Search results for: metal surface structure

Authors: Belal Almassri, Amjad Kreit, Firas Al Mahmoud, Raoul François

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Corrosion of steel in reinforced concrete leads to several major defects. Firstly, a reduction in the crosssectional area of the reinforcement and in its ductility results in premature bar failure. Secondly, the expansion of the corrosion products causes concrete cracking and steel–concrete bond deterioration and also affects the bending stiffness of the reinforced concrete members, causing a reduction in the overall load-bearing capacity of the reinforced concrete beams. This paper investigates the validity of a repair technique using Near Surface Mounted (NSM) carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) rods to restore the mechanical performance of corrosion-damaged RC beams. In the NSM technique, the CFRP rods are placed inside pre-cut grooves and are bonded to the concrete with epoxy adhesive. Experimental results were obtained on two beams: a corroded beam that had been exposed to natural corrosion for 25 years and a control beam, (both are 3 m long) repaired in bending only. Each beam was repaired with one 6-mm-diameter NSM CFRP rod. The beams were tested in a three-point bending test up to failure. Overall stiffness and crack maps were studied before and after the repair. Ultimate capacity, ductility and failure mode were also reviewed. Finally some comparisons were made between repaired and non-repaired beams in order to assess the effectiveness of the NSM technique. The experimental results showed that the NSM technique improved the overall characteristics (ultimate load capacity and stiffness) of the control and corroded beams and allowed sufficient ductility to be restored to the repaired corroded elements, thus restoring the safety margin, despite the non-classical mode of failure that occurred in the corroded beam, with the separation of the concrete cover due to corrosion products.

Keywords: carbon fibre, corrosion, strength, mechanical testing

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Authors: Pietro D'Ambrosio, Roberta D'Ambrosio

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The upgrading of the architectural and urban heritage of the urban historic centers almost always involves the planning for the reuse and refunctionalization of the structures. Such interventions have complexities linked to the need to take into account the urban and social context in which the structure and its intrinsic characteristics such as historical and artistic value are inserted. To these, of course, we have to add the need to make a preliminary estimate of recovery costs and more generally to assess the economic and financial sustainability of the whole project of re-socialization. Particular difficulties are encountered during the pre-assessment of costs since it is often impossible to perform analytical surveys and structural tests for both structural conditions and obvious cost and time constraints. The methodology proposed in this work, based on a multidisciplinary and data-driven approach, is aimed at obtaining, at very low cost, reasonably priced economic evaluations of the interventions to be carried out. In addition, the specific features of the approach used, derived from the predictive analysis techniques typically applied in complex IT domains (big data analytics), allow to obtain as a result indirectly the evaluation process of a shared database that can be used on a generalized basis to estimate such other projects. This makes the methodology particularly indicated in those cases where it is expected to intervene massively across entire areas of historical city centers. The methodology has been partially tested during a study aimed at assessing the feasibility of a project for the reuse of the monumental complex of San Massimo, located in the historic center of Salerno, and is being further investigated.

Keywords: evaluation, methodology, restoration, reuse

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Authors: Rubab Ammad, Abdelgadir Abuelgasim

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UAE typically lies in one of the aridest regions of the world and is thus home to geologic features common to such climatic conditions including vast open deserts, sand dunes, saline soils, inland Sabkha and coastal Sabkha. Sabkha are characteristic salt flats formed in arid environment due to deposition and precipitation of salt and silt over sand surface because of low laying water table and rates of evaporation exceeding rates of precipitation. The study area, which comprises of western UAE, is heavily concentrated with inland Sabkha. Remote sensing is conventionally used to study the soil salinity of agriculturally degraded lands but not so broadly for Sabkha. The focus of this study was to identify these highly saline Sabkha areas on remotely sensed data, using salinity indices. The existing salinity indices in the literature have been designed for agricultural soils and they have not frequently used the spectral response of short-wave infra-red (SWIR1 and SWIR2) parts of electromagnetic spectrum. Using Landsat 8 OLI data and field ground truthing, this study formulated indices utilizing NIR-SWIR parts of spectrum and compared the results with existing salinity indices. Most indices depict reasonably good relationship between salinity and spectral index up until a certain value of salinity after which the reflectance reaches a saturation point. This saturation point varies with index. However, the study findings suggest a role of incorporating near infra-red and short-wave infra-red in salinity index with a potential of showing a positive relationship between salinity and reflectance up to a higher salinity value, compared to rest.

Keywords: Sabkha, salinity index, saline soils, Landsat 8, SWIR1, SWIR2, UAE desert

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Authors: Aliyu Maje Bello, Yaowaluck Maprang Roshorm

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Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a highly contagious viral infection affecting mostly infants and children. Although the Enterovirus A71 (EV71) is usually the major causative agent of HFMD, other enteroviruses such as coxsackievirus A16, A10, and A6 are also found in some of the recent outbreaks. The commercially available vaccines have demonstrated their effectiveness against only EV71 infection but no protection against other enteroviruses. To address the limitation of the monovalent EV71 vaccine, the present study thus designed a tetravalent vaccine against the four major enteroviruses causing HFMD and primarily evaluated the designed vaccine using an immunoinformatics approach. The immunogen was designed to contain the EV71 VP1 protein and multiple reported epitopes from all four distinct enteroviruses and thus designated a tetravalent vaccine. The 3D structure of the designed tetravalent vaccine was modeled, refined, and validated. Epitope screening showed the presence of B-cell, CTL, CD4 T cell, and IFN epitopes with vast application among the Asian population. Docking analysis confirmed the stable and strong binding interactions between the immunogen and immune receptor B-cell receptor (BCR). In silico cloning and immune simulation analyses guaranteed high efficiency and sufficient expression of the vaccine candidate in humans. Overall, the promising results obtained from the in-silico studies of the proposed tetravalent vaccine make it a potential candidate worth further experimental validation.

