Search results for: water management plans

Authors: Shang-Han Tsai, Yong-Hong Lin, Chung-Ruey Yen

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Wax apple is an important tropical fruit in Taiwan. The famous producing area is located on the coast in Pingtung county. Land subsidence and climate change will tend to soil alkalization more seriously. This study was to evaluate the effects of NaCl in wax apple seedlings. NaCl salinity reduced wax apple shoot growth, it may due to reducing relative water content in leaf and new shoot. Leaf Cl and Na concentration were increased but K, Ca, and Mg content had no significant difference after irrigated with NaCl for six weeks. In roots, Na and Cl content increase significantly with 90 mM NaCl treatment, but K, Ca, and Mg content was reduced. 30-90 mM Nacl treatment do not affect K/Na, Ca/Na, and Mg/Na ratio, but decrease significantly in 90 mM treatment in roots. The leaf and root electrolyte leakage were significantly affected by 90 mM NaCl treatment. Suggesting 90 mM was optimum concentration for sieve out other tolerance wax apple verities.

Keywords: growth, NaCl stress, nutrient, wax apple

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: Joseph Zernik

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The mechanics of rip currents are complex, involving interactions between waves, currents, water levels and the bathymetry, that present particular challenges for numerical models. Here, the effects of a grid-spacing dependent horizontal mixing on the wave-current interactions are studied. Near the shore, wave rays diverge from channels towards bar crests because of refraction by topography and currents, in a way that depends on the rip current intensity which is itself modulated by the horizontal mixing. At low resolution with the grid-spacing dependent horizontal mixing, the wave motion is the same for both coupling modes because the wave deviation by the currents is weak. In high-resolution case, however, classical results are found with the stabilizing effect of the flow by feedback of waves on currents. Lastly, wave-current interactions and the horizontal mixing strongly affect the intensity of the three-dimensional rip velocity.

Keywords: e-justice, federal courts, human rights, banking regulation, United States

Procedia PDF Downloads 363

Authors: Alireza Nikravanshallmani, Jamshid Dehmeshki, Mojtaba Ahmadi

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Modeling of business processes, based on BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation), helps analysts and managers to understand business processes, and, identify their shortages. These models provide a context to make rational decision of organizing business processes activities in an understandable manner. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for better understanding of business processes and their problems by reducing the cognitive load of displayed information for their audience at different managerial levels while keeping the essential information which are needed by them. For this reason, we integrate business process diagrams across the different managerial levels to develop a framework to improve the performance of business process management (BPM) projects. The proposed framework is entitled ‘Business process improvement framework based on managerial levels (BPIML)’. This framework, determine a certain type of business process diagrams (BPD) based on BPMN with respect to the objectives and tasks of the various managerial levels of organizations and their roles in BPM projects. This framework will make us able to provide the necessary support for making decisions about business processes. The framework is evaluated with a case study in a real business process improvement project, to demonstrate its superiority over the conventional method. A questionnaire consisted of 10 questions using Likert scale was designed and given to the participants (managers of Bank Refah Kargaran three managerial levels). By examining the results of the questionnaire, it can be said that the proposed framework provide support for correct and timely decisions by increasing the clarity and transparency of the business processes which led to success in BPM projects.

Keywords: business process management (BPM), business process modeling, business process reengineering (BPR), business process optimizing, BPMN

Procedia PDF Downloads 438

Authors: Ayodele Adekunle Faiyetole, Olumide Olawale Jegede

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This paper presents the experimental design and needs justifications for a localized intelligent parking system (L-IPS), ideal for quasi-close communities with increasing vehicular volume that depends on limited or constant parking facilities. For a constant supply in parking facilities, the demand for an increasing vehicular volume could lead to poor time conservation or extended travel time, traffic congestion or impeded mobility, and safety issues. Increased negative environmental and economic externalities are other associated and consequent downsides of disparities in demand and supply. This L-IPS is designed using a microcontroller, ultrasonic sensors, LED indicators, such that the current status, in terms of parking spots availability, can be known from the main entrance to the community or a parking zone on a LCD screen. As an advanced traffic management system (ATMS), the L-IPS is designed to resolve aspects of infrastructure-to-driver (I2D) communication and parking detection issues. Thus, this L-IPS can act as a timesaver for users by helping them know the availability of parking spots. Providing on-time, informed routing, to a next preference or seamless moving to berth on the available spot on a proximate facility as the case may be. Its use could also increase safety and increase mobility, and fuel savings and costs, therefore, reducing negative environmental and economic externalities due to transportation systems.

Keywords: intelligent parking systems, localized intelligent parking system, intelligent transport systems, advanced traffic management systems, infrastructure-to-drivers communication

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Ibtissem Hosni, Lilia Bennaceur Farah, Saber Mohamed Naceur

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In order to assess the water availability in the soil, it is crucial to have information about soil distributed moisture content; this parameter helps to understand the effect of humidity on the exchange between soil, plant cover and atmosphere in addition to fully understanding the surface processes and the hydrological cycle. On the other hand, aerodynamic roughness length is a surface parameter that scales the vertical profile of the horizontal component of the wind speed and characterizes the surface ability to absorb the momentum of the airflow. In numerous applications of the surface hydrology and meteorology, aerodynamic roughness length is an important parameter for estimating momentum, heat and mass exchange between the soil surface and atmosphere. It is important on this side, to consider the atmosphere factors impact in general, and the natural erosion in particular, in the process of soil evolution and its characterization and prediction of its physical parameters. The study of the induced movements by the wind over soil vegetated surface, either spaced plants or plant cover, is motivated by significant research efforts in agronomy and biology. The known major problem in this side concerns crop damage by wind, which presents a booming field of research. Obviously, most models of soil surface require information about the aerodynamic roughness length and its temporal and spatial variability. We have used a bi-dimensional multi-scale (2D MLS) roughness description where the surface is considered as a superposition of a finite number of one-dimensional Gaussian processes each one having a spatial scale using the wavelet transform and the Mallat algorithm to describe natural surface roughness. We have introduced multi-layer aspect of the humidity of the soil surface, to take into account a volume component in the problem of backscattering radar signal. As humidity increases, the dielectric constant of the soil-water mixture increases and this change is detected by microwave sensors. Nevertheless, many existing models in the field of radar imagery, cannot be applied directly on areas covered with vegetation due to the vegetation backscattering. Thus, the radar response corresponds to the combined signature of the vegetation layer and the layer of soil surface. Therefore, the key issue of the numerical estimation of soil moisture is to separate the two contributions and calculate both scattering behaviors of the two layers by defining the scattering of the vegetation and the soil blow. This paper presents a synergistic methodology, and it is for estimating roughness and soil moisture from C-band radar measurements. The methodology adequately represents a microwave/optical model which has been used to calculate the scattering behavior of the aerodynamic vegetation-covered area by defining the scattering of the vegetation and the soil below.

