Search results for: urban food security

Authors: Vipin Bhandari, Anupama Singh, Kopal Gupta

Abstract:

Solid state fermentation, an eminent bioconversion technique for converting many biological substrates into a value-added product, has proven its role in the biotransformation of crops by nutritionally enriching them. Hence, an effort was made for nutritional enhancement of underutilized crops viz. barnyard millet, amaranthus and horse gram based composite flour using SSF. The grains were given pre-treatments before fermentation and these pre-treatments proved quite effective in diminishing the level of antinutrients in grains and in improving their nutritional characteristics. The present study deals with the enhancement of nutritional characteristics of underutilized crops viz. barnyard millet, amaranthus and horsegram based composite flour using solid state fermentation (SSF) as the principle bioconversion technique to convert the composite flour substrate into a nutritionally enriched value added product. Response surface methodology was used to design the experiments. The variables selected for the fermentation experiments were substrate particle size, substrate blend ratio, fermentation time, fermentation temperature and moisture content having three levels of each. Seventeen designed experiments were conducted randomly to find the effect of these variables on microbial count, reducing sugar, pH, total sugar, phytic acid and water absorption index. The data from all experiments were analyzed using Design Expert 8.0.6 and the response functions were developed using multiple regression analysis and second order models were fitted for each response. Results revealed that pretreatments proved quite handful in diminishing the level of antinutrients and thus enhancing the nutritional value of the grains appreciably, for instance, there was about 23% reduction in phytic acid levels after decortication of barnyard millet. The carbohydrate content of the decorticated barnyard millet increased to 81.5% from initial value of 65.2%. Similarly popping and puffing of horsegram and amaranthus respectively greatly reduced the trypsin inhibitor activity. Puffing of amaranthus also reduced the tannin content appreciably. Bacillus subtilis was used as the inoculating specie since it is known to produce phytases in solid state fermentation systems. These phytases remarkably reduce the phytic acid content which acts as a major antinutritional factor in food grains. Results of solid state fermentation experiments revealed that phytic acid levels reduced appreciably when fermentation was allowed to continue for 72 hours at a temperature of 35°C. Particle size and substrate blend ratio also affected the responses positively. All the parameters viz. substrate particle size, substrate blend ratio, fermentation time, fermentation temperature and moisture content affected the responses namely microbial count, reducing sugar, pH, total sugar, phytic acid and water absorption index but the effect of fermentation time was found to be most significant on all the responses. Statistical analysis resulted in the optimum conditions (particle size 355µ, substrate blend ratio 50:20:30 of barnyard millet, amaranthus and horsegram respectively, fermentation time 68 hrs, fermentation temperature 35°C and moisture content 47%) for maximum reduction in phytic acid. The model F- value was found to be highly significant at 1% level of significance in case of all the responses. Hence, second order model could be fitted to predict all the dependent parameters. The effect of fermentation time was found to be most significant as compared to other variables.

Keywords: composite flour, solid state fermentation, underutilized crops, cereals, fermentation technology, food processing

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Authors: I. Nazari, B. Shaabani, P. Abaasifar

Abstract:

In small quantities certain heavy metals are nutritionally essential for a healthy life. The heavy metals linked most often to human poisoning are lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium. Other heavy metals including copper, zinc and chromium are actually required by the body in small quantity but can also be toxic in large doses. Nowadays, we have contamination to this heavy metals in some untreated industrial waste waters and even in several populated cities drinking waters around the world. The contamination of ground and underground water sources to heavy metals can be concentrated and travel up to food chain by drinking water and agricultural products. In recent years, the need for safe and economical methods for removal of heavy metals from contaminated water has necessitated research interest towards the finding low-cost alternatives. Bio-adsorbents have emerged as low-cost and efficient materials for the removal of heavy metals from waste and ground waters. The bio-adsorbents have an affinity for heavy metals ions to form metal complexes or chelates due to having functional groups including carboxyl, hydroxyl, imidazole, and etc. The objective of this study is to review researches in less expensive adsorbents and their utilization possibilities for various low-cost bio-adsorbents such as coffee beans, rice husk, and saw dust for the removal of heavy metals from contaminated waters.

