Search results for: solution process

Authors: Fernando Cabo Aseguinolaza, Víctor Bouzas Blanco, Alberto Martí Ezpeleta

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Santiago de Compostela became a stable object of literary representation during the period between 1840 and 1915, approximately. This study offers a partial cartographical look at this process, suggesting that a cultural space like Compostela’s becoming an object of literary representation paralleled the first stages of its becoming a tourist destination. We use maps as a method of analysis to show the interaction between a corpus of novels and the emerging tradition of tourist guides on Compostela during the selected period. Often, the novels constitute ways to present a city to the outside, marking it for the gaze of others, as guidebooks do. That leads us to examine the ways of constructing and rendering communicable the local in other contexts. For that matter, we should also acknowledge the fact that a good number of the narratives in the corpus evoke the representation of the city through the figure of one who comes from elsewhere: a traveler, a student or a professor. The guidebooks coincide in this with the emerging fiction, of which the mimesis of a city is a key characteristic. The local cannot define itself except through a process of symbolic negotiation, in which recognition and self-recognition play important roles. Cartography shows some of the forms that these processes of symbolic representation take through the treatment of space. The research uses GIS to find significant models of representation. We used the program ArcGIS for the mapping, defining the databases starting from an adapted version of the methodology applied by Barbara Piatti and Lorenz Hurni’s team at the University of Zurich. First, we designed maps that emphasize the peripheral position of Compostela from a historical and institutional perspective using elements found in the texts of our corpus (novels and tourist guides). Second, other maps delve into the parallels between recurring techniques in the fictional texts and characteristic devices of the guidebooks (sketching itineraries and the selection of zones and indexicalization), like a foreigner’s visit guided by someone who knows the city or the description of one’s first entrance into the city’s premises. Last, we offer a cartography that demonstrates the connection between the best known of the novels in our corpus (Alejandro Pérez Lugín’s 1915 novel La casa de la Troya) and the first attempt to create package tourist tours with Galicia as a destination, in a joint venture of Galician and British business owners, in the years immediately preceding the Great War. Literary cartography becomes a crucial instrument for digging deeply into the methods of cultural production of places. Through maps, the interaction between discursive forms seemingly so far removed from each other as novels and tourist guides becomes obvious and suggests the need to go deeper into a complex process through which a city like Compostela becomes visible on the contemporary cultural horizon.

Keywords: compostela, literary geography, literary cartography, tourism

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Authors: Ife O. Bolaji

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Environmental concerns arising from the use of fossil fuels has increased the interest in the development of renewable and sustainable sources of energy. This would minimize the dependence on fossil fuels and serve as future alternatives. Organic wastes contain carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, which can be utilised as carbon sources for the production of bio-based products. Cellulose is the most abundant natural biopolymer, being the main structural component of lignocellulosic materials. The aim of this project is to develop a biological process for the hydrolysis and fermentation of organic wastes into ethanol and organic acids. The hydrolysis and fermentation processes are integrated in a single vessel using undefined mixed culture microorganisms. The anaerobic fermentation of microcrystalline cellulose was investigated in continuous and batch reactors at 25°C with an appropriate growth medium for cellulase formation, hydrolysis, and fermentation. The reactors were inoculated with soil (B1, C1, C3) or sludge from an anaerobic digester (B2, C2) and the breakdown of cellulose was monitored by measuring the production of ethanol, organic acids and the residual cellulose. The batch reactors B1 and B2 showed negligible microbial activity due to inhibition while the continuous reactors, C1, C2 and C3, exhibited little cellulose hydrolysis which was concealed by the cellulose accumulation in the reactor. At the end of the continuous operation, the reactors C1, C2 and C3 were operated under batch conditions. 48%, 34% and 42% cellulose had been fermented by day 88, 55 and 55 respectively of the batch fermentation. Acetic acid, ethanol, propionic acid and butyric acids were the main fermentation products in the reactors. A stable concentration of 0.6 g/l ethanol and 5 g/L acetic acid was maintained in C3 for several weeks due to reduced activity of methanogens caused by the decrease in pH. Thus far, the results have demonstrated that mixed microbial culture is capable of hydrolysing and fermenting cellulose under lenient conditions. The fermentation of cellulose has been found effective in a combination of continuous and batch processes.

Keywords: cellulose, hydrolysis, mixed culture, organic waste

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Authors: Martin Lisý, Marek Baláš, Michal Špiláček, Zdeněk Skála

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This paper deals with the issue of biomass and sorted municipal waste gasification and cogeneration using hot air turbo set. It brings description of designed pilot plant with electrical output 80 kWe. The generated gas is burned in secondary combustion chamber located beyond the gas generator. Flue gas flows through the heat exchanger where the compressed air is heated and consequently brought to a micro turbine. Except description, this paper brings our basic experiences from operating of pilot plant (operating parameters, contributions, problems during operating, etc.). The principal advantage of the given cycle is the fact that there is no contact between the generated gas and the turbine. So there is no need for costly and complicated gas cleaning which is the main source of operating problems in direct use in combustion engines because the content of impurities in the gas causes operation problems to the units due to clogging and tarring of working surfaces of engines and turbines, which may lead as far as serious damage to the equipment under operation. Another merit is the compact container package making installation of the facility easier or making it relatively more mobile. We imagine, this solution of cogeneration from biomass or waste can be suitable for small industrial or communal applications, for low output cogeneration.

