Search results for: water resources

Authors: Mehwish Sarfaraz Ahmad

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Background: There is a prevailing perception in Pakistan that private hospitals offer better services than government hospitals. Unfortunately, Pakistan faces challenges in providing efficient healthcare due to limited resources and management capabilities, resulting in demotivation among healthcare workers. Aim: The purpose of this study was to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the occupational health and well-being of healthcare workers in both public and private sector tertiary care hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan, to compare the well-being of healthcare professionals in these two sectors and investigate the influence of workplace culture and experiences on their overall health. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a validated International Questionnaire, and data from 440 participants was collected using a stratified random sampling technique from a diverse group of healthcare professionals from the public and private tertiary care hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. The researcher conducted a comparative analysis using appropriate statistical tests, such as Anova, t-tests, chi-square tests, and regression analysis, to explore potential relationships between various factors. Results: The majority of respondents (70.2%) reported their health as "Good" or "Very good, a small percentage (8.2%) rated their health as "Poor," while 24.1% considered their health as "Fair". 39.6% reported being satisfied with their workplace culture, while a majority of 60.4% indicated being unsatisfied with their workplace culture. Results showed that workplace culture has a positive correlation with the overall health and well-being of healthcare professionals. The study found significant differences in health ratings, prevalence of chronic health conditions, workplace culture, and safety perceptions between healthcare professionals in public and private sector tertiary care hospitals. Conclusion: The study's findings emphasize the significance of promoting a positive workplace culture, ensuring workplace safety, and addressing chronic health conditions among healthcare workers.

Keywords: occupational health and well-being, workplace culture, frequency of fatigue, availabity of benefits

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Authors: Ali Zazi, Ouiza Cherifi

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Natural gas currently represents a raw material of choice for the manufacture of a wide range of chemical products via synthesis gas, among the routes of transformation of methane into synthesis gas The reaction of the oxidation of methane by gas vapor 'water. This work focuses on the study of the effect of cerieum on the nickel-based catalyst supported by silica for the methane vapor reforming reaction, with a variation of certain parameters of the reaction. The reaction temperature, the H₂O / CH₄ ratio and the flow rate of the reaction mixture (CH₄-H₂O). Two catalysts were prepared by impregnation of Degussa silica with a solution of nickel nitrates and a solution of cerium nitrates [Ni (NO₃) 2 6H₂O and Ce (NO₃) 3 6H₂O] so as to obtain the 1.5% nickel concentrations. For both catalysts and plus 1% cerium for the second catalyst. These Catalysts have been characterized by physical and chemical analysis techniques: BET technique, Atomic Absorption, IR Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction. These characterizations indicated that the nitrates had impregnated the silica. And that the NiO and Ce₂O3 phases are present and Ni°(after reaction). The BET surface of the silica decreases without being affected. The catalytic tests carried out on the two catalysts for the steam reforming reactions show that the addition of cerium to the nickel improves the catalytic performances of the nickel. And that these performances also depend on the parameters of the reaction, namely the temperature, the rate of the reaction mixture, and the ratio (H₂O / CH₄).

Keywords: heterogeneous catalysis, steam reforming, Methane, Nickel, Cerium, synthesis gas, hydrogen

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Authors: Rehana Khan

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Background: The study investigates the experiences of Tiger Teams within the Sydney Local Health District during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aim: The aims were to understand the experiences of the Tiger Team members, to evaluate the effectiveness of Tiger Teams, and to elicit any learnings for future implementation of Tiger Teams in a similar context. Methods: Tiger Team members who worked from March 2020 to January 2022 were approached, with 23 members agreeing to participate in the study. Individual interviews were undertaken by a researcher on a virtual platform. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Saturation was deemed to have been reached when no new themes or subthemes arose within the final three interviews. Results: Four themes emerged: diversity worked well in Tiger Teams; fear of the unknown and challenging conversations were the main challenges of Tiger Teams; improved use of resources and more structure around the strategy of the Tiger Team model would help in future implementations; and Sydney Local Health District’s response to the pandemic was uniformly considered effective in keeping the community safe. In relation to Sydney Local Health District’s response in future pandemics, participants suggested having a pool of staff in readiness to undertake Tiger Team duties when required; prioritise staff welfare at all levels of involvement during a pandemic; maintaining transparent communication and relationship building between Executive level, Tiger Team members and clinical floor level in relation to decision making; and improve documentation, including evaluations of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Implications: The study provides constructive insights into the experiences of Tiger Team members, and these findings will help inform future planning for surge and secondment of staff in public health emergencies.

Keywords: Tiger Team, pandemic response, future planning, COVID-19

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Authors: Ogunlana Olarewaju Fatai, Kelani Fatai Adeshina

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The interplay of corruption and institutional quality determines how effective and efficient an economy progresses. An efficient institutional quality is a key requirement for economic stability. Institutional quality in most cases has been used interchangeably with Governance and these have given room for proxies that legitimized Governance as measures for institutional quality. A poorly-tailored institutional quality has a penalizing effect on corruption and economic growth, while defective institutional quality breeds corruption. Corruption is a hydra-headed phenomenon as it manifests in different forms. The most celebrated definition of corruption is given as “the use or abuse of public office for private benefits or gains”. It also denotes an arrangement between two mutual parties in the determination and allocation of state resources for pecuniary benefits to circumvent state efficiency. This study employed Barro (1990) type augmented model to analyze the nexus among corruption, institutional quality and economic growth in Nigeria using annual time series data, which spanned the period 1996-2019. Within the analytical framework of Johansen Cointegration technique, Error Correction Mechanism (ECM) and Granger Causality tests, findings revealed a long-run relationship between economic growth, corruption and selected measures of institutional quality. The long run results suggested that all the measures of institutional quality except voice & accountability and regulatory quality are positively disposed to economic growth. Moreover, the short-run estimation indicated a reconciliation of the divergent views on corruption which pointed at “sand the wheel” and “grease the wheel” of growth. In addition, regulatory quality and the rule of law indicated a negative influence on economic growth in Nigeria. Government effectiveness and voice & accountability, however, indicated a positive influence on economic growth. The Granger causality test results suggested a one-way causality between GDP and Corruption and also between corruption and institutional quality. Policy implications from this study pointed at checking corruption and streamlining institutional quality framework for better and sustained economic development.

