Search results for: elasticity of substitution

Authors: Viviana Letelier, Ester Tarela, Bianca Lopez, Pedro Muñoz, Giacomo Moriconi

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The environmental impact has become a global concern during the last decades. Several alternatives have been proposed and studied to minimize this impact in different areas. The reuse of aggregates from old concretes to manufacture new ones not only can reduce this impact but is also a way to optimize the resource management. The effect of the origin of the reused aggregates from two different origin materials in recycled concrete pavement is studied here. Using the dosing applied by a pavement company, coarse aggregates in the 6.3-25 mm fraction are replaced by recycled aggregates with two different origins: old concrete pavements with similar origin strength to the one of the control concrete, and precast concrete pipes with smaller strengths than the one of the control concrete. The replacement percentages tested are 30%, 40% and 50% in both cases. The compressive strength tests are performed after 7, 14, 28 and 90 curing days, the flexural strength tests and the elasticity modulus tests after 28 and 90 curing days. Results show that the influence of the quality of the origin concrete in the mechanical properties of recycled concretes is not despicable. Concretes with up to a 50% of recycled aggregates from the concrete pavement have similar compressive strengths to the ones of the control concrete and slightly smaller flexural strengths that, however, in all cases exceed the minimum of 5MPa after 28 curing days stablished by the Chilean regulation for pavement concretes. On the other hand, concretes with recycled aggregates from precast concrete pipes show significantly lower compressive strengths after 28 curing days. The differences with the compressive strength of the control concrete increase with the percentage of replacement, reaching a 13% reduction when 50% of the aggregates are replaced. The flexural strength also suffers significant reductions that increase with the percentage of replacement, only obeying the Chilean regulation when 30% of the aggregates are recycled after 28 curing days. Nevertheless, after 90 curing days, all series obey the regulation requirements. Results show, not only the importance of the quality of the origin concrete, but also the significance of the curing days, that may allow the use of less quality recycled material without important strength losses.

Keywords: flexural strength of recycled concrete., mechanical properties of recycled concrete, recycled aggregates, recycled concrete pavements

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Authors: Mardiati Zain, Elihasridas, Yolani Utami, Bima Bagaskara, Muhammad Taufic

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The purpose of this study is to formulated a ration that can increased concentration of bioactive compounds in the form of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids acid (PUFA) in milk to produce functional milk that is beneficial for health. It has been proven that forage-based feeds (grass and legumes) are able to increased the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids and in particular conjugated linoleic acid CLA in milk. Presence of bioactive compounds in product fat of ruminant origin these have generated great interest because they are associated with their potential as anti carcinogenic, anti diabetogenic and stimulant of the immune response. PUFA and CLA and especially n-3 fatty acids, only 4% of the fatty acids present in milk. For that, efforts need to be made to change the fatty acid composition of milk to increase the nutritional value for consumers through increasing the concentration of PUFA and CLA This is very important in the midst of the covid pandemic 19 which is increasing, it is necessary to drink and food that can improve the system body immunity. . The study was conducted in vivo using a randomized block design with 4 treatments and 4 replications. This experiment used 16 heads of 40-55 kg lactating goats. Goat were fed a basal diet containing (dry matter basis) 60% native grass and 40% concentrate. The treatment was A. 60% native grass + 40% concentrate, B. 60% native grass + 30% concentrate + 10% I. zollengeriana C. 60% native grass + 20% concentrate + 20% I. zollengeriana, D, 60% native grass + 10% concentrate + 30% I. zollengeriana.The results showed that the using of I. zollengeriana until 30% in ration gave the same result with using concentrate of nutrien intake, and milk production but increased the CLA dan PUFA content in milk. The results of this study concluded that I. zollengeriana can increased the content of CLA and PUFA at the use of 75% substitute concentrate in the diet of lactating goats.

Keywords: Indigofera zollengeriana, lactation goat, milk production, CLA, PUFA

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Authors: Shuofen Hsu, Ya-Yi Chao, Chao-Wei Li

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This paper investigates the relationship between voluntary audit (hereafter, VA) of semi-annual consolidated financial statements decision and accounting conservatism. In general, there are four kinds of auditors' assurance services, which include audit, review, agreed-upon procedure and compliance engagements base on degree of assurance. The VA work by auditors may not only have the higher audit quality but an important signal of more reliable information than the review work. In Taiwan, The listed companies must prepare the semi-annual consolidated financial statements and with auditors' review before 2012, but some of the listed companies choose the assurance work from review to audit voluntarily. Due to the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards, the listed companies were required to prepare the second quarterly consolidated financial statements which should be reviewed by auditors since 2013. This rule will change some of the assurance work from audit to review by auditors, and the information asymmetry maybe increased. To control the selection bias, we use two-stage model to test the relationship between VA decision and accounting conservatism. Our empirical results indicate that the VA decision and accounting conservatism have a significant positive relationship in firms with family-controlled. That is, firms with family-controlled are more likely to do VA and to prepare more conservative consolidated financial statements to reduce the information asymmetry, meaning that there is a complementary effect between VA and accounting conservatism for firms with more information asymmetry. But on the contrary, we find that the VA decision and accounting conservatism have a significant negative relationship in firms with professional managers-controlled, meaning that there is a substitution effect between VA and accounting conservatism for firms with less information asymmetry. Finally, the accounting conservatism of consolidated financial statements decrease after the adoption of IFRSs (International Financial Reporting Standards) in Taiwan. It means that the disclosure and transparency of consolidated financial statements had be improved.

Keywords: voluntary audit, accounting conservatism, audit quality, information asymmetry

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Authors: Piyanee Khumpao

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Under the Thai Penal Code and Customs Act, sex toys are criminalized and completely prohibited through the legal interpretation as obscene objects by law enforcement, despite there is no explicit legal sanction against them. The purpose of preventing people from accessing sex toys is to preserve public morals. However, sex toys are still available, exposed, and sold publicly in main cities throughout Thailand. They are easily observed by people of any age. This paper argues that sexuality is human nature and human right. Human deserves sexual pleasure as long as getting sexual pleasure does not inflict any harm on others. Using sex toys in private (individually and/or as a couple with mutual consent) does not constitute any harm nor degrade public moral. Therefore, the complete ban of sex toys shall be lifted and decriminalized. Nevertheless, the economic analysis illustrates that criminalization and prohibition of sex toys would lead to its black market – higher price and lower quantity. Although it is socially desirable to have fewer sex toys in the market, there will usually be high demand for them because sexual pleasure is natural and, hence, people have a lower price elasticity of demand for such things, including pornography. Thus, its deterrent effect is not very effective. Moreover, sex toys vendors still always exist because higher price incentivizes them to act illegally and may gain benefits from selling low-quality sex toys. Consequently, consumers do not have a choice to select high-quality sex toys at a reasonable price. Then, they are forced to purchase low quality sex toys at a higher price. They also may suffer from health issues as well as other harms from its dangerous/toxic substances since lower quality products are manufactured poorly to save costs. A law and economics approach supports the decriminalization of sex toys in Thailand. Other measures to control its availability shall be adopted to protect the vulnerable, such as children. Options are i) zoning or regulation on-premises selling sex toys as in Singapore, Japan, and China, ii) regulations of sex toys as medical apparatus like in the state of Alabama, and iii) the prevention of sex toys exposure in the real (physical) appearance (i.e., allowing virtual exposure of sex toys) like in India.

