Search results for: increasing bearing capacity

Authors: Hossein Tavallali, Mohammad Ali Karimi, Gohar Deilamy-Rad

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In this study, a new type of alumina-coated magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4/Al2O3 NPs) with sodium dodecyl sulfate- 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (SDS-PAN) as a new sorbent solid phase extraction (SPE) has been successfully synthesized and applied for preconcentration and separation of Cd and Pb in environmental samples. Compared with conventional SPE methods, the advantages of this new magnetic Mixed Hemimicelles Solid-Phase Extraction Procedure (MMHSPE) still include easy preparation and regeneration of sorbents, short times of sample pretreatment, high extraction yields, and high breakthrough volumes. It shows great analytical potential in preconcentration of Cd and Pb compounds from large volume water samples. Due to the high surface area of these new sorbents and the excellent adsorption capacity after surface modification by SDS-PAN, satisfactory concentration factor and extraction recoveries can be produced with only 0.05 g Fe3O4/Al2O3 NPs. The metals were eluted with 3mL HNO3 2 mol L-1 directly and detected with the detection system Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS). Various influencing parameters on the separation and preconcentration of trace metals, such as the amount of PAN, pH value, sample volume, standing time, desorption solvent and maximal extraction volume, amount of sorbent and concentration of eluent, were studied. The detection limits of this method for Cd and Pb were 0.3 and 0.7 ng mL−1 and the R.S.D.s were 3.4 and 2.8% (C = 28.00 ng mL-1, n = 6), respectively. The preconcentration factor of the modified nanoparticles was 166.6. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of these metal ions at trace levels in soil, river, tap, mineral, spring and wastewater samples with satisfactory results.

Keywords: Alumina-coated magnetite nanoparticles, Magnetic Mixed Hemimicell Solid-Phase Extraction, Cd and Pb, soil sample

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Authors: Nagui A. Abdel-Khalek, Khaled A. Selim, Ahmed Hamdy

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Kaolin is naturally occurring ore predominantly containing kaolinite mineral in addition to some gangue minerals. Typical impurities present in kaolin ore are quartz, iron oxides, titanoferrous minerals, mica, feldspar, organic matter, etc. The main coloring impurity, particularly in the ultrafine size range, is titanoferrous minerals. Kaolin is used in many industrial applications such as sanitary ware, table ware, ceramic, paint, and paper industries, each of which should be of certain specifications. For most industrial applications, kaolin should be processed to obtain refined clay so as to match with standard specifications. For example, kaolin used in paper and paint industries need to be of high brightness and low yellowness. Egyptian kaolin is not subjected to any beneficiation process and the Egyptian companies apply selective mining followed by, in some localities, crushing and size reduction only. Such low quality kaolin can be used in refractory and pottery production but not in white ware and paper industries. This paper aims to study the amenability of beneficiation of an Egyptian kaolin ore of El-Teih locality, Sinai, to be suitable for different industrial applications. Attrition scrubbing and classification followed by magnetic separation are applied to remove the associated impurities. Attrition scrubbing and classification are used to separate the coarse silica and feldspars. Wet high intensity magnetic separation was applied to remove colored contaminants such as iron oxide and titanium oxide. Different variables affecting of magnetic separation process such as solid percent, magnetic field, matrix loading capacity, and retention time are studied. The results indicated that substantial decrease in iron oxide (from 1.69% to 0.61% ) and TiO2 (from 3.1% to 0.83%) contents as well as improving iso-brightness (from 63.76% to 75.21% and whiteness (from 79.85% to 86.72%) of the product can be achieved.

Keywords: Kaolin, titanoferrous minerals, beneficiation, magnetic separation, attrition scrubbing, classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Naif Albelwi, Alan Kwan, Yacine Rezgui

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Cities with rapid growth face tremendous challenges not only to provide services to meet this growth but also to assure that this growth occurs in a sustainable way. The consumption of material, energy, and water resources is inextricably linked to population growth with a unique impact in urban areas, especially in light of significant investments in infrastructure to support urban development. Urban Metabolism (UM) is becoming popular as it provides a framework accounting the mass and energy flows through a city. The objective of this study is to determine the energy and material flows of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia using locally generated data from 1996 and 2012 and analyzing the temporal trends of energy and material flows. Preliminary results show that while the population of Riyadh grew 90% since 1996, the input and output flows have increased at higher rate. Results also show increasing in energy mobile consumption from 61k TJ in 1996 to 157k TJ in 2012 which points to Riyadh’s inefficient urban form. The study findings highlight the importance to develop effective policies for improving the use of resources.

Keywords: energy and water consumption, sustainability, urban development, urban metabolism

Procedia PDF Downloads 275

Authors: Joseph Uzuazomaro Oju

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The ease at which manipulated media can be created, and the increasing difficulty in identifying fake media makes it a great threat. Most of the applications used for the creation of these high-quality fake videos and images are built with deep learning. Hence, the use of deep learning in creating a detection mechanism cannot be overemphasized. Any successful fake media that is being detected before it reached the populace will save people from the self-doubt of either a content is genuine or fake and will ensure the credibility of videos and images. The methodology introduced in this paper approaches the manipulated media detection challenge using a combo of VGG-19 and a deep capsule network. In the case of videos, they are converted into frames, which, in turn, are resized and cropped to the face region. These preprocessed images/videos are fed to the VGG-19 network to extract the latent features. The extracted latent features are inputted into a deep capsule network enhanced with a 3D -convolution dynamic routing agreement. The 3D –convolution dynamic routing agreement algorithm helps to reduce the linkages between capsules networks. Thereby limiting the poor learning shortcoming of multiple capsule network layers. The resultant output from the deep capsule network will indicate a media to be either genuine or fake.

