Search results for: increase gas recovery

Authors: Juang R. Matangaran, Erianto I. Putra, Iis Diatin, Muhammad Mujahid, Qi Adlan

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Industrial plantation forest is the producer of logs in Indonesia. Several companies of industrial plantation forest have been successfully planted with fast-growing species, and it entered their annual harvesting period. Heavy machines such as forwarders are used in timber harvesting to extract logs from stump to landing site. The negative impact of using such machines are loss of topsoil and soil compaction. Compacted soil is considered unfavorable for plant growth. The research objectives were to analyze the soil bulk density, rut, and cone index of the soil caused by a forwarder passes, to analyze the relation between several times of forwarder passes to the increase of soil bulk density. A Valmet forwarder was used in this research. Soil bulk density at soil surface and cone index from the soil surface to the 50 cm depth of soil were measured at the harvested area. The result showed that soil bulk density increase with the increase of the Valmet forwarder passes. Maximum soil bulk density occurred after 5 times forwarder Valmet passed. The cone index tended to increase from the surface until 50 cm depth of soil. Rut formed and high soil bulk density indicated the soil compaction occurred by the forwarder operation.

Keywords: bulk density, forwarder Valmet, plantation forest, soil compaction, timber harvesting

Procedia PDF Downloads 146

Authors: Waldir Roque, Gustavo Oliveira, Moises Santos, Tatiana Simoes

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Increasing the oil recovery factor of an oil reservoir has been a concern of the oil industry. Usually, the production placement zones are defined after some analysis of geological and petrophysical parameters, being the rock porosity, permeability and oil saturation of fundamental importance. In this context, the determination of hydraulic flow units (HFUs) renders an important step in the process of reservoir characterization since it may provide specific regions in the reservoir with similar petrophysical and fluid flow properties and, in particular, techniques supporting the placement of production zones that favour the tracing of directional wells. A HFU is defined as a representative volume of a total reservoir rock in which petrophysical and fluid flow properties are internally consistent and predictably distinct of other reservoir rocks. Technically, a HFU is characterized as a rock region that exhibit flow zone indicator (FZI) points lying on a straight line of the unit slope. The goal of this paper is to provide a trustful indication for oil production placement zones for the best-fit HFUs. The FZI cloud of points can be obtained from the reservoir quality index (RQI), a function of effective porosity and permeability. Considering log and core data the HFUs are identified and using the discrete rock type (DRT) classification, a set of connected cell clusters can be found and by means a graph centrality metric, the maximum closeness (MaxC) cell is obtained for each cluster. Considering the MaxC cells as production zones, an extensive analysis, based on several oil recovery factor and oil cumulative production simulations were done for the SPE Model 2 and the UNISIM-I-D synthetic fields, where the later was build up from public data available from the actual Namorado Field, Campos Basin, in Brazil. The results have shown that the MaxC is actually technically feasible and very reliable as high performance production placement zones.

Keywords: hydraulic flow unit, maximum closeness centrality, oil production simulation, production placement zone

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Authors: Theodora-Venetia Missirli, Konstantina Kyriakopoulou, Magdalini Krokida

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Olive mill solid waste is an olive oil mill industry by-product with high phenolic, lipid and organic acid concentrations that can be used as a low cost source of natural antioxidants. In this study, extracts of Olea europaea (olive tree) solid olive mill waste (SOMW) were evaluated in terms of their antiradical activity and total phenolic compounds concentrations, such as oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol etc. SOMW samples were subjected to drying prior to extraction as a pretreatment step. Two drying processes, accelerated solar drying (ASD) and air-drying (AD) (at 35, 50, 70°C constant air velocity of 1 m/s), were applied. Subsequently, three different extraction methods were employed to recover extracts from untreated and dried SOMW samples. The methods include the green Microwave Assisted (MAE) and Ultrasound Assisted Extraction (UAE) and the conventional Soxhlet extraction (SE), using water and methanol as solvents. The efficiency and selectivity of the processes were evaluated in terms of extraction yield. The antioxidant activity (AAR) and the total phenolic content (TPC) of the extracts were evaluated using the DPPH assay and the Folin-Ciocalteu method, respectively. The results showed that bioactive content was significantly affected by the extraction technique and the solvent. Specifically, untreated SOMW samples showed higher performance in the yield for all solvents and higher antioxidant potential and phenolic content in the case of water. UAE extraction method showed greater extraction yields than the MAE method for both untreated and dried leaves regardless of the solvent used. The use of ultrasound and microwave assisted extraction in combination with industrially applied drying methods, such as air and solar drying, was feasible and effective for the recovery of bioactive compounds.

Keywords: antioxidant potential, drying treatment, olive mill pomace, microwave assisted extraction, ultrasound assisted extraction

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Authors: Zhixiang Li, Shuguang Yao, Wen Ma

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Coupler rubber buffer has been widely applied on the high-speed trains and the main function of the rubber buffer is dissipating the impact energy between vehicles. The rubber buffer consists of two groups of rubbers, which are both pre-compressed and then installed into the frame body. This paper focuses on the energy absorption characteristics of the rubber buffers particularly. Firstly, the quasi-static compression tests were carried out for 1 and 3 pairs of rubber sheets and some energy absorption responses relationship, i.e. Eabn = n×Eab1, Edissn = n×Ediss1, and Ean = Ea1, were obtained. Next, a series of quasi-static tests were performed for 1 pair of rubber sheet to investigate the energy absorption performance with different compression ratio of the rubber buffers. Then the impact tests with five impact velocities were conducted and the coupler knuckle was destroyed when the impact velocity was 10.807 km/h. The impact tests results showed that with the increase of impact velocity, the Eab, Ediss and Ea of rear buffer increased a lot, but the three responses of front buffer had not much increase. Finally, the results of impact tests and quasi-static tests were contrastively analysed and the results showed that with the increase of the stroke, the values of Eab, Ediss, and Ea were all increase. However, the increasing rates of impact tests were all larger than that of quasi-static tests. The maximum value of Ea was 68.76% in impact tests, it was a relatively high value for vehicle coupler buffer. The energy capacity of the rear buffer was determined for dynamic loading, it was 22.98 kJ.

