatly intensifies the eutrophication of water bodies and threatens water quality. Nitrogen pollution control has become a global concern. The concentration of nitrogen in water is reduced by converting ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen into nitrogen-containing gas through biological treatment, physicochemical treatment and oxidation technology. However, some wastewater containing high ammonia nitrogen including landfill leachate, is difficult to be treated by traditional nitrification and denitrification because of its high COD content. The core process of denitrification is that denitrifying bacteria convert nitrous acid produced by nitrification into nitrite under anaerobic conditions. Still, its low-carbon nitrogen does not meet the conditions for denitrification. Many studies have shown that the natural autotrophic anammox bacteria can combine nitrous and ammonia nitrogen without a carbon source through functional genes to achieve total nitrogen removal, which is very suitable for removing nitrogen from leachate. In addition, the process also saves a lot of aeration energy consumption than the traditional nitrogen removal process. Therefore, anammox plays an important role in nitrogen conversion and energy saving. The short-range nitrification and denitrification coupled with anaerobic ammoX ensures total nitrogen removal. It improves the removal efficiency, meeting the needs of society for an ecologically friendly and cost-effective nutrient removal treatment technology. In recent years, research has found that the symbiotic system has more water treatment advantages because this process not only helps to improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment but also allows carbon dioxide reduction and resource recovery. Microalgae use carbon dioxide dissolved in water or released through bacterial respiration to produce oxygen for bacteria through photosynthesis under light, and bacteria, in turn, provide metabolites and inorganic carbon sources for the growth of microalgae, which may lead the algal bacteria symbiotic system save most or all of the aeration energy consumption. It has become a trend to make microalgae and light-avoiding anammox bacteria play synergistic roles by adjusting the light-to-dark ratio. Microalgae in the outer layer of light particles block most of the light and provide cofactors and amino acids to promote nitrogen removal. In particular, myxoccota MYX1 can degrade extracellular proteins produced by microalgae, providing amino acids for the entire bacterial community, which helps anammox bacteria save metabolic energy and adapt to light. As a result, initiating and maintaining the process of combining dominant algae and anaerobic denitrifying bacterial communities has great potential in treating landfill leachate. Chlorella has a brilliant removal effect and can withstand extreme environments in terms of high ammonia nitrogen, high salt and low temperature. It is urgent to study whether the algal mud mixture rich in denitrifying bacteria and chlorella can greatly improve the efficiency of landfill leachate treatment under an anaerobic environment where photosynthesis is stopped. The optimal dilution concentration of simulated landfill leachate can be found by determining the treatment effect of the same batch of bacteria and algae mixtures under different initial ammonia nitrogen concentrations and making a comparison. High-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the changes in microbial diversity, related functional genera and functional genes under optimal conditions, providing a theoretical and practical basis for the engineering application of novel bacteria-algae symbiosis system in biogas slurry treatment and resource utilization.

Keywords: nutrient removal and recovery, leachate, anammox, Partial nitrification, Algae-bacteria interaction

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Authors: Hyunjoo Park, Taehyun Kim, Taehyun Kim

