Search results for: outsource storage

Authors: Abdul Hakim Abdullah, Mohamad Syafiq Abdul Khadir

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In present investigations, thermal behaviours of Arenga pinnata fibres prior and after alkaline treatment were studied. The alkaline treatments were applied on the Arenga pinnata fibres by immersing in the alkaline solution, 6% sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Using hand lay-out technique, composites were fabricated at 20% and 40% by Arenga pinnata fibres weight contents. The thermal behaviours of both untreated and treated composites were determined by employing Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). The results show that the TAP owned better results of Storage Modulus (E’), Loss Modulus (E”) and Tan Delta temperatures ranges from 0°C to 60°C.

Keywords: composites, Arenga pinnata fibre, alkaline treatment, dynamic mechanical properties

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Authors: B. Bahloul

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This study investigates the structural, electronic, and optical properties of LiH and NaH compounds, as well as their ternary mixed crystals LiₓNa1-ₓH, adopting a face-centered cubic structure with space group Fm-3m (number 225). The structural and electronic characteristics are examined using density functional theory (DFT), while empirical methods, specifically the modified Moss relation, are employed for analyzing optical properties. The exchange-correlation potential is determined through the generalized gradient approximation (PBEsol-GGA) within the density functional theory (DFT) framework, utilizing the projected augmented wave pseudopotentials (PAW) approach. The Quantum Espresso code is employed for conducting these calculations. The calculated lattice parameters at equilibrium volume and the bulk modulus for x=0 and x=1 exhibit good agreement with existing literature data. Additionally, the LiₓNa1-ₓH alloys are identified as having a direct band gap.

Keywords: DFT, structural, electronic, optical properties

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Authors: Muhammad A. Nadeem, Shaheed Ullah

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The article reports the synthesis of Cr2O3/C nanocomposites obtained by the direct carbonization of PFA/MIL-101(Cr) bulk composite. The nanocomposites were characterized by various instrumental techniques like powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and the surface characterized were investigated via N2 adsorption/desorption analysis. TEM and SAED analysis shows that turbostatic graphitic carbon was obtained with high crystallinity. The nanocomposites were tested for electrochemical supercapacitor and the faradic and non-Faradic processes were checked through cyclic voltammetry (CV). The maximum specific capacitance calculated for Cr2O3/C 900 sample from CV measurement is 301 F g-1 at 2 mV s-1 due to its maximum charge storing capacity as confirm by frequency response analysis.

Keywords: nanocomposites, transmission electron microscopy, non-faradic process

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Authors: Ali Mohammadi

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The construction of Embankment dams is considered one of the most challenging construction projects, for which several main reasons can be mentioned. Excavation and embankment must be done in a large area, and its design is based on preliminary studies, but at the time of construction, it is possible that excavation does not match with the stability or slope of the rock, or the design is incomplete, and corrections should be made in order to be able to carry out excavation and embankment. Also, the progress of the work depends on the main factors, the lack of each of which can slow down the construction of the dams, and lead to an increase in costs, and control of excavations and embankments and calculations of their volumes are done in this collection. In the following, we will investigate three Embankment dams in Iran that faced these challenges and how they overcame these challenges. KHODA AFARIN on the Aras River between the two countries of IRAN and AZARBAIJAN, SIAH BISHEH PUMPED STORAGE on CHALUS River and GOTVAND on KARUN River are among the most important dams built in Iran.

Keywords: section, data transfer, tunnel, free station

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Authors: Autumporn Buranapongphan, Ketsirin Meethong, Phukan Pahaphom

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The objectives of this research is aim to study the standard formula of choux cream recipe. Formulation of choux cream were used gluten free as a replacer with flour in choux dough, quinoa milk in cream and shelf life on product. The results showed the acceptance test using 30 target consumers revealed that liking of choux dough with water 34%, egg 30% flour 19% butter 16% baking powder 1% and cream with milk 68% sugar 13% butter 6.8% egg 4.5% and vanilla 0.9%. The gluten free exhibited the formulation of dough is rice flour 12% potato starch 26% tapioca 7.7% and quinoa flour 4.3%. The ratio of corn flour at 40% had significant effects on liking of viscosity for quinoa cream. During storage by Total viable count (TVA) were kept in room temperature for 8 hours and chilled for 18 hours.

