Search results for: intermediate input source
785 The High Precision of Magnetic Detection with Microwave Modulation in Solid Spin Assembly of NV Centres in Diamond
Authors: Zongmin Ma, Shaowen Zhang, Yueping Fu, Jun Tang, Yunbo Shi, Jun Liu
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Solid-state quantum sensors are attracting wide interest because of their high sensitivity at room temperature. In particular, spin properties of nitrogen–vacancy (NV) color centres in diamond make them outstanding sensors of magnetic fields, electric fields and temperature under ambient conditions. Much of the work on NV magnetic sensing has been done so as to achieve the smallest volume, high sensitivity of NV ensemble-based magnetometry using micro-cavity, light-trapping diamond waveguide (LTDW), nano-cantilevers combined with MEMS (Micro-Electronic-Mechanical System) techniques. Recently, frequency-modulated microwaves with continuous optical excitation method have been proposed to achieve high sensitivity of 6 μT/√Hz using individual NV centres at nanoscale. In this research, we built-up an experiment to measure static magnetic field through continuous wave optical excitation with frequency-modulated microwaves method under continuous illumination with green pump light at 532 nm, and bulk diamond sample with a high density of NV centers (1 ppm). The output of the confocal microscopy was collected by an objective (NA = 0.7) and detected by a high sensitivity photodetector. We design uniform and efficient excitation of the micro strip antenna, which is coupled well with the spin ensembles at 2.87 GHz for zero-field splitting of the NV centers. Output of the PD signal was sent to an LIA (Lock-In Amplifier) modulated signal, generated by the microwave source by IQ mixer. The detected signal is received by the photodetector, and the reference signal enters the lock-in amplifier to realize the open-loop detection of the NV atomic magnetometer. We can plot ODMR spectra under continuous-wave (CW) microwave. Due to the high sensitivity of the lock-in amplifier, the minimum detectable value of the voltage can be measured, and the minimum detectable frequency can be made by the minimum and slope of the voltage. The magnetic field sensitivity can be derived from η = δB√T corresponds to a 10 nT minimum detectable shift in the magnetic field. Further, frequency analysis of the noise in the system indicates that at 10Hz the sensitivity less than 10 nT/√Hz.Keywords: nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, frequency-modulated microwaves, magnetic field sensitivity, noise density
Procedia PDF Downloads 431784 Mechanical Properties of Enset Fibers Obtained from Different Breeds of Enset Plant
Authors: Diriba T. Balcha, Boris Kulig, Oliver Hensel, Eyassu Woldesenbet
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Enset fiber is agricultural waste and available in a surplus amount in Ethiopia. However, the hypothesized variation in properties of this fiber due to diversity of its plant source breed, fiber position within plant stem and chemical treatment duration had not proven that its application for the development of composite products is problematic. Currently, limited data are known on the functional properties of the fiber as a potential functional fiber. Thus, an effort is made in this study to narrow the knowledge gaps by characterizing it. The experimental design was conducted using Design-Expert software and the tensile test was conducted on Enset fiber from 10 breeds: Dego, Dirbo, Gishera, Itine, Siskela, Neciho, Yesherkinke, Tuzuma, Ankogena, and Kucharkia. The effects of 5% Na-OH surface treatment duration and fiber location along and across the plant pseudostem was also investigated. The test result shows that the rupture stress variation is not significant among the fibers from 10 Enset breeds. However, strain variation is significant among the fibers from 10 Enset breeds that breed Dego fiber has the highest strain before failure. Surface treated fibers showed improved rupture strength and elastic modulus per 24 hours of treatment duration. Also, the result showed that chemical treatment can deteriorate the load-bearing capacity of the fiber. The raw fiber has the higher load-bearing capacity than the treated fiber. And, it was noted that both the rupture stress and strain increase in the top to bottom gradient, whereas there is no significant variation across the stem. Elastic modulus variation both along and across the stem was insignificant. The rupture stress, elastic modulus, and strain result of Enset fiber are 360.11 ± 181.86 MPa, 12.80 ± 6.85 GPa and 0.04 ± 0.02 mm/mm, respectively. These results show that Enset fiber is comparable to other natural fibers such as abaca, banana, and sisal fibers and can be used as alternatives natural fiber for composites application. Besides, the insignificant variation of properties among breeds and across stem is essential for all breeds and all leaf sheath of the Enset fiber plant for fiber extraction. The use of short natural fiber over the long is preferable to reduce the significant variation of properties along the stem or fiber direction. In conclusion, Enset fiber application for composite product design and development is mechanically feasible.Keywords: Agricultural waste, Chemical treatment, Fiber characteristics, Natural fiber
Procedia PDF Downloads 226783 Analysis of Trends and Challenges of Using Renewable Biomass for Bioplastics
Authors: Namasivayam Navaranjan, Eric Dimla
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The world needs more quality food, shelter and transportation to meet the demands of growing population and improving living standard of those who currently live below the poverty line. Materials are essential commodities for various applications including food and pharmaceutical packaging, building and automobile. Petroleum based plastics are widely used materials amongst others for these applications and their demand is expected to increase. Use of plastics has environment related issues because considerable amount of plastic used worldwide is disposed in landfills, where its resources are wasted, the material takes up valuable space and blights communities. Some countries have been implementing regulations and/or legislations to increase reuse, recycle, renew and remanufacture materials as well as to minimise the use of non-environmentally friendly materials such as petroleum plastics. However, issue of material waste is still a concern in the countries who have low environmental regulations. Development of materials, mostly bioplastics from renewable biomass resources has become popular in the last decade. It is widely believed that the potential for up to 90% substitution of total plastics consumption by bioplastics is technically possible. The global demand for bioplastics is estimated to be approximately six times larger than in 2010. Recently, standard polymers like polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) or Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), but also high-performance polymers such as polyamides or polyesters have been totally or partially substituted by their renewable equivalents. An example is Polylactide (PLA) being used as a substitute in films and injection moulded products made of petroleum plastics, e.g. PET. The starting raw materials for bio-based materials are usually sugars or starches that are mostly derived from food resources, partially also recycled materials from food or wood processing. The risk in lower food availability by increasing price of basic grains as a result of competition with biomass-based product sectors for feedstock also needs to be considered for the future bioplastic production. Manufacturing of bioplastic materials is often still reliant upon petroleum as an energy and materials source. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of bioplastic products has being conducted to determine the sustainability of a production route. However, the accuracy of LCA depends on several factors and needs improvement. Low oil price and high production cost may also limit the technically possible growth of these plastics in the coming years.Keywords: bioplastics, plastics, renewable resources, biomass
Procedia PDF Downloads 304782 Comparison of Spiral Circular Coil and Helical Coil Structures for Wireless Power Transfer System
Authors: Zhang Kehan, Du Luona
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Wireless power transfer (WPT) systems have been widely investigated for advantages of convenience and safety compared to traditional plug-in charging systems. The research contents include impedance matching, circuit topology, transfer distance et al. for improving the efficiency of WPT system, which is a decisive factor in the practical application. What is more, coil structures such as spiral circular coil and helical coil with variable distance between two turns also have indispensable effects on the efficiency of WPT systems. This paper compares the efficiency of WPT systems utilizing spiral or helical coil with variable distance between two turns, and experimental results show that efficiency of spiral circular coil with an optimum distance between two turns is the highest. According to efficiency formula of resonant WPT system with series-series topology, we introduce M²/R₋₁ to measure the efficiency of spiral circular coil and helical coil WPT system. If the distance between two turns s is too close, proximity effect theory shows that the induced current in the conductor, caused by a variable flux created by the current flows in the skin of vicinity conductor, is the opposite direction of source current and has assignable impart on coil resistance. Thus in two coil structures, s affects coil resistance. At the same time, when the distance between primary and secondary coils is not variable, s can also make the influence on M to some degrees. The aforementioned study proves that s plays an indispensable role in changing M²/R₋₁ and then can be adjusted to find the optimum value with which WPT system achieves the highest efficiency. In actual application situations of WPT systems especially in underwater vehicles, miniaturization is one vital issue in designing WPT system structures. Limited by system size, the largest external radius of spiral circular coil is 100 mm, and the largest height of helical coil is 40 mm. In other words, the turn of coil N changes with s. In spiral circular and helical structures, the distance between each two turns in secondary coil is set as a constant value 1 mm to guarantee that the R2 is not variable. Based on the analysis above, we set up spiral circular coil and helical coil model using COMSOL to analyze the value of M²/R₋₁ when the distance between each two turns in primary coil sp varies from 0 mm to 10 mm. In the two structure models, the distance between primary and secondary coils is 50 mm and wire diameter is chosen as 1.5 mm. The turn of coil in secondary coil are 27 in helical coil model and 20 in spiral circular coil model. The best value of s in helical coil structure and spiral circular coil structure are 1 mm and 2 mm respectively, in which the value of M²/R₋₁ is the largest. It is obviously to select spiral circular coil as the first choice to design the WPT system for that the value of M²/R₋₁ in spiral circular coil is larger than that in helical coil under the same condition.Keywords: distance between two turns, helical coil, spiral circular coil, wireless power transfer
