Search results for: peak-to-average power ratio

Authors: Priscila A. Bernardes, Marcos E. Buzanskas, Luciana C. A. Regitano, Ricardo V. Ventura, Danisio P. Munari

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The best linear unbiased predictor (BLUP) is a method commonly used in genetic evaluations of breeding programs. However, this approach can lead to higher inbreeding coefficients in the population due to the intensive use of few bulls with higher genetic potential, usually presenting some degree of relatedness. High levels of inbreeding are associated to low genetic viability, fertility, and performance for some economically important traits and therefore, should be constantly monitored. Unreliable pedigree data can also lead to misleading results. Genomic information (i.e., single nucleotide polymorphism – SNP) is a useful tool to estimate the inbreeding coefficient. Runs of homozygosity have been used to evaluate homozygous segments inherited due to direct or collateral inbreeding and allows inferring population selection history. This study aimed to evaluate runs of homozygosity (ROH) and inbreeding in a population of Nelore beef cattle. A total of 814 animals were genotyped with the Illumina BovineHD BeadChip and the quality control was carried out excluding SNPs located in non-autosomal regions, with unknown position, with a p-value in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium lower than 10⁻⁵, call rate lower than 0.98 and samples with the call rate lower than 0.90. After the quality control, 809 animals and 509,107 SNPs remained for analyses. For the ROH analysis, PLINK software was used considering segments with at least 50 SNPs with a minimum length of 1Mb in each animal. The inbreeding coefficient was calculated using the ratio between the sum of all ROH sizes and the size of the whole genome (2,548,724kb). A total of 25.711 ROH were observed, presenting mean, median, minimum, and maximum length of 3.34Mb, 2Mb, 1Mb, and 80.8Mb, respectively. The number of SNPs present in ROH segments varied from 50 to 14.954. The longest ROH length was observed in one animal, which presented a length of 634Mb (24.88% of the genome). Four bulls were among the 10 animals with the longest extension of ROH, presenting 11% of ROH with length higher than 10Mb. Segments longer than 10Mb indicate recent inbreeding. Therefore, the results indicate an intensive use of few sires in the studied data. The distribution of ROH along the chromosomes showed that chromosomes 5 and 6 presented a large number of segments when compared to other chromosomes. The mean, median, minimum, and maximum inbreeding coefficients were 5.84%, 5.40%, 0.00%, and 24.88%, respectively. Although the mean inbreeding was considered low, the ROH indicates a recent and intensive use of few sires, which should be avoided for the genetic progress of breed.

Keywords: autozygosity, Bos taurus indicus, genomic information, single nucleotide polymorphism

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Authors: Foad Hassaninejadafarahani, Scott Ormiston

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Reflux condensation occurs in a vertical channels and tubes when there is an upward core flow of vapor (or gas-vapor mixture) and a downward flow of the liquid film. The understanding of this condensation configuration is crucial in the design of reflux condensers, distillation columns, and in loss-of-coolant safety analyses in nuclear power plant steam generators. The unique feature of this flow is the upward flow of the vapor-gas mixture (or pure vapor) that retards the liquid flow via shear at the liquid-mixture interface. The present model solves the full, elliptic governing equations in both the film and the gas-vapor core flow. The computational mesh is non-orthogonal and adapts dynamically the phase interface, thus produces sharp and accurate interface. Shear forces and heat and mass transfer at the interface are accounted for fundamentally. This modeling is a big step ahead of current capabilities by removing the limitations of previous reflux condensation models which inherently cannot account for the detailed local balances of shear, mass, and heat transfer at the interface. Discretisation has been done based on a finite volume method and a co-located variable storage scheme. An in-house computer code was developed to implement the numerical solution scheme. Detailed results are presented for laminar reflux condensation from steam-air mixtures flowing in vertical parallel plate channels. The results include velocity and pressure profiles, as well as axial variations of film thickness, Nusselt number and interface gas mass fraction.

Keywords: Reflux, Condensation, CFD-Two Phase, Nusselt number

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Authors: K. Rajarajeswaran, Krishna Prasad

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Introduction: Refractory shock is a typical consequence of sepsis that does not improve with standard vasopressor therapy. A possible adjuvant therapeutic option for treating refractory shock in sepsis is methylene blue. This study looked at the effects of intravenous methylene blue plus norepinephrine given as a single bolus infusion on mortality and hemodynamic improvement in patients suffering from refractory shock. Methodology: This six-month observational prospective study was carried out at an intensive care unit, teaching hospital, and medical college. It involved 112 patients who had been diagnosed with refractory septic shock and needed vasopressor medication. Group B received injection norepinephrine 0.01 µg/kg/min infusion alone, while Group A received injection methylene blue 2 mg/kg iv single bolus (fixed dose) in addition to injection norepinephrine 0.01 µg/kg/min infusion. Both groups' noradrenaline doses were titrated to reach the desired MAP of 60–75 mm Hg. The amount of norepinephrine needed to sustain a MAP of more than 60 mm Hg was the data gathered. Serum lactate, procalcitonin level, C-reactive protein, length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, and duration of mechanical ventilation, incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI), and mortality were compared. Results: A total of 112 patients with refractory shock were included in the study. With the use of IV methylene blue, 36 (59.3%) patients showed significant improvement in MAP within 2 hours (77.12 ± 8.90 vs 74.28 ± 21.84, p = 0.005). Responders were 4.009 times more likely to have vasopressor-free time within 24 hours (19.5% vs 6.1%, p = 0.022, odds ratio 5.017, 95% confidence interval, 1.110–14.283). The serum lactate was lower, and urine output was higher in group I than in group II (p <0.05). Group I had a significantly greater reduction in SOFA score in 12 hours than group II. However, there was no significant difference in terms of mortality, length of ICU stay, ventilator free days, and incidence of AKI. In the responder group, there was a significant increase in the MAP and decrease in vasopressor requirement pre- and post-infusion of methylene blue (p < 0.05). Responder had shorter vasopressor-free days as compared with non-responder (5.44 vs 6.99, p = 0.007). Conclusion: When administered as adjuvant therapy, a single-dose bolus infusion of Methylene Blue plus Norepinephrine may aid in meeting early resuscitation goals for the management of patients with septic shock. But the patients' death rate, ICU stay duration, ventilator-free days, or incidence of AKI were unchanged.

