Search results for: white upconversion emission

Authors: Azza. A. Al-Ghamdi, Abir. A. Abdel-Naby

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The construction of Nitro -N-amino phenyl maleimide branches onto Cellulose acetate (CA) substrate by free radical graft copolymerization using benzoyl peroxide as initiator led to formation of highly thermal stable copolymers as shown from the results of gravimetric analysis (TGA). CA-g-2,4-dinitro amino phenyl maleimide exhibited higher thermal stability than the CA-g-4-nitro amino phenyl maleimide as shown from the initial decomposition temperature (T_o). This is due to the ability of nitro group to form hydrogen bonding with hydroxyl group of the glucopyranose ring which increases the crystallinity of polymeric matrix. The crystalline shapes representing the graft part are clearly distinct in the Emission scanning electron microscope (ESEM) morphology of the copolymer. A suggested reaction mechanism for the grafting process was also discussed.

Keywords: Cellulose acetate, Crystallinity, Graft copolymerization, Thermal properties

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Authors: Francesco Gallucci, Mariangela Salerno, Ettore Guerriero, Manfredi Amalfi, Giancarlo Chiatti, Fulvio Palmieri

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The paper deals with the experimental activities on a biomass combustion test-bed. More in detail, experimental campaigns have been devoted to investigate the operation of a biomass moving grate furnace. A research-oriented facility based on a moving grate furnace (350kW) has been set up in order to perform experimental activities in a wide range of test configurations. The paper reports the description of the complete biomass-plant and the assessment of the system operation. As the first step, the chemical and physical properties of the used wooden biomass have been preliminarily investigated. Once the biomass fuel has been characterized, investigations have been devoted to point out the operation of the furnace. It has been operated at full load, highlighting the influence of biomass combustion parameters on particulate matter and gaseous emission.

Keywords: biomass, combustion, experimental, pollutants

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Rauno Pääkkönen, Fabriziomaria Gobba, Leena Korpinen

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The objective of the study is to assess the implementation of LED lighting into forest machine work in the dark. In addition, the paper includes a wide variety of important and relevant safety and health parameters. In modern, computerized work in the cab of forest machines, artificial illumination is a demanding task when performing duties, such as the visual inspections of wood and computer calculations. We interviewed entrepreneurs and gathered the following as the most pertinent themes: (1) safety, (2) practical problems, and (3) work with LED lighting. The most important comments were in regards to the practical problems of LED lighting. We found indications of technical problems in implementing LED lighting, like snow and dirt on the surfaces of lamps that dim the emission of light. Moreover, service work in the dark forest is dangerous and increases the risks of on-site accidents. We also concluded that the amount of blue light to the eyes should be assessed, especially, when the drivers are working in a semi-dark cab.

Keywords: forest machines, health, LED, safety

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Authors: Heshalini Rajagopal, Li Sze Chow, Raveendran Paramesran

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is one of the most important medical imaging modality. Subjective assessment of the image quality is regarded as the gold standard to evaluate MR images. In this study, a database of 210 MR images which contains ten reference images and 200 distorted images is presented. The reference images were distorted with four types of distortions: Rician Noise, Gaussian White Noise, Gaussian Blur and DCT compression. The 210 images were assessed by ten subjects. The subjective scores were presented in Difference Mean Opinion Score (DMOS). The DMOS values were compared with four FR-IQA metrics. We have used Pearson Linear Coefficient (PLCC) and Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient (SROCC) to validate the DMOS values. The high correlation values of PLCC and SROCC shows that the DMOS values are close to the objective FR-IQA metrics.

Keywords: medical resonance (MR) images, difference mean opinion score (DMOS), full reference image quality assessment (FR-IQA)

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Authors: Marcela dos P. G. Baltazar, Louise H. Gracioso, Luciana J. Gimenes, Bruno Karolski, Ingrid Avanzi, Elen A. Perpetuo

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In this work, bacterial strains were isolated from environmental samples from a copper mine and three of them presented potential for bioremediation of copper. All the strains were identified by mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-Biotyper) and grown in three diferent media supplemented with 100 ppm of copper chloride in flasks of 500mL and it was incubated at 28 °C and 180 rpm. Periodically, samples were taken and monitored for cellular growth and copper biosorption by spectrophotometer UV-Vis (600 nm) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), respectively. At the end of exponential phase of cellular growth, the biomass was utilized to construct a correlation curve between absorbance and dry mass of the cells. Among the three isolates with potential for biorremediation, 1 strain exhibit capacity the most for bioremediation of effluents contaminated by copper being identified as Rhodococcus erythropolis.