Keywords: heavy metals, water pollution, bio-adsorbents, low cost adsorbents

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Zarmina Gillani, Nuzhat Huma, Aysha Sameen, Mulazim Hussain Bukhari

Abstract:

Whey is an excellent food ingredient owing to its high nutritive value and its functional properties. However, composition of whey varies depending on composition of milk, processing conditions, processing method, and its whey protein content. The aim of this study was to prepare a whey powder from raw whey and to determine the influence of different processing temperatures (160 and 180 °C) on the physicochemical, functional properties during storage of 180 days and on whey protein denaturation. Results have shown that temperature significantly (P < 0.05) affects the pH, acidity, non-protein nitrogen (NPN), protein total soluble solids, fat and lactose contents. Significantly (p < 0.05) higher foaming capacity (FC), foam stability (FS), whey protein nitrogen index (WPNI), and a lower turbidity and solubility index (SI) were observed in whey powder processed at 160 °C compared to whey powder processed at 180 °C. During storage of 180 days, slow but progressive changes were noticed on the physicochemical and functional properties of whey powder. Reverse phase-HPLC analysis revealed a significant (P < 0.05) effect of temperature on whey protein contents. Denaturation of β-Lactoglobulin is followed by α-lacalbumin, casein glycomacropeptide (CMP/GMP), and bovine serum albumin (BSA).

Keywords: whey powder, temperature, denaturation, reverse phase, HPLC

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Authors: Juan Eduardo Rolon Rios, Fredy Alejandro Orjuela, Alexander Garcia Mariaca

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For banana and potato wastes, their peels are processed in order to make animal food with the condition that those wastes must not have started the decomposition process. One alternative to taking advantage of those wastes is to obtain a bioplastic based on starch from banana and potato shells. These products are 100% biodegradables, and researchers have been studying them for different applications, helping in the reduction of organic wastes and ordinary plastic wastes. Without petroleum affecting the prices of bioplastics, bioplastics market has a growing tendency and it is seen that it can keep this tendency in the medium term up to 350%. In this work, it will be shown the results for elasticity module and percent elongation for bioplastics obtained from a mixture of starch of bananas and potatoes peels, with glycerol as plasticizer. The experimental variables were the plasticizer percentage and the mixture between banana starch and potato starch. The results show that the bioplastics obtained can be used in different applications such as plastic bags or sorbets, verifying their admissible degradation percentages for each one of these applications. The results also show that they agree with the data found in the literature due to the fact that mixtures with a major amount of potato starch had the best mechanical properties because of the potato starch characteristics.

Keywords: bioplastics, fruit waste, mechanical testing, mechanical properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 294

Authors: Ali Reza Sattarzadeh, Ronny J. Kutadinata, Pubudu N. Pathirana, Van Thanh Huynh

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Traffic congestion has become a severe worldwide problem, affecting everyday life, fuel consumption, time, and air pollution. The primary causes of these issues are inadequate transportation infrastructure, poor traffic signal management, and rising population. Traffic flow forecasting is one of the essential and effective methods in urban congestion and traffic management, which has attracted the attention of researchers. With the development of technology, undeniable progress has been achieved in existing methods. However, there is a possibility of improvement in the extraction of temporal and spatial features to determine the importance of traffic flow sequences and extraction features. In the proposed model, we implement the convolutional neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) deep learning models for mining nonlinear correlations and their effectiveness in increasing the accuracy of traffic flow prediction in the real dataset. According to the experiments, the results indicate that implementing Conv-LSTM networks increases the productivity and accuracy of deep learning models for traffic flow prediction.

Keywords: deep learning algorithms, intelligent transportation systems, spatiotemporal features, traffic flow prediction

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Raahil Sheikh, Abhishek Maurya, Priya Gujjar, Himanshu Dwivedi, Prathamesh Minde

Abstract:

UAVs have been an initial member of our environment since it's the first used by Austrian warfare in Venice. At that stage, they were just pilotless balloons equipped with bombs to be dropped on enemy territory. Over time, technological advancements allowed UAVs to be controlled remotely or autonomously. This study shall mainly focus on the intensification of pre-existing manual drones equipping them with a variety of sensors and making them autonomous, and capable, and purposing them for a variety of roles, including thermal sensing, data collection, tracking creatures, forest fires, volcano detection, hydrothermal studies, urban heat, Island measurement, and other environmental research. The system can also be used for reconnaissance, research, 3D mapping, and search and rescue missions. This study mainly focuses on automating tedious tasks and reducing human errors as much as possible, reducing deployment time, and increasing the overall efficiency, efficacy, and reliability of the UAVs. Creation of a comprehensive Ground Control System UI (GCS) enabling less trained professionals to be able to use the UAV with maximum potency. With the inclusion of such an autonomous system, artificially intelligent paths and environmental gusts and concerns can be avoided.