Keywords: institutional quality, corruption, economic growth, public policy

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Authors: Issamaldin Mohammed, Ahmed Abdalla, Hatim Elobied

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Soil erosion is globally known for adverse effects on social, environmental and economical aspects which directly or indirectly influence the human life. The area under study suffers from problems like water quality, river and agricultural canals bed rise due to high sediment load brought by Algash River from upstream (Eritrea high land), the current study utilized from remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) to estimate the annual soil loss using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The USLE is widely used over the world which basically relies on rainfall erosivity factor (R), soil erodibility factor (K), topographic factor (LS), cover management factor (C) and support practice factor (P). The result of the study showed high soil loss in the study area, this result was illustrated in a form of map presenting the spatial distribution of soil loss amounts which classified into seven zones ranging from very slight zone (less than 2 ton/ha.year) to very severe (100-500 ton/ha.year), also the total soil loss from the whole study area was found to be 32,916,840.87 ton/ha.year. These kinds of results will help the experts of land management to give a priority for the severely affected zones to be tackled in an appropriate way.

Keywords: Geographical Information System, remote sensing, sedimentation, soil loss

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Authors: Robin C. Ladwig

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Diversity Management, as a substantial element of Human Resource Management, aims to secure the economic benefit that assumingly comes with a diverse workforce. Consequently, diversity managers focus on the protection of employees and securing equality measurements to assure organisational gender diversity. Gender diversity as one aspect of Diversity Management seems to adhere to gender binarism and cis-normativity. Workplaces are gendered spaces which are echoing the binary gender-normativity presented in Diversity Management, sold under the label of gender diversity. While the expectation of Diversity Management implies the inclusion of a multiplicity of marginalised groups, such as trans and gender diverse people, in current literature and practice, the reality is curated by gender binarism and cis-normativity. The qualitative multi-method research showed a lack of knowledge about trans and gender diverse matters within the profession of Diversity Management and Human Resources. The semi-structured interviews with trans and gender diverse individuals from various backgrounds and occupations in Australia exposed missing considerations of trans and gender diverse experiences in the inclusivity and gender equity of various workplaces. Even if practitioners consider trans and gender diverse matters under gender diversity, the practical execution is limited to gender binary structures and cis-normative actions as the photo-elicit questionnaire with diversity managers, human resource officers, and personnel management demonstrates. Diversity Management should approach a broader source of informed practice by extending their business focus to the knowledge of humanity studies. Humanity studies could include diversity, queer, or gender studies to increase the inclusivity of marginalised groups such as trans and gender diverse employees and people. Furthermore, the definition of gender diversity should be extended beyond the gender binary and cis-normative experience. People may lose trust in Diversity Management as a supportive ally of marginalised employees if the understanding of inclusivity is limited to a gender binary and cis-normativity value system that misrepresents the richness of gender diversity.

Keywords: cis-normativity, diversity management, gender binarism, trans and gender diversity

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Authors: Apolinar Picado, Steve Alfaro, Rafael Gamero

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Energy and exergy analyses of thin-layer drying of pineapple slices (Ananas comosus L.) were conducted in a laboratory tunnel dryer. Drying experiments were carried out at three temperatures (100, 115 and 130 °C) and an air velocity of 1.45 m/s. The effects of drying variables on energy utilisation, energy utilisation ratio, exergy loss and exergy efficiency were studied. The enthalpy difference of the gas increased as the inlet gas temperature increase. It is observed that at the 75 minutes of the drying process the outlet gas enthalpy achieves a maximum value that is very close to the inlet value and remains constant until the end of the drying process. This behaviour is due to the reduction of the total enthalpy within the system, or in other words, the reduction of the effective heat transfer from the hot gas flow to the vegetable being dried. Further, the outlet entropy exhibits a significant increase that is not only due to the temperature variation, but also to the increase of water vapour phase contained in the hot gas flow. The maximum value of the exergy efficiency curve corresponds to the maximum value observed within the drying rate curves. This maximum value represents the stage when the available energy is efficiently used in the removal of the moisture within the solid. As the drying rate decreases, the available energy is started to be less employed. The exergetic efficiency was directly dependent on the evaporation flux and since the convective drying is less efficient that other types of dryer, it is likely that the exergetic efficiency has relatively low values.

