Search results for: W/B water to binder ratio

Authors: Maryam Shirmohammadi, Prasad K. D. V. Yarlagadda, YuanTong Gu

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The mechanical damage on the agricultural crop during and after harvesting can create high volume of damage on tissue. Uniaxial compression and tensile loading were performed on flesh and peel samples of pumpkin. To investigate the structural changes on the tissue, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to capture the cellular structure change before and after loading on tissue for tensile, compression and indentation tests. To obtain required mechanical properties of tissue for the finite element analysis (FEA) model, laser measurement sensors were used to record the lateral displacement of tissue under the compression loading. Uniaxial force versus deformation data were recorded using Universal Testing Machine for both tensile and compression tests. The experimental Results were employed to develop a material model with failure criteria. The results obtained by the simulation were compared with those obtained by experiments. Note that although modelling food materials’ behaviour is not a new concept however, majority of previous studies focused on elastic behaviour and damages under linear limit, this study, however, has developed FEA models for tensile and compressive loading of pumpkin flesh and peel samples using, as the first study, both elastic and elasto-plastic material types. In addition, pumpkin peel and flesh tissues were considered as two different materials with different properties under mechanical loadings. The tensile and compression loadings were used to develop the material model for a composite structure for FEA model of mechanical peeling of pumpkin as a tough skinned vegetable.

Keywords: compressive and tensile response, finite element analysis, poisson’s ratio, elastic modulus, elastic and plastic response, rupture and bio-yielding

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Authors: Gokturk Memduh Ozkan, Huseyin Akilli

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The aim of present study is to control the unsteady flow structure downstream of a circular cylinder by use of attached permeable plates. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique and dye visualization experiments were performed in deep water and the flow characteristics were evaluated by means of time-averaged streamlines, Reynolds Shear Stress and Turbulent Kinetic Energy concentrations. The permeable plate was made of a chrome-nickel screen having a porosity value of β=0.6 and it was attached on the cylinder surface along its midspan. Five different angles were given to the plate (θ=0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°) with respect to the centerline of the cylinder in order to examine its effect on the flow control. It was shown that the permeable plate is effective on elongating the vortex formation length and reducing the fluctuations in the wake region. Compared to the plain cylinder, the reductions in the values of maximum Reynolds shear stress and Turbulent Kinetic Energy were evaluated as 72.5% and 66%, respectively for the plate angles of θ=45° and 60° which were also found to be suggested for applications concerning the vortex shedding and consequent Vortex-Induced Vibrations.

Keywords: bluff body, flow control, permeable plate, PIV, VIV, vortex shedding

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Authors: M. Barański

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This paper presents a several diagnostic methods designed to electrical machines especially for permanent magnets (PM) machines. Those machines are commonly used in small wind and water systems and vehicles drives. Those methods are preferred by the author in periodic diagnostic of electrical machines. The special attention should be paid to diagnostic method of turn-to-turn insulation and vibrations. Both of those methods were created in Institute of Electrical Drives and Machines Komel. The vibration diagnostic method is the main thesis of author’s doctoral dissertation. This is method of determination the technical condition of PM electrical machine basing on its own signals is the subject of patent application No P.405669. Specific structural properties of machines excited by permanent magnets are used in this method - electromotive force (EMF) generated due to vibrations. There was analysed number of publications which describe vibration diagnostic methods and tests of electrical machines with permanent magnets and there was no method found to determine the technical condition of such machine basing on their own signals.

Keywords: electrical vehicle, generator, main insulation, permanent magnet, thermography, turn-to-traction drive, turn insulation, vibrations

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Authors: Kumiko Inagaki

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In recent, years, Japanese universities have begun to face a dilemma: more than half of all high school graduates go on to attend an institution of higher learning, overwhelming Japanese universities accustomed to small student bodies. These universities have been forced to embrace qualitative changes to accommodate the increased number and diversity of students who enter their establishments, students who differ in their motivations for learning, their levels of eagerness to learn, and their perspectives on the future. One of these changes is an increase in awareness among Japanese educators of the importance of active learning, which deepens students’ understanding of course material through a range of activities, including writing, speaking, thinking, and presenting, in addition to conventional “passive learning” methods such as listening to a one-way lecture. 　The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the teaching method adapted to improve active learning. A teaching method designed to promote active learning was implemented in a social science course at one of the most popular universities in Japan. A questionnaire using a five-point response format was given to students in 2,305 courses throughout the university to evaluate the effectiveness of the method based on the following measures: ① the ratio of students who were motivated to attend the classes, ② the rate at which students learned new information, and ③ the teaching method adopted in the classes. The results of this study show that the percentage of students who attended the active learning course eagerly, and the rate of new knowledge acquired through the course, both exceeded the average for the university, the department, and the subject area of social science. In addition, there are strong correlations between teaching method and student motivation and between teaching method and knowledge acquisition rate. These results indicate that the active learning teaching method was effectively implemented and that it may improve student eagerness to attend class and motivation to learn.