Keywords: enteroviruses, coxsackieviruses, hand foot and mouth disease, immunoinformatics, tetravalent vaccine

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Authors: Simon Keller, Rainer Mueller

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Continuous range queries are a common means to handle mobile clients in high-density areas. Most existing approaches focus on settings in which the range queries for location-based services are more or less static, whereas the mobile clients in the ranges move. We focus on a category called dynamic real-time range queries (DRRQ), assuming that both, clients requested by the query and the inquirers, are mobile. In consequence, the query parameters and the query results continuously change. This leads to two requirements: the ability to deal with an arbitrarily high number of mobile nodes (scalability) and the real-time delivery of range query results. In this paper, we present the highly decentralized solution adaptive quad streaming (AQS) for the requirements of DRRQs. AQS approximates the query results in favor of a controlled real-time delivery and guaranteed scalability. While prior works commonly optimize data structures on the involved servers, we use AQS to focus on a highly distributed cell structure without data structures automatically adapting to changing client distributions. Instead of the commonly used request-response approach, we apply a lightweight streaming method in which no bidirectional communication and no storage or maintenance of queries are required at all.

Keywords: approximation of client distributions, continuous spatial range queries, mobile objects, streaming-based decentralization in spatial mobile environments

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Authors: Rajkumar Kolangarakandy

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Feature extraction and selection is the primary part of any mammogram classification algorithms. The choice of feature, attribute or measurements have an important influence in any classification system. Discrete Wavelet Transformation (DWT) coefficients are one of the prominent features for representing images in frequency domain. The features obtained after the decomposition of the mammogram images using wavelet transformations have higher dimension. Even though the features are higher in dimension, they were highly correlated and redundant in nature. The dimensionality reduction techniques play an important role in selecting the optimum number of features from the higher dimension data, which are highly correlated. PCA is a mathematical tool that reduces the dimensionality of the data while retaining most of the variation in the dataset. In this paper, a multilevel classification of mammogram images using reduced discrete wavelet transformation coefficients and lazy classifiers is proposed. The classification is accomplished in two different levels. In the first level, mammogram ROIs extracted from the dataset is classified as normal and abnormal types. In the second level, all the abnormal mammogram ROIs is classified into benign and malignant too. A further classification is also accomplished based on the variation in structure and intensity distribution of the images in the dataset. The Lazy classifiers called Kstar, IBL and LWL are used for classification. The classification results obtained with the reduced feature set is highly promising and the result is also compared with the performance obtained without dimension reduction.

Keywords: PCA, wavelet transformation, lazy classifiers, Kstar, IBL, LWL

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Authors: Chandra Sekhar Singh, P. Chakrapani, B. Arun Jyothi, A. Roja Rani

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The green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) involves biocompatible ingredients under physiological conditions of temperature and pressure. Moreover, the biologically active molecules involved in the green synthesis of NPs act as functionalizing ligands, making these NPs more suitable for biomedical applications. Among the most important bioreductants are plant extracts, which are relatively easy to handle, readily available, low cost, and have been well explored for the green synthesis of other nanomaterials. Various types of metallic NPs have already been synthesized using plant extracts. They have wide applicability in various areas such as electronics, catalysis, chemistry, energy, and medicine. Metallic nanoparticles are traditionally synthesized by wet chemical techniques, where the chemicals used are quite often toxic and flammable. In our study, we were described a cost effective and environment friendly technique for green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from 1mM AgNO3 solution through the aqueous extract of Erythrina indica as reducing as well as capping agent. Nanoparticles were characterized using UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, X-ray diffraction, SEM and TEM analysis showed the average particle size of 30 nm as well as revealed their spherical structure. Further these biologically synthesized nanoparticles were found to be highly toxic against different human pathogens viz. two Gram positive namely Klebsiella pneumonia and Bacillus subtilis bacteria and two were Gram negative bacteria namely Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli (E. coli). This is for the first time reporting that Erythrina indica plant extract was used for the synthesis of nanoparticles.

Keywords: silver nanoparticles, green synthesis, antibacterial activity, FTIR, TEM, SEM

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Authors: Sara Arafeh, Kovriguine Evguine

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Cytochromes P450 are enzymes that require a supply of electrons to catalyze the synthesis of steroid hormones, fatty acids, and prostaglandin hormone. Cytochrome P450 Oxidoreductase (CYPOR), a membrane bound enzyme, provides these electrons in its open conformation. CYPOR has two cytosolic domains (FAD domain and FMN domain) and an N-terminal in the membrane. In its open conformation, electrons flow from NADPH, FAD, and finally to FMN where cytochrome P450 picks up these electrons. In the closed conformation, cytochrome P450 does not bind to the FMN domain to take the electrons. It was found that when the cytosolic domains are isolated, CYPOR could not bind to cytochrome P450. This suggested that the membrane environment is important for CYPOR function. This project takes the initiative to better understand the dynamics of CYPOR in its full length. Here, we determine the distance between specific sites in the FAD and FMN binding domains in CYPOR by Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) and Ultrafast TA spectroscopy with and without NADPH. The approach to determine these distances will rely on labeling these sites with red and infrared fluorophores. Mimic membrane attachment is done by inserting CYPOR in lipid nanodiscs. By determining the distances between the donor-acceptor sites in these domains, we can observe the open/closed conformations upon reducing CYPOR in the presence and absence of cytochrome P450. Such study is important to better understand CYPOR mechanism of action in various endosomal membranes including hepatic CYPOR which is vital in plasma cholesterol homeostasis. By investigating the conformational cycles of CYPOR, we can synthesize drugs that would be more efficient in affecting the steroid hormonal levels and metabolism of toxins catalyzed by Cytochrome P450.

