Search results for: change literature

Authors: Henry Lau, Dilupa Nakandala, Li Zhao

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In today’s business, it is well-recognized that risk is an important factor that needs to be taken into consideration before a decision is made. Studies indicate that both the number of risks faced by organizations and their potential consequences are growing. Supply chain risk management has become one of the major concerns for practitioners and researchers. Supply chain leaders and scholars are now focusing on the importance of managing supply chain risk. In order to meet the challenge of managing and mitigating supply chain risk (SCR), we must first identify the different dimensions of SCR and assess its relevant probability and severity. SCR has been classified in many different ways, and there are no consistently accepted dimensions of SCRs and several different classifications are reported in the literature. Basically, supply chain risks can be classified into two dimensions namely disruption risk and operational risk. Disruption risks are those caused by events such as bankruptcy, natural disasters and terrorist attack. Operational risks are related to supply and demand coordination and uncertainty, such as uncertain demand and uncertain supply. Disruption risks are rare but severe and hard to manage, while operational risk can be reduced through effective SCM activities. Other SCRs include supply risk, process risk, demand risk and technology risk. In fact, the disorganized classification of SCR has created confusion for SCR scholars. Moreover, practitioners need to identify and assess SCR. As such, it is important to have an overarching framework tying all these SCR dimensions together for two reasons. First, it helps researchers use these terms for communication of ideas based on the same concept. Second, a shared understanding of the SCR dimensions will support the researchers to focus on the more important research objective: operationalization of SCR, which is very important for assessing SCR. In general, fresh food supply chain is subject to certain level of risks, such as supply risk (low quality, delivery failure, hot weather etc.) and demand risk (season food imbalance, new competitors). Effective strategies to mitigate fresh food supply chain risk are required to enhance operations. Before implementing effective mitigation strategies, we need to identify the risk sources and evaluate the risk level. However, assessing the supply chain risk is not an easy matter, and existing research mainly use qualitative method, such as risk assessment matrix. To address the relevant issues, this paper aims to analyze the risk factor of the fresh food supply chain using an approach comprising both fuzzy logic and hierarchical holographic modeling techniques. This novel approach is able to take advantage the benefits of both of these well-known techniques and at the same time offset their drawbacks in certain aspects. In order to develop this integrated approach, substantial research work is needed to effectively combine these two techniques in a seamless way, To validate the proposed integrated approach, a case study in a fresh food supply chain company was conducted to verify the feasibility of its functionality in a real environment.

Keywords: fresh food supply chain, fuzzy logic, hierarchical holographic modelling, operationalization, supply chain risk

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Authors: Haya Salah, Srinivas Sharan

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Healthcare facilities use appointment systems to schedule their appointments and to manage access to their medical services. With the growing demand for outpatient care, it is now imperative to manage physician's time effectively. However, high variation in consultation duration affects the clinical scheduler's ability to estimate the appointment duration and allocate provider time appropriately. Underestimating consultation times can lead to physician's burnout, misdiagnosis, and patient dissatisfaction. On the other hand, appointment durations that are longer than required lead to doctor idle time and fewer patient visits. Therefore, a good estimation of consultation duration has the potential to improve timely access to care, resource utilization, quality of care, and patient satisfaction. Although the literature on factors influencing consultation length abound, little work has done to predict it using based data-driven approaches. Therefore, this study aims to predict consultation duration using supervised machine learning algorithms (ML), which predicts an outcome variable (e.g., consultation) based on potential features that influence the outcome. In particular, ML algorithms learn from a historical dataset without explicitly being programmed and uncover the relationship between the features and outcome variable. A subset of the data used in this study has been obtained from the electronic medical records (EMR) of four different outpatient clinics located in central Pennsylvania, USA. Also, publicly available information on doctor's characteristics such as gender and experience has been extracted from online sources. This research develops three popular ML algorithms (deep learning, random forest, gradient boosting machine) to predict the treatment time required for a patient and conducts a comparative analysis of these algorithms with respect to predictive performance. The findings of this study indicate that ML algorithms have the potential to predict the provider service time with superior accuracy. While the current approach of experience-based appointment duration estimation adopted by the clinic resulted in a mean absolute percentage error of 25.8%, the Deep learning algorithm developed in this study yielded the best performance with a MAPE of 12.24%, followed by gradient boosting machine (13.26%) and random forests (14.71%). Besides, this research also identified the critical variables affecting consultation duration to be patient type (new vs. established), doctor's experience, zip code, appointment day, and doctor's specialty. Moreover, several practical insights are obtained based on the comparative analysis of the ML algorithms. The machine learning approach presented in this study can serve as a decision support tool and could be integrated into the appointment system for effectively managing patient scheduling.