Keywords: choux cream, gluten free, quinoa, dough

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Authors: Kristina Amaleviciute, Ieva Jokubauskaite, Alvyra Slepetiene, Jonas Volungevicius, Inga Liaudanskiene

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The main task of this research was to investigate the chemical composition of the differently used soil in profiles. To identify the differences in the soil were investigated organic carbon (SOC) and its fractional composition: dissolved organic carbon (DOC), mobile humic acids (MHA) and C to N ratio of natural and anthropogenically affected Luvisols. Research object: natural and anthropogenically affected Luvisol, Akademija, Kedainiai, distr. Lithuania. Chemical analyses were carried out at the Chemical Research Laboratory of Institute of Agriculture, LAMMC. Soil samples for chemical analyses were taken from the genetics soil horizons. SOC was determined by the Tyurin method modified by Nikitin, measuring with spectrometer Cary 50 (VARIAN) in 590 nm wavelength using glucose standards. For mobile humic acids (MHA) determination the extraction procedure was carried out using 0.1 M NaOH solution. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was analyzed using an ion chromatograph SKALAR. pH was measured in 1M H2O. N total was determined by Kjeldahl method. Results: Based on the obtained results, it can be stated that transformation of chemical composition is going through the genetic soil horizons. Morphology of the upper layers of soil profile which is formed under natural conditions was changed by anthropomorphic (agrogenic, urbogenic, technogenic and others) structure. Anthropogenic activities, mechanical and biochemical disturbances destroy the natural characteristics of soil formation and complicates the interpretation of soil development. Due to the intensive cultivation, the pH values of the curve equals (disappears acidification characteristic for E horizon) with natural Luvisol. Luvisols affected by agricultural activities was characterized by a decrease in the absolute amount of humic substances in separate horizons. But there was observed more sustainable, higher carbon sequestration and thicker storage of humic horizon compared with forest Luvisol. However, the average content of humic substances in the soil profile was lower. Soil organic carbon content in anthropogenic Luvisols was lower compared with the natural forest soil, but there was more evenly spread over in the wider thickness of accumulative horizon. These data suggest that the organization of geo-ecological declines and agroecological increases in Luvisols. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the National Science Program ‘The effect of long-term, different-intensity management of resources on the soils of different genesis and on other components of the agro-ecosystems’ [grant number SIT-9/2015] funded by the Research Council of Lithuania.

Keywords: agrogenization, dissolved organic carbon, luvisol, mobile humic acids, soil organic carbon

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Authors: Benjamin Mauck, Kevin Winter

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The city of Cape Town in South Africa, has shown consistent economic and population growth in the last few decades and that growth is expected to continue to increase into the future. These projected economic and population growth rates are set to place additional pressure on the city’s already strained water supply system. Thus, given Cape Town’s water scarcity, increasing water demands and stressed water supply system, coupled with global awareness around the issues of sustainable development, environmental protection and climate change, alternative water management strategies are required to ensure water is sustainably managed. Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) is an approach to sustainable urban water management that attempts to assign a resource value to all forms of water in the urban context, viz. stormwater, wastewater, potable water and groundwater. WSUD employs a wide range of strategies to improve the sustainable management of urban water such as the water reuse, developing alternative available supply sources, sustainable stormwater management and enhancing the aesthetic and recreational value of urban water. Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is one WSUD strategy which has proven to be a successful reuse strategy in a number of places around the world. MAR is the process where an aquifer is intentionally or artificially recharged, which provides a valuable means of water storage while enhancing the aquifers supply potential. This paper investigates the feasibility of implementing MAR in the sandy, unconfined Cape Flats Aquifer (CFA) in Cape Town. The main objective of the study is to assess if MAR is a viable strategy for stormwater management on the Cape Flats, aiding the prevention or mitigation of the seasonal flooding that occurs on the Cape Flats, while also improving the supply potential of the aquifer. This involves the infiltration of stormwater into the CFA during the wet winter months and in turn, abstracting from the CFA during the dry summer months for fit-for-purpose uses in order to optimise the recharge and storage capacity of the CFA. The fully-integrated MIKE SHE model is used in this study to simulate both surface water and groundwater hydrology. This modelling approach enables the testing of various potential recharge and abstraction scenarios required for implementation of MAR on the Cape Flats. Further MIKE SHE scenario analysis under projected future climate scenarios provides insight into the performance of MAR as a stormwater management strategy under climate change conditions. The scenario analysis using an integrated model such as MIKE SHE is a valuable tool for evaluating the feasibility of the MAR as a stormwater management strategy and its potential to contribute towards improving Cape Town’s water security into the future.

