Search results for: alternative energy source

Authors: Najwa Alsayed Omar

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With the increasing popularity of the Internet, online reading has become an essential source for EFL readers. Using strategies to comprehend information on online reading texts play a crucial role in students’ academic success. Metacognitive reading strategies are effective factors that enhance EFL learners reading comprehension. This study aimed at exploring the use of online metacognitive reading strategies by postgraduate Libyan EFL students. Quantitative data was collected using the Survey of Online Reading Strategies (OSORS). The findings revealed that the participants were moderate users of metacognitive online reading strategies. Problem solving strategies were the most frequently reported used strategies, while support reading strategies were the least. The five most and least frequently reported strategies were identified. Based on the findings, some future research recommendations were presented.

Keywords: metacognitive strategies, online reading, online reading strategies, postgraduate students

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Authors: Dimitri Bigot, Bruno Malet-Damour, Jérôme Vigneron

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Many studies have been made about using bio-based materials in buildings. The goal is to reduce its environmental footprint by analyzing its life cycle. This can lead to minimize the carbon emissions or energy consumption. A previous work proposed to numerically study the feasibility of using wood chips to regulate relative humidity inside a building. This has shown the capability of a wood chips bed to regulate humidity inside the building, to improve thermal comfort, and so potentially reduce building energy consumption. However, it also shown that some physical parameters of the wood chips must be identified to validate the proposed model and the associated results. This paper presents an experimental setup able to study such a wood chips bed with different solicitations. It consists of a simple duct filled with wood chips and crossed by an air flow with variable temperature and relative humidity. Its main objective is to study the thermal behavior of the wood chips bed by controlling temperature and relative humidity of the air that enters into it and by observing the same parameters at the output. First, the experimental set up is described according to previous results. A focus is made on the particular properties that have to be characterized. Then some case studies are presented in relation to the previous results in order to identify the key physical properties. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed technology is discussed, and some model validation paths are given.

Keywords: wood chips bed, experimental set-up, bio-based material, desiccant, relative humidity, water content, thermal behaviour, air treatment

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Authors: Cheila Pereira, Sara C. Cunha, Miguel A. Faria, José O. Fernandes

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The increasing world population brings several concerns, one of which is food security and sustainability. To meet this challenge, aquaculture, the farming of aquatic animals and plants, including fish, mollusks, bivalves, and algae, has experienced sustained growth and development in recent years. Recent advances in this industry have focused on reducing its economic and environmental costs, for example, the substitution of protein sources in fish feed. Plant-based proteins are now a common approach, and while it is a greener alternative to animal-based proteins, there are some disadvantages, such as their putative content and intoxicants such as mycotoxins. These are naturally occurring plant contaminants, and their exposure in fish can cause health problems, stunted growth or even death, resulting in economic losses for the producers and health concerns for the consumers. Different works have demonstrated the presence of both AFB1 (aflatoxin B1) and ENNB1 (enniatin B1) in fish feed and their capacity to be absorbed and bioaccumulate in the fish organism after digestion, further reaching humans through fish ingestion. The aim of this work was to evaluate the bioaccessibility of both mycotoxins in samples of Sparus aurata muscle using a static digestion model based on the INFOGEST protocol. The samples were subjected to different cooking procedures – raw, grilled and fried – and different seasonings – none, thyme and ginger – in order to evaluate their potential reduction effect on mycotoxins bioaccessibility, followed by the evaluation of the intestinal transport of both compounds with an in vitro cell model composed of Caco-2/HT-29 co-culture monolayers, simulating the human intestinal epithelium. The bioaccessible fractions obtained in the digestion studies were used in the transport studies for a more realistic approach to bioavailability evaluation. Results demonstrated the effect of the use of different cooking procedures and seasoning on the toxin's bioavailability. Sparus aurata was chosen in this study for its large production in aquaculture and high consumption in Europe. Also, with the continued evolution of fish farming practices and more common usage of novel feed ingredients based on plants, there is a growing concern about less studied contaminants in aquaculture and their consequences for human health. In pair with greener advances in this industry, there is a convergence towards alternative research methods, such as in vitro applications. In the case of bioavailability studies, both in vitro digestion protocols and intestinal transport assessment are excellent alternatives to in vivo studies. These methods provide fast, reliable and comparable results without ethical restraints.

Keywords: AFB1, aquaculture, bioaccessibility, ENNB1, intestinal transport.

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Authors: Shillah Memusi

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Underrepresentation of women in governance structures is a global phenomenon, with patriarchal considerations being among the main, if not the top, reason for this in Sub Saharan Africa. This paper demonstrates that gender norms and informal rules have perpetuated a culture of stereotypical gender roles that have limited women’s public participation and leadership in society. To achieve this, the paper explores barriers to women’s political engagement, and how these are navigated in the face of gender equality laws. Situated in Kenya’s Maasai community, the paper investigates the influence of set laws on the increased involvement of women from the patriarchal community in the political economy. It gives special attention to the intersectionality of formal and informal laws and the subsequent interpretation and implementation of gender equality. The paper then concludes by demonstrating the benefits of exploring alternative gender equality pathways, as informed by contextual realities of settings such as patriarchal communities.

