Search results for: Kendrick mass defect

Authors: Akan C. Offong, E. J. Anthony, Vasilije Manovic

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A modified steady-state numerical model is developed for the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to formic acid. The numerical model achieves a CD (current density) (~60 mA/cm²), FE-faradaic efficiency (~98%) and conversion (~80%) for CO₂ electro-reduction to formic acid in a microfluidic cell. The model integrates charge and species transport, mass conservation, and momentum with electrochemistry. Specifically, the influences of Bi-Sn based nanoparticle catalyst (on the cathode surface) at different mole fractions and 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium tetra-fluoroborate ([EMIM][BF₄]) electrolyte, on CD, FE and CO₂ conversion to formic acid is studied. The reaction is carried out at a constant concentration of electrolyte (85% v/v., [EMIM][BF₄]). Based on the mass transfer characteristics analysis (concentration contours), mole ratio 0.5:0.5 Bi-Sn catalyst displays the highest CO₂ mole consumption in the cathode gas channel. After validating with experimental data (polarisation curves) from literature, extensive simulations reveal performance measure: CD, FE and CO₂ conversion. Increasing the negative cathode potential increases the current densities for both formic acid and H₂ formations. However, H₂ formations are minimal as a result of insufficient hydrogen ions in the ionic liquid electrolyte. Moreover, the limited hydrogen ions have a negative effect on formic acid CD. As CO₂ flow rate increases, CD, FE and CO₂ conversion increases.

Keywords: carbon dioxide, electro-chemical reduction, ionic liquids, microfluidics, modelling

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Authors: Jeroen Rotteveel, Zeger De Groot

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The small satellite community is more and more aware of the need to start operating responsibly and sustainably in order to secure the use of outer space in the long run. On the technical side, many debris mitigation techniques have been investigated and demonstrated on board small satellites, showing that technically, a lot of things can be done to curb the growth of space debris and operate more responsible. However, in the absence of strict laws and constraints, one cannot help but wonder what the incentive is to incur significant costs (paying for debris mitigation systems and the launch mass of these systems) and to lose performance onboard resource limited small satellites (mass, volume, power)? Many small satellite developers are operating under tight budgets, either from their sponsors (in case of academic and research projects) or from their investors (in case of startups). As long as it is not mandatory to act more responsibly, we might need to consider the implementation of incentives to stimulate developers to accommodate deorbiting modules, etc. ISISPACE joined the NetZeroSpace initiative in 2021 with the aim to play its role in secure the use of low earth orbit for the next decades by facilitating more sustainable use of space. The company is in a good position as both a satellite builder, a rideshare launch provider, and a technology development company. ISISPACE operates under one of the stricter space laws in the world in terms of maximum orbital lifetime and has been active in various debris mitigation and debris removal in-orbit demonstration missions in the past 10 years. ISISPACE proposes to introduce together with launch partners and regulators an incentive scheme for CubeSat developers to baseline debris mitigation systems on board their CubeSats in such a way that is does not impose too many additional costs to the project. Much like incentives to switch to electric cars or install solar panels on your house, such an incentive can help to increase market uptake of behavior or solutions prior to legislation or bans of certain practices. This can be achieved by: Introducing an extended launch volume in CubeSat deployers to accommodate debris mitigation systems without compromising available payload space for the payload of the main mission Not charging the fee for the launch mass for the additional debris mitigation module Whenever possible, find ways to further co-fund the purchase price, or otherwise reduce the cost of flying debris mitigation modules onboard the CubeSats. The paper will outline the framework of such an incentive scheme and provides ISISPACE’s way forward to make this happen in the near future.

Keywords: netZerospace, cubesats, debris mitigation, small satellite community

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Authors: Rasha A. Salameh

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This research attempts to evaluate the treatment provided by the Qatari media to the decision to allow Saudi women to drive, and then activate this decision after a few months, that is, within the time frame between September 26, 2017 until June 30, 2018. This is through asking several questions, including whether the political dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia has cast a shadow over this handling, and if these Qatari media handlings are used to criticize the Saudi regime for delaying this step. Here emerges one of the research hypotheses that says that the coverage did not have the required professionalism, due to the fact that the decision and its activation took place in light of the political stalemate between Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which requires testing the media framing and agenda theories to know to what extent they apply to this case. The research dealt with a sample of five Qatari media read in this sample: Al-Jazeera Net, The New Arab Newspaper, Al-Sharq Newspaper, The Arab Newspaper, and Al-Watan Newspaper. The results showed that most of the authors who covered the decision to allow Saudi women to drive a car did not achieve a balance in their writing, and that almost half of them did not have objectivity, and this indicates the proof of the hypothesis that there is a defect in the professional competence in covering the decision to allow Saudi women to drive cars by means of Qatari media, and the researcher attributes this result to the political position between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, in addition to the fact that the Arab media in most of them are characterized by a low ceiling of freedom, and most of them are identical in their position with the position of the regime’s official view.

Keywords: Saudi women, objectivity, hate speech, stereotype

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Yose Rizal, Nuraini, Mirnawati, Maria Endo Mahata, Rio Darman, Dendi Kurniawan

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An experiment had been conducted to determine the effects of several levels of Neurospora crassa- fermented palm kernel cake in the diet on the production performance and egg-yolk quality of Arab laying-hens, and to obtain the appropriate level of this fermented palm kernel cake for reducing the utilization of concentrated feed in the diet. Three hundred Arab laying-hens of 72 weeks old were employed in this experiment, and randomly assigned to four treatments (0, 7.25, 10.15, and 13.05% fermented palm kernel cake in diets) in a completely randomized design with five replicates. Measured variables were production performance (feed consumption, egg-mass production, feed conversion, egg weight and hen-day egg production), and egg-yolk quality (ether extract and cholesterol contents, and egg-yolk color index). Results of experiment indicated that feed consumption, egg-mass production, feed conversion, egg weight, hen-day egg production and egg-yolk color index were not influenced (P>0.05) by diets. However, the ether extract and cholesterol contents of egg-yolk were very significantly reduced (P<0.01) by diets. In conclusion, Neurospora crassa-fermented palm kernel cake could be included up to 13.05% to effectively replace 45% concentrated feed in Arab laying-hens diet without adverse effect on the production performance.

