Search results for: platinum utilization

Authors: Tamás Hartványi, Ferenc Tóth

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European telecommunication distribution center performance is measured by service lead time and quality. Operation model is CTO (customized to order) namely, a high mix customization of telecommunication network equipment and parts. CTO operation contains material receiving, warehousing, network and server assembly to order and configure based on customer specifications. Variety of the product and orders does not support mass production structure. One of the success factors to satisfy customer is to have a proper aggregated planning method for the operation in order to have optimized human resources and highly efficient asset utilization. Research will investigate several methods and find proper way to have an order book simulation where practical optimization problem may contain thousands of variables and the simulation running times of developed algorithms were taken into account with high importance. There are two operation research models that were developed, customer demand is given in orders, no change over time, customer demands are given for product types, and changeover time is constant.

Keywords: CTO, aggregated planning, demand simulation, changeover time

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Authors: Dong-Ho Kim, Zheng-Xun Jin, Yong-Woon Cha, Su-Sang Lim, Sang-Won Han, Chang-Taek Hyun

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As construction is a labor-intensive industry, it is important to identify and manage labor quantities for accurate progress management of the construction project. However, the progress management that focuses on construction cost calculated based on materials rather than labor quantities has led to a difference in the implementation of cost and progress of the actual construction. In addition, since it is not easy to predict accurate labor quantities in the estimation of labor quantity-based progress rate, there have been limited researches into the progress rate estimation based on labor quantity. Accordingly, this study proposed a process for labor quantity-based progress rate estimation using a standard of estimate to predict accurate progress rate of the construction project in Republic Korea. It is expected that the utilization of the proposed process will help to identify the progress rate closer to that of the actual site management and adjust the workforce in each construction type, thereby contributing to improving construction efficiency.

Keywords: labor based, labor cost, progress management, progress rate, progress payment

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Authors: Uche A. Nnawulezi

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This paper analyzes the advancing nature of nuclear terrorism and proliferation in the global environment and its attendant impacts. It analyzes discourse and practice with respect to the general prohibition on the utilization of fissionable radioactive materials. Thus, there has been a few ideological, reasonable and academic recommendations of policies aimed at eliminating nuclear weapons which its ultimate nightmare has remained an assault including nuclear explosion in densely populated urban areas. Likewise, this paper concentrates on safety measures aimed at preventing nuclear assaults which should not just concentrate on endeavors to prevent terrorists from exploding nuclear gadgets but should be more concerned on endeavors aimed at preventing the acquisition of nuclear weapons in the first place. The author of this paper has pointed out that the non-proliferation treaty should be vigorously supported as well as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty brought into force. This paper depended unequivocally on secondary sources, for example, textbooks, journals, articles, and periodicals. It concludes that the fundamental proposals made in this paper if completely used shall remain a cornerstone of efforts made in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. At last, the only way is to eliminate stockpiles of nuclear weapons in the world or else the likelihood of nuclear terrorism remains a nightmare.

Keywords: nuclear, terrorism, proliferation, global environment

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Authors: Bhmika Raiu

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The community forestry programme in Nepal officially started in the late 1970s. Since then concerning movement has been evolving to involve local communities in the management and utilization of forests. The policy of the government was originally intended to meet the basic forest products required by the communities through active participation in forest development and management. Later, it was expanded to include the mobilization and empowerment of the members of community forest user groups in the development of their local communities. It was observed that the trend of forest degradation has decreased since the handing over of national forests to local communities, but a number of unintended social anomalies have also cropped up. Such anomalies essentially constitute of the inequity and unfairness in the local and national level and in terms of long-term sustainability of forest resources. This paper provides an overview of various issues of community forestry, especially focusing on the major achievements made in community forestry. It calls for rethinking the community forestry programme in order to face the present day challenges of linking community forestry with livelihood promotion, good governance, and sustainable forest management. It also lays out strategies for reforms in community forestry.

Keywords: community forest, livelihood promotion, challenges, achievements

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Authors: Inayat Ur Rehman, Georgia Sakellari

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Cloud computing has evolved into a vital technology for businesses, offering scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. However, maintaining high availability and optimal performance in the cloud is crucial for reliable services. This paper explores the significance of cloud monitoring and performance optimization in sustaining the high availability of cloud-based systems. It discusses diverse monitoring tools, techniques, and best practices for continually assessing the health and performance of cloud resources. The paper also delves into performance optimization strategies, including resource allocation, load balancing, and auto-scaling, to ensure efficient resource utilization and responsiveness. Addressing potential challenges in cloud monitoring and optimization, the paper offers insights into data security and privacy considerations. Through this thorough analysis, the paper aims to underscore the importance of cloud monitoring and performance optimization for ensuring a seamless and highly available cloud computing environment.

