Search results for: temperature terms

Authors: Fatima Bouazza, Khadija Khedid, Lamiae Amallah, Aziz Mouhaddach, Basma Boukour, Jihane Ennadir, Rachida Hassikou

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In order to combine milk and its derived products conservation and flavoring, Moroccans often used aromatic and medicinal plants. These plant extracts are endowed with several nutritive and therapeutic properties. This study constitutes a first national assessment of physico-chemical quality of sheep’s milk from moroccan Sardi breed and the evaluation of the antibacterial effect of three medicinal plants extracts: Aloe barbadensis Miller, Thymus satureioides and Mentha pulegium on flora isolated from this sheep's milk. 100 milk samples were collected in four regions of Morocco. The bacteria isolated were identified by classical and molecular methods (16S rRNA sequencing) and tested, according to the disk method, for their sensitivity to several antibiotics. The physico-chemical analyzes of sheep’s milk concerned the pH, titratable acidity, density, dry extract, freezing point and contents of: fat, proteins, lactose and calcium. The essential oils (EOs) of T. satureioides and M .pulegium were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC / MS, while the Aloe vera leaf pulp was analyzed by the methods of Harborne and HPLC. A total number of 125 bacteria have been identified. Significant resistance to chemical antibiotics has been noted in LABs. The average temperature value of milk is around 57.15 °C, the pH is 6.56, the titratable acidity is around 3.4 ° D, the density is 1.035g / cm³ , the total dry extract is around 169.5g / l, the ash (9.8g / l), the freezing point (- 0.556 °C) while the average fat content is 67.85g / l . The samples richest in fat belong to the region of Settat, cradle of the Sardi breed, with a maximum average value of 74.4g / l. The average protein is 56g / l, lactose (39.92g / l), and calcium (1.855g / l). Analysis of the major components of EOs revealed the dominance of borneol in the case of T. satureioides and of pulegone in M. pulegium. Aloe vera gel contains alkaloids, flavonoids, catechic tannins, saponins and 1.60 µg / ml of aloin. The plant extracts have a bactericidal effect on E. coli, Klebsiellaoxytoca and Staphylococci and bacteriostatic effect on LABs of technological interest (Lactobacillus). As a result of this study, it is believed that the consumption of sardi sheep’s milk would be of nutritional benefit. Its richness in fat and proteins predisposes it for biotechnological development in the manufacture of cheese and yogurt. Also, the use of aromatic and medicinal plants, as natural additives would be of great benefit to flavor and maintain its quality.

Keywords: sheep’s milk, lactic flora, antimicrobial power, aloe barbadensis miller, thymus satureioides, mentha pulegium

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Jianwei Qian, Rob Law

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With the expansion of globalization and the increment of market competition, the festival, especially the traditional one, has demonstrated its vitality under the new context. As a new tourist attraction, festivals play a critically important role in promoting the tourism economy, because the organization of a festival can engage more tourists, generate more revenues and win a wider media concern. However, in the current stage of China, traditional festivals as a way to disseminate national culture are undergoing the challenge of foreign festivals and the related culture. Different from those special events created solely for developing economy, traditional festivals have their own culture and connotation. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a study on not only protecting the tradition, but promoting its development as well. This study conducts a comparative study of the development of China’s Valentine’s Day and Western Valentine’s Day under the Chinese context and centers on newspaper reports in China from 2000 to 2016. Based on the literature, two main research focuses can be established: one is concerned about the festival’s impact and the other is about tourists’ motivation to engage in a festival. Newspaper reports serve as the research discourse and can help cover the two focal points. With the assistance of content mining techniques, semantic networks for both Days are constructed separately to help depict the status quo of these two festivals in China. Based on the networks, two models are established to show the key component system of traditional festivals in the hope of perfecting the positive role festival tourism plays in the promotion of economy and culture. According to the semantic networks, newspaper reports on both festivals have similarities and differences. The difference is mainly reflected in its cultural connotation, because westerners and Chinese may show their love in different ways. Nevertheless, they share more common points in terms of economy, tourism, and society. They also have a similar living environment and stakeholders. Thus, they can be promoted together to revitalize some traditions in China. Three strategies are proposed to realize the aforementioned aim. Firstly, localize international festivals to suit the Chinese context to make it function better. Secondly, facilitate the internationalization process of traditional Chinese festivals to receive more recognition worldwide. Finally, allow traditional festivals to compete with foreign ones to help them learn from each other and elucidate the development of other festivals. It is believed that if all these can be realized, not only the traditional Chinese festivals can obtain a more promising future, but foreign ones are the same as well. Accordingly, the paper can contribute to the theoretical construction of festival images by the presentation of the semantic network. Meanwhile, the identified features and issues of festivals from two different cultures can enlighten the organization and marketing of festivals as a vital tourism activity. In the long run, the study can enhance the festival as a key attraction to keep the sustainable development of both the economy and the society.

Keywords: Chinese context, comparative study, festival tourism, semantic network analysis, valentine’s day

Procedia PDF Downloads 234

Authors: Farhina Haque, Chanyeop Park

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The high efficiency, high field, and high power density provided by wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors and advanced power electronic converter (PEC) topologies enabled the dynamic control of power in medium to high voltage systems. Although WBG semiconductors outperform the conventional Silicon based devices in terms of voltage rating, switching speed, and efficiency, the increased voltage handling properties, high dv/dt, and compact device packaging increase local electric fields, which are the main causes of partial discharge (PD) in the advanced medium and high voltage applications. PD, which occurs actively in voids, triple points, and airgaps, is an inevitable dielectric challenge that causes insulation and device aging. The aging process accelerates over time and eventually leads to the complete failure of the applications. Hence, it is critical to mitigating PD. Sharp edges, airgaps, triple points, and bubbles are common defects that exist in any medium to high voltage device. The defects are created during the manufacturing processes of the devices and are prone to high-electric-field-induced PD due to the low permittivity and low breakdown strength of the gaseous medium filling the defects. A contemporary approach of mitigating PD by neutralizing electric fields in high power density applications is introduced in this study. To neutralize the locally enhanced electric fields that occur around the triple points, airgaps, sharp edges, and bubbles, electrets are developed and incorporated into high voltage applications. Electrets are electric fields emitting dielectric materials that are embedded with electrical charges on the surface and in bulk. In this study, electrets are fabricated by electrically charging polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) films based on the widely used triode corona discharge method. To investigate the PD mitigation performance of the fabricated electret films, a series of PD experiments are conducted on both the charged and uncharged PVDF films under square voltage stimuli that represent PWM waveform. In addition to the use of single layer electrets, multiple layers of electrets are also experimented with to mitigate PD caused by higher system voltages. The electret-based approach shows great promise in mitigating PD by neutralizing the local electric field. The results of the PD measurements suggest that the development of an ultimate solution to the decades-long dielectric challenge would be possible with further developments in the fabrication process of electrets.

Keywords: electrets, high power density, partial discharge, triode corona discharge

Procedia PDF Downloads 204

Authors: Catariny C. Aleman, Flavio B. Campos, Matheus A. Caliman, Everardo C. Mantovani

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The seedling production stage is a critical point in the vegetable production system. Obtaining high-quality seedlings is a prerequisite for subsequent cropping to occur well and productivity optimization is required. The water management is an important step in agriculture production. The adequate water requirement in horticulture seedlings can provide higher quality and increase field production. The practice of irrigation is indispensable and requires a duly adjusted quality irrigation system, together with a specific water management plan to meet the water demand of the crop. Irrigation management in seedling management requires a great deal of specific information, especially when it involves the use of inputs such as hydrorentering polymers and automation technologies of the data acquisition and irrigation system. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa - MG. Tomato seedlings (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) were produced in plastic trays of 128 cells, suspended at 1.25 m from the ground. The seedlings were irrigated by 4 micro sprinklers of fixed jet 360º per tray, duly isolated by sideboards, following the methodology developed for this work. During Phase 1, in January / February 2017 (duration of 24 days), the cultivation coefficient (Kc) of seedlings cultured in the presence and absence of hydrogel was evaluated by weighing lysimeter. In Phase 2, September 2017 (duration of 25 days), the seedlings were submitted to 4 irrigation managements (Kc, timer, 0.50 ETo, and 1.00 ETo), in the presence and absence of hydrogel and then evaluated in relation to quality parameters. The microclimate inside the greenhouse was monitored with the use of air temperature, relative humidity and global radiation sensors connected to a microcontroller that performed hourly calculations of reference evapotranspiration by Penman-Monteith standard method FAO56 modified for the balance of long waves according to Walker, Aldrich, Short (1983), and conducted water balance and irrigation decision making for each experimental treatment. Kc of seedlings cultured on a substrate with hydrogel (1.55) was higher than Kc on a pure substrate (1.39). The use of the hydrogel was a differential for the production of earlier tomato seedlings, with higher final height, the larger diameter of the colon, greater accumulation of a dry mass of shoot, a larger area of crown projection and greater the rate of relative growth. The handling 1.00 ETo promoted higher relative growth rate.

