Search results for: L2 exposure environment

Authors: M. Manohari, S. Priyadharshini, K. Bajeer Sulthan, R. Santhanam, S. Chandrasekaran, B. Venkatraman

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In-vivo monitoring facility at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, caters to the monitoring of internal exposure of occupational radiation workers from various radioactive facilities of IGCAR. Internal exposure measurement is done using Na(Tl) based Scintillation detectors. Two types of whole-body counters, namely Shielded Chair Counter (SC) and Standing Whole-Body Monitor (SWBM), are being used. The shielded Chair is based on a NaI detector of 20.3 cm diameter and 10.15 cm thick. The chair of the system is shielded using lead shots of 10 cm lead equivalent and the detector with 8 cm lead bricks. Counting geometry is sitting geometry. Calibration is done using 95 percentile BOMAB phantom. The minimum Detectable Activity (MDA) for 137Cs for the 60s is 1150 Bq. Standing Wholebody monitor (SWBM) has two NaI(Tl) detectors of size 10.16 x 10.16 x 40.64 cm3 positioned serially, one over the other. It has a shielding thickness of 5cm lead equivalent. Counting is done in standup geometry. Calibration is done with the help of Ortec Phantom, having a uniform distribution of mixed radionuclides for the thyroid, thorax and pelvis. The efficiency of SWBM is 2.4 to 3.5 times higher than that of the shielded chair in the energy range of 279 to 1332 keV. MDA of 250 Bq for 137Cs can be achieved with a counting time of 60s. MDA for 131I in the thyroid was estimated as 100 Bq from the MDA of whole-body for one-day post intake. Standing whole body monitor is better in terms of efficiency, MDA and ease of positioning. In case of emergency situations, the optimal MDAs for in-vivo monitoring service are 1000 Bq for 137Cs and 100 Bq for 131I. Hence, SWBM is more suitable for the rapid screening of workers as well as the public in the case of an emergency. While a person reports for counting, there is a potential for external contamination. In SWBM, there is a feasibility to discriminate them as the subject can be counted in anterior or posterior geometry which is not possible in SC.

Keywords: minimum detectable activity, shielded chair, shielding thickness, standing whole body monitor

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Authors: Gopinath Rathod, Vinod Puranik

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Growing business recognizes environmental consciousness as an important concept for survival in the competitive scenario. Environmental consciousness is a critical intersection between manufacturing and product design processes with environmental issues and concerns. This article presents a project in which quality function deployment (QFD) for environment (ECQFD) has been applied to rotary switches for enabling environmentally conscious design in the early stage of product development. ECQFD is capable of handling simultaneously the environmental and traditional product quality requirements. ECQFD consists of four phases. ECQFD phases I and II are concerned with the identification of parts that are important in enhancing environmental consciousness. ECQFD phases III and IV are concerned with the evaluation of effect of design improvement on environmental quality requirements. The case study has been practically validated which indicated the receptivity of applying ECQFD in industrial scenario.

Keywords: quality function deployment, environment, product design, design for environment, rotary switches

Procedia PDF Downloads 428

Authors: Kazam Ali, Muhammad Sagheer, Mansoor-Ul- Hasan, Abdul Rashid, Chaudhary Muhammad Shahid Hanif, Fawad Zafar Ahmad Khan, Hafiz Muhammad Aatif

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Natural extracts of two medicinal plants Nicotiana tabacum and Eucalyptus globulus were tested for their toxic and enzyme inhibition effects against three insects species of stored grains Tribolium castaneum, Trogoderma granarium and Sitophilus granarius. Responses of insects varied with exposure periods and dilution levels of acetone extracts of plants. Both plant extracts were lethal to insects but the crude leaf extract of N. tabacum evidenced strong toxic action against three tested insect species. Maximum mortality 36.30% in S. granarius, 25.96% in T. castaneum, and 21.88% in T. granarium were found at 20% dilution level, after 10 days exposure to botanical extract of N. tabacum. The impact of N. tabacum and E. globulus on the activity of esterases; acetylcholinesterase (AChE), α-carboxylesterase (α-CE), β-carboxylesterase (β-CE) and phosphatses; acid phosphatase (AcP), alkaline phosphatase (AlP) of three stored grain insect species were also studied in the survivors of toxicity assay. Whole body homogenates of insects were used for enzyme determination and consumption of high dose rate N. tabacum extract containing diet resulted in maximum 55.33% inhibition of AChE and 26.17% AlP inhibition in T. castaneum, while 44.17% of α-CE and 31.67% inhibition of β-CE activity were noted in S. granarius. Maximum inhibition 23.44% of AcP activity was found in T. granarium exposed to diet treated with the extract of E. globulus. The findings indicate that acetone extracts of N. tabacum and E. globulus are naturally occurring pesticide and facts of the enzyme inhibition relations specify that their effect changes with the insect species.

