Search results for: material factor design

Authors: Mohamed Boubekri

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Daylight in general and sunlight in particular are vital to life on earth, and it is not difficult to believe that their absence fosters conditions that promote disease. Through photosynthesis and other processes, sunlight provides photochemical ingredients necessary for our lives. There are fundamental biological, hormonal, and physiological functions coordinated by cycles that are crucial to life for cells, plants, animals, and humans. Many plants and animals, including humans, develop abnormal behaviors when sunlight is absent because their diurnal cycle is disturbed. Building​ codes disregard this aspect of daylighting when promulgating windows for buildings. This paper discusses the health aspects of daylighting design.

Keywords: daylighting, health, sunlight, sleep, disorders, circadian rythm, cancer

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Authors: Refal Hussain, Saifuddin M. Nomanbhay

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Glycerol is a valuable raw material for the production of industrially useful metabolites. Among many promising applications for the use of glycerol is its bioconversion to high value-added compounds, such as bioethanol through microbial fermentation. Bioethanol is an important industrial chemical with emerging potential as a biofuel to replace vanishing fossil fuels. The yield of liquid fuel in this process was greatly influenced by various parameters viz, temperature, pH, glycerol concentration, organic concentration, and agitation speed were considered. The present study was undertaken to investigate optimum parameters for bioethanol production from raw glycerol by immobilized mutant Escherichia coli (E.coli) (ATCC11505) strain on chitosan cross linked glutaraldehyde optimized by Taguchi statistical method in shake flasks. The initial parameters were set each at four levels and the orthogonal array layout of L16 (45) conducted. The important controlling parameters for optimized the operational fermentation was temperature 38 °C, medium pH 6.5, initial glycerol concentration (250 g/l), and organic source concentration (5 g/l). Fermentation with optimized parameters was carried out in a custom fabricated shake flask. The predicted value of bioethanol production under optimized conditions was (118.13 g/l). Immobilized cells are mainly used for economic benefits of continuous production or repeated use in continuous as well as in batch mode.

Keywords: bioethanol, Escherichia coli, immobilization, optimization

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Authors: Seyyed Kavous Abbasi

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Technical and professional branch is a subcategory of high school educational system. It deals with the programs which have been designed for the promotion of applied science and necessary skill and growth of potential talents in students. The purpose of performance of this branch is preparing of preponderance of in police in different section of industries and service. The aim of this research is the survey of group relation family, economic, educational and individual factors and the student's tendency toward technical professional courses. The method of the study is descriptive survey. 195 subjects were chosen randomly from all the male and female students of technical and professional school in Izeh. Instrument for this research was research-made questionnaire consisting of 22 questions on the base of likers spectrum. The reliability of this questionnaire has been estimated 0.8. Analyses of research data has been performed in two levels of descriptive and inferential statistics. Analyses of data has shown that the family factors with average of 3.12, individual factors 3.95, economic factors 3.92 and educational factors 3.57 more than middle level have more effects , in comparison with the factor of group relation with average of 2.79 less than average level in tendency the technical and professional course . Comparison of effective factors in tendency to technical and professional course has shown that individual factors had the most effects and the group relation factors had the least effects. Comparison between male and female subject's ideas showed that there is a different between their ideas about economics and family factors.

Keywords: high school, relation family, individual factors, analysis interest

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Authors: Tawatchai Apidechkul

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This operational research was conducted and divided into two phases: the first phase aimed to determine the risk behaviors used a cross-sectional study design, following by the community participatory research design to develop the HIV/AIDS preventive model among the Akha youths. The instruments were composed of completed questionnaires and assessment forms that were tested for validity and reliability before use. Study setting was Jor Pa Ka and Saen Suk Akha villages, Mae Chan District, Chiang Rai, Thailand. Study sample were the Akha youths lived in the villages. Means and chi-square test were used for the statistical testing. Results: Akha youths in the population mobilization villages live in agricultural families with low income and circumstance of narcotic drugs. The average age was 16 (50.00%), 51.52% Christian, 48.80% completed secondary school, 43.94% had annual family income of 30,000-40,000 baht. Among males, 54.54% drank, 39.39% smoked, 7.57% used amphetamine, first sexual intercourse reported at 14 years old, 50.00% had 2-5 partners, 62.50% had unprotected sex (no-condom). Reasons of unprotected sex included not being able to find condom, unawareness of need to use condoms, and dislike. 28.79% never been received STI related information, 6.06% had STI. Among females, 15.15% drank, 28.79% had sexual intercourse and had first sexual intercourse less than 15 year old. 40.00% unprotected sex (no-condom), 10.61% never been received STI related information, and 4.54% had STI. The HIV/AIDS preventive model contained two components. Peer groups among the youths were built around interests in sports. Improving knowledge would empower their capability and lead to choices that would result in HIV/AIDS prevention. The empowering model consisted of 4 courses: a. human reproductive system and its hygiene, b. risk-avoid skills, family planning, and counseling techniques, c. HIV/AIDS and other STIs, d. drugs and related laws and regulations. The results of the activities found that youths had a greater of knowledge and attitude levels for HIV/AIDS prevention with statistical significance (χ2-τεστ= 12.87, p-value= 0.032 and χ2-τεστ= 9.31, p-value<0.001 respectively). A continuous and initiative youths capability development program is the appropriate process to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in youths, particularly in the population who have the specific of language and culture.

