Search results for: engineered rock cover

Authors: Wenjun Zhang, Thao Thi Le, Dongyup Shin, Jong Min Kim

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Electrochemical hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) synthesis holds significant promise for decentralized environmental remediation through the electro-Fenton process. However, challenges persist, such as the absence of robust electrocatalysts for the selective two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e⁻ ORR) and the high cost and sluggish kinetics of conventional electro-Fenton systems in treating highly concentrated wastewater. This study introduces an efficient water treatment system for removing substantial quantities of organic pollutants using an advanced electro-Fenton system coupled with a high-valent NiO catalyst. By employing a precipitation method involving crystal facet and cation vacancy engineering, a trivalent Ni (Ni³⁺)-rich NiO catalyst with a (111)-domain-exposed crystal facet, named {111}-NivO, was synthesized. This catalyst exhibited a remarkable 96% selectivity and a high mass activity of 59 A g⁻¹ for H₂O₂ production, outperforming all previously reported Ni-based catalysts. Furthermore, an advanced electro-Fenton system, integrated with a flow cell for electrochemical H₂O₂ production, was utilized to achieve 100% removal of 50 ppm bisphenol A (BPA) in 200 mL of wastewater under heavy-duty conditions, reaching a superior rapid degradation rate (4 min, k = 1.125 min⁻¹), approximately 102 times faster than the conventional electro-Fenton system. The hyper-efficiency is attributed to the continuous and appropriate supply of H₂O₂, the provision of O₂, and the timely recycling of the electrolyte under high current density operation. This catalyst also demonstrated a 93% removal of total organic carbon after 2 hours of operation and can be applied for efficient removal of highly concentrated phenol pollutants from aqueous systems, which opens new avenues for wastewater treatment.

Keywords: hydrogen peroxide production, nickel oxides, crystal facet and cation vacancy engineering, wastewater treatment, flow cell, electro-Fenton

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Authors: Engineer Dilnawaz Shah

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Solid Waste Management (SWM) is perhaps one of the most important elements constituting the environmental health and sanitation of the urban developing sector. The management system has several components that are integrated as well as interdependent; thus, the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire system are affected when any of its functional components fails or does not perform up to the level mark of operation. Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) is responsible for the management of solid waste in the entire city. There is a need to adopt the engineered approach in the redesigning of the existing system. In most towns, street sweeping operations have been mechanized and done by machinery operated by vehicles. Construction of Garbage Transfer Stations (GTS) at a number of locations within the city will cut the cost of transportation of waste to disposal sites. Material processing, recovery of recyclables, compaction, volume reduction, and increase in density will enable transportation of waste to disposal sites/landfills via long vehicles (bulk transport), minimizing transport/traffic and environmental pollution-related issues. Development of disposal sites into proper sanitary landfill sites is mandatory. The transportation mechanism is through garbage vehicles using either hauled or fixed container systems employing crew for mechanical or manual loading. The number of garbage vehicles is inadequate, and due to comparatively long haulage to disposal sites, there are certain problems of frequent vehicular maintenance and high fuel costs. Foreign investors have shown interest in enterprising improvement schemes and proposed operating a solid waste management system in Karachi. The waste to Energy option is being considered to provide a practical answer to be adopted to generate power and reduce waste load – a two-pronged solution for the increasing environmental problem. The paper presents results and analysis of a recent study into waste generation and characterization probing into waste-to-energy options for Karachi City.

Keywords: waste to energy option, integrated approach, solid waste management, physical and chemical composition of waste in Karachi

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Authors: Muhammad Fezan Afzal, Imran Khan, Salma Imtiaz

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The need for human verification and identification requires from centuries for authentication. Since it is being used in big institutes like financial, government and crime departments, a continued struggle is important to make this system more efficient to prevent security breaches. Therefore, multiple devices are used to authenticate the biometric for each individual. A large number of devices are required to cover a large number of users. As the number of devices increases, cost will automatically increase. Furthermore, it is time-consuming for biometrics due to the devices being insufficient and are not available at every door. In this paper, we propose the framework and algorithm where the mobile of each individual can also perform the biometric authentication of attendance and security. Every mobile has a biometric authentication system that is used in different mobile applications for security purposes. Therefore, each individual can use the biometric system mobile without moving from one place to another. Moreover, by using the biometrics mobile, the cost of biometric systems can be removed that are mostly deployed in different organizations for the attendance of students, employees and for other security purposes.

Keywords: fingerprint, fingerprint authentication, mobile verification, mobile biometric verification, mobile fingerprint sensor

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Authors: K. Kanja, M. Mweemba, K. Malungwa

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Due to the rampant population growth coupled with retrenchments currently going on in the Copper mines in Zambia, a number of people are resorting to land clearing for agriculture, illegal settlements as well as charcoal production among other vices. This study aims at assessing the rate of expansion of agricultural fields and illegal settlements in protected areas using remote sensing and Geographic Information System. Zambia’s Mwekera National Forest Reserve was used as a case study. Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis Technique (ISODATA), as well as maximum likelihood, supervised classification on four Landsat images as well as an accuracy assessment of the classifications was performed. Over the period under observation, results indicate annual percentage changes to be -0.03, -0.49 and 1.26 for agriculture, forests and settlement respectively indicating a higher conversion of forests into human settlements and agriculture.