Keywords: clinical decision support system, machine learning algorithms, patient scheduling, prediction models, provider service time

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Authors: Richard Renou, Laurent Soulard

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Lasers are widely used in glass material processing, from waveguide fabrication to channel drilling. The gradual damage of glass optics under UV lasers is also an important issue to be addressed. Glass materials (including metallic glasses) can undergo a permanent densification under laser-induced shock loading. Despite increased interest on interactions between laser and glass materials, little is known about the structural mechanisms involved under shock loading. For example, the densification process in silica glasses occurs between 8 GPa and 30 GPa. Above 30 GPa, the glass material returns to the original density after relaxation. Investigating these unusual mechanisms in silica glass will provide an overall better understanding in glass behaviour. Non-Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics simulations (NEMD) were carried out in order to gain insight on the silica glass microscopic structure under shock loading. The shock was generated by the use of a piston impacting the glass material at high velocity (from 100m/s up to 2km/s). Periodic boundary conditions were used in the directions perpendicular to the shock propagation to model an infinite system. One-dimensional shock propagations were therefore studied. Simulations were performed with the STAMP code developed by the CEA. A very specific structure is observed in a silica glass. Oxygen atoms around Silicon atoms are organized in tetrahedrons. Those tetrahedrons are linked and tend to form rings inside the structure. A significant amount of empty cavities is also observed in glass materials. In order to understand how a shock loading is impacting the overall structure, the tetrahedrons, the rings and the cavities were thoroughly analysed. An elastic behaviour was observed when the shock pressure is below 8 GPa. This is consistent with the Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL) of 8.8 GPa estimated experimentally for silica glasses. Behind the shock front, the ring structure and the cavity distribution are impacted. The ring volume is smaller, and most cavities disappear with increasing shock pressure. However, the tetrahedral structure is not affected. The elasticity of the glass structure is therefore related to a ring shrinking and a cavity closing. Above the HEL, the shock pressure is high enough to impact the tetrahedral structure. An increasing number of hexahedrons and octahedrons are formed with the pressure. The large rings break to form smaller ones. The cavities are however not impacted as most cavities are already closed under an elastic shock. After the material relaxation, a significant amount of hexahedrons and octahedrons is still observed, and most of the cavities remain closed. The overall ring distribution after relaxation is similar to the equilibrium distribution. The densification process is therefore related to two structural mechanisms: a change in the coordination of silicon atoms and a cavity closing. To sum up, non-equilibrium molecular dynamics were carried out to investigate silica behaviour under shock loading. Analysing the structure lead to interesting conclusions upon the elastic and the densification mechanisms in glass materials. This work will be completed with a detailed study of the mechanism occurring above 30 GPa, where no sign of densification is observed after the material relaxation.

Keywords: densification, molecular dynamics simulations, shock loading, silica glass

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Authors: Cinzia Russi, Chiyo Nishida

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Using data from online corpora (Spanish CREA, Italian CORIS), this paper examines the relatively understudied use of Spanish se and Italian si exemplified in (1) and (2), respectively. (1) El rojo es … el que se come a los demás. ‘The red (bottle) is the one that outshines/*eats the rest.’(2) … ebbe anche la saggezza di mangiarsi tutto il suo patrimonio. ‘… he even had the wisdom to squander/*eat all his estate.’ In these sentences, se/si accompanies the consumption verb comer/mangiare ‘to eat’, without which the sentences would not be interpreted appropriately. This se/si cannot readily be attributed to any of the multiple functions so far identified in the literature: reflexive, ergative, middle/passive, inherent, benefactive, and complete consumptive. In particular, this paper argues against the feasibility of a recent construction-based analysis of sentences like (1) and (2), which situates se/si within a prototype-based network of meanings all deriving from the central meaning of 'COMPLETE CONSUMPTION' (e.g., Alice se comió toda la torta/Alicesi è mangiata tutta la torta ‘John ate the whole cake’). Clearly, the empirical adequacy of such an account is undermined by the fact that the events depicted in the se/si-sentences at issue do not always entail complete consumption because they may lack an INCREMENTAL THEME, the distinguishing property of complete consumption. Alternatively, it is proposed that the sentences under analysis represent instances of verbal METAPHORICAL EXTENSION: se/si represents an explicit marker of this cognitive process, which has independently developed from the complete consumptive se/si, and the meaning extension is captured by the general tenets of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). Two conceptual domains, Source (DS) and target (DT), are related by similarity, assigning an appropriate metaphorical interpretation to DT. The domains paired here are comer/mangiare (DS) and comerse/mangiarsi (DT). The eating event (DS) involves (a) the physical process of xEATER grinding yFOOD-STUFF into pieces and swallowing it; and (b) the aspect of xEATER savoring yFOOD-STUFF and being nurtured by it. In the physical act of eating, xEATER has dominance and exercises his force over yFOOD-STUFF. This general sense of dominance and force is mapped onto DT and is manifested in the ways exemplified in (1) and (2), and many others. According to CMT, two other properties are observed in each pair of DS & DT. First, DS tends to be more physical and concrete and DT more abstract, and systematic mappings are established between constituent elements in DS and those in DT: xEATER corresponds to the element that destroys and yFOOD-STUFF to the element that is destroyed in DT, as exemplified in (1) and (2). Though the metaphorical extension marker se/si appears by far most frequently with comer/mangiare in the corpora, similar systematic mappings are observed in several other verb pairs, for example, jugar/giocare ‘to play (games)’ and jugarse/giocarsi ‘to jeopardize/risk (life, reputation, etc.)’, perder/perdere ‘to lose (an object)’ and perderse/perdersi ‘to miss out on (an event)’, etc. Thus, this study provides evidence that languages may indeed formally mark metaphor using means available to them.