Keywords: automatic system; efficiency of water use; precision irrigation, micro sprinkler.

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Cécile Dufloux, Klaus Böttcher, Heike Oppermann, Jürgen Wollweber

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Hexagonal aluminum nitride (AlN) is a promising candidate for several wide band gap semiconductor compound applications such as deep UV light emitting diodes (UVC LED) and fast power transistors (HEMTs). To date, bulk AlN single crystals are still commonly grown from the physical vapor transport (PVT). Single crystalline AlN wafers obtained from this process could offer suitable substrates for a defect-free growth of ultimately active AlGaN layers, however, these wafers still lack from small sizes, limited delivery quantities and high prices so far.Although there is already an increasing interest in the commercial availability of AlN wafers, comparatively cheap Si, SiC or sapphire are still predominantly used as substrate material for the deposition of active AlGaN layers. Nevertheless, due to a lattice mismatch up to 20%, the obtained material shows high defect densities and is, therefore, less suitable for high power devices as described above. Therefore, the use of AlN with specially adapted properties for optical and sensor applications could be promising for mass market products which seem to fulfill fewer requirements. To respond to the demand of suitable AlN target material for the growth of AlGaN layers, we have designed an innovative technology based on reactive plasma spraying. The goal is to produce coarse grained AlN boules with N-terminated columnar structure and high purity. In this process, aluminum is injected into a microwave stimulated nitrogen plasma. AlN, as the product of the reaction between aluminum powder and the plasma activated N2, is deposited onto the target. We used an aluminum filament as the initial material to minimize oxygen contamination during the process. The material was guided through the nitrogen plasma so that the mass turnover was 10g/h. To avoid any impurity contamination by an erosion of the electrodes, an electrode-less discharge was used for the plasma ignition. The pressure was maintained at 600-700 mbar, so the plasma reached a temperature high enough to vaporize the aluminum which subsequently was reacting with the surrounding plasma. The obtained products consist of thick polycrystalline AlN layers with a diameter of 2-3 cm. The crystallinity was determined by X-ray crystallography. The grain structure was systematically investigated by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, we performed a Raman spectroscopy to provide evidence of stress in the layers. This paper will discuss the effects of process parameters such as microwave power and deposition geometry (specimen holder, radiation shields, ...) on the topography, crystallinity, and stress distribution of AlN.

Keywords: aluminum nitride, polycrystal, reactive plasma spraying, semiconductor

Procedia PDF Downloads 281

Authors: Mohamed Adel Ahmed, Warda Youssef Morsy , Hanaa Ali El Feky

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Background: Literature review cited that sleep is absolutely essential for surviving and reclamation of the quality of life. Critically ill patients often have poor sleep quality with prolonged sleep latency, sleep fragmentation, decreased sleep efficiency and frequent arousals. Nurses have a unique role for the early diagnosis of sleep disorders, decreasing stressors levels and providing the necessary environmental regulations to create a therapeutic ambiance. The aim of the study: to assess perceived sleep quality and identify factors affecting sleep quality among adult critically ill patients At El Manial University Hospital. Research Design: A descriptive exploratory design was utilized. Research questions: a) how do adult critically ill patients perceive sleep quality in the Critical Care Department of El Manial University Hospital? b) What are the factors affecting sleep quality among adult critically ill patients at El Manial University Hospital? Setting: selected critical and cardiac care units at El Manial University Hospital. Sample: A samples of convenience consisting of 100 adult male and female patients were included in the study. Tools of data collection: tool 1: Socio-demographic and Medical Data Sheet, tool 2: Modified St Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire tool 3: Factors Affecting Sleep Quality Questionnaire among ICU Patients Results: The current study revealed that 76.0% of the studied sample had lack of sleep disturbance before hospitalization. However, 84 % had sleep disturbances during ICU stay, of these more than two-thirds (67 %) had moderate sleep disturbance. Presence of strange and bad odors, noise, having pain, fear of death and a loud voice produced by the ICU personnel had the most significant negative impact on patients’ sleep in percentage of 52.4, 50, 61.9, 45.2, 52.4, respectively. Conclusion: Sleep disturbances in the ICU are multifactorial, and ICU patients’ perceived degrees of sleep disturbance as a moderate. Recommendations: Based on findings of the present study, the following are recommended to be done by ICU nurses; create a healing ICU environment that should incorporate noise, light and temperature controls; decrease stimuli during night time hours to promote regulation of the circadian rhythm, allow usage of sleeping aids such as relaxing music, eye patches and earplugs into their daily nursing practice; cluster nursing activities and eliminate non-essential treatments during night time hours to allow uninterrupted sleep periods of at least 90 minutes to complete one sleep cycle , and minimize staff conversation, alarm noise and light during the quiet night time hours.

Keywords: sleep quality, critically ill, patients, perception

Procedia PDF Downloads 445

Authors: Carolina Schencke, Cristian Sandoval, Belgica Vasquez, Mariano Del Sol

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Introduction: In a burn injury, the successful repair requires not only the participation of various cells, such as granulocytes and fibroblasts, but also of collagen, which plays a crucial role as a structural and regulatory molecule of scar tissue. Since honey and ascorbic acid have presented a great therapeutic potential to cellular and structural level, experimental studies have proposed its combination in the treatment of wounds. Aim: To evaluate stereological and morphometric parameters of healing wounds, caused by burns, treated with honey Ulmo (Eucryphia cordifolia) unsupplemented, comparing its effect with Ulmo honey supplemented with ascorbic acid. Materials and Methods: Fifteen healthy adult guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) were used, of both sexes, average weight 450 g from the Centro de Excelencia en Estudios Morfológicos y Quirúrgicos (CEMyQ) at the Universidad de La Frontera, Chile. The animals were divided at random into three groups: positive control (C+), honey only (H) and supplemented honey (SH) and were fed on pellets supplemented with ascorbic acid and water ad libitum, under ambient conditions controlled for temperature, ambient noise and a cycle of 12h light–darkness. The protocol for the experiment was approved by the Scientific Ethics Committee of the Universidad de La Frontera, Chile. The parameters measured were number density per area (NA), volume density (VV), and surface density (SV) of fibroblast; NA and VV of polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) and, evaluation of the content of collagen fibers in the scar dermis. One-way ANOVA was used for statistics analysis and its respective Post hoc tests. Results: The ANOVA analysis for NA, VV and SV of fibroblasts, NA and VV of PMN, and evaluation of collagen content, type I and III, showed that at least one group differs from other (P≤ 0.001). There were differences (P= 0.000) in NA of fibroblast between the groups [C+= 3599.560 mm-2 (SD= 764.461), H= 3355.336 mm-2 (SD= 699.443) and SH= 4253.025 mm-2 (SD= 1041.751)]. The VV and SV of fibroblast increased (P= 0.000) in the SH group [20.400% (SD= 5.897) and 100.876 mm2/mm3 (SD= 29.431), respectively], compared to the C+ [16.324% (SD= 7.719) and 81.676 mm2/mm3 (SD= 28.884), respectively). The mean values of NA and VV of PMN were higher (P= 0.000) in the H [756.875 mm-2 (SD= 516.489) and 2.686% (SD= 2.380), respectively) group. Regarding to the evaluation of the content of collagen fibers, type I and III, the one-way analysis of ANOVA showed a statistically significant difference (P< 0.05). The content of collagen fibers type I was higher in C+ (1988.292 μm2; SD= 1312.379), while the content of collagen fibers type III was higher in SH (1967.163 μm2; SD= 1047.944 μm2) group. Conclusions: The stereological results were correlated with the stage of healing observed for each group. These results suggest that the combination of honey with ascorbic acid potentiate the healing effect, where both participated synergistically.