Keywords: human nature, law and economics approach, sex toys, sexual pleasure

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Authors: Robin Molinier

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Industrial symbiosis (I.S) rely on two basic modes of cooperation between organizations that are infrastructure/service sharing and resource substitution (the use of waste materials, fatal energy and recirculated utilities for production). The former consists in the intensification of use of an asset and thus requires to compare the incremental investment cost to be incurred and the stand-alone cost faced by each potential participant to satisfy its own requirements. In order to investigate the way such a cooperation mode can be implemented we formulate a game theoretic model integrating the grassroot investment decision and the ex-post access pricing problem. In the first period two actors set cooperatively (resp. non-cooperatively) a level of common (resp. individual) infrastructure capacity oversizing to attract ex-post a potential entrant with a plug-and-play offer (available capacity, tariff). The entrant’s requirement is randomly distributed and known only after investments took place. Capacity cost exhibits sub-additive property so that there is room for profitable overcapacity setting in the first period under some conditions that we derive. The entrant willingness-to-pay for the access to the infrastructure is driven by both her standalone cost and the complement cost to be incurred in case she chooses to access an infrastructure whose the available capacity is lower than her requirement level. The expected complement cost function is thus derived, and we show that it is decreasing, convex and shaped by the entrant’s requirements distribution function. For both uniform and triangular distributions optimal capacity level is obtained in the cooperative setting and equilibrium levels are determined in the non-cooperative case. Regarding the latter, we show that competition is deterred by the first period investor with the highest requirement level. Using the non-cooperative game outcomes which gives lower bounds for the profit sharing problem in the cooperative one we solve the whole game and describe situations supporting sharing agreements.

Keywords: capacity, cooperation, industrial symbiosis, pricing

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Authors: Shantanu Arya, Sachin Sakhuja, Gunjan Mehta, Sanjay Munjal

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Stuttering may be defined as a speech disorder affecting the fluency domain of speech and characterized by covert features like word substitution, omittance and circumlocution and overt features like prolongation of sound, syllables and blocks etc. Many etiologies have been postulated to explain stuttering based on various experiments and research. Moreover, Breathlessness has also been reported by many individuals with stuttering for which breathing exercises are generally advised. However, no studies reporting objective evaluation of the pulmonary capacity and further objective assessment of the efficacy of breathing exercises have been conducted. Pulmonary Function Test which evaluates parameters like Forced Vital Capacity, Peak Expiratory Flow Rate, Forced expiratory flow Rate can be used to study the pulmonary behavior of individuals with stuttering. The study aimed: a) To identify speech motor & physiologic behaviours associated with stuttering by administering PFT. b) To recognize possible reasons for an association between speech motor behaviour & stuttering severity. In this regard, PFT tests were administered on individuals who reported signs and symptoms of stuttering and showed abnormal scores on Stuttering Severity Index. Parameters like Forced Vital Capacity, Forced Expiratory Volume, Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (L/min), Forced Expiratory Flow Rate (L/min) were evaluated and correlated with scores of Stuttering Severity Index. Results showed significant decrease in the parameters (lower than normal scores) in individuals with established stuttering. Strong correlation was also found between degree of stuttering and the degree of decrease in the pulmonary volumes. Thus, it is evident that fluent speech requires strong support of lung pressure and requisite volumes. Further research in demonstrating the efficacy of abdominal breathing exercises in this regard is needed.

Keywords: forced expiratory flow rate, forced expiratory volume, forced vital capacity, peak expiratory flow rate, stuttering

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Authors: Othman E. Othman, Hassan R. Darwish, Amira M. Nowier

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Lactoferrin (LF) is a multifunctional protein involved in economically production traits like milk protein composition and skeletal structure in small ruminants including sheep and goat. So, LF gene - with its genetic polymorphisms associated with production traits - is considered a candidate genetic marker used in marker-assisted selection in goats. This study aimed to identify the different alleles and genotypes of this gene in three Egyptian goat breeds using PCR-SSCP (polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism) and DNA sequencing. Genomic DNA was extracted from 120 animals belonging to Barki, Zaraibi, and Damascus goat breeds. Using specific primers, PCR amplified 247-bp fragments from exon 2 of LF goat gene. The PCR products were subjected to Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphism (SSCP) technique. The results showed the presence of two genotypes GG and AG in the tested animals. The frequencies of both genotypes varied among the three tested breeds with the highest frequencies of GG genotype in all tested goat breeds. The sequence analysis of PCR products representing these two detected genotypes declared the presence of an SNP (single nucleotide polymorphisms) substitution (G/A) among G and A alleles of this gene. The association between different LF genotypes and milk composition as well as body measurement was estimated. The comparison showed that the animals possess AG genotypes are superior over those with GG genotypes for different parameters of milk protein compositions and skeletal structures. This finding declared that allele A of LF gene is considered the promising marker for the productive traits in goat. In conclusion, the Egyptian goat breeds will be needed to enhance their milk protein composition and growth trait parameters through the increasing of allele A frequency in their herds depending on the superior production traits of this allele in goats.

Keywords: lLactoferrin gene, PCR-SSCP, SNPs, Egyptian goat

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Authors: C. Müller, T. Ortmann, S. Scholl, H. J. Jördening

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Multienzymatic catalysis can be used as an alternative to chemical synthesis or hydrolysis of polysaccharides for the production of high value oligosaccharides from cheap resources such as sucrose. However, development of multienzymatic processes is complex, especially with respect to suitable conditions for enzymes originating from different organisms. Furthermore, an optimal configuration of the catalysts in a reaction cascade has to be found. These challenges can be approached by design of experiments. The system investigated in this study is a trienzymatic catalyzed reaction which results in laminaribiose production from sucrose and comprises covalently immobilized sucrose phosphorylase (SP), glucose isomerase (GI) and laminaribiose phosphorylase (LP). Operational windows determined with design of experiments and kinetic data of the enzymes were used to optimize the enzyme ratio for maximum product formation and minimal production of byproducts. After adjustment of the enzyme activity ratio to 1: 1.74: 2.23 (SP: LP: GI), different process options were investigated in silico. The considered options included substrate dependency, the use of glucose as co-substrate and substitution of glucose isomerase by glucose addition. Modeling of batch operation in a stirred tank reactor led to yields of 44.4% whereas operation in a continuous stirred tank reactor resulted in product yields of 22.5%. The maximum yield in a bienzymatic system comprised of sucrose phosphorylase and laminaribiose phosphorylase was 67.7% with sucrose and different amounts of glucose as substrate. The experimental data was in good compliance with the process model for batch operation. The continuous operation will be investigated in further studies. Simulation of operational process possibilities enabled us to compare various operational modes regarding different aspects such as cost efficiency, with the minimum amount of expensive and time-consuming practical experiments. This gives us more flexibility in process implementation and allows us, for example, to change the production goal from laminaribiose to higher oligosaccharides.