Keywords: managed aquifer recharge, stormwater management, cape flats aquifer, MIKE SHE

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Authors: W. S. Hsu, S. W. Chen, Y. T. Ku, Y. Chiang, J. R. Wang , J. H. Yang, C. Shih

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ALOHA code was used to calculate the concentration under the CO₂ storage burst condition for Maanshan nuclear power plant (NPP) in this study. Five main data are input into ALOHA code including location, building, chemical, atmospheric, and source data. The data from Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) and some reports were used in this study. The ALOHA results are compared with the failure criteria of R.G. 1.78 to confirm the habitability of control room. The result of comparison presents that the ALOHA result is below the R.G. 1.78 criteria. This implies that the habitability of control room can be maintained in this case. The sensitivity study for atmospheric parameters was performed in this study. The results show that the wind speed has the larger effect in the concentration calculation.

Keywords: PWR, ALOHA, habitability, Maanshan

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Authors: Smita Pallavi, Raj Ratn Pranesh, Sumit Kumar

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Information representation as tables is compact and concise method that eases searching, indexing, and storage requirements. Extracting and cloning tables from parsable documents is easier and widely used; however, industry still faces challenges in detecting and extracting tables from OCR (Optical Character Recognition) documents or images. This paper proposes an algorithm that detects and extracts multiple tables from OCR document. The algorithm uses a combination of image processing techniques, text recognition, and procedural coding to identify distinct tables in the same image and map the text to appropriate the corresponding cell in dataframe, which can be stored as comma-separated values, database, excel, and multiple other usable formats.

Keywords: table extraction, optical character recognition, image processing, text extraction, morphological transformation

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Authors: Rensson Homero Celiz Ygnacio, Marco Aurélio Schiavo Novaes, Lucy Vanessa Sulca Ñaupas, Ana Paula Ribeiro Rodrigues

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The cryopreservation of testicular tissue emerges as an alternative for the preservation of the reproductive potential of individuals who still cannot produce sperm; however, they will undergo treatments that may affect their fertility (e.g., chemotherapy). Therefore, the present work aims to compare two cryopreservation methods (slow freezing and vitrification) in testicular tissue of prepubertal lambs. For that, to obtain the testicular tissue, the animals were castrated and the testicles were collected immediately in a physiological solution supplemented with antibiotics. In the laboratory, the testis was split into small pieces. The total size of the testicular fragments was 3×3x1 mm³ and was placed in a dish contained in Minimum Essential Medium (MEM-HEPES). The fragments were distributed randomly into non-cryopreserved (fresh control), slow freezing (SF), and vitrified. To SF procedures, two fragments from a given male were then placed in a 2,0 mL cryogenic vial containing 1,0 mL MEM-HEPES supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 20% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Tubes were placed into a Mr. Frosty™ Freezing container with isopropyl alcohol and transferred to a -80°C freezer for overnight storage. On the next day, each tube was plunged into liquid nitrogen (NL). For vitrification, the ovarian tissue cryosystem (OTC) device was used. Testicular fragments were placed in the OTC device and exposed to the first vitrification solution composed of MEM-HEPES supplemented with 10 mg/mL Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA), 0.25 M sucrose, 10% Ethylene glycol (EG), 10% DMSO and 150 μM alpha-lipoic acid for four min. The VS1 was discarded and then the fragments were submerged into a second vitrification solution (VS2) containing the same composition of VS1 but 20% EG and 20% DMSO. VS2 was then discarded and each OTC device containing up to four testicular fragments was closed and immersed in NL. After the storage period, the fragments were removed from the NL, kept at room temperature for one min and then immersed at 37 °C in a water bath for 30 s. Samples were warmed by sequentially immersing in solutions of MEM-HEPES supplemented with 3 mg/mL BSA and decreasing concentrations of sucrose. Hematoxylin-eosin staining to analyze the tissue architecture was used. The score scale used was from 0 to 3, classified with a score 0 representing normal morphologically, and 3 were considered a lot of alteration. The histomorphological evaluation of the testicular tissue shows that when evaluating the nuclear alteration (distinction of nucleoli and condensation of nuclei), there are no differences when using slow freezing with respect to the control. However, vitrification presents greater damage (p <0.05). On the other hand, when evaluating the epithelial alteration, we observed that the freezing showed scores statistically equal to the control in variables such as retraction of the basement membrane, formation of gaps and organization of the peritubular cells. The results of the study demonstrated that cryopreservation using the slow freezing method is an excellent tool for the preservation of pubertal testicular tissue.