Keywords: deep capsule network, dynamic routing, fake media detection, manipulated media

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Jantakan Jullawateelert, Korakod Haonoo, Sutipong Sananseang, Sarun Torpaiboon, Thanunthon Bowornsakulwong, Lalintip Hocharoen

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Process scale-up is essential for the biological process to increase production capacity from bench-scale bioreactors to either pilot or commercial production. Scale-up based on constant volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient (KLa) is mostly used as a scale-up factor since oxygen supply is one of the key limiting factors for cell growth. However, to estimate KLa of culture vessels operated with different conditions are time-consuming since it is considerably influenced by a lot of factors. To overcome the issue, this study aimed to establish correlation equations of KLa and operating parameters in 0.5 L and 5 L bioreactor employed with pitched-blade impeller and gas sparger. Temperature, gas flow rate, agitation speed, and impeller position were selected as process parameters and equations were created using response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD). In addition, the effects of these parameters on KLa were also investigated. Based on RSM, second-order polynomial models for 0.5 L and 5 L bioreactor were obtained with an acceptable determination coefficient (R²) as 0.9736 and 0.9190, respectively. These models were validated, and experimental values showed differences less than 10% from the predicted values. Moreover, RSM revealed that gas flow rate is the most significant parameter while temperature and agitation speed were also found to greatly affect the KLa in both bioreactors. Nevertheless, impeller position was shown to influence KLa in only 5L system. To sum up, these modeled correlations can be used to accurately predict KLa within the specified range of process parameters of two different sizes of bioreactors for further scale-up application.

Keywords: response surface methodology, scale-up, stirred-tank bioreactor, volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient

Procedia PDF Downloads 211

Authors: Azeem Tariq, Stephane De Tourdonnet, Lars Stoumann Jensen, Reiner Wassmann, Bjoern Ole Sander, Quynh Duong Vu, Trinh Van Mai, Andreas De Neergaard

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Rice growing area is increasing to meet the food demand of increasing population. Mostly, rice is growing on lowland, small landholder fields in most part of the world, which is one of the major sources of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from agriculture fields. The strategies such as, altering water and residues (carbon) management practices are assumed to be essential to mitigate the GHG emissions from flooded rice system. The actual implementation and potential of these measures on small farmer fields is still challenging. A field study was conducted on red river delta in Northern Vietnam to identify the potential challenges and barriers to the small rice farmers for implementation of climate smart rice practices. The objective of this study was to develop and access the feasibility of climate smart rice prototypes under actual farmer conditions. Field and scientific oriented framework was used to meet our objective. The methodological framework composed of six steps: i) identification of stakeholders and possible options, ii) assessment of barrios, drawbacks/advantages of new technologies, iii) prototype design, iv) assessment of mitigation potential of each prototype, v) scenario building and vi) scenario assessment. A farm survey was conducted to identify the existing farm practices and major constraints of small rice farmers. We proposed the two water (pre transplant+midseason drainage and early+midseason drainage) and one straw (full residue incorporation) management option keeping in views the farmers constraints and barriers for implementation. To test new typologies with existing prototypes (midseason drainage, partial residue incorporation) at farmer local conditions, a participatory field experiment was conducted for two consecutive rice seasons at farmer fields. Following the results of each season a workshop was conducted with stakeholders (farmers, village leaders, cooperatives, irrigation staff, extensionists, agricultural officers) at local and district level to get feedbacks on new tested prototypes and to develop possible scenarios for climate smart rice production practices. The farm analysis survey showed that non-availability of cheap labor and lacks of alternatives for straw management influence the small farmers to burn the residues in the fields except to use for composting or other purposes. Our field results revealed that application of early season drainage significantly mitigates (40-60%) the methane emissions from residue incorporation. Early season drainage was more efficient and easy to control under cooperate manage system than individually managed water system, and it leads to both economic (9-11% high rice yield, low cost of production, reduced nutrient loses) and environmental (mitigate methane emissions) benefits. The participatory field study allows the assessment of adaptation potential and possible benefits of climate smart practices on small farmer fields. If farmers have no other residue management option, full residue incorporation with early plus midseason drainage is adaptable and beneficial (both environmentally and economically) management option for small rice farmers.

