Search results for: mixed adsorbents

Authors: Maha Atout, Pippa Hemingway, Jane Seymour

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Background: A mixed method systematic review was undertaken in order to explore issues related to the experiences of health care providers and parents in the care of children with palliative care needs. The aims of this systematic review were to identify existing evidence about the experiences of communication in the care of children with palliative care needs, to appraise the research conducted in this area and to identify gaps in the literature in order to recommend for future related studies. Method: A mixed method systematic review of research on the experience of communication in the care of children with palliative care needs, conducted with parents and health professionals was undertaken. The electronic databases of CINAHL, Cochrane, PubMed, OVID, Social Care Online, Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest were searched for the period of 2000-2016. Inclusion was limited to studies of communication experience in the care of children with palliative care needs. Result: Thirty-eight studies were found. The studies were conducted in a variety of countries: Uganda, Jordan, USA, UK, Taiwan, Turkey, Ireland, Poland, Brazil, Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, Netherland, Lebanon, Spain, Greece, and China. The current review shows that parents tend to protect their children when they are discussing their illnesses with them, particularly where they have a life-threatening or life-limiting condition. The approach of parents towards the discussion of sensitive issues concerning death with their children is significantly affected by the cultural background of the families. Conservative cultures encourage collusion behaviours which tend to keep children unaware of the incurable nature of the disease. The major communication challenges reported by health professionals are facing difficulties in judging how much information should be given to parents, responding to difficult questions, conflicts with families and inadequate skills to support grieving families. Conclusion: It is probably significant for the future studies to consider the change of parent-child communication experience over time in order to understand how the parents could change their interaction styles with their children according to the different stages of their children’s disease. Moreover, further studies are required to investigate the experience of communication of parents of children with non-malignant life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses.

Keywords: children with life-threatening or life- limiting illnesses, end of life, experience of communication, healthcare care providers, paediatric palliative care

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Authors: Vijaykumar Patel, P. Bahadur

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Microstructural evolution of a cationic gemini surfactant 12-4-12 micelles in the presence of bile salts has been investigated using different techniques. A negative value of interaction parameter evaluated from surface tension measurements is a signature of strong synergistic interaction between oppositely charged surfactants. Both the bile salts compete with each other in inducing the micellar transition of 12-4-12 micelles depending on their hydrophobicity. Viscosity measurements disclose that loading of bile salts induces morphological changes in 12-4-12 micelles; sodium deoxycholate is more efficient in altering the aggregation behaviour of 12-4-12 micelles compared to sodium cholate and presents pronounced increase in viscosity and micellar growth which is suppressed at elevated temperatures. A remarkable growth of 12-4-12 micelles in the presence of sodium deoxycholate at low pH has been ascribed to the solubilization of bile acids formed in acidic medium. Small angle neutron scattering experiments provided size and shape of 12-4-12/bile salt mixed micelles are explicated on the basis of hydrophobicity of bile salts. The location of bile salts in micelle was determined from nuclear overhauser effect spectroscopy. The present study characterizes 12-4-12 gemini-bile salt mixed systems which significantly enriches our knowledge, and such a structural transition provides an opportunity to use these bioamphiphiles as delivery vehicles and in some pharmaceutical formulations.

Keywords: gemini surfactants, bile salts, SANS (small angle neutron scattering), NOESY (nuclear overhauser effect spectroscopy)

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Authors: Wu Chao

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The urban design of the new district in China is different from other existing cities at the city planning level, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc. And the urban problems of these super-cities are same as many big cities around the world. The goal of the new district construction plan is to enable people to live comfortably, to improve the well-being of residents, and to create a way of life different from that of other urban communities. To avoid the emergence of the super community, the idea of "decentralization" is taken as the overall planning idea, and the function and form of each community are set up with a homogeneous allocation of resources so that the community can grow naturally. Similar to the growth of vines in nature, each community groups are independent and connected through roads, with clear community boundaries that limit their unlimited expansion. With a community contained 20,000 people as a case, the community is a mixture for living, production, office, entertainment, and other functions. Based on the development of the Internet, to create more space for public use, and can use data to allocate resources in real time. And this kind of shared space is the main part of the activity space in the community. At the same time, the transformation of spatial function can be determined by the usage feedback of all kinds of existing space, and the use of space can be changed by the changing data. Take the residential unit as the basic building function mass, take the lower three to four floors of the building as the main flexible space for use, distribute functions such as entertainment, service, office, etc. For the upper living space, set up a small amount of indoor and outdoor activity space, also used as shared space. The transformable space of the bottom layer is evenly distributed, combined with the walking space connected the community, the service and entertainment network can be formed in the whole community, and can be used in most of the community space. With the basic residential unit as the replicable module, the design of the other residential units runs through the idea of decentralization and the concept of the vine community, and the various units are reasonably combined. At the same time, a small number of office buildings are added to meet the special office needs. The new functional mixed community can change many problems of the present city in the future construction, at the same time, it can keep its vitality through the adjustment function of the Internet.