Keywords: cryopreservation, slow freezing, vitrification, testicular tissue, lambs

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Authors: L. Sefouhi, M. Djebabra

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Industrial operations have been accompanied by a problem: industrial waste which may be toxic, ignitable, corrosive or reactive. If improperly managed, this waste can pose dangerous health and environmental consequences. The industrial waste management becomes a real problem for them. The oil industry is an important sector in Algeria, from exploration to development and marketing of hydrocarbons. For this sector, industrial wastes pose a big problem. The aim of the present study is to present in a systematic way the subject of industrial waste from the point-of-view of definitions in engineering and legislation. This analysis is necessary, as many different approaches and we will attempt to diagnose the current management of industrial waste, namely an inventory of deposits and methods of sorting, packing, storage, and a description of the different disposal routes. Thus, a proposal for a reasoned and responsible management of waste by avoiding a shift towards future expenses related to the disposal of such waste, and prevents pollution they cause to the environment.

Keywords: industrial waste, environment, management, pollution, risks

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Authors: Meriem Mossaddek, El Mehdi Laadissi, El Mehdi Loualid, Chouaib Ennawaoui, Sohaib Bouzaid, Abdelowahed Hajjaji

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An electrochemical system is a subset of mechatronic systems that includes a wide variety of batteries and nickel-cadmium, lead-acid batteries, and lithium-ion. Those structures have several non-linear behaviors and uncertainties in their running range. This paper studies an effective technique for modeling Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries using a Nonlinear Auto-Regressive model with exogenous input (NARX). The Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is trained to employ the data collected from the battery testing process. The proposed model is implemented on a Li-Ion battery cell. Simulation of this model in MATLAB shows good accuracy of the proposed model.

Keywords: lithium-ion battery, neural network, energy storage, battery model, nonlinear models

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Authors: Hala Kama Ahmed Rashwan

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Ensuring the patient safety especially at intensive care units and those exposed to hospital tools and equipment is one of the most important challenges facing healthcare today. Outbreak of food poisoning as a result of food-borne pathogens has been reported in many hospitals and care homes all over the world due to hospital meals. Patient safety of eating hospital meals is a fundamental principle of healthcare; it is new healthcare disciplines that assure the food raw materials, food storage, meals processing, and control of kitchen errors that often lead to adverse healthcare events. The aim of this article is to promote any hospital in attaining the hygienic practices and better quality system during processing of the ready-to- eat meals for intensive care units patients according to the WHO safety guidelines.

Keywords: hospitals, meals, safety, intensive care

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Authors: Zhicheng Han

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This study examines the correlation between knowledge of formulaic language, working memory (WM), and phonological short-term memory (PSTM) in Chinese L2 learners of English. This study investigates if WM and PSTM correlate differently to the acquisition of formulaic language, which may be relevant for the discourse around the conceptualization of formulas. Connectionist approaches have lead scholars to argue that formulas are form-meaning connections stored whole, making PSTM significant in the acquisitional process as it pertains to the storage and retrieval of chunk information. Generativist scholars, on the other hand, argued for active participation of interlanguage grammar in the acquisition and use of formulaic language, where formulas are represented in the mind but retain the internal structure built around a lexical core. This would make WM, especially the processing component of WM an important cognitive factor since it plays a role in processing and holding information for further analysis and manipulation. The current study asked L1 Chinese learners of English enrolled in graduate programs in China to complete a preference raking task where they rank their preference for formulas, grammatical non-formulaic expressions, and ungrammatical phrases with and without the lexical core in academic contexts. Participants were asked to rank the options in order of the likeliness of them encountering these phrases in the test sentences within academic contexts. Participants’ syntactic proficiency is controlled with a cloze test and grammar test. Regression analysis found a significant relationship between the processing component of WM and preference of formulaic expressions in the preference ranking task while no significant correlation is found for PSTM or syntactic proficiency. The correlational analysis found that WM, PSTM, and the two proficiency test scores have significant covariates. However, WM and PSTM have different predictor values for participants’ preference for formulaic language. Both storage and processing components of WM are significantly correlated with the preference for formulaic expressions while PSTM is not. These findings are in favor of the role of interlanguage grammar and syntactic knowledge in the acquisition of formulaic expressions. The differing effects of WM and PSTM suggest that selective attention to and processing of the input beyond simple retention play a key role in successfully acquiring formulaic language. Similar correlational patterns were found for preferring the ungrammatical phrase with the lexical core of the formula over the ones without the lexical core, attesting to learners’ awareness of the lexical core around which formulas are constructed. These findings support the view that formulaic phrases retain internal syntactic structures that are recognized and processed by the learners.