Keywords: natural extract, medicinal plant, toxic effects, enzyme inhibition, acetone extract

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Authors: Lucile Soudani, Hervé Illy, Rémi Bouchié

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Mould growth in living environments has been widely reported for decades all throughout the world. A higher level of moisture in housings can lead to building degradation, chemical component emissions from construction materials as well as enhancing mould growth within the envelope elements or on the internal surfaces. Moreover, a significant number of studies have highlighted the link between mould presence and the prevalence of respiratory diseases. In recent years, the proportion of biobased materials used in construction has been increasing, as seen as an effective lever to reduce the environmental impact of the building sector. Besides, bio-based materials are also hygroscopic materials: when in contact with the wet air of a surrounding environment, their porous structures enable a better capture of water molecules, thus providing a more suitable background for mould growth. Many studies have been conducted to develop reliable models to be able to predict mould appearance, growth, and decay over many building materials and external exposures. Some of them require information about temperature and/or relative humidity, exposure times, material sensitivities, etc. Nevertheless, several studies have highlighted a large disparity between predictions and actual mould growth in experimental settings as well as in occupied buildings. The difficulty of considering the influence of all parameters appears to be the most challenging issue. As many complex phenomena take place simultaneously, a preliminary study has been carried out to evaluate the feasibility to sadopt a reliability approach rather than a deterministic approach. Both epistemic and random uncertainties were identified specifically for the prediction of mould appearance and growth. Several studies published in the literature were selected and analysed, from the agri-food or automotive sectors, as the deployed methodology appeared promising.

Keywords: bio-based materials, mould growth, numerical prediction, reliability approach

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Authors: Teles de Sales Bezerra, Saulo Aislan da Silva Eleuterio, José Anderson Rodrigues de Souza, Jeronimo Silva Rocha

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Propagation in radio frequency is a constant concern in the application of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), the behavior of an environment determines how good the quality of signal reception. The objective of this paper is to analyze the behavior of a WSN in an environment for agriculture where environmental variables are present and correlate the capture of values received signal strength (RSSI) with a propagation model.

Keywords: propagation, WSN, agriculture, quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 754

Authors: Muhammad Badruzzaman, Alif Hasan, Md. Shahjahan

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Propiconazole is a triazole fungicide extensively used in agriculture which can harm to non-target organisms in aquatic environment through runoff. Chronic exposure to environmental pesticides turn to behavioral impairment in vertebrates including teleosts. However, the potential effect of this fungicide on neurobehavioral impairment and release from it in vertebrates has not been fully explored. In this work, we examined the role of melatonin to rescue fungicide induced neurobehavioral and reproductive alternation and its connection with changes in dopaminergic activity in the brain of Mystus cavasius. After fish were exposed to water containing propiconazole at 0, 0.1, 5, and 250 µg/L for 3 days, significant increases of DA, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC; a DA metabolite), and their ratio (DOPAC/DA) were observed in whole brain at 250 µg/L concentration. When fish were treated with propiconazole at 250 µg/L for 3 days, there was a significant elevation of DA, DOPAC and DOPAC/DA in diencephalon and pituitary, and only DA in the telencephalon, compared with control fish. Besides, it induced a reduction in extracellular serotonin and had an anxiolytic-like effect, supported by a decrease in cortisol production. Increased locomotor activity, anxiety and aggressiveness, decreased gonadosomatic index with few vitellogenic oocytes in ovaries after propiconazole treatment. When fish were treated with melatonin, D1 (SCH-23390) or D2 (Haloperidol) dopamine receptor antagonists and combined of melatonin and D1/D2 receptor antagonist and was observed melatonin + D2 receptor antagonist rescued fungicide induced all behavioral changes in fish. These results indicate that propiconazole increases locomotor activity, anxiety and aggressiveness and decreases reproductive activity, which was rescued by combined treatment of melatonin and dopamine receptor antagonist.

Keywords: behavior, catfish, dopamine, fungicide, melatonin

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Authors: M. Borgie, Z. Dagher, F. Ledoux, A. Verdin, F. Cazier, H. Greige, P. Shirali, D. Courcot

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In October 2013, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified outdoor air pollution and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) as carcinogenic to humans. Despite the clearly relationship established by epidemiological studies between PM exposure and the onset of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, uncertainties remain about the physiopathological mechanisms responsible for these diseases. The aim of this work was to evaluate the toxicological effects of two samples of atmospheric PM2.5 collected at urban and rural sites on human bronchial epithelial cells, BEAS-2B, especially to investigate the metabolic activation of organic compounds, the alteration of epigenetic mechanisms (i.e. microRNAs genes expression), the phosphorylation of H2AX and the telomerase activity. Our results showed a significant increase in CYP1A1, CYP1B1, and AhRR genes expression, miR-21 gene expression, H2AX phosphorylation and telomerase activity in BEAS-2B cells after their exposure to PM2.5, both in a dose and site-dependent manner. These results showed that PM2.5, especially urban PM, are able to induce the expression of metabolizing enzymes which can provide metabolic biotransformation of organic compounds into more toxic and carcinogenic metabolites, and to induce the expression of the oncomiR miR-21 which promotes cell growth and enhances tumor invasion and metastasis in lung cancer. In addition, our results have highlighted the role of PM2.5 in the activation of telomerase, which can maintain the telomeres length and subsequently preventing cell death, and have also demonstrated the ability of PM2.5 to induce DNA breaks and thus to increase the risk of mutations or chromosomal translocations that lead to genomic instability. All these factors may contribute to cell abnormalities, and thus the development of cancer.