Keywords: adaptation, climate smart agriculture, constrainsts, smallholders

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Authors: Ahmed Altalb

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Fertilizers are natural materials, or industrial contain nutrients, which help to improve soil fertility and is considered (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) is important elements for the growth of crops properly. Fertilization is necessary in order to improve the quality of agricultural products and the recovery in agricultural activities. The use of organic fertilizers and chemical lead to reduce the loss of nutrients in agricultural soils, and this leads to an increase in the production of agricultural crops. Fertilizers are one of the key factors in the increase of agricultural production as well as other factors such as irrigation and improved seeds and Prevention and others; the fertilizers will continue to be a cornerstone of the agriculture in order to produce the food to feed of world population. The use of fertilizers has become commonplace today, especially the chemical fertilizers for the development of agricultural production, due to the provision of nutrients for plants and in high concentrations and easily dissolves in water and ease of use. The choose the right type of fertilizer depends on the soil type and the type of crop. In this subject, find the relationship between the agricultural extension and the optimal use of fertilizers. The extension plays the important role in the advise and educate of farmers in how they optimal use the fertilizers in a scientific way. This article aims to identify the concept the fertilizers. Identify the role of fertilizers in increasing the agricultural production, identify the role of agricultural extension in the optimal use of fertilizers and rural development.

Keywords: agricultural, extension, fertilizers, production

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Authors: Mobina Bagherianlemraski, Parastoo Namdar

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Background: The ongoing coronavirus disease has affected most countries. This virus has high transmission power. Due to the closure of most dental clinics, millions of orthodontic patients missed their appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A questionnaire was developed and sent to patients receiving orthodontic treatment at a public or private clinic. Results: A total of 200 responses were analyzed: These included 153 women (76.5%) and 47 men (23.5%). The mean and standard deviation of their age was 18.92±7.23 years, with an age range of 8 to 40 years. One hundred eighty-nine patients (94.5%) had fixed appliances, and 11 patients (5.5%) had removable appliances. Of all participants, 35% (70) missed their appointments. The highest and lowest reasons for stopping appointments were concerned about the spread of COVID-19 with 28 cases (40%) and the closure of the clinic with 15 cases (21.4%). Of the 53 patients who contacted their orthodontists, 86.8 % (46) communicated via office phone and 5.7% (3) through social media. Conclusion: This study determined that the coronavirus pandemic and quarantine have had an important impact on orthodontic treatments. The greatest concern of orthodontic patients was increasing in treatment duration. Patients who used fixed appliances reported missing dental appointments more than others. Therefore, during COVID 19 Pandemic, orthodontists should prepare patients to solve their problems linked to orthodontic appliances when possible.

Keywords: orthodontic patients, coronavirus pandemic, appointments, COVID-19

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Authors: Muna Khethier Abbass, Bassma Finner Sultan

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In this research the effect of Al2O3 nanoparticles on corrosion behavior of aluminum base alloy(Al-4.5wt%Cu-1.5wt%Mg) has been investigated. Nanocomopsites reinforced with variable contents of 1,3 & 5wt% of Al2O3 nanoparticles were fabricated using powder metallurgy. All samples were prepared from the base alloy powders under the best powder metallurgy processing conditions of 6 hr of mixing time , 450 MPa of compaction pressure and 560°C of sintering temperature. Density and micro hardness measurements, and electrochemical corrosion tests are performed for all prepared samples in 3.5wt%NaCl solution at room temperature using potentiostate instrument. It has been found that density and micro hardness of the nanocomposite increase with increasing of wt% Al2O3 nanoparticles to Al matrix. It was found from Tafel extrapolation method that corrosion rates of the nanocomposites reinforced with alumina nanoparticles were lower than that of base alloy. From results of corrosion test by potentiodynamic cyclic polarization method, it was found the pitting corrosion resistance improves with adding of Al2O3 nanoparticles . It was noticed that the pits disappear and the hysteresis loop disappears also from anodic polarization curve.

Keywords: powder metallurgy, nano composites, Al-Cu-Mg alloy, electrochemical corrosion

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Authors: N. Ali, S. Nakayama, H. Yamaguchi, M. Nadeem

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Traffic congestion is a matter of prime concern in developing countries. This can be primarily attributed due to poor design practices and biased allocation of resources based on political will neglecting the technical feasibilities in infrastructure design. During the last decade, Lahore has expanded at an unprecedented rate as compared to surrounding cities due to more funding and resource allocation by the previous governments. As a result of this, people from surrounding cities and areas moved to the Lahore city for better opportunities and quality of life. This migration inflow inherited the city with an increased population yielding the inefficiency of the existing infrastructure to accommodate enhanced traffic demand. This leads to traffic congestion on major arterial roads of the city. In this simulation study, a major arterial road was selected to evaluate the performance of the five intersections by changing the geometry of the intersections or signal control type. Simulations were done in two software; Highway Capacity Software (HCS) and Synchro Studio and Sim Traffic Software. Some of the traffic management strategies that were employed include actuated-signal control, semi-actuated signal control, fixed-time signal control, and roundabout. The most feasible solution for each intersection in the above-mentioned traffic management techniques was selected with the least delay time (seconds) and improved Level of Service (LOS). The results showed that Jinnah Hospital Intersection and Akbar Chowk Intersection improved 92.97% and 92.67% in delay time reduction, respectively. These results can be used by traffic planners and policy makers for decision making for the expansion of these intersections keeping in mind the traffic demand in future years.