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Human life, activity, and culture depend on the wider environment. Cities offer economic opportunities for goods and services, but cannot exist in environments without food, energy, and water supply. Technological innovation in energy supply and transport speeds up the expansion of urban areas and the physical separation from agricultural land. As a result, division of urban agricultural areas causes more energy demand for food and goods transport between the regions. As the energy resources are leaking all over the world, the impact on the environment crossing the boundaries of cities is also growing. While advances in energy and other technologies can reduce the environmental impact of consumption, there is still a gap between energy supply and demand by current technology, even in technically advanced countries. Therefore, reducing energy demand is more realistic than relying solely on the development of technology for sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to introduce the application of carbon footprint assessment in fields of urban planning and geography. In urban studies, carbon footprint has been assessed at different geographical scales, such as nation, city, region, household, and individual. Carbon footprint assessment for a nation and a city is available by using national or city level statistics of energy consumption categories. By means of carbon footprint calculation, it is possible to compare the ecological capacity and deficit among nations and cities. Carbon footprint also offers great insight on the geographical distribution of carbon intensity at a regional level in the agricultural field. The study shows the background of carbon footprint applications in urban planning and geography by case studies such as figuring out sustainable land-use measures in urban planning and geography. For micro level, footprint quiz or survey can be adapted to measure household and individual carbon footprint. For example, first case study collected carbon footprint data from the survey measuring home energy use and travel behavior of 2,064 households in eight cities in Gyeonggi-do, Korea. Second case study analyzed the effects of the net and gross population densities on carbon footprint of residents at an intra-urban scale in the capital city of Seoul, Korea. In this study, the individual carbon footprint of residents was calculated by converting the carbon intensities of home and travel fossil fuel use of respondents to the unit of metric ton of carbon dioxide (tCO₂) by multiplying the conversion factors equivalent to the carbon intensities of each energy source, such as electricity, natural gas, and gasoline. Carbon footprint is an important concept not only for reducing climate change but also for sustainable development. As seen in case studies carbon footprint may be measured and applied in various spatial units, including but not limited to countries and regions. These examples may provide new perspectives on carbon footprint application in planning and geography. In addition, additional concerns for consumption of food, goods, and services can be included in carbon footprint calculation in the area of urban planning and geography.

Keywords: carbon footprint, case study, geography, urban planning

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Authors: Adrien Chatel, Ehsan Askari Mahvelati, Laurent Fitschy

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Once-Through-Steam-Generators are commonly used in the oil-sand industry in the heavy fuel oil extraction process. They are composed of three main parts: the burner, the radiant and convective sections. Natural gas is burned through staged diffusive flames stabilized by the burner. The heat generated by the combustion is transferred to the water flowing through the piping system in the radiant and convective sections. The steam produced within the pipes is then directed to the ground to reduce the oil viscosity and allow its pumping. With the rapid development of the oil-sand industry, the number of OTSG in operation has increased as well as the associated emissions of environmental pollutants, especially the Nitrous Oxides (NOₓ). To limit the environmental degradation, various international environmental agencies have established regulations on the pollutant discharge and pushed to reduce the NOₓ release. To meet these constraints, OTSG constructors have to rely on more and more advanced tools to study and predict the NOₓ emission. With the increase of the computational resources, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has emerged as a flexible tool to analyze the combustion and pollutant formation process. Moreover, to optimize the burner operating condition regarding the NOx emission, field characterization and measurements are usually accomplished. However, these kinds of experimental campaigns are particularly time-consuming and sometimes even impossible for industrial plants with strict operation schedule constraints. Therefore, the application of CFD seems to be more adequate in order to provide guidelines on the NOₓ emission and reduction problem. In the present work, two different software are employed to simulate the combustion process in an OTSG, namely the commercial software ANSYS Fluent and the open source software OpenFOAM. RANS (Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes) equations combined with the Eddy Dissipation Concept to model the combustion and closed by the k-epsilon model are solved. A mesh sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the independence of the solution on the mesh. In the first part, the results given by the two software are compared and confronted with experimental data as a mean to assess the numerical modelling. Flame temperatures and chemical composition are used as reference fields to perform this validation. Results show a fair agreement between experimental and numerical data. In the last part, OpenFOAM is employed to simulate several operating conditions, and an Emission Characteristic Map of the combustion system is generated. The sources of high NOₓ production inside the OTSG are pointed and correlated to the physics of the flow. CFD is, therefore, a useful tool for providing an insight into the NOₓ emission phenomena in OTSG. Sources of high NOₓ production can be identified, and operating conditions can be adjusted accordingly. With the help of RANS simulations, an Emission Characteristics Map can be produced and then be used as a guide for a field tune-up.