Keywords: BEAS-2B cells, carcinogenesis, epigenetic alterations and genotoxicity, PM2.5

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Authors: Rigers Dodaj

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Nowadays, the environment is a critical goal for civil engineers, human activity, construction projects, economic growth, and whole national development. Regarding the development of Albania's economy, people's living standards are increasing, and the requirements for the living environment are also increasing. Under these circumstances, environmental protection and sustainability this is the critical issue. The rising industrialization, urbanization, and energy demand affect the environment by emission of carbon dioxide gas (CO2), a significant parameter known to impact air pollution directly. Consequently, many governments and international organizations conducted policies and regulations to address environmental degradation in the pursuit of economic development, for instance in Albania, the CO2 emission calculated in metric tons per capita has increased by 23% in the last 20 years. This paper analyzes the importance of civil engineering and economic growth in the sustainability of the environment focusing on CO2 emission. The analyzed data are time series 2001 - 2020 (with annual frequency), based on official publications of the World Bank. The statistical approach with vector error correction model and time series forecasting model are used to perform the parameter’s estimations and long-run equilibrium. The research in this paper adds a new perspective to the evaluation of a sustainable environment in the context of carbon emission reduction. Also, it provides reference and technical support for the government toward green and sustainable environmental policies. In the context of low-carbon development, effectively improving carbon emission efficiency is an inevitable requirement for achieving sustainable economic and environmental protection. Also, the study reveals that civil engineering development projects impact greatly the environment in the long run, especially in areas of flooding, noise pollution, water pollution, erosion, ecological disorder, natural hazards, etc. The potential for reducing industrial carbon emissions in recent years indicates that reduction is becoming more difficult, it needs another economic growth policy and more civil engineering development, by improving the level of industrialization and promoting technological innovation in industrial low-carbonization.

Keywords: CO₂ emission, civil engineering, economic growth, environmental sustainability

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Authors: Kalina Alina Aidarovna, Khayrullina Yulia Sergeevna

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The question of forming quality housing and living environment remains a vexed problem in the current situation of high-rise apartment building in big cities of Russia. At this start up stage of the modern so-called "mass housing" market it needs to identify key quality characteristics on a different scale from apartments to the district. This paper describes the methodology of qualitative assessment of modern mass housing construction, made on the basis of the ITMO university in cooperation with the institute of spatial planning "Urbanika," based on the case study of St. Petersburg’s residential mass housing built in 2011-2014. The methodology of the study of housing and living environment goes back to the native and foreign urbanists of 60s - 80s, such Jane Jacobs, Jan Gehl, Oscar Newman, Krasheninnikov, as well as Sommer, Stools, Kohnen and Sherrod, Krasilnikova, Sychev, Zhdanov, Tinyaeva considering spatial features of living environment in a wide range of its characteristics (environmental control, territorial and personalization, privacy, etc.). Assessment is carrying out on the proposed system of criteria developed for each residential environment scale-district, quarter, courtyard, building surrounding grounds, houses, and flats. Thus the objects of study are planning unit of residential development areas (residential area, neighborhood, quarter) residential units areas (living artist, a house), and households (apartments) consisting of residential units. As a product of identified methodology, after the results of case studies of more than 700 residential complexes in St. Petersburg, we intend the creation of affordable online resource that would allow conducting a detailed qualitative evaluation or comparative characteristics of residential complexes for all participants of the construction market-developers, designers, realtors and buyers. Thereby the main objective of the rating may be achieved to improve knowledge, requirements, and demand for quality housing and living environment among the major stakeholders of the construction market.

Keywords: methodology of living environment, qualitative assessment of mass housing, scale-district, vexed problem

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Authors: Mohammed A. M. Ibrahim

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This paper investigate the utilization of wire and wireless networks to be platform for distributed educational monitoring system. Universities in developing countries suffer from a lot of shortages(staff, equipment, and finical budget) and optimal utilization of the wire and wireless network, so universities can mitigate some of the mentioned problems and avoid the problems that maybe humble the education processes in many universities by using our implementation of the examinations system as a test-bed to utilize the network as a solution to the shortages for academic staff in Taiz University. This paper selects a two areas first one quizzes activities is only a test bed application for wireless network learning environment system to be distributed among students. Second area is the features and the security of wireless, our tested application implemented in a promising area which is the use of WLAN in higher education for leering environment.

Keywords: networking wire and wireless technology, wireless network security, distributed computing, algorithm, encryption and decryption

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Authors: Sara Mota Carmo

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Wind energy applied in architecture has been largely abandoned due to the uncomfortable noise it causes. This study aims to investigate the acoustical performance in the urban environment and indoor environment of a double-skin wind energy facade. Measurements for sound transmission were recorded by using a hand-held sound meter device on a reduced-scale prototype of a wind energy façade. The applied wind intensities ranged between 2m/s and 8m/s, and the increase sound produced were proportional to the wind intensity.The study validates the acoustic performance of wind energy façade using a double skin façade system, showing that noise reduction indoor by approximately 30 to 35 dB. However, the results found that above 6m/s win intensity, in urban environment, the wind energy system applied to the façade exceeds the maximum 50dB recommended by world health organization and needs some adjustments.