Procedia PDF Downloads 336781 Fraud in the Higher Educational Institutions in Assam, India: Issues and Challenges
Authors: Kalidas Sarma
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Fraud is a social problem changing with social change and it has a regional and global impact. Introduction of private domain in higher education along with public institutions has led to commercialization of higher education which encourages unprecedented mushrooming of private institutions resulting in fraudulent activities in higher educational institutions in Assam, India. Presently, fraud has been noticed in in-service promotion, fake entry qualification by teachers in different levels of work-place by using fake master degrees, master of philosophy and doctor of philosophy degree certificates. The aim and objective of the study are to identify grey areas in maintenance of quality in higher educational institutions in Assam and also to draw the contour for planning and implementation. This study is based on both primary and secondary data collected through questionnaire and seeking information through Right to Information Act 2005. In Assam, there are 301 undergraduate and graduate colleges distributed in 27 (Twenty seven) administrative districts with 11000 (Eleven thousand) college teachers. Total 421 (Four hundred twenty one) college teachers from the 14 respondent colleges have been taken for analysis. Data collected has been analyzed by using 'Hypertext Pre-processor' (PhP) application with My Sequel Structure Query Language (MySQL) and Google Map Application Programming Interface (APIs). Graph has been generated by using open source tool Chart.js. Spatial distribution maps have been generated with the help of geo-references of the colleges. The result shows: (i) the violation of University Grants Commission's (UGCs) Regulation for the awards of M. Phil/Ph.D. clearly exhibits. (ii) There is a gap between apex regulatory bodies of higher education at national and as well as state level to check fraud. (iii) Mala fide 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) issued by the Government of Assam have played pivotal role in the occurrence of fraudulent practices in higher educational institutions of Assam. (iv) Violation of verdict of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India regarding territorial jurisdiction of Universities for the awards of Ph.D. and M. Phil degrees in distance mode/study centre is also a responsible factor for the spread of these academic frauds in Assam and other states. The challenges and mitigation of these issues have been discussed.Keywords: Assam, fraud, higher education, mitigation
Procedia PDF Downloads 159780 Effects of Roasting as Preservative Method on Food Value of the Runner Groundnuts, Arachis hypogaea
Authors: M. Y. Maila, H. P. Makhubele
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Roasting is one of the oldest preservation method used in foods such as nuts and seeds. It is a process by which heat is applied to dry foodstuffs without the use of oil or water as a carrier. Groundnut seeds, also known as peanuts when sun dried or roasted, are among the oldest oil crops that are mostly consumed as a snack, after roasting in many parts of South Africa. However, roasting can denature proteins, destroy amino acids, decrease nutritive value and induce undesirable chemical changes in the final product. The aim of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the effect of various roasting times on the food value of the runner groundnut seeds. A constant temperature of 160 °C and various time-intervals (20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 min) were used for roasting groundnut seeds in an oven. Roasted groundnut seeds were then cooled and milled to flour. The milled sundried, raw groundnuts served as reference. The proximate analysis (moisture, energy and crude fats) was performed and the results were determined using standard methods. The antioxidant content was determined using HPLC. Mineral (cobalt, chromium, silicon and iron) contents were determined by first digesting the ash of sundried and roasted seed samples in 3M Hydrochloric acid and then determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. All results were subjected to ANOVA through SAS software. Relative to the reference, roasting time significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced moisture (71%–88%), energy (74%) and crude fat (5%–64%) of the runner groundnut seeds, whereas the antioxidant content was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased (35%–72%) with increasing roasting time. Similarly, the tested mineral contents of the roasted runner groundnut seeds were also significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced at all roasting times: cobalt (21%–83%), chromium (48%–106%) and silicon (58%–77%). However, the iron content was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) unaffected. Generally, the tested runner groundnut seeds had higher food value in the raw state than in the roasted state, except for the antioxidant content. Moisture is a critical factor affecting the shelf life, texture and flavor of the final product. Loss of moisture ensures prolonged shelf life, which contribute to the stability of the roasted peanuts. Also, increased antioxidant content in roasted groundnuts is essential in other health-promoting compounds. In conclusion, the overall reduction in the proximate and mineral contents of the runner groundnuts seeds due to roasting is sufficient to suggest influences of roasting time on the food value of the final product and shelf life.Keywords: dry roasting, legume, oil source, peanuts
Procedia PDF Downloads 277779 Formulation of Value Added Beff Meatballs with the Addition of Pomegranate (Punica granatum) Extract as a Source of Natural Antioxident
Authors: M. A. Hashem, I. Jahan
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The experiment was conducted to find out the effect of different levels of Pomegranate (Punica granatum) extract and synthetic antioxidant BHA (Beta Hydroxyl Anisole) on fresh and preserved beef meatballs in order to make functional food. For this purpose, ground beef samples were divided into five treatment groups. They were treated as control group, 0.1% synthetic antioxidant group, 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% pomegranate extract group as T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 respectively. Proximate analysis, sensory tests (color, flavor, tenderness, juiciness, overall acceptability), cooking loss, pH value, free fatty acids (FFA), thiobarbituric acid values (TBARS), peroxide value (POV) and microbiological examination were determined in order to evaluate the effect of pomegranate extract as natural antioxidant and antimicrobial activities compared to BHA (Beta Hydroxyl Anisole) at first day before freezing and for maintaining meatballs qualities on the shelf life of beef meat balls stored for 60 days under frozen condition. Freezing temperature was -20˚C. Days of intervals of experiment were on 0, 15th, 30th and 60th days. Dry matter content of all the treatment groups differ significantly (p<0.05). On the contrary, DM content increased significantly (p<0.05) with the advancement of different days of intervals. CP content of all the treatments were increased significantly (p<0.05) among the different treatment groups. EE and Ash content were decreased significantly (p<0.05) at different treatment levels. FFA values, TBARS, POV were decreased significantly (p<0.05) at different treatment levels. Color, odor, tenderness, juiciness, overall acceptability decreased significantly (p<0.05) at different days of intervals. Raw PH, cooked pH were increased at different treatment levels significantly (p<0.05). The cooking loss (%) at different treatment levels were differ significantly (p<0.05). TVC (logCFU/g), TCC (logCFU/g) and TYMC (logCFU/g) was decreased significantly (p<0.05) at different treatment levels and at different days of intervals comparison to control. Considering CP, tenderness, juiciness, overall acceptability, cooking loss, FFA, POV, TBARS value and microbial analysis it can be concluded that pomegranate extract at 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% can be used instead of synthetic antioxidant BHA in beef meatballs. On the basis of sensory evaluation, nutrient quality, physicochemical properties, biochemical analysis and microbial analysis 0.3% Pomegranate extract can be recommended for formulation of value added beef meatball enriched with natural antioxidant.Keywords: antioxidant, pomegranate, BHA, value added meat products
Procedia PDF Downloads 241778 RA-Apriori: An Efficient and Faster MapReduce-Based Algorithm for Frequent Itemset Mining on Apache Flink
Authors: Sanjay Rathee, Arti Kashyap
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Extraction of useful information from large datasets is one of the most important research problems. Association rule mining is one of the best methods for this purpose. Finding possible associations between items in large transaction based datasets (finding frequent patterns) is most important part of the association rule mining. There exist many algorithms to find frequent patterns but Apriori algorithm always remains a preferred choice due to its ease of implementation and natural tendency to be parallelized. Many single-machine based Apriori variants exist but massive amount of data available these days is above capacity of a single machine. Therefore, to meet the demands of this ever-growing huge data, there is a need of multiple machines based Apriori algorithm. For these types of distributed applications, MapReduce is a popular fault-tolerant framework. Hadoop is one of the best open-source software frameworks with MapReduce approach for distributed storage and distributed processing of huge datasets using clusters built from commodity hardware. However, heavy disk I/O operation at each iteration of a highly iterative algorithm like Apriori makes Hadoop inefficient. A number of MapReduce-based platforms are being developed for parallel computing in recent years. Among them, two platforms, namely, Spark and Flink have attracted a lot of attention because of their inbuilt support to distributed computations. Earlier we proposed a reduced- Apriori algorithm on Spark platform which outperforms parallel Apriori, one because of use of Spark and secondly because of the improvement we proposed in standard Apriori. Therefore, this work is a natural sequel of our work and targets on implementing, testing and benchmarking Apriori and Reduced-Apriori and our new algorithm ReducedAll-Apriori on Apache Flink and compares it with Spark implementation. Flink, a streaming dataflow engine, overcomes disk I/O bottlenecks in MapReduce, providing an ideal platform for distributed Apriori. Flink's pipelining based structure allows starting a next iteration as soon as partial results of earlier iteration are available. Therefore, there is no need to wait for all reducers result to start a next iteration. We conduct in-depth experiments to gain insight into the effectiveness, efficiency and scalability of the Apriori and RA-Apriori algorithm on Flink.Keywords: apriori, apache flink, Mapreduce, spark, Hadoop, R-Apriori, frequent itemset mining