Keywords: rubber buffer, coupler, energy absorption, impact tests

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Zapji Ymele Aime Philombe

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Servicing public debt is a significant budgetary burden in the sense that the payment of interest charges is a liability on the balance sheet of the public budget and affects fiscal policy. Interest charges can sometimes become a burden if they crowd out private activities. In order to analyse and understand the determinants of the debt burden and its impact on the sustainability of public finances, the present work focuses on OECD countries. It is noted from the literature that the factors that determine interest charges are macroeconomic (inflation, GDP growth and interest rates) and public finances (primary balance and public debt). After analysing a panel of 33 OECD countries and using ordinary least squares (OLS), we find that public debt, inflation and long-term interest rates are positively correlated with interest charges. An increase in any of these variables leads to an increase in debt charges. On the other hand, a growth in GDP is negatively associated with interest charges. Indeed, an increase in GDP generates enough revenue to meet the repayment of debt charges. According to the empirical analysis, we can say that, despite the large and growing debt-to-GDP ratio of major OECD countries, interest charges are not a threat to the sustainability of public finances. However, it is important for these countries to reduce the ratio of public debt to GDP because, in the face of the many challenges (health, aging population, etc.) that are looming on the horizon, an increase in interest rates could bring with it considerable burdens that would threaten the budgetary balance of these states.

Keywords: interests charges, public debt, sustainability, interest rates

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Alicja Sułek, Grażyna Cacak-Pietrzak, Marta Wyzińska, Anna Nieróbca

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In 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, a field experiment was conducted in two locations: Osiny and Wielichowo (Poland). The two-factor experiment was based on the method of randomized subblocks, in three replications. The first factor (A) was dose of nitrogen fertilization (two levels). The second factor (B) was nine winter wheat cultivars. It was found that winter wheat cultivars exhibited different reactions to higher nitrogen fertilization depending on the years and localities. Only KWS Dacanto cultivar under all growing conditions showed a significant increase in grain yield after the application of a higher level of nitrogen fertilization. The increase in nitrogen fertilization influenced the increase in gluten proteins content in wheat grain, but these changes were statistically significant only in the first year of the study. The quality of gluten does not depend on nitrogen fertilization. The quality of wheat grain depends on cultivars.

Keywords: fertilization, grain quality, winter wheat, yield

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Authors: Herawati Tri Siswati, Nurhidayat Ana Sıdık Fatimah

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The Indonesia Basic Health Research, 2013 showed that prevalence of stunting of 6–12 children years old was 35,6%, wasting was 12,2% and obesiy was 9,2%. The Indonesian Goverment have School Health Program, held in coordination, plans, directing and responsible, developing and implement health student. However, it's implementation still under expected, while Indonesian Ministry of Health has initiated the School Health Program acceleration. This aimed is to know the influencing of training to knowledge and skill of elementary school teacher about measurement and assesment nutrirional status children. The research is quasy experimental with pre-post design, in Sleman disctrict, Yogyakarta province, Indonesia, 2015. Subject was all of elementary school teacher’s who responsible in School Health Program in Gamping sub-district, Sleman, Yogyakarta, i.e. 32 persons. The independent variable is training, while the dependent variable are teacher’s klowledge and skill on measurement and assesment nutrirional status children. The data was analized by t-test. The result showed that the knowledge score before training is 31,6±9,7 and after 56,4±12,6, with an increase 24,8±15,7, and p=0.00. The skill score before training is 46,6±11,1 and after 61,7±13, with an increase 15,2±14,2, p = 0.00. Training can increase the teacher’s klowledge and skill on measurement and assesment nutrirional status.

Keywords: training, school health program, nutritional status, children.

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Authors: Syue-Wen Lin

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Objective: This article explores the nursing experience of an 84-year-old male lung cancer patient who underwent a thoracoscopic right lower lobectomy and treatment. The patient has multiple medical histories, including hypertension and diabetes. The nursing process involved cancer treatment, postoperative pain management, as well as wound care and healing. Methods: The nursing period is from February 10 to February 17, 2024. During the nursing process, pain management strategies are implemented, including morphine drugs and non-drug methods, and music therapy, essential oil massage, and extended reception time are used to make patients feel physically and mentally comfortable so as to reduce postoperative pain and encourage active participation in rehabilitation. Strict sterile wound dressing procedures and advanced wound care techniques are used to promote wound healing and prevent infection. Due to septic shock, dialysis is used to relieve worsening symptoms. Taking into account the patient's cancer status, the nursing team provides comprehensive cancer care based on the patient's physical and psychological needs. Given the complexity of the patient's condition, including advanced cancer, palliative care is also incorporated throughout the care process to relieve discomfort and provide psychological support. Results: Through comprehensive health assessment, the nursing team fully understood the patient's condition and developed a personalized care plan based on the patient's condition. The interprofessional critical care team provides respiratory therapy and lung expansion exercises to reduce muscle loss while addressing the patient's psychological status, pain management, and vital sign stabilization needs, resulting in a comprehensive approach to care. Lung expansion exercises and the use of a high-frequency chest wall oscillation vest successfully improved sputum drainage and facilitated weaning from mechanical ventilation. In addition, helping patients stabilize their vital signs and the integration of cancer care, pain management, wound care and palliative care helps the patient be fully supported throughout the recovery process, ultimately improving his quality of life. Conclusion: Lung cancer and septic shock present significant challenges to patients, and the nursing team not only provides critical care but also addresses the unique needs of patients through comprehensive infection control, cancer care, pain management, wound care, and palliative care interventions. These measures effectively improve patients' quality of life, promote recovery, and provide compassionate palliative care for terminally ill patients. Nursing staff work closely with family members to develop a comprehensive care plan to ensure that patients receive high-quality medical care as well as psychological support and a comfortable recovery environment.