Keywords: UAV, drone, autonomous system, thermal imaging

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Roya Biabani, Mentore Vaccari, Piero Ferrari

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Accumulated microplastic (MPLs) in soil pose the risk of adsorbing and transporting polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the food chain or bodies. PCBs belong to a class of man-made hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) that are classified as probable human carcinogens and a hazard to biota. Therefore, to take effective action and not aggravate the already recognized problems, the knowledge of PCB remediation in the presence of MPLs needs to be complete. Due to the high efficiency and little secondary pollution production, thermal desorption (TD) has been widely used for processing a variety of pollutants, especially for removing volatile and semi-volatile organic matter from contaminated solids and sediment. This study investigates the fate of PCB compounds during the thermal remediation method. For this, the PCB-contaminated soil was collected from the earth-canal downstream Caffaro S.p.A. chemical factory, which produced PCBs and PCB mixtures between 1930 and 1984. For MPL analysis, MPLs were separated by density separation and oxidation of organic matter. An operational range for the key parameters of thermal desorption processes was experimentally evaluated. Moreover, the temperature treatment characteristics of the PCBs-contaminated soil under anaerobic and aerobic conditions were studied using the Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA).

Keywords: contaminated soils, microplastics, polychlorinated biphenyls, thermal desorption

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Authors: Ali Montazar

Abstract:

This study aims to assess the viability of sub-surface drip irrigation (SDI) using several ongoing and conducted researches in the low desert region of California. The experiments were carried out in the University of California Desert Research and Extension Center (UC DREC) and ten commercial fields at alfalfa, sugar beets, dehydrated onions, and spinach crops. The results demonstrated greater yields, actual crop water consumption, and water productivity of SDI as compared with conventional irrigation practices (border, furrow, and sprinkler irrigation) with an average increase of 21%, 7%, and 15%, respectively. The severity of plant disease, particularly root rot in sugar beet, and downy mildew in onions and spinach, were significantly lower in SDI than furrow and sprinkler irrigation (an average of 3-5 times). While utilizing this irrigation technology may have ability to achieve higher yields, conserve water, improve the efficiency of water and nutrient use, and manage food safety risks and plant disease, further work is required to better understand the impact of management practices and strategies on the viability of SDI application, and maintain its profitability in various agricultural production systems as water, labor costs, and environmental concerns increase.

Keywords: alfalfa, onions, spinach, sugar beets, subsurface drip irrigation

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Authors: Mukesh A. Modi

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High-nitrate concentration in groundwater of unconfined aquifers has been a serious issue for public health risk at a global scale. Various anthropogenic activities in agricultural land and urban land of alluvial soil have been observed to be responsible for the increment of nitrate in groundwater. The present study was designed to identify suitable denitrification strategies to minimize the effects of high nitrate in groundwater near the Mahi River of Vadodara block, Gujarat. There were 11 wells of Jal Jeevan Mission, Ministry of Jal Shakti, along with 3 observation wells of Gujarat Water Resources Development Corporation have been used for the duration of 21 years. MODFLOW and MT3DMS codes have been used to simulate solute transport phenomena along with attempted effectively for optimization. Current research is one step ahead by optimizing various denitrification strategies with the simulation of the model. The in-situ and ex-situ denitrification strategies viz. NAS (No Action Scenario), CAS (Crop Alternation Scenario), PS (Phytoremediation Scenario), and CAS + PS (Crop Alternation Scenario + Phytoremediation Scenario) have been selected for the optimization. The groundwater model simulates the most suitable denitrification strategy considering the hydrogeological characteristics at the targeted well.

Keywords: groundwater, high nitrate, MODFLOW, MT3DMS, optimization, denitrification strategy

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Authors: Janani Kalpana Balasooriya Balasooriya Mudiyanselage, Jay Rajapakse, Chaminda Gallage

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Ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water is essential for the health and well-being of remote and Indigenous communities, but various challenges impede their ability to achieve water security. In Australia, these communities face significant water quality problems, including both microbial and chemical contamination, which are further intensified by the impacts of climate change. Water quality assessments across regions like Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory show concerning levels of pollutants such as hardness, turbidity, fluoride, iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn), with many of these exceeding the recommended drinking water limits due to limited treatment infrastructure. In particular, several remote and Indigenous communities in Queensland report high concentrations of iron and manganese, with raw water concentrations reaching up to 13.6 mg/L for iron and 61 mg/L for manganese, both far exceeding the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) of 0.3 mg/L for iron and 0.1 mg/L for manganese. To address this, agricultural waste materials like sugarcane bagasse, sugarcane mulch, barley straw, wood shavings, chickpea stubble, and sorghum stubble provide an eco-friendly solution that supports waste reduction and contributes to the circular economy. Laboratory investigations into the use of these waste-derived materials for treating contaminated water are ongoing, with findings to be incorporated into this abstract.