Keywords: aerodynamic, bi-dimensional, vegetation, synergistic

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Authors: Andrea Cretu, Calin Cadar, Maria Miclaus, Lucian Barbu-Tudoran, Siegfried Stapf, Ioan Ardelean

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Additives and mineral admixtures have become an integral part of cement-based materials. It is common practice to add silica fume to cement based mixes in order to produce high-performance concrete. There is still a lack of scientific understanding regarding the effects that silica fume has on the microstructure of hydrated cement paste. The aim of the current study is to develop high-performance materials with low permeability and high resistance to flexural stress using silica fume and an organosilane. Organosilane bonds with cement grains and silica fume, influencing both the workability and the final properties of the mix, especially the pore size distributions and pore connectivity. Silica fume is a known pozzolanic agent which reacts with the calcium hydroxide in hydrated cement paste, producing more C-S-H and improving the mechanical properties of the mix. It is believed that particles of silica fume act as capillary pore fillers and nucleation centers for C-S-H and other hydration products. In order to be able to design cement-based materials with added silica fume and organosilane, it is necessary first to understand the formation of the porous network during hydration and to observe the distribution of pores and their connectivity. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods in low-fields are non-destructive and allow the study of cement-based materials from the standpoint of their porous structure. Other methods, such as XRD and SEM-EDS, help create a comprehensive picture of the samples, along with the classic mechanical tests (compressive and flexural strength measurements). The transverse relaxation time (T₂) was measured during the hydration of 16 samples prepared with two water/cement ratios (0.3 and 0.4) and different concentrations or organosilane (APTES, up to 2% by mass of cement) and silica fume (up to 6%). After their hydration, the pore size distribution was assessed using the same NMR approach on the samples filled with cyclohexane. The SEM-EDS and XRD measurements were applied on pieces and powders prepared from the samples that were used in mechanical testing, which were kept under water for 28 days. Adding silica fume does not influence the hydration dynamics of cement paste, while the addition of organosilane extends the dormancy stage up to 10 hours. The size distribution of the capillary pores is not influenced by the addition of silica fume or organosilane, while the connectivity of capillary pores is decreased only when there is organosilane in the mix. No filling effect is observed even at the highest concentration of silica fume. There is an apparent increase in flexural strength of samples prepared only with silica fume and a decrease for those prepared with organosilane, with a few exceptions. XRD reveals that the pozzolanic reactivity of silica fume can only be observed when there is no organosilane present and the SEM-EDS method reveals the pore distribution, as well as hydration products and the presence or absence of calcium hydroxide. The current work was funded by the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCS – UEFISCDI, through project PN-III-P2-2.1-PED-2016-0719.

Keywords: cement hydration, concrete admixtures, NMR, organosilane, porosity, silica fume

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Authors: Ghoul Rachid Brahim

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Introduction: Back pain is a real public health problem with a significant socio-economic impact. It is the consequence of a degeneration of the lumbar intervertebral disc (IVD). This often asymptomatic pathology is compatible with an active life. As soon as it becomes symptomatic, conservative treatment is recommended in the majority of cases. The physical or functional disability is resistant to well-monitored conservative treatment, which justifies a surgical alternative which imposes a well-studied reflection on the objectives to be achieved. Objective: Evaluate the indication and short and medium term contribution of surgery in the management of painful degenerative lumbar disc disease. To prove the effectiveness of surgical treatment in the management of painful lumbar degenerative disc disease. Materials and methods: This is a prospective descriptive mono-centric study without comparison group, comprising a series of 104 patients suffering from lumbar painful degenerative disc disease treated surgically. Retrospective analysis of data collected prospectively. Comparison between pre and postoperative clinical status, by pain self-assessment scores and on the impact on pre and postoperative quality of life (3, 6 to 12 months). Results: This study showed that patients who received surgical treatment had great improvements in symptoms, function and several health-related quality of life in the first year after surgery. Conclusions: The surgery had a significantly positive impact on patients' pain, disability and quality of life. Overall, 97% of the patients were satisfied.

Keywords: degenerative disc disease, intervertebral disc, several health-related quality, lumbar painful

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Patcharawalai Jaisamut, Kamonthip Wiwattanawongsa, Ruedeekorn Wiwattanapatapee

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Supersaturation of drugs in the gastrointestinal tract is one approach to increase the absorption of poorly water-soluble drugs. The stabilization of a supersaturated state was achieved by adding precipitation inhibitors that may act through a variety of mechanisms.In this study, the effect of the natural gums, acacia, gelatin, pectin and tragacanth on curcumin supersaturation in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) (pH 1.2), fasted state simulated gastric fluid (FaSSGF) (pH 1.6), and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) (pH 6.8)was investigated. The results indicated that all natural gums significantly increased the curcum insolubility (about 1.2-6-fold)when compared to the absence of gum, and assisted in maintaining the supersaturated drug solution. Among the tested gums, pectin at 3% w/w was the best precipitation inhibitor with a significant increase in the degree of supersaturation about 3-fold in SGF, 2.4-fold in FaSSGF and 2-fold in SIF.

