Search results for: optimization wind power plant

Authors: Ibrahim Umar, S Chindo, A Rajab

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Background: TB remains a disease of public health concern in Nigeria with an estimated incidence rate of 219/100,000. Kano has the second highest TB burden in Nigeria and is the leading state with the highest consistent yearly TB notification. House-to-house (H2H) active case search in the community was found to have major contribution to the total TB notification in the state. Aims and Objective: To showcase the impact of H2H community active TB case search (ACF) to yearly TB notification in Kano State, Northern Nigeria from 2012 to 2022. Methodology: This is a retrospective descriptive study based on the analysis of data collected during the routine quarterly and yearly TB data collected in the state. Data was analyzed using the Power BI with statistical alpha level of significance <0.05. Results: Between 2012 and 2013 there was no House-to-house active TB case search in Nigeria and Kano had zero contribution to TB notification from the community in those years. However, in 2014 with the introduction of H2H Active TB Case Search Kano notified 6,014 TB cases out of which 113 came from the community ACF that translated to 2% contribution to total TB notification. From 2014 to 2022 there was progressive increase in community contribution to TB case notification from 113 out of 6,014 total TB patients notified (2012) to 11,799 out of 26,371 TB patients notified (2022) in Kano State. This translated to 45% increase in community contribution to total TB case notification. Discussion: Remarkable increase in community contribution to total TB case notification in Kano State was achieved in 2022 with 11,799 TB cases notified from the community Active TB case search to the total of 26,731 TB cases notified in Kano State, Nigeria. Conclusion: in research has shown that Community-based H2H Active TB Case Search through Community TB Workers (CTWs) is an excellent strategy in finding the missing TB cases towards Ending TB in the world.

Keywords: tuberculosis(TB), active case search (ACF), house-to-house (H2H), community TB workers (CTWs)

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Authors: A. Yakub AbdurRaheem

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Urban violence in the form of ethnic and religious conflicts have been on the increase in many African cities in the recent years of which most of them are the result of intense and bitter competition for political power, the control of limited economic, social and environmental resources. In Nigeria, the emergence of the Boko Haram insurgency in most parts of the northeastern parts have ignited violence, bloodshed, refugee exodus and internal migration. Not only do the persistent attacks of the sect create widespread insecurity and fear, but it has also stifled normal processes of trade and investments most especially real property investment which is acclaimed to accelerate the economic cycle, thus the need to evolve strategies for an improved property market in such areas. This paper, therefore, examines the impact of this social crisis on effective and efficient utilization of real properties as a resource towards the development of the economy, using a descriptive analysis approach where particular emphasis was based on trends in residential housing values; volume of estimated property transactions and real estate investment decisions by affected individuals. Findings indicate that social crisis in the affected areas have been a clog on the wheels of property development and investment as properties worth hundreds of millions have been destroyed thereby having great impact on property values. Based on these findings, recommendations were made to include the need to strategically continue investing in property during such times, the need for Nigerian government to establish an active conflict monitoring and management unit for the prompt response, encourage community and neighborhood policing to ameliorate security challenges in Nigeria.

Keywords: social crisis, economy, resources, property market

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Authors: Yana Posmitnaya, Galina Rudnitskaya, Tatyana Lukashenko, Anton Bukatin, Anatoly Evstrapov

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An important area of biological and medical research is the study of genetic mutations and polymorphisms that can alter gene function and cause inherited diseases and other diseases. The following methods to analyse DNA fragments are used: capillary electrophoresis and electrophoresis on microfluidic chip (MFC), mass spectrometry with electrophoresis on MFC, hybridization assay on microarray. Electrophoresis on MFC allows to analyse small volumes of samples with high speed and throughput. A soft lithography in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was chosen for operative fabrication of MFCs. A master-form from silicon and photoresist SU-8 2025 (MicroChem Corp.) was created for the formation of micro-sized structures in PDMS. A universal topology which combines T-injector and simple cross was selected for the electrophoretic separation of the sample. Glass K8 and PDMS Sylgard® 184 (Dow Corning Corp.) were used for fabrication of MFCs. Electroosmotic flow (EOF) plays an important role in the electrophoretic separation of the sample. Therefore, the estimate of the quantity of EOF and the ways of its regulation are of interest for the development of the new methods of the electrophoretic separation of biomolecules. The following methods of surface modification were chosen to change EOF: high-frequency (13.56 MHz) plasma treatment in oxygen and argon at low pressure (1 mbar); 1% aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol; 3% aqueous solution of Kolliphor® P 188 (Sigma-Aldrich Corp.). The electroosmotic mobility was evaluated by the method of Huang X. et al., wherein the borate buffer was used. The influence of physical and chemical methods of treatment on the wetting properties of the PDMS surface was controlled by the sessile drop method. The most effective way of surface modification of MFCs, from the standpoint of obtaining the smallest value of the contact angle and the smallest value of the EOF, was the processing with aqueous solution of Kolliphor® P 188. This method of modification has been selected for the treatment of channels of MFCs, which are used for the separation of mixture of oligonucleotides fluorescently labeled with the length of chain with 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 nucleotides. Electrophoresis was performed on the device MFAS-01 (IAI RAS, Russia) at the separation voltage of 1500 V. 6% solution of polydimethylacrylamide with the addition of 7M carbamide was used as the separation medium. The separation time of components of the mixture was determined from electropherograms. The time for untreated MFC was ~275 s, and for the ones treated with solution of Kolliphor® P 188 – ~ 220 s. Research of physical-chemical methods of surface modification of MFCs allowed to choose the most effective way for reducing EOF – the modification with aqueous solution of Kolliphor® P 188. In this case, the separation time of the mixture of oligonucleotides decreased about 20%. The further optimization of method of modification of channels of MFCs will allow decreasing the separation time of sample and increasing the throughput of analysis.

Keywords: electrophoresis, microfluidic chip, modification, nucleic acid, polydimethylsiloxane, soft lithography

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Authors: Samson Mil'shtein, Dhawal Asthana, Benjamin Sullivan

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The wide energy gap of GaN is the major parameter justifying the design and fabrication of high-power electronic components made of this material. However, the existence of a piezo-electrics in nature sheet charge at the AlGaN/GaN interface complicates the control of carrier injection into the intrinsic channel of GaN HEMTs (High Electron Mobility Transistors). As a result, most of the transistors created as R&D prototypes and all of the designs used for mass production are D-mode devices which introduce challenges in the design of integrated circuits. This research presents the design and modeling of an E-mode GaN HEMT with a very low turn-on voltage. The proposed device includes two critical elements allowing the transistor to achieve zero conductance across the channel when Vg = 0V. This is accomplished through the inclusion of an extremely thin, 2.5nm intrinsic Ga₀.₇₄Al₀.₂₆N spacer layer. The added spacer layer does not create piezoelectric strain but rather elastically follows the variations of the crystal structure of the adjacent GaN channel. The second important factor is the design of a gate metal with a high work function. The use of a metal gate with a work function (Ni in this research) greater than 5.3eV positioned on top of n-type doped (Nd=10¹⁷cm⁻³) Ga₀.₇₄Al₀.₂₆N creates the necessary built-in potential, which controls the injection of electrons into the intrinsic channel as the gate voltage is increased. The 5µm long transistor with a 0.18µm long gate and a channel width of 30µm operate at Vd=10V. At Vg =1V, the device reaches the maximum drain current of 0.6mA, which indicates a high current density. The presented device is operational at frequencies greater than 10GHz and exhibits a stable transconductance over the full range of operational gate voltages.