Keywords: decentralization, mixed functional community, shared space, spatial usage data

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Authors: Ceren Karaman, Onur Karaman

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The adsorption of Remazol Black B (RBB), an anionic dye, onto dried orange pulp (DOP) adsorbent prepared by only drying and by treating with cetyltrimetylammonium bromide (CTAB), a cationic surfactant, surface-modified orange pulp (SMOP) was studied in a stirred batch experiments system at 25°C. The adsorption of RBB on each adsorbent as a function of surfactant dosage, initial pH of the solution and initial dye concentration was investigated. The optimum amount of CTAB was found to be 25g/l. For RBB adsorption studies, while working pH value for the DOP adsorbent system was determined as 2.0, it was observed that this value shifted to 8.0 when the 25 g/l CTAB treated-orange pulp (SMOP) adsorbent was used. It was obtained that the adsorption rate and capacity increased to a certain value, and the adsorption efficiency decreased with increasing initial RBB concentration for both DOP and SMOP adsorbents at pH 2.0 and pH 8.0. While the highest adsorption capacity for DOP was determined as 62.4 mg/g at pH 2.0, and as 325.0 mg/g for SMOP at pH 8.0. As a result, it can be said that permanent cationic coating of the adsorbent surface by CTAB surfactant shifted the working pH from 2.0 to 8.0 and it increased the dye adsorption rate and capacity of orange pulp much more significantly at pH 8.0. The equilibrium RBB adsorption data on each adsorbent were best described by the Langmuir isotherm model. The adsorption kinetics of RBB on each adsorbent followed a pseudo-second-order model. Moreover, the intraparticle diffusion model was used to describe the kinetic data. It was found that diffusion is not the only rate controlling step. The adsorbent was characterized by the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, Fourier-transform-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and scanning-electron-microscopy (SEM). The mechanism for the adsorption of RBB on the SMOP may include hydrophobic interaction, van der Waals interaction, stacking and electrostatic interaction.

Keywords: adsorption, Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide (CTAB), orange pulp, Remazol Black B (RBB), surface modification

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Authors: Bijit Kalita, K. V. N. Surendra

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Rotating disk is one of the most indispensable parts of a rotating machine. Rotating disk has found many applications in the diverging field of science and technology. In this paper, we have taken into consideration the problem of a heavy spinning disk mounted on a rotor system acted upon by boundary traction. Finite element modelling is used at various loading condition to determine the mixed mode stress intensity factors. The effect of combined shear and normal traction on the boundary is incorporated in the analysis under the action of gravity. The variation near the crack tip is characterized in terms of the stress intensity factor (SIF) with an aim to find the SIF for a wide range of parameters. The results of the finite element analyses carried out on the compressed disk of a belt pulley arrangement using fracture mechanics concepts are shown. A total of hundred cases of the problem are solved for each of the variations in loading arc parameter and crack orientation using finite element models of the disc under compression. All models were prepared and analyzed for the uncracked disk, disk with a single crack at different orientation emanating from shaft hole as well as for a disc with pair of cracks emerging from the same center hole. Curves are plotted for various loading conditions. Finally, crack propagation paths are determined using kink angle concepts.

Keywords: crack-tip deformations, static loading, stress concentration, stress intensity factor

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Authors: Juan A. Ferriz-Papi, Simon Thomas

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The construction industry generates large amounts of waste, usually mixed, which can be composed of different origin materials, most of them catalogued as non-hazardous. The European Union targets for this waste for 2020 have been already achieved by the UK, but it is mainly developed in downcycling processes (backfilling) whereas upcycling (such as recycle in new concrete batches) still keeps at a low percentage. The aim of this paper is to explore further in the use of recycled aggregates from construction and demolition waste (CDW) in concrete mixes so as to improve upcycling. A review of most recent research and legislation applied in the UK is developed regarding the production of concrete blocks. As a case study, initial tests were developed with a CDW recycled aggregate sample from a CDW plant in Swansea. Composition by visual inspection and sieving tests of two samples were developed and compared to original aggregates. More than 70% was formed by soil waste from excavation, and the rest was a mix of waste from mortar, concrete, and ceramics with small traces of plaster, glass and organic matter. Two concrete mixes were made with 80% replacement of recycled aggregates and different water/cement ratio. Tests were carried out for slump, absorption, density and compression strength. The results were compared to a reference sample and showed a substantial reduction of quality in both mixes. Despite that, the discussion brings to identify different aspects to solve, such as heterogeneity or composition, and analyze them for the successful use of these recycled aggregates in the production of concrete blocks. The conclusions obtained can help increase upcycling processes ratio with mixed CDW as recycled aggregates in concrete mixes.

Keywords: aggregates, concrete, concrete block, construction and demolition waste, recycling

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Authors: Nicolò Vaiana, Filip C. Filippou, Giorgio Serino

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In order to reduce numerical computations in the nonlinear dynamic analysis of seismically base-isolated structures, a Mixed Explicit-Implicit time integration Method (MEIM) has been proposed. Adopting the explicit conditionally stable central difference method to compute the nonlinear response of the base isolation system, and the implicit unconditionally stable Newmark’s constant average acceleration method to determine the superstructure linear response, the proposed MEIM, which is conditionally stable due to the use of the central difference method, allows to avoid the iterative procedure generally required by conventional monolithic solution approaches within each time step of the analysis. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the stability and computational efficiency of the MEIM when employed to perform the nonlinear time history analysis of base-isolated structures with sliding bearings. Indeed, in this case, the critical time step could become smaller than the one used to define accurately the earthquake excitation due to the very high initial stiffness values of such devices. The numerical results obtained from nonlinear dynamic analyses of a base-isolated structure with a friction pendulum bearing system, performed by using the proposed MEIM, are compared to those obtained adopting a conventional monolithic solution approach, i.e. the implicit unconditionally stable Newmark’s constant acceleration method employed in conjunction with the iterative pseudo-force procedure. According to the numerical results, in the presented numerical application, the MEIM does not have stability problems being the critical time step larger than the ground acceleration one despite of the high initial stiffness of the friction pendulum bearings. In addition, compared to the conventional monolithic solution approach, the proposed algorithm preserves its computational efficiency even when it is adopted to perform the nonlinear dynamic analysis using a smaller time step.

