Search results for: producing units

Authors: Harminder Singh

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Cold spray is a novel and emerging technology for the fabrication of coating. In this study, coating is successfully developed by this process on superalloy surface. The selected coating composition is already proved as corrosion resistant. The microstructure of the newly developed coating is examined by various characterization techniques, for testing its suitability for high temperature corrosive conditions of waste incinerator. The energy producing waste incinerators are still running at low efficiency, mainly due to their chlorine based highly corrosive conditions. The characterization results show that the developed cold sprayed coating structure is suitable for its further testing in highly aggressive conditions.

Keywords: coating, cold spray, corrosion, microstructure

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Authors: Ashraf Ibrahim Awad

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It is important to formulate suitable learning environments ca-pable to be customized according to value perceptions of the university. In this paper, light is shed on the concepts of integration between knowledge management (KM), and e-learning (EL) in the higher education sector of the economy in Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates (UAE). A discussion on and how KM and EL can be integrated and leveraged for effective education and training is presented. The results are derived from the literature and interviews with 16 of the academics in eight universities in the Emirate. The conclusion is that KM and EL have much to offer each other, but this is not yet reflected at the implementation level, and their boundaries are not always clear. Interviews have shown that both concepts perceived to be closely related and, responsibilities for these initiatives are practiced by different departments or units.

Keywords: knowledge management, e-learning, learning integration, universities, UAE

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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: Inom Sh. Normatov, Nurmakhmad Shermatov, Rajabali Barotov, Rano Eshankulova

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The results of the studies for the hydrogen production by the application of water electrolysis and plasma-chemical processing of gas condensate-waste of natural gas production methods are presented. Thin coating covers the electrode surfaces in the process of water electrolysis. Therefore, water for electrolysis was first exposed to electrosedimentation. The threshold voltage is shifted to a lower value compared with the use of electrodes made of stainless steel. At electrolysis of electrosedimented water by use of electrodes from stainless steel, a significant amount of hydrogen is formed. Pyrolysis of gas condensates in the atmosphere of a nitrogen was followed by the formation of acetylene (3-7 vol.%), ethylene (4-8 vol.%), and pyrolysis carbon (10-15 wt.%).

Keywords: electrolyze, gascondensate, hydrogen, pyrolysis

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Authors: Chenyi Ma

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Background: The second costliest hurricane in U.S. history, Sandy landed in southern New Jersey on October 29, 2012, and struck the entire state with high winds and torrential rains. The disaster killed more than 100 people, left more than 8.5 million households without power, and damaged or destroyed more than 200,000 homes across the state. Immediately after the disaster, public policy support was provided in nine coastal counties that constituted 98% of the major and severely damaged housing units in NJ overall. The programs include Individuals and Households Assistance Program, Small Business Loan Program, National Flood Insurance Program, and the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) Public Assistance Grant Program. In the most severely affected counties, additional funding was provided through Community Development Block Grant: Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation, and Mitigation Program, and Homeowner Resettlement Program. How these policies individually and as a whole impacted housing recovery across communities with different socioeconomic and demographic profiles has not yet been studied, particularly in relation to damage levels. The concept of community social vulnerability has been widely used to explain many aspects of natural disasters. Nevertheless, how communities are vulnerable has been less fully examined. Community resilience has been conceptualized as a protective factor against negative impacts from disasters, however, how community resilience buffers the effects of vulnerability is not yet known. Because housing recovery is a dynamic social and economic process that varies according to context, this study examined the path from community vulnerability and resilience to housing recovery looking at both community characteristics and policy interventions. Sample/Methods: This retrospective longitudinal case study compared a literature-identified set of pre-disaster community characteristics, the effects of multiple public policy programs, and a set of time-variant community resilience indicators to changes in housing stock (operationally defined by percent of building permits to total occupied housing units/households) between 2010 and 2014, two years before and after Hurricane Sandy. The sample consisted of 51 municipalities in the nine counties in which between 4% and 58% of housing units suffered either major or severe damage. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to determine the path from vulnerability to the housing recovery, via multiple public programs, separately and as a whole, and via the community resilience indicators. The spatial analytical tool ArcGIS 10.2 was used to show the spatial relations between housing recovery patterns and community vulnerability and resilience. Findings: Holding damage levels constant, communities with higher proportions of Hispanic households had significantly lower levels of housing recovery while communities with households with an adult >age 65 had significantly higher levels of the housing recovery. The contrast was partly due to the different levels of total public support the two types of the community received. Further, while the public policy programs individually mediated the negative associations between African American and female-headed households and housing recovery, communities with larger proportions of African American, female-headed and Hispanic households were “vulnerable” to lower levels of housing recovery because they lacked sufficient public program support. Even so, higher employment rates and incomes buffered vulnerability to lower housing recovery. Because housing is the "wobbly pillar" of the welfare state, the housing needs of these particular groups should be more fully addressed by disaster policy.

