Search results for: repeated batch

Authors: Anne Elain, Magali Le Fellic

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Halogenated Aromatic Compounds (HAC) are major organic pollutants that are detected in several environmental compartments as a result of their widespread use as solvents, pesticides and other industrial chemicals. The degradation of HAC simultaneously at low temperature and under saline conditions would be useful for remediation of polluted sites. Hence, microbial processes based on the metabolic activities of anaerobic bacteria are especially attractive from an economic and environmental point of view. Metabolites are generally less toxic, less likely to bioaccumulate and more susceptible for further degradation. Studies on biological reductive dehalogenation have largely been restricted to chlorinated compounds while relatively few have focussed on other HAC i.e., fluorinated, brominated or iodinated compounds. The objectives of the present work were to investigate the biodegradation of a mixture of triiodoaromatic molecules in industrial wastewater by an enriched bacterial consortium. Biodegradation of the mixture was studied during batch experiments in an anaerobic reactor. The degree of mineralization and recovery of halogen were monitored by HPLC-UV, TOC analysis and potentiometric titration. Providing ethanol as an electron donor was found to stimulate anaerobic reductive dehalogenation of HAC with a deiodination rate up to 12.4 mg.L-1 per day. Sodium chloride even at high concentration (10 mM) was found to have no influence on the degradation rates nor on the microbial viability. An analysis of the 16S rDNA (MicroSeq®) revealed that at least 6 bacteria were predominant in the enrichment, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas monteilii, Kocuria rhizophila, Ochrobacterium anthropi, Ralstonia pickettii and Rhizobium rhizogenes.

Keywords: halogenated aromatics, anaerobic biodegradation, deiodination, bacterial consortium

Procedia PDF Downloads 168

Authors: Zahid Iqbal, Ijaz Javed, Riaz Hussain, Ibadullah Jan, Amir Ali Khan

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This study was conducted to investigate the disposition kinetics of ciprofloxacin and calculate its optimal dosage in Pakistani sheep of Lohi breed. Injectable preparation of ciprofloxacin was given intramuscularly to eight sheep at a dose of 5 mg/Kg. Before administration of drug blood sample was drawn from each animal. Post drug administration, blood samples were also drawn at various predetermined time periods. Drug concentration in the blood samples was assessed through high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC). Data were best described by two compartment open model and different pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters were calculated. Cmax of 1.97 ± 0.15 µg/ml was reached at Tmax of 0.88 ± 0.09 hours. Half life of absorption (t1/2 abs) was observed to be 0.63 ± 0.16 hours while t1/2 α (distribution half life) and t1/2 ß (elimination half life) were found to be 0.46 ± 0.05 and 2.93 ± 0.45 hours, respectively. Vd (apparent volume of distribution) was calculated as 2.89 ± 0.30 L/kg while AUC (area under the curve) was 7.19 ± 0.38 µg.hr/mL and CL (total body clearance) was 0.75 ± 0.04 L/hr/kg. Using these parameters, an optimal intramuscular dosage of ciprofloxacin in adult Lohi sheep was calculated as 21.43 mg/kg, advised to be repeated after 24 hours. From this, we came to the conclusion that calculated dose was much higher than the dose advised by the foreign manufacturer and to avoid antimicrobial resistance, it is advised that this locally investigated dosage regimen should be strictly followed in local sheep.

Keywords: pharmacokinetics, dosage regimen, ciprofloxacin, HPLC, sheep

Procedia PDF Downloads 521

Authors: Seyed Sadegh Naseralavi, Sadegh Balaghi, Ehsan Khojastehfar

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Time history dynamic analysis of structures is considered as an exact method while being computationally intensive. Filtration of earthquake strong ground motions applying wavelet transform is an approach towards reduction of computational efforts, particularly in optimization of structures against seismic effects. Wavelet transforms are categorized into continuum and discrete transforms. Since earthquake strong ground motion is a discrete function, the discrete wavelet transform is applied in the present paper. Wavelet transform reduces analysis time by filtration of non-effective frequencies of strong ground motion. Filtration process may be repeated several times while the approximation induces more errors. In this paper, strong ground motion of earthquake has been filtered once applying each wavelet. Strong ground motion of Northridge earthquake is filtered applying various wavelets and dynamic analysis of sampled shear and moment frames is implemented. The error, regarding application of each wavelet, is computed based on comparison of dynamic response of sampled structures with exact responses. Exact responses are computed by dynamic analysis of structures applying non-filtered strong ground motion.

Keywords: wavelet transform, computational error, computational duration, strong ground motion data

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Authors: Malo Pocheau-Lesteven, Olivier Le Maître

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Engineering and optimisation of complex systems is often achieved through multi-disciplinary analysis of the system, where each subsystem is modeled and interacts with other subsystems to model the complete system. The coherence of the output of the different sub-systems is achieved through the use of compatibility constraints, which enforce the coupling between the different subsystems. Due to the complexity of some sub-systems and the computational cost of evaluating their respective models, it is often necessary to build surrogate models of these subsystems to allow repeated evaluation these subsystems at a relatively low computational cost. In this paper, gaussian processes are used, as their probabilistic nature is leveraged to evaluate the likelihood of satisfying the compatibility constraints. This paper presents infilling strategies to build accurate surrogate models of the subsystems in areas where they are likely to meet the compatibility constraint. It is shown that these infilling strategies can reduce the computational cost of building surrogate models for a given level of accuracy. An application of these methods to velocity prediction programs used in offshore racing naval architecture further demonstrates these method's applicability in a real engineering context. Also, some examples of the application of uncertainty quantification to field of naval architecture are presented.

