Search results for: urban energy consumption

Authors: Noah Emil Glisik

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Alcohol use disorder (AUD) presents significant health challenges worldwide and is particularly concerning in Slovenia, where high alcohol consumption contributes to elevated rates of comorbidities, including depression and suicide. This review examines emerging evidence linking gut microbiome dysbiosis to AUD, exploring whether gut microbiome alterations merely result from alcohol use or actively contribute to the persistence of addiction. Additionally, it discusses how microbial changes may influence psychological symptoms, including anxiety and depressive states, which are closely associated with suicidality in this population. To address gaps in existing research, a systematic literature search was conducted through PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect. Inclusion criteria focused on studies examining gut microbiome changes in AUD, particularly those assessing gut-brain axis interactions and microbial species impacting inflammation and neurotransmitter pathways. Studies were excluded if they lacked peer review or did not specifically assess microbiome effects on mental health outcomes. A qualitative literature review approach was applied, synthesizing findings into key themes on microbial changes, neuroinflammatory pathways, and treatment implications. Data were organized into tables to provide a clear comparison of microbiota alterations across studies, highlighting specific bacterial species and their potential effects on AUD. This review emphasizes patterns in AUD patients, where reductions in anti-inflammatory species, such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Roseburia intestinalis, coincide with increases in pro-inflammatory bacteria like Enterococcus faecalisand Lactobacillus rhamnosus. These shifts contribute to increased gut permeability and systemic inflammation, potentially influencing the kynurenine pathway, which is linked to depressive symptoms and elevated alcohol cravings. Furthermore, the review explores the potential of probiotic therapies targeting these microbial imbalances as adjunctive treatments for AUD, particularly those focusing on strains that support anti-inflammatory pathways and gut barrier integrity. Restoring microbial homeostasis through probiotics or fecal microbiota transplantation may not only reduce inflammation but also alleviate mental health symptoms associated with addiction, including suicidality. The findings underscore the need for further clinical trials assessing microbiome-targeted therapies as innovative, multifaceted approaches to AUD treatment in Slovenia and beyond.

Keywords: alcohol use disorder, gut-brain axis, microbiome dysbiosis, probiotic therapy.

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Authors: Imdat Taymaz, Erman Aslan, Kemal Cakir

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The Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is performed to computationally investigate the laminar flow and heat transfer of an incompressible fluid with constant material properties in a 2D channel with a built-in triangular prism. Both momentum and energy transport is modelled by the LBM. A uniform lattice structure with a single time relaxation rule is used. Interpolation methods are applied for obtaining a higher flexibility on the computational grid, where the information is transferred from the lattice structure to the computational grid by Lagrange interpolation. The flow is researched on for different Reynolds number, while Prandtl number is keeping constant as a 0.7. The results show how the presence of a triangular prism effects the flow and heat transfer patterns for the steady-state and unsteady-periodic flow regimes. As an evaluation of the accuracy of the developed LBM code, the results are compared with those obtained by a commercial CFD code. It is observed that the present LBM code produces results that have similar accuracy with the well-established CFD code, as an additionally, LBM needs much smaller CPU time for the prediction of the unsteady phonema.

Keywords: laminar forced convection, lbm, triangular prism

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Authors: H. Niranjan, S. Sivasankaran

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Heat and mass transfer near a steady stagnation point boundary layer flow of viscous incompressible fluid through porous media investigates along a vertical plate is thoroughly studied under the presence of magneto hydrodynamic (MHD) effects. The fluid flow is steady, laminar, incompressible and in two-dimensional. The nonlinear differential coupled parabolic partial differential equations of continuity, momentum, energy and specie diffusion are converted into the non-similar boundary layer equations using similarity transformation, which are then solved numerically using the Runge-Kutta method along with shooting method. The effects of the conjugate heat transfer parameter, the porous medium parameter, the permeability parameter, the mixed convection parameter, the magnetic parameter, and the thermal radiation on the velocity and temperature profiles as well as on the local skin friction and local heat transfer are presented and analyzed. The validity of the methodology and analysis is checked by comparing the results obtained for some specific cases with those available in the literature. The various parameters on local skin friction, heat and mass transfer rates are presented in tabular form.

Keywords: MHD, porous medium, slip, convective boundary condition, stagnation point

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Authors: Pankhuri Bansal, Sanjeev Kumar

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We examined the exotic role of electrical poling of layered BCZT-NZFO bulk composite for sustainable advancement of magnetoelectric (ME) technology. Practically, it seems quite difficult to access the full potential of ME composites due to their weak ME coupling performances. Using a standard poling protocol, we successfully deployed the coupling performance of laminated ME composite, comprised of a ferroelectric (FE) layer of BCZT and a ferrite layer of NZFO. However, the ME coupling constant of laminated composite is optimized by lowering the volume fraction of the FE component to strengthen the mechanical strain in the piezoelectric layer while fixing the thickness of the magnetostrictive ferrite layer. Here, we employed systematic zero field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) electrical poling protocol on morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) based BCZT composition, well-appreciated for it’s remarkable electromechanical activity. We report a record augmentation in magnetoelectric coupling as a consequence of a prudent field-cooled poling mechanism. On the basis of our findings, we emphasize that the degree of magnetoelectricity may be significantly improved for the miniaturization of efficient devices via proper execution of the poling technique.

