Search results for: transition

Authors: K. N. Kiran, S. Anish

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It is well known that secondary flow loses account about one third of the total loss in any axial turbine. Modern gas turbine height is smaller and have longer chord length, which might lead to increase in secondary flow. In order to improve the efficiency of the turbine, it is important to understand the behavior of secondary flow and device mechanisms to curtail these losses. The objective of the present work is to understand the effect of a stream wise end-wall fence on the aerodynamics of a linear turbine cascade. The study is carried out computationally by using commercial software ANSYS CFX. The effect of end-wall on the flow field are calculated based on RANS simulation by using SST transition turbulence model. Durham cascade which is similar to high-pressure axial flow turbine for simulation is used. The aim of fencing in blade passage is to get the maximum benefit from flow deviation and destroying the passage vortex in terms of loss reduction. It is observed that, for the present analysis, fence in the blade passage helps reducing the strength of horseshoe vortex and is capable of restraining the flow along the blade passage. Fence in the blade passage helps in reducing the under turning by 7⁰ in comparison with base case. Fence on end-wall is effective in preventing the movement of pressure side leg of horseshoe vortex and helps in breaking the passage vortex. Computations are carried for different fence height whose curvature is different from the blade camber. The optimum fence geometry and location reduces the loss coefficient by 15.6% in comparison with base case.

Keywords: boundary layer fence, horseshoe vortex, linear cascade, passage vortex, secondary flow

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Authors: Signe Voltelen, Kristin Astrup Aas

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In the Scandinavian cities, there is a raised focus on the potential of using urban agriculture in city development, both as a tool for handling challenges provoked by climate change and to develop new, and stronger social communities. During the last couple of years, Copenhagen has experienced an increase in extreme weather resulting in dramatical floods with huge humanitarian and economic consequences. As an approach for climate adaption and mitigation the government has made a strategy for changing a significant amount of the cities hard surfaces into green and absorbing surfaces. Including urban farms and gardens. In close collaboration with the municipality, it has been possible to implement citizen-run gardens under the different concepts climate adaption and food literacy. Like other European cities, Copenhagen has a historical tradition of small-scale farming for food security inside the city, and in the outskirts of the urban area. Lately, this tradition has gotten new relevance, and new initiatives are popping up. In addition to providing local food, the urban farm becomes a semi-public, semi-private room that invites to community and integration across ethnicity, social background, and age. The direct interaction in the process of farming creates a connection between the urban and the rural and are educational for people growing up and living their whole life in the dense city. In the paper, three local example models of urban agriculture are presented, and the experiences of their potential as tools for developing social and environmental sustainable cities is examined.

Keywords: city development, climate mitigation, community building, urban agriculture, urban- rural transition, food security

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Authors: Hassan Bohra, Mingfeng Wang

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Conjugated porous polymers (CPPs) are amorphous, insoluble and highly robust organic semiconductors that have been largely synthesized by traditional transition-metal catalyzed reactions. The distinguishing feature of CPP materials is that they combine microporosity and high surface areas with extended conjugation, making them ideal for versatile applications such as separation, catalysis and energy storage. By applying a modular approach to synthesis, chemical and electronic properties of CPPs can be tailored for specific applications making these materials economical alternatives to inorganic semiconductors. Direct arylation - an environmentally benign alternative to traditional polymerization reactions – is one such reaction that extensively over the last decade for the synthesis of linear p-conjugated polymers. In this report, we present the synthesis and characterization of a new series of robust conjugated porous polymers synthesized by facile direct arylation polymerization of thiophene-flanked acceptor building blocks with multi-brominated aryls with different geometries. We observed that the porosities and morphologies of the polymers are determined by the chemical structure of the aryl bromide used. Moreover, good control of the optical bandgap in the range 2.53 - 1.3 eV could be obtained by using different building blocks. Structure-property relationships demonstrated in this study suggest that direct arylation polymerization is an attractive synthetic tool for the rational design of porous organic materials with tunable photo-physical properties for applications in photocatalysis, energy storage and conversion.

Keywords: direct arylation, conjugated porous polymers, triazine, photocatalysis

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Authors: Medagedara Kaushalya Sewwandi Supun Gunarathne

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This research explores the underlying motivations and consequences of individuals changing their sexual orientation as a response to sexual violence. The primary objective of the study is to unravel the psychological, emotional, and social factors that drive individuals, akin to Celie in Alice Walker’s ‘The Color Purple’, to contemplate and undergo changes in their sexual orientation following the trauma of sexual violence. Through an analytical and qualitative approach, the study employs in-depth textual and thematic analyses to scrutinize the complex interplay between sexual orientation and violence within the selected text. Through a close examination of Celie’s journey and experiences, the study reveals that her decision to switch sexual orientation arises from a desire for a more favorable and benevolent relationship driven by the absence of safety and refuge in her previous relationships. By establishing this bond between sexual orientation and violence, the research underscores how sexual violence can lead individuals to opt for a change in their sexual orientation. The findings highlight Celie’s transformation as a means to seek solace and security, thus concluding that sexual violence can prompt individuals to alter their sexual orientation. The ensuing discussion explores the implications of these findings, encompassing psychological, emotional, and social consequences, as well as the societal and cultural factors influencing the perception of sexual orientation. Additionally, it sheds light on the challenges and stigma faced by those who undergo such transformations. By comprehending the complex relationship between sexual violence and the decision to change sexual orientation, as exemplified by Celie in ‘The Color Purple’, a deeper understanding of the experiences of survivors who seek a safe haven through altering their sexual orientation can be attained.