Keywords: ascorbic acid, morphometry, stereology, Ulmo honey

Procedia PDF Downloads 275

Authors: Mustafa Var, Yasin Kültiğin Yaman, Elif Berna Var, Müberra Pulatkan

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This study deals with real application of an urban transformation project in Trabzon, Turkey. It aims to highlight the significance of using native species in terms of planting design of transformation projects which will also promote sustainability of urban identity. Urban identity is a phenomenon shaped not only by physical, but also by natural, spatial, social, historical and cultural factors. Urban areas face with continuous change which can be whether positive or negative way. If it occurs in a negative way that may have some destructive effects on urban identity. To solve this problematic issue, urban renewal movements initally started after 1840s around the world especially in the cities with ports. This process later followed by the places where people suffered a lot from fires and has expanded to all over the world. In Turkey, those processes have been experienced mostly after 1980s as country experienced the worst effects of unplanned urbanization especially in 1950-1990 period. Also old squares, streets, meeting points, green areas, Ottoman bazaars have changed slowly. This change was resulted in alienation of inhabitants to their environments. As a solution, several actions were taken like Mass Housing Laws which was enacted in 1981 and 1984 or urban transformation projects. Although projects between 1990-2000 were tried to satisfy the expectations of local inhabitants by the help of several design solutions to promote cultural identity; unfortunately those modern projects has also been resulted in alienation of urban environments to the inhabitants. Those projects were initially done by TOKI (Housing Development Administration of Turkey) and later followed by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization after 2011. Although they had significant potentials to create healthy urban environments, they could not use this opportunity in an effective way. The reason for their failure is that their architectural styles and planting designs are unrespectful to local identity and environments. Generally, it can be said that the most of the urban transformation projects implementing in Turkey nearly have no concerns about the locality. However, those projects can be used as a positive tool for enhanching the urban identity of cities by means of local planting material. For instance, Kyoto can be identified by Japanese Maple trees or Seattle can be specified by Dahlia. In the same way, in Turkey, Istanbul city can be identified by Judas and Stone Pine trees or Giresun city can be identified by Cherry trees. Thus, in this paper, the importance of conserving urban identity is discussed specificly with the help of using local planting elements. After revealing the mistakes that are made during urban transformation projects, the techniques and design criterias for preserving and promoting urban identity are examined. In the end, it is emphasized that every city should have their own original, local character and specific planting design which can be used for highlighting its identity as well as architectural elements.

Keywords: urban identity, urban transformation, planting design, landscape architecture

Procedia PDF Downloads 548

Authors: Franciele L. Bernard, Felipe Dalla Vecchia, Barbara B. Polesso, Jose A. Donato, Marcus Seferin, Rosane Ligabue, Jailton F. do Nascimento, Sandra Einloft

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The increasing level of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere related to fossil fuels processing and utilization are contributing to global warming phenomena considerably. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies appear as one of the key technologies to reduce CO2 emissions mitigating the effects of climate change. Absorption using amines solutions as solvents have been extensively studied and used in industry for decades. However, solvent degradation and equipment corrosion are two of the main problems in this process. Poly (ionic liquid) (PIL) is considered as a promising material for CCS technology, potentially more environmentally friendly and lesser energy demanding than traditional material. PILs possess a unique combination of ionic liquids (ILs) features, such as affinity for CO2, thermal and chemical stability and adjustable properties, coupled with the intrinsic properties of the polymer. This study investigated new Poly (ionic liquid) (PIL) based on polyurethanes with different ionic liquids cations and its potential for CO2 capture. The PILs were synthesized by the addition of diisocyante to a difunctional polyol, followed by an exchange reaction with the ionic Liquids 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIM Cl); tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) and tetrabutylphosphonium bromide (TBPB). These materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Tensile strength analysis, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The PILs CO2 sorption capacity were gravimetrically assessed in a Magnetic Suspension Balance (MSB). It was found that the ionic liquids cation influences in the compounds properties as well as in the CO2 sorption. The best result for CO2 sorption (123 mgCO2/g at 30 bar) was obtained for the PIL (PUPT-TBA). The higher CO2 sorption in PUPT-TBA is probably linked to the fact that the tetraalkylammonium cation having a higher positive density charge can have a stronger interaction with CO2, while the imidazolium charge is delocalized. The comparative CO2 sorption values of the PUPT-TBA with different ionic liquids showed that this material has greater capacity for capturing CO2 when compared to the ILs even at higher temperature. This behavior highlights the importance of this study, as the poly (urethane) based PILs are cheap and versatile materials.

Keywords: capture, CO2, ionic liquids, ionic poly(urethane)

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Malika Souada, Juanita Rausch, Benjamin Guinot, Christine Bugajny

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The increase of global commerce and tourism makes the shipping sector an important contributor of atmospheric pollution. Both, airborne particles and gaseous pollutants have negative impact on health and climate. This is especially the case in port cities, due to the proximity of the exposed population to the shipping emissions in addition to other multiple sources of pollution linked to the surrounding urban activity. The objective of this study is to determine the concentrations of fine particles (immission), specifically PM2.5, PM1, PM0.3, BC and sulphates, in a context where maritime passenger traffic plays an important role (port area of Bordeaux centre). The methodology is based on high temporal resolution measurements of pollutants, correlated with meteorological and ship movements data. Particles and gaseous pollutants from seven maritime passenger ships were sampled and analysed during the docking, manoeuvring and berthing phases. The particle mass measurements were supplemented by measurements of the number concentration of ultrafine particles (<300 nm diameter). The different measurement points were chosen by taking into account the local meteorological conditions and by pre-modelling the dispersion of the smoke plumes. The results of the measurement campaign carried out during the summer of 2021 in the port of Bordeaux show that the detection of concentrations of particles emitted by ships proved to be punctual and stealthy. Punctual peaks of ultrafine particle concentration in number (P#/m3) and BC (ng/m3) were measured during the docking phases of the ships, but the concentrations returned to their background level within minutes. However, it appears that the influence of the docking phases does not significantly affect the air quality of Bordeaux centre in terms of mass concentration. Additionally, no clear differences in PM2.5 concentrations between the periods with and without ships at berth were observed. The urban background pollution seems to be mainly dominated by exhaust and non-exhaust road traffic emissions. However, temporal high-resolution measurements suggest a probable emission of gaseous precursors responsible for the formation of secondary aerosols related to the ship activities. This was evidenced by the high values of the PM1/BC and PN/BC ratios, tracers of non-primary particle formation, during periods of ship berthing vs. periods without ships at berth. The research findings from this study provide robust support for port area air quality assessment and source apportionment.

Keywords: characterization, fine particulate matter, harbour air quality, shipping impacts

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: Barrera C. Monserrat, Sierra-Alvarez Reyes, Pat-Espadas Aurora, Moreno Andrade Ivan

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Antimony is a toxic and carcinogenic metalloid considered a pollutant of priority interest by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. It is present in the environment in two oxidation states: antimonite (Sb (III)) and antimony (Sb (V)). Sb (III) is toxic to several aquatic organisms, but the potential inhibitory effect of Sb species for microorganisms has not been extensively evaluated. The fate and possible toxic impact of antimony on aerobic and anaerobic wastewater treatment systems are unknown. For this reason, the objective of this study was to evaluate the microbial toxicity of Sb (V) and Sb (III) in aerobic and anaerobic environments. Sb(V) and Sb(III) were used as potassium hexahydroxoantimonate (V) and potassium antimony tartrate, respectively (Sigma-Aldrich). The toxic effect of both Sb species in anaerobic environments was evaluated on methanogenic activity and the inhibition of hydrogen production of microorganisms from a wastewater treatment bioreactor. For the methanogenic activity, batch experiments were carried out in 160 mL serological bottles; each bottle contained basal mineral medium (100 mL), inoculum (1.5 g of VSS/L), acetate (2.56 g/L) as substrate, and variable concentrations of Sb (V) or Sb (III). Duplicate bioassays were incubated at 30 ± 2°C on an orbital shaker (105 rpm) in the dark. Methane production was monitored by gas chromatography. The hydrogen production inhibition tests were carried out in glass bottles with a working volume of 0.36 L. Glucose (50 g/L) was used as a substrate, pretreated inoculum (5 g VSS/L), mineral medium and varying concentrations of the two species of antimony. The bottles were kept under stirring and at a temperature of 35°C in an AMPTSII device that recorded hydrogen production. The toxicity of Sb on aerobic microorganisms (from a wastewater activated sludge treatment plant) was tested with a Microtox standardized toxicity test and respirometry. Results showed that Sb (III) is more toxic than Sb (V) for methanogenic microorganisms. Sb (V) caused a 50% decrease in methanogenic activity at 250 mg/L. In contrast, exposure to Sb (III) resulted in a 50% inhibition at a concentration of only 11 mg/L, and an almost complete inhibition (95%) at 25 mg/L. For hydrogen-producing microorganisms, Sb (III) and Sb (V) inhibited 50% of this production with 12.6 mg/L and 87.7 mg/L, respectively. The results for aerobic environments showed that 500 mg/L of Sb (V) do not inhibit the Allivibrio fischeri (Microtox) activity or specific oxygen uptake rate of activated sludge. In the case of Sb (III), this caused a loss of 50% of the respiration of the microorganisms at concentrations below 40 mg/L. The results obtained indicate that the toxicity of the antimony will depend on the speciation of this metalloid and that Sb (III) has a significantly higher inhibitory potential compared to Sb (V). It was shown that anaerobic microorganisms can reduce Sb (V) to Sb (III). Acknowledgments: This work was funded in part by grants from the UA-CONACYT Binational Consortium for the Regional Scientific Development and Innovation (CAZMEX), the National Institute of Health (NIH ES- 04940), and PAPIIT-DGAPA-UNAM (IN105220).