Keywords: conformational cycle of CYPOR, cytochrome P450, cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase, FAD domain, FMN domain, FRET, Ultrafast TA Spectroscopy

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Authors: S. Alsubari, M. Y. M. Zuhri, S. M. Sapuan, M. R. Ishaks

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Sandwich structures based on cellular cores are increasingly being utilized as energy-absorbing components in the industry. However, determining ideal structural configurations remains challenging. This chapter compares the compression properties of flax fiber-reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) of empty honeycomb core, foam-filled honeycomb and double cell wall square interlocking core sandwich structure under quasi-static compression loading. The square interlocking core is fabricated through a slotting technique, whereas the honeycomb core is made using a corrugated mold that was initially used to create the corrugated core composite profile, which is then cut into corrugated webs and assembled to form the honeycomb core. The sandwich structures are tested at a crosshead displacement rate of 2 mm/min. The experimental results showed that honeycomb outperformed the square interlocking core in terms of their strength capability and SEA by around 14% and 34%, respectively. It is observed that the foam-filled honeycomb collapse in a progressive mode, exhibiting noticeable advantages over the empty honeycomb; this is attributed to the interaction between the honeycomb wall and foam filler. Interestingly, the average SEAs of foam-filled and empty honeycomb cores have no significant difference, around 8.7kJ/kg and 8.2kJ/kg, respectively. In contrast, its strength capability is clearly pronounced, in which the foam-filled core outperforms the empty counterparts by around 33%. Finally, the results for empty and foam-filled cores were significantly superior to aluminum cores published in the literature.

Keywords: compressive strength, flax, honeycomb core, specific energy absorption

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Authors: Sirirat Jangkorn, Pornsawai Praipipat

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Sugarcane bagasse ash of sugar factories is solid wastes that the richest source of silica. The alkali fusion method, quartz particles in material can be dissolved and they can be used as the silicon source for synthesizing silica-based materials such as zeolites. Zeolites have many advantages such as catalyst to improve the chemical reactions and they can also remove heavy metals in the water including lead. Therefore, this study attempts to synthesize zeolites from the sugarcane bagasse ash, investigate their structure characterizations and chemical components to confirm the happening of zeolites, and examine their lead removal efficiency through the batch test studies. In this study, the sugarcane bagasse ash was chosen as the silicon source to synthesize zeolites, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) were used to verify the zeolite pattern structures and element compositions, respectively. The batch test studies in dose (0.05, 0.1, 0.15 g.), contact time (1, 2, 3), and pH (3, 5, 7) were used to investigate the lead removal efficiency by the synthesized zeolite. XRD analysis result showed the crystalline phase of zeolite pattern, and XRF result showed the main element compositions of the synthesized zeolite that were SiO₂ (50%) and Al₂O₃ (30%). The batch test results showed the best optimum conditions of the synthesized zeolite for lead removal were 0.1 g, 2 hrs., and 5 of dose, contact time, and pH, respectively. As a result, this study can conclude that the zeolites can synthesize from the sugarcane bagasse ash and they can remove lead in the water.

Keywords: sugarcane bagasse ash, solid wastes, zeolite, lead

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Authors: C. B. Le, V. N. Pham

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In modern data analysis, multi-source data appears more and more in real applications. Multi-source data clustering has emerged as a important issue in the data mining and machine learning community. Different data sources provide information about different data. Therefore, multi-source data linking is essential to improve clustering performance. However, in practice multi-source data is often heterogeneous, uncertain, and large. This issue is considered a major challenge from multi-source data. Ensemble is a versatile machine learning model in which learning techniques can work in parallel, with big data. Clustering ensemble has been shown to outperform any standard clustering algorithm in terms of accuracy and robustness. However, most of the traditional clustering ensemble approaches are based on single-objective function and single-source data. This paper proposes a new clustering ensemble method for multi-source data analysis. The fuzzy optimized multi-objective clustering ensemble method is called FOMOCE. Firstly, a clustering ensemble mathematical model based on the structure of multi-objective clustering function, multi-source data, and dark knowledge is introduced. Then, rules for extracting dark knowledge from the input data, clustering algorithms, and base clusterings are designed and applied. Finally, a clustering ensemble algorithm is proposed for multi-source data analysis. The experiments were performed on the standard sample data set. The experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the FOMOCE method compared to the existing clustering ensemble methods and multi-source clustering methods.

