Search results for: growth and yield characters

Authors: Sinan Yapici, Hayrettin Eroglu

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The discharge of the aqueous radionuclides wastes used for the diagnoses of diseases and treatments of patients in nuclear medicine can cause fatal health problems when the radionuclides and its stable daughter component mix with underground water. Tl-201, which is one of the radionuclides commonly used in the nuclear medicine, is a toxic substance and is converted to its stable daughter component Hg-201, which is also a poisonous heavy metal: Tl201 → Hg201 + Gamma Ray [135-167 Kev (12%)] + X Ray [69-83 Kev (88%)]; t1/2 = 73,1 h. The purpose of the present work was to remove Tl-201 radionuclides from aqueous solution by biosorption on the solid bio wastes of food and cosmetic industry as bio sorbents of prina from an olive oil plant, rose residue from a rose oil plant and tea residue from a tea plant, and to make a comparison of the biosorption efficiencies. The effects of the biosorption temperature, initial pH of the aqueous solution, bio sorbent dose, particle size and stirring speed on the biosorption yield were investigated in a batch process. It was observed that the biosorption is a rapid process with an equilibrium time less than 10 minutes for all the bio sorbents. The efficiencies were found to be close to each other and measured maximum efficiencies were 93,30 percent for rose residue, 94,1 for prina and 98,4 for tea residue. In a temperature range of 283 and 313 K, the adsorption decreased with increasing temperature almost in a similar way. In a pH range of 2-10, increasing pH enhanced biosorption efficiency up to pH=7 and then the efficiency remained constant in a similar path for all the biosorbents. Increasing stirring speed from 360 to 720 rpm enhanced slightly the biosorption efficiency almost at the same ratio for all bio sorbents. Increasing particle size decreased the efficiency for all biosorbent; however the most negatively effected biosorbent was prina with a decrease in biosorption efficiency from about 84 percent to 40 with an increase in the nominal particle size 0,181 mm to 1,05 while the least effected one, tea residue, went down from about 97 percent to 87,5. The biosorption efficiencies of all the bio sorbents increased with increasing biosorbent dose in the range of 1,5 to 15,0 g/L in a similar manner. The fit of the experimental results to the adsorption isotherms proved that the biosorption process for all the bio sorbents can be represented best by Freundlich model. The kinetic analysis showed that all the processes fit very well to pseudo second order rate model. The thermodynamics calculations gave ∆G values between -8636 J mol-1 and -5378 for tea residue, -5313 and -3343 for rose residue, and -5701 and -3642 for prina with a ∆H values of -39516 J mol-1, -23660 and -26190, and ∆S values of -108.8 J mol-1 K-1, -64,0, -72,0 respectively, showing spontaneous and exothermic character of the processes. An empirical biosorption model in the following form was derived for each biosorbent as function of the parameters and time, taking into account the form of kinetic model, with regression coefficients over 0.9990 where At is biosorbtion efficiency at any time and Ae is the equilibrium efficiency, t is adsorption period as s, ko a constant, pH the initial acidity of biosorption medium, w the stirring speed as s-1, S the biosorbent dose as g L-1, D the particle size as m, and a, b, c, and e are the powers of the parameters, respectively, E a constant containing activation energy and T the temperature as K.

Keywords: radiation, diosorption, thallium, empirical modelling

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Authors: Esther Van Andel, Stefanie C. Lange, Maarten M. J. Smulders, Han Zuilhof

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False outcomes of diagnostic tests are a major concern in medical health care. To improve the reliability of surface-based diagnostic tests, it is of crucial importance to diminish background signals that arise from the non-specific binding of biomolecules, a process called fouling. The aim is to create surfaces that repel all biomolecules except the molecule of interest. This can be achieved by incorporating antifouling protein repellent coatings in between the sensor surface and it’s recognition elements (e.g. antibodies, sugars, aptamers). Zwitterionic polymer brushes are considered excellent antifouling materials, however, to be able to bind the molecule of interest, the polymer brushes have to be functionalized and so far this was only achieved at the expense of either antifouling or binding capacity. To overcome this limitation, we combined both features into one single monomer: a zwitterionic sulfobetaine, ensuring antifouling capabilities, equipped with a clickable azide moiety which allows for further functionalization. By copolymerizing this monomer together with a standard sulfobetaine, the number of azides (and with that the number of recognition elements) can be tuned depending on the application. First, the clickable azido-monomer was synthesized and characterized, followed by copolymerizing this monomer to yield functionalizable antifouling brushes. The brushes were fully characterized using surface characterization techniques like XPS, contact angle measurements, G-ATR-FTIR and XRR. As a proof of principle, the brushes were subsequently functionalized with biotin via strain-promoted alkyne azide click reactions, which yielded a fully zwitterionic biotin-containing 3D-functionalized coating. The sensing capacity was evaluated by reflectometry using avidin and fibrinogen containing protein solutions. The surfaces showed excellent antifouling properties as illustrated by the complete absence of non-specific fibrinogen binding, while at the same time clear responses were seen for the specific binding of avidin. A great increase in signal-to-noise ratio was observed, even when the amount of functional groups was lowered to 1%, compared to traditional modification of sulfobetaine brushes that rely on a 2D-approach in which only the top-layer can be functionalized. This study was performed on stoichiometric silicon nitride surfaces for future microring resonator based assays, however, this methodology can be transferred to other biosensor platforms which are currently being investigated. The approach presented herein enables a highly efficient strategy for selective binding with retained antifouling properties for improved signal-to-noise ratios in binding assays. The number of recognition units can be adjusted to a specific need, e.g. depending on the size of the analyte to be bound, widening the scope of these functionalizable surface coatings.

Keywords: antifouling, signal-to-noise ratio, surface functionalization, zwitterionic polymer brushes

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Authors: J. Martin, A. Dannenberg, G. Detrell, R. Ewald, S. Fasoulas

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Microalgae-based photobioreactors (PBR) for Life Support Systems (LSS) are currently being investigated for future space missions such as a crewed base on planets or moons. Biological components may help reducing resupply masses by closing material mass flows with the help of regenerative components. Via photosynthesis, the microalgae use CO₂, water, light and nutrients to provide oxygen and biomass for the astronauts. These capabilities could have synergies with Earth applications that tackle current problems and the developed technologies can be transferred. For example, a current worldwide discussed issue is the increased nitrate and phosphate pollution of ground water from agricultural waste waters. To investigate the potential use of a biological system based on the ability of the microalgae to extract and use nitrate and phosphate for the treatment of polluted ground water from agricultural applications, a scalable test stand is being developed. This test stand investigates the maximization of intake rates of nitrate and quantifies the produced biomass and oxygen. To minimize the required energy, for the uptake of nitrate from artificial waste water (AWW) the Flashing Light Effect (FLE) and the adaption of the illumination spectrum were realized. This paper describes the composition of the AWW, the development of the illumination unit and the possibility of non-invasive process optimization and control via the adaption of the illumination spectrum and illumination cycles. The findings were a doubling of the energy related growth rate by adapting the illumination setting.