Keywords: efficiency, energy, exergy, thin-layer drying

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Authors: Shahla Bukhtair

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A paradigm presents a consensus view of a particular or collective community, accepted into by the members of that community, either consciously pronounced or, more likely, simply assumed and not intentionally acknowledged but is articulated. Paradigm shift is based on the behavioral attitude of the community. Change is inexorable. The world is suffering with the innovative creation of globalization. Media boosted this paradigm shift all over the world. Globalization is a vigorous process which impacts differentially on various cultures around the world. The outcome of the globalization is permeates cultural boundaries and in the process results in the spread of Western ideologies and values across the world. The term flourished in 20th century. Globalization is regarded as having substantial impact on such crises through its encouragement of conflicts rather than conciliation; through opportunities of expression, various groups get benefit with it. Identity crisis refers to inflexible mechanism i.e. cultural and political conflicts among polarized groups, which struggle with each other over the definition of a national identity. Violence is not only a kind of physical but it also psychological as well. Due to identity crisis, a person is having an issue of fear, anxiety, and lack of security. Everything has negative and positive aspects. Newspaper columns, magazine articles, films, made-for-TV movies, television special reports, and talk shows are all public arenas where images of political agenda of their own interest are constructed, debated, and reproduced. From these resources, individuals construct their own conceptions of what is normal and acceptable. This bias affects images in the media, and in turn has a negative effect on public development in a society. This paper investigates the relationship between globalization and cultural war, identity crisis and the role of violence. Objectives: - To determine which type of media plays an important role in shaping perceptions and attitudes of public negatively; - To analyze the impact of globalization on identity crisis, violence and global culture (positive and negative).

Keywords: paradigm shift, globalization, identity crisis, cultural war

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Authors: Fiona Curran-Cournane

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Soil quality monitoring is a science-based soil management tool that assesses soil ecosystem health. A soil monitoring program in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, extends from 1995 to the present. The objective of this study was to firstly determine changes in soil parameters (basic soil properties and heavy metals) that were assessed from rural land in 1995-2000 and repeated in 2008-2012. The second objective was to determine differences in soil parameters across various land uses including native bush, rural (horticulture, pasture and plantation forestry) and urban land uses using soil data collected in more recent years (2009-2013). Across rural land, mean concentrations of Olsen P had significantly increased in the second sampling period and was identified as the indicator of most concern, followed by soil macroporosity, particularly for horticultural and pastoral land. Mean concentrations of Cd were also greatest for pastoral and horticultural land and a positive correlation existed between these two parameters, which highlights the importance of analysing basic soil parameters in conjunction with heavy metals. In contrast, mean concentrations of As, Cr, Pb, Ni and Zn were greatest for urban sites. Native bush sites had the lowest concentrations of heavy metals and were used to calculate a ‘pollution index’ (PI). The mean PI was classified as high (PI > 3) for Cd and Ni and moderate for Pb, Zn, Cr, Cu, As, and Hg, indicating high levels of heavy metal pollution across both rural and urban soils. From a land use perspective, the mean ‘integrated pollution index’ was highest for urban sites at 2.9 followed by pasture, horticulture and plantation forests at 2.7, 2.6, and 0.9, respectively. It is recommended that soil sampling continues over time because a longer spanning record will allow further identification of where soil problems exist and where resources need to be targeted in the future. Findings from this study will also inform policy and science direction in regional councils.

Keywords: heavy metals, pollution index, rural and urban land use, soil quality

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Authors: ZerarkaHizia, Akchiche Mustapha, Prunier Florent

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Landslide of Ain El Hammam (AEH) has been an old slip since 1969; it was reactivated after an intense rainfall period in 2008 where it presents a complex shape and affects broad areas. The schist of AEH is more or less altered; the alteration is facilitated by the fracturing of the rock in its upper part, the presence of flowing water as well as physical and chemical mechanisms of desegregation in joint of altered schist. The factors following these instabilities are mostly related to the geological formation, the hydro-climatic conditions and the topography of the region. The city of AEH is located on the top of a steep slope at 50 km from the city of TiziOuzou (Algeria). AEH’s topographic monitoring of unstable slope allows analyzing the structure and the different deformation mechanism and the gradual change in the geometry, the direction of change of slip. It also allows us to delimit the area affected by the movement. This work aims to study the behavior of AEH landslide with topographic monitoring and to validate the results with numerical modeling of the slip site, when the hydraulic factors are identified as the most important factors for the reactivation of this landslide. With the help of the numerical code PLAXIS 2D and PlaxFlow, the precipitations and the steady state flow are modeled. To identify the mechanism of deformation and to predict the spread of the AEH landslide numerically, we used the equivalent deviatory strain, and these results were visualized by MATLAB software.

Keywords: equivalent deviatory strain, landslide, numerical modeling, topographic monitoring

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Authors: Muhammad Mustaqeem, Musa Kaleem Baloch, Irfan Ullah, Ammarah Luqman, Afshan Ahmad

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Flurbiprofen is one of the most potent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. It is widely used for relief of pain in patients suffering from rheumatic diseases, migraine, sore throat and primary dysmenorrhea. However, its aqueous solubility is very low and hinders the skin permeation. Thus, it is imperative to develop such a drug delivery systems which can improve its aqueous solubility and hence improve the skin permeation and therapeutic compliance. Microemulsions have been also proven to increase the cutaneous absorption of lipophilic drugs as compared to conventional vehicles. Micro-emulsion is thermodynamically stable emulsion that has the capacity to ‘hide/solubilize’ water-insoluble molecules within a continuous oil phase. Therefore, flurbiprofen was converted to Easters through chemical reactions with alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol. The product was further treated with hydrazine to get hydrazide. The solubility of the parent drug Flurbiprofen and the products were solubilized in microemulsions formed using various surfactants like ionic, non-ionic and zwitterions. It has been concluded that the product was more soluble than the parent compound. The biological activities of these were also investigated. The outcome was very promising and the product was more active than the parent compound. It, therefore, concluded that in this way, we can not only enhance the solubility of the drug and increase its bioactivity, but also reduce the risk of stomach cancer.