Keywords: magnetoelectric, lead-free, ferroelctric, ferromagnetic, energy harvesting

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Authors: Nabaa M. Abdul Rahim, Mohammed A.Kadhim, Fadhil K. Fuliful

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A biocompatible layer is prepared from calcium phosphate, which plays a role in building damaged bones and is used in many applications. In this research, calcium phosphate is coated on stainless steel substrates (SS 316) by using the flame coating. FE-SEM images show that the behavior of the sample surfaces varies with distance, at 3cm, appeared with nanostructures of bumps shaped of diameter about 317 nm. The contents of the elements are analyzed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The chemical elements C, Ca, Fe, Ni, Cr, Mn and O corresponding to calcium phosphate and the alloy are revealed by EDX analysis of the coating layer. XRD patterns for the calcium phosphate layers indicate the formation of the Hap layer on the deposited layers. The samples are immersed in a solution of simulated body fluids (SBF) for 21 days to examine the biocompatibility, as the tests show that the calcium phosphate ratio of 1.65 is the appropriate and biocompatible ratio in the human body. The assays show antibacterial activity using the diffusion disk procedure. On the surface of the agar, observed infested E.coli bacteria and incubated for 24 hours at 37°C. Bacteria grow on the entire agar rather than in some areas around some samples at a distance of 3 cm from the flame hole.

Keywords: biomaterial, flame coating, antibacterial activity, stainless steel

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Authors: Andrés Calvillo Téllez, Marianne Martínez Zanzarric, José Cruz Núñez Pérez

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A modular system that performs basic monitoring of both water and air quality is presented. Monitoring is essential for environmental, aquaculture, and agricultural disciplines, where this type of instrumentation is necessary for data collection. The system uses low-cost components, which allows readings close to those with high-cost probes. The probe collects readings such as the coordinates of the geographical position, as well as the time it records the target parameters of the monitored. The modules or subsystems that make up the probe are the global positioning (GPS), which shows the altitude, latitude, and longitude data of the point where the reading will be recorded, a real-time clock stage, the date marking the time, the module SD memory continuously stores data, data acquisition system, central processing unit, and energy. The system acquires parameters to measure water quality, conductivity, pressure, and temperature, and for air, three types of ammonia, dioxide, and carbon monoxide gases were censored. The information obtained allowed us to identify the schedule of modification of the parameters and the identification of the ideal conditions for the growth of microorganisms in the water.

Keywords: calibration, conductivity, datalogger, monitoring, real time clock, water quality

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Authors: A. Ashok, K.Satapathy, B. Prerana Nashine

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The objective of this research work is to investigate for one dimensional transient radiative transfer equations with conduction using finite volume method. Within the infrastructure of finite-volume, we obtain the conservative discretization of the terms in order to preserve the overall conservative property of finitevolume schemes. Coupling of conductive and radiative equation resulting in fluxes is governed by the magnitude of emissivity, extinction coefficient, and temperature of the medium as well as geometry of the problem. The problem under consideration has been solved, for a slab dominating radiation coupled with transient conduction based on finite volume method. The boundary conditions are also chosen so as to give a good model of the discretized form of radiation transfer equation. The important feature of the present method is flexibility in specifying the control angles in the FVM, while keeping the simplicity in the solution procedure. Effects of various model parameters are examined on the distributions of temperature, radiative and conductive heat fluxes and incident radiation energy etc. The finite volume method is considered to effectively evaluate the propagation of radiation intensity through a participating medium.

Keywords: participating media, finite volume method, radiation coupled with conduction, transient radiative heat transfer

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Authors: Ke-Jing Lee, Cheng-Jung Lee, Yu-Chi Chang, Li-Wen Wang, Yeong-Her Wang

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To avoid the cross-talk issue of only resistive random access memory (RRAM) cell, one transistor and one resistor (1T1R) architecture with a TiO₂-based RRAM cell connected with solution barium zirconate nickelate (BZN) organic thin film transistor (OTFT) device is successfully demonstrated. The OTFT were fabricated on a glass substrate. Aluminum (Al) as the gate electrode was deposited via a radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering system. The barium acetate, zirconium n-propoxide, and nickel II acetylacetone were synthesized by using the sol-gel method. After the BZN solution was completely prepared using the sol-gel process, it was spin-coated onto the Al/glass substrate as the gate dielectric. The BZN layer was baked at 100 °C for 10 minutes under ambient air conditions. The pentacene thin film was thermally evaporated on the BZN layer at a deposition rate of 0.08 to 0.15 nm/s. Finally, gold (Au) electrode was deposited using an RF magnetron sputtering system and defined through shadow masks as both the source and drain. The channel length and width of the transistors were 150 and 1500 μm, respectively. As for the manufacture of 1T1R configuration, the RRAM device was fabricated directly on drain electrodes of TFT device. A simple metal/insulator/metal structure, which consisting of Al/TiO₂/Au structures, was fabricated. First, Au was deposited to be a bottom electrode of RRAM device by RF magnetron sputtering system. Then, the TiO₂ layer was deposited on Au electrode by sputtering. Finally, Al was deposited as the top electrode. The electrical performance of the BZN OTFT was studied, showing superior transfer characteristics with the low threshold voltage of −1.1 V, good saturation mobility of 5 cm²/V s, and low subthreshold swing of 400 mV/decade. The integration of the BZN OTFT and TiO₂ RRAM devices was finally completed to form 1T1R configuration with low power consumption of 1.3 μW, the low operation current of 0.5 μA, and reliable data retention. Based on the I-V characteristics, the different polarities of bipolar switching are found to be determined by the compliance current with the different distribution of the internal oxygen vacancies used in the RRAM and 1T1R devices. Also, this phenomenon can be well explained by the proposed mechanism model. It is promising to make the 1T1R possible for practical applications of low-power active matrix flat-panel displays.