Keywords: compound semiconductors, device modeling, enhancement mode HEMT, gallium nitride

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Authors: Oluwagbemi Victor Aladeokin

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In the last decade, the global peanut cultivation has seen increased demand, which is attributed to their health benefits, rising to ~ 41.4 MMT in 2019/2020. Peanut and other nutshells are considered as waste in various parts of the world and are usually used for their fuel value. However, this agricultural by-product can be converted to a higher value product such as activated carbon. For many years, due to the highly porous structure of activated carbon, it has been widely and effectively used as an adsorbent in the purification and separation of gases and liquids. Those used for commercial purposes are primarily made from a range of precursors such as wood, coconut shell, coal, bones, etc. However, due to difficulty in regeneration and high cost, various agricultural residues such as rice husk, corn stalks, apricot stones, almond shells, coffee beans, etc, have been explored to produce activated carbons. In the present study, the potential of peanut shells as precursors in the production of activated carbon and their adsorption capacity is investigated. Usually, precursors used to produce activated carbon have carbon content above 45 %. A typical raw peanut shell has 42 wt.% carbon content. To increase the yield, this study has employed chemical activation method using zinc chloride. Zinc chloride is well known for its effectiveness in increasing porosity of porous carbonaceous materials. In chemical activation, activation temperature and impregnation ratio are parameters commonly reported to be the most significant, however, this study has also studied the influence of activation time on the development of activated carbon from peanut shells. Activated carbons are applied for different purposes, however, as the application of activated carbon becomes more specific, an understanding of the influence of activation variables to have a better control of the quality of the final product becomes paramount. A traditional approach to experimentally investigate the influence of the activation parameters, involves varying each parameter at a time. However, a more efficient way to reduce the number of experimental runs is to apply design of experiment. One of the objectives of this study is to optimize the activation variables. Thus, this work has employed response surface methodology of design of experiment to study the interactions between the activation parameters and consequently optimize the activation parameters (temperature, impregnation ratio, and activation time). The optimum activation conditions found were 485 °C, 15 min and 1.7, temperature, activation time, and impregnation ratio respectively. The optimum conditions resulted in an activated carbon with relatively high surface area ca. 1700 m2/g, 47 % yield, relatively high density, low ash, and high fixed carbon content. Impregnation ratio and temperature were found to mostly influence the final characteristics of the produced activated carbon from peanut shells. The results of this study, using response surface methodology technique, have revealed the potential and the most significant parameters that influence the chemical activation process, of peanut shells to produce activated carbon which can find its use in both liquid and gas phase adsorption applications.

Keywords: chemical activation, fixed carbon, impregnation ratio, optimum, surface area

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Authors: Abayomi O. Adetuyi, Jamiu M. Jabar, Samuel O. Afolabi

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Vegetable fibres are classes of fibres of low density, biodegradable and non-abrasive that are largely abundant fibre materials with specific properties and mostly found/ obtained in plants on earth surface. They are classified into three categories, depending on the part of the plant from which they are gotten from namely: fruit, Blast and Leaf fibre. Ever since four/five millennium B.C, attention has been focussing on the commonest and highly utilized cotton fibre obtained from the fruit of cotton plants (Gossypium spp), for the production of cotton fabric used in every home today. The present study, therefore, focused on the ability of three underutilized vegetable (fruit) fibres namely: coir fiber (Eleas coniferus), palm kernel fiber and empty fruit bunch fiber (Elias guinensis) through chemical modifications for better composite value addition performance to polyurethane form and dye adsorption. These fibres were sourced from their parents’ plants, identified and cleansed with 2% hot detergent solution 1:100, rinsed in distilled water and oven-dried to constant weight, before been chemically modified through alkali bleaching, mercerization and acetylation. The alkali bleaching involves treating 0.5g of each fiber material with 100 mL of 2% H2O2 in 25 % NaOH solution with refluxing for 2 h. While that of mercerization and acetylation involves the use of 5% sodium hydroxide NaOH solution for 2 h and 10% acetic acid- acetic anhydride 1:1 (v/v) (CH3COOH) / (CH3CO)2O solution with conc. H2SO4 as catalyst for 1 h, respectively on the fibres. All were subsequently washed thoroughly with distilled water and oven dried at 105 0C for 1 h. These modified fibres were incorporated as composite into polyurethane form and used in dye adsorption study of indigo. The first two treatments led to fiber weight reduction, while the acidified acetic anhydride treatment gave the fibers weight increment. All the treated fibers were found to be of less hydrophilic nature, better mechanical properties, higher thermal stabilities as well as better adsorption surfaces/capacities than the untreated ones. These were confirmed by gravimetric analysis, Instron Universal Testing Machine, Thermogravimetric Analyser and the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) respectively. The fiber morphology of the modified fibers showed smoother surfaces than unmodified fibres.The empty fruit bunch fibre and the coconut coir fibre are better than the palm kernel fibres as reinforcers for composites or as adsorbents for waste-water treatment. Acetylation and alkaline bleaching treatment improve the potentials of the fibres more than mercerization treatment. Conclusively, vegetable fibres, especially empty fruit bunch fibre and the coconut coir fibre, which are cheap, abundant and underutilized, can replace the very costly powdered activated carbon in wastewater treatment and as reinforcer in foam.

Keywords: chemical modification, industrial application, value addition, vegetable fibre

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Authors: Jin Hwa Yang, Hwang Bae, Sung Uk Ryu, Byong Guk Jeon, Sung Jae Yi, Hyun Sik Park

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Experimental studies using a large-scale thermal-hydraulic integral test facility, System–integrated Modular Advanced Reactor Integral Test Loop (SMART-ITL), have been carried out to validate the performance of the prototype, SMART. After Fukushima accident, the passive safety systems have been dealt as important designs for retaining of nuclear safety. One of the concerned scenarios for evaluating the passive safety system is a Complete Loss of Coolant Flow (CLOF). The flowrate of coolant in the primary system is maintained by Reactor Coolant Pump (RCP). When the supply of electric power of RCP is shut off, the flowrate of coolant decreases sharply, and the temperature of the coolant increases rapidly. Therefore, the reactor trip signal is activated to prevent the over-heating of the core. In this situation, Passive Residual Heat Removal System (PRHRS) plays a significant role to assure the soundness of the SMART. The PRHRS using a two-phase natural circulation is a passive safety system in the SMART to eliminate the heat of steam generator in the secondary system with heat exchanger submarined in the Emergency Cooling Tank (ECT). As the RCPs continue to coast down, inherent natural circulation in the primary system transfers heat to the secondary system. The transferred heat is removed by PRHRS in the secondary system. In this paper, the progress of the CLOF accident is described with experimental data of transient condition performed by SMART-ITL. Finally, the capability of passive safety system and inherent natural circulation will be evaluated.