Keywords: biomass, combustion, gasification, microcogeneration

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Authors: Martin Lisý, Marek Baláš, Michal Špiláček, Zdeněk Skála

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This paper deals with the issue of biomass and sorted municipal waste gasification and cogeneration using hot-air turbo-set. It brings description of designed pilot plant with electrical output 80 kWe. The generated gas is burned in secondary combustion chamber located beyond the gas generator. Flue gas flows through the heat exchanger where the compressed air is heated and consequently brought to a micro turbine. Except description, this paper brings our basic experiences from operating of pilot plant (operating parameters, contributions, problems during operating, etc.). The principal advantage of the given cycle is the fact that there is no contact between the generated gas and the turbine. So there is no need for costly and complicated gas cleaning which is the main source of operating problems in direct use in combustion engines because the content of impurities in the gas causes operation problems to the units due to clogging and tarring of working surfaces of engines and turbines, which may lead as far as serious damage to the equipment under operation. Another merit is the compact container package making installation of the facility easier or making it relatively more mobile. We imagine, this solution of cogeneration from biomass or waste can be suitable for small industrial or communal applications, for low output cogeneration.

Keywords: biomass, combustion, gasification, microcogeneration

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Authors: Andre Bechuke

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The quality of every learning programme in Higher Education (HE) is dependent on the planning, design, and development of the curriculum decisions. These curriculum development decisions are highly influenced by the knowledge of the end-user, who are not always just the students. When curriculum experts plan, design and develop learning programmes, they always have the end-users in mind throughout the process. Without proper knowledge of the end-user(s), the design and development of a learning programme might be flawed. Curriculum experts often struggle to determine who the real end-user is. As such, it is even more challenging to establish what needs to be known about the end user that should inform the plan, design, and development of a learning programme. This research sought suggest approaches to guide curriculum experts to identify the end-user(s), taking into consideration the pressure and influence other agencies and structures or stakeholders (industry, students, government, universities context, lecturers, international communities, professional regulatory bodies) have on the design of a learning programme and the graduates of the programmes. Considering the influence of these stakeholders, which is also very important, the task of deciding who the real end-user of the learning programme becomes very challenging. This study makes use of criteria 1 and 18 of the Council on Higher Education criteria for programme accreditation to guide the process of identifying the end-users when developing a learning programme. Criterion 1 suggests that designers must ensure that the programme is consonant with the institution’s mission, forms part of institutional planning and resource allocation, meets national requirements and the needs of students and other stakeholders, and is intellectually credible. According to criterion 18, in designing a learning programme, steps must be taken to enhance the employability of students and alleviate shortages of expertise in relevant fields. In conclusion, there is hardly ever one group of end-users to be considered for developing a learning programme, and the notion that students are the end-users is not true, especially when the graduates are unable to use the qualification for employment.

Keywords: council on higher education, curriculum design and development, higher education, learning programme

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Authors: Busaba Phurksaphanrat

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This research proposes a pre-emptive fuzzy goal programming model for multi-objective multi-mode resource constrained project scheduling problem. The objectives of the problem are minimization of the total time and the total cost of the project. Objective in a multi-mode resource-constrained project scheduling problem is often a minimization of make-span. However, both time and cost should be considered at the same time with different level of important priorities. Moreover, all elements of cost functions in a project are not included in the conventional cost objective function. Incomplete total project cost causes an error in finding the project scheduling time. In this research, pre-emptive fuzzy goal programming is presented to solve the multi-objective multi-mode resource constrained project scheduling problem. It can find the compromise solution of the problem. Moreover, it is also flexible in adjusting to find a variety of alternative solutions.

Keywords: multi-mode resource constrained project scheduling problem, fuzzy set, goal programming, pre-emptive fuzzy goal programming

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Authors: Avalloy McCarthy-Curvin

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For over fifty years there has been widespread dissatisfaction with the teaching of Mathematics in Jamaica. Studies, done in the Jamaican context highlight that teachers at the end of training do not have a deep understanding of the mathematics content they teach. Little research has been done in the Jamaican context that targets the advancement of contextual knowledge on the problem to ultimately provide a solution. The aim of the study is to identify what influences this outcome of teacher education in Jamaica so as to remedy the problem. This study formatively evaluated the curriculum documents, assessments and the delivery of the curriculum that are being used in teacher training institutions in Jamaica to determine their rigor -the extent to which written document, instruction, and the assessments focused on enabling pre-service teachers to develop deep understanding of mathematics and relevance- the extent to which the curriculum document, instruction, and the assessments are focus on developing the requisite knowledge for teaching mathematics. The findings show that neither the curriculum document, instruction nor assessments ensure rigor and enable pre-service teachers to develop the knowledge and skills they need to teach mathematics effectively.