Procedia PDF Downloads 286777 Effects of the Affordable Care Act On Preventive Care Disparities
Authors: Cagdas Agirdas
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Background: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires non-grandfathered private insurance plans, starting with plan years on or after September 23rd, 2010, to provide certain preventive care services without any cost sharing in the form of deductibles, copayments or co-insurance. This requirement may affect racial and ethnic disparities in preventive care as it provides the largest copay reduction in preventive care. Objectives: We ask whether the ACA’s free preventive care benefits are associated with a reduction in racial and ethnic disparities in the utilization of four preventive services: cholesterol screenings, colonoscopies, mammograms, and pap smears. Methods: We use a data set of over 6,000 individuals from the 2009, 2010, and 2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys (MEPS). We restrict our data set only to individuals who are old enough to be eligible for each preventive service. Our difference-in-differences logistic regression model classifies privately-insured Hispanics, African Americans, and Asians as the treatment groups and 2013 as the after-policy year. Our control group consists of non-Hispanic whites on Medicaid as this program already covered preventive care services for free or at a low cost before the ACA. Results: After controlling for income, education, marital status, preferred interview language, self-reported health status, employment, having a usual source of care, age and gender, we find that the ACA is associated with increases in the probability of the median, privately-insured Hispanic person to get a colonoscopy by 3.6% and a mammogram by 3.1%, compared to a non-Hispanic white person on Medicaid. Similarly, we find that the median, privately-insured African American person’s probability of receiving these two preventive services improved by 2.3% and 2.4% compared to a non-Hispanic white person on Medicaid. We do not find any significant improvements for any racial or ethnic group for cholesterol screenings or pap smears. Furthermore, our results do not indicate any significant changes for Asians compared to non-Hispanic whites in utilizing the four preventive services. These reductions in racial/ethnic disparities are robust to reconfigurations of time periods, previous diagnosis, and residential status. Conclusions: Early effects of the ACA’s provision of free preventive care are significant for Hispanics and African Americans. Further research is needed for the later years as more individuals became aware of these benefits.Keywords: preventive care, Affordable Care Act, cost sharing, racial disparities
Procedia PDF Downloads 146776 Television, Internet, and Internet Social Media Direct-To-Consumer Prescription Medication Advertisements: Intention and Behavior to Seek Additional Prescription Medication Information
Authors: Joshua Fogel, Rivka Herzog
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Although direct-to-consumer prescription medication advertisements (DTCA) are viewed or heard in many venues, there does not appear to be any research for internet social media DTCA. We study the association of traditional media DTCA and digital media DTCA including internet social media of YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter with three different outcomes. There was one intentions outcome and two different behavior outcomes. The intentions outcome was the agreement level for seeking additional information about a prescription medication after seeing a DTCA. One behavior outcome was the agreement level for obtaining additional information about a prescription medication after seeing a DTCA. The other behavior outcome was the frequency level for obtaining additional information about a prescription medication after seeing a DTCA. Surveys were completed by 635 college students. Predictors included demographic variables, theory of planned behavior variables, health variables, and advertisements seen or heard. Also, in the behavior analyses, additional predictors of intentions and sources for seeking additional prescription drug information were included. Multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted. We found that increased age was associated with increased behavior, women were associated with increased intentions, and Hispanic race/ethnicity was associated with decreased behavior. For the theory of planned behavior variables, increased attitudes were associated with increased intentions, increased social norms were associated with increased intentions and behavior, and increased intentions were associated with increased behavior. Very good perceived health was associated with increased intentions. Advertisements seen in spam mail were associated with decreased intentions. Advertisements seen on traditional or cable television were associated with decreased behavior. Advertisements seen on television watched on the internet were associated with increased behavior. The source of seeking additional information of reading internet print content was associated with increased behavior. No internet social media advertisements were associated with either intentions or behavior. In conclusion, pharmaceutical brand managers and marketers should consider these findings when tailoring their DTCA advertising campaigns and directing their DTCA advertising budget towards young adults such as college students. They need to reconsider the current approach for traditional television DTCA and also consider dedicating a larger advertising budget toward internet television DTCA. Although internet social media is a popular place to advertise, the financial expenditures do not appear worthwhile for DTCA when targeting young adults such as college students.Keywords: brand managers, direct-to-consumer advertising, internet, social media
Procedia PDF Downloads 258775 Self-Assembled ZnFeAl Layered Double Hydroxides as Highly Efficient Fenton-Like Catalysts
Authors: Marius Sebastian Secula, Mihaela Darie, Gabriela Carja
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Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs) and is among the most frequently detected pharmaceuticals in environmental samples and among the most widespread drug in the world. Its concentration in the environment is reported to be between 10 and 160 ng L-1. In order to improve the abatement efficiency of this compound for water source prevention and reclamation, the development of innovative technologies is mandatory. AOPs (advanced oxidation processes) are known as highly efficient towards the oxidation of organic pollutants. Among the promising combined treatments, photo-Fenton processes using layered double hydroxides (LDHs) attracted significant consideration especially due to their composition flexibility, high surface area and tailored redox features. This work presents the self-supported Fe, Mn or Ti on ZnFeAl LDHs obtained by co-precipitation followed by reconstruction method as novel efficient photo-catalysts for Fenton-like catalysis. Fe, Mn or Ti/ZnFeAl LDHs nano-hybrids were tested for the degradation of a model pharmaceutical agent, the anti-inflammatory agent ibuprofen, by photocatalysis and photo-Fenton catalysis, respectively, by means of a lab-scale system consisting of a batch reactor equipped with an UV lamp (17 W). The present study presents comparatively the degradation of Ibuprofen in aqueous solution UV light irradiation using four different types of LDHs. The newly prepared Ti/ZnFeAl 4:1 catalyst results in the best degradation performance. After 60 minutes of light irradiation, the Ibuprofen removal efficiency reaches 95%. The slowest degradation of Ibuprofen solution occurs in case of Fe/ZnFeAl 4:1 LDH, (67% removal efficiency after 60 minutes of process). Evolution of Ibuprofen degradation during the photo Fenton process is also studied using Ti/ZnFeAl 2:1 and 4:1 LDHs in the presence and absence of H2O2. It is found that after 60 min the use of Ti/ZnFeAl 4:1 LDH in presence of 100 mg/L H2O2 leads to the fastest degradation of Ibuprofen molecule. After 120 min, both catalysts Ti/ZnFeAl 4:1 and 2:1 result in the same value of removal efficiency (98%). In the absence of H2O2, Ibuprofen degradation reaches only 73% removal efficiency after 120 min of degradation process. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNCS - UEFISCDI, project number PN-II-RU-TE-2014-4-0405.Keywords: layered double hydroxide, advanced oxidation process, micropollutant, heterogeneous Fenton
Procedia PDF Downloads 223774 Analysis of Brownfield Soil Contamination Using Local Government Planning Data
Authors: Emma E. Hellawell, Susan J. Hughes