Keywords: clustering ensemble, multi-source, multi-objective, fuzzy clustering

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Authors: Sushma Yadav, Anil K. Saroha

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Complex industrial effluent generated from chemical industry is contaminated with toxic and hazardous organic compounds and not amenable to direct biological treatment. To effectively remove many toxic organic pollutants has made it evident that new, compact and more efficient systems are needed. Catalytic Wet Air Oxidation (CWAO) is a promising treatment technology for the abatement of organic pollutants in wastewater. A lot of information is available on using CWAO for the treatment of synthetic solution containing single organic pollutant. But the real industrial effluents containing multi-component mixture of organic compounds were less studied. The main objective of this study is to use the CWAO process for converting the organics into compounds more amenable to biological treatment; complete oxidation may be too expensive. Therefore efforts were made in the present study to explore the potential of alumina based Platinum (Pt) catalyst for the treatment of industrial organic raffinate containing toxic constituents like ammoniacal nitrogen, pyridine etc. The catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and BET (Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller) surface area. CWAO experiments were performed at atmospheric pressure and (30 °C - 70 °C) temperature conditions and the results were evaluated in terms of COD removal efficiency. The biodegradability test was performed by BOD/COD ratio for checking the toxicity of the industrial wastewater as well as for the treated water. The BOD/COD ratio of treated water was significantly increased and signified that the toxicity of the organics was decreased while the biodegradability was increased, indicating the more amenability towards biological treatment.

Keywords: alumina based pt catalyst, BOD/COD ratio, catalytic wet air oxidation, COD removal efficiency, industrial organic raffinate

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Authors: Omolara Lade, David Oloke

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The approach to water management worldwide is currently in transition, with a shift from centralised infrastructures to greater consideration of decentralised technologies, such as rainwater harvesting (RWH). However, in Nigeria, implementation of sustainable water management, such as RWH systems, is inefficient and social, environmental and technical barriers, concerns and knowledge gaps exist, which currently restrict its widespread utilisation. This inefficiency contributes to water scarcity, water-borne diseases, and loss of lives and property due to flooding. Meanwhile, several RWH technologies have been developed to improve SWM through both demand and storm-water management. Such technologies involve the use of reinforced concrete cement (RCC) storage tanks, surface water reservoirs and ground-water recharge pits as storage systems. A framework was developed to assess the significance and extent of water management problems, match the problems with existing RWH-based solutions and develop a robust ready-to-use decision support tool that can quantify the costs and benefits of implementing several RWH-based storage systems. The methodology adopted was the mixed method approach, involving a detailed literature review, followed by a questionnaire survey of household respondents, Nigerian Architects and Civil Engineers and focus group discussion with stakeholders. 18 selection attributes have been defined and three alternatives have been identified in this research. The questionnaires were analysed using SPSS, excel and selected statistical methods to derive weightings of the attributes for the tool. Following this, three case studies were modelled using RainCycle software. From the results, the MDA model chose RCC tank as the most appropriate storage system for RWH.

Keywords: rainwater harvesting, modelling, hydraulic assessment, whole life cost, decision support system

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Authors: Ifeoma Maryjane Iloamaeke, Kelvin Obazie, Mmesoma Offornze, Chiamaka Marysilvia Ifeaghalu, Cecilia Aduaka, Ugomma Chibuzo Onyeije, Claudine Ifunanaya Ogu, Ngozi Anastesia Okonkwo

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This work investigated the effects of pH, settling time, and coagulant dosages on the removal of color, turbidity, and heavy metals from paint industrial wastewater using the seed of Artocarpus heterophyllus (AH) by the coagulation-flocculation process. The paint effluent was physicochemically characterized, while AH coagulant was instrumentally characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). A Jar test experiment was used for the coagulation-flocculation process. The result showed that paint effluent was polluted with color, turbidity (36000 NTU), mercury (1.392 mg/L), lead (0.252 mg/L), arsenic (1.236 mg/L), TSS (63.40mg/L), and COD (121.70 mg/L). The maximum color removal efficiency was 94.33% at the dosage of 0.2 g/L, pH 2 at a constant time of 50 mins, and 74.67% at constant pH 2, coagulant dosage of 0.2 g/L and 50 mins. The highest turbidity removal efficiency was 99.94% at 0.2 g/L and 50 mins at constant pH 2 and 96.66% at pH 2 and 0.2 g/L at constant time of 50 mins. The mercury removal efficiency of 99.29% was achieved at the optimal condition of 0.8 g/L coagulant dosage, pH 8, and constant time of 50 mins and 99.57% at coagulant dosage of 0.8 g/L, time of 50 mins constant pH 8. The highest lead removal efficiency was 99.76% at a coagulant dosage of 10 g/L, time of 40 mins at constant pH 10, and 96.53% at pH 10, coagulant dosage of 10 g/L and constant time of 40 mins. For arsenic, the removal efficiency is 75.24 % at 0.8 g/L coagulant dosage, time of 40 mins, and constant pH of 8. XRD imaging before treatment showed that Artocarpus heterophyllus coagulant was crystalline and changed to amorphous after treatment. The SEM and FTIR results of the AH coagulant and sludge suggested there were changes in the surface morphology and functional groups before and after treatment. The reaction kinetics were modeled best in the second order.

Keywords: Artocarpus heterophyllus, coagulation-flocculation, coagulant dosages, setting time, paint effluent

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Authors: Salma Krafessi

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The financial markets have a multifaceted, intricate environment, and enormous volumes of data are produced every day. To find investment possibilities, possible fraudulent activity, and market oddities, accurate anomaly identification in this data is essential. Conventional methods for detecting anomalies frequently fail to capture the complex organization of financial data. In order to improve the identification of abnormalities in financial time series data, this study presents Tucker Decomposition as a reliable multi-way analysis approach. We start by gathering closing prices for the S&P 500 index across a number of decades. The information is converted to a three-dimensional tensor format, which contains internal characteristics and temporal sequences in a sliding window structure. The tensor is then broken down using Tucker Decomposition into a core tensor and matching factor matrices, allowing latent patterns and relationships in the data to be captured. A possible sign of abnormalities is the reconstruction error from Tucker's Decomposition. We are able to identify large deviations that indicate unusual behavior by setting a statistical threshold. A thorough examination that contrasts the Tucker-based method with traditional anomaly detection approaches validates our methodology. The outcomes demonstrate the superiority of Tucker's Decomposition in identifying intricate and subtle abnormalities that are otherwise missed. This work opens the door for more research into multi-way data analysis approaches across a range of disciplines and emphasizes the value of tensor-based methods in financial analysis.