Keywords: relevance, rigor, deep understanding, formative evaluation

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Authors: Rama Ajineh

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Neighborhoods are defined as local zones within settlements and cities recognized by individuals who live there, with their identities and given boundaries. Neighborhoods mainly structure individual’s lives, the small box which various social groups interact with each other, develop and become one strong entity. Also, it is a platform for more activities, providing many of the social services to enhance the connections between the people, giving a sense of community. However, some of these neighborhoods were unplanned and caused many social, economical and architectural problems to its residents in the first place, and to the city. A great example of such case is in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, Al-Ruwais neighborhood, where the authority is planning to regenerate the area and make it a landmark for the city. Urban Regeneration of Unplanned Settlements is a process to make people live and work, now and in the future, and meet the various needs of the current and coming inhabitants, with a high-quality life for all. Through research, it was discovered that Urban regeneration plans on Al-Ruwais were planned regardless to the collective agreement of the inhabitants, giving themselves the absolute right to demolish and reconstruct the desired locations with a low compensation. Consequently, a deep research will be done on integrating the residents with the process, by showcasing examples of successful Urban Regenerations of Unplanned settlements in different cities. The research aims to understand the sustainable, and well-planned regeneration strategies used to enhance people’s living without harming them, and give sustainable urban solutions. Moreover, the research explores the definition of Sustainable Communities. The used methods in this paper are secondary research on site analysis and the relationship between the human and the neighborhood. The conclusion reveals the most successful fashion of Urban regeneration of Unplanned settlements and applies it to Al-Ruwais neighborhood considering the human factor as a primary element.

Keywords: architecture, human integration, original residents, site analysis, sustainable communities, urban sustainable solutions, urban regeneration

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Authors: Yanick Blaise Ketchaya, Taofa Zhou

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The type of primary source of gold deposit can be explored by using the study of trace element analysis of placer gold which is a valuable exploration tool. Au-bearing deposits are investigated through the placer gold, which is an important indicator mineral. The hydrothermal fluid interacting with diverse geological settings exerts an important function on the chemical composition of gold. Consequently, alluvial gold particles from the placer deposits within the Gamba district in northern Cameroon were examined by an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) to show discriminant chemical signatures. The gold grains from a different locality show the same trace element composition, which appears to be in a solid solution in Au. These trace element compositions, contained in gold grains, indicate a homogeneous source. The placer gold particles have significant chemical characteristics (low Ag content), consistent with a mesothermal source. The gold particle signatures in the Gamba district, with high Te and Bi contents, reflect the chemical characteristics of the felsic host rock superimposed on the chemical signature of the hydrothermal fluid.

Keywords: hypogene source, Northern Cameroon, placer gold, trace element

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Authors: Yixin Yan, Miao Yan, Irini Angelidaki, Ioannis Fotidis

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Ammonia, which derives from the degradation of urea and protein-substrates, is the major toxicant of the commercial anaerobic digestion reactors causing loses of up to 1/3 of their practical biogas production, which reflects directly on the overall revenue of the plants. The current experimental work is aiming to alleviate the ammonia inhibition in anaerobic digestion (AD) process by developing an innovative bioaugmentation method of ammonia tolerant methanogenic consortia. The ammonia tolerant consortia were cultured in batch reactors and immobilized together with biochar in agar (customized inocula). Three continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTR), fed with the organic fraction of municipal solid waste at a hydraulic retention time of 15 days and operated at thermophilic (55°C) conditions were assessed. After an ammonia shock of 4 g NH4+-N L-1, the customized inocula were bioaugmented into the CSTR reactors to alleviate ammonia toxicity effect on AD process. Recovery rate of methane production and methanogenic activity will be assessed to evaluate the bioaugmentation performance, while 16s rRNA gene sequence will be used to reveal the difference of microbial community changes through bioaugmentation. At the microbial level, the microbial community structures of the four reactors will be analysed to find the mechanism of bioaugmentation. Changes in hydrogen formation potential will be used to predict direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) between ammonia tolerant methanogens and syntrophic bacteria. This experimental work is expected to create bioaugmentation inocula that will be easy to obtain, transport, handled and bioaugment in AD reactors to efficiently alleviate the ammonia toxicity, without alternating any of the other operational parameters including the ammonia-rich feedstocks.

Keywords: artisanal fishing waste, acidogenesis, volatile fatty acids, pH, inoculum/substrate ratio

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Authors: Rafał Urbaniak, Robert Kłosowiak, Michał Ciałkowski, Jarosław Bartoszewicz

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The Chair of Thermal Engineering at Poznan University of Technology has been conducted research works on the possibilities of using carbon nanostructures in energy and mechanics applications for a couple of years. Those studies have provided results in a form of co-operation with foreign research centres, numerous publications and patent applications. Authors of this paper have studied the influence of multi-walled carbon nanostructures on changes in static friction arising when steel surfaces were moved. Tests were made using the original test stand consisting of automatically controlled inclined plane driven by precise stepper motors. Computer program created in the LabView environment was responsible for monitoring of the stand operation, accuracy of measurements and archiving the obtained results. Such a solution enabled to obtain high accuracy and repeatability of all conducted experiments. Tests and analysis of the obtained results allowed us to determine how additional layers of carbon nanostructures influenced on changes of static friction coefficients. At the same time, we analyzed the potential possibilities of applying nanostructures under consideration in mechanics.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, static friction, dynamic friction

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Authors: Mehdi Ganjkhani, Sobhan Badakhshan, Seyedvahid Hosseini

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Power plants exploit striking proportion of underground water consumption. Correspondingly, natural gas-fired power plants need less water than the other conventional power plants. Therefore, shifting unit commitment planning toward these power plants would help to save water consumption. This paper discusses the impacts of water consumption limitation on natural gas consumption and vice versa as a short-term water consumption management solution. To do so, conventional unit commitment problem is extended by adding water consumption and natural gas constraints to the previous constrains. The paper presents the impact of water saving on natural gas demands as well as natural gas shortage on water demand. Correspondingly, the additional cost of electricity production according to the aforementioned constraints is evaluated. Finally, a test system is applied to investigate potentials and impacts of water saving and natural gas shortage. Different scenarios are conducted and the results are presented. The results of the study illustrate that in order to use less water for power production it needs to use more natural gas. Meanwhile, natural gas shortage causes to utilize more amount of water in aggregate.