Keywords: design of experiments, enzyme kinetics, multi-enzymatic system, in silico process development

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Authors: Kazumasa Kawasaki, Isamu Tsuji, Hiroshi Gunbara

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A face gear drive is actually composed of a spur or helical pinion that is in mesh with a face gear and transfers power and motion between intersecting or skew axes. Due to the peculiarity of the face gear drive in shunt and confluence drive, it shows potential advantages in the application in the helicopter transmission. The advantages of such applications are the possibility of the split of the torque that appears to be significant where a pinion drives two face gears to provide an accurate division of power and motion. This mechanism greatly reduces the weight and cost compared to conventional design. Therefore, this has been led to revived interest and the face gear drive has been utilized in substitution for bevel and hypoid gears in limited cases. The face gear drive with a spur or a helical pinion is newly designed in order to determine an effective meshing area under the design parameters and specific design dimensions. The face gear has two unique dimensions which control the face width of the tooth, and the outside and inside diameters of the face gear. On the other hand, it is necessary to modify the tooth surfaces of face gear drive in order to avoid the influences of alignment errors on the tooth contact patterns in practical use. In this case, the pinion tooth surfaces are usually modified in the conventional method. However, it is hard to control the tooth contact pattern intentionally and adjust the position of the pinion axis in meshing of the gear pair. Therefore, a method of the modification of the tooth surfaces of the face gear is proposed. Moreover, based on tooth contact analysis, the tooth contact pattern and transmission errors of the designed face gear drive are analyzed, and the influences of alignment errors on the tooth contact patterns and transmission errors are investigated. These results showed that the tooth contact patterns and transmission errors were controllable and the face gear drive which is insensitive to alignment errors can be obtained.

Keywords: alignment error, face gear, gear design, helicopter transmission, tooth contact analysis

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Authors: Ehsan Pegah, Huabei Liu

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Characterizing the deformation properties of fill materials in a wide stress range always has been an important issue in geotechnical engineering. The hyperbolic Duncan-Chang model is a very popular model of stress-strain relationship that captures the nonlinear deformation of granular geomaterials in a very tractable manner. It consists of a particular set of the model parameters, which are generally measured from an extensive series of laboratory triaxial tests. This practice is both time-consuming and costly, especially in large projects. In addition, undesired effects caused by soil disturbance during the sampling procedure also may yield a large degree of uncertainty in the results. Accordingly, non-invasive geophysical seismic approaches may be utilized as the appropriate alternative surveys for measuring the model parameters based on the seismic wave velocities. To this end, the conventional seismic refraction profiles were carried out in the test sites with the granular fill materials to collect the seismic waves information. The acquired shot gathers are processed, from which the P- and S-wave velocities can be derived. The P-wave velocities are extracted from the Seismic Refraction Tomography (SRT) technique while S-wave velocities are obtained by the Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) method. The velocity values were then utilized with the equations resulting from the rigorous theories of elasticity and soil mechanics to evaluate the Duncan-Chang model parameters. The derived parameters were finally compared with those from laboratory tests to validate the reliability of the results. The findings of this study may confidently serve as the useful references for determination of nonlinear deformation parameters of granular fill geomaterials. Those are environmentally friendly and quite economic, which can yield accurate results under the actual in-situ conditions using the surface seismic methods.

Keywords: Duncan-Chang deformation parameters, granular fill materials, seismic waves velocity, multichannel analysis of surface waves, seismic refraction tomography

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Authors: Ahmad Ali Shahid, Mukhtar Ahmed

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The demand for long staple fiber having better strength and length is increasing with the introduction of modern spinning and weaving industry in Pakistan. Work on gene discovery from developing cotton fibers has helped to identify dozens of genes that take part in cotton fiber development and several genes have been characterized for their role in fiber development. Sucrose synthase (SuS) is a key enzyme in the metabolism of sucrose in a plant cell, in cotton fiber it catalyzes a reversible reaction, but preferentially converts sucrose and UDP into fructose and UDP-glucose. UDP-glucose (UDPG) is a nucleotide sugar act as a donor for glucose residue in many glycosylation reactions and is essential for the cytosolic formation of sucrose and involved in the synthesis of cell wall cellulose. The study was focused on successful Agrobacterium-mediated stable transformation of SuS gene in pCAMBIA 1301 into cotton under a CaMV35S promoter. Integration and expression of the gene were confirmed by PCR, GUS assay, and real-time PCR. Young leaves of SuS overexpressing lines showed increased total soluble sugars and plant biomass as compared to non-transgenic control plants. Cellulose contents from fiber were significantly increased. SEM analysis revealed that fibers from transgenic cotton were highly spiral and fiber twist number increased per unit length when compared with control. Morphological data from field plants showed that transgenic plants performed better in field conditions. Incorporation of genes related to cotton fiber length and quality can provide new avenues for fiber improvement. The utilization of this technology would provide an efficient import substitution and sustained production of long-staple fiber in Pakistan to fulfill the industrial requirements.

Keywords: agrobacterium-mediated transformation, cotton fiber, sucrose synthase gene, staple length

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Authors: Amatulraheem Al-Abassi, K. Khanafer, Ibrahim Deiab

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The coronary artery stent is a promising technology that can treat various coronary diseases. Materials used for manufacturing medical stents should have high biocompatible properties. Stent alloys, in particular, are remarkably promising good clinical outcomes, however, there is threaten of restenosis (reoccurring of artery narrowing due to fatty plaque), stent recoiling, or in long-term the occurrence of stent fracture. However, stents that are made of Nickel-titanium (Nitinol) can bare extensive plastic deformation and resist restenosis. This shape memory alloy has outstanding mechanical properties. Nitinol is a unique shape memory alloy as it has unique mechanical properties such as; biocompatibility, super-elasticity, and recovery to original shape under certain loads. Stent failure may cause complications in vascular diseases and possibly blockage of blood flow. Thus, studying the behaviors of the stent under different medical conditions will help the doctors and cardiologists to predict when it is necessary to change the stent in order to prevent any severe morbidity outcomes. To the best of our knowledge, there are limited published papers that analyze the stent behavior with regards to the contact surfaces of plaque layer and blood vessel. Thus, stent material properties will be discussed in this investigation to highlight the mechanical and clinical differences between various stents. This research analyzes the performance of Nitinol stent in well-known stent design to determine its bearing with stress and its dislocation in blood vessels, in comparison to stents made of different biocompatible materials. In addition, a study of its performance will be represented in the system. Finite Element Analysis is the core of this study. Thus, a physical representative model will be discussed to show the distribution of stress and strain along the interaction surface between the stent and the artery. The reaction of vascular tissue to the stent will be evaluated to predict the possibility of restenosis within the treated area.