Keywords: infilling strategy, gaussian process, multi disciplinary analysis, velocity prediction program

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Claudia Vergara, Oscar Valdes, Jaime Tapia, Leonardo Santos

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The poly(amidoamine) dendrimers (PAMAM) are a class of material introduced by D. Tomalia. Modifications of the PAMAM dendrimer with several functional groups have attracted the attention for new interesting properties and new applications in many fields such as chemistry, physics, biology, and medicine. However, in the last few years, the use of dendrimers in environmental applications has increased due to pollution concerns. In this contribution, we report the synthesis of three new PAMAM derivates modified with asparagine aminoacid supported in cellulose: PG0-Asn (PAMAM-asparagine), PG0-Asn-Trt (with trityl group) and PG0-Asn-Boc-Trt (with tert-butyl oxycarbonyl group). The functionalization of generation 0 PAMAM dendrimer was carried out by amidation reaction by using an EDC/HOBt protocol. In a second step, functionalized dendrimer was covalently supported to the cellulose surface and used to study the capture of uranyl ions from aqueous solution by fluorescence spectroscopy. The structure and purity of the desired products were confirmed by conventional techniques such as FT-IR, MALDI, elemental analysis, and ESI-MS. Batch experiments were carried out to determine the affinity of uranyl ions with the dendrimer in aqueous solution. Firstly, the optimal conditions for uranyl capture were obtained, where the optimum pH for the removal was 6, the contact time was 4 hours, the initial concentration of uranyl was 100 ppm, and the amount of the adsorbent to be used was 2.5 mg. PAMAM significantly increased the capture of uranyl ions with respect to cellulose as the starting substrate, reaching 94.8% of capture (PG0), followed by 91.2% corresponding to PG0-Asn-Trt, then 70.3% PG0-Asn and 24.2% PG0-Asn-Boc-Trt. These results show that the PAMAM dendrimer is a good option to remove uranyl ions from aqueous solutions.

Keywords: asparagine, cellulose, PAMAM dendrimer, uranyl ions

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Adewale I. Adeolu, Vivian U. Oleforuh-Okoleh, Sylvester N. Ibe

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Heritability and repeatability estimates are needed for the genetic evaluation of livestock populations and consequently for the purpose of upgrading or improvement. Pooled data on 604 progeny from three consecutive parities of purebred rabbit breeds (Chinchilla, Dutch and New Zealand white) raised in Derived Savanna Zone of Nigeria were used to estimate heritability and repeatability for pre-weaning body weights between 1st and 8th week of age. Traits studied include Individual kit weight at birth (IKWB), 2nd week (IK2W), 4th week (IK4W), 6th week (IK6W) and 8th week (IK8W). Nested random effects analysis of (Co)variances as described by Statistical Analysis System (SAS) were employed in the estimation. Respective heritability estimates from the sire component (h2s) and repeatability (R) as intra-class correlations of repeated measurements from the three parties for IKWB, IK2W, IK4W and IK8W are 0.59±0.24, 0.55±0.24, 0.93±0.31, 0.28±0.17, 0.64±0.26 and 0.12±0.14, 0.05±0.14, 0.58±0.02, 0.60±0.11, 0.20±0.14. Heritability and repeatability (except R for IKWB and IK2W) estimates are moderate to high. In conclusion, since pre-weaning body weights in the present study tended to be moderately to highly heritable and repeatable, improvement of rabbits raised in derived savanna zone can be realized through genetic selection criterions.

Keywords: heritability, nested design, parity, pooled data, repeatability

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Gheimati Salar

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The objective of conducting this research was to study the influence of plyometric exercises on the biomechanical selected factor of elite teen swimmers and compare the influence of plyometric exercises on the speed of front crawl and back crawl in empirical and control groups of teens. In order to conduct these study 30 swimmers with minimum of 3 years' experience who were 11 or 12 were randomly chosen and divided into 2 groups of 15. The first group was empirical and the second was control group. The speed of the swimmer was analyzed after 25 meters of swimming and their speed were recorded in the last. The researcher was standing stable at the beginning and then started the chronometer and stopped it at the end of the swimming. He repeated the record taking two times and then the average was taken. Before conducting plyometric exercises, a speed test was taken from both groups in both types of swimming. The duration of plyometric exercises was 8 weeks, every week 3 sessions and 24 sessions in total. The exercises in this study were focused on 3 parts of the body. Upper limb part, the lower part of the body and trunk area. Upper limb exercises consisted of four parts. The lower limb exercises consisted of 5 parts, and the trunk exercises consisted of four sections. A Medicine ball, cone and different weights were used in these exercises.