Keywords: CLOF, natural circulation, PRHRS, SMART-ITL

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Authors: C. van den Berg, C. Pokpas

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Popular discourse touts entrepreneurship as a universal solution for underdevelopment, unemployment, and poverty. Moreover, claims are made that women and other disadvantaged groups can achieve material and personal success through digital entrepreneurship. This paper examines the potential of digital technology in entrepreneurial ventures to stimulate economic growth for marginalized groups and communities. Although digital entrepreneurship is hailed as a means to empower under-resourced and socially marginalized people, these opportunities still exist within the confines of existing social and cultural practices. The perspectives of female digital entrepreneurs in developing countries are sorely understudied, particularly concerning an understanding of the complex underlying socio-cultural factors impeding women’s entrepreneurial behaviors. This qualitative study, guided by a feminist phenomenological perspective, focused on the experiences of digital female entrepreneurs in the Western Cape of South Africa. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed through the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach to determine the relationships between digital entrepreneurship and structural and agential enabling conditions. Findings show that digital entrepreneurship is not a panacea for economic growth in marginalized groups and communities and highlight the importance of addressing socio-cultural gender inequality to enable successful entrepreneurial activity. The paper concludes with recommendations for specialized training initiatives aimed at female entrepreneurs that address internalized constraints and barriers that keep women subservient and measures to shift gender and power beliefs. The outcome will benefit the stimulation of gender-specific public policies to develop a successful digital start-up ecosystem further.

Keywords: digital innovation, female digital entrepreneurs, feminist phenomenology, gender, marginalised communities

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Authors: Abdul Basit Kiani

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The software for the digital library system is a cutting-edge solution designed to revolutionize the way libraries manage and provide access to their vast collections of digital content. This advanced software leverages the power of technology to offer a seamless and user-friendly experience for both library staff and patrons. By implementing this software, libraries can efficiently organize, store, and retrieve digital resources, including e-books, audiobooks, journals, articles, and multimedia content. Its intuitive interface allows library staff to effortlessly manage cataloging, metadata extraction, and content enrichment, ensuring accurate and comprehensive access to digital materials. For patrons, the software offers a personalized and immersive digital library experience. They can easily browse the digital catalog, search for specific items, and explore related content through intelligent recommendation algorithms. The software also facilitates seamless borrowing, lending, and preservation of digital items, enabling users to access their favorite resources anytime, anywhere, on multiple devices. With robust security features, the software ensures the protection of intellectual property rights and enforces access controls to safeguard sensitive content. Integration with external authentication systems and user management tools streamlines the library's administration processes, while advanced analytics provide valuable insights into patron behavior and content usage. Overall, this software for the digital library system empowers libraries to embrace the digital era, offering enhanced access, convenience, and discoverability of their vast collections. It paves the way for a more inclusive and engaging library experience, catering to the evolving needs of tech-savvy patrons.

Keywords: software development, empowering digital libraries, digital cataloging and access, management system

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Authors: Pilly Joseph Kagosi

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The study aims at assessing challenges observed during the implementation of participatory irrigation management (PIM) approach for food security in semi-arid areas of Tanzania. Data were collected through questionnaire, PRA tools, key informants discussion, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), participant observation, and literature review. Data collected from the questionnaire was analysed using SPSS while PRA data was analysed with the help of local communities during PRA exercise. Data from other methods were analysed using content analysis. The study revealed that PIM approach has a contribution in improved food security at household level due to the involvement of communities in water management activities and decision making which enhanced the availability of water for irrigation and increased crop production. However, there were challenges observed during the implementation of the approach including; minimum participation of beneficiaries in decision-making during planning and designing stages, meaning inadequate devolution of power among scheme owners. Inadequate and lack of transparency on income expenditure in Water Utilization Associations’ (WUAs), water conflict among WUAs members, conflict between farmers and livestock keepers and conflict between WUAs leaders and village government regarding training opportunities and status; WUAs rules and regulation are not legally recognized by the National court and few farmers involved in planting trees around water sources. However, it was realized that some of the mentioned challenges were rectified by farmers themselves facilitated by government officials. The study recommends that the identified challenges need to be rectified for farmers to realize impotence of PIM approach as it was realized by other Asian countries.

Keywords: challenges, participatory approach, irrigation management, food security, semi arid areas

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Authors: Olga Sukhoveeva

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Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main component of carbon biogeochemical cycle and one of the most important greenhouse gases (GHG). Agriculture, particularly arable soils, are one the largest sources of GHG emission for the atmosphere including CO2.Models may be used for estimation of GHG emission from agriculture if they can be adapted for different countries conditions. The only model used in officially at national level in United Kingdom and China for this purpose is DNDC (DeNitrification-DeComposition). In our research, the model DNDC is offered for estimation of GHG emission from arable soils in Russia. The aim of our research was to create the method of DNDC using for evaluation of CO2 emission in Russia based on official statistical information. The target territory was European part of Russia where many field experiments are located. At the first step of research the database on climate, soil and cropping characteristics for the target region from governmental, statistical, and literature sources were created. All-Russia Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information – World Data Centre provides open daily data about average meteorological and climatic conditions. It must be calculated spatial average values of maximum and minimum air temperature and precipitation over the region. Spatial average values of soil characteristics (soil texture, bulk density, pH, soil organic carbon content) can be determined on the base of Union state register of soil recourses of Russia. Cropping technologies are published by agricultural research institutes and departments. We offer to define cropping system parameters (annual information about crop yields, amount and types of fertilizers and manure) on the base of the Federal State Statistics Service data. Content of carbon in plant biomass may be calculated via formulas developed and published by Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation. At the second step CO2 emission from soil in this region were calculated by DNDC. Modelling data were compared with empirical and literature data and good results were obtained, modelled values were equivalent to the measured ones. It was revealed that the DNDC model may be used to evaluate and forecast the CO2 emission from arable soils in Russia based on the official statistical information. Also, it can be used for creation of the program for decreasing GHG emission from arable soils to the atmosphere. Financial Support: fundamental scientific researching theme 0148-2014-0005 No 01201352499 ‘Solution of fundamental problems of analysis and forecast of Earth climatic system condition’ for 2014-2020; fundamental research program of Presidium of RAS No 51 ‘Climate change: causes, risks, consequences, problems of adaptation and regulation’ for 2018-2020.

