Search results for: low frequency magnetic field

Authors: Asma Naim, Warda Mushtaq

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Staphylococcus species are the most versatile and adaptive organism. They are widespread and naturally found on the skin, mucosa and nose in humans. Among these, Staphylococcus aureus is the most important species. These organisms act as opportunistic pathogens and can infect various organs of the host, causing minor skin infection to severe toxin mediated diseases, and life threatening nosocomial infections. Staphylococcus aureus has acquired resistance against β-lactam antibiotics by the production of β-lactamase, and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains have also been reported with increasing frequency. MRSA strains have been associated with nosocomial as well as community acquired infections. Medicinal plants have enormous potential as antimicrobial substances and have been used in traditional medicine. Search for medicinally valuable plants with antimicrobial activity is being emphasized due to increasing antibiotic resistance in bacteria. In the present study, the antibacterial potential of Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) and Murraya koenigii (curry leaves) was evaluated. These are common household herbs used in food as enhancer of flavor and aroma. The crude aqueous infusion, decoction and ethanolic extracts of curry leaves and rosemary and essential oil of rosemary were investigated in the present study for antibacterial activity against multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus strains using well diffusion method. In the present study, 60 Multi-drug resistant clinical isolates of S. aureus (43) and Coagulase Negative Staphylococci (CoNS) (17) were screened against different concentrations of crude extracts of Rosmarinus officinalis and Murraya koenigii. Out of these 60 isolates, 43 were sensitive to the aqueous infusion of rosemary; 23 to aqueous decoction and 58 to ethanolic extract whereas, 24 isolates were sensitive to the essential oil. In the case of the curry leaves, no antibacterial activity was observed in aqueous infusion and decoction while only 14 isolates were sensitive to the ethanolic extract. The aqueous infusion of rosemary (50% concentration) exhibited a zone of inhibition of 21(±5.69) mm. against CoNS and 17(±4.77) mm. against S. aureus, the zone of inhibition of 50% concentration of aqueous decoction of rosemary was also larger against CoNS 17(±5.78) mm. then S. aureus 13(±6.91) mm. and the 50% concentrated ethanolic extract showed almost similar zone of inhibition in S. aureus 22(±3.61) mm. and CoNS 21(±7.64) mm. whereas, the essential oil of rosemary showed greater zone of inhibition against S. aureus i.e., 16(±4.67) mm. while CoNS showed 15(±6.94) mm. These results show that ethanolic extract of rosemary has significant antibacterial activity. Aqueous infusion and decoction of curry leaves revealed no significant antibacterial potential against all Staphylococcal species and ethanolic extract also showed only a weak response. Staphylococcus strains were susceptible to crude extracts and essential oil of rosemary in a dose depend manner, where the aqueous infusion showed highest zone of inhibition and ethanolic extract also demonstrated antistaphylococcal activity. These results demonstrate that rosemary possesses antistaphylococcal activity.

Keywords: antibacterial activity, curry leaves, multidrug resistant, rosemary, S. aureus

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Yatimah Alias, Tilagam Marimuthu, M. R. Mahmoudian, Sharifah Mohamad

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The rapid growth of science and technology in energy and environmental fields has enlightened the substantial importance of the conducting polymer and metal composite materials engineered at nano-scale. In this study, polypyrrole-cobalt composites (PPy-Co Cs) and polypyrrole-nickel oxide composites (PPy-NiO Cs) were prepared by a simple and facile chemical polymerization method with an aqueous solution of pyrrole monomer in the presence of metal salt. These composites then fabricated into non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and glucose sensor. The morphology and composition of the composites are characterized by the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrum and X-ray Powder Diffraction. The obtained results were compared with the pure PPy and metal oxide particles. The structural and morphology properties of synthesized composites are different from those of pure PPy and metal oxide particles, which were attributed to the strong interaction between the PPy and the metal particles. Besides, a favorable micro-environment for the electrochemical oxidation of H2O2 and glucose was achieved on the modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) coated with PPy-Co Cs and PPy-NiO Cs respectively, resulting in an enhanced amperometric response. Both PPy-Co/GCE and PPy-NiO/GCE give high response towards target analyte at optimum condition of 500 μl pyrrole monomer content. Furthermore, the presence of pyrrole monomer greatly increases the sensitivity of the respective modified electrode. The PPy-Co/GCE could detect H2O2 in a linear range of 20 μM to 80 mM with two linear segments (low and high concentration of H2O2) and the detection limit for both ranges is 2.05 μM and 19.64 μM, respectively. Besides, PPy-NiO/GCE exhibited good electrocatalytic behavior towards glucose oxidation in alkaline medium and could detect glucose in linear ranges of 0.01 mM to 0.50 mM and 1 mM to 20 mM with detection limit of 0.33 and 5.77 μM, respectively. The ease of modifying and the long-term stability of this sensor have made it superior to enzymatic sensors, which must kept in a critical environment.

Keywords: metal oxide, composite, non-enzymatic sensor, polypyrrole

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

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

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

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: Shane-Anthony Smith

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Teachers across grade levels and content areas face a myriad of challenges in the classroom. From inconsistent attendance to disruptive behaviors, these challenges can have a dire impact on the educational space, untimely leading to a loss of instructional time and student disenfranchisement from learning. While these challenges are not new to the educational landscape, the post-COVID classroom has, in many instances, been more severely impacted by behaviors that are not conducive to learning. Despite the mounting challenges, the role of the teacher remains unchanged - that is, to create and maintain a safe environment that is conducive to learning and promotes successful learning outcomes. Accomplishing this feat is no easy task. Yet, there are steps teachers can - indeed, must - take to better set themselves and their students up for success. The key to achieving this success is effective classroom transitions. This paper presents a four-step approach for teachers to engage in successful classroom transitions to promote meaningful student engagement and active positive learning outcomes. The transition strategy I will explore is called PREP (Pause, Reset, Establish Expectations, and Proceed). I developed this strategy in my work as a Residency Director for my university’s teacher residency program. In this role, I am tasked with coaching emerging teachers and their in-service teaching mentors in the field, as well as providing mentorship to special education resident teachers pursuing teaching degrees in the program. As a teacher educator, being in Middle and High school classrooms provides an intricate and critical understanding of the challenges, opportunities, and possibilities in the classroom. For this paper, I will explore how teachers can optimize the opportunities PREP provides to keep students engaged and, thus, improve student achievement. I will describe the approach, explain its use, and provide case-study examples of its classroom application.

