Search results for: postharvest loss reduction

Authors: Illyas Isa, Siti Nur Akmar Mohd Yazid, Norhayati Hashim

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We report a simple, green and cost effective synthesis of graphene via chemical reduction of graphene oxide in alkaline aqueous solution. Extensive characterizations have been studied to confirm the formation of graphene in sodium carbonate solution. Cyclic voltammetry was used to study the electrochemical properties of the prepared graphene-modified glassy carbon electrode using potassium ferricyanide as a redox probe. Based on the result, with the addition of graphene to the glassy carbon electrode the current flow increases and the peak also broadens as compared to graphite and graphene oxide. This method is fast, cost effective, and green as nontoxic solvents are used which will not result in contamination of the products. Thus, this method can serve for the preparation of graphene which can be effectively used in sensors, electronic devices and supercapacitors.

Keywords: chemical reduction, electrochemical, graphene, green synthesis

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Authors: Ahmed Chetouani

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Corrosion is a natural occurring process where it can be defined as the deterioration of materials properties due to its interaction with its environment. Corrosion can lead to failures in plant infrastructure and machines which are usually costly to repair. In terms of loss of contaminated products which will cause environmental damage and possibly costly in terms of human health. The driving force that causes metals to corrode is due to the natural consequence of their temporary existence in metallic form. There is a growing trend in utilizing plant extracts and pharmaceutical compounds as corrosion inhibitors. Exquisite identification of the essential oil of aerial parts of Pelargonium was obtained using hydrodistillation and identification using GC (gas chromatography) and GC/MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry). The oil was predominated by Citronellol (22.8%). The inhibitory effect of essential oil and extract of Pelargonium was estimated on the corrosion of mild steel in 1M hydrochloric acid (HCl) using weight loss, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel polarization curves. Inhibition was found to increase with increasing concentration of the essential oil and extract of Pelargonium. The effect of temperature on the corrosion behaviour of mild steel in 1M HCl with addition of essential oil and extract was also studied and the thermodynamic parameters were determined and discussed. Values of inhibition efficiency were calculated from weight loss, Tafel polarization curves, and EIS. All results are in good agreement. Polarization curves showed that essential oil and extract of Pelargonium behave as mixed type inhibitors in hydrochloric acid. The results obtained showed that the essential oil and extract of Pelargonium could serve as an effective inhibitor of the corrosion of mild steel in Hydrochloric acid solution. To avoid any surprise of toxicity, the majority compounds have been studied by using POM analyses.

Keywords: corrosion inhibition, mild steel, pelargonium oil, extract, electrochemical system, hydrodistillation, side effects, POM Analyses

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Authors: Kübra Aktaş, Nermin Bilgiçli, Tayyibe Erten, Perihan Kübra Çiçek

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In this research, different wheat-legume flour blends were used in Turkish noodle preparation with the aid of some gums (xanthan and guar). Chickpea, common bean and soy flours were used in noodle formulation at 20% level with and without gum (1%) addition. Some physical, chemical and sensory properties of noodles were determined. Water uptake, volume increase and cooking loss values of the noodles changed between 92.03-116.37%, 125.0-187.23% and 4.88-8.10%, respectively. Xanthan or guar gam addition decreased cooking loss values of legume fortified noodles. Both legume flour and gum addition significantly (p<0.05) affected the color values of the noodles. The lowest lightness (L*), redness (a*) and the highest yellowness (b*) values were obtained with soy flour usage in noodle formulation. Protein and ash values of noodles ranged between 15.14 and 21.82%; 1.62 and 2.50%, respectively, and the highest values were obtained with soy flour usage in noodle formulation. As a result of sensory evaluation, noodles containing chickpea flour and guar gum were rated with higher taste, odor, appearance and texture scores compared to other noodle samples.

Keywords: noodle, legume, soy, chickpea, common bean, gum

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Authors: Gaylord K. Booto, Marinelli Giuseppe, Helge Brattebø, Rolf A. Bohne

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Emissions reduction has emerged among the principal targets in the process of planning and designing road alignments today. Intelligent road design methods that can result in optimized alignment constitute concrete and innovative responses towards better alternatives and more sustainable road infrastructures. As the largest amount of emissions of road infrastructures occur in the operation stage, it becomes very important to consider traffic weight and distribution in alignment design process. This study analyzes the effects of four traffic factors (i.e. operating speed, vehicle category, technology and fuel type) on adjusting the vertical alignment of a given road, using optimization techniques. Further, factors’ effects are assessed qualitatively and quantitatively, and the emission profiles of resulting alignment alternatives are compared.

Keywords: alignment adjustment, emissions reduction, optimization, traffic-oriented

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Authors: Saif N. Al-Bahry, Yahya M. Al-Wahaibi, Abdulkadir E. Elshafie, Ali S. Al-Bemani, Sanket J. Joshi

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Environmental pollution is a global problem and best possible solution is identifying and utilizing native microorganisms. One possible application of microbial product -biosurfactant is in bioremediation of hydrocarbon contaminated sites. We have screened forty two different petroleum contaminated sites from Oman, for biosurfactant producing spore-forming bacterial isolates. Initial screening showed that out of 42 soil samples, three showed reduction in surface tension (ST) and interfacial tension (IFT) within 24h of incubation at 40°C. Out of those 3 soil samples, one was further selected for isolation of bacteria and 14 different bacteria were isolated in pure form. Of those 14 spore-forming, rod shaped bacteria, two showed highest reduction in ST and IFT in the range of 70mN/m to < 35mN/m and 26.69mN/m to < 9mN/m, respectively within 24h. These bacterial biosurfactants may be utilized for bioremediation of oil-spills.