Keywords: arable soils, carbon dioxide emission, DNDC model, European Russia

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Authors: Jakia Rajoana

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The key aim of this research is to achieve Sustainable Rural Tourism (SRT) through women’s empowerment in the Sundarbans area of Bangladesh. Women in rural areas in developing countries depend on biomass for their survival and that of their family. Yet they have an unequal access to resources as well as decision making, thus making them more vulnerable to any changes in the environment. Women in the developing countries experience gender inequality which is culturally embedded resulting into women having less access to and control over financial and material resources, information, and also a lack of recognition of their contribution as compared to men. Their disadvantaged social position is augmented by their extreme poverty, little or no power they have over their own lives vis-à-vis the disproportionate burden they bear in reproduction and child-raising. Despite the significance of the need to pay attention to gender related issues in sustainable rural tourism (SRT), research remains rather scant. For instance, there is very little research that illustrates the role of women in tourism in the Sundarbans area. Thus empirically, this research seeks to fill a significant gap by focusing on rural areas and in particular focus on considerably under-researched area, namely the Sundarbans women’s role in tourism. In order to fully comprehend their experiences and life stories, this research will apply the empowerment theory and consider it along with the research on sustainable rural tourism. Since, women’s empowerment can act as a potential tool for SRT development and also examine the role tourism plays in the lives of Sundarbans’ women. Methodologically, this study will follow a qualitative research design using an ethnographic approach. Participant observation, semi- structured interviews, and documentation will be the primary data collection instruments in four communities – Shayamnagar, Koyra, Mongla and Sarankhola – in the Sundarbans area. It is hoped that by focusing on the life stories of these invisible women, research is better able to engage with nuances inherent in marginal and significantly under-researched communities.

Keywords: gender, sustainable rural tourism, women empowerment, Sundarbans

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Authors: T. Sakamoto, S. Kainuma

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Firstly, in order to examine the influence of the remaining amount of the rust on the coating film durability, the accelerated deterioration tests were carried out. In order to prepare test specimens, uncoated steel plates were corroded by the Salt Spray Test (SST) prior to the accelerated deterioration tests, and then the prepared test specimens were coated by epoxy resin and phthalic acid resin each of which has different gas-barrier performance. As the result, it was confirmed that the under-film corrosion occurred in the area and the adjacency to great quantities of salt exists in the rust, and did not occurred in the specimen which was applied the epoxy resin paint after the surface preparation by the power tool. Secondly, in order to clarify the influence of the corrosive factors on the coating film durability, outdoor exposure tests were conducted for one year on actual steel bridge located at a coastal area. The tests specimens consist of coated corroded plates and the uncoated steel plates, and they were installed on the different structural members of the bridge for one year. From the test results, the uncoated steel plates which were installed on the underside of the member are easily corrosive and had highly correlation with the amount of salt in the rust. On the other hand, the most corrosive under-film steel was the vertical surface of the web plate. Thus, it was confirmed that under-film corrosion rate was not match with corrosion rate of the uncoated steel. Consequently, it is estimated that the main factors of under-film corrosion are gas-barrier property of coating film and corrosive factors such as water vapor and temperature. The salt which significantly corrodes the uncoated steel plate is not directly related to the under-film corrosion.

Keywords: accelerated deterioration test, coating durability, environmental factor, under-film corrosion

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Authors: Abida Mariam, Anwaar Ahmed, Asif Ahmad, Muhammad Sheeraz Ahmad, Muhammad Akram Khan, Muhammad Mazahir

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The plant olive (Olea europaea L.) is known for its commercial significance due to nutritional and health benefits. Pakistan is ranked 4th among countries who import olive oil whereas, 70% of edible oil is imported to fulfil the needs of the country. There exists great potential for Olea europaea cultivation in Pakistan. The popularity and cultivation of olive fruit has increased in recent past due to its high socio-economic and health significance. There exist almost negligible data on the chemical composition of extra virgin olive oil extracted from cultivars grown in Pothwar, an area with arid climate conducive for growth of olive trees. Keeping in view these factors a study has been conducted to characterize the olive oil extracted from olive cultivars collected from Pothwar regions of Pakistan for their nutritional potential and value addition. Ten olive cultivars (Gemlik, Coratina, Sevillano, Manzanilla, Leccino, Koroneiki, Frantoio, Arbiquina, Earlik and Ottobratica) were collected from Barani Agriculture Research Institute, Chakwal. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) was extracted by cold pressing and centrifuging of olive fruits. The highest amount of oil was yielded in Coratina (23.9%) followed by Frantoio (23.7%), Koroneiki (22.8%), Sevillano (22%), Ottobratica (22%), Leccino (20.5%), Arbiquina (19.2%), Manzanilla (17.2%), Earlik (14.4%) and Gemllik (13.1%). The extracted virgin olive oil was studied for various physico- chemical properties and fatty acid profile. The Physical and chemical properties i.e., characteristic odor and taste, light yellow color with no foreign matter, insoluble impurities (≤0.08), fee fatty acid (0.1 to 0.8), acidity (0.5 to 1.6 mg/g acid), peroxide value (1.5 to 5.2 meqO2/kg), Iodine value (82 to 90), saponification value (186 to 192 mg/g) and unsaponifiable matter (4 to 8g/kg), ultraviolet spectrophotometric analysis (k232 and k270), showed values in the acceptable range, established by PSQCA and IOOC set for extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil was analyzed by Near Infra-Red spectrophotometry (NIR) for fatty acids sin olive oils which were found as: palmitic, palmitoleic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and alpha-linolenic. Major fatty acid was Oleic acid in the highest percentage ranging from (55 to 66.1%), followed by linoleic (10.4 to 20.4%), palmitic (13.8 to 19.5%), stearic (3.9 to 4.4%), palmitoleic (0.3 to 1.7%) and alpha-linolenic (0.9 to 1.7%). The results were significant with differences in parameters analyzed for all ten cultivars which confirm that genetic factors are important contributors in the physico-chemical characteristics of oil. The olive oil showed superior physical and chemical properties and recommended as one of the healthiest forms of edible oil. This study will help consumers to be more aware of and make better choices of healthy oils available locally thus contributing towards their better health.

Keywords: characterization, extra virgin olive oil, oil yield, fatty acids

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Authors: Maia Kharadze, Indira Djaparidze, Maia Vanidze, Aleko Kalandia

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Modern scientific world studies chemical components and antioxidant activity of different kinds of vines according to their breed purity and location. To our knowledge, this kind of research has not been conducted in Georgia yet. The object of our research was to study Chkhaveri vine, which is included in the oldest varieties of the Black Sea basin vine. We have studied different-altitude Chkaveri grapes, juice, and wine (half dry rose-colored produced with European technologies) and their technical markers, qualitative and quantitive composition of their biologically active compounds and their antioxidant activity. We were determining the amount of phenols using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, Flavonoids, Catechins and Anthocyanins using Spectral method and antioxidant activity using DPPH method. Several compounds were identified using –HPLC-UV-Vis, UPLC-MS methods. Six samples of Chkhaveri species– 5, 300, 360, 380, 400, 780 meter altitudes were taken and analyzed. The sample taken from 360 m altitude is distinguished by its cluster mass (383.6 grams) and high amount of sugar (20.1%). The sample taken from the five-meter altitude is distinguished by having high acidity (0.95%). Unlike other grapes varieties, such concentration of sugar and relatively low levels of citric acid ultimately leads to Chkhaveri wine individuality. Biologically active compounds of Chkhaveri were researched in 2014, 2015, 2016. The amount of total phenols in samples of 2016 fruit varies from 976.7 to 1767.0 mg/kg. Amount of Anthocians is 721.2-1630.2 mg/kg, and the amount of Flavanoids varies from 300.6 to 825.5 mg/kg. Relatively high amount of anthocyanins was found in the Chkhaveri at 780-meter altitude - 1630.2 mg/kg. Accordingly, the amount of Phenols and Flavanoids is high- 1767.9 mg/kg and 825.5 mg/kg. These characteristics are low in samples gathered from 5 meters above sea level, Anthocyanins-721.2 mg/ kg, total Phenols-976.7 mg/ kg, and Flavanoids-300.6 mg/kg. The highest amount of bioactive compounds can be found in the Chkhaveri samples of high altitudes because with rising height environment becomes harsh, the plant has to develop a better immune system using Phenolic compounds. The technology that is used for the production of wine also plays a huge role in the composition of the final product. Optimal techniques of maceration and ageing were worked out. While squeezing Chkhaveri, there are no anthocyanins in the juice. However, the amount of Anthocyanins rises during maceration. After the fermentation of dregs, the amount of anthocyanins is 55%, 521.3 gm/l, total Phenols 80% 1057.7 mg/l and Flavanoids 23.5 mg/l. Antioxidant activity of samples was also determined using the effect of 50% inhibition of the samples. All samples have high antioxidant activity. For instance, in samples at 780 meters above the sea-level antioxidant activity was 53.5%. It is relatively high compared to the sample at 5 m above sea-level with the antioxidant activity of 30.5%. Thus, there is a correlation between the amount Anthocyanins and antioxidant activity. The designated project has been fulfilled by financial support of the Georgia National Science Foundation (Grant AP/96/13, Grant 216816), Any idea in this publication is possessed by the author and may not represent the opinion of the Georgia National Science Foundation.