Keywords: base isolation, computational efficiency, mixed explicit-implicit method, partitioned solution approach, stability

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Authors: Omar Pillaca-Pullo, Arturo Alejandro-Paredes, Carol Flores-Fernandez, Marijuly Sayuri Kina, Amparo Iris Zavaleta

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Aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) is an interesting alternative for separating industrial enzymes due to it is easy to scale-up and low cost. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) mixed with potassium phosphate or magnesium sulfate is one of the most frequently polymer/salt ATPS used, but the consequences of its use is a high concentration of phosphates and sulfates in wastewater causing environmental issues. Citrate could replace these inorganic salts due to it is biodegradable and does not produce toxic compounds. On the other hand, statistical design of experiments is widely used for ATPS optimization and it allows to study the effects of the involved variables in the purification, and to estimate their significant effects on selected responses and interactions. The 24 factorial design with four central points (20 experiments) was employed to study the partition and purification of proteases produced by Pseudomonas sp. in PEG/citrate ATPS system. ATPS was prepared with different sodium citrate concentrations [14, 16 and 18% (w/w)], pH values (7, 8 and 9), PEG molecular weight (2,000; 4,000 and 6,000 g/mol) and PEG concentrations [18, 20 and 22 % (w/w)]. All system components were mixed with 15% (w/w) of the fermented broth and deionized water was added to a final weight of 12.5 g. Then, the systems were mixed and kept at room temperature until to reach two-phases separation. Volumes of the top and bottom phases were measured, and aliquots from both phases were collected for subsequent proteolytic activity and total protein determination. Influence of variables such as PEG molar mass (MPEG), PEG concentration (CPEG), citrate concentration (CSal) and pH were evaluated on the following responses: purification factor (PF), activity yield (Y), partition coefficient (K) and selectivity (S). STATISTICA program version 10 was used for the analysis. According to the obtained results, higher levels of CPEG and MPEG had a positive effect on extraction, while pH did not influence on the process. On the other hand, the CSal could be related with low values of Y because of the citrate ions have a negative effect on solubility and enzymatic structure. The optimum values of Y (66.4 %), PF (1.8), K (5.5) and S (4.3) were obtained at CSal (18%), MPEG (6,000 g/mol), CPEG (22%) and pH 9. These results indicated that the PEG/citrate system is accurate to purify these Pseudomonas sp. proteases from fermented broth as a first purification step.

Keywords: citrate, polyethylene glycol, protease, Pseudomonas sp

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Authors: Panumard Kaewmora, Thirasak Rirksomboon, Vissanu Meeyoo

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Due to the globally growing demands of petroleum fuel and fossil fuels, the scarcity or even depletion of fossil fuel sources could be inevitable. Alternatively, the utilization of renewable sources, such as biomass, has become attractive to the community. Biomass can be converted into bio-oil by fast pyrolysis. In water phase of bio-oil, acetic acid which is one of its main components can be converted to hydrogen with high selectivity over effective catalysts in steam reforming process. Steam reforming of acetic acid as model compound has been intensively investigated for hydrogen production using various metal oxide supported nickel catalysts and yet they seem to be rapidly deactivated depending on the support utilized. A catalyst support such as Ce1-xZrxO2 mixed oxide was proposed for alleviating this problem with the anticipation of enhancing hydrogen yield. However, catalyst preparation methods play a significant role in catalytic activity and performance of the catalysts. In this work, Ce0.75Zr0.25O2 mixed oxide solid solution support was prepared by urea hydrolysis using microwave as heat source. After that nickel metal was incorporated at 15 wt% by incipient wetness impregnation method. The catalysts were characterized by several techniques including BET, XRD, H2-TPR, XRF, SEM, and TEM as well as tested for the steam reforming of acetic acid at various operating conditions. Preliminary results showed that a hydrogen yield of ca. 32% with a relatively high acetic conversion was attained at 650°C.

Keywords: acetic acid, steam reforming, microwave, nickel, ceria, zirconia

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Authors: Neeru Deep, Kimberly McAlister

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Mental health issues have been increasing worldwide for many decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic has brought mental health issues into the spotlight. Within higher education, promoting the well-being of students has dramatically increased in focus. The Northwestern State University of Louisiana opened the Center for Positivity, Well-being, and Hope using the action research process of reflecting, planning, acting, and observing. The study’s purpose is two-fold: First, it highlights how to create a collaborative team to reflect, plan, and act to develop a well-being culture in higher education institutions. Second, it investigates the efficacy of the center through Seligman’s lenses. The researchers shared their experience in the first three phases of the action research process and then applied an identical concurrent mixed methods design. A purposive sample evaluated the efficacy of the center through Seligman’s lenses. The researcher administered PERMA-Profiler Measure, the PERMA-Profiler Measure overview, the CoPWH Evaluation I, and the CoPWH Evaluation II questionnaires to collect qualitative and quantitative data. The thematic analysis for qualitative and descriptive statistics for quantitative data concluded that the center creates a well-being culture and promotes well-being in college students. In conclusion, this action research shares the successful implementation of the cyclic process of research in promoting a well-being culture in higher education with the implications for promoting a well-being culture in various educational settings, workplaces, and communities.

Keywords: action research, mixed methods research design, Seligman, well-being.