Keywords: AIV/AIDS, preventive program, effective, hill tribe

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Authors: M. Ezati Kooshki, A. Abbaszadeh Shahri

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A number of devices used to control seismic structures have been developed during the past decades. One of the effective ways to reduce seismic forces transmitted to the buildings is through the base isolation systems, but the use of these devices is currently limited to large and expensive buildings. This study was an attempt to introduce an effective and low cost way to protect of structures against grand motions by a semi base isolation system. In this new way, structures were not completely decoupled of bases and the natural frequency of structures was changed due to earthquake by changing the horizontal stiffness; therefore, ground excitation energy was dissipated before entering the structures. For analyzing the dynamic behavior, the new method used finite element software (ABAQUS 6-10-1). This investigation introduced a new package of semi base isolation devices with a new material constitutive, but common in automobile industries, seeking to evaluate the effects of additional new devices on the seismic response when compared with structures without additional devises for different ground motions. The proposed semi base isolation devices were applied to a one story frame and the time history analysis was conducted on the record of Kobe earthquake (1995). The results showed that the efficiency reduced the floor acceleration and displacement, as well as velocity.

Keywords: semi base isolation system, finite element, natural frequency, horizontal stiffness

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Authors: N. K. A. M. Galvão, A. Godoy Jr., A. L. J. Pereira, G. V. Martins, R. S. Pessoa, H. S. Maciel, M. A. Fraga

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Silicon carbide (SiC) is a wide band-gap semiconductor material with very attractive properties, such as high breakdown voltage, chemical inertness, and high thermal and electrical stability, which makes it a promising candidate for several applications, including microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and electronic devices. In MEMS manufacturing, the etching process is an important step. It has been proved that wet etching of SiC is not feasible due to its high bond strength and high chemical inertness. In view of this difficulty, the plasma etching technique has been applied with paramount success. However, in most of these studies, only the determination of the etching rate and/or morphological characterization of SiC, as well as the analysis of the reactive ions present in the plasma, are lowly explored. There is a lack of results in the literature on the chemical and structural properties of SiC after the etching process [4]. In this work, we investigated the etching process of sputtered amorphous SiC thin films on Si substrates in a reactive ion etching (RIE) system using sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas under different RF power. The results of the chemical and structural analyses of the etched films revealed that, for all conditions, a SiC crystallization occurred, in addition to fluoride contamination. In conclusion, we observed that SiC crystallization is a side effect promoted by structural, morphological and chemical changes caused by RIE SF6 etching process.

Keywords: plasma etching, plasma deposition, Silicon Carbide, microelectromechanical systems

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Authors: Ajin Frank J., Shridevi Jeevan Kamble

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The primary objective of this research paper is to identify significant patterns and insights in road accident data in India spanning from 2016 to 2021. The study reveals that the frequency of accidents, injuries, and fatalities varies depending on numerous factors such as the type of vehicle, time of accidents, age of the vehicle, age and gender of the driver, among others. Notably, the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown measures have significantly impacted these figures. One of the key findings of the analysis is the rise in the number of accidents and deaths involving two-wheeler vehicles, particularly among younger individuals, in major states across India. This trend is of concern, and there is a need for increased awareness and precautions to prevent these types of accidents. Additionally, with the imminent rise of electric vehicles in the coming years, ensuring their safety on the road is a critical matter. Another significant factor contributing to road accidents is the age of vehicles. As vehicles age, their handling becomes more challenging compared to new ones, increasing the risk of accidents. Thus, it is imperative for the government to impose stringent regulations and laws to reduce these accident-causing factors and raise awareness among individuals about taking necessary precautions to avoid accidents. This study highlights the importance of understanding the underlying patterns and factors contributing to road accidents in India. Through this knowledge, policymakers and stakeholders can develop effective strategies to address these challenges and promote road safety, ultimately reducing the number of accidents, injuries, and fatalities on Indian roads.