Keywords: curcumin, solubility, supersaturation, precipitation inhibitor

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Authors: Nasser Mohamed Ramli, Nurul Izzati Zulkifli

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Sump can be defined as a reservoir which contains slurry; a mixture of solid and liquid or water, in it. Sump system is an unsteady process owing to the level response. Sump level shall be monitored carefully by using a good controller to avoid overflow. The current conventional controllers would not be able to solve problems with large time delay and nonlinearities, Fuzzy Logic controller is tested to prove its ability in solving the listed problems of slurry sump. Therefore, in order to justify the effectiveness and reliability of these controllers, simulation of the sump system was created by using MATLAB and the results were compared. According to the result obtained, instead of Proportional-Integral (PI) and Proportional-Integral and Derivative (PID), Fuzzy Logic controller showed the best result by offering quick response of 0.32 s for step input and 5 s for pulse generator, by producing small Integral Absolute Error (IAE) values that are 0.66 and 0.36 respectively.

Keywords: fuzzy, sump, level, controller

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Jessica Lynne Hicksted

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Disability discrimination is a long-standing issue that, despite protections, continues to result in unemployment, underemployment, and lack of advancement for disabled persons. Visible stigma is researched substantially; however, less is known about the impact of stigma associated with identities that can be concealed. Although researchers have investigated this issue, currently there is no tool to measure this phenomenon. The purpose of this quantitative study was to create and validate a new tool to measure stigma associated with invisible disabilities. The study is grounded by Roberts’ conceptual model of professional image construction integrating social identity, impression management, and organizational behavior; Meisenbach’s stigma management communication theory addressing the vulnerabilities and resilience to stigma communication by focusing on how individuals encounter and react to perceived stigmas; and Kelley and Michela’s causal attribution theory. Participants included 1,412 adults in the United States 18 years or older currently employed or who have been employed within the last 5 years. Confirmatory factor analysis of the new Workplace Invisible Disabilities Experience scale showed excellent fit of the factor structure to the data, X₂/df = 1.855, CFI = .955, RMSEA = .045, p = .0001. The scale has three subscales, Ableism, Advocacy, and Acceptance, with excellent internal consistency reliability. Total score, Advocacy, and Acceptance were associated with intention to disclose. Implications for positive social change include helping organizations to understand the extent of invisible disability stigma that can help improve workplace performance and satisfaction.

Keywords: invisible disabilities, accommodations, acceptance, social change, workplace inclusion

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Authors: Nilufar Chowdhury, Fereydoun Najafian Jazi, Omid Ghasemi-Fare

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The thermal effect on soil properties induces significant variations in hydraulic conductivity, which is attributable to temperature-dependent transitions in soil properties. With the elevation of temperature, there can be a notable increase in intrinsic permeability due to the degeneration of bound water molecules into a free state facilitated by thermal energy input. Conversely, thermal consolidation may cause a reduction in intrinsic permeability as soil particles undergo densification. This thermal response of soil permeability exhibits pronounced heterogeneity across different soil types. Furthermore, this temperature-induced disruption of the bound water within clay matrices can enhance the mineral-to-mineral contact, initiating irreversible deformation within the clay structure. This indicates that when soil undergoes heating-cooling cycles, plastic strain can develop, which needs to be investigated for every soil type to understand the thermo-hydro mechanical behavior of clay properly. This research aims to study the effect of the heating-cooling cycle on the intrinsic permeability and time-dependent evaluation of thermal volume change of sodium Bentonite clay. A temperature-controlled triaxial permeameter cell is used in this study. The selected temperature is 20° C, 40° C, 40° C and 80° C. The hydraulic conductivity of Bentonite clay under 100 kPa confining stresses was measured. Hydraulic conductivity analysis was performed on a saturated sample for a void ratio e = 0.9, corresponding to a dry density of 1.2 Mg/m3. Different hydraulic gradients were applied between the top and bottom of the sample to obtain a measurable flow through the sample. The hydraulic gradient used for the experiment was 4000. The diameter and thickness of the sample are 101. 6 mm, and 25.4 mm, respectively. Both for heating and cooling, the hydraulic conductivity at each temperature is measured after the flow reaches the steady state condition to make sure the volume change due to thermal loading is stabilized. Thus, soil specimens were kept at a constant temperature during both the heating and cooling phases for at least 10-18 days to facilitate the equilibration of hydraulic transients. To assess the influence of temperature-induced volume changes of Bentonite clay, the evaluation of void ratio change during this time period has been monitored. It is observed that the intrinsic permeability increases by 30-40% during the heating cycle. The permeability during the cooling cycle is 10-12% lower compared to the permeability observed during the heating cycle at a particular temperature. This reduction in permeability implies a change in soil fabric due to the thermal effect. An initial increase followed by a rapid decrease in void ratio was observed, representing the occurrence of possible osmotic swelling phenomena followed by thermal consolidation. It has been observed that after a complete heating-cooling cycle, there is a significant change in the void ratio compared to the initial void ratio of the sample. The results obtained suggest that Bentonite clay’s microstructure can change subject to a complete heating-cooling process, which regulates macro behavior such as the permeability of Bentonite clay.

Keywords: bentonite, permeability, temperature, thermal volume change

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Authors: Aleksandr Kavetskiy, Galina Yakubova, Nikolay Sargsyan, Stephen A. Prior, H. Allen Torbert

