Search results for: word morphology
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2179

Search results for: word morphology

1669 From Indigeneity to Urbanity: A Performative Study of Indian Saang (Folk Play) Tradition

Authors: Shiv Kumar

Abstract:

In the shifting scenario of postmodern age that foregrounds the multiplicity of meanings and discourses, the present research article seeks to investigate various paradigm shift of contemporary performances concerning Haryanvi Saangs, so-called folk plays, which are being performed widely in the regional territory of Haryana, a northern state of India. Folk arts cannot be studied efficiently by using the tools of literary criticism because it differs from the literature in many aspects. One of the most essential differences is that literary works invariably have an author. Folk works, on the contrary, never have an author. The situation is quite clear: either we acknowledge the presence of folk art as a phenomenon in the social and cultural history of people, or we do not acknowledge it and argue it is a poetical or art of fiction. This paper is an effort to understand the performative tradition of Saang which is traditionally known as Saang, Swang or Svang became a popular source for instruction and entertainment in the region and neighbouring states. Scholars and critics have long been debating about the origin of the word swang/svang/saang and their relationship to the Sanskrit word –Sangit, which means singing and music. But in the cultural context of Haryana, the word Saang means ‘to impersonate’ or ‘to imitate’ or ‘to copy someone or something’. The stories they portray are derived for the most part from the same myths, tales, epics and from the lives of Indian religious and folk heroes. Literally, the use of poetic sense, the implication of prose style and elaborate figurative technique are worthwhile to compile the productivity of a performance. All use music and song as an integral part of the performance so that it is also appropriate to call them folk opera. These folk plays are performed strictly by aboriginal people in the state. These people, sometimes denominated as Saangi, possess a culture distinct from the rest of Indian folk performances. The concerned form is also known with various other names like Manch, Khayal, Opera, Nautanki. The group of such folk plays can be seen as a dynamic activity and performed in the open space of the theatre. Nowadays, producers contributed greatly in order to create a rapidly growing musical outlet for budding new style of folk presentation and give rise to the electronic focus genre utilizing many musicians and performers who had to become precursors of the folk tradition in the region. Moreover, the paper proposes to examine available sources relative to this article, and it is believed to draw some different conclusions. For instance, to be a spectator of ongoing performances will contribute to providing enough guidance to move forward on this root. In this connection, the paper focuses critically upon the major performative aspects of Haryanvi Saang in relation to several inquiries such as the study of these plays in the context of Indian literary scenario, gender visualization and their dramatic representation, a song-music tradition in folk creativity and development of Haryanvi dramatic art in the contemporary socio-political background.

Keywords: folk play, indigenous, performance, Saang, tradition

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1668 Influence of Preparation, Characterisation and Application of Carbon Nano Tube

Authors: Dhaivat S. Soni, Snehal Thakor, Afroz Bhatti

Abstract:

The prepare CNTs in bulk quantity by as easiest as possible method with highly pure and small diameter. Prepared CNTs first charactered its structural parameter for the conformation of CNTs and purity. Surface morphology of CNTs stured by using various instruments finally study application of prepared CNTs in various field. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized in large scale by pyrolyzing activated carbon in sealed autoclaves.

Keywords: nanostructures, nanotubes, carbon, pyrolysis

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1667 Learning Physics Concepts through Language Syntagmatic Paradigmatic Relations

Authors: C. E. Laburu, M. A. Barros, A. F. Zompero, O. H. M. Silva

Abstract:

The work presents a teaching strategy that employs syntagmatic and paradigmatic linguistic relations in order to monitor the understanding of physics students’ concepts. Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations are theoretical elements of semiotics studies and our research circumstances and justified them within the research program of multi-modal representations. Among the multi-modal representations to learning scientific knowledge, the scope of action of syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations belongs to the discursive writing form. The use of such relations has the purpose to seek innovate didactic work with discourse representation in the write form before translate to another different representational form. The research was conducted with a sample of first year high school students. The students were asked to produce syntagmatic and paradigmatic of Newton’ first law statement. This statement was delivered in paper for each student that should individually write the relations. The student’s records were collected for analysis. It was possible observed in one student used here as example that their monemes replaced and rearrangements produced by, respectively, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations, kept the original meaning of the law. In paradigmatic production he specified relevant significant units of the linguistic signs, the monemas, which constitute the first articulation and each word substituted kept equivalence to the original meaning of original monema. Also, it was noted a number of diverse and many monemas were chosen, with balanced combination of grammatical (grammatical monema is what changes the meaning of a word, in certain positions of the syntagma, along with a relatively small number of other monemes. It is the smallest linguistic unit that has grammatical meaning) and lexical (lexical monema is what belongs to unlimited inventories; is the monema endowed with lexical meaning) monemas. In syntagmatic production, monemas ordinations were syntactically coherent, being linked with semantic conservation and preserved number. In general, the results showed that the written representation mode based on linguistic relations paradigmatic and syntagmatic qualifies itself to be used in the classroom as a potential identifier and accompanist of meanings acquired from students in the process of scientific inquiry.

Keywords: semiotics, language, high school, physics teaching

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1666 The Embodied World — A Redefinition of "Emptiness" in Heart Sutra from the Perspective of Cognitive Science

Authors: Ke Ma

Abstract:

Through the long course of history, Buddhism has captivated generations of brilliant minds with its enlightening but elusive discernment. Far from religious dogmas, Buddhism not only represents spiritual revelation, but also logical reasoning.Among all of Buddhism’s concepts, emptiness is the most famous, and abstruse one. This word resulted from an inaccurate translation confuses both Buddhists and religious scholars who understand Heart Sutra based on its English version. In this essay, the idea of “emptiness” will be reinterpreted as “information,” leading not only to a clarification of the ideology of Buddhism, but also to greater correspondence between Buddhism concepts and cognitive science.

Keywords: religion, cognitive science, psychology, Buddhism

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1665 Systematic Analysis of Immune Response to Biomaterial Surface Characteristics

Authors: Florian Billing, Soren Segan, Meike Jakobi, Elsa Arefaine, Aliki Jerch, Xin Xiong, Matthias Becker, Thomas Joos, Burkhard Schlosshauer, Ulrich Rothbauer, Nicole Schneiderhan-Marra, Hanna Hartmann, Christopher Shipp

Abstract:

The immune response plays a major role in implant biocompatibility, but an understanding of how to design biomaterials for specific immune responses is yet to be achieved. We aimed to better understand how changing certain material properties can drive immune responses. To this end, we tested immune response to experimental implant coatings that vary in specific characteristics. A layer-by-layer approach was employed to vary surface charge and wettability. Human-based in vitro models (THP-1 macrophages and primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCS)) were used to assess immune responses using multiplex cytokine analysis, flow cytometry (CD molecule expression) and microscopy (cell morphology). We observed dramatic differences in immune response due to specific alterations in coating properties. For example altering the surface charge of coating A from anionic to cationic resulted in the substantial elevation of the pro-inflammatory molecules IL-1beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha and MIP-1beta, while the pro-wound healing factor VEGF was significantly down-regulated. We also observed changes in cell surface marker expression in relation to altered coating properties, such as CD16 on NK Cells and HLA-DR on monocytes. We furthermore observed changes in the morphology of THP-1 macrophages following cultivation on different coatings. A correlation between these morphological changes and the cytokine expression profile is ongoing. Targeted changes in biomaterial properties can produce vast differences in immune response. The properties of the coatings examined here may, therefore, be a method to direct specific biological responses in order to improve implant biocompatibility.