Keywords: bioprocess, bioremediation, biosorption, copper

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Authors: Julius Brejohn Calvert

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This Study Aimed to Investigate the Ecological Nature of Extremism Online. The Construction of a Far-Right Ecosystem Was Successful Using a Sample of Posts, Each With Separate Narrative Domains. Most of the Content Expressed Anti-black Racism and Pro-white Sentiments. Many Posts Expressed an Overt Disdain for the Recent Progress Made Regarding the United States and the United Kingdom’s Expansion of Civil Liberties to People of Color (Poc). Of Special Note, Several Anti-lgbt Posts Targeted the Ongoing Political Grievances Expressed by the Transgender Community. Overall, the Current Study Is Able to Demonstrate That Direct Measures of User Engagement, Such as Shares and Reactions, Can Be Used to Predict the Effect of a Post’s Radicalization Capabilities, Although Single Posts Do Not Operate on the Cognitive Processes of Radicalization Alone. In This Analysis, the Data Supports a Theoretical Framework Where Individual Posts Have a Higher Radicalization Capability Based on the Amount of User Engagement (Both Indirect and Direct) It Receives.

Keywords: cognitive psychology, cognitive radicalization, extremism online, domestic extremism, political science, political psychology

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Authors: Abdu Umar Adamu, Maimuna Ibrahim

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In this present work, a locally used medicinal plant, namely: Aspillia kotschyi belonging to the Compositae family, was extracted using methanolic and petroleum ether 60-80OC. The extracts were subjected to microwave plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (MPES) to determine the following metals Se, Ag, Fe, Cu, Ni, As, Co, Mn, and Al. From the result, Ag, Cu, Ni, and Co are of very negligible concentrations in the plant extract. However, Seleniun is found to be 0.530 (mg/kg) in the plant methanolic extract. Iron, on the other hand, was found to be 3.712 (mg/kg) in the plant extract. Arsenic was found to be 0.506 and 1.301 (mg/kg) in both methanolic and petroleum spirit extracts of the plant material. The concentration of aluminium was found to be of the range of 3.050mg/kg in the plant. Functional group analysis of the plant extracts was also carried out using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy which showed the presence of some functional groups. The results of this study suggest some merit in the popular use of the plant in herbal medicine.

Keywords: Aspillia kotschyi, functional group, FTIR, MPES

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Authors: T. C. C. Soo, S. Bhassu

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Unlike the common presence of both innate and adaptive immunity in vertebrates, crustaceans, in particular, shrimps, have been discovered to possess only innate immunity. This further emphasizes the importance of innate immunity within shrimps in pathogenic resistance. Under the study of pathogenic immune challenge, different shrimp species actually exhibit varying degrees of immune resistance towards the same pathogen. Furthermore, even within the same shrimp species, different batches of challenged shrimps can have different strengths of immune defence. Several important pathways are activated within shrimps during pathogenic infection. One of them is JAK-STAT pathway that is activated during bacterial, viral and fungal infections by which STAT(Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription) gene is the core element of the pathway. Based on theory of Central Dogma, the genomic information is transmitted in the order of DNA, RNA and protein. This study is focused in uncovering the important evolutionary patterns present within the DNA (non-coding region) and RNA (coding region). The three shrimp species involved are Macrobrachium rosenbergii, Penaeus monodon and Litopenaeus vannamei which all possess commercial significance. The shrimp species were challenged with a famous penaeid shrimp virus called white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) which can cause serious lethality. Tissue samples were collected during time intervals of 0h, 3h, 6h, 12h, 24h, 36h and 48h. The DNA and RNA samples were then extracted using conventional kits from the hepatopancreas tissue samples. PCR technique together with designed STAT gene conserved primers were utilized for identification of the STAT coding sequences using RNA-converted cDNA samples and subsequent characterization using various bioinformatics approaches including Ramachandran plot, ProtParam and SWISS-MODEL. The varying levels of immune STAT gene activation for the three shrimp species during WSSV infection were confirmed using qRT-PCR technique. For one sample, three biological replicates with three technical replicates each were used for qRT-PCR. On the other hand, DNA samples were important for uncovering the structural variations within the genomic region of STAT gene which would greatly assist in understanding the STAT protein functional variations. The partially-overlapping primers technique was used for the genomic region sequencing. The evolutionary inferences and event predictions were then conducted through the Bayesian Inference method using all the acquired coding and non-coding sequences. This was supplemented by the construction of conventional phylogenetic trees using Maximum likelihood method. The results showed that adaptive evolution caused STAT gene sequence mutations between different shrimp species which led to evolutionary divergence event. Subsequently, the divergent sites were correlated to the differing expressions of STAT gene. Ultimately, this study assists in knowing the shrimp species innate immune variability and selection of disease resistant shrimps for breeding purpose. The deeper understanding of STAT gene evolution from the perspective of both purifying and adaptive approaches not only can provide better immunological insight among shrimp species, but also can be used as a good reference for immunological studies in humans or other model organisms.

