Search results for: food and beverage industry

Authors: Rihab Belguith, Fathi Abid

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The paper develops a system-based approach to investigate the dynamic adjustment of debt structure and investment policies of the Dow-Jones index. This approach enables the assessment of relations among sales, debt, and investment opportunities by considering the simultaneous effect of the market environmental change and future growth opportunities. We integrate the firm-specific sales variance to capture the industries' conditions in the model. Empirical results were obtained through a panel data set of firms with different sectors. The analysis support that environmental change does not affect equally the different industry since operating leverage differs among industries and so the sensitivity to sales variance. Including adjusted-specific variance, we find that there is no monotonic relation between leverage, sales, and investment. The firm may choose a low debt level in response to high sales variance but high leverage to attenuate the negative relation between sales variance and the current level of investment. We further find that while the overall effect of debt maturity on leverage is unaffected by the level of growth opportunities, the shorter the maturity of debt is, the smaller the direct effect of sales variance on investment.

Keywords: dynamic panel, investment, leverage decision, sales uncertainty

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Authors: Margita Čanigová, Jana Račková, Miroslav Kročko, Viera Ducková, Vladimíra Kňazovická

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The aim of the study was to test the milk samples in terms of enterococci presence and their counts. Tested samples were as follows: raw cow milk, raw cow milk stored at 10°C for 16 hours and milk pasteurised at 72°C for 15 seconds. The typical colonies were isolated randomly and identified by classical biochemical test - EN-COCCUS test (Lachema, CR) and by PCR. Isolated strains were tested in terms of antibiotic resistance by well diffusion method. Examined antibiotics were: vancomycin (30 μg/disc), gentamicin (120 μg/disc), erythromycin (15 μg/disc), teicoplanine (30 μg/disc), ampicillin (10 μg/disc) and tetracycline (30 μg/disc). Average value of enterococci counts in raw milk cistern samples (n=30) was 8.25 ± 1.37 ×103 CFU/cm3. Storage tank milk samples (n=30) showed an increase (P > 0.05) and average value was 9.16 ± 1.49 × 103 CFU/cm3. Occurrence of enterococci in pasteurized milk (n=30) was sporadic and their counts were mostly below 10 CFU/cm3. Overall, 96 enterococci strains were isolated. In samples of raw cow milk and stored raw cow milk, Enterococcus faecalis was a dominant species (58.1% and 71.7%, respectively), followed by E. faecium (16.3% and 0%, respectively). Enterococcus mundtii, E. casseliflavus, E. durans and E. gallinarum were isolated, too. Resistances to ampicillin, erythromycin, gentamicin, tetracycline and vancomycin were found in 7.29%, 3.13%, 4.00%, 13.54% and 10.42% of isolated enterococci strains, respectively. Resistance to teicoplanine was not found in any isolated strain. All Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE) belonged to E. faecalis. Obtained results confirmed that raw milk is a potential risk of enterococci resistant to antibiotics transmission into the food chain.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, enterococci, milk, biosystems engineering

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Authors: Ikram Kamal, Mohamed Blaghen

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Biosurfactants are amphiphilic biological compounds consisting of hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains produced extracellularly or as part of the cell membrane by a variety of yeast, bacteria and filamentous fungi. Biosurfactant applications in the environmental industries are promising due to their biodegradability, low toxicity, and effectiveness in enhancing biodegradation and solubilization of low solubility compounds. Currently, the main application is for enhancement of oil recovery and hydrocarbon bioremediation due to their biodegradability and low critical micelle concentration (CMC). The use of biosurfactants has also been proposed for various industrial applications, such as in food additives, cosmetics, detergent formulations and in combinations with enzymes for wastewater treatment. In this study, we have investigated the potential of bacterial strains: Mannheimia haemolytica, Burkholderia cepacia and Serratia ficaria were collected aseptically from the lagoon Marchika (water and soil) in Nador, Morocco; for the production of biosurfactants. This study also aimed to optimize the biosurfactant production process by changing the variables that influence the type and amount of biosurfactant produced by these microorganisms such as: carbon sources and also other physical and chemical parameters such as temperature and pH. Emulsification index, methylene blue test, and thin layer chromatography (TLC) revealed the ability of strains used in this study to produce compounds that could emulsify gasoline. In addition, a GC/MS was used to separate and identify different biosurfactants purified.