Keywords: sexual violence, sexual orientation, refuge, transition

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Authors: Amir Hossein Allahdadi

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The mystical and intuitive look of Islamic artists inspired by the Koranic and mystical principles and also based on the geometry and mathematics has left unique works whose range extends across the borders of Islam. The relationship between Islamic art and music in the traditional art is of one of the concepts that can be traced back to the other arts by detection of its components. One of the links is the art of painting whose subtleties that can be applicable to both architecture and music. So, architecture and music links can be traced in other arts with a traditional foundation in order to evaluate the equivalents of traditional arts. What is the relationship between physical space of architecture and nonphysical space of music? What is musical architecture? What is the music that tends to architecture? These questions are very small samples of the questions that arise in this category, and these questions and concerns remain as long as the music is played and the architecture is made. Efforts have been made in this area, references compiled and plans drawn. As an example, we can refer to views of ‘Mansour Falamaki’ in the book of architecture and music, as well as the book transition from mud to heart by ‘Hesamodin Seraj’. The method is such that a certain melody is given to an architect and it is tried to design a specified architecture using a certain theme. This study is not to follow the architecture of a particular type of music and the formation of a volume based on a sound. In this opportunity, it is tried to briefly review the relationship between music and architecture in the Iranian original and traditional arts, using the basic definitions of arts. The musician plays, the architect designs, the actor forms his desired space and painter displays his multi-dimensional world in the form of two-dimensions. The expression language is different, but all of them can be gathered in a form, a form which has no clear boundaries. In fact, in any original art, the artist applies his art as a tool to express his insights which are nothing but achieving the world beyond this place and time.

Keywords: architecture, music, geometric proportions, mathematical proportions

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Authors: Faraidoon Rahmanzai, Mizuki Takigawa, Yu Bomura, Shigeyuki Date

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To obtain the high quality and essential workability of mortar, different types of superplasticizers are used. The superplasticizers are the chemical admixture used in the mix to improve the fluidity of mortar. Many factors influenced the superplasticizer to disperse the cement particle in the mortar. Nature and amount of replaced cement by slag, mixing procedure, delayed addition time, and heat stimulation technique of superplasticizer cause the varied effect on the fluidity of the cementitious material. In this experiment, the superplasticizers were heated for 1 hour under 60 °C in a thermostatic chamber. Furthermore, the effect of delayed addition time of heat stimulated superplasticizers (SP) was also analyzed. This method was applied to two types of polycarboxylic acid based ether SP (precast type superplasticizer (SP2) and ready-mix type superplasticizer (SP1)) in combination with a partial replacement of normal Portland cement with blast furnace slag (BFS) with 30% w/c ratio. On the other hands, the fluidity, air content, fresh density, and compressive strength for 7 and 28 days were studied. The results indicate that the addition time and heat stimulation technique improved the flow and air content, decreased the density, and slightly decreased the compressive strength of mortar. Moreover, the slag improved the flow of mortar by increasing the amount of slag, and the effect of external temperature of SP on the flow of mortar was decreased. In comparison, the flow of mortar was improved on 5-minute delay for both kinds of SP, but SP1 has improved the flow in all conditions. Most importantly, the transition points in both types of SP appear to be the same, at about 5±1 min.  In addition, the optimum addition time of SP to mortar should be in this period.

Keywords: combined effect, delay addition, heat stimulation, flow of mortar

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Authors: Nasim Abuali Galehdari, Venkat Mani, Ajit D. Kelkar

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Space Radiation has become one of the major factors in successful long duration space exploration. Exposure to space radiation not only can affect the health of astronauts but also can disrupt or damage materials and electronics. Hazards to materials include degradation of properties, such as, modulus, strength, or glass transition temperature. Electronics may experience single event effects, gate rupture, burnout of field effect transistors and noise. Presently aluminum is the major component in most of the space structures due to its lightweight and good structural properties. However, aluminum is ineffective at blocking space radiation. Therefore, most of the past research involved studying at polymers which contain large amounts of hydrogen. Again, these materials are not structural materials and would require large amounts of material to achieve the structural properties needed. One of the materials to alleviate this problem is polymeric composite materials, which has good structural properties and use polymers that contained large amounts of hydrogen. This paper presents steps involved in fabrication of multi-functional hybrid sandwich panels that can provide beneficial radiation shielding as well as structural strength. Multifunctional hybrid sandwich panels were manufactured using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding process and were subjected to radiation treatment. Study indicates that various nanoparticles including Boron Nano powder, Boron Carbide and Gadolinium nanoparticles can be successfully used to block the space radiation without sacrificing the structural integrity.

Keywords: multi-functional, polymer composites, radiation shielding, sandwich composites

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Authors: Tae-Heon Moon, Sun-Young Heo, Sang-Ho Lee, Youn-Taik Leem, Kwang-Woo Nam

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This study aims to investigate the possibility of crime prevention through CCTV by analyzing the appropriateness of the CCTV location, whether it is installed in the hotspot of crime-prone areas, and exploring the crime prevention effect and transition effect. The real crime and CCTV locations of case city were converted into the spatial data by using GIS. The data was analyzed by hotspot analysis and weighted displacement quotient(WDQ). As study methods, it analyzed existing relevant studies for identifying the trends of CCTV and crime studies based on big data from 1800 to 2014 and understanding the relation between CCTV and crime. Second, it investigated the current situation of nationwide CCTVs and analyzed the guidelines of CCTV installation and operation to draw attention to the problems and indicating points of domestic CCTV use. Third, it investigated the crime occurrence in case areas and the current situation of CCTV installation in the spatial aspects, and analyzed the appropriateness and effectiveness of CCTV installation to suggest a rational installation of CCTV and the strategic direction of crime prevention. The results demonstrate that there was no significant effect in the installation of CCTV on crime prevention. This indicates that CCTV should be installed and managed in a more scientific way reflecting local crime situations. In terms of CCTV, the methods of spatial analysis such as GIS, which can evaluate the installation effect, and the methods of economic analysis like cost-benefit analysis should be developed. In addition, these methods should be distributed to local governments across the nation for the appropriate installation of CCTV and operation. This study intended to find a design guideline of the optimum CCTV installation. In this regard, this study is meaningful in that it will contribute to the creation of a safe city.