Keywords: remote communities, agri-waste, Fe, Mn

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Authors: Qisheng Hu, Jianglei Han, Yue Yang, My Hoa Ha

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When a company is considering purchasing software for commercial use, contract risk assessment is critical to identify risks to mitigate the potential adverse business impact, e.g., security, financial and regulatory risks. Contract risk assessment requires reviewers with specialized knowledge and time to evaluate the legal documents manually. Specifically, validating contracts for a software vendor requires the following steps: manual screening, interpreting legal documents, and extracting risk-prone segments. To automate the process, we proposed a framework to assist legal contract document risk identification, leveraging pre-trained deep learning models and natural language processing techniques. Given a set of pre-defined risk evaluation problems, our framework utilizes the pre-trained transformer-based models for question-answering to identify risk-prone sections in a contract. Furthermore, the question-answering model encodes the concatenated question-contract text and predicts the start and end position for clause extraction. Due to the limited labelled dataset for training, we leveraged transfer learning by fine-tuning the models with the CUAD dataset to enhance the model. On a dataset comprising 287 contract documents and 2000 labelled samples, our best model achieved an F1 score of 0.687.

Keywords: contract risk assessment, NLP, transfer learning, question answering

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Ahmed A. Mohamed Aly

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Ground movements induced from excavations is a major cause of deformation and damage to the adjacent buildings and utilities. With the increasing rate of construction work in urban area, this problem is growing more significant and has become the cause of numerous legal disputes. This problem is investigated numerically in the present study using finite element method. Five-story reinforced concrete building rests on raft foundation is idealized as two dimensional model. The building is considered to be constructed adjacent to excavation affected by an adjacent excavation in medium sand. Excavation is supported using sheet pile wall. Two dimensional plane strain program PLAXIS is used in this study. 15 nodes triangular element is used to idealize soil with Mohr-Coulomb model. Five nodes isoperimetric beam element is used to idealize sheet pile and building. Interface element is used to represent the contact between beam element and soil. Two parameters were studied, the first is the foundation depth and the second is the building distance from the excavation. Nodal displacements and elements straining actions were obtained and studied from the analyzed finite element model results.

Keywords: excavation, relative distance, effective stresses, lateral deformation, relative depth

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Authors: Andrea Tundis, Carlos García Cordero, Rolf Egert, Alfredo Garro, Max Mühlhäuser

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Resilience is an important system property that relies on the ability of a system to automatically recover from a degraded state so as to continue providing its services. Resilient systems have the means of detecting faults and failures with the added capability of automatically restoring their normal operations. Mastering resilience in the domain of Cyber-Physical Systems is challenging due to the interdependence of hybrid hardware and software components, along with physical limitations, laws, regulations and standards, among others. In order to overcome these challenges, this paper presents a modeling approach, based on the concept of Dynamic Cells, tailored to the management of Smart Grids. Additionally, a heuristic algorithm that works on top of the proposed modeling approach, to find resilient configurations, has been defined and implemented. More specifically, the model supports a flexible representation of Smart Grids and the algorithm is able to manage, at different abstraction levels, the resource consumption of individual grid elements on the presence of failures and faults. Finally, the proposal is evaluated in a test scenario where the effectiveness of such approach, when dealing with complex scenarios where adequate solutions are difficult to find, is shown.

Keywords: cyber-physical systems, energy management, optimization, smart grids, self-healing, resilience, security

Procedia PDF Downloads 331

Authors: Musyimi Mbathi

Abstract:

Information regarding social, political, demographic, economic and other attributes of human settlement is important for decision makers at all levels of planning, as they have to grapple with dynamic environments often associated with settlements. At the local level, it is particularly important for both communities and urban managers to have accurate and reliable information regarding all planning attributes. Settlement mapping, in particular, informal settlements mapping in Kenya, has over the past few years been carried out using modern tools like Geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing for spatial data analysis and planning. GIS tools offer a platform for integration of spatial and non-spatial data as well as visualisation of the settlements. The capabilities offered by these tools have enabled communities to participate especially in the planning and management of new infrastructure as well as settlement upgrading. Land tenure based projects within informal settlements have also relied on GIS and related tools with considerable success. Additionally, the adoption of participatory approaches and use of geo-information tools helped to provide a basis for all inclusive planning thus promoting accountability, transparency, legitimacy, and other dimensions of governance within human settlement planning. The paper examines the context and application of geo-information tools for planning within low-income settlements of Kenya. A case study of Kiambiu settlement will be used to demonstrate how the tools have been applied for planning and decision-making purposes.

Keywords: informal settlements, GIS, governance, modern tools

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Authors: Aamir Ayub, Yasir Shehzad, Shakeel Ahmad

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This research paper aims to understand how the Pashtuns have been represented in relationship to terrorism in post-9/11 Bollywood and Lollywood movies. It focuses particularly on ‘Torbaaz’ from Bollywood and ‘Waar’ from Lollywood in order to define the nature of Pashtun characterization, the functioning of intelligence agencies, as well as the socio-political side of the represented narratives. In this research, the analytical approach developed is applied to contemplate how these films represent or fail to represent Pashtun identity, taking into consideration the cultural, historical and social dimensions. The study also aims to examine the effects of the media, particularly on the different ethnic groups’ perceptions of terrorism. In this case, it covers how the movie relates actual events in society – specifically, socio-political – to the messages in the film regarding the Pashtun people and their portrayal. Such elements may constitute the portrayal of intelligence agencies and their fight against terrorism, state-security dynamics, and the Pashtun society. In conclusion, this research paper focuses on the representation of Pashtuns in films after 9/11 and addresses the issue concerning the representation of ethnic groups in the method of the theme of terrorism. It provides ideas about the role of media in influencing the mind of the society and their attitude towards certain communities after geopolitics upheavals.