Keywords: complete consumption value, conceptual metaphor, Italian si/Spanish se, metaphorical extension.

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Authors: Alastair Hales, Xi Jiang

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Numerical methods are used to evaluate the operation of confined face-to-face piezoelectric fan arrays as pitch, P, between the blades is varied. Both in-phase and counter-phase oscillation are considered. A piezoelectric fan consists of a fan blade, which is clamped at one end, and an extremely low powered actuator. This drives the blade tip’s oscillation at its first natural frequency. Sufficient blade tip speed, created by the high oscillation frequency and amplitude, is required to induce vortices and downstream volume flow in the surrounding air. A single piezoelectric fan may provide the ideal solution for low powered hot spot cooling in an electronic device, but is unable to induce sufficient downstream airflow to replace a conventional air mover, such as a convection fan, in power electronics. Piezoelectric fan arrays, which are assemblies including multiple fan blades usually in face-to-face orientation, must be developed to widen the field of feasible applications for the technology. The potential energy saving is significant, with a 50% power demand reduction compared to convection fans even in an unoptimised state. A numerical model of a typical piezoelectric fan blade is derived and validated against experimental data. Numerical error is found to be 5.4% and 9.8% using two data comparison methods. The model is used to explore the variation of pitch as a function of amplitude, A, for a confined two-blade piezoelectric fan array in face-to-face orientation, with the blades oscillating both in-phase and counter-phase. It has been reported that in-phase oscillation is optimal for generating maximum downstream velocity and flow rate in unconfined conditions, due at least in part to the beneficial coupling between the adjacent blades that leads to an increased oscillation amplitude. The present model demonstrates that confinement has a significant detrimental effect on in-phase oscillation. Even at low pitch, counter-phase oscillation produces enhanced downstream air velocities and flow rates. Downstream air velocity from counter-phase oscillation can be maximally enhanced, relative to that generated from a single blade, by 17.7% at P = 8A. Flow rate enhancement at the same pitch is found to be 18.6%. By comparison, in-phase oscillation at the same pitch outputs 23.9% and 24.8% reductions in peak downstream air velocity and flow rate, relative to that generated from a single blade. This optimal pitch, equivalent to those reported in the literature, suggests that counter-phase oscillation is less affected by confinement. The optimal pitch for generating bulk airflow from counter-phase oscillation is large, P > 16A, due to the small but significant downstream velocity across the span between adjacent blades. However, by considering design in a confined space, counterphase pitch should be minimised to maximise the bulk airflow generated from a certain cross-sectional area within a channel flow application. Quantitative values are found to deviate to a small degree as other geometric and operational parameters are varied, but the established relationships are maintained.

Keywords: piezoelectric fans, low energy cooling, power electronics, computational fluid dynamics