Keywords: shape memory alloy, stent, coronary artery, finite element analysis

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Authors: Kristina Sutiene, Lina Dapkute

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The paper investigates the current demographic trends that exert the sustainability of pension systems in most EU regions. Several drivers usually compose the demographic challenge, coming from the structure and trends of population in the country. As the case of research, three main variables of demographic risk in Lithuania have been singled out and have been used in making up the analysis. Over the last two decades, the country has presented a peculiar demographic situation characterized by pessimistic fertility trends, negative net migration rate and rising life expectancy that make the significant changes in labor-age population. This study, therefore, sets out to assess the relative impact of these risk factors both individually and in aggregate, while assuming economic trends to evolve historically. The evidence is presented using data of pension funds that operate in Lithuania and are financed by defined-contribution plans. To achieve this goal, the discrete-time pension fund’s value model is developed that reflects main operational modalities: contribution income from current participants and new entrants, pension disbursement and administrative expenses; it also fluctuates based on returns from investment activity. Age-structured Leslie population dynamics model has been integrated into the main model to describe the dynamics of fertility, migration and mortality rates upon age. Validation has concluded that Leslie model adequately fits the current population trends in Lithuania. The elasticity of pension system is examined using Loimaranta efficiency as a measure for comparison of plausible long-term developments of demographic risks. With respect to the research question, it was found that demographic risks have different levels of influence on future value of aggregated pension funds: The fertility rates have the highest importance, while mortality rates give only a minor impact. Further studies regarding the role of trying out different economic scenarios in the integrated model would be worthwhile.

Keywords: asset liability modelling, Leslie model, pension funds, population dynamics

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Authors: Danielle Katrina Santos, Koji Shimada

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Environmentally-friendly agriculture has been promoted for over two decades as a response to the environmental challenges brought by climate change and biological loss. Located above the equator, it is possible that Japan may benefit from future climate change, yet Japan is also a rarely developed country located in the Asian Monsoon climate region, making it vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In this regard, the Japanese government has initiated policies to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change through the promotion and popularization of environmentally-friendly farming practices. This study aims to determine profit efficiency among environmentally-friendly rice farmers in Shiga Prefecture using the Stochastic Frontier Approach. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 66 farmers from top rice-producing cities through a structured questionnaire. Results showed that the gross farm income of environmentally-friendly rice farmers was higher by JPY 316,223.00/ha. Production costs were also found to be higher among environmentally-friendly rice farmers, especially on labor costs, which accounted for 32% of the total rice production cost. The resulting net farm income of environmentally-friendly rice farmers was only higher by JPY 18,044/ha. Results from the stochastic frontier analysis further showed that the profit efficiency of conventional farmers was only 69% as compared to environmentally-friendly rice farmers who had a profit efficiency of 76%. Furthermore, environmentally-friendly agriculture participation, other types of subsidy, educational level, and farm size were significant factors positively influencing profit efficiency. The study concluded that substitution of environmentally-friendly agriculture for conventional rice farming would result in an increased profit efficiency due to the direct payment subsidy and price premium received. The direct government policies that would strengthen the popularization of environmentally-friendly agriculture to increase the production of environmentally-friendly products and reduce pollution load to the Lake Biwa ecosystem.

Keywords: profit efficiency, environmentally-friendly agriculture, rice farmers, direct payment subsidies

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Authors: F. Fushai, M.Tekere, M. Masafu, F. Siebrits, A. Kanengoni, F. Nherera

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The effects of dietary fibre source on the histomorphology of the ileal epithelium were examined in growing pigs fed high fibre (242-250 g total dietary fibre kg-1 dry matter) diets fortified with Roxazyme® G2. The control was a standard, low fibre (141 g total dietary fibre kg-1 dry matter) diet formulated from dehulled soybean (Glycine max), maize (Zea Mays) meal and hominy chop. Five fibrous diets were evaluated in which fibre was increased by partial substitution of the grains in the control diet with maize cobs, soybean hulls, barley (Hordeum vulgare L) brewer’s grains, Lucerne (Medicago sativa) hay or wheat (Triticum aestivum) bran. Each diet was duplicated and 220 mg Roxazyme® G2 kg-1 dry mater was added to one of the mixtures. Seventy-two intact Large White X Landrace male pigs of weight 32 ± 5.6 kg pigs were randomly allocated to the diets in a complete randomised design with a 2 (fibre source) X (enzyme) factorial arrangement of treatments. The pigs were fed ad libitum for 10 weeks. Ileal tissue samples were taken at slaughter, at a point 50cm above the ileal-caecal valve. Villi length and area, and crypt depth were measured by computerised image analyses. The villi length: crypt ratio was calculated. The diet and the supplemental enzyme cocktail did not affect (p>0.05) any of the measured parameters. Significant (p=0.016) diet X enzyme interaction was observed for villi length whereby the enzyme reduced the villi length of pigs on the soy-hulls, standard and wheat bran diets, with an opposite effect on pigs on the maize cob, brewer’s grain, Lucerne diets. The results suggested fibre-source dependent changes in the morphology of the ileal epithelium of pigs fed high fibre, maize-soybean diets fortified with Roxazyme® G2.

Keywords: fibre, growing pigs, histomorphology, ileum, Roxazyme® G2

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Authors: Moh’d Anwer Al-Shboul

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The year 2011 was a challenging year for Jordanian economy, which felt a variety of effects from the Arab Spring which took place in neighboring countries. Since February, 5th 2012, the Arab Gas Supply Pipeline, which carries natural gas from Egypt through the Sinai Peninsula and to Jordan and Israel, has been attacked more than 39 times. Jordan imported about 80 percent of its necessity of natural gas (about 250 million cubic feet of natural gas per day) from Egypt to generate particularly electricity, with the reminder of being produced locally. Jordan has utilized multiple alternatives to address the interruption of available natural gas supply from Egypt. The Jordanian distributed power plants now rely on the use of heavy fuel oil and diesel for electricity generation, in this case, it costs Jordan about four times than natural gas. The substitution of Egyptian natural gas supplies by fuel oil and diesel, coupled with the 32 percent rise in global fuel prices, has increased Jordan’s energy import bill by over 50 percent in 2011, reaching more than 16 percent of the 2011 GDP. The increase in the cost of electricity generation pushed the Jordanian economy to borrow from multiple internal and external resource channels, thus increasing the public debt. The Jordanian government’s short-term solution to the reduced natural gas supply from Egypt was alternatively purchasing the necessary quantities from some Gulf countries such as Qatar and/or Saudi Arabia, which can be imported with two possible methods. The first method is to rent a ship equipped with a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, which is currently operating. The second method requires equipping the Aqaba port with an LNG terminal, which also currently is operating. In the long-term, a viable solution to depending on importing expensive and often unreliable natural gas supplies from surrounding countries is to depend more heavily on renewable supply energy, including solar, wind, and water energy.