Keywords: bioremediation, hydrocarbon pollution, spore-forming bacteria, bio-surfactant

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Authors: Erez Yerushalmi, Sani Ziv

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The rising demand for healthcare services, without a corresponding rise in public supply, led to a debate on whether to increase private healthcare provision - especially in hospital services and second-tier healthcare. Proponents for increasing private healthcare highlight gains in efficiency, while opponents its risk to social welfare. None, however, provide a measure of the social value and its impact on the economy in terms of a monetary value. In this paper, we impute a minimum social value of public healthcare that corresponds to indifference between gains in efficiency, with losses to social welfare. Our approach resembles contingent valuation methods that introduce a hypothetical market for non-commodities, but is different from them because we use numerical simulation techniques to exploit certain market failure conditions. In this paper, we develop a general equilibrium model that distinguishes between public-private healthcare services and public-private financing. Furthermore, the social value is modelled as a by product of healthcare services. The model is then calibrated to our unique health focused Social Accounting Matrix of Israel, and simulates the introduction of a hypothetical health-labour market - given that it is heavily regulated in the baseline (i.e., the true situation in Israel today). For baseline parameters, we estimate the minimum social value at around 18% public healthcare financing. The intuition is that the gain in economic welfare from improved efficiency, is offset by the loss in social welfare due to a reduction in available social value. We furthermore simulate a deregulated healthcare scenario that internalizes the imputed value of social value and searches for the optimal weight of public and private healthcare provision.

Keywords: contingent valuation method (CVM), general equilibrium model, hypothetical market, private-public healthcare, social value of public healthcare

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Authors: Abidullah, Basharat Hussain, Jong Seok Kim

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Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is an electrochemical cell, which undergoes an oxygen reduction reaction to produce electrical energy. Platinum (Pt) metal has been used as a catalyst since its inception, but expensiveness is the major obstacle in the commercialization of fuel cells. Herein a non-precious group metal (NPGM) is employed instead of Pt to reduce the cost of PEMFCs. Manganese dioxide impregnated carbon nanotubes (MnO₂-CNTs composite) is a catalyst having excellent electrochemical properties and offers a better alternative to the Platinum-based PEMFC. The catalyst is synthesized by impregnating the transition metal on large surface carbonaceous CNTs by hydrothermal synthesis techniques. To enhance the catalytic activity and increase the volumetric current density, the sample was pyrolyzed at 800ᵒC under a nitrogen atmosphere. During pyrolysis, the nitrogen was doped in the framework of CNTs. Then the material was treated with acid for removing the unreacted metals and adding oxygen functional group to the CNT framework. This process ameliorates the catalytic activity of the manganese-based catalyst. The catalyst has been characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the catalyst activity has been examined by rotating disc electrode (RDE) experiment. The catalyst was strong enough to withstand an austere alkaline environment in experimental conditions and had a high electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) depicts an excellent current density of -4.0 mA/cm² and an overpotential of -0.3V vs. standard calomel electrode (SCE) in 0.1M KOH electrolyte. Rotating disk electrode (RDE) was conducted at 400, 800, 1200, and 1600 rpm. The catalyst exhibited a higher methanol tolerance and long term durability with respect to commercial Pt/C. The results for MnO₂-CNT show that the low-cost catalyst will supplant the expensive Pt/C catalyst in the fuel cell.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, methanol fuel cell, oxygen reduction reaction, MnO₂-CNTs

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Authors: Abhishek Sraw, Amit Sobti, Yamini Pandey, R. K. Wanchoo, Amrit Pal Toor

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Monocrotophos (MCP) is a widely used pesticide in India, which belong to an extremely toxic organophosphorus family, is persistent in nature and its toxicity is widely reported in all environmental segments in the country. Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) is a promising solution to the problem of water pollution. TiO₂ is being widely used as a photocatalyst because of its many advantages, but it has a large band gap, due to which it is modified using metal and nonmetal dopant to make it active under sunlight and visible light. The use of nanosized powdered catalysts makes the recovery process extremely complicated. Hence the aim is to use low cost, easily available, eco-friendly clay material in form of bead as the support for the immobilization of catalyst, to solve the problem of post-separation of suspended catalyst from treated water. A recirculation type photocatalytic reactor (RTPR), using ultraviolet light emitting source (blue black lamp) was designed which work effectively for both suspended catalysts and catalyst coated clay beads. The bare, TiO₂ and W-TiO₂ coated clay beads were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and N₂ adsorption–desorption measurements techniques (BET) for their structural, textural and electronic properties. The study involved variation of different parameters like light conditions, recirculation rate, light intensity and initial MCP concentration under UV and sunlight for the degradation of MCP. The degradation and mineralization studies of the insecticide solution were performed using UV-Visible spectrophotometer, and COD vario-photometer and GC-MS analysis respectively. The main focus of the work lies in checking the recyclability of the immobilized TiO₂ over clay beads in the developed RTPR up to 30 continuous cycles without reactivation of catalyst. The results demonstrated the economic feasibility of the utilization of developed RTPR for the efficient purification of pesticide polluted water. The prepared TiO₂ clay beads delivered 75.78% degradation of MCP under UV light with negligible catalyst loss. Application of W-TiO₂ coated clay beads filled RTPR for the degradation of MCP under sunlight, however, shows 32% higher degradation of MCP than the same system based on undoped TiO₂. The COD measurements of TiO₂ coated beads led to 73.75% COD reduction while W-TiO₂ resulted in 87.89% COD reduction. The GC-MS analysis confirms the efficient breakdown of complex MCP molecules into simpler hydrocarbons. This supports the promising application of clay beads as a support for the photocatalyst and proves its eco-friendly nature, excellent recyclability, catalyst holding capacity, and economic viability.