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Authors: Marin Mandić, Elis Sutlović, Tonći Modrić, Luka Stanić

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With the restructuring and deregulation of the power system, storage owners, generation companies or private producers can offer their multiple services on various power markets and earn income in different types of markets, such as the day-ahead, real-time, ancillary services market, etc. During the COVID-19 pandemic, electricity prices, as well as ancillary services prices, increased significantly. The optimization of the energy storage operation was performed using a suitable model for simulating the operation of a pumped storage hydropower plant under market conditions. The objective function maximizes the income earned through energy arbitration, regulation-up, regulation-down and spinning reserve services. The optimization technique used for solving the objective function is mixed integer linear programming (MILP). In numerical examples, the pumped storage hydropower plant operation has been optimized considering the already achieved hourly electricity market prices from Nord Pool for the pre-pandemic (2019) and the pandemic (2020 and 2021) years. The impact of the electricity market prices during the COVID-19 pandemic on energy storage operation is shown through the analysis of income, operating hours, reserved capacity and consumed energy for each service. The results indicate the role of energy storage during a significant fluctuation in electricity and services prices.

Keywords: electrical market prices, electricity market, energy storage optimization, mixed integer linear programming (MILP) optimization

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Authors: Muhammad Fakhrul Arrazi

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Ibn Taymiyyah is a great figure in Islam. His works have become the reference for many Muslims in implementing the fiqh of Ibadah and Muamalat. This article reviews the concepts that Ibn Taymiyyah has initiated in Halal and Haram, long before the books on Halal and Haram are written by contemporary scholars. There are at least four concepts of Halal and Haram ever spawned by Ibn Taymiyyah. First, the belief of a jurist (Faqih) in a matter that is Haram does not necessarily make the matter Haram. Haram arises from the Quran, Sunnah, Ijma’ and Qiyas as the tarjih. Due to the different opinions among the ulama, we should revisit this concept. Second, if a Muslim involves in a transaction (Muamalat), believes it permissible and gets money from such transaction, then it is legal for other Muslims to transact with the property of this Muslim brother, even if he does not believe that the transactions made by his Muslims brother are permissible. Third, Haram is divided into two; first is Haram because of the nature of an object, such as carrion, blood, and pork. If it is mixed with water or food and alters their taste, color, and smell, the food and water become Haram. Second is Haram because of the way it is obtained such as a stolen item and a broken aqad. If it is mixed with the halal property, the property does not automatically become Haram. Fourth, a treasure whose owners cannot be traced back then it is used for the benefit of the ummah. This study used the secondary data from the classics books by Ibn Taymiyyah, particularly those entailing his views on Halal and Haram. The data were then analyzed by using thematic and comparative approach. It is found that most of the concepts proposed by Ibn Taymiyyah in Halal and Haram correspond the majority’s views in the schools. However, some of his concepts are also in contrary to other scholars. His concepts will benefit the ummah, should it be applied to the contemporary issues.

Keywords: fiqh Muamalat, halal, haram, Ibn Taymiyyah

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Authors: France Phiri, Arnold Kanengoni, Dawood Hattas, Khanyisile Mbatha

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A study was carried out to determine seasonal changes in fiber composition and condensed tannin (CT) concentrations in Rhus lancea and Celtis africana and their effects on feed intake and blood metabolites in mixed-feeders. Rhus lancea and C. africana were analysed for dry matter (DM), acid detergent lignin (ADL), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and CT concentrations over four seasons; early wet (EWS), late wet (LWS), early dry (EDS) and late dry (LDS). Twelve indigenous male goats were kept in metabolic crates for periods of 21 days per season and fed one of two diet combinations; the test diet comprised R. lancea and C. africana (denoted as BROWSE) and the lucerne diet comprised lucerne (Medicago sativa and concentrates (CON). Feed intake, body weight and blood metabolites were determined in all goats over each study period. Goats fed BROWSE in the EDS, LDS and LWS lost weight while goats fed CON gained weight (P < 0.05). Goats fed CON had higher urea, alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transferase concentrations than those fed BROWSE (P < 0.05). Creatinine and cholesterol concentrations in all goats across LWS, EDS and LDS were lower than the normal range, while total protein and globulin concentrations were higher. The goats fed BROWSE had higher creatinine concentrations (P < 0.05) than those fed CON. Cholesterol concentrations were higher (P < 0.05) in goats fed BROWSE than in those on CON fed. It was concluded that goats fed BROWSE lost weight, indicating insufficient nutrients for maintenance requirements.

Keywords: fiber, maintenance, condense tannins, blood metabolites

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Authors: Anwesha Das

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There are numerous cases of racism and discriminatory practices in India against the northeast citizens and the African migrants. The right-wing extremism of the presently ruling political party in India has resulted in increased cases of xenophobia and Afrophobia. The rigid Indian caste system contributes to such practices of racism. The establishment of the ‘Hindu race’ by the present right-wing government, leading to instilling pride among Hindus being of a superior race, has resulted in more atrocious racist practices. This paper argues that policy action is required against racist, discriminatory practices. Policy actors in India do not ask the right questions and fail to give the needed redirection. It critically analyses Acts 14 and 15 of the Indian constitution in order to examine the cause of a policy action. In proposing the need for policy action, this paper places its arguments as a vital extension of the existing scholarship on public policy studies in India. It uses mixed-method analysis to examine the factors responsible for the policy problem and aims to suggest specific points of intervention in a policy progression. The study finds that despite anti-discriminatory policies in the mentioned Acts of the Indian constitution, there are rampant cases of racism owing to religious and cultural factors. The major findings of the study show how the present right-wing government violated the constitution in aggravating xenophobia. This paper proposes a policy action required to stop such further practices.