Keywords: norepinephrine, methylene blue, shock, vasopressor

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Authors: Mingjiang Dai, Qian Shi, Fang Hu, Songsheng Lin, Huijun Hou, Chunbei Wei

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A diamond-like carbon (DLC) is considered as a promising protective film since its high hardness and excellent tribological properties. However, DLC films are very sensitive to the environmental condition, its friction coefficient could dramatic change in high humidity, therefore, limited their further application in aerospace, the watch industry, and micro/nano-electromechanical systems. Therefore, most studies focus on the low friction coefficient of DLC films at a high humid environment. However, this is out of satisfied in practical application. An important thing was ignored is that the DLC coated components are usually used in the diversed environment, which means its friction coefficient may evidently change in different humid condition. As a result, the invalidation of DLC coated components or even sometimes disaster occurred. For example, DLC coated minisize gears were used in the watch industry, and the customer may frequently transform their locations with different weather and humidity even in one day. If friction coefficient is not stable in dry and high moisture conditions, the watch will be inaccurate. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the stable tribological behavior of DLC films in various environments. In this study, a-C:H:Si films were deposited by multi-function magnetron sputtering system, containing one ion source device and a pair of SiC dual mid-frequent targets and two direct current Ti/C targets. Hydrogenated carbon layers were manufactured by sputtering the graphite target in argon and methane gasses. The silicon was doped in DLC coatings by sputtering silicon carbide targets and the doping content were adjusted by mid-frequent sputtering current. The microstructure of the film was characterized by Raman spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy while its friction behavior under different humidity conditions was studied using a ball-on-disc tribometer. The a-C:H films with Si content from 0 to 17at.% were obtained and the influence of Si content on the structure and tribological properties under the relative humidity of 50% and 85% were investigated. Results show that the a-C:H:Si film has typical diamond-like characteristics, in which Si mainly existed in the form of Si, SiC, and SiO2. As expected, the friction coefficient of a-C:H films can be effectively changed after Si doping, from 0.302 to 0.176 in RH 50%. The further test shows that the friction coefficient value of a-C:H:Si film in RH 85% is first increase and then decrease as a function of Si content. We found that the a-C:H:Si films with a Si content of 3.75 at.% show a stable friction coefficient of 0.13 in different humidity environment. It is suggestion that the sp3/sp2 ratio of a-C:H films with 3.75 at.% Si was higher than others, which tend to form the silica-gel-like sacrificial layers during friction tests. Therefore, the films deliver stable low friction coefficient under controlled RH value of 50 and 85%.

Keywords: diamond-like carbon, Si doping, moisture environment, table low friction coefficient

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Authors: G. S. Ayyappan, Srinivas Kota, Jaffer R. C. Sheriff, C. Prakash Chandra Joshua

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In the present scenario of energy crises, energy conservation in the electrical machines is very important in the industries. In order to conserve energy, one needs to monitor the performance of an induction motor on-site and in-situ. The instruments available for this purpose are very meager and very expensive. This paper deals with the design and development of induction motor performance analyser on-line, on-site, and in-situ. The system measures only few electrical input parameters like input voltage, line current, power factor, frequency, powers, and motor shaft speed. These measured data are coupled to name plate details and compute the operating efficiency of induction motor. This system employs the method of computing motor losses with the help of equivalent circuit parameters. The equivalent circuit parameters of the concerned motor are estimated using the developed algorithm at any load conditions and stored in the system memory. The developed instrument is a reliable, accurate, compact, rugged, and cost-effective one. This portable instrument could be used as a handy tool to study the performance of both slip ring and cage induction motors. During the analysis, the data can be stored in SD Memory card and one can perform various analyses like load vs. efficiency, torque vs. speed characteristics, etc. With the help of the developed instrument, one can operate the motor around its Best Operating Point (BOP). Continuous monitoring of the motor efficiency could lead to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of motors. LCA helps in taking decisions on motor replacement or retaining or refurbishment.

Keywords: energy conservation, equivalent circuit parameters, induction motor efficiency, life cycle assessment, motor performance analysis

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Authors: R. Prinsloo

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Amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSC) have been shown to contribute towards the amelioration of Acute Renal Failure (ARF), but the mechanisms underlying the renoprotective effect are largely unknown. Therefore, the main goal of the current study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of AFSC in a cisplatin-induced rat model of ARF and to investigate the underlying mechanisms responsible for its renoprotective effect. To study the therapeutic efficacy of AFSC, ARF was induced in Wistar rats by an intra-peritoneal injection of cisplatin, and five days after administration, the rats were randomized into two groups and injected with either AFSC or normal saline intravenously. On day 8 and 12 after cisplatin injection, i.e., day 3 and day7 post-therapy respectively, the blood biochemical parameters, histopathological changes, apoptosis, and expression of pro-apoptotic, anti-apoptotic and autophagy-related proteins in renal tissues were studied in both groups of rats. Administration of AFSC in ARF rats resulted in improvement of renal function and attenuation of renal damage as reflected by significant decrease in blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine levels, tubular cell apoptosis as assessed by Bax/Bcl2 ratio, and expression of the pro-apoptotic proteins viz. PUMA, Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9 as compared to saline-treated group. Furthermore, in the AFSC-treated group as compared to saline-treated group, there was a significant increase in the activation of autophagy as evident by increased expression of LC3-II, ATG5, ATG7, Beclin1 and phospho-AMPK levels with a concomitant decrease in phospho-p70S6K and p62 expression levels. To further confirm whether the protective effects of AFSC on cisplatin-induced apoptosis were dependent on autophagy, chloroquine, an autophagy inhibitor was administered by the intra-peritoneal route. Chloroquine administration led to significant reduction in the anti-apoptotic effects of the AFSC therapy and further deterioration in the renal structure and function caused by cisplatin. Collectively, our results put forth that AFSC ameliorates cisplatin-induced ARF through induction of autophagy and inhibition of apoptosis. Furthermore, the protective effects of AFSC were blunted by chloroquine, highlighting that activation of autophagy is an important mechanism of action for the protective role of AFSC in cisplatin-induced renal injury.

Keywords: best interest of the child, children's rights, parent and child relationship, parental responsibilities and rights

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Authors: Annesha Ghosh, S. B. Agrawal

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Agricultural sector is facing a serious threat due to climate change and exacerbation of different atmospheric pollutants. Tropospheric ozone (O₃) is considered as a dynamic air pollutant imposing substantial phytotoxicity to natural vegetations and agriculture worldwide. Naturally, plants are exposed to different environmental factors and their interactions. Amongst such interactions, studies related to O₃ and water stress are still rare. In the present experiment, wheat cultivar HD2967 were grown in open top chambers (OTC) under two O₃ concentration; ambient O₃ level (A) and elevated O₃ (E) (ambient + 20 ppb O₃) along with two different water supply; well-watered (W) and 50% water stress conditions (WS), with an aim to assess the individual and interactive effect of two most prevailing stress factors in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. Exposure to elevated O₃ dose caused early senescence symptoms and reduction in growth and biomass of the test cultivar. The adversity was more pronounced under the combined effect of EWS. Significant reduction of stomatal conductance (gs) and assimilation rate were observed under combined stress condition compared to the control (AW). However, plants grown under individual stress conditions displayed higher gs, biomass, and antioxidant defense mechanism compared to the plants grown under the presence of combined stresses. Higher induction in most of the enzyme activities of catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) was displayed by HD 2967 under EW while, under the presence of combined stresses (EWS), a moderate increment of APX and CAT activity was observed only at its vegetative phase. Furthermore, variations in nutrient uptake and redistribution to different plants parts were also observed in the present study. Reduction in water availability has checked nutrient uptake (N, K, P, Ca, Cu, Mg, Zn) in above-ground parts (leaf) and below-ground parts (root). On the other hand, carbon (C) accumulation with subsequent C-N ratio was observed to be higher in the leaves under EWS. Such major nutrient check and limitation in carbon fixation due to lower gs under combined stress conditions might have weakened the defense mechanisms of the test cultivar. Grain yield was significantly reduced under EWS followed by AWS and EW as compared to their control, exhibiting an additive effect on the grain yield.