Keywords: antioxidants, bioactive content, wine, chkhaveri

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Authors: Abheyjit Singh, Kulwant Singh

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There is a gradual depletion of the water table in the earth's crust, and it is required to converse and reduce the scarcity of water. This is only done by rainwater harvesting, recycling of water and by judicially consumption/utilization of water and adopting unique treatment measures. Domestic waste is generated in residential areas, commercial settings, and institutions. Waste, in general, is unwanted, undesirable, and nevertheless an inevitable and inherent product of social, economic, and cultural life. In a cluster, a need-based system is formed where the project is designed for systematic analysis, collection of sewage from the cluster, treating it and then recycling it for multifarious work. The liquid waste may consist of Sanitary sewage/ Domestic waste, Industrial waste, Storm waste, or Mixed Waste. The sewage contains both suspended and dissolved particles, and the total amount of organic material is related to the strength of the sewage. The untreated domestic sanitary sewage has a BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) of 200 mg/l. TSS (Total Suspended Solids) about 240 mg/l. Industrial Waste may have BOD and TSS values much higher than those of sanitary sewage. Another type of impurities of wastewater is plant nutrients, especially when there are compounds of nitrogen N phosphorus P in the sewage; raw sanitary contains approx. 35 mg/l Nitrogen and 10 mg/l of Phosphorus. Finally, the pathogen in the waste is expected to be proportional to the concentration of facial coliform bacteria. The coliform concentration in raw sanitary sewage is roughly 1 billion per liter. The system of sewage disposal technique has been universally applied to all conditions, which are the nature of soil formation, Availability of land, Quantity of Sewage to be disposed of, The degree of treatment and the relative cost of disposal technique. The adopted Thappar Model (India) has the following designed parameters consisting of a Screen Chamber, a Digestion Tank, a Skimming Tank, a Stabilization Tank, an Oxidation Pond and a Water Storage Pond. The screening Chamber is used to remove plastic and other solids, The Digestion Tank is designed as an anaerobic tank having a retention period of 8 hours, The Skimming Tank has an outlet that is kept 1 meter below the surface anaerobic condition at the bottom and also help in organic solid remover, Stabilization Tank is designed as primary settling tank, Oxidation Pond is a facultative pond having a depth of 1.5 meter, Storage Pond is designed as per the requirement. The cost of the Thappar model is Rs. 185 Lakh per 3,000 to 4,000 population, and the Area required is 1.5 Acre. The complete structure will linning as per the requirement. The annual maintenance will be Rs. 5 lakh per year. The project is useful for water conservation, silage water for irrigation, decrease of BOD and there will be no longer damage to community assets and economic loss to the farmer community by inundation. There will be a healthy and clean environment in the community.

Keywords: collection, treatment, utilization, economic

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: Mohammed Islam

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Graduate employability is a well debated topic by governments, employers, and higher education institutes (HEI) across the world. Much of the focus of these debates have centred around the skills that graduates bring or should bring to the job market, a point echoed by United Arab Emirates (UAE) policy makers and employers. While some research has been carried out on graduates' employability skills, little or no attention has been paid to the forces at play in developing employability policy and its subsequent implementation. The focus of debate has been on a perceived skills gap rather than policy. Recognising a gap in the literature, this paper details a study of UAE employability policy development. Taking a social constructionist approach, this case study views policy as discursive and socially constructed through interactions with key stakeholders. It is within the myriad of interdependent socio-political factors and social practices, particularly power relationships, that this paper explores UAE policy on graduate employability. In doing so, this adds to the debate on graduate employability from the perspective of policy and explores its roots in the interaction between human activity and the ‘system’. Data was collected from two main sources: documentary review and semi-structured interviews. Policies and publicly stated rhetoric on graduate employability were analysed using Critical Discourse Analysis. Semi-structured interviews with representatives from policy makers, HEIs, and employers were reviewed through Thematic Analysis. The theoretical framework for the discussion of findings draws from social practice theories and highlights the factors at play in access to employment for UAE graduates. This case study presents a methodological approach to policy studies that can be applied beyond the context under investigation. Education policy researchers are provided with an opportunity to compare similarities and differences with their own specific contexts.

Keywords: critical discourse analysis, employability, methodology, policy, social constructionism

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Elham Koohikerade, Silvio Jose Gumiere

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In this research, irrigation is highlighted as crucial for improving both the yield and quality of ‎potatoes due to their high sensitivity to soil moisture changes. The study presents a hybrid Long ‎Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model aimed at optimizing irrigation scheduling in potato fields in ‎Quebec City, Canada. This model integrates model-based and satellite-derived datasets to simulate ‎soil moisture content, addressing the limitations of field data. Developed under the guidance of the ‎Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the simulation approach compensates for the lack of direct ‎soil sensor data, enhancing the LSTM model's predictions. The model was calibrated using indices ‎like Surface Soil Moisture (SSM), Normalized Vegetation Difference Index (NDVI), Enhanced ‎Vegetation Index (EVI), and Normalized Multi-band Drought Index (NMDI) to effectively forecast ‎soil moisture reductions. Understanding soil moisture and plant development is crucial for assessing ‎drought conditions and determining irrigation needs. This study validated the spectral characteristics ‎of vegetation and soil using ECMWF Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) and Moderate Resolution Imaging ‎Spectrometer (MODIS) data from 2019 to 2023, collected from agricultural areas in Dolbeau and ‎Peribonka, Quebec. Parameters such as surface volumetric soil moisture (0-7 cm), NDVI, EVI, and ‎NMDI were extracted from these images. A regional four-year dataset of soil and vegetation moisture ‎was developed using a machine learning approach combining model-based and satellite-based ‎datasets. The LSTM model predicts soil moisture dynamics hourly across different locations and ‎times, with its accuracy verified through cross-validation and comparison with existing soil moisture ‎datasets. The model effectively captures temporal dynamics, making it valuable for applications ‎requiring soil moisture monitoring over time, such as anomaly detection and memory analysis. By ‎identifying typical peak soil moisture values and observing distribution shapes, irrigation can be ‎scheduled to maintain soil moisture within Volumetric Soil Moisture (VSM) values of 0.25 to 0.30 ‎m²/m², avoiding under and over-watering. The strong correlations between parcels suggest that a ‎uniform irrigation strategy might be effective across multiple parcels, with adjustments based on ‎specific parcel characteristics and historical data trends. The application of the LSTM model to ‎predict soil moisture and vegetation indices yielded mixed results. While the model effectively ‎captures the central tendency and temporal dynamics of soil moisture, it struggles with accurately ‎predicting EVI, NDVI, and NMDI.‎