Keywords: microalgae, illumination, nitrate uptake, flashing light effect

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Authors: Blanca A. Pichardo, Victor H. Lopez, Melchor Salazar, Rafael Garcia, Alberto Ruiz

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Clad pipes in comparison to plain carbon steel pipes offer the oil and gas industry high corrosion resistance, reduction in economic losses due to pipeline failures and maintenance, lower labor risk, prevent pollution and environmental damage due to hydrocarbons spills caused by deteriorated pipelines. In this context, it is paramount to establish reliable welding procedures to join bimetallic plates or pipes. Thus, the aim of this work is to study the microstructure and mechanical behavior of clad plates welded by the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process. A clad of 316L stainless steel was deposited onto API 5L X-60 plates by overlay welding with the GMAW process. Welding parameters were, 22.5 V, 271 A, heat input 1,25 kJ/mm, shielding gas 98% Ar + 2% O₂, reverse polarity, torch displacement speed 3.6 mm/s, feed rate 120 mm/s, electrode diameter 1.2 mm and application of an electromagnetic field of 3.5 mT. The overlay welds were subjected to macro-structural and microstructural characterization. After manufacturing the clad plates, a single V groove joint was machined with a 60° bevel and 1 mm root face. GMA welding of the bimetallic plates was performed in four passes with ER316L-Si filler for the root pass and an ER70s-6 electrode for the subsequent welding passes. For joining the clad plates, an electromagnetic field was applied with 2 purposes; to improve the microstructural characteristics and to assist the stability of the electric arc during welding in order to avoid magnetic arc blow. The welds were macro and microstructurally characterized and the mechanical properties were also evaluated. Vickers microhardness (100 g load for 10 s) measurements were made across the welded joints at three levels. The first profile, at the 316L stainless steel cladding, was quite even with a value of approximately 230 HV. The second microhardness profile showed high values in the weld metal, ~400 HV, this was due to the formation of a martensitic microstructure by dilution of the first welding pass with the second. The third profile crossed the third and fourth welding passes and an average value of 240 HV was measured. In the tensile tests, yield strength was between 400 to 450 MPa with a tensile strength of ~512 MPa. In the Charpy impact tests, the results were 86 and 96 J for specimens with the notch in the face and in the root of the weld bead, respectively. The results of the mechanical properties were in the range of the API 5L X-60 base material. The overlap welding process used for cladding is not suitable for large components, however, it guarantees a metallurgical bond, unlike the most commonly used processes such as thermal expansion. For welding bimetallic plates, control of the temperature gradients is key to avoid distortions. Besides, the dissimilar nature of the bimetallic plates gives rise to the formation of a martensitic microstructure during welding.

Keywords: clad pipe, dissimilar welding, gas metal arc welding, magnetic fields

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Authors: Sony Baral, Harald Vacik

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This study analyzes the sustainability of community forest management in two community forests in Terai and Hills of Nepal, representing four forest types: 1) Shorearobusta, 2) Terai hardwood, 3) Schima-Castanopsis, and 4) other Hills. The sustainability goals for this region include maintaining and enhancing the forest stocks. Considering this, we analysed changes in species composition, stand density, growing stock volume, and growth-to-removal ratio at 3-5 year intervals from 2005-2016 within 109 permanent forest plots (57 in the Terai and 52 in the Hills). To complement inventory data, forest users, forest committee members, and forest officials were consulted. The results indicate that the relative representation of economically valuable tree species has increased. Based on trends in stand density, both forests are being sustainably managed. Pole-sized trees dominated the diameter distribution, however, with a limited number of mature trees and declined regeneration. The forests were over-harvested until 2013 but under-harvested in the recent period in the Hills. In contrast, both forest types were under-harvested throughout the inventory period in the Terai. We found that the ecological dimension of sustainable forest management is strongly achieved while the economic dimension is lacking behind the current potential. Thus, we conclude that maintaining a large number of trees in the forest does not necessarily ensure both ecological and economical sustainability. Instead, priority should be given on a rational estimation of the annual harvest rates to enhance forest resource conditions together with regular benefits to the local communities.

Keywords: community forests, diversity, growing stock, forest management, sustainability, nepal

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Authors: O. U. Nwosu, C. O. Osuagwu, N. Nnawugwu, C. T. Amanze

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Phytoremediation is a green and sustainable approach to decontaminate and restore contaminated sites while maintaining the biological activity and physical structure of soils. A pot experiment was conducted for a period of 70 days to evaluate the remediation potentials of Vetiveira zizanioides, Heianthus annuus L., Zea mays, and Glycine max in concurrent removal of anthracene and Pb in co-contaminated soil. Sandy loam soils were polluted with Pb chloride salt and anthracene at three different levels (50mg/kg of Pb, 100mg/kg of Pb, and 100mg/kg of Pb+100mg/kg of anthracene) and laid out in a completely randomized design with three replicates. Shoot dry matter weight was significantly reduced (p≤0.05) in comparison to control treatments by 33%, 32%, 40%, and 6.7% when exposed to 100mg kg⁻¹ of Pb, respectively in G.max, H.annuus, Z.mays, and vetiver. There was 42%, 41%, 48%, and 7.1% growth inhibition of shoot dry matter weight of G.max, H.annuus, Z.mays, and vetiver relative to control treatments when 100 mg Pb kg⁻¹ was mixed with 100 mgkg⁻¹ anthracene. Root and shoot metal concentration in G.max, H.annuus, Z.mays, and vetiver increased with increasing concentration of Pb. Translocation factor (TF < 1) obtained for G.max, Z.mays, and vetiver suggests that these plant species predominantly retain Pb in the root portion, while the TF value (TF≥1) obtained for H.annuus suggests that it predominantly retains Pb in the shoot portion. The extractable anthracene decreased significantly (p ≤ 0.05) in soil planted with G.max, H.annuus, Z.mays, and vetiver, as well as in pots without plants. This accounted for 53% to 71% of anthracene dissipation in planted soil and 40% dissipation in unplanted soil. This result suggested that the plant species used are a promising candidate for phytoremediation.