Keywords: antioxidants, open-top chambers, ozone, water stress, wheat, yield

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Authors: Renato Roda

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With the emergence of the so-called 'Knowledge Society', the implementation of policies to attract, grow and retain talents, in an academic context as well, has become critical –both in the perspective of didactics and research and as far as administration and institutional management are concerned. At the same time, the contemporary philanthropic entities/organizations, which are evolving from traditional types of social support towards new styles of aid, envisaged to go beyond mere monetary donations, face the challenge of brand-new forms of complexity in supporting such specific dynamics of the global human capital market. In this sense, it becomes unavoidable for the philanthropic foundation, while carrying out their daily charitable tasks, to resort to innovative ways to facilitate the acquisition and the promotion of talents by academic and research institutions. In order to deepen such a specific perspective, this paper features the case of Turin, former 'factory city' of Italy’s North West, headquarters -and main reference territory- of Italy’s largest and richest private formerly bank-based philanthropic foundation, the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo. While it was assessed and classified as 'medium' in the city Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) of 2020, Turin has nevertheless acquired over the past months status of impact laboratory for a whole series of innovation strategies in the competition for the acquisition of excellence human capital. Leading actors of this new city vision are the foundations with their specifically adjusted financial engagement and a consistent role of stimulus towards innovation for research and education institutions.

Keywords: human capital, post-Fordism, private foundation, war on talents

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Authors: Pilly Joseph Kagosi

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The study aims at assessing challenges observed during implementation of participatory irrigation management (PIM) approach for food security in semi-arid areas of Tanzania. Data were collected through questionnaire, PRA tools, key informants discussion, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), participant observation and literature review. Data collected from questionnaire was analyzed using SPSS while PRA data was analyzed with the help of local communities during PRA exercise. Data from other methods were analyzed using content analysis. The study revealed that PIM approach has contribution in improved food security at household level due to involvement of communities in water management activities and decision making which enhanced availability of water for irrigation and increased crop production. However there were challenges observed during implementation of the approach including; minimum participation of beneficiaries in decision making during planning and designing stages, meaning inadequate devolution of power among scheme owners; Inadequate and lack of transparency on income expenditure in Water Utilization Associations’ (WUAs), water conflict among WUAs members, conflict between farmers and livestock keepers and conflict between WUAs leaders and village government regarding training opportunities and status; WUAs rules and regulation are not legally recognized by the National court and few farmers involved in planting trees around water sources. However it was realized that some of the mentioned challenges were rectified by farmers themselves facilitated by government officials. The study recommends that, the identified challenges need to be rectified for farmers to realize impotence of PIM approach as it was realized by other Asian countries.

Keywords: potentials of implementing participatory approach, challenges of participatory approach, irrigation management, Tanzania

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Authors: Hela Ayeb Mrabtini, Ghazi Bellakhal, Jamel Chahed

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The presence of the dispersed phase in gas-liquid bubbly flow considerably alters the liquid turbulence. The bubbles induce turbulent fluctuations that enhance the global liquid turbulence level and alter the mechanisms of turbulence. RANS modeling of uniformly sheared flows on an isolated sphere centered in a control volume is performed using first and second order turbulence closures. The sphere is placed in the production-dissipation equilibrium zone where the liquid velocity is set equal to the relative velocity of the bubbles. The void fraction is determined by the ratio between the sphere volume and the control volume. The analysis of the turbulence statistics on the control volume provides numerical results that are interpreted with regard to the effect of the bubbles wakes on the turbulence structure in uniformly sheared bubbly flow. We assumed for this purpose that at low void fraction where there is no hydrodynamic interaction between the bubbles, the single-phase flow simulation on an isolated sphere is representative on statistical average of a sphere network. The numerical simulations were firstly validated against the experimental data of bubbly homogeneous turbulence with constant shear and then extended to produce numerical results for a wide range of shear rates from 0 to 10 s^-1. These results are compared with our turbulence closure proposed for gas-liquid bubbly flows. In this closure, the turbulent stress tensor in the liquid is split into a turbulent dissipative part produced by the gradient of the mean velocity which also contains the turbulence generated in the bubble wakes and a pseudo-turbulent non-dissipative part induced by the bubbles displacements. Each part is determined by a specific transport equation. The simulations of uniformly sheared flows on an isolated sphere reproduce the mechanisms related to the turbulent part, and the numerical results are in perfect accordance with the modeling of the transport equation of the turbulent part. The reduction of second order turbulence closure provides a description of the modification of turbulence structure by the bubbles presence using a dimensionless number expressed in terms of two-time scales characterizing the turbulence induced by the shear and that induced by bubbles displacements. The numerical simulations carried out in the framework of a comprehensive analysis reproduce particularly the attenuation of the turbulent friction showed in the experimental results of bubbly homogeneous turbulence subjected to a constant shear.

Keywords: gas-liquid bubbly flows, homogeneous turbulence, turbulence closure, uniform shear

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Authors: Enayatollah Yazdani

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Globalization is the most significant change in today’s world. It has caused remarkable growth in different aspects of human life. Such a strong contribution to the development would not have occurred without the role that each country and particularly great powers play in the globalization process. Among those powers is China, whose role in the globalization trend is growing fast. With its rapid economic and technological development, China has moved from a regional economic power to a global powerhouse. Accordingly, China has been supporting the development of global infrastructure through new initiatives and institutions such as the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank, among them, the most ambitious manifestation of these efforts is China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). BRI is seen as an important vehicle that helps China to play a more proactive role in the globalization process. China started Belt and Road initiative as a global drive in more than 65 (now more than 140) countries in Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe, offering the world a unique state of bigger openness, integration, and interdependence with a comprehensive approach to shared development, shared future, and shared opportunities. As a result, one can say that BRI is an attempt by China to promote international cooperation and enhance globalization. However, in this regard, China may face some challenges as well. This paper aims to address: how China is playing a role in globalization through BRI and how BRI will support the Chinese role in the globalization process. And what are the major challenges that China might be faced? Based on the analytical methodology, the paper argues that BRI is a cornucopia of international projects that offer mammoth opportunities for more economic cooperation and deeper regional and global integration, primarily among emerging economies. The paper discusses that at a time when globalization from the West appears to be in retreat, the BRI is a potent symbol of the rise of China-based globalization.