Keywords: geographic information system, land cover change, Landsat TM and ETM+, Mwekera forest reserve, remote sensing

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Authors: A. Escoffier, A. Albrecht, F. Consigny

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In order to host the Football Euro in 2016, many French cities have launched architectural competitions in recent years to improve the quality of their stadiums. The winning project in Nice was designed by Wilmotte architects together with Elioth structural engineers. It has a capacity of 35,000 seats. Its roof structure consists of a complex 3D shape timber and steel lattice and is covered by 25,000m² of ETFE, 10,500m² of PES-PVC fabric and 8,500m² of photovoltaic panels. This paper focuses on the ETFE part of the cover. The stadium is one of the first constructions to use flat single layer ETFE on such a big area. Due to its relatively recent appearance in France, ETFE structures are not yet covered by any regulations and the existing codes for fabric structures cannot be strictly applied. Rather, they are considered as cladding systems and therefore have to be approved by an “Appréciation Technique d’Expérimentation” (ATEx), during which experimental tests have to be performed. We explain the method that we developed to justify the ETFE, which eventually led to bi-axial tests to clarify the allowable stress in the film.

Keywords: biaxial test, creep, ETFE, single layer, stadium roof

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Authors: E. O. Okan, A. Kepic, P. Williams

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Iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) deposits constitute important sources of copper and gold in Australia especially since the discovery of the supergiant Olympic Dam deposits in 1975. They are considered to be metasomatic expressions of large crustal-scale alteration events occasioned by intrusive actions and are associated with felsic igneous rocks in most cases, commonly potassic igneous magmatism, with the deposits ranging from ~2.2 –1.5 Ga in age. For the past two decades, geological, geochemical and potential methods have been used to identify the structures hosting these deposits follow up by drilling. Though these methods have largely been successful for shallow targets, at deeper depth due to low resolution they are limited to mapping only very large to gigantic deposits with sufficient contrast. As the search for ore-bodies under regolith cover continues due to depletion of the near surface deposits, there is a compelling need to develop new exploration technology to explore these deep seated ore-bodies within 1-4km which is the current mining depth range. Seismic reflection method represents this new technology as it offers a distinct advantage over all other geophysical techniques because of its great depth of penetration and superior spatial resolution maintained with depth. Further, in many different geological scenarios, it offers a greater ‘3D mapability’ of units within the stratigraphic boundary. Despite these superior attributes, no arguments for crustal scale seismic surveys have been proposed because there has not been a compelling argument of economic benefit to proceed with such work. For the seismic reflection method to be used at these scales (100’s to 1000’s of square km covered) the technical risks or the survey costs have to be reduced. In addition, as most IOCG deposits have large footprint due to its association with intrusions and large fault zones; we hypothesized that these deposits can be found by mainly looking for the seismic signatures of intrusions along prospective structures. In this study, we present two of such cases: - Olympic Dam and Vulcan iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) deposits all located in the Gawler craton, South Australia. Results from our 2D modelling experiments revealed that seismic reflection surveys using 20m geophones and 40m shot spacing as an exploration tool for locating IOCG deposit is possible even when hosted in very complex structures. The migrated sections were not only able to identify and trace various layers plus the complex structures but also show reflections around the edges of intrusive packages. The presences of such intrusions were clearly detected from 100m to 1000m depth range without losing its resolution. The modelled seismic images match the available real seismic data and have the hypothesized characteristics; thus, the seismic method seems to be a valid exploration tool to find IOCG deposits. We therefore propose that 2D seismic survey is viable for IOCG exploration as it can detect mineralised intrusive structures along known favourable corridors. This would help in reducing the exploration risk associated with locating undiscovered resources as well as conducting a life-of-mine study which will enable better development decisions at the very beginning.

Keywords: crustal scale, exploration, IOCG deposit, modelling, seismic surveys

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Authors: Shri Devi

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This paper was conducted to see the ground water potential zones in Paramakudi taluk, Ramanathapuram,Tamilnadu India with a total areal extent of 745 sq. km. The various thematic map have been prepared for the study such as soil, geology, geomorphology, drainage, land use of the particular study area using the Toposheet of 1: 50000. The digital elevation model (DEM) has been generated from contour interval of 10m and also the slope was prepared. The ground water potential zone of the region was obtained using the weighted overlay analysis for which all the thematic maps were overlayed in arc gis 10.2. For the particular output the ranking has been given for all the parameters of each thematic layer with different weightage such as 25% was given to soil, 25% to geomorphology and land use land cover also 25%, slope 15%, lineament with 5% and drainage streams with 5 percentage. Using these entire potential zone maps was prepared which was overlayed with the village map to check the region which has good, moderate and low groundwater potential zone.