Keywords: CCTV, safe city, crime prevention, spatial analysis

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Authors: Christopher Meyer, Laima Gerlitz

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European Ports are about to take an important step towards their future economic development. Existing legislatives such as the European Green Deal are changing the perspective on ports as individual logistic institutions and demand a more holistic view on ports in their characteristic as ecosystem involving several different actors in an interdisciplinary and multilevel approach. A special role is taken by small and medium-sized ports facing the same political restriction and future goals - such as reducing environmental impacts with 2030 and 2050 as targets - while suffering from low financing capacity, outdated infrastructure, low innovation measures and missing political support. In contrast, they are playing a key role in regional economic development and cross-border logistics as well as facilitator for the regional hinterland. Also, in comparison to their big counterparts, small and medium-sized ports are often located within or close to city areas. This does not only bear more challenges especially when it comes to the environmental performance, but can also carry out growth potentials by putting the city as a key actor into the port ecosystem. For city development, the Smart City concept is one of the key strategies currently applied mostly on demonstration level in selected cities. Hence, the basic idea behind is par to the Smart Port concept. Thus, this paper is analysing potential synergetic effects resulting from the application of Smart City and Smart Port concepts for small and medium-sized ports' ecosystems closely located to cities with focus on innovation application, greening measurements and economic performances as well as strategic positioning of the ports in Smart City initiatives.

Keywords: port-city ecosystems, regional development, sustainability transition, innovation policy

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Authors: Achim Kampker, Heiner Hans Heimes, Nemanja Sarovic, Jan-Philip Ganser, Saskia Wessel, Christoph Lienemann

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The electrification of the power train is a fundamental technical transition in the automotive industry and poses a major challenge for established car companies. Providing the traction energy, requiring an ever greater amount of space within the car and having a high share of value-add the lithium-ion battery is a central component of the electric power train and a completely new component to car manufacturers at the same time. Being relatively new to the automotive industry, the current design of the product architecture and production process (including manufacturing and assembling processes) of lithium-ion battery modules do not allow for an easy and cost-efficient disassembly or product design change. Yet these two requirements will increase in importance with rising sales volumes of electric cars in the near future and need to be addressed for the electric car to be competitive with conventional power train systems. This paper focuses on the current product architecture and production process of common automotive battery modules from prismatic lithium-ion battery cells to derive impacts for a remanufacturing concept. The information necessary for this purpose were gathered by literature research, patent inquiries, industry expert interviews and first-hand experiences of the authors. On the basis of these results, the underlying causes for the design´s lack of remanufacturability and flexibility with regards to product design changes are examined. In all, this paper gives an extensive and detailed overview of the state of the art of the product architecture and production process of lithium-ion battery modules from prismatic battery cells, identifies its deficiencies and derives improvement measures.

Keywords: battery module, prismatic lithium-ion battery cell, product architecture, production process, remanufacturing, flexibility

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Authors: Arieh Moussaieff, Bénédicte Elena-Herrmann, Yaakov Nahmias, Daniel Aberdam

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Differentiation of pluripotent stem cells is a slow process, marked by the gradual loss of pluripotency factors over days in culture. While the first few days of differentiation show minor changes in the cellular transcriptome, intracellular signaling pathways remain largely unknown. Recently, several groups demonstrated that the metabolism of pluripotent mouse and human cells is different from that of somatic cells, showing a marked increase in glycolysis previously identified in cancer as the Warburg effect. Here, we sought to identify the earliest metabolic changes induced at the first hours of differentiation. High-resolution NMR analysis identified 35 metabolites and a distinct, gradual transition in metabolism during early differentiation. Metabolic and transcriptional analyses showed the induction of glycolysis toward acetate and acetyl-coA in pluripotent cells, and an increase in cholesterol biosynthesis during early differentiation. Importantly, this metabolic pathway regulated differentiation of human and mouse embryonic stem cells. Acetate delayed differentiation preventing differentiation-induced histone de-acetylation in a dose-dependent manner. Glycolytic inhibitors upstream of acetate caused differentiation of pluripotent cells, while those downstream delayed differentiation. Our data suggests that a rapid loss of glycolysis in early differentiation down-regulates acetate and acetyl-coA production, causing a loss of histone acetylation and concomitant loss of pluripotency. It demonstrate that pluripotent stem cells utilize a novel metabolism pathway to maintain pluripotency through acetate/acetyl-coA and highlights the important role metabolism plays in pluripotency and early differentiation of stem cells.

Keywords: pluripotency, metabolomics, epigenetics, acetyl-coA

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Authors: Chitralekha Ngangbam, Aniruddha Mondal, Naorem Khelchand Singh