Keywords: biomaterials, coatings, immune system, implants

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1664 From Private Bodies to a Shareable Body Politic. A Theological Solution to a Foundational Political Problem.

Authors: Patrick Downey

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The political problem besetting all nations, tribes, and families, as illuminated by Plato in the fifth book of his Republic, is the problem of our own private body with its own particular pleasures and pains. This problem we might label the “irrational love of one’s own.” The reasonable philosopher loves reality just because it is, but we love things only if we can convince ourselves that they are “ours” or an imaginative extension of “ours.” The resulting problem, that can only be medicated, but not cured, is that the “body private,” whether our own, our family, tribe, or nation, always lies underneath any level of “body politic” and threatens the bloodshed and disintegration of civil war. This is also the political problem the Bible deals with throughout, beginning with Adam and Eve’s fall from rationally shareable bodies (“the two were one flesh”) into unshareable bodies whose now shameful “privacy” must be hid behind a bloody rather than bloodless veil. The blood is the sign of always threatening civil war, whether murder between brothers, feuds within tribes, or later, war between nations. The scarlet thread of blood tying the entire Bible together, Old and New Testament, reminds us that however far our loves are pushed out beyond our private body to family, tribe or nation, they remain irrational because unshareable. Only by loving the creator God who first loved us, can we rationally love anything of our own, but it must be loved as gift rather than as a possession. Such a love renders all bodies and nations truly shareable, and achieving this shareability is the paradoxical plot of the Bible, wherein the Word becomes flesh in a particular body amidst a particular people and nation. Yet even with His own nation and His own Son, this Lord is not “partial” and demands justice towards widows, orphans, and sojourners, because the irrational love of only our own can become rational solely through the resurrection of this particular body, king of this particular nation and these particular people. His body, along with all other bodies, can thus now retain their particular wounds and history, while yet remaining shareable. Likewise, all nations will share in the nation of Israel, in the same way all distinct languages will share an understanding through the inner rational word that we see illustrated in Pentecost. Without the resurrection, however, this shareability of bodies and nations remains merely a useful fiction, as Plato saw, and the equally fictitious “rationality” of some sort of deductive universalism will not go away. Reading Scripture in terms of Plato’s “irrational love of one’s own” therefore raises questions for both a Protestant and Catholic understanding of nations, questions that neither can answer adequately without this philosophical and exegetical attention.

Keywords: body private, nations, shareability, body politic

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1663 Synthesis of Highly Active Octahedral NaInS₂ for Enhanced H₂ Evolution

Authors: C. K. Ngaw

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Crystal facet engineering, which involves tuning and controlling a crystal surface and morphology, is a commonly employed strategy to optimize the performance of crystalline nanocrystals. The principle behind this strategy is that surface atomic rearrangement and coordination, which inherently determines their catalytic activity, can be easily tuned by morphological control. Because of this, the catalytic properties of a nanocrystal are closely related to the surface of an exposed facet, and it has provided great motivation for researchers to synthesize photocatalysts with high catalytic activity by maximizing reactive facets exposed through morphological control. In this contribution, octahedral NaInS₂ crystals have been successfully developed via solvothermal method. The formation of the octahedral NaInS₂ crystals was investigated using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD), and results have shown that the concentration of sulphur precursor plays an important role in the growth process, leading to the formation of other NaInS₂ crystal structures in the form of hexagonal nanosheets and microspheres. Structural modeling analysis suggests that the octahedral NaInS₂ crystals were enclosed with {012} and {001} facets, while the nanosheets and microspheres are bounded with {001} facets only and without any specific facets, respectively. Visible-light photocatalytic H₂ evolution results revealed that the octahedral NaInS₂ crystals (~67 μmol/g/hr) exhibit ~6.1 and ~2.3 times enhancement as compared to the conventional NaInS₂ microspheres (~11 μmol/g/hr) and nanosheets (~29 μmol/g/hr), respectively. The H₂ enhancement of the NaInS₂ octahedral crystal is attributed to the presence of {012} facets on the surface. Detailed analysis of the octahedron model revealed obvious differences in the atomic arrangement between the {001} and {012} facets and this can affect the interaction between the water molecules and the surface facets before reducing into H₂ gas. These results highlight the importance of tailoring crystal morphology with highly reactive facets in improving photocatalytic properties.

Keywords: H₂ evolution, photocatalysis, octahedral, reactive facets

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1662 A Newspapers Expectations Indicator from Web Scraping

Authors: Pilar Rey del Castillo

Abstract:

This document describes the building of an average indicator of the general sentiments about the future exposed in the newspapers in Spain. The raw data are collected through the scraping of the Digital Periodical and Newspaper Library website. Basic tools of natural language processing are later applied to the collected information to evaluate the sentiment strength of each word in the texts using a polarized dictionary. The last step consists of summarizing these sentiments to produce daily indices. The results are a first insight into the applicability of these techniques to produce periodic sentiment indicators.

Keywords: natural language processing, periodic indicator, sentiment analysis, web scraping

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1661 Electroactive Fluorene-Based Polymer Films Obtained by Electropolymerization

Authors: Mariana-Dana Damaceanu

Abstract:

Electrochemical oxidation is one of the most convenient ways to obtain conjugated polymer films as polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythiophene or polycarbazole. The research in the field has been mainly directed to the study of electrical conduction properties of the materials obtained by electropolymerization, often the main reason being their use as electroconducting electrodes, and very little attention has been paid to the morphological and optical quality of the films electrodeposited on flat surfaces. Electropolymerization of the monomer solution was scarcely used in the past to manufacture polymer-based light-emitting diodes (PLED), most probably due to the difficulty of obtaining defectless polymer films with good mechanical and optical properties, or conductive polymers with well controlled molecular weights. Here we report our attempts in using electrochemical deposition as appropriate method for preparing ultrathin films of fluorene-based polymers for PLED applications. The properties of these films were evaluated in terms of structural morphology, optical properties, and electrochemical conduction. Thus, electropolymerization of 4,4'-(9-fluorenylidene)-dianiline was performed in dichloromethane solution, at a concentration of 10-2 M, using 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate as electrolyte salt. The potential was scanned between 0 and 1.3 V on the one hand, and 0 - 2 V on the other hand, when polymer films with different structures and properties were obtained. Indium tin oxide-coated glass substrate of different size was used as working electrode, platinum wire as counter electrode and calomel electrode as reference. For each potential range 100 cycles were recorded at a scan rate of 100 mV/s. The film obtained in the potential range from 0 to 1.3 V, namely poly(FDA-NH), is visible to the naked eye, being light brown, transparent and fluorescent, and displays an amorphous morphology. Instead, the electrogrowth poly(FDA) film in the potential range of 0 - 2 V is yellowish-brown and opaque, presenting a self-assembled structure in aggregates of irregular shape and size. The polymers structure was identified by FTIR spectroscopy, which shows the presence of broad bands specific to a polymer, the band centered at approx. 3443 cm-1 being ascribed to the secondary amine. The two polymer films display two absorption maxima, at 434-436 nm assigned to π-π* transitions of polymers, and another at 832 and 880 nm assigned to polaron transitions. The fluorescence spectra indicated the presence of emission bands in the blue domain, with two peaks at 422 and 488 nm for poly (FDA-NH), and four narrow peaks at 422, 447, 460 and 484 nm for poly(FDA), peaks originating from fluorene-containing segments of varying degrees of conjugation. Poly(FDA-NH) exhibited two oxidation peaks in the anodic region and the HOMO energy value of 5.41 eV, whereas poly(FDA) showed only one oxidation peak and the HOMO level localized at 5.29 eV. The electrochemical data are discussed in close correlation with the proposed chemical structure of the electrogrowth films. Further research will be carried out to study their use and performance in light-emitting devices.

Keywords: electrogrowth polymer films, fluorene, morphology, optical properties

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1660 Collocation Errors in English as Second Language (ESL) Essay Writing

Authors: Fatima Muhammad Shitu

Abstract:

In language learning, Second language learners like their native speaker counter parts, commit errors in their attempt to achieve competence in the target language. The realm of Collocation has to do with meaning relation between lexical items. In all human language, there is a kind of ‘natural order’ in which words are arranged or relate to one another in sentences so much so that when a word occurs in a given context, the related or naturally co -occurring word will automatically come to the mind. It becomes an error, therefore, if students inappropriately pair or arrange such ‘naturally’ co – occurring lexical items in a text. It has been observed that most of the second language learners in this research group commit collocational errors. A study of this kind is very significant as it gives insight into the kinds of errors committed by learners. This will help the language teacher to be able to identify the sources and causes of such errors as well as correct them thereby guiding, helping and leading the learners towards achieving some level of competence in the language. The aim of the study is to understand the nature of these errors as stumbling blocks to effective essay writing. The objective of the study is to identify the errors, analyse their structural compositions so as to determine whether there are similarities between students in this regard and to find out whether there are patterns to these kinds of errors which will enable the researcher to understand their sources and causes. As a descriptive research, the researcher samples some nine hundred essays collected from three hundred undergraduate learners of English as a second language in the Federal College of Education, Kano, North- West Nigeria, i.e. three essays per each student. The essays which were given on three different lecture times were of similar thematic preoccupations (i.e. same topics) and length (i.e. same number of words). The essays were written during the lecture hour at three different lecture occasions. The errors were identified in a systematic manner whereby errors so identified were recorded only once even if they occur severally in students’ essays. The data was collated using percentages in which the identified number of occurrences were converted accordingly in percentages. The findings from the study indicates that there are similarities as well as regular and repeated errors which provided a pattern. Based on the pattern identified, the conclusion is that students’ collocational errors are attributable to poor teaching and learning which resulted in wrong generalisation of rules.

Keywords: collocations, errors, second language learning, ESL students

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1659 The Genesis of the Anomalous Sernio Fan (Valtellina, Northern Italy)

Authors: Erika De Finis, Paola Gattinoni, Laura Scesi

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Massive rock avalanches formed some of the largest landslide deposits on Earth and they represent one of the major geohazards in high-relief mountains. This paper interprets a very large sedimentary fan (the Sernio fan, Valtellina, Northern Italy), located 20 Km SW from Val Pola Rock avalanche (1987), as the deposit of a partial collapse of a Deep Seated Gravitational Slope Deformation (DSGSD), afterwards eroded and buried by debris flows. The proposed emplacement sequence has been reconstructed based on geomorphological, structural and mechanical evidences. The Sernio fan is actually considered anomalous with reference to the very high ratio between the fan area (about 4.5km2) and the basin area (about 3km2). The morphology of the fan area is characterised by steep slopes (dip about 20%) and the fan apex is extended for 1.8 km inside the small catchment basin. This sedimentary fan was originated by a landslide that interested a part of a large deep-seated gravitational slope deformation, involving a wide area of about 55 km². The main controlling factor is tectonic and it is related to the proximity to regional fault systems and the consequent occurrence of fault weak rocks (GSI locally lower than 10 with compressive stress lower than 20MPa). Moreover, the fan deposit shows sedimentary evidences of recent debris flow events. The best current explanation of the Sernio fan involves an initial failure of some hundreds of Mm3. The run-out was quite limited because of the morphology of Valtellina’s valley floor, and the deposit filled the main valley forming a landslide dam, as confirmed by the lacustrine deposits detected upstream the fan. Nowadays the debris flow events represent the main hazard in the study area.

Keywords: anomalous sedimentary fans, deep seated gravitational slope deformation, Italy, rock avalanche

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1658 Structural and Morphological Characterization of Inorganic Deposits in Spinal Ligaments

Authors: Sylwia Orzechowska, Andrzej Wróbel, Eugeniusz Rokita

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The mineralization is a curious problem of connective tissues. Factors which may play a decisive role in the regulation of the yellow ligaments (YL) mineralization are still open questions. The aim of the studies was a detailed description of the chemical composition and morphology of mineral deposits in the human yellow ligaments. Investigations of the structural features of deposits were used to explain the impact of various factors on mineralization process. The studies were carried out on 24 YL samples, surgically removed from patients suffer from spinal canal stenosis and the patients who sustained a trauma. The micro-computed tomography was used to describe the morphology of mineral deposits. The X-ray fluorescence method and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were applied to determine the chemical composition of the samples. In order to eliminate the effect of blur in microtomographic images, the correction method of partial volume effect was used. The mineral deposits appear in 60% of YL samples, both in patients with a stenosis and following injury. The mineral deposits have a heterogeneous structure and they are a mixture of the tissue and mineral grains. The volume of mineral grains amounts to (1.9 ± 3.4)*10-3 mm3 while the density distribution of grains occurs in two distinct ranges (1.75 - 2.15 and 2.15-2.5) g/cm3. Application of the partial volume effect correction allows accurate calculations by eliminating the averaging effect of gray levels in tomographic images. The B-type carbonate-containing hydroxyapatite constitutes the mineral phase of majority YLs. The main phase of two samples was calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD). The elemental composition of minerals in all samples is almost identical. This pathology may be independent on the spine diseases and it does not evoke canal stenosis. The two ranges of grains density indicate two stages of grains growth and the degree of maturity. The presence of CPPD crystals may coexist with other pathologies.