Keywords: GIS, ground water, Paramakudi, weighted overlay analysis

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Authors: Komal Vig, Syamala Soumyakrishnan, Yadav Baral

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Bypass surgery, using the autologous vein has been one of the most effective treatments for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). More recently tissue engineering including engineered vascular grafts to synthesize blood vessels is gaining usage. Dacron and ePTFE has been employed for vascular grafts, however, these does not work well for small diameter grafts (<6 mm) due to intimal hyperplasia and thrombosis. In the present study PTFE was treated with LTP to improve the endothelialization of intimal surface of graft. Scaffolds were also modified with polyvinylpyrrolidone coated silver nanoparticles (Ag-PVP) and the antimicrobial peptides, p753 and p359. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were plated on the developed scaffolds and cell proliferation was determined by the MTT assay. Cells attachment on scaffolds was visualized by microscopy. mRNA expressions levels of different cell markers were investigated using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). X ray photoelectron spectroscopic confirmed the introduction of oxygenated functionalities from LTP air plasma. Microscopic and MTT assays indicated increase in cell viability in LTP treated scaffolds. Gene expression studies shows enhanced expression of cell adhesion marker Integrin- α 5 gene after LTP treatment. The KB test displayed a zone of inhibition for Ag-PVP, p753 and p359 of 19mm, 14mm, and 12mm respectively. To determine toxicity of antimicrobial agents to cells, MTT Assay was performed using HEK293 cells. MTT Assay exhibited that Ag-PVP and the peptides were non-toxic to cells at 100μg/mL and 50μg/mL, respectively. Live/dead analysis and plate count of treated bacteria exhibited bacterial inhibition on develop scaffold compared to non-treated scaffold. SEM was performed to analyze the structural changes of bacteria after treatment with antimicrobial agents. Gene expression studies were conducted on RNA from bacteria treated with Ag-PVP and peptides using qRT-PCR. Based on our initial results, more scaffolds alternatives will be developed and investigated for cell growth and vascularization studies.

Keywords: low temperature plasma, vascular graft, HUVEC cells, antimicrobial

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Authors: Romain Ben Taleb, Aurélie Montarnal, Matthieu Lauras, Mathieu Dahan, Romain Miclo

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To be competitive and sustainable, any company has to maximize its value. However, unlike listed companies that can assess their values based on market shares, most Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which are non-listed cannot have direct and live access to this critical information. Traditional accounting reports only give limited insights to SME decision-makers about the real impact of their day-to-day decisions on the company’s performance and value. Most of the time, an SME’s financial valuation is made one time a year as the associated process is time and resource-consuming, requiring several months and external expertise to be completed. To solve this issue, we propose in this paper a value-oriented metamodel that enables real-time and dynamic assessment of the SME’s value based on the large definition of their assets. These assets cover a wider scope of resources of the company and better account for immaterial assets. The proposal, which is illustrated in a case study, discusses the benefits of incorporating assets in the SME valuation.

Keywords: SME, metamodel, decision support system, financial valuation, assets

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Authors: Clarinda Vitorino Nhangumbe, Ercília Sousa

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Weather derivatives are financial products used to cover non catastrophic weather events with a weather index as the underlying asset. The rainfall weather derivative pricing model is modeled based in the assumption that the rainfall dynamics follows Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, and the partial differential equation approach is used to derive the convection-diffusion two dimensional time dependent partial differential equation, where the spatial variables are the rainfall index and rainfall depth. To compute the approximation solutions of the partial differential equation, the appropriate boundary conditions are suggested, and an explicit numerical method is proposed in order to deal efficiently with the different choices of the coefficients involved in the equation. Being an explicit numerical method, it will be conditionally stable, then the stability region of the numerical method and the order of convergence are discussed. The model is tested for real precipitation data.

Keywords: finite differences method, ornstein-uhlenbeck process, partial differential equations approach, rainfall derivatives

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Authors: Franca De Sarno, Alfonso Maria Ponsiglione, Enza Torino

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Recent advances in diagnostic imaging technology have significantly contributed to a better understanding of specific changes associated with diseases progression. Among different imaging modalities, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) represents a noninvasive medical diagnostic technique, which shows low sensitivity and long acquisition time and it can discriminate between healthy and diseased tissues by providing 3D data. In order to improve the enhancement of MRI signals, some imaging exams require intravenous administration of contrast agents (CAs). Recently, emerging research reports a progressive deposition of these drugs, in particular, gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs), in the body many years after multiple MRI scans. These discoveries confirm the need to have a biocompatible system able to boost a clinical relevant Gd-chelate. To this aim, several approaches based on engineered nanostructures have been proposed to overcome the common limitations of conventional CAs, such as the insufficient signal-to-noise ratios due to relaxivity and poor safety profile. In particular, nanocarriers, labeling or loading with CAs, capable of carrying high payloads of CAs have been developed. Currently, there’s no a comprehensive understanding of the thermodynamic contributions enable of boosting the efficacy of conventional CAs by using biopolymers matrix. Thus, considering the importance of MRI in diagnosing diseases, here it is reported a successful example of the next generation of these drugs where the commercial gadolinium chelate is incorporate into a biopolymer nanostructure, formed by cross-linked hyaluronic acid (HA), with improved relaxation properties. In addition, they are highlighted the basic principles ruling biopolymer-CA interactions in the perspective of their influence on the relaxometric properties of the CA by adopting a multidisciplinary experimental approach. On the basis of these discoveries, it is clear that the main point consists in increasing the rigidification of readily-available Gd-CAs within the biopolymer matrix by controlling the water dynamics, the physicochemical interactions, and the polymer conformations. In the end, the acquired knowledge about polymer-CA systems has been applied to develop of Gd-based HA nanoparticles with enhanced relaxometric properties.