Keywords: globalization, China, belt, and road initiative

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Authors: Bushra

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This paper explores the historical significance, ecological benefits, and contemporary applications of natural dyes in textile dyeing, aiming to provide a comprehensive overview of their potential to contribute to a sustainable fashion industry while minimizing ecological footprints. This research explores the potential of natural dyes as a sustainable alternative to synthetic dyes in the textile industry, examining their historical context, sources, and environmental benefits. Natural dyes come from plants, animals, and minerals, including roots, leaves, bark, fruits, flowers, insects, and metal salts, used as mordants to fix dyes to fabrics. Natural dyeing involves extraction, mordanting, and dyeing techniques. Optimizing these processes can enhance the performance of natural dyes, making them viable for contemporary textile applications based on experimental research. Natural dyes offer eco-friendly benefits like biodegradability, non-toxicity, and resource renewables, reducing pollution, promoting biodiversity, and reducing reliance on petrochemicals. Natural dyes offer benefits but face challenges in color consistency, scalability, and performance, requiring industrial production to meet modern consumer standards for durability and colorfastness. Contemporary initiatives in the textile industry include fashion brands like Eileen Fisher and Patagonia incorporating natural dyes, artisans like India Flint's Botanical Alchemy promoting traditional dyeing techniques, and research projects like the European Union's Horizon 2020 program. Natural dyes offer a sustainable textile industry solution, reducing environmental impact and promoting harmony with nature. Research and innovation are paving the way for widespread adoption, transforming textile dyeing.

Keywords: historical significance, textile industry, natural dyes, sustainability

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Authors: Linda Muswaka

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The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 ranks the Constitution as the Supreme law of the Republic. Law or conduct, inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency. The Constitution binds all persons and legislative, executive and judicial organs of the State at all levels of government. The Constitution embodies a Bill of Rights and expressly allows for judicial review. The introduction of a chapter of rights requires the judiciary to examine the decisions of the legislature and the executive. In a situation where these conflicts with the Bill of Rights, the judiciary have the constitutional power to overrule such decisions. In exercising its adjudicatory and interpretative powers, the judiciary sometimes arrives at unpopular decisions and accusations of judicial overreach are made. A problem, therefore, emerges on the issue of the separation of powers and judicial review. This paper proposes to, through the South African perspective, investigate the application of the doctrine of separation of powers and judicial review. In this regard, the qualitative method of research will be employed. The reason is that it is best suited to this type of study which entails a critical analysis of legal issues. The following findings are made: (i) a complete separation of powers is not possible. This is because some overlapping of the functions of the three branches of state are unavoidable; (ii) the powers vested in the judiciary does not make it more powerful than the executive and the legislature; (iii) interference by the judiciary in matters concerning other branches is not automatically, judicial overreach; and (iv) if both the executive and legislative organs of government adhere to their constitutional obligations there would be a decrease in the need for judicial interference through court adjudication. The researcher concludes by submitting that the judiciary should not derogate from their constitutionally mandated function of judicial review. The rationale being that that if the values contained in the Constitution are not scrupulously observed and their precepts not carried out conscientiously, the result will be a constitutional crisis of great magnitude.

Keywords: constitution, judicial review, judicial overreach, separation of powers

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Authors: Vitus Onyebuchim Onyemailu, Olive Obianuju Okalibe

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The study tried to examine relationship between exchange rate variations on the balance of payments in Nigeria from 1970 to 2012. Using time series on econometric measures such as Granger causality and ordinary least square (OLS), the study found that exchange rate movements especially the depreciation of naira has not contributed significantly on the balance of payments under the year of the study. The granger result conform the Marshall-Lerner short and long run prepositions that exchange rate devaluation enhances balance of payments. On disaggregation exchange rate granger causes current and capital account balances give the Nigeria data from 1970 to 2012. Overall in the long run OLS regression analysis, exchange rate on semi log functional form, exchange rate variation did not record significant effect on balance of payment equation. This height was also maintained in the current or trade balance which does not match the Marshall-Lerner. The capital account balance in reverse reported a significant impact of exchange rate variability on the capital account balance. Finally, on exchange rate determination equation, where many fundamentals were considered including lagged of exchange rate. Thus, the lagged of exchange rate recorded a positive and significant influence on the present exchange rate. This means that players in the financial markets usually out plays authority’s policy’s stances through their speculative tendencies. The work therefore, recommend that effort should be made by the authorities to providing enabling environment for production of goods and services to triumph in order to take advantages of steady devaluation of its currency. This is done by providing infrastructure, provision of science and technology. Thus, when this is done Nigeria would be able to have competitive power against the rest of the world.

Keywords: exchange rate variation, balance of payments, current account, capital account, Marshall-Lerner hypothesis

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Authors: Qier Wu, Issam Takla, Thomas Rougelot, Nicolas Burlion

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In the framework of French underground disposal of intermediate level radioactive wastes, concrete is widely used as a construction material for containers and tunnels. Drying shrinkage is one of the most disadvantageous phenomena of concrete structures. Cracks generated by differential shrinkage could impair the mechanical behavior, increase the permeability of concrete and act as a preferential path for aggressive species, hence leading to an overall decrease in durability and serviceability. It is of great interest to understand the drying shrinkage phenomenon in order to predict and even to control the strains of concrete. The question is whether the results obtained from laboratory samples are in accordance with the measurements on a real structure. Another question concerns the influence of reinforcement on drying shrinkage of concrete. As part of a global project with Andra (French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency), the present study aims to experimentally investigate the scale effect as well as the influence of reinforcement on the development of drying shrinkage of two high performance concretes (based on CEM I and CEM V cements, according to European standards). Various sizes of samples are chosen, from ordinary laboratory specimens up to real-scale specimens: prismatic specimens with different volume-to-surface (V/S) ratios, thin slices (thickness of 2 mm), cylinders with different sizes (37 and 160 mm in diameter), hollow cylinders, cylindrical columns (height of 1000 mm) and square columns (320×320×1000 mm). The square columns have been manufactured with different reinforcement rates and can be considered as mini-structures, to approximate the behavior of a real voussoir from the waste disposal facility. All the samples are kept, in a first stage, at 20°C and 50% of relative humidity (initial conditions in the tunnel) in a specific climatic chamber developed by the Laboratory of Mechanics of Lille. The mass evolution and the drying shrinkage are monitored regularly. The obtained results show that the specimen size has a great impact on water loss and drying shrinkage of concrete. The specimens with a smaller V/S ratio and a smaller size have a bigger drying shrinkage. The correlation between mass variation and drying shrinkage follows the same tendency for all specimens in spite of the size difference. However, the influence of reinforcement rate on drying shrinkage is not clear based on the present results. The second stage of conservation (50°C and 30% of relative humidity) could give additional results on these influences.

Keywords: concrete, drying shrinkage, mass evolution, reinforcement, scale effect

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Authors: Chetna Mohabeer, Luis Reyes, Lokmane Abdelouahed, Bechara Taouk