Keywords: India, migrants, policy action, racism, xenophobia

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Authors: Onur Kaya, Ilknur Tukenmez

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In this study, we consider vehicle routing problems on networks with alternative direct links between nodes, and we analyze a multi-objective problem considering the financial, environmental and social objectives in this context. In real life, there might exist several alternative direct roads between two nodes, and these roads might have differences in terms of their lengths and durations. For example, a road might be shorter than another but might require longer time due to traffic and speed limits. Similarly, some toll roads might be shorter or faster but require additional payment, leading to higher costs. We consider such alternative links in our problem and develop a mixed integer linear programming model that determines which alternative link to use between two nodes, in addition to determining the optimal routes for different vehicles, depending on the model objectives and constraints. We consider the minimum cost routing as the financial objective for the company, minimizing the CO2 emissions and gas usage as the environmental objectives, and optimizing the driver working conditions/working hours, and minimizing the risks of accidents as the social objectives. With these objective functions, we aim to determine which routes, and which alternative links should be used in addition to the speed choices on each link. We discuss the results of the developed vehicle routing models and compare their results depending on the system parameters.

Keywords: vehicle routing, alternative links between nodes, mixed integer linear programming, triple bottom line accounting

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Authors: Younghoon Kim, Seoung Bum Kim

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One-class classification plays an important role in detecting outlier and abnormality from normal observations. In the previous research, several attempts were made to extend the scope of application of the one-class classification techniques to statistical process control problems. For most previous approaches, such as support vector data description (SVDD) control chart, the design of the control limits is commonly based on the assumption that the proportion of abnormal observations is approximately equal to an expected Type I error rate in Phase I process. Because of the limitation of the one-class classification techniques based on convex optimization, we cannot make the proportion of abnormal observations exactly equal to expected Type I error rate: controlling Type I error rate requires to optimize constraints with integer decision variables, but convex optimization cannot satisfy the requirement. This limitation would be undesirable in theoretical and practical perspective to construct effective control charts. In this work, to address the limitation of previous approaches, we propose the one-class classification algorithm based on the mixed integer programming technique, which can solve problems formulated with continuous and integer decision variables. The proposed method minimizes the radius of a spherically shaped boundary subject to the number of normal data to be equal to a constant value specified by users. By modifying this constant value, users can exactly control the proportion of normal data described by the spherically shaped boundary. Thus, the proportion of abnormal observations can be made theoretically equal to an expected Type I error rate in Phase I process. Moreover, analogous to SVDD, the boundary can be made to describe complex structures by using some kernel functions. New multivariate control chart applying the effectiveness of the algorithm is proposed. This chart uses a monitoring statistic to characterize the degree of being an abnormal point as obtained through the proposed one-class classification. The control limit of the proposed chart is established by the radius of the boundary. The usefulness of the proposed method was demonstrated through experiments with simulated and real process data from a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display.

Keywords: control chart, mixed integer programming, one-class classification, support vector data description

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Authors: Samar Alharbi, Yota Dimitriadi

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With the exponential growth of information and communication technologies in higher education, new online teaching strategies have become increasingly important for student engagement and learning. In particular, some institutions depend solely on asynchronous e-learning to provide courses for their students. The major challenge facing these institutions is how to improve the quality of teaching and learning in their asynchronous tools. One of the most important methods that can help e-learner to enhance their social learning and social presence in asynchronous learning setting is immediacy. This study explores tutors perceptions of their instructional immediacy practices as part of their communication actions in online learning environments. It was used a mixed-methods design under the umbrella of pragmatic philosophical assumption. The participants included tutors at an educational institution in a Saudi university. The participants were selected with a purposive sampling approach and chose an institution that offered fully online courses to students. The findings of the quantitative data show the importance of teachers’ immediacy practices in an online text-based learning environment. The qualitative data contained three main themes: the tutors’ encouragement of student interaction; their promotion of class participation; and their addressing of the needs of the students. The findings from these mixed methods can provide teachers with insights into instructional designs and strategies that they can adopt in order to use e-immediacy in effective ways, thus improving their students’ online learning experiences.

Keywords: asynchronous e-learning, higher education, immediacy, tutor

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Authors: Margaret Schmuhl, Michelle Cubellis

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Violence against women (VAW) is a widespread social problem affecting nearly two million women in the United States each year. Recently, feminist criminologists have sought to examine patriarchy as a guiding framework for understanding violence against women. Literature on VAW often examines measures of structural gender equality, often overlooking ideological patriarchy which is necessary for structural inequality to remain unchallenged. Additionally, empirical literature generally focuses on extreme forms of VAW, rape, and femicide, often neglecting more common types of violence. This literature, under the theoretical guidance of the Liberal, Radical, and Marxist feminist traditions, finds mixed support for the relationship of patriarchy and VAW. Explanations for these inconsistencies may include data availability, and the use of different operationalizations of structural patriarchy. Research is needed to examine fuller operationalizations of patriarchy in social institutions and to extend this theoretical framework to the criminal justice response to VAW (i.e., clearance rates). This study examines sexual violence clearance rates under the theoretical guidance of these feminist traditions using incident- and county-level data from National Incident Based Reporting System and other sources in multilevel modelling. The findings suggest mixed support for the feminist hypotheses and that patriarchy and gender equality differentially affect arrest clearance rates and clearance through exceptional means for sexual violence.