Keywords: community social vulnerability, community resilience, hurricane, public policy

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Authors: R. D. Esposito, V. M. Barberá, P. García Morales, P. Dorado Rodríguez, J. Sanz, M. Fuentes, D. Planes Meseguer, M. Saceda, L. Fernández Fornos, M. P. Ventero

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Results obtained by our group on glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) primary cultures , show a dramatic potentiation of radiation effects when 2 units/ml of D-amino acid oxidase (DAO) enzyme are added, free or immobilized in magnetic nanoparticles, to irradiated samples just after the irradiation. Cell cultures were exposed to radiation doses of 7Gy and 15Gy of 6 MV photons from a clinical linear accelerator. At both doses, we observed a clear enhancing effect of radiation-induced damages due to the addition of DAO.

Keywords: D-amino Acid Oxidase (DAO) enzyme, magnetic particles, nanotechnology, radiation therapy enhancement

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Authors: Abir O. El Sadik

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Introduction: Wound healing involves the interaction of multiple biological processes among different types of cells, intercellular matrix and specific signaling factors producing enhancement of cell proliferation of the epidermis over dermal granulation tissue. Several studies investigated multiple strategies to promote wound healing and to minimize infection and fluid losses. However, burn crisis, and its related morbidity and mortality are still elevated. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in accelerating wound healing and to compare the most efficient route of administration of MSCs, either intradermal or systemic injection, with focusing on the mechanisms producing epidermal and dermal cell regeneration. Material and methods: Forty-two adult male Sprague Dawley albino rats were divided into three equal groups (fourteen rats in each group): control group (group I); full thickness surgical skin wound model, Group II: Wound treated with systemic injection of MSCs and Group III: Wound treated with intradermal injection of MSCs. The healing ulcer was examined on day 2, 6, 10 and 15 for gross morphological evaluation and on day 10 and 15 for fluorescent, histological and immunohistochemical studies. Results: The wounds of the control group did not reach complete closure up to the end of the experiment. In MSCs treated groups, better and faster healing of wounds were detected more than the control group. Moreover, the intradermal route of administration of stem cells increased the rate of healing of the wounds more than the systemic injection. In addition, the wounds were found completely healed by the end of the fifteenth day of the experiment in all rats of the group injected intradermally. Microscopically, the wound areas of group III were hardly distinguished from the adjacent normal skin with complete regeneration of all skin layers; epidermis, dermis, hypodermis and underlying muscle layer. Fully regenerated hair follicles and sebaceous glands in the dermis of the healed areas surrounded by different arrangement of collagen fibers with a significant increase in their area percent were recorded in this group more than in other groups. Conclusion: MSCs accelerate the healing process of wound closure. The route of administration of MSCs has a great influence on wound healing as intradermal injection of MSCs was more effective in enhancement of wound healing than systemic injection.

Keywords: intradermal, mesenchymal stem cells, morphology, skin wound, systemic injection

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Authors: Aistis ZekevicIus

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Biopolitical theory, which was first developed by Michel Foucault, takes into consideration the administration of life by implying a style of government based on the regulation of populations as its subject. The intensification of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and popular outcries against racial discrimination in the US health system have prompted us to reconsider the relationship between biopolitics and race in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on works by Foucault, Achille Mbembe and Nicholas Mirzoeff that transcend the boundaries of poststructuralism, critical theory and postcolonial studies, the paper suggests that the global pandemic has highlighted new aspects of the interplay between biopower and race by encouraging the search for scapegoats, deepening the structural racial inequality, and thus producing necropolitical regimes of exclusion.

Keywords: biopolitics, biopower, necropolitics, pandemic, race

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Authors: Amal. N. Al-Kuraieef

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Smoli bread was made by supplementation sunflower flour which was prepared from sunflower (Dahr-EL-Haea) gray after hilling and milling, flour was irradiated by two doses (5 and 10 kGy). After that, the ratios of irradiated sunflower flour were 5 and 10%. All samples of samoli bread were examined for organoleptic and biological evaluation. Biological assay (PER, NPU, FE, DC and BV) was carried out on rats fed 5 and 10% irradiated and non-irradiated sunflower Samoli bread. Results obtained showed that, total lipids, cholesterol and triglycerides were reduced comparable, to that of casein. Also, figures of the biological evaluations were higher than those of the control samoli bread and improved its nutritive values.

