Search results for: application integration

Authors: Abu Yousuf, Maksudur Rahman Khan, Ahasanul Karim, Amirul Islam, Minhaj Uddin Monir, Sharmin Sultana, Domenico Pirozzi

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Traditional biodiesel feedstock like edible oils or plant oils, animal fats and cooking waste oil have been replaced by microbial oil in recent research of biodiesel synthesis. The well-known community of microbial oil producers includes microalgae, oleaginous yeast and seaweeds. Conventional transesterification of microbial oil to produce biodiesel is lethargic, energy consuming, cost-ineffective and environmentally unhealthy. This process follows several steps such as microbial biomass drying, cell disruption, oil extraction, solvent recovery, oil separation and transesterification. Therefore, direct transesterification of biodiesel synthesis has been studying for last few years. It combines all the steps in a single reactor and it eliminates the steps of biomass drying, oil extraction and separation from solvent. Apparently, it seems to be cost-effective and faster process but number of difficulties need to be solved to make it large scale applicable. The main challenges are microbial cell disruption in bulk volume and make faster the esterification reaction, because water contents of the medium sluggish the reaction rate. Several methods have been proposed but none of them is up to the level to implement in large scale. It is still a great challenge to extract maximum lipid from microbial cells (yeast, fungi, algae) investing minimum energy. Electroporation technique results a significant increase in cell conductivity and permeability caused due to the application of an external electric field. Electroporation is required to alter the size and structure of the cells to increase their porosity as well as to disrupt the microbial cell walls within few seconds to leak out the intracellular lipid to the solution. Therefore, incorporation of electroporation techniques contributed in direct transesterification of microbial lipids by increasing the efficiency of biodiesel production rate.

Keywords: biodiesel, electroporation, microbial lipids, transesterification

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Marshal D. Kafle, Jun H. Kim, Hyun W. Been, Kyoung M. Min

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Fluid viscous damping systems are well suited for many air vehicles subjected to shock and vibration. These damping system work with the principle of viscous fluid throttling through the orifice to create huge pressure difference between compression and rebound chamber and obtain the required damping force. One application of such systems is its use in aircraft door system to counteract the door’s velocity and safely stop it. In exigency situations like crash or emergency landing where the door doesn’t open easily, possibly due to unusually tilting of fuselage or some obstacles or intrusion of debris obstruction to move the parts of the door, such system can be combined with other systems to provide needed force to forcefully open the door and also securely stop it simultaneously within the required time i.e.less than 8seconds. In the present study, a hydraulic system called snubber along with other systems like actuator, gas bottle assembly which together known as emergency power assist system (EPAS) is designed, built and experimentally studied to check the magnitude of angular velocity, damping force and time required to effectively open the door. Whenever needed, the gas pressure from the bottle is released to actuate the actuator and at the same time pull the snubber’s piston to operate the emergency opening of the door. Such EPAS installed in the suspension arm of the aircraft door is studied explicitly changing parameters like orifice size, oil level, oil viscosity and bypass valve gap and its spring of the snubber at varying temperature to generate the optimum design case. Comparative analysis of the EPAS at several cases is done and conclusions are made. It is found that during emergency condition, the systemopening time and angular velocity, when snubber with 0.3mm piston and shaft orifice and bypass valve gap of 0.5 mm with its original spring is used,shows significant improvement over the old ones.

Keywords: aircraft door damper, bypass valve, emergency power assist system, hydraulic damper, oil viscosity

Procedia PDF Downloads 421

Authors: E. T. Carvalho Filho, J. T. N. Medeiros, L. G. Martinez

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Residual stresses are self equilibrating in a rigid body that acts on the microstructure of the material without application of an external load. They are elastic stresses and can be induced by mechanical, thermal and chemical processes causing a deformation gradient in the crystal lattice favoring premature failure in mechanicals components. The search for measurements with good reliability has been of great importance for the manufacturing industries. Several methods are able to quantify these stresses according to physical principles and the response of the mechanical behavior of the material. The diffraction X-ray technique is one of the most sensitive techniques for small variations of the crystalline lattice since the X-ray beam interacts with the interplanar distance. Being very sensitive technique is also susceptible to variations in measurements requiring a study of the factors that influence the final result of the measurement. Instrumental, operational factors, form deviations of the samples and geometry of analyzes are some variables that need to be considered and analyzed in order for the true measurement. The aim of this work is to analyze the sources of errors inherent to the residual stress measurement process by X-ray diffraction technique making an interlaboratory comparison to verify the reproducibility of the measurements. In this work, two specimens were machined, differing from each other by the surface finishing: grinding and polishing. Additionally, iron powder with particle size less than 45 µm was selected in order to be a reference (as recommended by ASTM E915 standard) for the tests. To verify the deviations caused by the equipment, those specimens were positioned and with the same analysis condition, seven measurements were carried out at 11Ψ tilts. To verify sample positioning errors, seven measurements were performed by positioning the sample at each measurement. To check geometry errors, measurements were repeated for the geometry and Bragg Brentano parallel beams. In order to verify the reproducibility of the method, the measurements were performed in two different laboratories and equipments. The results were statistically worked out and the quantification of the errors.

Keywords: residual stress, x-ray diffraction, repeatability, reproducibility, error analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 181

Authors: Sungho Kim, Jaechoul Shin, Yujin Baek, Nakseok Kim, Kyungnam Kim, Shinhaeng Jo

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The climate change and increase in heavy traffic have been accelerating damages that cause the problems such as pothole on asphalt pavement. Pothole causes traffic accidents, vehicle damages, road casualties and traffic congestion. A quick and efficient maintenance method is needed because pothole is caused by stripping and accelerates pavement distress. In this study, we propose a rapid and systematic pothole management by developing a pothole automated repairing equipment including a volume measurement system of pothole. Three kinds of cold mix asphalt mixture were investigated to select repair materials. The materials were evaluated for satisfaction with quality standard and applicability to automated equipment. The volume measurement system of potholes was composed of multi-sensor that are combined with laser sensor and ultrasonic sensor and installed in front and side of the automated repair equipment. An algorithm was proposed to calculate the amount of repair material according to the measured pothole volume, and the system for releasing the correct amount of material was developed. Field test results showed that the loss of repair material amount could be reduced from approximately 20% to 6% per one point of pothole. Pothole rapid automated repair equipment will contribute to improvement on quality and efficient and economical maintenance by not only reducing materials and resources but also calculating appropriate materials. Through field application, it is possible to improve the accuracy of pothole volume measurement, to correct the calculation of material amount, and to manage the pothole data of roads, thereby enabling more efficient pavement maintenance management. Acknowledgment: The author would like to thank the MOLIT(Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport). This work was carried out through the project funded by the MOLIT. The project name is 'development of 20mm grade for road surface detecting roadway condition and rapid detection automation system for removal of pothole'.