Keywords: FTIR, micro-tomography, mineralization, spinal ligaments

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1657 Testing the Simplification Hypothesis in Constrained Language Use: An Entropy-Based Approach

Authors: Jiaxin Chen

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Translations have been labeled as more simplified than non-translations, featuring less diversified and more frequent lexical items and simpler syntactic structures. Such simplified linguistic features have been identified in other bilingualism-influenced language varieties, including non-native and learner language use. Therefore, it has been proposed that translation could be studied within a broader framework of constrained language, and simplification is one of the universal features shared by constrained language varieties due to similar cognitive-physiological and social-interactive constraints. Yet contradicting findings have also been presented. To address this issue, this study intends to adopt Shannon’s entropy-based measures to quantify complexity in language use. Entropy measures the level of uncertainty or unpredictability in message content, and it has been adapted in linguistic studies to quantify linguistic variance, including morphological diversity and lexical richness. In this study, the complexity of lexical and syntactic choices will be captured by word-form entropy and pos-form entropy, and a comparison will be made between constrained and non-constrained language use to test the simplification hypothesis. The entropy-based method is employed because it captures both the frequency of linguistic choices and their evenness of distribution, which are unavailable when using traditional indices. Another advantage of the entropy-based measure is that it is reasonably stable across languages and thus allows for a reliable comparison among studies on different language pairs. In terms of the data for the present study, one established (CLOB) and two self-compiled corpora will be used to represent native written English and two constrained varieties (L2 written English and translated English), respectively. Each corpus consists of around 200,000 tokens. Genre (press) and text length (around 2,000 words per text) are comparable across corpora. More specifically, word-form entropy and pos-form entropy will be calculated as indicators of lexical and syntactical complexity, and ANOVA tests will be conducted to explore if there is any corpora effect. It is hypothesized that both L2 written English and translated English have lower entropy compared to non-constrained written English. The similarities and divergences between the two constrained varieties may provide indications of the constraints shared by and peculiar to each variety.

Keywords: constrained language use, entropy-based measures, lexical simplification, syntactical simplification

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1656 Role of Calcination Treatment on the Structural Properties and Photocatalytic Activity of Nanorice N-Doped TiO₂ Catalyst

Authors: Totsaporn Suwannaruang, Kitirote Wantala

Abstract:

The purposes of this research were to synthesize titanium dioxide photocatalyst doped with nitrogen (N-doped TiO₂) by hydrothermal method and to test the photocatalytic degradation of paraquat under UV and visible light illumination. The effect of calcination treatment temperature on their physical and chemical properties and photocatalytic efficiencies were also investigated. The characterizations of calcined N-doped TiO₂ photocatalysts such as specific surface area, textural properties, bandgap energy, surface morphology, crystallinity, phase structure, elements and state of charges were investigated by Brunauer, Emmett, Teller (BET) and Barrett, Joyner, Halenda (BJH) equations, UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis-DRS) by using the Kubelka-Munk theory, Wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), Focussed ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), respectively. The results showed that the effect of calcination temperature was significant on surface morphology, crystallinity, specific surface area, pore size diameter, bandgap energy and nitrogen content level, but insignificant on phase structure and oxidation state of titanium (Ti) atom. The N-doped TiO₂ samples illustrated only anatase crystalline phase due to nitrogen dopant in TiO₂ restrained the phase transformation from anatase to rutile. The samples presented the nanorice-like morphology. The expansion on the particle was found at 650 and 700°C of calcination temperature, resulting in increased pore size diameter. The bandgap energy was determined by Kubelka-Munk theory to be in the range 3.07-3.18 eV, which appeared slightly lower than anatase standard (3.20 eV), resulting in the nitrogen dopant could modify the optical absorption edge of TiO₂ from UV to visible light region. The nitrogen content was observed at 100, 300 and 400°C only. Also, the nitrogen element disappeared at 500°C onwards. The nitrogen (N) atom can be incorporated in TiO₂ structure with the interstitial site. The uncalcined (100°C) sample displayed the highest percent paraquat degradation under UV and visible light irradiation due to this sample revealed both the highest specific surface area and nitrogen content level. Moreover, percent paraquat removal significantly decreased with increasing calcination treatment temperature. The nitrogen content level in TiO₂ accelerated the rate of reaction with combining the effect of the specific surface area that generated the electrons and holes during illuminated with light. Therefore, the specific surface area and nitrogen content level demonstrated the important roles in the photocatalytic activity of paraquat under UV and visible light illumination.

Keywords: restraining phase transformation, interstitial site, chemical charge state, photocatalysis, paraquat degradation

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1655 Microencapsulation of Tuna Oil and Mentha Piperita Oil Mixture using Different Combinations of Wall Materials with Whey Protein Isolate

Authors: Amr Mohamed Bakry Ibrahim, Yingzhou Ni, Hao Cheng, Li Liang

Abstract:

Tuna oil (omega-3 oil) has become increasingly popular in the last ten years, because it is considered one of the treasures of food which has many beneficial health effects for the humans. Nevertheless, the susceptibility of omega-3 oils to oxidative deterioration, resulting in the formation of oxidation products, in addition to organoleptic problems including “fishy” flavors, have presented obstacles to the more widespread use of tuna oils in the food industry. This study sought to evaluate the potential impact of Mentha piperita oil on physicochemical characteristics and oxidative stability of tuna oil microcapsules formed by spray drying using the partial substitution to whey protein isolate by carboxymethyl cellulose and pullulan. The emulsions before the drying process were characterized regarding size and ζ-potential, viscosity, surface tension. Confocal laser scanning microscopy showed that all emulsions were sphericity and homogeneous distribution without any visible particle aggregation. The microcapsules obtained after spray drying were characterized regarding microencapsulation efficiency, water activity, color, bulk density, flowability, scanning surface morphology and oxidative stability. The microcapsules were spherical shape had low water activity (0.11-0.23 aw). The microcapsules containing both tuna oil and Mentha piperita oil were smaller than others and addition of pullulan into wall materials improved the morphology of microcapsules. Microencapsulation efficiency of powdered oil ranged from 90% to 94%. Using Mentha piperita oil in the process of microencapsulation tuna oil enhanced the oxidative stability using whey protein isolate only or with carboxymethyl cellulose or pullulan as wall materials, resulting in improved storage stability and mask fishy odor. Therefore, it is foreseen using tuna-Mentha piperita oil mixture microcapsules in the applications of the food industries.