Keywords: gene evolution, JAK-STAT pathway, immunology, STAT gene

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Authors: Olukunle C. Olawole, Dilip Kumar De

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We have modified Richardson-Dushman equation considering thermal expansion of lattice and change of chemical potential with temperature in material. The corresponding modified Richardson-Dushman (MRDE) equation fits quite well the experimental data of thermoelectronic current density (J) vs T from carbon nanotubes. It provides a unique technique for accurate determination of W0 Fermi energy, EF0 at 0 K and linear thermal expansion coefficient of carbon nano-tube in good agreement with experiment. From the value of EF0 we obtain the charge carrier density in excellent agreement with experiment. We describe application of the equations for the evaluation of performance of concentrated solar thermionic energy converter (STEC) with emitter made of carbon nanotube for future applications.

Keywords: carbon nanotube, modified Richardson-Dushman equation, fermi energy at 0 K, charge carrier density

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Authors: Qasim Zafar, Matthew Anderson, Esteban Garcia, Steven Drager

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Software failures can present an enormous detriment to people's lives and cost millions of dollars to repair when they are unexpectedly encountered in the wild. Despite a significant portion of the software development lifecycle and resources are dedicated to testing, software failures are a relatively frequent occurrence. Nevertheless, the evaluation of testing effectiveness remains at the forefront of ensuring high-quality software and software metrics play a critical role in providing valuable insights into quantifiable objectives to assess the level of assurance and confidence in the system. As the selection of appropriate metrics can be an arduous process, the goal of this paper is to shed light on the significance of software metrics by examining a range of testing techniques and metrics as well as identifying key areas for improvement. Additionally, through this investigation, readers will gain a deeper understanding of how metrics can help to drive informed decision-making on delivering high-quality software and facilitate continuous improvement in testing practices.

Keywords: software testing, software metrics, testing effectiveness, black box testing, random testing, adaptive random testing, combinatorial testing, fuzz testing, equivalence partition, boundary value analysis, white box testing

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Authors: Mohamed Akbi, Aissa Bouchou

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The present work aims to throw light on the effects of arcing in air on the surface state of contact pastilles made of silver-nickel Ag-Ni (60/40). Also, the photoelectric emission from these electrical contacts has been investigated in the spectral range of 196-256 nm. In order to study the effects of arcing on the EWF, the metallic samples were subjected to electrical arcs in air, at atmospheric pressure and room temperature, after that, they have been introduced into the vacuum chamber of an experimental UHV set-up for EWF measurements. Both Fowler method of isothermal curves and linearized Fowler plots were used for the measurement of the EWF by the photoelectric effect. It has been found that the EWF varies with the number of applied arcs. Thus, after 500 arcs in air, the observed EWF increasing is probably due to progressive inclusion of oxide on alloy surface. Microscopic examination is necessary to get better understandings on EWF of silver alloys, for both virgin and arced electrical contacts.

Keywords: Ag-Ni contact materials, arcing effects, electron work function, Fowler methods, photoemission

Procedia PDF Downloads 385

Authors: R. Rosazley, M. A. Izzati, A. W. Fareezal, M. Z. Shazana, I. Rushdan, M. A. Ainun Zuriyati

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This study focuses on production and characterizations of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) from kenaf core. NFC was produced by employing ultrasonic treatments in aqueous solution. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) were used to study the size and morphology structure. The chemical and characteristics of the cellulose and NFC were studied using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and viscometer. Degrees of polymerization (DP) of cellulose and NFC were obtained via viscosity value. Results showed that 5 to 47 nm diameters of fibrils were measured. Moreover, the thermal stability of the NFC was increased as compared to the cellulose that confirmed by TGA analysis. It was also found that NFC had higher crystallinity and lower viscosity than the cellulose which were measured by XRD and viscometer, respectively. The NFC characteristics have enormous prospect related to bio-nanocomposite.