Keywords: tucker decomposition, financial markets, financial engineering, artificial intelligence, decomposition models

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Authors: Mokoena Oratilwe Penwell, Seeletse Solly Matshonisa

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The demand for quality products is a vital factor determining the success of a producing company, and the reality of this demand influences customer satisfaction. In Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU), concerns over the quality of food being sold have been raised by mostly students and staff who are primary consumers of food being sold by the cafeteria. Suspicions of food poisoning and the occurrence of diarrhea-related to food from the cafeteria, amongst others, have been raised. However, minimal measures have been taken to resolve the issue of food quality. New service providers have been appointed, and still, the same trends are being observed, the quality of food seems to depreciate continuously. This paper uses multi-attribute failure mode analysis (MAFMA) for failure detection and minimization on the machines used for food production by SMU catering company before being sold to both staff, and students so as to improve production plant reliability, and performance. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) will be used for the severity ranking of the weight criterions and development of the hierarchical structure for the cafeteria company. Amongst other potential issues detected, maintenance of the machines and equipment used for food preparations was of concern. Also, the staff lacked sufficient hospitality skills, supervision, and management in the cafeteria needed greater attention to mitigate some of the failures occurring in the food production plant.

Keywords: MAFMA, food quality, maintenance, supervision

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Authors: M. J. Geca, T. Tulwin, A. Majczak

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On-board electricity consumption in the diesel city bus during operation is an important energy source. Electricity is generated by a combustion engine-driven alternator. Increased fuel consumption to generate on-board electricity in the bus has a negative impact on the emission of toxic components and carbon dioxide. At the same time, the bus roof surface allows placing a set of lightweight photovoltaic panels with power from 1 to 1.5 kW. The article presents an experimental study of electricity consumption of a city bus with diesel engine equipped with photovoltaic installation. The stream of electricity consumed by the bus and generated by a standard alternator and PV system was recorded. Base on the experimental research carried out in central Europe; the article analyses the impact of an additional source of electricity in the form of a photovoltaic installation on fuel consumption and emissions of toxic components of vehicles located in the latitude of Sydney. In Poland, the maximum global value of horizontal irradiation GHI is 1150 kWh/m², while for Sydney 1652 kWh/m². In addition, the profile of temperature and sunshine per year is different for these two different latitudes as presented in the article. Electricity generated directly from the sun powers the bus's electrical receivers. The photovoltaic system is able to replace 23% of annual electricity consumption, which at the same time will reduce 4% of fuel consumption and CO₂ reduction. Approximately 25% of the light is lost during vehicle traffic in Sydney latitude. The temperature losses of photovoltaic panels are comparable due to the cooling during vehicle motion. Acknowledgement: The project/research was financed in the framework of the project Lublin University of Technology - Regional Excellence Initiative, funded by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (contract no. 030/RID/2018/19).

Keywords: electric energy, photovoltaic system, fuel consumption, CO₂

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Authors: Yongsheng Guo, Shuchao Li

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This study explores Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe and the cross-cultural cooperation between Chinese and European managers. The aim of this research is to shed light on the phenomenon of investments in developed countries from an emerging market and to gain insights into the cooperation process. A grounded theory approach is adopted, and 46 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 case companies in Germany and 13 case companies in the UK. Grounded theory models are developed from primary data and interview quotes are used to support the themes. The interviewees perceived differences between the two parties in cultural traits, management concepts, knowledge structure and resource endowment between the two parties. Chinese and European partners can take advantage of different resources and cooperate in innovative ways to improve corporate performance. Moreover, both parties appreciate different ethical and cultural characteristics and complement each other to develop a combined organizational culture. This study proposes an ethical and cultural diversity theory in international management arguing that a team with diversified values and behaviors may be more excited and motivated. This study suggests that “resource complement” and “cross-cultural cooperation” might be an advantage for international investment. Firms are encouraged to open their minds and cooperate with partners with different resources and cultures. The authorities may review the FDI policies to reduce social and political barriers.

Keywords: cross-culture, FDI, cooperation, innovation, China, Europe

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Authors: M. Jaenen, M. de Bouw, A. Verdonck, M. Leus

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During the interwar period artificial materials were often preferred, but many Antwerp architects relied on the application of wood for most of the interior finishing works and furnishings. Archival, literature and on site research of interwar suburban townhouses and the Belgian wood and furniture industry gave a new insight to the application of wood in the interwar interior. Many interwar designers favored the decorative values in all treatments of wood because of its warmth, comfort, good-wearing, and therefore, economic qualities. For the creation of a successful modern interior the texture and surface of the wood becomes as important as the color itself. This aesthetics valuation was the result of the modernization of the wood industry. The development of veneer and plywood gave the possibility to create strong, flat, long and plain wooden surfaces which are capable of retaining their shape. Also the modernization of cutting machines resulted in high quality and diversity in texture of veneer. The flat and plain plywood surfaces were modern decorated with all kinds of veneer-sliced options. In addition, wood species from the former Belgian Colony Congo were imported. Limba (Terminalia superba), kambala (Chlorophora excelsa), mubala (Pentaclethra macrophylla) and sapelli (Entandrophragma cylindricum) were used in the interior of many Antwerp interwar suburban town houses. From the thirties onwards Belgian wood firms established modern manufactures in Congo. There the local wood was dried, cut and prepared for exportation to the harbor of Antwerp. The presence of all kinds of strong and decorative Congolese wood products supported its application in the interwar interior design. The Antwerp architects combined them in their designs for doors, floors, stairs, built-in-furniture, wall paneling and movable furniture.