Keywords: plyometric, exercises, front crawl and back crawl, speed

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: Omar Elharrouss, Youssef Hmamouche, Assia Kamal Idrissi, Btissam El Khamlichi, Amal El Fallah-Seghrouchni

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Edge detection is represented as one of the most challenging tasks in computer vision, due to the complexity of detecting the edges or boundaries in real-world images that contains objects of different types and scales like trees, building as well as various backgrounds. Edge detection is represented also as a key task for many computer vision applications. Using a set of backbones as well as attention modules, deep-learning-based methods improved the detection of edges compared with the traditional methods like Sobel and Canny. However, images of complex scenes still represent a challenge for these methods. Also, the detected edges using the existing approaches suffer from non-refined results while the image output contains many erroneous edges. To overcome this, n this paper, by using the mechanism of residual learning, a refined edge detection network is proposed (RED-Net). By maintaining the high resolution of edges during the training process, and conserving the resolution of the edge image during the network stage, we make the pooling outputs at each stage connected with the output of the previous layer. Also, after each layer, we use an affined batch normalization layer as an erosion operation for the homogeneous region in the image. The proposed methods are evaluated using the most challenging datasets including BSDS500, NYUD, and Multicue. The obtained results outperform the designed edge detection networks in terms of performance metrics and quality of output images.

Keywords: edge detection, convolutional neural networks, deep learning, scale-representation, backbone

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Authors: Joshua Bradley, Matthew Buns

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This study aimed to identify the effect of concurrent nutritional supplementation on soccer performance as players ingested either carbohydrate CHO (52 g of Cytocarb Maltodextrin) or a combined carbohydrate and protein PRO (Muscle Milk Pro Series 17g CHO + 50 g PRO liquid) supplement. Twelve male, junior college soccer players (age: 18 ± 6 years, wt. 73.3 ± 8.6 kg) completed three trials wearing global positioning systems (GPS) to measure total running distance and sprinting distance during soccer simulation games. The first match simulation was a baseline match with no supplementation. One hour prior to the second match, simulation players were randomly assigned to one of two supplemental groups CHO or CHO + PRO. A repeated measures ANOVA with a Greenhouse-Geisser correction revealed a statistically significant increase in the total distance run for the CHO supplementation group in comparison to the CHO + PRO group (10.19 ± .200 km vs. 9.77± .194km, p = .035). Although the total running distance was meaningfully influenced by the supplementation, the pattern of response for total sprinting distance was not influenced by supplementation. There was a decline in sprinting distance and total running distance from first half to second half, both for the control (M = -0.01 km, SD = 0.17) and CHO supplementation group (-0.04 km, SD = .19), although these differences were not statistically meaningful. There was a positive correlation between sprinting distance and total distance, which was statistically significant (r = -.514, n = 36, p = .01) In conclusion, supplementation influenced the pattern of activity and demonstrated between-trial differences.

Keywords: GPS, nutrition, simulation, supplementation

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Abdullah Almatouq, Abdulla Abusam, Hussain Hussain, Mishari Khajah, Hussain Abdullah, Rashed Al-Yaseen, Mariam Al-Jumaa, Farah Al-Ajeel, Mohammad Aljassam

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Due to the high demand for energy from unsustainable resources in Kuwait, the Kuwaiti government has focused recently on using sustainable resources for energy, such as solar and wind energy. In addition, sludge which is generated as a by-product of physical, chemical, and biological processes during wastewater treatment, can be used as a substrate to generate energy through anaerobic digestion. Kuwait’s wastewater treatment plants produce more than 1.7 million m3 of sludge per year, and this volume is accumulated in the treatment plants without any treatment. Therefore, a pilot-scale (3 m3) two-stage anaerobic digester was constructed in one of the largest treatment plants in Kuwait. The reactor was operated in batch mode, and the hydraulic retention time varied between 14 – 27 days. The main of this study is to evaluate the technical feasibility of a two-stage anaerobic digester for sludge treatability and energy generation in Kuwait. The anaerobic digester achieved a total biogas production of 37 m3, and the highest value of daily biogas production was 0.4 m3/day. The methane content ranged between 50 % and 66 %, and the other gases were as follows: CO2 20 %, H2S 13 %, and 1 % O2. The generated biogas was used on-site for cooking and lighting. In some batches, low C/N was noticed, and that lead to maintaining the concentration of CH4 between 50%-55%. In conclusion, an anaerobic digester is an environmentally friendly technology that can be applied in Kuwait, and the obtained results support the scale-up of the process in all the treatment plants.

Keywords: wastewater, metahne, biogas production potential, anaerobic digestion

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Authors: Atef M. Ghaleb, Mohamed Z. Ramadan, Khalid Saad Aljaloud

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The aim of this study is to assesses the lifting capabilities of persons experiencing hypoxia. It also examines the behavior of the physiological response induced through the lifting process related to changing in the hypoxia and lifting frequency variables. For this purpose, the study performed two consecutive tests by using; (1) training and acclimatization; and (2) an actual collection of data. A total of 10 male students from King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, were recruited in the study. A two-way repeated measures design, with two independent variables (ambient oxygen (15%, 18% and 21%)) and lifting frequency (1 lift/min and 4 lifts/min) and four dependent variables i.e., maximum acceptable weight of lift (MAWL), Electromyography (EMG) of four muscle groups (anterior deltoid, trapezius, biceps brachii, and erector spinae), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and rating of oxygen feeling (ROF) were used in this study. The results show that lifting frequency has significantly impacted the MAWL and muscles’ activities. The oxygen content had a significant effect on the RPE and ROE. The study has revealed that acclimatization and training sessions significantly reduce the effect of the hypoxia on the human physiological parameters during the manual materials handling tasks.