Keywords: active learning, Japanese university, teaching method, university education

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Authors: Amany Haridy, Ahmed Elseragy, Fahd Omar

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The issue of temperature increase in the urban microclimate has been at the center of attention recently, especially in dense urban areas, such as the City of Alexandria in Egypt, where building surfaces have become the dominant element (more than green areas and streets). Temperatures have been rising during daytime as well as nighttime, however, the research focused on the rise of air temperature at night, a phenomenon known as the urban heat island. This phenomenon has many effects on ecological life, as well as human health. This study provided evidence of the possibility of reducing the urban heat island by using a green building envelope (green wall and green roof) in Alexandria, Egypt. This City has witnessed a boom in growth in its urban fabric and population. A simulation analysis using the Envi-met software to find the ratio of air temperature reduction was performed. The simulation depended on the orientation of the green areas and their density, which was defined through a process of climatic analysis made by the Diva plugin using the Grasshopper software. Results showed that the reduction in air temperature varies from 0.8–2.0 °C, increasing with the increasing density of green areas. Many systems of green wall and green roof can be found in the local market. However, treating an existing building requires a careful choice of system to fit the building construction load and the surrounding nature. Among the systems of choice, there was the ‘geometric system’ of vertical greening that can be fixed on a light aluminum structure for walls and the extensive green system for roofs. Finally, native plants were the best choice in the long term because they fare well in the local climate.

Keywords: envi-met, green building envelope, urban heat island, urban microclimate

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Authors: Oscar Corredor, Alexander Guzman, Adan Leon

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Density is a bulk physical property that indicates the quality of a petroleum fraction. It is also a useful property to estimate various physicochemical properties of fraction and petroleum fluids; however, the determination of density of extra heavy residual (EHR) fractions by standard methodologies, (ASTM D70) shows limitations for samples with higher densities than 1.0879 g/cm3. For this reason, a dilution methodology was developed in order to determinate density for those particular fractions, 87 (EHR) fractions were obtained as products of the fractionation of Colombian typical Vacuum Distillation Residual Fractions using molecular distillation (MD) and extraction with Solvent N-hexane in Supercritical Conditions (SFEF) pilot plants. The proposed methodology showed reliable results that can be demonstrated with the standard deviation of repeatability and reproducibility values of 0.0031 and 0.0061 g/ml respectively. In the same way, it was possible to determine densities in fractions EHR up to 1.1647g/cm3 and °API values obtained were ten times less than the water reference value.

Keywords: API, density, vacuum residual, molecular distillation, supercritical fluid extraction

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Authors: Mojtaba Heydarizad

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Zagros mountain range is a very important precipitation zone in Iran as it receives high average annual precipitation compared to other parts of this country. Although this region is important precipitation zone in semi-arid an arid country like Iran, accurate method to study water resources in this region has not been applied yet. In this study, stable isotope δ¹⁸O content of precipitation and groundwater resources showed spatial variations across Zagros region as southern parts of Zagros region showed more enriched isotope values compared to the northern parts. This is normal as southern Zagros region is much drier with higher air temperature and evaporation compared to northern parts. In addition, the spatial variations of stable isotope δ¹⁸O in precipitation in Zagros region have been simulated by the models which consider the altitude and latitude variations as input to simulate δ¹⁸O in precipitation.

Keywords: groundwater, precipitation, simulation, stable isotopes, Zagros region

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Satya Srii, V., Nethra, N.

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An image analyzer system is described to study the process of imbibition in Melia dubia seeds. The experimental system consisted of control C (seeds with intact pericarp) with two treatments, namely T1 (seeds with pericarp punctured) and T2 (naked seeds without pericarp). The measurement software in the image analyzer can determine the area and perimeter as descriptors of changes in seed size during swelling resulting from imbibition. Using the area and perimeter parameter, the imbibition process in C, T1, and T2 was described by a series of curves similar to the triphasic pattern of water uptake, with the extent and rate depending upon the treatment. Naked seeds without pericarp (T2) took lesser time to reach phase III during imbition followed by seeds with pericarp punctured (T1) while the seeds with intact pericarp (C) were the slowest to attain phase III. This shows the effect of pericarp in acting as a potential inhibitor to imbibition inducing a large delay in germination. The sensitivity and feasibility of the method to investigate individual seeds within a population imply that the image analyzer has high potential in seed biology studies.

Keywords: germination, imbibition, image analyzer, Melia dubia, pericarp

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Authors: Kamil Dydek, Anna Boczkowska, Paulina Latko-Duralek, Rafal Kozera, Michal Salacinski

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In recent years there has been increasing interest in many industries, such as the aviation, automotive, and military industries, in Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP). This is because of the excellent properties of CFRP, which are characterized by very high strength and stiffness in relation to their mass, low density (almost twice as low as aluminum and more than five times as low as steel), and corrosion resistance. However, they do not have sufficient electrical conductivity, which is required in some applications. Therefore, work is underway to improve their electrical conductivity, for example, by incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into the CFRP structure. CNTs possess excellent properties, such as high electrical conductivity, high aspect ratio, high Young’s modulus, and high tensile strength. An idea developed by our team is a modification of CFRP by the use of thermoplastic nonwovens containing CNTs. Nanocomposite fibers were made from three different masterbatches differing in the content of multi-wall carbon nanotubes, and then nonwovens that differed in areal weight were produced using a thermo-press. The out of autoclave method was used to fabricate the laminates from commercial carbon-epoxy prepreg dedicated to aviation applications - one without the nonwovens (reference) and five containing nonwovens placed between each prepreg layer. The volume of electrical conductivity of the manufactured laminates was measured in three directions. In order to investigate the adhesion between carbon fibers and nonwovens, the microstructure of the produced laminates was observed. The mechanical properties of the CFRP composites were measured in a short-beam shear test. In addition, the influence of thermoplastic nonwovens on the thermos-mechanical properties of laminates was analyzed by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis. The studies were carried out within grant no. DOB-1-3/1/PS/2014 financed by the National Centre for Research and Development in Poland.