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BBrownfield sites are currently being redeveloped for residential use. Information on soil contamination on these former industrial sites is collected as part of the planning process by the local government. This research project analyses this untapped resource of environmental data, using site investigation data submitted to a local Borough Council, in Surrey, UK. Over 150 site investigation reports were collected and interrogated to extract relevant information. This study involved three phases. Phase 1 was the development of a database for soil contamination information from local government reports. This database contained information on the source, history, and quality of the data together with the chemical information on the soil that was sampled. Phase 2 involved obtaining site investigation reports for development within the study area and extracting the required information for the database. Phase 3 was the data analysis and interpretation of key contaminants to evaluate typical levels of contaminants, their distribution within the study area, and relating these results to current guideline levels of risk for future site users. Preliminary results for a pilot study using a sample of the dataset have been obtained. This pilot study showed there is some inconsistency in the quality of the reports and measured data, and careful interpretation of the data is required. Analysis of the information has found high levels of lead in shallow soil samples, with mean and median levels exceeding the current guidance for residential use. The data also showed elevated (but below guidance) levels of potentially carcinogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Of particular concern from the data was the high detection rate for asbestos fibers. These were found at low concentrations in 25% of the soil samples tested (however, the sample set was small). Contamination levels of the remaining chemicals tested were all below the guidance level for residential site use. These preliminary pilot study results will be expanded, and results for the whole local government area will be presented at the conference. The pilot study has demonstrated the potential for this extensive dataset to provide greater information on local contamination levels. This can help inform regulators and developers and lead to more targeted site investigations, improving risk assessments, and brownfield development.Keywords: Brownfield development, contaminated land, local government planning data, site investigation
Procedia PDF Downloads 133773 Feminine Gender Identity in Nigerian Music Education: Trends, Challenges and Prospects
Authors: Julius Oluwayomi Oluwadamilare, Michael Olutayo Olatunji
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In the African traditional societies, women have always played the role of a teacher, albeit informally. This is evident in the upbringing of their babies. As mothers, they also serve as the first teachers to teach their wards lessons through day-to-day activities. Furthermore, women always play the role of a musician during naming ceremonies, in the singing of lullabies, during initiation rites of adolescent boys and girls into adulthood, and in preparing their children especially daughters (and sons) for marriage. They also perform this role during religious and cultural activities, chieftaincy title/coronation ceremonies, singing of dirges during funeral ceremonies, and so forth. This traditional role of the African/Nigerian women puts them at a vantage point to contribute maximally to the teaching and learning of music at every level of education. The need for more women in the field of music education in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. Today, gender equality is a major discourse in most countries of the world, Nigeria inclusive. Statistical data in the field of education and music education reveal the high ratio of male teachers/lecturers over their female counterparts in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The percentage is put at 80% Male and a distant 20% Female! This paper, therefore, examines feminine gender in Nigerian music education by tracing the involvement of women in musical practice from the pre-colonial to the post-colonial periods. The study employed both primary and secondary sources of data collection. The primary source included interviews conducted with 19 music lecturers from 8 purposively selected tertiary institutions from 4 geo-political zones of Nigeria. In addition, observation method was employed in the selected institutions. The results show, inter alia, that though there is a remarkable improvement in the rate of admission of female students into the music programme of Nigerian tertiary institutions, there is still an imbalance in the job placement in these institutions especially in the Colleges of Education which is the main focus of this research. Religious and socio-cultural factors are highly traceable to this development. This paper recommends the need for more female music teachers to be employed in the Nigerian tertiary institutions in line with the provisions stated in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.Keywords: gender, education, music, women
Procedia PDF Downloads 196772 Fabrication of Carbon Nanoparticles and Graphene Using Pulsed Laser Ablation
Authors: Davoud Dorranian, Hajar Sadeghi, Elmira Solati
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Carbon nanostructures in various forms were synthesized using pulsed laser ablation of a graphite target in different liquid environment. The beam of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser of 1064-nm wavelength at 7-ns pulse width is employed to irradiate the solid target in water, acetone, alcohol, and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Then the effect of the liquid environment on the characteristic of carbon nanostructures produced by laser ablation was investigated. The optical properties of the carbon nanostructures were examined at room temperature by UV–Vis-NIR spectrophotometer. The crystalline structure of the carbon nanostructures was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The morphology of samples was investigated by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Transmission electron microscope (TEM) was employed to investigate the form of carbon nanostructures. Raman spectroscopy was used to determine the quality of carbon nanostructures. Results show that different carbon nanostructures such as nanoparticles and few-layer graphene were formed in various liquid environments. The UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectra of samples reveal that the intensity of absorption peak of nanoparticles in alcohol is higher than the other liquid environments due to the larger number of nanoparticles in this environment. The red shift of the absorption peak of the sample in acetone confirms that produced carbon nanoparticles in this liquid are averagely larger than the other medium. The difference in the intensity and shape of the absorption peak indicated the effect of the liquid environment in producing the nanoparticles. The XRD pattern of the sample in water indicates an amorphous structure due to existence the graphene sheets. X-ray diffraction pattern shows that the degree of crystallinity of sample produced in CTAB is higher than the other liquid environments. Transmission electron microscopy images reveal that the generated carbon materials in water are graphene sheet and in the other liquid environments are graphene sheet and spherical nanostructures. According to the TEM images, we have the larger amount of carbon nanoparticles in the alcohol environment. FE-SEM micrographs indicate that in this liquids sheet like structures are formed however in acetone, produced sheets are adhered and these layers overlap with each other. According to the FE-SEM micrographs, the surface morphology of the sample in CTAB was coarser than that without surfactant. From Raman spectra, it can be concluded the distinct shape, width, and position of the graphene peaks and corresponding graphite source.Keywords: carbon nanostructures, graphene, pulsed laser ablation, graphite
Procedia PDF Downloads 308771 Modeling and Simulation of Primary Atomization and Its Effects on Internal Flow Dynamics in a High Torque Low Speed Diesel Engine
Authors: Muteeb Ulhaq, Rizwan Latif, Sayed Adnan Qasim, Imran Shafi
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Diesel engines are most efficient and reliable in terms of efficiency, reliability and adaptability. Most of the research and development up till now have been directed towards High-Speed Diesel Engine, for Commercial use. In these engines objective is to optimize maximum acceleration by reducing exhaust emission to meet international standards. In high torque low-speed engines the requirement is altogether different. These types of Engines are mostly used in Maritime Industry, Agriculture industry, Static Engines Compressors Engines etc. Unfortunately due to lack of research and development, these engines have low efficiency and high soot emissions and one of the most effective way to overcome these issues is by efficient combustion in an engine cylinder, the fuel spray atomization process plays a vital role in defining mixture formation, fuel consumption, combustion efficiency and soot emissions. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the fuel spray characteristics and atomization process is of a great importance. In this research, we will examine the effects of primary breakup modeling on the spray characteristics under diesel engine conditions. KH-ACT model is applied to cater the effect of aerodynamics in an engine cylinder and also cavitations and turbulence generated inside the injector. It is a modified form of most commonly used KH model, which considers only the aerodynamically induced breakup based on the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. Our model is extensively evaluated by performing 3-D time-dependent simulations on Open FOAM, which is an open source flow solver. Spray characteristics like Spray Penetration, Liquid length, Spray cone angle and Souter mean diameter (SMD) were validated by comparing the results of Open Foam and Matlab. Including the effects of cavitation and turbulence enhances primary breakup, leading to smaller droplet sizes, decrease in liquid penetration, and increase in the radial dispersion of spray. All these properties favor early evaporation of fuel which enhances Engine efficiency.Keywords: Kelvin–Helmholtz instability, open foam, primary breakup, souter mean diameter, turbulence
Procedia PDF Downloads 204770 Urban Livelihoods and Climate Change: Adaptation Strategies for Urban Poor in Douala, Cameroon
Authors: Agbortoko Manyigbe Ayuk Nkem, Eno Cynthia Osuh