Keywords: Antwerp, congo, furniture, interwar

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Authors: Ahmed Boutejdar, Bishoy I. Halim, Soumia El Hani, Larbi Bellarbi, Amal Afyf

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In this paper, a planar monopole antenna for multi band applications is proposed. The antenna structure operates at three operating frequencies at 3.7, 6.2, and 13.5 GHz which cover different communication frequency ranges. The antenna consists of a quasi-modified rectangular radiating patch with a partial ground plane and two parasitic elements (open-loop-ring resonators) to serve as coupling-bridges. A stepped cut at lower corners of the radiating patch and the partial ground plane are used, to achieve the multiband features. The proposed antenna is manufactured on the FR4 substrate and is simulated and optimized using High Frequency Simulation System (HFSS). The antenna topology possesses an area of 30.5 x 30 x 1.6 mm³. The measured results demonstrate that the candidate antenna has impedance bandwidths for 10 dB return loss and operates from 3.80 – 3.90 GHz, 4.10 – 5.20 GHz, 11.2 – 11.5 GHz and from 12.5 – 14.0 GHz, which meet the requirements of the wireless local area network (WLAN), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), C- (Uplink) and Ku- (Uplink) band applications. Acceptable agreement is obtained between measurement and simulation results. Experimental results show that the antenna is successfully simulated and measured, and the tri-band antenna can be achieved by adjusting the lengths of the three elements and it gives good gains across all the operation bands.

Keywords: planar monopole antenna, FR4 substrate, HFSS, WLAN, WiMAX, C and Ku

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Authors: Namdeo Jadhav, Nitin Salunkhe

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Currently, sericin is being treated as waste of sericulture industry, especially at reeling process. Looking at prospective physicochemical properties, an attempt has been made to explore pharmaceutical applications of sericin waste in fabrication of medicated solid dispersions. Solid dispersions (SDs) of poorly soluble drugs (Lornoxicam, Meloxicam & Felodipine) were prepared by spray drying, solvent evaporation, ball milling and physical kneading in mass ratio of drug: sericin (1:0.5, 1:1, 1:1.5, 1:2, 1:2.5 and 1:3 w/w) and were investigated by solubility, ATR-FTIR, XRD and DSC, micromeritics and tablettability, surface morphology and in-vitro dissolution. It has been observed that sericin improves solubility of drugs by 8 to 10 times compared to pure drugs. The presence of hydrogen bonding between drugs and sericin was confirmed from the ATR-FTIR spectra. Amongst these methods, spray dried (1:2 w/w) SDs showed fully amorphous state representing molecularly distributed drug as confirmed from XRD and DSC study. Spray dried meloxicam SDs showed better compressibility and compactibility. The microphotograph of spray dried batches of lornoxicam (SDLX) and meloxicam SDs (SDMX) showed bowl shaped, and bowl plus spherical particles respectively, while spray dried felodipine SDs (SDFL) showed spherical shape. The SDLX, SDMX and SDFL (1:2 w/w) displayed better dissolution performance than other methods. Conclusively, hydrophilic matrix of sericin can be used to deliver poor water soluble drugs and its aerodynamic shape may show a great potential for various drug deliveries. If established as pharmaceutical excipient, sericin holds a potential to revolutionise economics of pharmaceutical industry, and sericulture farming, especially of Asian countries.

Keywords: biosericin, poorly soluble drugs, solid dispersion, solubility and dissolution improvement

Procedia PDF Downloads 238

Authors: Shradha S. Binani, P. S. Bodke, R. V. Joat

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Recent decades have witnessed an exponential growth in the field of acoustical parameters and ultrasound on solid, liquid and gases. Ultrasonic propagation parameters yield valuable information regarding the behavior of liquid systems because intra and intermolecular association, dipolar interaction, complex formation and related structural changes affecting the compressibility of the system which in turn produces variations in the ultrasonic velocity. The acoustic and thermo dynamical parameters obtained in ultrasonic study show that ion-solvation is accompanied by the destruction or enhancement of the solvent structure. In the present paper the ultrasonic velocity (v), density (ρ), viscosity(η) have been measured for the pharmacological important compound 2-hydroxy substituted phenyl pyrimidine derivative (2-hydroxy-4-(4’-methoxy phenyl)-6-(2’-hydroxy-4’-methyl-5’-chlorophenyl)pyrimidine) in ethanol as a solvent by using different concentration at constant room temperature. These experimental data have been used to estimate physical parameter like adiabatic compressibility, intermolecular free length, relaxation time, free volume, specific acoustic impedance, relative association, Wada’s constant, Rao’s constant etc. The above parameters provide information in understanding the structural and molecular interaction between solute-solvent in the drug solution with respect to change in concentration.