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Aluminium (Al) doped In2O3 (Indium Oxide) nanocolumn array was synthesized by glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique on Si (n-type) substrate for photodetector application. The sample was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The average diameter of the nanocolumn was calculated from the top view of the SEM image and found to be ∼80 nm. The length of the nanocolumn (~500 nm) was calculated from cross sectional SEM image and it shows that the nanocolumns are perpendicular to the substrate. The EDX analysis confirmed the presence of Al (Aluminium), In (Indium), O (Oxygen) elements in the samples. The XRD patterns of the Al-doped In2O3 nanocolumn show the presence of different phases of the Al doped In2O3 nanocolumn i.e. (222) and (622). Three different peaks were observed from the PL analysis of Al doped In2O3 nanocolumn at 365 nm, 415 nm and 435 nm respectively. The peak at PL emission at 365 nm can be attributed to the near band gap transition of In2O3 whereas the peaks at 415 nm and 435 nm can be attributed to the trap state emissions due to oxygen vacancies and oxygen–indium vacancy centre in Al doped In2O3 nanocolumn. The current-voltage (I–V) characteristics of the Al doped In2O3 nanocolumn based detector was measured through the Au Schottky contact. The devices were then examined under the halogen light (20 W) illumination for photocurrent measurement. The Al-doped In2O3 nanocolumn based optical detector showed high conductivity and low turn on voltage at 0.69 V under white light illumination. A maximum photoresponsivity of 82 A/W at 380 nm was observed for the device. The device shows a high internal gain of ~267 at UV region (380 nm) and ∼127 at visible region (760 nm). Also the rise time and fall time for the device at 650 nm is 0.15 and 0.16 sec respectively which makes it suitable for fast response detector.

Keywords: glancing angle deposition, nanocolumn, semiconductor, photodetector, indium oxide

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Authors: Guram Adamashvili

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Surface plasmon polariton is a surface optical wave which undergoes a strong enhancement and spatial confinement of its wave amplitude near an interface of two-dimensional layered structures. Phosphorene (single-layer black phosphorus) and other two-dimensional anisotropic phosphorene-like materials are recognized as promising materials for potential future applications of surface plasmon polariton. A theory of an optical breather of self-induced transparency for surface plasmon polariton propagating in monolayer or few-layer phosphorene is developed. A theory of an optical soliton of self-induced transparency for surface plasmon polariton propagating in monolayer or few-layer phosphorene have been investigated earlier Starting from the optical nonlinear wave equation for surface TM-modes interacting with a two-dimensional layer of atomic systems or semiconductor quantum dots and a phosphorene monolayer (or other two-dimensional anisotropic material), we have obtained the evolution equations for the electric field of the breather. In this case, one finds that the evolution of these pulses become described by the damped Bloch-Maxwell equations. For surface plasmon polariton fields, breathers are found to occur. Explicit relations of the dependence of breathers on the local media, phosphorene anisotropic conductivity, transition layer properties and transverse structures of the SPP, are obtained and will be given. It is shown that the phosphorene conductivity reduces exponentially the amplitude of the surface breather of SIT in the process of propagation. The direction of propagation corresponding to the maximum and minimum damping of the amplitude are assigned along the armchair and zigzag directions of black phosphorus nano-film, respectively. The most rapid damping of the intensity occurs when the polarization of breather is along the armchair direction.

Keywords: breathers, nonlinear waves, solitons, surface plasmon polaritons

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Authors: Sang Ho Lee, Tae Heon Moon, Youn Taik Leem, Kwang Woo Nam

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Knowledge and IT inputs to other industrial production have become more important as a key factor for the competitiveness of national and regional economies, such as knowledge economies in smart cities. Knowledge and IT industries lead the industrial innovation and technical (r)evolution through low cost, high efficiency in production, and by creating a new value chain and new production path chains, which is referred as knowledge and IT dynamics. This study aims to investigate the knowledge and IT dynamics in Korea, which are analyzed through the input-output model and structural path analysis. Twenty-eight industries were reclassified into seven categories; Agriculture and Mining, IT manufacture, Non-IT manufacture, Construction, IT-service, Knowledge service, Non-knowledge service to take close look at the knowledge and IT dynamics. Knowledge and IT dynamics were analyzed through the change of input output coefficient and multiplier indices in terms of technical innovation, as well as the changes of the structural paths of the knowledge and IT to other industries in terms of new production value creation from 1985 and 2010. The structural paths of knowledge and IT explain not only that IT foster the generation, circulation and use of knowledge through IT industries and IT-based service, but also that knowledge encourages IT use through creating, sharing and managing knowledge. As a result, this paper found the empirical investigation on the knowledge and IT dynamics of the Korean economy. Knowledge and IT has played an important role regarding the inter-industrial transactional input for production, as well as new industrial creation. The birth of the input-output production path has mostly originated from the knowledge and IT industries, while the death of the input-output production path took place in the traditional industries from 1985 and 2010. The Korean economy has been in transition to a knowledge economy in the Smart City.

Keywords: knowledge and IT industries, input-output model, structural path analysis, dynamics of knowledge and it, knowledge economy, knowledge city and smart city

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Authors: Vanessa Caroline De Barros Bonato, Bruna Lima Gomes, Luciano Freschi, Eduardo Purgatto

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The plant hormone ethylene is closely related to the metabolic changes that occur during fruit ripening, including volatile biosynthesis. Although knowledge about the biochemistry pathways that produce flavor compounds and the importance of ethylene to these processes are extensively covered, little is known about the regulation mechanisms. In addition, growing body of evidences indicates that auxin is also involved in controlling ripening. However, there is scarce information about the involvement of auxin in fruit volatile production. This study aimed to assess auxin-ethylene interactions and its influence on tomato fruit volatile profile. Fruits from tomato cultivar Micro-Tom were treated with IAA and ethylene, separately and in combination. The hormonal treatment was performed by injection (IAA) or gas exposure (ethylene) and the volatiles were extracted by Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) and analyzed by GC-MS. Ethylene levels and color were measured by gas chromatography and colorimetry, respectively. The results indicate that the treatment with IAA (even in the presence of high concentrations of exogenous ethylene), impacted the profile of volatile compounds derived from fatty acids, amino acids, carbohydrates and isoprenoids. Ethylene is a well-known regulator of the transition from green to red color and also is implicated in the biosynthesis of characteristic volatile compounds of tomato fruit. The effects observed suggest the existence of a crosstalk between IAA and ethylene in the aroma volatile formation in the fruit. A possible interference of IAA in the ethylene sensitivity in the fruit flesh is discussed. The data suggest that auxin plays an important role in the volatile synthesis in the tomato fruit and introduce a new level of complexity in the regulation of the fruit aroma formation during ripening.