Keywords: neurospora crassa-fermented palm kernel cake, Arab laying-hens, production performance, ether extract, cholesterol, egg-yolk color index

Procedia PDF Downloads 735

Authors: Nicoleta Simona Vedeanu, Rares Stiufiuc, Dana Alina Magdas

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A detailed knowledge of the teeth structure is mandatory to understand and explain the defects and the dental pathology, but especially to take a correct decision regarding dental prophylaxis and treatment. The present work is an alternative study to the traditional investigation methods used in dentistry, a study based on the use of modern, sensitive physical methods to investigate human enamel and dentin. For the present study, several teeth collected from patients of different ages were used for structural and dietary investigation. The samples were investigated by Raman spectroscopy for the molecular structure analysis of dentin and enamel, atomic force microscopy (AFM) to view the dental topography at the micrometric size and mass spectrometry for isotopic ratios as a fingerprint of patients’ personal diet. The obtained Raman spectra and their interpretation are in good correlation with the literature and may give medical information by comparing affected dental structures with healthy ones. AFM technique gave us the possibility to study in details the dentin and enamel surface to collect information about dental hardness or dental structural changes. δ¹³C values obtained for the studied samples can be classified in C4 category specific to young people and children diet (sweets, cereals, juices, pastry). The methods used in this attempt furnished important information about dentin and enamel structure and dietary habits and each of the three proposed methods can be extended at a larger level in the study of the teeth structure.

Keywords: AFM, dentine, enamel, Raman spectroscopy

Procedia PDF Downloads 143

Authors: Aferdita Stroka Koka, Laver Stroka, Juna Musa, Samanda Celaj

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Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) are the most common human malignancies. About 5.4 million basal and squamous cell skin cancers are diagnosed each year in the US and new cases continue to grow. About eight out of ten of these are basal cell cancers. Squamous cell cancers occur less often. NMSC usually are treatable, but treatment is expensive and can leave scars. In 2019, 167 patients of both sexes suffering from NMSC were treated by traditional medicine. Patients who have been diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma were 122 cases, Squamous Cell Carcinoma 32 cases and both of them 13 cases. Of these,122 cases were ulcerated lesions and 45 unulcerated lesions. All patients were treated with the herbal solution called NILS, which contains extracts of some Albanian plants such as Allium sativum, Jugulans regia and Laurus nobilis. The treatment is done locally, on the surface of the tumor, applying the solution until the tumor mass is destroyed and, after that, giving the necessary time to the wound to make the regeneration that coincides with the complete healing of the wound. We have prepared a collection of photos for each case. Since the first sessions, a shrinkage and reduction of the tumor mass were evident, up to the total disappearance of the lesion at the end of treatment. The normal period of treatment lasted 1 to 2 weeks, depending on the size of the tumor, then take care of it until the closure of the wound, taking the whole process from 1 to 3 months. In 7 patients, the lesion failed to be dominated by treatment and they underwent standard treatment with radiotherapy or surgery, while in 10 patients, the lesion recurred and was treated again. The aim of this survey was to put in evidence the good results obtained by treatment of NMSC with Albanian traditional medicine methods.

Keywords: local treatment, nils, NMSC, traditional medicine

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Authors: Ali Mortazavi

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The main objective of this research project is to delve into a multitude of geomechanical risks associated with various mining methods employed within the underground mining industry. Controlling geotechnical design parameters and operational factors affecting the selection of suitable mining techniques for a given underground mining condition will be considered from a risk assessment point of view. Important geomechanical challenges will be investigated as appropriate and relevant to the commonly used underground mining methods. Given the complicated nature of rock mass in-situ and complicated boundary conditions and operational complexities associated with various underground mining methods, the selection of a safe and economic mining operation is of paramount significance. Rock failure at varying scales within the underground mining openings is always a threat to mining operations and causes human and capital losses worldwide. Geotechnical design is a major design component of all underground mines and basically dominates the safety of an underground mine. With regard to uncertainties that exist in rock characterization prior to mine development, there are always risks associated with inappropriate design as a function of mining conditions and the selected mining method. Uncertainty often results from the inherent variability of rock masse, which in turn is a function of both geological materials and rock mass in-situ conditions. The focus of this research is on developing a methodology which enables a geomechanical risk assessment of given underground mining conditions. The outcome of this research is a geotechnical risk analysis algorithm, which can be used as an aid in selecting the appropriate mining method as a function of mine design parameters (e.g., rock in-situ properties, design method, governing boundary conditions such as in-situ stress and groundwater, etc.).

Keywords: geomechanical risk assessment, rock mechanics, underground mining, rock engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Mohamed Abdelrahman Abdalla

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Apart from their function in producing CSF, the brain ventricles have been recognized as the mere remnant of the embryological neural tube with no clear role. The lack of proper definition of the function of the brain ventricles and the central spinal canal has made it difficult to ascertain the pathophysiology of its different disease conditions or to treat them. This study aims to review the simple physics that could explain the basic function of the CNS ventricular system and to suggest new ways of approaching its pathology. There are probably more physical factors to consider than only the pressure. Monro-Killie hypothesis focuses on volume and subsequently pressure to direct our surgical management in different disease conditions. However, the enlarged volume of the ventricles in normal pressure hydrocephalus does not move any blood or brain outside the skull. Also, in idiopathic intracranial hypertension, the very high intracranial pressure rarely causes brain herniation. On this note, the continuum of the intracranial cavity with the spinal canal makes it a whole unit and hence the defect in the theory. In this study, adding different factors to the equation like brain and CSF density and positions of the brain in space, in addition to the volume and pressure, aims to identify how the ventricles are important in the CNS homeostasis. In addition, increasing the variables that we analyze to treat different CSF pathological conditions should increase our understanding and hence accuracy of treatment of such conditions.