Keywords: one transistor and one resistor (1T1R), organic thin-film transistor (OTFT), resistive random access memory (RRAM), sol-gel

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Authors: Brendah Nagula, Omolo Fredrick Okalebo, Ronald Ssengendo, Ivan Bamweyana

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The Kampala Physical Development Plan (KPDP) was developed in 2012 and projected both long term and short term developments within the City .The purpose of the plan was to not only shape the city into a spatially planned area but also to control the urban sprawl trends that had expanded with pronounced instances of informal settlements. This plan was approved by the National Physical Planning Board and a signature was appended by the Minister in 2013. Much as the KPDP plan has been implemented using different approaches such as detailed planning, development control, subdivision planning, carrying out construction inspections, greening and beautification, there is still limited knowledge on the level of conformance towards this plan. Therefore, it is yet to be determined whether it has been effective in shaping the City into an ideal spatially planned area. Attaining a clear picture of the level of conformance towards the KPDP 2012 through evaluation between the planned and the existing land use in Kampala City was performed. Methods such as Supervised Classification and Post Classification Change Detection were adopted to perform this evaluation. Scrutiny of findings revealed Central Division registered the lowest level of conformance to the planning standards specified in the KPDP 2012 followed by Nakawa, Rubaga, Kawempe, and Makindye. Furthermore, mixed-use development was identified as the land use with the highest level of non-conformity of 25.11% and institutional land use registered the highest level of conformance of 84.45 %. The results show that the aspect of location was not carefully considered while allocating uses in the KPDP whereby areas located near the Central Business District have higher land rents and hence require uses that ensure profit maximization. Also, the prominence of development towards mixed-use denotes an increased demand for land towards compact development that was not catered for in the plan. Therefore in order to transform Kampala city into a spatially planned area, there is need to carefully develop detailed plans especially for all the Central Division planning precincts indicating considerations for land use densification.

Keywords: spatial plan, post classification change detection, Kampala city, landuse

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: Rym Saidi, Pape Alioune Ndiaye, Mohamed Idbella, Ammar Ibnyasser, Zineb Rchiad, Issam Kadmiri Meftahi, Khalid Daoui, Adnane Bargaz

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Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important leguminous crop grown worldwide, and the second most important food legume in Morocco. In addition, that chickpea plays a significant role in humans’ dietary consumption, it has key ecological interest in terms of biological N-fixation (BNF) having the ability to symbiotically secure 20-80% of needed. Alongside nitrogen (N), low soil phosphorus (P) availability is one of the major factors limiting chickpea growth and productivity. After nitrogen, P is the most important macronutrient for plants growth and development as well as the BNF. In the context of improving chickpea symbiotic performance, co-application of beneficial bacterial inoculants (including Mesorhizobium) and Rock P-fertilizer could boost chickpea performance and productivity, owing to increasing P-utilization efficiency and overall nutrient acquisition under P-deficiency conditions. Greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the response of two chickpea varieties (Arifi “A” and Bochra “B”) to co-application of RP-fertilizer alongside Mesorhizobium and phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) consortium under P-deficient soil in Morocco. Our findings demonstrate that co-applying RP50 with bacterial inoculant significantly increased NDW by 85.71% and 109.09% in A and B chickpea varieties respectively, compared to uninoculated RP-fertilized plants. Nodule Pi and leghemoglobin (LHb) contents also increased in RP-fertilized bacterial inoculants plants. Likewise, shoot and root dry weights of both chickpea varieties increased with bacterial inoculation and RP-fertilization. This is due to enhanced Pi content in shoot (282.54% and 291.42%) and root (334.30% and 408.32%) in response to RP50-Inc compared to unfertilized uninoculated plants, for A and B chickpea varieties respectively. Rhizosphere available P was also increased by 173.86% and 182.25% in response to RP50-Inc as compared to RP-fertilized uninoculated plants, with a positive correlation between soil available P and root length in inoculated plants of A. and B. chickpea varieties (R= 0.49; 0.6) respectively. Furthermore, Mesorhizobium was among the dominant genera in rhizosphere bacterial diversity of both chickpea varieties. This can be attributed to its capacity to enhance plant growth traits, with a more pronounced effect observed in B. variety. Our research demonstrates that integrated fertilization with bacterial inoculation effectively improves biological N-fixation and P nutrition, enhancing the agrophysiological performance of Moroccan chickpea varieties, particularly in restricted P-availability conditions.

Keywords: chickpea varieties, bacterial consortium, inoculants, Mesorhizobium, Rock-P fertilizer, phosphorus deficiency, agrophysiological performance

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Authors: Namrata Jain, Vishaka Karnad