Keywords: equality, Kenya, patriarchy, public participation, women

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Authors: C. Garcia, C. Andreasen

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Sugarcane is an important resource for bioenergy. Fields are usually established by using 15-20 cm pieces of sugarcane stalks as propagation material. An alternative method is to use small chips with nodes from sugarcane stalks. Plants from nodes are often established in plastic pots, but plastic pots could be replaced with biodegradable paper pots. This would be a more sustainable solution, reducing labor costs and avoiding pollution with plastic. We compared the establishment of plants from nodes taken from three different part of the sugarcane plant. The nodes were planted in plastic and paper pots. There was no significant difference between plants established in the two pot types. Nodes from different part of the stalk had different sprouting capacity. Nodes from the top parts sprouted significantly better than nodes taken from the middle or nodes taken closed to the ground in two experiments. Nodes with a length of 3 cm performed better than nodes with a length of 2 cm.

Keywords: nodes, paper pots, propagation material, sugarcane

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Authors: Akila Tayeb-Benmachiche, Saber-Mustapha Zendaoui, Salah-Eddine Bouaoud, Bachir Zouchoune

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The variation of the metal coordination site in π-coordinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) corresponds to the haptotropic rearrangement or haptotropic migration in which the metal fragment MLn is considered as the moveable moiety that is shifted between two rings of polycyclic or heteropolycyclic ligands. These structural characteristics and dynamical properties give to this category of transition metal complexes a considerable interest. We have investigated the coordination and the haptotropic shifts of (CO)3Ti and CpV moieties over the phenanthridine aromatic system and according to the metal atom nature. The optimization of (CO)3Ti(PHND) and CpV(PHND), using the Amsterdam Density Functional (ADF) program, without a symmetrical restriction of geometry gives an η6 coordination mode of the C6 and C5N rings, which in turn give rise to a six low-lying deficient 16-MVE of each (CO)3Ti(PHND) and CpV(PHND) structure (three singlet and three triplet state structures for Ti complexes and three triplet and three quintet state structures for V complexes). Thus, the η6–η6 haptotropic migration of the metal fragment MLn from the terminal C6 ring to the central C5N ring has been achieved by a loss of energy. However, its η6–η6 haptotropic migration from central C5N ring to the terminal C6 rings has been accomplished by a gain of energy. These results show the capability of the phenanthridine ligand to adapt itself to the electronic demand of the metal in agreement with the nature of the metal–ligand bonding and demonstrate that this theoretical study can also be applied to large fused π-systems.

Keywords: electronic structure, bonding analysis, density functional theory, coordination chemistry haptotropic migration

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Authors: Yanuar Tri Wahyu Saputra, Ramadhani Pamapta Putra

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Karimunjawa is one among Indonesian islands which is lacking of electricity supply. Despite condition above, Karimunjawa is an important tourism object in Indonesia's Central Java Province. Solar Power Plant is a potential technology to be applied in Karimunjawa, in order to fulfill the island's electrical supply need and to increase daily life and tourism quality among tourists and local population. This optimation modeling of Karimunjawa uses HOMER software program. The data we uses include wind speed data in Karimunjawa from BMKG (Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics), annual weather data in Karimunjawa from NASA, electricity requirements assumption data based on number of houses and business infrastructures in Karimunjawa. This modeling aims to choose which three system categories offer the highest financial profit with the lowest total Net Present Cost (NPC). The first category uses only PV with 8000 kW of electrical power and NPC value of $6.830.701. The second category uses hybrid system which involves both 1000 kW PV and 100 kW generator which results in total NPC of $6.865.590. The last category uses only generator with 750 kW of electrical power that results in total NPC of $ 16.368.197, the highest total NPC among the three categories. Based on the analysis above, we can conclude that the most optimal way to fulfill the electricity needs in Karimunjawa is to use 8000 kW PV with lower maintenance cost.

Keywords: Karimunjawa, renewable energy, solar power plant, HOMER

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Authors: Afsoon Danesh Afrooz, Sohrab Imani, Ali Ahadiyat, Aref Maroof, Yahya Ostadi

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This study has been investigated for finding alternative and safe botanical pesticides instead of chemical insecticides. The effects of plant extracts of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Thymus daenensis were tested against adult of Callosobrochus maculatus F. Experiments were carried out at 27±1°C and 60 ± 5% R. H. under dark condition with adopting a complete randomized block design. Three replicates were set up for five concentrations of each plants extract. LC50 values were determined by SPSS 16.0 software. LC50 values indicated that plant extract of Thymus daenensis with 1.708 (µl/l air) against adult was more effective than the plant extract of Eucalyptus camaldulensis with LC50 12.755 (µl/l air). It was found that plant extract of Thymus daenensis in comparison with extract of Eucalyptus camaldulensis could be used as a pesticide for control store pests.