Keywords: communicating hydrocephalus, functions of the ventricles, idiopathic intracranial hypertension physics of CSF

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Authors: Kerekoppa Puttaiah Bhatta Ramesha, Uday Kannegundla, Praseeda Mol, Lathika Gopalakrishnan, Jagish Kour Reen, Gourav Dey, Manish Kumar, Sakthivel Jeyakumar, Arumugam Kumaresan, Kiran Kumar M., Thottethodi Subrahmanya Keshava Prasad

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Spermatozoa are the highly specialized transcriptionally and translationally inactive haploid male gamete. The understanding of proteome of sperm is indispensable to explore the mechanism of sperm motility and fertility. Though there is a large number of human sperm proteomic studies, in-depth proteomic information on Bos indicus spermatozoa is not well established yet. Therefore, we illustrated the profile of sperm proteome in indigenous cattle, Malnad gidda (Bos Indicus), using high-resolution mass spectrometry. In the current study, two semen ejaculates from 3 breeding bulls were collected employing the artificial vaginal method. Using 45% percoll purification, spermatozoa cells were isolated. Protein was extracted using lysis buffer containing 2% Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) and protein concentration was estimated. Fifty micrograms of protein from each individual were pooled for further downstream processing. Pooled sample was fractionated using SDS-Poly Acrylamide Gel Electrophoresis, which is followed by in-gel digestion. The peptides were subjected to C18 Stage Tip clean-up and analyzed in Orbitrap Fusion Tribrid mass spectrometer interfaced with Proxeon Easy-nano LC II system (Thermo Scientific, Bremen, Germany). We identified a total of 6773 peptides with 28426 peptide spectral matches, which belonged to 1081 proteins. Gene ontology analysis has been carried out to determine the biological processes, molecular functions and cellular components associated with sperm protein. The biological process chiefly represented our data is an oxidation-reduction process (5%), spermatogenesis (2.5%) and spermatid development (1.4%). The highlighted molecular functions are ATP, and GTP binding (14%) and the prominent cellular components most observed in our data were nuclear membrane (1.5%), acrosomal vesicle (1.4%), and motile cilium (1.3%). Seventeen percent of sperm proteins identified in this study were involved in metabolic pathways. To the best of our knowledge, this data represents the first total sperm proteome from indigenous cattle, Malnad Gidda. We believe that our preliminary findings could provide a strong base for the future understanding of bovine sperm proteomics.

Keywords: Bos indicus, Malnad Gidda, mass spectrometry, spermatozoa

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: Mohd Azraei Pangah Pa'at, Mohd Ruzlin Mohd Mokhtar, Norhidayu Rameli, Tashia Marie Anthony, Huzainie Shafi Abd Halim

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Partial Discharge (PD) diagnostic mapping testing is one of the main diagnostic testing techniques that are widely used in the field or onsite testing for underground power cable in medium voltage level. The existence of PD activities is an early indication of insulation weakness hence early detection of PD activities can be determined and provides an initial prediction on the condition of the cable. To effectively manage the results of PD Mapping test, it is important to have acceptable criteria to facilitate prioritization of mitigation action. Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) through Distribution Network (DN) division have developed PD severity model name Severity Index (SI) for offline PD mapping test since 2007 based on onsite test experience. However, this severity index recommendation action had never been revised since its establishment. At presence, PD measurements data have been extensively increased, hence the severity level indication and the effectiveness of the recommendation actions can be analyzed and verified again. Based on the new revision, the recommended action to be taken will be able to reflect the actual defect condition. Hence, will be accurately prioritizing preventive action plan and minimizing maintenance expenditure.

Keywords: partial discharge, severity index, diagnostic testing, medium voltage, power cable

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: M. Błoch, P. Karpiński, P. Gasperowicz, R. Płoski, A. Lebioda, P. Skiba, A. Rozensztrauch, D. Patkowski, R. Śmigiel

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Introduction: The cause of the isolated form of esophageal atresia has been yet unknown. Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to indicate epigenetic factors which may play an important role in the etiopathogenesis of esophageal atresia. Methods: We recruited a group of 6 pairs of twins, among whom one of the twins developed EA. The selection of such a group for testing allows for excluding external factors (e.g., infections, drugs, toxins) as the cause of the birth defect. The analyzes were performed with the use of genetic material isolated from the whole blood and esophagus tissue of a patient with EA. The reduced representation bisulphite sequencing (RRBS) technique was used to study the change in the genomic imprinting -a change in the expression of genes, which may be the epigenetic cause of EA. Results: In the course of the analyzes, significant hypomethylation and hypermethylation regions were identified. 65 genes with probably increased expression and 65 with decreased expression were selected. These genes have not been marked in literature as possibly pathogenic in esophageal atresia. However, their participation in the pathogenesis of esophageal atresia cannot be clearly excluded. Conclusion: We suggest a role of hypomethylation or hypermethylation of selected genes as one of the possible epigenetic factors in EA pathogenesis. The use of the RRBS technique in the search for the cause of EA is pioneer research; therefore, it seems necessary to extend the research group to new patients with EA. Acknowledgment: The work was supported by the National Science Centre, Poland, under research project 2016/21/N/NZ5/01927.