Keywords: biosurfactants, Mannheimia haemolytica, biodegradability, Burkholderia cepacia, Serratia ficaria

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Authors: Kitda Praraththajariya

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The main purpose of this research was to study how to communicate the identity of the Mueang district, Samut Songkram province for ecotourism. The qualitative data was collected through studying related materials, exploring the area, in-depth interviews with three groups of people: three directly responsible officers who were key informants of the district, twenty foreign tourists and five Thai tourist guides. A content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The two main findings of the study were as follows: 1. The identity of Amphur (District) Mueang, Samut Songkram province. This establishment was near the Mouth of Maekong River for normal people and tourists, consisting of rest accommodations. There are restaurants where food and drinks are served, rich mangrove forests, Hoy Lod (Razor Clam) and mangrove trees. Don Hoy Lod, is characterized by muddy beaches, is a coastal wetland for Ramsar Site. It is at 1099th ranging where the greatest number of Hoy Lod (Razor Clam) can be seen from March to May each year. 2. The communication of the identity of Amphur Mueang, Samut Songkram province which the researcher could find and design to present in English materials can be summed up in 4 items: 1) The history of Amphur Mueang, Samut Songkram province 2) Wat Phet Samut Worrawihan 3) The Learning source of Ecotourism: Don Hoy Lod and Mangrove forest 4) How to keep Amphur Mueang, Samut Songkram province for ecotourism.

Keywords: foreigner tourists, signified, semiotics, ecotourism

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Authors: Sadeg Abdurahman, Claudio Stockle, James Harsh, Marc Beutel, Usama Zaher

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Pollution of the environment is a phenomenon which has taken a big part of importance of the world governments since the second half of the last century, this takes dangerous environmental, economic and social ranges dimensions especially after industrial advancement in industrialized country and good industrial expansion supported with modern technology and as chromium is known to be used in tannery factories. Chromium is considered a harm element to the environment due to its danger and transference through food, air, and water to the plants, animals and people. In this study the capacity of Arundo donax against chromium pollution was conducted. A. donax plants were grown-up under greenhouse conditions in pots contain nursery soil and feeding by Cr synthetic wastewater (0, 0.1, 1.0 and 2.0 mg L-1 ) for four weeks. Leaves, roots and stems dry matter production, color degree values, chlorophyll, growth parameters, and morphological characters were measured. The high Cr concentration was in roots was 1.15 mg kg-1 . Similarly, Cr concentration in stem was 0.469 mg kg-1 at 2.0 mg L-1 supplied Cr. In case of leaves, the maximum Cr concentration was 0.345 mg kg-1 at 2.0 g L-1 supplied Cr. The bioaccumulation and translocation factors was calculated. The macrophyte A. donax L. may be considered to be the most promising plant species in remediation of Cr-contaminated soil and wastewater due to its deeper root system as well as has higher efficiency to absorb chromium and other heavy metals as well.

Keywords: Arundo donax, Chromium pollution, heavy metals, phytoremediation, wastewater

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Authors: Sathyamangalam Rangasamy Guru Prasath

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Due to the increasing homogeneity in product offerings, the attendant services provided are emerging as a key differentiator in the mind of the consumers. Services marketing are a sub field of marketing which covers the marketing of both goods and services. Service marketing differs from product marketing due to the face that services are intangible and typically require personal interaction with the customer. Relationships are a key factor when it comes to the marketing of services. The role of interpersonal relationships distinguishes service and product marketing in strategic vision and organizational considerations. This paper explores some of the trends in service marketing as they relate to strategic vision, operational and organizational changes, and marketing tactics. The presence of the customer in the service facility means that capacity management becomes an important driver of the firm’s profitability service marketing is a process from the organization’s point of view, but an experience from the customer’s perspective. The quality of the experience is a function of the careful design of customer service processes, adoption of standardized procedures, rigorous management of service quality, high standards of training and automation. Services marketing helps to ensure that these processes are designed from the customer’s perspective. Services marketing includes customer loyalty, managing relationships, complaint handling, improving service quality and productivity of service operations, and how to become a service leader in your industry.

Keywords: customer perspective, product marketing, service marketing, rigorous management

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Authors: Pooya Lotfabadi

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As the global community struggles with pressing environmental challenges, the field of architecture finds itself at the forefront of sustainability issues. This study evaluates the effectiveness of "ecological conscious building design" courses in architecture education, promoting ecological awareness among future architects. Using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) as a framework, the study assesses the course’s influence on students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward sustainable practices. Through analyzing student feedback, performance assessments, and course outcomes, the research highlights the advantages and limitations of integrating ecological building design into the curriculum. Furthermore, the alignment between the course content and the leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) certification criteria is explored, evaluating its adequacy in preparing students for environmentally responsible architectural practices. This research offers critical insights for academia and the industry, offering guidance for refining pedagogical approaches, improving curriculum design, and fostering young architects committed to environmentally conscious practices. Ultimately, this study seeks to propel the field of architecture toward a more sustainable and ecologically responsible future.