Keywords: pashtun representation, terrorism, 9/11 attacks, socio-political implications, ethnic representation in media

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Authors: Hanania Nasan Shokry Abdelmasih

Abstract:

The interface between improvement and human rights has long been the subject of scholarly debate. As an end result, a hard and fast of principles, starting from the proper improvement to a human rights-based totally technique to development, have been adopted to understand the dynamics among the two concepts. In spite of those attempts, the precise link between development and human rights is not yet fully understood. However, the inevitable interdependence between the two standards and the idea that development efforts must be made while respecting human rights have received prominence in recent years. Then again, the emergence of sustainable development as a widely spread method in development dreams and rules similarly complicates this unresolved convergence. The place of sustainable improvement inside the human rights discourse and its role in ensuring the sustainability of improvement programs require systematic research. The purpose of this newsletter is, therefore, to take a look at the relationship between development and human rights, with particular attention to the area of the standards of sustainable improvement in international human rights regulation. It's going to examine whether it recognizes the proper to achieve sustainable improvement. Hence, the Article states that the principles of sustainable improvement are diagnosed immediately or implicitly in numerous human rights devices, which is an affirmative solution to the question posed above. Therefore, this report scrutinizes worldwide and local human rights gadgets, as well as the case regulation and interpretations of human rights in our bodies, to support this speculation.

Keywords: sustainable development, human rights, the right to development, the human rights-based approach to development, environmental rights, economic development, social sustainability human rights protection, human rights violations, workers’ rights, justice, security.

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Authors: Flaviu Mihai Frigura-Lliasa, Andreea Anamaria Anghel, Attila Simo

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Due to the beauty, usefulness, science, constantly changing, constantly evolving features, and most of the time, mystery it involves, nature-based art is seen as a both modern and timeless direction that has been extensively used in design. The goal of the team's activities was to experiment with ways of fusing the two most common contemporary ways of referring to green installations, that is, either in a pure artistic or in an ecological manner, and creating a living, dynamic, interactive installation capable of both receiving and interpreting external factors, such as natural and human stimuli, that would not only determine some of the mechanism's presets. By consequent, a complex experiment made up of various research and project stages was elaborated in order to transform an idea into an actual interactive green installation within months thanks to the interaction, teamwork, and design processes undertaken throughout the academic years by both university lecturers and some of our students. The outcomes would lead to the development of a dynamic artwork called "Modgrew" as well as the introduction of experiment-based learning at the Timisoara Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, as well as at the Faculty of Electrical and Power Engineering, for the green wall automation issues.

Keywords: green design, living walls, modular structure, interactive proof of concept

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Authors: Qin Xia

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’National New District’ as a regional overall promotion of strategic thinking has become increasingly mature, but its spatial expansion is still chaotic and disorderly, so it is urgent to summarize the complex and unique driving mechanism contained in its spatial expansion to formulate sustainable urban expansion plan. Under the understanding of the general laws of the driving mechanism of China's space expansion, it is found that the existing research on the driving mechanism of the space expansion of national new districts is insufficient. The research area focuses on the research of the driving mechanism of the space expansion of a single new area. In terms of research methods, qualitative description is the main focus. In terms of research content, it is limited to the expansion speed, intensity, and area of the new district itself and does not involve the expansion and utilization efficiency of space and the spillover efficiency to surrounding cities. The specific connotations of social, economic, political, and geographical categories are not thoroughly explored. It is often a general explanation that a certain factor has promoted it. The logic is not rigorous and convincing, and the description is relatively static, with different time and space. There is less literature on scale interaction. Through the reflection on the key and difficult points of the drive mechanism of the space expansion of the national new area, it is clear that the existing research on the drive mechanism of the space expansion of the national new area should be continued to drive the sustainable expansion of space.