Keywords: esophageal atresia, epigenetics, embryonic development, surgery, genes expression, twins

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Authors: Lei Zhang, Jean-Michel Ghidaglia, Anela Kumbaro

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This work focuses on numerical simulation of two-phase flows based on the bi-fluid six-equation model widely used in many industrial areas, such as nuclear power plant safety analysis. A pressure-based numerical method is adopted in our studies due to the fact that in two-phase flows, it is common to have a large range of Mach numbers because of the mixture of liquid and gas, and density-based solvers experience stiffness problems as well as a loss of accuracy when approaching the low Mach number limit. This work extends the semi-implicit pressure solver in the nuclear component CUPID code, where the governing equations are solved on unstructured grids with co-located variables to accommodate complicated geometries. A conservative version of the solver is developed in order to capture exactly the shock in one-phase flows, and is extended to two-phase situations. An inter-facial pressure term is added to the bi-fluid model to make the system hyperbolic and to establish a well-posed mathematical problem that will allow us to obtain convergent solutions with refined meshes. The ability of the numerical method to treat phase appearance and disappearance as well as the behavior of the scheme at low Mach numbers will be demonstrated through several numerical results. Finally, inter-facial mass and heat transfer models are included to deal with situations when mass and energy transfer between phases is important, and associated industrial numerical benchmarks with tabulated EOS (equations of state) for fluids are performed.

Keywords: two-phase flows, numerical simulation, bi-fluid model, unstructured grids, phase appearance and disappearance

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Authors: Deepanjali Gurav, Kun Qian

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In-vitro metabolic diagnosis relies on designed materials-based analytical platforms for detection of selected metabolites in biological samples, which has a key role in disease detection and therapeutic evaluation in clinics. However, the basic challenge deals with developing a simple approach for metabolic analysis in bio-samples with high sample complexity and low molecular abundance. In this work, we report a designer plasmonic nanoshells based platform for direct detection of small metabolites in clinical samples for in-vitro metabolic diagnostics. We first synthesized a series of plasmonic core-shell particles with tunable nanoshell structures. The optimized plasmonic nanoshells as new matrices allowed fast, multiplex, sensitive, and selective LDI MS (Laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry) detection of small metabolites in 0.5 μL of bio-fluids without enrichment or purification. Furthermore, coupling with isotopic quantification of selected metabolites, we demonstrated the use of these plasmonic nanoshells for disease detection and therapeutic evaluation in clinics. For disease detection, we identified patients with postoperative brain infection through glucose quantitation and daily monitoring by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis. For therapeutic evaluation, we investigated drug distribution in blood and CSF systems and validated the function and permeability of blood-brain/CSF-barriers, during therapeutic treatment of patients with cerebral edema for pharmacokinetic study. Our work sheds light on the design of materials for high-performance metabolic analysis and precision diagnostics in real cases.

Keywords: plasmonic nanoparticles, metabolites, fingerprinting, mass spectrometry, in-vitro diagnostics

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Nabil Jallouli, Luisa M. Pastrana-Martínez, Ana R. Ribeiro, Nuno F. F. Moreira, Joaquim L. Faria, Olfa Hentati, Adrián M. T. Silva, Mohamed Ksibi

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Degradation and mineralization of ibuprofen (IBU) were investigated using Ultraviolet (UV) Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) in TiO2 photocatalysis. Samples of ultrapure water (UP) and a secondary treated effluent of a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), both spiked with IBU, as well as a highly concentrated IBU (230 mgL-1) pharmaceutical industry wastewater (PIWW), were tested in the TiO2/UV-LED system. Three operating parameters, namely, pH, catalyst load and number of LEDs were optimized. The process efficiency was evaluated in terms of IBU removal using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Additionally, the mineralization was investigated by determining the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content. The chemical structures of transformation products were proposed based on the data obtained using liquid chromatography with a high resolution mass spectrometer ion trap/time-of-flight (LC-MS-IT-TOF). A possible pathway of IBU degradation was accordingly proposed. Bioassays were performed using the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri to evaluate the potential acute toxicity of original and treated wastewaters. TiO2 heterogeneous photocatalysis was efficient to remove IBU from UP and from PIWW, and less efficient in treating the wastewater from the municipal WWTP. The acute toxicity decreased by ca. 40% after treatment, regardless of the studied matrix.

Keywords: acute toxicity, Ibuprofen, UV-LEDs, wastewaters

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Authors: Bjornar Kjellstadli, Shaher A. I. Shalfawi

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of strength training Cluster set-method compared to traditional set-method 30 m sprinting time and maximum strength in squats and bench-press. Thirteen Physical Education students, 7 males and 6 females between the age of 19-28 years old were recruited. The students were random divided in three groups. Traditional set group (TSG) consist of 2 males and 2 females aged (±SD) (22.3 ± 1.5 years), body mass (79.2 ± 15.4 kg) and height (177.5 ± 11.3 cm). Cluster set group (CSG) consist of 3 males and 2 females aged (22.4 ± 3.29 years), body mass (81.0 ± 24.0 kg) and height (179.2 ± 11.8 cm) and a control group (CG) consist of 2 males and 2 females aged (21.5 ± 2.4 years), body mass (82.1 ± 17.4 kg) and height (175.5 ± 6.7 cm). The intervention consisted of performing squat and bench press at 70% of 1RM (twice a week) for 8 weeks using 10 repetition and 4 sets. Two types of strength-training methods were used , cluster set (CS) where the participants (CSG) performed 2 reps 5 times with a 10 s recovery in between reps and 50 s recovery between sets, and traditional set (TS) where the participants (TSG) performed 10 reps each set with 90 s recovery in between sets. The pre-tests and post-tests conducted were 1 RM in both squats and bench press, and 10 and 30 m sprint time. The 1RM test were performed with Eleiko XF barbell (20 kg), Eleiko weight plates, rack and bench from Hammerstrength. The speed test was measured with the Brower speed trap II testing system (Brower Timing Systems, Utah, USA). The participants received an individualized training program based on the pre-test of the 1RM. In addition, a mid-term test of 1RM was carried out to adjust training intensity. Each training session were supervised by the researchers. Beast sensors (Milano, Italy) were also used to monitor and quantify the training load for the participants. All groups had a statistical significant improvement in bench press 1RM (TSG 1RM from 56.3 ± 28.9 to 66 ± 28.5 kg; CSG 1RM from 69.8 ± 33.5 to 77.2 ± 34.1 kg and CG 1RM from 67.8 ± 26.6 to 72.2 ± 29.1 kg), whereas only the TSG (1RM from 84.3 ± 26.8 to 114.3 ± 26.5 kg) and CSG (1RM from 100.4 ± 33.9 to 129 ± 35.1 kg) had a statistical significant improvement in Squats 1RM (P < 0.05). However, a between groups examination reveals that there were no marked differences in 1RM squat performance between TSG and CSG (P > 0.05) and both groups had a marked improvements compared to the CG (P < 0.05). On the other hand, no differences between groups were observed in Bench press 1RM. The within groups results indicate that none of the groups had any marked improvement in the distances from 0-10 m and 10-30 m except the CSG which had a notable improvement in the distance from 10-30 m (-0.07 s; P < 0.05). Furthermore, no differences in sprinting abilities were observed between groups. The results from this investigation indicate that traditional set strength training at 70% of 1RM gave close results compared to Cluster set strength training at the same intensity. However, the results indicate that the cluster set had an effect on flying time (10-30 m) indicating that the velocity at which those repetitions were performed could be the explanation factor of this this improvement.