Keywords: double-skin wind energy facade, acoustic energy facade, wind energy in architecture, wind energy prototype

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Authors: Bhaskar M. Murai, Neeraj Banchor, Ishveen Chabbra, Madhusudhan Nadgir, S. Vidhya

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Sol-gel technology combined with electronics and biochemistry helps to overcome the problems caused by mosquitoes by developing a portable, low-cost device which enables controlled release of trapped compound inside it. It is a wet-chemical technique which is used primarily for fabrication of silicate gel which is usually allowed to dry as per requirement. The outcome is solid rock hard material which is porous and has lots of applications in different fields. Taking porosity as a key factor, allethrin a naturally occurring synthetic compound with molecular mass 302.40 was entrapped inside the sol-gel matrix as a dopant. Allethrin is commonly used as an insecticide and is a key ingredient in commercially available mosquitoes repellent in Asian and subtropical countries. It has low toxicity for humans and birds, and are used in many household insecticides such as RAID as well as mosquito coils. They are however highly toxic to fish and bees. Insects subject to its exposure become paralyzed (nervous system effect) before dying. They are also used as an ultra-low volume spray for outdoor mosquito control. Therefore, there is a need for controlled release of allethrin in the environment. For controlled release of allethrin from sol-gel matrix, its (allethrin) we utilized temperature based controlled evaporation through porous sol-gel. Different types of fabric like cotton, Terri-cotton, polyester, surgical cap, knee-cap etc are studied and the best with maximum absorption capacity is selected to hold the sol-gel matrix with maximum quantity. For sol-gel coating 2 x 2cm cloth pieces are dipped in sol-gel solution for 10 minutes and by calculating the weight difference we concluded that Terri cotton is best suitable for our project. An electronic circuit with heating plate is developed in to test the controlled release of compound. An oscillatory circuit is used to produce the required heat.

Keywords: sol-gel, allethrin, TEOS, biochemistry

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Authors: B. O. Diyaolu

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The web created by sport in academics has made it difficult for it to be separated from adolescent educational development. The enthusiasm expressed towards sport by students in higher institutions is quite enormous. Primarily, academic performance should be the pride of all students but whether sports affect the academic performance of student-athletes remain an unknown fact. This study investigated the influence of sports participation on academic performance among Afe Babalola University student-athletes. Ex post facto research design was used. Two groups of students were used for the study; Student-athlete (SA) and Regular Students (RS). Purposive sampling technique was used to select 224 student-athletes, only those that are regular in the university sports team training were considered and their records (i.e. name, department, level, matriculation number, and phone number) were collected through the assistance of their coaches. For the regular students, purposive sampling technique was used to select 224 participants, only those that have no interest in sports were considered and their records were retrieved from the college registration officer. The first and second semester examination results of the two groups were compared in 10 general study courses without their knowledge, using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, mean, and standard deviation. Out of the 10 compared courses, 7 courses result showed no significant difference between students-athlete and regular students while student-athletes perform better in 3 practically oriented courses. Sports role in academics is quite significant. Exposure to sports can help build the confidence that athletes need especially when it comes to practical courses. Student-athletes can perform better in academics if the environment is friendly and not intimidating. Lecturers and coaches need to work together in order to build a well cultured and intelligent graduate.

Keywords: academic performance, regular students, sports participation, student-athlete, university sports team

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Authors: Aymen Sassi

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The equipment of vehicles with wireless communication capabilities is expected to be the key to the evolution to next generation intelligent transportation systems (ITS). The IEEE community has been continuously working on the development of an efficient vehicular communication protocol for the enhancement of Wireless Access in Vehicular Environment (WAVE). Vehicular communication systems, called V2X, support vehicle to vehicle (V2V) and vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communications. The efficiency of such communication systems depends on several factors, among which the surrounding environment and mobility are prominent. Accordingly, this study focuses on the evaluation of the real performance of vehicular communication with special focus on the effects of the real environment and mobility on V2X communication. It starts by identifying the real maximum range that such communication can support and then evaluates V2I and V2V performances. The Arada LocoMate OBU transmission system was used to test and evaluate the impact of the transmission range in V2X communication. The evaluation of V2I and V2V communication takes the real effects of low and high mobility on transmission into account.

Keywords: IEEE 802.11p, V2I, V2X, mobility, PLR, Arada LocoMate OBU, maximum range

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Authors: Elisabetta Ceretti, Silvia Bonizzoni, Alberto Bonetti, Milena Villarini, Marco Verani, Maria Antonella De Donno, Sara Bonetta, Umberto Gelatti

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Introduction: Air pollution is a global problem. In 2013, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified air pollution and particulate matter as carcinogenic to human. The study of the health effects of air pollution in children is very important because they are a high-risk group in terms of the health effects of air pollution and early exposure during childhood can increase the risk of developing chronic diseases in adulthood. The MAPEC_LIFE (Monitoring Air Pollution Effects on Children for supporting public health policy) is a project founded by EU Life+ Programme which intends to evaluate the associations between air pollution and early biological effects in children and to propose a model for estimating the global risk of early biological effects due to air pollutants and other factors in children. Methods: The study was carried out on 6-8-year-old children living in five Italian towns in two different seasons. Two biomarkers of early biological effects, primary DNA damage detected with the comet assay and frequency of micronuclei, were investigated in buccal cells of children. Details of children diseases, socio-economic status, exposures to other pollutants and life-style were collected using a questionnaire administered to children’s parents. Child exposure to urban air pollution was assessed by analysing PM0.5 samples collected in the school areas for PAHs and nitro-PAHs concentration, lung toxicity and in vitro genotoxicity on bacterial and human cells. Data on the chemical features of the urban air during the study period were obtained from the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection. The project created also the opportunity to approach the issue of air pollution with the children, trying to raise their awareness on air quality, its health effects and some healthy behaviors by means of an educational intervention in the schools. Results: 1315 children were recruited for the study and participate in the first sampling campaign in the five towns. The second campaign, on the same children, is still ongoing. The preliminary results of the tests on buccal mucosa cells of children will be presented during the conference as well as the preliminary data about the chemical composition and the toxicity and genotoxicity features of PM0.5 samples. The educational package was tested on 250 children of the primary school and showed to be very useful, improving children knowledge about air pollution and its effects and stimulating their interest. Conclusions: The associations between levels of air pollutants, air mutagenicity and biomarkers of early effects will be investigated. A tentative model to calculate the global absolute risk of having early biological effects for air pollution and other variables together will be proposed and may be useful to support policy-making and community interventions to protect children from possible health effects of air pollutants.