Keywords: cloud computing, cloud monitoring, performance optimization, high availability, scalability, resource allocation, load balancing, auto-scaling, data security, data privacy

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Authors: Toral Khalpada, Kanhai Joshi

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Generally, constructions of structures built in India are indeterminate structures. The purpose of this study is to investigate the application of a structure that is proved to be non-economical. The testing practice involves the application of different types of loads on both, determinate and indeterminate structure by computing it on a software system named Staad and also inspecting them practically on the construction site, analyzing the most efficient structure and diagnosing the utilization of the structure which is not so beneficial as compared to other. Redundant structures (indeterminate structure) are found to be more reasonable. All types of loads were applied on the beams of both determinate and indeterminate structures parallelly on the software and the same was done on the site practically which proved that maximum stresses in statically indeterminate structures are generally lower than those in comparable determinate structures. These structures are found to have higher stiffness resulting in lesser deformations so indeterminate structures are economical and are better than determinate structures to use for construction. On the other hand, statically determinate structures have the benefit of not producing stresses because of temperature changes. Therefore, our study tells that indeterminate structure is more beneficial but determinate structure also has used as it can be used in many areas; it can be used for the construction of two hinged arch bridges where two supports are sufficient and where there is no need for expensive indeterminate structure. Further investigation is needed to contrive more implementation of the determinate structure.

Keywords: construction, determinate structure, indeterminate structure, stress

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Authors: Adebayo J. Julius, Oluremi N. Iluyomade

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Livelihood in Nigeria is a paradox of poverty amidst plenty. The Country is endowed with a good climate for agriculture, naturally growing fruit trees and vegetables, and undomesticated water resources. In spite of all its endowment, Nigeria continues to live in poverty year in year out. This thus raises a very important question as to how can there be so much poverty in Nigeria with all its natural endowments. This study focused comparative analysis of the utilization of community informatics for sustainable livelihoods through agriculture. The idea projected in this study is that small strategic changes in the modus operandi of social informatics can have a significant impact on sustainability of livelihoods. This paper carefully explored the theories of community informatics and its efficacies in dealing with sustainability issues. This study identified, described and evaluates the roles of community informatics in some sectors of the economy, different analytical tools to benchmark the influence of social informatics in agriculture against what is obtainable in agricultural sectors of the economy were used. It further employed comparative analysis to build a case model for sustainable livelihood in agriculture through community informatics.

Keywords: informatics , model, rural community, livelihoods sustainability, Nigeria

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Authors: Joaquin Navarro Perales, Ana Lidia Franzoni Velázquez, Francisco Cervantes Pérez

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The Mexican educational system faces diverse challenges related with the quality and coverage of education. The development of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) may help to solve some of them by helping teachers to customize their classes according to the performance of the students in online courses. In this work, we propose the adaptation of a functional ITS based on Bloom’s taxonomy called Sistema de Apoyo Generalizado para la Enseñanza Individualizada (SAGE), to measure student’s metacognition and their emotional response based on Marzano’s taxonomy. The students and the system will share the control over the advance in the course, so they can improve their metacognitive skills. The system will not allow students to get access to subjects not mastered yet. The interaction between the system and the student will be implemented through Natural Language Processing techniques, thus avoiding the use of sensors to evaluate student’s response. The teacher will evaluate student’s knowledge utilization, which is equivalent to the last cognitive level in Marzano’s taxonomy.

Keywords: intelligent tutoring systems, student modelling, metacognition, affective computing, natural language processing

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Authors: Anvesh Rajak

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This is a new innovation that can be developed. Here I am going to use the waste heat of air conditioner so as to produce the electricity by using the Stirling engine because this waste heat creates the thermal pollution in the environment. The waste heat from the air conditioners has caused a temperature rise of 1°–2°C or more on weekdays in the Tokyo office areas. This heating promotes the heat-island phenomenon in Tokyo on weekdays. Now these air conditioners creates the thermal pollution in the environment and hence rising the temperature of the environment. Air conditioner generally emit the waste heat air whose temperature is about 50°C which heat the environment. Today the demand of energy is increasing tremendously, but available energy lacks in supply. Hence, there is no option for proper and efficient utilization and conservation of energy. In this paper the main stress is given on energy conservation by using technique of utilizing waste heat from Air-conditioning system. Actually the focus is on the use of the waste heat rather than improving the COP of the air- conditioners; if also we improve the COP of air conditioners gradually it would emit some waste heat so I want that waste heat to be used up. As I have used air conditioner’s waste heat to produce electricity so similarly there are various other appliances which emit the waste heat in the surrounding so here also we could use the Stirling engines and Geothermal heat pump concept to produce the electricity and hence can reduce the thermal pollution in the environment.