Keywords: septic shock, lung cancer, palliative care, nursing experience

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Authors: Alexandre Chagnes

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Lithium-ion battery is the technology of choice in the development of electric vehicles. This technology is now mature, although there are still many challenges to increase their energy density while ensuring an irreproachable safety of use. For this goal, it is necessary to develop new cathodic materials that can be cycled at higher voltages and electrolytes compatible with these materials. But the challenge does not only concern the production of efficient batteries for the electrochemical storage of energy since lithium-ion battery technology relies on the use of critical and/or strategic value resources. It is, therefore, crucial to include Lithium-ion batteries development in a circular economy approach very early. In particular, optimized recycling and reuse of battery components must both minimize their impact on the environment and limit geopolitical issues related to tensions on the mineral resources necessary for lithium-ion battery production. Although recycling will never replace mining, it reduces resource dependence by ensuring the presence of exploitable resources in the territory, which is particularly important for countries like France, where exploited or exploitable resources are limited. This conference addresses the development of a new hydrometallurgical process combining leaching of cathodic material from spent lithium-ion battery in acidic chloride media and solvent extraction process. Most of recycling processes reported in the literature rely on the sulphate route, and a few studies investigate the potentialities of the chloride route despite many advantages and the possibility to develop new chemistry, which could get easier the metal separation. The leaching mechanisms and the solvent extraction equilibria will be presented in this conference. Based on the comprehension of the physicochemistry of leaching and solvent extraction, the present study will introduce a new hydrometallurgical process for the production of cobalt, nickel, manganese and lithium from spent cathodic materials.

Keywords: lithium-ion battery, recycling, hydrometallurgy, leaching, solvent extraction

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Authors: Ping Zhou, Dawu Xiao, Chunli Jiang, Ge Sang

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Deformation twinning plays an important role in the mechanical properties of Ti which has high specific strength and excellent corrosion resistance ability. To investigate the twinning behavior of Ti under high strain rate compression, the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) was adopted to deform samples to different strains at room temperature. In addition, twinning behaviors under varied temperatures of 373K, 573K and 873K were also investigated. The cylindrical-shaped samples with purity 99.995% were annealed at 1073K for 1 hour in vacuum before compression. All the deformation twins were identified by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) techniques. The mechanical behavior showed three-stage work hardening in stress-strain curves for samples deformed at temperature 573K and 873K, while only two stages were observed for those deformed at room temperature. For samples compressed at room temperature, the predominant twin types are {10-12}<10-11> (E1), {11-21}<11-26> (E2) and {11-21}<11-23> (C1). The secondary and tertiary twinning was observed inside some E1, E2 and C1 twins. Most of the twin boundaries of E2 acted as the nucleate sites of E1. The densities of twins increase remarkably with increment of strains. For samples compressed at relatively higher temperatures, the migration of twin boundaries of E1, E2 and C1 was observed. All the twin lamellas shorten with temperature, and nearly disappeared at 873K except some remaining E1 twins. Polygonizations of grain boundaries were observed above 573K. The microstructure intended to have a texture with c-axes parallel to compression direction with temperature increment. Factors affecting the dynamic recovery and re-crystallization were discussed.

Keywords: deformation twins, EBSD, mechanical behavior, high strain rate, titanium

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Authors: B. Medjadji, L. Aminallah, B. Serier, M. Benlebna

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In this study, the finite element method in 3-D is used to calculate the integral J in the semi-elliptical crack in a pipe subjected to internal pressure. The stress-strain curve of the pipe has been determined experimentally. The J-integral was calculated in two fronts crack (Ф = 0 and Ф = π/2). The effect of the configuration of the crack on the J integral is analysed. The results show that an external longitudinal crack in a pipe is the most dangerous. It also shows that the increase in the applied pressure causes a remarkable increase of the integral J. The effect of the depth of the crack becomes important when the ratio between the depth of the crack and the thickness of the pipe (a / t) tends to 1.

Keywords: J integral, pipeline, crack, MEF

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Authors: Gil Bae, Seung Uk Choi, Jae Eun Lee, Joon Hwa Rho

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Using proprietary engagement partner identity information for the Big 4 audit firms in Korea over the 2001-2011 period, we find that expert engagement partners obtain significantly higher total compensation than do non-expert partners. Importantly, we also find that expert partners increase the number of audit hours compared to their non-expert counterparts. The hourly billing rate, calculated as total fees divided by total audit hours, of expert partners is not higher than that of non-expert partners, indicating that there is no expert partner premium reflected in the hourly rate. This finding suggests that the increase in total audit fees is attributable mainly to the increase in the quantity of audit hours that expert partners work, not from the higher fee per hour. The results are not attributable to auditor selection bias.