Keywords: classroom management, teaching strategies, student engagement, classroom transition

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Authors: Sahithi Yarlagadda

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The design of antenna is constrained by mathematical and geometrical parameters. Though there are diverse antenna structures with wide range of feeds yet, there are many geometries to be tried, which cannot be customized into predefined computational methods. The antenna design and optimization qualify to apply evolutionary algorithmic approach since the antenna parameters weights dependent on geometric characteristics directly. The evolutionary algorithm can be explained simply for a given quality function to be maximized. We can randomly create a set of candidate solutions, elements of the function's domain, and apply the quality function as an abstract fitness measure. Based on this fitness, some of the better candidates are chosen to seed the next generation by applying recombination and permutation to them. In conventional approach, the quality function is unaltered for any iteration. But the antenna parameters and geometries are wide to fit into single function. So, the weight coefficients are obtained for all possible antenna electrical parameters and geometries; the variation is learnt by mining the data obtained for an optimized algorithm. The weight and covariant coefficients of corresponding parameters are logged for learning and future use as datasets. This paper drafts an approach to obtain the requirements to study and methodize the evolutionary approach to automated antenna design for our past work on Vivaldi antenna as test candidate. The antenna parameters like gain, directivity, etc. are directly caged by geometries, materials, and dimensions. The design equations are to be noted here and valuated for all possible conditions to get maxima and minima for given frequency band. The boundary conditions are thus obtained prior to implementation, easing the optimization. The implementation mainly aimed to study the practical computational, processing, and design complexities that incur while simulations. HFSS is chosen for simulations and results. MATLAB is used to generate the computations, combinations, and data logging. MATLAB is also used to apply machine learning algorithms and plotting the data to design the algorithm. The number of combinations is to be tested manually, so HFSS API is used to call HFSS functions from MATLAB itself. MATLAB parallel processing tool box is used to run multiple simulations in parallel. The aim is to develop an add-in to antenna design software like HFSS, CSTor, a standalone application to optimize pre-identified common parameters of wide range of antennas available. In this paper, we have used MATLAB to calculate Vivaldi antenna parameters like slot line characteristic impedance, impedance of stripline, slot line width, flare aperture size, dielectric and K means, and Hamming window are applied to obtain the best test parameters. HFSS API is used to calculate the radiation, bandwidth, directivity, and efficiency, and data is logged for applying the Evolutionary genetic algorithm in MATLAB. The paper demonstrates the computational weights and Machine Learning approach for automated antenna optimizing for Vivaldi antenna.

Keywords: machine learning, Vivaldi, evolutionary algorithm, genetic algorithm

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Authors: Claudia Schier, Arvid Biallas, Bernd Friedrich

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The demand for Li-ion-batteries owing to their benefits, such as; fast charging time, high energy density, low weight, large temperature range, and a long service life performance is increasing compared to other battery systems. These characteristics are substantial not only for battery-operated portable devices but also in the growing field of electromobility where high-performance energy storage systems in the form of batteries are highly requested. Due to the sharp rising production, there is a tremendous interest to recycle spent Li-Ion batteries in a closed-loop manner owed to the high content of valuable metals such as cobalt, manganese, and lithium as well as regarding the increasing demand for those scarce applied metals. Currently, there are just a few industrial processes using hydrometallurgical methods to recover valuable metals from Li-ion-battery waste. In this study, the extraction of valuable metals from spent Li-ion-batteries is investigated by pretreated and subsequently leached battery wastes using different precipitation methods in a comparative manner. For the extraction of lithium, cobalt, and other valuable metals, pelletized battery wastes with an initial Li content of 2.24 wt. % and cobalt of 22 wt. % is used. Hydrochloric acid with 4 mol/L is applied with 1:50 solid to liquid (s/l) ratio to generate pregnant leach solution for subsequent precipitation steps. In order to obtain pure precipitates, two different pathways (pathway 1 and pathway 2) are investigated, which differ from each other with regard to the precipitation steps carried out. While lithium carbonate recovery is the final process step in pathway 1, pathway 2 requires a preliminary removal of lithium from the process. The aim is to evaluate both processes in terms of purity and yield of the products obtained. ICP-OES is used to determine the chemical content of leach liquor as well as of the solid residue.

Keywords: hydrochloric acid, hydrometallurgy, Li-ion-batteries, metal recovery

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Authors: Juan C. Pérez-Mesa, Emilio Galdeano-Gómez, Jerónimo De Burgos-Jiménez, José F. Bienvenido-Bárcena, José F. Jiménez-Guerrero

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Environmental cost and transport congestion on roads resulting from product distribution in Europe have to lead to the creation of various programs and studies seeking to reduce these negative impacts. In this regard, apart from other institutions, the European Commission (EC) has designed plans in recent years promoting a more sustainable transportation model in an attempt to ultimately shift traffic from the road to the sea by using intermodality to achieve a model rebalancing. This issue proves especially relevant in supply chains from peripheral areas of the continent, where the supply of certain agrifood products is high. In such cases, the most difficult challenge is managing perishable goods. This study focuses on new approaches that strengthen the modal shift, as well as the reduction of externalities. This problem is analyzed by attempting to promote intermodal system (truck and short sea shipping) for transport, taking as point of reference highly perishable products (vegetables) exported from southeast Spain, which is the leading supplier to Europe. Methodologically, this paper seeks to contribute to the literature by proposing a different and complementary approach to establish a comparison between intermodal and the “only road” alternative. For this purpose, the multicriteria decision is utilized in a p-median model (P-M) adapted to the transport of perishables and to a means of shipping selection problem, which must consider different variables: transit cost, including externalities, time, and frequency (including agile response time). This scheme avoids bias in decision-making processes. By observing the results, it can be seen that the influence of the externalities as drivers of the modal shift is reduced when transit time is introduced as a decision variable. These findings confirm that the general strategies, those of the EC, based on environmental benefits lose their capacity for implementation when they are applied to complex circumstances. In general, the different estimations reveal that, in the case of perishables, intermodality would be a secondary and viable option only for very specific destinations (for example, Hamburg and nearby locations, the area of influence of London, Paris, and the Netherlands). Based on this framework, the general outlook on this subject should be modified. Perhaps the government should promote specific business strategies based on new trends in the supply chain, not only on the reduction of externalities, and find new approaches that strengthen the modal shift. A possible option is to redefine ports, conceptualizing them as digitalized redistribution and coordination centers and not only as areas of cargo exchange.

Keywords: environmental externalities, intermodal transport, perishable food, transit time

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Authors: Rachel P. Vasconcellos

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The Russian constructivism is usually enshrined in history as another ''modernist ism'', that is, as an artistic phenomenon related to the early twentieth century‘s zeitgeist. What we aim in this essay is to analyze the constructivist movement not over the Art History field neither through the aesthetic debate, but through a geographical critical theory, taking the main idea of construction in the concrete sense of production of space. Seen from the perspective of the critique of space, the constructivist production is presented as a plan of totality, designed as socialist society‘s spatiality, contemplating and articulating all its scalar levels: the objects of everyday life, the building, the city and the territory. The constructivist avant-garde manifests a geographical ideology, launching the foundation‘s basis of modern planning ideology. Taken in its political sense, the artistic avant-garde of the Russian Revolution intended to anticipate the forms of a social future already put in progress: their plastic research pointed to new formal expressions to revolutionary contents. With the foundation of new institutions under a new State, it was given to the specialized labor of artists, architects, and planners the task of designing the socialist society, based on the thesis of scientific socialism. Their projects were developed under the politico-economics imperatives to the Soviet modernization – that is: the structural needs of industrialization and inclusion of all people in the productive work universe. This context shapes the creative atmosphere of the constructivist avant-garde, which uses the methods of engineering to the transform everyday life. Architecture, urban planning, and state planning integrated must then operate as spatial arrangement morphologically able to produce socialist life. But due to the intrinsic contradictions of the process, the rational and geometric aesthetic of the City-Machine appears, finally, as an image of a scientific socialist utopia.