Keywords: road accidents, India, road safety, accident deaths

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Authors: Ana Jurkeviciute, Larisa Grigorieva, Ksenia Moskvinа

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Oil shale alkylresorcinols are formed as a by-product in oil shale processing. They are unique raw material for chemical industry. Polycondensation resins obtaining is one of the worthwhile directions of oil shale alkylresorcinols use. These resins are widely applied in many branches of industry such as wood-working, metallurgic, tire, rubber products, construction etc. Possibility of resins obtaining using overall alkylresorcinols will allow to cheapen finished products on their base and to widen the range of resins offered on the market. Synthesis of polycondensation resins on the basis of alkylresorcinols was conducted by several methods in the process of investigations. In the formulations a part of resorcinol was replaced by fractions of oil shale alkylresorcinols containing different amount of 5-methylresorcinol (40-80 mass %). Some resins were modified by aromatic alkene at the stage of synthesis. Thermal stability and degradation behavior of resins were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) method both in an inert nitrogen environment and in an oxidative environment of air. TGA integral curves were obtained and processed in dynamic mode for interval of temperatures from 25 to 830 °C. Rate of temperature rise was 5°C/min, gas flow rate - 50 ml/min. Resins power for carbonization was evaluated by carbon residue. Physical-chemical parameters of the resins were determined. Content of resorcinol and 5-methylresorcinol not reacted in the process of synthesis were determined by gas chromatography method.

Keywords: resorcinol, oil shale alkylresorcinols, aromatic alkene, polycondensation resins, modified resins

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Authors: Jiraporn Prommaha

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The purpose of this research is to study the development of Thailand Brand Identity and the perception of its image in order to find any guidelines for the identity development and the image perception of Thailand Brand in Health and Wellness Tourism. The paper is conducted through mixed methods research, both the qualitative and quantitative researches. The qualitative focuses on the in-depth interview of executive administrations from public and private sectors involved scholars and experts in identity and image issue, main 11 people. The quantitative research was done by the questionnaires to collect data from foreign tourists 800; Chinese tourists 400 and UK tourists 400. The technique used for this was the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), this was to determine the relation between the structures of the variables by categorizing the variables into group by applying the Varimax rotation technique. This technique showed recognition the Thailand brand image related to the 2 countries, China and UK. The results found that guidelines for brand identity development and image perception of health and wellness tourism in Thailand; as following (1) Develop communication in order to understanding of the meaning of the word 'Health and beauty tourism' throughout the country, (2) Develop human resources as a national agenda, (3) Develop awareness rising in the conservation and preservation of natural resources of the country, (4) Develop the cooperation of all stakeholders in Health and Wellness Businesses, (5) Develop digital communication throughout the country and (6) Develop safety in Tourism.

Keywords: brand identity, image perception, nation branding, health and wellness tourism, mixed methods research

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Authors: Rahul Shrivastava, Manish Tripathi, Mohmmad Yasir, Shailesh Singh

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Life style changes and depletion in atmospheric ozone layer in recent decades lead to increase in skin cancer including both melanoma and nonmelanomas. Natural products which were obtained from different plant species have the potential of anti skin cancer activity. In regard of this, present study focuses the potential effect of Glycosmis pentaphylla against anti skin cancer activity. Different Phytochemical constituents which were present in the roots of Glycosmis pentaphylla were identified and were used as ligands after sketching of their structures with the help of ACD/Chemsketch. These ligands are screened for their anticancer potential with proteins which are involved in skin cancer effects with the help of pyrx software. After performing docking studies, results reveal that Noracronycine secondary metabolite of Glycosmis pentaphylla shows strong affinity of their binding energy with Ribosomal S6 Kinase 2 (2QR8) protein. Ribosomal S6 Kinase 2 (2QR8) has an important role in the cell proliferation and transformation mediated through by N-terminal kinase domain and was induced by the tumour promoters such as epidermal growth factor. It also plays a key role in the neoplastic transformation of human skin cells and in skin cancer growth. Noracronycine interact with THR-493 and MET-496 residue of Ribosomal S6 Kinase 2 protein with binding energy ΔG = -8.68 kcal/mole. Thus on the basis of this study we can say that Noracronycine which present in roots of Glycosmis pentaphylla can be used as lead compound against skin cancer.

Keywords: glycosmis pentaphylla, pyrx, ribosomal s6 kinase, skin cancer

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Authors: Zeynep Tanriverdi̇

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Sustainable architecture is a design approach that provides healthy, comfortable, safe, clean space production as well as utilizes minimum resources for efficient and economical use of natural resources and energy. Traditional houses located in rural areas are sustainable structures built at the design and implementation stage in accordance with the climatic environmental data of the region and also effectively using natural energy resources. The fact that these structures are located in an earthquake geography like Türkiye brings their earthquake resistance to the agenda. Since the construction of these structures, which contain the architectural and technological cultural knowledge of the past, is shaped according to the characteristics of the regions where they are located, their resistance to earthquakes also differs. Analyses in rural areas after the earthquake show that there are light-damaged structures that can survive, severely damaged structures, and completely destroyed structures. In this regard, experts can implement repair, consolidation, and reconstruction applications, respectively. While simple repair interventions are carried out in accordance with the original data in traditional houses that have shown great resistance to earthquakes, reinforcement work blended with new technologies can be applied in damaged structures. In reconstruction work, a wide variety of applications can be seen with the possibilities of modern technologies. In rural areas experiencing earthquakes around the world, there are experimental new housing applications that are renewable, environmentally friendly, and sustainable with modern construction techniques in the light of scientific data. With these new residences, it is aimed to create earthquake-resistant, economical, healthy, and pain-relieving therapy spaces for people whose daily lives have been interrupted by disasters. In this study, the preservation of high earthquake-prone rural areas will be discussed through the knowledge transfer of traditional architecture and also permanent housing practices using new sustainable technologies to improve the area. In this way, it will be possible to keep losses to a minimum with sustainable, reliable applications prepared for the worst aspects of the disaster situation and to establish a link between the knowledge of the past and the new technologies of the future.