Keywords: automated equipment, management, multi-beam sensor, pothole

Procedia PDF Downloads 222

Authors: Sara Khan Mohammadi

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The world is facing a major challenge of feeding a growing population while ensuring the sustainability of food systems. The United Nations estimates that the global population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050, which means that food production needs to increase by 70% to meet the demand. However, this increase in food production should not come at the cost of environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, and climate change. Therefore, there is a need for sustainable food systems that can provide healthy and nutritious food while minimizing their impact on the environment. Nutrition and Food Engineering: Nutrition and food engineering play a crucial role in promoting sustainable food system. Nutrition is concerned with the study of nutrients in foods, their absorption, metabolism, and their effects on health. Food engineering involves the application of engineering principles to design, develop, and optimize food processing operations. Together, nutrition and food engineering can help to create sustainable food systems by: 1. Developing Nutritious Foods: Nutritionists and food engineers can work together to develop foods that are rich in nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein. These foods can be designed to meet the nutritional needs of different populations while minimizing waste. 2. Reducing Food Waste: Food waste is a major problem globally as it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and wastes resources such as water and land. Nutritionists and food engineers can work together to develop technologies that reduce waste during processing, storage, transportation, and consumption. 3. Improving Food Safety: Unsafe foods can cause illnesses such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid fever among others which are major public health concerns globally. Nutritionists and food engineers can work together to develop technologies that improve the safety of foods from farm to fork. 4. Enhancing Sustainability: Sustainable agriculture practices such as conservation agriculture can help reduce soil erosion while improving soil fertility. Nutritionists and food engineers can work together to develop technologies that promote sustainable agriculture practices.

Keywords: sustainable food, developing food, reducing food waste, food safety

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Authors: R. Sekula

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Epoxy composites are broadly used as an electrical insulation for the high voltage applications since only such materials can fulfill particular mechanical, thermal, and dielectric requirements. However, properties of the final product are strongly dependent on proper manufacturing process with minimized material failures, as too large shrinkage, voids and cracks. Therefore, application of proper materials (epoxy, hardener, and filler) and process parameters (mold temperature, filling time, filling velocity, initial temperature of internal parts, gelation time), as well as design and geometric parameters are essential features for final quality of the produced components. In this paper, an approach for three-dimensional modeling of all molding stages, namely filling, curing and post-curing is presented. The reactive molding simulation tool is based on a commercial CFD package, and include dedicated models describing viscosity and reaction kinetics that have been successfully implemented to simulate the reactive nature of the system with exothermic effect. Also a dedicated simulation procedure for stress and shrinkage calculations, as well as simulation results are presented in the paper. Second part of the paper is dedicated to recent developments on formulations of functional composites for electrical insulation applications, focusing on thermally conductive materials. Concepts based on filler modifications for epoxy electrical composites have been presented, including the results of the obtained properties. Finally, having in mind tough environmental regulations, in addition to current process and design aspects, an approach for product re-design has been presented focusing on replacement of epoxy material with the thermoplastic one. Such “design-for-recycling” method is one of new directions associated with development of new material and processing concepts of electrical products and brings a lot of additional research challenges. For that, one of the successful products has been presented to illustrate the presented methodology.

Keywords: curing, epoxy insulation, numerical simulations, recycling

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Authors: Sehrish Qayyum

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Active military power contention is shifting to economic and cyberwar to retain hegemony. Attuned Pestle analysis confirms that structural stress of hegemon’s power loss drives a containment approach towards caging actions. Ongoing diplomatic, asymmetric, proxy and direct wars are increasing stress hegemon’s power retention due to tangled military and economic alliances. It creates the condition of catalepsy with defective reflexive control which affects the core warfare operations. When one’s own power is doubted it gives power to one’s own doubt to ruin all planning either done with superlative cost-benefit analysis. Strategically calculated estimation of Hegemon’s power game since the early WWI to WWII, WWII-to Cold War and then to the current era in three chronological periods exposits that Thucydides’s trap became the reason for war broke out. Thirst for power is the demise of imagination and cooperation for better sense to prevail instead it drives ashes to dust. Pestle analysis is a wide array of evaluation from political and economic to legal dimensions of the state matters. It helps to develop the Pacification and Security Policy Plan (PSPP) to avoid hegemon’s structural stress of power loss in fact, in turn, creates an alliance with maximum amicable outputs. PSPP may serve to regulate and pause the hurricane of power clashes. PSPP along with a strategic work plan is based on Pestle analysis to deal with any conceivable war condition and approach for saving international peace. Getting tangled into self-imposed epistemic dilemmas results in regret that becomes the only option of performance. It is a generic application of probability tests to find the best possible options and conditions to develop PSPP for any adversity possible so far. Innovation in expertise begets innovation in planning and action-plan to serve as a rheostat approach to deal with any plausible power clash.

Keywords: alliance, hegemon, pestle analysis, pacification and security policy plan, security

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Authors: Zdravko Trivic, John Chye Fung, Ruzica Bozovic-Stamenovic

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Within the context of rapidly ageing population in Singapore and the pressing demands on both caregivers and care providers, an integrated approach to ageing-friendly and ability-sensitive enabling environment becomes an imperative. This particularly applies to nursing home environments and their immediate surroundings, as they are becoming one of the main available options of long-term care for many senior adults who are unable to age at home. Yet, despite the considerable efforts to break the still predominant clinical approach to eldercare and to introduce more home-like design and person-centric care model, nursing homes keep being stigmatised and perceived as not so desirable environments to grow old in. The challenges are further emphasised by the associated physical, sensorial, psychological and cognitive declines that are the common consequences of ageing. Such declines have an immense impact on almost all aspects of older adults’ daily functioning, including problems with mobility and spatial orientation, difficulties in communication, withdrawal from social interaction, higher level of depression and decreased sense of independence and autonomy. However, typical nursing home designs tend to neglect the full capacities of balanced and carefully integrated multisensory stimuli as active component of care and ability building. This paper outlines part of a larger multi-disciplinary study of six nursing homes in Singapore, with overarching objectives to create new models of supportive nursing home environments that go beyond the clinical care model and encourage community integration with the nursing home settings. The paper focuses on the largely neglected aspects of sensorial comfort and multi-sensorial properties of nursing homes, including both indoor and immediate outdoor spaces (boundaries). The objective was to investigate the sensory rhythms and explore their role in nursing home users’ daily routine and therapeutic capacities. Socio-sensory rhythms were captured and analysed through a combination of on-site sensory recordings of “objective” quantitative sensory data (air temperature and humidity, sound level and luminance) using multi-function environment meter, perceived experienced data, spatial mapping, first-person observations of nursing home users’ activity patterns, and interviews. This was done in addition to employment of available assessment tools, such as Wisconsin Person Directed Care assessment tool, Dementia Quality of Life [DQoL] instrument, and Resident Environment Impact Scale [REIS], as these tools address the issues of sensorial experience insufficiently and selectively. Key findings indicate varied levels of sensory comfort, as well as diversity, intensity, and customisation of multi-sensory conditions within different nursing home spaces. Sensory stimulation is typically concentrated in communal living areas of the nursing homes or in the areas that often provide controlled or limited access, including specifically designed sensory rooms and outdoor green spaces (gardens and terraces). Opportunities for sensory stimulation are particularly limited for bed-bound senior residents and within more functional areas, such as corridors. This suggests that the capacities of nursing home designs to provide more diverse and better integrated pleasant sensory conditions as integrated “therapeutic devices” to build nursing home residents’ physical and mental abilities, encourage activity and improve wellbeing are far from exhausted.