Keywords: physical performance, 1RM, pushing velocity, velocity based training

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Authors: Yamani Amal, Lazaae Jamila, Elachouri Mostafa

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Plants and their active agents – especially polyphenols – may have a principal role in the treatment of diseases that result from the defect of physiological antioxidant mechanisms. Bryonia dioica is well known in Moroccan traditional medicine for alleviatin pain and traiting many diseases. We have focused on plant belonging to Cucurbitaceae Family from around the world to understand their therapeutic uses and their potential antioxidant activities Although several biological activities and Chemical composition of Bryonia dioica are well characterized, no direct, in vitro study, of this natural product examined the antioxydant effect of the extract from the roots of Bryonia dioica. The aim of this study was to determine in vitro antioxidant activity of the B.dioica root, using antioxidant analysis methods based on determination of Hydroxyradical Scavenging, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazine (DPPH) radical scavenging, Hydrogenperoxide Scavenging and Nitric Oxide Scavenging. In this study, it was demonstrated, that, B. dioica root extract showed excellent antioxidant properties. This investigation showed that the roots of this plant contain potent natural scavengers R. It may represent an interesting source of antioxidant phenolics that may favour the extension of their cultivation as new source of natural antioxidants in addition to containing high quality proteins for human or animal nutrition. Therefore, there is need for all stakeholders on the Morocco to strive towards taking advantage of our enormous biodiversity resources to free our people from diseases, abject poverty and stagnation.

Keywords: Morocco, bryoniadioica, in vitro, antioxydant

Procedia PDF Downloads 380

Authors: Hossein Jafari, Xiangfang Li, Lijun Qian, Alexander Aved, Timothy Kroecker

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Traditionally in sensor networks and recently in the Internet of Things, numerous heterogeneous sensors are deployed in distributed manner to monitor a phenomenon that often can be model by an underlying stochastic process. The big time-series data collected by the sensors must be analyzed to detect change in the stochastic process as quickly as possible with tolerable false alarm rate. However, sensors may have different accuracy and sensitivity range, and they decay along time. As a result, the big time-series data collected by the sensors will contain uncertainties and sometimes they are conflicting. In this study, we present a framework to take advantage of Evidence Theory (a.k.a. Dempster-Shafer and Dezert-Smarandache Theories) capabilities of representing and managing uncertainty and conflict to fast change detection and effectively deal with complementary hypotheses. Specifically, Kullback-Leibler divergence is used as the similarity metric to calculate the distances between the estimated current distribution with the pre- and post-change distributions. Then mass functions are calculated and related combination rules are applied to combine the mass values among all sensors. Furthermore, we applied the method to estimate the minimum number of sensors needed to combine, so computational efficiency could be improved. Cumulative sum test is then applied on the ratio of pignistic probability to detect and declare the change for decision making purpose. Simulation results using both synthetic data and real data from experimental setup demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented schemes.

Keywords: CUSUM, evidence theory, kl divergence, quickest change detection, time series data

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Authors: Chaouki Ghenai

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Computational fluid dynamics analysis of the burning of syngas fuels derived from biomass and plastic solid waste mixture through gasification process is presented in this paper. The syngas fuel is burned in gas turbine can combustor. Gas turbine can combustor with swirl is designed to burn the fuel efficiently and reduce the emissions. The main objective is to test the impact of the alternative syngas fuel compositions and lower heating value on the combustion performance and emissions. The syngas fuel is produced by blending Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) with Polyethylene (PE) waste via catalytic steam gasification (fluidized bed reactor). High hydrogen content syngas fuel was obtained by mixing 30% PE waste with PKS. The syngas composition obtained through the gasification process is 76.2% H2, 8.53% CO, 4.39% CO2 and 10.90% CH4. The lower heating value of the syngas fuel is LHV = 15.98 MJ/m3. Three fuels were tested in this study natural gas (100%CH4), syngas fuel and pure hydrogen (100% H2). The power from the combustor was kept constant for all the fuels tested in this study. The effect of syngas fuel composition and lower heating value on the flame shape, gas temperature, mass of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) per unit of energy generation is presented in this paper. The results show an increase of the peak flame temperature and NO mass fractions for the syngas and hydrogen fuels compared to natural gas fuel combustion. Lower average CO2 emissions at the exit of the combustor are obtained for the syngas compared to the natural gas fuel.