Keywords: sustainability, conservation, traditional construction systems and materials, new technologies, earthquake resistance

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Authors: Amine Rezzoug, Said Abdi, Nadjet Bouhelal, Ismail Daoud

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This paper investigates the application of metallic coatings on high fiber volume fraction carbon/epoxy polymer matrix composites. For the grip of the metallic layer, a method of modifying the surface of the composite by introducing a mixture of copper and steel powder (filler powders) which can reduce the impact of thermal spray particles. The powder was introduced to the surface at the time of the forming. Arc spray was used to project the zinc coating layer. The substrate was grit blasted to avoid poor adherence. The porosity, microstructure, and morphology of layers are characterized by optical microscopy, SEM and image analysis. The samples were studied also in terms of hardness and erosion resistance. This investigation did not reveal any visible evidence damage to the substrates. The hardness of zinc layer was about 25.94 MPa and the porosity was around (∼6.70%). The erosion test showed that the zinc coating improves the resistance to erosion. Based on the results obtained, we can conclude that thermal spraying allows the production of protective coating on PMC. Zinc coating has been identified as a compatible material with the substrate. The filler powders layer protects the substrate from the impact of hot particles and allows avoiding the rupture of brittle carbon fibers.

Keywords: arc spray, coating, composite, erosion

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Authors: Mohsin Ali Baloch, Saira Baloch

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Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of serum lipid profiles in Urban and Rural Population of Sindh, to indicate the existing risk of cardiovascular diseases. Material and Methods: Study was conducted at Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, in the cities of Jamshoro and Hyderabad of Sindh. Blood samples from 300 healthy individuals were collected in fasting condition, out them 100 were from rural population, 100 were urban while 100 were used as control group. The biochemistry of these samples was obtained by the analysis of total Cholesterol, high density lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL), low-density lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL) and Triglycerides using kit method on Analyzer Clinical Chemistry. Results and Conclusion: Serum levels of total cholesterol, Triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol were significantly raised in the rural and urban males, whereas HDL cholesterol was decreased as compared to the Healthy controls that indicated significant risk of CVD. Urban population was with more risk of CVD and male gender in both groups was at more risk. The worst lipid profile in gender wise distribution was observed in male gender of urban population with highest Total Cholesterol/HDL Ratio while female gender also shown moderate risk of CVD with highest LDL/HDL Ratio.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases, lipid profiles, urban and rural population, LDL/HDL Ratio

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Authors: Ahmed Jarray, Vanessa Magnanimo, Stefan Luding

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Granular avalanches are ubiquitous in nature and occur in numerous industrial processes associated with particulate systems. When a small amount of liquid is added to a pile of particles, pendular bridges form and the particles are attracted by capillary forces, creating complex structure and flow behavior. We have performed an extensive series of experiments to investigate the effect of capillary force and particle size on wet granular avalanches, and we established a methodology that ensures the control of the granular flow in a rotating drum. The velocity of the free surface and the angle of repose of the particles in the rotating drum are determined using particle tracking method. The capillary force between the particles is significantly reduced by making the glass beads hydrophobic via chemical silanization. We show that the strength of the capillary forces between two adjacent particles can be deliberately manipulated through surface modification of the glass beads, thus, under the right conditions; we demonstrate that the avalanche dynamics can be controlled. The results show that the avalanche amplitude decreases when increasing the capillary force. We also find that liquid-induced cohesion increases the width of the gliding layer and the dynamic angle of repose, however, it decreases the velocity of the free surface.

Keywords: avalanche dynamics, capillary force, granular material, granular flow

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Authors: Abdelkader Hocine, Abdelhakim Maizia

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The exponential growth of reinforced fibers composite materials use has prompted researchers to step up their work on the prediction of their reliability. Owing to differences between the properties of the materials used for the composite, the manufacturing processes, the load combinations and types of environment, the prediction of the reliability of composite materials has become a primary task. Through failure criteria, TSAI-WU and the maximum stress, the reliability of multilayer tubular structures under pressure is the subject of this paper, where the failure probability of is estimated by the method of Monte Carlo.