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In the transition to sustainability and the increasing use of renewable energy, hydrogen will play a key role as an energy carrier. Biomass has the potential to accelerate the realization of hydrogen as a major fuel of the future. Pyro-gasification allows the conversion of organic matter mainly into synthesis gas, or “syngas”, majorly constituted by CO, H2, CH4, and CO2. A second, condensable fraction of biomass pyro-gasification products are “tars”. Under certain conditions, tars may decompose into hydrogen and other light hydrocarbons. These conditions include two types of cracking: homogeneous cracking, where tars decompose under the effect of temperature ( > 1000 °C), and heterogeneous cracking, where catalysts such as olivine, dolomite or biochar are used. The latter process favors cracking of tars at temperatures close to pyro-gasification temperatures (~ 850 °C). Pyro-gasification of biomass coupled with water-gas shift is the most widely practiced process route for biomass to hydrogen today. In this work, an innovating solution will be proposed for this conversion route, in that all the pyro-gasification products, not only methane, will undergo processes that aim to optimize hydrogen production. First, a heterogeneous cracking step was included in the reaction scheme, using biochar (remaining solid from the pyro-gasification reaction) as catalyst and CO2 and H2O as gasifying agents. This process was followed by a catalytic steam methane reforming (SMR) step. For this, a Ni-based catalyst was tested under different reaction conditions to optimize H2 yield. Finally, a water-gas shift (WGS) reaction step with a Fe-based catalyst was added to optimize the H2 yield from CO. The reactor used for cracking was a fluidized bed reactor, and the one used for SMR and WGS was a fixed bed reactor. The gaseous products were analyzed continuously using a µ-GC (Fusion PN 074-594-P1F). With biochar as bed material, it was seen that more H2 was obtained with steam as a gasifying agent (32 mol. % vs. 15 mol. % with CO2 at 900 °C). CO and CH4 productions were also higher with steam than with CO2. Steam as gasifying agent and biochar as bed material were hence deemed efficient parameters for the first step. Among all parameters tested, CH4 conversions approaching 100 % were obtained from SMR reactions using Ni/γ-Al2O3 as a catalyst, 800 °C, and a steam/methane ratio of 5. This gave rise to about 45 mol % H2. Experiments about WGS reaction are currently being conducted. At the end of this phase, the four reactions are performed consecutively, and the results analyzed. The final aim is the development of a global kinetic model of the whole system in a multi-stage fluidized bed reactor that can be transferred on ASPEN PlusTM.

Keywords: multi-staged fluidized bed reactor, pyro-gasification, steam methane reforming, water-gas shift

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Authors: R. Blythman, N. Jeffers, T. Persoons, D. B. Murray

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The exploitation of flow pulsation in micro- and mini-channels is a potentially useful technique for enhancing cooling of high-end photonics and electronics systems. It is thought that pulsation alters the thickness of the hydrodynamic and thermal boundary layers, and hence affects the overall thermal resistance of the heat sink. Although the fluid mechanics and heat transfer are inextricably linked, it can be useful to decouple the parameters to better understand the mechanisms underlying any heat transfer enhancement. Using two-dimensional, two-component particle image velocimetry, the current work intends to characterize the heat transfer mechanisms in pulsating flow with a mean Reynolds number of 48 by experimentally quantifying the hydrodynamics of a generic liquid-cooled channel geometry. Flows circulated through the test section by a gear pump are modulated using a controller to achieve sinusoidal flow pulsations with Womersley numbers of 7.45 and 2.36 and an amplitude ratio of 0.75. It is found that the transient characteristics of the measured velocity profiles are dependent on the speed of oscillation, in accordance with the analytical solution for flow in a rectangular channel. A large velocity overshoot is observed close to the wall at high frequencies, resulting from the interaction of near-wall viscous stresses and inertial effects of the main fluid body. The steep velocity gradients at the wall are indicative of augmented heat transfer, although the local flow reversal may reduce the upstream temperature difference in heat transfer applications. While unsteady effects remain evident at the lower frequency, the annular effect subsides and retreats from the wall. The shear rate at the wall is increased during the accelerating half-cycle and decreased during deceleration compared to steady flow, suggesting that the flow may experience both enhanced and diminished heat transfer during a single period. Hence, the thickness of the hydrodynamic boundary layer is reduced for positively moving flow during one half of the pulsation cycle at the investigated frequencies. It is expected that the size of the thermal boundary layer is similarly reduced during the cycle, leading to intervals of heat transfer enhancement.

Keywords: Heat transfer enhancement, particle image velocimetry, localized and time-resolved velocity, photonics and electronics cooling, pulsating flow, Richardson’s annular effect

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Authors: Tshipeng Mwenze, Charles Okujeni, Abdi Siad, Russel Bailie, Dirk Frei, Marcelene Voigt, Petrus Le Roux

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The Platreef is a platinum group element (PGE) deposit in the northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) which was emplaced as a series of mafic and ultramafic sills between the Main Zone (MZ) and the country rocks. The PGE mineralisation in the Platreef is hosted in different rock types, and its distribution and style vary with depth and along strike. This study contributes towards understanding the processes involved in the genesis of the Platreef. Twenty-four Platreef (2 harzburgites, 4 olivine pyroxenites, 17 feldspathic pyroxenites and 1 gabbronorite) and few MZ (1 gabbronorite and 1 leucogabbronorite) quarter core samples were collected from four drill cores (e.g., TN754, TN200, SS339, and OY482) and analysed for whole-rock Sr-Nd isotope data. The results show positive ɛNd values (+3.53 to +7.51) for harzburgites suggesting their parental magmas derived from the depleted Mantle. The remaining Platreef rocks have negative ɛNd values (-2.91 to -22.88) and show significant variations in Sr-Nd isotopic compositions. The first group of Platreef samples has relatively high isotopic compositions (ɛNd= -2.91 to -5.68; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sri= 0.709177 - 0.711998). The second group of Platreef samples has Sr ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sri= 0.709816-0.712106) overlapping with samples of the first group but slightly lower ɛNd values (-7.44 to -8.39). Lastly, the third group of Platreef samples has low ɛNd values (-10.82 to -14.32) and low Sr ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sri= 0.707545-0.710042) than those from samples of the two Platreef groups mentioned above. There is, however, a Platreef sample with ɛNd value (-5.26) in range with the Platreef samples of the first group, but its Sr ratio (0.707281) is the lowest even when compared to samples of the third Platreef group. There are also five other Platreef samples which have either anomalous ɛNd or Sr ratios which make it difficult to assess their isotopic compositions relative to other samples. These isotopic variations for the Platreef samples indicate both multiple sources and multiple magma chambers where varying crustal contamination styles have operated during the evolution of these magmas prior their emplacements into the Platreef setting as sills. Furthermore, the MZ rocks have different Sr-Nd isotopic compositions (For OY482 gabbronorite [ɛNd= +0.65; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sri= 0.711746]; for TN754 leucogabbronorite [ɛNd= -7.44; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sri= 0.709322]) which do not only indicate different MZ magma chambers, but also different magmas from those of the Platreef. Although the Platreef is still considered a single stratigraphic unit in the northern limb of the BIC, its genesis involved multiple magmatic processes which evolved independently from each other.