Keywords: city-machine, critique of space, production of space, soviet territorialization

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Authors: Shanawaz Patil, Mohamed Haneef, K. S. Narayanaswamy

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In the recent years, aluminum metal matrix composites were most widely used, which are finding wide applications in various field such as automobile, aerospace defense etc., due to their outstanding mechanical properties like low density, light weight, exceptional high levels of strength, stiffness, wear resistance, high temperature resistance, low coefficient of thermal expansion and good formability. In the present work, an effort is made to study the effect of heat treatment on mechanical properties of aluminum 7075 alloy reinforced with constant weight percentage of naturally occurring mineral beryl and varying weight percentage of graphene. The hybrid composites are developed with 0.5 wt. %, 1wt.%, 1.5 wt.% and 2 wt.% of graphene and 6 wt.% of beryl  by stir casting liquid metallurgy route. The cast specimens of unreinforced aluminum alloy and hybrid composite samples were prepared for heat treatment process and subjected to solutionizing treatment (T6) at a temperature of 490±5 ^oC for 8 hours in a muffle furnace followed by quenching in boiling water. The microstructure analysis of as cast and heat treated hybrid composite specimens are examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The tensile test and hardness test of unreinforced aluminum alloy and hybrid composites are examined. The wear behavior is examined by pin-on disc apparatus. The results of as cast specimens and heat treated specimens were compared. The heat treated Al7075-Beryl-Graphene hybrid composite had better properties and significantly improved the ultimate tensile strength, hardness and reduced wear loss when compared to aluminum alloy and  as cast hybrid composites.

Keywords: beryl, graphene, heat treatment, mechanical properties

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Authors: Hemalatha Jain, M. Vasantha

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Patteda Anchu is one of the first variety of sari woven centuries ago in Gajendragarh village from Gadag district of north Karnataka. The sari played a significant role in bringing together the socio-cultural aspect in ancient days. It was used as wedding sari for bride and also to adorn goddess Yellamma Saundatti by the devotees. Indian traditional art and crafts were rich in culture and diversity, however with the onset of liberalisation and end of the license raj lot of traditional Indian artwork are on the verge of extinction today. Patteda Anchu is one of the examples of traditional art lost to globalisation. The main aim of the study was to document the ancient weaving tradition of the Patteda Anchu and revive by exploring the weaving possibility as yardage with different product layout. To accomplish the formulated objectives a exploratory cum diagnostic study was planned. Data was collected through observations and interviews schedule during the field visits in Gajendragarh village. There are very few weavers weaving on traditional looms and many weavers who have moved to weaving other sari's or construction work were interviewed to understand the downfall of the sari. The discussions and interviews conducted with the local weavers, shop keepers, sales agents, weaving society, NGOs and Self help groups helped in unearthing the new opportunities to develop products for the local and national market and help start weaving of Patteda Anchu and expand its market. The handloom art details in terms of raw materials, loom set up, dyeing, types of Patteda Anchu, weaving process and colors were documented through photographs, video recordings and supplemented with notes. Based on the analysis of the feedback gathered it was recommended to develop products on the handloom without changing the width frame or design of the traditional weaving methods. The weavers, weavers society and other cooperatives centres also were in consent with the new product development which will help sustain the Patteda Anchu.

Keywords: Gajendragarh, patteda Anchu sari, revival of traditional art, weaving, handloom

Procedia PDF Downloads 513

Authors: Amenador Kate Benedicta, Wang Zhiwei

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Since the later parts of the 20th century, the notion of equivalence continues to be a central and critical concept in the development of translation theory. After decades of arguments over word-for-word and free translations methods, scholars attempting to develop more systematic and efficient translation theories began to focus on fundamental translation concepts such as equivalence. Although the concept of equivalence has piqued the interest of many scholars, its definition, scope, and applicability have sparked contentious arguments within the discipline. As a result, several distinct theories and explanations on the concept of equivalence have been put forward over the last half-century. Thus, this study explores and discusses the evolution of the critical concept of equivalence in translation studies through a bibliometric method of investigation of manual and digital books and articles by analyzing different scholars' key contributions and limitations on equivalence from various theoretical perspectives. While analyzing them, emphasis is placed on the innovations that each theory has brought to the comprehension of equivalence. In order to achieve the aim of the study, the article began by discussing the contributions of linguistically motivated theories to the notion of equivalence in translation, followed by functionalist-oriented contributions, before moving on to more recent advancements in translation studies on the concept. Because equivalence is such a broad notion, it is impossible to discuss each researcher in depth. As a result, the most well-known names and their equivalent theories are compared and contrasted in this research. The study emphasizes the developmental progression in our comprehension of the equivalence concept and equivalent effect. It concluded that the various theoretical perspective's contributions to the notion of equivalence rather complement and make up for the limitations of each other. The study also highlighted how troublesome the equivalent concept might become in terms of identifying the nature of translation and how central and unavoidable the concept is in every translation action, despite its limitations. The significance of the study lies in its synthesis of the different contributions and limitations of the various theories offered by scholars on the notion of equivalence, lending literature to both student and scholars in the field, and providing insight on future theoretical development

Keywords: equivalence, functionalist translation theories, linguistic translation approaches, translation theories, Skopos

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Authors: Camila Lozano-Vivas, Camila Quevedo-Villamil, Ingrid Munoz-Quijano, Diego Loaiza

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Colombia's limited oil reserves make the finding of new fields of extraction or the potentiate of the existing ones a more important task to do every day; the exploration projects that allow to have a better knowledge of the oil basins are essential. The upper Magdalena Valley basin - VSM, whose reserves are limited, has been one of the first basins for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in Colombia. The Hondita and Lomagorda formations were deposited in the Late Cretaceous Middle Albian to the Coniacian and are characterized by being the hydrocarbon-generating rocks in the VSM basin oil system along with the Shale de Bambucá; therefore multiple studies have been made. In the oil industry, geochemical properties are used to understand the origin, migration, accumulation, and alteration of hydrocarbons and, in general, the evolution of the basin containing them. One of the most important parameters to understand this evolution is the formation temperature of the oil system. For this reason, a microthermometric study of fluid inclusions was carried out to recognize formation temperatures and to determine certain basic physicochemical variables, homogenization temperature, pressure, density and salinity of the fluid at the time of entrapment, providing evidence on the history of different events in different geological environments in the evolution of a sedimentary basin. Prior to this study, macroscopic and microscopic petrographic analyses of the samples collected in the field were performed. The results of the mentioned properties of the fluid inclusions in the different samples analyzed have salinities ranging from 20.22% to 26.37% eq. by weight NaCl, similar densities found in the ranges of 1.05 to 1.16 g/cc and an average homogenization temperature at 142.92°C, indicating that, at the time of their entanglement, the rock was in the window of generation of medium hydrocarbons –light with fragile characteristics of the rock that would make it useful to treat them as naturally fractured reservoirs.