Keywords: aerobic inhibition, antimony reduction, hydrogen inhibition, methanogenic toxicity

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Authors: Ofelia Loani Elvir Lazo, Roya Yumul, David Chernobylsky, Omar Durra

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Background: It is crucial to detect the patient’s existing anxiety to assist patients in a perioperative setting which is to be caused by the fear associated with surgical and anesthetic complications. However, the current gold standard for assessing patient anxiety, the STAI, is problematic to use in the preoperative setting, given the duration and concentration required to complete the 40-item questionnaire. Our primary aim in the study is to investigate the correlation of the Yumul Visual Facial Anxiety Scale (VFAS) and Numerical Verbal Rating Scale (NVRS) to State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to determine the optimal anxiety scale to use in the perioperative setting. Methods: A clinical study of patients undergoing various surgeries was conducted utilizing each of the preoperative anxiety scales. Inclusion criteria included patients undergoing elective surgeries, while exclusion criteria included patients with anesthesia contraindications, inability to comprehend instructions, impaired judgement, substance abuse history, and those pregnant or lactating. 293 patients were analyzed in terms of demographics, anxiety scale survey results, and anesthesia data via Spearman Coefficients, Chi-Squared Analysis, and Fischer’s exact test utilized for comparative analysis. Results: Statistical analysis showed that VFAS had a higher correlation to STAI than NVRS (rs=0.66, p<0.0001 vs. rs=0.64, p<0.0001). The combined VFAS-Categorization Scores showed the highest correlation with the gold standard (rs=0.72, p<0.0001). Subgroup analysis showed similar results. STAI evaluation time (247.7 ± 54.81 sec) far exceeds VFAS (7.29 ± 1.61 sec), NVRS (7.23 ± 1.60 sec), and Categorization scales (7.29 ± 1.99 sec). Patients preferred VFAS (54.4%), Categorization (11.6%), and NVRS (8.8%). Anesthesiologists preferred VFAS (63.9%), NVRS (22.1%), and Categorization Scales (14.0%). Of note, the top five causes of preoperative anxiety were determined to be waiting (56.5%), pain (42.5%), family concerns (40.5%), no information about surgery (40.1%), or anesthesia (31.6%). Conclusıons: Both VFAS and Categorization tests also take significantly less time than STAI, which is critical in the preoperative setting. Combined VFAS-Categorization Score (VCS) demonstrates the highest correlation to the gold standard, STAI. Among both patients and anesthesiologists, VFAS was the most preferred scale. This forms the basis of the Yumul Faces Anxiety Scale, designed for quick quantization and assessment in the preoperative setting while maintaining a high correlation to the golden standard. Additional studies using the formulated Yumul Faces Anxiety Scale are merited.

Keywords: numerical verbal anxiety scale, preoperative anxiety, state-trait anxiety inventory, visual facial anxiety scale

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Authors: S.I.Mukhin, S. Seidov, A. Mukherjee

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The Dicke model is a key tool for the description of correlated states of quantum atomic systems, excited by resonant photon absorption and subsequently emitting spontaneous coherent radiation in the superradiant state. The Dicke Hamiltonian (DH) is successfully used for the description of the dynamics of the Josephson Junction (JJ) array in a resonant cavity under applied current. In this work, we have investigated a generalized model, which is described by DH with a frustrating interaction term. This frustrating interaction term is explicitly the infinite coordinated interaction between all the spin half in the system. In this work, we consider an array of N superconducting islands, each divided into two sub-islands by a Josephson Junction, taken in a charged qubit / Cooper Pair Box (CPB) condition. The array is placed inside the resonant cavity. One important aspect of the problem lies in the dynamical nature of the physical observables involved in the system, such as condensed electric field and dipole moment. It is important to understand how these quantities behave with time to define the quantum phase of the system. The Dicke model without frustrating term is solved to find the dynamical solutions of the physical observables in analytic form. We have used Heisenberg’s dynamical equations for the operators and on applying newly developed Rotating Holstein Primakoff (HP) transformation and DH we have arrived at the four coupled nonlinear dynamical differential equations for the momentum and spin component operators. It is possible to solve the system analytically using two-time scales. The analytical solutions are expressed in terms of Jacobi's elliptic functions for the metastable ‘bound luminosity’ dynamic state with the periodic coherent beating of the dipoles that connect the two double degenerate dipolar ordered phases discovered previously. In this work, we have proceeded the analysis with the extended DH with a frustrating interaction term. Inclusion of the frustrating term involves complexity in the system of differential equations and it gets difficult to solve analytically. We have solved semi-classical dynamic equations using the perturbation technique for small values of Josephson energy EJ. Because the Hamiltonian contains parity symmetry, thus phase transition can be found if this symmetry is broken. Introducing spontaneous symmetry breaking term in the DH, we have derived the solutions which show the occurrence of finite condensate, showing quantum phase transition. Our obtained result matches with the existing results in this scientific field.

Keywords: Dicke Model, nonlinear dynamics, perturbation theory, superconductivity

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Authors: Pantea Salehizadeh, Martin P. Bucknall, Robert Driscoll, Jayashree Arcot, George Srzednicki

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Banana is one of the most important crops produced in large quantities in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Of the total plant material grown, approximately 40% is considered waste and left in the field to decay. This practice allows fungal diseases such as Sigatoka Leaf Spot to develop, limiting plant growth and spreading spores in the air that can cause respiratory problems in the surrounding population. The pseudostem is considered a waste residue of production (60 to 80 tonnes/ha/year), although it is a good source of dietary fiber and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s). Strategies to process banana pseudostem into palatable, nutritious and marketable food materials could provide significant social and economic benefits. Extraction of VOC’s with desirable odor from dried and fresh pseudostem could improve the smell of products from the confectionary and bakery industries. Incorporation of banana pseudostem flour into bakery products could provide cost savings and improve nutritional value. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of drying methods and different banana species on the profile of volatile aroma compounds in dried banana pseudostem. The banana species analyzed were Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. Fresh banana pseudostem samples were processed by either freeze-drying (FD) or heat pump drying (HPD). The extraction of VOC’s was performed at ambient temperature using vacuum distillation and the resulting, mostly aqueous, distillates were analyzed using headspace solid phase microextraction (SPME) gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Optimal SPME adsorption conditions were 50 °C for 60 min using a Supelco 65 μm PDMS/DVB Stableflex fiber1. Compounds were identified by comparison of their electron impact mass spectra with those from the Wiley 9 / NIST 2011 combined mass spectral library. The results showed that the two species have notably different VOC profiles. Both species contained VOC’s that have been established in literature to have pleasant appetizing aromas. These included l-Menthone, D-Limonene, trans-linlool oxide, 1-Nonanol, CIS 6 Nonen-1ol, 2,6 Nonadien-1-ol, Benzenemethanol, 4-methyl, 1-Butanol, 3-methyl, hexanal, 1-Propanol, 2-methyl- acid، 2-Methyl-2-butanol. Results show banana pseudostem VOC’s are better preserved by FD than by HPD. This study is still in progress and should lead to the optimization of processing techniques that would promote the utilization of banana pseudostem in the food industry.

Keywords: heat pump drying, freeze drying, SPME, vacuum distillation, VOC analysis

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Authors: Akvelina Čuladytė, Inga Dailidienė

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Climate change and sustainable development are among the most significant global challenges, directly impacting various economic sectors, including coastal tourism. The United Nations (UN) and its specialized agencies, such as the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), examine coastal tourism from multiple perspectives, emphasizing its economic, social, and environmental importance, as well as the challenges related to sustainability. Sustainability, linked to climate change, is an integral concept requiring a holistic approach to managing natural resources, reducing emissions, protecting ecosystems, and implementing adaptation strategies. Only by integrating these principles can we adapt to the impacts of climate change, reduce the carbon footprint of the tourism sector, and manage tourist flows to prevent excessive strain on marine and coastal ecosystems. Climate change is having an increasing impact on the Baltic Sea region, causing rising temperatures, sea level rise, more frequent extreme weather events, and coastal erosion. These changes can significantly affect the tourism sector, which is important not only economically but also socially. The primary aim of this study is to analyze changes in physical natural parameters (temperature, precipitation, water quality, sea level rise, and coastal erosion) that influence Baltic Sea coastal tourism in order to identify and assess how climate change impacts coastal tourism. The Baltic States, with its long and diverse coastlines, are particularly sensitive to the impacts of climate change, which can influence the geography of coastal tourism. Therefore, the aim is to assess how these factors determine the attractiveness and opportunities for tourism. In studying the effects of climate change on the geography of coastal tourism, methods used in climatology, as well as historical meteorological and hydrological data, are applied. Analyzing historical data on extreme events, such as storms, heatwaves, and floods, helps determine their impact on tourism infrastructure and visitor numbers. Based on the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, both limiting and enhancing factors for tourism are identified, including the benefits of a longer warm season and the increasing frequency of extreme weather conditions. The expected research results provide insights into how climate change and sustainable development strategies can shape and transform the structure and trends of coastal tourism in the region. The findings indicate that meteorological conditions and climate change play a significant role in regulating tourism flows.