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The carbon sequestration question of modern times requires the development of an in-situ method of measuring soil carbon over large landmasses. Traditional chemical analytical methods used to evaluate large land areas require extensive soil sampling prior to processing for laboratory analysis; collectively, this is labor-intensive and time-consuming. An alternative method is to apply nuclear physics analysis, primarily in the form of pulsed fast-thermal neutron-gamma soil carbon analysis. This method is based on measuring the gamma-ray response that appears upon neutron irradiation of soil. Specific gamma lines with energies of 4.438 MeV appearing from neutron irradiation can be attributed to soil carbon nuclei. Based on measuring gamma line intensity, assessments of soil carbon concentration can be made. This method can be done directly in the field using a specially developed pulsed fast-thermal neutron-gamma system (PFTNA system). This system conducts in-situ analysis in a scanning mode coupled with GPS, which provides soil carbon concentration and distribution over large fields. The system has radiation shielding to minimize the dose rate (within radiation safety guidelines) for safe operator usage. Questions concerning the effect of neutron irradiation on soil health will be addressed. Information regarding absorbed neutron and gamma dose received by soil and its distribution with depth will be discussed in this study. This information was generated based on Monte-Carlo simulations (MCNP6.2 code) of neutron and gamma propagation in soil. Received data were used for the analysis of possible induced irradiation effects. The physical, chemical and biological effects of neutron soil irradiation were considered. From a physical aspect, we considered neutron (produced by the PFTNA system) induction of new isotopes and estimated the possibility of increasing the post-irradiation gamma background by comparisons to the natural background. An insignificant increase in gamma background appeared immediately after irradiation but returned to original values after several minutes due to the decay of short-lived new isotopes. From a chemical aspect, possible radiolysis of water (presented in soil) was considered. Based on stimulations of radiolysis of water, we concluded that the gamma dose rate used cannot produce gamma rays of notable rates. Possible effects of neutron irradiation (by the PFTNA system) on soil biota were also assessed experimentally. No notable changes were noted at the taxonomic level, nor was functional soil diversity affected. Our assessment suggested that the use of a PFTNA system with a neutron flux of 1e7 n/s for soil carbon analysis does not notably affect soil properties or soil health.

Keywords: carbon sequestration, neutron gamma analysis, radiation effect on soil, Monte-Carlo simulation

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Authors: Ae Ra Han, Taek Hoo Lee, Sun Zoo Kim, Hwa Young Lee

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Introduction: Ovarian endometrioma is one of the important causes of poor ovarian reserve and up to half of them have recurred. However, the treatment for recurrence prevention has limited efficiency and repeated surgical management makes worsen the ovarian reserve. To find better management for recurrence prevention, we investigated risk factors and biomarkers for the recurrence of ovarian endometrioma. Methods: The medical records of women with the history of surgical dissection for ovarian endometrioma were collected. After exclusion of the cases with concurrent hysterectomy, been menopaused during follow-up, incomplete medical record, and loss of follow-up, a total of 134 women were enrolled. Immunohistochemical staining for progesterone receptor isoform B (PR-B) and nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) was done with the fixed tissue blocks of their endometriomas which were collected at the time of surgery. Results: Severity of dysmenorrhea and co-existence of adenomyosis had significant correlation with recurrence of endometrioma. Increased PR-B (P = .041) and decreased NFκB (P = .036) immunoreactivity were found in recurrent group. Serum CA-125 level at the time of recurrence was higher than the highest level of CA-125 during follow-up in unrecurred group (55.6 vs. 21.3 U/mL, P = .014). Conclusion: We found that the severity of dysmenorrhea and coexistence of adenomyosis are risk factors for recurrence of ovarian endometrioma, and serial follow-up of CA-125 is effective to detect and prevent the recurrence. However, to determine the possibility of immunoreactivity of PR-B and NFκB as biomarkers for ovarian endometrioma, further studies of various races and large numbers with prospective design are needed.

Keywords: endometriosis, recurrence, biomarker, risk factor

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Authors: Abdessalam Hijab, Hafida Boulekbache, Eric Henry

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According to several research studies, the city as a whole is a complex, spatially organized system; its modeling must take into account several factors, socio-economic, and political, or geographical, acting at multiple scales of observation according to varied temporalities. Sustainable management and protection of the environment in this complex system require significant human and technical investment, particularly for monitoring and maintenance. The objective of this paper is to propose an intelligent approach based on the coupling of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools in order to integrate the inhabitants in the processes of sustainable management and protection of the urban environment, specifically in the processes of household waste collection in urban areas. We are discussing a collaborative 'city/inhabitant' space. Indeed, it is a geo-collaborative approach, based on the spatialization and real-time geo-localization of topological and multimedia data taken by the 'active' inhabitant, in the form of geo-localized alerts related to household waste issues in their city. Our proposal provides a good understanding of the extent to which civil society (inhabitants) can help and contribute to the development of complementary solutions for the collection of household waste and the protection of the urban environment. Moreover, it allows the inhabitant to contribute to the enrichment of a data bank for future uses. Our geo-collaborative model will be tested in the Lamkansa sampling district of the city of Casablanca in Morocco.

Keywords: geographic information system, GIS, information and communications technology, ICT, geo-collaboration, inhabitants, city

Procedia PDF Downloads 100

Authors: Ardita Malaj, Ahmad R. Alsaber, Bedour Alboloushi, Anwaar Alkandari

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Organizations worldwide, particularly in Kuwait, are concerned with implementing a progressive workplace culture and fostering social innovation behaviours. The main aim of this research is to examine and establish a thorough comprehension of the relationship between an inventive organizational culture, employee intrapreneurial behaviour, authentic leadership, employee job satisfaction, and employee job commitment in the manufacturing sector of Kuwait, which is a developed economy. Literature reviews analyse the core concepts and their related areas by scrutinizing their definitions, dimensions, and importance to uncover any deficiencies in existing research. The examination of relevant research uncovered major gaps in understanding. This study examines the reliability and validity of a newly developed questionnaire designed to identify the appropriate applications for a large-scale investigation. A preliminary investigation was carried out, determining a sample size of 36 respondents selected randomly from a pool of 223 samples. SPSS was utilized to calculate the percentages of the demographic characteristics for the participants, assess the credibility of the measurements, evaluate the internal consistency, validate all agreements, and determine Pearson's correlation. The study's results indicated that the majority of participants were male (66.7%), aged between 35 and 44 (38.9%), and possessed a bachelor's degree (58.3%). Approximately 94.4% of the participants were employed full-time. 72.2% of the participants are employed in the electrical, computer, and ICT sector, whilst 8.3% work in the metal industry. Out of all the departments, the human resource department had the highest level of engagement, making up 13.9% of the total. Most participants (36.1%) possessed intermediate or advanced levels of experience, whilst 21% were classified as entry-level. Furthermore, 8.3% of individuals were categorized as first-level management, 22.2% were categorized as middle management, and 16.7% were categorized as executive or senior management. Around 19.4% of the participants have over a decade of professional experience. The Pearson's correlation coefficient for all 5 components varies between 0.4009 to 0.7183. The results indicate that all elements of the questionnaire were effectively verified, with a Cronbach alpha factor predominantly exceeding 0.6, which is the criterion commonly accepted by researchers. Therefore, the work on the larger scope of testing and analysis could continue.