Keywords: callosobruchus maculatus, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, insecticidal effects, Thymus daenensis

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Authors: Yalçın Kılıç, İbrahim Kani

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In recent years, interest in the synthesis of coordination compounds has greatly increased due to various application areas (such as catalysis, gas storage, luminescence). Dicarboxylic acids are often used in the synthesis of metal complexes. Bis-thiosalicylate derivative ligands contribute to the synthesis of structures of crystal engineering interest, as they can have both rigid and flexible properties. In addition, these ligands have great potential in terms of catalytic applications with the sulfur and oxygen donor atoms in their structures. In this study, we synthesized a Cu(II) complex [Cu(tsaxyl)(phen)2]•CH3OH (where tsaxyl = 2,2'-(1,2-phylenebis(methylene))bis(sulfanedyl)dibenzoate, phen = 1,10-phenantroline) and characterized through X-ray crystallography. The catalytic activities of Cu(II) complex on oxidation of ethylbenzene, cyclohexane, diphenylmethane, p-xylene were performed in acetonitrile with t-BuOOH as the source of oxygen.

Keywords: complex, crystallography, catalysis, oxidation

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Authors: Jefrey Pilusa, Tumisang Seodigeng

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This research discusses a South African case study for the potential of utilizing refuse-derived fuel (RDF) obtained from non-burn treatment of health care risk waste (HCRW) as potential feedstock for green energy production. This specific waste stream can be destroyed via non-burn treatment technology involving high-speed mechanical shredding followed by steam or chemical injection to disinfect the final product. The RDF obtained from this process is characterised by a low moisture, low ash, and high calorific value which means it can be potentially used as high-value solid fuel. Due to the raw feed of this RDF being classified as hazardous, the final RDF has been reported to be non-infectious and can blend with other combustible wastes such as rubber and plastic for waste to energy applications. This study evaluated non-burn treatment technology as a possible solution for on-site destruction of HCRW in South African private and public health care centres. Waste generation quantities were estimated based on the number of registered patient beds, theoretical bed occupancy. Time and motion study was conducted to evaluate the logistics viability of on-site treatment. Non-burn treatment technology for HCRW is a promising option for South Africa, and successful implementation of this method depends upon the initial capital investment, operational cost and environmental permitting of such technology; there are other influencing factors such as the size of the waste stream, product off-take price as well as product demand.

Keywords: autoclave, disposal, fuel, incineration, medical waste

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Authors: Danny Alexander R. Moreno, Gustavo L. Sartorello, Yuli Andrea P. Bermudez, Richard R. Lobo, Ives Claudio S. Bueno, Augusto H. Gameiro

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Meat production is a significant sector for Brazil's economy; however, the agricultural segment has suffered censure regarding the negative impacts on the environment, which consequently results in climate change. Therefore, it is essential the implementation of nutritional strategies that can improve the environmental performance of livestock. This research aimed to estimate the environmental impact and profitability of the use of yerba mate extract (Ilex paraguariensis) as an additive in the feeding of feedlot lamb. Thirty-six castrated male lambs (average weight of 23.90 ± 3.67 kg and average age of 75 days) were randomly assigned to four experimental diets with different levels of inclusion of yerba mate extract (0, 1, 2, and 4 %) based on dry matter. The animals were confined for fifty-three days and fed with 60:40 corn silage to concentrate ratio. As an indicator of environmental impact, the carbon footprint (CF) was measured as kg of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂-eq) per kg of body weight produced (BWP). The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as methane (CH₄) generated from enteric fermentation, were calculated using the sulfur hexafluoride gas tracer (SF₆) technique; while the CH₄, nitrous oxide (N₂O - emissions generated by feces and urine), and carbon dioxide (CO₂ - emissions generated by concentrate and silage processing) were estimated using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology. To estimate profitability, the gross margin was used, which is the total revenue minus the total cost; the latter is composed of the purchase of animals and food. The boundaries of this study considered only the lamb fattening system. The enteric CH₄ emission from the lamb was the largest source of on-farm GHG emissions (47%-50%), followed by CH₄ and N₂O emissions from manure (10%-20%) and CO₂ emission from the concentrate, silage, and fossil energy (17%-5%). The treatment that generated the least environmental impact was the group with 4% of yerba mate extract (YME), which showed a 3% reduction in total GHG emissions in relation to the control (1462.5 and 1505.5 kg CO₂-eq, respectively). However, the scenario with 1% YME showed an increase in emissions of 7% compared to the control group. In relation to CF, the treatment with 4% YME had the lowest value (4.1 kg CO₂-eq/kg LW) compared with the other groups. Nevertheless, although the 4% YME inclusion scenario showed the lowest CF, the gross margin decreased by 36% compared to the control group (0% YME), due to the cost of YME as a food additive. The results showed that the extract has the potential for use in reducing GHG. However, the cost of implementing this input as a mitigation strategy increased the production cost. Therefore, it is important to develop political strategies that help reduce the acquisition costs of input that contribute to the search for the environmental and economic benefit of the livestock sector.

Keywords: meat production, natural additives, profitability, sheep

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Authors: S. B. Provost, Susan Sheng

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An alternative bivariate density estimation methodology is introduced in this presentation. The proposed approach involves estimating the density function associated with the marginal distribution of each of the two variables by means of the saddlepoint approximation technique and applying a bivariate polynomial adjustment to the product of these density estimates. Since the saddlepoint approximation is utilized in the context of density estimation, such estimates are determined from empirical cumulant-generating functions. In the univariate case, the saddlepoint density estimate is itself adjusted by a polynomial. Given a set of observations, the coefficients of the polynomial adjustments are obtained from the sample moments. Several illustrative applications of the proposed methodology shall be presented. Since this approach relies essentially on a determinate number of sample moments, it is particularly well suited for modeling massive data sets.