Keywords: CFRP, thermoplastic nonwovens, carbon nanotubes, electrical conductivity

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Authors: Djelloul Benatiallah

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Due to the current high consumption and recent industry growth, the depletion of fossil and natural energy supplies like oil, gas, and uranium is declining. Due to pollution and climate change, there needs to be a swift switch to renewable energy sources. Research on renewable energy is being done to meet energy needs. Solar energy is one of the renewable resources that can currently meet all of the world's energy needs. In most parts of the world, solar energy is a free and unlimited resource that can be used in a variety of ways, including photovoltaic systems for the generation of electricity and thermal systems for the generation of heatfor the residential sector's production of hot water. In this article, we'll conduct a comparison. The first step entails identifying the two empirical models that will enable us to estimate the daily irradiations on a horizontal plane. On the other hand, we compare it using the data obtained from measurements made at the Adrar site over the four distinct seasons. The model 2 provides a better estimate of the global solar components, with an absolute mean error of less than 7% and a correlation coefficient of more than 0.95, as well as a relative coefficient of the bias error that is less than 6% in absolute value and a relative RMSE that is less than 10%, according to a comparison of the results obtained by simulating the two models.

Keywords: solar radiation, renewable energy, fossil, photovoltaic systems

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Authors: Gulnara Galeeva

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The Analytic Hierarchy Process is widely used in the economic and financial studies, including the formation of investment portfolios. In this study, a generalized method of obtaining a vector of priorities for the case with separate pairwise comparisons of the expert opinion being presented as a set of several equal evaluations on a ratio scale is examined. The author claims that this method allows solving an important and up-to-date problem of excluding vagueness and ambiguity of the expert opinion in the decision making theory. The study describes the authentic wide pairwise comparison matrix. Its application in the formation of the efficient investment portfolio of intangible assets of a small business enterprise with limited funding is considered. The proposed method has been successfully approbated on the practical example of a functioning dental clinic. The result of the study confirms that the wide pairwise comparison matrix can be used as a simple and reliable method for forming the enterprise investment policy. Moreover, a comparison between the method based on the wide pairwise comparison matrix and the classical analytic hierarchy process was conducted. The results of the comparative analysis confirm the correctness of the method based on the wide matrix. The application of a wide pairwise comparison matrix also allows to widely use the statistical methods of experimental data processing for obtaining the vector of priorities. A new method is available for simple users. Its application gives about the same accuracy result as that of the classical hierarchy process. Financial directors of small and medium business enterprises get an opportunity to solve the problem of companies’ investments without resorting to services of analytical agencies specializing in such studies.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, decision processes, investment portfolio, intangible assets

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Authors: Deepak

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WEDM is an amazingly potential electro-wire process for machining of hard metal compounds and metal grid composites without making contact. Wire electrical machining is a developing noncustomary machining process for machining hard to machine materials that are electrically conductive. It is an exceptionally exact, precise, and one of the most famous machining forms in nontraditional machining. WEDM has turned into the fundamental piece of many assembling process ventures, which require precision, variety, and accuracy. In the present examination, AA-6063 is utilized as a workpiece, and execution investigation is done to discover the critical control factors. Impact of different parameters like a pulse on time, pulse off time, servo voltage, peak current, water pressure, wire tension, wire feed upon surface hardness has been researched while machining on AA-6063. RSM has been utilized to advance the yield variable. A variety of execution measures with input factors was demonstrated by utilizing the response surface methodology.

Keywords: AA-6063, response surface methodology, WEDM, surface roughness

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Authors: Fernando L. P. Santos, Luiz G. Lyra, Helenice O. Florentino, Daniela R. Cantane

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Dengue is a febrile infectious disease caused by a virus of the family Flaviridae. It is transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes, usually of the genus Aedes aegypti. It occurs in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. This disease has been a major public health problem worldwide, especially in tropical countries such as Brazil, and its incidence has increased in recent years. Dengue is a subject of intense research. Efficient forms of mosquito control must be considered. In this work, the mono-objective optimal control problem was solved for analysing the dengue disease problem. Chemical and biological controls were considered in the mathematical aspect. This model describes the dynamics of mosquitoes in water and winged phases. We applied the genetic algorithms (GA) to obtain optimal strategies for the control of dengue. Numerical simulations have been performed to verify the versatility and the applicability of this algorithm. On the basis of the present results we may recommend the GA to solve optimal control problem with a large region of feasibility.