Keywords: clearance rates, gender equality, multilevel modelling, patriarchy, sexual victimization, violence against women

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Authors: Nseabasi Nsikakabasi Etim

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In recent times, there has been a significant shortfall in between the production and supply of animal protein to meet the ever increasing population. To meet the increasing demand for animal protein, there is a need to focus attention on the production of livestock whose nutritional requirement does not put much strain on the limited sources of feed ingredients to which men subscribe. An example of such livestock is the rabbit. Rabbit is a pseudo-ruminant herbivore which utilizes much undigested and unabsorbed feed materials as sources of nutrient for maintenance and production. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding Aspilia africana as forage on the growth rates of female pseudo-ruminant herbivores (rabbits) at different physiological states. Thirty (30) Dutch breed rabbit does of 5–6 months of age were used for the experiment which was conducted in a completely randomized design for four months. The rabbits were divided into three treatment groups, ten does per treatment group; which consisted of mixed forages (Centrosema pubescent (200g), Panicum maximum (200g) and Ipomea batatas leaves (100g) without Aspilia africana (T1; control), fresh Aspilia africana (500g/dose/day) (T2) and wilted Aspilia africana (500g/dose/day) (T3). Rabbits in all treatment groups received the same concentrate (300g/animal/day) throughout the period of the study and mixed forages from the commencement of the experiment till the does kindled. After parturition, fresh and wilted Aspilia africana were introduced in treatments 2 and three respectively, whereas the control group continued on mixed forages throughout the study. The result of the study revealed that the initial average body weight of the rabbit does was 1.74kg. At mating and gestation periods, the body weights of the does in T2 was significantly higher (P<0.05) than the rest. There were no significant differences (P<0.05) in the body weights of does at kindling between the various treatment groups. During the physiological states of lactation, weaning and re-mating, the control group (T1) had significantly lower body weight than those of the treated groups (T2 and T3). Furthermore, T2 had significantly higher body weight than T3. The study revealed that Aspilia africana; mainly the fresh leaves have greater growth stimulating effects when fed to pseudo-ruminants (rabbits), thereby enhancing body weights of does during lactation and weaning.

Keywords: Aspilia africana, herbivores, pseudo-ruminants, physiological states

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Authors: Tefera Worku Mekonnen, Hiseh Chih Tsai

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Enhancement of drug efficacy is essential in cancer treatment. The immune stimulator ovalbumin (Ova)-coated citric acid (AC-)-stabilized iron oxide nanoparticles (AC-IO-Ova NPs) and enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) based tumor targeted 4.5 (4.5G) poly(amidoamine) dendrimer-cisplatin nanocomplex (4.5GDP-Cis-pt NC) were used for enhanced anticancer efficiency. The formations of 4.5GDP-Cis-pt NC, AC-IO, and AC-IO-Ova NPs have been examined by FTIR, X-ray diffraction, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The conjugation of cisplatin (Cis-pt) with 4.5GDP was confirmed using carbon NMR. The tumor-specific 4.5GDP-Cis-pt NC provided ~45% and 28% cumulative cisplatin release in 72 h at pH 6.5 and 7.4, respectively. A significant immune response with high TNF-α and IL-6 cytokine secretion was confirmed when the co-incubation of AC-IO-Ova with RAW 264.7 or HaCaT cells. AC-IO-Ova NP was biocompatible in different cell lines, even at a high concentration (200 µg mL−1). In contrast, AC-IO-Ova NPs mixed with 4.5GDP-Cis-pt NC (Cis-pt at 15 µg mL−1) significantly increased the cytotoxicity against the cancer cells, which is dose-dependent on the concentration of AC-IO-Ova NPs. The increased anticancer effects may be attributed to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, the efficiency of anticancer cells may be further assisted by induction of an innate immune response via M1 macrophage polarization due to the presence of AC-IO-Ova NPs. We provide a better synergestic chemoimmunotherapeutic strategy to enhance the efficiency of anticancer of cisplatin via chemotherapeutic agent 4.5GDP-Cis-pt NC and induction of proinflammatory cytokines to stimulate innate immunity through AC-IO-Ova NPs against tumors.

Keywords: cisplatin-release, iron oxide, ovalbumin, poly(amidoamine) dendrimer

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Getachew Mekaa, Bezatu Mengisteb, Tena Alamirewc

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Ashebeka River is the main source of drinking water supply for Assela City and its surrounding inhabitants. Apart from seasonal water reliability disruption, the cost of treating water downstream of the river has been increasing over time due to increased pollutants and suspended sediments. Therefore, this research aimed to identify geo-location and prioritize suspended sediment sources in the Ashebeka River catchment using sediment fingerprinting. We collected 58 composite soil samples and a river water sample for suspended sediment samples from the outlet, which were then filtered using Whatman filter paper. The samples were quantified for geochemical tracers with multi-element capability, and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Tracers with significant p-value and that passed the Kruskal-Wallis (KW) test were analyzed for stepwise discriminant function analysis (DFA). The DFA results revealed tracers with good discrimination were subsequently used for the mixed model analysis. The relative significant sediment source contributions from sub-catchments (km2): 3, 4, 1, and 2 were estimated as 49.31% (8), 26.71% (5), 23.65% (5.6), and 0.33% (28.4) respectively. The findings of this study will help the water utilities to prioritize areas of intervention, and the approach used could be followed for catchment prioritization in water safety plan development. Moreover, the findings of this research shed light on the integration of sediment fingerprinting into water safety plans to ensure the reliability of drinking water supplies.