Keywords: pilot study, ESIB, innovative organizational culture, Kuwait, validation

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Authors: Dhanesh Sing Das, Bharat Tadikonda Venkata

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Collapsible soils undergo significant volume reduction upon wetting under the pre-existing mechanically applied normal stress (inundation pressure). These soils exhibit a very high strength in air-dried conditions and can carry up to a considerable magnitude of normal stress without undergoing significant volume change. The soil strength is, however, lost upon saturation and results in a sudden collapse of the soil structure under the existing mechanical stress condition. The intrusion of water into the dry deposits of such soil causes ground subsidence leading to damages in the overlying buildings/structures. A study on the wetting-induced volume change behavior of collapsible soils is essential in dealing with the ground subsidence problems in various geotechnical engineering practices. The collapse of loosely compacted Kaolin soil upon wetting under various inundation pressures has been reported in recent studies. The collapse in the Kaolin soil is attributed to the alteration in the soil particle-particle association (fabric) resulting due to the changes in the various inter-particle (microscale) forces induced by the water saturation. The inundation pressure plays a significant role in the fabric evolution during the wetting process, thus controls the collapse potential of the compacted soil. A microstructural study is useful to understand the collapse mechanisms at various pore-fabric levels under different inundation pressure. Kaolin soil compacted to a dry density of 1.25 g/cc was used in this work to study the wetting-induced volume change behavior under different inundation pressures in the range of 10-1600 kPa. The compacted specimen of Kaolin soil exhibited a consistent collapse under all the studied inundation pressure. The collapse potential was observed to be increasing with an increase in the inundation pressure up to a maximum value of 13.85% under 800 kPa and then decreased to 11.7% under 1600 kPa. Microstructural analysis was carried out based on the fabric images and the pore size distributions (PSDs) obtained from FESEM analysis and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), respectively. The PSDs and the soil fabric images of ‘as-compacted’ specimen and post-collapse specimen under 400 kPa were analyzed to understand the changes in the soil fabric and pores due to wetting. The pore size density curve for the post-collapse specimen was found to be on the finer side with respect to the ‘as-compacted’ specimen, indicating the reduction of the larger pores during the collapse. The inter-aggregate pores in the range of 0.1-0.5μm were identified as the major contributing pore size classes to the macroscopic volume change. Wetting under an inundation pressure results in the reduction of these pore sizes and lead to an increase in the finer pore sizes. The magnitude of inundation pressure influences the amount of reduction of these pores during the wetting process. The collapse potential was directly related to the degree of reduction in the pore volume contributed by these pore sizes.

Keywords: collapse behavior, inundation pressure, kaolin, microstructure

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: A. C. Bennis, F. Dumas, F. Ardhuin, B. Blanke

Abstract:

The mechanics of rip currents are complex, involving interactions between waves, currents, water levels and the bathymetry, that present particular challenges for numerical models. Here, the effects of a grid-spacing dependent horizontal mixing on the wave-current interactions are studied. Near the shore, wave rays diverge from channels towards bar crests because of refraction by topography and currents, in a way that depends on the rip current intensity which is itself modulated by the horizontal mixing. At low resolution with the grid-spacing dependent horizontal mixing, the wave motion is the same for both coupling modes because the wave deviation by the currents is weak. In high-resolution case, however, classical results are found with the stabilizing effect of the flow by feedback of waves on currents. Lastly, wave-current interactions and the horizontal mixing strongly affect the intensity of the three-dimensional rip velocity.

Keywords: numerical modeling, wave-current interactions, turbulence modeling, rip currents

Procedia PDF Downloads 456

Authors: Ali Ocholi

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The study was conducted to analyze the impact of agro-allied industries on rural dwellers in Benue state, Nigeria. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the respondents for the study. Primary data were collected through the use of structured questionnaires administered on 366 respondents from the selected communities; the data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The result of Mann-Whitney (U) statistics showed that water availability (14350) and good road network (15082.00) were the only social impact derived from the industries by the rural dwellers. The study recommended that right and proper policies and programmes should be put in place by the government to mandate all private and public agro-allied industries to embark on projects that would be in favour of the rural dwellers where the agro-allied industries are situated.

Keywords: agriculture, agro-allied industry, rural dwellers, Benue state

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Authors: Kihyon Kwon, Hyun T. Park, Gil Y. Chung, Sang-Hoon Lee

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This paper focuses on assessing sloshing-induced overflow of the seismically-isolated nuclear tanks based on Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) analysis. Typically, fluid motion in the seismically-isolated nuclear tank systems may be rather amplified and even overflowed under earthquake. Sloshing-induced overflow in those structures has to be reliably assessed and predicted since it can often cause critical damages to humans and environments. FSI analysis is herein performed to compute the total cumulative overflowed water volume more accurately, by coupling ANSYS with CFX for structural and fluid analyses, respectively. The approach is illustrated on a nuclear liquid storage tank, Spent Fuel Pool (SFP), forgiven conditions under consideration: different liquid levels, Peak Ground Accelerations (PGAs), and post earthquakes.