Keywords: AHP, architectural education, ecological design, sustainability

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Authors: Erizal Lugman

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An increasing number of students from Indonesia study in universities in the UK. Because of the substantial cultural differences between the Western and Indonesian cultures, this study investigates the issues in academic and social life experienced by Indonesian postgraduate students, with a sample of 11 Indonesian postgraduate students (8 male, 3 female) studying in London during the cultural adjustment stage. This research made use of a semi-structured interview and was analyzed qualitatively using thematic content analysis to reveal key areas of concern in the academic setting, social life, and language-related issues. The findings confirm that the most challenging aspects experienced by the participants are the use of academic English in academic situations and the students’ lack of critical thinking. Nine out of 11 students agreed that they had problems with writing essays during the cultural adjustment stage. Because of the collectivist culture in Indonesia, making friends with locals was the most concerning issue in the participants’ sociocultural adjustment, followed by difficulty in finding places to pray, looking for Halal food and using the Western toilet system The findings suggest recommendations that the students must be more aware of the cultural differences between Indonesian and Western cultures, including in the academic setting and social life. Also, the lecturers should pay more attention to their speech in the British accent which is sometimes difficult to understand.

Keywords: academic adjustment, cultural adjustment, indonesian culture, intercultural communication

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Authors: J. P. Reges, L. C. S. Mazza, E. J. Braga, J. A. Bessa, A. R. Alexandria

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This paper proposes the development of control and automation of irrigation system located sunflower harvest in the Teaching Unit, Research and Extension (UEPE), the Apodi Plateau in Limoeiro do Norte. The sunflower extraction, which in turn serves to get the produced oil from its seeds, animal feed, and is widely used in human food. Its nutritional potential is quite high what makes of foods produced from vegetal, very rich and healthy. The focus of research is to make the autonomous irrigation system sunflower crop from programmable logic control energized with alternative energy sources, solar photovoltaics. The application of automated irrigation system becomes interesting when it provides convenience and implements new forms of managements of the implementation of irrigated cropping systems. The intended use of automated addition to irrigation quality and consequently brings enormous improvement for production of small samples. Addition to applying the necessary and sufficient features of water management in irrigation systems, the system (PLC + actuators + Renewable Energy) will enable to manage the quantitative water required for each crop, and at the same time, insert the use of sources alternative energy. The entry of the automated collection will bring a new format, and in previous years, used the process of irrigation water wastage base and being the whole manual irrigation process.

Keywords: automation, control, sunflower, irrigation, programming, renewable energy

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Authors: Natapol Pumipuntu

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Staphylococcus argenteus is the emerging species of S. aureus complex. It was generally misidentified as S. aureus by standard techniques and their features. S. argenteus is possibly emerging in both humans and animals, as well as increasing worldwide distribution. The objective of this study was to differentiate and identify S. argenteus from S. aureus, which has been collected and isolated from milk samples of subclinical bovine mastitis cases in Maha Sarakham province, Northeastern of Thailand. Twenty-one isolates of S. aureus, which confirmed by conventional methods and immune-agglutination method were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The result from MALDI-TOF MS and MLST showed 6 from 42 isolates were confirmed as S. argenteus, and 36 isolates were S. aureus, respectively. This study indicated that the identification and classification method by using MALDI-TOF MS and MLST could accurately differentiate the emerging species, S. argenteus, from S. aureus complex which usually misdiagnosed. In addition, the identification of S. argenteus seems to be very limited despite the fact that it may be the important causative pathogen in bovine mastitis as well as pathogenic bacteria in food and milk. Therefore, it is very necessary for both bovine medicine and veterinary public health to emphasize and recognize this bacterial pathogen as the emerging disease of Staphylococcal bacteria and need further study about S. argenteus infection.

Keywords: Staphylococcus argenteus, subclinical bovine mastitis, Staphylococcus aureus complex, mass spectrometry, MLST

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Authors: Ahmed A. D. Sarhan, Mum Wai Yip, M. Sayuti, Lim Siew Fen

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Ti6Al4V alloy is highly used in the automotive and aerospace industry due to its good machining characteristics. Micro EDM drilling is commonly used to drill micro hole on extremely hard material with very high depth to diameter ratio. In this study, the parameters of micro-electrical discharge machining (EDM) in drilling of Ti6Al4V alloy is optimized for higher machining accuracy with less hole-dilation and hole taper ratio. The micro-EDM machining parameters includes, peak current and pulse on time. Fuzzy analysis was developed to evaluate the machining accuracy. The analysis shows that hole-dilation and hole-taper ratio are increased with the increasing of peak current and pulse on time. However, the surface quality deteriorates as the peak current and pulse on time increase. The combination that gives the optimum result for hole dilation is medium peak current and short pulse on time. Meanwhile, the optimum result for hole taper ratio is low peak current and short pulse on time.