Keywords: disruption of drinking water reliability, ashebeka river catchment, sediment fingerprinting, sediment source contribution, mixed model

Procedia PDF Downloads 24

Authors: Jyh-Cherng Chen, Yi-Jie Lin

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This study tries to reuse the fly ash of municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) for the synthesis of zeolites. The fly ashes were treated with NaOH alkali fusion at different temperatures for 40 mins and then synthesized the zeolites with hydrothermal method at 105oC for different operation times. The effects of different operation conditions and the optimum synthesis parameters were explored. The specific surface area, surface morphology, species identification, adsorption capacity, and the reuse potentials of the synthesized zeolites were analyzed and evaluated. Experimental results showed that the optimum operation conditions for the synthesis of zeolite from the mixed fly ash were Si/Al=20, alkali/ash=1.5, alkali fusion reaction with NaOH at 800oC for 40 mins, hydrolysis with L/S=200 at 105oC for 24 hr, and hydrothermal synthesis at 105oC for 48 hr. The largest specific surface area of synthesized zeolite could be increased to 943.05m2/g. The influence of different operation parameters on the synthesis of zeolite from mixed fly ash followed the sequence of Si/Al > hydrolysis L/S> hydrothermal time > alkali fusion temperature > alkali/ash ratio. The XRD patterns of synthesized zeolites were identified to be similar with the ZSM-23 zeolite. The adsorption capacities of synthesized zeolite for pollutants were increased as rising the specific surface area of synthesized zeolite. In summary, MSWI fly ash can be treated and reused to synthesize the zeolite with high specific surface area by the alkali fusion and hydrothermal method. The zeolite can be reuse for the adsorption of various pollutants. They have great potential for development.

Keywords: alkali fusion, hydrothermal, fly ash, zeolite

Procedia PDF Downloads 174

Authors: Anita Vidacs, Csaba Vagvolgyi, Judit Krisch

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The attachment of microorganisms to different surfaces and the development of biofilms can lead to outbreaks of food-borne diseases and economic losses due to perished food. In food processing environments, bacterial communities are generally formed by mixed cultures of different species. Plants are sources of several antimicrobial substances that may be potential candidates for the development of new disinfectants. We aimed to investigate cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), marjoram (Origanum majorana), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris). Essential oils and their major components (cinnamaldehyde, terpinene-4-ol, and thymol) on four-species biofilms of E. coli, L. monocytogenes, P. putida, and S. aureus. Experiments had three parts: (i) determination of minimum bactericide concentration and the killing time with microdilution methods; (ii) elimination of the four-species 24– and 168-hours old biofilm from stainless steel, polypropylene, tile and wood surfaces; and (iii) comparing the disinfectant effect with industrial used per-acetic based sanitizer (HC-DPE). E. coli and P. putida were more resistant to investigated essential oils and their main components in biofilm, than L. monocytogenes and S. aureus. These Gram-negative bacteria were detected on the surfaces, where the natural based disinfectant had not total biofilm elimination effect. Most promoted solutions were the cinnamon essential oil and the terpinene-4-ol that could eradicate the biofilm from stainless steel, polypropylene and even from tile, too. They have a better disinfectant effect than HC-DPE. These natural agents can be used as alternative solutions in the battle against bacterial biofilms.

Keywords: biofilm, essential oils, surfaces, terpinene-4-ol

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Jiraporn Prommaha

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The purpose of this research is to study the development of Thailand Brand Identity and the perception of its image in order to find any guidelines for the identity development and the image perception of Thailand Brand in Health and Wellness Tourism. The paper is conducted through mixed methods research, both the qualitative and quantitative researches. The qualitative focuses on the in-depth interview of executive administrations from public and private sectors involved scholars and experts in identity and image issue, main 11 people. The quantitative research was done by the questionnaires to collect data from foreign tourists 800; Chinese tourists 400 and UK tourists 400. The technique used for this was the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), this was to determine the relation between the structures of the variables by categorizing the variables into group by applying the Varimax rotation technique. This technique showed recognition the Thailand brand image related to the 2 countries, China and UK. The results found that guidelines for brand identity development and image perception of health and wellness tourism in Thailand; as following (1) Develop communication in order to understanding of the meaning of the word 'Health and beauty tourism' throughout the country, (2) Develop human resources as a national agenda, (3) Develop awareness rising in the conservation and preservation of natural resources of the country, (4) Develop the cooperation of all stakeholders in Health and Wellness Businesses, (5) Develop digital communication throughout the country and (6) Develop safety in Tourism.

Keywords: brand identity, image perception, nation branding, health and wellness tourism, mixed methods research

Procedia PDF Downloads 200

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Ana Claudia de Souza Costa, Beatriz de Cássia Pinheiro Goulart, Karine de Cássia Cavalari, Henrique Ceretta Oliveira, Edineis de Brito Guirardello

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Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing represents the largest category of health professionals who were on the front line. Thus, investigating the practice environment and the job satisfaction of nursing professionals during the pandemic becomes fundamental since it reflects on the quality of care and the safety climate. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the nursing professionals' perception of the work environment, job satisfaction, and safety climate of the different hospitals and work shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This is a cross-sectional survey with 130 nursing professionals from public, private and mixed hospitals in Brazil. For data collection, was used an electronic form containing the personal and occupational variables, work environment, job satisfaction, and safety climate. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis tests according to the data distribution. The distribution was evaluated by means of the Shapiro-Wilk test. The analysis was done in the SPSS 23 software, and it was considered a significance level of 5%. Results: The mean age of the participants was 35 years (±9.8), with a mean time of 6.4 years (±6.7) of working experience in the institution. Overall, the nursing professionals evaluated the work environment as favorable; they were dissatisfied with their job in terms of pay, promotion, benefits, contingent rewards, operating procedures and satisfied with coworkers, nature of work, supervision, and communication, and had a negative perception of the safety climate. When comparing the hospitals, it was found that they did not differ in their perception of the work environment and safety climate. However, they differed with regard to job satisfaction, demonstrating that nursing professionals from public hospitals were more dissatisfied with their work with regard to promotion when compared to professionals from private (p=0.02) and mixed hospitals (p< 0.01) and nursing professionals from mixed hospitals were more satisfied than those from private hospitals (p= 0.04) with regard to supervision. Participants working in night shifts had the worst perception of the work environment related to nurse participation in hospital affairs (p= 0.02), nursing foundations for quality care (p= 0.01), nurse manager ability, leadership and support (p= 0.02), safety climate (p< 0.01), job satisfaction related to contingent rewards (p= 0.04), nature of work (p= 0.03) and supervision (p< 0.01). Conclusion: The nursing professionals had a favorable perception of the environment and safety climate but differed among hospitals regarding job satisfaction for the promotion and supervision domains. There was also a difference between the participants regarding the work shifts, being the night shifts, those with the lowest scores, except for satisfaction with operational conditions.