Keywords: national new district, space expansion, driving mechanism, existing research

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Authors: Rahul Warmoota, Aditya Bhardwaj, Steffy Angural, Monika Rana, Sunena Jassal, Neena Puri, Naveen Gupta

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Seafood processing generates large volumes of waste products such as skin, heads, tails, shells, scales, backbones, etc. Pollution due to conventional methods of seafood waste disposal causes negative implications on the environment, aquatic life, and human health. Moreover, these waste products can be used for the production of high-value products which are still untapped due to inappropriate management. Paenibacillus sp. AD is known to act on chitinolytic and proteinaceous waste and was explored for its potential to degrade various types of seafood waste in solid-state fermentation. Effective degradation of seafood waste generated from a variety of sources such as fish scales, crab shells, prawn shells, and a mixture of such wastes was observed. 30 to 40 percent degradation in terms of decrease in the mass was achieved. Along with the degradation, chitinolytic and proteolytic enzymes were produced, which can have various biotechnological applications. Apart from this, value-added products such as chitin oligosaccharides and peptides of various degrees of polymerization were also produced, which can be used for various therapeutic purposes. Results indicated that Paenibacillus sp. AD can be used for the development of a process for the infield degradation of seafood waste.

Keywords: chitin, chitin-oligosaccharides, chitinase, protease, biodegradation, crab shells, prawn shells, fish scales

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Authors: Sally J. Price, Greg F. Walker, Weiyi Liu, Craig R. Bunt

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Plastics, due to their long lifespan, are becoming more of an environmental concern once their useful life has been completed. There are a vast array of different types of plastic, and they can be found in almost every ecosystem on earth and are of particular concern in terrestrial environments where they can become incorporated into the food chain. Hence bioplastics have become more of interest to manufacturers and the public recently as they have the ability to (bio)degrade in commercial and in home composting situations. However, tools in which to quantify how they degrade in response to environmental variables are still being developed -one such approach is texture analysis using a TA.XT Texture Analyser, Stable Microsystems, was used to determine the force required to break or punch holes in standard ASTM D638 Type IV 3D printed bioplastic “dogbones” depending on the thicknesses of them. Manufacturers’ recommendations for calibrating the Texture Analyser are one such approach for standardising results; however, an independent technique using dummy dogbones and a substitute for the bioplastic was used alongside the samples. This approach was unexpectedly more valuable than realised at the start of the trial as irregular results were later discovered with the substitute material before valuable samples collected from the field were lost due to possible machine malfunction. This work will show the value of having an independent approach to machine calibration for accurate sample analysis with a Texture Analyser when analysing bioplastic samples.

Keywords: bioplastic, degradation, environment, texture analyzer

Procedia PDF Downloads 211

Authors: Jeffery Dickerson, Thaija Dickerson

Abstract:

Enterprise contract management faces persistent challenges, including inefficiencies, limited adaptability, and fragmented compliance processes. This research proposes a unified framework leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain technology, and smart contracts to transform the contract lifecycle. AI-driven probabilistic models enable predictive insights, automated compliance checks, and negotiation optimization, while blockchain enhances security and transparency through cryptographic workflows and decentralized approvals. The framework bridges centralized architectures of Web 2.0 with Web 3.0 technologies, which leverage blockchain for decentralized, trustless operations, ensuring seamless transformation and operational continuity. Smart contracts automate routine processes, enabling dynamic, programmable agreements. Validation through simulations demonstrates significant improvements, including up to a 60% reduction in contract cycle times under simulated conditions and enhanced compliance rates. Designed for scalability and adaptability, the framework supports industries such as procurement, supply chain, and finance, where secure, efficient contract management is critical. By incorporating human validation loops and aligning with sustainability goals, this study offers a scalable, innovative approach to the digital transformation of contract management.

Keywords: contract lifecycle management, artificial intelligence, blockchain, smart contracts

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Authors: E. Fathallahi Aghdam, V. Hosseini

Abstract:

Environmental pollution is not limited to a specific region or country; that is why sustainable development, as a necessary process for improvement, pays attention to issues such as destruction of natural resources, degradation of biological system, global pollution, and climate change in the world, especially in the developing countries. According to the World Health Organization, as a developing city, Tehran (capital of Iran) is one of the most polluted cities in the world in terms of air pollution. In this study, three pollutants including particulate matter less than 10 microns, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide were evaluated in Tehran using data mining techniques and through Crisp approach. The data from 21 air pollution measuring stations in different areas of Tehran were collected from 1999 to 2013. Commercial softwares Clementine was selected for this study. Tehran was divided into distinct clusters in terms of the mentioned pollutants using the software. As a data mining technique, clustering is usually used as a prologue for other analyses, therefore, the similarity of clusters was evaluated in this study through analyzing local conditions, traffic behavior, and industrial activities. In fact, the results of this research can support decision-making system, help managers improve the performance and decision making, and assist in urban studies.