Keywords: immobilized clay beads, monocrotophos, recirculation type photocatalytic reactor, TiO₂

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Authors: Qiong He, S. Thomas Ng

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Upgrading the thermal performance of building envelope of existing residential buildings is an effective way to reduce heat gain or heat loss. Overhang device is a common solution for building envelope improvement as it can cut down solar heat gain and thereby can reduce the energy used for space cooling in summer time. Despite that, overhang can increase the demand for indoor heating in winter due to its function of lowering the solar heat gain. Obviously, overhang has different impacts on energy use in different climatic zones which have different energy demand. To evaluate the impact of overhang device on building energy performance under different climates of China, an energy analysis model is built up in a computer-based simulation program known as DesignBuilder based on the data of a typical high-rise residential building. The energy simulation results show that single overhang is able to cut down around 5% of the energy consumption of the case building in the stand-alone situation or about 2% when the building is surrounded by other buildings in regions which predominantly rely on space cooling though it has no contribution to energy reduction in cold region. In regions with cold summer and cold winter, adding overhang over windows can cut down around 4% and 1.8% energy use with and without adjoining buildings, respectively. The results indicate that overhang might not an effective shading device to reduce the energy consumption in the mixed climate or cold regions.

Keywords: overhang, energy analysis, computer-based simulation, design builder, high-rise residential building, climate, BIM model

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Authors: R. N. Jay A. Ablog, M. N. Dyanne R. Del Carmen, Roma Rose A. Dela Cruz, Joselle Dara M. Estrada, Luke Clifferson M. Gagarin, Florence T. Lang-ay, Ma. Dayanara O. Mariñas, Maria Christina S. Nepa, Jahraine Chyle B. Ocampo, Mark Reynie Renz V. Silva, Jenny Lyn L. Soriano, Loreal Cloe M. Suva, Jackelyn R. Torres

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Background: To date, there is dearth of literature as to the effect of relaxation techniques in lowering the stress level of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of 4-week relaxation techniques in stress level reduction of mothers of children with ASD. Methods: Quasi experimental design. It included 25 mothers (10-experimental, 15-control) who were chosen via purposive sampling. The mothers were recruited in the different SPED centers in Baguio City and La Trinidad and in the community. Statistics used were T-test and Related T-Test. Results: The overall weighted mean score after 4-week training is 2.3, indicating that the relaxation techniques introduced were moderately effective in lowering stress level. Statistical analysis (T-test; CV=4.51>TV=2.26) shown a significant difference in the stress level reduction of mothers in the experimental group pre and post interventions. There is also a significant difference in the stress level reduction in the control and the experimental group (Related T-test; CV=2.08 >TV=2.07). The relaxation techniques introduced were favorable, cost-effective, and easy to perform interventions to decrease stress level.

Keywords: relaxation techniques, mindful eating, progressive muscle relaxation, breathing exercise, autism spectrum disorder

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Authors: Gui Yang Wu, Bo Wang, Xin Wang

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Nowadays, 5G service-based interface architecture uses text-based payload like JSON to transfer business data between network functions, which has obvious advantages as internet services but causes unnecessarily larger traffic. In this paper, a new 5G application payload size reduction method is presented to provides the mechanism to negotiate about new capability between network functions when network communication starts up and how 5G application data are reduced according to negotiated information with peer network function. Without losing the advantages of 5G text-based payload, this method demonstrates an excellent result on application payload size reduction and does not increase the usage quota of computing resource. Implementation of this method does not impact any standards or specifications and not change any encoding or decoding functionality too. In a real 5G network, this method will contribute to network efficiency and eventually save considerable computing resources.

Keywords: 5G, JSON, payload size, service-based interface

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Authors: Hyun Kyu Lee, Won Zin Oh, June Hyun Kim, Jin Hee Kim, Sang June Choi, Hak Soo Kim

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The oxidative dissolution of chromium oxide by manganese oxides including permanganate have been widely studied not only for the chemical decontamination of nuclear power plant, but also for the environmental control of the toxic chromate caused by naturally occurring manganese dioxide. However, little attention has been made for the spontaneous reductive decomposition of permanganate in the water, which is a competing reaction with the oxidation of the chromium oxide by permanganate. The objective of this study is to investigate the spontaneous reductive decomposition behavior of permanganate in the water, depending on the variation of acidity, temperature and concentration. Results of the experiments showed that the permanganate reductive decomposition product is manganese dioxide, and this reaction accompanies with the same molar amount of hydrogen ion consumption. Therefore, at the neutral condition (ex. potassium permanganate solution without acidic chemicals), the permanganate do not reduce by itself at any condition of temperature, concentration within the experimental range. From the results, we confirmed that the oxidation reaction for the permanganate reduction is the water oxidation that is accompanying the oxygen evolution. The experimental results on the reductive decomposition behavior of permanganate in the water also showed that the degree and rate of permanganate reduction increases with the temperature, acidity and concentration. The spontaneous decomposition of the permanganates obtained in the studies would become a good reference to select the operational condition, such as temperature, acidity and concentration, for the chemical decontamination of nuclear power plants.