Keywords: phytoremediation, heavy metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbon, co-contaminated soil

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Authors: Adedayo Johnson Ogungbile, Ayodeji Emmanuel Oke, Oluwaseyi Alabi Awodele

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This study examines the role of emotional intelligence (EI) as a predictor of job satisfaction within the Nigerian construction industry. Utilizing a methodology that combines mean comparison and correlation analysis, the research explores how EI influences job satisfaction across diverse demographic and professional categories. The construction industry, known for its dynamic and often challenging work environment, provides a unique context to investigate how EI contributes to employee satisfaction. The findings reveal a significant positive correlation between EI and job satisfaction across the industry. Gender-based analysis shows that male employees typically report higher EI and job satisfaction levels compared to their female counterparts, although the impact of EI on job satisfaction is more substantial among women. The study further explores the relationship between trait EI and specific job satisfaction categories, identifying a general positive association with overall job satisfaction but not with supervisor-related satisfaction. Employees are categorized into four EI classes, consistently showing that higher EI levels correspond to greater job satisfaction. These findings align with existing literature, underscoring EI's pivotal role in enhancing job satisfaction in the construction sector. The study concludes that fostering EI among construction industry professionals can lead to improved job satisfaction and performance. Consequently, organizations are encouraged to integrate EI development into their professional growth programs to cultivate a more satisfied and effective workforce. In essence, this research highlights the importance of EI as a key predictor of job satisfaction in the Nigerian construction industry, providing valuable insights for both industry stakeholders and researchers into the benefits of prioritizing emotional intelligence in this high-stakes environment.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, job satisfaction, construction industry, workforce productivity, demographics

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Authors: Cristina Costescu, Carmen David, Adrian Roșan

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Executive functions (EF) and emotion regulation strategies are processes that allow individuals to function in an adaptative way and to be goal-oriented, which is essential for success in daily living activities, at school, or in social contexts. The Emotion Regulation and Executive Functioning Scale for Children and Adolescents (REMEX) represents an empirically based tool (based on the model of EF developed by Diamond) for evaluating significant dimensions of child and adolescent EFs and emotion regulation strategies, mainly in school contexts. The instrument measures the following dimensions: working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, executive attention, planning, emotional control, and emotion regulation strategies. Building the instrument involved not only a top-down process, as we selected the content in accordance with prominent models of FE, but also a bottom-up one, as we were able to identify valid contexts in which FE and ER are put to use. For the construction of the instrument, we implemented three focus groups with teachers and other professionals since the aim was to develop an accurate, objective, and ecological instrument. We used the focus group method in order to address each dimension and to yield a bank of items to be further tested. Each dimension is addressed through a task that the examiner will apply and through several items derived from the main task. For the validation of the instrument, we plan to use item response theory (IRT), also known as the latent response theory, that attempts to explain the relationship between latent traits (unobservable cognitive processes) and their manifestations (i.e., observed outcomes, responses, or performance). REMEX represents an ecological scale that integrates a current scientific understanding of emotion regulation and EF and is directly applicable to school contexts, and it can be very useful for developing intervention protocols. We plan to test his convergent validity with the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI) and Emotion Dysregulation Inventory (EDI) and divergent validity between a group of typically developing children and children with neurodevelopmental disorders, aged between 6 and 9 years old. In a previous pilot study, we enrolled a sample of 40 children with autism spectrum disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder aged 6 to 12 years old, and we applied the above-mentioned scales (CHEXI and EDI). Our results showed that deficits in planning, bebavior regulation, inhibition, and working memory predict high levels of emotional reactivity, leading to emotional and behavioural problems. Considering previous results, we expect our findings to provide support for the validity and reliability of the REMEX version as an ecological instrument for assessing emotion regulation and EF in children and for key features of its uses in intervention protocols.

Keywords: executive functions, emotion regulation, children, item response theory, focus group

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Authors: Michele Romanello

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COVID-19 has spread rapidly in Brazil since March 2020, making the country one of the most affected in the world by the pandemic. From an economic point of view, Brazil came from a pre-pandemic period characterized by low or negative growth, with a resulting increase in the number of unemployed and informal workers. This paper considers lockdown implementation in the situation of the large presence of informality in the economy. The objective of the paper is to analyze how the country has tried to help workers affected by economic crisis after the implementation of measures against COVID-19 and whether the emergency assistance from the government has been adequate to contain the increase of informal workers and unemployed. The methodology used in this paper is survival analysis. Through this methodology, the formality – informality, and informality – unemployment transitions are analyzed. This analysis draws data from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Continuous PNAD) and from the National Household Sample Survey COVID-19 (PNAD COVID-19) covering the period of January 2020 – July 2020. The results indicate that emergency aid has been not sufficient to reduce the transitions of workers from formal to informal jobs and from informal jobs to unemployment. Emergency aid has been not sufficient considering the previous situation of the country, with levels of poverty and inequality very high. In the next months, another fundamental determinant of the income trajectory in the context of the COVID-19 crisis will be the continuity of the emergency aid, especially considering the fiscal adjustment policy pursued by the government. Therefore, the current negative portrait may be even worse in the coming months.

Keywords: Brazil, COVID-19, informality, survival analysis

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Authors: Guang Zou, Kian Banisoleiman, Arturo González

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Crack initiation and propagation threatens structural integrity of welded joints and normally inspections are assigned based on crack propagation models. However, the approach based on crack propagation models may not be applicable for some high-quality welded joints, because the initial flaws in them may be so small that it may take long time for the flaws to develop into a detectable size. This raises a concern regarding the inspection planning of high-quality welded joins, as there is no generally acceptable approach for modeling the whole fatigue process that includes the crack initiation period. In order to address the issue, this paper reviews treatment methods for crack initiation period and initial crack size in crack propagation models applied to inspection planning. Generally, there are four approaches, by: 1) Neglecting the crack initiation period and fitting a probabilistic distribution for initial crack size based on statistical data; 2) Extrapolating the crack propagation stage to a very small fictitious initial crack size, so that the whole fatigue process can be modeled by crack propagation models; 3) Assuming a fixed detectable initial crack size and fitting a probabilistic distribution for crack initiation time based on specimen tests; and, 4) Modeling the crack initiation and propagation stage separately using small crack growth theories and Paris law or similar models. The conclusion is that in view of trade-off between accuracy and computation efforts, calibration of a small fictitious initial crack size to S-N curves is the most efficient approach.