Keywords: density estimation, empirical cumulant-generating function, moments, saddlepoint approximation

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Authors: Gabriela T. Nakashima, Elias R. D. Padilla, Joao L. Barros, Gabriela B. Belini, Hiroyuki Yamamoto, Fabio M. Yamaji

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Biochar can be an alternative to use sugarcane trash. Biochar is a solid material obtained from pyrolysis, that is a biomass thermal degradation with low or no O₂ concentration. Pyrolysis transforms the carbon that is commonly found in other organic structures into a carbon with more stability that can resist microbial decomposition. Biochar has a versatility of uses such as soil fertility, carbon sequestration, energy generation, ecological restoration, and soil remediation. Biochar has a great ability to retain water and nutrients in the soil so that this material can improve the efficiency of irrigation and fertilization. The aim of this study was to characterize biochar produced from sugarcane trash in three different pyrolysis temperatures and determine the lowest temperature with the high yield and carbon content. Physical characterization of this biochar was performed to help the evaluation for the best production conditions. Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) trash was collected at Corredeira Farm, located in Ibaté, São Paulo State, Brazil. The farm has 800 hectares of planted area with an average yield of 87 t·ha⁻¹. The sugarcane varieties planted on the farm are: RB 855453, RB 867515, RB 855536, SP 803280, SP 813250. Sugarcane trash was dried and crushed into 50 mm pieces. Crucibles and lids were used to settle the sugarcane trash samples. The higher amount of sugarcane trash was added to the crucible to avoid the O₂ concentration. Biochar production was performed in three different pyrolysis temperatures (200°C, 325°C, 450°C) in 2 hours residence time in the muffle furnace. Gravimetric yield of biochar was obtained. Proximate analysis of biochar was done using ASTM E-872 and ABNT NBR 8112. Volatile matter and ash content were calculated by direct weight loss and fixed carbon content calculated by difference. Porosity measurement was evaluated using an automatic gas adsorption device, Autosorb-1, with CO₂ described by Nakatani. Approximately 0.5 g of biochar in 2 mm particle sizes were used for each measurement. Vacuum outgassing was performed as a pre-treatment in different conditions for each biochar temperature. The pore size distribution of micropores was determined using Horváth-Kawazoe method. Biochar presented different colors for each treatment. Biochar - 200°C presented a higher number of pieces with 10mm or more and did not present the dark black color like other treatments after 2 h residence time in muffle furnace. Also, this treatment had the higher content of volatiles and the lower amount of fixed carbon. In porosity analysis, while the temperature treatments increase, the amount of pores also increase. The increase in temperature resulted in a biochar with a better quality. The pores in biochar can help in the soil aeration, adsorption, water retention. Acknowledgment: This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brazil – PROAP-CAPES, PDSE and CAPES - Finance Code 001.

Keywords: proximate analysis, pyrolysis, soil amendment, sugarcane straw

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Authors: Guido Trautmann-Sáez, Mario Pérez-Won, Vilbett Briones, María José Bugueño, Gipsy Tabilo-Munizaga, Luis Gonzáles-Cavieres

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Shrimp by-products are a valuable source of protein. However, traditional protein extraction methods have limitations in terms of their efficiency. Protein extraction from shrimp (Pleuroncodes monodon) industrial by-products assisted with ohmic heating (OH), microwave (MW) and pulsed electric field (PEF). It was performed by chemical method (using NaOH and HCl 2M) assisted with OH, MW and PEF in a continuous flow system (5 ml/s). Protein determination, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR). Results indicate a 19.25% (PEF) 3.65% (OH) and 28.19% (MW) improvement in protein extraction efficiency. The most efficient method was selected for the electrospinning process and obtaining fiber.

Keywords: electrospinning process, emerging technology, protein extraction, shrimp by-products

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Authors: J. B. Qin, X. H. Jiang, Y. T. Ge

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The growing awareness of global warming potential has internationally aroused interest and demand in reducing greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activity. Much national energy in the UK had been consumed in the residential sector mainly for space heating and domestic hot water production. Currently, gas boilers are mostly applied in the domestic water heating which contribute significantly to excessive CO₂ emissions and consumption of primary energy resources. The issues can be solved by popularizing heat pump systems that are attributable to higher performance efficiency than those of traditional gas boilers. Even so, the heat pump system performance can be further enhanced if the dissolved gases in its hot water circuit can be efficiently discharged.  To achieve this target, the bubble behaviors in the heat pump water heating system need to be extensively investigated. In this paper, by varying different experimental conditions, the effects of various heat pump hot water side parameters on gas microbubble diameters were measured and analyzed. Correspondingly, the effect of each parameter has been investigated. These include varied system pressures, water flow rates, saturation ratios and heat outputs. The results measurement showed that the water flow rate is the most significant parameter to influence on gas microbubble productions. The research outcomes can significantly contribute to the understanding of gas bubble behaviors at domestic heat pump water heating systems and thus the efficient way for the discharging of the associated dissolved gases.  