Keywords: Flurbiprofen, microemulsion, surfactants, hyrazides

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Authors: Maya Saade, Rafic Younes, Pascal Lafon

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This paper explores the transformative impact of smartphones on pedagogy and presents a smartphone application developed specifically for engineering problem-solving and educational purposes. The widespread availability and advanced capabilities of smartphones have revolutionized the way we interact with technology, including in education. The ubiquity of smartphones allows learners to access educational resources anytime and anywhere, promoting personalized and self-directed learning. The first part of this paper discusses the overall influence of smartphones on pedagogy, emphasizing their potential to improve learning experiences through mobile technology. In the context of engineering education, this paper focuses on the development of a dedicated smartphone application that serves as a powerful tool for both engineering problem-solving and education. The application features an intuitive and user-friendly interface, allowing engineering students and professionals to perform complex calculations and analyses on their smartphones. The smartphone application primarily focuses on beam calculations and serves as a comprehensive beam calculator tailored to engineering education. It caters to various engineering disciplines by offering interactive modules that allow students to learn key concepts through hands-on activities and simulations. With a primary emphasis on beam analysis, this application empowers users to perform calculations for statically determinate beams, statically indeterminate beams, and beam buckling phenomena. Furthermore, the app includes a comprehensive library of engineering formulas and reference materials, facilitating a deeper understanding and practical application of the fundamental principles in beam analysis. By offering a wide range of features specifically tailored for beam calculation, this application provides an invaluable tool for engineering students and professionals looking to enhance their understanding and proficiency in this crucial aspect of a structural engineer.

Keywords: mobile devices in education, solving engineering problems, smartphone application, engineering education

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Authors: Agnes Anyango Andollo, Jane Achieng Achola

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The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has become one of the driving forces in facilitation of learning in most colleges. The ability to effectively harness the technology varies from college to college. The study objective was to determine the lecturers’, institutional attributes and policies that influence the utilization of ICT by the lecturers’. A cross sectional survey design was employed in order to empirically investigate the extent to which lecturers’ personal, institutional attributes and policies influence the utilization of ICT to facilitate learning. The target population of the study was 295 lecturers who facilitate learning at KMTC-Nairobi. Structured self-administered questionnaire was given to the lecturers. Quantitative data was scrutinized for completeness, accuracy and uniformity then coded. Data were analyzed in frequencies and percentages using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19, this was a reliable tool for quantitative data analysis. A total of 155 completed questionnaires administered were obtained from the respondents for the study that were subjected to analysis. The study found out that 93 (60%) of the respondents were male while 62 (40%) of the respondents were female. Individual’s educational level, age, gender and educational experience had the greatest impact on use of ICT. Lecturers’ own beliefs, values, ideas and thinking had moderate impact on use of ICT. And that institutional support by provision of resources for ICT related training such as internet, computers, laptops and projectors had moderate impact (p = 0.049) at 5% significant level on use of ICT. The study concluded that institutional attributes and ICT policy were keys to utilization of ICT by lecturers at KMTC Nairobi also mandatory policy on use of ICT by lecturers to facilitate learning was key. It recommended that policies should be put in place for Technical support to lecturers when in problem during utilization of ICT and also a mechanism should be put in place to make the use of ICT in teaching and learning mandatory.

Keywords: policy, computers education, medical training institutions, ICTs

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Authors: Gary Pattemore, Michael Edgar, Andrew Job, Marina Auad, Kathryn Job

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As critical commodities become more scarce, significant time and resources have been used to better understand complicated ore bodies and extract their full potential. These challenging ore bodies provide several pain points for geologists and engineers to overcome, poor handling of these issues flows downs stream to the processing plant affecting throughput rates and recovery. Many open cut mines utilise blast hole drilling to extract additional information to feed back into the modelling process. This method requires samples to be collected during or after blast hole drilling. Samples are then sent for assay with turnaround times varying from 1 to 12 days. This method is time consuming, costly, requires human exposure on the bench and collects elemental data only. To address this challenge, research has been undertaken to utilise hyperspectral imaging across a broad spectrum to scan samples, collars or take down hole measurements for minerals and moisture content and grade abundances. Automation of this process using unmanned vehicles and on-board processing reduces human in pit exposure to ensure ongoing safety. On-board processing allows data to be integrated into modelling workflows with immediacy. The preliminary results demonstrate numerous direct and indirect benefits from this new technology, including rapid and accurate grade estimates, moisture content and mineralogy. These benefits allow for faster geo modelling updates, better informed mine scheduling and improved downstream blending and processing practices. The paper presents recommendations for implementation of the technology in open cut mining environments.

Keywords: grade control, hyperspectral scanning, artificial intelligence, autonomous mining, machine learning

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Authors: Mbambu K. Shaloom, Biba Kalengo, Pierre Echard, Olivier Gilson, Tshiswaka Ngalula, Léonard Kabeya Mukeba Yakasham

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In this 21st century, while design and eco-construction continue to be governed by considerations of functionality, safety, comfort and initial investment cost. Today, the principles of sustainable development lead us to think over longer time frames, to take into account new issues and the operating costs of green energy. DR Congo (sub-Saharan Africa) still suffers from the unusability of certain bio-sourced materials (such as bamboo, branches, etc.) and the lack of energy, i.e. 9% of the population has access to electricity and 21% of access to water. Ecoconstruction involves the energy performance of buildings which carry out a dynamic thermal simulation, which targets the different assumptions and conventional parameters (weather, occupancy, materials, thermal comfort, green energies, etc.). The objective of this article is to remedy the thermal, economic and technical artisanal problems in an aqueous environment in the city of Kinshasa. In order to establish a behavioral model to mitigate environmental impacts on architectural modifications and low-cost eco-construction through the approach of innovation and design thinking.