Keywords: electric energy generation system, underground water sources, unit commitment, water consumption saving, natural gas

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Authors: Aliaa M. S. Salem, Soliman I. El-Hout, Amira Gaber, Hassan Nageh

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Nowadays, the development of poisonous gas detectors is considered to be an urgent matter to secure human health and the environment from poisonous gases, in view of the fact that even a minimal amount of poisonous gas can be fatal. Of these concerns, various inorganic or organic sensing materials have been used. Among these are conducting polymers, have been used as the active material in the gassensorsdue to their low-cost,easy-controllable molding, good electrochemical properties including facile fabrication process, inherent physical properties, biocompatibility, and optical properties. Moreover, conducting polymer-based chemical sensors have an amazing advantage compared to the conventional one as structural diversity, facile functionalization, room temperature operation, and easy fabrication. However, the low selectivity and conductivity of conducting polymers motivated the doping of it with varied materials, especially graphene, to enhance the gas-sensing performance under ambient conditions. There were a number of approaches proposed for producing polymer/ graphene nanocomposites, including template-free self-assembly, hard physical template-guided synthesis, chemical, electrochemical, and electrospinning...etc. In this work, we aim to prepare a novel gas sensordepending on Electrospun nanofibers of conducting polymer/RGO composite that is the effective and efficient expectation of poisonous gases like ammonia, in different application areas such as environmental gas analysis, chemical-,automotive- and medical industries. Moreover, our ultimate objective is to maximize the sensing performance of the prepared sensor and to check its recovery properties.

Keywords: electro spinning process, conducting polymer, polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, functionalized reduced graphene oxide, spin coating technique, gas sensors

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Authors: Roberto Feltrero, Sara Osuna-Acedo

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Responsible Research and Innovation have to accomplish one fundamental aim: everybody has to participate in the benefits of innovation, but also innovation has to be democratic; that is to say, everybody may have the possibility to participate in the decisions in the innovation process. Particularly, a democratic and inclusive model of social participation and innovation includes persons with disabilities and people at risk of discrimination. Innovations on Artificial Intelligence for social development have to accomplish the same dual goal: improving equality for accessing fields of public interest like education, training and public services, as well as improving civic and democratic participation in the process of developing such innovations for all. This research aims to develop innovations, policies and policy recommendations to apply and disseminate such artificial intelligence and social model for making educational and administrative processes more accessible. First, designing a citizen participation process to engage citizens in the designing and use of artificial intelligence tools for public services. This will result in improving trust in democratic institutions contributing to enhancing the transparency, effectiveness, accountability and legitimacy of public policy-making and allowing people to participate in the development of ethical standards for the use of such technologies. Second, improving educational tools for lifelong learning with AI models to improve accountability and educational data management. Dissemination, education and social participation will be integrated, measured and evaluated in innovative educational processes to make accessible all the educational technologies and content developed on AI about responsible and social innovation. A particular case will be presented regarding access for all to educational tools and public services. This accessibility requires cognitive adaptability because, many times, legal or administrative language is very complex. Not only for people with cognitive disabilities but also for old people or citizens at risk of educational or social discrimination. Artificial Intelligence natural language processing technologies can provide tools to translate legal, administrative, or educational texts to a more simple language that can be accessible to everybody. Despite technological advances in language processing and machine learning, this becomes a huge project if we really want to respect ethical and legal consequences because that kinds of consequences can only be achieved with civil and democratic engagement in two realms: 1) to democratically select texts that need and can be translated and 2) to involved citizens, experts and nonexperts, to produce and validate real examples of legal texts with cognitive adaptations to feed artificial intelligence algorithms for learning how to translate those texts to a more simple and accessible language, adapted to any kind of population.

Keywords: responsible research and innovation, AI social innovations, cognitive accessibility, public participation

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Authors: Foster Chilufya

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This study sought to determine factors that affect academic performance of mature age students in Science Education at University of Zambia. It was guided by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The theory provided relationship between achievement motivation and academic performance. A descriptive research design was used. Both Qualitative and Quantitative research methods were used to collect data from 88 respondents. Simple random and purposive sampling procedures were used to collect from the respondents. Concerning factors that motivate mature-age students to choose Science Education Programs, the following were cited: need for self-actualization, acquisition of new knowledge, encouragement from friends and family members, good performance at high school and diploma level, love for the sciences, prestige and desire to be promoted at places of work. As regards factors that affected the academic performance of mature-age students, both negative and positive factors were identified. These included: demographic factors such as age and gender, psychological characteristics such as motivation and preparedness to learn, self-set goals, self esteem, ability, confidence and persistence, student prior academic performance at high school and college level, social factors, institutional factors and the outcomes of the learning process. In order to address the factors that negatively affect academic performance of mature-age students, the following measures were identified: encouraging group discussions, encouraging interactive learning process, providing a conducive learning environment, reviewing Science Education curriculum and providing adequate learning materials. Based on these factors, it is recommended that, the School of Education introduces a program in Science Education specifically for students training to be teachers of science. Additionally, introduce majors in Physics Education, Biology Education, Chemistry Education and Mathematics Education relevant to what is taught in high schools.