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Authors: Monkiz Khasreen

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In the context of the global trend towards reducing new buildings carbon footprint, the design team is required to make early decisions that have a major influence on embodied and operational carbon. Sustainability strategies should be clear during early stages of building design process, as changes made later can be extremely costly. Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) could be used as the vehicle to carry other tools and processes towards achieving the requested improvement. Although LCA is the ‘golden standard’ to evaluate buildings from 'cradle to grave', lack of details available on the concept design makes LCA very difficult, if not impossible, to be used as an estimation tool at early stages. Issues related to transparency and accessibility of information in the building industry are affecting the credibility of LCA studies. A verified database derived from LCA case studies is required to be accessible to researchers, design professionals, and decision makers in order to offer guidance on specific areas of significant impact. This database could be the build-up of data from multiple sources within a pool of research held in this context. One of the most important factors that affects the reliability of such data is the temporal factor as building materials, components, and systems are rapidly changing with the advancement of technology making production more efficient and less environmentally harmful. Recent LCA studies on different building functions, types, and structures are always needed to update databases derived from research and to form case bases for comparison studies. There is also a need to make these studies transparent and accessible to designers. The work in this paper sets out to address this need. This paper also presents life-cycle case study of a new-build educational building in England. The building utilised very current construction methods and technologies and is rated as BREEAM excellent. Carbon emissions of different life-cycle stages and different building materials and components were modelled. Scenario and sensitivity analyses were used to estimate the future of new educational buildings in England. The study attempts to form an indicator during the early design stages of similar buildings. Carbon dioxide emissions of this case study building, when normalised according to floor area, lie towards the lower end of the range of worldwide data reported in the literature. Sensitivity analysis shows that life cycle assessment results are highly sensitive to future assumptions made at the design stage, such as future changes in electricity generation structure over time, refurbishment processes and recycling. The analyses also prove that large savings in carbon dioxide emissions can result from very small changes at the design stage.

Keywords: architecture, building, carbon dioxide, construction, educational buildings, England, environmental impact, life-cycle assessment

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Authors: Stefano Zaninotto, Geoffrey Farrugia, Johan Debattista, Jason Gauci

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The need to reduce fuel and noise during taxi operations in the airports with a scenario of constantly increasing air traffic has resulted in an effort by the aerospace industry to move towards electric taxiing. In fact, this is one of the problems that is currently being addressed by SESAR JU and two main solutions are being proposed. With the first solution, electric motors are installed in the main (or nose) landing gear of the aircraft. With the second solution, manned or unmanned electric tow trucks are used to tow aircraft from the gate to the runway (or vice-versa). The presence of the tow trucks results in an increase in vehicle traffic inside the airport. Therefore, it is important to design the system in a way that the workload of Air Traffic Control (ATC) is not increased and the system assists ATC in managing all ground operations. The aim of this work is to develop an electric taxiing system, based on the use of autonomous tow trucks, which optimizes aircraft ground operations while keeping ATC in the loop. This system will consist of two components: an optimization tool and a Graphical User Interface (GUI). The optimization tool will be responsible for determining the optimal path for arriving and departing aircraft; allocating a tow truck to each taxiing aircraft; detecting conflicts between aircraft and/or tow trucks; and proposing solutions to resolve any conflicts. There are two main optimization strategies proposed in the literature. With centralized optimization, a central authority coordinates and makes the decision for all ground movements, in order to find a global optimum. With the second strategy, called decentralized optimization or multi-agent system, the decision authority is distributed among several agents. These agents could be the aircraft, the tow trucks, and taxiway or runway intersections. This approach finds local optima; however, it scales better with the number of ground movements and is more robust to external disturbances (such as taxi delays or unscheduled events). The strategy proposed in this work is a hybrid system combining aspects of these two approaches. The GUI will provide information on the movement and status of each aircraft and tow truck, and alert ATC about any impending conflicts. It will also enable ATC to give taxi clearances and to modify the routes proposed by the system. The complete system will be tested via computer simulation of various taxi scenarios at multiple airports, including Malta International Airport, a major international airport, and a fictitious airport. These tests will involve actual Air Traffic Controllers in order to evaluate the GUI and assess the impact of the system on ATC workload and situation awareness. It is expected that the proposed system will increase the efficiency of taxi operations while reducing their environmental impact. Furthermore, it is envisaged that the system will facilitate various controller tasks and improve ATC situation awareness.

Keywords: air traffic control, electric taxiing, autonomous tow trucks, graphical user interface, ground operations, multi-agent, route optimization

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Authors: Siba Soren, Purnendu Parhi