Keywords: gamma rays, sunflower, samoli bread, cholesterol, lipids, triglycerides

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Authors: Alex B. Cusick

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The objective of this study is to improve upon the current ²³⁸PuO₂ fuel technology for space and defense applications. Modern RTGs (radioisotope thermoelectric generators) utilize the heat generated from the radioactive decay of ²³⁸Pu to create heat and electricity for long term and remote missions. Application of RTG technology is limited by the scarcity and expense of producing the isotope, as well as the power output which is limited to only a few hundred watts. The scarcity and expense make the efficient use of ²³⁸Pu absolutely necessary. By utilizing the decay of ²³⁸Pu, not only to produce heat directly but to also indirectly induce fission in ²³⁹Pu (which is already present within currently used fuel), it is possible to see large increases in temperature which allows for a more efficient conversion to electricity and a higher power-to-weight ratio. This concept can reduce the quantity of ²³⁸Pu necessary for these missions, potentially saving millions on investment, while yielding higher power output. Current work investigating radioisotope power systems have focused on improving efficiency of the thermoelectric components and replacing systems which produce heat by virtue of natural decay with fission reactors. The technical feasibility of utilizing (α,n) reactions to induce fission within current radioisotopic fuels has not been investigated in any appreciable detail, and our study aims to thoroughly investigate the performance of many such designs, develop those with highest capabilities, and facilitate experimental testing of these designs. In order to determine the specific design parameters that maximize power output and the efficient use of ²³⁸Pu for future RTG units, MCNP6 simulations have been used to characterize the effects of modifying fuel composition, geometry, and porosity, as well as introducing neutron moderating, reflecting, and shielding materials to the system. Although this project is currently in the preliminary stages, the final deliverables will include sophisticated designs and simulation models that define all characteristics of multiple novel RTG fuels, detailed enough to allow immediate fabrication and testing. Preliminary work has consisted of developing a benchmark model to accurately represent the ²³⁸PuO₂ pellets currently in use by NASA; this model utilizes the alpha transport capabilities of MCNP6 and agrees well with experimental data. In addition, several models have been developed by varying specific parameters to investigate their effect on (α,n) and (n,fi ssion) reaction rates. Current practices in fuel processing are to exchange out the small portion of naturally occurring ¹⁸O and ¹⁷O to limit (α,n) reactions and avoid unnecessary neutron production. However, we have shown that enriching the oxide in ¹⁸O introduces a sufficient (α,n) reaction rate to support significant fission rates. For example, subcritical fission rates above 10⁸ f/cm³-s are easily achievable in cylindrical ²³⁸PuO₂ fuel pellets with a ¹⁸O enrichment of 100%, given an increase in size and a ⁹Be clad. Many viable designs exist and our intent is to discuss current results and future endeavors on this project.

Keywords: radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG), Pu-238, subcritical reactors, (alpha, n) reactions

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Authors: Mehmet Bulent Ozdemir, Sultan Çagirici, Sahika Pinar Akyer, Fikri Turk

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Neuroanatomical appearance can be correlated with clinical or other characteristics of illness. With the introduction of diagnostic imaging machines, producing 3D images of anatomic structures, calculating the correlation between subjects and pattern of the structures have become possible. The aim of this study is to examine the 3D structure of hippocampus in cases with Alzheimer disease in different dementia severity. For this purpose, 62 female and 38 male- 68 patients’s (age range between 52 and 88) MR scanning were imported to the computer. 3D model of each right and left hippocampus were developed by a computer aided propramme-Surf Driver 3.5. Every reconstruction was taken by the same investigator. There were different apperance of hippocampus from normal to abnormal. In conclusion, These results might improve the understanding of the correlation between the morphological changes in hippocampus and clinical staging in Alzheimer disease.

Keywords: Alzheimer disease, hippocampus, computer-assisted anatomy, 3D

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Authors: Ravi Inder Singh

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Due to high heat transfer rate, high carbon utilizing efficiency, fuel flexibilities and other advantages numerous circulating fluidized bed boilers have grown up in India in last decade. Many companies like BHEL, ISGEC, Thermax, Cethar Limited, Enmas GB Power Systems Projects Limited are making CFBC and installing the units throughout the India. Due to complexity many problems exists in CFBC units and only few have been reported. Agglomeration i.e clinker formation in riser, loop seal leg and stripper ash coolers is one of problem industry is facing. Proper documentation is rarely found in the literature. Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler bottom ash contains large amounts of physical heat. While the boiler combusts the low-calorie fuel, the ash content is normally more than 40% and the physical heat loss is approximately 3% if the bottom ash is discharged without cooling. In addition, the red-hot bottom ash is bad for mechanized handling and transportation, as the upper limit temperature of the ash handling machinery is 200 °C. Therefore, a bottom ash cooler (BAC) is often used to treat the high temperature bottom ash to reclaim heat, and to have the ash easily handled and transported. As a key auxiliary device of CFB boilers, the BAC has a direct influence on the secure and economic operation of the boiler. There are many kinds of BACs equipped for large-scale CFB boilers with the continuous development and improvement of the CFB boiler. These ash coolers are water cooled ash cooling screw, rolling-cylinder ash cooler (RAC), fluidized bed ash cooler (FBAC).In this study prototype of a novel stripper ash cooler is studied. The Circulating Fluidized bed Ash Coolers (CFBAC) combined the major technical features of spouted bed and bubbling bed, and could achieve the selective discharge on the bottom ash. The novel stripper ash cooler is bubbling bed and it is visible cold test rig. The reason for choosing cold test is that high temperature is difficult to maintain and create in laboratory level. The aim of study to know the flow pattern inside the stripper ash cooler. The cold rig prototype is similar to stripper ash cooler used industry and it was made after scaling down to some parameter. The performance of a fluidized bed ash cooler is studied using a cold experiment bench. The air flow rate, particle size of the solids and air distributor type are considered to be the key parameters of the operation of a fluidized bed ash cooler (FBAC) are studied in this.