Keywords: academic, performance, in-service, science

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Authors: M. Hadjisoteriou, A. Kyriacou Petrou

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This paper will discuss ideas of social sustainability in urban design and human behavior in multicultural contested sites. It will focus on the potential of the re-reading of the “site” through mapping that acts as a research methodology and will discuss the chosen site of Mouttalos, Cyprus as a place of multiple identities. Through a methodology of mapping using a bottom up approach, a process of disassembling derives that acts as a mechanism to re-examine space and place by searching for the invisible and the non-measurable, understanding the site through its detailed inhabitation patterns. The significance of this study lies in the use of mapping as an active form of thinking rather than a passive process of representation that allows for a new site to be discovered, giving multiple opportunities for adaptive urban strategies and socially engaged design approaches. We will discuss the above thematic based on the chosen contested site of Mouttalos, a small Turkish Cypriot neighbourhood, in the old centre of Paphos (Ktima), SW of Cyprus. During the political unrest, between Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, in 1963, the area became an enclave to the Turkish Cypriots, excluding any contact with the rest of the area. Following the Turkish invasion of 1974, the residents left their homes, plots and workplaces, resettling in the North of Cyprus. Greek Cypriot refugees moved into the area. The presence of the Greek Cypriot refugees is still considered to be a temporary resettlement. The buildings and the residents themselves exist in a state of uncertainty. The site is documented through a series of parallel investigations into the physical conditions and history of the site. Research methodologies use the process of mapping to expose the complex and often invisible layers of information that coexist. By registering the site through the subjective experiences, and everyday stories of inhabitants, a series of cartographic recordings reveals the space between: happening and narrative and especially space between different cultures and religions. Research put specific emphasis on engaging the public, promoting social interaction, identifying spatial patterns of occupation by previous inhabitants through social media. Findings exposed three main areas of interest. Firstly we identified inter-dependent relationships between permanence and temporality, characterised by elements such us, signage through layers of time, past events and periodical street festivals, unfolding memory and belonging. Secondly issues of co-ownership and occupation, found through particular narratives of exchange between the two communities and through appropriation of space. Finally formal and informal inhabitation of space, revealed through the presence of informal shared back yards, alternative paths, porous street edges and formal and informal landmarks. The importance of the above findings, was achieving a shift of focus from the built infrastructure to the soft network of multiple and complex relations of dependence and autonomy. Proposed interventions for this contested site were informed and led by a new multicultural identity where invisible qualities were revealed though the process of mapping, taking on issues of layers of time, formal and informal inhabitation and the “permanence of the temporary”.

Keywords: contested sites, mapping, social sustainability, temporary urban strategies

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Authors: Assil Ghariri

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This article studies the process of rewriting the self through memory in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, the Unconsoled (1995). It deals with the journey that the protagonist Mr. Ryder takes through the unconscious, in search for his real self, in which trauma stands as an obstacle. The article uses Carl Jung’s theory of archetypes. Trauma, in this article, is discussed as one of the true obstacles of the unconscious that prevent people from realizing the truth about their selves.

Keywords: Carl Jung, Kazuo Ishiguro, memory, trauma

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Authors: Basanti Ekka, Talis Juhna

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Dairy industrial effluents originated by the typical processing activities are composed of various organic and inorganic constituents, and these include proteins, fats, inorganic salts, antibiotics, detergents, sanitizers, pathogenic viruses, bacteria, etc. These contaminants are harmful to not only human beings but also aquatic flora and fauna. Because consisting of large classes of contaminants, the specific targeted removal methods available in the literature are not viable solutions on the industrial scale. Therefore, in this on-going research, a series of coagulation, electrochemical, and catalytic methods will be employed. The bulk coagulation and electrochemical methods can wash off most of the contaminants, but some of the harmful chemicals may slip in; therefore, specific catalysts designed and synthesized will be employed for the removal of targeted chemicals. In the context of Latvian dairy industries, presently, work is under progress on the characterization of dairy effluents by total organic carbon (TOC), Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)/ Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and Mass Spectrometry. After careful evaluation of the dairy effluents, a cost-effective natural coagulant will be employed prior to advanced electrochemical technology such as electrocoagulation and electro-oxidation as a secondary treatment process. Finally, graphene oxide (GO) based hybrid materials will be used for post-treatment of dairy wastewater as graphene oxide has been widely applied in various fields such as environmental remediation and energy production due to the presence of various oxygen-containing groups. Modified GO will be used as a catalyst for the removal of remaining contaminants after the electrochemical process.

Keywords: catalysis, dairy wastewater, electrochemical method, graphene oxide

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Authors: Daniel J. Glauber

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Knowledge transfer between personnel could benefit an organization’s improved competitive advantage in the marketplace from a strategic approach to knowledge management. The lack of information sharing between personnel could create knowledge transfer gaps while restricting the decision-making processes. Knowledge transfer between personnel can potentially improve information sharing based on an implemented knowledge management strategy. An organization’s capacity to gain more knowledge is aligned with the organization’s prior or existing captured knowledge. This case study attempted to understand the overall influence of a KMS within the corporate environment and knowledge exchange between personnel. The significance of this study was to help understand how organizations can improve the Return on Investment (ROI) of a knowledge management strategy within a knowledge-centric organization. A qualitative descriptive case study was the research design selected for this study. The lack of information sharing between personnel may create knowledge transfer gaps while restricting the decision-making processes. Developing a knowledge management strategy acceptable at all levels of the organization requires cooperation in support of a common organizational goal. Working with management and executive members to develop a protocol where knowledge transfer becomes a standard practice in multiple tiers of the organization. The knowledge transfer process could be measurable when focusing on specific elements of the organizational process, including personnel transition to help reduce time required understanding the job. The organization studied in this research acknowledged the need for improved knowledge management activities within the organization to help organize, retain, and distribute information throughout the workforce. Data produced from the study indicate three main themes including information management, organizational culture, and knowledge sharing within the workforce by the participants. These themes indicate a possible connection between an organizations KMS, the organizations culture, knowledge sharing, and knowledge transfer.