Keywords: crack initiation, fatigue reliability, inspection planning, welded joints

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Authors: Justina Ijeoma Ezebuwa, Catherine C. Ikewuchi, Eka B. Essien, Francis C. Anacletus

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Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a significant problem in Nigeria, especially in children under five. Intervention options for treating anemia in under-five children have also been the subject of research. This study aims to synthesize the evidence on dietary interventions for managing iron deficiency anemia in under-five children in Nigeria. This study uses a systematic review method to collect relevant studies to answer the research questions and a narrative synthesis to analyze and synthesize the findings of this study. Cochrane, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases were thoroughly searched, and five (5) articles were selected for this study. The results show that dietary interventions, such as daily multi-nutrient fortified dairy-based drinks, biofortified (yellow/ white) cassava rich in pro-vitamin A, iron supplementation in foods, and ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) may be relevant to the management of iron deficiency anemia in under-five children in Nigeria. The study also shows that daily multi-nutrient fortified dairy-based drinks may be more effective, feasible, and culturally acceptable for managing anemia in under-5 children in Nigeria. In addition, daily multi-nutrient fortified dairy-based drinks and ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) were reported to have the potential to improve the growth, cognitive development, and overall health outcomes of under-five children with iron deficiency anemia in Nigeria. Recommendations for future studies in this research area and for public health practitioners and policymakers were provided.

Keywords: dietary intervention, iron deficiency anemia, under-five children, Nigeria

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Authors: Saidou Hassidou, Laminou Ary Mahaman Moustapha

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Uncontrolled urbanization of African cities, plus the lack of municipal waste management services in these cities, generate landscapes become places of multiple and varied interactions between health and environment. In this sense, under strong urban growth in a context of sub-equipment sanitation, the city of Maradi doesn’t escape to this situation which results in the spread of pollution (release of unpleasant odors, proliferation of mosquitoes) and many diseases posing multiple health problems. Our study focuses only on liquid waste especially domestic wastewater. To study the different domestic wastewater management options in the town of Maradi, a survey was conducted among 340 households in 17 districts. We note in most cases a crucial of waste management infrastructure (drainage and wastewater treatment) at the city. Thus, only the individual sanitation facilities are used. In the town of Maradi, in addition to the storm drains, there are, in old districts, ditches that discharge wastewater and unfortunately end up in rivers without treatment. Domestic wastewater total production is estimated at 86,761.28 m3 per day. This water is mostly from laundry activities, bathing, dishes, and is discharged in large part through the streets, by more than 60% of households. Also, pit emptying is performed at 39.11% by the vehicle Peugeot tank. The quality of service rendered by an actor is very important to encourage households to join. Existing autonomous sanitation facilities are poorly designed and poorly maintained. Fecal sludge is dumped in a hole near saturated latrines; this work is mainly done by manual scavengers or dumped in fields or on nearby vacant land concessions.

Keywords: management, urban wastewater, domestic wastewater, Maradi, Niger

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Authors: Negar Zaheddoust, Negin Zaheddoust, Abbas Asoudeh-Fard

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Probiotic bacteria have been employed as a novel and less side-effect strategy for anticancer therapy. Since the oral cavity is a host for probiotic and pathogen bacteria to colonize, more investigation is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this novel adjunctive treatment for oral cancer. We considered Lactobacillus plantarum as a probiotic and Streptococcus mutans as a pathogen bacterium in our study. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of Lactobacillus plantarum and Streptococcus mutans on Casp3, AKT / PTEN, and MAPK signaling pathway, which is involved in apoptosis or survival of oral cancer KB cells. On the other hand, to study the effects of these bacteria on normal cells, we used HUVEC cells. The KB and HUVEC cell lines were co-cultured with Lactobacillus plantarum and Streptococcus mutans isolated from traditional Iranian dairy and dental plaque, respectively. The growth-inhibitory effects of these two bacteria on KB and HUVEC cells were determined by (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5diphenyltetrazolium bromide) MTT assay. MTT results demonstrated that the proliferation of KB cells was affected in a time, dose, and strain-dependent manner. In the following, the examination of induced apoptosis or necrosis in co-cultured KB cells with the best IC50 concentration of the Lactobacillus plantarum and Streptococcus mutans will be analyzed by FACS flow cytometry, and the changes in gene expression of Casp3, AKT / PTEN, MAPK genes will be evaluated using real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Keywords: cancer therapy, induced apoptosis, oral cancer, probiotics

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Authors: Syeda Fahria Hoque Mimmi, Aparna Islam

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Genetically engineered (GE) plants are the need of time for increased demand for food. A complete set of regulations need to be followed from the development of a GE plant to its release into the environment. The whole regulation system is categorized into separate stages for maintaining the proper biosafety. Environmental risk assessment (ERA) is one of such crucial stages in the whole process. ERA identifies potential risks and their impacts through science-based evaluation where it is done in a case-by-case study. All the countries which deal with GE plants follow specific guidelines to conduct a successful ERA. In this study, ERA guidelines of 4 developing and 4 developed countries, including Bangladesh, were compared. ERA guidelines of countries such as India, Canada, Australia, the European Union, Argentina, Brazil, and the US were considered as a model to conduct the comparison study with Bangladesh. Initially, ten parameters were detected to compare the required data and information among all the guidelines. Surprisingly, an adequate amount of data and information requirements (e.g., if the intended modification/new traits of interest has been achieved or not, the growth habit of GE plants, consequences of any potential gene flow upon the cultivation of GE plants to sexually compatible plant species, potential adverse effects on the human health, etc.) matched between all the countries. However, a few differences in data requirement (e.g., agronomic conventions of non-transformed plants, applicants should clearly describe experimental procedures followed, etc.) were also observed in the study. Moreover, it was found that only a few countries provide instructions on the quality of the data used for ERA. If these similarities are recognized in a more framed manner, then the approval pathway of GE plants can be shared.

Keywords: GE plants, ERA, harmonization, ERA guidelines, Information and data requirements

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Authors: Noraziah Nordin, Najihah Mohd Hashim, Nazia Abdul Majid, Mashitoh Abdul Rahman, Hamed Karimian, Hapipah Mohd Ali

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Enicosanthellum pulchrum belongs to family Annonaceae is also known as family of 'mempisang' in Malaysia. Liriodenine was isolated by prep-HPLC method. This method was first technique used for the isolation of this compound. The structure of the liriodenine was elucidated by 1D and 2D spectroscopy techniques. Liriodenine was tested on ovarian cancer cells line (CAOV-3) for MTT, AO/PI and cytotoxicity 3 assays. The MTT assay was performed to determine the cytotoxicity effect of lirodenine on CAOV-3 cells. The morphological changes on CAOV-3 cells were observed by AO/PI assay for the early and late stage of apoptosis, as well as necrosis. Meanwhile, the measurement of cell loss, nuclear morphology, DNA content, cell membrane permeability, mitochondrial membrane potential changes and cytochrome c release from mitochondria were detected through cytotoxicity 3 assay. The IC50 results showed liriodenine inhibits the growth of CAOV-3 cells after 24 h of treatment at 10.25 ± 1.06 µg/mL. After 48 and 72 h of treatments, the IC50 values were decreased to 7.65 ± 0:07 and 6.35 ± 1.62 µg/mL, respectively. The morphology changes can be seen on CAOV-3 with a production of cell membrane blebbing, cromatin condensation and apoptotic bodies with increasing time of treatment from 24 to 72 h. Evaluation of cytotoxicity 3 on CAOV-3 cells after treated with liriodenine, resulting loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and release of cytochrome c from mitochondria. The results demonstrated the capability of liriodenine as a promising anticancer agent, particularly on human ovarian cancer.