Keywords: coastal tourism, climate change impacts, physical natural parameters, NAO index

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Authors: John T. Leman, James Gibson, Peter J. Bonitatibus

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There have been no potential clinically translatable developments of intravenous CT contrast materials over decades, and iodinated contrast agents (ICA) remain the only FDA-approved media for CT. Small molecule ICA used to highlight vascular anatomy have weak CT signals in large-to-obese patients due to their rapid redistribution from plasma into interstitial fluid, thereby diluting their intravascular concentration, and because of a mismatch of iodine’s K-edge and the high kVp settings needed to image this patient population. The use of ICA is also contraindicated in a growing population of renally impaired patients who are hypersensitive to these contrast agents; a transformative intravenous contrast agent with improved capabilities is urgently needed. Tantalum oxide nanoparticles (TaO NPs) with zwitterionic siloxane polymer coatings have high potential as clinically translatable general-purpose CT contrast agents because of (1) substantially improved imaging efficacy compared to ICA in swine/phantoms emulating medium-sized and larger adult abdomens and superior thoracic vascular contrast enhancement of thoracic arteries and veins in rabbit, (2) promising biological safety profiles showing near-complete renal clearance and low tissue retention at 3x anticipated clinical dose (ACD), and (3) clinically acceptable physiochemical parameters as concentrated bulk solutions(250-300 mgTa/mL). Here, we review requirements for general-purpose intravenous CT contrast agents in terms of patient safety, X-ray attenuating properties and contrast-producing capabilities, and physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties. We report the current status of a TaO NP-based contrast agent, including chemical process technology developments and results of newly defined scaled-up processes for NP synthesis and purification, yielding reproducible formulations with appropriate size and concentration specifications. We discuss recent results of recent pre-clinical in vitro immunology, non-GLP high dose tolerability in rats (10x ACD), non-GLP long-term biodistribution in rats at 3x ACD, and non-GLP repeat dose in rats at ACD. We also include a discussion of NP characterization, in particular size-stability testing results under accelerated conditions (37C), and insights into TaO NP purity, surface structure, and bonding of the zwitterionic siloxane polymer coating by multinuclear (1H, 13C, 29Si) and multidimensional (2D) solution NMR spectroscopy.

Keywords: nanoparticle, imaging, diagnostic, process technology, nanoparticle characterization

Procedia PDF Downloads 39

Authors: V. Esteves

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As products of participatory culture, internet memes represent a global form of interaction with online culture. These digital objects draw upon a rich historical engagement with remix practices that dates back decades: from the copy and paste practices of Dadaism and punk to the re-appropriation techniques of the Situationist International; memes echo a long established form of cultural creativity that pivots on the art of the remix. Online culture has eagerly embraced the changes that the Web 2.0 afforded in terms of making use of remixing as an accessible form of societal expression, bridging these remix practices of the past into a more widely available and accessible platform. Memes embody the idea of 'intercreativity', allowing global creative collaboration to take place through networked digital media; they reflect the core values of participation and interaction that are present throughout much internet discourse whilst also existing in a historical remix continuum. Memes hold the power of cultural symbolism manipulated by global audiences through which societies make meaning, as these remixed digital objects have an elasticity and low literacy level that allows for a democratic form of cultural engagement and meaning-making by and for users around the world. However, because memes are so elastic, their ability to be re-appropriated by other powers for reasons beyond their original intention has become evident. Recently, corporations have made use of internet memes for advertising purposes, engaging in the circulation and re-appropriation of internet memes in commercial spaces – which has, in turn, complicated this relation between online users and memes' democratic possibilities further. By engaging in a widespread online ethnography supplemented by in-depth interviews with meme makers, this research was able to not only track different online meme use through commercial contexts, but it also allowed the possibility to engage in qualitative discussions with meme makers and users regarding their perception and experience of these varying commercial uses of memes. These can be broadly put within two categories: internet memes that are turned into physical merchandise and the use of memes in advertising to sell other (non-meme related) products. Whilst there has been considerable acceptance of the former type of commercial meme use, the use of memes in adverts in order to sell unrelated products has been met with resistance. The changes in reception regarding commercial meme use is dependent on ideas of cultural ownership and perceptions of authorship, ultimately uncovering underlying socio-cultural ideologies that come to the fore within these overlapping contexts. Additionally, this adoption of memes by corporate powers echoes the recuperation process that the Situationist International endured, creating a further link with older remix cultures and their lifecycles.

Keywords: commodification, internet culture, memes, recuperation, remix

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Matthias Haenisch, Katharina Hermann, Marc Godau, Verena Weidner

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Over the past two decades, international music education has been characterized by a growing interest in informal learning for formal contexts and a "compositional turn" that has moved from closed to open forms of composing. This change occurs under social and technological conditions that permeate 21st-century musical practices. This forms the background of Musical Communities in the (Post)Digital Age (MusCoDA), a four-year joint research project of the University of Erfurt (UE) and the University of Education Karlsruhe (PHK), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Both explore songwriting processes as an example of collective creativity in (post)digital communities, one in formal and the other in informal learning contexts. Collective songwriting will be studied from a network perspective, that will allow us to view boundaries between both online and offline as well as formal and informal or hybrid contexts as permeable and to reconstruct musical learning practices. By comparing these songwriting processes, possibilities for a pedagogical-didactic interweaving of different educational worlds are highlighted. Therefore, the subproject of the University of Erfurt investigates school music lessons with the help of interviews, videography, and network maps by analyzing new digital pedagogical and didactic possibilities. In the first step, the international literature on songwriting in the music classroom was examined for design development. The analysis focused on the question of which methods and practices are circulating in the current literature. Results from this stage of the project form the basis for the first instructional design that will help teachers in planning regular music classes and subsequently reconstruct musical learning practices under these conditions. In analyzing the literature, we noticed certain structural methods and concepts that recur, such as the Building Blocks method and the pre-structuring of the songwriting process. From these findings, we developed a deck of cards that both captures the current state of research and serves as a method for design development. With this deck of cards, both teachers and students themselves can plan their individual songwriting lessons by independently selecting and arranging topic, structure, and action cards. In terms of science communication, music educators' interactions with the card game provide us with essential insights for developing the first design. The overall goal of MusCoDA is to develop an empirical model of collective musical creativity and learning and an instructional design for teaching music in the postdigital age.

Keywords: card game, collective songwriting, community of practice, network, postdigital

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Authors: Shahid Razzaq

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The governments around the globe have started taking into considerations the knowledge management dynamics while formulating, implementing, and evaluating the strategies, with or without the conscious realization, for the different public sector organizations and public policy developments. Health Department of Punjab province in Pakistan is striving to deliver quality healthcare services to the community through an efficient and effective service delivery system. Despite of this struggle some employee performance issues yet exists in the form of challenge to government. To overcome these issues department took several steps including HR strategies, use of technologies and focus of hard issues. Consequently, this study was attempted to highlight the importance of soft issue that is knowledge management in its true essence to tackle their performance issues. Knowledge management in public sector is quite an ignored area in the knowledge management-a growing multidisciplinary research discipline. Knowledge-based view of the firm theory asserts the knowledge is the most deliberate resource that can result in competitive advantage for an organization over the other competing organizations. In the context of our study it means for gaining employee performance, organizations have to increase the heterogeneous knowledge bases. The study uses the cross-sectional and quantitative research design. The data is collected from the knowledge workers of Health Department of Punjab, the biggest province of Pakistan. A total of 341 sample size is achieved. The SmartPLS 3 Version 2.6 is used for analyzing the data. The data examination revealed that knowledge management processes has a strong impact on knowledge worker performance. All hypotheses are accepted according to the results. Therefore, it can be summed up that to increase the employee performance knowledge management activities should be implemented. Health Department within province of Punjab introduces the knowledge management infrastructure and systems to make effective availability of knowledge for the service staff. This knowledge management infrastructure resulted in an increase in the knowledge management process in different remote hospitals, basic health units and care centers which resulted in greater service provisions to public. This study is to have theoretical and practical significances. In terms of theoretical contribution, this study is to establish the relationship between knowledge management and performance for the first time. In case of the practical contribution, this study is to give an insight to public sector organizations and government about role of knowledge management in employ performance. Therefore, public policymakers are strongly advised to implement the activities of knowledge management for enhancing the performance of knowledge workers. The current research validated the substantial role of knowledge management in persuading and creating employee arrogances and behavioral objectives. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study contribute to the impact of knowledge management on employee performance as its originality.