Keywords: irrigation scheduling, LSTM neural network, remotely sensed indices, soil and vegetation ‎monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 41

Authors: Maria Evnevich

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In modern conditions, in most markets, price competition is becoming less effective. On the one hand, there is a gradual decrease in the level of marginality in main traditional sectors of the economy, so further price reduction becomes too ‘expensive’ for the company. On the other hand, the effect of price reduction is leveled, and the reason for this phenomenon is likely to be informational. As a result, it turns out that even if the company reduces prices, making its products more accessible to the buyer, there is a high probability that this will not lead to increase in sales unless additional large-scale advertising and information campaigns are conducted. Similarly, a large-scale information and advertising campaign have a much greater effect itself than price reductions. At the same time, the cost of mass informing is growing every year, especially when using the main information channels. The article presents generalization, systematization and development of theoretical approaches and best practices in the field of customer focus approach to business management and in the field of relationship marketing in the modern digital economy. The research methodology is based on the synthesis and content-analysis of sociological and marketing research and on the study of the systems of working with consumer appeals and loyalty programs in the 50 largest client-oriented companies in Russia. Also, the analysis of internal documentation on customers’ purchases in one of the largest retail companies in Russia allowed to identify if buyers prefer to buy goods for complex purchases in one retail store with the best price image for them. The cost of attracting a new client is now quite high and continues to grow, so it becomes more important to keep him and increase the involvement through marketing tools. A huge role is played by modern digital technologies used both in advertising (e-mailing, SEO, contextual advertising, banner advertising, SMM, etc.) and in service. To implement the above-described client-oriented omnichannel service, it is necessary to identify the client and work with personal data provided when filling in the loyalty program application form. The analysis of loyalty programs of 50 companies identified the following types of cards: discount cards, bonus cards, mixed cards, coalition loyalty cards, bank loyalty programs, aviation loyalty programs, hybrid loyalty cards, situational loyalty cards. The use of loyalty cards allows not only to stimulate the customer to purchase ‘untargeted’, but also to provide individualized offers, as well as to produce more targeted information. The development of digital technologies and modern means of communication has significantly changed not only the sphere of marketing and promotion, but also the economic landscape as a whole. Factors of competitiveness are the digital opportunities of companies in the field of customer orientation: personalization of service, customization of advertising offers, optimization of marketing activity and improvement of logistics.

Keywords: customer focus, digital economy, loyalty program, relationship marketing

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Abdul-Razak Saeed

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Addressing the climate change crisis that this generation faces has evolved to include the consideration of a policy mechanism referred to as reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation with plus components of conservation, sustainable forest management and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+). REDD+ emerged from the International level of UNFCCC but its implementation is by developing countries. It challenges the development paradigm of nations that depend on the unsustainable clearing of forests and land use change for economic development whilst posing as an opportunity or risk for forest community livelihoods, institutions and their interaction with the forest resources. As a novel policy mechanism, it is imperative to gain global insight into local contexts of its implementation and to understand local level mobilization of their agency for institutional sustainability as reconfigured by new carbon economy initiatives like REDD+. Using a systematic review process, as the initial stages of this study, secondary data of REDD+ projects across the globe were evaluated to pick up gaps in research and that of on ground REDD+ implementation. Primary data was gathered from 30 actors in the government, NGO, private sector and traditional authorities using face-to-face semi structured interviews in Ghana; participation in meetings and workshops and policy and strategy document reviews. Preliminary findings of the study include REDD+ knowledge being a key determinant of power distribution and affects who shapes the process; in Ghana, informal relationships are playing key roles in advancing REDD+ unlike in traditional forestry and a subjectivity shift of local communities from an 'emotive-link' of environmental care to one of 'economic self-seeking and enriching' domain of thought.

Keywords: climate change, communities, forests, REDD+

Procedia PDF Downloads 368

Authors: Krima M. Rohela, Raja Sabarinath Sundaralingam

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Humans have been launching rockets since the beginning of the space age in the late 1950s. We have come a long way since then, and the success rate for the launch of rockets has increased considerably. With every successful launch, there is a large amount of junk or debris which is released into the upper layers of the atmosphere. Space debris has been a huge concern for a very long time now. This includes the rocket shells released from the launch and the parts of defunct satellites. Some of this junk will come to fall towards the Earth and burn in the atmosphere. But most of the junk goes into orbit around the Earth, and they remain in orbits for at least 100 years. This can cause a lot of problems to other functioning satellites and may affect the future manned missions to space. The main concern of the space-debris is the increase in space activities, which leads to risks of collisions if not taken care of soon. These collisions may result in what is known as Kessler Syndrome. This debris can be removed by a space-based laser targeting system. Hence, the matter is investigated and discussed. The first step in this involves launching a satellite with a high-power laser device into space, above the debris belt. Then the target material is ablated with a focussed laser beam. This step of the process is highly dependent on the attitude and orientation of the debris with respect to the Earth and the device. The laser beam will cause a jet of vapour and plasma to be expelled from the material. Hence, the force is applied in the opposite direction, and in accordance with Newton’s third law of motion, this will cause the material to move towards the Earth and get pulled down due to gravity, where it will get disintegrated in the upper layers of the atmosphere. The larger pieces of the debris can be directed towards the oceans. This method of removal of the orbital debris will enable safer passage for future human-crewed missions into space.