Keywords: biopolymers, MRI, nanoparticles, contrast agent

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Authors: Kebin Li, Keith Morton, Matthew Shiu, Karine Turcotte, Luke Lukic, Teodor Veres

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We present a normally closed thermoplastic microfluidic valve design that uses microstructured valve seats to locally prevent the membrane from bonding to the valve seat during microfluidic channel sealing. The microstructured valve seat reduces the adhesion force between the contact surfaces of the valve seat and the membrane locally, allowing valve open and close operations while simultaneously providing a permanent and robust bond elsewhere to cover and seal the microfluidic channel network. Dynamic valve operation including opening and closing times can be tuned by changing the valve seat diameter as well as the density of the microstructures on the valve seats. The influence of the microstructured valve seat on the general flow behavior through the microfluidic devices was also studied. A design window for the fabrication of valve structure is identified and discussed to minimize the fabrication complexity.

Keywords: hot-embossing, injection molding, microfabrication, microfluidics, microvalves, thermoplastic elastomer

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Authors: Mostafa A. Amer, I. A. El-Samra, I. I. Abou-ElSeoud, S. M. El-Abd, N. K. Shawertamimi

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Tomato Fusarium wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Lycopercisi (FOL) is considered one of the most destructive diseases in Egypt. Effect of some biotic inducers such as Bacillus megaterium var. phosphaticum, Glomus intraradices and Glomus macrocarpum at seven different mixed treatments, was tested for their ability to induce resistance in tomato plants against the disease. According to pathogenicity tests, all the tested isolates of FOL showed wilt symptoms on both of the tested cultivars; however, they considerably varied in percentages of disease incidence (DI) and disease severity (DS). Castle Rock was more susceptible than Peto 86, which was relatively resistant. Pretreatment of both cultivars, under greenhouse conditions, with the tested biotic inducers alone or in combination with each other's, significantly increased the induction of chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, peroxidase, and polyphenoloxidase and reduced disease incidence and severity, compared with untreated noninoculated (C1) and untreated inoculated (C2) controls. Application of a combination of BMP, with GI and GM was the most effective in increasing the induction rated of the tested enzymes, compared with the other treatments. Induction of enzymes in most of the tested bioinducers treatments gradually increased, attaining maximum values after 48 or/and 72 hrs after challenging with FOL, then gradually declined. GI was the least effective bioinducer.

Keywords: F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, defense enzymes, induced systemic resistance, ISR, B. megaterium var. phosphaticum, G. macrocarpum, G. intraradices

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Authors: Yaser Mohammed Altameemi

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This research looks at the representation of the social media for the Saudi Government decrees regarding the developmental projects of the Saudi 2030 vision. The paper analyses a television interview with the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman who talks about the progress of the Saudi vision of 2030, and how the government had acted as response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The interview was on 28/4/2021. The paper analyses the tweets on Twitter that cover the interview for the purpose of investigating the development of concepts and meanings regarding the Saudi peoples’ orientations towards the Saudi projects. The data include all related tweets from the day of the interview and the following seven days after the interview. The finding of the collocation analysis suggests that nationalism notion is explicitly expressed by users in Twitter. The main finding of this paper suggests the importance of further analyses for the concordance lines. However, the collocation network suggests that there is a clear highlight for nationalism.

Keywords: social media, twitter, political interview, prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Saudi vision 2030

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Authors: Walid Fantazi

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The development of sensor technology (such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), wireless communications, embedded systems, distributed processing and wireless sensor applications) has contributed to a broad range of WSN applications which are capable of collecting a large amount of spatiotemporal data in real time. These systems require real-time data processing to manage storage in real time and query the data they process. In order to cover these needs, we propose in this paper a Snapshot spatiotemporal data model based on object-oriented concepts. This model allows saving storing and reducing data redundancy which makes it easier to execute spatiotemporal queries and save analyzes time. Further, to ensure the robustness of the system as well as the elimination of congestion from the main access memory we propose a spatiotemporal indexing technique in RAM called Captree *. As a result, we offer an RIA (Rich Internet Application) -based SOA application architecture which allows the remote monitoring and control.

Keywords: WSN, indexing data, SOA, RIA, geographic information system

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Authors: R. E. Fat-Helbary, A. A. Abdel-latief, M. S. Arfa, Alaa Mostafa

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The Egyptian Government proposed a general plan, aiming at constructing new settlements for Nubian in south Aswan in different places around Nasser Lake, one of these settlements in Kurkur area. The Nubian habitations in Wadi Kurkur are located around 30 km southwest of Aswan City. This area are affecting by near distance earthquakes from Kalabsha faults system. The shallow seismic refraction technique was conducted at the study area, to evaluate the soil and rock material quality and geotechnical parameters, in addition to the detection of the subsurface ground model under the study area. The P and S-wave velocities were calculated. The surface layer has P-wave, velocity ranges from 900 m/sec to 1625 m/sec and S-wave velocity ranges from 650 m/sec to 1400 m/sec. On the other hand the bedrock has P-wave velocity ranges from 1300 m/sec to 1980 m/sec and S-wave velocity ranges from 1050 m/sec to1725 m/sec. Measuring Vp and Vs velocities together with bulk density are calculated and used to extract the mechanical properties and geotechnical parameters of the foundation material at the study area. Output of this study is very important for solving the problems, which associated with the construction of various civil engineering purposes, for land use planning and for earthquakes resistant structure design.