Keywords: crystallinity, kenaf core, nanofibrillated cellulose, ultrasonic

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Authors: Vladimir Messerle, Alexandr Ustimenko, Oleg Lavrichshev

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This work presents plasma technology for solid fuel ignition and combustion. Plasma activation promotes more effective and environmentally friendly low-rank coal ignition and combustion. To realise this technology at coal fired power plants plasma-fuel systems (PFS) were developed. PFS improve efficiency of power coals combustion and decrease harmful emission. PFS is pulverized coal burner equipped with arc plasma torch. Plasma torch is the main element of the PFS. Plasma forming gas is air. It is blown through the electrodes forming plasma flame. Temperature of this flame is varied from 5000 to 6000 K. Plasma torch power is varied from 100 to 350 kW and geometrical sizes are the following: the height is 0.4-0.5 m and diameter is 0.2-0.25 m. The base of the PFS technology is plasma thermochemical preparation of coal for burning. It consists of heating of the pulverized coal and air mixture by arc plasma up to temperature of coal volatiles release and char carbon partial gasification. In the PFS coal-air mixture is deficient in oxygen and carbon is oxidised mainly to carbon monoxide. As a result, at the PFS exit a highly reactive mixture is formed of combustible gases and partially burned char particles, together with products of combustion, while the temperature of the gaseous mixture is around 1300 K. Further mixing with the air promotes intensive ignition and complete combustion of the prepared fuel. PFS have been tested for boilers start up and pulverized coal flame stabilization in different countries at power boilers of 75 to 950 t/h steam productivity. They were equipped with different types of pulverized coal burners (direct flow, muffle and swirl burners). At PFS testing power coals of all ranks (lignite, bituminous, anthracite and their mixtures) were incinerated. Volatile content of them was from 4 to 50%, ash varied from 15 to 48% and heat of combustion was from 1600 to 6000 kcal/kg. To show the advantages of the plasma technology before conventional technologies of coal combustion numerical investigation of plasma ignition, gasification and thermochemical preparation of a pulverized coal for incineration in an experimental furnace with heat capacity of 3 MW was fulfilled. Two computer-codes were used for the research. The computer simulation experiments were conducted for low-rank bituminous coal of 44% ash content. The boiler operation has been studied at the conventional mode of combustion and with arc plasma activation of coal combustion. The experiments and computer simulation showed ecological efficiency of the plasma technology. When a plasma torch operates in the regime of plasma stabilization of pulverized coal flame, NOX emission is reduced twice and amount of unburned carbon is reduced four times. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (Agreement on grant No. 14.613.21.0005, project RFMEFI61314X0005).

Keywords: coal, ignition, plasma-fuel system, plasma torch, thermal power plant

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Authors: Jeonghun Nam, Seonggil Kim, Hyunjoo Choi, Chae Seung Lim

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Quantification and analysis of rare cells are challenging in clinical applications and cell biology due to its extremely small number in blood. In this work, we propose a viscoelastic microfluidic device for continuous cell concentration without sheath flows. Due to the viscoelastic effect on suspending cells, cells with the blockage ratio higher than 0.1 could be tightly focused at the center of the microchannel. The blockage ratio was defined as the particle diameter divided by the channel width. Finally, cells were concentrated through the center outlet and the additional suspending medium was removed to the side outlets. Since viscoelastic focusing is insensitive to the flow rate higher than 10 μl/min, the non-powered hand pump sprayer could be used with no accurate control of the flow rate, which is suitable for clinical settings in resource-limited developing countries. Using multiple concentration processes, high-throughput concentration of white blood cells in lysed blood sample was achieved by ~ 300-fold.

Keywords: cell concentration, high-throughput, non-powered, viscoelastic fluid

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Authors: K. Brince Paul, Nagendra Pratap Singh, Shiv Govind Singh, Siva Rama Krishna Vanjari

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In this paper, we report optimized procedure for synthesizing highly oriented, horizontally aligned, Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires targeted towards developing highly sensitive piezoelectric transduction elements. The synthesis was carried out using Electrospinning technique, a facile, robust, low cost technique for producing nanowires. The as-synthesized ZnO nanowires were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Field Emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).The Piezoelectric behavior of these nanowires was characterized using Peizoelectric Force microscopy (PFM). A very high d33 coefficient of 23.1 pm/V obtained through the PFM measurements is an indicative of its potential application towards developing miniaturized piezoelectric transduction elements for nanoscale devices.