Keywords: homogenization temperature, fluid inclusions, microthermometry, salinity

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Authors: Brindusa Balanuca, Raluca Stan, Cristina Ott, Matei Raicopol

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The current study aims to develop anti corrosive coatings using vegetable oil (VO)-based polymers. Due to their chemical versatility, reduced costs and more important, higher hydrophobicity, VO’s are great candidates in the field of anti-corrosive materials. Lignin (Ln) derivatives were also used in this research study in order to achieve performant hydrophobic anti-corrosion layers. Methods Through a rational functionalization pathway, the selected VO (linseed oil) is converted to more reactive monomer – methacrylate linseed oil (noted MLO). The synthesized MLO cover the metals surface in a thin layer and through different polymerization techniques (using visible radiation or temperature, respectively) and well-established reaction conditions, is converted to a hydrophobic coating capable to protect the metals against corrosive factors. In order to increase the anti-corrosion protection, lignin (Ln) was selected to be used together with MLO macromonomer. Thus, super hydrophobic protective coatings will be formulated. Results The selected synthetic strategy to convert the VO in more reactive compounds – MLO – has led to a functionalization degree of greater than 80%. The obtained monomers were characterized through NMR and FT-IR by monitoring the characteristic signals after each synthesis step. Using H-NMR data, the functionalization degrees were established. VO-based and also VO-Ln anti corrosion formulations were both photochemical and thermal polymerized in specific reaction conditions (initiators, temperature range, reaction time) and were tested as anticorrosive coatings. Complete and advances characterization of the synthesized materials will be presented in terms of thermal, mechanical and morphological properties. The anticorrosive properties were also evaluated and will be presented. Conclusions Through the design strategy briefly presented, new composite materials for metal corrosion protection were successfully developed, using natural derivatives: vegetable oils and lignin, respectively.

Keywords: anticorrosion protection, hydrophobe layers, lignin, methacrylates, vegetable oil

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Authors: Orod Zarrin, Mohesn Ramezan Shirazi, Hassan Moniri

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The use of pile foundations technique is developed to support structures and buildings on soft soil. The most important dynamic load that can affect the pile structure is earthquake vibrations. From the 1960s the comprehensive investigation of pile foundations during earthquake excitation indicate that, piles are subject to damage by affecting the superstructure integrity and serviceability. The main part of these research has been focused on the behavior of liquefiable soil and lateral spreading load on piles. During an earthquake, two types of stresses can damage the pile head, inertial load that is caused by superstructure and deformation which caused by the surrounding soil. Soil deformation and inertial load are associated with the acceleration developed in an earthquake. The acceleration amplitude at the ground surface depends on the magnitude of earthquakes, soil properties and seismic source distance. According to the investigation, the damage is between the liquefiable and non-liquefiable layers and also soft and stiff layers. This damage crushes the pile head by increasing the inertial load which is applied by the superstructure. On the other hand, the cracks on the piles due to the surrounding soil are directly related to the soil profile and causes cracks from small to large. And researchers have been listed the large cracks reason such as liquefaction, lateral spreading and inertial load. In the field of designing, elastic response of piles are always a challenge for designer in liquefaction soil, by allowing deflection at top of piles. Moreover, absence of plastic hinges in piles should be insured, because the damage in the piles is not observed directly. In this study, the performance and behavior of pile foundations during liquefaction and lateral spreading are investigated. And emphasize on the soil behavior in the liquefiable and non-liquefiable layers by different aspect of piles damage such as ranking, location and degree of damage are going to discuss.

Keywords: self-compacting concrete, fiber, tensile strength, post-cracking, direct and inverse technique

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Authors: Ashkan Asgari, Korous Khoshbakht, Saeid Soufizadeh

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Various factors including land lots can affect biodiversity indices in Agricultural systems. Field study conducted to evaluate factors affecting crop diversity in Sarpolzahab in 2012. Required data were collected through direct observation of farms and filling questionnaires. Total numbers of 140 questionnaires were filled, SAS Software was used to analyse data and Ecological Methodology Program was applied to calculate Shannon-Winner index, subsequently. Results of study indicated that average number of land lots for each farmer was 2.78 and various from 2.2 in Rikhak Olia Village to 4.31 in Golam Kaboud Olia Village which shows small size of land lots due to separating larger lots by children of deceased farmers. The correlation between number of land lots and species biodiversity (0.308**) was significant and Shannon-Winner index was (0.262**). Therefore, according to the mentioned results one can assume that increase in number of land lots results in improving of the target index. Multiple land lots allow farmers to cultivate various crops which results in increasing biodiversity of crops in agro ecosystem. Subsequently, this increase will facilitate economic sustainability of the farmers and distribution of work force in the region throughout the year. The correlation of seasonal workers with biodiversity of crop species (0.256**) and Shannon-Winner (0.286**) was statistically significant and increasing number of seasonal work forces had resulted in improving crop biodiversity and decreasing dominant species or single crop farming systems. Vegetable farms which have a significant diversity, require a significant number of work forces which describes correlation between number of workers and diversity of species.

Keywords: agricultural systems, biodiversity indices, Shannon-Winner index, sustainability, rural

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Authors: SHWETA SRIKUMAR

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Winter stratospheric dynamics is a highly variable and spectacular field of research in middle atmosphere. It is well believed that the interaction of energetic planetary waves with mean flow causes the temperature to increase in the stratosphere and associated circulation reversal. This wave driven sudden disturbances in the polar stratosphere is defined as Sudden Stratospheric Warming. The main objective of the present work is to investigate the mid-winter major stratospheric warming events on equatorial dynamics over Peninsular India. To explore the effect of mid-winter stratospheric warming on Indian region (60oE -100oE), we have selected the winters 2003/04, 2005/06, 2008/09, 2012/13 and 2018/19. This study utilized the data from ERA-Interim Reanalysis, Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) from NOAA and TRMM satellite data from NASA mission. It is observed that a sudden drop in OLR (averaged over Indian Region) occurs during the course of warming for the winters 2005/06, 2008/09 and 2018/19. But in winters 2003/04 and 2012/13, drop in OLR happens prior to the onset of major warming. Significant amplitude of planetary wave activity is observed in equatorial lower stratosphere which indicates the propagation of extra-tropical planetary waves from high latitude to equator. During the course of warming, a strong downward propagation of EP flux convergence is observed from polar to equator region. The polar westward wind reaches upto 20oN and the weak eastward wind dominates the equator during the winters 2003/04, 2005/06 and 2018/19. But in 2012/13 winter, polar westward wind reaches upto equator. The equatorial wind at 2008/09 is dominated by strong westward wind. Further detailed results will be presented in the conference.