Keywords: stirling engine, geothermal heat pumps, waste heat, air conditioners

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Authors: Chuanbo Xu, Xinying Li, Gejirifu De, Yunna Wu

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Energy Internet (EI) is a new form that deeply integrates the Internet and the entire energy process from production to consumption. The assessment of energy efficient performance is of vital importance for the long-term sustainable development of EI project. Although the newly proposed fuzzy integrated cloud evaluation algorithm considers the randomness of uncertainty, it relies too much on the experience and knowledge of experts. Fortunately, the enrichment of EI data has enabled the utilization of data-driven methods. Therefore, the main purpose of this work is to assess the energy efficient of park-level EI by using a combination of a data-driven method with the fuzzy integrated cloud evaluation algorithm. Firstly, the indicators for the energy efficient are identified through literature review. Secondly, the artificial neural network (ANN)-based data-driven method is employed to cluster the values of indicators. Thirdly, the energy efficient of EI project is calculated through the fuzzy integrated cloud evaluation algorithm. Finally, the applicability of the proposed method is demonstrated by a case study.

Keywords: energy efficient, energy internet, data-driven, fuzzy integrated evaluation, cloud model

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Authors: Abul Quasem Al-Amin, Md. Hasanuzzaman, Mohammad Nurul Azam, Walter Leal Filho

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With regard to the future energy strategy and vision, this study aimed to find the drawbacks of proposed energy diversification policy for 2020. To have a clear picture of the drawback and competitive alternative, this study has explored two scenarios, namely Scenario a and Scenario b. The Scenario a indicates that in the year 2020 the GHG emissions would be 823,498.00 million tons (Mt) with a 2020 final demand and proposed fuel mix such as by the Five-Fuel Diversification Strategy. In contrast, as an alternative, the Scenario b with biofuel potentials indicates that the substitution of coal energy by 5%, 10%, and 15%, respectively, with biofuel, would reduce the GHG emissions from 374,551.00, 405,118.00, and 823,498.00 million tons to 339,964.00, 329,834.00, and 305,288.00 million tons, respectively, by the present fuel mix, business-as-usual fuel mix, and proposed fuel mix up to the year 2020. Therefore, this study has explored a healthy alternative by introducing biofuel renewable energy option instead of conventional energy utilization in the power generation with environmental aspect in minds. This study effort would lessen the gap between GHG mitigation and future sustainable development and would useful to formulate effective renewable energy strategy in Malaysia.

Keywords: energy, environmental impacts, renewable energy, biofuel, energy policy

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Authors: Sajjad Negahban, Ruihe Wang, Baojiang Sun

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Gas-lift dual gradient drilling is a solution for deepwater drilling challenges. As well, Continuous development of drilling technology leads to increase employment of mineral oil based drilling fluids and synthetic-based drilling fluids, which have adequate characteristics such as: high rate of penetration, lubricity, shale inhibition and low toxicity. The paper discusses utilization of nitrified mineral oil base drilling for deepwater drilling and for more accurate prediction of pressure in DGD at marine riser, solubility and bubble pressure were considered in steady state hydraulic model. The Standing bubble pressure and solubility correlations, and two models which were acquired from experimental determination were applied in hydraulic model. The effect of the black oil correlations, and new solubility and bubble pressure models was evaluated on the PVT parameters such as oil formation volume factor, density, viscosity, volumetric flow rate. Eventually, the consequent simulated pressure profile due to these models was presented.

Keywords: solubility, bubble pressure, gas-lift dual gradient drilling, steady state hydraulic model

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Authors: Mafunda Esther

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The paper seeks to find out and document the impact of culture and religion on disability, specifically language impairment and health care seeking practices of the Shona people. Its main objectives are to explore the cultural and religious beliefs that affect the utilization of rehabilitation services in a rural community in Zimbabwe. The other objective of the paper is to describe how language impairment is presented and understood by people living in a Zimbabwean rural area. The research is qualitative interpretive phenomenological research, and it utilizes the case study approach using semi structured interviews and focus group discussions. Results from the research established that religious and cultural beliefs determine how the Shona people view disability, and this guides their health care seeking practices. The research is important since communication disorders occur in populations worldwide though they are not always recognized as such. The lack of recognition of and the attitudes toward speech and languages disorders, as well as the beliefs about the causes of such disorders, affect people's attitudes toward the treatment of the disorders.