Keywords: Micro EDM, Ti-6Al-4V alloy, fuzzy logic based analysis, optimization, machining accuracy

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Authors: Nuruddeen Usman, Mohammad Sani

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The performance of project delivery methods has been an issue of concern to various stakeholders in the construction industry. The contracting system of project delivery is the traditional system used in the delivery of most public projects in Nigeria. The direct labor system is used most times as an alternative to the traditional system. There were so many complain about the performance of contracting system and the suitability of direct labor as an alternative to the delivery of public projects. Therefore, this paper is aimed at investigating the effect of project size on the project delivery methods in the completed public buildings. Questionnaires were self-administered to managerial staff in the study area and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings reveals that contracting system was choosing for large size building construction project delivery with higher frequency (F) of 40 (76.9%) against direct labor with 12 (23.1%). While the small size project, the result revealed a frequency (F) of 26 (50%) for contracting system and direct labor system respectively. Base on the research findings, the contracting system, was recommended for all sizes of building construction project delivery while direct labor system can only use as an alternative for small size building construction projects delivery.

Keywords: construction size, contracting system, direct labour, effect

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Authors: Idris lawal

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The most recent development in the Nigerian payment system is the venture into “electronic payment system”. Electronic payment system is simply a payment or monetary transaction made over the internet or a network of computers. This study was carried out in order to assess how electronic payment system has impacted on banks service delivery, to examine the efficiency of electronic payment system in Nigeria and to determine the level of customer’s satisfaction as a direct result of the deployment of electronic payment systems. The study was conducted using structured questionnaire distributed to 50 bank officials and customers of Access Bank plc. Chi-square(x2) was adopted for the purpose of data analysis. The result of the study showed that the development of electronic payment system offer great benefit to bank customers including; improved services, reduced turn-around time, ease of banking transaction, significant cost saving etc. The study recommend that customer protection laws should be properly put in place to safeguard the interest of end users of e-payment instruments, the banking industry and government should show strong commitment and effort to educate the populace on the benefit of patronizing e-payment system to facilitate economic development.

Keywords: electronic payment system, service delivery, bank, Nigeria

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Authors: Katarzyna Czarnota, Inga Hajdarowicz

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Political mechanisms of legal, social and economic segregation of refugees and migrants have reproduced and deepened existing hierarchies and inequalities in global labour relations. The consequences of these processes strengthened by current, so called, ‘refugee crisis’, tightening of border regimes, militarisation and closing of Balkan Route, will have a significant impact on future integration policies. One of the fields that require further research is limited access to labour rights of migrants and refugees. Although this phenomenon is experienced by a significant proportion of migrant population, these are the poorest who are also exposed to economic racism. The presentation will tackle the influence of current migration policies on increasing social and class inequalities between migrants, refugees, on the example of Syrian labours in Turkish textile factories. The authors will critically analyse examples of integration policies, especially planned changes in labour law as well as examples of violation of labour rights and exploitation of refugees and migrants in textile factories and industry. The presentation will be based on interviews with Syrian workers, conducted in Turkey and Greece in 2016.

Keywords: refugee crisis, economic racism, global labour relations, exploatation

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Authors: Won Jung, Wan Emri

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Ferrite magnet is widely used in many automotive components such as motors and alternators. Magnets used inside the components must be in good quality to ensure the high level of performance. The purpose of this study is to design input parameters that optimize the ferrite magnet production process to ensure the quality and reliability of manufactured products. Design of Experiments (DOE) and Statistical Process Control (SPC) are used as mutual supplementations to optimize the process. DOE and SPC are quality tools being used in the industry to monitor and improve the manufacturing process condition. These tools are practically used to maintain the process on target and within the limits of natural variation. A mixed Taguchi method is utilized for optimization purpose as a part of DOE analysis. SPC with proportion data is applied to assess the output parameters to determine the optimal operating conditions. An example of case involving the monitoring and optimization of ferrite magnet process was presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. Through the utilization of these tools, reliable magnets can be produced by following the step by step procedures of proposed framework. One of the main contributions of this study was producing the crack free magnets by applying the proposed parameter design.

Keywords: ferrite magnet, crack, reliability, process optimization, Taguchi method

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Authors: Ana M. Guzman, Claudia M. Rodriguez, Pedro F. B. Brandao, Elianna Castillo