Keywords: Equatorial dynamics, Outgoing Longwave Radiation, Sudden Stratospheric Warming, Planetary Waves

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Authors: Priyanka Verma, Vijaya Dixit, Rishabh Bajpai

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This research paper is aimed at selecting appropriate material handling equipment among the given choices so that the automation level in material handling can be enhanced. This work is a practical case scenario of material handling systems in consumer electronic appliances manufacturing organization. The choices of material handling equipment among which the decision has to be made are Automated Guided Vehicle’s (AGV), Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR), Overhead Conveyer’s (OC) and Battery Operated Trucks/Vehicle’s (BOT). There is a need of attaining a certain level of automation in order to reduce human interventions in the organization. This requirement of achieving certain degree of automation can be attained by material handling equipment’s mentioned above. The main motive for selecting above equipment’s for study was solely based on corporate financial strategy of investment and return obtained through that investment made in stipulated time framework. Since the low cost automation with respect to material handling devices has to be achieved hence these equipment’s were selected. Investment to be done on each unit of this equipment is less than 20 lakh rupees (INR) and the recovery period is less than that of five years. Fuzzy analytic hierarchic process (FAHP) is applied here for selecting equipment where the four choices are evaluated on basis of four major criteria’s and 13 sub criteria’s, and are prioritized on the basis of weight obtained. The FAHP used here make use of triangular fuzzy numbers (TFN). The inability of the traditional AHP in order to deal with the subjectiveness and impreciseness in the pair-wise comparison process has been improved in the FAHP. The range of values for general rating purposes for all decision making parameters is kept between 0 and 1 on the basis of expert opinions captured on shop floor. These experts were familiar with operating environment and shop floor activity control. Instead of generating exact value the FAHP generates the ranges of values to accommodate the uncertainty in decision-making process. The four major criteria’s selected for the evaluation of choices of material handling equipment’s available are materials, technical capabilities, cost and other features. The thirteen sub criteria’s listed under these following four major criteria’s are weighing capacity, load per hour, material compatibility, capital cost, operating cost and maintenance cost, speed, distance moved, space required, frequency of trips, control required, safety and reliability issues. The key finding shows that among the four major criteria selected, cost is emerged as the most important criteria and is one of the key decision making aspect on the basis of which material equipment selection is based on. While further evaluating the choices of equipment available for each sub criteria it is found that AGV scores the highest weight in most of the sub-criteria’s. On carrying out complete analysis the research shows that AGV is the best material handling equipment suiting all decision criteria’s selected in FAHP and therefore it is beneficial for the organization to carry out automated material handling in the facility using AGV’s.

Keywords: fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), material handling equipment, subjectiveness, triangular fuzzy number (TFN)

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Authors: Arzyana Sunkar, Yanto Santosa, Intan Purnamasari, Yohanna Dalimunthe

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A variety of negative allegations have criticized the Indonesian oil palm plantations as being environmentally unfriendly. One of the important allegations thus must be verified is that expansion of Indonesian oil palm plantation has increased the deforestation rate of primary tropical forest. In relation to this, a research was conducted to study the origin or history of the status and land use of 8 private oil palm plantations (with a total of 46,372.38 ha) located in Riau Province. Several methods were employed: (1) conducting analysis of overlay maps between oil palm plantation studied with the 1986 Forest Map Governance Agreement (TGHK) and the 1994 and 2014 Riau Provincial Spatial Plans(RTRWP); (2) studying the Cultivation Right on Land (HGU) documents including the Forestry Ministerial Decree on the release of forest area and (3) interpretation of lands at imagery of bands 542, covering 3 years before and after the oil palm industries operated. In addition, field cross-checked, and interviews were conducted with National Land Agency, Plantation and Forestry Office and community figures. The results indicated that as much as 1.95% of the oil palm plantations under study were converted from production forest, 30.34% from limited production forest and 67.70% from area for other usage /conversion production forest. One year prior to the establishment of the plantations, the land cover types comprised of rubber plantations (49.96%), secondary forest (35.99%), bare land (10.17%), shrubs (3.03%) and mixed dryland farming-shrubs (0.84%), whereas the land use types comprised of 35.99% forest concession areas, 14.04% migrants dryland farms, and 49.96% Cultivation Right on Land of other companies. These results indicated that most of the private oil palm plantations under study, resulted from the conversion of production forests and the previous land use were not primary forest but rubber plantations and secondary forests.

Keywords: land cover types, land use history, primary forest, private oil palm plantations

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Authors: Francisco Domingos Francisco

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Tropical forests are key providers of many Ecosystem Services (ES), contributing to human wellbeing on a global and local scale. Communities around and within Moribane Forest Reserve (MFR), Manica Province - Mozambique, benefit from ES through the exploitation of non-wood and wood forest products. The objective was to assess the provisioning capacity of the MFR in woody forest products in species and profiles of interest to local communities in the main sources of extraction. Social data relating to the basic needs of local communities for these products were captured through an exploratory study before this one. From that study, it became known about the most collected wood species, the sources of collection, and their availability in the profiles of greatest interest to them. A field survey through 39 rectangular 50mx20m plots was conducted with 13 plots established in each of the three land-use types (LUT), namely Restricted Forest, Unrestricted Forest, and Disturbed areas. The results show that 89 species were identified, of which 28 (31.4%) are assumed to be the most used by the communities. The number of species of local interest does not vary across the LUT (p>0.05). The most used species (MUS) is distributed in 82% in Restricted Forest, 75% in Unrestricted, and also 75% in Disturbed. Most individuals of both general and MUS found in Unrestricted Forest, and Degraded areas have lower end profiles (5-7 cm), representing 0.77 and 0.26%, respectively. The profile of individuals of species of local interest varies by LUT (p<0.05), and their greatest proportion (0.51%) outside the lower end is found in Restricted Forest. There were no similarities between the LUT for the species in general (JCI <0.5) but between the MUS (JCI >0.5). Conclusion, the areas authorized for the exploitation of wood forest products in the MFR tend to reduce their ability to provide local communities with forest products in species and profiles of their interest. This reduction item is a serious threat to the biodiversity of the Restricted Forest. The study can help the academic community in future studies by replicating the methodology used for monitoring purposes or conducting studies in other similar areas, and the results may support decision-makers in designing better strategies for sustainability.

Keywords: ecosystem services, land-use types, local communities, species profile, wellbeing, wood forest product

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Authors: Chengalappa Seenappa, Narayanappa Devkumar, Narayanappa Nagaraja