Keywords: knowledge transfer, management, knowledge management strategies, organizational learning, codification

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Authors: Chahrazed Zouaoui

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In recent years, the volume of geospatial information is increasing due to the evolution of communication technologies and information, this information is presented often by geographic information systems (GIS) and stored on of spatial databases (BDS). The classical data mining revealed a weakness in knowledge extraction at these enormous amounts of data due to the particularity of these spatial entities, which are characterized by the interdependence between them (1st law of geography). This gave rise to spatial data mining. Spatial data mining is a process of analyzing geographic data, which allows the extraction of knowledge and spatial relationships from geospatial data, including methods of this process we distinguish the monothematic and thematic, geo- Clustering is one of the main tasks of spatial data mining, which is registered in the part of the monothematic method. It includes geo-spatial entities similar in the same class and it affects more dissimilar to the different classes. In other words, maximize intra-class similarity and minimize inter similarity classes. Taking account of the particularity of geo-spatial data. Two approaches to geo-clustering exist, the dynamic processing of data involves applying algorithms designed for the direct treatment of spatial data, and the approach based on the spatial data pre-processing, which consists of applying clustering algorithms classic pre-processed data (by integration of spatial relationships). This approach (based on pre-treatment) is quite complex in different cases, so the search for approximate solutions involves the use of approximation algorithms, including the algorithms we are interested in dedicated approaches (clustering methods for partitioning and methods for density) and approaching bees (biomimetic approach), our study is proposed to design very significant to this problem, using different algorithms for automatically detecting geo-spatial neighborhood in order to implement the method of geo- clustering by pre-treatment, and the application of the bees algorithm to this problem for the first time in the field of geo-spatial.

Keywords: mining, GIS, geo-clustering, neighborhood

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Authors: Chandu Rathnayake, Isuri Anuradha

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Early detection and accurate diagnosis of lung diseases play a crucial role in improving patient prognosis. However, conventional diagnostic methods heavily rely on subjective symptom assessments and medical imaging, often causing delays in diagnosis and treatment. To overcome this challenge, we propose a novel lung disease prediction system that integrates patient symptoms and X-ray images to provide a comprehensive and reliable diagnosis.In this project, develop a mobile application specifically designed for detecting lung diseases. Our application leverages both patient symptoms and X-ray images to facilitate diagnosis. By combining these two sources of information, our application delivers a more accurate and comprehensive assessment of the patient's condition, minimizing the risk of misdiagnosis. Our primary aim is to create a user-friendly and accessible tool, particularly important given the current circumstances where many patients face limitations in visiting healthcare facilities. To achieve this, we employ several state-of-the-art algorithms. Firstly, the Decision Tree algorithm is utilized for efficient symptom-based classification. It analyzes patient symptoms and creates a tree-like model to predict the presence of specific lung diseases. Secondly, we employ the Random Forest algorithm, which enhances predictive power by aggregating multiple decision trees. This ensemble technique improves the accuracy and robustness of the diagnosis. Furthermore, we incorporate a deep learning model using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) with the RestNet50 pre-trained model. CNNs are well-suited for image analysis and feature extraction. By training CNN on a large dataset of X-ray images, it learns to identify patterns and features indicative of lung diseases. The RestNet50 architecture, known for its excellent performance in image recognition tasks, enhances the efficiency and accuracy of our deep learning model. By combining the outputs of the decision tree-based algorithms and the deep learning model, our mobile application generates a comprehensive lung disease prediction. The application provides users with an intuitive interface to input their symptoms and upload X-ray images for analysis. The prediction generated by the system offers valuable insights into the likelihood of various lung diseases, enabling individuals to take appropriate actions and seek timely medical attention. Our proposed mobile application has significant potential to address the rising prevalence of lung diseases, particularly among young individuals with smoking addictions. By providing a quick and user-friendly approach to assessing lung health, our application empowers individuals to monitor their well-being conveniently. This solution also offers immense value in the context of limited access to healthcare facilities, enabling timely detection and intervention. In conclusion, our research presents a comprehensive lung disease prediction system that combines patient symptoms and X-ray images using advanced algorithms. By developing a mobile application, we provide an accessible tool for individuals to assess their lung health conveniently. This solution has the potential to make a significant impact on the early detection and management of lung diseases, benefiting both patients and healthcare providers.