Keywords: crustal contamination styles, magma chambers, magma sources, multiple sills emplacement

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Authors: Devi Eka Septiyani Arifin, Jrjeng Ruan

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As an approach to manipulate the performance of polymer thin film, epitaxy crystallization within polymer blends of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and its copolymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) P(VDF-TrFE) was studied in this research, which involves the competition between phase separation and crystal growth of constitutive semicrystalline polymers. The unique piezoelectric feature of poly(vinylidene fluoride) crystalline phase is derived from the packing of molecular chains in all-trans conformation, which spatially arranges all the substituted fluorene atoms on one side of the molecular chain and hydrogen atoms on the other side. Therefore, the net dipole moment is induced across the lateral packing of molecular chains. Nevertheless, due to the mutual repulsion among fluorene atoms, this all-trans molecular conformation is not stable, and ready to change above curie temperature, where thermal energy is sufficient to cause segmental rotation. This research attempts to explore whether the epitaxial interactions between piezoelectric crystals and crystal lattice of hexamethylbenzene (HMB) crystalline platelet is able to stabilize this metastable all-trans molecular conformation or not. As an aromatic crystalline compound, the melt of HMB was surprisingly found able to dissolve the poly(vinylidene fluoride), resulting in homogeneous eutectic solution. Thus, after quenching this binary eutectic mixture to room temperature, subsequent heating or annealing processes were designed to explore the involve phase separation and crystallization behavior. The phase transition behaviors were observed in-situ by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The molecular packing was observed via transmission electron microscope (TEM) and the principles of electron diffraction were brought to study the internal crystal structure epitaxially developed within thin films. Obtained results clearly indicated the occurrence of heteroepitaxy of PVDF/PVDF-TrFE on HMB crystalline platelet. Both the concentration of poly(vinylidene fluoride) and the mixing ratios of these two constitutive polymers have been adopted as the influential factors for studying the competition between the epitaxial crystallization of PVDF and P(VDF-TrFE) on HMB crystalline. Furthermore, the involved epitaxial relationship is to be deciphered and studied as a potential factor capable of guiding the wide spread of piezoelectric crystalline form.

Keywords: epitaxy, crystallization, crystalline platelet, thin film and mixing ratio

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Authors: Leila Azadbakht, Maedeh Moradi, Mohammad Reza Merasi, Farzaneh Jahangir

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Maternal dietary intake during lactation might affect the growth rate of an exclusive breastfed infant. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of maternal dietary patterns and quality during lactation on the growth of the exclusive breastfed infant. Methods: 484 healthy lactating mothers with their infant were enrolled in this study. Only exclusive breastfed infants were included in this study which was conducted in Iran. Dietary intake of lactating mothers was assessed using a validated and reliable semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Diet quality indices such as alternative Healthy eating index (HEI), Dietary energy density (DED), and adherence to Mediterranean dietary pattern score, Nordic and dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) eating pattern were created. Anthropometric features of infant (weight, height, and head circumference) were recorded at birth, two and four months. Results: Weight, length, weight for height and head circumference of infants at two months and four months age were mostly in the normal range among those that mothers adhered more to the HEI in lactation period (normal weight: 61%; normal height: 59%). The prevalence of stunting at four months of age among those whose mothers adhered more to the HEI was 31% lower than those with the least adherence to HEI. Mothers in the top tertiles of HEI score had the lowest frequency of having underweight infants (18% vs. 33%; P=0.03). Odds ratio of being overweight or obese at four months age was the lowest among those infants whose mothers adhered more to the HEI (OR: 0.67 vs 0.91; Ptrend=0.03). However, there was not any significant association between adherence of mothers to Mediterranean diet as well as DASH diet and Nordic eating pattern and the growth of infants (none of weight, height or head circumference). Infant weight, length, weight for height and head circumference at two months and four months did not show significant differences among different tertile categories of mothers’ DED. Conclusions: Higher diet quality indices and more adherence of lactating mother to HEI (as an indicator of diet quality) may be associated with better growth indices of the breastfed infant. However, it seems that DED of the lactating mother does not affect the growth of the breastfed infant. Adherence to the different dietary patterns such as Mediterranean, DASH or Nordic among mothers had no different effect on the growth indices of the infants. However, higher diet quality indices and more adherence of lactating mother to HEI may be associated with better growth indices of the breastfed infant. Breastfeeding is a complete way that is not affected much by the dietary patterns of the mother. However, better diet quality might be associated with better growth.

Keywords: breastfeeding, growth, infant, maternal diet

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Authors: Ahmed M. Khedr, Saad M. Abdelrahman, Kareem M. Tonbol

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Two geo-referenced sea level datasets (September 2008 – November 2010) and (April 2012 – January 2014) were recorded at Alexandria Western Harbour (AWH). Accurate re-definition of tidal datum, referred to the latest International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF-2014), was discussed and updated to improve our understanding of the old predefined tidal datum at Alexandria. Tidal and non-tidal components of sea level were separated with the use of Delft-3D hydrodynamic model-tide suit (Delft-3D, 2015). Tidal characteristics at AWH were investigated and harmonic analysis showed the most significant 34 constituents with their amplitudes and phases. Tide was identified as semi-diurnal pattern as indicated by a “Form Factor” of 0.24 and 0.25, respectively. Principle tidal datums related to major tidal phenomena were recalculated referred to a meaningful geodetic height datum. The portion of residual energy (surge) out of the total sea level energy was computed for each dataset and found 77% and 72%, respectively. Power spectral density (PSD) showed accurate resolvability in high band (1–6) cycle/days for the nominated independent constituents, except some neighbouring constituents, which are too close in frequency. Wind and atmospheric pressure data, during the recorded sea level time, were analysed and cross-correlated with the surge signals. Moderate association between surge and wind and atmospheric pressure data were obtained. In addition, long-term sea level rise trend at AWH was computed and showed good agreement with earlier estimated rates.

Keywords: Alexandria, Delft-3D, Egypt, geodetic reference, harmonic analysis, sea level

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: M. J. Geca, T. Tulwin, A. Majczak

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On-board electricity consumption in the diesel city bus during operation is an important energy source. Electricity is generated by a combustion engine-driven alternator. Increased fuel consumption to generate on-board electricity in the bus has a negative impact on the emission of toxic components and carbon dioxide. At the same time, the bus roof surface allows placing a set of lightweight photovoltaic panels with power from 1 to 1.5 kW. The article presents an experimental study of electricity consumption of a city bus with diesel engine equipped with photovoltaic installation. The stream of electricity consumed by the bus and generated by a standard alternator and PV system was recorded. Base on the experimental research carried out in central Europe; the article analyses the impact of an additional source of electricity in the form of a photovoltaic installation on fuel consumption and emissions of toxic components of vehicles located in the latitude of Sydney. In Poland, the maximum global value of horizontal irradiation GHI is 1150 kWh/m², while for Sydney 1652 kWh/m². In addition, the profile of temperature and sunshine per year is different for these two different latitudes as presented in the article. Electricity generated directly from the sun powers the bus's electrical receivers. The photovoltaic system is able to replace 23% of annual electricity consumption, which at the same time will reduce 4% of fuel consumption and CO₂ reduction. Approximately 25% of the light is lost during vehicle traffic in Sydney latitude. The temperature losses of photovoltaic panels are comparable due to the cooling during vehicle motion. Acknowledgement: The project/research was financed in the framework of the project Lublin University of Technology - Regional Excellence Initiative, funded by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (contract no. 030/RID/2018/19).