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This paper sets to examine the relationship between climate change and urban livelihood through a vulnerability assessment of the urban poor in Douala. Urban development in Douala places priority towards industrial and city-centre development with little focus on the urban poor in terms of housing units and areas of sustenance. With the high rate of urbanisation and increased land prices, the urban poor are forced to occupy marginal lands which are mainly wetlands, wastelands and along abandoned neighbourhoods prone to natural hazards. Due to climate change and its effects, these wetlands are constantly flooded thereby destroying homes, properties, and crops. Also, most of these urban dwellers have found solace in urban agriculture as a means for survival. However, since agriculture in tropical regions like Cameroon depends largely on seasonal rainfall, the changes in rainfall pattern has led to misplaced periods for crop planting and a huge wastage of resources as rainfall becomes very unreliable with increased temperature levels. Data for the study was obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Secondary sources included published materials related to climate change and vulnerability. Primary data was obtained through focus-group discussions with some urban farmers while a stratified sampling of residents within marginal lands was done. Each stratum was randomly sampled to obtain information on different stressors related to climate change and their effect on livelihood. Findings proved that the high rate of rural-urban migration into Douala has led to increased prevalence of the urban poor and their vulnerability to climate change as evident in their constant fight against flood from unexpected sea level rise and irregular rainfall pattern for urban agriculture. The study also proved that women were most vulnerable as they depended solely on urban agriculture and its related activities like retailing agricultural products in different urban markets which to them serves as a main source of income in the attainment of basic needs for the family. Adaptation measures include the constant use of sand bags, raised makeshifts as well as cultivation along streams, planting after evidence of constant rainfall has become paramount for sustainability.Keywords: adaptation, Douala, Cameroon, climate change, development, livelihood, vulnerability
Procedia PDF Downloads 283769 Comparing the Gap Formation around Composite Restorations in Three Regions of Tooth Using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
Authors: Rima Zakzouk, Yasushi Shimada, Yuan Zhou, Yasunori Sumi, Junji Tagami
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Background and Purpose: Swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an interferometric imaging technique that has been recently used in cariology. In spite of progress made in adhesive dentistry, the composite restoration has been failing due to secondary caries which occur due to environmental factors in oral cavities. Therefore, a precise assessment to effective marginal sealing of restoration is highly required. The aim of this study was evaluating gap formation at composite/cavity walls interface with or without phosphoric acid etching using SS-OCT. Materials and Methods: Round tapered cavities (2×2 mm) were prepared in three locations, mid-coronal, cervical, and root of bovine incisors teeth in two groups (SE and PA Groups). While self-etching adhesive (Clearfil SE Bond) was applied for the both groups, Group PA had been already pretreated with phosphoric acid etching (K-Etchant gel). Subsequently, both groups were restored by Estelite Flow Quick Flowable Composite Resin. Following 5000 thermal cycles, three cross-sectionals were obtained from each cavity using OCT at 1310-nm wavelength at 0°, 60°, 120° degrees. Scanning was repeated after two months to monitor the gap progress. Then the average percentage of gap length was calculated using image analysis software, and the difference of mean between both groups was statistically analyzed by t-test. Subsequently, the results were confirmed by sectioning and observing representative specimens under Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM). Results: The results showed that pretreatment with phosphoric acid etching, Group PA, led to significantly bigger gaps in mid-coronal and cervical compared to SE group, while in the root cavity no significant difference was observed between both groups. On the other hand, the gaps formed in root’s cavities were significantly bigger than those in mid-coronal and cervical within the same group. This study investigated the effect of phosphoric acid on gap length progress on the composite restorations. In conclusions, phosphoric acid etching treatment did not reduce the gap formation even in different regions of the tooth. Significance: The cervical region of tooth was more exposing to gap formation than mid-coronal region, especially when we added pre-etching treatment.Keywords: image analysis, optical coherence tomography, phosphoric acid etching, self-etch adhesives
Procedia PDF Downloads 215768 Numerical Modeling of Timber Structures under Varying Humidity Conditions
Authors: Sabina Huč, Staffan Svensson, Tomaž Hozjan
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Timber structures may be exposed to various environmental conditions during their service life. Often, the structures have to resist extreme changes in the relative humidity of surrounding air, with simultaneously carrying the loads. Wood material response for this load case is seen as increasing deformation of the timber structure. Relative humidity variations cause moisture changes in timber and consequently shrinkage and swelling of the material. Moisture changes and loads acting together result in mechano-sorptive creep, while sustained load gives viscoelastic creep. In some cases, magnitude of the mechano-sorptive strain can be about five times the elastic strain already at low stress levels. Therefore, analyzing mechano-sorptive creep and its influence on timber structures’ long-term behavior is of high importance. Relatively many one-dimensional rheological models for rheological behavior of wood can be found in literature, while a number of models coupling creep response in each material direction is limited. In this study, mathematical formulation of a coupled two-dimensional mechano-sorptive model and its application to the experimental results are presented. The mechano-sorptive model constitutes of a moisture transport model and a mechanical model. Variation of the moisture content in wood is modelled by multi-Fickian moisture transport model. The model accounts for processes of the bound-water and water-vapor diffusion in wood, that are coupled through sorption hysteresis. Sorption defines a nonlinear relation between moisture content and relative humidity. Multi-Fickian moisture transport model is able to accurately predict unique, non-uniform moisture content field within the timber member over time. Calculated moisture content in timber members is used as an input to the mechanical analysis. In the mechanical analysis, the total strain is assumed to be a sum of the elastic strain, viscoelastic strain, mechano-sorptive strain, and strain due to shrinkage and swelling. Mechano-sorptive response is modelled by so-called spring-dashpot type of a model, that proved to be suitable for describing creep of wood. Mechano-sorptive strain is dependent on change of moisture content. The model includes mechano-sorptive material parameters that have to be calibrated to the experimental results. The calibration is made to the experiments carried out on wooden blocks subjected to uniaxial compressive loaded in tangential direction and varying humidity conditions. The moisture and the mechanical model are implemented in a finite element software. The calibration procedure gives the required, distinctive set of mechano-sorptive material parameters. The analysis shows that mechano-sorptive strain in transverse direction is present, though its magnitude and variation are substantially lower than the mechano-sorptive strain in the direction of loading. The presented mechano-sorptive model enables observing real temporal and spatial distribution of the moisture-induced strains and stresses in timber members. Since the model’s suitability for predicting mechano-sorptive strains is shown and the required material parameters are obtained, a comprehensive advanced analysis of the stress-strain state in timber structures, including connections subjected to constant load and varying humidity is possible.Keywords: mechanical analysis, mechano-sorptive creep, moisture transport model, timber
Procedia PDF Downloads 240767 An Alternative Credit Scoring System in China’s Consumer Lendingmarket: A System Based on Digital Footprint Data
Authors: Minjuan Sun
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Ever since the late 1990s, China has experienced explosive growth in consumer lending, especially in short-term consumer loans, among which, the growth rate of non-bank lending has surpassed bank lending due to the development in financial technology. On the other hand, China does not have a universal credit scoring and registration system that can guide lenders during the processes of credit evaluation and risk control, for example, an individual’s bank credit records are not available for online lenders to see and vice versa. Given this context, the purpose of this paper is three-fold. First, we explore if and how alternative digital footprint data can be utilized to assess borrower’s creditworthiness. Then, we perform a comparative analysis of machine learning methods for the canonical problem of credit default prediction. Finally, we analyze, from an institutional point of view, the necessity of establishing a viable and nationally universal credit registration and scoring system utilizing online digital footprints, so that more people in China can have better access to the consumption loan market. Two different types of digital footprint data are utilized to match with bank’s loan default records. Each separately captures distinct dimensions of a person’s characteristics, such as his shopping patterns and certain aspects of his personality or inferred demographics revealed by social media features like profile image and nickname. We find both datasets can generate either acceptable or excellent prediction results, and different types of data tend to complement each other to get better performances. Typically, the traditional types of data banks normally use like income, occupation, and credit history, update over longer cycles, hence they can’t reflect more immediate changes, like the financial status changes caused by the business crisis; whereas digital footprints can update daily, weekly, or monthly, thus capable of providing a more comprehensive profile of the borrower’s credit capabilities and risks. From the empirical and quantitative examination, we believe digital footprints can become an alternative information source for creditworthiness assessment, because of their near-universal data coverage, and because they can by and large resolve the "thin-file" issue, due to the fact that digital footprints come in much larger volume and higher frequency.Keywords: credit score, digital footprint, Fintech, machine learning
Procedia PDF Downloads 156766 An Empirical Study for the Data-Driven Digital Transformation of the Indian Telecommunication Service Providers
Authors: S. Jigna, K. Nanda Kumar, T. Anna