Keywords: air pollution exposure, biomarkers of early effects, children, public health policy

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Authors: Sirajoddeen Al-Ameen

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Researchers seek to introduce development leading to technologies that address environmental problems and learn how to interact with stakeholders, managers, and policymakers for appropriate actions. One of the greatest strategies that African countries need to consider in realizing sustainable development is effective, efficient, credible, and lasting environmental sustainability and ensuring that future generations have access to natural resources to live in a better way. Therefore the coordinated set of participatory and continuously improving processes of analysis, capacity, planning, and investment seeks to integrate the social and environmental objectives of society, and this is not given priority in Nigeria. Environmental sustainability is a field where people can understand the natural environment and public works for sustainable development. Sustainable development requires shifts from ordinary ways of doing things to modern ways of executing activities ranging from low to high productivity, the creation and adoption of new strategies, new skills, and knowledge. It ensures a developed world with a secure and healthy environment for all; human beings, animals, and plants alike. This paper is to carry out a review of various literature sources to ascertain the potential strategy of environment and sustainable development reform using the content analysis method to discuss the environmental strategies towards sustainable development in Nigeria. The objective of this paper is to enable Nigerians to understand and have an orientation on how to manage environmental resources and avoid environmental impact on the ecosystem, and also to find sustainable solutions for environmental issues without compromising economic development.

Keywords: development, environment, strategies, sustainable

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Authors: Érica Lima

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In the digital era, in which we have an avalanche of information, it is not new that the Internet has brought new modes of communication and knowledge access. Characterized by the multiplicity of discourses, opinions, beliefs and cultures, the web is a space of political-ideological dimensions where people (who often do not know each other) interact and create representations, deconstruct stereotypes, and redefine identities. Currently, the translator needs to be able to deal with digital spaces ranging from specific software to social media, which inevitably impact on his professional life. One of the most impactful ways of being seen in cyberspace is the participation in social networking groups. In addition to its ability to disseminate information among participants, social networking groups allow a significant personal and social exposure. Such exposure is due to the visibility of each participant achieved not only on its personal profile page, but also in each comment or post the person makes in the groups. The objective of this paper is to study the representations of translators and translation process on the Internet, more specifically in publications in two Brazilian groups of great influence on the Facebook: "Translators/Interpreters" and "Translators, Interpreters and Curious". These chosen groups represent the changes the network has brought to the profession, including the way translators are seen and see themselves. The analyzed posts allowed a reading of what common sense seems to think about the translator as opposed to what the translators seem to think about themselves as a professional class. The results of the analysis lead to the conclusion that these two positions are antagonistic and sometimes represent conflict of interests: on the one hand, the society in general consider the translator’s work something easy, therefore it is not necessary to be well remunerated; on the other hand, the translators who know how complex a translation process is and how much it takes to be a good professional. The results also reveal that social networking sites such as Facebook provide more visibility, but it takes a more active role from the translator to achieve a greater appreciation of the profession and more recognition of the role of the translator, especially in face of increasingly development of automatic translation programs.

Keywords: Facebook, social representation, translation, translator

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Authors: Adamu Muhammed Tukur

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Pulp and paper industry is one of the fastest growing industries due to an increased demand in paper products. For it to satisfy this ever increasing demand, it adopts new technological innovations some of which are proved to affect our environment negatively. Global consumption of paper has increased by 400% in the last four decades and this suggests that more research is required to assess the impact of industrial effluents to our environment and public health. Paper products are generally biodegradable, however, the processes involved in its production which involve the use of mainly bleaching agents and other non-biodegradable substances pose serious problem to the environment. There are more than 250 chemicals released in paper mill waste and some are xenobiotics. Different methods such as physical and chemical methods can be adopted for the remediation of the effluents but are proved to be costly and not safe to the environment. On the other hand, biological method is shown to be less costly and environmentally friendly. Microorganisms and their enzymes have shown a promising future for bioremediation of effluents related to paper mill. Many studies prove that one of the major pollutants in the paper mill effluent is phenol especially its chlorinated derivatives. Pentachlorophenol is extremely hazardous to living cells and therefore need to be removed from the environment. Microorganisms including bacteria and fungi have the potential to degrade phenolic compounds e.g. Bacillus stearothermiphilus, Pseudomonas putida, Coricus versicolor, Sphingomonas chlorophenolica, Fusarium sp, Bacillus subtilis and P. aeroginosa. Enzymes used for the degradation include phenol hydrooxylase, polyphenoloxylase, laccase, peroxidase among others. Lignin is another important pollutant and is resistant to microbial degradation but it has been proved that certain bacteria and fungi like can degrade it. Among the fungi white-rot fungi like Fomes lividus and Trametes vesicolor are the most important bioremediators. This review focused on use of microorganism to reduce or eradicate pollutants released from the paper industry. It can serve as a review for further research to be conducted especially in the field of Biotechnology.