Keywords: thermal comfort, bio-sourced material, eco-architecture, eco-construction, squatting, design thinking

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Authors: Elif Aykın Dinçer, Mustafa Erbaş

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The effects of packaging method (modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and aerobic packaging (AP)), storage temperature (4 and 25°C) and storage time (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 days) on the chemical, microbiological and sensory properties of cold-dried beef slices were investigated. Beef slices were dried at 10°C and 3 m/s after pasteurization with hot steam and then packaged in order to determine the effect of different storage conditions. As the storage temperature and time increased, it was determined that the amount of CO2 decreased in the MAP packed samples and that the amount of O2 decreased while the amount of CO2 increased in the AP packed samples. The water activity value of stored beef slices decreased from 0.91 to 0.88 during 90 days of storage. The pH, TBARS and NPN-M values of stored beef slices were higher in the AP packed samples and pH value increased from 5.68 to 5.93, TBARS increased from 25.25 to 60.11 μmol MDA/kg and NPN-M value increased from 4.37 to 6.66 g/100g during the 90 days of storage. It was determined that the microbiological quality of MAP packed samples was higher and the mean counts of TAMB, TPB, Micrococcus/Staphylococcus, LAB and yeast-mold were 4.10, 3.28, 3.46, 2.99 and 3.14 log cfu/g, respectively. As a result of sensory evaluation, it was found that the quality of samples packed MAP and stored at low temperature was higher and the shelf life of samples was 90 days at 4°C and 75 days at 25°C for MAP treatment, and 60 days at 4°C and 45 days at 25°C for AP treatment.

Keywords: cold drying, dried meat, packaging, storage

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Authors: Pawan Kumar Pant, Bhanu Gupta, S. R. Kale, S. V. Veeravalli

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In many countries, buses are the principal means of transport, of which a majority are naturally ventilated with open windows. The design of this ventilation has little scientific basis and to address this problem a study has been undertaken involving both experiments and numerical simulations. The flow pattern inside and around of an open window bus with passengers has been investigated in detail. A full scale three-dimensional numerical simulation has been used for a) a bus with closed windows and b) with open windows. In either simulation, the bus had 58 seated passengers. The bus dimensions used were 2500 mm wide × 2500 mm high (exterior) × 10500 mm long and its speed was set at 40 km/h. In both cases, the flow separates at the top front edge forming a vortex and reattaches close to the mid-length. This attached flow separates once more as it leaves the bus. However, the strength and shape of the vortices at the top front and wake region is different for both cases. The streamline pattern around the bus is also different for the two cases. For the bus with open windows, the dominant airflow inside the bus is from the rear to the front of the bus and air velocity at the face level of the passengers was found to be 1/10th of the free stream velocity. These findings are in good agreement with flow visualization experiments performed in a water channel at 10 m/s, and with smoke/tuft visualizations in a wind tunnel with a free-stream velocity of approximately 40 km/h on a 1:25 scaled Perspex model.

Keywords: air flow, moving bus, open windows, vortex, wind tunnel

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Authors: Tsegaye Adane Birhan

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Recently, rapid industrialization has led to the excessive release of heavy metals such as Cr (VI) into the environment. Exposure to chromium (VI) can cause kidney and liver damage, depressed immune systems, and a variety of cancers. Therefore, treatment of Cr (VI) containing wastewater is mandatory. This study aims to optimize the removal of Cr (VI) from an aqueous solution using locally available Teff husk-activated carbon adsorbent. The laboratory-based study was conducted on the optimization of Cr (VI) removal efficiency of Teff husk-activated carbon from aqueous solution. A central composite design was used to examine the effect of the interaction of process parameters and to optimize the process using Design Expert version 7.0 software. The optimized removal efficiency of Teff husk activated carbon (95.597%) was achieved at 1.92 pH, 87.83mg/L initial concentration, 20.22g/L adsorbent dose and 2.07Hrs contact time. The adsorption of Cr (VI) on Teff husk-activated carbon was found to be best fitted with pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm model of the adsorption. Teff husk-activated carbon can be used as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of chromium (VI) from contaminated water. Column adsorption needs to be studied in the future.

Keywords: batch adsorption, chromium (VI), teff husk activated carbon, response surface methodology, tannery wastewater

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Authors: Mulugeta Gurum Gerechal

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Nowadays, the photocatalytic mechanism of water purification using nanoparticles has gained wider acceptance. For this purpose, the crystal form of N- TiO₂ and Ag-TiO₂ was prepared from TiCl₄, urea, NH₄OH, and AgNO₃ by sol-gel method and simple solid phase reaction followed by calcination at a temperature of 400°C for 4h at each. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized using XRD, SEM, and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra. In the experiment, it was found that the absorption edge of N-TiO₂ was an efficient shift to visible light as compared to Ag-TiO₂. The XRD diffraction makes the particle size of N-TiO₂ smaller than Ag-TiO₂. The effect of catalyst loading and the effect of temperature on the photocatalytic efficiency of the prepared samples was tested using methylene blue as a target pollutant. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the catalysts for methylene blue was increased from 57.05 to 96.02% under solar radiation as the amount of the catalyst increased from 0.15 to 0.45 gram for N-TiO₂. Similarly, photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue was increased from 40.32 to 81.21% as the amount of Ag-TiO₂ increased from 0.05g to 0.1g. In addition, the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the catalysts for the removal of methylene blue was increased from 58.00 to 98.00 and 47.00 to 81.21% under solar radiation as the calcination temperature of the catalyst increased from 300 to 500 for N-TiO₂ for Ag-TiO₂ 300 to 400⁰C. However, a further increase in catalyst loading and calcination temperature was found to decrease the degradation efficiency.