Keywords: formulaic language, working memory, phonological short-term memory, academic language

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Authors: Sunil Verma

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In today’s world non-renewable sources are depleting quickly, so there is a need to produce efficient and unconventional engines to minimize the use of fuel. Also, there are many fatal accidents happening every year during extraction, distillation, transportation and storage of fuel. Reason for explosions of gaseous fuel is unwanted autoignition. Autoignition characterstics of fuel are mandatory to study to build efficient engines and to avoid accidents. This report is concerned with study of autoignition delay characteristics of iso-octane by using rapid compression machine. The paper clearly explains the dependence of ignition delay characteristics on variation of equivalence ratios from lean to rich mixtures. The equivalence ratio is varied from 0.3 to 1.2.

Keywords: autoignition, iso-octane, combustion, rapid compression machine, equivalence ratio, ignition delay

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Authors: Valentina Adduci

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The developing research aims to define in general the criteria of environmental sustainability of rural buildings in Puglia and particularly in the manor farm. The main part of the study analyzes the relationship / dependence between the rural building and the landscape which, after many stratifications, results clearly identified and sometimes also characterized in a positive way. The location of the manor farm, in fact, is often conditioned by the infrastructural network and by the structure of the agricultural landscape. The manor farm, without the constraints due to the urban pattern’s density, was developed in accordance with a logical settlement that gives priority to the environmental aspects. These vernacular architectures are the most valuable example of how our ancestors have planned their dwellings according to nature. The 237 farms, analysis’ object, have been reported in cartography through the GIS system; a symbol has been assigned to each of them to identify the architectural typology and a different color for the historical period of construction. A datasheet template has been drawn up, and it has made possible a deeper understanding of each manor farm. This method provides a faster comparison of the most recurring characters in all the considered buildings, except for those farms which benefited from special geographical conditions, such as proximity to the road network or waterways. Below there are some of the most frequently constants derived from the statistical study of the examined buildings: southeast orientation of the main facade; placement of the sheep pen on the ground tilted and exposed to the south side; larger windowed surface on the south elevation; smaller windowed surface on the north elevation; presence of shielding vegetation near the more exposed elevations to the solar radiation; food storage’s rooms located on the ground floor or in the basement; animal shelter located in north side of the farm; presence of tanks and wells, sometimes combined with a very accurate channeling storm water system; thick layers of masonry walls, inside of which were often obtained hollow spaces to house stairwells or depots for the food storage; exclusive use of local building materials. The research aims to trace the ancient use of bioclimatic constructive techniques in the Apulian rural architecture and to define those that derive from an empirical knowledge and those that respond to an already encoded design. These constructive expedients are especially useful to obtain an effective passive cooling, to promote the natural ventilation and to built ingenious systems for the recovery and the preservation of rainwater and are still found in some of the manor farms analyzed, most of them are, today, in a serious state of neglect.

Keywords: bioclimatic devices, farmstead, rural landscape, sustainability

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Authors: Mejri Achref

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This paper proposes an energy management strategy for an electrical hybrid vehicle which is composed of a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell and a supercapacitor storage device. In this paper, the mathematical model for the proposed power train, comprising the PEM Fuel Cell, supercapacitor, boost converter, inverter, and vehicular structure, was modeled in MATLAB/Simulink. The proposed algorithm is evaluated for the Highway Fuel Economy Test (HWFET) driving cycle. The obtained results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed energy management strategy in reduction of hydrogen consumption.

Keywords: proton exchange membrane fuel cell, hybrid vehicle, hydrogen consumption, energy management strategy

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Authors: Ohabuiro John Uwabunkeonye

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Source of green energy is becoming a concern in developing countries where most energy source in use emits high level of carbon (IV) oxide which contributes to global warming. More so, even with the generation of energy from fossil fuel, the electricity supply is still very inadequate. Therefore, this paper examines different ways of designing and installing photovoltaic (PV) system in terms of optimal sizing of PV array and battery storage in an area of very low peak sunlight hours (PSH) and inadequate supply of electricity from utility companies. Different sample of Peak sunlight hour for selected areas in Nigeria are considered and the lowest of it all is taken. Some means of ensuring that the available solar energy is harnessed properly and converted into electrical energy are discussed for usage in such areas as mentioned above.

Keywords: green energy, fossil fuel, peak sunlight hour, photovoltaic

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Authors: Sabry Shaaban, Tom McNamara, Sarah Hudson

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This article studies the performance of unpaced serial production lines that are subject to breakdown and are imbalanced in terms of both of their processing time means (MTs) and buffer storage capacities (BCs). Simulation results show that the best pattern in terms of throughput is a balanced line with respect to average buffer level; the best configuration is a monotone decreasing MT order, together with an ascending BC arrangement. Statistical analysis shows that BC, patterns of MT and BC imbalance, line length and degree of imbalance all contribute significantly to performance. Results show that unbalanced lines cope well with unreliability.