Keywords: electrospinning, piezoelectric, technique, zinc oxide

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Authors: Geanderson Eduardo Ambrósio, Dênis Antônio Da Cunha, Marcel Viana Pires

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Historically, human development has been based on economic gains associated with intensive energy activities, which often are exhaustive in the emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). It requires the establishment of targets for mitigation of GHGs in order to disassociate the human development from emissions and prevent further climate change. Brazil presents itself as one of the most GHGs emitters and it is of critical importance to discuss such reductions in intra-national framework with the objective of distributional equity to explore its full mitigation potential without compromising the development of less developed societies. This research displays some incipient considerations about which Brazil’s micro-regions should reduce, when the reductions should be initiated and what its magnitude should be. We started with the methodological assumption that human development and GHGs emissions arise in the future as their behavior was observed in the past. Furthermore, we assume that once a micro-region became developed, it is able to maintain gains in human development without the need of keep growing GHGs emissions rates. The human development index and the carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2e) were extrapolated to the year 2050, which allowed us to calculate when the micro-regions will become developed and the mass of GHG’s emitted. The results indicate that Brazil must throw 300 GT CO2e in the atmosphere between 2011 and 2050, of which only 50 GT will be issued by micro-regions before it’s develop and 250 GT will be released after development. We also determined national mitigation targets and structured reduction schemes where only the developed micro-regions would be required to reduce. The micro-region of São Paulo, the most developed of the country, should be also the one that reduces emissions at most, emitting, in 2050, 90% less than the value observed in 2010. On the other hand, less developed micro-regions will be responsible for less impactful reductions, i.e. Vale do Ipanema will issue in 2050 only 10% below the value observed in 2010. Such methodological assumption would lead the country to issue, in 2050, 56.5% lower than that observed in 2010, so that the cumulative emissions between 2011 and 2050 would reduce by 130 GT CO2e over the initial projection. The fact of associating the magnitude of the reductions to the level of human development of the micro-regions encourages the adoption of policies that favor both variables as the governmental planner will have to deal with both the increasing demand for higher standards of living and with the increasing magnitude of reducing emissions. However, if economic agents do not act proactively in local and national level, the country is closer to the scenario in which emits more than the one in which mitigates emissions. The research highlighted the importance of considering the heterogeneity in determining individual mitigation targets and also ratified the theoretical and methodological feasibility to allocate larger share of contribution for those who historically emitted more. It is understood that the proposals and discussions presented should be considered in mitigation policy formulation in Brazil regardless of the adopted reduction target.

Keywords: greenhouse gases, human development, mitigation, intensive energy activities

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Authors: Nasim Nosoudi, Amir Zadeh, Hunter White, Joshua Conrad, Joon W. Shim

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De novo Malignancy has become one of the major causes of death after transplantation, so early cancer diagnosis and detection can drastically improve survival rates post-transplantation. Most previous work focuses on using artificial intelligence (AI) to predict transplant success or failure outcomes. In this work, we focused on predicting de novo malignancy after liver transplantation using AI. We chose the patients that had malignancy after liver transplantation with no history of malignancy pre-transplant. Their donors were cancer-free as well. We analyzed 254,200 patient profiles with post-transplant malignancy from the US Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). Several popular data mining methods were applied to the resultant dataset to build predictive models to characterize de novo malignancy after liver transplantation. Recipient's bilirubin, creatinine, weight, gender, number of days recipient was on the transplant waiting list, Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), International normalized ratio (INR), and ascites are among the most important factors affecting de novo malignancy after liver transplantation

Keywords: De novo malignancy, bilirubin, data mining, transplantation

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Authors: Abdul Rahim Al Umairi, Hamed Al Kindi

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The cement production process significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 25% of total industrial emissions. This study systematically examined new, underutilized materials—sewage sludge ash (SSA), marble waste (MW), and calcined clay (CC)—to evaluate their effects when partially replacing white Portland cement (WPC) in cement paste formulations. Various replacement proportions (10%, 20%, and 30%) were tested, along with different treatment temperatures (600°C, 630°C, 730°C, and 850°C) for SSA and CC. To gain a deeper understanding of the resulting materials, analyses such as XRF, XRD, and SEM were conducted. The highest compressive strength recorded for the 28-day cured cement paste was 91 MPa when 20% SSA (treated at 600°C) was used, compared to just 53 MPa for the control sample. Conversely, CC exhibited minimal enhancement in compressive strength, while MW had detrimental effects. Additionally, replacing WPC with SSA and CC at 9% and 21% resulted in slight improvements in compressive strength. This research highlights the potential of utilizing underexploited materials like SSA to improve the mechanical and chemical properties of cement paste, indicating that further investigation is necessary to enhance environmental sustainability.