Keywords: FSI analysis, seismically-isolated nuclear tank system, sloshing-induced overflow

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Authors: Joana Mourão

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Transition to a low carbon economy requires changes in consumption and production patterns, including the improvement of existing buildings’ environmental performance. Urban rehabilitation is a top policy priority in Europe, creating an opportunity to increase this performance. However, urban rehabilitation comprises different typologies of interventions with distinct levels of consideration for cultural urban heritage values and for environmental values, thus with different impacts. Cities rely on both material and non-material forms of heritage that are deep-rooted and resilient. One of the most relevant parts of that urban heritage is the historical pre-industrial housing stock, with an extensive presence in many European cities, as Lisbon. This stock is rehabilitated and transformed at the framework of urban management and local governance traditions, as well as the framework of the global economy, and in that context, faces opportunities and threats that need evaluation and control. The scope of this article is to define methodological bases and research lines for the assessment of impacts that urban rehabilitation initiatives set on the vulnerable and historical pre-industrial urban housing stock, considering it as an environmental and cultural unreplaceable material value and resource. As a framework, this article reviews the concepts of urban regeneration, urban renewal, current buildings conservation and refurbishment, and energy refurbishment of buildings, seeking to define key typologies of urban rehabilitation that represent different approaches to the urban fabric, in terms of scope, actors, and priorities. Moreover, main types of interventions - basing on a case-study in a XVIII century neighborhood in Lisbon - are defined and analyzed in terms of the elements lost in each type of intervention, and relating those to urbanistic, architectonic and constructive values of urban heritage, as well as to environmental and energy efficiency. Further, the article overviews environmental cultural heritage assessment and life-cycle assessment tools, selecting relevant and feasible impact assessment criteria for urban buildings rehabilitation regulation, focusing on multi-level urban heritage integrity. Urbanistic, architectonic, constructive and energetic integrity are studied as criteria for impact assessment and specific indicators are proposed. The role of these criteria in sustainable urban management is discussed. Throughout this article, the key challenges for urban rehabilitation planning and management, concerning urban built heritage as a resource for sustainability, are discussed and clarified.

Keywords: urban rehabilitation, impact assessment criteria, buildings integrity, embodied energy

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Authors: Mebruka Mohammed, Daniel Bisrat, Asfaw Debella, Tarekegn Birhanu

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Lack of quality control standards for medicinal plants and their preparations is considered major barrier to their integration in to effective primary health care in Ethiopia. Poor quality herbal preparations led to countless adverse reactions extending to death. Denial of penetration for the Ethiopian medicinal plants in to the world’s booming herbal market is also another significant loss resulting from absence of herbal quality control system. Thus, in the present study, Gnidia stenophylla Gilg (popular antimalarial plant of south eastern Ethiopia), is standardized and a full monograph is produced that can serve as a guideline in quality control of the crude drug. Morphologically, the roots are found to be cylindrical and tapering towards the end. It has a hard, corky and friable touch with saddle brown color externally and it is relatively smooth and pale brown internally. It has got characteristic pungent odor and very bitter taste. Microscopically it has showed lignified xylem vessels, wider medullary rays with some calcium oxalate crystals, reddish brown secondary metabolite contents and slender shaped long fibres. Physicochemical standards quantified and resulted: foreign matter (5.25%), moisture content (6.69%), total ash (40.80%), acid insoluble ash (8.00%), water soluble ash (2.30%), alcohol soluble extractive (15.27%), water soluble extractive (10.98%), foaming index (100.01 ml/g), swelling index (7.60 ml/g). Phytochemically: Phenols, flavonoids, steroids, tannins and saponins were detected in the root extract; TLC and HPLC fingerprints were produced and an analytical marker was also tentatively characterized as 3-(3,4-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxy-5-methylhex-1-en-2-yl)-7-methoxy-4-oxo-2H-chromen-8-yl)-5-hydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-7-methoxy-4H-chromen-4-one. Residue wise pesticides (i.e. DDT, DDE, g-BHC) and radiochemical levels fall below the WHO limit while Heavy metals (i.e. Co, Ni, Cr, Pb, and Cu), total aerobic count and fungal load lie way above the WHO limit. In conclusion, the result can be taken as signal that employing non standardized medicinal plants could cause many health risks of the Ethiopian people and Africans’ at large (as 80% of inhabitants in the continent depends on it for primary health care). Therefore, following a more universal approach to herbal quality by adopting the WHO guidelines and developing monographs using the various quality parameters is inevitable to minimize quality breach and promote effective herbal drug usage.

Keywords: Gnidia stenophylla Gilg, standardization/monograph, pharmacognostic, residue/impurity, quality

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Authors: Rana Muhammad Armaghan Ayaz, Yigit Uysallı, Nima Bavili, Berna Morova, Alper Kiraz

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Traditional optical methods for example resonance wavelength shift and cavity ring-down spectroscopy used for material detection and sensing have disadvantages, for example, less resistance to laser noise, temperature fluctuations and extraction of the required information can be a difficult task like ring downtime in case of cavity ring-down spectroscopy. Phase shift cavity ring down spectroscopy is not only easy to use but is also capable of overcoming the said problems. This technique compares the phase difference between the signal coming out of the cavity with the reference signal. Detection of any material is made by the phase difference between them. By using this technique, air, water, and isopropyl alcohol can be recognized easily. This Methodology has far-reaching applications and can be used in air pollution detection, human breath analysis and many more.

Keywords: materials, noise, phase shift, resonance wavelength, sensitivity, time domain approach

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Authors: N. Hiranmai, M. L. S. Deva Kumar

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In this project, it is planned to carry out an experimental investigation on 4- stroke Direct Injection Diesel Engine, which is a single-cylinder, four-stroke, water-cooled, and constant speed engine capable of developing a power output of 3.7 kW at 1500 rpm, run with diesel fuel and also with different proportions of Safflower oil methyl esters, with a piston having five number of grooves on its crown to create turbulence. Various performance parameters, such as brake power, specific fuel consumption, and thermal efficiency, are calculated. At all the load conditions, the performance of the engine is obtained better for blend B40 (40% Safflower oil + 60% of Diesel). At different load conditions, Brake thermal Efficiency (ηbth) is comparatively more for all blends than that for Diesel. At different load conditions, ηith is less for blend B40.

Keywords: four-stroke engine, diesel, safflower oil, engine performance, emissions.