Keywords: unreliable unpaced serial lines, simulation, unequal mean operation times, uneven buffer capacities, patterns of imbalance, throughput, average buffer level

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Authors: S. M. Abd-Altwab, M. R. Noor El-Din

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This paper aims to the synthesis of new ethoxylated amide as bactericides to prevent the growth of Gram +ve and –ve bacteria of water-in-diesel fuel nanoemulsions over a long period of time as three months. To realize it, eight kinetically stable water-in-diesel fuel nanoemulsions differing in surfactant concentrations and water contents ranging from 4 to 8 and 5 to 8 wt.,wt.,% of total weight of the nanoemulsions, respectively were formed at a temperature of 20 °C. The performance of this ethoxylated amide as bactericides agents against two strains of Gram-negative bacteria, namely, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli, and two strains of Gram-positive bacteria namely, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, were evaluated as antimicrobial agents. The maximum and minimum antimicrobial activities were 85 and 71 % against S. aureus and E. coli, respectively, at a concentration of 5 mg/l, pH 7, and 37 °C.

Keywords: nanoemulsion, bacteriocide, diesel fuel, emulsifier

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Authors: M. Bertsiou, E. Feloni, E. Baltas

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The proper management of the water supply and electricity is the key issue, especially in small islands, where sustainability has been combined with the autonomy and covering of water needs and the fast development in potential sectors of economy. In this research work a hybrid system in Fournoi island (Icaria), a small island of Aegean, has been evaluated in order to produce hydropower and cover water demands, as it can provide solutions to acute problems, such as the water scarcity or the instability of local power grids. The meaning and the utility of hybrid system and the cooperation with a desalination plant has also been considered. This kind of project has not yet been widely applied, so the consideration will give us valuable information about the storage of water and the controlled distribution of the generated clean energy. This process leads to the conclusions about the functioning of the system and the profitability of this project, covering the demand for water and electricity.

Keywords: hybrid system, water, electricity, island

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Authors: Bartosz Piechowicz, Stanislaw Sadlo, Przemyslaw Grodzicki, Magdalena Podbielska

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Apples are popular fruits. They are eaten freshly and/or after processing. For instance Golden Delicious is an apple variety commonly used in production of foods for babies and toddlers. It is no wonder that complex analyses of the pesticide residue levels in those fruits have been carried out since eighties, and continued for the next years up to now. The results obtained were presented, usually as a teamwork, at the scientific sessions organised by the (IOR) Institute of Plant Protection-National Research Institute in Poznań and published in Scientific Works of the Institute (now Progress in Plant Protection/ Postępy w Ochronie Roślin) or Journal of Plant Protection Research, and in many non-periodical publications. These reports included studies carried out by IOR Laboratories in Poznań, Sośnicowice, Rzeszów and Bialystok. First detailed studies on the presence of pesticide residues in apple fruits by the laboratory in Rzeszów were published in 1991 in the article entitled 'The presence of pesticides in apples of late varieties from the area of south-eastern Poland in the years 1986-1989', in Annals of National Institute of Hygiene in Warsaw. These surveys gave the scientific base for business contacts between the Polish company Alima and the American company Gerber. At the beginning of XXI century, in Poland, systematic and complex studies on the deposition of pesticide residues in apples were initiated. First of all, the levels of active ingredients of plant protection products applied against storage diseases at 2-3 weeks before the harvest were determined. It is known that the above mentioned substances usually generate the highest residue levels. Also, the assessment of the fungicide residues in apples during their storage in controlled atmosphere and during their processing was carried out. Taking into account the need of actualisation the Maximum Residue Levels of pesticides, in force in Poland and in other European countries, and rationalisation of the ways of their determination, a lot of field tests on the behaviour of more important fungicides on the mature fruits just before their harvesting, were carried out. A rate of their disappearance and mathematical equation that showed the relationship between the residue level of any substance and the used dose, have been determined. The two parameters have allowed to evaluate the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) of pesticides, which were in force at that time, and to propose a coherent model of their determination in respect to the new substances. The obtained results were assessed in terms of the health risk for adult consumers and children, and to such determination of terms of treatment that mature apples could meet the rigorous level of 0.01 mg/kg.

Keywords: apple, disappearance, health risk, MRL, pesticide residue, research

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Authors: Egboja Simon Oga

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One of the most important keys to the success of a nation is to ensure steady development and national economic self-sufficiency and independence. It is therefore in this regard that this paper is designed to identify food security to be crucial to all nations’ effort toward sustainable national development. Nigeria as a case study employed various effort by the successive government towards food security. Emphasis were placed on the extent to which government has boosted food security situation on the basis of the identified limitations, conclusion was drawn, recommendation/suggestions proffered, that subsidization of the process of farm inputs like fertilizer, improved seeds and agrochemical, education of farmers on modern methods of farming through extension services, improvisation of village-based food storage mechanism and provision of infrastructural facilities in rural areas to facilitate the preservation and easy evacuation of farm produces are necessary.