Keywords: photocatalysis, degradation, nanoparticles, catalyst loading, calcination, methylene blue

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Authors: Mamoon Mousa Atout

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The industries of construction are in continuous growth not only in Middle East rejoin but almost all over the world. For the last fifteen years, big expansion and increase of different types of projects has been observed. Many infrastructural projects have been developed, high rise buildings, big shopping malls, power sub-stations, roads, bridges, schools, universities and developing many of new cities with full and complete facilities. The growth and enlargement of the mentioned developed projects has been accomplished through many international and local contracting organizations. Senior management of these organizations depend on their qualified and experienced team whom are aware of the implications of project management, construction management, engineering management and resource management during tendering till final completion of the project. This research aims to find out why reasons of principles of construction engineering and management are necessary for contracting firms and their managers. Principles of construction management help contracting organizations to accomplish and deliver projects without delay. This can be maintained by establishing guidelines’ details for updating the adopted system of construction management that they have through qualified and experienced project managers. The research focuses on benefits of other essential skills of projects planning, monitoring and control. Defining roles and responsibilities of contractor project managers during tendering and execution is a part of the investigated factors that will be analyzed. Other skills like optimizing and utilizing the obtainable project resources to deliver the project within time, cost and quality will be also investigated to find out how these factors are affecting the performance of contracting firms, projects managers and projects. The conclusion of the research will help senior management team and the contractors project managers about the benefits of implications and benefits construction management system and its effect upon the performance and knowledge of contract values that they have, and the optimal profit margin of the firm it.

Keywords: construction management, contracting firms, project managers, planning processes, roles and responsibilities

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Authors: Maider Gómez Palmero, Ana Carrasco Pérez, Paula de la Sen de la Cruz, Francisco Javier Royo Herrer, Sonia Ascaso Malo

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The production of bio-based products for different purposes is one of the strategies that has grown the most at European and even global levels, seeking to contribute to mitigating the impacts associated with climate change and to achieve the ambitious objectives set in this regard. However, the substitution of fossil-based products for bio-based products requires a challenging and deep transformation and adaptation of the secondary and primary sectors and, more specifically, in the latter, the agro-industries. The first step to developing a bio-based value chain focuses on the availability of a resource with the right characteristics for the substitution sought. This, in turn, requires a significant reshaping of the forestry/agricultural sector but also of the agro-industry, which has a relevant potential to be deployed as a supplier and develop a robust logistical supply chain and to market a biobased raw material at a competitive price. However, this transformation may involve a profound restructuring of its traditional business model to incorporate biorefinery concepts. In this sense, agro-industries that generate by-products in their processes that are currently not valorized, such as potato processing rejects or the starch found in washing water, constitute a potential raw material that can be used for different bio-applications. This article aims to explore this potential to evaluate the most suitable bio applications to target and identify opportunities and challenges.

Keywords: starch valorisation, biorefinery, bio-based raw materials, bio-applications

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Authors: M. Khalid, W. Rashmi, L. L. Kwan

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This work provides an overview on the experimental and numerical simulations of various nanofluids and their flow and heat transfer behavior. It was further extended to study the effect of nanoparticle concentration, fluid flow rates and thermo-physical properties on the heat transfer enhancement of Al2O3/water nanofluid in a turbulent flow circular conduit using ANSYS FLUENT™ 14.0. Single-phase approximation (homogeneous model) and two-phase (mixture and Eulerian) models were used to simulate the nanofluid flow behavior in the 3-D horizontal pipe. The numerical results were further validated with experimental correlations reported in the literature. It was found that heat transfer of nanofluids increases with increasing particle volume concentration and Reynolds number, respectively. Results showed good agreement (~9% deviation) with the experimental correlations, especially for a single-phase model with constant properties. Among two-phase models, mixture model (~14% deviation) showed better prediction compared to Eulerian-dispersed model (~18% deviation) when temperature independent properties were used. Non-drag forces were also employed in the Eulerian two-phase model. However, the two-phase mixture model with temperature dependent nanofluid properties gave slightly closer agreement (~12% deviation).

Keywords: nanofluid, CFD, heat transfer, forced convection, circular conduit

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Authors: Tsion Tekalegn

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In Ethiopia, improved potato varieties are essential for food security, but smallholders' adoption of improved technologies limits their productivity. For this study, data was collected based on a structured questionnaire randomly collected from the 329 sample farmers (158 adopters and 171 non-adopters). We estimate the adoption of improved variety and causal impact using Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR), and a propensity Score Matching (PSM) was used to test the treatment effect. This helps us estimate the effect of improved potato variety on smallholder farmer income by controlling for the role of the selection bias problem stemming from both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. According to the result, key determinants influencing adoption include livestock ownership, access to extension services, and farming experience, which positively affect the likelihood of adopting improved varieties. In contrast, access to irrigation negatively correlates with adoption, suggesting that farmers with reliable water sources perceive less need for improved varieties. The ESR model result confirmed that improved potato variety adoption increases the smallholder farmer income with an estimated gain of 8.77%. Thus, to improve the potato variety of the farming households, the government should give due emphasis to potato production, and the extension services need to be strengthened.