Keywords: traffic congestion, traffic simulation, traffic management, congestion problems

Procedia PDF Downloads 473

Authors: Amir Bak Khoshnevis, Mahdieh Khodadadi, Aghil Lotfi

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For a bluff body, roughness elements in simulating a turbulent boundary layer, leading to delayed flow separation, a smaller wake, and lower form drag. In the present work, flow past a circular cylinder with using tripping wires is studied experimentally. The wind tunnel used for modeling free stream is open blow circuit (maximum speed = 30m/s and maximum turbulence of free stream = 0.1%). The selected Reynolds number for all tests was constant (Re = 25000). The circular cylinder selected for this experiment is 20 and 400mm in diameter and length, respectively. The aim of this research is to find the optimal operation mode. In this study installed some tripping wires 1mm in diameter, with a different number of wires on the circular cylinder and the wake characteristics of the circular cylinder is studied. Results showed that by increasing number of tripping wires attached to the circular cylinder (6, 8, and 10, respectively), The optimal angle for the tripping wires with 1mm in diameter to be installed on the cylinder is 60̊ (or 6 wires required at angle difference of 60̊). Strouhal number for the cylinder with tripping wires 1mm in diameter at angular position 60̊ showed the maximum value.

Keywords: wake of circular cylinder, trip wire, velocity defect, strouhal number

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Authors: Woei-Shyan Lee, Hao-Chien Kao

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The impact deformation and fracture behaviour of cobalt-based Haynes 188 superalloy are investigated by means of a split Hopkinson pressure bar. Impact tests are performed at strain rates ranging from 1×103 s-1 to 5×103 s-1 and temperatures between 25°C and 800°C. The experimental results indicate that the flow response and fracture characteristics of cobalt-based Haynes 188 superalloy are significantly dependent on the strain rate and temperature. The flow stress, work hardening rate and strain rate sensitivity all increase with increasing strain rate or decreasing temperature. It is shown that the impact response of the Haynes 188 specimens is adequately described by the Zerilli-Armstrong fcc model. The fracture analysis results indicate that the Haynes 188 specimens fail predominantly as the result of intensive localised shearing. Furthermore, it is shown that the flow localisation effect leads to the formation of adiabatic shear bands. The fracture surfaces of the deformed Haynes 188 specimens are characterised by dimple- and / or cleavage-like structure with knobby features. The knobby features are thought to be the result of a rise in the local temperature to a value greater than the melting point.

Keywords: Haynes 188 alloy, impact, strain rate and temperature effect, adiabatic shearing

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Authors: Issam Alnader, Aboubaker Lasebae, Rand Raheem

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Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are distributed network systems used in a wide range of applications, including safety-critical systems. The latter provide critical services, often concerned with human life or assets. Therefore, ensuring the dependability requirements of Safety critical systems is of paramount importance. The purpose of this paper is to utilize the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to elongate the service availability of WSNs by increasing the time it takes a node to become obsolete via optimal load balancing. We propose an HMM algorithm that, given a WSN, analyses and predicts undesirable situations, notably, nodes dying unexpectedly or prematurely. We apply this technique to improve on C. Lius’ algorithm, a scheduling-based algorithm which has served to improve the lifetime of WSNs. Our experiments show that our HMM technique improves the lifetime of the network, achieved by detecting nodes that die early and rebalancing their load. Our technique can also be used for diagnosis and provide maintenance warnings to WSN system administrators. Finally, our technique can be used to improve algorithms other than C. Liu’s.

Keywords: wireless sensor networks, IoT, dependability of safety WSNs, energy conservation, sleep awake schedule

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Authors: Muhittin Fatih Demirhan, Sibel Alapala Demirhan

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Agriculture, is also regarded as the primary activity area in all economies. When international comparisons are made Turkey has comparative advantages in agricultural potential. However, it is diffi cult to say that Turkey's agricultural productivity and use of technology is well developed in terms of sufficieny. Turkey, in terms of agricultural production, is one of the rare self-sufficient countries, but for supplying excessive demand of its domesticproduction to foreign markets to obtain the necessary income it is rather insufficient. On the basis of wrong policies implemented during the crisis and found that bottlenecks in agriculture and animal husbandry or agriculture policies of the IMF and World Bank are imposed on countries like Turkey. The IMF and the World Bank, the reduction of support in the agricultural and livestock Turkey, is known to put pressure for the abolition. Under these circumstances, our farmers, livestock producers and breeders of, not a chance to compete in the same market with EU producers. Animal products that capture the productivity levels of developed countries, seems to be our chance to compete with the quality and hygiene criteria. Thus, the discussion of the issue must be raised as for the sector's contribution to the economy in terms of further increasing production of the existing potential in mobilization.

Keywords: agricultural development, animal production, competition, economic crisis, food supply

Procedia PDF Downloads 242

Authors: Marcel Chevalier, Léo Dupont, Sylvain Marié, Frédérique Roffet, Elena Stolyarova, William Templier, Costin Vasile

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Industrial end-users are currently facing an increasing need to reduce the risk of unexpected failures and optimize their maintenance. This calls for both short-term analysis and long-term ageing anticipation. At Schneider Electric, we tackle those two issues using both machine learning and first principles models. Machine learning models are incrementally trained from normal data to predict expected values and detect statistically significant short-term deviations. Ageing models are constructed by breaking down physical systems into sub-assemblies, then determining relevant degradation modes and associating each one to the right kinetic law. Validating such anomaly detection and maintenance models is challenging, both because actual incident and ageing data are rare and distorted by human interventions, and incremental learning depends on human feedback. To overcome these difficulties, we propose to simulate physics, systems, and humans -including asset maintenance operations- in order to validate the overall approaches in accelerated time and possibly choose between algorithmic alternatives.