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Today, the world is facing a severe challenge due to depletion of traditional fossil fuels. Scientists across the globe are working for a solution that involves a dramatic shift to practical and environmentally sustainable energy sources. High-capacity energy systems, such as metal-air batteries, fuel cells, are highly desirable to meet the urgent requirement of sustainable energies. Among the fuel cells, Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are recognized as an ideal power source for mobile applications and have received considerable attention in recent past. In this advanced electrochemical energy conversion technologies, Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) is of utmost importance. However, the poor kinetics of cathodic ORR in DMFCs significantly hampers their possibilities of commercialization. The oxygen is reduced in alkaline medium either through a 4-electron (equation i) or a 2-electron (equation ii) reduction pathway at the cathode ((i) O₂ + 2H₂O + 4e⁻ → 4OH⁻, (ii) O₂ + H₂O + 2e⁻ → OH⁻ + HO₂⁻ ). Due to sluggish ORR kinetics the ability to control the reduction of molecular oxygen electrocatalytically is still limited. The electrocatalytic ORR starts with adsorption of O₂ on the electrode surface followed by O–O bond activation/cleavage and oxide removal. The reaction further involves transfer of 4 electrons and 4 protons. The sluggish kinetics of ORR, on the one hand, demands high loading of precious metal-containing catalysts (e.g., Pt), which unfavorably increases the cost of these electrochemical energy conversion devices. Therefore, synthesis of active electrocatalyst with an increase in ORR performance is need of the hour. In the recent literature, there are many reports on transition metal oxide (TMO) based ORR catalysts for their high activity TMOs are also having drawbacks like low electrical conductivity, which seriously affects the electron transfer process during ORR. It was found that 2D graphene layer is having high electrical conductivity, large surface area, and excellent chemical stability, appeared to be an ultimate choice as support material to enhance the catalytic performance of bare metal oxide. g-C₃N₄ is also another candidate that has been used by the researcher for improving the ORR performance of metal oxides. This material provides more active reaction sites than other N containing carbon materials. Rare earth oxide like CeO₂ is also a good candidate for studying the ORR activity as the metal oxide not only possess unique electronic properties but also possess catalytically active sites. Here we will discuss the ORR performance (in alkaline medium) of N-rGO/C₃N₄ supported nano Cerium Oxides hybrid synthesized by microwave assisted Solvothermal method. These materials exhibit superior electrochemical stability and methanol tolerance capability to that of commercial Pt/C.

Keywords: oxygen reduction reaction, electrocatalyst, cerium oxide, graphene

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Authors: Nurten Çelik

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Under the new developments in science, medicine, sociology, psychology and literary theories, body studies has gained huge importance and the body has become a debatable issue. There has emerged, among sociologists and literary theorists, an overwhelming consensus that body is socially, politically and culturally perceived and constructed and thus, the position of an individual in the society is determined in accordance with his/her body image. In this regard, the most complicated point is the theoretical views propounded upon disability studies, where the disabled body is considered to be a site upon which social and political restrictions as well as repressions are inscribed. There has been the widely-accepted view that no matter what kind of disability it is, those with physical, mental or learning impairments face varied social, political and environmental obstacles that prevent them from being an active citizen, worker, lover and even a family member. In parallel with these approaches, the matter of the sufferings of disabled individuals attains its place in cinema and literature as well as in theatre studies under the category of disability theatre. One of the prominent plays that deal with physical disability came from the contemporary British playwright Nina Raine. In her awarded play Tribes, which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2010, Raine develops the social strata where her deaf protagonist, Billy, caught up between two tribes – namely his family and his lover Slyvia, a member of the deaf community– experiences personal and social hardships due to his hearing impairment. In the play, intransigent and self-opinionated family members foster no sense of empathy towards Billy, there are noisy talking and shouting, but no communication, love, compassion or mutual understanding, and language becomes just a tool for the expression of rage and oppression. In the disordered atmosphere of the family life, Billy experiences isolation and loneliness. Billy’s hopes for success and love are destroyed when Slyvia, troubled between hearing and deafness, rejects him because she does not utterly grasp what Billy is experiencing. Drawing upon the hardships, Billy undergoes in his relationships with his family and his girlfriend, Tribes problematizes the concept of deafness and explores to what extent a deaf person can find a place in the hearing world. Setting ‘the disabled’ bodies against ‘the abled’ bodies in a family, a microcosm of the society where bodies are socially shaped and constructed, Tribes dramatizes how the disabled bodies are disenfranchised, stigmatised, marginalized and othered on the grounds that they are socially misfit. Tribes, with a specific focus on the dysfunctional family, shows that the lack of communication and empathy numbs the characters to the feelings of each other and thereby, they become more disabled than Billy. In conclusion, this paper, with the reference to the embodiment of disability and social theories, aims to explore how disabled bodies are socially marked and segregated from family and society.

Keywords: body, deafness, disability, disability theatre, Nina Raine, tribes

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Authors: Alexis D'Agostino, Amanda Pomeroy