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Mulberry leaf is the major economic component in sericulture and quality of leaf produced per unit area has a direct effect on quality of cocoon. Among all the agronomical inputs, irrigation water has highest impact on mulberry leaf quantity and quality. The water productivity in sericulture in the country is inadequate and inefficient though India has the largest irrigated area. There is a need of proper irrigation methods and conservation practices to ensure efficiency and economy in water use. Hence, this field experiment was conducted at College of Sericulture, Chintamani, Chickaballapur district, Karnataka, India during 2013 and 2014 to know the quantity, quality and water productivity of mulberry influenced by different methods, levels of irrigation and mulching in Eastern Dry Zone (EDZ) of Karnataka, India. The results revealed that the mulberry leaf quantity, quality and water productivity were significantly influenced by different methods, levels of irrigation and mulching. Subsurface drip irrigation at 0.8 CPE (Cumulative Pan Evaporation) recorded higher leaf yield, chlorophyll, relative water, protein content and water productivity (42857 kg ha-1 yr-1, 8.54, 65.80%, 22.27% and 364.41 kg hacm-1, respectively) than surface drip at 1.0 CPE (38809 kg ha-1 yr-1, 7.34, 62.76%, 17.75% and 264 10 kg hacm-1, respectively) and micro spray jet at 1.0 CPE (39931 kg ha-1 yr-1, 7.96, 63.50%, 19.00%, 35617 kg ha-1 yr-1 and 271.83 kg hacm-1, respectively). Mulching treatment recorded maximum leaf yield, chlorophyll, relative water, protein content and water productivity (38035 kg ha-1 yr-1, 7.12, 62.11%, 16.14% and 330 kg hacm-1, respectively) compared to without mulching. These results clearly indicated that subsurface drip irrigation at lower level of irrigation (0.8 CPE) and mulching increased the quantity, quality and water productivity of mulberry leaf than surface drip and micro spray jet irrigation at higher level of irrigation (1.0 CPE) by saving 20 per cent of water. Therefore, in the coming days subsurface drip irrigation in mulberry cultivation may be more appropriate to realise higher yield, quality and water productivity in EDZ of Karnataka, India.

Keywords: subsurface drip irrigation, mulching, water productivity, mulberry

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Authors: Muhittin Karaman, Murat Budakoglu

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In this study, derivation of lake bathymetry was evaluated using the high resolution Worldview-2 multispectral images in the very shallow hypersaline Lake Acıgöl which does not have a stable water table due to the wet-dry season changes and industrial usage. Every year, a great part of the lake water budget has been consumed for the industrial salt production in the evaporation ponds, which are generally located on the south and north shores of Lake Acıgöl. Therefore, determination of the water level changes from a perspective of remote sensing-based lake water by bathymetry studies has a great importance in the sustainability-control of the lake. While the water table interval is around 1 meter between dry and wet season, dissolved ion concentration, salinity and turbidity also show clear differences during these two distinct seasonal periods. At the same time, with the satellite data acquisition (June 9, 2013), a field study was conducted to collect the salinity values, Secchi disk depths and turbidity levels. Max depth, Secchi disk depth and salinity were determined as 1,7 m, 0,9 m and 43,11 ppt, respectively. Eight-band Worldview-2 image was corrected for atmospheric effects by ATCOR technique. For each sampling point in the image, mean reflectance values in 1*1, 3*3, 5*5, 7*7, 9*9, 11*11, 13*13, 15*15, 17*17, 19*19, 21*21, 51*51 pixel reflectance neighborhoods were calculated separately. A unique image has been derivated for each matrix resolution. Spectral values and depth relation were evaluated for these distinct resolution images. Correlation coefficients were determined for the 1x1 matrix: 0,98, 0,96, 0,95 and 0,90 for the 724 nm, 831 nm, 908 nm and 659 nm, respectively. While 15x5 matrix characteristics with 0,98, 0,97 and 0,97 correlation values for the 724 nm, 908 nm and 831 nm, respectively; 51x51 matrix shows 0,98, 0,97 and 0,96 correlation values for the 724 nm, 831 nm and 659 nm, respectively. Comparison of all matrix resolutions indicates that RedEdge band (724 nm) of the Worldview-2 satellite image has the best correlation with the saline shallow lake of Acıgöl in-situ depth.

Keywords: bathymetry, Worldview-2 satellite image, ATCOR technique, Lake Acıgöl, Denizli, Turkey

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Authors: Manish Pandey, Gurinderjit Kaur, Meenu Talwar, Sachin Chauhan, Jagbir Gill

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Health-care management systems are a unit of nice connection as a result of the supply a straightforward and fast management of all aspects relating to a patient, not essentially medical. What is more, there are unit additional and additional cases of pathologies during which diagnosing and treatment may be solely allotted by victimization medical imaging techniques. With associate ever-increasing prevalence, medical pictures area unit directly acquired in or regenerate into digital type, for his or her storage additionally as sequent retrieval and process. Data Mining is the process of extracting information from large data sets through using algorithms and Techniques drawn from the field of Statistics, Machine Learning and Data Base Management Systems. Forecasting may be a prediction of what's going to occur within the future, associated it's an unsure method. Owing to the uncertainty, the accuracy of a forecast is as vital because the outcome foretold by foretelling the freelance variables. A forecast management should be wont to establish if the accuracy of the forecast is within satisfactory limits. Fuzzy regression strategies have normally been wont to develop shopper preferences models that correlate the engineering characteristics with shopper preferences relating to a replacement product; the patron preference models offer a platform, wherever by product developers will decide the engineering characteristics so as to satisfy shopper preferences before developing the merchandise. Recent analysis shows that these fuzzy regression strategies area units normally will not to model client preferences. We tend to propose a Testing the strength of Exponential Regression Model over regression toward the mean Model.

Keywords: health-care management systems, fuzzy regression, data mining, forecasting, fuzzy membership function

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: Aya Al Masri, Kamel Guerchouche, Youssef Laynaoui, Safoin Aktaou, Malorie Martin, Fouad Maaloul

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Introduction: Mobile C-arms move throughout operating rooms of the operating theater. Being designed to move between rooms, they are not equipped with relays to retrieve the exposition information and export it outside the room. Therefore, no light signaling is available outside the room to warn the X-ray emission for staff. Inadvertent exposition of staff outside the operating theater is a real problem for radiation protection. The French standard NFC 15-160 require that: (1) access to any room containing an X-ray emitting device must be controlled by a light signage so that it cannot be inadvertently crossed, and (2) setting up an emergency button to stop the X-ray emission. This study presents a system that we developed to meet these requirements and the results of its clinical test. Materials and methods: The system is composed of two communicating boxes: o The "DetectBox" is to be installed inside the operating theater. It identifies the various operation states of the C-arm by analyzing its power supply signal. The DetectBox communicates (in wireless mode) with the second box (AlertBox). o The "AlertBox" can operate in socket or battery mode and is to be installed outside the operating theater. It detects and reports the state of the C-arm by emitting a real time light signal. This latter can have three different colors: red when the C-arm is emitting X-rays, orange when it is powered on but does not emit X-rays, and green when it is powered off. The two boxes communicate on a radiofrequency link exclusively carried out in the ‘Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM)’ frequency bands and allows the coexistence of several on-site warning systems without communication conflicts (interference). Taking into account the complexity of performing electrical works in the operating theater (for reasons of hygiene and continuity of medical care), this system (having a size <10 cm²) works in complete safety without any intrusion in the mobile C-arm and does not require specific electrical installation work. The system is equipped with emergency button that stops X-ray emission. The system has been clinically tested. Results: The clinical test of the system shows that: it detects X-rays having both high and low energy (50 – 150 kVp), high and low photon flow (0.5 – 200 mA: even when emitted for a very short time (<1 ms)), Probability of false detection < 10-5, it operates under all acquisition modes (continuous, pulsed, fluoroscopy mode, image mode, subtraction and movie mode), it is compatible with all C-arm models and brands. We have also tested the communication between the two boxes (DetectBox and AlertBox) in several conditions: (1) Unleaded room, (2) leaded room, and (3) rooms with particular configuration (sas, great distances, concrete walls, 3 mm of lead). The result of these last tests was positive. Conclusion: This system is a reliable tool to alert the staff present outside the operating room for X-ray emission and insure their radiation protection.