Keywords: shallow seismic refraction technique, Kurkur area, p and s-wave velocities, geotechnical parameters, bulk density, Kalabsha faults

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Authors: Jessica To

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Feedback is one of the powerful levers for enhancing students’ performance. However, some students are under-engaged with feedback because they lack responsibility for feedback uptake. To resolve this conundrum, recent literature proposes feedback partnerships in which students and teachers share the power and responsibilities to co-construct feedback. During feedback co-construction, students express feedback needs to teachers, and teachers respond to individuals’ needs in return. Though this approach can increase students’ feedback ownership, its application is lagging as the field lacks conceptual clarity and implementation guide. This presentation aims to discuss the conceptual framework of feedback partnerships and feedback co-construction strategies. It identifies the components of feedback partnerships and strategies which could facilitate feedback co-construction. A systematic literature review was conducted to answer the questions. The literature search was performed using ERIC, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar with the keywords “assessment partnership”, “student as partner,” and “feedback engagement”. No time limit was set for the search. The inclusion criteria encompassed (i) student-teacher partnerships in feedback, (ii) feedback engagement in higher education, (iii) peer-reviewed publications, and (iv) English as the language of publication. Those without addressing conceptual understanding and implementation strategies were excluded. Finally, 65 publications were identified and analysed using thematic analysis. For the procedure, the texts relating to the questions were first extracted. Then, codes were assigned to summarise the ideas of the texts. Upon subsuming similar codes into themes, four themes emerged: students’ responsibilities, teachers’ responsibilities, conditions for partnerships development, and strategies. Their interrelationships were examined iteratively for framework development. Establishing feedback partnerships required different responsibilities of students and teachers during feedback co-construction. Students needed to self-evaluate performance against task criteria, identify inadequacies and communicate their needs to teachers. During feedback exchanges, they interpreted teachers’ comments, generated self-feedback through reflection, and co-developed improvement plans with teachers. Teachers had to increase students’ understanding of criteria and evaluation skills and create opportunities for students’ expression of feedback needs. In feedback dialogue, teachers responded to students’ needs and advised on the improvement plans. Feedback partnerships would be best grounded in an environment with trust and psychological safety. Four strategies could facilitate feedback co-construction. First, students’ understanding of task criteria could be increased by rubrics explanation and exemplar analysis. Second, students could sharpen evaluation skills if they participated in peer review and received teacher feedback on the quality of peer feedback. Third, provision of self-evaluation checklists and prompts and teacher modeling of self-assessment process could aid students in articulating feedback needs. Fourth, the trust could be fostered when teachers explained the benefits of feedback co-construction, showed empathy, and provided personalised comments in dialogue. Some strategies were applied in interactive cover sheets in which students performed self-evaluation and made feedback requests on a cover sheet during assignment submission, followed by teachers’ response to individuals’ requests. The significance of this presentation lies in unpacking the conceptual framework of feedback partnerships and outlining feedback co-construction strategies. With a solid foundation in theory and practice, researchers and teachers could better enhance students’ engagement with feedback.

Keywords: conceptual framework, feedback co-construction, feedback partnerships, implementation strategies

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Authors: Thendiyath Roshni, Stefano Pagliara

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Block ramps (BR) or rock chutes are eco-friendly natural river restoration structures. BR are made of ramp of rocks and flows over BR develop turbulence and helps in the entrainment of ambient air. These act as natural aerators in river flow and therefore leads to oxygenation of water. As many of the hydraulic structures in rivers, hinders the natural path for aquatic habitat. However, flows over BR ascertains a natural rocky flow and ensures safe and natural movement for aquatic habitat. Hence, BR is considered as a better alternative for drop structures. As water quality is concerned, turbulent and aerated flows over BR or macro-roughness conditions improves aeration and thereby oxygenation. Hence, the objective of this paper is to study the oxygenation in the turbulent flows over BR. Experimental data were taken for a slope (S) of 27.5% for three discharges (Q = 9, 15 and 21 lps) conditions. Air concentration were measured with the help of air concentration probe for three different discharges in the uniform flow region. Oxygen concentration is deduced from the air concentration as ambient air is entrained in the flows over BR. Air concentration profiles and oxygen profiles are plotted in the uniform flow region for three discharges and found that air concentration and oxygen concentration does not show any remarkable variation in properties in the longitudinal profile in uniform flow region. An empirical relation is developed for finding the average oxygen concentration (Oₘ) for S = 27.5% in the uniform flow region for 9 < Q < 21 lps. The results show that as the discharge increases over BR, there is a reduction of oxygen concentration in the uniform flow region.

Keywords: aeration, block ramps, oxygenation, turbulent flows

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Authors: J. K. Adedeji, S. T. Ijatuyi

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The application of neural network using pattern recognition to study the fluid dynamics and predict the groundwater reservoirs properties has been used in this research. The essential of geophysical survey using the manual methods has failed in basement environment, hence the need for an intelligent computing such as predicted from neural network is inevitable. A non-linear neural network with an XOR (exclusive OR) output of 8-bits configuration has been used in this research to predict the nature of groundwater reservoirs and fluid dynamics of a typical basement crystalline rock. The control variables are the apparent resistivity of weathered layer (p₁), fractured layer (p₂), and the depth (h), while the dependent variable is the flow parameter (F=λ). The algorithm that was used in training the neural network is the back-propagation coded in C++ language with 300 epoch runs. The neural network was very intelligent to map out the flow channels and detect how they behave to form viable storage within the strata. The neural network model showed that an important variable g_r (gravitational resistance) can be deduced from the elevation and apparent resistivity p_a. The model results from SPSS showed that the coefficients, a, b and c are statistically significant with reduced standard error at 5%.