Keywords: acoustical parameters, ultrasonic velocity, density, viscosity, 2-hydroxy substituted phenyl pyrimidine derivative

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Authors: A. Banerjee, C. Grazon, B. Nadal, T. Pons, Y. Krishnan, B. Dubertret

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Quantum Dots (QDs) have emerged as novel fluorescent probes for biomedical applications. The photophysical properties of QDs such as broad absorption, narrow emission spectrum, reduced blinking, and enhanced photostability make them advantageous over organic fluorophores. However, for some biological applications, QDs need to be first targeted to specific intracellular locations. It parallel, base pairing properties and biocompatibility of DNA has been extensively used for biosensing, targetting and intracellular delivery of numerous bioactive agents. The combination of the photophysical properties of QDs and targettability of DNA has yielded fluorescent, stable and targetable nanosensors. QD-DNA conjugates have used in drug delivery, siRNA, intracellular pH sensing and several other applications; and continue to be an active area of research. In this project, a novel method to synthesise QD-DNA conjugates and their applications in bioimaging are investigated. QDs are first solubilized in water using a thiol based amphiphilic co-polymer and, then conjugated to amine functionalized DNA using a heterobifunctional linker. The conjugates are purified by size exclusion chromatography and characterized by UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, electrophoresis and microscopy. Parameters that influence the conjugation yield such as reducing agents, the excess of salt and pH have been investigated in detail. In optimized reaction conditions, up to 12 single-stranded DNA (15 mer length) can be conjugated per QD. After conjugation, the QDs retain their colloidal stability and high quantum yield; and the DNA is available for hybridization. The reaction has also been successfully tested on QDs emitting different colors and on Gold nanoparticles and therefore highly generalizable. After extensive characterization and robust synthesis of QD-DNA conjugates in vitro, the physical properties of these conjugates in cellular milieu are being invistigated. Modification of QD surface with DNA appears to remarkably alter the fate of QD inside cells and can have potential implications in therapeutic applications.

Keywords: bioimaging, cellular targeting, drug delivery, photostability

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Authors: K. Ö. Kartal, L. Maul, M. Hägele

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With the development of new technologies come additional opportunities for the founding of companies and new markets to be created. The barriers to entry are lowered and technology makes old business models obsolete. Incumbent companies have to be adaptable to this quickly changing environment. They have to start the process of digital maturation and they have to be able to adapt quickly to new and drastic changes that might arise. One of the biggest barriers for organizations in order to do so is their culture. This paper shows the core elements of a corporate culture that supports the process of digital maturation in incumbent organizations. Furthermore, it is explored how ideation and innovation can be used in a strategy in order to facilitate these core elements of culture that promote digital maturity. Focus areas are identified for the design of ideation strategies, with the aim to make the facilitation and incitation process more effective, short to long term. Therefore, one in-depth case study is conducted with data collection from interviews, observation, document review and surveys. The findings indicate that digital maturity is connected to cultural shift and 11 relevant elements of digital culture are identified which have to be considered. Based on these 11 core elements, five focus areas that need to be regarded in the design of a strategy that uses ideation and innovation to facilitate the cultural shift are identified. These are: Focus topics, rewards and communication, structure and frequency, regions and new online formats.

Keywords: digital transformation, innovation management, ideation strategy, creativity culture, change

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Authors: Ima Rahmawati, Nur Hafizul Kalam

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Development of industrial and economic sectors in various countries very rapidly caused raising the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Greenhouse gases are dominated by carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in the atmosphere that make the surface temperature of the earth always increase. The increasing gases caused by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels such as petroleum and coals and also high rate of deforestation. Yogyakarta Special Province which every year always become tourist destination, has a great potency in increasing of greenhouse gas emissions mainly from the incomplete combustion. One of effort to reduce the concentration of gases in the atmosphere is keeping and empowering the existing forests in the Province of Yogyakarta, especially forest in Kulonprogro is to be maintained the greenness so that it can absorb and store carbon maximally. Remote sensing technology can be used to determine the ability of forests to absorb carbon and it is connected to the density of vegetation. The purpose of this study is to determine the density of the biomass of forest vegetation and determine the ability of forests to store carbon through Photo-interpretation and Geographic Information System approach. Remote sensing imagery that used in this study is LANDSAT 8 OLI year 2015 recording. LANDSAT 8 OLI imagery has 30 meters spatial resolution for multispectral bands and it can give general overview the condition of the carbon stored from every density of existing vegetation. The method is the transformation of vegetation index combined with allometric calculation of field data then doing regression analysis. The results are model maps of density and capability level of forest vegetation in Kulonprogro, Yogyakarta in storing carbon.

Keywords: remote sensing, carbon, kulonprogo, forest vegetation, vegetation index

Procedia PDF Downloads 382

Authors: Moncayo Donoso Miguelangel, Guevara Morales Johana, Kalenia Flores Kalenia, Barrera Avellaneda Luis Alejandro, Garzon Alvarado Diego Alexander

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In mammals, long bones are formed by ossification of a cartilage mold during early embryonic development, forming structures called secondary ossification centers (SOCs), a primary ossification center (POC) and growth plates. This last structure is responsible for long bone growth. During the femur growth, the morphology of the growth plate and the SOCs may vary during different developmental stages. So far there are no detailed morphological studies of the development process from embryonic to adult stages. In this work, we carried out a morphological characterization of femur development from embryonic period to adulthood in mice. 15, 17 and 19 days old embryos and 1, 7, 14, 35, 46 and 52 days old mice were used. Samples were analyzed by a computational approach, using 3D images obtained by micro-CT imaging. Results obtained in this study showed that femur, its growth plates and SOCs undergo morphological changes during different stages of development, including changes in shape, position and thickness. These variations may be related with a response to mechanical loads imposed for muscle development surrounding the femur and a high activity during early stages necessary to support the high growth rates during first weeks and years of development. This study is important to improve our knowledge about the ossification patterns on every stage of bone development and characterize the morphological changes of important structures in bone growth like SOCs and growth plates.