Keywords: degradation models, ageing, anomaly detection, soft sensor, incremental learning

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Authors: Laroussi Chaabane, Amel El Ghali, Emmanuel Beyou, Mohamed Hassen V. Baouab

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In this research, the functionalization of graphene oxide sheets by ethylenediamine (EDA) was accomplished and followed by the grafting of bis(2-pyridylmethyl) amino group (BPED) onto the activated graphene oxide sheets in the presence of chloroacetylchloride (CAC) and then combined with magnetic nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄NPs) to produce a magnetic graphene-based composite [(Go-EDA-CAC)@Fe₃O₄NPs-BPED]. The physicochemical properties of [(Go-EDA-CAC)@Fe₃O₄NPs-BPED] composites were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Additionally, the catalysts can be easily recycled within ten seconds by using an external magnetic field. Moreover, [(Go-EDA-CAC)@Fe₃O₄NPs-BPED] was used for removing Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions using a batch process. The effect of pH, contact time and temperature on the metal ions adsorption were investigated, however weakly dependent on ionic strength. The maximum adsorption capacity values of Cu(II) on the [(Go-EDA-CAC)@Fe₃O₄NPs-BPED] at the pH of 6 is 3.46 mmol.g⁻¹. To examine the underlying mechanism of the adsorption process, pseudo-first, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle diffusion models were fitted to experimental kinetic data. Results showed that the pseudo-second-order equation was appropriate to describe the Cu (II) adsorption by [(Go-EDA-CAC)@Fe₃O₄NPs-BPED]. Adsorption data were further analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Jossens adsorption approaches. Additionally, the adsorption properties of the [(Go-EDA-CAC)@Fe₃O₄NPs-BPED], their reusability (more than 6 cycles) and durability in the aqueous solutions open the path to removal of Cu(II) from water solution. Based on the results obtained, we report the activity of Cu(II) supported on [(Go-EDA-CAC)@Fe₃O₄NPs-BPED] as a catalyst for the cross-coupling of symmetric alkynes.

Keywords: graphene, magnetic nanoparticles, adsorption kinetics/isotherms, cross coupling

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Authors: Raul Chavez Jr.

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Green roof's body of knowledge appears to be in its infancy stage in the Philippines. To contribute to its development, this study intends to answer the question: Does the existing green roof in Metro Manila perform well in providing thermal comfort and satisfaction to users? Relatively, this study focuses on thermal sensation and satisfaction of users, surface temperature comparison, weather data comparison of the site (Sky Garden) and local weather station (PAG-ASA), and its thermal resistance capacity. Initially, the researcher conducted a point-in-time survey in parallel with weather data gathering from PAG-ASA and Sky Garden. In line with these, ambient and surface temperature are conducted through the use of a digital anemometer, with humidity and temperature, and non-contact infrared thermometer respectively. Furthermore, to determine the Sky Garden's overall thermal resistance, materials found on site were identified and tabulated based on specified locations. It revealed that the Sky Garden can be considered comfortable based from PMV-PPD Model of ASHRAE Standard 55 having similar results from thermal comfort and thermal satisfaction survey, which is contrary to the actual condition of the Sky Garden by means of a psychrometric chart which falls beyond the contextualized comfort zone. In addition, ground floor benefited the most in terms of lower average ambient temperature and humidity compared to the Sky Garden. Lastly, surface temperature data indicates that the green roof portion obtained the highest average temperature yet performed well in terms of heat resistance compared to other locations. These results provided the researcher valuable baseline information of the actual performance of a certain green roof in Metro Manila that could be vital in locally enhancing the system even further and for future studies.

Keywords: Green Roof, Thermal Analysis, Thermal Comfort, Thermal Performance

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Authors: Raana Babadi Fathipour

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Biofilms, those intricate structures of microbial aggregation that emerge as microorganisms adhere to animate or inanimate surfaces, possess an innate capacity to shield their inhabitants from adversities within the environment whilst fortifying their endurance against antimicrobial agents. This remarkable aspect facilitates the persistence and virulence of said microorganisms, establishing biofilm formation as an integral component of bacterial survival mechanisms. However, should foodborne pathogens adopt this mode of existence, the potentiality for foodborne disease infections becomes alarmingly intensified—an alarming prospect that harbors significant public health hazards and engenders deleterious economic ramifications. Thus, due to these consequences lurking on the horizon, extensive research concentrating upon comprehending biofilms and devising efficacious removal strategies assumes a position imbued with paramount importance within the realm of the food industry. The problem of food waste resulting from spoilage in the food industry continues to present a widespread challenge to both environmental sustainability and the security of our food supplies. In this comprehensive analysis, we delve into the formation of bacterial biofilms, highlighting the specific issues they pose within the realm of food production. Additionally, we provide an overview of various types of common foodborne pathogens that tend to thrive in these biofilms. Furthermore, we summarize existing strategies aimed at tackling or managing detrimental bacterial biofilm growth. We also introduce contemporary approaches that show promise in terms of controlling this issue and highlight their potential for further advancement. Ultimately, our focus lies on outlining prospects for future development as they pertain specifically to combatting bacterial biofilms within the field.