Keywords: sewage sludge ash, calcined clay, marble waste, cement

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Authors: Javier Carroquino, Nieves García-Casarejos, Pilar Gargallo, F. Javier García-Ramos

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The energy used in agriculture is a source of global emissions of greenhouse gases. The two main types of this energy are electricity for pumping and diesel for agricultural machinery. In order to reduce these emissions, the European project LIFE REWIND addresses the supply of this demand from renewable sources. First of all, comprehensive data on energy demand and available renewable resources have been obtained in several case studies. Secondly, a set of simulations and optimizations have been performed, in search of the best configuration and sizing, both from an economic and emission reduction point of view. For this purpose, it was used software based on genetic algorithms. Thirdly, a prototype has been designed and installed, that it is being used for the validation in a real case. Finally, throughout a year of operation, various technical and economic parameters are being measured for further analysis. The prototype is not connected to the utility grid, avoiding the cost and environmental impact of a grid extension. The system includes three kinds of photovoltaic fields. One is located on a fixed structure on the terrain. Another one is floating on an irrigation raft. The last one is mounted on a two axis solar tracker. Each has its own solar inverter. The total amount of nominal power is 44 kW. A lead acid battery with 120 kWh of capacity carries out the energy storage. Three isolated inverters support a three phase, 400 V 50 Hz micro-grid, the same characteristics of the utility grid. An advanced control subsystem has been constructed, using free hardware and software. The electricity produced feeds a set of seven pumps used for purification, elevation and pressurization of water in a drip irrigation system located in a vineyard. Since the irrigation season does not include the whole year, as well as a small oversize of the generator, there is an amount of surplus energy. With this surplus, a hydrolyser produces on site hydrogen by electrolysis of water. An off-road vehicle with fuel cell feeds on that hydrogen and carries people in the vineyard. The only emission of the process is high purity water. On the one hand, the results show the technical and economic feasibility of stand-alone renewable energy systems to feed seasonal pumping. In this way, the economic costs, the environmental impacts and the landscape impacts of grid extensions are avoided. The use of diesel gensets and their associated emissions are also avoided. On the other hand, it is shown that it is possible to replace diesel in agricultural machinery, substituting it for electricity or hydrogen of 100% renewable origin and produced on the farm itself, without any external energy input. In addition, it is expected to obtain positive effects on the rural economy and employment, which will be quantified through interviews.

Keywords: drip irrigation, greenhouse gases, hydrogen, renewable energy, vineyard

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Authors: Pallavi Thakur, Rakesh K. Garg

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Latent fingerprints are commonly encountered evidence at the scene of the crime. It is very important to decipher these fingerprints in order to explore their identity and a lot of research has been made on the visualization of latent fingermarks on various substrates by numerous researchers. During the past few years large number of powder formulations has been evolved for the development of latent fingermarks on different surfaces. This paper reports a new and simple fingerprint powder which is non-toxic and has been employed on different substrates successfully for the development and visualization of latent fingermarks upto the time period of twelve days in varying temperature conditions. In this study, a less expensive, simple and easily available catechu (kattha) powder has been used to decipher the latent fingermarks on different substrates namely glass, plastic, metal, aluminium foil, white paper, wall tile and wooden sheet. It is observed that it gives very clear results on all the mentioned substrates and can be successfully used for the development and visualization of twelve days old latent fingermarks in varying temperature conditions on wall tiles.

Keywords: fingermarks, catechu, visualization, aged fingermarks

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Authors: Alex Ellery

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Solar power satellites (SPS), despite their promise as a clean energy source, have been relegated out of consideration due to their enormous cost and technological challenge. It has been suggested that for solar power satellites to become economically feasible, launch costs must decrease from their current $20,000/kg to < $200/kg. Even with the advent of single-stage-to-orbit launchers which propose launch costs dropping to $2,000/kg, this will not be realized. Yet, the advantages of solar power satellites are many. Here, I present a novel approach to reduce the specific cost of solar power satellites to ~$1/kg by leveraging two enabling technologies – in-situ resource utilization and 3D printing. The power of such technologies will open up enormous possibilities for providing additional options for combating climate change whilst meeting demands for global energy. From the constraints imposed by in-situ resource utilization, a novel approach to solar energy conversion in SPS may be realized.

Keywords: clean energy sources, in-situ resource utilisation, solar power satellites, thermionic emission

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Authors: N. Tugrul, E. Moroydor Derun, E. Cinar, A. S. Kipcak, N. Baran Acarali, S. Piskin

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Fly ash is an important waste, produced in thermal power plants which causes very important environmental pollutions. For this reason the usage and evaluation the fly ash in various areas are very important. Nearly, 15 million tons/year of fly ash is produced in Turkey. In this study, usage of fly ash with diatomite and molasses for heavy metal (Cd) adsorption from wastewater is investigated. The samples of Seyitomer region fly ash were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) then diatomite (0 and 1% in terms of fly ash, w/w) and molasses (0-0.75 mL) were pelletized under 30 MPa of pressure for the usage of cadmium (Cd) adsorption in wastewater. After the adsorption process, samples of Seyitomer were analyzed using Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). As a result, it is seen that the usage of Seyitomer fly ash is proper for cadmium (Cd) adsorption and an optimum adsorption yield with 52% is found at a compound with Seyitomer fly ash (10 g), diatomite (0.5 g) and molasses (0.75 mL) at 2.5 h of reaction time, pH:4, 20ºC of reaction temperature and 300 rpm of stirring rate.