Keywords: health facility environment, job satisfaction, patient safety, nursing

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Nedal N. Marei, Nashaat Nassar

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Many treatment techniques have been used to remove the soluble pollutants from wastewater as; dyes and metal ions which could be found in rich amount in the used water of the textile and tanneries industry. The effluents from these industries are complex, containing a wide variety of dyes and other contaminants, such as dispersants, acids, bases, salts, detergents, humectants, oxidants, and others. These techniques can be divided into physical, chemical, and biological methods. Adsorption has been developed as an efficient method for the removal of heavy metals from contaminated water and soil. It is now recognized as an effective method for the removal of both organic and inorganic pollutants from wastewaters. Nanosize materials are new functional materials, which offer high surface area and have come up as effective adsorbents. Nano alumina is one of the most important ceramic materials widely used as an electrical insulator, presenting exceptionally high resistance to chemical agents, as well as giving excellent performance as a catalyst for many chemical reactions, in microelectronic, membrane applications, and water and wastewater treatment. In this study, methylene blue (MB) dye has been used as model dye of textile wastewater in order to synthesize a synthetic MB wastewater. NiO nanoparticles were added in small percentage in the sand packed bed adsorption columns to remove the MB from the synthetic textile wastewater. Moreover, different parameters have been evaluated; flow of the synthetic wastewater, pH, height of the bed, percentage of the NiO to the sand in the packed material. Different mathematical models where employed to find the proper model which describe the experimental data and help to analyze the mechanism of the MB adsorption. This study will provide good understanding of the dyes adsorption using metal oxide nanoparticles in the classical sand bed.

Keywords: adsorption, column, nanoparticles, methylene

Procedia PDF Downloads 269

Authors: Radovan Bures, Madgalena Streckova, Maria Faberova, Pavel Kurek

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Composite material based on Fe3Si micro-particles and Mn-Zn nano-ferrite was prepared using powder metallurgy technology. The sol-gel followed by autocombustion process was used for synthesis of Mn0.8Zn0.2Fe2O4 ferrite. 3 wt.% of mechanically milled ferrite was mixed with Fe3Si powder alloy. Mixed micro-nano powder system was homogenized by the Resonant Acoustic Mixing using ResodynLabRAM Mixer. This non-invasive homogenization technique was used to preserve spherical morphology of Fe3Si powder particles. Uniaxial cold pressing in the closed die at pressure 600 MPa was applied to obtain a compact sample. Microwave sintering of green compact was realized at 800°C, 20 minutes, in air. Density of the powders and composite was measured by Hepycnometry. Impulse excitation method was used to measure elastic properties of sintered composite. Mechanical properties were evaluated by measurement of transverse rupture strength (TRS) and Vickers hardness (HV). Resistivity was measured by 4 point probe method. Ferrite phase distribution in volume of the composite was documented by metallographic analysis. It has been found that nano-ferrite particle distributed among micro- particles of Fe3Si powder alloy led to high relative density (~93%) and suitable mechanical properties (TRS >100 MPa, HV ~1GPa, E-modulus ~140 GPa) of the composite. High electric resistivity (R~6.7 ohm.cm) of prepared composite indicate their potential application as soft magnetic material at medium and high frequencies.

Keywords: micro- and nano-composite, soft magnetic materials, microwave sintering, mechanical and electric properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 363

Authors: Jerzy Banski

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The basic aim of this study is to discuss and assess different classifications and research approaches to small towns that take their social and economic functions into account, as well as relations with surrounding areas. The subject literature typically includes three types of approaches to the classification of small towns: 1) the structural, 2) the location-related, and 3) the mixed. The structural approach allows for the grouping of towns from the point of view of the social, cultural and economic functions they discharge. The location-related approach draws on the idea of there being a continuum between the center and the periphery. A mixed classification making simultaneous use of the different approaches to research brings the most information to bear in regard to categories of the urban locality. Bearing in mind the approaches to classification, it is possible to propose a synthetic method for classifying small towns that takes account of economic structure, location and the relationship between the towns and their surroundings. In the case of economic structure, the small centers may be divided into two basic groups – those featuring a multi-branch structure and those that are specialized economically. A second element of the classification reflects the locations of urban centers. Two basic types can be identified – the small town within the range of impact of a large agglomeration, or else the town outside such areas, which is to say located peripherally. The third component of the classification arises out of small towns’ relations with their surroundings. In consequence, it is possible to indicate 8 types of small-town: from local centers enjoying good accessibility and a multi-branch economic structure to peripheral supra-local centers characterised by a specialized economic structure.

Keywords: small towns, classification, functional structure, localization

Procedia PDF Downloads 182