Keywords: lifting capabilities, muscle activities, oxygen content, perceived exertion

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Norhanizan U., S. H. Ahmad, N. A. P. Abdullah, G. B. Saleh

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Physalis minima from the family of Solanaceae is one of the promising fruits which contains the high amount of vitamin C and other antioxidants as well. However, it is a perishable fruit where the deterioration process will commence if the fruits are not stored in proper conditions. There is not much work has been carried out to study the effects of storage durations on Physalis fruit. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effects of 0, 3, 6, and 9 days of storage on postharvest quality of Physalis minima fruits. Total of 120g of uniform sizes of fruits (2.3 to 2.5g) were used for each replication and the experiment was repeated thrice. The fruits were divided equally into four groups with each group labeled according to the days of storage. The fruits were then stored in the cool room for nine days with temperature maintain at 12 ° C. The fruits were analyzed for weight loss, firmness, color (L*, C* and hue angle), titratable acidity (TA), soluble solids concentrations (SSC), pH and ascorbic acids. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and means was separated using least significant difference (LSD). The storage durations affect the quality characteristics of the fruits. On the day 9, the average of fruit weight loss and fruit firmness decreased about 21 and 24% respectively. The level of ascorbic acids and titrable acidity were also decreased while the soluble solids concentration increased during storage. Thus, in order to retain the quality of the fruits, it is recommended that the Physalis fruit can be stored only up to 6 days at 12 ° C.

Keywords: fruit quality, Physalis minima, Solanaceae, storage durations

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: K. Sivasubramanin, S. Mahimairaja, S. Pavithrapriya

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Heavy metal pollution originating from industrial wastes is becoming a serious problem in many urban environments. These heavy metals, if not properly managed, could enter into the food chain and cause a serious health hazards in animals and humans. Industrial wastes, sewage sludge, and automobile emissions also contribute to heavy metal like Pb pollution in the urban environment. However, information is scarce on the heavy metal pollution in Coimbatore urban environment. Therefore, the current study was carried out to examine the extent of lead pollution in Coimbatore urban environment the maximum Pb concentration in Coimbatore urban environment was found in ukkadam, whose concentration in soils 352 mg kg-1. In many places, the Pb concentration was found exceeded the permissible limit of 100 mg kg-1. In laboratory, closed incubation experiment showed that the concentration of different species of Pb viz., water soluble Pb(H2O-Pb), exchangeable Pb(KNO3-Pb), organic-Pb(NaOH-Pb), and organic plus metal (Fe & Al) oxides bound-Pb(Na2 EDTA-Pb) was found significantly increased during the 15 days incubation, mainly due to biotransformation processes. Both the moisture content of soil and ambient temperature exerted a profound influence on the transformation of Pb. The results of a batch experiment has shown that the sorption data was adequately described by the Freundlich equation as indicated by the high correlation coefficients (R2= 0.64) than the Langmuir equation (R2 = 0.33). A maximum of 86 mg of Pb was found adsorbed per kilogram of soil. Consistently, a soil column experiment result had shown that only a small amount of Pb( < 1.0 µg g-1 soil) alone was found leached from the soil. This might be due to greater potential of the soil towards Pb adsorption.

Keywords: lead pollution, adsorption, transformation, heavy metal pollution

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Authors: Vibha Sinha, Sumedha Chakma

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Arsenic (As) contamination in drinking water is a serious concern worldwide resulting in severe health maladies. To tackle this problem, several hydrogel based matrix which selectively uptake toxic metals from contaminated water has increasingly been examined as a potential practical method for metal removal. The major concern in hydrogels is low stability of matrix, resulting in poor performance. In this study, the potential of hybrid hydrogel-biochar matrix synthesized from natural plant polymers, specific for As removal was explored. Various compositional and functional group changes of the elements contained in the matrix due to the adsorption of As were identified. Moreover, to resolve the stability issue in hydrogel matrix, optimum and effective mixing of hydrogel with biochar was studied. Mixing varied proportions of matrix components at the time of digestion process was tested. Preliminary results suggest that partial premixing methods may increase the stability and reduce cost. Addition of nanoparticles and specific catalysts with different concentrations of As(III) and As(V) under batch conditions was performed to study their role in performance enhancement of the hydrogel matrix. Further, effect of process parameters, optimal uptake conditions and detailed mechanism derived from experimental studies were suitably conducted. This study provides an efficient, specific and a low-cost As removal method that offers excellent regeneration abilities which can be reused for value.