Keywords: aroma compounds, fruit ripening, fruit quality, phytohormones

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Authors: Vinh Duy Cao, Shima Pilehvar, Anna M. Szczotok, Anna-Lena Kjøniksen

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The total energy consumption is dramatically increasing on over the world, especially for building energy consumption where a significant proportion of energy is used for heating and cooling purposes. One of the solutions to reduce the energy consumption for the building is to improve construction techniques and enhance material technology. Recently, microcapsulated phase change materials (MPCM) with high energy storage capacity within the phase transition temperature of the materials is a potential method to conserve and save energy. A new composite materials with high energy storage capacity by mixing MPCM into concrete for passive building technology is the promising candidate to reduce the energy consumption. One of the most untilized building materials for mixing with MPCM is Portland cement concrete. However, the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) due to producing cement which plays the important role in the global warming is the main drawback of PCC. Accordingly, an environmentally friendly building material, geopolymer, which is synthesized by the reaction between the industrial waste material (aluminosilicate) and a strong alkali activator, is a potential materials to mixing with MPCM. Especially, the effect of MPCM on the thermal and mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete (GPC) is very limited. In this study, high thermal energy storage capacity materials were fabricated by mixing MPCM into geopolymer concrete. This article would investigate the effect of MPCM concentration on thermal and mechanical properties of GPC. The target is to balance the effect of MPCM on improving the thermal performance and maintaining the compressive strength of the geopolymer concrete at an acceptable level for building application.

Keywords: microencapsulated phase change materials, geopolymer concrete, energy storage capacity, thermal performance

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Authors: Hanna Faron, Wojciech Marcinkowski, Daniel Prusak

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The aim of this article is to familiarize with the activity of AGH Racing scientific circle, pertaining to the international project -Formula Student, giving the opportunity to young engineers from all around the world to validate their talent and knowledge in the real world conditions, under the pressure of time, and the design requirements. Every year, the team begins the process of building a race car from the formation of human resources. In case of the public sector, to which public universities can be included, the scientific circles represent the structure uniting students with the common interests and level of determination. Due to the scientific nature of the project which simulates the market conditions, they have a chance to verify previously acquired knowledge in practice. High level of the innovation and competitiveness of participating in the project Formula Student teams, requires an intelligent organizational system, which is characterized by a high dynamics. It is connected with the necessity of separation of duties, setting priorities, selecting optimal solutions which is often a compromise between the available technology and a limited budget. Proper selection of the adequate guidelines in the design phase allows an efficient transition to the implementation stage, which is process-oriented implementation of the project. Four dynamic and three static competitions are the main verification and evaluation of year-round work and effort put into the process of building a race car. Acquired feedback flowing during the race is a very important part while monitoring the effectiveness of AGH Racing scientific circle, as well as the main criterion while determining long-term goals and all the necessary improvements in the team.

Keywords: SAE, formula student, race car, public sector, automotive industry

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Authors: Ohud Alharbi, Emily Baines

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The animation industry is one of the creative industries that have attracted recent historiographical attention. However, there has been very limited research on Saudi Arabian and wider Arabian animation industries, while there are a large number of studies that have covered this issue for North America, Europe and East Asia. The existing studies show that developed countries such as USA, Japan and the UK have reached the Maturity stage in their animation industry life-cycle. On the other hand, developing countries that are still in the Introduction phase of the industry life-cycle face challenges to improve their industry. Saudi Arabia is one of the countries whose animation industry is still in its infancy. Thus, the aim of this paper is to address the main barriers that hinder the evolution of the industry life-cycle for Saudi animation – challenges that are also relevant to many other early stage industries in developing countries. These barriers have been analysed using the early mobility barriers defined by Porter, to provide a conceptual structure for defining recommendations to enable the transition to a strong Growth phase industry. This study utilized qualitative methods to collect data, which involved in-depth interviews, document analysis and observations. It also undertook a comparative case study approach to investigate the animation industry life-cycle, with three selected case studies that have a more developed industry than Saudi animation. Case studies include: the United Kingdom, which represents a Mature animation industry; Egypt, which represents an established Growth stage industry; and the United Arab of Emirates, which is an early Growth stage industry. This study suggests adopting appropriate strategies that arise as findings from the comparative case studies, to overcome barriers and facilitate the growth of the Saudi animation industry.

Keywords: barriers, industry life-cycle, Saudi animation, industry

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Authors: Yuri A. Kalvachev, Totka D. Todorova

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Zeolite mordenite has been investigated as a transition metal support for the preparation of efficient catalysts in the oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The highly crystalline mordenite samples were treated with hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride to get hierarchical material with secondary porosity. The obtained supports by this method have a high active surface area, good diffusion properties and prevent the extraction of metal components during catalytic reactions. The active metal phases platinum and copper were loaded by impregnation on both mordenite materials (parent and acid treated counterparts). Monometalic Pt and Cu, and bimetallic Pt/Cu catalysts were obtained. The metal phases were fine dispersed as nanoparticles on the functional porous materials. The catalysts synthesized in this way were investigated in the reaction of complete oxidation of propane and benzene. Platinum, copper and platinum/copper were loaded and there catalytic activity was investigated and compared. All samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, nitrogen adsorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron measurements (XPS) and temperature programed reduction (TPR). The catalytic activity of the samples obtained is investigated in the reaction of complete oxidation of propane and benzene by using of Gas Chromatography (GC). The oxidation of three organic molecules was investigated—methane, propane and benzene. The activity of metal loaded mordenite catalysts for methane oxidation is almost the same for parent and treated mordenite as a support. For bigger molecules as propane and benzene, the activity of catalysts based on treated mordenite is higher than those based on parent zeolite.