Keywords: electric energy, photovoltaic system, fuel consumption, CO₂

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Authors: Abimbola Mobolanle Adu, Marcus Tayo Akinlade

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This comprehensive study systematically dissects the intricate interplay between the removal of fuel subsidy and its multifaceted repercussions on Nigeria's educational system. Originating in the 1970s, the fuel subsidy policy initially conceived to curtail fuel costs and faced financial unsustainability. In 2023, President Bola Tinubu's administration announced its cessation. The resultant escalation in petroleum product prices precipitated challenges within the education sector, manifesting as heightened administrative costs, increased student fees, amplified dropout rates, and others. Employing a qualitative research methodology, grounded in Critical Theory, the study draws from diverse secondary sources and employs content analysis to unravel the intricate layers of this issue. Critical Theory provides a lens through which the power dynamics, socio-economic structures, and ideological influences shaping policy decisions can be critically examined, offering a deeper understanding of the multifaceted impact. Findings underscore the imperative for strategic interventions, advocating for investments in technology and the exploration of alternative energy sources. The paper concludes by emphasizing the pivotal role of education, advocating for nuanced policies to alleviate the impact on both private and public educational institutions. In essence, this research contributes nuanced insights into the labyrinthine dynamics between fuel subsidy policies and the educational sector, underscoring the exigency for meticulous interventions to fortify the nation's educational foundation.

Keywords: administration, education, fuel subsidy, policy, multilayered impact

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Authors: Jonathan Matyenyika

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In recent years, automobile manufacturers have increasingly produced vehicles equipped with cutting-edge automotive electronic technology to match the fast-paced digital world of today; this has brought about various benefits in different business sectors that make use of these vehicles as a means of turning over a profit. In the logistics industry, vehicles equipped with this technology have proved to be very utilitarian; this paper focuses on the benefits automobile electronic equipped vehicles have in the logistics industry. Automotive vehicle manufacturers have introduced new technological electronic features to their vehicles to enhance and improve the overall performance, efficiency, safety and driver comfort. Some of these features have proved to be beneficial to logistics operators. To start with the introduction of adaptive cruise control in long-distance haulage vehicles, to see how this system benefits the drivers, we carried out research in the form of interviews with long-distance truck drivers with the main question being, what major difference have they experienced since they started to operate vehicles equipped with this technology to which most stated they had noticed that they are less tired and are able to drive longer distances as compared to when they used vehicles not equipped with this system. As a result, they can deliver faster and take on the next assignment, thus improving efficiency and bringing in more monetary return for the logistics company. Secondly, the introduction of electric hybrid technology, this system allows the vehicle to be propelled by electric power stored in batteries located in the vehicle instead of fossil fuel. Consequently, this benefits the logistic company as vehicles become cheaper to run as electricity is more affordable as compared to fossil fuel. The merging of electronic systems in vehicles has proved to be of great benefit, as my research proves that this can benefit the logistics industry in plenty of ways.

Keywords: logistics, manufacturing, hybrid technology, haulage vehicles

Procedia PDF Downloads 57

Authors: Ran Vir Singh, Anuj Chauhan, Subhodh Kumar, Rajesh Rathore, Satish Kumar, B Gopi, Sushil Kumar, Tarun Kumar, Ramji Yadav, Donna Phangchopi, Shoor Vir Singh

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Paratuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) is a chronic granulomatous enteritis affecting ruminants. It is responsible for significant economic losses in livestock industry worldwide. This organism is also of public health concern due to an unconfirmed link to Crohn’s disease. Susceptibility to paratuberculosis has been suggested to have genetic component with low to moderate heritability. Number of SNPs in various candidates genes have been observed to be affecting the susceptibility toward paratuberculosis. The objective of this study was to explore the association of various SNPs in the candidate genes and QTL region with MAP. A total of 117 SNPs from SLC11A1, IFNG, CARD15, TLR2, TLR4, CLEC7A, CD209, SP110, ANKARA2, PGLYRP1 and one QTL were selected for study. A total of 1222 cattle from various organized herds, gauhsalas and farmer herds were screened for MAP infection by Johnin intradermal skin test, AGID, serum ELISA, fecal microscopy, fecal culture and IS900 blood PCR. Based on the results of these tests, a case and control population of 200 and 183 respectively was established for study. A total of 117 SNPs from 10 candidate genes and one QTL were selected and validated/tested in our case and control population by PCR-RFLP technique. Data was analyzed using SAS 9.3 software. Statistical analysis revealed that, 107 out of 117 SNPs were not significantly associated with occurrence of MAP. Only SNP rs55617172 of TLR2, rs8193046 and rs8193060 of TLR4, rs110353594 and rs41654445 of CLEC7A, rs208814257of CD209, rs41933863 of ANKRA2, two loci {SLC11A1(53C/G)} and {IFNG (185 G/r) } and SNP rs41945014 in QTL region was significantly associated with MAP. Six SNP from 10 significant SNPs viz., rs110353594 and rs41654445 from CLEC7A, rs8193046 and rs8193060 from TLR4, rs109453173 from SLC11A1 rs208814257 from CD209 were validated in new case and control population. Out of these only one SNP rs8193046 of TLR4 gene was found significantly associated with occurrence of MAP in cattle. ODD ratio indicates that animals with AG genotype were more susceptible to MAP and this finding is in accordance with the earlier report. Hence it reaffirms that AG genotype can serve as a reliable genetic marker for indentifying more susceptible cattle in future selection against MAP infection in cattle.

Keywords: SNP, candidate genes, paratuberculosis, cattle

Procedia PDF Downloads 358

Authors: Mahmoud Ashraf Farouk

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Shipping transportation is the foremost imperative mode of transportation in universal coordination. At display, more than 2/3 of the full worldwide exchange volume accounts for shipping transportation. Ships are utilized as an implies of marine transportation, introducing large-power diesel motors with exhaust containing nitrogen oxide NOx, sulfur oxide SOx, carbo di-oxide CO₂, particular matter PM10, hydrocarbon HC and carbon mono-oxide CO which are the most dangerous contaminants found in exhaust gas from ships. Ships radiating a large amount of exhaust gases have become a significant cause of pollution in the air in coastal areas, harbors and oceans. Therefore, IMO (the International Maritime Organization) has established rules to reduce this emission. This experiment shows the measurement of the exhaust gases emitted from the Aida IV ship's main engine using marine diesel oil fuel (MDO). The measurement is taken by the Sensonic2000 device on 85% load, which is the main sailing load. Moreover, the paper studies different emission reduction technologies as an alternative fuel, which as liquefied natural gas (LNG) applied to the system and reduction technology which is represented as selective catalytic reduction technology added to the marine diesel oil system (MDO+SCR). The experiment calculated the amount of nitrogen oxide NOx, sulfur oxide SOx, carbon-di-oxide CO₂, particular matter PM10, hydrocarbon HC and carbon mono-oxide CO because they have the most effect on the environment. The reduction technologies are applied on the same ship engine with the same load. Finally, the study found that MDO+SCR is the more efficient technology for the Aida IV ship as a training and supply ship due to low consumption and no need to modify the engine. Just add the SCR system to the exhaust line, which is easy and cheapest. Moreover, the differences between them in the emission are not so big.