Keywords: arsenic, catalysts, hybrid hydrogel-biochar, water purification

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Sujoy Das, M. M. Ghosh

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The thermal conductivity of a fluid can be significantly enhanced by dispersing nano-sized particles in it, and the resultant fluid is termed as "nanofluid". A theoretical model for estimating the thermal conductivity of a nanofluid has been proposed here. It is based on the mechanism that evenly dispersed nanoparticles within a nanofluid undergo Brownian motion in course of which the nanoparticles repeatedly collide with the heat source. During each collision a rapid heat transfer occurs owing to the solid-solid contact. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of the collision of nanoparticles with the heat source has shown that there is a pulse-like pick up of heat by the nanoparticles within 20-100 ps, the extent of which depends not only on thermal conductivity of the nanoparticles, but also on the elastic and other physical properties of the nanoparticle. After the collision the nanoparticles undergo Brownian motion in the base fluid and release the excess heat to the surrounding base fluid within 2-10 ms. The Brownian motion and associated temperature variation of the nanoparticles have been modeled by stochastic analysis. Repeated occurrence of these events by the suspended nanoparticles significantly contributes to the characteristic thermal conductivity of the nanofluids, which has been estimated by the present model for a ethylene glycol based nanofluid containing Cu-nanoparticles of size ranging from 8 to 20 nm, with Gaussian size distribution. The prediction of the present model has shown a reasonable agreement with the experimental data available in literature.

Keywords: brownian dynamics, molecular dynamics, nanofluid, thermal conductivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 367

Authors: Soumendu Monia, Vaibhav Jain, Hrishikesh Jugade, Manashi Adhikary, Goutam Mukhopadhyay

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'Rolled in scale' (RIS) and 'Rolled in Scum' (RISc) are two superficial surface defects on cold rolled and annealed steel sheets which affect the aesthetics of surface and thereby that of the end-product. Both the defects are believed to be originating from distinctly different sources having different mechanisms of formation. However, due to their similar physical appearance, RIS and RISc are generally confused with each other and hence attaining the exact root cause for elimination of the defect becomes difficult. RIS appears irregular in shape, sometimes scattered, and always oriented in rolling direction. RISc is generally oval shaped, having identifiable pointed edges and mostly oriented in rolling direction. Visually, RIS appears to be greyish in colour whereas RISc is whitish in colour. Both the defects have quite random occurrence and do not leave any imprints on the reverse-side of the sheet. In the current study, an attempt has been made to differentiate these two similar looking surface defects using various metallographic and characterization techniques. Systematic experiments have been carried out to identify possible mechanisms of formation of these defects. Detailed characterization revealed basic differences between RIS and RISc with respect to their surface morphology. To summarize, RIS was observed as a residue of an otherwise under-pickled scale patch on surface, after it has been subjected to cold rolling and annealing in a batch/continuous furnace. Whereas RISc was found to be a localized rubbing of the surface, at the time of cold rolling itself, resulting in a rough surface texture.

Keywords: annealing, rolled in scale, rolled in scum, skin panel

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Authors: V. K. Arora, Suraj Prakash

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Pile foundations are provided to transfer the vertical and horizontal loads of superstructures like high rise buildings, bridges, offshore structures etc. to the deep strata in the soil. These vertical and horizontal loads are due to the loads coming from the superstructure and wind, water thrust, earthquake, and earth pressure, respectively. In a pile foundation, piles are used in groups. Vertical piles in a group of piles are more efficient to take vertical loads as compared to horizontal loads and when the horizontal load per pile exceeds the bearing capacity of the vertical piles in that case batter piles are used with vertical piles because batter piles can take more lateral loads than vertical piles. In this paper, a model study was conducted on three vertical pile group with single positive and negative battered pile subjected to lateral loads. The batter angle for battered piles was ±35◦ with the vertical axis. Piles were spaced at 2.5d (d=diameter of pile) to each other. The soil used for model test was cohesionless soil. Lateral loads were applied in three stages on all the pile groups individually and it was found that under the repeated action of lateral loading, the deflection of the piles increased under the same loading. After comparing the results, it was found that the pile group with positive batter pile fails at 28 kgf and the pile group with negative batter pile fails at 24 kgf so it shows that positive battered piles are stronger than the negative battered piles.

Keywords: vertical piles, positive battered piles, negative battered piles, cohesionless soil, lateral loads, model test

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Authors: Lin Huang, Bo Wang, Armando Borgna

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Dehydration of glycerol to acrolein was conducted with solid acid catalysts in liquid phase in a batch reactor and in gas phase in a fix-bed reactor, respectively. In the liquid-phase reaction, ZSM-5, H3PO4-modified ZSM-5 and heteropolyacids including H3PW12O40•xH2O (HPW) and Cs2.5H0.5PW12O40 (CsPW) were studied as catalysts. High temperatures and high boiling point solvents such as sulfolane improved the selectivity to acrolein through suppressing the formation of polyglycerols and coke. Catalytic results and temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia showed that the yield of acrolein increased with increasing catalyst acidity within the range of weak acid strength. Weak acid sites favored the selectivity to acrolein whereas strong acid sites promoted the formation of coke. ZSM-5 possessing only acid sites led to a high acrolein yield, while heteropolyacid catalysts with strong acid sites produced a low acrolein yield. In the gas-phase reaction, HPW and CsPW supported on metal oxides such as SiO2, γ-Al2O3, SiO2-Al2O3, ZrO2 and silicate TUD-1 were studied as catalysts. HPW/TUD-1 was most active for the production of acrolein, followed by HPW/SiO2. An acrolein yield of 61 % was obtained over HPW/TUD-1. X-ray diffraction study suggested that HPW and CsPW were stable and more dispersed on SiO2, silicate TUD-1 and SiO2-Al2O3. It was found that the structures of HPW and CsPW were destroyed by interaction with γ-Al2O3 and ZrO2. Compared to CsPW/TUD-1, the higher acrolein yield with HPW/TUD-1 may be attributed to more Brønsted acid sites on HPW/TUD-1, based on preliminary pyridine adsorption IR study.