Keywords: CFD, Eulerian-Eulerian, Eulerian-Lagraingian model, parallel simulations

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Authors: Salisu Abdu Bagga

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This paper attempts to discuss contemporary issues in teacher education and address challenges therein within the context of the Nigeria society. Teacher education is an educational programme aimed at producing the right crop of people (teachers) who will teach at various levels of schooling i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary. The programme targets to inculcate desirable knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and competencies in teachers with the prime motive of keeping them fully abreast with contemporary challenges such as overcrowded classrooms, inadequate instructional materials, ineffective teaching methodology in the teaching industry in Nigeria. Nigeria needs competent, skilful, knowledgeable and innovative classroom teachers for better teaching and learning.

Keywords: teacher education, contemporary issues, competencies, higher education

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Authors: William Clavijo, Edmar Almeida

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The article analyzes the importance of Venezuela in the US geopolitics of oil considering the new oil landscape. To this end, the importance of oil in the geopolitics of the United States is discussed from the perspective of energy security as well as considering a broader view of national security. Based on this discussion, the relevance of Venezuelan oil reserves on US geopolitical agenda is analyzed. Among the results, the article shows that the transformations in the supply structure of the international oil market during the last decade have allowed the United States to achieve greater levels of independence from oil imports from other producing countries. This new reality has profoundly changed the US interest in Venezuelan oil to a broader subject that involves sensitive issues of its national security agenda.

Keywords: oil geopolitics, Venezuela, United States, energy security, national security

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Authors: Balázs Kulcsár

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Few people now doubt the future of the global energy transition. The only question is whether the pace of renewables' penetration will be sufficient to compete with the rate of warming. Dynamic changes are also taking place in the Hungarian electricity system. In addition to nuclear power, which provides the basic electricity supply, the most dynamic is solar power, which is largely small-scale and residential. The emergence of solar power is outlining the emergence of energy production and supply fabric of municipalities. This creates the potential for over-producing municipalities to supply the electricity needs of neighboring settlements with lower production beyond renewables. By taking advantage of this energy sharing, electricity supply based on pure renewables can be achieved more quickly.

Keywords: renewable energy, energy geography, self-sufficiency, energy transition

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Authors: Priscila Ribeiro dos Santos, Luiz Antonio Daniel

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Inadequate access to clean water and sanitation has become one of the most widespread problems affecting people throughout the developing world, leading to an unceasing need for low-cost and sustainable wastewater treatment systems. The UASB technology has been widely employed as a suitable and economical option for the treatment of sewage in developing countries, which involves low initial investment, low energy requirements, low operation and maintenance costs, high loading capacity, short hydraulic retention times, long solids retention times and low sludge production. Whereas dissolved air flotation process is a good option for the post-treatment of anaerobic effluents, being capable of producing high quality effluents in terms of total suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand, phosphorus, and even pathogens. This work presents an evaluation and monitoring, over a period of 6 months, of one compact full-scale system with this configuration, UASB reactors followed by dissolved air flotation units (DAF), operating in Brazil. It was verified as a successful treatment system, and an issue of relevance since dissolved air flotation process treating UASB reactor effluents is not widely encompassed in the literature. The study covered the removal and behavior of several variables, such as turbidity, total suspend solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), Escherichia coli, total coliforms and Clostridium perfringens. The physicochemical variables were analyzed according to the protocols established by the Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater. For microbiological variables, such as Escherichia coli and total coliforms, it was used the “pour plate” technique with Chromocult Coliform Agar (Merk Cat. No.1.10426) serving as the culture medium, while the microorganism Clostridium perfringens was analyzed through the filtering membrane technique, with the Ágar m-CP (Oxoid Ltda, England) serving as the culture medium. Approximately 74% of total COD was removed in the UASB reactor, and the complementary removal done during the flotation process resulted in 88% of COD removal from the raw sewage, thus the initial concentration of COD of 729 mg.L-1 decreased to 87 mg.L-1. Whereas, in terms of particulate COD, the overall removal efficiency for the whole system was about 94%, decreasing from 375 mg.L-1 in raw sewage to 29 mg.L-1 in final effluent. The UASB reactor removed on average 77% of the TSS from raw sewage. While the dissolved air flotation process did not work as expected, removing only 30% of TSS from the anaerobic effluent. The final effluent presented an average concentration of 38 mg.L-1 of TSS. The turbidity was significantly reduced, leading to an overall efficiency removal of 80% and a final turbidity of 28 NTU.The treated effluent still presented a high concentration of fecal pollution indicators (E. coli, total coliforms, and Clostridium perfringens), showing that the system did not present a good performance in removing pathogens. Clostridium perfringens was the organism which suffered the higher removal by the treatment system. The results can be considered satisfactory for the physicochemical variables, taking into account the simplicity of the system, besides that, it is necessary a post-treatment to improve the microbiological quality of the final effluent.