Keywords: heat pump water heating system, microbubble formation, dissolved gases in water, effectiveness

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Authors: Tomilola J. Ajayi

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A category of nanovalves system containing the α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) ring on a stalk tethered to the pores of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) is theoretically and computationally modelled. This functions to control opening and blocking of the MSN pores for efficient targeted drug release system. Modeling of the nanovalves is based on the interaction between α-CD and the stalk (p-anisidine) in relation to pH variation. Conformational analysis was carried out prior to the formation of the inclusion complex, to find the global minimum of both neutral and protonated stalk. B3LYP/6-311G**(d, p) basis set was employed to attain all theoretically possible conformers of the stalk. Six conformers were taken into considerations, and the dihedral angle (θ) around the reference atom (N17) of the p-anisidine stalk was scanned from 0° to 360° at 5° intervals. The most stable conformer was obtained at a dihedral angle of 85.3° and was fully optimized at B3LYP/6-311G**(d, p) level of theory. The most stable conformer obtained from conformational analysis was used as the starting structure to create the inclusion complexes. 9 complexes were formed by moving the neutral guest into the α-CD cavity along the Z-axis in 1 Å stepwise while keeping the distance between dummy atom and OMe oxygen atom on the stalk restricted. The dummy atom and the carbon atoms on α-CD structure were equally restricted for orientation A (see Scheme 1). The generated structures at each step were optimized with B3LYP/6-311G**(d, p) methods to determine their energy minima. Protonation of the nitrogen atom on the stalk occurs at acidic pH, leading to unsatisfactory host-guest interaction in the nanogate; hence there is dethreading. High required interaction energy and conformational change are theoretically established to drive the release of α-CD at a certain pH. The release was found to occur between pH 5-7 which agreed with reported experimental results. In this study, we applied the theoretical model for the prediction of the experimentally observed pH-responsive nanovalves which enables blocking, and opening of mesoporous silica nanoparticles pores for targeted drug release system. Our results show that two major factors are responsible for the cargo release at acidic pH. The higher interaction energy needed for the complex/nanovalve formation to exist after protonation as well as conformational change upon protonation are driving the release due to slight pH change from 5 to 7.

Keywords: nanovalves, nanogate, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, cargo

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Authors: G. A. Babalola, Yusuf Muhammad

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An analysis was carried out on 19,759 citations appended to the References Section of 881 research articles published in Bayero Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences. It was found that journals publications were the most cited source of information among pure and applied sciences scientists with 12,090 (61.2%). The study also revealed that researchers in the field of pure and applied sciences used very current and up to date information sources in writing theirs articles with 10,091 (51.1%) citations and an average mean 11.1 per article in the journal.

Keywords: citation analysis, BAJOPAS, journal article, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria

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Authors: Oriyomi M. Okeyinka, David A. Oloke, Jamal M. Khatib

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Large quantities of solid wastes being generated worldwide from sources such as household, domestic, industrial, commercial and construction demolition activities, leads to environmental concerns. Utilization of these wastes in making building construction materials can reduce the magnitude of the associated problems. When these waste products are used in place of other conventional materials, natural resources and energy are preserved and expensive and/or potentially harmful waste disposal is avoided. Recycling which is regarded as the third most preferred waste disposal option, with its numerous environmental benefits, stand as a viable option to offset the environmental impact associated with the construction industry. This paper reviews the results of laboratory tests and important research findings, and the potential of using these wastes in building construction materials with focus on sustainable development. Research gaps, which includes; the need to develop standard mix design for solid waste based building materials; the need to develop energy efficient method of processing solid waste use in concrete; the need to study the actual behavior or performance of such building materials in practical application and the limited real life application of such building materials have also been identified. Therefore a research is being proposed to develop an environmentally friendly, lightweight building block from recycled waste paper, without the use of cement, and with properties suitable for use as walling unit. This proposed research intends to incorporate, laboratory experimentation and modeling to address the identified research gaps.

Keywords: recycling, solid wastes, construction, building materials

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Authors: Monika Šípová, Daniela Marušáková, Claudia Aparicio

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New sources and ways of producing energy are still seeking, and one of the sustainable ways is Generation IV nuclear reactors. The supercritical water-cooled reactor is one of the six nuclear reactors of Generation IV, and as a consequence of the development of light water, reactors seem to be the most perspective. Thus, materials usually used in light water reactors are also tested under the expected operating conditions of the supercritical water-cooled reactor. Austenitic stainless steel 08Cr18Ni10Ti is widely used in the eastern types of light water nuclear power plants. Therefore, specimens of 08Cr18Ni10Ti were exposed to conditions close to the pseudo-critical point of water and high-temperature supercritical water. The description and evaluation of the corrosion behaviour of austenitic stainless steel have been done based on the results of X-ray diffraction in combination with energy dispersive spectroscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. Thus, significant differences have been found in the structure and composition of oxides formed depending on the temperature of exposure. The high temperature of supercritical water resulted in localised form of corrosion in contrast to the thin oxide layer of 1 µm present on the surface of specimens exposed close to the pseudo-critical point of water. The obtained results are important for further research as the supercritical water can be successfully used as a coolant for small modular reactors, which are currently of interest.