Keywords: combustion, computational fluid dynamics, nitrous oxides emission, once-through-steam-generators

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Authors: Akudo Ejelonu, Sarah Willig, J. Anthony Sauder, Heather Murphy, Frances Shofer

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Background: The high prevalence of diarrheal diseases in the village of Tzununá, Guatemala is linked to lack of sanitation facilities and handwashing practices. Diarrheal diseases are preventable and improved access to latrines, hygiene education and clean water may improve sanitation by reducing the spread of disease. Objective: Between May 2015-January 2017, the University of Pennsylvania Chapter of Engineers Without Border (PennEWB) and local partners designed an intervention to reduce diarrheal disease by building pour flush latrines in 50 individual households and providing education on the importance of handwashing practice. Design/Methods: Through convenient sampling, we surveyed 45 households to evaluate the community’s knowledge of diarrheal disease, handwashing practices, and maintenance of the latrines. Results: 92% of the study participants experienced decrease of new cases of diarrheal disease after receiving a latrine. Only 11% washed their hands after defecating in the latrine. There was gap in understanding the health outcome of latrine sanitation and handwashing education. The respondents did not connect the reduction of diarrheal disease with latrine use and maintenance. Instead, they associated their motivation for latrine use with aesthetics, proximity to their home, ease and comfort, and reduction of shame. We recommend that PennEWB adopt UNICEF or WHO education on hand washing practice. Conclusion: Social interaction and social pressure drove the household use of latrines. The latrines are being valued and cleaned. The education that the residents received did not target norms and behaviors. Latrines could be used to create a new social norm that supports behavioral change.

Keywords: diarrheal disease, latrine, open defecation, water, sanitation and hygiene

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Authors: Sufyan Muhammad

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Recently, in achieving highly efficient but at the same time highly accurate solutions has become the major target of numerical analyst community. The concept is termed as compact schemes and has gained great popularity and consequently, we construct compact schemes for fourth order parabolic differential equations used to study vibrations in structures. For the superiority of newly constructed schemes, we consider range of examples. We have achieved followings i.e. (a) numerical scheme utilizes minimum number of stencil points (which means new scheme is compact); (b) numerical scheme is highly accurate (which means new scheme is reliable) and (c) numerical scheme is highly efficient (which means new scheme is fast).

Keywords: central finite differences, compact schemes, Bernoulli's equations, finite differences

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Authors: C. Copilusi, C. Ploscaru

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This paper addresses attention to a research regarding the design of a knee orthosis in a modular form used on children walking rehabilitation. This research is focused on the human lower limb kinematic analysis which will be used as input data on virtual simulations and prototype validation. From this analysis, important data will be obtained and used as input for virtual simulations of the knee modular orthosis. Thus, a knee orthosis concept was obtained and validated through virtual simulations by using MSC Adams software. Based on the obtained results, the modular orthosis prototype will be manufactured and presented in this article.

Keywords: human lower limb, children orthoses, kinematic analysis, knee orthosis

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Authors: Azam Fazelpour, Saeed R. Dehghani, Vlastimil Masek, Yuri S. Muzychka

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The study uses an image analysis technique employing thermal imaging to measure the percentage of areas with various temperatures on a freezing surface. An image segmentation method using threshold values is applied to a sequence of image recording the freezing process. The phenomenon is transient and temperatures vary fast to reach the freezing point and complete the freezing process. Freezing salt water is subjected to the salt rejection that makes the freezing point dynamic and dependent on the salinity at the phase interface. For a specific area of freezing, nucleation starts from one side and end to another side, which causes a dynamic and transient temperature in that area. Thermal cameras are able to reveal a difference in temperature due to their sensitivity to infrared radiance. Using Experimental setup, a video is recorded by a thermal camera to monitor radiance and temperatures during the freezing process. Image processing techniques are applied to all frames to detect and classify temperatures on the surface. Image processing segmentation method is used to find contours with same temperatures on the icing surface. Each segment is obtained using the temperature range appeared in the image and correspond pixel values in the image. Using the contours extracted from image and camera parameters, stratified areas with different temperatures are calculated. To observe temperature contours on the icing surface using the thermal camera, the salt water sample is dropped on a cold surface with the temperature of -20°C. A thermal video is recorded for 2 minutes to observe the temperature field. Examining the results obtained by the method and the experimental observations verifies the accuracy and applicability of the method.