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Fashion has always fascinated people through ages. Indian women’s wear in particular women's western formal wear has gone through transformational phases during the past decade. Increasing number of working women, independence in deciding financial matters, media exposure and awareness of current trends has provided a different dimension to the apparel segment. With globalization and sharing of cultures, in India formal women’s wear is no longer restricted to ethnic outfits like a sari or salwarkameez. Strong western influence has been observed in the process of designing, production and use of western formal wear by working women as consumers. The present study focuses on the psychographics parameters, consumer buying preferences and their relation to the present market scenario. Qualitative and quantitative data was gathered through a observation, consumer survey and study of brands. A questionnaire was prepared and uploaded as a google form to gather primary data from hundred consumer respondents. The respondent samples were drawn through snowball and purposive sampling technique. Consumers’ buying behavior is influenced by various aspects like age group, occupation, income and their personal preferences. Frequency of use, criteria for brand selection, styles of formal wear and motivating factors for purchase of western formals by working women were the other influential factors under consideration. It was observed that higher consumption and more popularity was indicated by women in the age group of 21-30 years. Amongst western formal wear shirts and trousers were noted to be the most preferred in Mumbai. It may be noted that consumers purchased and used branded western formal wear for reasons of comfort and value for money. Past experience in using the product and price were some of the important criteria for brand loyalty but the need for variety lured consumers to look for other brands. Fit of the garment was rated as the most important motivational factor while selecting products for purchase. With the advancement of women’s economic status, self-reliance, women role and image in the society, impulsive buying has increased with increase in consumerism. There is an ever growing demand for innovations in cuts, styles, designs, colors and fabrics. The growing fashion consciousness at the work place has turned women’s formal wear segment into a lucrative and highly evolving market thus providing space for new entrepreneurs to become a part of this developing sector.

Keywords: buying behavior, consumerism, fashion, western formal wear

Procedia PDF Downloads 466

Authors: Mabrook Saleh Amera, Prabhakarn Arunachalama, Maged N. Shaddadb, Abdulhadi Al-Qadia

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Global energy crises and water pollution have negatively impacted sustainable development in recent years. It is most promising to use Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) as an electrode for photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) oxidation of water and pollution degradation. However, BiVO4 anodes suffer from poor charge separation and slow water oxidation. In this paper, a Zr:BiVO4/NiFeOOH heterojunction was successfully prepared by electrodeposition and photoelectrochemical transformation process. The method resulted in a notable 5-fold improvement in photocurrent features (1.27 mAcm−2 at 1.23 VRHE) and a lower onset potential of 0.6 VRHE. Photoanodes with high photocatalytic features and high photocorrosion resistance may be attributed their high conformity and amorphous nature of the coating. In this study, PEC was compared to electrocatalysis (EC), and the effect of bias potential on PEC degradation was discussed for tetracycline (TCH), riboflavin, and streptomycin. In PEC, TCH was degraded in the most efficient way (96 %) by Zr:BiVO4/NiFeOOH, three times larger than Zr:BiVO4 and EC (55 %). Thus, this study offers a potential solution for oxidizing PEC water and treating water pollution.

Keywords: photoelectrochemical, water splitting, pharmaceutical pollutants degradation, photoanodes, cocatalyst

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Authors: Da Kuang

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Resilience is a hotly debated topic in many research fields (e.g., engineering, ecology, society, psychology). In flood management studies, we are experiencing the paradigm shift from flood resistance to flood resilience. Flood resilience refers to tolerate flooding through adaptation or transformation. It is increasingly argued that our city as a social-ecological system holds the ability to learn from experience and adapt to flood rather than simply resist it. This research aims to investigate what kinds of adaptation knowledge the frequently flooded village learned from past experience and its advantages and limitations in coping with floods. The study area – Xinnongcun village, located in the west of Wuhan city, is a linear village and continuously suffered from both flash flood and drainage flood during the past 30 years. We have a field trip to the site in June 2017 and conducted semi-structured interviews with local residents. Our research summarizes two types of adaptation knowledge that people learned from the past floods. Firstly, at the village scale, it has formed a collective urban form which could help people live during both flood and dry season. All houses and front yards were elevated about 2m higher than the road. All the front yards in the village are linked and there is no barrier. During flooding time, people walk to neighbors through houses yards and boat to outside village on the lower road. Secondly, at individual scale, local people learned tacit knowledge of preparedness and emergency response to flood. Regarding the advantages and limitations, the adaptation knowledge could effectively help people to live with flood and reduce the chances of getting injuries. However, it cannot reduce local farmers’ losses on their agricultural land. After flood, it is impossible for local people to recover to the pre-disaster state as flood emerges during June and July will result in no harvest. Therefore, we argue that learning from past flood experience could increase people’s adaptive capacity. However, once the adaptive capacity cannot reduce people’s losses, it requires a transformation to a better regime.

Keywords: adaptation, flood resilience, tacit knowledge, transformation

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Authors: Sanja Podunavac-Kuzmanović, Strahinja Kovačević, Lidija Jevrić, Evgenija Djurendić, Jovana Ajduković

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In the present study, the molecular modeling of a series of 24 17-picolyl and 17-picolinylidene androstane derivatives whit significant anticancer activity was carried out. Modelling of studied compounds was performed by CS ChemBioDraw Ultra v12.0 program for drawing 2D molecular structures and CS ChemBio3D Ultra v12.0 for 3D molecular modelling. The obtained 3D structures were subjected to energy minimization using molecular mechanics force field method (MM2). The cutoff for structure optimization was set at a gradient of 0.1 kcal/Åmol. Full geometry optimization was done by the Austin Model 1 (AM1) until the root mean square (RMS) gradient reached a value smaller than 0.0001 kcal/Åmol using Molecular Orbital Package (MOPAC) program. The obtained physicochemical, lipophilicity and topological descriptors were used for analysis of molecular similarities and dissimilarities applying suitable chemometric methods (principal component analysis and cluster analysis). These results are the part of the project No. 114-451-347/2015-02, financially supported by the Provincial Secretariat for Science and Technological Development of Vojvodina and CMST COST Action CM1306.