Keywords: Enicosanthellum pulchrum, ovarian cancer, apoptosis, cytotoxicity

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Authors: Juan Patricio Ibáñez, Exequiel López

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A method for synthesizing copper nanoparticles through an electrochemical approach is proposed, employing surfactants to stabilize the size of the newly formed nanoparticles. The electrolyte was made up of a matrix of H₂SO₄ (190 g/L) having Cu²⁺ (from 3.2 to 9.5 g/L), sodium dodecyl sulfate -SDS- (from 0.5 to 1.0 g/L) and Tween 80 (from 0 to 7.5 mL/L). Tween 80 was used in a molar relation of 1 to 1 with SDS. A glass cell was used, which was in a thermostatic water bath to keep the system temperature, and the electrodes were cathodic copper as an anode and stainless steel 316-L as a cathode. This process was influenced by the control exerted through the initial copper concentration in the electrolyte and the applied current density. Copper nanoparticles of electrolytic purity, exhibiting a spherical morphology of varying sizes with low dispersion, were successfully produced, contingent upon the chemical composition of the electrolyte and current density. The minimum size achieved was 3.0 nm ± 0.9 nm, with an average standard deviation of 2.2 nm throughout the entire process. The deposited copper mass ranged from 0.394 g to 1.848 g per hour (over an area of 25 cm²), accompanied by an average Faradaic efficiency of 30.8% and an average specific energy consumption of 4.4 kWh/kg. The chemical analysis of the product employed X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), while physical characteristics such as size and morphology were assessed using atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was identified that the initial concentration of copper and the current density are the variables defining the size and dispersion of the nanoparticles, as they serve as reactants in the cathodic half-reaction. The presence of surfactants stabilizes the nanoparticle size as their molecules adsorb onto the nanoparticle surface, forming a thick barrier that prevents mass transfer with the exterior and halts further growth.

Keywords: copper nanopowder, electrochemical synthesis, current density, surfactant stabilizer

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Authors: A. Reum Son, Jin Seon Kwon, Seung Hun Park, Hai Bang Lee, Moon Suk Kim

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These days, stem cell therapy is focused on for promising source of treatment in clinical human disease. As a supporter of stem cells, in situ-forming hydrogels with growth factors and cells appear to be a promising approach in tissue engineering. To examine osteogenic differentiation of hTMSCs which is one of mesenchymal stem cells in vivo in an injectable hydrogel, we use a methoxy polyethylene glycol-polycaprolactone blockcopolymer (MPEG-PCL) solution with osteogenic factors. We synthesized MPEG-PCL hydrogel and measured viscosity to check sol-gel transition. In order to demonstrate osteogenic ability of hTMSCs, we conducted in vitro osteogenesis experiment. Then, to confirm the cell cytotoxicity, we performed WST-1 with hTMSCs and MPEG-PCL. As the result of in vitro experiment, we implanted cell and hydrogel mixture into animal model and checked degree of osteogenesis with histological analysis and amount of expression genes. Through these experimental data, MPEG-PCL hydrogel has sol-gel transition in temperature change and is biocompatible with stem cells. In histological analysis and gene expression, hTMSCs are very good source of osteogenesis with hydrogel and will use it to tissue engineering as important treatment method. hTMSCs could be a good adult stem cell source for usability of isolation and high proliferation. When hTMSCs are used as cell therapy method with in situ-formed hydrogel, they may provide various benefits like a noninvasive alternative for bone tissue engineering applications.

Keywords: injectable hydrogel, stem cell, osteogenic differentiation, tissue engineering

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Authors: Pixiang Wang, Shaoyang Liu, Yucheng Peng

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Polypropylene (PP) is an essential material of numerous applications in different industrial sectors, including packaging, construction, and automotive. Because the application of homopolypropylene (HPP) is limited by its relatively low impact strength and high embrittlement temperature, various types of impact copolymer PP (ICPP) that incorporate elastomers/rubbers into HPP to increase impact strength have been successfully commercialized. Crystallization kinetics of an isotactic HPP, an ICPP, and their composites were studied in this work understand the composites’ behaviors better. The Avrami-Jeziorny model was used to describe the crystallization process. For most samples, the Avrami exponent, n, was greater than 3, indicating the crystal grew in three dimensions with spherical geometry. However, the n value could drop below 3 when the ICPP content was 80 wt.% or higher and the cooling rate was 7.5°C/min or lower, implying that the crystals could grow in two dimensions and some lamella structures could be formed under those conditions. The nucleation activity increased with the increase of the ICPP content, demonstrating that the rubber phase in the ICPP acted as a nucleation agent and facilitated the nucleation process. The decrease in crystallization rate after the ICPP content exceeded 60 wt.% might be caused by the excessive amount of crystal nuclei induced by the high ICPP content, which caused strong crystal-crystal interactions and limited the crystal growth space. The nucleation activity and the n value showed high correlations to the mechanical and thermal properties of the materials. The quantitative study of the kinetics of crystallization in this work could be a helpful reference for manufacturing ICPP and HPP/ICPP mixtures.