Keywords: Mentha piperita oil, microcapsule, tuna oil, whey protein isolate

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1654 The Morphology and Flash Flood Characteristics of the Transboundary Khowai River: A Catchment Scale Analysis

Authors: Jonahid Chakder, Mahfuzul Haque

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Flash flood is among the foremost disastrous characteristic hazards which cause hampering within the environment and social orders due to climate change across the world. In Northeastern region of Bangladesh faces severe flash floods regularly, Such, the Khowai river is a flash flood-prone river. But until now, there are no previous studies about the flash flood of this river. Farmlands Building resilience, protection of crops & fish enclosures of wetland in Habiganj Haor areas, regional roads, and business establishments were submerged due to flash floods. The flash floods of the Khowai River are frequent events, which happened in 1988, 1998, 2000, 2007, 2017, and 2019. Therefore, this study tries to analyze Khowai river morphology, Precipitation, Water level, Satellite image, and Catchment characteristics: a catchment scale analysis that helps to comprehend Khowai river flash flood characteristics and factors of influence. From precipitation analysis, the finding outcome disclosed the data about flash flood accurate zones at the Khowai district watershed. The morphological analysis workout from satellite image and find out the consequence of sinuosity and gradient of this river. The sinuosity indicates that the Khowai river is an antecedent and a meandering river and a meandering river can’t influence the flash flood of any region, but other factors respond here. It is understood that the Khowai river catchment elevation analysis from DEM is directly influenced. The left Baramura and Right Atharamura anticline of the Khowai basin watershed reflects a major impact on the stratigraphy as an impermeable clay layer and this consequence the water passes downward with the drainage pattern and Tributary. This drainage system, the gradient of tributary and their runoff, and the confluence of water in the pre-monsoon season rise the Khowai river water level which influences flash floods (within six hours of Precipitation).

Keywords: geology, gradient, tributary, drainage, watershed, flash flood

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1653 Effect of the Polymer Modification on the Cytocompatibility of Human and Rat Cells

Authors: N. Slepickova Kasalkova, P. Slepicka, L. Bacakova, V. Svorcik

Abstract:

Tissue engineering includes combination of materials and techniques used for the improvement, repair or replacement of the tissue. Scaffolds, permanent or temporally material, are used as support for the creation of the "new cell structures". For this important component (scaffold), a variety of materials can be used. The advantage of some polymeric materials is their cytocompatibility and possibility of biodegradation. Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) is a biodegradable,  semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymer. PLLA can be fully degraded into H2O and CO2. In this experiment, the effect of the surface modification of biodegradable polymer (performed by plasma treatment) on the various cell types was studied. The surface parameters and changes of the physicochemical properties of modified PLLA substrates were studied by different methods. Surface wettability was determined by goniometry, surface morphology and roughness study were performed with atomic force microscopy and chemical composition was determined using photoelectron spectroscopy. The physicochemical properties were studied in relation to cytocompatibility of human osteoblast (MG 63 cells), rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), and human stem cells (ASC) of the adipose tissue in vitro. A fluorescence microscopy was chosen to study and compare cell-material interaction. Important parameters of the cytocompatibility like adhesion, proliferation, viability, shape, spreading of the cells were evaluated. It was found that the modification leads to the change of the surface wettability depending on the time of modification. Short time of exposition (10-120 s) can reduce the wettability of the aged samples, exposition longer than 150 s causes to increase of contact angle of the aged PLLA. The surface morphology is significantly influenced by duration of modification, too. The plasma treatment involves the formation of the crystallites, whose number increases with increasing time of modification. On the basis of physicochemical properties evaluation, the cells were cultivated on the selected samples. Cell-material interactions are strongly affected by material chemical structure and surface morphology. It was proved that the plasma treatment of PLLA has a positive effect on the adhesion, spreading, homogeneity of distribution and viability of all cultivated cells. This effect was even more apparent for the VSMCs and ASCs which homogeneously covered almost the whole surface of the substrate after 7 days of cultivation. The viability of these cells was high (more than 98% for VSMCs, 89-96% for ASCs). This experiment is one part of the basic research, which aims to easily create scaffolds for tissue engineering with subsequent use of stem cells and their subsequent "reorientation" towards the bone cells or smooth muscle cells.

Keywords: poly(L-lactic acid), plasma treatment, surface characterization, cytocompatibility, human osteoblast, rat vascular smooth muscle cells, human stem cells

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1652 A Study on Information Structure in the Vajrachedika-Prajna-paramita Sutra and Translation Aspect

Authors: Yoon-Cheol Park

Abstract:

This research focuses on examining the information structures in the old Chinese character-Korean translation of the Vajrachedika-prajna-paramita sutra. The background of this research comes from the fact that there were no previous researches which looked into the information structures in the target text of the Vajrachedika-prajna-paramita sutra by now. The existing researches on the Buddhist scripture translation mainly put weight on message conveyance by literal and semantic translation methods. But the message conveyance from one language to another has a necessity to be delivered with equivalent information structure. Thus, this research is intended to investigate on the flow of old and new information in the target text of Buddhist scripture, compared with source text. The Vajrachedika-prajna-paramita sutra unlike other Buddhist scriptures is composed of conversational structures between Buddha and his disciple, Suboli. This implies that the information flow can be changed by utterance context and some propositions. So, this research tries to analyze the flow of old and new information within the source and target text. As a result of analysis, this research can discover the following facts; firstly, there are the differences of the information flow in the message conveyance between the old Chinese character and Korean by language features. The old Chinese character reveals that old-new information flow is developed, while Korean indicates new-old information flow because of word order. Secondly, the source text of the Vajrachedika-prajna-paramita sutra includes abstruse terminologies, jargon and abstract words. These make influence on the target text and cause the change of the information flow. But the repetitive expressions of these words provide the old information in the target text. Lastly, the Vajrachedika-prajna-paramita sutra offers the expository structure from conversations between Buddha and Suboli. It means that the information flow is developed in the way of explaining specific subjects and of paraphrasing unfamiliar phrases and expressions. From the results of analysis above, this research can verify that the information structures in the target text of the Vajrachedika-prajna-paramita sutra are changed by specific subjects and terminologies, developed with the new-old information flow by repetitive expressions or word order and reveal the information structures familiar to target culture. It also implies that the translation of the Vajrachedika-prajna-paramita sutra as a religious book needs the message conveyance to take into account the information structures of two languages.