Keywords: foodborne pathogens, food safety, biofilm, resistance, quorum-sensing

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Authors: Mohammad Soliman, Mohamed A. Abou-Shouk

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Knowledge management focuses on the development, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of information and expertise. It has become an important tool to improve performance in tourism enterprises. This includes improving decision-making, developing customer services, and increasing sales and profits. Knowledge management adoption depends on human, organizational and technological factors. This study aims to explore the concept of knowledge management in travel agents in Egypt. It explores the requirements of adoption and its impact on performance in these agencies. The study targets Category A travel agents in Egypt. The population of the study encompasses Category A travel agents having online presence. An online questionnaire is used to collect data from managers of travel agents. This study is useful for travel agents who are in urgent need to restructure their intermediary role and support their survival in the global travel market. The study sheds light on the requirements of adoption and the expected impact on performance. This could help travel agents identify their situation and the determine the extent to which they are ready to adopt knowledge management. This study is contributing to knowledge by providing insights from the tourism sector in a developing country where the concept of knowledge management is still in its infancy stages.

Keywords: knowledge management, knowledge management adoption, performance, travel agents

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Authors: Nadia Allouache

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The use of solar energy in cooling systems is an interesting alternative to the increasing demand of energy in the world and more specifically in southern countries where the needs of refrigeration and air conditioning are tremendous. This technique is even more attractive with regards to environmental issues. This study focuses on performances analysis and optimization of solar reactor of an adsorption cooling machine working with activated carbon-methanol pair. The modeling of the adsorption cooling machine requires the resolution of the equation describing the energy and mass transfer in the tubular adsorber that is the most important component of the machine. The results show the poor heat conduction inside the porous medium and the resistance between the metallic wall and the bed engender the important temperature gradient and a great difference between the metallic wall and the bed temperature; this is considered as the essential causes decreasing the performances of the machine. For fixed conditions of functioning, the total desorbed mass presents a maximum for an optimal value of the height of the adsorber; this implies the existence of an optimal dimensioning of the adsorber.

Keywords: solar cooling system, performances Analysis, optimization, heat and mass transfer, activated carbon-methanol pair, numerical modeling

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Authors: Mahmoud Hassan

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Understanding the impact of market- and non-market-based environmental policy instruments on renewable energy consumption (REC) is crucial for the design and choice of policy packages. This study aims to empirically investigate the effect of environmental policy stringency index (EPS) and its components on REC in 27 OECD countries over the period from 1990 to 2015, and then use the results to identify what the appropriate environmental policy mix should look like. By relying on the two-step system GMM estimator, we provide evidence that increasing environmental policy stringency as a whole promotes renewable energy consumption in these 27 developed economies. Moreover, policymakers are able, through the market- and non-market-based environmental policy instruments, to increase the use of renewable energy. However, not all of these instruments are effective for achieving this goal. The results indicate that R&D subsidies and trading schemes have a positive and significant impact on REC, while taxes, feed-in tariff and emission standards have not a significant effect. Furthermore, R&D subsidies are more effective than trading schemes for stimulating the use of clean energy. These findings proved to be robust across the three alternative panel techniques used.

Keywords: environmental policy stringency, renewable energy consumption, two-step system-GMM estimation, linear dynamic panel data model

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Authors: K. M. Saif Ur Rahman, Razib Mamun, Himica Arjuman, Fida Al Shams

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Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become an emerging neurodevelopmental disorder with increasing prevalence. It has become an important public health issue globally. Many approaches including speech and language therapy (SLT), occupational therapy, behavioral therapy etc. are being applied for the betterment of the ASD patients. This study aims to describe the characteristics of ASD patients and perception of caregiver regarding SLT in Bangladesh. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a therapy and rehabilitation center at Dhaka city. Caregivers of 48 ASD patients responded regarding their perception of SLT and characteristics of patients. Results: Among 48 ASD patients, 56.3% were between 3 to 5 years age group with a male predominance (87.5%). More than half of the participants (56.3%) initiated SLT at the age of 1-3 years and the majority (43.8%) were taking SLT for less than 1 year. Majority of the patients (64.6%) were taken to a physician for healthcare as a first contact of which 29.2% were referred to SLT by physicians. More than half (56.3%) of the caregivers were moderately satisfied with SLT and most of them (62.5%) mentioned moderate improvement through SLT. Improvement rate was 10-15% in specific symptoms such as eye contact, complex mannerism, pointing, imitation etc. Conclusion: This study reveals the self-reported perception of caregivers on SLT. Despite reported improvements, more exploration of different approaches and intervention for management of ASD is recommended.