Keywords: altitude, Kessler syndrome, laser ablation, Newton’s third law of motion, satellites, Space debris

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Baha Eddine Aissou, Aichouche Belhadj Aissa

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Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is an active remote sensing technology used for several applications. Airborne LiDAR is becoming an important technology for the acquisition of a highly accurate dense point cloud. A classification of airborne laser scanning (ALS) point cloud is a very important task that still remains a real challenge for many scientists. Support vector machine (SVM) is one of the most used statistical learning algorithms based on kernels. SVM is a non-parametric method, and it is recommended to be used in cases where the data distribution cannot be well modeled by a standard parametric probability density function. Using a kernel, it performs a robust non-linear classification of samples. Often, the data are rarely linearly separable. SVMs are able to map the data into a higher-dimensional space to become linearly separable, which allows performing all the computations in the original space. This is one of the main reasons that SVMs are well suited for high-dimensional classification problems. Only a few training samples, called support vectors, are required. SVM has also shown its potential to cope with uncertainty in data caused by noise and fluctuation, and it is computationally efficient as compared to several other methods. Such properties are particularly suited for remote sensing classification problems and explain their recent adoption. In this poster, the SVM classification of ALS LiDAR data is proposed. Firstly, connected component analysis is applied for clustering the point cloud. Secondly, the resulting clusters are incorporated in the SVM classifier. Radial basic function (RFB) kernel is used due to the few numbers of parameters (C and γ) that needs to be chosen, which decreases the computation time. In order to optimize the classification rates, the parameters selection is explored. It consists to find the parameters (C and γ) leading to the best overall accuracy using grid search and 5-fold cross-validation. The exploited LiDAR point cloud is provided by the German Society for Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, and Geoinformation. The ALS data used is characterized by a low density (4-6 points/m²) and is covering an urban area located in residential parts of the city Vaihingen in southern Germany. The class ground and three other classes belonging to roof superstructures are considered, i.e., a total of 4 classes. The training and test sets are selected randomly several times. The obtained results demonstrated that a parameters selection can orient the selection in a restricted interval of (C and γ) that can be further explored but does not systematically lead to the optimal rates. The SVM classifier with hyper-parameters is compared with the most used classifiers in literature for LiDAR data, random forest, AdaBoost, and decision tree. The comparison showed the superiority of the SVM classifier using parameters selection for LiDAR data compared to other classifiers.

Keywords: classification, airborne LiDAR, parameters selection, support vector machine

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Saeed Ilbeigi, Bart Van Gheluwe

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The purpose of this study was to identify the three-dimensional kinematics of the sprint start during the start phase of the sprint. The purpose of this study was to identify the three-dimensional kinematics of the sprint start during the start phase of the sprint. Moreover, the effect of anthropometrical factors such as skeletal muscle mass, thigh girth, and calf girth also were considered on the kinematics of the sprint start. Among all young sprinters involved in the national Belgium league, sixty sprinters (boys: 14.7 ± 1.8 years and girls: 14.8±1.5 years) were randomly selected. The kinematics data of the sprint start were collected with a Vicon® 620 motion analysis system equipped with 12 infrared cameras running at 250 Hz and running the Vicon Data Station software. For statistical analysis, T-tests and ANOVA׳s with Scheffé post hoc test were used and the significant level was set as p≤0.05. The results showed that the angular positions of the lower joints of the young sprinters in the set position were comparable with adult figures from literature, however, with a greater range of joint extension. The most significant difference between boys and girls was found in the set position, where the boys presented a more dorsiflexed ankle. No further gender effect was observed during the leaving the blocks and contact phase. The sprinters with a higher age, skeletal muscle mass, thigh girth, and calf girth displayed a better angular position of the lower joints (e.g. ankle, knee, hip) in the set position, a more optimal angular position for the foot and knee for absorbing impact forces at foot contact and finally a higher range of flexion/extension motion to produce force and power when leaving the blocks.

Keywords: anthropometry, kinematics, sprint start, young elite sprinters

Procedia PDF Downloads 228

Authors: Rashmi Tyagi, Savita Vermani

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Violence against women is the result of long-standing power imbalance between men and women and thus seriously compromises the well-being, productivity and contribution of one half the population. The costs incurred to the family especially children and society at large in terms of physical, psychological, social and financial losses are huge. The communities’ native to the state of Haryana in India is primarily patriarchal, burdened with age old regressive mindset under the socio-cultural and religious structures which discriminates against women. Therefore it was important to bring to light the issues affecting women in this region. Therefore this study focused on studying the consequences of crime on victim women and their families. Two hundred women were randomly selected and out of those one hundred twenty, who were affected with some kind of violence were interviewed. Data was collected and statistically analyzed for physical, psychological, inter-family and societal consequences of violence on these women. Women reported physical injuries, gynecological problems, unwanted pregnancies, frigidity, phobia and sexual dysfunction. 58.9% women felt decreased work efficiency. Psychological problems encountered were anxiety, isolation, depression, suicidal tendencies. 66.7% respondents suffered from anxiety followed by 65.0% faced depression symptoms. At family levels, 40.0% respondents felt the atmosphere was unsuitable for children while 39.2% reported lack of interaction. The societal consequences reported were breakdown of interaction with friends and family (44.2%) and resulting humiliation and demeaning remarks from others (38.3%). The impact of violence on women had an adverse effect on children. 36.7% children felt responsible for abuse and powerless to stop it, 29.2% reported living with fear. Concerted efforts are required to curb violence against women in Haryana.

Keywords: impact of violence against women on children, patriarchal society, physical psychological and societal consequences, violence against women

Procedia PDF Downloads 308

Authors: Jae-Ho Jang, Jung-Soo Kim, Byung-Jun Kim, Dae-Geun Nam, Uoo-Chang Jung, Yoon-Suk Choi

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Low alloy steels are widely used for pressure vessels, spent fuel storage, and steam generators required to withstand the internal pressure and prevent unexpected failure in nuclear power plants, which these may suffer embrittlement by high levels of radiation and heat for a long period. Therefore, it is important to improve mechanical properties of low alloy steels for the integrity of structure materials at an early stage of fabrication. Recently, it showed that a double austenitizing and tempering (DTA) process resulted in a significant improvement of strength and toughness by refinement of prior austenite grains. In this study, it was investigated that the mechanism of improving mechanical properties according to the change of microstructure by the second fully austenitizing temperature of the DAT process for low alloy steel required the structural integrity. Compared to conventional single austenitizing and tempering (SAT) process, the tensile elongation properties have improved about 5%, DBTTs have obtained result in reduction of about -65℃, and grain size has decreased by about 50% in the DAT process conditions. Grain refinement has crack propagation interference effect due to an increase of the grain boundaries and amount of energy absorption at low temperatures. The higher first austenitizing temperature in the DAT process, the more increase the spheroidized carbides and strengthening the effect of fine precipitates in the ferrite grain. The area ratio of the dimple in the transition area has increased by proportion to the effect of spheroidized carbides. This may the primary mechanisms that can improve low-temperature toughness and elongation while maintaining a similar hardness and strength.

Keywords: double austenitizing, Ductile Brittle transition temperature, grain refinement, heat treatment, low alloy steel, low-temperature toughness

Procedia PDF Downloads 510

Authors: Daniel Barkley, Jianyi Zhu

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This study investigates base salary differentials and gender equity among university presidents across 427 U.S. colleges and universities. While endowments typically do not directly determine university presidents' base salaries, our analysis reveals a noteworthy pattern: endowments explain more than half of the variance in female university presidents' base salaries, compared to a mere 0.69 percent for males. Moreover, female presidents' base salaries tend to rise much faster than male base salaries with increasing university endowments. This disparate impact of endowments on base salaries implies an endowment threshold for achieving gender pay equity. We develop an analytical model predicting an endowment threshold for achieving gender equality and empirically estimate this equity threshold using data from over 427 institutions. Surprisingly, the fields of science and athletics have emerged as sources of gender-neutral base pay. Both male and female university presidents with STEM backgrounds command higher base salaries than those without such qualifications. Additionally, presidents of universities affiliated with Power 5 conferences consistently receive higher base salaries regardless of gender. Consistent with the theory of human capital accumulation, the duration of the university presidency incrementally raises base salaries for both genders but at a diminishing rate. Curiously, prior administrative leadership experience as a vice president, provost, dean, or department chair does not significantly influence base salaries for either gender. By providing empirical evidence and analytical models predicting an endowment threshold for achieving gender equality in base salaries, the study offers valuable insights for policymakers, university administrators, and other stakeholders. These findings hold crucial policy implications, informing strategies to promote gender equality in executive compensation within higher education institutions.