Keywords: composite, design, monte carlo, tubular structure, reliability

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Authors: Paschal A. Ochang, Emmanuel C. Oji

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The Duffing’s Equation is a second order system that is very important because they are fundamental to the behaviour of higher order systems and they have applications in almost all fields of science and engineering. In the biological area, it is useful in plant stem dependence and natural frequency and model of the Brain Crash Analysis (BCA). In Engineering, it is useful in the study of Damping indoor construction and Traffic lights and to the meteorologist it is used in the prediction of weather conditions. However, most Problems in real life that occur are non-linear in nature and may not have analytical solutions except approximations or simulations, so trying to find an exact explicit solution may in general be complicated and sometimes impossible. Therefore we aim to find out if it is possible to obtain one analytical fixed point to the non-linear ordinary equation using fixed point analytical method. We started by exposing the scope of the Duffing’s equation and other related works on it. With a major focus on the fixed point and fixed point iterative scheme, we tried different iterative schemes on the Duffing’s Equation. We were able to identify that one can only see the fixed points to a Damped Duffing’s Equation and not to the Undamped Duffing’s Equation. This is because the cubic nonlinearity term is the determining factor to the Duffing’s Equation. We finally came to the results where we identified the stability of an equation that is damped, forced and second order in nature. Generally, in this research, we approximate the solution of Duffing’s Equation by converting it to a system of First and Second Order Ordinary Differential Equation and using Fixed Point Iterative approach. This approach shows that for different versions of Duffing’s Equations (damped), we find fixed points, therefore the order of computations and running time of applied software in all fields using the Duffing’s equation will be reduced.

Keywords: damping, Duffing's equation, fixed point analysis, second order differential, stability analysis

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Authors: Feng-Tsai Weng, Rick Wang, Yan-Cong Liao

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Passivation is a kind of surface treatment for material to reinforce the corrosion resistance specially the stainless alloy. Passive film, is to getting more potential compared to their status before passivation. An oxidation film can be formed on the surface of stainless steel, which has a strong corrosion resistance ability after passivation treatment. In this research, a new passivation technology is proposed for a special stainless alloy which contains a 12-14% Chromium. This method includes the A-A-A (alkaline-acid-alkaline) process basically, which was developed by Carpenter that can neutralize trapped acid. Besides, a corrosion resistant coating layer was obtained by immersing the parts in a water bath of mineral oil at high temperature. Salt spray test ASTM B368 was conducted to investigated performance of corrosion resistant of the passivated stainless steel alloy parts. Results show much better corrosion resistant that followed a coating process after A-A-A Passivation process, than only using A-A-A process. The passivation time is with more than 380 hours of salt spray test ASTM B368, which is equal to 3000 hours of Salt spray test ASTM B117. Proposed passivation method of stainless steel can be completed in about 3 hours.

Keywords: passivation, alkaline-acid-alkaline, stainless steel, salt spray test

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Authors: Suwattana Visetnan, Premruethai Supungul, Sureerat Tang, Ikuo Hirono, Anchalee Tassanakajon, Vichien Rimphanitchayakit

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In animals, infection by Gram-negative bacteria and certain viruses activates the Imd signaling pathway wherein the a NF-κB transcription factor, Relish, is a key regulatory protein for the synthesis of antimicrobial proteins. Infection by yellow head virus (YHV) activates the Imd pathway. To investigate the expression of genes involved in YHV infection and under the influence of PmRelish regulation, RNA interference and suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) are employed. The genes in forward library expressed in shrimp after YHV infection and under the activity of PmRelish were obtained by subtracting the cDNAs from YHV-infected and PmRelish-knockdown shrimp with cDNAs from YHV-infected shrimp. Opposite subtraction gave a reverse library whereby an alternative set of genes under YHV infection and no PmRelish expression was obtained. Sequencing of 252 and 99 cDNA clones from the respective forward and reverse libraries were done and annotated through blast search against the GenBank sequences. Genes involved in defense and homeostasis were abundant in both libraries, 31% and 23% in the forward and reverse libraries, respectively. They were predominantly antimicrobial proteins, proteinases and proteinase inhibitors. The expression of antimicrobial protein genes, ALFPm3, crustinPm1, penaeidin3 and penaeidin5 were tested under PmRelish silencing and Gram-negative bacterium V. harveyi infection. Together with the results previously reported, the expression of penaeidin5 and also penaeidin3 but not ALFPm3 and crustinPm1 were under the regulation of PmRelish in the Imd pathway.