Keywords: ASD, characteristics, SLT, Bangladesh

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Authors: Negar Sartipzadeh

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Energy-conscious design, which coordinates with the Earth ecological systems during its life cycle, has the least negative impact on the environment with the least waste of resources. Due to the increasing in world population as well as the consumption of fossil fuels that cause the production of greenhouse gasses and environmental pollution, mankind is looking for renewable and also sustainable energies. The Iranian native construction is a clear evidence of energy-aware designing. Our predecessors were forced to rely on the natural resources and sustainable energies as well as environmental issues which have been being considered in the recent world. One of these endless energies is wind energy. Iranian traditional architecture foundations is a appropriate model in solving the environmental crisis and the contemporary energy. What will come in this paper is an effort to recognition and introduction of the unique characteristics of the Iranian architecture in the application of aerodynamic and hydraulic energies derived from the wind, which are the most common and major type of using sustainable energies in the traditional architecture of Iran. Therefore, the recent research attempts to offer a hybrid system suggestions for application in new constructions designing in a region such as Nashtifan, which has potential through reviewing windmills and how they deal with sustainable energy sources, as a model of Iranian native construction.

Keywords: renewable energy, sustainable building, windmill, Iranian architecture

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Authors: Rana M. Mostafa, Nouby M. Ghazaly, Ahmed S. Ali

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This article introduces a solution for increasing the wind energy extracted from turbines to overcome the more electric power required. This objective provides a new science discipline; wind turbine control. This field depends on the development in power electronics to provide new control strategies for turbines. Those strategies should deal with all turbine operating modes. Here there are two control strategies developed for variable speed horizontal axis wind turbine for rated and over rated wind speed regions. These strategies will support wind energy validation, decrease manufacturing overhead cost. Here nonlinear adaptive method was used to design speed controllers to a scheme for ‘Aeolos50 kw’ wind turbine connected to permanent magnet generator via a gear box which was built on MATLAB/Simulink. These controllers apply maximum power point tracking concept to guarantee goal achievement. Procedures were carried to test both controllers efficiency. The results had been shown that the developed controllers are acceptable and this can be easily declared from simulation results.

Keywords: adaptive method, pitch controller, wind energy, nonlinear control

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Authors: Rene Jimenez, Sonia E. Ruiz, Miguel A. Orellana

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On 09/19/2017, a Mw = 7.1 intraslab earthquake occurred in Mexico causing the collapse of about 40 buildings. Many of these were 5- or 6-story buildings with soft first story; so, it is desirable to perform a structural fragility analysis of typical structures representative of those buildings and to propose a reliable structural solution. Here, a typical 5-story building constituted by regular R/C moment-resisting frames in the first story and confined masonry walls in the upper levels, similar to the collapsed structures on the 09/19/2017 Mexico earthquake, is analyzed. Three different structural solutions of the 5-story building are considered: S1) it is designed in accordance with the Mexico City Building Code-2004; S2) then, the column dimensions of the first story corresponding to S1 are reduced, and S3) viscous dampers are added at the first story of solution S2. A number of dynamic incremental analyses are performed for each structural solution, using a 3D structural model. The hysteretic behavior model of the masonry was calibrated with experiments performed at the Laboratory of Structures at UNAM. Ten seismic ground motions are used to excite the structures; they correspond to ground motions recorded in intermediate soil of Mexico City with a dominant period around 1s, where the structures are located. The fragility curves of the buildings are obtained for different values of the maximum inter-story drift demands. Results show that solutions S1 and S3 give place to similar probabilities of exceedance of a given value of inter-story drift for the same seismic intensity, and that solution S2 presents a higher probability of exceedance for the same seismic intensity and inter-story drift demand. Therefore, it is concluded that solution S3 (which corresponds to the building with soft first story and energy dissipation devices) can be a reliable solution from the structural point of view.

Keywords: demand hazard analysis, fragility curves, incremental dynamic analyzes, soft-first story, structural capacity

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Authors: V. Verma, Hazi Raja

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Conventionally, morphological descriptors are routinely used for establishing the identity of varieties. But these morphological descriptors suffer from many drawbacks such as influence of environment on trait expression, epistatic interactions, pleiotrophic effects etc. Furthermore, the paucity of a sufficient number of these descriptors for unequivocal identification of increasing number of reference collection varieties enforces to look for alternatives. Therefore, DNA based finger-print based techniques were selected to define the systematic position of the selected medicinal plants like Plumbago zeylanica, Desmodium gangeticum, Uraria picta. DNA fingerprinting of herbal plants can be useful in authenticating the various claims of medical uses related to the plants, in germplasm characterization and conservation. In plants it has not only helped in identifying species but also in defining a new realm in plant genomics, plant breeding and in conserving the biodiversity. With world paving way for developments in biotechnology, DNA fingerprinting promises a very powerful tool in our future endeavors. Data will be presented on the development of microsatellite markers (SSR) used to fingerprint, characterize, and assess genetic diversity among 12 accessions of both Plumbago zeylanica, 4 accessions of Desmodium gengaticum, 4 accessions of Uraria Picta.

Keywords: Plumbago zeylanica, Desmodium gangeticum, Uraria picta, microsaetllite markers

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Authors: Charintorn Suwannawong, Tananpon Yavilas, Sopida Boonaneksap, Chotika Viriyarattanasak, Chairath Tangduangdee

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With increasing aging population and health conscious consumers, the demand for health promoting products such as functional foods, dietary supplements, and nutraceutical products has continuously increased in Thailand. Nevertheless, the strategic framework for regulatory functional food developments in Thailand is still unclear. The objective of this study was to survey stakeholders’ perspectives on three scopes, consisting of 1) the current status 2) obstacles, and 3) future trend for the development and production of functional foods in Thailand. A survey was conducted by interviewing ten experts from governmental organization, industrial sector and academic institute. The obtained results show that there is no established definition for functional foods in Thailand. There is a variety of raw materials that are capable to be potential ingredients for functional food production in Thailand and exported to global market. However, the scaling up technology into a commercial production is limited. Moreover, there is a need to establish the infrastructures, such as testing laboratory, and regulatory standards for quality control and ensuring product safety. This information is useful for government in the development of the strategic framework and policy statement on improvement of functional food industry in Thailand.