Keywords: energy supply resources, Arab spring, liquefied natural gas, pipeline, Jordan

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Authors: Krasimira N. Zhilkova, Mariya K. Kyulavska, Roza P. Mateva

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The anionic polymerization of -caprolactam (CL) with bifunctional activators has been extensively studied as an effective and beneficial method of improving chemical and impact resistances, elasticity and other mechanical properties of polyamide (PA6). In presence of activators or macroactivators (MAs) also called polymeric activators (PACs) the anionic polymerization of lactams proceeds rapidly at a temperature range of 130-180C, well below the melting point of PA-6 (220C) permitting thus the direct manufacturing of copolymer product together with desired modifications of polyamide properties. Copolymers of PA6 with an elastic polypropylene glycol (PPG) middle block into main chain were successfully synthesized via activated anionic ring opening polymerization (ROP) of CL. Using novel PACs based on PPG polyols (with differ molecular weight) the anionic ROP of CL was realized and investigated in the presence of a basic initiator sodium salt of CL (NaCL). The PACs were synthesized as N-carbamoyllactam derivatives of hydroxyl terminated PPG functionalized with isophorone diisocyanate [IPh, 5-Isocyanato-1-(isocyanatomethyl)-1,3,3-trimethylcyclohexane] and blocked then with CL units via an addition reaction. The block copolymers were analyzed and proved with 1H-NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. The influence of the CL/PACs ratio in feed, the length of the PPG segments and polymerization conditions on the kinetics of anionic ROP, on average molecular weight, and on the structure of the obtained block copolymers were investigated. The structure and phase behaviour of the copolymers were explored with differential scanning calorimetry, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. The crystallinity dependence of PPG content incorporated into copolymers main backbone was estimate. Additionally, the mechanical properties of the obtained copolymers were studied by notched impact test. From the performed investigation in this study could be concluded that using PPG based PACs at the chosen ROP conditions leads to obtaining well-defined PA6-b-PPG-b-PA6 copolymers with improved impact resistance.

Keywords: anionic ring opening polymerization, caprolactam, polyamide copolymers, polypropylene glycol

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Authors: R. Meier, M. Pander

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In accordance with the industry 4.0 concept, manufacturing process steps as well as the materials themselves are going to be more and more digitalized within the next years. The “digital twin” representing the simulated and measured dataset of the (semi-finished) product can be used to control and optimize the individual processing steps and help to reduce costs and expenditure of time in product development, manufacturing, and recycling. In the present work, two material characterization methods based on Lamb waves were evaluated and compared. For demonstration purpose, both methods were shown at a standard industrial product - copper ribbons, often used in photovoltaic modules as well as in high-current microelectronic devices. By numerical approximation of the Rayleigh-Lamb dispersion model on measured phase velocities second order elastic constants (Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio) were determined. Furthermore, the effective third order elastic constants were evaluated by applying elastic, “non-destructive”, mechanical stress on the samples. In this way, small microstructural variations due to mechanical preconditioning could be detected for the first time. Both methods were compared with respect to precision and inline application capabilities. Microstructure of the samples was systematically varied by mechanical loading and annealing. Changes in the elastic ultrasound transport properties were correlated with results from microstructural analysis and mechanical testing. In summary, monitoring the elastic material properties of plate-like structures using Lamb waves is valuable for inline and non-destructive material characterization and manufacturing process control. Second order elastic constants analysis is robust over wide environmental and sample conditions, whereas the effective third order elastic constants highly increase the sensitivity with respect to small microstructural changes. Both Lamb wave based characterization methods are fitting perfectly into the industry 4.0 concept.

Keywords: lamb waves, industry 4.0, process control, elasticity, acoustoelasticity, microstructure

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Authors: Manoj Gujar

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The present paper is an attempt to interpret two Marathi translations of Khushwant Singh’s (1915-2014) novel Train to Pakistan (1956). The 20th century was branded as an era of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization. Different countries and cultures have enunciated interaction with one another in an unprecedented manner. The world is becoming multilingual and multicultural. The democratic countries such as the U.S.A., the U.K., and India have become pivotal centers of interlingual and cross-cultural exchange. People belonging to different nationalities showed keen interest in knowing the characteristic features of different languages and of their cultures. Here, ‘Translation’ plays an important role in such multilingual and multicultural contexts. Translation is not only translation of a language but a translation of a culture. However, in the act of translation a translator makes use of such procedures as borrowing, definition, literal translation, substitution, lexical creation, omission, addition as well as their various combinations. To him, a text produced in one linguistic and cultural context can reach other linguistic and cultural contexts through these processes of translation. A worthy work of art appeals many readers. India, being a multilingual country we find that there goes multiple translations of the same text in different Indian languages. But sometimes, if can be found that a same text appeals to different ages and the same text gets translated into the same language by the two or more authors. In this reference, the present paper is an attempt to study how different translations of the same text differ in terms of procedures and strategies during the process of the translation of culture. The source text is Khushwant Singh’s historical novel Train to Pakistan (1956). The novel was widely appreciated and so translated into different regional languages in India. The novel has two Marathi translations: Agniratha (1972) by Hidayatkhan and Train to Pakistan (1980) by Anil Kinikar. This paper is an attempt to evaluate the strategies and procedures in translation to analyze these two Marathi translations. Hidayat Khan made a lot of omissions of the significant details and distorted the original text to a large extent, whereas, Anil Kinikar has done justice to the Source Text by rendering it in Marathi as faithfully as possible.