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Cadmium (Cd) is a carcinogenic metal to which humans are exposed mainly due to its presence in the food chain. Lactic acid bacteria have the capability to bind cadmium and thus the potential to be used as probiotics to treat this metal toxicity in the human body. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of native lactic acid bacteria, isolated from Colombian fermented cocoa, to remove cadmium from aqueous solutions. An initial screening was made with the Lactobacillus plantarum JCM 1055 type strain, and Cd was quantified by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Lb. plantarum JCM 1055 was grown in ½ MRS medium to follow growth kinetics during 32 h at 37 °C, by measuring optical density at 600 nm. Washed cells, grown for 18 h, were adjusted to obtain dry biomass concentrations of 1.5 g/L and 0.5 g/L for removal assays in 10 mL of Cd(NO₃)₂ solution with final concentrations of 10 mg/Kg or 1.0 mg/Kg. The assays were performed at two different pH values (2.0 and 5.0), and results showed better adsorption abilities at higher pH. After incubation for 1 h at 37 °C and 150 rpm, the removal percentages for 10 mg/Kg Cd with 1.5 g/L and 0.5 g/L biomass concentration at pH 5.0 were, respectively, 71% and 50%, while the efficiency was 9.15 and 4.52 mg Cd/g dry biomass, respectively. For the assay with 1.0 mg/Kg Cd at pH 5.0, the removal was 100% and 98%, respectively for the same biomass concentrations, and the efficiency was 1.63 and 0.56 mg Cd/g dry biomass, respectively. These results suggest the efficiency of Lactobacillus strains to remove cadmium and their potential to be used as probiotics to treat cadmium toxicity and reduce its accumulation in the human body.

Keywords: cadmium removal, fermented cocoa, lactic acid bacteria, probiotics

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Authors: Yuxuan Huang, Weixin Qian, Hongfang Ma, Haitao Zhang, Weiyong Ying

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Light olefins are important building blocks for chemical industry. Direct conversion of syngas to light olefins has been investigated for decades. Meanwhile, the limit for light olefins selectivity described by Anderson-Schulz-Flory (ASF) distribution model is still a great challenge to conventional Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The emerging strategy called oxide-zeolite concept (OX-ZEO) is a promising way to get rid of this limit. ZnCrO_x was prepared by co-precipitation method and (NH₄)₂CO₃ was used as precipitant. SAPO-34 was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis, and Tetraethylammonium hydroxide (TEAOH) was used as template, while silica sol, pseudo-boehmite, and phosphoric acid were Al, Si and P source, respectively. The bifunctional catalyst was prepared by mechanical mixing of ZnCrO_x and SAPO-34. Catalytic reactions were carried out under H₂/CO=2, 380 ℃, 1 MPa and 6000 mL·g_cat^-1·h^-1 in a fixed-bed reactor with a quartz lining. Catalysts were characterized by XRD, N₂ adsorption-desorption, NH₃-TPD, H₂-TPR, and CO-TPD. The addition of Al as structure promoter enhances CO conversion and selectivity to light olefins. Zn/Cr ratio, which decides the active component content and chemisorption property of the catalyst, influences CO conversion and selectivity to light olefins at the same time. C_2-4⁼ distribution of 86% among hydrocarbons at CO conversion of 14% was reached when Zn/Cr=1.5.

Keywords: light olefins, OX-ZEO, Syngas, ZnCrOₓ

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Authors: Maria Ahmadnezhad, Mohammad Reza Soltanpour

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Electrohydraulic servo systems have been used in industry in a wide number of applications. Its dynamics ‎are highly nonlinear and also have large extent of model uncertainties and external disturbances. In this ‎thesis, a robust back-stepping control (RBSC) scheme is proposed to overcome the problem of ‎disturbances and system uncertainties effectively and to improve the tracking performance of EHS ‎systems. In order to implement the proposed control scheme, the system uncertainties in EHS systems ‎are considered as total leakage coefficient and effective oil volume. In addition, in order to obtain the ‎virtual controls for stabilizing system, the update rule for the system uncertainty term is induced by the ‎Lyapunov control function (LCF). To verify the performance and robustness of the proposed control ‎system, computer simulation of the proposed control system using Matlab/Simulink Software is ‎executed. From the computer simulation, it was found that the RBSC system produces the desired ‎tracking performance and has robustness to the disturbances and system uncertainties of EHS systems.‎

Keywords: electro hydraulic servo system, back-stepping control, robust back-stepping control, Lyapunov redesign

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Authors: Mohamed A. G. H. Abdalsadig, Amir Nourian, G. G. Nasr, M. Babaie

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Gas lift is one of the most common forms of artificial lift, particularly for offshore wells because of its relative down hole simplicity, flexibility, reliability, and ability to operate over a large range of rates and occupy very little space at the well head. Presently, petroleum industry is investing in exploration and development fields in offshore locations where oil and gas wells are being drilled thousands of feet below the ocean in high pressure and temperature conditions. Therefore, gas-lifted oil wells are capable of failure through gas lift valves which are considered as the heart of the gas lift system for controlling the amount of the gas inside the tubing string. The gas injection rate through gas lift valve must be controlled to be sufficient to obtain and maintain critical flow, also, gas lift valves must be designed not only to allow gas passage through it and prevent oil passage, but also for gas injection into wells to be started and stopped when needed. In this paper, smart gas lift valve has been used to investigate the effect of the valve port size, depth of injection and vertical lift performance on well productivity; all these aspects have been investigated using PROSPER simulator program coupled with experimental data. The results show that by using smart gas lift valve, the gas injection rate can be controlled which leads to improved flow performance.