Keywords: functional foods, interview, perspective, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 291

Authors: Mark Salisbury

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The arrival of artificially intelligent avatars and the automation they bring is worrying many of us, not only for our livelihood but for the jobs that may be lost to our kids. We worry about what our place will be as human beings in this new economy where much of it will be conducted online in the metaverse – in a network of 3D virtual worlds – working with intelligent machines. The Future of Leadership was written to address these fears and show what our place will be – the right place – in this new economy of AI avatars, automation, and 3D virtual worlds. But to be successful in this new economy, our job will be to bring wisdom to our workplace and the marketplace. And we will use AI avatars and 3D virtual worlds to do it. However, this book is about more than AI and the avatars that we will work with in the metaverse. It’s about building Organizational intelligence (OI) -- the capability of an organization to comprehend and create knowledge relevant to its purpose; in other words, it is the intellectual capacity of the entire organization. To increase organizational intelligence requires a new kind of knowledge worker, a wisdom worker, that requires a new kind of leadership. This book begins your story for how to become a leader of wisdom workers and be successful in the emerging wisdom economy. After this presentation, conference participants will be able to do the following: Recognize the characteristics of the new generation of wisdom workers and how they differ from their predecessors. Recognize that new leadership methods and techniques are needed to lead this new generation of wisdom workers. Apply personal and professional values – personal integrity, belief in something larger than yourself, and keeping the best interest of others in mind – to improve your work performance and lead others. Exhibit an attitude of confidence, courage, and reciprocity of sharing knowledge to increase your productivity and influence others. Leverage artificial intelligence to accelerate your ability to learn, augment your decision-making, and influence others.Utilize new technologies to communicate with human colleagues and intelligent machines to develop better solutions more quickly.

Keywords: metaverse, generative artificial intelligence, automation, leadership, organizational intelligence, wisdom worker

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Authors: Yvonne Ayerki Lamptey

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The expanding informal sector in developing countries and in Ghana in particular from the 1980s has now been aggravated by the growing population and downsizing in both the public and private sectors, with displaced workers finding alternative livelihoods in the informal sector. Youth and graduate unemployment also swell the numbers and further promote the continuity of the sector. Formal workers and institutions facilitate the growth and complicate demarcations between informality within the formal and informal sectors. In spite of its growth and increasing importance, the informal economy does not feature in policy debates and has often been neglected by the Ghana government. The phenomenon has evolved with modernity into myriad unimaginable forms. Indeed, actors within the sector often clash with the interventions provided by policy makers - because neither the operatives nor the activities they perform can be clearly defined. This study uses in-depth interviews to explore the behavioural nature of the informal workers in Ghana to understand how the operatives describe and perceive the sector, and to identify the factors that influence their drive to stay within the sector. This paper concludes that the operatives clearly distinguish between the formal and informal sectors and identify the characteristics and conditions that constitute the informal sector. Other workers are trapped between formality and informality. The findings also enumerate the push and pull factors contributing to the growth of the sector.

Keywords: informal employment, informal sector, informal work, informality

Procedia PDF Downloads 305

Authors: Karem H. Alzoubi, Ahmad S. Alkofahi, Omar F. Khabour, Nizar M. Mhaidat

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Herbal medicinal products represent a major focus for drug development and industry and it holds a significant share in drug-market all over the globe. In here, selected medicinal plant extracts from Jordan with high antioxidative capacity were tested for their protective effect against oxidative DNA damage using in vitro 8-hydroxydeoxyguanisine and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) assays in cultured human lymphocytes. The following plant extracts were tested Cupressus sempervirens L., Psidium guajava (L.) Gaerth., Silybum marianum L., Malva sylvestris L., Varthemia iphionoides Boiss., Eminium spiculatum L. Blume, Pistachia palaestina Boiss., Artemisia herba-alba Asso, Ficus carica L., Morus alba Linn , Cucumis sativus L., Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh., Salvia triloba L., Zizyphus spina-christi L. Desf., and Laurus nobilis L. A fractionation scheme for the active plant extracts of the above was followed. Plants extract fractions with best protective properties against DNA damage included hexane fraction of S. marianum L. (aerial parts), chloroform fractions of P. palaestina Boiss. (Fruits), ethanolic fractions of E. camaldulensis Dehnh (leaves), S. triloba L. (leaves), and ethanolic fractions of Z. spina-christi L. Desf. (Fruits/leaves). On the other hand, the ethanolic extracts of V. iphionoides Boiss was found to increase oxidative DNA damage. Results of the SCEs are undergoing. In conclusion, plant extracts with antioxidative DNA damage properties might have clinical applications in cancer prevention.

Keywords: medicinal plants extract, fractionation, oxidative DNA damage, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanisine, SCEs, Jordan

Procedia PDF Downloads 311