Keywords: CFD, combustion, emissions, gas turbine combustor, gasification, solid waste, syngas, waste to energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 589

Authors: Grzegorz Kubinski

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In the proposed paper, we would like to present the phenomenon of disease and disability as an element of discourse redefining the contemporary canons of beauty and the category of normativity. In widely understood media, and above all in social media and fashion industry, the use of the disease as an aesthetic category has long been observed. There is an interesting case of promoting and maintaining a certain, ideal pattern of physical beauty, while at the same time very clear exploitation of various types of illnesses. The categories of disease and disabled body are shown as an element of the expression of the individuality and originality of one's own identity, while at the same time the disabled person is still experiencing social exclusion. Illness or body abnormality as an aesthetic category also functions as an ethical-political category. The analysis of the interrelations of these discourses will be presented on the example of selected projects present in social media, like Instagram or Facebook. We would like to present how old forms of 'curiosities' or 'abnormalities' turned into mainstream forms of a new aesthetic. For marginalized disabled people, there is a new form of expression and built their identity. But, there is an interesting point: are this contemporary forms of using disability and illness really new? Or maybe this is just another form of Wunderkammer or even cabinets of curiosities? We propose to analyze contemporary cultural and social context in order to clarify this issue. On the other hand, we would like to present some examples from personal interviews with disabled internet influencers and statements disabled persons concerning the role of the different body in society (e.g. #bodypositive, #perfeclyflawed).

Keywords: disability, new media, defect, fashion

Procedia PDF Downloads 184

Authors: J. Marx, D. Smazna, R. Adelung, B. Fiedler

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Aerographite is a 3D interconnected carbon foam. Its tetrapodal morphology is based on the zinc oxide (ZnO) template structure, which is replicated in the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) into a hollow carbon structure. This replication process is analyzed in ex-situ studies via interrupted synthesis and the observation of the reaction progress by using scanning electron (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy techniques. Based on the epitaxial growth process, with a layer-by-layer growth behaviour of the wall thickness or number of layers and the catalytical graphitization of the deposited amorphous carbon into graphitic carbon by zinc, a growth model is created. The properties of aerographite, such as the electrical conductivity is dependent on the graphitization and number of layer (wall thickness). Wall thicknesses between 3 nm and 22 nm are achieved by a controlled stepwise reduction of the synthesis time on the basis of the developed growth model, and by a further thermal treatment at 1800 °C the graphitization of the presented carbon foam is modified. The variation of the wall thickness leads to an optimum defect density (ID/IG ratio) and the graphitization to an improvement in the electrical conductivity. Furthermore, a metallic conducting behaviour of untreated and 1800 °C treated aerographite can be observed. Due to these structural and defective modifications, a fundamental structural-property equation for the description of their influences on the electrical conductivity is developed.

Keywords: electrical conductivity, electron microscopy (SEM/TEM), graphitization, wall thickness

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Authors: Muhammad A. Muhammad

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Butenafine (N-4-tert-butyl benzyl-N-methyl-1-naphthylene methylamine hydrochloride) is a benzylamine antimycotic (antifungal) agent that has a broad spectrum of action. The quest for improved antimycotic action brought about many research on the structure-activity properties of butenafine in relation to other antifungal agents. Of all those research, only little or no effort was recorded on the substituents attached to the aromatic systems in butenafine. In this research, N-(4-(tert-butyl) benzyl)-1-(4-tert-butyl) phenyl)-N-methyl methanaminium chloride, which is a butenafine analogue was synthesised from tert-butyl benzyl derivatives, by reductive amination using various solvents through a direct approach, where 1,2-dichloroethane gave the best solvent action at 40 °C (Yield: 75%) and of all the reducing agents used, sodium borohydride was found to give the best reducing action in the presence of silica chloride at room temperature (Yield: 50%). Characterization of the compound by 1H NMR showed a singlet peak of 18 hydrogen atoms with a chemical shift at 1.3-1.5 ppm for the presence of 6 methyl groups in the two tert-butyl substituents, the 13C NMR also indicated the presence of the two tert-butyl substituents by the peak with a chemical shift at 31-32 ppm for the six methyl carbon atoms, the IR indicated the presence of a tertiary ammonium ion by a strong band at 2460 cm-1 and finally the EIS-MS confirmed the molar mass of the compound by a mass to charge ratio of 324.2693. These results suggested that the target molecule was actually synthesised and therefore, 1,2-dichloroethane is a good solvent for this synthesis, and the most suitable reducing agent is sodium borohydride.

Keywords: antimicrobial agents, antimycotic agents, butenafine, chemotherapeutic agents, semisynthetic agents

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Authors: Hesham Abdin, Mohamed Zakaria, Talaat Abd-Elmonaem, Alaa El-Din Sayed Hafez

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Kalman filter algorithm is an estimator known as the workhorse of estimation. It has an important application in missile guidance, especially in lack of accurate data of the target due to noise or uncertainty. In this paper, a Kalman filter is used as a tracking filter in a simulated target-interceptor scenario with noise. It estimates the position, velocity, and acceleration of the target in the presence of noise. These estimations are needed for both proportional navigation and differential geometry guidance laws. A Kalman filter has a good performance at low noise, but a large noise causes considerable errors leads to performance degradation. Therefore, a new technique is required to overcome this defect using tuning factors to tune a Kalman filter to adapt increasing of noise. The values of the tuning factors are between 0.8 and 1.2, they have a specific value for the first half of range and a different value for the second half. they are multiplied by the estimated values. These factors have its optimum values and are altered with the change of the target heading. A genetic algorithm updates these selections to increase the maximum effective range which was previously reduced by noise. The results show that the selected factors have other benefits such as decreasing the minimum effective range that was increased earlier due to noise. In addition to, the selected factors decrease the miss distance for all ranges of this direction of the target, and expand the effective range which leads to increase probability of kill.