Keywords: employee performance, knowledge management, public sector, soft issues

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Authors: Subham Ghosh, Arnab Nandi

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Background: The proliferation of Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN) and Internet of Things (IoT) applications demonstrates the potential for continuous monitoring of physical changes in the body. These technologies are vital for health monitoring tasks, such as identifying coughing and breathing activities, which are necessary for disease diagnosis and management. Monitoring activities such as coughing and deep breathing can provide valuable insights into a variety of medical issues. Wearable radio-based antenna sensors, which are lightweight and easy to incorporate into clothing or portable goods, provide continuous monitoring. This mobility gives it a substantial advantage over stationary environmental sensors like as cameras and radar, which are constrained to certain places. Furthermore, using compressive techniques provides benefits such as reduced data transmission speeds and memory needs. These wearable sensors offer more advanced and diverse health monitoring capabilities. Methodology: This study analyzes the feasibility of using a semi-flexible antenna operating at 2.4 GHz (ISM band) and positioned around the neck and near the mouth to identify three activities: coughing, deep breathing, and idleness. Vector network analyzer (VNA) is used to collect time-varying complex reflection coefficient data from perturbed antenna nearfield. The reflection coefficient (S11) conveys nuanced information caused by simultaneous variations in the nearfield radiation of three activities across time. The signatures are sparsely represented with gaussian windowed Gabor spectrograms. The Gabor spectrogram is used as a sparse representation approach, which reassigns the ridges of the spectrogram images to improve their resolution and focus on essential components. The antenna is biocompatible in terms of specific absorption rate (SAR). The sparsely represented Gabor spectrogram pictures are fed into a lightweight deep learning (DL) model for feature extraction and classification. Two antenna locations are investigated in order to determine the most effective localization for three different activities. Findings: Cross-validation techniques were used on data from both locations. Due to the complex form of the recorded S11, separate analyzes and assessments were performed on the magnitude, phase, and their combination. The combination of magnitude and phase fared better than the separate analyses. Various sliding window sizes, ranging from 1 to 5 seconds, were tested to find the best window for activity classification. It was discovered that a neck-mounted design was effective at detecting the three unique behaviors.

Keywords: activity recognition, antenna, deep-learning, time-frequency

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Authors: D. Tedesco, G. Feletti, P. Trucco

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The present study aims to develop a Decision Support System (DSS) to support the operational decision of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) regarding the assignment of medical emergency requests to Emergency Departments (ED). In the literature, this problem is also known as “hospital selection” and concerns the definition of policies for the selection of the ED to which patients who require further treatment are transported by ambulance. The employed research methodology consists of the first phase of revision of the technical-scientific literature concerning DSSs to support the EMS management and, in particular, the hospital selection decision. From the literature analysis, it emerged that current studies are mainly focused on the EMS phases related to the ambulance service and consider a process that ends when the ambulance is available after completing a request. Therefore, all the ED-related issues are excluded and considered as part of a separate process. Indeed, the most studied hospital selection policy turned out to be proximity, thus allowing to minimize the transport time and release the ambulance in the shortest possible time. The purpose of the present study consists in developing an optimization model for assigning medical emergency requests to the EDs, considering information relating to the subsequent phases of the process, such as the case-mix, the expected service throughput times, and the operational capacity of different EDs in hospitals. To this end, a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model was created to evaluate different hospital selection policies. Therefore, the next steps of the research consisted of the development of a general simulation architecture, its implementation in the AnyLogic software and its validation on a realistic dataset. The hospital selection policy that produced the best results was the minimization of the Time To Provider (TTP), considered as the time from the beginning of the ambulance journey to the ED at the beginning of the clinical evaluation by the doctor. Finally, two approaches were further compared: a static approach, which is based on a retrospective estimate of the TTP, and a dynamic approach, which is based on a predictive estimate of the TTP determined with a constantly updated Winters model. Findings reveal that considering the minimization of TTP as a hospital selection policy raises several benefits. It allows to significantly reduce service throughput times in the ED with a minimum increase in travel time. Furthermore, an immediate view of the saturation state of the ED is produced and the case-mix present in the ED structures (i.e., the different triage codes) is considered, as different severity codes correspond to different service throughput times. Besides, the use of a predictive approach is certainly more reliable in terms of TTP estimation than a retrospective approach but entails a more difficult application. These considerations can support decision-makers in introducing different hospital selection policies to enhance EMSs performance.

Keywords: discrete event simulation, emergency medical services, forecast model, hospital selection

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Authors: Otuwose E. Agyeno, Adeniyi A. Jayeola, Bashir A. Ajala

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P. esculentus is indigenous to Nigeria yet no wild relation has been encountered or reported. This has made it difficult to establish proper lineages between the varieties and landraces under cultivation. The present work is the first to determine the apormophy of 135 morphoanatomical characters in organs of 46 accessions drawn from 23 populations of this species based on dicta. The character states were coded in accession x character-state matrices and only 83 were informative and utilised for neighbour joining clustering based on euclidean values, and heuristic search in parsimony analysis using PAST ver. 3.15 software. Compatibility and evolutionary trends between accessions were then explored from values and diagrams produced. The low consistency indices (CI) recorded support monophyly and low homoplasy in this taxon. Agglomerative schedules based on character type and source data sets divided the accessions into mainly 3 clades, each of complexes of accessions. Solenostemon rotundifolius (Poir) J.K Morton was the outgroup (OG) used, and it occurred within the largest clades except when the characters were combined in a data set. The OG showed better compatibility with accessions of populations of landrace Isci, and varieties Riyum and Long’at. Otherwise, its aerial parts are more consistent with those of accessions of variety Bebot. The highly polytomous clades produced due to anatomical data set may be an indication of how stable such characters are in this species. Strict consensus trees with more than 60 nodes outputted showed that the basal nodes were strongly supported by 3 to 17 characters across the data sets, suggesting that populations of this species are more alike. The OG was clearly the first diverging lineage and closely related to accessions of landrace Gwe and variety Bebot morphologically, but different from them anatomically. It was also distantly related to landrace Fina and variety Long’at in terms of root, stem and leaf structural attributes. There were at least 5 other clades with each comprising of complexes of accessions from different localities and terrains within the study area. Spherical stem in cross section, size of vascular bundles at the stem corners as well as the alternate and whorl phyllotaxy are attributes which may have facilitated each other’s evolution in all accessions of the landrace Gwe, and they may be innovative since such states are not characteristic of the larger Lamiaceae, and Plectranthus L’Her in particular. In conclusion, this study has provided valuable information about infraspecific diversity in this taxon. It supports recognition of the varietal statuses accorded to populations of P. esculentus, as well as the hypothesis that the wild gene might have been distributed on the Jos Plateau. However, molecular characterisation of accessions of populations of this species would resolve this problem better.

Keywords: clustering, lineage, morphoanatomical characters, Nigeria, phylogenetics, Plectranthus esculentus, population

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Authors: Laura Southgate

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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as much of the scholarship on the organisation, celebrates its ability to uphold the principle of regional autonomy, understood as upholding the norm of non-intervention by external powers in regional affairs. Yet, in practice, this has been repeatedly violated. This dichotomy between rhetoric and practice suggests an interesting avenue for further study. The East Timor crisis (1975-1999) has been selected as a case-study to test the dynamics of ASEAN state resistance to sovereignty violation in two distinct timeframes: Indonesia’s initial invasion of the territory in 1975, and the ensuing humanitarian crisis in 1999 which resulted in a UN-mandated, Australian-led peacekeeping intervention force. These time-periods demonstrate variation on the dependent variable. It is necessary to observe covariation in order to derive observations in support of a causal theory. To establish covariation, my independent variable is therefore a continuous variable characterised by variation in convergence of interest. Change of this variable should change the value of the dependent variable, thus establishing causal direction. This paper investigates the history of ASEAN’s relationship to the norm of non-intervention. It offers an alternative understanding of ASEAN’s history, written in terms of the relationship between a key ASEAN state, which I call a ‘vanguard state’, and selected external powers. This paper will consider when ASEAN resistance to sovereignty violation has succeeded, and when it has failed. It will contend that variation in outcomes associated with vanguard state resistance to sovereignty violation can be best explained by levels of interest convergence between the ASEAN vanguard state and designated external actors. Evidence will be provided to support the hypothesis that in 1999, ASEAN’s failure to resist violations to the sovereignty of Indonesia was a consequence of low interest convergence between Indonesia and the external powers. Conversely, in 1975, ASEAN’s ability to resist violations to the sovereignty of Indonesia was a consequence of high interest convergence between Indonesia and the external powers. As the vanguard state, Indonesia was able to apply pressure on the ASEAN states and obtain unanimous support for Indonesia’s East Timor policy in 1975 and 1999. However, the key factor explaining the variance in outcomes in both time periods resides in the critical role played by external actors. This view represents a serious challenge to much of the existing scholarship that emphasises ASEAN’s ability to defend regional autonomy. As these cases attempt to show, ASEAN autonomy is much more contingent than portrayed in the existing literature.