Keywords: localised corrosion, supercritical water, stainless steel, electron backscatter diffraction

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Authors: Vinay Kumar Vanjakula, Frank Adam, Nils Goseberg

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Wind power is one of the leading renewable energy generation methods. Due to abundant higher wind speeds far away from shore, the construction of offshore wind turbines began in the last decades. However, installation of offshore foundation-based (monopiles) wind turbines in deep waters are often associated with technical and financial challenges. To overcome such challenges, the concept of floating wind turbines is expanded as the basis from the oil and gas industry. The unfolding of Universal heavyweight gravity anchor (UGA) for floating based foundation for floating Tension Leg Platform (TLP) sub-structures is developed in this research work. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research) for a three-year (2019-2022) research program called “Offshore Wind Solutions Plus (OWSplus) - Floating Offshore Wind Solutions Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.” It’s a group consists of German institutions (Universities, laboratories, and consulting companies). The part of the project is focused on the numerical modeling of gravity anchor that involves to analyze and solve fluid flow problems. Compared to gravity-based torpedo anchors, these UGA will be towed and lowered via controlled machines (tug boats) at lower speeds. This kind of installation of UGA are new to the offshore wind industry, particularly for TLP, and very few research works have been carried out in recent years. Conventional methods for transporting the anchor requires a large transportation crane vessel which involves a greater cost. This conceptual UGA anchors consists of ballasting chambers which utilizes the concept of buoyancy forces; the inside chambers are filled with the required amount of water in a way that they can float on the water for towing. After reaching the installation site, those chambers are ballasted with water for lowering. After it’s lifetime, these UGA can be unballasted (for erection or replacement) results in self-rising to the sea surface; buoyancy chambers give an advantage for using an UGA without the need of heavy machinery. However, while lowering/rising the UGA towards/away from the seabed, it experiences difficult, harsh marine environments due to the interaction of waves and currents. This leads to drifting of the anchor from the desired installation position and damage to the lowering machines. To overcome such harsh environments problems, a numerical model is built to investigate the influences of different outer contours and other fluid governing shapes that can be installed on the UGA to overcome the turbulence and drifting. The presentation will highlight the importance of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) numerical model in OpenFOAM, which is open-source programming software.

Keywords: anchor lowering, towing, waves, currrents, computational fluid dynamics

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Authors: Vipin Saini, Sunil Kamboj, Suman Bala, A. Pandurangan

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The present research is aimed at fabrication of multiple-unit controlled-release tablet formulation of aceclofenac by employing acrylic polymers as the release controlling excipients for drug multi-particulates to achieve the desired objectives of maintaining the same controlled release characteristics as that prior to their compression into tablet. Various manufacturers are successfully manufacturing and marketing aceclofenac controlled release tablet by applying directly coating materials on the tablet. The basic idea behind development of such formulations was to employ aqueous acrylics polymers dispersion as an alternative to the existing approaches, wherein the forces of compression may cause twist of drug pellets, but do not have adverse effects on the drug release properties. Thus, the study was undertaken to illustrate manufacturing of controlled release aceclofenac multiple-unit tablet formulation.

Keywords: aceclofenac, multiple-unit tablets, acrylic polymers, controlled-release

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Authors: Tomoko Usui

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In the field of linguistics, it has been said that concepts associated with space and motion systematically contribute structure to the temporal concept. This is the conceptual metaphor theory. conceptual metaphors typically employ a more abstract concept (time) as their target and a more concrete or physical concept as their source (space). This paper will examine two major temporal conceptual metaphors: Ego-centered Moving Time Metaphor and Time-RP Metaphor. Moving time generally receives a front-back orientation, however, Japanese shows a different orientation given to time. By means of Ego perspective, this paper will illustrate the paradox of a metaphorical orientation in time.

Keywords: Ego-centered Moving Time Metaphor, Japanese saki, temporal metaphors, Time RP Metaphor

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Authors: Aidoud Assia, Bencheikh Messaouda, Boukour Salima

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Polystyrene is often seen in the ocean and on Algerian beaches, mainly as food containers. It's one of the top 10 most common items found there. This happens because it's light and easily carried away from its original source, like packaging or transport, into the environment. Unfortunately, it's not recycled much because it's not very profitable to do so. Hence, turning this waste into a resource can turn challenges into opportunities for a territory's economic and environmental development, which is the focus of this study. the goal is to analyze the physical and mechanical properties of a new type of mortar made from dune sand mixed with recycled polystyrene. it also aim to assess its potential for use in various construction applications. The mixtures were prepared by replacing portions of dune sand with polystyrene waste at varying volumes (10%, 20%, and 30%), while keeping the amount of cement constant. The results indicate a noticeable impact on both the physical and mechanical properties because of incorporating polystyrene waste.

Keywords: polystyrène, eco-mortier, sable de dune, résistance

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Authors: Douglas Yeboah, Jai Singh

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It has been experimentally demonstrated that exciton diffusion length in organic solids can be improved by fine-tuning the material parameters that govern exciton transfer. Here, a theoretical study is carried out to support this finding. We have therefore derived expressions for the exciton diffusion length and diffusion coefficient of singlet and triplet excitons using Förster resonance energy transfer and Dexter carrier transfer mechanisms and are plotted as a function of photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield, spectral overlap integral, refractive index and dipole moment of the photoactive material. We found that singlet exciton diffusion length increases with PL quantum yield and spectral overlap integral, and decreases with increase in refractive index. Likewise, the triplet exciton diffusion length increases when PL quantum yield increases and dipole moment decreases. The calculated diffusion lengths in different organic materials are compared with existing experimental values and found to be in reasonable agreement. The results are expected to provide insight in developing new organic materials for fabricating bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells (OSCs) with better photoconversion efficiency.