Keywords: Clinical test, Inadvertent staff exposition, Light signage, Operating theater

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Authors: Yasir M. Alyazichi, Brian G. Jones, Errol McLean, Hamd N. Altalyan, Ali K. M. Al-Nasrawi

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The main purpose of this study is to assess the sediment quality and potential ecological risk in marine sediments in Gymea Bay located in south Sydney, Australia. A total of 32 surface sediment samples were collected from the bay. Current track trajectories and velocities have also been measured in the bay. The resultant trace elements were compared with the adverse biological effect values Effect Range Low (ERL) and Effect Range Median (ERM) classifications. The results indicate that the average values of chromium, arsenic, copper, zinc, and lead in surface sediments all reveal low pollution levels and are below ERL and ERM values. The highest concentrations of trace elements were found close to discharge points and in the inner bay, and were linked with high percentages of clay minerals, pyrite and organic matter, which can play a significant role in trapping and accumulating these elements. The lowest concentrations of trace elements were found to be on the shoreline of the bay, which contained high percentages of sand fractions. It is postulated that the fine particles and trace elements are disturbed by currents and tides, then transported and deposited in deeper areas. The current track velocities recorded in Gymea Bay had the capability to transport fine particles and trace element pollution within the bay. As a result, hydrodynamic measurements were able to provide useful information and to help explain the distribution of sedimentary particles and geochemical properties. This may lead to knowledge transfer to other bay systems, including those in remote areas. These activities can be conducted at a low cost, and are therefore also transferrable to developing countries. The advent of portable instruments to measure trace elements in the field has also contributed to the development of these lower cost and easily applied methodologies available for use in remote locations and low-cost economies.

Keywords: current track velocities, gymea bay, surface sediments, trace elements

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Ivan Gunass Govender, Andrea Giampiccoli

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A developmental state should use community engagement to facilitate socio-economic development for disadvantaged groups and individual members of society through empowerment, social justice, sustainability, and self-reliance. In this regard, community-based tourism (CBT) as a growing market should be an indigenous effort aided by external facilitation. Since this form of tourism presents its own preconditions, characteristics, and challenges, it could be guided by higher education institutions engagement. In particular, the facilitation should not only serve to assist the community members to reach their own goals; but rather also focus on learning through knowledge creation and sharing with the engagement of higher education institutions. While the increased relevance of CBT has produced various CBT manuals (or handbooks/guidelines) documents aimed to ‘teach’ and assist various entities in CBT development, this research aims to analyse the current monitoring & evaluation (M&E) manuals and thereafter, propose an M&E model for CBT. It is important to mention that all too often effective monitoring is seldom carried out thus risking the long-term sustainability and improvement of the CBT ventures. Therefore, the proposed model will also consider some inputs external to the tourism field, but in relation to local economic development (LED) matters from the previously proposed development monitoring and evaluation system framework. M&E should be seen as fundamental components of any CBT initiative, and the whole CBT intervention should be evaluated. In this context, M&E in CBT should go beyond strict ‘numerical’ economic matters and should be understood in a holistic development. In addition, M&E in CBT should not consider issues in various ‘compartments’ such as tourists, tourism attractions, CBT owners/participants, and stakeholder engagement but as interdependent components of a macro-ecosystem. Finally, the external facilitation process should be structured in a way to promote community self-reliance in both the intervention and the M&E process. The research will attempt to propose an M&E model for CBT so as to enhance the CBT possibilities of long-term growth and success through effective collaborations with key stakeholders.

Keywords: community-based tourism, community-engagement, monitoring and evaluation, stakeholders

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Authors: Jin Lin, Shouxiang Lu, Kim Meow Liew

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In a fire accident, fire smoke often poses a serious threat to human safety especially in the enclosed space such as submarine and space-crafts environment. Efficient removal of the hazardous gas products particularly a large amount of CO and CO₂ gases from these confined space is critical for the security of the staff and necessary for the post-fire environment recovery. In this work, Cu-Mn-Ce composite oxide catalysts coupled with CO₂ sorbents were prepared using wet impregnation method, solid-state impregnation method and wet/solid-state impregnation method. The as-prepared samples were tested dynamically and isothermally for CO oxidation and CO₂ sorption and further characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption and desorption, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The results showed that all the samples were able to catalyze CO into CO₂ and capture CO₂ in situ by chemisorption. Among all the samples, the sample synthesized by the wet/solid-state impregnation method showed the highest catalytic activity toward CO oxidation and the fine ability of CO₂ sorption. The sample prepared by the solid-state impregnation method showed the second CO oxidation performance, while the coupled sample using the wet impregnation method exhibited much poor CO oxidation activity. The various CO oxidation and CO₂ sorption properties of the samples might arise from the different dispersed states of the CO₂ sorbent in the CO catalyst, owing to the different preparation methods. XRD results confirmed the high-dispersed sorbent phase in the samples prepared by the wet and solid impregnation method, while that of the sample prepared by wet/solid-state impregnation method showed the larger bulk phase as indicated by the high-intensity diffraction peaks. Nitrogen adsorption and desorption results further revealed that the latter sample had a higher surface area and pore volume, which were beneficial for the CO oxidation over the catalyst. Hence, the Cu-Mn-Ce oxide catalyst coupled with CO₂ sorbent using wet/solid-state impregnation method could be a good choice for fire smoke removal in the enclosed space.

Keywords: CO oxidation, CO₂ sorption, preparation methods, smoke removal

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: E. K. Mendez, N. A. Salazar, C. E. Orrego

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There is undoubted proof that increasing the intake of fruit lessens the risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, and probable evidence that lowers the risk of cancer. Proper fruit drying is an excellent alternative to make their shelf-life longer, commercialization easier, and ready-to-eat healthy products or ingredients. The conventional way of drying is by hot air forced convection. However, this process step often requires a very long residence time; furthermore, it is highly energy consuming and detrimental to the product quality. Nowadays, power ultrasound (US) technic has been considered as an emerging and promising technology for industrial food processing. Most of published works dealing with drying food assisted by US have studied the effect of ultrasonic pre-treatment prior to air-drying on food and the airborne US conditions during dehydration. In this work a new approach was tested taking in to account drying time and two quality parameters of mango slices dehydrated by convection assisted by 20 KHz power US applied directly using a holed plate as product support and sound transmitting surface. During the drying of mango (Mangifera indica L.) slices (ca. 6.5 g, 0.006 m height and 0.040 m diameter), their weight was recorded every hour until final moisture content (10.0±1.0 % wet basis) was reached. After previous tests, optimization of three drying parameters - frequencies (2, 5 and 8 minutes each half-hour), air temperature (50-55-60⁰C) and power (45-70-95W)- was attempted by using a Box–Behnken design under the response surface methodology for the optimal drying time, color parameters and rehydration rate of dried samples. Assays involved 17 experiments, including a quintuplicate of the central point. Dried samples with and without US application were packed in individual high barrier plastic bags under vacuum, and then stored in the dark at 8⁰C until their analysis. All drying assays and sample analysis were performed in triplicate. US drying experimental data were fitted with nine models, among which the Verna model resulted in the best fit with R2 > 0.9999 and reduced χ2 ≤ 0.000001. Significant reductions in drying time were observed for the assays that used lower frequency and high US power. At 55⁰C, 95 watts and 2 min/30 min of sonication, 10% moisture content was reached in 211 min, as compared with 320 min for the same test without the use of US (blank). Rehydration rates (RR), defined as the ratio of rehydrated sample weight to that of dry sample and measured, was also larger than those of blanks and, in general, the higher the US power, the greater the RR. The direct contact and intermittent US treatment of mango slices used in this work improve drying rates and dried fruit rehydration ability. This technique can thus be used to reduce energy processing costs and the greenhouse gas emissions of fruit dehydration.