Keywords: metal loaded catalysts, mordenite, VOCs oxidation, zeolites

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Authors: Lyne Chantal Boudreau, Claudine Auger, Arline Laforest

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As an English-speaking country, Canada faces challenges in French-language education. During both editions of a provincial congress on education planned and conducted under shared cultural leadership, three organizers created a Francophone space where, for the first time in the province of New Brunswick (the only officially bilingual province in Canada), a group of stakeholders from the school, post-secondary and community sectors have succeeded in contributing to reflections on specific topics by sharing winning practices to meet the challenges of learning in a minority Francophone environment. Shared cultural leadership is a hybrid between theories of leadership styles in minority communities and theories of shared leadership. Through shared cultural leadership, the goal is simply to guide leadership and to set up all minority leaderships in minority context through shared leadership. This leadership style requires leaders to transition from a hierarchical to a horizontal approach, that is, to an approach where each individual is at the same level. In this exploratory research, it has been demonstrated that shared leadership exercised under the T-learning model best fosters the mobilization of all partners in advancing in-depth knowledge in a particular field while simultaneously allowing learning of the elements related to the domain in question. This session will present how it is possible to mobilize the whole community through leaders who continually develop their knowledge and skills in their specific field but also in related fields. Leaders in this style of management associated to shared cultural leadership acquire the ability to consider solutions to problems from a holistic perspective and to develop a collective power derived from the leadership of each and everyone in a space where all are rallied to promote the ultimate advancement of society.

Keywords: education, minority context, shared leadership, t-leaning

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Authors: Olayinka Ariba, Abe Oudshoorn, Steve Rolfe, Carrie Anne Marshall, Deanna Befus, Jason Gilliland, Miranda Crockett, Susana Caxaj, Sarah McLean, Amy Van Berkum, Natasha Thuemler

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Background: Secure housing is a platform for health and well-being. Those who struggle with housing stability have complex life and health histories and often require some support services such as the provision of permanent supportive housing. Poor access to supportive resources creates an exacerbation of chronic homelessness, particularly affecting individuals who need immediate access to mental health and addiction supports. This paper presents the first phase of a three-part study examining how on-site support impacts housing stability for recently-re-housed persons. Method: This study utilized a community-based participatory research methodology. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with permanent supportive housing residents from a single-site dwelling. Interpretative description analysis was used to draw common themes and understand the experiences and challenges of housing support. Results: Three interconnected themes were identified: 1) Available and timely supports; 2) Affordability; and 3) Community, but with independence as desired. These interconnected components are helping residents transition from homelessness or long-term mental health inpatient care to live in the community. Despite some participant concerns about resident conflicts, staff availability, and affordability, this has been a welcome and successful move for most. Conclusion: Supportive housing is essential for successful tenancies as a platform for health and well-being among Canada’s most vulnerable and, from the perspective of persons recently re-housed, permanent supportive housing is a worthwhile investment.

Keywords: homelessness, supportive housing, rehoused, housing stability

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Authors: Albana Hasimi, Edlira Tako, Elvin Çomo, Partizan Malkaj, Blerina Papajani, Ledjan Malaj, Mirela Ndrita

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Many endeavors have been exerted during the last years for developing new artificial polymeric membranes which fulfill the demanded conditions for biomedical uses. One of the most tested polymers is Poly(vinyl alcohol) [PVA]. Ours groups, is based on the possibility of using PVA for personal protective equipment against covid. In them, we explore the possibility of modifying the properties of the polymer by adding Montmorillonite [MMT]. Heat-treatment above the glass transition temperature are used to improve mechanical properties mainly by increasing the crystallinity of the polymer, which acts as a physical network. Temperature-Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry (TMDSC) measurements indicated that the presence of 0.5% MMT in PVA causes a higher Tg value and shaped peak of crystallinity. Decomposition is observed at two of the melting points of the crystals during heating 25-240oC and overlap of the recrystallization ridges during cooling 240-25oC. This is indicative of the presence of two types (quality or structure ) of polymer crystals. On the other hand, some indication of improvement of the quality of the crystals by heat-treatment is given by the distinct non-reversing contribution to melting. Data on sorption and transport of water in polyvinyl alcohol films: PVA pure and PVA/MMT matrix, modified by thermal treatment, are presented. The thermal treatment has aftereffect the films become more rigid, and because of this, the water uptake is significantly lower in membranes. That is indicates by analysis of the resulting water uptake kinetics. The presence 0.5% w/w of MMT has no significant impact on the properties of PVA membranes. Water uptake kinetics deviates from Fick’s law due to slow relaxation of glassy polymer matrix for all membranes category.

Keywords: crystallinity, montmorillonite, nanocomposite, poly (vinyl alcohol)

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Authors: Carmen E. Pérez-Donado, Fernando Pérez-Muñoz, Rosa N. Chávez-Jáuregui

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Plantain contains starch as the majority component and represents a relevant source of this carbohydrate. Starches from different cultivars of plantain and bananas have been studied for industrialization purposes due to their morphological and thermal characteristics and their influence on food products. This study aimed to characterize the physical, chemical, and thermal properties of starch from three different plantains cultivated in Puerto Rico: Maricongo, Maiden, and FHIA 20. Amylose and amylopectin content, color, granular size, morphology, and thermal properties were determined. According to the content of amylose in starches, FHIA 20 starch presented minor content of the three cultivars studied. In terms of color, Maiden and FHIA 20 starch exhibited a significantly higher whiteness index comparing their values with Maricongo starch. The starches of the three cultivars had an elongated-ovoid morphology, with a smooth surface and a non-porous appearance. Regardless of similarities in their morphology, FHIA 20 showed a lower aspect ratio, which meant that their granules tended to be more elongated granules. Comparing the thermal properties of starches, it was found that the initial gelatinization temperature of the starch of the cultivars was similar. However, the final gelatinization temperatures of the starches belonging to the cultivars Maricongo (79.69°C) and Maiden (77.40°C) were similar, whereas FHIA 20 starch presented a noticeably higher final gelatinization temperature (87.95°C) and transition enthalpy. Despite source similarities, starches from plantain cultivars showed differences in their composition and thermal behavior. Therefore, this represents an opportunity to diversify their use in food-related applications.