Keywords: gravitational resistance, neural network, non-linear, pattern recognition

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Authors: Rashid S. Mohammad, Shicheng Zhang, Sun Lu, Syed Jamal-Ud-Din, Xinzhe Zhao

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A compositional reservoir simulation model (CMG-GEM) was used for cyclic CO₂ injection process in unconventional tight reservoir. Cyclic CO₂ injection is an enhanced oil recovery process consisting of injection, shut-in, and production. The study of cyclic CO₂ injection and hydrocarbon recovery in ultra-low permeability reservoirs is mainly a function of rock, fluid, and operational parameters. CMG-GEM was used to study several design parameters of cyclic CO₂ injection process to distinguish the parameters with maximum effect on the oil recovery and to comprehend the behavior of cyclic CO₂ injection in tight reservoir. On the other hand, permeability reduction induced by asphaltene precipitation is one of the major issues in the oil industry due to its plugging onto the porous media which reduces the oil productivity. In addition to asphaltene deposition, solubility of CO₂ in the aquifer is one of the safest and permanent trapping techniques when considering CO₂ storage mechanisms in geological formations. However, the effects of the above uncertain parameters on the process of CO₂ enhanced oil recovery have not been understood systematically. Hence, it is absolutely necessary to study the most significant parameters which dominate the process. The main objective of this study is to improve techniques for designing cyclic CO₂ injection process while considering the effects of asphaltene deposition and solubility of CO₂ in the brine in order to prevent asphaltene precipitation, minimize CO₂ emission, optimize cyclic CO₂ injection, and maximize oil production.

Keywords: tight reservoirs, cyclic O₂ injection, asphaltene, solubility, reservoir simulation

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Authors: Dong-An Wang

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All kinds of microspheres have been extensively employed as carriers for drug, gene and therapeutic cell delivery. Most therapeutic cell delivery microspheres rely on a two-step methodology: fabrication of microspheres and subsequent seeding of cells onto them. In this study, we have developed a novel one-step cell encapsulation technique using a convenient and instant water-in-oil single emulsion approach to form cell-encapsulated gelatin microspheres. This technology is adopted for hyaline cartilage tissue engineering, in which autologous chondrocytes are used as therapeutic cells. Cell viability was maintained throughout and after the microsphere formation (75-100 µm diameters) process that avoids involvement of any covalent bonding reactions or exposure to any further chemicals. Further encapsulation of cell-laden microspheres in alginate gels were performed under 4°C via a prompt process. Upon the formation of alginate constructs, they were immediately relocated into CO2 incubator where the temperature was maintained at 37°C; under this temperature, the cell-laden gelatin microspheres dissolved within hours to yield similarly sized cavities and the chondrocytes were therefore suspended within the cavities inside the alginate gel bulk. Hence, the gelatin cell-laden microspheres served two roles: as cell delivery vehicles which can be removable through temperature curing, and as porogens within an alginate hydrogel construct to provide living space for cell growth and tissue development as well as better permeability for mutual diffusions. These cell-laden microspheres, namely “temperature-cured dissolvable gelatin microsphere based cell carriers” (tDGMCs), were further encapsulated in a chondrocyte-laden alginate scaffold system and analyzed by WST-1, gene expression analyses, biochemical assays, histology and immunochemistry stains. The positive results consistently demonstrated the promise of tDGMC technology in delivering these non-anchorage dependent cells (chondrocytes). It can be further conveniently translated into delivery of other non-anchorage dependent cell species, including stem cells, progenitors or iPS cells, for regeneration of tissues in internal organs, such as engineered hepatogenesis or pancreatic regeneration.

Keywords: biomaterials, tissue engineering, microsphere, hydrogel, porogen, anchorage dependence

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Authors: Andrea J. Alarcón, Maxime Daulat, Raydel Lorenzo, Renato P. Da Cunha, Pierre Breul

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Brazil has increased the use of renewable energy during the last years. Due to its sunshine and large surface area, photovoltaic panels founded in helical piles have been used to produce solar energy. Since Brazilian territory is mainly cover by highly porous structured tropical soils, when the helical piles are installed this structure is broken and its soil properties are modified. Considering the special characteristics of these soils, helical foundations behavior must be extensively studied. The first objective of this work is to determine the most suitable method to estimate the tensile capacity of helical piles in tropical soils. The second objective is to simulate the behavior of these piles in tropical soil. To obtain the rupture to assess load-displacement curves and the ultimate load, also a numerical modelling using Plaxis software was conducted. Lastly, the ultimate load and the load-displacements curves are compared with experimental values to validate the implemented model.

Keywords: finite element, helical piles, modelling, tropical soil, uplift capacity

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Authors: Hilman Agil Satria, Rezky Naufan Hendrawan

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Indonesia is vulnerable to geological hazard because of its location in subduction zone and have tropical climate. Landslide is one of the most happened geological hazard in Indonesia, based on Indonesia Geospasial data, at least 194 landslides recorded in 2013. In fact, research location is placed as the third city that most happened landslide in Indonesia. Landslide caused damage of many houses and wrecked the road. The purpose of this research is to make a landslide zone therefore can be used as one of mitigation consideration. The location is in Bruno, Porworejo district Central Java Province Indonesia at 109.903 – 109.99 and -7.59 – -7.50 with 10 Km x 10 Km wide. Based on geological mapping result, the research location consist of Late Miocene sandstone and claystone, and Pleistocene volcanic breccia and tuff. Those landslide happened in the lithology that close with fault zone. This location has so many geological structures: joints, faults and folds. There are 3 thrust faults, 1 normal faults, 4 strike slip faults and 6 folds. This geological structure movement is interpreted as the main factor that has triggered landslide in this location. This research use field data as well as samples of rock, joint, slicken side and landslide location which is combined with DEM SRTM to analyze geomorphology. As the final result of combined data will be presented as geological map, geological structure map and landslide zone map. From this research we can assume that there is correlation between geological structure and landslide locations.