Keywords: dissolved air flotation, municipal sewage, UASB reactor, treatment

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Authors: Marcus Bellett-Travers

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Different modelling approaches have been used to determine or predict yield of crops in different geographies. Central to the methodologies are the presumption that it is the absolute yield of the crop in a given location that is of the highest priority to those requiring information on crop productivity. Most individuals, companies and organisations within the agri-food sector need to be able to balance the supply of crops with the demand for them. Different modelling approaches have been used to determine and predict crop yield. The growing need to ensure certainty of supply and stability of prices requires an approach that describes the risk in producing a crop. A review of current methodologies to evaluate the risk to food production from changes in the weather and climate is presented.

Keywords: crop production, risk, climate, modelling

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Authors: Gechbaia Badri

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In the article, it is studied and realized the perfection issues of service sphere management in Georgia’s reality. As stated above, to transfer the country's economy onto marketing relationships, to form competitive dynamic market is dictated by the time and represents objective necessity. In the last period, the abruptly increasing of changes on science and education caused servicing sphere and producing skills, consumptions based on fields of places and changing role in a structure of the national economy. The main recourse in the new system of the economy became the intellectual capital. The economical progress is significantly determined by developing informational technologies. In the article, it is investigated the service problems of different fields of national economy and are given sentences to settle these problems.

Keywords: service management, service, paradigm, business and management engineering

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Authors: Leonnel Mhuka

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Background: The field of photonics has witnessed substantial growth, with an increasing demand for miniaturized and high-performance optical components. Microstructured optical waveguides have gained significant attention due to their ability to confine and manipulate light at the subwavelength scale. Conventional fabrication methods, however, face limitations in achieving intricate and customizable waveguide structures. Two-photon polymerization (TPP) emerges as a promising additive manufacturing technique, enabling the fabrication of complex 3D microstructures with submicron resolution. Objectives: This experiment aimed to utilize two-photon polymerization to fabricate microstructured optical waveguides with precise control over geometry and dimensions. The objective was to demonstrate the feasibility of TPP as an additive manufacturing method for producing functional waveguide devices with enhanced performance. Methods: A femtosecond laser system operating at a wavelength of 800 nm was employed for two-photon polymerization. A custom-designed CAD model of the microstructured waveguide was converted into G-code, which guided the laser focus through a photosensitive polymer material. The waveguide structures were fabricated using a layer-by-layer approach, with each layer formed by localized polymerization induced by non-linear absorption of the laser light. Characterization of the fabricated waveguides included optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and optical transmission measurements. The optical properties, such as mode confinement and propagation losses, were evaluated to assess the performance of the additive manufactured waveguides. Conclusion: The experiment successfully demonstrated the additive manufacturing of microstructured optical waveguides using two-photon polymerization. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy revealed the intricate 3D structures with submicron resolution. The measured optical transmission indicated efficient light propagation through the fabricated waveguides. The waveguides exhibited well-defined mode confinement and relatively low propagation losses, showcasing the potential of TPP-based additive manufacturing for photonics applications. The experiment highlighted the advantages of TPP in achieving high-resolution, customized, and functional microstructured optical waveguides. Conclusion: his experiment substantiates the viability of two-photon polymerization as an innovative additive manufacturing technique for producing complex microstructured optical waveguides. The successful fabrication and characterization of these waveguides open doors to further advancements in the field of photonics, enabling the development of high-performance integrated optical devices for various applications

Keywords: Additive Manufacturing, Microstructured Optical Waveguides, Two-Photon Polymerization, Photonics Applications

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Authors: S. Houssaini, L. Bahi

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The motorway segment between Tangier and Oued R’mel has experienced, since the beginning of building works, significant instability and landslides linked to a number of geological, hydrogeological and geothermic factors affecting the different formations. The landslides observed are not fully understood, despite many studies conducted on this segment. This study aims at producing new methods to better explain the phenomena behind the landslides, taking into account the geotechnical and geothermic contexts. This analysis builds up on previous studies and geotechnical data collected in the field. The final body of data collected shall be processed through the Plaxis software for a better and customizable view of the landslide problems in the area, which will help to find solutions and stabilize land in the area.