Keywords: ASEAN, east timor, intervention, sovereignty

Procedia PDF Downloads 359

Authors: Kristina Zuzek, Xuan Xu, Awais Ikram, Richard Sheridan, Allan Walton, Saso Sturm

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Recycling of end-of-life REEs based Nd-Fe-B magnets is an important strategy for reducing the environmental dangers associated with rare-earth mining and overcoming the well-documented supply risks related to the REEs. However, challenges on their reprocessing still remain. We report on the possibility of direct electrochemical recycling and reprocessing of Nd-Fe(B)-based magnets. In this investigation, we were able first to electrochemically leach the end-of-life NdFeB magnet and to electrodeposit Nd–Fe using a 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium dicyanamide ([EMIM][DCA]) ionic liquid-based electrolyte. We observed that Nd(III) could not be reduced independently. However, it can be co-deposited on a substrate with the addition of Fe(II). Using advanced TEM techniques of electron-energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) it was shown that Nd(III) is reduced to Nd(0) during the electrodeposition process. This gave a new insight into determining the Nd oxidation state, as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has certain limitations. This is because the binding energies of metallic Nd (Nd0) and neodymium oxide (Nd₂O₃) are very close, i. e., 980.5-981.5 eV and 981.7-982.3 eV, respectively, making it almost impossible to differentiate between the two states. These new insights into the electrodeposition process represent an important step closer to efficient recycling of rare piles of earth in metallic form at mild temperatures, thus providing an alternative to high-temperature molten-salt electrolysis and a step closer to deposit Nd-Fe-based magnetic materials. Further, we propose a new concept of recycling the sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets by direct recovering the 2:14:1 matrix phase. Via an electrochemical etching method, we are able to recover pure individual 2:14:1 grains that can be re-used for new types of magnet production. In the frame of physical reprocessing, we have successfully synthesized new magnets out of hydrogen (HDDR)-recycled stocks with a contemporary technique of pulsed electric current sintering (PECS). The optimal PECS conditions yielded fully dense Nd-Fe-B magnets with the coercivity Hc = 1060 kA/m, which was boosted to 1160 kA/m after the post-PECS thermal treatment. The Br and Hc were tackled further and increased applied pressures of 100 – 150 MPa resulted in Br = 1.01 T. We showed that with a fine tune of the PECS and post-annealing it is possible to revitalize the Nd-Fe-B end-of-life magnets. By applying advanced TEM, i.e. atomic-scale Z-contrast STEM combined with EDXS and EELS, the resulting magnetic properties were critically assessed against various types of structural and compositional discontinuities down to atomic-scale, which we believe control the microstructure evolution during the PECS processing route.

Keywords: electrochemistry, Nd-Fe-B, pulsed electric current sintering, recycling, reprocessing

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Preetinder Kaur Randhawa

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The rural areas can be differentiated from urban areas in terms of their economic activities as rural areas are primarily involved in agricultural sector and provide natural resources whereas, urban areas are primarily involved in infrastructure sector and provide manufacturing services. Census of India defines a Census Town as an area which satisfies the following three criteria i.e. population exceeds 5000, at least 75 percent of male population engaged in non-agricultural sector and minimum population density of 400 persons per square kilometers. Urban areas can be attributed to the improvement of transport facilities, the massive decline in agricultural, especially male workers and workers shift to non-agricultural activities. This study examines the pattern, process of rural areas transformed into urban areas/ census town. The study has analyzed the various factors which are responsible for land transformation as well as the socio-economic transformation of the village population. Nilpur (CT) which belongs to Rajpura Tehsil in Patiala district, Punjab has been selected for the present study. The methodology adopted includes qualitative and quantitative research design, methods based on secondary data. Secondary data has been collected from unpublished revenue record office of Rajpura Tehsil and Primary Census Abstract of Patiala district, Census of India 2011. The results have showed that rate of transformation of a village to census town in Rajpura Tehsil has been one of highest among other villages. The census town has evolved through the evolutionary process of human settlement which grows in size, population and physical development. There must be a complete economic transformation and attainment of high level of technological development. Urban design and construction of buildings and infrastructure can be carried out better and faster and can be used to aid human habitation with the enhancement of quality of life. The study has concluded that in the selected area i.e Nilpur (CT) literacy rate has increased to 72.1 percent in year 2011 from 67.6 percent in year 2001. Similarly non-agricultural work force has increased to 95.2 percent in year 2011 from 81.1 percent in year 2001. It is very much clear that the increased literacy rate has put a positive impact on the involvement of non-agricultural workers have enhanced. The study has concluded that rural-urban linkages are important tools for understanding complexities of people livelihood and their strategies which involve mobility migration and the diversification of income sources and occupations.

Keywords: Census Town, India, Nilpur, Punjab

Procedia PDF Downloads 253

Authors: S. V. Kuznetsov, M. N. Mayakova, V. Yu. Proydakova, V. V. Pavlov, A. S. Nizamutdinov, O. A. Morozov, V. V. Voronov, P. P. Fedorov

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Increase in the share of electricity received by conversion of solar energy results in the reduction of the industrial impact on the environment from the use of the hydrocarbon energy sources. One way to increase said share is to improve the efficiency of solar energy conversion in silicon-based solar panels. Such efficiency increase can be achieved by transferring energy from sunlight-insensitive areas of work of silicon solar panels to the area of their photoresistivity. To achieve this goal, a transition to new luminescent materials with the high quantum yield of luminescence is necessary. Improvement in the quantum yield can be achieved by quantum cutting, which allows obtaining a quantum yield of down conversion of more than 150% due to the splitting of high-energy photons of the UV spectral range into lower-energy photons of the visible and near infrared spectral ranges. The goal of present work is to test approach of excitation through sensibilization of 4f-4f fluorescence of Yb3+ by various RE ions absorbing in UV and Vis spectral ranges. One of promising materials for quantum cutting luminophores are fluorides. In our investigation we have developed synthesis of nano- and submicron powders of calcium fluoride and strontium doped with rare-earth elements (Yb: Ce, Yb: Pr, Yb: Eu) of controlled dimensions and shape by co-precipitation from water solution technique. We have used Ca(NO3)2*4H2O, Sr(NO3)2, HF, NH4F as precursors. After initial solutions of nitrates were prepared they have been mixed with fluorine containing solution by dropwise manner. According to XRD data, the synthesis resulted in single phase samples with fluorite structure. By means of SEM measurements, we have confirmed spherical morphology and have determined sizes of particles (50-100 nm after synthesis and 150-300 nm after calcination). Temperature of calcination appeared to be 600°C. We have investigated the spectral-kinetic characteristics of above mentioned compounds. Here the diffuse reflection and laser induced fluorescence spectra of Yb3+ ions excited at around 4f-4f and 4f-5d transitions of Pr3+, Eu3+ and Ce3+ ions in the synthesized powders are reported. The investigation of down conversion luminescence capability of synthesized compounds included measurements of fluorescence decays and quantum yield of 2F5/2-2F7/2 fluorescence of Yb3+ ions as function of Yb3+ and sensitizer contents. An optimal chemical composition of CaF2-YbF3- LnF3 (Ln=Ce, Eu, Pr), SrF2-YbF3-LnF3 (Ln=Ce, Eu, Pr) micro- and nano- powders according to criteria of maximal IR fluorescence yield is proposed. We suppose that investigated materials are prospective in solar panels improvement applications. Work was supported by Russian Science Foundation grant #17-73- 20352.

Keywords: solar cell, fluorides, down-conversion luminescence, maximum quantum yield

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Authors: S. Dias, A. Tadeu, J. Antonio, F. Pedro, C. Serra

Abstract:

The goal of the present work is to experimentally evaluate the feasibility of using vibration isolators made of expanded cork agglomerate. Even though this material, also known as insulation cork board (ICB), has mainly been studied for thermal and acoustic insulation purposes, it has strong potential for use in vibration isolation. However, the adequate design of expanded cork blocks vibration isolators will depend on several factors, such as excitation frequency, static load conditions and intrinsic dynamic behavior of the material. In this study, transmissibility tests for different static and dynamic loading conditions were performed in order to characterize the material. Since the material’s physical properties can influence the vibro-isolation performance of the blocks (in terms of density and thickness), this study covered four mass density ranges and four block thicknesses. A total of 72 expanded cork agglomerate specimens were tested. The test apparatus comprises a vibration exciter connected to an excitation mass that holds the test specimen. The test specimens under characterization were loaded successively with steel plates in order to obtain results for different masses. An accelerometer was placed at the top of these masses and at the base of the excitation mass. The test was performed for a defined frequency range, and the amplitude registered by the accelerometers was recorded in time domain. For each of the signals (signal 1- vibration of the excitation mass, signal 2- vibration of the loading mass) a fast Fourier transform (FFT) was applied in order to obtain the frequency domain response. For each of the frequency domain signals, the maximum amplitude reached was registered. The ratio between the amplitude (acceleration) of signal 2 and the amplitude of signal 1, allows the calculation of the transmissibility for each frequency. Repeating this procedure allowed us to plot a transmissibility curve for a certain frequency range. A number of transmissibility experiments were performed to assess the influence of changing the mass density and thickness of the expanded cork blocks and the experimental conditions (static load and frequency of excitation). The experimental transmissibility tests performed in this study showed that expanded cork agglomerate blocks are a good option for mitigating vibrations. It was concluded that specimens with lower mass density and larger thickness lead to better performance, with higher vibration isolation and a larger range of isolated frequencies. In conclusion, the study of the performance of expanded cork agglomerate blocks presented herein will allow for a more efficient application of expanded cork vibration isolators. This is particularly relevant since this material is a more sustainable alternative to other commonly used non-environmentally friendly products, such as rubber.