Keywords: industry expert partners, expert premiums, audit hours, hourly charge rate

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Authors: Yaolin Tian, Shanxiong Chen, Fujia Zhao, Xiaoyu Lin, Hailing Xiong

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Ancient books are significant culture inheritors and their background textures convey the potential history information. However, multi-style texture recovery of ancient books has received little attention. Restricted by insufficient ancient textures and complex handling process, the generation of ancient textures confronts with new challenges. For instance, training without sufficient data usually brings about overfitting or mode collapse, so some of the outputs are prone to be fake. Recently, image generation and style transfer based on deep learning are widely applied in computer vision. Breakthroughs within the field make it possible to conduct research upon multi-style texture recovery of ancient books. Under the circumstances, we proposed a network of layout analysis and image fusion system. Firstly, we trained models by using Deep Convolution Generative against Networks (DCGAN) to synthesize multi-style ancient textures; then, we analyzed layouts based on the Position Rearrangement (PR) algorithm that we proposed to adjust the layout structure of foreground content; at last, we realized our goal by fusing rearranged foreground texts and generated background. In experiments, diversified samples such as ancient Yi, Jurchen, Seal were selected as our training sets. Then, the performances of different fine-turning models were gradually improved by adjusting DCGAN model in parameters as well as structures. In order to evaluate the results scientifically, cross entropy loss function and Fréchet Inception Distance (FID) are selected to be our assessment criteria. Eventually, we got model M8 with lowest FID score. Compared with DCGAN model proposed by Radford at el., the FID score of M8 improved by 19.26%, enhancing the quality of the synthetic images profoundly.

Keywords: deep learning, image fusion, image generation, layout analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: A. ElZawam, D. McLean, A. Tibary

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In alpaca, age at puberty is variable and the factors regulating the pattern of puberty and sexual maturation are a subject of controversy. Plasma testosterone level is often used as an indicator of sexual maturity. Our hypothesis is that hCG treatment will cause an increase in testosterone level that is correlated with animal age. The specific aim was to investigate the testicular tissue response to a single hCG injection by monitoring the serum testosterone concentration. Eighty four (n=84) males ranging in age from 6 to 60 months were used. Alpacas were grouped based on their ages into 15 groups. Each group had three to five male animals. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein before treatment with hCG and 2 hours after intravenous administration of 3000 IU of hCG (Chorulon®). The serum was harvested and stored at -20ºC until the analysis. The effect of age on basal testosterone level and response to hCG treatment was evaluated by Analysis of Variance. As a result, basal serum testosterone concentrations were very low (<0.1ng/ml) until 9 months of age. Although basal serum testosterone concentrations increased steadily with age there was a significant variation amongst males within the same age group. Administration of 3000 IU of hCG, resulted in an average increase of 50% (P<0.05) in serum testosterone concentration after 2 hours. The percentage increase in serum testosterone in response to hCG stimulation varied from 51 to 81%. There was no correlation between the degree of response and age. However, the response to hCG injection presented two modes of increase depending on the age of animals. The first mode occurred at ages 9 to 14 months and the second mode was observed between 22 and 36 months. In conclusion, our results suggest that testicular growth and sensitivity to LH stimulation may be bimodal in the male alpaca with a rapid increase in growth and sensitivity between 9 and 14 months of age and a second phase of increased responsiveness after 21 months of ages.

Keywords: alpaca, testosterone, hCG, animal science

Procedia PDF Downloads 571

Authors: Amornchai Challcharoenwattana, Chanathip Pharino

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Rising amount of MSW every day, maximizing material diversions from landfills via recycling is a prefer method to land dumping. Characteristic of Thai MSW is classified as 40 -60 per cent compostable wastes while potentially recyclable materials in waste streams are composed of plastics, papers, glasses, and metals. However, rate of material recovery from MSW, excluding composting or biogas generation, in Thailand is still low. Thailand’s recycling rate in 2010 was only 20.5 per cent. Central government as well as local governments in Thailand have tried to curb this problem by charging some of MSW management fees at the users. However, the fee is often too low to promote MSW minimization. The objective of this paper is to identify levels of willingness-to-pay (WTP) for MSW recycling in different social structures with expected outcome of sustainable MSW managements for different town settlements to maximize MSW recycling pertaining to each town’s potential. The method of eliciting WTP is a payment card. The questionnaire was deployed using online survey during December 2012. Responses were categorized into respondents living in Bangkok, living in other municipality areas, or outside municipality area. The responses were analysed using descriptive statistics, and multiple linear regression analysis to identify relationships and factors that could influence high or low WTP. During the survey period, there were 168 filled questionnaires from total 689 visits. However, only 96 questionnaires could be usable. Among respondents in the usable questionnaires, 36 respondents lived in within the boundary of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration while 45 respondents lived in the chartered areas that were classified as other municipality but not in BMA. Most of respondents were well-off as 75 respondents reported positive monthly cash flow (77.32%), 15 respondents reported neutral monthly cash flow (15.46%) while 7 respondent reported negative monthly cash flow (7.22%). For WTP data including WTP of 0 baht with valid responses, ranking from the highest means of WTP to the lowest WTP of respondents by geographical locations for good MSW management were Bangkok (196 baht/month), municipalities (154 baht/month), and non-urbanized towns (111 baht/month). In-depth analysis was conducted to analyse whether there are additional room for further increase of MSW management fees from the current payment that each correspondent is currently paying. The result from multiple-regression analysis suggested that the following factors could impacts the increase or decrease of WTP: incomes, age, and gender. Overall, the outcome of this study suggests that survey respondents are likely to support improvement of MSW treatments that are not solely relying on landfilling technique. Recommendations for further studies are to obtain larger sample sizes in order to improve statistical powers and to provide better accuracy of WTP study.