Keywords: landslides, modeling, risk, stabilization

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Authors: Meltem Kürtüncü, Işın Alkan

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Objective: This study was carried out with an experimental design in order to determine whether the lullaby, which was listened from mother’s voice and a stranger’s voice to the babies born at term and hospitalized in neonatal intensive care unit, had an effect on stress and relaxation symptoms of the infants. Method: Data from the study were obtained from 90 newborn babies who were hospitalized in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Zonguldak Maternity And Children Hospital between September 2015-January 2016 and who met the eligibility criteria. Lullaby concert was performed by choosing one of the suitable care hours. Stress and relaxation symptoms were recorded by the researcher on “Newborn response follow-up form” at pre-care and post-care. Results: After lullaby concert when stress symptoms compared to infants in the experimental and control groups before the care was not detected statistically significant difference between crying, contraction, facial grimacing, flushing, cyanosis and the rates of increase in temperature. After care, crying, contractions, facial grimacing, flushing, and restlessness revealed a statistically significant difference between the groups, but as the cyanosis and temperature increased stress responses did not result in a significant difference between the groups. In the control group babies the crying, contraction, facial grimacing, flushing, and restlessness behaviors rates were found to be significantly higher than experimental group babies. After lullaby concert when relaxation symptoms compared to infants in the experimental and control groups before the care, eye contact rates who listen to lullaby from mother’s voice was found to be significantly higher than infants who listen to lullaby from stranger’s voice and infants in the control group. After care as eye contact, smiling, sucking/searching, yawning, non-crying and sleep behaviors relaxation symptoms revealed statistically significant results. In the control group, these behaviors were found statistically lower degree than the experimental groups. Conclusion: Lullaby concerts as masking the ambient noise, reducing the stress symptoms and increasing the relaxation symptoms, and also for soothing and stimulant affects, due to ease the transition to the sleep state should be preferred in the neonatal intensive care units.

Keywords: lullaby, mother voice, relaxation, stress

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Authors: Aliouane Toufik, Hamdi Amine, Bouzid Djamel

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Aspheric optical components are an alternative to the use of conventional lenses in the implementation of imaging systems for the visible range. Spherical lenses are capable of producing aberrations. Therefore, they are not able to focus all the light into a single point. Instead, aspherical lenses correct aberrations and provide better resolution even with compact lenses incorporating a small number of lenses. Metrology of these components is very difficult especially when the resolution requirements increase and insufficient or complexity of conventional tools requires the development of specific approaches to characterization. This work is part of the problem existed because the objectives are the study and comparison of different methods used to measure surface rays hybrid aspherical lenses.

Keywords: manufacture of lenses, aspherical surface, precision molding, radius of curvature, roughness

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Authors: Tasleem Zafar, Jiwan Sidhu

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Introduction: Chickpea flour is known to offer many benefits to diabetic persons, especially in maintaining their blood sugar levels in the acceptable range. Under this project we have studied the chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of white flour (WF), whole wheat flour (WWF) and chickpea flour (BF), in addition to the effect of replacement of WF and WWF with BF on the rheological characteristics of these flour blends, with the ultimate objective of producing acceptable quality flat as well as pan-bread for the diabetic consumers. Methods: WF and WWF were replaced with BF ranging from 0 to 40%, to investigate its effect on the rheological properties and functionality of blended flour dough using farinograph, viscoamylograph, mixograph and falling number apparatus as per the AACC standard methods. Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) was carried on the WF, WWF, and their blends with BF using Stable Micro System Texture Analyzer. Effect of certain additives, such as freeze-dried amla fruit powder (Phyllanthus emblica L.), guar gum, and xanthan gum on the dough rheological properties were also studied. Results: Freeze-dried amla fruit powder was found to be very rich in ascorbic acid and other phenolics having higher antioxidant activity. A decreased farinograph water absorption, increased dough development time, higher mixing tolerance index (i.e., weakening of dough), decreased resistance to extension, lower ratio numbers were obtained when the replacement with BF was increased from 0 to 40%. The BF gave lower peak viscosity, lower paste breakdown, and lower setback values when compared with WF. The falling number values were significantly lower in WWF (meaning higher α-amylase activity) than both the WF and BF. Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) carried on the WF, WWF, and their blends with BF showed significant variations in hardness and compressibility values, dough becoming less hard and less compressible when the replacement of WF and WWF with BF was increased from 0 to 40%. Conclusions: To overcome the deleterious effects of adding BF to WF and WWF on the rheological properties will be an interesting challenge when good quality pan bread and Arabic flatbread have to be commercially produced in a bakery. Use of freeze-dried amla fruit powder, guar gum, and xanthan gum did show some promise to improve the mixing characteristics of WF, WWF, and their blends with BF, and these additives are expected to be useful in producing an acceptable quality flat as well as pan-bread on a commercial scale.