Keywords: culture, religion, disability, language impairment

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Authors: S. Fazi, B. Behdani

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The inland transportation of maritime containers entails the use of different modalities whose capacity is typically booked in advance. Containers may miss their scheduled departure time at a terminal for several reasons, such as delays, change of transport modes, multiple bookings pending. In those cases, it may be difficult for transport service providers to find last minute containers to fill the vacant capacity. Similarly to other industries, overbooking could potentially limit these drawbacks at the cost of a lower service level in case of actual excess of capacity in overbooked rides. However, the presence of multiple modalities may provide the required flexibility in rescheduling and limit the dissatisfaction of the shippers in case of containers in overbooking. This flexibility is known with the term 'synchromodality'. In this paper, we evaluate via discrete event simulation the application of overbooking. Results show that in certain conditions overbooking can significantly increase profit and utilization of high-capacity means of transport, such as barges and trains. On the other hand, in case of high penalty costs and limited no-show, overbooking may lead to an excessive use of expensive trucks.

Keywords: discrete event simulation, flexibility, inland shipping, multimodality, overbooking

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Authors: Ravi Prasad Darapureddi

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The use of industrial waste in making concrete reduce the consumption of natural resources and pollution of the environment. These materials possess problems of disposal and health hazards. An attempt has been made to use paper and thermal industrial wastes such as lime sludge and flyash. Present investigation is aimed at the utilization of Lime Sludge and Flyash as Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM) and influence of these materials on strength properties of concrete. Thermal industry waste fly ash is mixed with lime sludge and used as a replacement to cement at different proportions to obtain the strength properties and compared with ordinary concrete prepared without any additives. Grade of concrete prepared was M₂₅ designed according to Indian standard method. Cement has been replaced by paper industry waste and fly ash in different proportions such as 0% (normal concrete), 10%, 20%, and 30% by weight. Mechanical properties such as compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength were assessed. Test results indicated that the use of lime sludge and Fly ash in concrete had improved the properties of concrete. Better results were observed at 20% replacement of cement with these additives.

Keywords: supplementary cementitious materials, lime sludge, fly ash, strength properties

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Authors: Zixuan Yang

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This paper presents an analysis of the necessary consideration culture in distributed design through a thorough literature review and case study. The literature review has identified that the need for understanding cultural differences in product design and user evaluations is highlighted by analyzing cross-cultural influences; culture plays a significant role in distributed work, particularly in establishing team cohesion, trust, and credibility early in the project. By applying approaches of Geert Hofstede's dimensions and Fukuyama's trust analysis, a case study of a global design project, i.e., multicultural distributed teamwork solving the problem in terms of reducing the risk of deep vein thrombosis, showcases cultural dynamics, emphasizing trust-building and decision-making. The lessons learned emphasized the importance of cultural awareness, adaptability, and the utilization of scientific theories to enable effective cross-cultural collaborations in global design, providing valuable insights into navigating cultural diversity within design practices.

Keywords: culture, distributed design, global design, Geert Hofstede's dimensions, Fukuyama's trust analysis

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Authors: John Onyima, Ikechukwu Ezepue

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Virtualization and cloud computing are among the fast-growing computing innovations in recent times. Organisations all over the world are moving their computing services towards the cloud this is because of its rapid transformation of the organization’s infrastructure and improvement of efficient resource utilization and cost reduction. However, this technology brings new security threats and challenges about safety, reliability and data confidentiality. Evidently, no single security technique can guarantee security or protection against malicious attacks on a cloud computing network hence an integrated model of intrusion detection and prevention system has been proposed. Anomaly-based and signature-based detection techniques will be integrated to enable the network and its host defend themselves with some level of intelligence. The anomaly-base detection was implemented using the local deviation factor graph-based (LDFGB) algorithm while the signature-based detection was implemented using the snort algorithm. Results from this collaborative intrusion detection and prevention techniques show robust and efficient security architecture for cloud computing networks.

Keywords: anomaly-based detection, cloud computing, intrusion detection, intrusion prevention, signature-based detection

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Authors: Maya Jaber

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In today's ever-changing world, organizational leaders will need to transform their organizations to meet the demands they face from employees, consumers, local and federal governments, and the global market. Change agents and leaders will need a new paradigm of thinking for creative problem solving and innovation in a time of uncertainty. A new framework that is developed from Design Science Research foundations with holistic design thinking methodologies (HTDM) and action research approaches has been developed through Dr. Jaber’s research. It combines these philosophies into a three-step process that can be utilized in practice for any sustainability, change, or project management applications. This framework was developed to assist in the pedagogy for the implementation of her holistic strategy formalized framework Integral Design Thinking (IDT). Her work focuses on real world application for the streamlining and adoption of initiatives into organizational culture transformation. This paper will discuss the foundations of this philosophy and the methods for utilization in practice developed in Dr. Jaber's research.