Keywords: ageing-supportive environment, enabling design, multi-sensory assessment, nursing home environment

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Authors: Kisik Song, Sungjoo Lee

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With the growing importance of intangible assets recently, the impact of patent infringement on the business of a company has become more evident. Accordingly, it is essential for firms to estimate the risk of patent infringement risk before developing a technology and create new technology ideas to avoid the risk. Recognizing the needs, several attempts have been made to help develop new technology opportunities and most of them have focused on identifying emerging vacant technologies from patent analysis. In these studies, the IPC (International Patent Classification) system or keywords from text-mining application to patent documents was generally used to define vacant technologies. Unlike those studies, this study adopted F-term, which classifies patent documents according to the technical features of the inventions described in them. Since the technical features are analyzed by various perspectives by F-term, F-term provides more detailed information about technologies compared to IPC while more systematic information compared to keywords. Therefore, if well utilized, it can be a useful guideline to create a new technology idea. Recognizing the potential of F-term, this paper aims to suggest a novel approach to developing new technology ideas to avoid patent infringement based on F-term. For this purpose, we firstly collected data about F-term and then applied text-mining to the descriptions about classification criteria and attributes. From the text-mining results, we could identify other technologies with similar technical features of the existing one, the patented technology. Finally, we compare the technologies and extract the technical features that are commonly used in other technologies but have not been used in the existing one. These features are presented in terms of “purpose”, “function”, “structure”, “material”, “method”, “processing and operation procedure” and “control means” and so are useful for creating new technology ideas that help avoid infringing patent rights of other companies. Theoretically, this is one of the earliest attempts to adopt F-term to patent analysis; the proposed methodology can show how to best take advantage of F-term with the wealth of technical information. In practice, the proposed methodology can be valuable in the ideation process for successful product and service innovation without infringing the patents of other companies.

Keywords: patent infringement, new technology ideas, patent analysis, F-term

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Suleiman Garba, Haruna Ishaku

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Information and communication technology (ICT) includes any communication device encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them. The significance of ICT cannot be over-emphasized in education. The teaching and learning processes have integrated with the application of ICTs for effectiveness and enhancement of academic performance among the students. Today, as the educational sector is faced with series of changes and reforms, it was noted that the problem of information technology illiteracy was a serious one among the schools’ teachers in the country as it cuts across primary, secondary schools and tertiary institutions. This study investigated the impact of ICT on the academic performance of senior secondary schools students in Gwagwalada Area Council of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. A sample of 120 SSS III students was involved in the study. They were selected by using simple random sampling technique. A questionnaire was developed and validated through expert judgement and reliability co-efficient of 0.81 was obtained. It was used to gather relevant data from the respondents. Findings revealed that there was positive impact of ICT on academic performance of senior secondary schools students. The findings indicated the causes of poor academic performance among the students as lack of qualified teachers to teach in schools, peer group influence, and bullying. Significantly, the findings revealed that ICT had a positive impact on students’ academic performance. The null hypotheses were tested using t-test at 0.05 level of significance. It was discovered that there was significant difference between male and female secondary schools’ students' impact of ICT on academic performance in Gwagawalada Area Council of FCT-Abuja. Based on these findings, some recommendations were made which include: adequate funds should be provided towards procurement of ICT resources, relevant textbooks to enhance students’ active participation in learning processes and students should be provided with internet accessibility at inexpensive rate so as to create a platform for accessing useful information in the pursuit of academic excellence.

Keywords: academic performance, impact, information communication technology, schools, students

Procedia PDF Downloads 218

Authors: Tarcisio F. Leao, Bruno Utiyama, Jeison Fonseca, Eduardo Bock, Aron Andrade

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This work presents a blood flow estimator based in Look-Up-Table (LUT) for control of Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD). This device has been used as bridge to transplantation or as destination therapy to treat patients with heart failure (HF). Destination Therapy application requires a high performance LVAD; thus, a stable control is important to keep adequate interaction between heart and device. LVAD control provides an adequate cardiac output while sustaining an appropriate flow and pressure blood perfusion, also described as physiologic control. Because thrombus formation and system reliability reduction, sensors are not desirable to measure these variables (flow and pressure blood). To achieve this, control systems have been researched to estimate blood flow. LVAD used in the study is composed by blood centrifugal pump, control, and power supply. This technique used pump and actuator (motor) parameters of LVAD, such as speed and electric current. Estimator relates electromechanical torque (motor or actuator) and hydraulic power (blood pump) via LUT. An in vitro Mock Loop was used to evaluate deviations between blood flow estimated and actual. A solution with glycerin (50%) and water was used to simulate the blood viscosity with hematocrit 45%. Tests were carried out with variation hematocrit: 25%, 45% and 58% of hematocrit, or 40%, 50% and 60% of glycerin in water solution, respectively. Test with bovine blood was carried out (42% hematocrit). Mock Loop is composed: reservoir, tubes, pressure and flow sensors, and fluid (or blood), beyond LVAD. Estimator based in LUT is patented, number BR1020160068363, in Brazil. Mean deviation is 0.23 ± 0.07 L/min for mean flow estimated. Larger mean deviation was 0.5 L/min considering hematocrit variation. This estimator achieved deviation adequate for physiologic control implementation. Future works will evaluate flow estimation performance in control system of LVAD.

Keywords: blood pump, flow estimator, left ventricular assist device, look-up-table

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Kimberly Winnie Achieng Otieno