Keywords: culture, multilingual, procedures and strategies, translation

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Authors: Anies Mutiari, Neha Bansal, Martin Artner, Veronika Mayer, Juergen Roth, Mathias Weil, Rachmat Adhi Wibowo

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Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) compound (mineral name kesterite) has attracted considerable interests for photovoltaic application owing to its optoelectrical properties. Moreover, its elemental abundance in Earth’s crust offers a comparative advantage for envisaged large-scale photovoltaic deployment without any material shortage issues. In this contribution, we present an innovative route to prepare CZTS solar absorber layer for photovoltaic application from low-cost and up-scalable process. CZTS layers were spin coated on the Molybdenum-coated glass from two inks composed of different solvents; dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and ultrapure water. Into each solvent; 0.57M CuCl₂, 0.39M ZnCl₂, 0.53M SnCl₂, and 1.85M Thiourea or Na₂S₂O₃, as well as pre-synthesized CZTS nanopowder, were added as sources of Cu, Zn, Sn and S in the ink. The crystallisation of ink into CZTS dense layers was carried out by firstly annealing the as-deposited CZTS layer in open air at 300°C for 1 minute, followed by sulfurisation at 560–620°C under atmospheric pressure for 120 minutes. Complementary electron microscopy, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy investigations suggest that both solvents can be used for preparing high quality and device relevant CZTS solar absorber layers. The sulphurisation crystallizes the as-deposited CZTS into highly polycrystalline CZTS layer with tetragonal structure demonstrated by the presence of tetrahedrally-shaped grains with the size of 1 µm. An advancement of the CZTS layer preparation was made by gradual substitution of volatile organic compound solvent of DMSO with ultrapure water. It is revealed that by using similar air annealing and sulphurisation process, dense and compact CZTS layers can also be fabricated from an ink with reduced volatile organic compound content.

Keywords: kesterite, solar ink, spin coating, photovoltaics

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Authors: Erick Pruchnicki, Nikhil Padhye

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Plates are important engineering structures which have attracted extensive research since the 19th century. The subject of this work is statical analysis of a linearly elastic homogenous plate under small deformations. A 'thin plate' is a three-dimensional structure comprising of a small transverse dimension with respect to a flat mid-surface. The general aim of any plate theory is to deduce a two-dimensional model, in terms of mid-surface quantities, to approximately and accurately describe the plate's deformation in terms of mid-surface quantities. In recent decades, a common starting point for this purpose is to utilize series expansion of a displacement field across the thickness dimension in terms of the thickness parameter (h). These attempts are mathematically consistent in deriving leading-order plate theories based on certain a priori scaling between the thickness and the applied loads; for example, asymptotic methods which are aimed at generating leading-order two-dimensional variational problems by postulating formal asymptotic expansion of the displacement fields. Such methods rigorously generate a hierarchy of two-dimensional models depending on the order of magnitude of the applied load with respect to the plate-thickness. However, in practice, applied loads are external and thus not directly linked or dependent on the geometry/thickness of the plate; thus, rendering any such model (based on a priori scaling) of limited practical utility. In other words, the main limitation of these approaches is that they do not furnish a single plate model for all orders of applied loads. Following analogy of recent efforts of deploying Fourier-series expansion to study convergence of reduced models, we propose two-dimensional model(s) resulting from truncation of the potential energy and rigorously prove the convergence of these two-dimensional plate models to the parent three-dimensional linear elasticity with increasing truncation order of the potential energy.

Keywords: plate theory, Fourier-series expansion, convergence result, Legendre polynomials

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Authors: Fisaha Asmelash

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The processing of textiles to achieve a desired handle is a crucial aspect of finishing technology. Softeners can enhance the properties of textiles, such as softness, smoothness, elasticity, hydrophilicity, antistatic properties, and soil release properties, depending on the chemical nature used. However, human skin is sensitive to rough textiles, making softeners increasingly important. Although synthetic softeners are available, they are often expensive and can cause allergic reactions on human skin. This paper aims to extract a natural softener from Ricinus communis and produce an eco-friendly and user-friendly alternative due to its 100% herbal and organic nature. Crushed Ricinus communis seeds were soaked in a mechanical oil extractor for one hour with a 100g cotton fabric sample. The defatted cake or residue obtained after the extraction of oil from the seeds, also known as Ricinus communis meal, was obtained by filtering the raffinate and then dried at 1030c for four hours before being stored under laboratory conditions for the softening process. The softener was applied directly to 100% cotton fabric using the padding process, and the fabric was tested for stiffness, crease recovery, and drape ability. The effect of different concentrations of finishing agents on fabric stiffness, crease recovery, and drape ability was also analyzed. The results showed that the change in fabric softness depends on the concentration of the finish used. As the concentration of the finish was increased, there was a decrease in bending length and drape coefficient. Fabrics with a high concentration of softener showed a maximum decrease in drape coefficient and stiffness, comparable to commercial softeners such as silicon. The highest decrease in drape coefficient was found to be comparable with commercial softeners, silicon. Maximum increases in crease recovery were seen in fabrics treated with Ricinus communis softener at a concentration of 30gpl. From the results, the extracted softener proved to be effective in the treatment of 100% cotton fabric

Keywords: ricinus communis, crease recovery, drapability, softeners, stiffness

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Authors: H. Hammoudi, S. Bendenia, I. Batonneau-Gener, A. Khelifa

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Applying growing zeolites is due to their intrinsic physicochemical properties: a porous structure, regular, generating a large free volume, a high specific surface area, acidic properties of interest to the origin of their activity, selectivity energy and dimensional, leading to a screening phenomenon, hence the name of molecular sieves is generally attributed to them. Most of the special properties of zeolites have been valued as direct applications such as ion exchange, adsorption, separation and catalysis. Due to their crystalline structure stable, their large pore volume and their high content of cation X zeolites are widely used in the process of adsorption and separation. The acidic properties of zeolites X and interesting selectivity conferred on them their porous structure is also have potential catalysts. The study presented in this manuscript is devoted to the chemical modification of an X zeolite by cation exchange. Ion exchange of zeolite NaX by Zn 2 + cations and / or Cu 2 + is gradually conducted by following the evolution of some of its characteristics: crystallinity by XRD, micropore volume by nitrogen adsorption. Once characterized, the different samples will be used for the adsorption of propane and propylene. Particular attention is paid thereafter, on the modeling of adsorption isotherms. In this vein, various equations of adsorption isotherms and localized mobile, some taking into account the adsorbate-adsorbate interactions, are used to describe the experimental isotherms. We also used the Toth equation, a mathematical model with three parameters whose adjustment requires nonlinear regression. The last part is dedicated to the study of acid properties of Cu (x) X, Zn (x) X and CuZn (x) X, with the adsorption-desorption of pyridine followed by IR. The effect of substitution at different rates of Na + by Cu2 + cations and / or Zn 2 +, on the crystallinity and on the textural properties was treated. Some results on the morphology of the crystallites and the thermal effects during a temperature rise, obtained by scanning electron microscopy and DTA-TGA thermal analyzer, respectively, are also reported. The acidity of our different samples was also studied. Thus, the nature and strength of each type of acidity are estimated. The evaluation of these various features will provide a comparison between Cu (x) X, Zn (x) X and CuZn (x) X. One study on adsorption of C3H8 and C3H6 in NaX, Cu (x) X , Zn (x) x and CuZn (x) x has been undertaken.