Keywords: androstane derivatives, anticancer activity, chemometrics, molecular descriptors

Procedia PDF Downloads 359

Authors: Tania Ali Soomro

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In 1839, the British, after the annexation of the port city of Karachi, established a new urban centre consisting of various quarters and introduced new settlements there. These quarters were out of the boundaries of fortified native old area and now contain much of the oldest parts of the city and signify the colonial history of Karachi, in particular the Saddar Bazaar and the neighboring areas of Kharadar and Mithadar. These quarters bestow a mix of functional typology built in a hybrid form of construction - an adaptation of the western architectural attributes to regional requirements and characteristics. This approach is referred to as the Anglo Vernacular, Colonial or the Domestic Gothic architectural form. This research paper investigates the historical and architectural value of one such property: the Empress Market designed by then Municipal Architect, Ar. James Strachan in 1889 as a commemorative monument for the jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen Victoria; Empress of British India, at that time. This paper presents information on the present conservation status of the market building and highlights its role as a catalyst to the community interconnection. This building has survived to present day and functioned well, despite undergoing numerous transformations. A detailed analysis of the bio-degradation (Natural-Chemical dissolution of material) and the bio-deterioration (Manmade-Negative state change of the material) of the building, based on the examination of the prevailing causes of these bio-alterations is carried out, and is presented in form of a damage atlas containing both the categories of bio-alteration/ changes occurred to the building over the time. The research methodology followed in this paper starts with the available archival analysis, physical observation, photographic documentation, the statistics review and the interviews with the direct and indirect stakeholders. The results and findings of this research portray that these bio-alterations and changes are the essential part of the life cycle of Empress Market building which illustrate the historic development of the premise and therefore ought to be given due importance (depending upon their condition) while developing the conservation plan for the building.

Keywords: British colonial architecture, bio-alteration, bio-degradation, bio-deterioration, domestic gothic architectural form

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Authors: Andreas Livera, Spyros Theocharides, Michalis Florides, Charalambos Anastassiou

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A main challenge in the quest for ensuring quality of operation, especially for photovoltaic (PV) systems, is to safeguard the reliability and optimal performance by detecting and diagnosing potential failures and performance losses at early stages or before the occurrence through real-time monitoring, supervision, fault detection, and predictive maintenance. The purpose of this work is to present the functionalities and results related to the development and validation of a software platform for PV assets diagnosis and maintenance. The platform brings together proprietary hardware sensors and software algorithms to enable the early detection and prediction of the most common and critical faults in PV systems. It was validated using field measurements from operating PV systems. The results showed the effectiveness of the platform for detecting faults and losses (e.g., inverter failures, string disconnections, and potential induced degradation) at early stages, forecasting PV power production while also providing recommendations for maintenance actions. Increased PV energy yield production and revenue can be thus achieved while also minimizing operation and maintenance (O&M) costs.

Keywords: failure detection and prediction, operation and maintenance, performance monitoring, photovoltaic, platform, recommendations, predictive maintenance

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: Mukhtar Maigari

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The landscape of Higher Education (HE) institutions, especially following the CVID-19 pandemic, necessitates advanced approaches to manage Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) which is crucial for the comfort, health, and productivity of students and staff. This study investigates the application of Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a multifaceted tool for monitoring, assessing, and controlling IEQ in HE buildings aiming to bridge the gap between traditional management practices and the innovative capabilities of BIM. Central to the study is a comprehensive literature review, which lays the foundation by examining current knowledge and technological advancements in both IEQ and BIM. This review sets the stage for a deeper investigation into the practical application of BIM in IEQ management. The methodology consists of Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) which encompasses physical monitoring, questionnaire surveys, and interviews under the umbrella of case studies. The physical data collection focuses on vital IEQ parameters such as temperature, humidity, CO2 levels etc, conducted by using different equipment including dataloggers to ensure accurate data. Complementing this, questionnaire surveys gather perceptions and satisfaction levels from students, providing valuable insights into the subjective aspects of IEQ. The interview component, targeting facilities management teams, offers an in-depth perspective on IEQ management challenges and strategies. The research delves deeper into the development of a conceptual BIM-based framework, informed by the insight findings from case studies and empirical data. This framework is designed to demonstrate the critical functions necessary for effective IEQ monitoring, assessment, control and automation with real time data handling capabilities. This BIM-based framework leads to the developing and testing a BIM-based prototype tool. This prototype leverages on software such as Autodesk Revit with its visual programming tool i.e., Dynamo and an Arduino-based sensor network thereby allowing for real-time flow of IEQ data for monitoring, control and even automation. By harnessing the capabilities of BIM technology, the study presents a forward-thinking approach that aligns with current sustainability and wellness goals, particularly vital in the post-COVID-19 era. The integration of BIM in IEQ management promises not only to enhance the health, comfort, and energy efficiency of educational environments but also to transform them into more conducive spaces for teaching and learning. Furthermore, this research could influence the future of HE buildings by prompting universities and government bodies to revaluate and improve teaching and learning environments. It demonstrates how the synergy between IEQ and BIM can empower stakeholders to monitor IEQ conditions more effectively and make informed decisions in real-time. Moreover, the developed framework has broader applications as well; it can serve as a tool for other sustainability assessments, like energy analysis in HE buildings, leveraging measured data synchronized with the BIM model. In conclusion, this study bridges the gap between theoretical research and real-world application by practicalizing how advanced technologies like BIM can be effectively integrated to enhance environmental quality in educational institutions. It portrays the potential of integrating advanced technologies like BIM in the pursuit of improved environmental conditions in educational institutions.