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Background: Resource availability is essential to effective implementation of national nutrition policies. To this end, the SPRING Project has collected and analyzed budget data from government ministries in Uganda, international donors, and other nutrition implementers to provide data for the first time on what funding is actually allocated to implement nutrition activities named in the national nutrition plan. Methodology: USAID’s SPRING Project used the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan (UNAP) as the starting point for budget analysis. Thorough desk reviews of public budgets from government, donors, and NGOs were mapped to activities named in the UNAP and validated by key informants (KIs) across the stakeholder groups. By relying on nationally-recognized and locally-created documents, SPRING provided a familiar basis for discussions to increase credibility and local ownership of findings. Among other things, the KIs validated the amount, source, and type (specific or sensitive) of funding. When only high-level budget data were available, KIs provided rough estimates of the percentage of allocations that were actually nutrition-relevant, allowing creation of confidence intervals around some funding estimates. Results: After validating data and narrowing in on estimates of funding to nutrition-relevant programming, researchers applied a formula to estimate overall nutrition allocations. In line with guidance by the SUN Movement and its three-step process, nutrition-specific funding was counted at 100% of its allocation amount, while nutrition sensitive funding was counted at 25%. The vast majority of nutrition funding in Uganda is off-budget, with over 90 percent of all nutrition funding is provided outside of the government system. Overall allocations are split nearly evenly between nutrition-specific and –sensitive activities. In FY 2013/14, the two-year study’s baseline year, on- and off-budget funding for nutrition was estimated to be around 60 million USD. While the 60 million USD allocations compare favorably to the 66 million USD estimate of the cost of the UNAP, not all activities are sufficiently funded. Those activities with a focus on behavior change were the most underfunded. In addition, accompanying qualitative research suggested that donor funding for nutrition activities may shift government funding into other areas of work, making it difficult to estimate the sustainability of current nutrition investments.Conclusions: Beyond providing figures, these estimates can be used together with the qualitative results of the study to explain how and why these amounts were allocated for particular activities and not others, examine the negotiation process that occurred, and suggest options for improving the flow of finances to UNAP activities for the remainder of the policy tenure. By the end of the PBN study, several years of nutrition budget estimates will be available to compare changes in funding over time. Halfway through SPRING’s work, there is evidence that country stakeholders have begun to feel ownership over the ultimate findings and some ministries are requesting increased technical assistance in nutrition budgeting. Ultimately, these data can be used within organization to advocate for more and improved nutrition funding and to improve targeting of nutrition allocations.

Keywords: budget, nutrition, financing, scale-up

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Authors: Patrizia Frontera, Anastasia Macario, Sebastiano Candamano, Fortunato Crea, Pierluigi Antonucci

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The increasing of the world energy demand makes today biomass an attractive energy source, based on the minimizing of CO2 emission and on the global warming reduction purposes. Recently, COP-21, the international meeting on global climate change, defined the roadmap for sustainable worldwide development, based on low-carbon containing fuel. Hydrogen is an energy vector able to substitute the conventional fuels from petroleum. Ethanol for hydrogen production represents a valid alternative to the fossil sources due to its low toxicity, low production costs, high biodegradability, high H2 content and renewability. Ethanol conversion to generate hydrogen by a combination of partial oxidation and steam reforming reactions is generally called auto-thermal reforming (ATR). The ATR process is advantageous due to the low energy requirements and to the reduced carbonaceous deposits formation. Catalyst plays a pivotal role in the ATR process, especially towards the process selectivity and the carbonaceous deposits formation. Bimetallic or trimetallic catalysts, as well as catalysts with doped-promoters supports, may exhibit high activity, selectivity and deactivation resistance with respect to the corresponding monometallic ones. In this work, NiMoCo/GDC, NiMoCu/GDC and NiMoRe/GDC (where GDC is Gadolinia Doped Ceria support and the metal composition is 60:30:10 for all catalyst) have been prepared by impregnation method. The support, Gadolinia 0.2 Doped Ceria 0.8, was impregnated by metal precursors solubilized in aqueous ethanol solution (50%) at room temperature for 6 hours. After this, the catalysts were dried at 100°C for 8 hours and, subsequently, calcined at 600°C in order to have the metal oxides. Finally, active catalysts were obtained by reduction procedure (H2 atmosphere at 500°C for 6 hours). All sample were characterized by different analytical techniques (XRD, SEM-EDX, XPS, CHNS, H2-TPR and Raman Spectorscopy). Catalytic experiments (auto-thermal reforming of ethanol) were carried out in the temperature range 500-800°C under atmospheric pressure, using a continuous fixed-bed microreactor. Effluent gases from the reactor were analyzed by two Varian CP4900 chromarographs with a TCD detector. The analytical investigation focused on the preventing of the coke deposition, the metals sintering effect and the sulfur poisoning. Hydrogen productivity, ethanol conversion and products distribution were measured and analyzed. At 600°C, all tri-metallic catalysts show the best performance: H2 + CO reaching almost the 77 vol.% in the final gases. While NiMoCo/GDC catalyst shows the best selectivity to hydrogen whit respect to the other tri-metallic catalysts (41 vol.% at 600°C). On the other hand, NiMoCu/GDC and NiMoRe/GDC demonstrated high sulfur poisoning resistance (up to 200 cc/min) with respect to the NiMoCo/GDC catalyst. The correlation among catalytic results and surface properties of the catalysts will be discussed.