Keywords: adoption, improved potato varieties, endogenous switching regression, Ethiopia

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Authors: Flex Anim

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The financial system is a decentralized studies system that was put into place in Ghana as a grassroots financial studies approach. Its main goal is to give people the precise knowledge, abilities, and training required for a given trade, business, profession, or occupation. In this essay, the question of how the financial studies system's devolution to local businesses results in responsible and responsive representation as well as long-term company learning is raised. It centers on two case studies, Asekwa Municipal and Oforikrom. The next question posed by the study is how senior high school students are rebuilding their livelihoods and socioeconomic well-being by creating new curriculum and social practices related to the finance and business studies system. The paper here concentrates on Kumasi District and makes inferences for the other two examples. The paper demonstrates how the financial studies system's establishment of representative groups creates the democratic space required for the successful representation of community goals. Nonetheless, the interests of a privileged few are advanced as a result of elite capture. The state's financial and business training programs do not adhere to the financial studies system's established policy procedures and do not transfer pertinent and discretionary resources to local educators. As a result, local educators are unable to encourage representation that is accountable and responsive. The financial studies system continues to pique the interest of rural areas, but this desire is skewed toward getting access to financial or business training institutions for higher education. Since the locals are not actively involved in financial education, the financial studies system serves just to advance the interests of specific populations. This article explains how rhetoric and personal benefits can be supported by the public even in the case of "failed" interventions.

Keywords: financial studies system, financial studies' devolution, local government, senior high schools and financial education, as well as community goals and representation

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Authors: Ali Kadivar, Kaveh Niayesh

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The integration of green energy resources is a major focus, and the role of Medium Voltage Direct Current (MVDC) systems is exponentially expanding. However, the protection of MVDC systems against DC faults is a challenge that can have consequences on reliable and safe grid operation. This challenge reveals the need for MVDC circuit breakers (MVDC CB), which are in infancies of their improvement. Therefore will be a lack of MVDC CBs standards, including thresholds for acceptable power losses and operation speed. To establish a baseline for comparison purposes, a benchmark system for testing future MVDC CBs is vital. The literatures just give the timing sequence of each switch and the emphasis is on the topology, without in-depth study on the control algorithm of DCCB, as the circuit breaker control system is not yet systematic. A digital testing benchmark is designed for the Proof-of-concept of simulation studies using software models. It can validate studies based on real-time digital simulators and Transient Network Analyzer (TNA) models. The proposed experimental setup utilizes data accusation from the accurate sensors installed on the tested MVDC CB and through general purpose input/outputs (GPIO) from the microcontroller and PC Prototype studies in the laboratory-based models utilizing Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) equipment connected to real-time digital simulators is achieved. The improved control algorithm of the circuit breaker can reduce the peak fault current and avoid arc resignation, helping the coordination of DCCB in relay protection. Moreover, several research gaps are identified regarding case studies and evaluation approaches.

Keywords: DC circuit breaker, hardware-in-the-loop, real time digital simulation, testing benchmark

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Authors: M. Kamil, Rahber Husain Khan

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In the present study, the Interaction of anionic polymer, sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC), with cationic gemini surfactants 2,2[(oxybis(ethane-1,2-diyl))bis(oxy)]bis(N-hexadecyl1-N,N-[di(E2)/tri(E3)]methyl1-2-oxoethanaminium)chloride (16-E2-16 and 16-E3-16) and conventional surfactant (CTAC) in aqueous solutions have been studied by surface tension measurement of binary mixtures (0.0- 0.5 wt% NaCMC and 1 mM gemini surfactant/10 mM CTAC solution). Surface tension measurements were used to determine critical aggregation concentration (CAC) and critical micelle concentration (CMC). The maximum surface excess concentration (Ґmax) at the air-water interface was evaluated by the Gibbs adsorption equation. The minimum area per surfactant molecule was evaluated, which indicates the surfactant-polymer Interaction in a mixed system. The effect of changing surfactant chain length on CAC and CMC values of mixed polymer-surfactant systems was examined. From the results, it was found that the gemini surfactant interacts strongly with NaCMC as compared to its corresponding monomeric counterpart CTAC. In these systems, electrostatic interactions predominate. The lowering of surface tension with an increase in the concentration of surfactants is higher in the case of gemini surfactants almost 10-15 times. The measurements indicated that the Interaction between NaCMC-CTAC resulted in complex formation. The volume of coacervate increases with an increase in CTAC concentration; however, above 0.1 wt. % concentration coacervate vanishes.

Keywords: anionic polymer, gemni surfactants, tensiometer, CMC, interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Xuan Ban, Li Pengsheng, Pengcheng Li, Ming Zhang, ChuYang Zheng, Qingjing Wu, Hao Du

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Assessing habitat quality is essential for habitat restoration and conservation, especially for critically endangered species such as the Chinese sturgeon, a 1.4-million-year-old anadromous fish known as a ‘living fossil’. This species faces significant threats to its habitat in the Yangtze River, where it has ceased to reproduce naturally and the wild population is close to extinction. Our study provides a nuanced understanding of habitat degradation by integrating ecohydraulics and landscape ecology, focusing on the mechanisms behind the degradation of the sturgeon's spawning grounds. Using the Geographic Detector Model and physical habitat simulation, we analyze how ecohydraulic parameters, in particular those related to turbulent kinetic energy, affect sturgeon spawning. We also assess habitat fragmentation and patch size, which are key determinants of habitat quality and connectivity. Our results link the decline in habitat quality to the loss of spawning habitat due to dam construction and changes in water flow. To address this, we propose interventions such as flow optimization during the spawning season and topography rehabilitation to improve spawning conditions and support sturgeon recovery. This work contributes to the development of a comprehensive approach to assessing habitat quality and provides a scientific basis for conservation strategies for threatened fish species.