Keywords: Dexter carrier transfer, diffusion coefficient, exciton diffusion length, Föster resonance energy transfer, photoactive materials, photophysical parameters

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Authors: Anastasios Charisis, Evangelos Kaisar, Steven Spana, Lili Du

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Logistics play a vital role in the prosperity of today’s cities, but current urban logistics practices are proving problematic, causing negative effects such as traffic congestion and environmental impacts. This paper proposes an alternative urban logistics system, leasing hubs inside cities for designated time intervals, and using handcarts for last-mile deliveries. A mathematical model for selecting the locations of hubs and allocating customers, while also scheduling the optimal times during the day for leasing hubs is developed. The proposed model is compared to current delivery methods requiring door-to-door truck deliveries. It is shown that truck traveled distances decrease by more than 60%. In addition, analysis shows that in certain conditions the approach can be economically competitive and successfully applied to address real problems.

Keywords: hub location, last-mile, logistics, optimization

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Authors: Christian C. Vaso, Rinlee Butch M. Cervera

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Solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) is a promising technology for hydrogen production that will contribute to the sustainable energy of the future. An important component of this SOEC is the anode material and one of the promising anode material for such application is the Sr-doped LaMnO3 (LSM) and Yttrium-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ) composite material. In this study, LSM/YSZ with different weight percent compositions of LSM and YSZ were synthesized using solid-state reaction method. The obtained samples, 60LSM/40YSZ, 50LSM/50YSZ, and 40LSM/60YSZ, were fully characterized for its microstructure using X-ray diffraction, FTIR, and SEM/EDS. EDS analysis confirmed the elemental composition and distribution of the synthesized samples. Surface morphology of the sample using SEM exhibited a well sintered and densified samples and revealed a beveled cube-like LSM morphology while the YSZ phase appeared to have a sphere-like microstructure. Density measurements using Archimedes principle showed relative densities greater than 90%. In addition, AC impedance measurement of the synthesized samples have been investigated at intermediate temperature range (400-700 °C) in an inert and oxygen gas flow environment. At pure states, LSM exhibited a high electronic conductivity while YSZ demonstrated an ionic conductivity of 3.25 x 10-4 S/cm at 700 °C under Oxygen gas environment with calculated activation energy of 0.85eV. The composite samples were also studied and revealed that as the YSZ content of the composite electrode increases, the total conductivity decreases.

Keywords: ceramic composites, fuel cells, strontium lanthanum manganite, yttria partially-stabilized zirconia

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Authors: Murtaza Hassan Sheikh, Ahmed A. A. AlSaleh, Naser H. N. Jasem

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Kuwait has not yet made its mark in the world of technology and research. Therefore, advancements have been made to fill in this gap. Since Robotics covers a wide variety of fields and helps innovation, efforts have been made to promote its education. Despite of the efforts made in Kuwait, robotics education is still on hold. The paper discusses the issues and obstacles in the implementation of robotics education in Kuwait and how a robotics kit “E-Robot” is making an impact in the Kuwait’s future education and innovation. Problems such as robotics competitions rather than education, complexity of robot programming and lack of organized open source platform are being addressed by the introduction of the E-Robot Kit in Kuwait. Due to its success since 2012 a total of 15 schools have accepted the Kit as a core subject, with 200 teaching it as an extracurricular activity.

Keywords: robotics education, Kuwait's education, e-robot kit, research and development, innovation and creativity

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Authors: Agnieszka Krzemińska, Katarzyna Świderek, Vicente Molinier, Piotr Paneth

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In order to understand in details the interactions between ligands and the enzyme isotope effects were studied between clinically used drugs that bind in the active site of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Reverse Transcriptase, HIV-1 RT, as well as triazole-based inhibitor that binds in the allosteric pocket of this enzyme. The magnitudes and origins of the resulting binding isotope effects were analyzed. Subsequently, binding isotope effect of the same triazole-based inhibitor bound in the active site were analyzed and compared. Together, these results show differences in binding origins in two sites of the enzyme and allow to analyze binding mode and place of newly synthesized inhibitors. Typical protocol is described below on the example of triazole ligand in the allosteric pocket. Triazole was docked into allosteric cavity of HIV-1 RT with Glide using extra-precision mode as implemented in Schroedinger software. The structure of HIV-1 RT was obtained from Protein Data Bank as structure of PDB ID 2RKI. The pKa for titratable amino acids was calculated using PROPKA software, and in order to neutralize the system 15 Cl- were added using tLEaP package implemented in AMBERTools ver.1.5. Also N-terminals and C-terminals were build using tLEaP. The system was placed in 144x160x144Å3 orthorhombic box of water molecules using NAMD program. Missing parameters for triazole were obtained at the AM1 level using Antechamber software implemented in AMBERTools. The energy minimizations were carried out by means of a conjugate gradient algorithm using NAMD. Then system was heated from 0 to 300 K with temperature increment 0.001 K. Subsequently 2 ns Langevin−Verlet (NVT) MM MD simulation with AMBER force field implemented in NAMD was carried out. Periodic Boundary Conditions and cut-offs for the nonbonding interactions, range radius from 14.5 to 16 Å, are used. After 2 ns relaxation 200 ps of QM/MM MD at 300 K were simulated. The triazole was treated quantum mechanically at the AM1 level, protein was described using AMBER and water molecules were described using TIP3P, as implemented in fDynamo library. Molecules 20 Å apart from the triazole were kept frozen, with cut-offs established on range radius from 14.5 to 16 Å. In order to describe interactions between triazole and RT free energy of binding using Free Energy Perturbation method was done. The change in frequencies from ligand in solution to ligand bounded in enzyme was used to calculate binding isotope effects.