Keywords: ice contour boundary, image processing, image segmentation, salt ice, thermal image

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Authors: Nivedita Roy, Aparajita Chattopadhyay

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Gender discrimination is already one of the major factors why India is still in the list of the 3rd World Countries, but, when it comes to gender inclusion in the environmental arena, this umbrella concept is quite unheard of by our countrymen. The main objective was to assess gender equality for the environment through calculating Environment and Gender Index on a country level, India, in this case. 22 states out of 29 were considered for calculation. Also, out of the 72 countries chosen by IUCN to calculate EGI, the lower middle income group of countries was chosen to assess the position of India, also a lower middle income group country, among them. Linear Regression is executed through SPSS and simple graphs and tables are prepared through MS-EXCEL for analysis. India portrays good governance, reporting activities well to the UN but in terms of basic livelihood and gender equality, the performance is comparatively weak.

Keywords: environment, gender, livelihood, rights, participation, development, conservation

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Authors: Zaffar Hayat Nawaz Khan

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In the face of growing environmental concerns, the need for sustainable practices has become increasingly urgent. This paper aims to explore the path towards a greener and more resilient future by examining key strategies and initiatives that address environmental challenges. The paper begins by analyzing the current state of the environment, highlighting the various concerns such as climate change, deforestation, pollution, and depletion of natural resources. It emphasizes the need for immediate action and proposes a comprehensive approach to tackle these issues. Furthermore, the paper delves into the concept of resilience and its importance in creating a sustainable future. It discusses the need to build resilient systems and communities that can withstand and adapt to environmental shocks and stresses. The paper highlights the role of innovation, technology, and policy frameworks in promoting resilience and fostering a greener and more sustainable future.

Keywords: environmental concerns, ustainable development, greener future, energy, waste management

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Authors: S. R. Dehghani, Y. S. Muzychka, G. F. Naterer

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The ice accretion of salt water on cold substrates creates brine-spongy ice. This type of ice is a mixture of pure ice and liquid brine. A real case of creation of this type of ice is superstructure icing which occurs on marine vessels and offshore structures in cold and harsh conditions. Transient heat transfer through this medium causes phase changes between brine pockets and pure ice. Salt rejection during the process of transient heat conduction increases the salinity of brine pockets to reach a local equilibrium state. In this process the only effect of passing heat through the medium is not changing the sensible heat of the ice and brine pockets; latent heat plays an important role and affects the mechanism of heat transfer. In this study, a new analytical model for evaluating heat transfer through brine-spongy ice is suggested. This model considers heat transfer and partial solidification and melting together. Properties of brine-spongy ice are obtained using properties of liquid brine and pure ice. A numerical solution using Method of Lines discretizes the medium to reach a set of ordinary differential equations. Boundary conditions are chosen using one of the applicable cases of this type of ice; one side is considered as a thermally isolated surface, and the other side is assumed to be suddenly affected by a constant temperature boundary. All cases are evaluated in temperatures between -20 C and the freezing point of brine-spongy ice. Solutions are conducted using different salinities from 5 to 60 ppt. Time steps and space intervals are chosen properly to maintain the most stable and fast solution. Variation of temperature, volume fraction of brine and brine salinity versus time are the most important outputs of this study. Results show that transient heat conduction through brine-spongy ice can create a various range of salinity of brine pockets from the initial salinity to that of 180 ppt. The rate of variation of temperature is found to be slower for high salinity cases. The maximum rate of heat transfer occurs at the start of the simulation. This rate decreases as time passes. Brine pockets are smaller at portions closer to the colder side than that of the warmer side. A the start of the solution, the numerical solution tends to increase instabilities. This is because of sharp variation of temperature at the start of the process. Changing the intervals improves the unstable situation. The analytical model using a numerical scheme is capable of predicting thermal behavior of brine spongy ice. This model and numerical solutions are important for modeling the process of freezing of salt water and ice accretion on cold structures.