Keywords: ultrasonic assisted drying, fruit drying, mango slices, contact ultrasonic drying

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Authors: Fariya Tahreen

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Women are an important part of the society comprising more than 50% population of the world. Participation of women in public services is increasing in the present era while cultural values embedded with gender differences still influencing the performance of working women. Many researches have been carried out on cultural impact on working women like managers, doctors, and lawyers and other public servants. But very rare efforts were made to study the impact of cultural values on the performance of women bureaucrats. The present study aimed to find out the relationship of cultural values (i.e., collective identity, gender segregation, and gender asymmetrical relations) with the performance of women bureaucrats. Sample of the present study comprised of 130 women bureaucrats from the Office Management Group, Inland Revenue, District Management Group, and Pakistan Police Services which is selected by convenient sampling technique. The locale of the study was Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore city. The current research study was conducted by using a quantitative approach in research method and data were collected through survey method. The measures used in the study included: personal information, three main cultural values, and performance of women bureaucrats. Uni-variate and bi-variate analyses were implied by using correlation and multiple linear regression test. The current study shows a negative significant relationship between cultural values and performance of women bureaucrats (R²= 0.790, p-value 0.000). It shows that cultural values (collective identity, gender segregation and gender asymmetrical relations) significantly influence the performance of women bureaucrats. Due to the influence and pressure of these cultural values, women bureaucrats give less time to the office and avail more leaves. They also avoid contacting with male colleagues, public dealings, field visits and playing leadership role. Further, they attend fewer meetings of policy formulation due to given less importance for it. In a nutshell, the study concluded that cultural values significantly influence the performance of women bureaucrats in Pakistan.

Keywords: cultural values, performance, Pakistan, women bureaucrats

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Authors: Meera A. Albloushi, Adel B. Gougam

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The development in the field of piezoelectrics has led to a renewed interest in ZnO nanowires (NWs) as a promising material in the nanogenerator devices category. It can be used as a power source for self-powered electronic systems with higher density, higher efficiency, longer lifetime, as well as lower cost of fabrication. Highly aligned ZnO nanowires seem to exhibit a higher performance compared with nonaligned ones. The purpose of this study was to develop ZnO nanowires and to investigate their electrical and chemical properties for various applications. They were grown on silicon (100) and glass substrates. We have used a low temperature and non-hazardous method: aqueous chemical growth (ACG). ZnO (non-doped) and AZO (Aluminum doped) seed layers were deposited using RF magnetron sputteringunder Argon pressure of 3 mTorr and deposition power of 180 W, the times of growth were selected to obtain thicknesses in the range of 30 to 125 nm. Some of the films were subsequently annealed. The substrates were immersed tilted in an equimolar solution composed of zinc nitrate and hexamine (HMTA) of 0.02 M and 0.05 M in the temperature range of 80 to 90 ᵒC for 1.5 to 2 hours. The X-ray diffractometer shows strong peaks at 2Ө = 34.2ᵒ of ZnO films which indicates that the films have a preferred c-axis wurtzite hexagonal (002) orientation. The surface morphology of the films is investigated by atomic force microscope (AFM) which proved the uniformity of the film since the roughness is within 5 nm range. The scanning electron microscopes(SEM) (Quanta FEG 250, Quanta 3D FEG, Nova NanoSEM 650) are used to characterize both ZnO film and NWs. SEM images show forest of ZnO NWs grown vertically and have a range of length up to 2000 nm and diameter of 20-300 nm. The SEM images prove that the role of the seed layer is to enhance the vertical alignment of ZnO NWs at the pH solution of 5-6. Also electrical and optical properties of the NWs are carried out using Electrical Force Microscopy (EFM). After growing the ZnO NWs, developing the nano-generator is the second step of this study in order to determine the energy conversion efficiency and the power output.

Keywords: ZnO nanowires(NWs), aqueous chemical growth (ACG), piezoelectric NWs, harvesting enery

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Federica Ceccoli

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Italy is undergoing one of its largest migratory waves, and Italian schools are reporting the highest numbers of multilingual students coming from immigrant families and speaking minority languages. For these pupils, who have not perfectly acquired their mother tongue yet, learning a second language may represent a burden on their linguistic development and may have some repercussions on their school performances and relational skills. These are some of the reasons why they have turned out to be those who have the worst grades and the highest school drop-out rates. However, despite these negative outcomes, it has been demonstrated that multilingual immigrant students frequently act as translators or language brokers for their peers or family members who do not speak Italian fluently. This activity has been defined as Child Language Brokering (hereinafter CLB) and it has become a common practice especially in minority communities as immigrants’ children often learn the host language much more quickly than their parents, thus contributing to their family life by acting as language and cultural mediators. This presentation aims to analyse the data collected by a research carried out during the school year 2014-2015 in the province of Ravenna, in the Northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, among 126 immigrant students attending junior high schools. The purpose of the study was to analyse by means of a structured questionnaire whether multilingualism matched with language brokering experiences or not and to examine the perspectives of those students who reported having acted as translators using their linguistic knowledge to help people understand each other. The questionnaire consisted of 34 items roughly divided into 2 sections. The first section required multilingual students to provide personal details like their date and place of birth, as well as details about their families (number of siblings, parents’ jobs). In the second section, they were asked about the languages spoken in their families as well as their language brokering experience. The in-depth questionnaire sought to investigate a wide variety of brokering issues such as frequency and purpose of the activity, where, when and which documents young language brokers translate and how they feel about this practice. The results have demonstrated that CLB is a very common practice among immigrants’ children living in Ravenna and almost all students reported positive feelings when asked about their brokering experience with their families and also at school. In line with previous studies, responses to the questionnaire item regarding the people they brokered for revealed that the category ranking first is parents. Similarly, language-brokering activities tend to occur most often at home and the documents they translate the most (either orally or in writing) are notes from teachers. Such positive feelings towards this activity together with the evidence that it occurs very often in schools have laid the foundation for further projects on how this common practice may be valued and used to strengthen the linguistic skills of these multilingual immigrant students and thus their school performances.

Keywords: immigration, language brokering, multilingualism, students' points of view

Procedia PDF Downloads 172