Keywords: bioremediation, pulp and paper, pentachlorophenol, environment

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Authors: Reza Safari, Ali Rajabzadeh Ghatari, Raheleh Hossseinzadeh Mahabadi

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In the present world, there are different pressures on firms such as competition, legislations, social etc. these pressures force the firms to follow “survival” as their primary goal and then growth. One of the main factors that helps firms to reach their goals is proper financial performance. To find out about the financial performance, a firm should monitors its financial performance. Financial performance affected by many factors. This research seeks to clear which financial performance indicators are most important according to Environmental situation of a firm and what are their priorities. To do so, environmental indicators specified as presented on OECD Key Environmental Indicators 2008 and so the financial performance indicators such as Profitability, Liquidity, Gearing, Investor ratios, and etc. At this stage, the affections questioned through questionnaires. After gaining the results, data analyzed using Promethee technique. By using decision matrixes extracted from those techniques an expert system designed. This expert system suggests the suitable financial performance indicators and their ranking by receiving the environment situation given environment indicators weight.

Keywords: environment indicators, financial performance indicators, promethee, expert system

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Authors: Christoph Opperer

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The rapid urbanization of modern societies and the need for sustainable urban development demand innovative solutions that meet both individual and collective needs while addressing environmental concerns. To address these challenges, this paper presents a study that explores the potential of spatial and energetic/ecological optimization to enhance the performance of urban settlements, focusing on both architectural and urban scales. The study focuses on the application of biological principles and self-organization processes in urban planning and design, aiming to achieve a balance between ecological performance, architectural quality, and individual living conditions. The research adopts a case study approach, focusing on a 10-hectare brownfield site in the south of Vienna. The site is surrounded by a small-scale built environment as an appropriate starting point for the research and design process. However, the selected urban form is not a prerequisite for the proposed design methodology, as the findings can be applied to various urban forms and densities. The methodology used in this research involves dividing the overall building mass and program into individual small housing units. A computational model has been developed to optimize the distribution of these units, considering factors such as solar exposure/radiation, views, privacy, proximity to sources of disturbance (such as noise), and minimal internal circulation areas. The model also ensures that existing vegetation and buildings on the site are preserved and incorporated into the optimization and design process. The model allows for simultaneous optimization at two scales, architectural and urban design, which have traditionally been addressed sequentially. This holistic design approach leads to individual and collective benefits, resulting in urban environments that foster a balance between ecology and architectural quality. The results of the optimization process demonstrate a seemingly random distribution of housing units that, in fact, is a densified hybrid between traditional garden settlements and allotment settlements. This urban typology is selected due to its compatibility with the surrounding urban context, although the presented methodology can be extended to other forms of urban development and density levels. The benefits of this approach are threefold. First, it allows for the determination of ideal housing distribution that optimizes solar radiation for each building density level, essentially extending the concept of sustainable building to the urban scale. Second, the method enhances living quality by considering the orientation and positioning of individual functions within each housing unit, achieving optimal views and privacy. Third, the algorithm's flexibility and robustness facilitate the efficient implementation of urban development with various stakeholders, architects, and construction companies without compromising its performance. The core of the research is the application of global and local optimization strategies to create efficient design solutions. By considering both, the performance of individual units and the collective performance of the urban aggregation, we ensure an optimal balance between private and communal benefits. By promoting a holistic understanding of urban ecology and integrating advanced optimization strategies, our methodology offers a sustainable and efficient solution to the challenges of modern urbanization.

Keywords: sustainable development, self-organization, ecological performance, solar radiation and exposure, daylight, visibility, accessibility, spatial distribution, local and global optimization

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Authors: M. Salama, K. Haggag, H. El-Sayed

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An environmentally and ecologically acceptable method for eradication of wool fabrics based on microwave irradiation (MWI) was described. The process would be a suitable alternative for mothproofing of wool using toxic degradative chemical or biological methods. The effect of microwave irradiation and exposure time on the extent of eradication of wool fabrics from moth larvae was monitored. The inherent properties of the MW-irradiated wool fabrics; viz. tensile properties, alkali solubility, and yellowing index, were not adversely altered.

Keywords: microwave, wool, fabric, moth, eradication, resistance

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Authors: M. Bazin, I. Bouguir, D. Combe, V. Germain, G. Lassade

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The problem of managing a fleet of quad-rotor drones in a completely unknown environment is analyzed in the present paper. This work is following the footsteps of other studies about how should be managed the movements of a swarm of elements that have to stay gathered throughout their activities. In this paper we aim to demonstrate the limitations of a system where absolutely all the calculations and physical movements of our elements are done by one single external element. The strategy of control is an adaptive approach which takes into account the explored environment. This is made possible thanks to a set of command rules which can guide the drones through various missions with defined goal. The result of the mission is independent of the nature of environment and the number of drones in the fleet. This strategy is based on a simultaneous usage of different data: obstacles positions, real-time positions of all drones and relative positions between the different drones. The present work is made with the Robot Operating System and used several open-source projects on localization and usage of drones.