Keywords: dehydration, glycerol, acrolein, solid acid catalysts, gas-phase, liquid-phase

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Authors: Raymond Limen Njinga, Adeneye Samuel Olaolu, Akinyode Ojumoola Ajimo

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Introduction: Measurement of entrance dose and dose at different depths is essential to avoid overdose and underdose of patients. The aim of this study is to verify the variation in the absorbed dose using a water-equivalent material. Materials and Methods: The plastic phantom was arranged on the couch of the halcyon linear accelerator by Varian, with the farmer ionization chamber inserted and connected to the electrometer. The image of the setup was taken using the High-Quality Single 1280x1280x16 higher on the service mode to check the alignment with the isocenter. The beam quality TPR₂₀,₁₀ (Tissue phantom ratio) was done to check the beam quality of the machine at a field size of 10 cm x 10 cm. The calibration was done using SAD type set-up at a depth of 5 cm. This process was repeated for ten consecutive weeks, and the values were recorded. Results: The results of the beam output for the teletherapy machine were satisfactory and accepted in comparison with the commissioned measurement of 0.62. The beam quality TPR₂₀,₁₀ (Tissue phantom ratio) was reasonable with respect to the beam quality of the machine at a field size of 10 cm x 10 cm. Conclusion: The results of the beam quality and the absorbed dose rate showed a good consistency over the period of ten weeks with the commissioned measurement value.

Keywords: linear accelerator, absorbed dose rate, isocenter, phantom, ionization chamber

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Authors: Bruce G. Wilson

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The collection of municipal solid waste at the curbside is a complex operation that is repeated daily under varying circumstances around the world. There have been several attempts to develop Monte Carlo simulation models of the waste collection process dating back almost 50 years. Despite this long history, the use of simulation modeling as a planning or optimization tool for waste collection is still extremely limited in practice. Historically, simulation modeling of waste collection systems has been hampered by the limitations of computer hardware and software and by the availability of representative input data. This paper outlines the development of a Monte Carlo simulation model that overcomes many of the limitations contained in previous models. The model uses a general purpose simulation software program that is easily capable of modeling an entire waste collection network. The model treats the stops on a waste collection route as a queue of work to be processed by a collection vehicle (or server). Input data can be collected from a variety of sources including municipal geographic information systems, global positioning system recorders on collection vehicles, and weigh scales at transfer stations or treatment facilities. The result is a flexible model that is sufficiently robust that it can model the collection activities in a large municipality, while providing the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions on the collection route.

Keywords: modeling, queues, residential waste collection, Monte Carlo simulation

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Authors: Soofia Malik

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The purpose of this study is to develop an instrument to measure undergraduate students’ attitudes toward mathematics (MAT) and to assess the data collected from the instrument for validity and reliability. The instrument is developed using five subscales: anxiety, enjoyment, self-confidence, value, and technology. The technology dimension is added as the fifth subscale of attitude toward mathematics because of the recent trend of incorporating online homework in mathematics courses as well as due to heavy reliance of higher education on using online learning management systems, such as Blackboard and Moodle. The sample consists of 163 (M = 82, F = 81) undergraduates enrolled in College Algebra course in the summer 2017 semester at a university in the USA. The data is analyzed to answer the research question: if and how do undergraduate students’ attitudes toward mathematics load using Principal Components Analysis (PCA)? As a result of PCA, three subscales emerged namely: anxiety/self-confidence scale, enjoyment, and value scale. After deleting the last five items or the last two subscales from the initial MAT scale, the Cronbach’s alpha was recalculated using the scores from 20 items and was found to be α = .95. It is important to note that the reliability of the initial MAT form was α = .93. This means that employing the final MAT survey form would yield consistent results in repeated uses. The final MAT form is, therefore, more reliable as compared to the initial MAT form.

Keywords: college algebra, Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient, Principal Components Analysis, PCA, technology in mathematics

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Authors: Masoumeh Shojaei, Natalie Gedayloo, Amir Sarshin

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The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of Isokinetic fatigue of muscles around the ankle, knee, and hip on the indicators of dynamic postural stability. Therefore, 15 female university students (age 19.7± 0.6 years old, weight 54.6± 9.4 kg, and height 163.9± 5.6 cm) participated in within-subjects design for 5 different days. In the first session, the postural stability indices (time to stabilization after jump-landing) without fatigue were assessed by force plate and in each next sessions, one of muscle groups of the lower limb including the muscles around ankles, knees, and hip was randomly exhausted by Biodex Isokinetic dynamometer and the indices were assessed immediately after the fatigue of each muscle group. The method involved landing on a force plate from a dynamic state, and transitioning balance into a static state. Results of ANOVA with repeated measures indicated that there was no significant difference between the time to stabilization (TTS) before and after Isokinetic fatigue of the muscles around the ankle, knee and hip in medial – lateral direction (p > 0.05), but in the anterior – posterior (AP) direction, the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Least Significant Difference (LSD) post hoc test results also showed that there was significant difference between TTS in knee and hip muscles before and after isokinetic fatigue in AP direction. In the other hand knee and hip muscles group were affected by isokinetic fatigue only in AP surface (p < 0.05).