Keywords: abstruse terminologies, the information structure, new and old information, old Chinese character-Korean translation

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1651 The Effect of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Performance Traits, Carcass Quality, Gut Morphology and Haematological Parameters of Broilers Fed Wet Diet

Authors: Farhad Ahmadi, Vafa Pahlavani, Pejman Bidar

Abstract:

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (Nano-ZnO) on carcass quality, blood parameters, and gut morphology in broiler chickens feeding wet diets. This research was conducted by total of 300 one-day-old broiler chicks (Ross-308) were distributed into a completely randomized design inclusion of 5 treatments in 4 replicated and 15 birds in each from 1 to 42 d. The experimental diets contain: 1) diet-based on corn-soybean dry (without Nano-ZnO), 2) dry diet whit 25 mg Nano-ZnO, 3) wet diet whit 25 mg Nano-ZnO, 4) dry diet whit 50 mg Nano-ZnO, 5) wet diet whit 50 mg Nano-ZnO to wet diet. The results indicated that trail diets had no significant effect on carcass and fraction cuts in 21 age (P > 0.05). Wet feeding increased (P < 0.05) live, carcass, pancreas, gizzard, proventriculus, breast, wing and SI weight index so that the birds fed wet diet contain 50mg/kg of Nano-ZnO had the highest (P < 0.05) live, carcass, pancreas, proventriculus, gizzard, breast, wing, and gut weights at 42d compared other treatments. The birds fed diet contain 25mg/kg Nano-ZnO had the higher (P < 0.05) leg weight and lowest gizzard and gut weight than others treatment. Wet diet inclusion of 50mg Nano-ZnO increased (P < 0.05) liver weight on d 42. Experimental treatments had no significant effect on blood hematology on 21 and 42. The lymphocyte count had increased (P < 0.05) in dry than wet diet, however, monocyte Percent had significantly (P < 0.05) decreased in dry and increased in wet diets. The birds of height and height: crypts villi ratio had significantly (P < 0.05) increased on d 42, so that the highest and lowest villus height observed in 50 mg Nano-ZnO to form dry and control, respectively. In conclusion, the results of indicated that used of Nano-ZnO and wet feeding had no effect on performance parameters. Wet diet caused increased monocyte percent and 50 mg level Nano-ZnO to form dry caused increased height of villi.

Keywords: broiler, blood, gut, performance, nanoparticles

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1650 Development of PPy-M Composites Materials for Sensor Application

Authors: Yatimah Alias, Tilagam Marimuthu, M. R. Mahmoudian, Sharifah Mohamad

Abstract:

The rapid growth of science and technology in energy and environmental fields has enlightened the substantial importance of the conducting polymer and metal composite materials engineered at nano-scale. In this study, polypyrrole-cobalt composites (PPy-Co Cs) and polypyrrole-nickel oxide composites (PPy-NiO Cs) were prepared by a simple and facile chemical polymerization method with an aqueous solution of pyrrole monomer in the presence of metal salt. These composites then fabricated into non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and glucose sensor. The morphology and composition of the composites are characterized by the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrum and X-ray Powder Diffraction. The obtained results were compared with the pure PPy and metal oxide particles. The structural and morphology properties of synthesized composites are different from those of pure PPy and metal oxide particles, which were attributed to the strong interaction between the PPy and the metal particles. Besides, a favorable micro-environment for the electrochemical oxidation of H2O2 and glucose was achieved on the modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) coated with PPy-Co Cs and PPy-NiO Cs respectively, resulting in an enhanced amperometric response. Both PPy-Co/GCE and PPy-NiO/GCE give high response towards target analyte at optimum condition of 500 μl pyrrole monomer content. Furthermore, the presence of pyrrole monomer greatly increases the sensitivity of the respective modified electrode. The PPy-Co/GCE could detect H2O2 in a linear range of 20 μM to 80 mM with two linear segments (low and high concentration of H2O2) and the detection limit for both ranges is 2.05 μM and 19.64 μM, respectively. Besides, PPy-NiO/GCE exhibited good electrocatalytic behavior towards glucose oxidation in alkaline medium and could detect glucose in linear ranges of 0.01 mM to 0.50 mM and 1 mM to 20 mM with detection limit of 0.33 and 5.77 μM, respectively. The ease of modifying and the long-term stability of this sensor have made it superior to enzymatic sensors, which must kept in a critical environment.

Keywords: metal oxide, composite, non-enzymatic sensor, polypyrrole

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1649 Winning Consumers and Influencing Them Using Social Media: A Cross Generational Impact Case Study

Authors: J. Garfield, B. O'Hare, V. Bell

Abstract:

The use of social media is continuing to grow and is now widely used for product and service advertising. This research investigated the social media usage across all age ranges in the United Kingdom to determine the impact on purchasing habits. A questionnaire was distributed to people of different ages and with different experiences of social media usage. The results showed that Facebook continues to be the most popular social media network. Respondents in the younger age group were more likely to be influenced by brand marketing and advertising, but the study concluded that celebrity endorsements had little or no influence.

Keywords: social media advertising, social networking sites, electronic word of mouth, celebrity endorsements

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1648 Exploring the Neural Mechanisms of Communication and Cooperation in Children and Adults

Authors: Sara Mosteller, Larissa K. Samuelson, Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar, John P. Spencer

Abstract:

This study was designed to examine how humans are able to teach and learn semantic information as well as cooperate in order to jointly achieve sophisticated goals. Specifically, we are measuring individual differences in how these abilities develop from foundational building blocks in early childhood. The current study adopts a paradigm for novel noun learning developed by Samuelson, Smith, Perry, and Spencer (2011) to a hyperscanning paradigm [Cui, Bryant and Reiss, 2012]. This project measures coordinated brain activity between a parent and child using simultaneous functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in pairs of 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5-year-old children and their parents. We are also separately testing pairs of adult friends. Children and parents, or adult friends, are seated across from one another at a table. The parent (in the developmental study) then teaches their child the names of novel toys. An experimenter then tests the child by presenting the objects in pairs and asking the child to retrieve one object by name. Children are asked to choose from both pairs of familiar objects and pairs of novel objects. In order to explore individual differences in cooperation with the same participants, each dyad plays a cooperative game of Jenga, in which their joint score is based on how many blocks they can remove from the tower as a team. A preliminary analysis of the noun-learning task showed that, when presented with 6 word-object mappings, children learned an average of 3 new words (50%) and that the number of objects learned by each child ranged from 2-4. Adults initially learned all of the new words but were variable in their later retention of the mappings, which ranged from 50-100%. We are currently examining differences in cooperative behavior during the Jenga playing game, including time spent discussing each move before it is made. Ongoing analyses are examining the social dynamics that might underlie the differences between words that were successfully learned and unlearned words for each dyad, as well as the developmental differences observed in the study. Additionally, the Jenga game is being used to better understand individual and developmental differences in social coordination during a cooperative task. At a behavioral level, the analysis maps periods of joint visual attention between participants during the word learning and the Jenga game, using head-mounted eye trackers to assess each participant’s first-person viewpoint during the session. We are also analyzing the coherence in brain activity between participants during novel word-learning and Jenga playing. The first hypothesis is that visual joint attention during the session will be positively correlated with both the number of words learned and with the number of blocks moved during Jenga before the tower falls. The next hypothesis is that successful communication of new words and success in the game will each be positively correlated with synchronized brain activity between the parent and child/the adult friends in cortical regions underlying social cognition, semantic processing, and visual processing. This study probes both the neural and behavioral mechanisms of learning and cooperation in a naturalistic, interactive and developmental context.