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The Nairobi Hospital plays a pivotal role in healthcare provision in East and Central Africa, yet it faces challenges in providing accessible dialysis care. This paper explores strategic interventions to enhance dialysis care, improve access and streamline health information management, with an aim of fostering an integrated and patient-centered healthcare system in our region. Challenges at The Nairobi Hospital The Nairobi Hospital currently grapples with insufficient dialysis machines which results in extended turn around times. This issue stems from both staffing bottle necks and infrastructural limitations given our growing demand for renal care services. Our Paper-based record keeping system and fragmented flow of information downstream hinders the hospital’s ability to manage health data effectively. There is also a need for investment in expanding The Nairobi Hospital dialysis facilities to far reaching communities. Setting up satellite clinics that are closer to people who live in areas far from the main hospital will ensure better access to underserved areas. Community Outreach and Education Implementing education programs on kidney health within local communities is vital for early detection and prevention. Collaborating with local leaders and organizations can establish a proactive approach to renal health hence reducing the demand for acute dialysis interventions. We can amplify this effort by expanding The Nairobi Hospital’s corporate social responsibility outreach program with weekend engagement activities such as walks, awareness classes and fund drives. Enhancing Efficiency in Dialysis Care Demand for dialysis services continues to rise due to an aging Kenyan population and the increasing prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Present at this years International Nursing Conference are a diverse group of caregivers from around the world who can share with us their process optimization strategies, patient engagement techniques and resource utilization efficiencies to catapult The Nairobi Hospital to the 21st century and beyond. Plans are underway to offer ongoing education opportunities to keep staff updated on best practices and emerging technologies in addition to utilizing a patient feedback mechanisms to identify areas for improvement and enhance satisfaction. Staff empowerment and suggestion boxes address The Nairobi Hospital’s organizational challenges. Current financial constraints may limit a leapfrog in technology integration such as the acquisition of new dialysis machines and an investment in predictive analytics to forecast patient needs and optimize resource allocation. Streamlining Health Information Management Fully embracing a shift to 100% Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is a transformative step toward efficient health information management. Shared information promotes a holistic understanding of patients’ medical history, minimizing redundancies and enhancing overall care quality. To manage the transition to community-based care and EHRs effectively, a phased implementation approach is recommended. Conclusion By strategically enhancing dialysis care access and streamlining health information management, The Nairobi Hospital can strengthen its position as a leading healthcare institution in both East and Central Africa. This comprehensive approach aligns with the hospital’s commitment to providing high-quality, accessible, and patient-centered care in an evolving landscape of healthcare delivery.

Keywords: Africa, urology, diaylsis, healthcare

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Authors: Ju-Hong Lee, Ching-Wei Liao

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Owing to close antenna spacing between antenna sensors within a compact space, a part of data in one antenna sensor would outflow to other antenna sensors when the antenna sensors in an antenna array operate simultaneously. This phenomenon is called mutual coupling effect (MCE). It has been shown that the performance of antenna array systems can be degraded when the antenna sensors are in close proximity. Especially, in a systems equipped with massive antenna sensors, the degradation of beamforming performance due to the MCE is significantly inevitable. Moreover, it has been shown that even a small angle error between the true direction angle of the desired signal and the steering angle deteriorates the effectiveness of an array beamforming system. However, the true direction vector of the desired signal may not be exactly known in some applications, e.g., the application in land mobile-cellular wireless systems. Therefore, it is worth developing robust techniques to deal with the problem due to the MCE and steering angle error for array beamforming systems. In this paper, we present an efficient technique for performing adaptive beamforming with robust capabilities against the MCE and the steering angle error. Only the data vector received by an antenna array is required by the proposed technique. By using the received array data vector, a correlation matrix is constructed to replace the original correlation matrix associated with the received array data vector. Then, the mutual coupling matrix due to the MCE on the antenna array is estimated through a recursive algorithm. An appropriate estimate of the direction angle of the desired signal can also be obtained during the recursive process. Based on the estimated mutual coupling matrix, the estimated direction angle, and the reconstructed correlation matrix, the proposed technique can effectively cure the performance degradation due to steering angle error and MCE. The novelty of the proposed technique is that the implementation procedure is very simple and the resulting adaptive beamforming performance is satisfactory. Simulation results show that the proposed technique provides much better beamforming performance without requiring complicated complexity as compared with the existing robust techniques.

Keywords: adaptive beamforming, mutual coupling effect, recursive algorithm, steering angle error

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Authors: Masoumeh Ghorbania, Falk Liebnerb, Hendrikus W.G. van Herwijnenc, Johannes Konnertha

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Phenol formaldehyde (PF) resins are widely used as wood adhesives for variety of industrial products such as plywood, laminated veneer lumber and others. Lignin as a main constituent of wood has become well-known as a potential substitute for phenol in PF adhesives because of their structural similarity. During the last decades numerous research approaches have been carried out to substitute phenol with pulping-derived lignin, whereby the lower reactivity of resins synthesized with shares of lignin seem to be one of the major challenges. This work reports about a systematic screening of different types of lignin (plant origin and pulping process) for their suitability to replace phenol in phenolic resins. Lignin from different plant sources (softwood, hardwood and grass) were used, as these should differ significantly in their reactivity towards formaldehyde of their reactive phenolic core units. Additionally a possible influence of the pulping process was addressed by using the different types of lignin from soda, kraft, and organosolv process and various lignosulfonates (sodium, ammonium, calcium, magnesium). To determine the influence of lignin on the adhesive performance beside others the rate of viscosity development, bond strength development of varying hot pressing time and other thermal properties were investigated. To evaluate the performance of the cured end product, a few selected properties were studied at the example of solid wood-adhesive bond joints, compact panels and plywood. As main results it was found that lignin significantly accelerates the viscosity development in adhesive synthesis. Bonding strength development during curing of adhesives decelerated for all lignin types, while this trend was least for pine kraft lignin and spruce sodium lignosulfonate. However, the overall performance of the products prepared with the latter adhesives was able to fulfill main standard requirements, even after exposing the products to harsh environmental conditions. Thus, a potential application can be considered for processes where reactivity is less critical but adhesive cost and product performance is essential.

Keywords: phenol formaldehyde resin, lignin phenol formaldehyde resin, ABES, DSC

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Authors: Naima Bouslah, Leila Bounabi, Farid Ouazib, Nabila Haddadine

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Conventional release dosage forms are known to provide an immediate release of the drug. Controlling the rate of drug release from polymeric matrices is very important for a number of applications, particularly in the pharmaceutical area. Hydrogels are polymers in three-dimensional network arrangement, which can absorb and retain large amounts of water without dissolution. They have been frequently used to develop controlled released formulations for oral administration because they can extend the duration of drug release and thus reduce dose to be administrated improving patient compliance. Tramadol is an opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain. When taken as an immediate-release oral formulation, the onset of pain relief usually occurs within about an hour. In the present work, we synthesized pH-responsive hydrogels of (hydroxyl ethyl methacrylate-co-acrylic acid), (HEMA-AA) for control drug delivery of tramadol in the gastro-intestinal tractus. The hydrogels with different acrylic acid content, were synthesized by free radical polymerization and characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, X ray diffraction analysis (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). FTIR spectroscopy has shown specific hydrogen bonding interactions between the carbonyl groups of the hydrogels and hydroxyl groups of tramadol. Both the XRD and DSC studies revealed that the introduction of tramadol in the hydrogel network induced the amorphization of the drug. The swelling behaviour, absorptive kinetics and the release kinetics of tramadol in simulated gastric fluid (pH 1.2) and in simulated intestinal fluid (pH 7.4) were also investigated. The hydrogels exhibited pH-responsive behavior in the swelling study. The (HEMA-AA) hydrogel swelling was much higher in pH =7.4 medium. The tramadol release was significantly increased when pH of the medium was changed from simulated gastric fluid (pH 1.2) to simulated intestinal fluid (pH 7.4). Using suitable mathematical models, the apparent diffusional coefficients and the corresponding kinetic parameters have been calculated.