Keywords: design science research, action research, critical thinking, design thinking, organizational transformation, sustainability management, organizational culture change

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Authors: Kemi Olalekan Oduntan

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This paper is of the view that entrepreneurship education (if well utilized) can solve the problems of unemployment and the clamor for paid employment in Nigeria. Nigeria educational system is bookish too more academically oriented thereby neglecting the entrepreneurial and vocational values to a greater extent. This paper examines the utilization of entrepreneurship education as a way out of the myriad of unemployment in Nigeria, with the need to refocus Nigeria educational system towards skills acquisition that prepares Nigerians for self-reliance, hence being an employer of labor, while sustainable development and economic diversification are also stressed. The paper further argues that entrepreneurship education will equip the students and Nigeria working class youth with the skills to be jobs creators and become an employer of labor which it will solve Nigeria’s problems such as poverty, overdependence on foreign goods, low economic growth and poor infrastructural development among others. We concludes and recommends that a new pedagogy that prepares students and working class youth with knowledge and practical skills to be entrepreneurial be instituted, promoted and made compulsory in all our tertiary institutions as a way of reducing the menace unemployment in Nigeria.

Keywords: entrepreneurship education, unemployment, national development, self-employment

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Authors: Yakubu Bala Mohammed, Nadire Chavus, Mohammed Bulama

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Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) represents an artificial intelligence (AI) tool capable of swiftly generating comprehensive responses to prompts and follow-up inquiries. This emerging AI tool was introduced in November 2022 by OpenAI firm, an American AI research laboratory, utilizing substantial language models. This present study aims to delve into the potential future consequences of ChatGPT usage in education using AI-based algorithms. The paper will bring forth the likely potential risks of ChatGBT utilization, such as academic integrity concerns, unfair learning assessments, excessive reliance on AI, and dissemination of inaccurate information using four machine learning algorithms: eXtreme-Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Support vector machine (SVM), Emotional artificial neural network (EANN), and Random forest (RF) would be used to analyze the study collected data due to their robustness. Finally, the findings of the study will assist education stakeholders in understanding the future implications of ChatGPT usage in education and propose solutions and directions for upcoming studies.

Keywords: machine learning, ChatGPT, education, learning, implications

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Authors: Zhang Jiafeng

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Stone houses, represented by Shitang town, Wenling town, Taizhou city, are very precious cultural relics in Zhejiang province and even in the whole country. The coastal residences in eastern Zhejiang with distinctive regional characteristics are completely different from the traditional residential styles in the inland areas of Zhejiang. However, with the aggravation of the conflict between the use function of traditional stone houses and the modern lifestyle, and the lack of effective protection, stone houses are disappearing in large numbers. Therefore, it is very important to protect and inherit the stone house building, and make effective and feasible development strategies. This paper will analyze the formation background, location selection, plane layout, architectural form, spatial organization, material application, and construction technology of the stone houses through literature research and field investigation. In addition, a series of feasibility studies are carried out on the protection and renovation of stone houses. The ultimate purpose is to attract people's attention and provide some reference for the protection, inheritance, development, and utilization of traditional houses in coastal areas.

Keywords: regional, stone house building, traditional houses, Wenling Shitang

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Authors: Robert Höttger, Lukas Krawczyk, Burkhard Igel

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This paper introduces novel approaches to partitioning and mapping in terms of model-based embedded multicore system engineering and further discusses benefits, industrial relevance and features in common with existing approaches. In order to assess and evaluate results, both approaches have been applied to a real industrial application as well as to various prototypical demonstrative applications, that have been developed and implemented for different purposes. Evaluations show, that such applications improve significantly according to performance, energy efficiency, meeting timing constraints and covering maintaining issues by using the AMALTHEA platform and the implemented approaches. Further- more, the model-based design provides an open, expandable, platform independent and scalable exchange format between OEMs, suppliers and developers on different levels. Our proposed mechanisms provide meaningful multicore system utilization since load balancing by means of partitioning and mapping is effectively performed with regard to the modeled systems including hardware, software, operating system, scheduling, constraints, configuration and more data.