Keywords: proportional navigation, differential geometry, Kalman filter, genetic algorithm

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Authors: Vladyslav Povoroznyuk, Anna Musiienko, Nataliia Zaverukha, Roksolana Povoroznyuk

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Along with the global aging of population, the number of people with somatic diseases is increasing, including such interrelated pathologies as obesity, osteoarthritis (OA) and osteoporosis (OP). The objective of the study is to examine the connection between body mass index (BMI), OA and bone mineral density (BMD) of lumbar spine, femoral neck and trabecular bone score (TBS) in postmenopausal women with OA. We have observed 359 postmenopausal women (50-89 years old) and divided them into four groups by age: 50-59 yrs, 60-69 yrs, 70-79 yrs and over 80 years old. In addition, according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Clinical classification criteria for knee and hip OA, we divided them into 2 groups: group I – 117 females with symptomatic OA (including 89 patients with knee OA, 28 patients with hip OA) and group II –242 women with a normal functional activity of large joints. Analysis of data was performed taking into account their BMI, classified by World Health Organization (WHO). Diagnosis of obesity was established when BMI was above 30 kg/m². In woman with obesity, a symptomatic OA was detected in 44 postmenopausal women (41.1%), a normal functional activity of large joints - in 63 women (58.9%). However, in women with normal BMI – 73 women, who account for 29.0% of cases, a symptomatic OA was detected. According to a chi-squared (χ2) test, a significantly higher level of BMI was detected in postmenopausal women with OA (χ2 = 5.05, p = 0.02). Women with a symptomatic OA had a significantly higher BMD of lumbar spine compared with women who had a normal functional activity of large joints. No significant differences of BMD of femoral necks or TBS were detected in either the group with OA or with a normal functional activity of large joints.

Keywords: bone mineral density, body mass index, obesity, overweight, postmenopausal women, osteoarthritis

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Authors: Olumide J. Adedapo

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In this work, geothermal energy resource maps of the Niger Delta Basin were constructed using borehole thermal log data from over 300 deep wells. Three major geothermal anomalies were delineated and quantitatively interpreted in both onshore and offshore parts of the Niger Delta. The geothermal maps present the distribution of geothermal energy stored in the sedimentary rock mass in two ways: the accessible resources in depth interval 0-4000 m and static geothermal energy resources stored in the complete sedimentary infill of the basin (from the ground surface to the basement). The first map shows two major onshore anomalies, one in the north (with maximum energy values, 800 GJ/m2), another in the east to northeastern part (maximum energy values of 1250–1500 GJ/m2). Another two major anomalies occur offshore, one in the south with values of 750-1000 GJ/m2, occurring at about 100 km seawards and the other, in the southwest offshore with values 750-1250 GJ/m2, still at about 100 km from the shore. A second map of the Niger Delta shows a small anomaly in the northern part with the maximum value of 1500 GJ/m2 and a major anomaly occurring in the eastern part of the basin, onshore, with values of 2000-3500 GJ/m2. Offshore in the south and southwest anomalies in the total sedimentary rock mass occur with highest values up to 4000GJ/m2, with the southwestern anomaly extending west to the shore. It is much of interest to note the seaward–westward extension of these anomalies both in size, configuration, and magnitude for the geothermal energy in the total sedimentary thickness to the underlying basement. These anomalous fields show the most favourable locations and areas for further work on geothermal energy resources.

Keywords: geothermal energy, offshore, Niger delta, basin

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Authors: Leila Najafian

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Sarcoplasmic protein hydrolysates (SPHs) and myofibrillar protein hydrolysates (MPHs) from patin (Pangasius sutchi) were produced using two types of proteases: Papain and Alcalase. 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical scavenging activities and metal chelating activity assays for antioxidant activities were carried out on the SPHs and MPHs. The hydrolysates were isolated and purified by ultrafiltration, gel filtration and reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection (LC-MS/MS) was used in identifying peptide sequences. The results showed that when the DH of MPHs increased, the protein solubility increased, while the highest amount of the protein solubility of SPHs was after 60 min incubation. The effect of DH on antioxidant activities of SPHs and MPHs was investigated. Among the hydrolysates, papain-MPH and Alcalase-SPH, which had the highest antioxidant activities, were purified. The potent fractions obtained from RP-HPLC of sarcoplasmic (SI 3 fraction) and myofibrillar (MI 4 fraction) hydrolysates showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity. The FVNQPYLLYSVHMK peptide for MPH and the LVVDIPAALQHA peptide for SPH exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. The presence of hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids, namely leucine (L), valine (V), phenylalanine (F), histidine (H) and proline (P), in the peptide sequences of SPH and MPH are believed to contribute to high antioxidant activity. Hence, SPH and MPH from patin have the potential as a natural functional ingredient in food and pharmaceutical industry.

Keywords: patin (Pangasius sutchi), protein hydrolysates, antioxidative peptides, mass spectrometry

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Authors: Ahmad Naqi

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Today, the passively controlled buildings are extensively becoming popular due to its excellent lateral load resistance circumstance. Typically, these buildings are enhanced with a damping device that has high market demand. Some manufacturer falsified the damping device parameter during the production to achieve the market demand. Therefore, this paper evaluates the seismic performance of buildings equipped with damping devices, which their parameter modified to simulate the falsified devices, intentionally. For this purpose, three benchmark buildings of 4-, 10-, and 20-story were selected from JSSI (Japan Society of Seismic Isolation) manual. The buildings are special moment resisting steel frame with oil damper in the longitudinal direction only. For each benchmark buildings, two types of structural elements are designed to resist the lateral load with and without damping devices (hereafter, known as Trimmed & Conventional Building). The target building was modeled using STERA-3D, a finite element based software coded for study purpose. Practicing the software one can develop either three-dimensional Model (3DM) or Lumped Mass model (LMM). Firstly, the seismic performance of 3DM and LMM models was evaluated and found excellent coincide for the target buildings. The simplified model of LMM used in this study to produce 66 cases for both of the buildings. Then, the device parameters were modified by ± 40% and ±20% to predict many possible conditions of falsification. It is verified that the building which is design to sustain the lateral load with support of damping device (Trimmed Building) are much more under threat as a result of device falsification than those building strengthen by damping device (Conventional Building).