Keywords: MSW, willingness to pay, payment card, waste seperation

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Authors: Mohammad Mirjalili, Hamid Akbarpour

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In this work, a bleached well cotton sample was dyed with reactive yellow105 dye and subsequently, the dyed sample was exposed to the plasma condition containing Nitrogen gas at 1 and 5 minutes of plasma exposure time, respectively. The effect of plasma on surface morphology fabric was studied by Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM). CIELab, K/S, and %R of samples (treated and untreated samples) were measured by a reflective spectrophotometer, and consequently, the experiments show that the sample dyed with Reactive yellow 105 after being washed, with the increase in the operation time of plasma, its dye fastness decreases. In addition, the increase in plasma operation time at constant pressure would increase the destructing effect on the surface morphology of samples dyed with reactive yellow105.

Keywords: cotton fabric, nitrogen cold plasma, reflective spectrophotometer, scanning electronic microscope (SEM), reactive yellow105 dye

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Authors: Somayeh Negahdari, Mohsen Ghanbarzadeh, Masoud Nikbakht, Heshmatolah Tavakol

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Asthma, obesity and overweight are the main factors causing change within the heart and respiratory airways. Asthma symptoms are normally observed during exercising. Epidemiological studies have indicated asthma symptoms occurring due to certain lifestyle habits; for example, a sedentary lifestyle. In this study, eight weeks of aerobic exercises resulted in a positive effect overall in overweight women experiencing mild chronic asthma. The quasi-experimental applied research has been done based on experimental and control groups. The experimental group (seven patients) and control group (n = 7) were graded before and after the test. According to the Borg dyspnea and fatigue Perception Index, the training intensity has determined. Participants in the study performed a sub-maximal aerobic activity schedule (45% to 80% of maximum heart rate) for two months, while the control group (n = 7) stayed away from aerobic exercise. Data evaluation and analysis of covariance compared both the pre-test and post-test with paired t-test at significance level of P≤ 0.05. After eight weeks of exercise, the results of the experimental group show a significant decrease in resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, minute ventilation, while a significant increase in maximal oxygen uptake and tolerance activity (P ≤ 0.05). In the control group, there was no significant difference in these parameters ((P ≤ 0.05). The results indicate the aerobic activity can strengthen the respiratory muscles, while other physiological factors could result in breathing and heart recovery. Aerobic activity also resulted in favorable changes in cardiovascular parameters, and exercise tolerance of overweight women with chronic asthma.

Keywords: asthma, respiratory cardiac index, exercise tolerance, aerobic, overweight

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Authors: Gomti Devi

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Photoisomerization has been attracting to researchers due to its wide range of applications in optical switches, polymeric chains, liquid-crystalline systems and bilayer membranes etc. Azobenzene is a photochromic molecule which exhibits a reversible isomerisation process between its trans and cis isomers of different stability. An investigation has been conducted of the effects of temperature on intensity and position of Raman band of N=N, C-N stretching modes of Azobenzene (AZBN). It was found that the N=N stretching mode of Raman band shape shifts to lower frequency region with the increase in temperature. The Raman intensity was also decreased with the increase of temperature. The change in bandwidth with the increase in temperature has been studied. The FTIR spectrum of the molecule is recorded so as to complement the Raman spectra. In order to investigate the possibility of undergoing dimerization and trimerization as well as the stability of this molecule, ab initio calculation for geometry optimization and vibrational wavenumber calculation have been performed. Theoretically calculated values are found in good agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: azobenzene, temperature, ab-initio, frequency

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Authors: Nishit L. Sanil, Raza M. Khan

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Increasing lift effectively at higher angles of attack has always been a daunting challenge in aviation especially on a delta wing. These are used on military jet fighter planes and has some undesirable characteristics, notably flow separation at high angles of attack and high drag at low speeds. In order to solve this problem, a design modification is modeled on a delta wing which would increase the lift so that we can improve maneuverability. To attain an increase in the lift of a 65 degree delta wing at higher angles of attack, a step-wise discontinuity is created at the upper surface of the delta wing. A normal delta wing is validated for comparison which would thereby give us a measure of flow separation and coefficient of lift affected by the modification. The results obtained deliver a significant increase in lift at higher angles of attack thereby delaying stall. Hence the benefits of the modification would aid the potential designs of aircraft’s in the time to come.

Keywords: coefficient of lift, delta wing, flow separation, step-wise discontinuity

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Authors: Rostika Flora, Muhammad Zulkarnain, Syokumawena

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Background: Aerobic physical exercises are recommended to keep body fit and healthy although physical exercises themselves can increase body metabolism and oxygen and can lead into tissue hypoxia. Oxygen pressure can serve as Vascular Endhothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) regulator. Hypoxia increases gene expression of VEGF through ascendant regulation of HIF-1. VEGF is involved in regulating angiogenesis process. Aerobic physical exercises can increase the concentration of VEGF in brain and enables angiogenesis process. We have investigated the influence of aerobic physical exercise to the VGEF concentration of wistar rat’s brain. Methods: This was experimental study using post test only control group design. Independent t-test was used as statistical test. The samples were twenty four wistar rat (Rattus Norvegicus) which were divided into four groups: group P1 (control group), group P2 (treatment group with once-a-week exercise), group P3 (treatment group with three time-a-week exercise), and group P4 (treatment group with seven time-a-week exercise). Group P2, P3, and P4 were treated with treadmil with speed of 20 m/minute for 30 minutes. The concentration of VEGF was determined by ELISA. Results: There was a significant increase of VEGF in treatment group compared with control one (<0.05). The maximum increase was found in group P2 (129.02±64.49) and the minimum increase was in group P4 (96.98±11.20). Conclusion: The frequency of aerobic physical exercises influenced the concentration of Vascular Endhothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) of brain tissue of Rattus Norvegicus.