Keywords: genetic algorithm, dengue, Aedes aegypti, biological control, chemical control

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Authors: Behnam Hasanzadeh, Asieh Abbassi Daloii, Ailin Ebrahimi

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The present study aims to investigate the effect of six weeks of progressive aerobic training and aqueous extract of Crataegus monogyna on VEGF variations and plasma angiopoetin-1/2 (ANG- 1/2) in male Wistar rats. Materials and methods: A number of 30 male Wistar rats, 4-6 months old, were randomly divided into four groups: control Crataegus monogyna (N=8), training Crataegus monogyna (N=8), control saline (N=6), and training saline (N=8). The aerobic training program included running on the treadmill at the speed of 34 meters per minute for 60 minutes per day. The training was conducted for six weeks, five days a week. Following each training session, both experimental and control subjects of Crataegus monogyna groups were orally fed with 0.5 mg Crataegus monogyna extract per gram of body weight. The normal saline group was given the same amount of normal saline solution (NS). Eventually, 72 hours after the last training session, blood samples were taken from inferior verna cava. Results: the results showed that progressive endurance training caused insignificant reductions in plasma VEGF concentration in the training group, Crataegus monogyna group and training-Crataegus monogyna group comparing the control group. Plasma ANG-1 concentration reduced in the training, Crataegus monogyna and training-Crataegus monogyna groups while plasma ANG-2 concentration significantly increased in the Crataegus monogyna group (P=0.022) comparing with the control group. The results showed that the ratio of plasma ANG-2 to ANG-1 significantly increased in the Crataegus monogyna group (P=0.028) comparing with the control group. Conclusion: the findings suggest that combination of aerobic training and Crataegus monogyna extract has no synergistic effect on anti-angiogenesis indicators and Crataegus monogyna extract had a stronger effect on anti-angiogenesis indicators.

Keywords: angiopoetin-1/2, VEGF, Crataegus monogyna extract, aerobic training

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Authors: A van Onselen, C. M. Walsh, F. J. Veldman, C. Brand

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Objectives: To determine the nutritional status and risk factors associated with women practicing geophagia in QwaQwa, South Africa. Materials and Methods: An observational epidemiological study design was adopted which included an exposed (geophagia) and non-exposed (control) group. A food frequency questionnaire, anthropometric measurements and blood sampling were applied to determine nutritional status of participants. Logistic regression analysis was performed in order to identify factors that were likely to be associated with the practice of geophagia. Results: The mean total energy intake for the geophagia group (G) and control group(C) were 10324.31 ± 2755.00 kJ and 10763.94 ± 2556.30 kJ respectively. Both groups fell within the overweight category according to the mean body mass index (BMI) of each group (G= 25.59 kg/m2; C= 25.14 kg/m2). The mean serum iron levels of the geophagia group (6.929 μmol/l) were significantly lower than that of the control group (13.75 μmol/l) (p = 0.000). Serum transferrin (G=3.23g/l; C=2.7054g/l) and serum transferrin saturation (G=8.05%; C=18.74%) levels also differed significantly between groups (p=0.00). Factors that were associated with the practice of geophagia included haemoglobin (Odds ratio (OR):14.50), serum-iron (OR: 9.80), serum-ferritin (OR: 3.75), serum-transferrin (OR: 6.92) and transferrin saturation (OR: 14.50). A significant negative association (p=0.014) was found between women who were wage-earners and those who were not wage-earners and the practice of geophagia (OR: 0.143; CI: 0.027; 0.755). These findings seem to indicate that a permanent income may decrease the likelihood of practising geophagia. Key findings: Geophagia was confirmed to be a risk factor for iron deficiency in this community. The significantly strong association between geophagia and iron deficiency emphasizes the importance of identifying the practice of geophagia in women, especially during their child bearing years. Further research to establish whether the practice of geophagia is a cause of iron-deficiency, or whether it is the consequence thereof, would give a clearer view on how to recognise and treat the condition.

Keywords: geophagia, iron deficiency anaemia, dietary intake, anthropometry

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Authors: Abhay Asthana, Shally Toshkhani, Gyati Shilakari

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The present research was aimed to develop a biodegradable dermal patch formulation for wound healing in a novel, sustained and systematic manner. The goal is to reduce the frequency of dressings with improved drug delivery and thereby enhance therapeutic performance. In present study optimized formulation was designed using component polymers and excipients (e.g. Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, Ethylcellulose, and Gelatin) to impart significant folding endurance, elasticity and strength. Gelatin was used to get a mixture using ethylene glycol. Chitosan dissolved in suitable medium was mixed with stirring to gelatin mixture. With continued stirring to the mixture Curcumin was added in optimized ratio to get homogeneous dispersion. Polymers were dispersed with stirring in final formulation. The mixture was sonicated casted to get the film form. All steps were carried out under under strict aseptic conditions. The final formulation was a thin uniformly smooth textured film with dark brown-yellow color. The film was found to have folding endurance was around 20 to 21 times without a crack in an optimized formulation at RT (23C). The drug content was in range 96 to 102% and it passed the content uniform test. The final moisture content of the optimized formulation film was NMT 9.0%. The films passed stability study conducted at refrigerated conditions (4±0.2C) and at room temperature (23 ± 2C) for 30 days. Further, the drug content and texture remained undisturbed with stability study conducted at RT 23±2C for 45 and 90 days. Percentage cumulative drug release was found to be 80% in 12 h and matched the biodegradation rate as drug release with correlation factor R2 > 0.9. The film based formulation developed shows promising results in terms of stability and release profiles.