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Authors: Getahun Lemma

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Introduction Guinea Worm Disease (GWD), also known as dracunculiasisis, is one of the oldest diseases in the history of mankind. Dracunculiasis is caused by a parasitic nematode, Dracunculus medinensis. Infection is acquired by drinking contaminated water with copepods containing infective Guinea Worm (GW) larvae). Almost one year after the infection, the worm usually emerges out through the skin on a lower, causing severe pain and disabilities. Although there is no effective drug or vaccine against the disease, the chain of transmission can be effectively prevented with simple and cost effective public health measures. Death due to dracunculiasis is very rare. However, it results in a wide range of physical, social and economic sequels. The disease is usually common in the rural, remote places of Sub-Saharan African countries among the marginalized societies. Currently, GWD is one of the neglected tropical diseases, which is on the verge of eradication. The global Guinea Worm Eradication Program (GWEP) was started in 1980. Since then, the program has achieved a tremendous success in reducing the global burden and number of GW case from 3.5 million to only 28 human cases at the end of 2018. However, it has recently been shown that not only humans can become infected, with a total of 1,105 animal infections have been reported at the end of 2018. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the existing challenges in the last mile of the GWEP in order To inform Policy makers and stakeholders on potential measures to finally achieve eradication. Method Systematic literature review on articles published from January 1, 2000 until May 30, 2019. Papers listed in Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, ProQuest PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched and reviewed. Results Twenty-five articles met inclusion criteria of the study and were selected for analysis. Hence, relevant data were extracted, grouped and descriptively analyzed. Results showed the main challenges complicating the last mile of global GWEP: 1. Unusual mode of transmission; 2. Rising animal Guinea Worm infection; 3. Suboptimal surveillance; 4. Insecurity; 5. Inaccessibility; 6. Inadequate safe water points; 7. Migration; 8. Poor case containment measures, 9. Ecological changes; and 10. New geographic foci of the disease. Conclusion This systematic review identified that most of the current challenges in the GWEP have been present since the start of the campaign. However, the recent change in epidemiological patterns and nature of GWD in the last remaining endemic countries illustrates a new twist in the global GWEP. Considering the complex nature of the current challenges, there seems to be a need for a more coordinated and multidisciplinary approach of GWD prevention and control measures in the last mile of the campaign. These new strategies would help to make history by eradicating dracunculiasis as the first ever parasitic disease.

Keywords: dracunculiasis, eradication program, guinea worm, last mile

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Authors: Loveline Ambo Angwah

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The processing of cassava from tubers or roots into food using crude and rudimentary method (hand peeling, grating, frying and to sun drying) is a very cumbersome and difficult process. The crude methods are time consuming and labour intensive. While on the other hand, modern processing method, that is using machines to perform the various processes as washing, peeling, grinding, oven drying, fermentation and frying is easier, less time consuming, and less labour intensive. Rudimentarily, cassava roots are processed into numerous products and utilized in various ways according to local customs and preferences. For the people of Ngwo village, cassava is transformed locally into flour or powder form called ‘cumcum’. It is also sucked into water to give a kind of food call ‘water fufu’ and fried to give ‘garri’. The leaves are consumed as vegetables. Added to these, its relative high yields; ability to stay underground after maturity for long periods give cassava considerable advantage as a commodity that is being used by poor rural folks in the community, to fight poverty. It plays a major role in efforts to alleviate the food crisis because of its efficient production of food energy, year-round availability, tolerance to extreme stress conditions, and suitability to present farming and food systems in Africa. Improvement of cassava processing and utilization techniques would greatly increase labor efficiency, incomes, and living standards of cassava farmers and the rural poor, as well as enhance the-shelf life of products, facilitate their transportation, increase marketing opportunities, and help improve human and livestock nutrition. This paper presents a general overview of crude ways in cassava processing and utilization methods now used by subsistence and small-scale farmers in Ngwo village of the North West region in Cameroon, and examine the opportunities of improving processing technologies. Cassava needs processing because the roots cannot be stored for long because they rot within 3-4 days of harvest. They are bulky with about 70% moisture content, and therefore transportation of the tubers to markets is difficult and expensive. The roots and leaves contain varying amounts of cyanide which is toxic to humans and animals, while the raw cassava roots and uncooked leaves are not palatable. Therefore, cassava must be processed into various forms in order to increase the shelf life of the products, facilitate transportation and marketing, reduce cyanide content and improve palatability.

Keywords: cassava roots, crude ways, food system, poverty

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Authors: Sajjad Akbar, Rabia Bashir

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With the growth of the number of users, the Internet usage has evolved. Due to its key design principle, there is an incredible expansion in its size. This tremendous growth of the Internet has brought new applications (mobile video and cloud computing) as well as new user’s requirements i.e. content distribution environment, mobility, ubiquity, security and trust etc. The users are more interested in contents rather than their communicating peer nodes. The current Internet architecture is a host-centric networking approach, which is not suitable for the specific type of applications. With the growing use of multiple interactive applications, the host centric approach is considered to be less efficient as it depends on the physical location, for this, Information Centric Networking (ICN) is considered as the potential future Internet architecture. It is an approach that introduces uniquely named data as a core Internet principle. It uses the receiver oriented approach rather than sender oriented. It introduces the naming base information system at the network layer. Although ICN is considered as future Internet architecture but there are lot of criticism on it which mainly concerns that how ICN will manage the most relevant content. For this Web Content Mining(WCM) approaches can help in appropriate data management of ICN. To address this issue, this paper contributes by (i) discussing multiple ICN approaches (ii) analyzing different Web Content Mining approaches (iii) creating a new Internet architecture by merging ICN and WCM to solve the data management issues of ICN. From ICN, Content-Centric Networking (CCN) is selected for the new architecture, whereas, Agent-based approach from Web Content Mining is selected to find most appropriate data.

Keywords: agent based web content mining, content centric networking, information centric networking

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Authors: Hanadi Khadawardi

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The current study contributes to research on foreign/second language (L2) academic reading by presenting a significant case study, which seeks to investigate specific groups of international (Arab) postgraduate students’ L2 academic reading practices in the UK educational context. In particular, the study scrutinises postgraduate students’ L2 paper-based and digital-based academic reading strategies, and their use of digital aids while engaged in L2 academic reading. To this end, the study investigates Arab readers’ attitudes toward digital L2 academic reading. The study aims to compare between paper and digital L2 academic reading strategies that the students employ and which reading formats they prefer. This study tracks Masters-level students and examines the way in which their reading strategies and attitudes change throughout their Masters programme in the UK educational context. The academic reading strategies and attitudes of five students from four different disciplines (Health Science, Psychology, Management, and Education) are investigated at two points during their one-year Masters programmes. In addition, the study investigates the same phenomenon with 15 Saudi PhD students drawn from seven different disciplines (Computer Science, Engineering, Psychology, Management, Marketing, Health Science, and Applied Linguistics) at one period of their study in the same context. The study uses think-aloud protocol, field notes, stimulated recall, and semi-structured interviews to collect data. The data is analysed qualitatively. The results of the study will explain the process of learning in terms of reading L2 paper and digital academic texts in the L2 context.