Keywords: marine, emissions, reduction, shipping

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: Lucy Adesomon Okukpon, Margaret Omolara Akerele

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Higher Education in Nigeria is sought after by women, they believe that the economic power and growth lies in the attainment and pursuit of higher Education. No nation in the world can boast of developmental growth when the women are not fully empowered educationally. The attainment of higher education spurs women to contribute meaningfully towards the growth and development of the Nigerian workforce. Recent innovations and trends reveal that over fifty per cent of Nigerian women have attained higher education within and outside the country. Women in Nigeria have expressed their growing concern of what becomes of the remaining 50 per cent who are unable to attain basic education. This concern has brought about the issue of funding which is a practical challenge towards the attainment of education for these vulnerable women. Another challenging factor is that most women often seek the permission of their husbands, brothers, fathers and uncles to enable them attain educational pursuit, especially when the institution is miles away from their place of abode. The solution to this problems from research findings reveal that the umbrella body which co-ordinates education for women in Nigeria (The National Council of Women Societies, NCWS) have taken it upon itself to provide educational learning centres in all the states of the Federation including Abuja the Nations capital city. This is to stem the ugly trend and enable women gain access to educational facilities provided for their growth and development. This positive stride has brought succour to women who hitherto have no hope of attaining any form of education. Moreover, awareness creation concerning higher education is translated into different Nigerian languages so that the women at the grassroots can benefit immensely and contribute towards the growth and development of the Nation. Their educational progress attest to the fact that Nigerian Women are happy for the educational opportunities provided and have vowed to attain greater heights particularly where higher education is concerned.

Keywords: developmental growth, educational attainment, higher education, women in higher education, Nigeria

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Authors: Sridhar Rapuru, D. Mallikarjunreddy, Rajanarendra Sai

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In this reign of the internet, the access of any multimedia file to the users at any time with a superior quality is needed. To achieve this goal, it is very important to have a good network without any interruptions between the satellites along with various earth stations. For that purpose, a high speed inter-satellite optical wireless communication system (IsOWC) is designed with space and polarization diversity techniques. IsOWC offers a high bandwidth, small size, less power requirement and affordable when compared with the present microwave satellite systems. To improve the efficiency and to reduce the propagation delay, inter-satellite link is established between the satellites. High accurate tracking systems are required to establish the reliable connection between the satellites as they have their own orbits. The only disadvantage of this IsOWC system is laser beam width is narrower than the RF because of this highly accurate tracking system to meet this requirement. The satellite uses the 'ephemerides data' for rough pointing and tracking system for fine pointing to the other satellite. In this proposed IsOWC system, laser light is used as a wireless connectedness between the source and destination and free space acts as the channel to carry the message. The proposed system will be designed, simulated and analyzed for 6000km with an improvement of data rate over previously existing systems. The performance parameters of the system are Q-factor, eye opening, bit error rate, etc., The proposed system for Inter-satellite Optical Wireless Communication System Design Using Diversity Techniques finds huge scope of applications in future generation communication purposes.

Keywords: inter-satellite optical wireless system, space and polarization diversity techniques, line of sight, bit error rate, Q-factor

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Authors: Sridhar A. Malkaram, Tamer E. Fandy

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Purpose: 5-Azacytidine (5AC) and decitabine (DC) are DNA hypomethylating agents. We recently demonstrated that both drugs increase the enzymatic activity of the histone deacetylase enzyme SIRT6. Accordingly, we are comparing the changes H3K9 acetylation changes in the whole genome induced by both drugs using leukemia cells. Description of Methods & Materials: Mononuclear cells from the bone marrow of six de-identified naive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients were cultured with either 500 nM of DC or 5AC for 72 h followed by ChIP-Seq analysis using a ChIP-validated acetylated-H3K9 (H3K9ac) antibody. Chip-Seq libraries were prepared from treated and untreated cells using SMARTer ThruPLEX DNA- seq kit (Takara Bio, USA) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Libraries were purified and size-selected with AMPure XP beads at 1:1 (v/v) ratio. All libraries were pooled prior to sequencing on an Illumina HiSeq 1500. The dual-indexed single-read Rapid Run was performed with 1x120 cycles at 5 pM final concentration of the library pool. Sequence reads with average Phred quality < 20, with length < 35bp, PCR duplicates, and those aligning to blacklisted regions of the genome were filtered out using Trim Galore v0.4.4 and cutadapt v1.18. Reads were aligned to the reference human genome (hg38) using Bowtie v2.3.4.1 in end-to-end alignment mode. H3K9ac enriched (peak) regions were identified using diffReps v1.55.4 software using input samples for background correction. The statistical significance of differential peak counts was assessed using a negative binomial test using all individuals as replicates. Data & Results: The data from the six patients showed significant (Padj<0.05) acetylation changes at 925 loci after 5AC treatment versus 182 loci after DC treatment. Both drugs induced H3K9 acetylation changes at different chromosomal regions, including promoters, coding exons, introns, and distal intergenic regions. Ten common genes showed H3K9 acetylation changes by both drugs. Approximately 84% of the genes showed an H3K9 acetylation decrease by 5AC versus 54% only by DC. Figures 1 and 2 show the heatmaps for the top 100 genes and the 99 genes showing H3K9 acetylation decrease after 5AC treatment and DC treatment, respectively. Conclusion: Despite the similarity in hypomethylating activity and chemical structure, the effect of both drugs on H3K9 acetylation change was significantly different. More changes in H3K9 acetylation were observed after 5 AC treatments compared to DC. The impact of these changes on gene expression and the clinical efficacy of these drugs requires further investigation.

Keywords: DNA methylation, leukemia, decitabine, 5-Azacytidine, epigenetics

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: R. M. Shabbir Ahmed, Mohamed Haneef, A. R. Anwar Khan

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Analysis of stresses plays important role in the optimization of structures. Prior stress estimation helps in better design of the products. Composites find wide usage in the industrial and home applications due to its strength to weight ratio. Especially in the air craft industry, the usage of composites is more due to its advantages over the conventional materials. Composites are mainly made of orthotropic materials having unequal strength in the different directions. Composite materials have the drawback of delamination and debonding due to the weaker bond materials compared to the parent materials. So proper analysis should be done to the composite joints before using it in the practical conditions. In the present work, a composite plate with elastic pin is considered for analysis using finite element software Ansys. Basically the geometry is built using Ansys software using top down approach with different Boolean operations. The modelled object is meshed with three dimensional layered element solid46 for composite plate and solid element (Solid45) for pin material. Various combinations are considered to find the strength of the composite joint under uniaxial loading conditions. Due to symmetry of the problem, only quarter geometry is built and results are presented for full model using Ansys expansion options. The results show effect of pin diameter on the joint strength. Here the deflection and load sharing of the pin are increasing and other parameters like overall stress, pin stress and contact pressure are reducing due to lesser load on the plate material. Further material effect shows, higher young modulus material has little deflection, but other parameters are increasing. Interference analysis shows increasing of overall stress, pin stress, contact stress along with pin bearing load. This increase should be understood properly for increasing the load carrying capacity of the joint. Generally every structure is preloaded to increase the compressive stress in the joint to increase the load carrying capacity. But the stress increase should be properly analysed for composite due to its delamination and debonding effects due to failure of the bond materials. When results for an isotropic combination is compared with composite joint, isotropic joint shows uniformity of the results with lesser values for all parameters. This is mainly due to applied layer angle combinations. All the results are represented with necessasary pictorial plots.

Keywords: bearing force, frictional force, finite element analysis, ANSYS

Procedia PDF Downloads 334