Keywords: biodegradable, patch, bioactive, polymer

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Authors: Byron Baron

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Typical of the Mediterranean region, the Maltese islands exhibit calcareous soils containing low organic carbon content and high salinity, in addition to being relatively shallow. This has lead to the common practice of applying copious amounts of artificial fertilisers as well as other chemical inputs, together with the use of ground water having high salinity. Such intensive agricultural activities, over a prolonged time period, on such land has lead further to the loss of any soil fertility, together with direct negative impacts on the quality of fresh water reserves and the local ecosystem. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the natural resources on the island would be sufficient to apply ecological intensification i.e. the use of natural processes to replace anthropological inputs without any significant loss in food production. This was implementing through a sustainable agricultural system based on permaculture practices. Ecological intensification following permaculture principles was implemented for two years in order to capture the seasonal changes in duplicate. The areas dedicated to wild plants were only trimmed back to avoid excessive seeding but never mowing. A number of local staple crops were grown throughout this period, also in duplicate. Concomitantly, a number of practices were implemented following permaculture principles such as reducing land tilling, applying only natural fertiliser, mulching, monitoring of soil parameters using sensors, no use of herbicides or pesticides, and precision irrigation linked to a desalination system. Numerous environmental parameters were measured at regular intervals so as to quantify any improvements in ecological conditions. Crop output was also measured as kilos of produce per area. The results clearly show that over the two year period, the variety of wild plant species increased, the number of visiting pollinators increased, there were no pest infestations (although an increase in the number of pests was observed), and a slight improvement in overall soil health was also observed. This was obviously limited by the short duration of the testing implementation. Dedicating slightly less than 15% of total land area to wild plants in the form of borders around plots of crops assisted pollination and provided a foraging area for gleaning bats (measured as an increased number of feeding buzzes) whilst not giving rise to any pest infestations and no apparent yield losses or ill effects to the crops. Observed increases in crop yields were not significant. The study concluded that with the right support for the initial establishment of a healthy ecosystem and controlled intervention, the available natural resources on the island can substantially improve the condition of the local agricultural land area, resulting is a more prolonged economical output with greater ecological sustainability. That being said, more comprehensive and long-term monitoring is required in order to fully validate these results and design a sustainable agriculture system that truly achieves the best outcome for the Maltese context.

Keywords: ecological intensification, soil health, sustainable agriculture, permaculture

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Authors: Syed Jamil H. Kazmi, Faiza Sarwar

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The Indus delta of Sindh Province forms the largest creeks zone of Pakistan. The Sindh coast starts from the mouth of Hab River and terminates at Sir Creek area. In this paper, we have considered the major creeks from the site of Bin Qasim Port in Karachi to Jetty of Keti Bunder in Thatta District. A general decline in the mangrove forest has been observed that within a span of last 25 years. The unprecedented human interventions damage the creeks habitat badly which includes haphazard urban development, industrial and sewage disposal, illegal cutting of mangroves forest, reduced and inconsistent fresh water flow mainly from Jhang and Indus rivers. These activities not only harm the creeks habitat but affected the fish stock substantially. Fishing is the main livelihood of coastal people but with the above-mentioned threats, it is also under enormous pressure by fish catches resulted in unchecked overutilization of the fish resources. This pressure is almost unbearable when it joins with deleterious fishing methods, uncontrolled fleet size, increase trash and by-catch of juvenile and illegal mesh size. Along with these anthropogenic interventions study area is under the red zone of tropical cyclones and active seismicity causing floods, sea intrusion, damage mangroves forests and devastation of fish stock. In order to sustain the natural resources of the Indus Creeks, this study was initiated with the support of FAO, WWF and NIO, the main purpose was to develop a Geo-Spatial dataset for fish stock assessment. The study has been spread over a year (2013-14) on monthly basis which mainly includes detailed fish stock survey, water analysis and few other environmental analyses. Environmental analysis also includes the habitat classification of study area which has done through remote sensing techniques for 22 years’ time series (1992-2014). Furthermore, out of 252 species collected, fifteen species from estuarine and marine groups were short-listed to measure the weight, health and growth of fish species at each creek under GIS data through SPSS system. Furthermore, habitat suitability analysis has been conducted by assessing the surface topographic and aspect derivation through different GIS techniques. The output variables then overlaid in GIS system to measure the creeks productivity. Which provided the results in terms of subsequent classes: extremely productive, highly productive, productive, moderately productive and less productive. This study has revealed the Geospatial tools utilization along with the evaluation of the fisheries resources and creeks habitat risk zone mapping. It has also been identified that the geo-spatial technologies are highly beneficial to identify the areas of high environmental risk in Sindh Creeks. This has been clearly discovered from this study that creeks with high rugosity are more productive than the creeks with low levels of rugosity. The study area has the immense potential to boost the economy of Pakistan in terms of fish export, if geo-spatial techniques are implemented instead of conventional techniques.

Keywords: fish stock, geo-spatial, productivity analysis, risk

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Authors: Somsak Klaysung

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This study purpose to develop video to promote cultural tourism in Taling Chan District. For qualitative research, the sample size was 40 people from 5 group of the tourism entrepreneur in Taling Chan district, conducted the key informants’ content analysis by using focus group and structures in-depth interview from all stakeholders. Quota sampling was used for this kind of research. The findings indicated that get media video marketing and tourism contribute a set length 11.35 9 minutes there is plenty of social capital in Taling Chan District including detail like local wisdom, knowledge, and way of thinking related to nature, history, historic document, occupation, administration and attribute of local people. Additional research found the new path of travel through the water route according to Khlong Bang Ramat called Route 9 temples that travelers can travel by boat are available in the market in four areas Taling Chan also as well.