Keywords: binding isotope effects, molecular dynamics, HIV, reverse transcriptase

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Authors: Neelam Kadyan, Pratima Ranga, Yogender

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Indigenous people are the One who are affected by the climate change the most, although there have contributed little to its causes. This is largely a result of their historic dependence on local biological diversity, ecosystem services and cultural landscapes as a source of their sustenance and well-being. Comprising only four percent of the world’s population they utilize 22 percent of the world’s land surface. Despite their high exposure-sensitivity indigenous peoples and local communities are actively responding to changing climatic conditions and have demonstrated their resourcefulness and resilience in the face of climate change. Traditional Indigenous territories encompass up to 22 percent of the world’s land surface and they coincide with areas that hold 80 percent of the planet’s biodiversity. Also, the greatest diversity of indigenous groups coincides with the world’s largest tropical forest wilderness areas in the Americas (including Amazon), Africa, and Asia, and 11 percent of world forest lands are legally owned by Indigenous Peoples and communities. This convergence of biodiversity-significant areas and indigenous territories presents an enormous opportunity to expand efforts to conserve biodiversity beyond parks, which tend to benefit from most of the funding for biodiversity conservation. Tapping on Ancestral Knowledge Indigenous Peoples are carriers of ancestral knowledge and wisdom about this biodiversity. Their effective participation in biodiversity conservation programs as experts in protecting and managing biodiversity and natural resources would result in more comprehensive and cost effective conservation and management of biodiversity worldwide. Addressing the Climate Change Agenda Indigenous Peoples has played a key role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The territories of indigenous groups who have been given the rights to their lands have been better conserved than the adjacent lands (i.e., Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua, etc.). Preserving large extensions of forests would not only support the climate change objectives, but it would respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and conserve biodiversity as well. A climate change agenda fully involving Indigenous Peoples has many more benefits than if only government and/or the private sector are involved. Indigenous peoples are some of the most vulnerable groups to the negative effects of climate change. Also, they are a source of knowledge to the many solutions that will be needed to avoid or ameliorate those effects. For example, ancestral territories often provide excellent examples of a landscape design that can resist the negatives effects of climate change. Over the millennia, Indigenous Peoples have developed adaptation models to climate change. They have also developed genetic varieties of medicinal and useful plants and animal breeds with a wider natural range of resistance to climatic and ecological variability.

Keywords: ancestral knowledge, cost effective conservation, management, indigenous peoples, climate change

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Authors: Georgi Y. Georgiev, Matthew Brouillet

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This research applies the power of agent-based modeling to a pivotal question at the intersection of biology, computer science, physics, and complex systems theory about the self-organization processes in open, complex, non-equilibrium thermodynamic systems. Central to this investigation is the principle of Maximum Entropy Production (MEP). This principle suggests that such systems evolve toward states that optimize entropy production, leading to the formation of structured environments. It is hypothesized that guided by the least action principle, open thermodynamic systems identify and follow the shortest paths to transmit energy and matter, resulting in maximal entropy production, internal structure formation, and a decrease in internal entropy. Concurrently, it is predicted that there will be an increase in system information as more information is required to describe the developing structure. To test this, an agent-based model is developed simulating an ant colony's formation of a path between a food source and its nest. Utilizing the Netlogo software for modeling and Python for data analysis and visualization, self-organization is quantified by calculating the decrease in system entropy based on the potential states and distribution of the ants within the simulated environment. External entropy production is also evaluated for information increase and efficiency improvements in the system's action. Simulations demonstrated that the system begins at maximal entropy, which decreases as the ants form paths over time. A range of system behaviors contingent upon the number of ants are observed. Notably, no path formation occurred with fewer than five ants, whereas clear paths were established by 200 ants, and saturation of path formation and entropy state was reached at populations exceeding 1000 ants. This analytical approach identified the inflection point marking the transition from disorder to order and computed the slope at this point. Combined with extrapolation to the final path entropy, these parameters yield important insights into the eventual entropy state of the system and the timeframe for its establishment, enabling the estimation of the self-organization rate. This study provides a novel perspective on the exploration of self-organization in thermodynamic systems, establishing a correlation between internal entropy decrease rate and external entropy production rate. Moreover, it presents a flexible framework for assessing the impact of external factors like changes in world size, path obstacles, and friction. Overall, this research offers a robust, replicable model for studying self-organization processes in any open thermodynamic system. As such, it provides a foundation for further in-depth exploration of the complex behaviors of these systems and contributes to the development of more efficient self-organizing systems across various scientific fields.

Keywords: complexity, self-organization, agent based modelling, efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 50