Keywords: aspect ratio, morphology, Musa spp., starch, thermal properties

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Authors: Franklin N. Mabe, Samuel A. Donkoh, Seidu Al-Hassan

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In order to increase and bridge the differences in rice yield, many farmers have resorted to adopting Farmer Innovation Systems (FISs) and Improved Agricultural Technologies (IATs). This study econometrically analysed the impacts of adoption of FISs and IATs on rice yield using multinomial endogenous switching regression (MESR). Nine-hundred and seven (907) rice farmers from Guinea Savannah Zone (GSZ), Forest Savannah Transition Zone (FSTZ) and Coastal Savannah Zone (CSZ) were used for the study. The study used both primary and secondary data. FBO advice, rice farming experience and distance from farming communities to input markets increase farmers’ adoption of only FISs. Factors that increase farmers’ probability of adopting only IATs are access to extension advice, credit, improved seeds and contract farming. Farmers located in CSZ have higher probability of adopting only IATs than their counterparts living in other agro-ecological zones. Age and access to input subsidy increase the probability of jointly adopting FISs and IATs. FISs and IATs have heterogeneous impact on rice yield with adoption of only IATs having the highest impact followed by joint adoption of FISs and IATs. It is important for stakeholders in rice subsector to champion the provision of improved rice seeds, the intensification of agricultural extension services and contract farming concept. Researchers should endeavour to researched into FISs.

Keywords: farmer innovation systems, improved agricultural technologies, multinomial endogenous switching regression, treatment effect

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Authors: Mara Gabrielli, Jordi Pamies Rovira

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From a theoretical and interdisciplinary approach to visual ethnography and visual anthropology, this small scale, in-depth study explores the potential of photography as a participatory ethnographic method for a deep-understanding of the socio-educational integration of young refugees and asylum-seekers in the host society as regards their daily experiences, their needs, desires, expectations, and future goals. Qualitative data is collected by the author by observing 12 young participants in the age group 12-24 years per week for 12 months. The data consists of field notes, participatory observation, in-depth interviews with professionals, and the use of visual participatory ethnographic methods. Therefore, the young participants build their stories through the implementation of two participatory photographic methods - the 'photo-diary' and the 'photo-elicitation' - that permit them to analyse and narrate their social and educational experiences from their perspectives, thus collaborating in the construction of knowledge during the different stages of the research. Preliminary findings show the high resilience and social adaptability of young refugees and asylum-seekers to achieve their goals and overcome structural and socio-cultural barriers. However, the uncertainty of their administrative situation during the asylum submission and the lack of specific resources might impact negatively on their educational pathways and the transition to the labour market. Finally, this study also highlights the benefits of participatory photographic methods in ethnographic research, which impacts positively the well-being of these young people, helps them to develop critical thinking, and it also allows them to access information more respectfully when narrating painful experiences.

Keywords: photo-diary, photo-elicitation, resilience, strategies, visual methodologies, young refugees and asylum seekers

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Authors: Krishna Gopal Lageju

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On 25th April 2015, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Gorkha district of Nepal, which resulted over 8,790 deaths and 22,300 injuries. In addition, almost one-third of the country’s healthcare service has been disrupted. A total of 1,211 health facilities became non-operational, due to 446 completely and other 765 partially damaged. Nearly 84 percent (375 out of 446) of the completely damaged health facilities are in the 14 most affected districts. As a result, the ability of health facilities to respond to health care needs has been harshly affected. In addition, 18 health workers lost their lives and 75 are injured, which added further challenges in the delivery of health services. Thus, to address the immediate health needs in the most devastated areas, Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) in coordination with IFRC and Nepal Government, 8 Field hospitals established with surgical capacities, where around 492 international Emergency Response Units (ERUs) Members are mobilized for 3 months period. More than 54,000 patients have been treated in the Red Cross operated field hospitals. Trauma cases accounted 9,180 (17%) of the total patients off which 1,285 (14%) are major surgical cases. Most of the case loads 44,830 (83%) are outpatients and 9,180 patients got inpatients service. Similarly, 112 births have been performed in the field hospitals. Inpatient mortality rate remained 1.5% (21 deaths), many of them are presented with critical injuries or illnesses. No outbreak has been seen during the ERU operation. Deployment of ERUs together with national health workers are very important to address the immediate health needs of the affected communities. This will ease for transition and handover of emergency service and equipments to local provider. Likewise, capacity building of local staff as on the job training on various clinical teachings would be another important issue to look at before phasing out such services.