Keywords: passive control system, oil damper, seismic assessment, lumped mass model

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Authors: L. M. Ombaka, R. S. Oosthuizen, P. G. Ndungu, V. O. Nyamori

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Understanding the role of nitrogen species on the catalytic properties of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) as catalysts supports is critical as nitrogen species influence the support’s properties. To evaluate the influence of pyrrolic nitrogen on the physicochemical properties and catalytic activity of N-CNTs supported Pd (Pd/N-CNTs); N-CNTs containing varying pyrrolic contents were synthesized. The catalysts were characterised by the use of transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and temperature programmed reduction. TEM analysis showed that the Pd nanoparticles were mainly located along the defect sites on N-CNTs. XPS analysis revealed that the abundance of Pd0 decreased while that of Pd2+ increased as the quantity of pyrrolic nitrogen increased. The increase of Pd2+ species was accredited to the formation of stable Pd-N coordination complexes which prevented further reduction of Pd2+ to Pd0 during synthesis. The formed Pd-N complexes increased the stability and dispersion of Pd2+ nanoparticles. The selective hydrogenation of nitrobenzophenone to aminobenzophenone over Pd/N-CNTs was compared to that of Pd on carbon nanotubes (Pd/CNTs). Pd/N-CNTs showed a higher catalytic activity and selectivity compared with Pd/CNTs. Pyrrolic nitrogen functional groups significantly promoted the selectivity towards aminobenzophenone formation.

Keywords: pyrrolic N-CNTs, hydrogenation reactions, chemical vapour deposition technique

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Authors: Takeshi Sato, Mizuki Nakajima, Macky Kato, Shoji Igawa

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The purpose of study was to investigate the effect of varying pole weights on energy expenditure, upper limb and lower limb muscle activity as Electromyogram during Nordic walking (NW). Four healthy men [age = 22.5 (±1.0) years, body mass = 61.4 (±3.6) kg, height = 170.3 (±4.3) cm] and three healthy women [age = 22.7 (±2.9) years, body mass = 53.0 (±1.7) kg, height = 156.7 (±4.5) cm] participated in the experiments after informed consent. Seven healthy subjects were tested on the treadmill, walking, walking (W) with Nordic Poles (NW) and walking with 1kg weight Nordic Poles (NW+1). Walking speed was 6 km per hours in all trials. Eight EMG activities were recorded by bipolar surface methods in biceps brachii, triceps brachii, trapezius, deltoideus, tibialis anterior, medial gastrocnemius, rectus femoris and biceps femoris muscles. And heart rate (HR), oxygen uptake (VO₂), and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured. The level of significance was set at a = 0.05, with p < 0.05 regarded as statistically significant. Our results confirmed that use of NW poles increased HR at a given upper arm muscle activity but decreased lower limb EMGs in comparison with W. Moreover NW was able to increase more step lengths with hip joint extension during NW rather than W. Also, EMG revealed higher activation of upper limb for almost all NW and 1kgNW tests plus added masses compared to W (p < 0.05). Therefore, it was thought either of NW and 1kgNW were to have benefit as a physical exercise for safe, feasible, and readily training for a wide range of aged people in the quality of daily life. However, there was no significant effected in leg muscles activity by using 1kgNW except for upper arm muscle activity during Nordic pole walking.

Keywords: Nordic walking, electromyogram, heart rate, RPE

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Authors: Hao Qu, Xiang Liu, Michael Crosby, Brian Kozak, Andreas K. Freund

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The outstanding performance of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) as an optical element for neutron beam conditioning is unequaled by any other crystalline material in the applications of monochromator, analyzer, and filter. This superiority stems from the favorable nuclear properties of carbon (small absorption and incoherent scattering cross-sections, big coherent scattering length) and the specific crystalline structure (small thermal diffuse scattering cross-section, layered crystal structure). The real crystal defect structure revealed by imaging techniques is correlated with the parameters used in the mosaic model (mosaic spread, mosaic block size, uniformity). The diffraction properties (rocking curve width as determined by both the intrinsic mosaic spread and the diffraction process, peak and integrated reflectivity, filter transmission) as a function of neutron wavelength or energy can be predicted with high accuracy and reliability by diffraction theory using empirical primary extinction coefficients extracted from a great amount of existing experimental data. The results of these calculations are given as graphs and tables permitting to optimize HOPG characteristics (mosaic spread, thickness, curvature) for any given experimental situation.

Keywords: neutron optics, pyrolytic graphite, mosaic spread, neutron scattering, monochromator, analyzer

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Authors: M. Belhadj Lachachi, Tayeb Benabdallah, M. Hadj Youcef, Jason M. Lynama

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The application of inorganic chemistry to catalysis and environmental chemistry is a rapidly developing field, and novel catalytic metal complexes are now having an impact on the industrial development practice. Advances in organometallic chemistry are crucial for improving the design of compounds to reduce toxic side effects and understand their mechanisms of action. The reaction of platinum(II) organometallic complexes with bidentate Schiff bases derived from 2-Hydroxynaphtalydeneaniline have been carried out. It concerns N,N’-naphtalidene para-nitroaniline (1-a), the, the N,N’-naphtalidene para-ethoxyaniline (1-b), the N,N’-naphtalideneaniline (1-c), the N,N’-naphtalidene para-chloroaniline (1-d) and the N,N’-naphtalidene para-methoxyaniline (1-e). The ligands were fully characterized by I.R., elemental analysis, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, ESI Mass Spectrometry and X-Ray Diffraction. The resulting metal complexes were obtained as a cationic species, through a simple substitution reaction, leading to two geometric isomers [1, 2], and characterized by IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, LIFDI Mass Spectrometry and supported by Elemental Analysis and X-Ray diffraction. Furthermore, a bimetallic platinum complex was prepared from the same ligands and dichloro(1,5-cyclooctadiene)platinum and characterized by X-Ray diffraction [3]The catalytic properties of the prepared platinum complexes in the hydrogenative and dehydrogenative silylation of styrene were investigated, and reaction kinetics conversion to products was determined by 1H-NMR and confirmed by GC-MS. This presentation will detail a comparison of the catalytic activity of five platinum organometallic complexes bearing different Schiff base ligands in the hydrosilylation of styrene, varying the experimental conditions of temperature, nature of the complex and the loading of the catalyst.

Keywords: catalysis, hydrosilylation, organometallic, schiff base

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