Keywords: Effect of gas lift valve port size, effect water cut, vertical flow performance

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Authors: Mohammad Qasim Mohammadi, Mohammad Arif Rohman

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Although socially sustainable building is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, past studies indicate that when policymakers support sustainable building development, the social dimension is often given insufficient attention or entirely disregarded. There are not many studies that focus on the problems of socially sustainable buildings in Afghanistan. This research investigates the factors that may hinder social sustainability implementation in residential building construction. The study will gather data from construction professionals by purposive sampling and employ Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Varimax for analysis. The results will undergo rigorous examination and thorough discussion. The expected results in this research will analyze the underlying barrier structure (factors) that hinder social sustainability, and each of these factors will represent a set of observed variables. In addition, the factor loadings show which barriers pose the greatest challenges. The primary goal of this study is to provide valuable insights into the impediment factors of social sustainability within the residential building environment, aiming to inform decision-making in the industry and encourage the adoption of more socially sustainable construction practices.

Keywords: social sustainability, residential building, barriers, drivers, afghanistan, factor analysis

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Authors: R. Mehta, M. Ghogomu, B. Schoel

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Reports appeared in 2020 about China detecting SARS-Cov-2 (Covid-19) on frozen meat, shrimp, and food packaging material. In this study, we examined the use of swabs for the detection of Covid-19 on meat samples, and chicken breast (CB) was used as a model. Methods: Heat inactivated SARS-Cov-2 virus (IV) from Microbiologics was loaded onto the CB, swabbing was done, and the recovered inactivated virus was subjected to the Machery & Nagel NucleoSpin RNAVirus kit for RNA isolation according to manufacturer's instructions. For RT-PCR, the IDT 2019-nCoV RUO Covid-19 test kit was used with the Taqman Fast Virus 1-step master mix. The limit of detection (LOD) of viral load recovered from the CB was determined under various conditions: first on frozen CB where the IV was introduced on a defined area, then on frozen CB, with IV spread-out, and finally, on thawed CB. Results: The lowest amount of IV which can be reliably detected on frozen CB was a load of 1,000 - 2,000 IV copies where the IV was loaded on one spot of about 1 square inch. Next, the IV was spread out over a whole frozen CB about 16 square inches. The IV could be recovered at a lowest load of 4,000 to 8,000 copies. Furthermore, the effects of temperature change on viral load recovery was investigated i.e., if raw unfrozen meat became contaminated and remains for 1 hour at 4°C or gets refrozen. The amount of IV recovered successfully from CB kept at 4°C and the refrozen CB was similar to the recovery gotten from loading the IV directly on the frozen CB. In conclusion, an assay using swabs was successfully established for the detection of SARS-Cov-2 on frozen or raw (unfrozen) CB with a minimal load of up to 8,000 copies spread over 16 square inches.

Keywords: assay, COVID-19, meat, SARS-Cov-2

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Authors: Liu Yao

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With the acceleration of urbanization and the profound change in industrial structure, a large number of unused and abandoned industrial heritage has emerged in the city, and the industrial communities attached to them have also fallen into a state of decline. This decline is not only reflected in the aging and decay of physical space but also in the rupture and absence of historical and cultural veins. Therefore, in urban renewal, we should not only pay attention to the physical transformation and reconstruction but also think deeply about how to inherit the spiritual core of industrial heritage communities, how to awaken and reconstruct their place memory, and how to promote its organic integration with the process of urban redevelopment. This study takes the Jiangnan Cement Factory industrial heritage community as a typical case and analyzes the challenges and opportunities it faces in the process of renewal, protection and utilization. With the continuation of the spirit of place as the core, we are committed to realizing the sustainable development of the community's industry, space and culture. Based on this, we propose three types of regeneration strategies, including industrial activation, spatial restoration and spiritual continuity, in order to provide useful theoretical references and practical guidance for the future conservation of industrial heritage and the sustainable development of communities.