Keywords: BIM, POE, IEQ, HE-buildings

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Authors: Angga S. Fajar, Y. Takahashi, J. Kiyono, S. Sawada

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The structural system concept of RC pier accompanied with multi sliding friction damping mechanism was developed based on numerical analysis approach. However in the implementation, to make design for such kind of this structural system consumes a lot of effort in case high of complexity. During making design, the special behaviors of this structural system should be considered including flexible small deformation, sufficient elastic deformation capacity, sufficient lateral force resistance, and sufficient energy dissipation. The confinement distribution of friction devices has significant influence to its. Optimization and prediction with multi function regression of this structural system expected capable of providing easier and simpler design method. The confinement distribution of friction devices is optimized with SNOPT in Opensees, while some design variables of the structure are predicted using multi function regression of ANN. Based on the optimization and prediction this structural system is able to be designed easily and simply.

Keywords: RC Pier, multi sliding friction device, optimal design, flexible small deformation

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Authors: M. Helen

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Chemical graph serves as a convenient model for any real or abstract chemical system. Dendrimers are novel three dimensional hyper branched globular nanopolymeric architectures. Drug delivery scientists are especially enthusiastic about possible utility of dendrimers as drug delivery tool. Dendrimers like poly L lysine (PLL), poly-propylene imine (PPI) and poly-amidoamine (PAMAM), etc., are used as gene carrier in drug delivery system because of their chemical characteristics. These characteristics of chemical compounds are analysed using topological indices (invariants under graph isomorphism) such as Wiener index, Zagreb index, etc., Prof. V. R. Kulli motivated by the application of Zagreb indices in finding the total π energy and derived Gourava indices which is an improved version over Zagreb indices. In this paper, we study the structure of PLL-Dendrimer that has the following applications: reduction in toxicity, colon delivery, and topical delivery. Also, we determine first and second Gourava indices, first and second hyper Gourava indices, product and sum connectivity Gourava indices for PLL-Dendrimer. Gourava Indices have found applications in Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship (QSPR)/ Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) studies.

Keywords: connectivity Gourava indices, dendrimer, Gourava indices, hyper GouravaG indices

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Authors: B. Kabane, G. G. Redhi

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An ammonium based ionic liquid (methyltrioctylammonium chloride) [N_{8 8 8 1}] [Cl] was investigated as an extraction potential solvent for volatile organic solvents (in this regard, solutes), which includes alkenes, alkanes, ketones, alkynes, aromatic hydrocarbons, tetrahydrofuran (THF), alcohols, thiophene, water and acetonitrile based on the experimental activity coefficients at infinite THF measurements were conducted by the use of gas-liquid chromatography at four different temperatures (313.15 to 343.15) K. Experimental data of activity coefficients obtained across the examined temperatures were used in order to calculate the physicochemical properties at infinite dilution such as partial molar excess enthalpy, Gibbs free energy and entropy term. Capacity and selectivity data for selected petrochemical extraction problems (heptane/thiophene, heptane/benzene, cyclohaxane/cyclohexene, hexane/toluene, hexane/hexene) were computed from activity coefficients data and compared to the literature values with other ionic liquids. Evaluation of activity coefficients at infinite dilution expands the knowledge and provides a good understanding related to the interactions between the ionic liquid and the investigated compounds.

Keywords: separation, activity coefficients, methyltrioctylammonium chloride, ionic liquid, capacity

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Authors: Mila Fantinelli

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Cairo is the perfect modern representation of a living hell between rising temperatures and failing architecture. The works of Egyptian writer Mohamed Makhzangi may prove to add more depth to the debate that surrounds the topic of pollution in Arab literature. This Egyptian writer, who studied medicine and psychiatry before dedicating his life to writing, sheds indeed further light on the ecological condition of Cairo. In relation to this, the short story “The breeze hunter” (2018) tackles the topic of “environmental architecture”, citing the research of Hassan Fathy in “Architecture for the Poor: An Experiment in Rural Egypt” which provides examples from history of inventions to counter the effects of the hot weather. Specifically, the main character of the story is a man living in Cairo in a small apartment, which turns into a living hell in the summer season because of the high temperatures. Catastrophic urban planning, therefore, prevents the mitigation of the torrid climate but rather worsens it. Makhzangi indeed refers to the environmental issue of pollution caused by the excessive number of air conditioners, which transform Cairo into an infernal island of heat while our country becomes warmer with the passing of time. His description of the city already intersects ecocriticism and environmental issues, tackling the topic of pollution inside of cities and the impact of climate change, of which Cairo is a perfect example. History has indeed provided ways in order to reduce the heat inside houses. Yet, these have all been ignored. As a result, through the teachings of Hassan Fathy, the narrator of the story builds an opening in the house to catch the natural breeze coming from the north. He, therefore, becomes the breeze hunter of Mansoura. However, polluted waves interrupt this brief rest, thus leading to a worsening of his conditions, leading to him suffering from the effects of crowding and the consequences of climate change and pollution. Makhzangi, therefore, reflects on how architecture and urbanism affect the psychological sanity of people and how the situation is worsened by the catastrophic consequences of climate change and pollution.