Keywords: brain tissue, hypoxia, physical exercises, vascular endhothelial growth factor

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Authors: Reza Ziaie Moayed, Naeem Gholampoor

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Jet grouting strengthened pile (JPP) is one of composite piles used in soft ground improvement. It may improve the vertical and lateral bearing capacity effectively and it has been practically used in a considerable scale. In order to make a further research on load transfer mechanism of single JPP with and without cap under lateral loads, JPP is analyzed by means of FEM analysis. It is resulted that the JPP pile could improve lateral bearing capacity by compared with bored concrete pile which is higher for shorter pile and the biggest bending moment of JPP pile is located in the depth of around 48% of embedded length of the pile. Meanwhile, increase of JPP pile length causes to increase of peak mobilized bending moment. Also, by cap addition, JPP piles will have a much higher lateral bearing capacity and increasing in cohesion of soil layer resulted to increase of lateral bearing capacity of JPP pile. In addition, the numerical results basically coincide with the experimental results presented by other researchers.

Keywords: bending moment, FEM analysis, JPP pile, lateral bearing capacity

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Authors: Usama Mohamed, Sam Booth, Aliysn J. Nedoma

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As part of the transition to electric vehicles, there has been a recent increase in demand for battery manufacturing. Cathodes typically account for approximately 50% of the total lithium-ion battery cell cost and are a pivotal factor in determining the viability of new industrial infrastructure. Cathodes which offer lower costs whilst maintaining or increasing performance, such as nickel-rich layered cathodes, have a significant competitive advantage when scaling up the manufacturing process. This project evaluates the techno-economic value proposition of an integrated industrial scale cathode active material (CAM) production process, closing the mass and energy balances, and optimizing the operation conditions using a sensitivity analysis. This is done by developing a process model of a co-precipitation synthesis route using Aspen Plus software and validated based on experimental data. The mechanism chemistry and equilibrium conditions were established based on previous literature and HSC-Chemistry software. This is then followed by integrating the energy streams, adding waste recovery and treatment processes, as well as testing the effect of key parameters (temperature, pH, reaction time, etc.) on CAM production yield and emissions. Finally, an economic analysis estimating the fixed and variable costs (including capital expenditure, labor costs, raw materials, etc.) to calculate the cost of CAM ($/kg and $/kWh), total plant cost ($) and net present value (NPV). This work sets the foundational blueprint for future research into sustainable industrial scale processes for CAM manufacturing.

Keywords: cathodes, industrial production, nickel-rich layered cathodes, process modelling, techno-economic analysis

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Authors: Alexander J. Severinsky

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Radiative forces of greenhouse gases (GHG) increase the temperature of the Earth's surface, more on land, and less in oceans, due to their thermal capacities. Given this inertia, the temperature increase is delayed over time. Air temperature, however, is not delayed as air thermal capacity is much lower. In this study, through analysis and synthesis of multidisciplinary science and data, an estimate of atmospheric temperature increase is made. Then, this estimate is used to shed light on current observations of ice and snow loss, desertification and forest fires, and increased extreme air disturbances. The reason for this inquiry is due to the author’s skepticism that current changes cannot be explained by a "~1 ^oC" global average surface temperature rise within the last 50-60 years. The only other plausible cause to explore for understanding is that of atmospheric temperature rise. The study utilizes an analysis of air temperature rise from three different scientific disciplines: thermodynamics, climate science experiments, and climactic historical studies. The results coming from these diverse disciplines are nearly the same, within ± 1.6%. The direct radiative force of GHGs with a high level of scientific understanding is near 4.7 W/m² on average over the Earth’s entire surface in 2018, as compared to one in pre-Industrial time in the mid-1700s. The additional radiative force of fast feedbacks coming from various forms of water gives approximately an additional ~15 W/m². In 2018, these radiative forces heated the atmosphere by approximately 5.1 ^oC, which will create a thermal equilibrium average ground surface temperature increase of 4.6 ^oC to 4.8 ^oC by the end of this century. After 2018, the temperature will continue to rise without any additional increases in the concentration of the GHGs, primarily of carbon dioxide and methane. These findings of the radiative force of GHGs in 2018 were applied to estimates of effects on major Earth ecosystems. This additional force of nearly 20 W/m² causes an increase in ice melting by an additional rate of over 90 cm/year, green leaves temperature increase by nearly 5 ^oC, and a work energy increase of air by approximately 40 Joules/mole. This explains the observed high rates of ice melting at all altitudes and latitudes, the spread of deserts and increases in forest fires, as well as increased energy of tornadoes, typhoons, hurricanes, and extreme weather, much more plausibly than the 1.5 ^oC increase in average global surface temperature in the same time interval. Planned mitigation and adaptation measures might prove to be much more effective when directed toward the reduction of existing GHGs in the atmosphere.