Keywords: digital video, integrated marketing communication, online media development, Taling Chan district

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Authors: Lanchi Xie, Zhihui Li, Zhigang Li, Guiqiang Wang, Lei Xu, Yuwen Yan

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Image-based facial features can be classified into category recognition features and individual recognition features. Current automated face recognition systems extract a specific feature vector of different dimensions from a facial image according to their pre-trained neural network. However, to improve the efficiency of parameter calculation, an algorithm generally reduces the image details by pooling. The operation will overlook the details concerned much by forensic experts. In our experiment, we adopted a variety of face recognition algorithms based on deep learning, compared a large number of naturally collected face images with the known data of the same person's frontal ID photos. Downscaling and manual handling were performed on the testing images. The results supported that the facial recognition algorithms based on deep learning detected structural and morphological information and rarely focused on specific markers such as stains and moles. Overall performance, distribution of genuine scores and impostor scores, and likelihood ratios were tested to evaluate the accuracy of biometric systems and forensic experts. Experiments showed that the biometric systems were skilled in distinguishing category features, and forensic experts were better at discovering the individual features of human faces. In the proposed approach, a fusion was performed at the score level. At the specified false accept rate, the framework achieved a lower false reject rate. This paper contributes to improving the interpretability of the objective method of facial comparison and provides a novel method for human-machine collaboration in this field.

Keywords: likelihood ratio, automated facial recognition, facial comparison, biometrics

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Authors: Nantawan Soonklang, Linda Chularojanamontri, Urarat Nanna

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Ethnopharmacological relevance: Thunbergia laurifolia Lindl. belongs to the family Acanthaceae commonly known as Rang jeud in Thailand. This plant is traditionally used in Thailand for centuries as an antidote for several poisons and drug overdose. Aim of the study: This research aimed to study the analgesic and antipyretic activities of T. laurifolia water extract by using animal models. Materials and Methods: The analgesic activity was studied using 2 methods of pain induction including acetic acid and heat induced pain. And the antipyretic activity study was performed by yeast-induced hyperthermia. Results: The results showed that the administration of T. laurifolia extract possessed analgesic activity by reducing acetic acid-induced writhing response and heat-induced pain as well as showed antipyretic activity by decreasing body temperature of hyperthermic rats induced by brewer’s yeast. Conclusion: The study indicates that the T. laurifolia extract possesses analgesic and antipyretic activities in animals.

Keywords: Thunbergia laurifolia extract, analgesic activity, antipyretic activity, hyperthermia

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Authors: Yu-Lin Shen, Ming-Kuen Chang

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In addition to a considerable amount of machinery and equipment, intricacies of the transmission pipeline exist in Petrochemical plants. Long term corrosion may lead to pipeline thinning and rupture, causing serious safety concerns. With the advances in non-destructive testing technology, more rapid and long-range ultrasonic detection techniques are often used for pipeline inspection, EMAT without coupling to detect, it is a non-contact ultrasonic, suitable for detecting elevated temperature or roughened e surface of line. In this study, we prepared artificial defects in pipeline for Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer testing (EMAT) to survey the relationship between the defect location, sizing and the EMAT signal. It was found that the signal amplitude of EMAT exhibited greater signal attenuation with larger defect depth and length. In addition, with bigger flat hole diameter, greater amplitude attenuation was obtained. In summary, signal amplitude attenuation of EMAT was affected by the defect depth, defect length and the hole diameter and size.

Keywords: EMAT, artificial defect, NDT, ultrasonic testing

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Authors: Rodriguez Diego, Del Valle Martin, Hargreaves Matias, Riveros Jose Luis

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Nutrient deficiencies due to a diet low in quantitative and qualitative terms, are prevalent throughout the developing world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Children and women of childbearing age are especially vulnerable. Limited availability, access and intake of animal foods at home and lack of knowledge about their value in the diet and the role they play in health, contribute to poor diet quality. Poor bioavailability of micronutrients in diets based on foods high in fiber and phytates, the low content of some micronutrients in these foods are further factors to consider. Goats are deeply embedded in almost every Sub-Saharan African rural culture, generally kept for their milk, meat, hair or leather. Goats have played an important role in African social life, especially in food security. Goat meat has good properties for human wellbeing, with a special role in lower income households. It has a high-quality protein (20 protein g/100 meat g) including all essential amino acids, good unsaturated/satured fatty acids relationship, and it is an important B-vitamin source with high micronutrients bioavailability. Mozambique has major food security problems, with poor food access and utilization, undiversified diets, chronic poverty and child malnutrition. Our objective was to design a nutritional intervention based on a dietary diversification, nutritional education, cultural beliefs and local resources, aimed to strengthen food security of children at Barrio Broma village (15°43'58.78"S; 32°46'7.27"E) in Chitima, Mozambique. Two surveys were conducted first of socio-productive local databases and then to 100 rural households about livelihoods, food diversity and anthropometric measurements in children under 5 years. Our results indicate that the main economic activity is goat production, based on a native breed with two deliveries per year in the absence of any management. Adult goats weighted 27.2±10.5 kg and raised a height of 63.5±3.8 cm. Data showed high levels of poverty, with a food diversity score of 2.3 (0-12 points), where only 30% of households consume protein and 13% iron, zinc, and B12 vitamin. The main constraints to food security were poor access to water and low income to buy food. Our dietary intervention was based on improving diet quality by increasing the access to dried goat meat, fresh vegetables, and legumes, and its utilization by a nutritional education program. This proposal was based on local culture and living conditions characterized by the absence of electricity power and drinkable water. The drying process proposed would secure the food maintenance under local conditions guaranteeing food safety for a longer period. Additionally, an ancient local drying technique was rescued and used. Moreover, this kind of dietary intervention would be the most efficient way to improve the infant nutrition by delivering macro and micronutrients on time to these vulnerable populations.