Keywords: relish, yellow head virus, penaeus monodon, antimicrobial proteins

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Authors: Bo Zhang, Ellen S. Wilschut, Dehlia M. C. Willemsen, Marieke H. Martens

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With the rapid development of intelligent transportation systems, automated platooning of trucks is drawing increasing interest for its beneficial effects on safety, energy consumption and traffic flow efficiency. Nevertheless, one major challenge lies in the safe transition of control from the automated system back to the human drivers, especially when they have been inattentive after a long period of highly automated driving. In this study, we investigated driver take-over time after a system initiated request to leave the platooning system Virtual Tow Bar in a non-critical scenario. 22 professional truck drivers participated in the truck driving simulator experiment, and each was instructed to drive under three experimental conditions before the presentation of the take-over request (TOR): driver ready (drivers were instructed to monitor the road constantly), driver not-ready (drivers were provided with a tablet) and eye-shut. The results showed significantly longer take-over time in both driver not-ready and eye-shut conditions compared with the driver ready condition. Further analysis revealed hand movement time as the main factor causing long response time in the driver not-ready condition, while in the eye-shut condition, gaze reaction time also influenced the total take-over time largely. In addition to comparing the means, large individual differences can be found especially in two driver, not attentive conditions. The importance of a personalized driver readiness predictor for a safe transition is concluded.

Keywords: driving simulation, highly automated driving, take-over time, transition of control, truck platooning

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Authors: P. Christodoulou, M. Gerasimou, S. Mantzoukis, N. Varsamis, G. Kolliopoulou, N. Zotos

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Abstract— Purpose: The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) environment is conducive to the growth of microorganisms. A variety of microorganisms gain access to the intravascular area and are transported throughout the circulatory system. Therefore, examination of the catheters used in ICU patients is of paramount importance. Material and Method: The culture medium is a catheter tip, which is enriched with Tryptic soy broth (TSB). After one day of incubation, the broth is passaged in the following selective media: Blood, Mac conkey No. 2, chocolate, Mueller Hinton, Chapman, and Saboureaud agar. The above selective media is incubated for 2 days. After this period, if any number of microbial colonies is detected, gram staining is performed and then the microorganisms are identified by biochemical techniques in the automated Microscan (Siemens) system followed by a sensitivity test in the same system using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) technique. The sensitivity test is verified by a Kirby Bauer test. Results: In 2017, the Microbiology Laboratory received 84 catheters from the ICU. 42 were found positive. Of these, S. epidermidis was identified at 8, A. baumannii in 10, K. pneumoniae in 6, P. aeruginosa in 6, P. mirabilis in 3, S. simulans in 1, S. haemolyticus in 4, S. aureus in 3 and S. hominis in 1. Conclusions: The results show that the placement and maintenance of the catheters in ICU patients are relatively successful, despite the unfavorable environment of the unit.

Keywords: culture, intensive care unit, microorganisms, vascular catheters

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Authors: Amin Kamal Akhnoukh, Lois Zaki Kamel, Magued Mourad Barsoum

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The objective of this research is to mitigate and prevent the alkali silica reactivity (ASR) in highway construction projects. ASR is a deleterious reaction initiated when the silica content of the aggregate reacts with alkali hydroxides in cement in the presence of relatively high moisture content. The ASR results in the formation of an expansive white colored gel-like material which forms the destructive tensile stresses inside hardened concrete. In this research, different types of local aggregates available in the State of Arkansas were mixed and mortar bars were poured according to the ASTM specifications. Mortar bars expansion was measured versus time and aggregates with potential ASR problems were detected. Different types of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) were used in remixing mortar bars with highly reactive aggregates. Length changes for remixed bars proved that different types of SCMs can be successfully used in reducing the expansive effect of ASR. SCMs percentage by weight is highly dependent on the SCM type. The result of this study will help avoiding future losses due to ASR cracking in construction project and reduce the maintenance, repair, and replacement budgets required for highways network.

Keywords: alkali silica reaction, aggregates, misture, cracks, Mortar Bar Test, supplementary cementitious materials

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Authors: Desmond Wade, Alfredo Ormazabal

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Background: Ever since it commenced its registration process of pre-hospital practitioners in the year 2000 through the Irish Government Statute Instrument (SI 109 of 2000) process, the approach to education of its professionals has changed drastically. The progression from the traditional behaviouristic to the current constructivist approach has been based on experiences from other sectors and industries, nationally and internationally. Today, the delivery of a safe and efficient ambulance service heavily depends on its practitioners’ range of technical skills, academic knowledge, and overall competences. As these increase, so does the level of complexity of paramedics’ everyday practice. This has made it inevitable to consider the 'Human Factor' as a source of potential risk and made formative institutions like the National Ambulance Service College to include it in their curriculum. Methods: This paper used a mixed-method approach, where both, an online questionnaire and a set of semi-structured interviews were the source of primary data. An analysis of this data was carried out using qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Conclusions: The evidence presented leads to the conclusion that in the National Ambulance Service there is a considerable lack of education of Human Factors and the levels in understanding of how to manage Human Factors in practice vary across its spectrum. Paramedic Practitioners in Ireland seem to understand that the responsibility of patient care lies on the team, rather than on the most hierarchically senior practitioner present in the scene.