Keywords: CNN, random forest, decision tree, machine learning, deep learning

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Authors: Nunziata Ivana Guarneri, Arcangelo Bruna, Giuseppe Spampinato, Antonio Buemi

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In the last decade, automotive companies have invested a lot in terms of innovation about many aspects regarding the automatic driver assistance systems. One innovation regards the usage of a smart camera placed on the car’s side mirror for monitoring the back and lateral road situation. A common road scenario is the overtaking of the preceding car and, in this case, a brief distraction or a loss of concentration can lead the driver to undertake this action, even if there is an already overtaking vehicle, leading to serious accidents. A valid support for a secure drive can be a smart camera system, which is able to automatically analyze the road scenario and consequentially to warn the driver when another vehicle is overtaking. This paper describes a method for monitoring the side view of a vehicle by using camera optical flow motion vectors. The proposed solution detects the presence of incoming vehicles, assesses their distance from the host car, and warns the driver through different levels of alert according to the estimated distance. Due to the low complexity and computational cost, the proposed system ensures real time performances.

Keywords: camera calibration, ego-motion, Kalman filters, object tracking, real time systems

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Authors: Ahmed Amin Mousa, M. Abd El-Salam

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This study discusses a simple solution for the problem of shortage in learning resources for kindergarten teachers. Occasionally, kindergarten teachers cannot access proper resources by usual search methods as libraries or search engines. Furthermore, these methods require a long time and efforts for preparing. The study is expected to facilitate accessing learning resources. Moreover, it suggests a potential direction for using QR code inside the classroom. The present work proposes that QR code can be used for digitizing kindergarten curriculums and accessing various learning resources. It investigates using QR code for saving information related to the concepts which kindergarten teachers use in the current educational situation. The researchers have established a guide for kindergarten teachers based on the Egyptian official curriculum. The guide provides different learning resources for each scientific and mathematical concept in the curriculum, and each learning resource is represented as a QR code image that contains its URL. Therefore, kindergarten teachers can use smartphone applications for reading QR codes and displaying the related learning resources for students immediately. The guide has been provided to a group of 108 teachers for using inside their classrooms. The results showed that the teachers approved the guide, and gave a good response.

Keywords: kindergarten, child, learning resources, QR code, smart phone, mobile

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Authors: Soleen Karim, Meira Yasin, Rezhin Qader

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Children’s books present a colorful life for kids around the world, their current environment or what they could potentially have- a home, two loving parents, a playground, and a safe school within a short walk or bus ride. These images are only pages in a donated book for children displaced by war. The environment they live in is significantly different. Displaced children are faced with a temporary life style filled with fear and uncertainty. Children of war associate various structural institutions with a trauma and cannot enter the space, even if it is for their own future development, such as a school. This paper is a collaborative effort with students of the Kennesaw State University architecture department, architectural designers and a mental health professional to address and link the design challenges and the psychological trauma for children of war. The research process consists of a) interviews with former refugees, b) interviews with current refugee children, c) personal understanding of space through one’s own childhood, d) literature review of tested design methods to address various traumas. Conclusion: In addressing the built environment for children of war, it is necessary to address mental health and well being through the creation of space that is sensitive to the needs of children. This is achieved by understanding critical design cues to evoke normalcy and safe space through program organization, color, and symbiosis of synthetic and natural environments. By involving the children suffering from trauma in the design process, aspects of the design are directly enhanced to serve the occupant. Neglecting to involve the participants creates a nonlinear design outcome and does not serve the needs of the occupant to afford them equal opportunity learning and growth experience as other children around the world.

Keywords: activist architecture, childhood education, childhood psychology, adverse childhood experiences

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Authors: Muna Khethier Abbass, Bassma Finner Sultan

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

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

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Authors: Sophia Barquete, Adriana H. Trevisan, Janaina Mascarenhas

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The circular economy (CE) aims at the cycling of resources through restorative and regenerative strategies. To achieve circularity, coordination of several actors who have different responsibilities is necessary. The interaction among multiple actors allows the connection between the CE and business ecosystem research fields. Although fundamental, the relationships between actors within an ecosystem to foster circularity are not deeply explored in the literature. The objective of this study was to identify the possibilities of cooperation, competition, or even coopetition among the members of business ecosystems that adopt circular strategies. In particular, the motivations that make these actors interact to achieve a circular economy were investigated. A systematic literature review was adopted to select business ecosystem cases that adopt circular strategies. As a result, several motivations were identified for actors to engage in relationships within ecosystems, such as sharing knowledge and infrastructure, developing products with a circular design, promoting reverse logistics, among others. The results suggest that partnerships between actors are, in fact, important for the implementation of circular strategies. In order to achieve a complete and circular solution, actors must be able to clearly understand their roles and relationships within the network so that they can establish new partnerships or reframe those already established.

Keywords: business ecosystem, circular economy, cooperation, coopetition, competition

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Authors: K. N. S. Kasi Viswanadham

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Coupled system of second order linear and nonlinear boundary value problems occur in various fields of Science and Engineering. In the formulation of the problem, any one of 81 possible types of boundary conditions may occur. These 81 possible boundary conditions are written as a combination of four boundary conditions. To solve a coupled system of boundary value problem with these converted boundary conditions, a collocation method with cubic B-splines as basis functions has been developed. In the collocation method, the mesh points of the space variable domain have been selected as the collocation points. The basis functions have been redefined into a new set of basis functions which in number match with the number of mesh points in the space variable domain. The solution of a non-linear boundary value problem has been obtained as the limit of a sequence of solutions of linear boundary value problems generated by quasilinearization technique. Several linear and nonlinear boundary value problems are presented to test the efficiency of the proposed method and found that numerical results obtained by the present method are in good agreement with the exact solutions available in the literature.