Keywords: partitioning, mapping, distributed systems, scheduling, embedded multicore systems, model-based, system analysis

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Authors: D. S. Fardhyanti, A. Damayanti

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The utilization of biomass as a source of new and renewable energy is being carried out. One of the technologies to convert biomass as an energy source is pyrolysis which is converting biomass into more valuable products, such as bio-oil. Bio-oil is a liquid which is produced by steam condensation process from the pyrolysis of coconut shells. The composition of a coconut shell e.g. hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin will be oxidized to phenolic compounds as the main component of the bio-oil. The phenolic compounds in bio-oil are corrosive; they cause various difficulties in the combustion system because of a high viscosity, low calorific value, corrosiveness, and instability. Phenolic compounds are very valuable components which phenol has used as the main component for the manufacture of antiseptic, disinfectant (known as Lysol) and deodorizer. The experiments typically occurred at the atmospheric pressure in a pyrolysis reactor at temperatures ranging from 300 ^oC to 350 ^oC with a heating rate of 10 ^oC/min and a holding time of 1 hour at the pyrolysis temperature. The Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) was used to analyze the bio-oil components. The obtained bio-oil has the viscosity of 1.46 cP, the density of 1.50 g/cm³, the calorific value of 16.9 MJ/kg, and the molecular weight of 1996.64. By GC-MS, the analysis of bio-oil showed that it contained phenol (40.01%), ethyl ester (37.60%), 2-methoxy-phenol (7.02%), furfural (5.45%), formic acid (4.02%), 1-hydroxy-2-butanone (3.89%), and 3-methyl-1,2-cyclopentanedione (2.01%).

Keywords: bio-oil, pyrolysis, coconut shell, phenol, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy

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Authors: Adetoun Adedotun Amubode

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Nigeria's Textile Industry was the second largest in Africa after Egypt, with above 250 vibrant factories and over 50 percent capacity utilization contributing to foreign exchange earnings and employment generation. Currently, multifaceted challenges such as epileptic power supply, inconsistent government policies, growing digitalization, smuggling of foreign textiles, insecurity and the inability of the local industries to compete with foreign products, especially Chinese textile, has created a hostile environment for the sector. This led to the closure of most of the textile industries. China's textile industry has experienced institutional change and industrial restructuring, having 30% of the world's market share. This paper examined the strategies adopted by China in transforming her textile and clothing industries and designed a model for the integration of these strategies to improve the competitive strength and growth of the Nigerian textile and clothing industries in a dynamic and changing market. The paper concludes that institutional support, regional production, export-oriented policy, value-added and branding cultivation, technological upgrading and enterprise resource planning be integrated into the Nigerian clothing and textile industries.

Keywords: clothing, industry, integration, Nigerian, textile, transformation.

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Authors: Niharika Kaushal, Minni Singh

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Citrus fruits fall into the category of those commercially grown fruits that constitute an excellent repository of phytochemicals with health-promoting properties. Fruits belonging to the citrus family, when processed by industries, produce tons of agriculture by-products in the form of peels, pulp, and seeds, which normally have no further usage and are commonly discarded. In spite of this, such residues are of paramount importance due to their richness in valuable compounds; therefore, agro-waste is considered a valuable bioresource for various purposes in the food sector. A range of biological properties, including anti-oxidative, anti-cancerous, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenicity, and anti-aging activity, have been reported for these bioactive compounds. Taking advantage of these inexpensive residual sources requires special attention to extract bioactive compounds. Mandarin (Citrus nobilis X Citrus deliciosa) is a potential source of bioflavonoids with antioxidant properties, and it is increasingly regarded as a functional food. Despite these benefits, flavonoids suffer from a barrier of pre-systemic metabolism in gastric fluid, which impedes their effectiveness. Therefore, colloidal delivery systems can completely overcome the barrier in question. This study involved the extraction and identification of key flavonoids from mandarin biomass. Using a green chemistry approach, supercritical fluid extraction at 330 bar, temperature 40C, and co-solvent 10% ethanol was employed for extraction, and the identification of flavonoids was made by mass spectrometry. As flavonoids are concerned with a limitation, the obtained extract was encapsulated in polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) matrix using a solvent evaporation method. Additionally, the antioxidant potential was evaluated by the 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. A release pattern of flavonoids was observed over time using simulated gastrointestinal fluids. From the results, it was observed that the total flavonoids extracted from the mandarin biomass were estimated to be 47.3 ±1.06 mg/ml rutin equivalents as total flavonoids. In the extract, significantly, polymethoxyflavones (PMFs), tangeretin and nobiletin were identified, followed by hesperetin and naringin. The designed flavonoid-PLGA nanoparticles exhibited a particle size between 200-250nm. In addition, the bioengineered nanoparticles had a high entrapment efficiency of nearly 80.0% and maintained stability for more than a year. Flavonoid nanoparticles showed excellent antioxidant activity with an IC50 of 0.55μg/ml. Morphological studies revealed the smooth and spherical shape of nanoparticles as visualized by Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Simulated gastrointestinal studies of free extract and nanoencapsulation revealed the degradation of nearly half of the flavonoids under harsh acidic conditions in the case of free extract. After encapsulation, flavonoids exhibited sustained release properties, suggesting that polymeric encapsulates are efficient carriers of flavonoids. Thus, such technology-driven and biomass-derived products form the basis for their use in the development of functional foods with improved therapeutic potential and antioxidant properties. As a result, citrus processing waste can be considered a new resource that has high value and can be used for promoting its utilization.