Keywords: biopolymres, drug delivery, hydrogels, tramadol

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Authors: Sladjana Popovic

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The concept of vertical space urbanization, defined in English as "air rights development," can be considered a mechanism for the development of public spaces in urban areas of high density. A chronological overview of the transformation of space within the vertical projection of the existing traffic infrastructure that penetrates through the central areas of a city is given in this paper through the analysis of two illustrative case studies: more advanced and recent - "Plot 13" in Boston, and less well-known European example of structures erected above highways throughout Italy - the "Pavesi auto grill" chain. The backbone of this analysis is the examination of the possibility of yielding air rights within the vertical projection of public structures in the two examples by considering the factors that would enable its potential application in capitals in Southeastern Europe. The cession of air rights in the Southeastern Europe region, as a phenomenon, has not been a recognized practice in urban planning. In a formal sense, legal and physical feasibility can be seen to some extent in local models of structures built above protected historical heritage (i.e., archaeological sites); however, the mechanisms of the legal process of assigning the right to use and develop air rights above public structures is not a recognized concept. The goal of the analysis is to shed light on the influence of institutional participants in the implementation of innovative solutions for vertical urbanization, as well as strategic planning mechanisms in public-private partnership models that would enable the implementation of the concept in the region. The main question is whether the manipulation of the vertical projection of space could provide for innovative urban solutions that overcome the deficit and excessive use of the available construction land, particularly above the dominant public spaces and traffic infrastructure that penetrate central parts of a city. Conclusions reflect upon vertical urbanization that can bridge the spatial separation of the city, reduce noise pollution and contribute to more efficient urban planning along main transportation corridors.

Keywords: air rights development, innovative urbanism, public-private partnership, transport infrastructure, vertical urbanization

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Authors: R. Meier, M. Pander

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In accordance with the industry 4.0 concept, manufacturing process steps as well as the materials themselves are going to be more and more digitalized within the next years. The “digital twin” representing the simulated and measured dataset of the (semi-finished) product can be used to control and optimize the individual processing steps and help to reduce costs and expenditure of time in product development, manufacturing, and recycling. In the present work, two material characterization methods based on Lamb waves were evaluated and compared. For demonstration purpose, both methods were shown at a standard industrial product - copper ribbons, often used in photovoltaic modules as well as in high-current microelectronic devices. By numerical approximation of the Rayleigh-Lamb dispersion model on measured phase velocities second order elastic constants (Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio) were determined. Furthermore, the effective third order elastic constants were evaluated by applying elastic, “non-destructive”, mechanical stress on the samples. In this way, small microstructural variations due to mechanical preconditioning could be detected for the first time. Both methods were compared with respect to precision and inline application capabilities. Microstructure of the samples was systematically varied by mechanical loading and annealing. Changes in the elastic ultrasound transport properties were correlated with results from microstructural analysis and mechanical testing. In summary, monitoring the elastic material properties of plate-like structures using Lamb waves is valuable for inline and non-destructive material characterization and manufacturing process control. Second order elastic constants analysis is robust over wide environmental and sample conditions, whereas the effective third order elastic constants highly increase the sensitivity with respect to small microstructural changes. Both Lamb wave based characterization methods are fitting perfectly into the industry 4.0 concept.

Keywords: lamb waves, industry 4.0, process control, elasticity, acoustoelasticity, microstructure

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Authors: Dewi Retno Sari Saputro, Purnami Widyaningsih, Hendrika Handayani

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Extreme data on an observation can occur due to unusual circumstances in the observation. The data can provide important information that can’t be provided by other data so that its existence needs to be further investigated. The method for obtaining extreme data is one of them using maxima block method. The distribution of extreme data sets taken with the maxima block method is called the distribution of extreme values. Distribution of extreme values is Gumbel distribution with two parameters. The parameter estimation of Gumbel distribution with maximum likelihood method (ML) is difficult to determine its exact value so that it is necessary to solve the approach. The purpose of this study was to determine the parameter estimation of Gumbel distribution with quasi-Newton BFGS method. The quasi-Newton BFGS method is a numerical method used for nonlinear function optimization without constraint so that the method can be used for parameter estimation from Gumbel distribution whose distribution function is in the form of exponential doubel function. The quasi-New BFGS method is a development of the Newton method. The Newton method uses the second derivative to calculate the parameter value changes on each iteration. Newton's method is then modified with the addition of a step length to provide a guarantee of convergence when the second derivative requires complex calculations. In the quasi-Newton BFGS method, Newton's method is modified by updating both derivatives on each iteration. The parameter estimation of the Gumbel distribution by a numerical approach using the quasi-Newton BFGS method is done by calculating the parameter values that make the distribution function maximum. In this method, we need gradient vector and hessian matrix. This research is a theory research and application by studying several journals and textbooks. The results of this study obtained the quasi-Newton BFGS algorithm and estimation of Gumbel distribution parameters. The estimation method is then applied to daily rainfall data in Purworejo District to estimate the distribution parameters. This indicates that the high rainfall that occurred in Purworejo District decreased its intensity and the range of rainfall that occurred decreased.

Keywords: parameter estimation, Gumbel distribution, maximum likelihood, broyden fletcher goldfarb shanno (BFGS)quasi newton

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Authors: Shan Huang, Guanjun Huang, Yongjun Zeng, Haiyuan Wang

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The impacts of whole-growth warming on grain yield and quality in double rice cropping systems still remain largely unknown. In this study, a two-year field whole-growth warming experiment was conducted with two inbred indica rice cultivars (Zhongjiazao 17 and Xiangzaoxian 45) for early season and two hybrid indica rice cultivars (Wanxiangyouhuazhan and Tianyouhuazhan) for late season. The results showed that whole-growth warming did not affect early rice yield but significantly decreased late rice yield, which was caused by the decreased grain weight that may be related to the increased plant respiration and reduced translocation of dry matter accumulated during the pre-heading phase under warming. Whole-growth warming improved the milling quality of late rice but decreased that of early rice; however, the chalky rice rate and chalkiness degree were increased by 20.7% and 33.9% for early rice and 37.6 % and 51.6% for late rice under warming, respectively. We found that the crude protein content of milled rice was significantly increased by warming in both early and late rice, which would result in deterioration of eating quality. Besides, compared with the control treatment, the setback of late rice was significantly reduced by 17.8 % under warming, while that of early rice was not significantly affected by warming. These results suggest that the negative impacts of whole-growth warming on grain quality may be more severe in early rice than in late rice. Therefore, adaptation in both rice breeding and agronomic practices is needed to alleviate climate warming on the production of a double rice cropping system. Climate-smart agricultural practices ought to be implemented to mitigate the detrimental effects of warming on rice grain quality. For instance, fine-tuning the application rate and timing of inorganic nitrogen fertilizers, along with the introduction of organic amendments and the cultivation of heat-tolerant rice varieties, can help reduce the negative impact of rising temperatures on rice quality. Furthermore, to comprehensively understand the influence of climate warming on rice grain quality, future research should encompass a wider range of rice cultivars and experimental sites.