Keywords: communication, cooperation, development, interaction, neuroscience

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1647 Cu3SbS3 as Anode Material for Sodium Batteries

Authors: Atef Y. Shenouda, Fei Xu

Abstract:

Cu₃SbS₃ (CAS) was synthesized by direct solid-state reaction from elementary Cu, Sb, & S and hydrothermal reaction using thioacetamide (TAM). Crystal structure and morphology for the prepared phases of Cu₃SbS₃ were studied via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The band gap energies are 2 and 2.2 eV for the prepared samples. The two samples are as anode for Na ion storage. They show high initial capacity to 490 mAh/g. Na cell prepared from TAM sample shows 280 mAh/g after 25 cycles vs. 60 mAh/g for elemental sample.

Keywords: Cu3SbS3, sodium batteries, thioacetamide, sulphur sources

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1646 Investigations on Enhancement of Fly Ash in Cement Manufacturing through Optimization of Clinker Quality and Fly Ash Fineness

Authors: Suresh Vanguri, Suresh Palla, K. V. Kalyani, S. K. Chaturvedi, B. N. Mohapatra

Abstract:

Enhancing the fly ash utilization in the manufacture of cement is identified as one of the key areas to mitigate the Green House Gas emissions from the cement industry. Though increasing the fly ash content in cement has economic and environmental benefits, it results in a decrease in the compressive strength values, particularly at early ages. Quality of clinker and fly ash were identified as predominant factors that govern the extent of absorption of fly ash in the manufacturing of cement. This paper presents systematic investigations on the effect of clinker and fly ash quality on the properties of resultant cement. Since mechanical activation alters the physicochemical properties such as particle size distribution, surface area, phase morphology, understanding the variation of these properties with activation is required for its applications. The effect of mechanical activation on fly ash surface area, specific gravity, flow properties, lime reactivity, comparative compressive strength (CCS), reactive silica and mineralogical properties were also studied. The fineness of fly ash was determined by Blaine’s method, specific gravity, lime reactivity, CCS were determined as per the method IS 1727-1967. The phase composition of fly ash was studied using the X-ray Diffraction technique. The changes in the microstructure and morphology with activation were examined using the scanning electron microscope. The studies presented in this paper also include evaluation of Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), prepared using high volume fly ash. Studies are being carried out using clinker from cement plants located in different regions/clusters in India. Blends of PPC containing higher contents of activated fly ash have been prepared and investigated for their chemical and physical properties, as per Indian Standard procedures. Changes in the microstructure of fly ash with activation and mechanical properties of resultant cement containing high volumes of fly ash indicated the significance of optimization of the quality of clinker and fly ash fineness for better techno-economical benefits.

Keywords: flow properties, fly ash enhancement, lime reactivity, microstructure, mineralogy

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1645 Examining the Changes in Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency in Japanese L2 Writing Over an Academic Semester

Authors: Robert Long

Abstract:

The results of a one-year study on the evolution of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) in the compositions of Japanese L2 university students throughout a semester are presented in this study. One goal was to determine if any improvement in writing abilities over this academic term had occurred, while another was to examine methods of editing. Participants had 30 minutes to write each essay with an additional 10 minutes allotted for editing. As for editing, participants were divided into two groups, one of which utilized an online grammar checker, while the other half self-edited their initial manuscripts. From the three different institutions, there was a total of 159 students. Research questions focused on determining if the CAF had evolved over the previous year, identifying potential variations in editing techniques, and describing the connections between the CAF dimensions. According to the findings, there was some improvement in accuracy (fewer errors) in all three of the measures), whereas there was a marked decline in complexity and fluency. As for the second research aim relating to the interaction among the three dimensions (CAF) and of possible increases in fluency being offset by decreases in grammatical accuracy, results showed (there is a logical high correlation with clauses and word counts, and mean length of T-unit (MLT) and (coordinate phrase of T-unit (CP/T) as well as MLT and clause per T-unit (C/T); furthermore, word counts and error/100 ratio correlated highly with error-free clause totals (EFCT). Issues of syntactical complexity had a negative correlation with EFCT, indicating that more syntactical complexity relates to decreased accuracy. Concerning a difference in error correction between those who self-edited and those who used an online grammar correction tool, results indicated that the variable of errors-free clause ratios (EFCR) had the greatest difference regarding accuracy, with fewer errors noted with writers using an online grammar checker. As for possible differences between the first and second (edited) drafts regarding CAF, results indicated there were positive changes in accuracy, the most significant change seen in complexity (CP/T and MLT), while there were relatively insignificant changes in fluency. Results also indicated significant differences among the three institutions, with Fujian University of Technology having the most fluency and accuracy. These findings suggest that to raise students' awareness of their overall writing development, teachers should support them in developing more complex syntactic structures, improving their fluency, and making more effective use of online grammar checkers.

Keywords: complexity, accuracy, fluency, writing

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1644 Response of Yield and Morphological Characteristic of Rice Cultivars to Heat Stress at Different Growth Stages

Authors: Mohammad Taghi Karbalaei Aghamolki, Mohd Khanif Yusop, Fateh Chand Oad, Hamed Zakikhani, Hawa Zee Jaafar, Sharifh Kharidah, Mohamed Hanafi Musa, Shahram Soltani

Abstract:

The high temperatures during sensitive growth phases are changing rice morphology as well as influencing yield. In the glass house study, the treatments were: growing conditions [normal growing (32oC+2) and heat stress (38oC+2) day time and 22oC+2 night time], growth stages (booting, flowering and ripening) and four cultivars (Hovaze, Hashemi, Fajr, as exotic and MR219 as indigenous). The heat chamber was prepared covered with plastic, and automatic heater was adjusted at 38oC+2 (day) and 22oC+2 (night) for two weeks in every growth stages. Rice morphological and yield under the influence of heat stress during various growth stages showed taller plants in Hashsemi due to its tall character. The total tillers per hill were significantly higher in Fajr receiving heat stress during booting stage. In all growing conditions and growth stages, Hashemi recorded higher panicle exertion and flag leaf length. The flag leaf width in all situations was found higher in Hovaze. The total tillers per hill were more in Fajr, although heat stress was imposed during booting and flowering stages. The indigenous MR219 in all situations of growing conditions, growth stages recorded higher grain yield. However, its grain yield slightly decreased when heat stress was imposed during booting and flowering. Similar results were found in all other exotic cultivars recording to lower grain yield in the heat stress condition during booting and flowering. However, plants had no effect on heat stress during ripening stage.