Keywords: citrus, agrowaste, flavonoids, nanoparticles

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Authors: Ari Lindeman, Melina Maunula, Jani Kiviranta, Ronja Pölkki

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The aim of this paper is to build a vision of the utilization of creative industry competences in industrial and services firms connected to Kymenlaakso region, Finland, smart specialization focus areas. Research indicates that creativity and the use of creative industry’s inputs can enhance innovation and competitiveness. Currently creative methods and services are underutilized in regional businesses and the added value they provide is not well grasped. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative exploratory approach. Data is collected in multiple ways including a survey, focus groups, and interviews. Theoretically, the paper contributes to the discussion about the use creative industry competences in regional development, and argues for building regional creative economy ecosystems in close co-operation with regional strategies and traditional industries rather than as treating regional creative industry ecosystem initiatives separate from them. The practical contribution of the paper is the creative vision for the use of regional authorities in updating smart specialization strategy as well as boosting industrial and creative & cultural sectors’ competitiveness. The paper also illustrates a research-based model of vision building.

Keywords: business, cooperation, creative economy, regional development, vision

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Authors: Noel Jeygar Robert, V. K.Vidya

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Cognitive radio is a software-defined radio technology that allows cognitive users to operate on the vacant bands of spectrum allocated to licensed users. Cognitive radio plays a vital role in the efficient utilization of wireless radio spectrum available between cognitive users and licensed users without making any interference to licensed users. The spectrum allocation followed by spectrum sharing is done in a fashion where a cognitive user has to wait until spectrum holes are identified and allocated when the licensed user moves out of his own allocated spectrum. In this paper, we propose a self –coexistence strategy using bargaining and Cournot game model for achieving spectrum allocation in cognitive radio networks. The game-theoretic model analyses the behaviour of cognitive users in both cooperative and non-cooperative scenarios and provides an equilibrium level of spectrum allocation. Game-theoretic models such as bargaining game model and Cournot game model produce a balanced distribution of spectrum resources and energy consumption. Simulation results show that both game theories achieve better performance compared to other popular techniques

Keywords: cognitive radio, game theory, bargaining game, Cournot game

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Authors: Mihaela Beregoi, Horia Iovu, Cristina Busuioc, Alexandru Evanghelidis, Elena Matei, Monica Enculescu, Ionut Enculescu

Abstract:

Nanomaterials field is very attractive for all researchers who are attempting to develop new devices with the same or improved properties than the micro-sized ones, while reducing the reagents and power consumptions. In this way, a wide range of nanomaterials were fabricated and integrated in applications for electronics, optoelectronics, solar cells, tissue reconstruction and drug delivery. Obviously, the most appealing ones are those dedicated to the medical domain. Different types of nano-sized materials, such as particles, fibers, films etc., can be synthesized by using physical, chemical or electrochemical methods. One of these techniques is electrospinning, which enable the production of fibers with nanometric dimensions by pumping a polymeric solution in a high electric field; due to the electrostatic charging and solvent evaporation, the precursor mixture is converted into nonwoven meshes with different fiber densities and mechanical properties. Moreover, polyaniline is a conducting polymer with interesting optical properties, suitable for displays and electrochromic windows. Otherwise, polyaniline is an electroactive polymer that can contract/expand by applying electric stimuli, due to the oxidation/reduction reactions which take place in the polymer chains. These two main properties can be exploited in order to synthesize smart materials that change their dimensions, exhibiting in the same time good electrochromic properties. In the context aforesaid, a poly(methyl metacrylate) solution was spun to get webs composed of fibers with diameter values between 500 nm and 1 µm. Further, the polymer meshes were covered with a gold layer in order to make them conductive and also appropriate as working electrode in an electrochemical cell. The gold shell was deposited by DC sputtering. Such metalized fibers can be transformed into smart materials by covering them with a thin layer of conductive polymer. Thus, the webs were coated with a polyaniline film by the electrochemical route, starting from and aqueous solution of aniline and sulfuric acid, where sulfuric acid acts as oxidant agent. For the polymerization of aniline, a saturated calomel electrode was employed as reference, a platinum plate as counter electrode and the gold covered webs as working electrode. Chronoamperometry was selected as deposition method for polyaniline, by modifying the deposition time. Metalized meshes with different fiber densities were used, the transmission ranging between 70 and 80 %. The morphological investigation showed that polyaniline layer has a granular structure for all deposition experiments. As well, some preliminary optical tests were done by using sulfuric acid as electrolyte, which revealed the modification of polyaniline colour from green to dark blue when applying a voltage. In conclusion, new multilayered materials were obtained by a simple approach: the merge of the electrospinning method benefits with polyaniline chemistry. This synthesis method allows the fabrication of structures with reproducible characteristics, suitable for display or tissue substituents.