Keywords: climate warming, double rice cropping, dry matter, grain quality, grain yield

Procedia PDF Downloads 37

Authors: Anna S. Tolkacheva, Sergey N. Shkerin, Kirill G. Zemlyanoi, Olga G. Reznitskikh, Pavel D. Khavlyuk

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Calcium oxovanadates with garnet related structure are multifunctional oxides in various fields like photoluminescence, microwave dielectrics, and magneto-dielectrics. For example, vanadate garnets are self-luminescent compounds. They attract attention as RE-free broadband excitation and emission phosphors and are candidate materials for UV-based white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs). Ca₅M₄(VO₄)₆ (M = Mg, Zn, Co, Ni, Mn) compounds are also considered promising for application in microwave devices as substrate materials. However, the relation between their structure, composition and physical/chemical properties remains unclear. Given the above-listed observations, goals of this study are to synthesise Ca₅M₄(VO₄)₆ (M = Mg, Zn, Ni) and to study their thermal and electrical properties. Solid solutions Ca₅Mg₄₋ₓMₓ(VO₄)₆ (0 ≤ x ≤ 4) where M is Zn and Ni have been synthesized by sol-gel method. The single-phase character of the final products was checked by powder X-ray diffraction on a Rigaku D/MAX-2200 X-ray diffractometer using Cu Kα radiation in the 2θ range from 15° to 70°. The dependence of thermal properties on chemical composition of solid solutions was studied using simultaneous thermal analyses (DSC and TG). Thermal analyses were conducted in a Netzch simultaneous analyser STA 449C Jupiter, in Ar atmosphere, in temperature range from 25 to 1100°C heat rate was 10 K·min⁻¹. Coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) were obtained by dilatometry measurements in air up to 800°C using a Netzsch 402PC dilatometer; heat rate was 1 K·min⁻¹. Impedance spectra were obtained via the two-probe technique with an impedance meter Parstat 2273 in air up to 700°C with the variation of pH₂O from 0.04 to 3.35 kPa. Cation deficiency in Ca and Mg sublattice under the substitution of MgO with ZnO up to 1/6 was observed using Rietveld refinement of the crystal structure. Melting point was found to decrease with x changing from 0 to 4 in Ca₅Mg₄₋ₓMₓ(VO₄)₆ where M is Zn and Ni. It was observed that electrical conductivity does not depend on air humidity. The reported study was funded by the RFBR Grant No. 17–03–01280. Sample attestation was carried out in the Shared Access Centers at the IHTE UB RAS.

Keywords: garnet structure, electrical conductivity, thermal expansion, thermal properties

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Authors: Sumana Kumar, Abha Misra

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Micro-supercapacitors hold great attention as one of the promising energy storage devices satisfying the increasing quest for miniaturized and portable devices. Despite having impressive power density, superior cyclic lifetime, and high charge-discharge rates, micro-supercapacitors still suffer from low energy density, which limits their practical application. The energy density (E=1/2CV²) can be increased either by increasing specific capacitance (C) or voltage range (V). Asymmetric micro-supercapacitors have attracted great attention by using two different electrode materials to expand the voltage window and thus increase the energy density. Currently, versatile fabrication technologies such as inkjet printing, lithography, laser scribing, etc., are used to directly or indirectly pattern the electrode material; these techniques still suffer from scalable production and cost inefficiency. Here, we demonstrate the scalable production of a three-dimensional (3D) carbon foam (CF) based asymmetric micro-supercapacitor by spray printing technique on an array of interdigital electrodes. The solid-state asymmetric micro-supercapacitor comprised of CF-MnO positive electrode and CF-Fe₂O₃ negative electrode achieves a high areal capacitance of 18.4 mF/cm² (2326.8 mF/cm³) at 5 mV/s and a wider potential window of 1.4 V. Consequently, a superior energy density of 5 µWh/cm² is obtained, and high cyclic stability is confirmed with retention of the initial capacitance by 86.1% after 10000 electrochemical cycles. The optimized decoration of pseudocapacitive metal oxides in the 3D carbon network helps in high electrochemical utilization of materials where the 3D interconnected network of carbon provides overall electrical conductivity and structural integrity. The research provides a simple and scalable spray printing method to fabricate an asymmetric micro-supercapacitor using a custom-made mask that can be integrated on a large scale.

Keywords: asymmetric micro-supercapacitors, high energy-density, hybrid materials, three-dimensional carbon-foam

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Mehrnaz Mostafavi

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Lung cancer is one of the most harmful forms of cancer. The long-term survival rate of lung cancer patients treated by conventional modalities such as surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapy remains far from satisfactory. Systemic drug delivery is rarely successful because only a limited amount of the chemotherapeutic drug targets lung tumor sites, even when administered at a high dose. Targeted delivery of drug molecules to organs or special sites is one of the most challenging research areas in pharmaceutical sciences. By developing colloidal delivery systems such as liposomes, micelles and nanoparticles a new frontier was opened for improving drug delivery. Nanoparticles with their special characteristics such as small particle size, large surface area and the capability of changing their surface properties have numerous advantages compared with other delivery systems. Targeted nanoparticle delivery to the lungs is an emerging area of interest.Multimodal or combination therapy represents a promising new method to fight disease. Therefore, a combination of different therapeutic strategies may be the best alternative to improve treatment outcomes for lung cancer. Photothermal therapy was proposed as a novel approach to treatment. In this work, photothermal therapy with gold nanoparticles and near infrared laser (NIR) irradiation was investigated.Four types of small (<100nm), NIR absorbing gold nanoparticles (nanospheres, nanorods) were synthesized using wet chemical methods and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and UV-vis spectroscopy. Their synthesis and properties were evaluated, to determine their feasibility as a photothermal agent for clinical applications. In vitro cellular uptake studies of the nanoparticles into lung cancer cell lines was measured using light scattering microscopy.Small gold nanorods had good photothermal properties and the greatest cellular uptake, and were used in photothermal studies. Under 4W laser irradiation, an increase in temperature of 10°C and decrease in cell viability of up to 80% were obtained.