Keywords: trauma management, critical injuries, earthquake, health

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Authors: Swati Sundararajan, Asit B. Samui, Prashant S. Kulkarni

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Polymeric ionic liquids combine the properties of ionic liquids and polymers into a single material which has gained massive interest in the recent years. These ionic liquids offer several advantages such as high phase change enthalpy, wide temperature range, chemical and thermal stability, non-volatility and the ability to make them task-specific. Separation of CO2 is an area of critical importance due to the concerns over greenhouse gasses leading to global warming. Thermal energy storage materials, also known as phase change materials absorb latent heat during fusion process and release the absorbed energy to the surrounding environment during crystallization. These materials retain this property over a number of cycles and therefore, are useful for bridging the gap between energy requirement and use. In an effort to develop materials, which will help in minimizing the growing energy demand and environmental concerns, a series of dicationic poly(ethylene glycol) based polymeric ionic liquids were synthesized. One part of an acrylate of poly(ethylene glycol) was reacted with imidazolium quarternizing agent and the second part was reacted with triazolium quarternizing agent. These two different monomers were then copolymerized to prepare dicationic polymeric ionic liquid. These materials were characterized for solid-liquid phase transition and the enthalpy by using differential scanning calorimetry. The CO2 capture studies were performed on a fabricated setup with varying pressure range from 1-20 atm. The findings regarding the prepared materials, having potential dual applications in the fields of thermal energy storage and CO2 capture, will be discussed in the presentation.

Keywords: CO2 capture, phase change materials, polyethylene glycol, polymeric ionic liquids, thermal energy storage

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Authors: Domenico M. Mongelli, Michele De Carli, Laura Carnieletto, Filippo Busato

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Europe's dependence on imported fossil fuels has been particularly highlighted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Limiting this dependency with a massive replacement of fossil fuel boilers with heat pumps for building heating is the goal of this work. Therefore, with the aim of diversifying energy sources and evaluating the potential use of heat pump technologies for residential buildings with a view to decarbonization, the quantitative reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels was investigated in all regions of Europe through the use of heat pumps. First, a general overview of energy consumption in buildings in Europe has been assessed. The consumption of buildings has been addressed to the different uses (heating, cooling, DHW, etc.) as well as the different sources (natural gas, oil, biomass, etc.). The analysis has been done in order to provide a baseline at the European level on the current consumptions and future consumptions, with a particular interest in the future increase of cooling. A database was therefore created on the distribution of residential energy consumption linked to air conditioning among the various energy carriers (electricity, waste heat, gas, solid fossil fuels, liquid fossil fuels, and renewable sources) for each region in Europe. Subsequently, the energy profiles of various European cities representative of the different climates are analyzed in order to evaluate, in each European climatic region, which energy coverage can be provided by heat pumps in replacement of natural gas and solid and liquid fossil fuels for air conditioning of the buildings, also carrying out the environmental and economic assessments for this energy transition operation. This work aims to make an innovative contribution to the evaluation of the potential for introducing heat pump technology for decarbonization in the air conditioning of buildings in all climates of the different European regions.

Keywords: heat pumps, heating, decarbonization, energy policies

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Authors: Özlem Ateş Sönmezoğlu, Begüm Terzi, Ahmet Yıldırım, Leyla Gündüz

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Durum wheat quality is defined as its suitability for pasta processing, that is pasta making quality. Another factor that determines the quality of durum wheat is the nutritional value of wheat or its final products. Wheat is a basic source of calories, proteins and minerals for humans in many countries of the world. For this reason, improvement of wheat nutritional value is of great importance. In recent years, deficiencies in protein and micronutrients, particularly in iron and zinc, have seriously increased. Therefore, basic foods such as wheat must be improved for micronutrient content. The effects of some major genes for grain quality established. Gpc-B1 locus is one of the genes increased protein and micronutrients content, and used in improvement studies of durum wheat nutritional value. The aim of this study was to increase the protein content and the micronutrient (Fe, Zn ve Mn) contents of an advanced durum wheat line (TMB 1) that was previously improved for its protein quality. For this purpose, TMB1 advanced durum wheat line were used as the recurrent parent and also, UC1113-Gpc-B1 line containing the Gpc-B1 gene was used as the gene source. In all of the generations, backcrossed plants carrying the targeted gene region were selected by marker assisted selection (MAS). BC4F1 plants MAS method was employed in combination with embryo culture and rapid plant growth in a controlled greenhouse conditions in order to shorten the duration of the transition between generations in backcross breeding. The Gpc-B1 gene was selected specific molecular markers. Since Yr-36 gene associated with Gpc-B1 allele, it was also transferred to the Gpc-B1 transferred lines. Thus, the backcrossed plants selected by MAS are resistance to yellow rust disease. This research has been financially supported by TÜBİTAK (112T910).

Keywords: Durum wheat, Gpc-B1, MAS, Triticum durum, Yr-36

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Authors: Anju Joshi, C. N. Tharamani

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Diabetes is one of the leading cause of death at present and remains an important concern as the prevalence of the disease is increasing at an alarming rate. Therefore, it is crucial to diagnose the accurate levels of glucose for developing an efficient therapeutic for diabetes. Due to the availability of convenient and compact self-testing, continuous monitoring of glucose is feasible nowadays. Enzyme based electrochemical sensing of glucose is quite popular because of its high selectivity but suffers from drawbacks like complicated purification and immobilization procedures, denaturation, high cost, and low sensitivity due to indirect electron transfer. Hence, designing a robust enzyme free platform using transition metal oxides remains crucial for the efficient and sensitive determination of glucose. In the present work, manganese doped nickel oxide nanoparticles (Mn-NiO) has been synthesized onto the surface of multiwalled carbon nanotubes using a simple microwave assisted approach for non-enzymatic electrochemical sensing of glucose. The morphology and structure of the synthesized nanostructures were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD). We demonstrate that the synthesized nanostructures show enormous potential for electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose with high sensitivity and selectivity. Cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry studies suggest superior sensitivity and selectivity of Mn-NiO decorated carbon nanotubes towards the non-enzymatic determination of glucose. A linear response between the peak current and the concentration of glucose has been found to be in the concentration range of 0.01 μM- 10000 μM which suggests the potential efficacy of Mn-NiO decorated carbon nanotubes for sensitive determination of glucose.

Keywords: diabetes, glucose, Mn-NiO decorated carbon nanotubes, non-enzymatic

Procedia PDF Downloads 208