Keywords: expanded cork agglomerate, insulation cork board, transmissibility tests, sustainable materials, vibration isolators

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Authors: David Edgar

Abstract:

To understand how the brain’s subconscious and conscious functions, we must conquer the physics of Unity, which leads to duality’s algorithm. Where the subconscious (bottom-up) and conscious (top-down) processes function together to produce and consume intelligence, we use terms like ‘time is relative,’ but we really do understand the meaning. In the brain, there are different processes and, therefore, different observers. These different processes experience time at different rates. A sensory system such as the eyes cycles measurement around 33 milliseconds, the conscious process of the frontal lobe cycles at 300 milliseconds, and the subconscious process of the thalamus cycle at 5 milliseconds. Three different observers experience time differently. To bridge observers, the thalamus, which is the fastest of the processes, maintains a synchronous state and entangles the different components of the brain’s physical process. The entanglements form a synchronous cohesion between the brain components allowing them to share the same state and execute in the same measurement cycle. The thalamus uses the shared state to control the firing sequence of the brain’s linear subconscious process. Sharing state also allows the brain to cheat on the amount of sensory data that must be exchanged between components. Only unpredictable motion is transferred through the synchronous state because predictable motion already exists in the shared framework. The brain’s synchronous subconscious process is entirely based on energy conservation, where prediction regulates energy usage. So, the eyes every 33 milliseconds dump their sensory data into the thalamus every day. The thalamus is going to perform a motion measurement to identify the unpredictable motion in the sensory data. Here is the trick. The thalamus conducts its measurement based on the original observation time of the sensory system (33 ms), not its own process time (5 ms). This creates a data payload of synchronous motion that preserves the original sensory observation. Basically, a frozen moment in time (Flat 4D). The single moment in time can then be processed through the single state maintained by the synchronous process. Other processes, such as consciousness (300 ms), can interface with the synchronous state to generate awareness of that moment. Now, synchronous data traveling through a separate faster synchronous process creates a theoretical time tunnel where observation time is tunneled through the synchronous process and is reproduced on the other side in the original time-relativity. The synchronous process eliminates time dilation by simply removing itself from the equation so that its own process time does not alter the experience. To the original observer, the measurement appears to be instantaneous, but in the thalamus, a linear subconscious process generating sensory perception and thought production is being executed. It is all just occurring in the time available because other observation times are slower than thalamic measurement time. For life to exist in the physical universe requires a linear measurement process, it just hides by operating at a faster time relativity. What’s interesting is time dilation is not the problem; it’s the solution. Einstein said there was no universal time.

Keywords: neural synchronization, natural intelligence, 99.95% IoT data transmission savings, artificial subconscious intelligence (ASI)

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Authors: Orkide Donma, Mustafa M. Donma

Abstract:

Obesity, a disease associated with a low-grade inflammation, is a risk factor for the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). So far, MetS risk factors such as parameters related to glucose and lipid metabolisms as well as blood pressure were considered for the evaluation of this disease. There are still some ambiguities related to the characteristic features of MetS observed particularly in pediatric population. Hormonal imbalance is also important, and quite a lot information exists about the behaviour of some hormones in adults. However, the hormonal profiles in pediatric metabolism have not been cleared yet. The aim of this study is to investigate the profiles of cortisol, insulin, and thyroid hormones in children with MetS. The study population was composed of morbid obese (MO) children without (Group 1) and with (Group 2) MetS components. WHO BMI-for age and sex percentiles were used for the classification of obesity. The values above 99 percentile were defined as morbid obesity. Components of MetS (central obesity, glucose intolerance, high blood pressure, high triacylglycerol levels, low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol) were determined. Anthropometric measurements were performed. Ratios as well as obesity indices were calculated. Insulin, cortisol, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free T₃ and free T₄ analyses were performed by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Data were evaluated by statistical package for social sciences program. p<0.05 was accepted as the degree for statistical significance. The mean ages±SD values of Group 1 and Group 2 were 9.9±3.1 years and 10.8±3.2 years, respectively. Body mass index (BMI) values were calculated as 27.4±5.9 kg/m² and 30.6±8.1 kg/m², successively. There were no statistically significant differences between the ages and BMI values of the groups. Insulin levels were statistically significantly increased in MetS in comparison with the levels measured in MO children. There was not any difference between MO children and those with MetS in terms of cortisol, T₃, T₄ and TSH. However, T₄ levels were positively correlated with cortisol and negatively correlated with insulin. None of these correlations were observed in MO children. Cortisol levels in both MO as well as MetS group were significantly correlated. Cortisol, insulin, and thyroid hormones are essential for life. Cortisol, called the control system for hormones, orchestrates the performance of other key hormones. It seems to establish a connection between hormone imbalance and inflammation. During an inflammatory state, more cortisol is produced to fight inflammation. High cortisol levels prevent the conversion of the inactive form of the thyroid hormone T₄ into active form T₃. Insulin is reduced due to low thyroid hormone. T₃, which is essential for blood sugar control- requires cortisol levels within the normal range. Positive association of T₄ with cortisol and negative association of it with insulin are the indicators of such a delicate balance among these hormones also in children with MetS.

Keywords: children, cortisol, insulin, metabolic syndrome, thyroid hormones

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Authors: Maria Lucia G. Lourenco, Keylla H. N. P. Pereira, Vivane Y. Hibaru, Fabiana F. Souza, Joao C. P. Ferreira, Simone B. Chiacchio, Luiz H. A. Machado

Abstract:

Neonatal sepsis is a systemic response to the acute generalized infection caused by one or more bacterial agents, representing the main infectious cause of neonatal mortality in dogs during the first three weeks of life. This study aims to describe the incidence of sepsis in neonate dogs, as well as the main clinical signs and mortality rates. The study included 735 neonates admitted to the Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) Veterinary Hospital, Botucatu, Sao Paulo, Brazil, between January 2018 and November 2019. Seven hundred thirty-five neonates, 14% (98/703) presented neonatal sepsis. The main sources of infection for the neonates were intrauterine (72.5%, 71/98), lactogenic (13.2%, 13/98), umbilical (5.1%, 5/98) and unidentified sources (9.2%, 9/98). The main non-specific clinical signs observed in the newborns were weakness, depression, impaired or absent reflexes, hypothermia, hypoglycemia, dehydration, reduced muscle tonus and diarrhea. The newborns also manifested clinical signs of severe infection, such as hyperemia in the abdominal and anal regions, omphalitis, hematuria, abdomen and extremities with purplish-blue coloration necrosing injuries in the pads, bradycardia, dyspnea, epistaxis, hypotension and evolution to septic shock. Infections acquired during intrauterine life led to the onset of the clinical signs at the time of birth, with fast evolution during the first hours of life. On the other hand, infections acquired via milk or umbilical cord presented clinical signs later. The total mortality rate was 5.4% (38/703) and the mortality rate among the neonates with sepsis was 38.7% (38/98). The early mortality rate (0 to 2 days) accounted for 86.9% (33/38) and the late mortality rate (3 to 30 days) for 13.1% (5/38) of the deaths among the newborns with sepsis. The main bacterial agents observed were Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Proteus spp. Mannheimia spp. and Escherichia coli. Neonatal sepsis evolves quickly and may lead to high mortality in a litter. The prognosis is usually favorable if the diagnosis is reached early and the antibiotic therapy instituted as soon as possible, even before the results of blood cultures and antibiograms. The therapeutic recommendations should meet the special physiological conditions of a neonate in terms of metabolism and excretion of medication. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the veterinarian is knowledgeable regarding neonatology to provide effective intervention and improve the survival rates of these patients.

Keywords: Neonatal infection , bacteria, puppies, newborn

Procedia PDF Downloads 116