Keywords: spirit of place, industrial heritage communities, urban renewal, sustainable communities

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Authors: Jyotika Chopra, Dinesh Goyal

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A study was initiated to examine the effects of corn gluten hydrolysate on seedlings growth and its development. Corn gluten is the byproduct of starch industry rich in proteins was hydrolysed by acid and alkali, and the impact of hydrolysate was studied on seed germination of Vigna radiata, Phaseolus vulagris (Fabaceae) and Triticum aestivum and Oryza sativa (Gramineae). For this, the optimum hydrolysis was obtained by 4NHCl and 4M NaOH where insoluble protein in gluten was broken down to glutamic acid, alanine, aspartic acid which was initially confirmed by biuret test, xanthoproteic, solubility and chromatographic tests. The seeds of above families were separately treated with different dilutions of corn gluten hydrolysate ranging from 1-100% to see effects produced by these dilutions on seed germination, plumule, and radical growth. The seedlings were put in the Petri plates and placed in the optimized conditions of temperature (37˚C) and photoperiod of 16:8 hours. The results indicate the plumule of all seeds shows the increase in growth pattern up to 25.75%. Whereas radical shows the increase in growth up to 25.88% till 10% of dilution of corn and wheat gluten hydrolysate with respect to water as blank. Further, there is decrease in growth from 30- 100% of dilutions of both, the hydrolysate indicates the inhibitory effects which unveil about the careful usage of gluten hydrolysate.

Keywords: corn gluten, characterization, hydrolysis, seedling growth

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Authors: Faraj Ahmed E. Alhegagi, Anagia M. Khamkam Mohamed, Bassam F. Alhajaji

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Duplex stainless steels (DSS) are widely employed in industry for apparatus working with sea water in petroleum, refineries and in chemical plants. Fracture of DSS takes place by cleavage of the ferrite phase and the austenite phase ductile tear off. Pop-in is an important feature takes place during fracture of DSS. The procedure of Pop-ins assessment plays an important role in fracture toughness studies. In present work, Zeron100 DSS specimens were heat treated at different temperatures, cooled and pulled to failure to assess the pop-ins criterion in crack initiation prediction. The outcome results were compared to the British Standard (BS 7448) and the ASTEM standard (E1290) for Crack-Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD) fracture toughness measurement. Pop-in took place during specimens loading specially for those specimens heat treated at higher temperatures. The standard BS7448 was followed to check specimen validity for fractured toughness assessment by direct determination of KIC. In most cases, specimens were invalid for KIC measurement. The two procedures were equivalent only when single pop-ins were assessed. A considerable contrast in fracture toughness value between was observed where multiple pop-ins were assessed.

Keywords: fracture toughness, stainless steels, pop ins, crack assessment

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Authors: Md. Baki Billah, Suraiya Parveen, Shuvra Kanti Dey

Abstract:

Bangladesh is earning a lot of foreign currency by exporting shrimp, but this industry is facing a tremendous problem due to the infection of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). This study was undermined to develop rapid detection method of WSSV. A total of shrimp samples 240 collected from the 12 shrimp farms of different coastal regions (Satkhira, Khulna, and Bagerhat) were analyzed by conventional PCR using VP28 and VP664 gene-specific primers. In satkhira, Bagerhat and Khulna 39, 41 and 29 samples were found WSSV positive respectively. Real-time PCR using 71-bp amplicon for VP664 gene correlated well with conventional PCR data. The prevalence rates of WSSV among the collected 240 samples were Satkhira 38%, Khulna 47% and Bagerhat 50%. Molecular analysis of the VP28 gene sequences of WSSV revealed that Bangladeshi strains phylogenetically affiliated to the strains belong to India. This work concluded that WSSV infections are widely distributed in the coastal regions cultured shrimp in Bangladesh. Physico-chemical parameters were within the range of fish culture.

Keywords: coastal regions of Bangladesh, PCR, shrimp, white spot syndrome virus

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Sai Shruthi Sridhar, A. Madhumidha, Kreethika Guru, Priyanka Sekar, Ananthi Malayappan

Abstract:

Numerous changes in technology and its recent development are structuring long withstanding effect to our world, one among them is the emergence of “Internet of Things” (IoT). Similar to Technology world, one industry stands out in everyday life–healthcare. Attention to “quality of health care” is an increasingly important issue in a global economy and for every individual. As per WHO (World Health Organization) it is estimated to be less than 50% adhere to the medication provided and only about 20% get their medicine on time. Medication adherence is one of the top problems in healthcare which is fixable by use of technology. In recent past, there were minor provisions for elderly and specially-skilled to get motivated and to adhere medicines prescribed. This paper proposes a novel solution that uses IOT based RFID Medication Reminder Solution to provide personal health care services. This employs real time tracking which offer quick counter measures. The proposed solution builds on the recent digital advances in sensor technologies, smart phones and cloud services. This novel solution is easily adoptable and can benefit millions of people with a direct impact on the nation’s health care expenditure with innovative scenarios and pervasive connectivity.