Keywords: method of lines, brine-spongy ice, heat conduction, salt water

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Authors: Elizabeth Crafton, Donald Ott, Teresa Cutright

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Harmful algal blooms (HABs), more notably cyanobacteria-dominated HABs, compromise water quality, jeopardize access to drinking water and are a risk to public health and safety. HABs are representative of ecosystem imbalance largely caused by environmental changes, such as eutrophication, that are associated with the globally expanding human population. Cyanobacteria-dominated HABs are anticipated to increase in frequency, magnitude, and are predicted to plague a larger geographical area as a result of climate change. The weather pattern is important as storm-driven, pulse-input of nutrients have been correlated to cyanobacteria-dominated HABs. The mobilization of aqueous and particulate nutrients and the response of the phytoplankton community is an important relationship in this complex phenomenon. This relationship is most apparent in high-impact areas of adequate sunlight, > 20ᵒC, excessive nutrients and quiescent water that corresponds to ideal growth of HABs. Typically the impact of particulate phosphorus is dismissed as an insignificant contribution; which is true for areas that are not considered high-impact. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of a simulated storm-driven, pulse-input of reactive phosphorus and the response of three different cyanobacteria assemblages (~5,000 cells/mL). The aqueous and particulate sources of phosphorus and changes in HAB were tracked weekly for 4 weeks. The first cyanobacteria composition consisted of Planktothrix sp., Microcystis sp., Aphanizomenon sp., and Anabaena sp., with 70% of the total population being non-diazotrophic and 30% being diazotrophic. The second was comprised of Anabaena sp., Planktothrix sp., and Microcystis sp., with 87% diazotrophic and 13% non-diazotrophic. The third composition has yet to be determined as these experiments are ongoing. Preliminary results suggest that both aqueous and particulate sources are contributors of total reactive phosphorus in high-impact areas. The results further highlight shifts in the cyanobacteria assemblage after the simulated pulse-input. In the controls, the reactors dosed with aqueous reactive phosphorus maintained a constant concentration for the duration of the experiment; whereas, the reactors that were dosed with aqueous reactive phosphorus and contained soil decreased from 1.73 mg/L to 0.25 mg/L of reactive phosphorus from time zero to 7 days; this was higher than the blank (0.11 mg/L). Suggesting a binding of aqueous reactive phosphorus to sediment, which is further supported by the positive correlation observed between total reactive phosphorus concentration and turbidity. The experiments are nearly completed and a full statistical analysis will be completed of the results prior to the conference.

Keywords: Anabaena, cyanobacteria, harmful algal blooms, Microcystis, phosphorous, response surface methodology

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Authors: Sajjad Baghernezhad, Saeideh Baghernezhad

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Vast changes and developments achieved in information technology field in recent decades have made the review of different issues such as organizational structures unavoidable. Applying informative technologies such as internet and also vast use of computer and related networks have led to new organizational formations with a nature completely different from the traditional, great and bureaucratic ones; some common specifications of such organizations are transfer of the affairs out of the organization, benefiting from informative and communicative networks and centered-science workers. Such communicative necessities have led to network sciences development including grid computing. First, the grid computing was only to relate some sites for short – time and use their sources simultaneously, but now it has gone beyond such idea. In this article, the grid computing technology was examined, and at the same time, virtual organization concept was discussed.

Keywords: grid computing, virtual organizations, software engineering, organization

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Authors: Joanna Pietrzak, Anna Stefanska, Wieslaw Rokicki

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Contemporary high-rise buildings constructed in recent years are often tremendous examples of original and unique architectural forms, being at the same time the affirmation of technical and technological progress accomplishments. The search for more efficient, sophisticated generations of structures also concerns the shaping of high-quality details. The concept of structural detail designing is connected with the rationalization of engineering solutions as well as through the optimisation and reduction of used material. Contemporary structural detail perceived through the development of building technologies is often a very aesthetic technical and material solution, which significantly influences the visual perception of architecture. Structural details are more often seen in shaping the forms of high-rise buildings, which are erected in many culturally different countries.