Keywords: greenhouse radiative force, greenhouse air temperature, greenhouse thermodynamics, greenhouse historical, greenhouse radiative force on ice, greenhouse radiative force on plants, greenhouse radiative force in air

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Authors: Zahid Hussain

Abstract:

Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab was established under NDM Act 2010 and now working under Senior Member Board of Revenue, deals with the whole spectrum of disasters including preparedness, mitigation, early warning, response, relief, rescue, recovery and rehabilitation. The District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA) are acting as implementing arms of PDMA in the districts to respond any disaster. DDMAs' role is very important in disaster mitigation, response and recovery as they are the first responder and closest tier to the community. Keeping in view the significant role of DDMAs, technical and human resource capacity are need to be checked. For calculating the technical efficiencies of District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in Punjab, three inputs like number of labour, the number of transportation and number of equipment, two outputs like relief assistance and the number of rescue and 25 districts as decision making unit have been selected. For this purpose, 8 years secondary data from 2005 to 2012 has been used. Data Envelopment Analysis technique has been applied. DEA estimates the relative efficiency of peer entities or entities performing the similar tasks. The findings show that all decision making unit (DMU) (districts) are inefficient on techonological and scale efficiency scale while technically efficient on pure and total factor productivity efficiency scale. All DMU are found technically inefficient only in the year 2006. Labour and equipment were not efficiently used in the year 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012. Furthermore, only three years 2006, 2010 and 2011 show that districts could not efficiently use transportation in a disaster situation. This study suggests that all districts should curtail labour, transportation and equipment to be efficient. Similarly, overall all districts are not required to achieve number of rescue and relief assistant, these should be reduced.

Keywords: DEA, DMU, PDMA, DDMA

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Authors: Hande Burcu Deniz

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People in the U.S. spend a considerable portion of their time indoors. This makes it crucial to provide environments that support the well-being of people. Restorative environments aim to help people recover their cognitive resources that were spent due to intensive use of directed attention. Spending time in nature and taking a nap are two of the best ways to restore these resources. However, they are not possible to do most of the time. The problem is that many studies have revealed how nature and spending time in natural contexts can help boost restoration, but there are fewer studies conducted to understand how cognitive resources can be restored in interior settings. This study aims to explore the answer to this question: which qualities of interiors increase the restorativeness of an interior setting and how do they mediate restorativeness of an interior. To do this, a phenomenological qualitative study was conducted. The study was interested in the definition of attention restoration and the experiences of the phenomena. As the themes emerged, they were analyzed to match with Attention Restoration Theory components (being away, extent, fascination, compatibility) to examine how interior design elements mediate the restorativeness of an interior. The data was gathered from semi-structured interviews with international residents of Minnesota. The interviewees represent young professionals who work in Minnesota and often experience mental fatigue. Also, they have less emotional connections with places in Minnesota, which enabled data to be based on the physical qualities of a space rather than emotional connections. In the interviews, participants were asked about where they prefer to be when they experience mental fatigue. Next, they were asked to describe the physical qualities of the places they prefer to be with reasons. Four themes were derived from the analysis of interviews. The themes are in order according to their frequency. The first, and most common, the theme was “connection to outside”. The analysis showed that people need to be either physically or visually connected to recover from mental fatigue. Direct connection to nature was reported as preferable, whereas urban settings were the secondary preference along with interiors. The second theme emerged from the analysis was “the presence of the artwork,” which was experienced differently by the interviewees. The third theme was “amenities”. Interviews pointed out that people prefer to have the amenities that support desired activity during recovery from mental fatigue. The last theme was “aesthetics.” Interviewees stated that they prefer places that are pleasing to their eyes. Additionally, they could not get rid of the feeling of being worn out in places that are not well-designed. When we matched the themes with the four art components (being away, extent, fascination, compatibility), some of the interior qualities showed overlapping since they were experienced differently by the interviewees. In conclusion, this study showed that interior settings have restorative potential, and they are multidimensional in their experience.

Keywords: attention restoration, fatigue, interior design, qualitative study, restorative environments

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Authors: Ati Sabrina, Arbouche Fodil

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Petite Kaloise is an endemic variety of peanut in El Kala region preceding was grown dry around the three lakes (Mellah, obeira, and Tonga) was threatened by extinctions whose study of its nutritional value allows us to initiate its recovery and revive its culture. the results of the study showed that the rate of the mineral is low due to the absence of fertilization , the fat is between (48.79, 32.33, and 43.07) % respectively for sites (EL KALA, Frine, and OUM TEBOUL). Nitrogen matter is of the order of 29.86 %. lignin remains low, the rate is around 3.94 % promoting good digestibility of organic matter.

Keywords: digestible, lakes, petite kaloise, nutritional value

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Authors: Sasitorn Chetanont, Benjaporn Yamjameung

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The objectives of this study are to increase tourism products and to develop family agro-tourism. The research methodology was to analyze internal and external situations according to MP-MF and the MC-STEPS principles. The results of this study highlight following necessary improvements; extend the cycling routes, increase the number of bicycle rental shops, offer a recreation place for the elders, organize a space for the floating market products and increase tourism activities throughout the year. In ‘places or distribution channel’ we discuss the improvement of facilities, specifically the routes to facilitate elder visitors and visitors on wheelchairs and furthermore the arrangement of educational trips to relevant centers in the community. In ‘promotions’, we discuss the implementation of an 'all inclusive package' were the agro-tourism program, health-conscious program and the elderly fun program converge.