Keywords: child malnutrition, dietary diversification, food security, goat meat

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Authors: M. Abd elfattah, M. Ossman, Nahla A. Taha

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The present work explored the use of Egyptian rice straw, an agricultural waste that leads to global warming problem through brown cloud, as a potential feedstock for the preparation of activated carbon by physical and chemical activation. The results of this study showed that it is feasible to prepare activated carbons with relatively high surface areas and pore volumes from the Egyptian rice straw by direct chemical and physical activation. The produced activated carbon from the two methods (AC1 and AC2) could be used as potential adsorbent for the removal of Fe(III) from aqueous solution contains heavy metals and polluted water. The adsorption of Fe(III) was depended on the pH of the solution. The optimal Fe(III) removal efficiency occurs at pH 5. Based on the results, the optimum contact time is 60 minutes and adsorbent dosage is 3 g/L. The adsorption breakthrough curves obtained at different bed depths indicated increase of breakthrough time with increase in bed depths. A rise in inlet Fe(III) concentration reduces the throughput volume before the packed bed gets saturated. AC1 showed higher affinity for Fe(III) as compared to Raw rice husk.

Keywords: rice straw, activated carbon, Fe(III), fixed bed column, pyrolysis

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Authors: Mohamed Amine Ferhat, Mohamed Nadjib Bouhatem, Farid Chemat

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One of the principal aims of sustainable and green processing development remains the dissemination and teaching of green chemistry to both developed and developing nations. This paper describes one attempt to show that “north-south” collaborations yield innovative sustainable and green technologies which give major benefits for both nations. In this paper we present early results from a solvent free microwave extraction (SFME) of essential oils using fresh orange peel, a byproduct in the production of orange juice. SFME is performed at atmospheric pressure without added any solvent or water. SFME increases essential oil yield and eliminate wastewater treatment. The procedure is appropriate for the teaching laboratory, and allows the students to learn extraction, chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis skills, and are expose to dramatic visual example of rapid, sustainable and green extraction of essential oil, and are introduced to commercially successful sustainable and green chemical processing with microwave energy.

Keywords: essential oil, extraction, green processing, microwave

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Authors: Zakia Fatima, Liu Lu, Donghao Li

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The analysis of biological fluid metabolites holds significant importance in various areas, such as medical research, food science, and public health. Investigating the levels and distribution of nutrients and their metabolites in biological samples allows researchers and healthcare professionals to determine nutritional status, find hypovitaminosis or hypervitaminosis, and monitor the effectiveness of interventions such as dietary supplementation. Moreover, analysis of nutrient metabolites provides insight into their metabolism, bioavailability, and physiological processes, aiding in the clarification of their health roles. Hence, the exploration of a distinct, efficient, eco-friendly, and simpler methodology is of great importance to evaluate the metabolic content of complex biological samples. In this work, a green and rapid analytical method based on an automated online two-dimensional microscale carbon fiber/activated carbon fiber fractionation system and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (2DμCFs-TOF-MS) was used to evaluate metabolites of urine samples after oral administration of food supplements. The automated 2DμCFs instrument consisted of a microcolumn system with bare carbon fibers and modified carbon fiber coatings. Carbon fibers and modified carbon fibers exhibit different surface characteristics and retain different compounds accordingly. Three kinds of mobile-phase solvents were used to elute the compounds of varied chemical heterogeneities. The 2DμCFs separation system has the ability to effectively separate different compounds based on their polarity and solubility characteristics. No complicated sample preparation method was used prior to analysis, which makes the strategy more eco-friendly, practical, and faster than traditional analysis methods. For optimum analysis results, mobile phase composition, flow rate, and sample diluent were optimized. Water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins, and amino acids, as well as 22 vitamin metabolites and 11 vitamin metabolic pathway-related metabolites, were found in urine samples. All water-soluble vitamins except vitamin B12 and vitamin B9 were detected in urine samples. However, no fat-soluble vitamin was detected, and only one metabolite of Vitamin A was found. The comparison with a blank urine sample showed a considerable difference in metabolite content. For example, vitamin metabolites and three related metabolites were not detected in blank urine. The complete single-run screening was carried out in 5.5 minutes with the minimum consumption of toxic organic solvent (0.5 ml). The analytical method was evaluated in terms of greenness, with an analytical greenness (AGREE) score of 0.72. The method’s practicality has been investigated using the Blue Applicability Grade Index (BAGI) tool, obtaining a score of 77. The findings in this work illustrated that the 2DµCFs-TOF-MS approach could emerge as a fast, sustainable, practical, high-throughput, and promising analytical tool for screening and accurate detection of various metabolites, pharmaceuticals, and ingredients in dietary supplements as well as biological fluids.