Keywords: human factors, ergonomics, stress, decision making, pre-hospital care, paramedic, education

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Authors: Sofia Figueroa, Efrain Bernal, Silvia Del Pilar Forero, Humberto Ramirez

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This work shows a detailed review of the scope of global research on the road infrastructure using materials from Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW), also called RCD. In the first phase of this research, a segment of road was designed using recycled materials such as Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) on the top, the natural coarse base including 30% of RAP and recycled concrete blocks. The second part of this segment was designed using regular materials for each layer of the pavement. Both structures were built next to each other in order to analyze and measure the material properties as well as performance and environmental factors in the pavement under real traffic and weather conditions. Different monitoring devices were installed among the structure, based on the literature revision, such as soil cells, linear potentiometer, moisture sensors, and strain gauges that help us to know the C&DW as a part of the pavement structure. This research includes not only the physical characterization but also the measured parameters in a field such as an asphalt mixture (RAP) strain (ετ), vertical strain (εᵥ) and moisture control in coarse layers (%w), and the applied loads and strain in the subgrade (εᵥ). The results will show us what is happening with these materials in order to obtain not only a sustainable solution but also to know its behavior and lifecycle.

Keywords: sustainable pavements, construction & demolition waste-C&DW, recycled rigid concrete, reclaimed asphalt pavement-rap

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Authors: Samia Moulebhar, Chahrazed Bendenia, Souhila Bendenia, Hanaa Merad-dib, Sarra Merabet, Sid Ahmed Khantar, Baghdad Hadri

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The photovoltaic solar field is today experiencing exponential advancement with the exploitation of new technological sectors of nanoparticles, namely the field of solar cells based on organic polymer materials. These cells are flexible, easy to process and low cost. This work includes a presentation of the conjugated polymer materials used in the design of photovoltaic technology devices while determining their properties and then the models used for the modeling of thin film photovoltaic cells heterojunction.

Keywords: photovoltaic, cells, nanoparticles, organic

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Authors: Shih-cheng Li, Ming-Yi Chung, Mei-Lien Chen

Abstract:

Background: Plasticizers, such as phthalates and adipates, were substances added to a material that provided flexibility and durability to plastics such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Phthalates were generally recognized as an endocrine disrupter due to their estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities. Phthalates had the capacity to bind to estrogen receptors, and hence they might prolong menstrual cycles and increase the proportion of premature menopause. Recently, adipates such as di-2-ethylhexyl adipate (DEHA) and di-isononyl adipate (DiNA) had replaced phthalates and were now used for food packaging. Methods: MCF-7 cell lines were treated with di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), di- 2-ethylhexyl adipate (DEHA), or di-isononyl adipate (DiNA) (10-6 , 10-5 , and 10-4 mol/l), using 17β-estradiol (10-8 mol/l) as a positive control. After incubations of 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours, the cells were tested using the alamarBlue assay. Results: The alamarBlue assay revealed that cell proliferation significantly increased after treatments of DEHP and DEHA for 24 hours at a concentration of 10-6, 10-5, and 10-4 mol/l. After more than 48 hours, cell proliferations in DEHP at 10-6, 10-5, and 10-4 mol/l significantly decreased compared to the control group. Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that adipates, as well as phthalates, were capable of inducing cell proliferation. We further used MDA-MB-231 cell lines to confirm that the proliferation effect was generated through binding to estrogen receptors.

Keywords: MCF-7, phthalate, adipate, endocrine disrupter

Procedia PDF Downloads 290

Authors: Dina Ahmed Selim, Eman Shawky Anwar, Rasha Mohamed Abu El-Khair

Abstract:

A rapid, simple and efficient method with minimal sample treatment was developed for authentication of Garcinia cambogia fruit peel powder, along with determining undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in its herbal slimming dietary supplements using near infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics. Five featured adulterants, including sibutramine, metformin, orlistat, ephedrine, and theophylline are selected as target compounds. The Near infrared spectral data matrix of authentic Garcinia cambogia fruit peel and specimens degraded by intentional contamination with the five selected APIs was subjected to hierarchical clustering analysis to investigate their bundling figure. SIMCA models were established to ensure the genuiness of Garcinia cambogia fruit peel which resulted in perfect classification of all tested specimens. Adulterated samples were utilized for construction of PLSR models based on different APIs contents at minute levels of fraud practices (LOQ < 0.2% w/w).The suggested approach can be applied to enhance and guarantee the safety and quality of Garcinia fruit peel powder as raw material and in dietary supplements.