Keywords: adsorption, acidity, ion exchange, zeolite

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Authors: Michael Shandalov, Tzvi Templeman, Michael Schmidt, Itzhak Kelson, Eyal Yahel

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We present a new method to produce a model system for the study of radiation damage in non-radioactive materials. The method is based on homogeneously incorporating 228Th ions in PbS thin films using a small volume chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. The common way to alloy metals with radioactive elements is by melting pure elements, which requires considerable amounts of radioactive material with its safety consequences such as high sample activity. Controlled doping of the thin films with (very) small amounts (100-200ppm) of radioactive elements such as thorium is expected to provide a unique path for studying radiation damage in materials due to decay processes without the need of sealed enclosure. As a first stage, we developed CBD process for controlled doping of PbS thin films (~100 nm thick) with the stable isotope (t1/2~106 years), 232Th. Next, we developed CBD process for controlled doping of PbS thin films with active 228Th isotope. This was achieved by altering deposition parameters such as temperature, pH, reagent concentrations and time. The 228Th-doped films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, which indicated a single phase material. Film morphology and thickness were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) mapping in the analytical transmission electron microscope (A-TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiles and autoradiography indicated that the Th ions were homogeneously distributed throughout the films, suggesting Pb substitution by Th ions in the crystal lattice. The properties of the PbS (228Th) film activity were investigated by using alpha-spectroscopy and gamma spectroscopy. The resulting films are applicable for isochronal annealing of resistivity measurements and currently under investigation. This work shows promise as a model system for the analysis of dilute defect systems in semiconductor thin films.

Keywords: thin films, doping, radiation damage, chemical bath deposition

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Authors: Rima A. Ajlouni

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The discovery of quasi-periodic structures in material science is revealing an exciting new class of symmetries, which has never been explored before. Due to their unique structural and visual properties, these symmetries are drawing interest from many scientific and design disciplines. Especially, in art and architecture, these symmetries can provide a rich source of geometry for exploring new patterns, forms, systems, and structures. However, the structural systems of these complicated symmetries are still posing a perplexing challenge. While much of their local order has been explored, the global governing system is still unresolved. Understanding their unique global long-range order is essential to their generation and application. The recent discovery of dodecagonal quasi-periodic patterns in historical Islamic architecture is generating a renewed interest into understanding the mathematical principles of traditional Islamic geometry. Astonishingly, many centuries before its description in the modern science, ancient artists, by using the most primitive tools (a compass and a straight edge), were able to construct patterns with quasi-periodic formations. These ancient patterns can be found all over the ancient Islamic world, many of which exhibit formations with 5, 8, 10 and 12 quasi-periodic symmetries. Based on the examination of these historical patterns and derived from the generating principles of Islamic geometry, a global multi-level structural model is presented that is able to describe the global long-range order of dodecagonal quasi-periodic formations in Islamic Architecture. Furthermore, this method is used to construct new quasi-periodic tiling systems as well as generating their deflation and inflation rules. This method can be used as a general guiding principle for constructing infinite patches of dodecagon-based quasi-periodic formations, without the need for local strategies (tiling, matching, grid, substitution, etc.) or complicated mathematics; providing an easy tool for scientists, mathematicians, teachers, designers and artists, to generate and study a wide range of dodecagonal quasi-periodic formations.

Keywords: dodecagonal, Islamic architecture, long-range order, quasi-periodi

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Authors: Maor Farid, Oleg Gendelman

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Equivalent mechanical model of liquid sloshing in partially-filled cylindrical vessel is treated in the cases of free oscillations and of horizontal base excitation. The model is designed to cover both the linear and essentially nonlinear sloshing regimes. The latter fluid behaviour might involve hydraulic impacts interacting with the inner walls of the tank. These impulsive interactions are often modeled by high-power potential and dissipation functions. For the sake of analytical description, we use the traditional approach by modeling the impacts with velocity-dependent restitution coefficient. This modelling is similar to vibro-impact nonlinear energy sink (VI NES) which was recently explored for its vibration mitigation performances and nonlinear response regimes. Steady-state periodic regimes and chaotic strongly modulated responses (CSMR) are detected. Those dynamical regimes were described by the system's slow motion on the slow invariant manifold (SIM). There is a good agreement between the analytical results and numerical simulations. Subsequently, Finite-Element (FE) method is used to determine and verify the model parameters and to identify dominant dynamical regimes, natural modes and frequencies. The tank failure modes are identified and critical locations are identified. Mathematical relation is found between degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) motion and the mechanical stress applied in the tank critical section. This is the prior attempt to take under consideration large-amplitude nonlinear sloshing and tank structure elasticity effects for design, regulation definition and resistance analysis purposes. Both linear (tuned mass damper, TMD) and nonlinear (nonlinear energy sink, NES) passive energy absorbers contribution to the overall system mitigation is firstly examined, in terms of both stress reduction and time for vibration decay.

Keywords: nonlinear energy sink (NES), reduced-order modelling, liquid sloshing, vibration mitigation, vibro-impact dynamics

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Authors: Anna S. Tolkacheva, Sergey N. Shkerin, Kirill G. Zemlyanoi, Olga G. Reznitskikh, Pavel D. Khavlyuk

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Calcium oxovanadates with garnet related structure are multifunctional oxides in various fields like photoluminescence, microwave dielectrics, and magneto-dielectrics. For example, vanadate garnets are self-luminescent compounds. They attract attention as RE-free broadband excitation and emission phosphors and are candidate materials for UV-based white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs). Ca₅M₄(VO₄)₆ (M = Mg, Zn, Co, Ni, Mn) compounds are also considered promising for application in microwave devices as substrate materials. However, the relation between their structure, composition and physical/chemical properties remains unclear. Given the above-listed observations, goals of this study are to synthesise Ca₅M₄(VO₄)₆ (M = Mg, Zn, Ni) and to study their thermal and electrical properties. Solid solutions Ca₅Mg₄₋ₓMₓ(VO₄)₆ (0 ≤ x ≤ 4) where M is Zn and Ni have been synthesized by sol-gel method. The single-phase character of the final products was checked by powder X-ray diffraction on a Rigaku D/MAX-2200 X-ray diffractometer using Cu Kα radiation in the 2θ range from 15° to 70°. The dependence of thermal properties on chemical composition of solid solutions was studied using simultaneous thermal analyses (DSC and TG). Thermal analyses were conducted in a Netzch simultaneous analyser STA 449C Jupiter, in Ar atmosphere, in temperature range from 25 to 1100°C heat rate was 10 K·min⁻¹. Coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) were obtained by dilatometry measurements in air up to 800°C using a Netzsch 402PC dilatometer; heat rate was 1 K·min⁻¹. Impedance spectra were obtained via the two-probe technique with an impedance meter Parstat 2273 in air up to 700°C with the variation of pH₂O from 0.04 to 3.35 kPa. Cation deficiency in Ca and Mg sublattice under the substitution of MgO with ZnO up to 1/6 was observed using Rietveld refinement of the crystal structure. Melting point was found to decrease with x changing from 0 to 4 in Ca₅Mg₄₋ₓMₓ(VO₄)₆ where M is Zn and Ni. It was observed that electrical conductivity does not depend on air humidity. The reported study was funded by the RFBR Grant No. 17–03–01280. Sample attestation was carried out in the Shared Access Centers at the IHTE UB RAS.