Keywords: collocation method, coupled system, cubic b-splines, mesh points

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Authors: Irene Yi

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Machine learning, natural language processing, and neural network models of language are becoming more and more prevalent in the fields of technology and linguistics today. Training data for machines are at best, large corpora of human literature and at worst, a reflection of the ugliness in society. Machines have been trained on millions of human books, only to find that in the course of human history, derogatory and sexist adjectives are used significantly more frequently when describing females in history and literature than when describing males. This is extremely problematic, both as training data, and as the outcome of natural language processing. As machines start to handle more responsibilities, it is crucial to ensure that they do not take with them historical sexist and misogynistic notions. This paper gathers data and algorithms from neural network models of language having to deal with syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, and text classification. Results are significant in showing the existing intentional and unintentional misogynistic notions used to train machines, as well as in developing better technologies that take into account the semantics and syntax of text to be more mindful and reflect gender equality. Further, this paper deals with the idea of non-binary gender pronouns and how machines can process these pronouns correctly, given its semantic and syntactic context. This paper also delves into the implications of gendered grammar and its effect, cross-linguistically, on natural language processing. Languages such as French or Spanish not only have rigid gendered grammar rules, but also historically patriarchal societies. The progression of society comes hand in hand with not only its language, but how machines process those natural languages. These ideas are all extremely vital to the development of natural language models in technology, and they must be taken into account immediately.

Keywords: gendered grammar, misogynistic language, natural language processing, neural networks

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Authors: Sherif Fakher

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Hydrogen has been gaining a lot of global attention as an uprising contributor in the energy sector. Labeled as an energy carrier, hydrogen is used in many industries and can be used to generate electricity via fuel cells. Blue hydrogen involves the production of hydrogen from hydrocarbons using different processes that emit CO₂. However, the CO₂ is captured and stored. Hence, very little environmental damage occurs during the hydrogen production process. This research investigates the ability to use different catalysts for the production of hydrogen from different hydrocarbon sources, including coal, oil, and gas, using a two-step Aquathermolysis reaction. The research presents the results of experiments conducted to evaluate different catalysts and also highlights the main advantages of this process over other blue hydrogen production methods, including methane steam reforming, autothermal reforming, and oxidation. Two methods of hydrogen generation were investigated including partial oxidation and aquathermolysis. For those two reactions, the reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, and medium were all investigated. Following this, experiments were conducted to test the hydrogen generation potential from both methods. The porous media tested were sandstone, ash, and prozzolanic material. The spent oils used were spent motor oil and spent vegetable oil from cooking. Experiments were conducted at temperatures up to 250 C and pressures up to 3000 psi. Based on the experimental results, mathematical models were developed to predict the hydrogen generation potential at higher thermodynamic conditions. Since both partial oxidation and aquathermolysis require relatively high temperatures to undergo, it was important to devise a method by which these high temperatures can be generated at a low cost. This was done by investigating two factors, including the porous media used and the reliance on the spent oil. Of all the porous media used, the ash had the highest thermal conductivity. The second step was the partial combustion of part of the spent oil to generate the heat needed to reach the high temperatures. This reduced the cost of the heat generation significantly. For the partial oxidation reaction, the spent oil was burned in the presence of a limited oxygen concentration to generate carbon monoxide. The main drawback of this process was the need for burning. This resulted in the generation of other harmful and environmentally damaging gases. Aquathermolysis does not rely on burning, which makes it the cleaner alternative. However, it needs much higher temperatures to run the reaction. When comparing the hydrogen generation potential for both using gas chromatography, aquathermolysis generated 23% more hydrogen using the same volume of spent oil compared to partial oxidation. This research introduces the concept of using spent oil for hydrogen production. This can be a very promising method to produce a clean source of energy using a waste product. This can also help reduce the reliance on freshwater for hydrogen generation which can divert the usage of freshwater to other more important applications.

Keywords: blue hydrogen production, catalytic aquathermolysis, direct carbon dioxide capture, CCUS

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Authors: Titanilla Komenda

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Human-machine-collaboration defines a direct interaction between humans and machines to fulfil specific tasks. Those so-called collaborative machines are used without fencing and interact with humans in predefined workspaces. Even though, human-machine-collaboration enables a flexible adaption to variable degrees of freedom, industrial applications are rarely found. The reasons for this are not technical progress but rather limitations in planning processes ensuring safety for operators. Until now, humans and machines were mainly considered separately in the planning process, focusing on ergonomics and system performance respectively. Within human-machine-collaboration, those aspects must not be seen in isolation from each other but rather need to be analysed in interaction. Furthermore, a simulation model is needed that can validate the system performance and ensure the safety for the operator at any given time. Following on from this, a holistic simulation model is presented, enabling a simulative representation of collaborative tasks – including both, humans and machines. The presented model does not only include a geometry and a motion model of interacting humans and machines but also a numerical behaviour model of humans as well as a Boole’s probabilistic sensor model. With this, error scenarios can be simulated by validating system behaviour in unplanned situations. As these models can be defined on the basis of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis as well as probabilities of errors, the implementation in a collaborative model is discussed and evaluated regarding limitations and simulation times. The functionality of the model is shown on industrial applications by comparing simulation results with video data. The analysis shows the impact of considering human factors in the planning process in contrast to only meeting system performance. In this sense, an optimisation function is presented that meets the trade-off between human and machine factors and aids in a successful and safe realisation of collaborative scenarios.

Keywords: human-machine-system, human-robot-collaboration, safety, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 349