Keywords: polypropylene, crystallization kinetics, Avrami-Jeziorny model, crystallization activation energy, Nucleation activity

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Authors: Chaitanya H. Acharya, Pavan Kumar P., Gopalakrishna Narayana

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In the realm of aerodynamics, numerous vehicles incorporate moving components to enhance their performance. For instance, airliners deploy hydraulically operated flaps and ailerons during take-off and landing, while Formula 1 racing cars utilize hydraulic tubes and actuators for various components, including the Drag Reduction System (DRS). The DRS, consisting of a rear wing and adjustable flaps, plays a crucial role in overtaking manoeuvres. The DRS has two positions: the default position with the flaps down, providing high downforce, and the lifted position, which reduces drag, allowing for increased speed and aiding in overtaking. Swift deployment of the DRS during races is essential for overtaking competitors. The fluid flow over the rear wing flap becomes intricate during deployment, involving flow reversal and operational changes, leading to unsteady flow physics that significantly influence aerodynamic characteristics. Understanding the drag and downforce during DRS deployment is crucial for determining race outcomes. While experiments can yield accurate aerodynamic data, they can be expensive and challenging to conduct across varying speeds. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) emerges as a cost-effective solution to predict drag and downforce across a range of speeds, especially with the rapid deployment of the DRS. This study employs the finite volume-based solver Ansys Fluent, incorporating dynamic mesh motions and a turbulent model to capture the complex flow phenomena associated with the moving rear wing flap. A dedicated section for the rare wing-flap is considered in the present simulations, and the aerodynamics of these sections closely resemble S1223 aerofoils. Before delving into the simulations of the rare wing-flap aerofoil, numerical results undergo validation using experimental data from an NLR flap aerofoil case, encompassing different flap angles at two distinct angles of attack was carried out. The increase in flap angle as increase in lift and drag is observed for a given angle of attack. The simulation methodology for the rare-wing-flap aerofoil case involves specific time durations before lifting the flap. During this period, drag and downforce values are determined as 330 N and 1800N, respectively. Following the flap lift, a noteworthy reduction in drag to 55 % and a decrease in downforce to 17 % are observed. This understanding is critical for making instantaneous decisions regarding the deployment of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) at specific speeds, thereby influencing the overall performance of the Formula 1 racing car. Hence, this work emphasizes the utilization of dynamic mesh motion methodology to predict the aerodynamic characteristics during the deployment of the DRS in a Formula 1 racing car.

Keywords: DRS, CFD, drag, downforce, dynamics mesh motion

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Authors: Wendu Admasu, Assefa Sintayehu, Alemu Gezahgne, Zewdu Terefework

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Eucalyptus is the most widely planted forest tree species in the world. In Ethiopia, pathogenic fungi pose an increasing threat to Eucalyptus species. Due to limited research, there is insufficient information on the associated diseases and pathogens. This study investigated Eucalyptus diseases, the extent of their damage, and the causal fungal pathogens. A Eucalyptus disease survey was conducted in the Eucalyptus forestry areas of Ethiopia during the growth years 2019/20 and 2020/21. Disease assessment and sampling were carried out in eighteen plantations at nine locations. E. camaldulensis was the most dominant species planted in the surveyed areas. The field study shows a high incidence and severity of canker diseases. Diseased stem and branch samples were collected, cultured on malt extract agar media and studied. The results of morphological and ITS sequence analysis confirmed that the fungal species Neofusicoccum parvum, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, and Aplosporella hesperidica caused the observed canker symptoms. This is the first report of Lasiodiplodia theobromae and Aplosporella hesperidica causing diseases in Eucalyptus plants in Ethiopia. Changes in global climate and environmental factors, such as altitude, are believed to have a strong impact on the susceptibility of Eucalyptus plants to diseases. Strict quarantine practices and continuous monitoring of pathogenic and endophytic fungal species associated with Eucalyptus trees are issued to be prioritized to effectively control and manage the disease.

Keywords: Neofusicoccum, Lasiodiplodia, Aplosporella, pathogenicity, phylogeny, severity

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Authors: Derejaw Lake Melie, Alemu Kumlachew Tegegne

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The increasing prevalence of social media in Ethiopia has exacerbated societal challenges by fostering the proliferation of negative emotional posts and comments. Illicit use of social media has further exacerbated divisions among the population. Addressing these issues through manual identification and aggregation of emotions from millions of users for swift decision-making poses significant challenges, particularly given the rapid growth of Amharic language usage on social platforms. Consequently, there is a critical need to develop an intelligent system capable of automatically detecting and categorizing negative emotional content into social, religious, and political categories while also filtering out toxic online content. This paper aims to leverage sentiment analysis techniques to achieve automatic detection and filtering of negative emotional content from Amharic social media texts, employing a comparative study of deep learning algorithms. The study utilized a dataset comprising 29,962 comments collected from social media platforms using comment exporter software. Data pre-processing techniques were applied to enhance data quality, followed by the implementation of deep learning methods for training, testing, and evaluation. The results showed that CNN, GRU, LSTM, and Bi-LSTM classification models achieved accuracies of 83%, 50%, 84%, and 86%, respectively. Among these models, Bi-LSTM demonstrated the highest accuracy of 86% in the experiment.

Keywords: negative emotion, emotion detection, social media filtering sentiment analysis, deep learning.

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Authors: Tam D. Nguyen, Joe Varga, Douglas MacFarlane, Alexandr Simonov

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Development of advanced technologies for green hydrogen generation from renewables is of key strategic importance to global future energy security and economic growth. Renewable-powered water electrolysis (WE) is considered as the most effective of the sustainable methods for hydrogen generation at scale. Currently, the greatest challenge of hydrogen production via water electrolysis is the insufficiently high efficiency. In which, the energy loss associated with the conversion of water to hydrogen is approximately 40-60%, with 30-35% associated with the electrolysis itself and 10-12% with gas compression and transportation. Hence, development of an energy-efficient water electrolyser that can generate hydrogen at high pressure will address both of these major challenges. This requires the development of advanced electrode configuration of the water electrolysis cell. Herein, we developed a highly-ordered interconnected structure of the metallic inverse-opal (IO) frameworks based on low cost materials, e.g. Cu, Ni, Fe, Co. The water electrolysis electrodes based on these frameworks can provide excellent mechanical strength required for the application under conditions of extreme pressure, as well as outstanding catalytic performance through the exceptional high surface area and high electrical conductivity. For example, NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH) catalyst deposited on Cu IO is able to reach the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalytic performance up to the rates of > 100 mA cm−2 (>727A gcatalyst-1) at an overpotential of ~0.3 V. This high performance is achieved with only few micron-thick catalyst layers, in contrast to similarly performance of 103-fold thicker electrodes based on foams and other substrates.