Keywords: photothermal, therapy, cancer, gold nanorods

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Muhammad Adeel Arshad, Shaukat Ali Bhatti, Faiz-ul Hassan

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Manipulating microbial ecosystem in the rumen is considered as an important strategy to optimize production efficiency in ruminants. In the past, antibiotics and synthetic chemical compounds have been used for the manipulation of rumen fermentation. However, since the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics has been banned, efforts are being focused to search out safe alternative products. In tropics, crop residues and forage grazing are major dietary sources for ruminants. Poor digestibility and utilization of these feedstuffs by animals is a limiting factor to exploit the full potential of ruminants in this area. Hence, there is a need to enhance the utilization of these available feeding resources. One of the potential strategies in this regard is the use of direct-fed microbes. Bacteria and fungi are mostly used as direct-fed microbes to improve animal health and productivity. Commonly used bacterial species include lactic acid-producing and utilizing bacteria (Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, Bifidobacterium, and Bacillus) and fungal species of yeast are Saccharomyces and Aspergillus. Direct-fed microbes modulate microbial balance in the gastrointestinal tract through the competitive exclusion of pathogenic species and favoring beneficial microbes. Improvement in weight gain and feed efficiency has been observed as a result of feeding direct-fed bacteria. The use of fungi as a direct-fed microbe may prevent excessive production of lactate and harmful oxygen in the rumen leading to better feed digestibility. However, the mechanistic mode of action for bacterial or fungal direct-fed microbes has not been established yet. Various reports have confirmed an increase in dry matter intake, milk yield, and milk contents in response to the administration of direct-fed microbes. However, the application of a direct-fed microbe has shown variable responses mainly attributed to dosages and strains of microbes. Nonetheless, it is concluded that the inclusion of direct-fed microbes may mediate the rumen ecosystem to manage lactic acid production and utilization in both clinical and sub-acute rumen acidosis.

Keywords: microbes, roughages, rumen, feed efficiency, production, fermentation

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Jonghyuk Yoon, Hyoungwoon Song

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Recently, there are lots of increasing interest in a smart farming that represents application of modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into agriculture since it provides a methodology to optimize production efficiencies by managing growing conditions of crops automatically. In order to obtain high performance and stability for smart greenhouse, it is important to identify the effect of various working parameters such as capacity of ventilation fan, vent opening area and etc. In the present study, a 3-dimensional CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation for single-span greenhouse was conducted using the commercial program, Ansys CFX 18.0. The numerical simulation for single-span greenhouse was implemented to figure out the internal thermal and flow characteristics. In order to numerically model solar radiation that spread over a wide range of wavelengths, the multiband model that discretizes the spectrum into finite bands of wavelength based on Wien’s law is applied to the simulation. In addition, absorption coefficient of vinyl varied with the wavelength bands is also applied based on Beer-Lambert Law. To validate the numerical method applied herein, the numerical results of the temperature at specific monitoring points were compared with the experimental data. The average error rates (12.2~14.2%) between them was shown and numerical results of temperature distribution are in good agreement with the experimental data. The results of the present study can be useful information for the design of various greenhouses. This work was supported by Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (IPET) through Advanced Production Technology Development Program, funded by Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA)(315093-03).

Keywords: single-span greenhouse, CFD (computational fluid dynamics), solar radiation, multiband model, absorption coefficient

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Arefeh Hesaraki

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The application of photovoltaic-thermal hybrids (PVT), which delivers both electricity and heat simultaneously from the same system, has become more popular during the past few years. This study addresses techno-economic and environmental impacts assessment of photovoltaic/thermal systems combined with a ground-source heat pump (GSHP) for three single-family houses located in Stockholm, Sweden. Three case studies were: (1) A renovated building built in 1936, (2) A renovated building built in 1973, and (3) A new building built-in 2013. Two simulation programs of SimaPro 9.1 and IDA Indoor Climate and Energy 4.8 (IDA ICE) were applied to analyze environmental impacts and energy usage, respectively. The cost-effectiveness of the system was evaluated using net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and discounted payback time (DPBT) methods. In addition to cost payback time, the studied PVT system was evaluated using the energy payback time (EPBT) method. EPBT presents the time that is needed for the installed system to generate the same amount of energy which was utilized during the whole lifecycle (fabrication, installation, transportation, and end-of-life) of the system itself. Energy calculation by IDA ICE showed that a 5 m² PVT was sufficient to create a balance between the maximum heat production and the domestic hot water consumption during the summer months for all three case studies. The techno-economic analysis revealed that combining a 5 m² PVT with GSHP in the second case study possess the smallest DPBT and the highest NPV and IRR among the three case studies. It means that DPBTs (IRR) were 10.8 years (6%), 12.6 years (4%), and 13.8 years (3%) for the second, first, and the third case study, respectively. Moreover, environmental assessment of embodied energy during cradle- to- grave life cycle of the studied PVT, including fabrication, delivery of energy and raw materials, manufacture process, installation, transportation, operation phase, and end of life, revealed approximately two years of EPBT in all cases.

Keywords: life-cycle cost, life-cycle assessment, photovoltaic/thermal, IDA ICE, net present value

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Ahmad Shukri Mohd Noor, Emma Ahmad Sirajudin, Rabiei Mamat

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Pertaining to a particular Marine interest, the process of data sampling could take years before a study can be concluded. Therefore, the need for a robust backup system for the data is invariably implicit. In recent advancement of Marine applications, more functionalities and tools are integrated to assist the work of the researchers. It is anticipated that this modality will continue as research scope widens and intensifies and at the same to follow suit with current technologies and lifestyles. The convenience to collect and share information these days also applies to the work in Marine research. Therefore, Marine system designers should be aware that high availability is a necessary attribute in Marine repository applications as well as a robust backup system for the data. In this paper, the approach to high availability is related both to hardware and software but the focus is more on software. We consider a NABTIC repository system that is primitively built on a single server and does not have replicated components. First, the system is decomposed into separate modules. The modules are placed on multiple servers to create a distributed system. Redundancy is added by placing the copies of the modules on different servers using Neighbor Caring Environment System(NCES) technique. NCER is utilizing parallel replication components mechanism. A background monitoring is established to check servers’ heartbeats to confirm their aliveness. At the same time, a critical adaptive threshold is maintained to make sure a failure is timely detected using Adaptive Fault Detection (AFD). A confirmed failure will set the recovery mode where a selection process will be done before a fail-over server is instructed. In effect, the Marine repository service is continued as the fail-over masks a recent failure. The performance of the new prototype is tested and is confirmed to be more highly available. Furthermore, the downtime is not noticeable as service is immediately restored automatically. The Marine repository system is said to have achieved fault tolerance.

Keywords: availability, fault detection, replication, fault tolerance, marine application

Procedia PDF Downloads 321

Authors: Pattanapon Kayansamruaj, Ha Thanh Dong, Nopadon Pirarat, Channarong Rodkhum

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Streptococcus iniae (SI) is a devastating pathogenic bacteria causing heavy mortality in farmed fish. The application of commercialized bacterin vaccine has been reported failures as the outbreaks of the new serotype of SI were emerged in farms after vaccination and subsequently caused severe losses. In the present study, we attempted to develop effective DNA vaccines against SI infection using Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) as an animal model. Two monovalent DNA vaccines were constructed by the insertion of coding sequences of cell wall-associated virulence factors-encoding genes, comprised of eno (α-enolase) and mtsB (hydrophobic membrane protein), into cytomegalovirus expression vector (pCI-neo). In the animal trial, 30-g Nile tilapia were injected intramuscularly with 15 µg of each vaccine (mock vaccine group was injected by naked pCI-neo) and maintained for 35 days prior challenging with pathogenic SI at the dosage of 107 CFU/fish. At 13 days post-challenge, the relative percent survival of pEno, pMtsB and mock vaccine were 57%, 45% and 27%, respectively. The expression levels of immune responses-associated genes, namely, IL1β, TNF-α, TGF-β, COX2, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-13, were investigated from the spleen of experimental animal at 7 days post-vaccination (PV) and 7 days post-challenge (PC) using quantitative RT-PCR technique. Generally, at 7 days PV, the pEno vaccinated group exhibited highest level of up-regulation (1.7 to 2.9 folds) of every gene, but TGF-β, comparing to pMtsB and mock vaccine groups. However, at 7 days PC, pEno group showed significant up-regulation (1.4 to 8.5 folds) of immune-related genes as similar as mock vaccine group, while pMtsB group had lowest level of up-regulation (0.7 to 3.3 folds). Summarily, this study indicated that the pEno and pMtsB vaccines could elicit the immune responses of the fish and the magnitude of gene expression at 7 days PV was also consistent with the protection level conferred by the vaccine.