Keywords: rice, growth, heat, temperature, stress, morphology, yield

Procedia PDF Downloads 262
1643 Development of Excellent Water-Repellent Coatings for Metallic and Ceramic Surfaces

Authors: Aditya Kumar

Abstract:

One of the most fascinating properties of various insects and plant surfaces in nature is their water-repellent (superhydrophobicity) capability. The nature offers new insights to learn and replicate the same in designing artificial superhydrophobic structures for a wide range of applications such as micro-fluidics, micro-electronics, textiles, self-cleaning surfaces, anti-corrosion, anti-fingerprint, oil/water separation, etc. In general, artificial superhydrophobic surfaces are synthesized by creating roughness and then treating the surface with low surface energy materials. In this work, various super-hydrophobic coatings on metallic surfaces (aluminum, steel, copper, steel mesh) were synthesized by chemical etching process using different etchants and fatty acid. Also, SiO2 nano/micro-particles embedded polyethylene, polystyrene, and poly(methyl methacrylate) superhydrophobic coatings were synthesized on glass substrates. Also, the effect of process parameters such as etching time, etchant concentration, and particle concentration on wettability was studied. To know the applications of the coatings, surface morphology, contact angle, self-cleaning, corrosion-resistance, and water-repellent characteristics were investigated at various conditions. Furthermore, durabilities of coatings were also studied by performing thermal, ultra-violet, and mechanical stability tests. The surface morphology confirms the creation of rough microstructures by chemical etching or by embedding particles, and the contact angle measurements reveal the superhydrophobic nature. Experimentally it is found that the coatings have excellent self-cleaning, anti-corrosion and water-repellent nature. These coatings also withstand mechanical disturbances such surface bending, adhesive peeling, and abrasion. Coatings are also found to be thermal and ultra-violet stable. Additionally, coatings are also reproducible. Hence aforesaid durable superhydrophobic surfaces have many potential industrial applications.

Keywords: superhydrophobic, water-repellent, anti-corrosion, self-cleaning

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1642 An Investigation on the Pulse Electrodeposition of Ni-TiO2/TiO2 Multilayer Structures

Authors: S. Mohajeri

Abstract:

Electrocodeposition of Ni-TiO2 nanocomposite single layers and Ni-TiO2/TiO2 multilayers from Watts bath containing TiO2 sol was carried out on copper substrate. Pulse plating and pulse reverse plating techniques were applied to facilitate higher incorporations of TiO2 nanoparticles in Ni-TiO2 nanocomposite single layers, and the results revealed that by prolongation of the current-off durations and the anodic cycles, deposits containing 11.58 wt.% and 13.16 wt.% TiO2 were produced, respectively. Multilayer coatings which consisted of Ni-TiO2 and TiO2-rich layers were deposited by pulse potential deposition through limiting the nickel deposition by diffusion control mechanism. The TiO2-rich layers thickness and accordingly, the content of TiO2 reinforcement reached 104 nm and 18.47 wt.%, respectively in the optimum condition. The phase structure and surface morphology of the nanocomposite coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The cross sectional morphology and line scans of the layers were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). It was confirmed that the preferred orientations and the crystallite sizes of nickel matrix were influenced by the deposition technique parameters, and higher contents of codeposited TiO2 nanoparticles refined the microstructure. The corrosion behavior of the coatings in 1M NaCl and 0.5M H2SO4 electrolytes were compared by means of potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Increase of corrosion resistance and the passivation tendency were favored by TiO2 incorporation, while the degree of passivation declined as embedded particles disturbed the continuity of passive layer. The role of TiO2 incorporation on the improvement of mechanical properties including hardness, elasticity, scratch resistance and friction coefficient was investigated by the means of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Hydrophilicity and wettability of the composite coatings were investigated under UV illumination, and the water contact angle of the multilayer was reduced to 7.23° after 1 hour of UV irradiation.

Keywords: electrodeposition, hydrophilicity, multilayer, pulse-plating

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1641 Effect of Lithium Bromide Concentration on the Structure and Performance of Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Membrane for Wastewater Treatment

Authors: Poojan Kothari, Yash Madhani, Chayan Jani, Bharti Saini

Abstract:

The requirements for quality drinking and industrial water are increasing and water resources are depleting. Moreover large amount of wastewater is being generated and dumped into water bodies without treatment. These have made improvement in water treatment efficiency and its reuse, an important agenda. Membrane technology for wastewater treatment is an advanced process and has become increasingly popular in past few decades. There are many traditional methods for tertiary treatment such as chemical coagulation, adsorption, etc. However recent developments in membrane technology field have led to manufacturing of better quality membranes at reduced costs. This along with the high costs of conventional treatment processes, high separation efficiency and relative simplicity of the membrane treatment process has made it an economically viable option for municipal and industrial purposes. Ultrafiltration polymeric membranes can be used for wastewater treatment and drinking water applications. The proposed work focuses on preparation of one such UF membrane - Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) doped with LiBr for wastewater treatment. Majorly all polymeric membranes are hydrophobic in nature. This property leads to repulsion of water and hence solute particles occupy the pores, decreasing the lifetime of a membrane. Thus modification of membrane through addition of small amount of salt such as LiBr helped us attain certain characteristics of membrane, which can then be used for wastewater treatment. The membrane characteristics are investigated through measuring its various properties such as porosity, contact angle and wettability to find out the hydrophilic nature of the membrane and morphology (surface as well as structure). Pure water flux, solute rejection and permeability of membrane is determined by permeation experiments. A study of membrane characteristics with various concentration of LiBr helped us to compare its effectivity.

Keywords: Lithium bromide (LiBr), morphology, permeability, Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), solute rejection, wastewater treatment

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1640 A Framework for Consumer Selection on Travel Destinations

Authors: J. Rhodes, V. Cheng, P. Lok

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to develop a parsimonious model that explains the effect of different stimulus on a tourist’s intention to visit a new destination. The model consists of destination trust and interest as the mediating variables. The model was tested using two different types of stimulus; both studies empirically supported the proposed model. Furthermore, the first study revealed that advertising has a stronger effect than positive online reviews. The second study found that the peripheral route of the elaboration likelihood model has a stronger influence power than the central route in this context.

Keywords: advertising, electronic word-of-mouth, elaboration likelihood model, intention to visit, trust

Procedia PDF Downloads 451