Keywords: electrospinning, fibers, smart materials, polyaniline

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Authors: M. Ahmed Eldesouky, S. Nasr, A. Beltagy

Abstract:

Groundwater is generally considered as the best source for aquaculture as it is well protected from contamination. The most common problem limiting the use of groundwater in Egypt is its high iron, manganese and ammonia content. This problem is often overcome by applying the treatment before use. Aeration in many cases is not enough to oxidize iron and manganese in complex forms with organics. Most of the treatment we use potassium permanganate as an oxidizer followed by a pressurized closed green sand filter. The aim of present study is to investigate the optimum characteristics of groundwater to give lowest iron, manganese and ammonia, maximum production and quality of fish in aquaculture in El-Max Research Station. The major design goal of the system was determined the optimum time for harvesting the treated water, pH, and Glauconite weight to use it for aquaculture process in the research site and achieve the Egyptian law (48/1982) and EPA level required for aquaculture. The water characteristics are [Fe = 0.116 mg/L, Mn = 1.36 mg/L,TN = 0.44 mg/L , TP = 0.07 mg/L , Ammonia = 0.386 mg/L] by using the glauconite filter we obtained high efficiency for removal for [(Fe, Mn and Ammonia] ,but in the Lab we obtained result for (Fe, 43-97), ( Mn,92-99 ), and ( Ammonia, 66-88 )]. We summarized the results to show the optimum time, pH, Glauconite weight, and the best model for design in the region.

Keywords: aquaculture, ammonia in groundwater, groundwater, iron and manganese in water, groundwater treatment

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Authors: Sahar Nasr, Lin Li, Edwin Wang

Abstract:

Bladder cancer (BLCA) is known as the 13th cause of death among cancer patients worldwide, and ~575,000 new BLCA cases are diagnosed each year. Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is the most prevalent subtype among BLCA patients, which can be categorized into muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Currently, various therapeutic options are available for UC patients, including (1) transurethral resection followed by intravesical instillation of chemotherapeutics or Bacillus Calmette-Guérin for NMIBC patients, (2) neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy (NAC) plus radical cystectomy is the standard of care for localized MIBC patients, and (3) systematic chemotherapy for metastatic UC. However, conventional treatments may lead to several challenges for treating patients. As an illustration, some patients may suffer from recurrence of the disease after the first line of treatment. Recently, immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) has been introduced as an alternative treatment strategy for the first or second line of treatment in advanced or metastatic BLCA patients. Although ICT showed lucrative results for a fraction of BLCA patients, ~80% of patients were not responsive to it. Therefore, novel treatment methods are required to augment the ICI response rate within BLCA patients. It has been shown that the infiltration of T-cells into the tumor microenvironment (TME) is positively correlated with the response to ICT within cancerous patients. Therefore, the goal of this study is to enhance the infiltration of cytotoxic T-cells into TME through the identification of target genes within the tumor that are responsible for the non-T-cell inflamed TME and their inhibition. BLCA bulk RNA-sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and immune score for TCGA samples were used to determine the Pearson correlation score between the expression of different genes and immune score for each sample. The genes with strong negative correlations were selected (r < -0.2). Thereafter, the correlation between the expression of each gene and survival in BLCA patients was calculated using the TCGA data and Cox regression method. The genes that are common in both selected gene lists were chosen for further analysis. Afterward, BLCA bulk and single-cell RNA-sequencing data were ranked based on the expression of each selected gene and the top and bottom 25% samples were used for pathway enrichment analysis. If the pathways related to the T-cell infiltration (e.g., antigen presentation, interferon, or chemokine pathways) were enriched within the low-expression group, the gene was included for downstream analysis. Finally, the selected genes will be used to calculate the correlation between their expression and the infiltration rate of the activated CD+8 T-cells, natural killer cells and the activated dendric cells. A list of potential target genes has been identified and ranked based on the above-mentioned analysis and criteria. SUN-1 got the highest score within the gene list and other identified genes in the literature as benchmarks. In conclusion, inhibition of SUN1 may increase the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and the efficacy of ICI in BLCA patients. BLCA tumor cells with and without SUN-1 CRISPR/Cas9 knockout will be injected into the syngeneic mouse model to validate the predicted SUN-1 effect on increasing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes.

Keywords: data analysis, gene expression analysis, gene identification, immunoinformatic, functional genomics, transcriptomics

Procedia PDF Downloads 149