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Being a major contributor to the Indian economy and a critical facilitator for the country’s digital India vision, the Indian telecommunications industry is also a major source of employment for the country. Since the last few years, the Indian telecommunication service providers (TSPs), however, are facing business challenges related to increasing competition, losses, debts, and decreasing revenue. The strategic use of digital technologies for a successful digital transformation has the potential to equip organizations to meet these business challenges. Despite an increased focus on digital transformation, the telecom service providers globally, including Indian TSPs, have seen limited success so far. The purpose of this research was thus to identify the factors that are critical for the digital transformation and to what extent they influence the successful digital transformation of the Indian TSPs. The literature review of more than 300 digital transformation-related articles, mostly from 2013-2019, demonstrated a lack of an empirical model consisting of factors for the successful digital transformation of the TSPs. This study theorizes a research framework grounded in multiple theories, and a research model consisting of 7 constructs that may be influencing business success during the digital transformation of the organization was proposed. The questionnaire survey of senior managers in the Indian telecommunications industry was seeking to validate the research model. Based on 294 survey responses, the validation of the Structural equation model using the statistical tool ADANCO 2.1.1 was found to be robust. Results indicate that Digital Capabilities, Digital Strategy, and Corporate Level Data Strategy in that order has a strong influence on the successful Business Performance, followed by IT Function Transformation, Digital Innovation, and Transformation Management respectively. Even though Digital Organization did not have a direct significance on Business Performance outcomes, it had a strong influence on IT Function Transformation, thus affecting the Business Performance outcomes indirectly. Amongst numerous practical and theoretical contributions of the study, the main contribution for the Indian TSPs is a validated reference for prioritizing the transformation initiatives in their strategic roadmap. Also, the main contribution to the theory is the possibility to use the research framework artifact of the present research for quantitative validation in different industries and geographies.Keywords: corporate level data strategy, digital capabilities, digital innovation, digital strategy
Procedia PDF Downloads 123765 Gilgel Gibe III: Dam-Induced Displacement in Ethiopia and Kenya
Authors: Jonny Beirne
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Hydropower developments have come to assume an important role within the Ethiopian government's overall development strategy for the country during the last ten years. The Gilgel Gibe III on the Omo river, due to become operational in September 2014, represents the most ambitious, and controversial, of these projects to date. Further aspects of the government's national development strategy include leasing vast areas of designated 'unused' land for large-scale commercial agricultural projects and 'voluntarily' villagizing scattered, semi-nomadic agro-pastoralist groups to centralized settlements so as to use land and water more efficiently and to better provide essential social services such as education and healthcare. The Lower Omo valley, along the Omo River, is one of the sites of this villagization programme as well as of these large-scale commercial agricultural projects which are made possible owing to the regulation of the river's flow by Gibe III. Though the Ethiopian government cite many positive aspects of these agricultural and hydropower developments there are still expected to be serious regional and transnational effects, including on migration flows, in an area already characterized by increasing climatic vulnerability with attendant population movements and conflicts over scarce resources. The following paper is an attempt to track actual and anticipated migration flows resulting from the construction of Gibe III in the immediate vicinity of the dam, downstream in the Lower Omo Valley and across the border in Kenya around Lake Turkana. In the case of those displaced in the Lower Omo Valley, this will be considered in view of the distinction between voluntary villagization and forced resettlement. The research presented is not primary-source material. Instead, it is drawn from the reports and assessments of the Ethiopian government, rights-based groups, and academic researchers as well as media articles. It is hoped that this will serve to draw greater attention to the issue and encourage further methodological research on the dynamics of dam constructions (and associated large-scale irrigation schemes) on migration flows and on the ultimate experience of displacement and resettlement for environmental migrants in the region.Keywords: forced displacement, voluntary resettlement, migration, human rights, human security, land grabs, dams, commercial agriculture, pastoralism, ecosystem modification, natural resource conflict, livelihoods, development
Procedia PDF Downloads 375764 Handling, Exporting and Archiving Automated Mineralogy Data Using TESCAN TIMA
Authors: Marek Dosbaba
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Within the mining sector, SEM-based Automated Mineralogy (AM) has been the standard application for quickly and efficiently handling mineral processing tasks. Over the last decade, the trend has been to analyze larger numbers of samples, often with a higher level of detail. This has necessitated a shift from interactive sample analysis performed by an operator using a SEM, to an increased reliance on offline processing to analyze and report the data. In response to this trend, TESCAN TIMA Mineral Analyzer is designed to quickly create a virtual copy of the studied samples, thereby preserving all the necessary information. Depending on the selected data acquisition mode, TESCAN TIMA can perform hyperspectral mapping and save an X-ray spectrum for each pixel or segment, respectively. This approach allows the user to browse through elemental distribution maps of all elements detectable by means of energy dispersive spectroscopy. Re-evaluation of the existing data for the presence of previously unconsidered elements is possible without the need to repeat the analysis. Additional tiers of data such as a secondary electron or cathodoluminescence images can also be recorded. To take full advantage of these information-rich datasets, TIMA utilizes a new archiving tool introduced by TESCAN. The dataset size can be reduced for long-term storage and all information can be recovered on-demand in case of renewed interest. TESCAN TIMA is optimized for network storage of its datasets because of the larger data storage capacity of servers compared to local drives, which also allows multiple users to access the data remotely. This goes hand in hand with the support of remote control for the entire data acquisition process. TESCAN also brings a newly extended open-source data format that allows other applications to extract, process and report AM data. This offers the ability to link TIMA data to large databases feeding plant performance dashboards or geometallurgical models. The traditional tabular particle-by-particle or grain-by-grain export process is preserved and can be customized with scripts to include user-defined particle/grain properties.Keywords: Tescan, electron microscopy, mineralogy, SEM, automated mineralogy, database, TESCAN TIMA, open format, archiving, big data
Procedia PDF Downloads 105763 Single Pass Design of Genetic Circuits Using Absolute Binding Free Energy Measurements and Dimensionless Analysis
Authors: Iman Farasat, Howard M. Salis
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Engineered genetic circuits reprogram cellular behavior to act as living computers with applications in detecting cancer, creating self-controlling artificial tissues, and dynamically regulating metabolic pathways. Phenemenological models are often used to simulate and design genetic circuit behavior towards a desired behavior. While such models assume that each circuit component’s function is modular and independent, even small changes in a circuit (e.g. a new promoter, a change in transcription factor expression level, or even a new media) can have significant effects on the circuit’s function. Here, we use statistical thermodynamics to account for the several factors that control transcriptional regulation in bacteria, and experimentally demonstrate the model’s accuracy across 825 measurements in several genetic contexts and hosts. We then employ our first principles model to design, experimentally construct, and characterize a family of signal amplifying genetic circuits (genetic OpAmps) that expand the dynamic range of cell sensors. To develop these models, we needed a new approach to measuring the in vivo binding free energies of transcription factors (TFs), a key ingredient of statistical thermodynamic models of gene regulation. We developed a new high-throughput assay to measure RNA polymerase and TF binding free energies, requiring the construction and characterization of only a few constructs and data analysis (Figure 1A). We experimentally verified the assay on 6 TetR-homolog repressors and a CRISPR/dCas9 guide RNA. We found that our binding free energy measurements quantitatively explains why changing TF expression levels alters circuit function. Altogether, by combining these measurements with our biophysical model of translation (the RBS Calculator) as well as other measurements (Figure 1B), our model can account for changes in TF binding sites, TF expression levels, circuit copy number, host genome size, and host growth rate (Figure 1C). Model predictions correctly accounted for how these 8 factors control a promoter’s transcription rate (Figure 1D). Using the model, we developed a design framework for engineering multi-promoter genetic circuits that greatly reduces the number of degrees of freedom (8 factors per promoter) to a single dimensionless unit. We propose the Ptashne (Pt) number to encapsulate the 8 co-dependent factors that control transcriptional regulation into a single number. Therefore, a single number controls a promoter’s output rather than these 8 co-dependent factors, and designing a genetic circuit with N promoters requires specification of only N Pt numbers. We demonstrate how to design genetic circuits in Pt number space by constructing and characterizing 15 2-repressor OpAmp circuits that act as signal amplifiers when within an optimal Pt region. We experimentally show that OpAmp circuits using different TFs and TF expression levels will only amplify the dynamic range of input signals when their corresponding Pt numbers are within the optimal region. Thus, the use of the Pt number greatly simplifies the genetic circuit design, particularly important as circuits employ more TFs to perform increasingly complex functions.Keywords: transcription factor, synthetic biology, genetic circuit, biophysical model, binding energy measurement