Keywords: oxygen evolution reaction, support materials, mass transport, NiFe LDH

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Authors: Juliana Janet R. Martin-Puzon, Demetrio L. Valle, Windell L. Rivera

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This study aimed to determine the presence of bioactive phytochemical constituents and evaluate the in vitro antibacterial activities of Glinus oppositifolius or carpet weed, a plant valued for its use in traditional medicine and as a vegetable. The leaves, stems, and roots were extracted using chloroform, ethanol, and methanol. Phytochemical screening revealed that the entire G. oppositifolius plant, i.e. roots, stems, and leaves, is a rich source of alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, saponins, sterols, tannins, and triterpenes. The antibacterial activity of the leaf and stem extracts were evaluated through disc diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration, and bactericidal concentration assays against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing (ESβL+), carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), and metallo-β-lactamase-producing (MβL+) Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii. The leaf extracts revealed antibacterial activities, inhibiting the growth of non-resistant and multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of the Gram-negative bacteria E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and A. baumanii. In conclusion, the various biological activities of G. oppositifolius, including its antibacterial activity, are due to the presence of diverse bioactive secondary metabolites. The presence of phytochemical compounds in G. oppositifolius is scientific evidence on its use for treatment of many ailments. Thus, the results demonstrate the great potential of the plant as a new, alternative source of antimicrobials and other components with therapeutic value.

Keywords: antibacterial, Glinus oppositifolius, multidrug-resistant, secondary metabolites

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Authors: Zia Ullah, Ruh Ullah

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A research study was conceded in four locations (Swat, Dir, Kakul and Balakot) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to find agro-climatic classes by using aridity index, Growing Degree Days of wheat and maize, crop growth index and Spatio-temporal analysis of rainfall by using long term climatic data (1970-2010). The climatic data used for research was acquired from Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Islamabad, Agriculture Research Institute, Weather Station Peshawar and Tarnab Peshawar. Agro-climatic classes of each location were determined using three criteria mean temperature of the coldest month, mean temperature of the warmest month and aridity index. The agro-climatic classes of Dir, Swat, Kakul and Balakot were classified as Humid, Cold and very Warm (H-K-VW). Average aridity index of wheat for Dir, Swat, Kakul, and Balakot was 2.23, 2.67, 1.94 and 2.34 and for Maize was 1.31, 1.26, 1.97, and 2.83 respectively. The overall and decade-wise trend of GDD of Wheat and Maize was declined in Swat and Kakul while increased in Dir and Balakot.The average maximum CGI (1.26) and (0.73) of Wheat and Maize was observed for Balakot and Dir, while the minimum (1.09) and (0.62) was observed for Swat and Kakul. Spatio-temporal analysis of rainfall shows that the trend has increased in Swat while decreased in Dir, Kakul and Balakot. From the relation between rainfalls with altitude showed that there was an increasing trend between rainfalls with altitude. The maximum average rainfall was in Swat (2703mm) on altitude 2000m while the minimum average rainfall was observed in Kakul (1410mm) on altitude of 1255m.

Keywords: agro-climatic zones, aridity index, GDD, rainfall

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Authors: Elnaz Abbasian, Mohsen Faizi

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In its thousand-year development, architecture has gained valuable patterns. Iran’s desert regions possess developed patterns of traditional architecture and outstanding skeletal features. Unfortunately increasing population and urbanization growth in the past decade as well as the lack of harmony with environment’s texture has destroyed such permanent concepts in the building’s skeleton, causing a lot of energy waste in the modern architecture. The important question is how cooling patterns of Iran’s traditional architecture can be used in a new way in the modern architecture of residential buildings? This research is library-based and documental that looks at sustainable development, analyzes the features of Iranian architecture in hot and dry climate in terms of sustainability as well as historical patterns, and makes a model for real environment. By methodological analysis of past, it intends to suggest a new pattern for residential buildings’ cooling in Iran’s hot and dry climate which is in full accordance to the ecology of the design and at the same time possesses the architectural indices of the past. In the process of cities’ physical development, ecological measures, in proportion to desert’s natural background and climate conditions, has kept the natural fences, preventing buildings from facing climate adversities. Designing and construction of buildings with this viewpoint can reduce the energy needed for maintaining and regulating environmental conditions and with the use of appropriate building technology help minimizing the consumption of fossil fuels while having permanent patterns of desert buildings’ architecture.

Keywords: sustainability concepts, sustainable development, energy climate architecture, fossil fuel, hot and dry climate, patterns of traditional sustainability for residential buildings, modern pattern of cooling

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Authors: Samar Omar A. Rabah, Sahar Ragab El Hadad, Fatmah Albani

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Since the discovery of Agarwood (Incense tree), many studies reported its characteristic effects and variable benefits, as either to produce Arabian Incense or as a traditional medicine against many diseases. Laboratory experiments were carried out on the effect of different concentrations of Incense smoke inhalation on the lung weight and tissue in female mice. This research derives its importance from the fact that Incense is heavily used in Saudi Arabia in the absence of thorough studies of its effects on health. Eighty animals are used in this study, and they are divided into four groups, each is 20 animals. Three groups are exposed to different concentrations (2, 4 and 6 gm) of Incense smoke daily for three months, and the fourth group is the control. At the end of each month, five animals from each group were dissected. Obtained data showed an increase but not significant in animal body and lung weight, this results return to natural increase as a result of normal growth of animals. Light microscope reveals some changes in the lung tissue, such as focal emphysema, rupture in the alveolar walls, hemorrhage, congestion, edema and few peri-bronchial lymphoid cells. After continuous exposure to Incense smoke focal necrosis and degradation are observed in some cells of epithelial bronchioles. Also, fibrosis of peri-bronchial, thickening in alveolar walls and aggregation of lymphoid cells are demonstrated in some lungs sections. according to the above manifestations it could be concluded that exposure to Incense smoke causes pulmonary harmful effects. Therefore, we can recommend that Incense smoke will be used only in open places to reduce its harms.

Keywords: incense smoke, lungs, histological changes of lungs, agarwood

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Authors: A. Almaneea, N. Kapur, J. L. Summers, H. M. Thompson

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Meeting the growth in demand for digital services such as social media, telecommunications, and business and cloud services requires large scale data centres, which has led to an increase in their end use energy demand. Generally, over 30% of data centre power is consumed by the necessary cooling overhead. Thus energy can be reduced by improving the cooling efficiency. Air and liquid can both be used as cooling media for the data centre. Traditional data centre cooling systems use air, however liquid is recognised as a promising method that can handle the more densely packed data centres. Liquid cooling can be classified into three methods; rack heat exchanger, on-chip heat exchanger and full immersion of the microelectronics. This study quantifies the improvements of heat transfer specifically for the case of immersed microelectronics by varying the CPU and heat sink location. Immersion of the server is achieved by filling the gap between the microelectronics and a water jacket with a dielectric liquid which convects the heat from the CPU to the water jacket on the opposite side. Heat transfer is governed by two physical mechanisms, which is natural convection for the fixed enclosure filled with dielectric liquid and forced convection for the water that is pumped through the water jacket. The model in this study is validated with published numerical and experimental work and shows good agreement with previous work. The results show that the heat transfer performance and Nusselt number (Nu) is improved by 89% by placing the CPU and heat sink on the bottom of the microelectronics enclosure.