Keywords: garnet structure, electrical conductivity, thermal expansion, thermal properties

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Authors: Sunil K. Jena, Sanjaya K. Samal, Mahesh Chand, Abhay T. Sangamwar

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Tamoxifen (TMX) and its analogues are approved as a first line therapy for the treatment of estrogen receptor-positive tumors. However, clinical development of TMX has been hampered by its low bioavailability and severe hepatotoxicity. Herein, we attempt to design a new drug delivery vehicle that could enhance the pharmacokinetic performance of TMX. Initially, high-molecular weight carboxymethyl chitosan was hydrolyzed to low-molecular weight carboxymethyl chitosan (LMW CMC) with hydrogen peroxide under the catalysis of phosphotungstic acid. Amphiphilic block copolymers of LMW CMC were synthesized via amidation reaction between the carboxyl group of α-tocopherol succinate (TS) and an amine group of LMW CMC. These amphiphilic block copolymers were self-assembled to nanosize core-shell-structural micelles in the aqueous medium. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) decreased with the increasing substitution of TS on LMW CMC, which ranged from 1.58 × 10-6 to 7.94 × 10-8 g/mL. Maximum TMX loading up to 8.08 ± 0.98% was achieved with Cmc-TS4.5 (TMX/Cmc-TS4.5 with 1:8 weight ratio). Both blank and TMX-loaded polymeric micelles (TMX-PM) of Cmc-TS4.5 exhibits spherical shape with the particle size below 200 nm. TMX-PM has been found to be stable in the gastrointestinal conditions and released only 44.5% of the total drug content by the first 72 h in simulated gastric fluid (SGF), pH 1.2. However, the presence of pepsin does not significantly increased the TMX release in SGF, pH 1.2, released only about 46.2% by the first 72 h suggesting its inability to cleave the peptide bond. In contrast, the release of TMX from TMX-PM4.5 in SIF, pH 6.8 (without pancreatin) was slow and sustained, released only about 10.43% of the total drug content within the first 30 min and nearly about 12.41% by the first 72 h. The presence of pancreatin in SIF, pH 6.8 led to an improvement in drug release. About 28.09% of incorporated TMX was released in the presence of pancreatin in 72 h. A cytotoxicity study demonstrated that TMX-PM exhibited time-delayed cytotoxicity in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Pharmacokinetic studies on Sprague-Dawley rats revealed a remarkable increase in oral bioavailability (1.87-fold) with significant (p < 0.0001) enhancement in AUC0-72 h, t1/2 and MRT of TMX-PM4.5 than that of TMX-suspension. Thus, the results suggested that CMC-TS micelles are a promising carrier for TMX delivery.

Keywords: carboxymethyl chitosan, d-α-tocopherol succinate, pharmacokinetic, polymeric micelles, tamoxifen

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Authors: Vinícius L. L. Morrone, David Douek, Helder M. F. Pereira, Bernadete L. M. Grandolpho

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This work aimed to identify the relationships between the level of consumer environmental awareness and their search for sustainable properties, as well as to understand the main sustainability structures considered by these consumers during the decision process. Additionally, the paper looked up to the influence environmental awareness and financial status have over the disposition of buyers to pay more for sustainable properties. To achieve these objectives, 318 questionnaires were answered electronically, after being sent to the Green Building Brazil email basis, as to other Real Estate developers client basis. From all the questionnaires answered, 71 were discarded, leaving a total amount of 247 admitted questionnaires to be analyzed. The responses were evaluated based on the theory of consumer decision making, especially on the influence factors of this process. The data were processed using a PLS model, using the R software. The results have shown that the level of consumer environmental awareness effectively affects the consumer’s will of acquiring a sustainable property or, at least, a property with some environmental friendly structures. The consumer’s environmental awareness also positively impacts the importance consumers give to individual environmental friendly structures. Also, as a consumer value to those individual structures raises, it is also observed a raise in his will to buy a sustainable property. Additionally, the impact of consumer’s environmental awareness and financial status over the willingness to pay more for a property with those attributes. The results indicate that there was no relationship between consumers' environmental awareness and their willingness to pay more for a sustainable property. On the other hand, the financial status and the family income of the consumers showed a positive relation with the willingness to pay more for a sustainable property. This indicates that consumers with better financial conditions, which according to the analysis do not necessarily have a greater environmental awareness, are those who are willing to pay more for a sustainable property. Thus, this study indicates that, even if the environmental awareness impact positively the demand for sustainable structures and properties, this impact is not price reflected, due to the price elasticity of the consumption, especially for a category of lower income consumers. This paper adds to the literature in the way it projects some guidelines to the consumer’s decision process in the Real Estate market in emerging economies, as well as it presents some drivers to pricing decisions.

Keywords: consumer behavior, environmental awareness, real estate pricing, sustainable buildings

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Authors: Paolo Sassi, Jorge Freiria, Gabriel Usera

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In this work, a finite volume fluid flow solver is coupled with a discrete element method module for the simulation of the dynamics of free and elastic bodies in interaction with the fluid and between themselves. The open source fluid flow solver, caffa3d.MBRi, includes the capability to work with nested overlapping grids in order to easily refine the grid in the region where the bodies are moving. To do so, it is necessary to implement a recognition function able to identify the specific mesh block in which the device is moving in. The set of overlapping finer grids might be displaced along with the set of bodies being simulated. The interaction between the bodies and the fluid is computed through a two-way coupling. The velocity field of the fluid is first interpolated to determine the drag force on each object. After solving the objects displacements, subject to the elastic bonding among them, the force is applied back onto the fluid through a Gaussian smoothing considering the cells near the position of each object. The fishnet is represented as lumped masses connected by elastic lines. The internal forces are derived from the elasticity of these lines, and the external forces are due to drag, gravity, buoyancy and the load acting on each element of the system. When solving the ordinary differential equations system, that represents the motion of the elastic and flexible bodies, it was found that the Runge Kutta solver of fourth order is the best tool in terms of performance, but requires a finer grid than the fluid solver to make the system converge, which demands greater computing power. The coupled solver is demonstrated by simulating the interaction between the fluid, an elastic fishnet and a set of free bodies being captured by the net as they are dragged by the fluid. The deformation of the net, as well as the wake produced in the fluid stream are well captured by the method, without requiring the fluid solver mesh to adapt for the evolving geometry. Application of the same strategy to the simulation of elastic structures subject to the action of wind is also possible with the method presented, and one such application is currently under development.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, discrete element method, fishnets, nested overlapping grids

Procedia PDF Downloads 391