Keywords: cloud services, IoT, RFID, sensors

Procedia PDF Downloads 347

Authors: Laurence Picard, André Bégin-Drolet, Pierre Blanchet

Abstract:

The prefabricated construction industry has been operating in North America for several years now and differs from traditional construction by its much shorter project timelines, lower costs, and increased build quality. Faced with the global housing crisis, prefabrication should be the first choice for erecting buildings quickly and at a low cost. However, the reality is quite different; manufacturers focus their operations mainly on single-home construction. This is explained by the lack of a suitable and efficient assembly solution for erecting large-scale buildings. Indeed, it is difficult to maintain the coveted advantages of prefabrication with a laborious on-site assembly and a colossal load of additional operations such as the installation of fasteners and the internal finishing. In the desire to maximize the benefits of prefabrication and make it a smart choice even for large buildings, an automated connection solution is developed. The plug-in self-locking device was developed accordingly to the product design phases: on-site observations, the definition of the problem and product requirements, solution generation, prototyping, fabricating and testing.

Keywords: assembly solution, automation, construction productivity, modular connection, modular buildings, plug-in device, self-lock mechanism

Procedia PDF Downloads 168

Authors: Stepan Hysek, Premysl Sedivka, Petra Gajdacova

Abstract:

Currently, structural composite materials contain cellulose-based particles (wood chips, fibers) bonded with synthetic adhesives containing formaldehyde (urea-formaldehyde, melamine-formaldehyde adhesives and others). Formaldehyde is classified as a volatile substance with provable carcinogenic effects on live organisms, and an emphasis has been put on continual reduction of its content in products. One potential solution could be the development of an agglomerated material which does not contain adhesives releasing formaldehyde. A potential alternative to formaldehyde-based adhesives could be polyurethane adhesives containing no formaldehyde. Such adhesives have been increasingly used in applications where a few years ago formaldehyde-based adhesives were the only option. Advantages of polyurethane adhesive in comparison with others in the industry include the high elasticity of the joint, which is able to resist dynamic stress, and resistance to increased humidity and climatic effects. These properties predict polyurethane adhesives to be used in OSB/EPS panel production. The objective of this paper is to develop an adhesive for bonding of sandwich panels made of material based on wood and other materials, e.g. SIP) and optimization of input components in order to obtain an adhesive with required properties suitable for bonding of the given materials without involvement of formaldehyde. It was found that polyurethane recyclate as a filler is suitable modification of polyurethane adhesive and results have clearly revealed that modified adhesive can be used for OSB/EPS panel production.

Keywords: adhesive, polyurethane, recyclate, SIP

Procedia PDF Downloads 275

Authors: Chenhong Peng

Abstract:

Beijing, the capital city of China, is running out of water. The water resource per capita in Beijing is only 106 cubic meter, accounts for 5% of the country’s average level and less than 2% of the world average level. The tension between water supply and demand is extremely serious. For one hand, the surface and ground water have been over-exploited during the last decades; for the other hand, water demand keep increasing as the result of population and economic growth. There is a massive gap between water supply and demand. This paper will focus on addressing the water shortage in Beijing city by increasing water use efficiency in domestic sector. First, we will emphasize on the changing structure of water supply and demand in Beijing under the economic development and restructure during the last decade. Second, by analyzing the water use efficiency in agriculture, industry and domestic sectors in Beijing, we identify that the key determinant for addressing the water crisis is to increase the water use efficiency in domestic sector. Third, this article will explore the two primary causes for the water use inefficiency in Beijing: The ineffective water pricing policy and the poor water education and communication policy. Finally, policy recommendation will offered to improve the water use efficiency in domestic sector by making and implementing an effective water pricing policy and people-engaged water education and communication policy.

Keywords: Beijing, water use efficiency, domestic sector, water pricing policy, water education policy

Procedia PDF Downloads 542

Authors: Zulfa D. Putri, Jumayanti Jumayanti, Hatiefah T. I. Melati, Kiki Indriati, Farah U. Mauhibah

Abstract:

Momordica charantia is a food that is often used for nutrition therapy for patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) because of its effect as antihiperglicemia. However, the bitter taste of Momordica charantia may be an obstacle to consume. Some people remove the bitter taste of this by boiling it with salt water. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Momordica charantia boiling with salt water in lowering blood glucose levels. This study is a quasi-experimental study with pre-post test with control group design. The research sample consisted of 25 rats Sprague-Dawley were divided into 5 groups: Control group of healthy, control group of DM, control group of DM with the addition of Momordica charantia are boiled by salt for 3 minutes, 6 minutes, and 9 minutes. Blood glucose levels were measured after 4 weeks using a spectrophotometer. These results indicate that there is the effect of bitter taste from Momordica charantia in lowering blood glucose levels in rats significantly. The conclusion of this study is giving a Momordica charantia juice in Sprague-Dawley rats that induced by alloxan has meaningful statistically proven by One Way ANOVA test (p = 0.00) in lowering blood glucose levels of rats.

Keywords: antihiperglicemia, diabetes mellitus, momordica charantia, salt

Procedia PDF Downloads 231