Keywords: permanganate reduction, spontaneous decomposition, water oxidation, acidity, temperature, permanganate concentration, chemical decontamination, nuclear power plant

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Authors: Jamshaid ul Rahman, Akhter Ali, Adnan Manzoor

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Learning-based systems have received increasing interest in recent years; recognition structures, including end-to-end speak recognition, are one of the hot topics in this area. A famous work on end-to-end speaker verification by using Angular Softmax Loss gained significant importance and is considered useful to directly trains a discriminative model instead of the traditional adopted i-vector approach. The margin-based strategy in angular softmax is beneficial to learn discriminative speaker embeddings where the random selection of margin values is a big issue in additive angular margin and multiplicative angular margin. As a better solution in this matter, we present an alternative approach by introducing a bit similar form of an additive parameter that was originally introduced for face recognition, and it has a capacity to adjust automatically with the corresponding margin values and is applicable to learn more discriminative features than the Softmax. Experiments are conducted on the part of Fisher dataset, where it observed that the additive parameter with angular softmax to train the front-end and probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (PLDA) in the back-end boosts the performance of the structure.

Keywords: additive parameter, angular softmax, speaker verification, PLDA

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Authors: Renato Santos Paulinelli Raposo, Vinicius Resende Domingues, Manoel Porfirio Cordao Neto

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Rapid drawdown is one of the cases referred to ground stability study in dam projects. Due to the complexity generated by the combination of loads and the difficulty in determining the parameters, analyses of rapid drawdown are usually performed considering the immediate reduction of water level upstream. The proposal of a simulation, considering the gradual reduction in water level upstream, requires knowledge of parameters about consolidation and those related to unsaturated soil. In this context, the purpose of this study is to understand the methodology of collection and analysis of parameters to simulate a rapid drawdown in dams. Using a numerical tool, the study is complemented with a hypothetical case study that can assist the practical use of data compiled. The referenced dam presents homogeneous section composed of clay soil, a height of 70 meters, a width of 12 meters, and upstream slope with inclination 1V:3H.

Keywords: dam, GeoStudio, rapid drawdown, stability analysis

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Authors: C. Samita, W. Chalermchai

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This project is aimed to be a preliminary study of using Tapioca Starch as a viscosity modifying agent (VMA) in concrete work. Tapioca starch effects on the viscosity of concrete, which could be investigated from the workability of corresponding mortar. Cement only mortars with water to cement ratio (w/c) 0.25 to 0.48, superplasticizer dosage of 1% to 2.5%, starch concentration of 0%, 0.25% and 0.5%, was tested for workability. Mortar mixes that have equivalent workability (flow diameter of 250 mm, and funnel flow time of 5 seconds) for each starch concentration were identified and checked for concrete properties. Concrete were tested for initial workability, workability loss, bleeding, setting times, and compressive strength. The results showed that all concrete mixes provide same initial workability, however the mix with higher starch concentration provides slower loss. Bleeding occurs when concrete has w/c more than 0.45. For setting times, mixing with higher starch concentration provide longer setting times (around 4 hours in this experiment). Compressive strength of starch concretes which always have higher w/c, are lower than that of cement only concrete as in this experiment initial workability were controlled to be same.

Keywords: viscosity modifying agent(VMA), self-leveling concrete, self-compacting concrete(SCC), low-binder SCC

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Authors: Sunil Mittal, Sukhpreet Singh, Hardeep Kaur

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The affinity of thiol group with heavy metals is a well-established phenomenon. The present investigation has been focused on electrochemical response of cysteine and thioredoxin against arsenite (As III) on indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. It was observed that both the compounds produce distinct response in free and immobilised form at the electrode. The SEM, FTIR, and impedance studies of the modified electrode were conducted for characterization. Various parameters were optimized to achieve As (III) effect on the reduction potential of the compounds. Cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry were employed as the analysis techniques. The optimum response was observed at neutral pH in both the cases, at optimum concentration of 2 mM and 4.27 µM for cysteine and thioredoxin respectively. It was observed that presence of As (III) increases the reduction current of both the moieties. The linear range of detection for As (III) with cysteine was from 1 to 10 mg L⁻¹ with detection limit of 0.8 mg L⁻¹. The thioredoxin was found more sensitive to As (III) and displayed a linear range from 0.1 to 1 mg L⁻¹ with detection limit of 10 µg L⁻¹.

Keywords: arsenite, cyclic voltammetry, cysteine, thioredoxin

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Authors: Majid Haghshenas, James Wilson, Ranganathan Kumar

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In this study, an Algebraic Coupled Level Set-Volume of Fluid (A-CLSVOF) method with capillary pressure treatment is proposed for the modeling of two-phase capillary flows. The Volume of Fluid (VOF) method is utilized to incorporate one-way coupling with the Level Set (LS) function in order to further improve the accuracy of the interface curvature calculation and resulting surface tension force. The capillary pressure is determined and treated independently of the hydrodynamic pressure in the momentum balance in order to maintain consistency between cell centered and interpolated values, resulting in a reduction in parasitic currents. In this method, both VOF and LS functions are transported where the new volume fraction determines the interface seed position used to reinitialize the LS field. The Hamilton-Godunov function is used with a second order (in space and time) discretization scheme to produce a signed distance function. The performance of the current methodology has been tested against some common test cases in order to assess the reduction in non-physical velocities and improvements in the interfacial pressure jump. The cases of a static drop, non-linear Rayleigh-Taylor instability and finally a droplets impact on a liquid pool were simulated to compare the performance of the present method to other well-known methods in the area of parasitic current reduction, interface location evolution and overall agreement with experimental results.