Keywords: dynamic balance, fatigue, lower limb muscles, postural control

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Authors: Kh Jalali Dehkordi, A. Jalali Dehkordi, A. Tofighi

Abstract:

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 8 weeks of aerobic, resistance, and concurrent training on secretion of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in elderly women. Methods: A total number of 60 elderly women were randomly allocated to four groups of aerobic training (n = 15), resistance training (n = 15), concurrent training (n = 15), and control (n = 15). Blood samples were taken before and 4 weeks after the initiation of exercise training and also at the end of the 8-week course of training. Maximal oxygen consumption (VO2Peak) was measured after 48 hours using Rockport walk test. Inferential analysis of the collected data was performed by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Significant differences were further evaluated by the least significant difference (LSD) test. The relation between VO2Peak and secretion of GH and IGF-1 was assessed by Pearson's correlation coefficient. The significance level was considered as P ≤ 0.05 in all tests. Findings: The results showed that 8 weeks of regular exercise significantly increased levels of GH and IGF-1. A significant increase was also observed in VO2Peak values after 8 weeks of regular exercise (P < 0.05). VO2Peak was directly correlated with GH and IGF (P < 0.001, r = 0.72). Conclusion: In conclusion, regular exercise significantly increased levels of anabolic hormones. Moreover, the combined-exercise training better enhanced GH and IGF-1. VO2Peak increased with increases in GH and IGF-1 levels.

Keywords: women, training, GH, IGF-1

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Authors: Kolawole Taiwo Olabode

Abstract:

This is a comparative study of ICTs adoption and use in selected manufacturing industries in for development. This study was carried out 2004 and was repeated 2013 (nine years after) using the same selected manufacturing industries to assess the level, improvement and extent ICT facilities used in these companies. The theory of modernization was explored to explain some developmental issues in this study. The same semi-structured questionnaire and IDI were used to elicit data on the subject matter. About 24.9% of the total workers (1,247) were sampled for this study using quota sampling technique. SPSS was used to analysis the quantitative data. The qualitative data was used to buttress the quantitative data. Findings indicated that Seven-Up Bottling Company and Frigoglass Glass Industry still remained Intensive ICT Users while only Niger Match Nigeria Limited still remained Non-Intensive ICT User while unfortunately, Askar Paint Nigeria Limited has gone liquidated. It is also important to discover that only the Intensive ICT users improved on relevant ICT facilities. The existing problems of ICT adoption and used in these companies remained the same in Niger Match Limited. The study concluded that for a society to be developed, management and government at all levels must do all things necessary to ensure that all existing organisations must be ICT compliance for workers and organisational performance and to enhance nation’s development in order to compete with other companies for global standard or recognition.

Keywords: ICT, intensive ICT-users, entrepreneurial, manufacturing industries, industries and development

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Authors: Henriette Hammill

Abstract:

Background: Safe landing in netball is fundamental. Research on the biomechanics of multidirectional landings is lacking, especially among netball players. Furthermore, few studies reporting the associations between lower extremity injuries and landing kinematics and kinetics in university-level netball players have been undertaken. Objectives: The aim is to determine the relationships between lower extremity injuries and landing kinematics and kinetics in university-level netball players that have been undertaken during a single season. Methods: This cross-sectional repeated measure study consisted of ten university-level female netball players. The injury prevalence data was collected during the 2022 netball season. The kinematic and kinetic data were collected during multidirectional single-leg landing trials and was collected. Results: Generally, the ankle strength of netball players was below average. There was evidence of negative correlations between the ankle range of motion (ROM), and muscle activity amplitudes. A lack of evidence precluded the conclusion that lower extremity dominance was a predisposing factor for injury and that any specific body part was most likely to be injured among netball players. Conclusion: Landing forces and muscle activity are direction-dependent, especially for the dominant extremity. Lower extremity strength and neuromuscular control (NMC) across multiple jump-landing directions should be an area of focus for female netball players.

Keywords: netball players, landing kinetics, landing kinematics, lower extremity

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Authors: Nkosingiphile M. Mbhele, Jean Steyn

Abstract:

A focus group discussion was implemented, which comprised of senior South African Police Service managers and police academics in South Africa. The measurement of solidarity, isolation, and cynicism among functional South African Police Service officials and a thirty-item questionnaire came about by reviewing the literature. This research uses a survey format to assess the police culture theme of solidarity, isolation, and cynicism among South African Police Service officers in 9 South African provinces. Although a survey format is used in research, it engages in a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test repeated measures research (longitudinal) design. Although there are differences among South African Police Service police (SAPS) officers, overall, there are signs of solidarity, isolation, and cynicism among SAPS members. Attitudes of solidarity, isolation, and cynicism are present among most police officials and have been presented from the start of training and held, maintained, or strengthened for the next years of their SAPS careers. This issue is problematic to society with regard to community-orientated policing since they have to interact with the members of the community. To author’s best knowledge, longitudinal studies of police culture are rare to find; not much has been researched on this topic. However, this paper offers to bridge that gap by providing answers to longitudinal police attitudes towards the public within the police culture themes of isolation and cynicism attitudes.