Keywords: marketing planning strategy, agro-tourism, promotions, Bang Nam Phueng

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Authors: Ali Göksenli, Barlas Eryürek

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In this study, failure analysis of pipe system at a micro hydroelectric power plant is investigated. Failure occurred at the pipe system in the powerhouse during shut down operation of the water flow by a valve. This locking had caused a sudden shock wave, also called “Water-hammer effect”, resulting in noise and inside pressure increase. After visual investigation of the effect of the shock wave on the system, a circumference crack was observed at the pipe flange weld region. To establish the reason for crack formation, calculations of pressure and stress values at pipe, flange and welding seams were carried out and concluded that safety factor was high (2.2), indicating that no faulty design existed. By further analysis, pipe system and hydroelectric power plant was examined. After observations it is determined that the plant did not include a ventilation nozzle (air trap), that prevents the system of sudden pressure increase inside the pipes which is caused by water-hammer effect. Analyses were carried out to identify the influence of water-hammer effect on inside pressure increase and it was concluded that, according Jowkowsky’s equation, shut down time is effective on inside pressure increase. The valve closing time was uncertain but by a shut down time of even one minute, inside pressure would increase by 7.6 bar (working pressure was 34.6 bar). Detailed investigations were also carried out on the assembly of the pipe-flange system by considering technical drawings. It was concluded that the pipe-flange system was not installed according to the instructions. Two of five weld seams were not applied and one weld was carried out faulty. This incorrect and inadequate weld seams resulted in; insufficient connection of the pipe to the flange constituting a strong notch effect at weld seam regions, increase in stress values and the decrease of strength and safety factor

Keywords: failure analysis, hydroelectric plant, crack, shock wave, welding seam

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Authors: Kyoko Monden

Abstract:

Tourism has moved to the forefront of national attention in Japan since September of 2013 when Tokyo won its bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. The number of foreign tourists has continued to break records, reaching 13.4 million in 2014, and is now expected to hit 20 million sooner than initially targeted 2020 due to government stimulus promotions; an increase in low cost carriers; the weakening of the Japanese yen, and strong economic growth in Asia. The tourism industry can be an effective trigger in Japan’s economic recovery as foreign tourists spent two trillion yen ($16.6 million) in Japan in 2014. In addition, 81% of them were all from Asian countries, and it is essential to know that 68.9% of the world’s Muslims, about a billion people, live in South and Southeast Asia. An important question is ‘Do Muslim tourists feel comfortable traveling in Japan?’ This research was initiated by an encounter with Muslim visitors in Hiroshima, a popular international tourist destination, who said they had found very few suitable restaurants in Hiroshima. The purpose of this research is to examine halal implementation in Hiroshima and suggest the next steps to be taken to improve current efforts. The goal will be to provide anyone, Muslims included, with first class hospitality in the near future in preparation for the massive influx of foreign tourists in 2020. The methods of this research were questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, phone interviews, and internet research. First, this research aims to address the significance of growing inbound tourism in Japan, especially the expected growth in Muslim tourists. Additionally, it should address the strong popularity of eating Japanese foods in Asian Muslim countries and as ranked no. 1 thing foreign tourists want to do in Japan. Secondly, the current incipient stage of Hiroshima’s halal implementation at hotels, restaurants, and major public places were exposed, and the existing action plans by Hiroshima Prefecture Government were presented. Furthermore, two surveys were conducted to clarify basic halal awareness of local residents in Hiroshima, and to gauge the inconveniences Muslims living in Hiroshima faced. Thirdly, the reasons for this lapse were observed and compared to the benchmarking data of other major tourist sites, Hiroshima’s halal implementation plans were proposed. The conclusion is, despite increasing demands and interests in halal-friendly businesses, overall halal actions have barely been applied in Hiroshima. 76% of Hiroshima residents had no idea what halal or halaal meant. It is essential to increase halal awareness and its importance to the economy and to launch further actions to make Muslim tourists feel welcome in Hiroshima and the entire country.

Keywords: halaal, halal implementation, Hiroshima, inbound tourists in Japan

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Authors: Yanqing Yi, Maria Cristina Lavagnolo, Alessandro Manzardo

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Construction and demolition waste (C&DW) is a major challenge in the European Union, emphasizing the urgent need for appropriate waste management processes. Selecting these solutions is challenging, as it requires identifying efficient C&DW management techniques that balance acceptable practices, regulatory compliance, resource conservation, economic viability, and environmental concerns. Techniques for analyzing many kinds of criteria allow for the use of multi-criteria analysis in life cycle assessment (LCA). Although LCA is commonly used to analyze environmental effects, the economic factor has not been fully integrated into the LCA approach in C&DW management. The life cycle costing (LCC) approach was designed to assess economic performance in the C&DW management process. The choice of an effective multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique is critical for the C&DW system. This study seeks to propose a model that employs MCDM by considering LCA and LCC results, thereby augmenting both environmental and economic sustainability. A widely used compensatory MCDM technique, TOPSIS, has been chosen to identify the most effective C&DW management scheme by comparing and ranking various scenarios. Four waste management alternatives were examined in the Lombardy region of Italy, namely, (i) landfill; (ii) recycling for concrete production and road construction, incineration with energy recovery; (iii) recycling for road construction; (iv) recycling for concrete production and road construction. We determine that, with the implementation of various scenarios, the most suitable scenario emerges to be recycled for concrete production and road construction, with a score of 0.711/1; recycling for road construction, with a final score of 0.291/1, ranks second; recycling for concrete production and road construction, incineration with energy recovery scores 0.002/1, ranks third; and landfill (scores: 0/1) is the worst choice, indicating it has the highest environmental impact. Finally, suggestions were developed to improve the system's environmental performance.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, life cycle costing, construction and demolition waste, multi-criteria decision making

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