Keywords: wheat flour, chickpea flour, amla fruit, rheology

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Authors: Pin Xiu Chen, Shang Liang Chen

Abstract:

A virtualized software controller is developed in this research to replace traditional hardware control units. This virtualized software controller transfers motion interpolation calculations from the motion control units of end devices to edge computing platforms, thereby reducing the end devices' computational load and hardware requirements and making maintenance and updates easier. The study also applies the concept of microservices, dividing the control system into several small functional modules and then deploy into a cloud data server. This reduces the interdependency among modules and enhances the overall system's flexibility and scalability. Finally, with containerization technology, the system can be deployed and started in a matter of seconds, which is more efficient than traditional virtual machine deployment methods. Furthermore, this virtualized software controller communicates with end control devices via wireless networks, making the placement of production equipment or the redesign of processes more flexible and no longer limited by physical wiring. To handle the large data flow and maintain low-latency transmission, this study integrates 5G technology, fully utilizing its high speed, wide bandwidth, and low latency features to achieve rapid and stable remote machine control. An experimental setup is designed to verify the feasibility and test the performance of this framework. This study designs a smart manufacturing site with a 5G communication architecture, serving as a field for experimental data collection and performance testing. The smart manufacturing site includes one robotic arm, three Computer Numerical Control machine tools, several Input/Output ports, and an edge computing architecture. All machinery information is uploaded to edge computing servers and cloud servers via 5G communication and the Internet of Things framework. After analysis and computation, this information is converted into motion control commands, which are transmitted back to the relevant machinery for motion control through 5G communication. The communication time intervals at each stage are calculated using the C++ chrono library to measure the time difference for each command transmission. The relevant test results will be organized and displayed in the full-text.

Keywords: 5G, MEC, microservices, virtualized software controller, smart manufacturing

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Authors: Xin-Yan Ji, Jing Wang, Chang Liu, Yan-Qiang Bi, Zhong-Xu Xu, Xi-Yuan Li

Abstract:

Thermal tests of electronic units are critically important for the reliability validation and performance demonstration of the spacecraft hard-wares. The tailoring equation in MIL-STD-1540 is based on fatigue of solder date. In the present paper, a new test condition tailoring expression is proposed to fit different thermo-mechanical fatigue and different subsystems, by introducing an integrated evaluating method for the fatigue acceleration exponent. The validate test has been accomplished and the data has been analyzed and compared with that from the MIL-STD-1540 tailoring equations. The results are encouraging and reasonable.

Keywords: thermal cycling test, thermal fatigue, tailoring equation, test condition planning

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Authors: Alicja Starczewska, Aleksander Nawrat, Krzysztof Daniec, Jarosław Homa, Kacper Hołda

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Border Gateway Protocol is the main routing protocol that enables routing establishment between all autonomous systems, which are the basic administrative units of the internet. Due to the poor protection of BGP, it is important to use additional BGP security systems. Many solutions to this problem have been proposed over the years, but none of them have been implemented on a global scale. This article describes a system capable of building images of real-time BGP network topology in order to detect BGP anomalies. Our proposal performs a detailed analysis of BGP messages that come into local network cards supplemented by information collected by remote collectors in different localizations.

Keywords: BGP, BGP hijacking, cybersecurity, detection

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Authors: Zelikha Labbani

Abstract:

The in vitro isolated microspore culture is the most powerful androgenic pathway to produce doubled haploid plants in the short time. To deviate a microspore toward embryogenesis, a number of factors, different for each species, must concur at the same time and place. Once induced, the microspore undergoes numerous changes at different levels, from overall morphology to gene expression. Induction of microspore embryogenesis not only implies the expression of an embryogenic program, but also a stress-related cellular response and a repression of the gametophytic program to revert the microspore to a totipotent status. As haploid single cells, microspore became a strategy to achieve various objectives particularly in genetic engineering. In this communication we would show the most recent advances in the producing haploid embryos via in vitro isolated microspore culture.