Keywords: South African police service, police culture, solidarity, isolation, cynicism, public

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Authors: Matthew Buns

Abstract:

Training specificity is imperative for successful performance of the elite athlete. Virtual reality (VR) has been successfully applied to a broad range of training domains. However, to date there is little research investigating the use of VR for sport training. The purpose of this study was to address the question of whether virtual reality (VR) training can improve real world hockey shooting performance. Twenty four volunteers were recruited and randomly selected to complete the virtual training intervention or enter a control group with no training. Four primary types of data were collected: 1) participant’s experience with video games and hockey, 2) participant’s motivation toward video game use, 3) participants technical performance on real-world hockey, and 4) participant’s technical performance in virtual hockey. One-way multivariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that that the intervention group demonstrated significantly more real-world hockey accuracy [F(1,24) =15.43, p <.01, E.S. = 0.56] while shooting on goal than their control group counterparts [intervention M accuracy = 54.17%, SD=12.38, control M accuracy = 46.76%, SD=13.45]. One-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) repeated measures indicated significantly higher outcome scores on real-world accuracy (35.42% versus 54.17%; ES = 1.52) and velocity (51.10 mph versus 65.50 mph; ES=0.86) of hockey shooting on goal. This research supports the idea that virtual training is an effective tool for increasing real-world hockey skill.

Keywords: virtual training, hockey skills, video game, esports

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Authors: Natalie M. Wride, Xueyu Geng

Abstract:

Subgrade soils of railway infrastructure are subjected to a significant number of load applications over their design life. The use of slab track on existing and future proposed rail links requires a reduced maintenance and repair regime for the embankment subgrade, due to restricted access to the subgrade soils for remediation caused by cyclic deformation. It is, therefore, important to study the deformation behaviour of soft cohesive subsoils induced as a result of long term cyclic loading. In this study, a series of oedometer tests and cyclic triaxial tests (10,000 cycles) have been undertaken to investigate the undrained deformation behaviour of soft kaolin. X-ray Computer Tomography (CT) scanning of the samples has been performed to determine the change in porosity and soil structure density from the sample microstructure as a result of the laboratory testing regime undertaken. Combined with the examination of excess pore pressures and strains obtained from the cyclic triaxial tests, the results are compared with an existing analytical solution for long term settlement considering repeated low amplitude loading. Modifications to the analytical solution are presented based on the laboratory analysis that shows good agreement with further test data.

Keywords: creep, cyclic loading, deformation, long term settlement, train loading

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Authors: Almalki M., Alajmi M., Qadrouh Y., Alzahrani E., Sulaiman A., Aleid M., Albaiji A., Alfaifi H., Alhadadi A., Almotairy H., Alrasheed R., Alhafedh Y.

Abstract:

High-resolution marine seismic survey is a well-established technique that commonly used to characterize near-surface sediments and geological structures at shallow water. We conduct single channel seismic survey to provide high quality seismic images for near-surface sediments upto 100m depth at Jubal costal area, Arabian Gulf. Eight hydrophones streamer has been used to collect stacked seismic traces alone 5km seismic line. To reach the required depth, we have used spark system that discharges energies above 5000 J with expected frequency output span the range from 200 to 2000 Hz. A suitable processing flow implemented to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the seismic profile. We have found that shallow sedimentary layers at the study site have complex pattern of reflectivity, which decay significantly due to amount of source energy used as well as the multiples associated to seafloor. In fact, the results reveal that single channel marine seismic at shallow water is a cost-effective technique that can be easily repeated to observe any possibly changes in the wave physical properties at the near surface layers

Keywords: shallow marine single-channel data, high resolution, frequency filtering, shallow water

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Authors: Angelica Salmeron Alcocer, Deifilia Ahuatzi Chacon, Felipe Rodriguez Casasola

Abstract:

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are produced naturally (forest fires, volcanic eruptions) and human activity (burning fossil fuels). Concern for PAHs is due to their toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects and so pose a potential risk to human health and ecology. Therefore these are considered the most toxic components of oil, they are highly hydrophobic, making them easily depositable on the floor, air and water. One method of removing PAHs of contaminated soil used surfactants such as Tween 80, which it has been reported as less toxic and also increases the solubility of the PAH compared to other surfactants, fluoranthene is a PAH with molecular formula C16H10, its name derives from the fluorescence which presents to UV light. In this paper, a study of the fluoranthene removal solubilized with Tween 80 in synthetic wastewater using a microbial community (isolated from soil of coffee plantations in the state of Veracruz, Mexico) and Fenton oxidation method was performed. The microbial community was able to use both tween 80 and fluoranthene as carbon sources for growth, when the biological treatment in batch culture was applied, 100% of fluoranthene was mineralized, this only occurred at an initial concentration of 100 ppm, but by increasing the initial concentration of fluoranthene the removal efficiencies decay and degradation time increases due to the accumulation of byproducts more toxic or less biodegradable, however when the Fenton oxidation was previously applied to the biological treatment, it was observed that removal of fluoranthene improved because it is consumed approximately 2.4 times faster.

Keywords: fluoranthene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, biological treatment, fenton oxidation

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