Keywords: two-phase flow, capillary flow, surface tension force, coupled LS with VOF

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Authors: Olaitan Akanji, Cleophas Loto, Patricia Popoola, Andrei Kolesnikov

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Studies involving performance of corrosion inhibitors had been identified as one of the critical research needs for improving the durability of mild steel used in various industrial applications. This paper investigates the inhibiting effect of calcium gluconate against the corrosion of mild steel in 2.5M magnesium chloride using weight loss method and linear polarization technique, calculated corrosion rates from the obtained weight loss data, potentiodynamic polarization measurements are in good agreement. Results revealed calcium gluconate has strong inhibitory effects with inhibitor efficiency increasing with increase in inhibitor concentration at ambient temperature, the efficiency of the inhibitor increased in the following order of concentrations 2%g/vol,1.5%g/vol,1%g/vol,0.5%g/vol. Further results obtained from potentiodynamics experiments had good correlation with those of the gravimetric methods, the adsorption of the inhibitor on the mild steel surface from the chloride has been found to obey Langmuir, Frumkin and Freudlich adsorption isotherm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation confirmed the existence of an absorbed protective film on the metal surface.

Keywords: calcium gluconate, corrosion, magnesium chloride, mild steel

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Authors: Siti Rahmah Shamsuri, Eiichiro Matsubara, Shohei Shiomi

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The 1D nanomaterial is far surpassed the 0D nanomaterial. It does not just offer most of the benefit of the 0D nanomaterial such as the large surface area, a great number of active site and an efficient interfacial charge transfer but also can assemble into free-standing and flexible electrode due to their high aspect ratio. Thus, it is essential to develop a simple and ease synthesis of this 1D nanomaterial for the practical application. Here, nickel nanowire/cellulose hybrid has been successfully fabricated via a simple liquid-phase method with the assist of the magnetic field. A finer nickel nanowire was heterogeneously nucleated on the surface of the cellulose fiber, which demonstrated the effect of the hydroxyl group on the cellulose structure. The result of the nickel nanowire size was found to vary from 66-114 nm. A detailed discussion on the mechanism of the nickel nanowire/ cellulose hybrid formation is also shown in this paper.

Keywords: cellulose nanofiber, liquid-phase reduction, metal nanowire, nano hybrid material

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Authors: Abdullah Kattan, Khalid Alzahrani, Saud Alsaleh, Loui Ezzat, Khalid Murad, Bader Alghamdi

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Background and Significance: Patients are often bothered by the excess skin laxity and redundancy that they are left with after losing weight. Body-contouring surgery offers a solution to this problem; however, there is scarce literature on the psychological and social effects of these surgeries. This study was conducted to assess the psychosocial impact of body-contouring surgery on patients after weight loss. Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, a specifically designed questionnaire was administered to forty three patients whom have undergone body-contouring surgery. All included patients had lost no less than 20 Kg before body-contouring surgery, and were interviewed at least 6 months after surgery. The twenty-question interviewer based questionnaire was used to assess the psychosocial status of the patients before and after undergoing body-contouring surgery. The questionnaire assessed the quality of life (social life, job performance and sexual activity), presence of symptoms of depression and overall satisfaction. Data was analyzed as paired variables in SPSS using McNemar’s test. Results: Among the 43 participants, 19 (44.2%) have undergone mammoplasty, 12 (27.9%) have undergone abdominoplasty and the remainder of the patients have undergone other various procedures including brachioplasty, thigh lifts and nick liposuction. The mean age of patients was 34 +/- 10, the sample included 24 (55.8%) females and 19 (44.2%) males. The patients’ quality of life significantly improved in the following areas; social life (P<0.001), job performance (P<0.002) and sexual activity (P<0.001). Moreover, 17 (39.5%) patients suffered symptoms of depression before body-contouring surgery; however, only 1 (2.3%) patient suffered symptoms of depression after surgery. Overall satisfaction rate was found to be 62.8%; with mammoplasty being the highest satisfaction rate procedure (66.6 %). Conclusion: Body-contouring surgery after weight loss has shown to improve the psychological and social aspects in patients. These findings have been found to be consistent with the majority of relevant published studies, further increasing reliability of our study.

Keywords: abdominoplasty, body-contouring, mammoplasty, psychosocial

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Authors: Mohamed M. Ali, Adel Nofal, Amr Kandil, Mahmoud Agour

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High phosphorus gray iron (HPGI) is used to connect the steel stub of an anode rod to a prebaked anode carbon block in the aluminium reduction cells. In this paper, a complete characterization for HPGI was done, includes studying the chemical composition of the HPGI collar, anodic voltage drop, collar temperature over 30 days anode life cycle, microstructure and mechanical properties. During anode life cycle, the carbon content in HPGI was lowed from 3.73 to 3.38%, and different changes in the anodic voltage drop at the stub- collar-anode connection were recorded. The collar temperature increases over the anode life cycle and reaches to 850°C in four weeks after anode changing. Significant changes in the HPGI microstructure were observed after 3 and 30 days from the anode changing. To simulate the actual operating conditions in the steel stub/collar/carbon anode connection, a bench-scale experimental set-up was designed and used for electrical resistance and resistivity respectively. The results showed the current HPGI properties needed to modify or producing new alloys with excellent electrical and mechanical properties. The steel stub and HPGI thermal expansion were measured and studied. Considerable permanent expansion was observed for the HPGI collar after the completion of the heating-cooling cycle.