Keywords: gene expression, DNA vaccine, Nile tilapia, Streptococcus iniae

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Albert P. Ekanem, Austin I. Obiekezie, Elizabeth X. Ntia

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Introduction: Some African plants and bile from animals have shown efficacies in the treatment and control of diseases in farmed fish. The background of the study is based on the fact the African rain forest is blessed with abundance of medicinal plants that should be investigated for their use in the treatment of diseases. The significance of the study is informed by the fact that chemical-based substances accumulates in the tissues of food fish, thereby reducing the food values of such products and moreover, the continuous use of chemotherapeutants in the aquatic environments tends to degrades the affected environment. Methodology: Plants and animal products were extracted, purified and applied under in vitro and in vivo conditions to the affected organisms. Effective plants and biles were analyzed for active biological substances responsible for the activities by both qualitative and HPLC methods. Results: Extracts of Carica papaya and Mucuna pruriens were effective in the treatment of Ichthyophthiriasis in goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus) with high host tolerance. Similarly, ectoparasitic monogeneans were effectively dislodged from the gills and skin of goldfish by the application of extracts of Piper guineense at therapeutic concentrations. Artemesia annua with known antimalarial activities in human was also effective against fish monogenean parasites of Clarias gariepinus in a concentration related manner without detriments to the host. Effective antibacterial activities against Aeromonas and Pseudomonas diseases of the African catfish (Heterobranchus longifilis) were demonstrated in some plants such as Phylanthus amarus, Allium sativum, A. annua, and Citrus lemon. Bile from some animals (fish, goat, chicken, cow, and pig) showed great antibacterial activities against some gastrointestinal bacterial pathogens of fish. Conclusions: African plants and some animal bile have shown potential promise in the treatment of diseases in fish and other aquatic animals. The use of chemical-based substances for control of diseases in the aquatic environments should be restricted.

Keywords: control, diseases, fish, natural products, treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 521

Authors: Nibedita Priyadarsini

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It is said that Ethics has a wide range of application which mainly deals with human life and human behavior. All ethical decisions are ultimately concerned with life and death. Both life and death must be considered dignified. Medical ethics with its different topics mostly deals with life and death concepts among which euthanasia is one. Various types of debates continue over Euthanasia long since. The question of putting an end to someone’s life has aroused controversial in legal sphere as well as in moral sphere. To permit or not to permit has remained an enigma the world over. Modern medicine is in the stage of transcending limits that cannot be set aside. The morality of allowing people to die without treatment has become more important as methods of treatment have become more sophisticated. Allowing someone to die states an essential recognition that there is some point in any terminal illness when further curative treatment has no purpose and the patient in such situation should allow dying a natural death in comfort, peace, and dignity, without any interference from medical science and technology. But taking a human life is in general sense is illogical in itself. It can be said that when we kill someone, we cause the death; whereas if we merely let someone die, then we will not be responsible for anyone’s death. This point is often made in connection with the euthanasia cases and which is often debatable. Euthanasia in the pediatric age group involves some important issues that are different from those of adult issues. The main distinction that occurs is that the infants and newborns and young children are not able to decide about their future as the adult does. In certain cases, where the child born with some serious deformities with no hope of recovery, in that cases doctor decide not to perform surgery in order to remove the blockage, and let the baby die. Our aim in this paper is to examine, whether it is ethically justified to withhold or to apply euthanasia on the part of the defective infant. What to do with severely defective infants from earliest time if got to know that they are not going to survive at all? Here, it will deal mostly with the ethics in deciding the relevant ethical concerns in the practice of euthanasia with the defective newborns issues. Some cases in relation to disabled infants and newborn baby will be taken in order to show what to do in a critical condition, that the patient and family members undergoes and under which condition those could be eradicated, if not all but some. The final choice must be with the benefit of the patient.

Keywords: ethics, medical ethics, euthanasia, defective newborns

Procedia PDF Downloads 203

Authors: Su-Thing Ho, Shiao-Shing Chen, Hung-Te Hsu, Saikat Sinha Ray

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Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging technology for direct and indirect potable water reuse application. However, successful implementation of FO is still hindered by the lack of draw solution recovery with high efficiency. Membrane distillation (MD) is a thermal separation process by using hydrophobic microporous membrane that is kept in sandwich mode between warm feed stream and cold permeate stream. Typically, temperature difference is the driving force of MD which attributed by the partial vapor pressure difference across the membrane. In this study, the direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) system was used to recover diluted draw solution of FO. Na3PO4 at pH 9 and EDTA-2Na at pH 8 were used as the feed solution for MD since it produces high water flux and minimized salt leakage in FO process. At high pH, trivalent and tetravalent ions are much easier to remain at draw solution side in FO process. The result demonstrated that PTFE with pore size of 1 μm could achieve the highest water flux (12.02 L/m2h), followed by PTFE 0.45 μm (10.05 L/m2h), PTFE 0.1 μm (7.38 L/m2h) and then PP (7.17 L/m2h) while using 0.1 M Na3PO4 draw solute. The concentration of phosphate and conductivity in the PTFE (0.45 μm) permeate were low as 1.05 mg/L and 2.89 μm/cm respectively. Although PTFE with the pore size of 1 μm could obtain the highest water flux, but the concentration of phosphate in permeate was higher than other kinds of MD membranes. This study indicated that four kinds of MD membranes performed well and PTFE with the pore size of 0.45 μm was the best among tested membranes to achieve high water flux and high rejection of phosphate (99.99%) in recovery of diluted draw solution. Besides that, the results demonstrate that it can obtain high water flux and high rejection of phosphate when operated with cross flow velocity of 0.103 m/s with Tfeed of 60 ℃ and Tdistillate of 20 ℃. In addition to that, the result shows that Na3PO4 is more suitable for recovery than EDTA-2Na. Besides that, while recovering the diluted Na3PO4, it can obtain the high purity of permeate water. The overall performance indicates that, the utilization of DCMD is a promising technology to recover the diluted draw solution for FO process.

Keywords: membrane distillation, forward osmosis, draw solution, recovery

Procedia PDF Downloads 183