Keywords: metabolite analysis, sustainability, carbon fibers, urine.

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Authors: Khaled Abkar Alkodimi

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This paper attempts to explore Bishop’s eco-poetics and environmental consciousness from an ecocritical perspective. It focuses on her representations of animals, environments, and natural phenomena and the connection between a broad range of human activities and flora, fauna habitats. Indeed, Bishop shows a sense of human responsibility towards the earth in her peculiar treatment of place and livestock, which appears to be more than a static growth process. Her poetry is totally contrary to egoism and egotism, and this can be easily noticed in her subjective understanding of nature and creatures. The findings show Bishop as an eco-poet who committed herself and her poetry to highlight the significance of nature and world life at large. This is obvious through her representation of natural phenomena such as seasonal cycles, weather, and physical and ecological elements, including air, earth, and water, which essentially constitute and inform the poet’s environmental thoughts. Examining Bishop’s conception of a human relationship with ‘external nature through the examination of her poetic language, this study shows how the environmental imagination can suggest social responsibility to readers.

Keywords: elizabeth bishop, eco-criticism, eco-poetry, environmental consciousness, man-nature relationship

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Authors: Rama Bhargava, Mania Goyal

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The problem of magnetohydrodynamics boundary layer flow and heat transfer on a permeable stretching surface in a second grade nanofluid under the effect of heat generation and partial slip is studied theoretically. The Brownian motion and thermophoresis effects are also considered. The boundary layer equations governed by the PDE’s are transformed into a set of ODE’s with the help of local similarity transformations. The differential equations are solved by variational finite element method. The effects of different controlling parameters on the flow field and heat transfer characteristics are examined. The numerical results for the dimensionless velocity, temperature and nanoparticle volume fraction as well as the reduced Nusselt and Sherwood number have been presented graphically. The comparison confirmed excellent agreement. The present study is of great interest in coating and suspensions, cooling of metallic plate, oils and grease, paper production, coal water or coal-oil slurries, heat exchangers technology, materials processing exploiting.

Keywords: viscoelastic nanofluid, partial slip, stretching sheet, heat generation/absorption, MHD flow, FEM

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Authors: Samiah Rehman, Kashmira J. Gohil

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Objective: Dracaena trifascaita extract (DTE) possesses strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that play a vital role in the treatment of mental disorders like depression. The present study was designed to evaluate the antidepressant effects of hydroalcoholic extracts of DT on behavioral models of depression. Methodology: Animals were randomly divided into 6 groups of 5 each: Group 1 and 2 received distilled water and standard drug, imipramine: 25mg/kg, respectively. Groups 4, 5 and 6 received DTE treatment orally at doses of 200 ,400 and 600mg/ kg, respectively, for 14 days. Time of immobility was noted by force swimming test (FST)and tail suspension test (TST) on the 1st,7th and 14th days. Results: The time of immobility was reduced in the treatment group as compared to the control and standard. DTE600 mg/kg showed the highest and most significant antidepressant effects as compared to the standard drug imipramine. (25mg/kg). Conclusion: DTE has good potential as an alternative therapy for depression.

Keywords: Dracaena trifasciata, antidepressants, force swimming test, tail suspension test, herbal drug of depression

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Authors: Mekni Sabrine, Nouira Mariem

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Background and aim: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a curative treatment for several hematological diseases; however, it has a non-negligible morbidity and mortality depending on several prognostic factors, including pre-transplant hyperferritinemia. The aim of our study was to estimate the impact of hyperferritinemia on survivals and on the occurrence of post-transplant complications. Methods: It was a longitudinal study conducted over 8 years and including all patients who had a first allograft. The impact of pretransplant hyperferritinemia (ferritinemia ≥1500) on survivals was studied using the Kaplan Meier method and the COX model for uni- and multivariate analysis. The Khi-deux test and binary logistic regression were used to study the association between pretransplant ferritinemia and post-transplant complications. Results: One hundred forty patients were included with an average age of 26.6 years and a sex ratio (M/F)=1.4. Hyperferritinemia was found in 33% of patients. It had no significant impact on either overall survival (p=0.9) or event -free survival (p=0.6). In multivariate analysis, only the type of disease was independently associated with overall survival (p=0.04) and event-free survival (p=0.002). For post-allograft complications: The occurrence of early documented infections was independently associated with pretransplant hyperferritinemia (p=0.02) and the presence of acute graft versus host disease( GVHD) (p<10-3). The occurrence of acute GVHD was associated with early documented infection (p=0.002) and Cytomegalovirus reactivation (p<10-3). The occurrence of chronic GVHD was associated with the presence of Cytomegalovirus reactivation (p=0.006) and graft source (p=0.009). Conclusion: Our study showed the significant impact of pre-transplant hyperferritinemia on the occurrence of early infections but not on survivals. Early and more accurate assessment iron overload by other tests such as liver magnetic resonance imaging with initiation of chelating treatment could prevent the occurrence of such complications after transplantation.

Keywords: allogeneic, transplants, ferritin, survival

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