Keywords: data mining, clustering, air pollution, crisp approach

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Authors: Abdon O. Makore

Abstract:

The study analyses policy and institutional implications with regard to the successful implementation of IPTS in Harare. IPTS has widely been recommended as a rich solution to chaotic public transport operations, yet studies to determine the suitability or applicability of this concept have not been done in light of the existing transport institutions and policy framework in Harare. A predominantly qualitative research approach was employed backed by a deep scrutiny of the NTP and other subsidiary legislations and plans in place so as to ascertain the views and perceptions of various stakeholders regarding the proposed concept. As such, key informant interviews, unstructured interviews, and questionnaires were vital tools in gathering data and these were effectively buttressed by observations, photography, and documentary analysis. The study revealed from a policy perspective that there are high prospects for the implementation of IPTS in Harare as the existing NTP, subsidiary legislations and plans do have provisions for the concept backed by keen interest of all responsible urban public transport authorities. However, there is lack of coherent and systematic approach among other responsible institutions, as such recommendations formulated advocated for institutional integration and strong political will for the ultimate success of the concept.

Keywords: integrated public transport system, policy, legislation, institutions

Procedia PDF Downloads 391

Authors: Raahil Sheikh, Prathamesh Minde, Priya Gujjar, Himanshu Dwivedi, Abhishek Maurya

Abstract:

UAVs have been an initial member of our environment since it's the first used by Austrian warfare in Venice. At that stage, they were just pilotless balloons equipped with bombs to be dropped on enemy territory. Over time, technological advancements allowed UAVs to be controlled remotely or autonomously. This study shall mainly focus on the intensification of pre-existing manual drones equipping them with a variety of sensors and making them autonomous, and capable, and purposing them for a variety of roles, including thermal sensing, data collection, tracking creatures, forest fires, volcano detection, hydrothermal studies, urban heat, Island measurement, and other environmental research. The system can also be used for reconnaissance, research, 3D mapping, and search and rescue missions. This study mainly focuses on automating tedious tasks and reducing human errors as much as possible, reducing deployment time, and increasing the overall efficiency, efficacy, and reliability of the UAVs. Creation of a comprehensive Ground Control System UI (GCS) enabling less trained professionals to be able to use the UAV with maximum potency. With the inclusion of such an autonomous system, artificially intelligent paths and environmental gusts and concerns can be avoided

Keywords: UAV, autonomous systems, drones, geo thermal imaging

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: Recep Sait Arpat, Hakan Güreşci

Abstract:

Emergency, disaster and crisis management terms are generally perceived as the same processes. This conflict effects the approach and delegating policy of the political order. Crisis management starts in the aftermath of the mismanagement of disaster and emergency. In the light of the information stated above in this article Turkey and United Kingdom(UK)’s crisis management systems are analyzed. This article’s main aim is to clarify the main points of the emergency management system of United Kingdom and Turkey’s disaster management system by comparing them. To do this: A prototype model of the political decision making processes of the countries is drawn, decision making mechanisms and the planning functions are compared. As a result it’s found that emergency management policy in Turkey is reactive whereas it’s proactive in UK; as the delegating policy Turkey’s system is similar to UK; levels of emergency situations are similar but not the same; the differences are stemming from the civil order and nongovernmental organizations effectiveness; UK has a detailed government engagement model to emergencies, which shapes the doctrine of the approach to emergencies, and it’s successful in gathering and controlling the whole state’s efforts; crisis management is a sub-phase of UK emergency management whereas it’s accepted as a outmoded management perception and the focal point of crisis management perception in UK is security crisis and natural disasters while in Turkey it is natural disasters. In every anlysis proposals are given to Turkey.

Keywords: crisis management, disaster management, emergency management, turkey, united kingdom

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Authors: Hanan Mohamed Khairy

Abstract:

This study used two water sources (Eastern Harbour (EH) and MaxWell (MW)) to assess suitable water sources to enhance Solea aegyptiaca aquaculture from the larval to the juvenile stage. Initially, the nutritional value of four microalgae (Chlorella salina, Tetraselmis chuii, Nannochloropsis salina, and N. oculata) was evaluated in the two water sources. When compared to EH, MW with a high nitrate level increased the algal biomass and the biochemical makeup of all species. Among the species under investigation, MW-N. salina had the highest growth and biochemical contents. It also produced Artemia franciscana, which had much higher levels of arachidonic acid (ARA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA ), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) than EH. Secondly, from 10–48 days post-hatch at a density of 15 larvae/L, Artemia-enriched MW-N salina was employed to improve S. aegyptiaca quality in both water sources. When compared to the strain raised on EH, the MW-S. aegyptiaca showed a noteworthy rise in morphometric parameters, albino percentages, and the greatest concentrations of ARA, EPA, and DHA (35.9, 6.1, and 15.9 µg/g, respectively). According to the study, MW-S. aegyptiaca albinism is caused by a high dietary and ARA content. From microalgae to S. aegyptiaca, the quality of the entire food chain is greatly influenced by the seawater supply.