Keywords: ecocriticism, Arabic literature, pollution, environmental architecture, crowding

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Authors: Habtamu Abdisa

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In nature, water may not be free from contaminants due to its polar nature. But, more than this, the environmental water is highly polluted by manmade activities from industrial, agricultural, recreation, shipping, and domestic sites, thereby increasing the shortage of freshwater for designated purposes. Therefore, in the face of water scarcity, human beings are enforced to look at all the existing opportunities to get an adequate amount of freshwater resources. The most probable water resource is wastewater, from which the water can be recovered to serve designated purposes (for industrial, agricultural, drinking, and other domestic uses). Present-day, the most preferable method for recovering water from different wastewater streams for re-use is membrane technology. This paper looks at the progressive development of membrane technology in wastewater treatment. The applications of pressure-driven membrane separation technology (microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nano-filtration, reverse osmosis, and tissue purification) and no pressure membrane separation technology (semipermeable membrane, liquefiedfilm, and electro-dialysis) and also ion-exchange were reviewed. More than all, the technology for converting environmental water pollutants into energy is of considerable attention. Finally, recommendations for future research relating to the application of membrane technology in wastewater treatment were made. Also, further research recommendation about membrane fouling and cleaning was made.

Keywords: environmental pollution, membrane technology, water quality, wastewater

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Authors: Tauhidur Rahman, Dhrubajyoti Thakuria

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In this article, vibration caused by earthquake excitation, wind load and the high-speed vehicle in the superstructure has been studied. An attempt has been made to control these vibrations using passive Tuned Mass Dampers (TMD). Tuned mass damper consists of a mass, spring, and viscous damper which dissipates the vibration energy of the primary structure at the damper of the TMD. In the present paper, the concrete box girder bridge superstructure is considered and is modeled using MIDAS software. The bridge is modeled as Euler-Bernoulli beam to study the responses imposed by high-speed vehicle, earthquake excitation and wind load. In the present study, comparative study for the responses has been done considering different velocities of the train. The results obtained in this study are based on Indian standard loadings specified in Indian Railways Board (Bridge Rules). A comparative study has been done for the responses of the high-speed vehicle with and without Tuned Mass Dampers. The results indicate that there is a significant reduction in displacement and acceleration in the bridge superstructure when Tuned Mass Damper is used.

Keywords: bridge superstructure, high speed vehicle, tuned mass damper, TMD, vibration control

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Authors: Safa’ Abdelkarim Hammad

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The electrical power system is one of the main parts of the nation's infrastructure, and the availability and cost of electricity are critical factors in industrial competitiveness and strategy. Restructuring of the electricity supply industries is a very complex exercise based on national energy strategies and policies, macroeconomic developments, and national conditions, and its application varies from country to country. Electricity regulation of natural monopolies is a challenging task. Regulators face the problem of providing appropriate incentives for improvement of efficiency. Incentive regulation is often considered as an efficient regulatory tool to handle the problem, and it is widely applied in several countries. However, the exact regulation methodologies differ from one country to another. Network quantitative reliability evaluation is an essential factor with regard to the quality of supply. The main factors used to judge the reliability of supply is measured by the number and duration of interruptions experienced by customers. Several indicators are used to evaluate reliability in distribution networks. This paper addresses the impact of incentive regulation and performance benchmarking in the field of electricity distribution in Jordan. The theory of efficiency measurement and the most common models; NCSQS and DEA models are presented.

Keywords: incentive regulations, reliability, restructuring, Tarrif

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Authors: Lourdes I. Meriño, Viatcheslav Kafarov, Maria Gómez

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Fuel gas used in the burner receives as contributors other gases from different processes and this result in variability in the composition, which may cause an incomplete combustion. The burners are designed to operate in a certain curve, the calorific power dependent on the pressure and gas burners. When deviation of propane and C5+ is huge, there is a large release of energy, which causes it to work out the curves of the burners, because less pressure is required to force curve into operation. That increases the risk of explosion in an oven, besides of a higher environmental impact. There should be flame detection systems, and instrumentation equipment, such as local pressure gauges located at the entrance of the gas burners, to permit verification by the operator. Additionally, distributed control systems must be configured with different combustion instruments associated with respective alarms, as well as its operational windows, and windows control guidelines of integrity, leaving the design information of this equipment. Therefore, it is desirable to analyze when a plant is taken out of service and make good operational analysis to determine the impact of changes in fuel gas streams contributors, by varying the calorific power. Hence, poor combustion is one of the cause instability in the flame of the burner and having a great impact on process safety, the integrity of individuals and teams and environment.

Keywords: combustion process, fuel composition, safety, fuel gas

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Authors: S. Bahadır Yüksel, Alptuğ Ünal

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The composite shear walls (CSW) with steel encased profiles can be used as lateral-load resisting systems for buildings that require considerable large lateral-load capacity. The aim of this work is to propose the experimental work conducted on CSW having L section folded plate (L shape steel made-up sections) as longitudinal reinforcement in boundary regions. The study in this paper present the experimental test conducted on CSW having L section folded plate as longitudinal reinforcement in boundary regions. The tested 1/3 geometric scaled CSW has aspect ratio of 3.2. L-shape structural steel materials with 2L-19x57x7mm dimensions were placed in shear wall boundary zones. The seismic behavior of CSW test specimen was investigated by evaluating and interpreting the hysteresis curves, envelope curves, rigidity and consumed energy graphs of this tested element. In addition to this, the experimental results, deformation and cracking patterns were evaluated, interpreted and suggestions of the design recommendations were proposed.