Keywords: cooperative guidance, distributed control, unmanned aerial vehicle, obstacle avoidance

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Authors: Kholood Baron

Abstract:

Chest radiography (CXR) is one of the most important diagnostic examinations in pediatric radiography for diagnosing various diseases. Since, chest X-ray use ionizing radiation to obtain image radiographers should follow strict radiation protection strategies and ALARA principle to ensure that pediatrics receive the lowest dose possible [1] [2]. The aim is to evaluate different criteria related to pediatric CXR examinations performed in the radiology department in five hospitals in Kuwait. Methods: Data collected from a questionnaire and Entrance Skin Dose (ESD) measurements during CXR. 100 responses were collected and analyzed to highlight issues related to immobilization devices, radiation protection issues and repeat rate. While ThermoLumenince Dosimeters (TLDs) measured ESD during 25 CXR for pediatric patients. In addition, other aspects on the radiographer skills and information written in patient requests were collected and recorded. Results: Questionnaires responses showed that most radiographers do follow most radiation protection guidelines, but need to focus on improving their skills in collimation to ROI, dealing with immobilization tools and exposure factors. Since the first issue was least applied to young pediatrics, and the latter two were the common reasons for repeating an image. The ESD measurements revealed that the averaged dose involved in pediatric CXR is 143.9 µGy, which is relatively high but still within the limits of the recommended values [2-3] . The data suggests that this relatively high ESD values can be the result of using higher mAs and thus it I recommended to lower it according to ALARA principle. In conclusion, radiographers have the knowledge and the tools to reduce the radiation dose to pediatric patients but few lack the skills to optimize the collimation, immobilization application and exposure factors. The ESD were within recommended values. This research recommends that more efforts in the future should focus on improving the radiographer commitment to radiation protection and their skills in dealing with pediatric patient. This involves lowering the mAs used during DR.

Keywords: pediatric radiography, dosimetry, ESD measurements, radiation protection

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Authors: Rina Lee, Chung-Hun Oh, Eunjin Lee, Jeongyun Kim

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The Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment that uses a photosensitizer as a drug to damage and kill cancer cells. After injecting the photosensitizer into the bloodstream, the drug is absorbed by cancer cells selectively. Then the area to be treated is exposed to specific wavelengths of light and the photosensitizer produces a form of oxygen that kills nearby cancer cells. PDT is has an advantage to destroy the tumor with minimized side-effects on normal cells. But, PDT is not a completed method for cancer therapy. Because the mechanism of PDT is quite clear yet and the parameters such as intensity of light and dose of photosensitizer are not optimized for different types of cancers. To optimize these parameters, we suggest a novel microfluidic system to automatically control intensity of light exposure with a personal computer (PC). A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chip is composed with (1) a cell culture channels layer where cancer cells were trapped to be tested with various dosed photofrin (1μg/ml used for the test) as the photosensitizer and (2) a color dye layer as a neutral density (ND) filter to reduce intensity of light which exposes the cell culture channels filled with cancer cells. Eight different intensity of light (10%, 20%, …, 100%) are generated through various concentrations of blue dye filling the ND filter. As a light source, a light emitting diode (LED) with 635nm wavelength was placed above the developed PDMS microfluidic chip. The total time for light exposure was 30 minutes and HeLa and PC3 cell lines of cancer cells were tested. The cell viability of cells was evaluated with a Live/Dead assay kit (L-3224, Invitrogen, USA). The stronger intensity of light exposed, the lower viability of the cell was observed, and vice versa. Therefore, this system was demonstrated through investigating the PDT against cancer cell to optimize the parameters as critical light intensity and dose of photosensitizer. Our results suggest that the system can be used for optimizing the combinational parameters of light intensity and photosensitizer dose against diverse cancer cell types.

Keywords: photodynamic therapy, photofrin, high throughput screening, hela

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Authors: David Barney, Francis Pleban, Muna Muday

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The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences of former physical education students related to reflective experiences of competition in physical education learning environment. In the school environment, students are positioned in competitive situations, including in the physical education context. Therefore it is important to prepare future physical educators to address the role of competition in physical education. Participants for this study were 304 college-aged students and young adults (M = 1.53, SD = .500), from a private university and local community located in the western United States. When comparing gender, significant differences (p < .05) were reported for four (questions 5, 7, 12, and 14) of the nine scaling questions. Follow-up quantitative findings reported that males (41%) more than females (27%) witnessed fights in physical education environment during competitive games. Qualitative findings reported fighting were along the lines of verbal confrontation. Female participants tended to experience being excluded from games, when compared to male participants. Both male and female participants (total population; 95%, males; 98%; and females 92%) were in favor of including competition in physical education for students. Findings suggest that physical education teachers and physical education teacher education programs have a responsibility to develop gender neutral learning experiences that help students better appreciate the role competition plays, both in and out of the physical education classroom.