Keywords: higher education, endowments, base salaries, university presidents

Procedia PDF Downloads 57

Authors: Elif Cakir, Görkem Özülkü, Hatice Bekiroğlu, Muhammet Arici, Osman Sağdic

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It is important to be able to formulate cakes with a wide consumption mass with gluten-free and high nutritional value ingredients to increase the consumption possibilities of people with limited nutrition opportunities. Although people do not prefer Prunus spinosa (PS)because of its sour taste and its use in the food industry is limited on a local scale, the potential of using PS, which is a naturally rich source of many micronutrients and bioactive compounds, in glutenfree cake production has been investigated. In this study, the potential of using PS, a natural wild fruit, in the production of functional gluten-free cakes was investigated. It was aimed to evaluate the effects of freeze-dried and powdered PS-enriched rice flour cakes on tech functionality, nutrition and eating quality. In terms of physicochemical properties, PS raises increased the ash, protein, and moisture values of the cakes. PS with high phenolic content, phenolic component content, and radical reducing power made by ABTS, FRAP, and DPPH techniques were higher in all samples than control, and the highest 4% PS was determined in cakes. In terms of the glycemic index (GI), which is an important feature of diet products, it was determined that the GI in cakes decreased by 86.30±1.04.75.05±1.16 and 69.38±1.21, respectively, with the increase in PS ratio. Except for the 1%, PS added sample, the increase in PS caused a decrease in specific volume, % porosity and increase in hardness, including 4 days of storage. PS increase decreased the L* and b* values and increased a* value and redness of the cake. Sensory liking of the cake samples containing PS was scored significantly (p<0.05) higher of control.

Keywords: Prunus spinosa, gluten-free cake, antioxidant, phenolic, glycemic index

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Hatem Abou-Senna, Essam Radwan

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Transportation agencies and researchers in the past have estimated emissions using one average speed and volume on a long stretch of roadway. Other methods provided better accuracy utilizing annual average estimates. Travel demand models provided an intermediate level of detail through average daily volumes. Currently, higher accuracy can be established utilizing microscopic analyses by splitting the network links into sub-links and utilizing second-by-second trajectories to calculate emissions. The need to accurately quantify transportation-related emissions from vehicles is essential. This paper presents an examination of four different approaches to capture the environmental impacts of vehicular operations on a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 4 (I-4), an urban limited access highway in Orlando, Florida. First, (at the most basic level), emissions were estimated for the entire 10-mile section 'by hand' using one average traffic volume and average speed. Then, three advanced levels of detail were studied using VISSIM/MOVES to analyze smaller links: average speeds and volumes (AVG), second-by-second link drive schedules (LDS), and second-by-second operating mode distributions (OPMODE). This paper analyzes how the various approaches affect predicted emissions of CO, NOx, PM2.5, PM10, and CO2. The results demonstrate that obtaining precise and comprehensive operating mode distributions on a second-by-second basis provides more accurate emission estimates. Specifically, emission rates are highly sensitive to stop-and-go traffic and the associated driving cycles of acceleration, deceleration, and idling. Using the AVG or LDS approach may overestimate or underestimate emissions, respectively, compared to an operating mode distribution approach.

Keywords: limited access highways, MOVES, operating mode distribution (OPMODE), transportation emissions, vehicle specific power (VSP)

Procedia PDF Downloads 339

Authors: Amir Mirzaei

Abstract:

The powertrain system is one of the most basic and essential components in a machine. The occurrence of motion is practically impossible without the presence of this system. When power is generated by the engine, it is transmitted by the powertrain system to the wheels, which are the last parts of the system. Powertrain system has different components according to the type of use and design. When the force generated by the engine reaches to the wheels, the amount of frictional force between the tire and the ground determines the amount of traction and non-slip or the amount of slip. At various levels, such as icy, muddy, and snow-covered ground, the amount of friction coefficient between the tire and the ground decreases dramatically and considerably, which in turn increases the amount of force loss and the vehicle traction decreases drastically. This condition is caused by the phenomenon of slipping, which, in addition to the waste of energy produced, causes the premature wear of driving tires. It also causes the temperature of the transmission oil to rise too much, as a result, causes a reduction in the quality and become dirty to oil and also reduces the useful life of the clutches disk and plates inside the transmission. this issue is much more important in road construction and mining machinery than passenger vehicles and is always one of the most important and significant issues in the design discussion, in order to overcome. One of these methods is the automatic spin regulator system which is abbreviated as ASR. The importance of this method and its structure and function have solved one of the biggest challenges of the powertrain system in the field of construction and mining machinery. That this research is examined.

Keywords: automatic spin regulator, ASR, methods of reducing slipping, methods of preventing the reduction of the useful life of clutches disk and plate, methods of preventing the premature dirtiness of transmission oil, method of preventing the reduction of the useful life of tires

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Jayakrishnan U.

Abstract:

A concept of adding two strokes to a four stroke Otto or Diesel engine cycle presented here for the waste heat recovery in a four stroke internal combustion engine. Four stroke Diesel cycle and Otto cycle engines have very low thermal efficiency due to high amount of energy loss in exhaust and also on the cooling of the engine. It is estimated about 35 percent of fuel energy is lost in exhaust of engine and 30 percent in cooling of engine. So by modifying a four-stroke Otto or Diesel engine by adding two-stroke heat recovery steam cycle is presented here. Water injection is used to get an additional power stroke by partial compression of the exhaust gases at the end of third stroke in a four stroke I.C.Engine. It is the conversion of a four-stroke cycle to a six-stroke cycle. By taking a four stroke petrol engine of known dimensions, an ideal thermodynamic model is used to analyse and calculate the events of exhaust gas compression and following two strokes of water injection. By changing the exhaust valve closing timing during exhaust stroke and analysing it on various points, an optimum amount of exhaust gas re-compression and amount of water injection can be found for maximizing efficiency and fuel economy. It is achieved by changing the exhaust valve timing and finding an optimum amount of exhaust re-compression, maximizing the net mean effective pressure of the steam expansion stroke (MEPsteam). Specific fuel consumption of the engine also decreases increasing the fuel economy. The valve closing timings for maximum MEPsteam is limited by either 1 bar or dew point temperature of expansion gas or moisture mixture to avoid moisture formation. By modifying the four-stroke Otto or Diesel cycle by adding two water injection stroke has the potential to significantly increase the engine efficiency and fuel economy.

Keywords: internal combustion engine, engine efficiency, six-stroke cycle, water injection, specific fuel consumption

Procedia PDF Downloads 304