Keywords: shear wall, composite shear wall, boundary reinforcement, earthquake resistant structural design, L section

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Authors: Danhua Xu, Zhenlan Qian, Zhu Wang, Jiayan Fu, Ling Wang

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A new business mode called rural complex is proposed by the China’s government to promote the development the economy in the rural area. However, for the sake of current national conditions including the great number of labor farmers owning the small scale farmlands and the uncertain enthusiasm from the enterprises, it is challenging to develop the big scale rural complex. To react to the dilemmas, this paper puts forward the micro-rural complex to boost the small scale farms by co-participation from a bottom-up mode. By analyzing the potential opportunities to find the suitable mode, exploring the interdisciplinary and interdepartmental co-participation way beyond architecture design and spatial planning between different actors, the paper tries to find a complete process towards the sustainable micro-rural complex and conducts an ongoing practice to optimize it, to bring new insights and reference to the rural development. According to the transformation of the economy, the micro-rural complex will develop into two phases, both of which can be discussed in three parts, the economic mode, the spatial support, and the Cooperating mechanism. The first stage is the agriculture co-participation based on the rise of Community supported agriculture (CSA) in which the consumers buy the products planted in an organic way from the farmers directly with a higher price to support the small-scale agriculture and overcome the food safety issues. The following stage sets up the agritourism catering the citizens with the restaurants, inns and other tourist service facilities to be planned and designed. In the whole process, the interdisciplinary co-participation will play an important role to provide the guidelines and consultation from the agronomists, architects and rural planners to the farmers. This mode has been applied to an on-going farm project, from which to explore the mode in a more practical way. In conclusion, the micro-rural complex aims at creating a balanced urban-rural relationship by co-participation taking advantage of the different actors. The spatial development is considered from the economic mode and social organization. The integration of the mode based on the small-scale agriculture will contribute to a sustainable growth and realize the long run development in the rural area.

Keywords: micro-rural complex, co-participation, sustainable development, China

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Authors: F. Hafdhi, T. Khir, A. Ben Yahia, A. Ben Brahim

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An Energetic and exergetic analysis is conducted on a Steam Turbine Power Plant of an existing Phosphoric Acid Factory. The heat recovery systems used in different parts of the plant are also considered in the analysis. Mass, thermal and exergy balances are established on the main compounds of the factory. A numerical code is established using EES software to perform the calculations required for the thermal and exergy plant analysis. The effects of the key operating parameters such as steam pressure and temperature, mass flow rate as well as seawater temperature, on the cycle performances are investigated. A maximum Exergy Loss Rate of about 72% is obtained for the melters, followed by the condensers, heat exchangers and the pumps. The heat exchangers used in the phosphoric acid unit present exergetic efficiencies around 33% while 60% to 72% are obtained for steam turbines and blower. For the explored ranges of HP steam temperature and pressure, the exergy efficiencies of steam turbine generators STGI and STGII increase of about 2.5% and 5.4% respectively. In the same way, optimum HP steam flow rate values, leading to the maximum exergy efficiencies are defined.

Keywords: steam turbine generator, energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, phosphoric acid plant

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Authors: M. Budakoglu, M. Karaman

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Lake Acıgöl is located in area with limited influences from urban and industrial pollution sources, there is nevertheless a need to understand all potential lithological and anthropogenic sources of priority contaminants in this closed basin. This study discusses vertical and horizontal distribution pattern of major, trace elements of recent lake sediments to better understand their current geochemical analog with lithological units in the Lake Acıgöl basin. This study also provides reliable background levels for the region by the detailed surfaced lithological units data. The detail results of surface, subsurface and shallow core sediments from these relatively unperturbed ecosystems, highlight its importance as conservation area, despite the high-scale industrial salt production activity. While P2O5/TiO2 versus MgO/CaO classification diagram indicate magmatic and sedimentary origin of lake sediment, Log(SiO2/Al2O3) versus Log(Na2O/K2O) classification diagrams express lithological assemblages of shale, iron-shale, vacke and arkose. The plot between TiO2 vs. SiO2 and P2O5/TiO2 vs. MgO/CaO also supports the origin of the primary magma source. The average compositions of the 20 different lithological units used as a proxy for geochemical background in the study area. As expected from weathered rock materials, there is a large variation in the major element content for all analyzed lake samples. The A-CN-K and A-CNK-FM ternary diagrams were used to deduce weathering trends. Surface and subsurface sediments display an intense weathering history according to these ternary diagrams. The most of the sediments samples plot around UCC and TTG, suggesting a low to moderate weathering history for the provenance. The sediments plot in a region clearly suggesting relative similar contents in Al2O3, CaO, Na2O, and K2O from those of lithological samples.

Keywords: Lake Acıgöl, recent lake sediment, geochemical speciation of major and trace elements, heavy metals, Denizli, Turkey

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Authors: Mohammed Aliyu, Kazunori Iwabuchi, Ibrahim Shaba Mohammed, Abubakar Sadeeq Mohammed, Solomon Musa Dauda, Zinash Delebo Osunde

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Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is recognised as a low temperature and effective technique for the conversion of biomass to solid biofuel. In this study, the effect of process temperature and biomass-to-water ratio (B/W) on the fuel properties of hydrochar produced from wood shavings was investigated. HTC was conducted in an autoclave using reaction temperature of 230 °C and 260 °C for 20 minutes with B/W ratio of 0.11 to 0.43. The produced hydrochars were characterised by the mass yield (MY), higher heating value (HHV), proximate and ultimate properties. The results showed that the properties of the hydrochars improved with increasing process temperature and B/W ratio. The higher heating value (HHV) increased to 26.74 MJ/kg as the severity of the reaction was increased to the process temperature of 260 °C. Also, the atomic H/C and O/C ratios of hydrochars produced at 230 °C and 260 °C were closed to the regions of a peat and lignite on the plotted van Krevelen diagram. Hence, the produced hydrochar has a promising potential as a sustainable solid biofuel for energy application.

Keywords: wood shavings, biomass/water ratio, thermochemical conversion, hydrothermal carbonization, hydrochar

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