Keywords: development, femur, growth plate, mice

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Authors: Naresh Reddy Kolanu

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The stability and collapse behavior of thin-walled composite structures, particularly carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) panels, are paramount concerns for structural designers. Accurate prediction of collapse loads necessitates precise modeling of damage evolution in the post-buckling regime. This study conducts a comparative assessment of various finite element (FE) methodologies employed in predicting post-buckling collapse in stiffened CFRP panels. A systematic approach is adopted, wherein FE models with various damage capabilities are constructed and analyzed. The study investigates the influence of interacting intra- and interlaminar damage modes on the post-buckling response and failure behavior of the stiffened CFRP structure. Additionally, the capabilities of shell and brick FE-based models are evaluated and compared to determine their effectiveness in capturing the complex collapse behavior. Conclusions are drawn through quantitative comparison with experimental results, focusing on post-buckling response and collapse load. This comprehensive evaluation provides insights into the most effective FE methodologies for accurately predicting the collapse behavior of stiffened CFRP panels, thereby aiding structural designers in enhancing the stability and safety of composite structures.

Keywords: CFRP stiffened panels, delamination, Hashin’s failure, post-buckling, progressive damage model

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Authors: Mustafa Abu Ghalia, Mohammed Seddik

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The design and development of a new class of biomaterial has gained particular interest in producing polymer scaffold for biomedical applications. Improving mechanical properties, biological and controlling pores scaffold are important factors to provide appropriate biomaterial for implement in soft tissue repair and regeneration. In this study, poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) /polyethylene glycol (PEG) copolymer (80/20) incorporated with CNF scaffolds were made employing solvent casting and particulate leaching methods. Four mass percentages of CNF (1, 2.5, 5, and 10 wt.%) were integrated into the copolymer through a silane coupling agent. Mechanical properties were determined using Tensile Tester data acquisition to investigate the effect of porosity, pore size, and CNF contents. Tensile strength obtained for PCL/PEG- 5 wt.% CNF was 16 MPa, which drastically decreased after creating a porous structure to 7.1 MPa. The optimum parameters of the results were found to be 5 wt.% for CNF, 240 μm for pore size, and 83% for porosity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrograph reveals that consistent pore size and regular pore shape were accomplished after the addition of CNF-5 wt. % into PCL/PEG. The results of mass loss of PCL/PEG reinforced-CNF 1% have clearly enhanced to double values compared with PCL/PEG copolymer and three times with PCL/PEG scaffold-CNF 1%. In addition, all PCL/PEG reinforced and scaffold- CNF were partially disintegrated under composting conditions confirming their biodegradable behavior. This also provides a possible solution for the end life of these biomaterials.

Keywords: PCL/PEG, cellulose nanofibers, tissue engineering, biodegradation, compost polymers

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Authors: Randy S. Magdaluyo, Lea M. Cabar, Jefferson Q. Correa

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One recurring issue in ESL writing is the confusing differences in the writing conventions of the first language and the target language. Culture may play an intriguing role in specifying writing features and structures that ESL writers have to follow. Although writing is typically organized in a three-part structure with introduction, body, and conclusion, it is important to analyze the complex nature of ESL writing. This study investigated the organizational features and structures of argumentative essays written in English by thirty college ESL students from three linguistic backgrounds (Cebuano, Chavacao, and Tausug) in a Philippine university. The nature of word order and sentence construction in the students’ essays and the specific components of the introduction, body, and conclusion were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed based on ESL writing models. Focus group discussions were also conducted to help clarify the possible influence of students’ first language on the ways their essays were conceptualized and organized. Results indicate that while there was no significant difference in the overall introduction, body, and conclusion in all essays, the sentence length was interestingly different for each linguistic group of ESL students, and the word order was notably inconsistent with the S-V-O pattern of the target language. The first language was also revealed to have a facilitative role in the cognitive translation process of these ESL students. As such, implications for a multicultural writing pedagogy was discussed and recommended considering both the students’ native resources in their first language and the ESL writing models in their target language.

Keywords: community funds of knowledge, contrastive rhetoric, ESL writing, multicultural writing pedagogy

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Authors: Imtiaz Ali, Krishnan Jayaraman, Debes Bhattacharyya

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Soybean concentrate is abundant material and renewable product that is recently been explored as an alternative to conventional formaldehyde based resins in wood based products. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the technical feasibility of manufacturing environment friendly MDF panels from renewable resources. The panels are made by using kenaf bast fibers (KB) as wood substitute and soy based adhesive as bonding material. Second order response surface regression models are used to understand the effects and interactions of resin content (RC) and pressing time (PT) on the mechanical and water soaking properties of kenaf panels. The mechanical and water soaking properties are significantly improved as the RC increased and reached at the highest level at maximum resin loading (12%). The effect of pressing time is significant in the first phase when the pressing time increased from 4 to 6 min; however the effect was not as significant when pressing time further increased to 8 min. The second order regression equations further confirm that the variation in process parameters has strong relationship with the physciomechanical properties. The MDF panels the minimum requirements of internal bond strength, modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity as recommended by US wood MDF standard specifications for G110, G120, G130 and G140 grade MDF panels. However, the thickness swelling results are considerably poorer than the recommended values of general purpose standard requirements. This deficiency can be counterbalanced by the advantage of being formaldehyde free panels made from renewable sources and by making them suitable alternative for less humid environment applications.

Keywords: kenaf, Medium density fibreboard, soy adhesive, mechanical properties, water soaking properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 359