Keywords: in vitro isolated microspore culture, success, haploid cells, bioinformatics, biomedicine

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Authors: A. Tamimi, S. Greatrex-White, A. Narayanasamy

Abstract:

Background: Spirituality has been increasingly acknowledged in the nursing literature as an important element of holistic patient care. To date there have been numerous studies investigating the meaning of spirituality in Western cultures. Spirituality in Middle Eastern countries however remains under-researched. We will present a study which aimed to address this gap. Aim: The study aimed to explore how spirituality manifests in the lives of Jordanian End Stage Renal Failure (ESRF) patients. Methodology and Method: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was adopted informed by the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. Participants (n=27) were recruited from four different dialysis units: in a public hospital, a private hospital, an educational hospital and a refugee’s hospital in Jordan. Data was collected through in-depth unstructured interviews. Data Analysis: Analysis was guided by the tenets of hermeneutic phenomenology namely: gaining immediate sense of what was said both during and after each interview, transcribing data verbatim, translating interviews into the English language, intensive reading and re-reading, seeking meaning units by line to line coding, developing situated structures (how spirituality was manifest in each text), developing a general structure from the individual situated structures (how the phenomenon ‘spirituality’ comes into being). Findings: Three major themes emerged from analysis: Religion, Relationships and Desperation. We will argue that a ‘secular’ concept of spirituality had no meaning for the participants in the study. Spirituality is fundamentally part of religion and vice versa. Discussion: The findings may have consequences for the use of spirituality in multi-cultural settings in Western countries. Additionally, findings highlighted an important emphasis on the practice of spirituality, often underestimated in previous literature for Arab-Muslim Jordanian patients. Conclusion: The study findings contribute to the existing gap in knowledge regarding how Arab-Muslim Jordanian ESRF patients experience spirituality during their illness. It provides valuable insights into the importance of spirituality for this patient group and suggests how nurses, educators and policy makers might help address ESRF patients’ spiritual needs and provide appropriate spiritual care. We suggest the findings may have relevance beyond the Jordanian context in educating nurses’ on the importance of appreciating the religious dimension of spirituality.

Keywords: spirituality, nursing, muslim, Jordan

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Authors: Babak H. Tabrizi, Seyed Farid Ghaderi

Abstract:

On-time availability of materials in the construction sites plays an outstanding role in successful achievement of project’s deliverables. Thus, this paper has investigated formulation of project scheduling and material procurement at the same time, by a mixed-integer programming model, aiming to minimize/maximize penalty/reward to deliver the project and minimize material holding, ordering, and procurement costs, respectively. We have taken both all-units and incremental discount possibilities into consideration to address more flexibility from the procurement side with regard to real world conditions. Finally, the applicability and efficiency of the mathematical model is tested by different numerical examples.

Keywords: discount strategies, material purchasing, project planning, project scheduling

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Authors: Hakima Althalb

Abstract:

Petroleum contamination of sandy soils is a severe environmental problem in Libya, but relatively little work has been carried out to optimize the bioremediation of such heavily contaminated soil, particularly at a pilot scale. The purpose of this research was to determine the potential for the microbial-based bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soil obtained from an oil refinery in Libya and to assess the potential of both ozonation and phytoremediation (both applied after initial bioremediation) to reduce residual hydrocarbon levels. Plots containing 500 kg soil (triplicates) (contaminated soil diluted with clean soil 50% volume) were set up, (designated as Land Treatment Units; LTUs) containing five different nutrient levels and mixtures (Urea + NPK (nitrogen; phosphor; potassium) mixtures) to obtain C:N:P ratios 100:10:1, and monitored for 90 days. Hydrocarbon levels, microbial numbers, and toxicity (EC50 using luminescent microbial based tests) were assessed. Hydrocarbon levels in non-diluted and diluted soil ranged from 20 733-22 366 mg/kg and from 16 000-17 000 mg/kg respectively. Although all the land treatment units revealed a significant hydrocarbon reduction over time, the highest reduction in hydrocarbon levels obtained was around 60%. For example, 63% hydrocarbon removal was observed using a mixture of urea and NPK with a C:N:P ratio of 100:10:1). Soil toxicity (as assessed using luminescence based toxicity assays) reduced in line with the reduction in total petroleum hydrocarbons observed. However, as relatively high residual TPH (total petroleum hydrocarbon) levels (ranging from 6033-14166mg/kg) were still present after initial bioremediation two ‘post-treatments’ (phytoremediation and ozonation) were attempted to remove residual hydrocarbons remaining. Five locally grown (agriculturally important) plant species were tested. The germination of all plants examined was strongly inhibited (80-100%) and seedlings failed to grow well in the contaminated soil, indicating that the previously bioremediated soils were still toxic to the plants. Subsequent ozonation followed by another bioremediation of soil was more successful than phytoremediation. But even the most promising successful treatment in this study (ozonation for 6 hours at 25ppm followed by bioremediation) still only removed approximately 31% of the residual hydrocarbons. Overall, this work showed that the bioremediation of such highly contaminated soils is difficult and that a combination of treatments would be required to achieve successful remediation. Even after initial dilution and bioremediation the soils remained toxic to plant growth and were therefore not suitable for phytoremediation.

Keywords: bioremediation, petroleum hydrocarbons, ozone, phytoremediation

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