Keywords: albinism, Artemia franciscana, fatty acids, microalgae, seawater sources, Solea aegyptiaca

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Authors: Rakesh Prajapati, Purvik Patel, Avadhoot Rajurkar

Abstract:

Nowadays, manufacturing industries augment their production lines with modern machining centers backed by CAM software. Several attempts are being made to cut down the programming time for machining complex geometries. Special programs/software have been developed to generate the digital numerical data and to prepare NC programs by using suitable post-processors for different machines. By selecting the tools and manufacturing process then applying tool paths and NC program are generated. More and more complex mechanical parts that earlier were being cast and assembled/manufactured by other processes are now being machined. Majority of these parts require lots of pocketing operations and find their applications in die and mold, turbo machinery, aircraft, nuclear, defense etc. Pocketing operations involve removal of large quantity of material from the metal surface. The modeling of warm cast and clamping a piece of food processing parts which the used of Pro-E and MasterCAM^® software. Pocketing operation has been specifically chosen for toolpath optimization. Then after apply Pocketing toolpath, Multi Tool Selection and Reduce Air Time give the results of software simulation time and experimental machining time.

Keywords: toolpath, part program, optimization, pocket

Procedia PDF Downloads 288

Authors: Ramin Mirzada

Abstract:

This research investigates the valuation of public transport importance in decreasing congestion and in introduction of bus rapid transit in Kabul city. The main concern and main problem of the Kabul city public transport is traffic congestion. When buses and trams are stuck in traffic jams, it is clear that they fall behind from the schedule and this cause lots of problem for Kabul residence. In this research, the main attention has been given to improve current public transport in Kabul city which Public transport has large share almost 50% share among all mode. The main purpose of this research is to improve public transport system, to examine the demand and the supply of public transport in Kabul city, and to improve public transport system by introducing Bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Kabul city. The data which is used in this research is gathered by Transport Ministry, Kabul Municipality and Japan Cooperation Agency in Afghanistan (JICA). Urban transportation modeling system (UTMS) which is also known as traditional four-step modeling is used as the methodology of this research. The outcome of this research shows that by improving public transport which is local bus system mostly congestion problem of Kabul city become solve, and for those lanes which has the high demand and has more congestion, it is needed to introduce bus rapid transit system.

Keywords: transportation, planning, public transport, bus rapid transit, Kabul, Afghanistan

Procedia PDF Downloads 491

Authors: Stephen Adeniyi Adefegha, Vitor Mostardeiro, Vera Maria Morsch, Ademir F. Morel, Ivana Beatrice Manica Da Cruz, Sabrina Somacal Maria Rosa Chitolina Schetinger

Abstract:

Moringa stenopetala is often consumed as food and used in folkloric medicine for the management of several diseases. Purpose: This study was set up in order to assess the effect of aqueous extract of Moringa stenopetala on cell viability and oxidative stress biomarkers in BV-2 microglial cells. Aqueous extracts of M. stenopetala were prepared, lyophilized and reconstituted in 0.5% dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO). Cells were treated with M. stenopetala extracts (0.1 - 100 µg/ml) for cell viability and nitric oxide (NO) production tests. However, M. stenopetala extract (50 µg/ml) was used in the treatment of cells for the determination of protein carbonyl content and reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. Incubation of BV-2 microglia cell with M. stenopetala extract maintained cell viability, diminished NO and ROS levels, and reduced protein carbonyl contents Chlorogenic acid, rutin, kaempferol and quercetin derivatives were the main phenolic compounds identified in M. stenopetala leaf extract. These phenolic compounds present in M. stenopetala may be responsible for the mitigation of oxidative stress in BV-2 microglial cells.

Keywords: oxidative stress, BV-2 microglial cell, Moringa stenopetala, cell viability, antioxidant

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Authors: Thanh Van Hoang, Tien Yin Chou, Yao Min Fang, Yi Min Huang, Xuan Linh Nguyen

Abstract:

Reliable information on the spatial distribution of annual rainfall and temperature is essential in research projects relating to urban and regional planning. This research presents results of a classification of temperature and rainfall in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam based on measurements from seven meteorological stations (Ha Nam, Hung Yen, Lang, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Phu Lien, Thai Binh) in the river basin over a thirty-years period from 1982-2011. The average accumulated rainfall trends in the delta are analysed and form the basis of research essential to weather and climate forecasting. This study employs interpolation based on the Kriging Method for daily rainfall (min and max) and daily temperature (min and max) in order to improve the understanding of sources of variation and uncertainly in these important meteorological parameters. To the Kriging method, the results will show the different models and the different parameters based on the various precipitation series. The results provide a useful reference to assist decision makers in developing smart agriculture strategies for the Red River Delta in Vietnam.

Keywords: spatial interpolation method, ArcGIS, temperature variability, rainfall variability, Red River Delta, Vietnam

Procedia PDF Downloads 333