Keywords: heavy metal, fly ash, molasses, diatomite, adsorption, wastewater

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Authors: Zahra Tabarsi, Mehdi Marjani, Alireza Najafpour, Alborz Mirzade

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The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the macroscopic effect of low level laser and plasma jet for wound healing in rats. The study was performed on 40 old male white rats with an average weight of 250 g and an average age of the same age. After preparing the rats from Ibn Sina Research Institute, they were kept the same for one week under environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and light, and nutrition such as the type of diet and the number of meals. Then, to start the research, rats were randomly divided into two groups (A): laser treatment of wounds, group (B): plasma wound treatment. All rats were inhibited 4 hours before each anesthesia under conditions of abstinence and up to 2 hours after drinking water. Rats were anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of ketamine 10% and xylazine 2%.After scrubbing between two shoulders of each rat, a circular wound was created by sterile 5 mm biopsy puncture. Group A rats were treated with low level laser in three sessions and group B in three sessions with argon plasma. Based on the observed results, it seems that Low level laser radiation has more acceptable and appropriate effects than cold plasma on the healing of rat skin wounds.

Keywords: low-level laser, plasma jet, rat, wound healing

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Authors: Volodymyr Rombakh

Abstract:

This article was written to substantiate the possibility of detecting the precursors of catastrophic destruction of a structure or device and stopping operation before it. Damage to solids results from breaking the bond between atoms, which requires energy. Modern theories of strength and fracture assume that such energy is due to stress. However, in a letter to W. Thomson (Lord Kelvin) dated December 18, 1856, J.C. Maxwell provided evidence that elastic energy cannot destroy solids. He proposed an equation for estimating a deformable body's energy, equal to the sum of two energies. Due to symmetrical compression, the first term does not change, but the second term is distortion without compression. Both types of energy are represented in the equation as a quadratic function of strain, but Maxwell repeatedly wrote that it is not stress but strain. Furthermore, he notes that the nature of the energy causing the distortion is unknown to him. An article devoted to theories of elasticity was published in 1850. Maxwell tried to express mechanical properties with the help of optics, which became possible only after the creation of quantum mechanics. However, Maxwell's work on elasticity is not cited in the theories of strength and fracture. The authors of these theories and their associates are still trying to describe the phenomena they observe based on classical mechanics. The study of Faraday's experiments, Maxwell's and Rutherford's ideas, made it possible to discover a previously unknown area of electromagnetic radiation. The properties of photons emitted in this reaction are fundamentally different from those of photons emitted in nuclear reactions and are caused by the transition of electrons in an atom. The photons released during all processes in the universe, including from plants and organs in natural conditions; their penetrating power in metal is millions of times greater than that of one of the gamma rays. However, they are not non-invasive. This apparent contradiction is because the chaotic motion of protons is accompanied by the chaotic radiation of photons in time and space. Such photons are not coherent. The energy of a solitary photon is insufficient to break the bond between atoms, one of the stages of which is ionization. The photographs registered the rail deformation by 113 cars, while the Gaiger Counter did not. The author's studies show that the cause of damage to a solid is the breakage of bonds between a finite number of atoms due to the stimulated emission of metastable atoms. The guarantee of the reliability of the structure is the ratio of the energy dissipation rate to the energy accumulation rate, but not the strength, which is not a physical parameter since it cannot be measured or calculated. The possibility of continuous control of this ratio is due to the spontaneous emission of photons by metastable atoms. The article presents calculation examples of the destruction of energy and photographs due to the action of photons emitted during the atomic-proton reaction.

Keywords: atomic-proton reaction, precursors of man-made disasters, strain, stress

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Authors: Piotr Kacejko, Lukasz Grabowski, Zdzislaw Kaminski

Abstract:

This paper discusses a model of fuel consumption and on-board electricity generation. Rapid changes in speed result in a constantly changing kinetic energy accumulated in a bus mass and an increased fuel consumption due to hardly recuperated kinetic energy. The model is based on the results achieved from chassis dynamometer, airport and city street researches. The verified model was applied to simulate the on-board electricity generation during the Japanese JE05 Emission Test Cycle. The simulations were performed for several values of vehicle mass and electrical load applied to on-board devices. The research results show that driving dynamics has an impact on a consumption of fuel to drive alternators.