Keywords: food, governance, development, security

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Authors: Nora Arbaoui, Rachid Tadili, Ilham Ihoume

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Climate change and its effects on low external temperatures in winter require great consumption of energy to improve the greenhouse microclimate and increase agricultural production. To reduce the amount of energy consumed, a solar system has been developed to heat an agricultural greenhouse. This system is based on a transfer fluid that will circulate inside the greenhouse through a solar copper coil positioned on the roof of the greenhouse. This thermal energy accumulated during the day will be stored to be released during the night to improve the greenhouse’s microclimate. The use of this solar heating system has resulted in an average increase in the greenhouse’s indoor temperature of 8.3°C compared to the outdoor environment. This improved temperature has created a more favorable climate for crops and has subsequently had a positive effect on their development, quality, and production.

Keywords: solar system, agricultural greenhouse, heating, cooling, storage, drying

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Authors: B. Casper

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The energy transition towards renewable energies and drastically reduced carbon dioxide emissions in Germany drives multiple sectors into a transformation process. Photovoltaic and on-shore wind power are predominantly feeding in the low and medium-voltage grids. The electricity grid is not laid out to allow an increasing feed-in of power in low and medium voltage grids. Electric mobility is currently in the run-up phase in Germany and still lacks a significant amount of charging stations. The additional power demand by e-mobility cannot be supplied by the existing electric grids in most cases. The future demands in heating and cooling of commercial and residential buildings are increasingly generated by heat-pumps. Yet the most important part in the energy transition is the storage of surplus energy generated by photovoltaic and wind power sources. Water electrolysis is one way to store surplus energy known as power-to-gas. With the vehicle-to-grid technology, the upcoming fleet of electric cars could be used as energy storage to stabilize the grid. All these processes use direct current (DC). The demand of bi-directional flow and higher efficiency in the future grids can be met by using DC. The Flexible Electrical Networks (FEN) research campus at RWTH Aachen investigates interdisciplinary about the advantages, opportunities, and limitations of DC grids. This paper investigates the impact of DC grids as a technological innovation on the urban form and urban life. Applying explorative scenario development, analyzation of mapped open data sources on grid networks and research-by-design as a conceptual design method, possible starting points for a transformation to DC medium voltage grids could be found. Several fields of action have emerged in which DC technology could become a catalyst for future urban development: energy transition in urban areas, e-mobility, and transformation of the network infrastructure. The investigation shows a significant potential to increase renewable energy production within cities with DC grids. The charging infrastructure for electric vehicles will predominantly be using DC in the future because fast and ultra fast charging can only be achieved with DC. Our research shows that e-mobility, combined with autonomous driving has the potential to change the urban space and urban logistics fundamentally. Furthermore, there are possible win-win-win solutions for the municipality, the grid operator and the inhabitants: replacing overhead transmission lines by underground DC cables to open up spaces in contested urban areas can lead to a positive example of how the energy transition can contribute to a more sustainable urban structure. The outlook makes clear that target grid planning and urban planning will increasingly need to be synchronized.

Keywords: direct current, e-mobility, energy transition, grid planning, renewable energy, urban planning

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Authors: Khaled Khaladi, Rafika Bibi, Hind Mokrane, Boubekeur Nadjemi

Abstract:

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is an important cereal crop grown in the semi-arid tropics of Africa and Asia due to its drought tolerance. Sorghum grain has protein content varying from 6 to 18%, with an average of 11%, Sorghum proteins can be broadly classified into prolamin and non-prolamin proteins. Kafirins, the major storage proteins, are classified as prolamins, and as such, they contain high levels of proline and glutamine and are soluble in non-polar solvents such as aqueous alcohols. Kafirins account for 77 to 82% of the protein in the endosperm, whereas non-prolamin proteins (namely, albumins, globulins, and glutelins) make up about 30% of the proteins. To optimize the extraction of sorghum proteins, several variables were examined: detergent type and concentration, reducing agent type and concentration, and buffer pH and concentration. Samples were quantified and characterized by RP-HPLC.