Keywords: high phosphorus gray iron (HPGI), aluminium reduction cells, anodic voltage drop, microstructure, mechanical and electrical properties

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Authors: Wendy Flory, Kazi Czarnecki, Matthijs Mercy, Mark Joswiak, Mary Beth Seasholtz

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Polyurethane Materials are present in a wide range of industrial segments such as Furniture, Building and Construction, Composites, Automotive, Electronics, and more. Dow is one of the leaders for the manufacture of the two main raw materials, Isocyanates and Polyols used to produce polyurethane products. Dow is also a key player for the manufacture of Polyurethane Systems/Formulations designed for targeted applications. In 1990, the first analytical chemometric models were developed and deployed for use in the Dow QC labs of the polyols business for the quantification of OH, water, cloud point, and viscosity. Over the years many models have been added; there are now over 140 models for quantification and hundreds for product identification, too many to be reasonable for support. There are 29 global models alone for the quantification of OH across > 70 products at many sites. An attempt was made to consolidate these into a single model. While the consolidated model proved good statistics across the entire range of OH, several products had a bias by ASTM E1655 with individual product validation. This project summary will show the strategy for global model updates for OH, to reduce the number of models for quantification from over 140 to 5 or less using chemometric methods. In order to gain an understanding of the best product groupings, we identify clusters by reducing spectra to a few dimensions via Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP). Results from these cluster analyses and a separate validation set allowed dow to reduce the number of models for predicting OH from 29 to 3 without loss of accuracy.

Keywords: hydroxyl, global model, model maintenance, near infrared, polyol

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Authors: Okwara O. S., Osunsina I. O. O., Pitan O. R., Afolabi C. G.

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Rice (Oryza sativa L.) belongs to the family poaceae and has become the most popular food. Globally, this crop is been faced with the menace of vertebrate pests, of which birds and rodents are the most implicated. The study avian and rodents’ infestations and the evaluation of attributable losses was carried out in 2020 and 2021 with the objectives of identifying the types of bird and rodent species associated with lowland rice and to determine the infestation levels, damage intensity, and the crop loss induced by these pests. The experiment was laid out in a split plot arrangement fitted into a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), with the main plots being protected and unprotected groups and the sub-plots being four rice varieties, Ofada, WITA-4, NERICA L-34, and Arica-3. Data collection was done over a 16-week period, and the data obtained were transformed using square root transformation model before Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was done at 5% probability level. The results showed the infestation levels of both birds and rodents across all the treatment means of thevarieties as not significantly different (p > 0.05) in both seasons. The damage intensity by these pests in both years were also not significantly different (p > 0.05) among the means of the varieties, which explains the diverse feeding nature of birds and rodents when it comes to infestations. The infestation level under the protected group was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than the infestation level recorded under the unprotected group.Consequently, an estimated crop loss of 91.94 % and 90.75 % were recorded in 2020 and 2021, respectively, andthe identified pest birds were Ploceus melanocephalus, Ploceus cuculatus, and Spermestes cucullatus. Conclusively, vertebrates pest cause damage to lowland rice which could result to a high percentage crop loss if left uncontrolled.

Keywords: pests, infestations, evaluation, losses, rodents, avian

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Authors: Mohammed Alruwaili‬

Abstract:

Nowadays, renewable energy resources are playing an important role in replacing traditional energy resources such as fossil fuels by integrating solar energy with conventional energy. Concerns about the environment led to an intensive search for a renewable energy source. The Rapid growth of distributed energy resources will have prompted increasing interest in the integrated distributing network in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia next few years, especially after the adoption of new laws and regulations in this regard. Photovoltaic energy is one of the promising renewable energy sources that has grown rapidly worldwide in the past few years and can be used to produce electrical energy through the photovoltaic process. The main objective of the research is to study the impact of PV in distribution networks based on real data and details. In this research, site survey and computer simulation will be dealt with using the well-known computer program software ETAB to simulate the input of electrical distribution lines with other variable inputs such as the levels of solar radiation and the field study that represent the prevailing conditions and conditions in Diriah, Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. In addition, the impact of adding distributed generation units (DGs) to the distribution network, including solar photovoltaic (PV), will be studied and assessed for the impact of adding different power capacities. The result has been achieved with less power loss in the loop distribution network from the current condition by more than 69% increase in network power loss. However, the studied network contains 78 buses. It is hoped from this research that the efficiency, performance, quality and reliability by having an enhancement in power loss and voltage profile of the distribution networks in Riyadh City. Simulation results prove that the applied method can illustrate the positive impact of PV in loop distribution generation.