Keywords: EFL: English as a foreign language, ESL: English as a second language, L: Language

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Authors: Mohammed Suleiman, Ibrahim Sani, Samaila Abubakar, Kabir Abdullahi Bindawa

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Farmers’ storage structures in Pauwa village of Katsina State, Northern Nigeria, were simulated and incorporated with the application of leaf powders of Euphorbia balsamifera Aiton, Lawsonia inermis L., Mitracarpus hirtus (L.) DC. and Senna obtusifolia L. to search for more eco-friendly methods of managing insect pests of stored sorghum. The four most commonly grown sorghum varieties in the study area, namely “Farar Kaura” (FK), “Jar Kaura” (JK), “Yar Gidan Daudu” (YGD), and ICSV400 in threshed forms were used for the study. The four varieties (2.50 kg each) were packed in small polypropylene bags, mixed with the leaf powders at the concentration of 5% (w/w) of the plants, and kept in small stores of the aforementioned village for 12 weeks. Insect pests recovered after 12 weeks were Sitophilus zeamais, Rhyzopertha dominica, Tribolium castaneum, Cryptolestes ferrugineus, and Oryzaephilus surinamensis. There were significantly fewer insect pests in treated sorghum than in untreated types (p < 0.05). More weight losses were recorded in untreated grains than in those treated with the botanical powders. In terms of varieties, grain weight losses were in the order FK > JK > YGD > ICSV400. The botanicals also showed significant (p < 0.05) protectant ability against the weevils with their performance as E. balsamifera > L. inermis > M. hirtus > S. obtusifolia.

Keywords: botanical powders, infestations, insect pests, management, sorghum varieties, storage structures, weight losses

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Authors: Ma Yuzhe, Burra Venkata Durga Kumar

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The computer is a great invention. As people use computers more and more frequently, the demand for PCs is growing, and the performance of computer hardware is also rising to face more complex processing and operation. However, the operating system, which provides the soul for computers, has stopped developing at a stage. In the face of the high price of UNIX (Uniplexed Information and Computering System), batch after batch of personal computer owners can only give up. Disk Operating System is too simple and difficult to bring innovation into play, which is not a good choice. And MacOS is a special operating system for Apple computers, and it can not be widely used on personal computers. In this environment, Linux, based on the UNIX system, was born. Linux combines the advantages of the operating system and is composed of many microkernels, which is relatively powerful in the core architecture. Linux system supports all Internet protocols, so it has very good network functions. Linux supports multiple users. Each user has no influence on their own files. Linux can also multitask and run different programs independently at the same time. Linux is a completely open source operating system. Users can obtain and modify the source code for free. Because of these advantages of Linux, it has also attracted a large number of users and programmers. The Linux system is also constantly upgraded and improved. It has also issued many different versions, which are suitable for community use and commercial use. Linux system has good security because it relies on a file partition system. However, due to the constant updating of vulnerabilities and hazards, the using security of the operating system also needs to be paid more attention to. This article will focus on the analysis and discussion of Linux security issues.

Keywords: Linux, operating system, system management, security

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Authors: K. Verma, v. S. Moholkar

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In developed countries, water pollution caused by industrial discharge has emerged as a significant environmental concern over the past decades. However, despite ongoing efforts, a fully effective and sustainable remediation strategy has yet to be identified. This paper describes how enzymatic and sonochemical treatments have demonstrated great promise in degrading bio-refractory pollutants. Mainly, a compelling area of interest lies in the combined technique of sono-enzymatic treatment, which has exhibited a synergistic enhancement effect surpassing that of the individual techniques. This study employed the covalent attachment method to immobilize Laccase from Trametes versicolor onto amino-functionalized magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. To comprehensively characterize the synthesized free nanoparticles and the laccase-immobilized nanoparticles, various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and surface area through Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) were employed. The size of immobilized Fe₃O₄@Laccase was found to be 60 nm, and the maximum loading of laccase was found to be 24 mg/g of nanoparticle. An investigation was conducted to study the effect of various process parameters, such as immobilized Fe₃O₄ Laccase dose, temperature, and pH, on the % Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal as a response. The statistical design pinpointed the optimum conditions (immobilized Fe₃O₄ Laccase dose = 1.46 g/L, pH = 4.5, and temperature = 66 oC), resulting in a remarkable 65.58% COD removal within 60 minutes. An even more significant improvement (90.31% COD removal) was achieved with ultrasound-assisted enzymatic reaction utilizing a 10% duty cycle. The investigation of various kinetic models for free and immobilized laccase, such as the Haldane, Yano, and Koga, and Michaelis-Menten, showed that ultrasound application impacted the kinetic parameters Vmax and Km. Specifically, Vmax values for free and immobilized laccase were found to be 0.021 mg/L min and 0.045 mg/L min, respectively, while Km values were 147.2 mg/L for free laccase and 136.46 mg/L for immobilized laccase. The lower Km and higher Vmax for immobilized laccase indicate its enhanced affinity towards the substrate, likely due to ultrasound-induced alterations in the enzyme's confirmation and increased exposure of active sites, leading to more efficient degradation. Furthermore, the toxicity and Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis revealed that after the treatment process, the wastewater exhibited 70% less toxicity than before treatment, with over 25 compounds degrading by more than 75%. At last, the prepared immobilized laccase had excellent recyclability retaining 70% activity up to 6 consecutive cycles. A straightforward manufacturing strategy and outstanding performance make the recyclable magnetic immobilized Laccase (Fe₃O₄ Laccase) an up-and-coming option for various environmental applications, particularly in water pollution control and treatment.

Keywords: kinetic, laccase enzyme, sonoenzymatic, ultrasound irradiation

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