Keywords: geological structure, landslide, Porworejo, Indonesia

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Authors: Syed Atif Hassan, Luv Mehta, Syed Asif Hassan

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Hit song science is a field of investigation wherein machine learning techniques are applied to music tracks in order to extract such features from audio signals which can capture information that could explain the popularity of respective tracks. Record companies invest huge amounts of money into recruiting fresh talents and churning out new music each year. Gaining insight into the basis of why a song becomes popular will result in tremendous benefits for the music industry. This paper aims to extract basic musical and more advanced, acoustic features from songs while also taking into account external factors that play a role in making a particular song popular. We use a dataset derived from popular Spotify playlists divided by genre. We use ten genres (blues, classical, country, disco, hip-hop, jazz, metal, pop, reggae, rock), chosen on the basis of clear to ambiguous delineation in the typical sound of their genres. We feed these features into three different classifiers, namely, SVM with RBF kernel, a deep neural network, and a recurring neural network, to build separate predictive models and choosing the best performing model at the end. Predicting song popularity is particularly important for the music industry as it would allow record companies to produce better content for the masses resulting in a more competitive market.

Keywords: classifier, machine learning, music tracks, popularity, prediction

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Authors: N. Amruth Raj, Suja S. Nair

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The last six decades have borne witness to a radical change in the private sectors relationship with both the state and civil society. Firms have been increasingly called upon to adopt strategies beyond the financial aspects of their operations and consider the social and environmental impact of their business activities. In this context, many companies have modified their policies and activities and engaged into Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) especially on Rural development in India. At the firm level, CSR is implemented through various practices, which aim to enhance the company’s social and environmental performance and may cover various topics. Examples of CSR practices are abundant in Andhra Pradesh relevant literature. For instance, in India especially at Andhra Pradesh companies like Amara Raaja requires from its suppliers to prohibit child labour, Nagarjuna Cements applies a series of programs for reducing its CO2 emissions, LANCO group of Industries addresses health and safety issues in the workplace whereas GVK works limited has adopted a series of policies for addressing human rights and environmental abuse related to its operations.

Keywords: CSR, limitations, need, objectives, rural development

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Authors: Patarasuda Chaisupa, R. Clay Wright

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The selection of appropriate biomolecular targets is a crucial aspect of biopharmaceutical development. The Auxin-Inducible Degron Degradation (AID) technology has demonstrated remarkable potential in efficiently and rapidly degrading target proteins, thereby enabling the identification and acquisition of drug targets. The AID system also offers a viable method to deplete specific proteins, particularly in cases where the degradation pathway has not been exploited or when the adaptation of proteins, including the cell environment, occurs to compensate for the mutation or gene knockout. In this study, we have engineered an improved AID system tailored to deplete proteins of interest. This AID construct combines the auxin-responsive E3 ubiquitin ligase binding domain, AFB2, and the substrate degron, IAA17, fused to the target genes. Essential genes of fungi with the lowest percent amino acid similarity to human and plant orthologs, according to the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST), were cloned into the AID construct in S. cerevisiae (AID-tagged strains) using a modular yeast cloning toolkit for multipart assembly and direct genetic modification. Each E3 ubiquitin ligase and IAA17 degron was fused to a fluorescence protein, allowing for real-time monitoring of protein levels in response to different auxin doses via cytometry. Our AID system exhibited high sensitivity, with an EC50 value of 0.040 µM (SE = 0.016) for AFB2, enabling the specific promotion of IAA17::target protein degradation. Furthermore, we demonstrate how this improved AID system enhances quantitative functional studies of various proteins in fungi. The advancements made in auxin-inducible protein degradation in this study offer a powerful approach to investigating critical target protein viability in fungi, screening protein targets for drugs, and regulating intracellular protein abundance, thus revolutionizing the study of protein function underlying a diverse range of biological processes.

Keywords: synthetic biology, bioengineering, molecular biology, biotechnology

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Authors: Yaser S. Kishawi, Sadi R. Ali