Keywords: catalysts, ceria, ethanol, gadolinia, hydrogen, Nickel

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Authors: Jingjing Yan, Gengen He, Anahid Basiri

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The design of an indoor navigation system for fire evacuation support requires not only physical feasibility but also a relatively thorough consideration of the human factors. This study has taken a survey to investigate the fire response performances (FRP) of the indoor occupants in age of 20s, virtually in an environment for their routine life, focusing on the aspects of indoor familiarity (spatial cognition), psychological stress and decision makings. For indoor familiarity, it is interested in three factors, i.e., the familiarity to exits and risky places as well as the satisfaction degree of the current indoor sign installation. According to the results, males have a higher average familiarity with the indoor exits while both genders have a relatively low level of risky place awareness. These two factors are positively correlated with the satisfaction degree of the current installation of the indoor signs, and this correlation is more evident for the exit familiarity. The integration of the height factor with the other two indoor familiarity factors can improve the degree of indoor sign satisfaction. For psychological stress, this study concentrates on the situated cognition of moving difficulty, nervousness, and speed reduction when using a bending posture during the fire evacuation to avoid smoke inhalation. The results have shown that both genders have a similar mid-level of hardness sensation. The females have a higher average level of nervousness, while males have a higher average level of speed reduction sensation. This study has assumed that the growing indoor spatial cognition can help ease the psychological hardness and nervousness. However, it only seems to be true after reaching a certain level. When integrating the effects from indoor familiarity and the other two psychological factors, the correlation to the sensation of speed change can be strengthened, based on a stronger positive correlation with the integrated factors. This study has also investigated the participants’ attitude to the navigation support during evacuation, and the majority of the participants have shown positive attitudes. For following the guidance under some extreme cases, i.e., changing to a longer path and to an alternative exit, the majority of the participants has shown the confidence of keeping trusting the guidance service. These decisions are affected by the combined influences from indoor familiarity, psychological stress, and attitude of using navigation service. For the decision time of the selected extreme cases, it costs more time in average for deciding to use a longer route than to use an alternative exit, and this situation is more evident for the female participants. This requires further considerations when designing a personalized smartphone-based navigation app. This study has also investigated the calming factors for people being trapped during evacuation. The top consideration is the distance to the nearest firefighters, and the following considerations are the current fire conditions in the surrounding environment and the locations of all firefighters. The ranking of the latter two considerations is very gender-dependent according to the results.

Keywords: fire response performances, indoor spatial cognition, situated cognition, survey analysis

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Authors: Asmit Neupane, Narayan Prasad Gautam, Prabin Bhusal

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Indian pangolin, locally called as ‘Salak’, ‘Sal machha’, ‘Pakho machha’, is a globally endangered species, nationally categorized as a critically endangered species, protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (NPWC) Act 1973 and appended in Appendix I of CITES. Indian pangolins occur in the tropical areas of Terai region and Chure foothills of eastern Nepal, and India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. They utilize a wide range of habitats, including primary and secondary tropical forest, limestone forest, bamboo forest, grassland, and agricultural lands. So, in regard to this fact, this research is aimed to provide detailed information regarding the current distribution pattern, status, habitat preference, prevailing threats and attitude of local people towards species conservation in Madhesh Province, Nepal. The study was conducted in four CFs, two from Bara district and two from Dhanusha district. The study area comprised of Churia range and foothills with tropical and sub-tropical vegetation. A total of 24 transects were established, each of 500*50 m2, where indirect signs of Indian pangolin, including active/old burrows, pugmarks and scratches, were found. Altogether 93 burrows were found, where only 20 were active burrows. Similarly, a vegetation survey and social survey was also conducted. The data was analyzed using Stata 16 and SPSS software. Distance from settlement, ground cover, aspect, presence/absence of ants/termites and human disturbance were the important habitat parameters having statistically significant relationship with the distribution of Indian pangolin in the area. The species was found to prefer an elevation of 360 to 540m, 0-15º slope, red soil, North-east aspect, moderate crown and ground cover, without fire and rocks, vicinity of water, roads, settlement, Sal dominated forest and minimum disturbed by human activities. Similarly, the attitude of local people towards Indian pangolin conservation was found to be significantly different with respect to age, sex and education level. The study concludes that majority of active burrows were found in Churia hills, which indicates that Indian pangolin population is gradually moving uphill towards higher elevation as hilly area supports better prey availability and also less human disturbance. Further studies are required to investigate microhabitat preferences, seasonal variability and impacts of climate change on the distribution, habitat and prey availability of Indian pangolin for the sustainable conservation of this species.