Keywords: Garcinia cambogia, Quality control, NIR spectroscopy, Chemometrics

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Babak Forouraghi

Abstract:

A genetic circuit is a collection of interacting genes and proteins that enable individual cells to implement and perform vital biological functions such as cell division, growth, death, and signaling. In cell engineering, synthetic gene circuits are engineered networks of genes specifically designed to implement functionalities that are not evolved by nature. These engineered networks enable scientists to tackle complex problems such as engineering cells to produce therapeutics within the patient's body, altering T cells to target cancer-related antigens for treatment, improving antibody production using engineered cells, tissue engineering, and production of genetically modified plants and livestock. Construction of computational models to realize genetic circuits is an especially challenging task since it requires the discovery of flow of genetic information in complex biological systems. Building synthetic biological models is also a time-consuming process with relatively low prediction accuracy for highly complex genetic circuits. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the utility of a pre-trained bidirectional encoder transformer that can accurately predict gene expressions in genetic circuit designs. The main reason behind using transformers is their innate ability (attention mechanism) to take account of the semantic context present in long DNA chains that are heavily dependent on spatial representation of their constituent genes. Previous approaches to gene circuit design, such as CNN and RNN architectures, are unable to capture semantic dependencies in long contexts as required in most real-world applications of synthetic biology. For instance, RNN models (LSTM, GRU), although able to learn long-term dependencies, greatly suffer from vanishing gradient and low-efficiency problem when they sequentially process past states and compresses contextual information into a bottleneck with long input sequences. In other words, these architectures are not equipped with the necessary attention mechanisms to follow a long chain of genes with thousands of tokens. To address the above-mentioned limitations of previous approaches, a transformer model was built in this work as a variation to the existing DNA Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (DNABERT) model. It is shown that the proposed transformer is capable of capturing contextual information from long input sequences with attention mechanism. In a previous work on genetic circuit design, the traditional approaches to classification and regression, such as Random Forrest, Support Vector Machine, and Artificial Neural Networks, were able to achieve reasonably high R2 accuracy levels of 0.95 to 0.97. However, the transformer model utilized in this work with its attention-based mechanism, was able to achieve a perfect accuracy level of 100%. Further, it is demonstrated that the efficiency of the transformer-based gene expression classifier is not dependent on presence of large amounts of training examples, which may be difficult to compile in many real-world gene circuit designs.

Keywords: transformers, generative ai, gene expression design, classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: Patricia Calvo, Francisco M. Sánchez, María J. Rodríguez

Abstract:

Nowadays, food intake is becoming more irregular due to changes in family organization and lifestyle. Snacking is part of the day-to-day lives of people, however, most of the snacks have a high saturated fat, salt and refined sugar content; these dietary factors are believed to have negative health consequences. For this reason, there has been an increase in consumer demand for healthy, natural and convenient foods, so the development of a significant portion of new products focuses on improving the nutritional value of food snacks through modification its nutritional composition. In this paper, a new product made from vegetables has been designed. This new product would be an ideal food format to include ingredients with positive health benefits.

Keywords: healthy, pepper, dried, carotenes, polyphenols

Procedia PDF Downloads 375

Authors: Marcelle Muriel Domkam Tchunkam, Rolin Feudjio

Abstract:

This work investigates the ultrastructure, physicochemical and thermal properties evaluation of Palm Kernel Shells (PKS). PKS Tenera waste samples were obtained from a palm oil mill in Dizangué Sub-Division, Littoral region of Cameroon, while PKS Dura waste samples were collected from the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) of Mbongo. A sodium hydroxide solution was used to wash the shells. They were then rinsed by demineralised water and dried in an oven at 70 °C during 72 hours. They were then grounded and sieved to obtained powders from 0.04 mm to 0.45 mm in size. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Surface Electron Microscopy (SEM) were used to characterized powder samples. Chemical compounds and elemental constituents, as well as thermal performance were evaluated by Van Soest Method, TEM/EDXA and SEM/EDS techniques. Thermal characterization was also performed using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). Our results from microstructural analysis revealed that most of the PKS material is made of particles with irregular morphology, mainly amorphous phases of carbon/oxygen with small amounts of Ca, K, and Mg. The DSC data enabled the derivation of the materials’ thermal transition phases and the relevant characteristic temperatures and physical properties. Overall, our data show that PKS have nanopores and show potential in 3D printing and membrane filtration applications.

Keywords: DSC, EDXA, palm kernel shells, SEM, TEM

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Mohsen Solimani Babarsad, Payam Taheri

Abstract:

Numerical results of vertical slot fishways with and without cylinders study are presented. The simulated results and the measured data in the fishways are compared to validate the application of the model. This investigation is made using FLUENT V.6.3, a Computational Fluid Dynamics solver. Advantages of using these types of numerical tools are the possibility of avoiding the St.-Venant equations’ limitations, and turbulence can be modeled by means of different models such as the k-ε model. In general, the present study has demonstrated that the CFD model could be useful for analysis and design of vertical slot fishways with cylinders.

Keywords: slot Fish-way, CFD, k-ε model, St.-Venant equations’

Procedia PDF Downloads 356