Keywords: renewable energy, smart grid, efficiency, distribution network

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Esther Ranero Carrazana, Maria Karla Ramirez Valdes

Abstract:

First responders, including firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical personnel, are frequently exposed to high-stress scenarios that significantly increase their risk of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their work involves life-threatening situations, witnessing suffering, and making critical decisions under pressure, all contributing to psychological strain. The objectives of this research on "Stress Reduction Techniques for First Responders: Scientifically Proven Methods" are as follows. One of them is to evaluate the effectiveness of stress reduction techniques. The primary objective is to assess the efficacy of various scientifically proven stress reduction techniques explicitly tailored for first responders. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Training, Interoception and Exteroception, Sensory Integration, and Body Perception Awareness are scrutinized for their ability to mitigate stress-related symptoms. Furthermore, we evaluate and enhance the understanding of stress mechanisms in first responders by exploring how different techniques influence the physiological and psychological responses to stress. The study aims to deepen the understanding of stress mechanisms in high-risk professions. Additionally, the study promotes psychological resilience by seeking to identify and recommend methods that can significantly enhance the psychological resilience of first responders, thereby supporting their mental health and operational efficiency in high-stress environments. Guide training and policy development is an additional objective to provide evidence-based recommendations that can be used to guide training programs and policy development aimed at improving the mental health and well-being of first responders. Lastly, the study aims to contribute valuable insights to the existing body of knowledge in stress management, specifically tailored to the unique needs of first responders. This study involved a comprehensive literature review assessing the effectiveness of various stress reduction techniques tailored for first responders. Techniques evaluated include Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Training, Interoception and Exteroception, Sensory Integration, and Body Perception Awareness, focusing on their ability to alleviate stress-related symptoms. The review indicates promising results for several stress reduction methods. HRV Training demonstrates the potential to reflect stress vulnerability and enhance physiological and behavioral flexibility. Interoception and Exteroception help modulate the stress response by enhancing awareness of the body's internal state and its interaction with the environment. Sensory integration plays a crucial role in adaptive responses to stress by focusing on individual senses and their integration. Therefore, body perception awareness addresses stress and anxiety through enhanced body perception and mindfulness. The evaluated techniques show significant potential in reducing stress and improving the mental health of first responders. Implementing these scientifically supported methods into routine training could significantly enhance their psychological resilience and operational effectiveness in high-stress environments.

Keywords: first responders, HRV training, mental health, sensory integration, stress reduction

Procedia PDF Downloads 20

Authors: Drago Bratkovic, Curtis Gravance, David Ketteridge, Ravi Krishnan, Michael Imperiale

Abstract:

The mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) are a group of lysosomal storage diseases that have a common defect in the catabolism of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). MPS I is the most common of the MPS diseases. Manifestations of MPS I include coarsening of facial features, corneal clouding, developmental delay, short stature, skeletal manifestations, hearing loss, cardiac valve disease, hepatosplenomegaly, and umbilical and inguinal hernias. Treatments for MPS I restore or activate the missing or deficient enzyme in the case of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS) is a potential treatment to improve bone and joint manifestations of MPS I. The mechanisms of action of PPS that are relevant to the treatment of MPS I are the ability to: (i) Reduce systemic and accumulated GAG, (ii) Reduce inflammatory effects via the inhibition of NF-kB, resulting in the reduction in pro-inflammatory mediators. (iii) Reduce the expression of the pain mediator nerve growth factor in osteocytes from degenerating joints. (iv) Inhibit the cartilage degrading enzymes related to joint dysfunction in MPS I. PPS is being evaluated as an adjunctive therapy to ERT and/or HSCT in an open-label, single-centre, phase 2 study. Patients are ≥ 5 years of age with a diagnosis of MPS I and previously received HSCT and/or ERT. Three white, female, patients with MPS I-Hurler, ages 14, 15, and 19 years, and one, white male patient aged 15 years are enrolled. All were diagnosed at ≤2 years of age. All patients received HSCT ≤ 6 months after diagnosis. Two of the patients were treated with ERT prior to HSCT, and 1 patient received ERT commencing 3 months prior to HSCT. Two patients received 0.75mg/kg and 2 patients received 1.5mg/kg of PPS. PPS was well tolerated at doses of 0.75 and 1.5 mg/kg to 47 weeks of continuous dosing. Of the 19 adverse events (AEs), 2 were related to PPS. One AE was moderate (pre-syncope) and 1 was mild (injection site bruising), experienced in the same patient. All AEs were reported as mild or moderate. There have been no SAEs. One subject experienced a COVID-19 infection and PPS was interrupted. The MPS I signature GAG fragments, sulfated disaccharide and UA-HNAc S, tended to decrease in 3 patients from baseline through Week 25. Week 25 GAG data are pending for the 4th patient. Overall, most biomarkers (inflammatory, cartilage degeneration, and bone turnover) evaluated in the 3 patients with 25-week assessments have indicated either no change or a reduction in levels compared to baseline. In 3 patients, there was a trend toward improvement in the 2MWT from baseline to Week 48 with > 100% increase in 1 patient (01-201). In the 3 patients that had Week 48 assessments, patients and proxies reported improvement in PGIC, including “worthwhile difference” (n=1), or “made all the difference” (n=2).

Keywords: MPS I, pentosan polysulfate sodium, clinical study, 2MWT, QoL

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Shoumodip Roy, Ankit Singhania, K. R. K. Rao, Ravi Shankar, M. K. Agarwal, R. V. Ramna, Uttam Singh

Abstract:

The productivity of a blast furnace and the quality of the hot metal produced are significantly dependent on the smoothness and stability of furnace operation. The permeability of the furnace bed, as well as the gas flow pattern, influences the steady control of process parameters. The softening – melting zone that is formed inside the furnace contributes largely in distribution of the gas flow and the bed permeability. A better shape of softening-melting zone enhances the performance of blast furnace, thereby reducing the fuel rates and improving furnace life. Therefore, predictive model of the softening- melting zone profile can be utilized to control and improve the furnace operation. The shape of softening-melting zone depends upon the physical and chemical properties of the agglomerates and iron ore charged in the furnace. The variations in the agglomerate proportion in the burden at G Blast furnace disturbed the furnace stability. During such circumstances, it was analyzed that a w-shape softening-melting zone profile was formed inside the furnace. The formation of w-shape zone resulted in poor bed permeability and non-uniform gas flow. There was a significant increase in the heat loss at the lower zone of the furnace. The fuel demand increased, and the huge production loss was incurred. Therefore, visibility of softening-melting zone profile was necessary in order to pro-actively optimize the process parameters and thereby to operate the furnace smoothly. Using stave temperatures, a model was developed that predicted the shape of the softening-melting zone inside the furnace. It was observed that furnace operated smoothly during inverse V-shape of the zone and vice-versa during w-shape. This model helped to control the heat loss, optimize the burden distribution and lower the fuel rate at G Blast Furnace, TSL Jamshedpur. As a result of furnace stabilization productivity increased by 10% and fuel rate reduced by 80 kg/thm. Details of the process have been discussed in this paper.

Keywords: agglomerate, blast furnace, permeability, softening-melting

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: S. Zenia, A. Menasseria, A. E. Kheidous, F. Larinouna, A. Smai, H. Saadi, F. Haddadj, A. Milla, F. Marniche

Abstract:

Pheasant, is a bird of great ornamental value through the beauty of its form and colors, it is among the most popular birds. The present study was conducted in an experimental breeding. The objective of this work is to know the quality of the eggs of this bird. A total of 938 eggs were collected. To deepen the knowledge about the characteristics of external shell quality, biometric parameters were studied, among them we find the weight with a mean value of 29.2± 2, 24 g. Egg length (mm) and egg width (mm) mean value are respectively 43.01 ± 1,84 cm and 34.05 ± 1,44cm. The volume and shape index of eggs obtained are respectively 25,63±2,88cm3 and 79.00 ± 3%, shell index which recorded an average of 68%. Water loss recorded is 13%. Note that all these parameters and others may influence hatching. The analysis of variance applied for the comparison of egg weight shows that there is no significant difference in the same form factor (P> 0.05). Otherwise, the comparison test used shows a significant difference with P <0.05 for length, width, volume, density, indices of shell and water loss of eggs between the different. Indeed, several factors may explain the difference as the absence of sorting eggs during incubation and other factors that will be exposing later.

Keywords: analysis of variance, egg, hatching, morphometry of eggs Phaisan (Phasianus colchicus.L.)

Procedia PDF Downloads 594

Authors: Kasra Khorsand-Kazemi, Bianca Vizcaino, Mandeep Chhajer Jain, Maryam Moradpour

Abstract:

This work presents an approach to characterize a non- contact microwave sensor using waveguides for different standard liquids such as ethanol, methanol and 2-propanol (Isopropyl Alcohol). Wideband waveguides operating between 12.4GHz to 18 GHz form the core of the sensing structure. Waveguides are sensitive to changes in conductivity of the sample under test (SUT), making them an ideal tool to characterize different polar liquids. As conductivity of the sample under test increase, the loss tangent of the material increase, thereby decreasing the S21 (dB) response of the waveguide. Among all the standard liquids measured, methanol exhibits the highest conductivity and 2-Propanol exhibits the lowest. The cutoff frequency measured for ethanol, 2-propanol, and methanol are 10.28 GHz, 10.32 GHz, and 10.38 GHz respectively. The measured results can be correlated with the loss tangent results of the standard liquid measured using the dielectric probe. This conclusively enables us to characterize different liquids using waveguides expanding the potential future applications in domains ranging from water quality management to bio-medical, chemistry and agriculture.

Keywords: Waveguides, , Microwave sensors, , Standard liquids characterization, Non-contact sensing

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Hikari Ryu, Yuki Fukuda, Kento Oishi, Chiharu Igarashi, Shogo Kiryu

Abstract:

Recently, wireless power transfer has been developed in various fields. Magnetic coupling is popular for feeding power at a relatively short distance and at a lower frequency. Electro-magnetic wave coupling at a high frequency is used for long-distance power transfer. The wireless power transfer has attracted attention in e-textile fields. Rigid batteries are required for many body-worn electric systems at the present time. The technology enables such batteries to be removed from the systems. Flexible coils have been studied for such applications. Coils with a high Q factor are required in the magnetic-coupling power transfer. Antennas with low return loss are needed for the electro-magnetic coupling. Litz wire is so flexible to fabricate coils and antennas sewn on fabric and has low resistivity. In this study, the electric characteristics of some coils and antennas fabricated with the Litz wire by using two sewing techniques are investigated. As examples, a coil and an antenna are described. Both were fabricated with 330/0.04 mm Litz wire. The coil was a planar coil with a square shape. The outer side was 150 mm, the number of turns was 15, and the pitch interval between each turn was 5 mm. The Litz wire of the coil was overstitched with a sewing machine. The coil was fabricated as a receiver coil for a magnetic coupled wireless power transfer. The Q factor was 200 at a frequency of 800 kHz. A wireless power system was constructed by using the coil. A power oscillator was used in the system. The resonant frequency of the circuit was set to 123 kHz, where the switching loss of power FETs was small. The power efficiencies were 0.44 – 0.99, depending on the distance between the transmitter and receiver coils. As an example of an antenna with a sewing technique, a fractal pattern antenna was stitched on a 500 mm x 500 mm fabric by using a needle punch method. The pattern was the 2nd-oder Vicsec fractal. The return loss of the antenna was -28 dB at a frequency of 144 MHz.

Keywords: e-textile, flexible coils and antennas, Litz wire, wireless power transfer

Procedia PDF Downloads 125