Procedia PDF Downloads 467762 A Digital Twin Approach to Support Real-time Situational Awareness and Intelligent Cyber-physical Control in Energy Smart Buildings
Authors: Haowen Xu, Xiaobing Liu, Jin Dong, Jianming Lian
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Emerging smart buildings often employ cyberinfrastructure, cyber-physical systems, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to increase the automation and responsiveness of building operations for better energy efficiency and lower carbon emission. These operations include the control of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and lighting systems, which are often considered a major source of energy consumption in both commercial and residential buildings. Developing energy-saving control models for optimizing HVAC operations usually requires the collection of high-quality instrumental data from iterations of in-situ building experiments, which can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. This abstract describes a digital twin approach to automate building energy experiments for optimizing HVAC operations through the design and development of an adaptive web-based platform. The platform is created to enable (a) automated data acquisition from a variety of IoT-connected HVAC instruments, (b) real-time situational awareness through domain-based visualizations, (c) adaption of HVAC optimization algorithms based on experimental data, (d) sharing of experimental data and model predictive controls through web services, and (e) cyber-physical control of individual instruments in the HVAC system using outputs from different optimization algorithms. Through the digital twin approach, we aim to replicate a real-world building and its HVAC systems in an online computing environment to automate the development of building-specific model predictive controls and collaborative experiments in buildings located in different climate zones in the United States. We present two case studies to demonstrate our platform’s capability for real-time situational awareness and cyber-physical control of the HVAC in the flexible research platforms within the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) main campus. Our platform is developed using adaptive and flexible architecture design, rendering the platform generalizable and extendable to support HVAC optimization experiments in different types of buildings across the nation.Keywords: energy-saving buildings, digital twins, HVAC, cyber-physical system, BIM
Procedia PDF Downloads 95761 Biodegradation of Phenazine-1-Carboxylic Acid by Rhodanobacter sp. PCA2 Proceeds via Decarboxylation and Cleavage of Nitrogen-Containing Ring
Authors: Miaomiao Zhang, Sabrina Beckmann, Haluk Ertan, Rocky Chau, Mike Manefield
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Phenazines are a large class of nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocyclic compounds, which are almost exclusively produced by bacteria from diverse genera including Pseudomonas and Streptomyces. Phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) as one of 'core' phenazines are converted from chorismic acid before modified to other phenazine derivatives in different cells. Phenazines have attracted enormous interests because of their multiple roles on biocontrol, bacterial interaction, biofilm formation and fitness of their producers. However, in spite of ecological importance, degradation as a part of phenazines’ fate only have extremely limited attention now. Here, to isolate PCA-degrading bacteria, 200 mg L-1 PCA was supplied as sole carbon, nitrogen and energy source in minimal mineral medium. Quantitative PCR and Reverse-transcript PCR were employed to study abundance and activity of functional gene MFORT 16269 in PCA degradation, respectively. Intermediates and products of PCA degradation were identified with LC-MS/MS. After enrichment and isolation, a PCA-degrading strain was selected from soil and was designated as Rhodanobacter sp. PCA2 based on full 16S rRNA sequencing. As determined by HPLC, strain PCA2 consumed 200 mg L-1 (836 µM) PCA at a rate of 17.4 µM h-1, accompanying with significant cells yield from 1.92 × 105 to 3.11 × 106 cells per mL. Strain PCA2 was capable of degrading other phenazines as well, including phenazine (4.27 µM h-1), pyocyanin (2.72 µM h-1), neutral red (1.30 µM h-1) and 1-hydroxyphenazine (0.55 µM h-1). Moreover, during the incubation, transcript copies of MFORT 16269 gene increased significantly from 2.13 × 106 to 8.82 × 107 copies mL-1, which was 2.77 times faster than that of the corresponding gene copy number (2.20 × 106 to 3.32 × 107 copies mL-1), indicating that MFORT 16269 gene was activated and played roles on PCA degradation. As analyzed by LC-MS/MS, decarboxylation from the ring structure was determined as the first step of PCA degradation, followed by cleavage of nitrogen-containing ring by dioxygenase which catalyzed phenazine to nitrosobenzene. Subsequently, phenylhydroxylamine was detected after incubation for two days and was then transferred to aniline and catechol. Additionally, genomic and proteomic analyses were also carried out for strain PCA2. Overall, the findings presented here showed that a newly isolated strain Rhodanobacter sp. PCA2 was capable of degrading phenazines through decarboxylation and cleavage of nitrogen-containing ring, during which MFORT 16269 gene was activated and played important roles.Keywords: decarboxylation, MFORT16269 gene, phenazine-1-carboxylic acid degradation, Rhodanobacter sp. PCA2
Procedia PDF Downloads 217760 Impact of Interface Soil Layer on Groundwater Aquifer Behaviour
Authors: Hayder H. Kareem, Shunqi Pan
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The geological environment where the groundwater is collected represents the most important element that affects the behaviour of groundwater aquifer. As groundwater is a worldwide vital resource, it requires knowing the parameters that affect this source accurately so that the conceptualized mathematical models would be acceptable to the broadest ranges. Therefore, groundwater models have recently become an effective and efficient tool to investigate groundwater aquifer behaviours. Groundwater aquifer may contain aquitards, aquicludes, or interfaces within its geological formations. Aquitards and aquicludes have geological formations that forced the modellers to include those formations within the conceptualized groundwater models, while interfaces are commonly neglected from the conceptualization process because the modellers believe that the interface has no effect on aquifer behaviour. The current research highlights the impact of an interface existing in a real unconfined groundwater aquifer called Dibdibba, located in Al-Najaf City, Iraq where it has a river called the Euphrates River that passes through the eastern part of this city. Dibdibba groundwater aquifer consists of two types of soil layers separated by an interface soil layer. A groundwater model is built for Al-Najaf City to explore the impact of this interface. Calibration process is done using PEST 'Parameter ESTimation' approach and the best Dibdibba groundwater model is obtained. When the soil interface is conceptualized, results show that the groundwater tables are significantly affected by that interface through appearing dry areas of 56.24 km² and 6.16 km² in the upper and lower layers of the aquifer, respectively. The Euphrates River will also leak water into the groundwater aquifer of 7359 m³/day. While these results are changed when the soil interface is neglected where the dry area became 0.16 km², the Euphrates River leakage became 6334 m³/day. In addition, the conceptualized models (with and without interface) reveal different responses for the change in the recharge rates applied on the aquifer through the uncertainty analysis test. The aquifer of Dibdibba in Al-Najaf City shows a slight deficit in the amount of water supplied by the current pumping scheme and also notices that the Euphrates River suffers from stresses applied to the aquifer. Ultimately, this study shows a crucial need to represent the interface soil layer in model conceptualization to be the intended and future predicted behaviours more reliable for consideration purposes.Keywords: Al-Najaf City, groundwater aquifer behaviour, groundwater modelling, interface soil layer, Visual MODFLOW
Procedia PDF Downloads 178759 Rapid Sexual and Reproductive Health Pathways for Women Accessing Drug and Alcohol Treatment
Authors: Molly Parker
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Unintended pregnancy rates in Australia are amongst the highest in the developed world. Women with Substance Use Disorder often have riskier sexual behavior with nil contraceptive use and face disproportionately higher unintended pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Infections, alongside Substance Use in Pregnancy (SUP) climbing at an alarming rate. In an inner-city Drug and Alcohol (D&A) service, significant barriers to sexual and reproductive health services have been identified, aligning with research. Rapid pathways were created for women seeking D&A treatment to be referred to Sexual and Reproductive Health services for the administration of Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) and sexual health screening. For clients attending a D&A service, this is an opportunistic time to offer sexual and reproductive health services. Collaboration and multidisciplinary team input between D&A and sexual health and reproductive services are paramount, with rapid referral pathways being identified as the main strategy to improve access to sexual and reproductive health support for this population. With this evidence, a rapid referral pathway was created for women using the D&A service to access LARC, particularly in view of fertility often returning once stable on D&A treatment. A closed-ended survey was used for D&A staff to identify gaps in reproductive health knowledge and views of referral accessibility. Results demonstrated a lack of knowledge of contraception and appropriate referral processes. A closed-ended survey for clients was created to establish the need and access to services and to quantify data. A follow-up data collection will be reviewed to access uptake and satisfaction of the intervention from clients. Sexual