Keywords: Chinese sturgeon, spawning ground, eco-hydraulics, landscape index, habitat suitability, habitat quality

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Authors: Suresh Vanguri, Suresh Palla, Prasad G., Ramaswamy V., Kalyani K. V., Chaturvedi S. K., Mohapatra B. N., Sunder Rao TBVN

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The utilization of industrial waste materials and by-products in the cement industry helps in the conservation of natural resources besides avoiding the problems arising due to waste dumping. The use of non-carbonated materials as raw mix components in clinker manufacturing is identified as one of the key areas to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Chrome sludge is a waste material generated from the manufacturing process of sodium dichromate. This paper aims to present studies on the use of chrome sludge in clinker manufacturing, its impact on the development of clinker mineral phases and on the cement properties. Chrome sludge was found to contain substantial amounts of CaO, Fe2O3 and Al2O3 and therefore was used to replace some conventional sources of alumina and iron in the raw mix. Different mixes were prepared by varying the chrome sludge content from 0 to 5 % and the mixes were evaluated for burnability. Laboratory prepared clinker samples were evaluated for qualitative and quantitative mineralogy using X-ray Diffraction Studies (XRD). Optical microscopy was employed to study the distribution of clinker phases, their granulometry and mineralogy. Since chrome sludge also contains considerable amounts of chromium, studies were conducted on the leachability of heavy elements in the chrome sludge as well as in the resultant cement samples. Estimation of heavy elements, including chromium was carried out using ICP-OES. Further, the state of chromium valence, Cr (III) & Cr (VI), was studied using conventional chemical analysis methods coupled with UV-VIS spectroscopy. Assimilation of chromium in the clinker phases was investigated using SEM-EDXA studies. Bulk cement was prepared from the clinker to study the effect of chromium sludge on the cement properties such as setting time, soundness, strength development against the control cement. Studies indicated that chrome sludge can be successfully utilized and its content needs to be optimized based on raw material characteristics.

Keywords: chrome sludge, leaching, mineralogy, non-carbonate materials

Procedia PDF Downloads 222

Authors: Innocensia John, Henrik Egelyng, Razack Lokina

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As the world`s population is constantly growing, food security has become a thorny trending issue. The impact has particularly been felt more in Africa as most of the people depend on food Agriculture products. Geographical Indications can aid in transforming the Tanzania agriculture-dependent economy through tapping the unique attributes of their quality products like soil, taste color etc. Consumers worldwide demand more uniquer products featuring a ´connect´ with the land use systems producing particular qualities. Tanzania has demonstrated the capacity to tap into the organic world market and has untapped potential for harvesting market value from geographical indications. This paper presents preliminary results from VALOR — a research project investigating conditions under which Tanzanian origin food producers can add value by incorporating territory specific cultural, environmental and social qualities into marketing, production and processing of unique local, niche and specialty products. Cases are investigated of the prospects for Tanzania to leapfrog perhaps into exports of geographical indications products, and certainly into allowing smallholders to create employment and build monetary value, while stewarding local food cultures and natural environments and resources, and increasing the diversity of supply of natural and unique quality products and so contribute to enhanced food security. Rice from Kyela, coffee and Sugar from Kilimanjaro, are some of the product cases investigated and provides for the in-depth case study, as ´landscape´ products incorporating ´taste of place´. Framework conditions for producers creating or capturing market value as stewards of cultural and landscape values and environments and institutional requirements for such creation or capturing to happen, including presence of export opportunities, are discussed.

Keywords: food origins, food security, protected geographical indications, case study analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 306

Authors: Talakokula Visalakshi

Abstract:

Concrete is the most commonly used construction material across the globe, its usage is second only to water. It is prepared using ordinary Portland cement whose production contributes to 5-8% of total carbon emission in the world. On the other hand the fly ash by product from the power plants is produced in huge quantities is termed as waste and disposed in landfills. In order to address the above issues mentioned, it is essential that other forms of binding material must be developed in place of cement to make concrete. The geo polymer concrete is one such alternative developed by Davidovits in 1980’s. Geopolymer do not form calcium-silicate hydrates for matrix formation and strength but undergo polycondensation of silica and alumina precursors to attain structural strength. Its setting mechanism depends upon polymerization rather than hydration. As a result it is able to achieve its strength in 3-5 days whereas concrete requires about a month to do the same. The objective of this research is to assess the performance of geopolymer concrete under sulphate and acid attack. The assessment is done based on the experiments conducted on geopolymer concrete. The expected outcomes include that if geopolymer concrete is more durable than normal concrete, then it could be a competitive replacement option of concrete and can lead to significant reduction of carbon foot print and have a positive impact on the environment. Fly ash based geopolymer concrete offers an opportunity to completely remove the cement content from concrete thereby making the concrete a greener and future construction material.

Keywords: fly ash, geo polymer, geopolymer concrete, construction material

Procedia PDF Downloads 492