Keywords: city bus, heavy duty vehicle, Japanese JE05 test cycle, power generation

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Authors: Phuong Nguyen, Trung Tran

Abstract:

Along with the global ongoing energy transition, Vietnam has indicated a strong commitment in the last COP events on the zero-carbon emission target. However, it is a real challenge for the nation to replace fossil-fired power plants by a significant amount of renewable energy sources (RES) while maintaining security of supply. The unpredictability and variability of RES would cause technical issues for supply-demand balancing, network congestions, system balancing, among others. It is crucial to take these into account while planning the future grid infrastructure. This study will address both generation and transmission adequacy and reveal a comprehensive analysis about the impact of ongoing energy transition on the development of Vietnam power system in 2030. This will provide insight for creating an secure, stable, and affordable pathway for the country in upcoming years.

Keywords: generation adequacy, transmission adequacy, security of supply, energy transition

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Authors: Mingmei Zhang, Xinyong Li

Abstract:

Novel AgInS2/SnS2/RGO (AISR) heterojunctions photocatalysts were synthesized by simple hydrothermal method. The morphology and composition of the fabricated AISR nanocomposites were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, the as-prepared AISR photocatalysts exhibited excellent photocatalytic activities for the degradation of Norfloxacin (NOR), mainly due to its high optical absorption and separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, as evidenced by UV–vis diffusion reflection spectra (DRS) and Surface photovoltage (SPV) spectra. Furthermore, laser flash photolysis technique was conducted to test the lifetime of charge carriers of the fabricated nanocomposites. The interfacial charges transfer mechanism was also discussed.

Keywords: AISR heterojunctions, electron-hole pairs, SPV spectra, charges transfer mechanism

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Authors: ByungJun Woo

Abstract:

In this study, high-aspect-ratio (HAR) oxide etching characteristics in inductively coupled plasma were investigated using low frequency (2 MHz) bias power with C4F6 gas. An experiment was conducted using CF4/C4F6/He as the mixed gas. A 100 nm (etch area)/500 nm (mask area) line patterns were used, and the etch cross-section and etch selectivity of the amorphous carbon layer thin film were derived using a scanning electron microscope. Ion density was extracted using a double Langmuir probe, and CFx and F neutral species were observed via optical emission spectroscopy. Based on these results, the possibility for HAR oxide etching using C4F6 gas chemistry was suggested in this work. These etching results also indicate that the use of C4F6 gas can significantly contribute to the development of next-generation HAR oxide etching.

Keywords: plasma, etching, C4F6, high aspect ratio, inductively coupled plasma

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Authors: Seonggil Kim, Jeonghun Nam, Chae Seung Lim

Abstract:

Rapid diagnosis of fungal infections is critical for rapid antifungal therapy. However, it is difficult to detect extremely low concentration fungi in blood sample. To address the limitation, separation and concentration of fungi in blood sample are required to enhance the sensitivity of PCR analysis. In this study, we demonstrated a sheathless separation and concentration of fungi, candida cells using a viscoelastic fluid. To validate the performance of the device, microparticle mixture (2 and 13 μm) was used, and those particles were successfully separated based on the size difference at high flow rate of 100 μl/min. For the final application, successful separation of the Candida cells from the white blood cells (WBCs) was achieved. Based on the viscoelastic lateral migration toward the equilibrium position, Candida cells were separated and concentrated by center focusing, while WBCs were removed by patterning into two streams between the channel center and the sidewalls. By flow cytometric analysis, the separation efficiency and the purity were evaluated as ~99% and ~ 97%, respectively. From the results, the device can be the powerful tool for detecting extremely rare disease-related cells.

Keywords: candida cells, concentration, separation, viscoelastic fluid

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Authors: Bahriye Gülgün, Gökhan Balik, Şükrü Dursun, Kübra Yazici

Abstract:

The main reasons such as economic growth of society increase of the world population and rapid changes of industrialization cause the amount and the types of pollutants to increase over time. Soil pollution is the typical side effect of industrial activities. As a result of industrial activities, there are large amounts of heavy metal emission every year. Heavy metals are one of the highest pollution sources according to the soil pollution aspect. The usage of hyperaccumulator plants to clean heavy metal polluted soils and the selection of plants for phytoremediation gain importance recently. There are limited numbers of researches on the ornamental plant types of phytoremediation thus; researches on this subject are important. This research is prepared based on the ornamental plant types with phytoremediation abilities.

Keywords: phytoremediation, ornamental plants, landscape reclamation, soil reclamation, environmental pollution

Procedia PDF Downloads 410