Keywords: aesthetic expression, high-rise buildings, structural detail, tall buildings

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Authors: Maria P. Geneva, Ira V. Stancheva, Marieta G. Hristozkova, Roumiana D. Vasilevska-Ivanova, Mariana T. Sichanova, Janet R. Mincheva

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Hyssopus officinalis L., Lamiaceae, commonly called hyssop, is an aromatic, semi-evergreen, woody-based, shrubby perennial plant. Hyssop is a good expectorant and antiviral herb commonly used to treat respiratory conditions such as influenza, sinus infections, colds, and bronchitis. Most of its medicinal properties are attributed to the essential oil of hyssop. The study was conducted to evaluate the influence of inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of in vitro propagated hyssop plants on the: activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, guaiacol peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase; accumulation of non-enzymatic antioxidants total phenols and flavonoid, water-soluble soluble antioxidant metabolites expressed as ascorbic acid; the antioxidant potential of hyssop methanol extracts assessed by two common methods: free radical scavenging activity using free stable radical (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, DPPH• and ferric reducing antioxidant power FRAP in flowers and leaves. The successfully adapted to field conditions in vitro plants (survival rate 95%) were inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Claroideoglomus claroideum, ref. EEZ 54). It was established that the activities of enzymes with antioxidant capacity (superoxide dismutase, catalase, guaiacol peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase) were significantly higher in leaves than in flowers in both control and mycorrhized plants. In flowers and leaves of inoculated plants, the antioxidant enzymes activity were lower than in non-inoculated plants, only in SOD activity, there was no difference. The content of low molecular metabolites with antioxidant capacity as total phenols, total flavonoids, and water soluble antioxidants was higher in inoculated plants. There were no significant differences between control and inoculated plants both for FRAP and DPPH antioxidant activity. According to plant essential oil content, there was no difference between non-inoculated and inoculated plants. Based on our results we could suggest that antioxidant capacity of in vitro propagated hyssop plant under conditions of cultivation is determined by the phenolic compounds-total phenols and flavonoids as well as by the levels of water-soluble metabolites with antioxidant potential. Acknowledgments: This study was conducted with financial support from National Science Fund at the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, Project DN06/7 17.12.16.

Keywords: antioxidant enzymes, antioxidant metabolites, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Hyssopus officinalis L.

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Authors: Bienvenu Gael Fouda Mbanga

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This study reports a new approach of preparation of carbon nanoparticles coated cerium oxide nanorods (CNPs/CeONRs) nanocomposite and reusing the spent adsorbent of Cd2+- CNPs/CeONRs nanocomposite for latent fingerprint detection (LFP) after removing Cd2+ ions from aqueous solution. CNPs/CeONRs nanocomposite was prepared by using CNPs and CeONRs with adsorption processes. The prepared nanocomposite was then characterized by using UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-visible), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Zeta potential, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The average size of the CNPs was 7.84nm. The synthesized CNPs/CeONRs nanocomposite has proven to be a good adsorbent for Cd2+ removal from water with optimum pH 8, dosage 0. 5 g / L. The results were best described by the Langmuir model, which indicated a linear fit (R2 = 0.8539-0.9969). The adsorption capacity of CNPs/CeONRs nanocomposite showed the best removal of Cd2+ ions with qm = (32.28-59.92 mg/g), when compared to previous reports. This adsorption followed pseudo-second order kinetics and intra particle diffusion processes. ∆G and ∆H values indicated spontaneity at high temperature (40oC) and the endothermic nature of the adsorption process. CNPs/CeONRs nanocomposite therefore showed potential as an effective adsorbent. Furthermore, the metal loaded on the adsorbent Cd2+- CNPs/CeONRs has proven to be sensitive and selective for LFP detection on various porous substrates. Hence Cd2+-CNPs/CeONRs nanocomposite can be reused as a good fingerprint labelling agent in LFP detection so as to avoid secondary environmental pollution by disposal of the spent adsorbent.

Keywords: Cd2+-CNPs/CeONRs nanocomposite, cadmium adsorption, isotherm, kinetics, thermodynamics, reusable for latent fingerprint detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 101