Keywords: CPU location, data centre cooling, heat sink in enclosures, immersed microelectronics, turbulent natural convection in enclosures

Procedia PDF Downloads 276

Authors: J. Y. Ijato, A. Adewumi, H. O Yakubu, O. O. Olajide, B. O. Ojo, B. A. Adanikin

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Post-harvest fruit rot pathogens are one of the major factors that are responsible for food security challenges in developing countries like Nigeria. These pathogens also cause fruit food poisoning. Biocidal effects of ethanolic extracts of Khaya grandifoliola, Hyptis suaveolens, Zingiber officinale, Calophyllum inophyllum, Datura stramonium on the mycelia growth of fungal rot pathogens of pineapple fruit was investigated, the ethanolic extracts of these test plants exhibited high significant inhibitory effects on the rot pathogens, the highest ethanolic extract inhibition of Zingiber officinale was on Aspergillus flavus (38.40%) at 1.0g/ml while the least inhibitory effect was on Aspergillus fumigatus (23.10%) at 1.0g/ml, the highest ethanol extract inhibition of Datura stramonium was on Aspergillus tubingensis (24.00%) at 1.0g/ml while the least inhibitory effect was 10.00% on Colletotrichum fruticola at 1.0g/ml, the highest ethanol extract inhibition of Calophyllum inophyllum was on Trichoderma harzianum (18.50%) at 1.0g/ml while the least inhibitory effect was on Aspergillus flavus (15.00%) at 1.0g/ml, the highest ethanol extract inhibition of Hyptis suaveolens was on Aspergillus fumigatus (35.00%) at 1.0g/ml while the least inhibitory effect was on Aspergillus niger (20.00%) at 1.0g/ml, the highest ethanol extract inhibition of Khaya grandifoliola was on Aspergillus flavus (35.00%) at 1.00g/ml while the least inhibitory effect was on Aspergillus fumigates (22.00%) at 1.0g/ml, the antifungal capacity of these test plant extracts on rot causing fungi on pineapple fruit reveals the possibility of their use by farmers and fruit traders as alternative to chemical fungicide that portends great threat to human and environmental health.

Keywords: fruit rot, pathogens, plant extracts, pineapple, food poisoning

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Authors: Maulana Ayoub Ali, Pradeep Kulshrestha

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Laws of any given secular state have a huge contribution in the growth of the Islamic banking system because the system uses conventional laws to govern its activities. Therefore, the former should be ready to accommodate the latter in order to make the Islamic banking system work properly without affecting the current conventional banking system and therefore without affecting its system. Islamic financial rules have been practiced since the birth of Islam. Following the recent world economic challenges in the financial sector, a quick rebirth of the contemporary Islamic ethical banking system took place. The coming of the Islamic banking system is due to various reasons including but not limited to the failure of the interest based economy in solving financial problems around the globe. Therefore, the Islamic banking system has been adopted as an alternative banking system in order to recover the highly damaged global financial sector. But the Islamic banking system has been facing a number of challenges which hinder its smooth operation in different parts of the world. It has not been the aim of this paper to discuss other challenges rather than the legal ones, but the same was partly discussed when it was justified that it was proper to do so. Generally, there are so many things which have been discovered in the course of writing this paper. The most important part is the issue of the regulatory and supervisory framework for the Islamic banking system in Tanzania and in other nations is considered to be a crucial part for the development of the Islamic banking industry. This paper analyses what has been observed in the study on that area and recommends for necessary actions to be taken on board in a bid to make Islamic banking system reach its climax of serving the larger community by providing ethical, equitable, affordable, interest-free and society cantered banking system around the globe.

Keywords: Islamic banking, interest free banking, ethical banking, legal framework

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Authors: Shin Woo Kim, Eui Ju Lee

Abstract:

The recent development of biofuel production technology facilitates the use of bioethanol and biodiesel on automobile. Bioethanol, especially, can be used as a fuel for gasoline vehicles because the addition of ethanol has been known to increase octane number and reduce soot emissions. However, the wide application of biofuel has been still limited because of lack of detailed combustion properties such as auto-ignition temperature and pollutant emissions such as NOx and soot, which has been concerned mainly on the vehicle fire safety and environmental safety. In this study, the combustion characteristics of gasoline/ethanol fuel were investigated both numerically and experimentally. For auto-ignition temperature and NOx emission, the numerical simulation was performed on the well-stirred reactor (WSR) to simulate the homogeneous gasoline engine and to clarify the effect of ethanol addition in the gasoline fuel. Also, the response surface method (RSM) was introduced as a design of experiment (DOE), which enables the various combustion properties to be predicted and optimized systematically with respect to three independent variables, i.e., ethanol mole fraction, equivalence ratio and residence time. The results of stoichiometric gasoline surrogate show that the auto-ignition temperature increases but NOx yields decrease with increasing ethanol mole fraction. This implies that the bioethanol added gasoline is an eco-friendly fuel on engine running condition. However, unburned hydrocarbon is increased dramatically with increasing ethanol content, which results from the incomplete combustion and hence needs to adjust combustion itself rather than an after-treatment system. RSM results analyzed with three independent variables predict the auto-ignition temperature accurately. However, NOx emission had a big difference between the calculated values and the predicted values using conventional RSM because NOx emission varies very steeply and hence the obtained second order polynomial cannot follow the rates. To relax the increasing rate of dependent variable, NOx emission is taken as common logarithms and worked again with RSM. NOx emission predicted through logarithm transformation is in a fairly good agreement with the experimental results. For more tangible understanding of gasoline/ethanol fuel on pollutant emissions, experimental measurements of combustion products were performed in gasoline/ethanol pool fires, which is widely used as a fire source of laboratory scale experiments. Three measurement methods were introduced to clarify the pollutant emissions, i.e., various gas concentrations including NOx, gravimetric soot filter sampling for elements analysis and pyrolysis, thermophoretic soot sampling with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Soot yield by gravimetric sampling was decreased dramatically as ethanol was added, but NOx emission was almost comparable regardless of ethanol mole fraction. The morphology of the soot particle was investigated to address the degree of soot maturing. The incipient soot such as a liquid like PAHs was observed clearly on the soot of higher ethanol containing gasoline, and the soot might be matured under the undiluted gasoline fuel.

Keywords: gasoline/ethanol fuel, NOx, pool fire, soot, well-stirred reactor (WSR)

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