Keywords: competition, physical education, physical education teacher education, gender

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Authors: Kayla Murray, Andrew Green, Gopi Paliyath, Keith Warriner

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Introduction: It is now acknowledged that control of human pathogens associated with fresh produce requires an integrated approach of several interventions as opposed to relying on post-harvest washes to remove field acquired contamination. To this end, current research is directed towards identifying such interventions that can be applied at different points in leafy green processing. Purpose: In the following the efficacy of different gas phase treatments to decontaminate whole lettuce heads during pre-processing storage were evaluated. Methods: Whole Cos lettuce heads were spot inoculated with L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7 or Salmonella spp. The inoculated lettuce heads were then placed in a treatment chamber and exposed to ozone, chlorine dioxide or hydroxyl radicals at different time periods under a range of relative humidity. Survivors of the treatments were enumerated along with sensory analysis performed on the treated lettuce. Results: Ozone gas reduced L. monocytogenes by 2-log10 after ten-minutes of exposure with Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 being decreased by 0.66 and 0.56-log cfu respectively. Chlorine dioxide gas treatment reduced L. monocytogenes and Salmonella on lettuce heads by 4 log cfu but only supported a 0.8 log cfu reduction in E. coli O157:H7 numbers. In comparison, hydroxyl radicals supported a 2.9 – 4.8 log cfu reduction of model human pathogens inoculated onto lettuce heads but required extended exposure times and relative humidity < 0.8. Significance: From the gas phase sanitizers tested, chlorine dioxide and hydroxyl radicals are the most effective. The latter process holds most promise based on the ease of delivery, worker safety and preservation of lettuce sensory characteristics. Although expose times for hydroxyl radicles was relatively long (24h) this should not be considered a limitation given the intervention is applied in store rooms or in transport containers during transit.

Keywords: gas phase sanitizers, iceberg lettuce heads, leafy green processing

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Authors: Maja Sajdak

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The aim of this article is to identify the measures companies undertake in order to adapt to the environment as well as discussing their diversity and effectiveness. The research methods used in the study include an in-depth analysis of the literature and a case study, which helps to illustrate the issue in question. Referring to the concept of agility, which is firmly embedded in the theory of strategic management and has been developed with the aim of adapting to the environment and its changes, the paper first examines different types of adaptation measures for companies. Then the issue under discussion is illustrated with the example of the company Hortimex. This company is an eminent representative of the world’s leading manufacturers of food additives and ingredients. The company was established in 1988 and is a family business, which in practice means that it conducts business in a responsible manner, observing the law and respecting the interests of society and the environment. The company’s mission is to develop a market in Poland for the products and solutions offered by their partners and to share their knowledge of additives in food production and consumption.

Keywords: adaptation measures, agile enterprise, flexibility, unanticipated changes

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Authors: Normah Sulaiman, Yong Zhi Kang, Nor Hayati Hussain, Abdul Rehman Khalid

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Segara Ninda owned by Din Ku Meh, the governor of the province Satul, a Malay man with a big role liaising with Thailand. This mansion is part of the legacy he left behind among other properties in George Town, Penang, besides his family. The island’s geographical location is strategic which has benefitted it through important trade routes for Europe, Middle, East, India, and China in the past. Due to this reasoning, various architectural styles were introduced in Penang; Late Straits Eclectic style is one of the forms of the Colonial Architectural style widely spread as vernacular shophouses in George Town. Segara Ninda is located among the mixture of nouveau-riche, historical and heritage sites at the most important street; Penang Road, which dated back to the late 18th century. This paper examines the strait eclectic style that Segara Ninda encompasses. Acknowledging the mixture of colonial architecture in Georgetown, we argue that the mansion faces challenging issues in conservation processes to be vindicated. This is reflected by analysing the spatial layout, visual elements quality, and its activity through interviews with the occupants of the mansion. The focus will be on the understanding of building form, features, and functions; respecting the architectural spaces and their activity. The methodology applied is to promote our understanding of the mix of culture that the mansion holds through documentation, observation and measuring exercises. This offers a positional interpretation of the mix of culture that the mansion holds. This conservation effort will further contribute exposure to the public and recognize it in the society as its essence is a deficiency character to the existing built environment.

Keywords: eclectic, heritage, spatial organization, culture

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Authors: Essam Almuhsin, Ben Soh, Alice Li, Azmat Ullah

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It is widely accepted that university students must acquire new knowledge, skills, awareness, and understanding to increase opportunities for professional and personal growth. The study reveals a significant increase in users engaging in e-coaching activities and a growing need for it during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper proposes an e-coaching methodology for higher education in Saudi Arabia to address the need for effective coaching in the current online learning environment.

Keywords: role of e-coaching, e-coaching in higher education, Saudi higher education environment, e-coaching methodology, the importance of e-coaching

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Authors: Cinzia Carrodano, Dimitri Konstantas

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Risk is part of our lives. In today’s society risk is connected to our safety and safety has become a major priority in our life. Each person lives his/her life based on the evaluation of the risk he/she is ready to accept and sustain, and the level of safety he/she wishes to reach, based on highly personal criteria. The assessment of risk a person takes in a complex environment and the impact of actions of other people’actions and events on our perception of risk are alements to be considered. The concept of Holistic Risk Assessment (HRA) aims in developing a methodology and a model that will allow us to take into account elements outside the direct influence of the individual, and provide a personalized risk assessment. The concept is based on the fact that in the near future, we will be able to gather and process extremely large amounts of data about an individual and his/her environment in real time. The interaction and correlation of these data is the key element of the holistic risk assessment. In this paper, we present the HRA concept and describe the most important elements and considerations.

Keywords: continuous data, dynamic risk, holistic risk assessment, risk concept

Procedia PDF Downloads 126