health screening access was also identified as a deficit, particularly concerning due to the higher rates of STIs in this cohort. A rapid referral pathway will be undergoing implementation, reducing risks of untreated STIS both pre and post-conception. Similarly, pre and post-intervention structured surveys will be used to identify client satisfaction from the pathway. Although currently in progress, the research and pathway aim to be completed by December 2023. This research and implementation of sexual and reproductive health pathways from the D&A service have significant health and well-being benefits to clients and the wider community, including possible fetal/infancy outcomes. Women now have rapid access to sexual and reproductive health services, with the aim of reducing unplanned pregnancies, poor outcomes associated with SUP, client/staff trauma from termination of pregnancy, and client/staff trauma following the assumption of care of the child due to substance use, the financial cost for out of home care as required, the poor outcomes of untreated STIs to the fetus in pregnancy and the spread of STIs in the wider community. As evidence suggests, the implementation of a streamlined referral process is required between D&A and sexual and reproductive health services and has positive feedback from both clinicians and clients in improving care.Keywords: substance use in pregnancy, drug and alcohol, substance use disorder, sexual health, reproductive health, contraception, long-acting reversible contraception, neonatal abstinence syndrome, FASD, sexually transmitted infections, sexually transmitted infections pregnancy
Procedia PDF Downloads 56758 Effect of Cutting Tools and Working Conditions on the Machinability of Ti-6Al-4V Using Vegetable Oil-Based Cutting Fluids
Authors: S. Gariani, I. Shyha
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Cutting titanium alloys are usually accompanied with low productivity, poor surface quality, short tool life and high machining costs. This is due to the excessive generation of heat at the cutting zone and difficulties in heat dissipation due to relatively low heat conductivity of this metal. The cooling applications in machining processes are crucial as many operations cannot be performed efficiently without cooling. Improving machinability, increasing productivity, enhancing surface integrity and part accuracy are the main advantages of cutting fluids. Conventional fluids such as mineral oil-based, synthetic and semi-synthetic are the most common cutting fluids in the machining industry. Although, these cutting fluids are beneficial in the industries, they pose a great threat to human health and ecosystem. Vegetable oils (VOs) are being investigated as a potential source of environmentally favourable lubricants, due to a combination of biodegradability, good lubricous properties, low toxicity, high flash points, low volatility, high viscosity indices and thermal stability. Fatty acids of vegetable oils are known to provide thick, strong, and durable lubricant films. These strong lubricating films give the vegetable oil base stock a greater capability to absorb pressure and high load carrying capacity. This paper details preliminary experimental results when turning Ti-6Al-4V. The impact of various VO-based cutting fluids, cutting tool materials, working conditions was investigated. The full factorial experimental design was employed involving 24 tests to evaluate the influence of process variables on average surface roughness (Ra), tool wear and chip formation. In general, Ra varied between 0.5 and 1.56 µm and Vasco1000 cutting fluid presented comparable performance with other fluids in terms of surface roughness while uncoated coarse grain WC carbide tool achieved lower flank wear at all cutting speeds. On the other hand, all tools tips were subjected to uniform flank wear during whole cutting trails. Additionally, formed chip thickness ranged between 0.1 and 0.14 mm with a noticeable decrease in chip size when higher cutting speed was used.Keywords: cutting fluids, turning, Ti-6Al-4V, vegetable oils, working conditions
Procedia PDF Downloads 266757 Feasibility of Applying a Hydrodynamic Cavitation Generator as a Method for Intensification of Methane Fermentation Process of Virginia Fanpetals (Sida hermaphrodita) Biomass
Authors: Marcin Zieliński, Marcin Dębowski, Mirosław Krzemieniewski
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The anaerobic degradation of substrates is limited especially by the rate and effectiveness of the first (hydrolytic) stage of fermentation. This stage may be intensified through pre-treatment of substrate aimed at disintegration of the solid phase and destruction of substrate tissues and cells. The most frequently applied criterion of disintegration outcomes evaluation is the increase in biogas recovery owing to the possibility of its use for energetic purposes and, simultaneously, recovery of input energy consumed for the pre-treatment of substrate before fermentation. Hydrodynamic cavitation is one of the methods for organic substrate disintegration that has a high implementation potential. Cavitation is explained as the phenomenon of the formation of discontinuity cavities filled with vapor or gas in a liquid induced by pressure drop to the critical value. It is induced by a varying field of pressures. A void needs to occur in the flow in which the pressure first drops to the value close to the pressure of saturated vapor and then increases. The process of cavitation conducted under controlled conditions was found to significantly improve the effectiveness of anaerobic conversion of organic substrates having various characteristics. This phenomenon allows effective damage and disintegration of cellular and tissue structures. Disintegration of structures and release of organic compounds to the dissolved phase has a direct effect on the intensification of biogas production in the process of anaerobic fermentation, on reduced dry matter content in the post-fermentation sludge as well as a high degree of its hygienization and its increased susceptibility to dehydration. A device the efficiency of which was confirmed both in laboratory conditions and in systems operating in the technical scale is a hydrodynamic generator of cavitation. Cavitators, agitators and emulsifiers constructed and tested worldwide so far have been characterized by low efficiency and high energy demand. Many of them proved effective under laboratory conditions but failed under industrial ones. The only task successfully realized by these appliances and utilized on a wider scale is the heating of liquids. For this reason, their usability was limited to the function of heating installations. Design of the presented cavitation generator allows achieving satisfactory energy efficiency and enables its use under industrial conditions in depolymerization processes of biomass with various characteristics. Investigations conducted on the laboratory and industrial scale confirmed the effectiveness of applying cavitation in the process of biomass destruction. The use of the cavitation generator in laboratory studies for disintegration of sewage sludge allowed increasing biogas production by ca. 30% and shortening the treatment process by ca. 20 - 25%. The shortening of the technological process and increase of wastewater treatment plant effectiveness may delay investments aimed at increasing system output. The use of a mechanical cavitator and application of repeated cavitation process (4-6 times) enables significant acceleration of the biogassing process. In addition, mechanical cavitation accelerates increases in COD and VFA levels.Keywords: hydrodynamic cavitation, pretreatment, biomass, methane fermentation, Virginia fanpetals
Procedia PDF Downloads 428756 A Method to Evaluate and Compare Web Information Extractors
Authors: Patricia Jiménez, Rafael Corchuelo, Hassan A. Sleiman
Abstract:
Web mining is gaining importance at an increasing pace. Currently, there are many complementary research topics under this umbrella. Their common theme is that they all focus on applying knowledge discovery techniques to data that is gathered from the Web. Sometimes, these data are relatively easy to gather, chiefly when it comes from server logs. Unfortunately, there are cases in which the data to be mined is the data that is displayed on a web document. In such cases, it is necessary to apply a pre-processing step to first extract the information of interest from the web documents. Such pre-processing steps are performed using so-called information extractors, which are software components that are typically configured by means of rules that are tailored to extracting the information of interest from a web page and structuring it according to a pre-defined schema. Paramount to getting good mining results is that the technique used to extract the source information is exact, which requires to evaluate and compare the different proposals in the literature from an empirical point of view. According to Google Scholar, about 4 200 papers on information extraction have been published during the last decade. Unfortunately, they were not evaluated within a homogeneous framework, which leads to difficulties to compare them empirically. In this paper, we report on an original information extraction evaluation method. Our contribution is three-fold: a) this is the first attempt to provide an evaluation method for proposals that work on semi-structured documents; the little existing work on this topic focuses on proposals that work on free text, which has little to do with extracting information from semi-structured documents. b) It provides a method that relies on statistically sound tests to support the conclusions drawn; the previous work does not provide clear guidelines or recommend statistically sound tests, but rather a survey that collects many features to take into account as well as related work; c) We provide a novel method to compute the performance measures regarding unsupervised proposals; otherwise they would require the intervention of a user to compute them by using the annotations on the evaluation sets and the information extracted. Our contributions will definitely help researchers in this area make sure that they have advanced the state of the art not only conceptually, but from an empirical point of view; it will also help practitioners make informed decisions on which proposal is the most adequate for a particular problem. This conference is a good forum to discuss on our ideas so that we can spread them to help improve the evaluation of information extraction proposals and gather valuable feedback from other researchers.Keywords: web information extractors, information extraction evaluation method, Google scholar, web
Procedia PDF Downloads 245