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Part of Palestine, Gaza Strip (365 km2 and 1.8 million inhabitants) is considered a semi-arid zone relies solely on the Coastal Aquifer. The coastal aquifer is only source of water with only 5-10% suitable for human use. This barely cover the domestic and agricultural needs of Gaza Strip. Palestinian Water Authority Strategy is finding non-conventional water resource from treated wastewater to cover agricultural requirements and serve the population. A new WWTP project is to replace the old-overloaded Biet Lahia WWTP. The project consists of three parts; phase A (pressure line & infiltration basins - IBs), phase B (a new WWTP) and phase C (Recovery and Reuse Scheme – RRS – to capture the spreading plume). Currently, only phase A is functioning. Nearly 23 Mm3 of partially treated wastewater were infiltrated into the aquifer. Phase B and phase C witnessed many delays and this forced a reassessment of the RRS original design. An Environmental Management Plan was conducted from Jul 2013 to Jun 2014 on 13 existing monitoring wells surrounding the project location. This is to measure the efficiency of the SAT system and the spread of the contamination plume with relation to the efficiency of the proposed RRS. Along with the proposed location of the 27 recovery wells as part of the proposed RRS. The results of monitored wells were assessed compared with PWA baseline data. This was put into a groundwater model to simulate the plume to propose the best suitable solution to the delays. The redesign mainly manipulated the pumping rate of wells, proposed locations and functioning schedules (including wells groupings). The proposed simulations were examined using visual MODFLOW V4.2 to simulate the results. The results of monitored wells were assessed based on the location of the monitoring wells related to the proposed recovery wells locations (200m, 500m and 750m away from the IBs). Near the 500m line (the first row of proposed recovery wells), an increase of nitrate (from 30 to 70mg/L) compare to a decrease in Chloride (1500 to below 900mg/L) was found during the monitoring period which indicated an expansion of plume to this distance. On this rate with the required time to construct the recovery scheme, keeping the original design the RRS will fail to capture the plume. Based on that many simulations were conducted leading into three main scenarios. The scenarios manipulated the starting dates, the pumping rate and the locations of recovery wells. A simulation of plume expansion and path-lines were extracted from the model monitoring how to prevent the expansion towards the nearby municipal wells. It was concluded that the location is the most important factor in determining the RRS efficiency. Scenario III was adopted and showed an effective results even with a reduced pumping rates. This scenario proposed adding two additional recovery wells in a location beyond the 750m line to compensate the delays and effectively capture the plume. A continuous monitoring program for current and future monitoring wells should be in place to support the proposed scenario and ensure maximum protection.

Keywords: soil aquifer treatment, recovery and reuse scheme, infiltration basins, north gaza

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Authors: Louis N. Y. Wong

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En-echelon fractures are commonly found in rocks, which appear as a special set of regularly oriented and spaced fractures. By using both experimental and numerical approaches, this study investigates the interaction among them, and how this interaction finally contributes to the development of a shear rupture (fault), especially in brittle natural rocks. Firstly, uniaxial compression tests are conducted on marble specimens containing en-echelon flaws. The latter is cut by using the water abrasive jet into the rock specimens. The fracturing processes of these specimens leading to the formation of a fault are observed in detail by the use of a high speed camera. The influences of the flaw geometry on the production of tensile cracks and shear cracks, which in turn dictate the coalescence patterns of the entire set of en-echelon flaws are comprehensively studied. Secondly, a numerical study based on a recently developed contact model, flat-joint contact model using the discrete element method (DEM) is carried out to model the present laboratory experiments. The numerical results provide a quantitative assessment of the interaction of en-echelon flaws. Particularly, the evolution of the stress field, as well as the characteristics of new crack initiation, propagation and coalescence associated with the generation of an eventual shear rupture are studied in detail. The numerical results are found to agree well with the experimental results obtained in both microscopic and macroscopic observations.

Keywords: discrete element method, en-echelon flaws, fault, marble

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Authors: Ben Yahia Nouha, Harris Chris, Boussen Slim, Chaabani Fredj

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The present work has set itself the objective of studying non-detritic siliceous rocks in the extreme northwestern of Tunisia. It aims to discuss the origin and depositional environment of siliceous rocks based on petrographic, mineralogical, and geochemical results. The different sections were made in the area of Babouch and the area of Cap-Serrat. The collected samples were subjected to petrographic, mineralogical, and geochemical characterization using different analytical methods: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), geochemical analysis (ICP- AES), isotopic geochemistry (δ¹⁸O) to assess their suitability for industrial use. These babouchite shows that the mineralogy consists of quartz as the dominant mineral with the total lack of amorphous silica, while clay represents the minor phase. The petrographic examination revealed allowed to deduce that it is a rock of chemical origin deriving from tests of siliceous organisms (the radiolarians). Chemical analyzes show that SiO₂, Al₂O₃, and Fe₂O₃ represent the most abundant oxides. The other oxides are present in negligible quantity. Geochemical data support a biogenic and non-hydrothermal origin of babouchite silica. Oxygen isotopic has shown that babouchites are formed in an environment with a high temperature, ranging from 56°C to 73°C.

Keywords: siliceous rocks, babouchite formation, XRD, chemical analysis, isotopic geochemistry, Northwestern of Tunisia

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Authors: G. N. Tiwari, Shyam

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Photovoltaic thermal (PVT) roof type greenhouse dryer installed above the wind tower of SODHA BERS COMPLEX, Varanasi has been analyzed for all types of weather conditions. The product to be dried has been kept at three different trays. The upper tray receives energy from the PV cover while the bottom tray receives thermal energy from the hot air of the wind tower. The annual energy estimation has been done for the all types of weather condition of composite climate of northern India. It has been found that maximum energy saving is observed for c type of weather condition whereas minimum energy saving is observed for a type of weather condition. The energy saving on overall thermal energy basis and exergy basis are 1206.8 kWh and 360 kWh respectively for c type of weather condition. The energy saving from all types of weather condition are found to be 3175.3 kWh and 957.6 kWh on overall thermal energy and overall exergy basis respectively.

Keywords: exergy, greenhouse, photovoltaic thermal, solar dryer

Procedia PDF Downloads 408