Keywords: sorghum, protein extraction, detergent, food science

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Authors: M. Shaheer Ali, Talib Mansoor

Abstract:

The Piano Key Weir (PKW) is a particular shape of labyrinth weir, using up- and/or downstream overhangs. The horizontal rectangular labyrinth shape allows to multiply the crest length for a given weir width. With the increasing demand of power, it is becoming greatly essential to increase the storage capacity of existing dams without neglecting their safety. The present aims at comparing the performance of piano key weirs in respect to the normal sharp-crested weirs. The discharge v/s head data for the piano key weir and normal sharp-crested weir obtained from the experimental study were compared and analysed using regression analysis. Piano key weir was found to perform doubly w.r.t a normal weir. The flow profiles show the parabolic nature of flow and the nappe interference in the inlet keys.

Keywords: crest length, flow profile, labyrinth weir, normal weir, nappe interference, overhangs, piano key weir

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Authors: A. Seddiki, M. Djebbouri, D. Guerchi

Abstract:

Medical imaging produces human body pictures in digital form. Since these imaging techniques produce prohibitive amounts of data, compression is necessary for storage and communication purposes. Many current compression schemes provide a very high compression rate but with considerable loss of quality. On the other hand, in some areas in medicine, it may be sufficient to maintain high image quality only in region of interest (ROI). This paper discusses a contribution to the lossless compression in the region of interest of Scintigraphic images based on SPIHT algorithm and global transform thresholding using Huffman coding.

Keywords: global thresholding transform, huffman coding, region of interest, SPIHT coding, scintigraphic images

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Authors: P. Hemalatha, Deepalekshmi Ponnamma, Mariam Al Ali Al-Maadeed

Abstract:

The Poly(vinylideneflouride-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP)/ zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposites films were successfully prepared by mixing the fine ZnO particles into PVDF-HFP solution followed by film casting and sandwich techniques. Zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the structure and properties of the obtained nanocomposites. The dielectric properties of the PVDF-HFP/ZnO nanocomposites were analyzed in detail. In comparison with pure PVDF-HFP, the dielectric constant of the nanocomposite (1wt% ZnO) was significantly improved. The piezoelectric co-efficients of the nanocomposites films were measured. Experimental results revealed the influence of filler on the properties of PVDF-HFP and enhancement in the output performance and dielectric properties reflects the ability for energy storage capabilities.

Keywords: dielectric constant, hydrothermal, nanoflowers, organic compounds

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Authors: N. Szczepanska, B. Kudlak, G. Yotova, S. Tsakovski, J. Namiesnik

Abstract:

In the scientific literature related to the widely understood issue of packaging materials designed to have contact with food (food contact materials), there is much information on raw materials used for their production, as well as their physiochemical properties, types, and parameters. However, not much attention is given to the issues concerning migration of toxic substances from packaging and its actual influence on the health of the final consumer, even though health protection and food safety are the priority tasks. The goal of this study was to estimate the impact of particular foodstuff packaging type, food production, and storage conditions on the degree of leaching of potentially toxic compounds and endocrine disruptors to foodstuffs using the acute toxicity test Microtox and XenoScreen YES YAS assay. The selected foodstuff packaging materials were metal cans used for fish storage and tetrapak. Five stimulants respectful to specific kinds of food were chosen in order to assess global migration: distilled water for aqueous foods with a pH above 4.5; acetic acid at 3% in distilled water for acidic aqueous food with pH below 4.5; ethanol at 5% for any food that may contain alcohol; dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and artificial saliva were used in regard to the possibility of using it as an simulation medium. For each packaging three independent variables (temperature and contact time) factorial design simulant was performed. Xenobiotics migration from epoxy resins was studied at three different temperatures (25°C, 65°C, and 121°C) and extraction time of 12h, 48h and 2 weeks. Such experimental design leads to 9 experiments for each food simulant as conditions for each experiment are obtained by combination of temperature and contact time levels. Each experiment was run in triplicate for acute toxicity and in duplicate for estrogen disruption potential determination. Multi-factor analysis of variation (MANOVA) was used to evaluate the effects of the three main factors solvent, temperature (temperature regime for cup), contact time and their interactions on the respected dependent variable (acute toxicity or estrogen disruption potential). From all stimulants studied the most toxic were can and tetrapak lining acetic acid extracts that are indication for significant migration of toxic compounds. This migration increased with increase of contact time and temperature and justified the hypothesis that food products with low pH values cause significant damage internal resin filling. Can lining extracts of all simulation medias excluding distilled water and artificial saliva proved to contain androgen agonists even at 25°C and extraction time of 12h. For tetrapak extracts significant endocrine potential for acetic acid, DMSO and saliva were detected.

Keywords: food packaging, extraction, migration, toxicity, biotest

Procedia PDF Downloads 181