Keywords: conservation, IUCN red list, local participation, small mammal, status, threats

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Farnaz Jafari

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The surge in mass timber construction represents a pivotal moment in sustainable building practices, yet the lack of comprehensive education in construction management poses a challenge in harnessing this innovation effectively. This research endeavors to bridge this gap by developing a curriculum framework integrating mass timber construction into undergraduate and industry certificate programs. To optimize learning outcomes, the study explores the impact of two prototype formats -Virtual Reality (VR) simulations and physical mock-ups- on students' understanding and skill development. The curriculum framework aims to equip future construction managers with a holistic understanding of mass timber, covering its unique properties, construction methods, building codes, and sustainable advantages. The study adopts a mixed-methods approach, commencing with a systematic literature review and leveraging surveys and interviews with educators and industry professionals to identify existing educational gaps. The iterative development process involves incorporating stakeholder feedback into the curriculum. The evaluation of prototype impact employs pre- and post-tests administered to participants engaged in pilot programs. Through qualitative content analysis and quantitative statistical methods, the study seeks to compare the effectiveness of VR simulations and physical mock-ups in conveying knowledge and skills related to mass timber construction. The anticipated findings will illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, providing insights for future curriculum development. The curriculum's expected contribution to sustainable construction education lies in its emphasis on practical application, bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills. The research also seeks to establish a standard for mass timber construction education, contributing to the field through a unique comparative analysis of VR simulations and physical mock-ups. The study's significance extends to the development of best practices and evidence-based recommendations for integrating technology and hands-on experiences in construction education. By addressing current educational gaps and offering a comparative analysis, this research aims to enrich the construction management education experience and pave the way for broader adoption of sustainable practices in the industry. The envisioned curriculum framework is designed for versatile integration, catering to undergraduate programs and industry training modules, thereby enhancing the educational landscape for aspiring construction professionals. Ultimately, this study underscores the importance of proactive educational strategies in preparing industry professionals for the evolving demands of the construction landscape, facilitating a seamless transition towards sustainable building practices.

Keywords: curriculum framework, mass timber construction, physical vs. virtual prototypes, sustainable building practices

Procedia PDF Downloads 62

Authors: Loren S. Bernal., Catalina Castillo, Carel E. Carvajal, José F. Ibla

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Plastic pollution, specifically microplastics, has become a significant issue in aquatic ecosystems worldwide. The large amount of plastic waste carried by water tributaries has resulted in the accumulation of microplastics in water bodies. The polymer aging process caused by environmental influences such as photodegradation and chemical degradation of additives leads to polymer embrittlement and properties change that require degradation or reduction procedures in rivers. However, there is a lack of such procedures for freshwater entities that develop over extended periods. The aim of this study is evaluate the potential of Pleurotus ostreatus a fungus, in reducing lowdensity polyethylene microplastics present in freshwater samples collected from the middle basin of the Magdalena River in Colombia. The study aims to evaluate this process both in vitro and in silico by identifying the growth capacity of Pleurotus ostreatus in the presence of microplastics and identifying the most likely interactions of Pleurotus ostreatus enzymes and their affinity energies. The study follows an engineering development methodology applied on an experimental basis. The in vitro evaluation protocol applied in this study focused on the growth capacity of Pleurotus ostreatus on microplastics using enzymatic inducers. In terms of in silico evaluation, molecular simulations were conducted using the Autodock 1.5.7 program to calculate interaction energies. The molecular dynamics were evaluated by using the myPresto Portal and GROMACS program to calculate radius of gyration and Energies.The results of the study showed that Pleurotus ostreatus has the potential to degrade low-density polyethylene microplastics. The in vitro evaluation revealed the adherence of Pleurotus ostreatus to LDPE using scanning electron microscopy. The best results were obtained with enzymatic inducers as a MnSO4 generating the activation of laccase or manganese peroxidase enzymes in the degradation process. The in silico modelling demonstrated that Pleurotus ostreatus was able to interact with the microplastics present in LDPE, showing affinity energies in molecular docking and molecular dynamics shown a minimum energy and the representative radius of gyration between each enzyme and its substract. The study contributes to the development of bioremediation processes for the removal of microplastics from freshwater sources using the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus. The in silico study provides insights into the affinity energies of Pleurotus ostreatus microplastic degrading enzymes and their interaction with low-density polyethylene. The study demonstrated that Pleurotus ostreatus can interact with LDPE microplastics, making it a good agent for the development of bioremediation processes that aid in the recovery of freshwater sources. The results of the study suggested that bioremediation could be a promising approach to reduce microplastics in freshwater systems.

Keywords: bioremediation, in silico modelling, microplastics, Pleurotus ostreatus

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Piyush Sharma, Laltu Chandra, P. S. Ghoshdastidar, Rajiv Shekhar

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Metals processing operations such as melting and heat treatment of metals are energy-intensive, requiring temperatures greater than 500oC. The desired temperature in these industrial furnaces is attained by circulating electrically-heated air. In most of these furnaces, electricity produced from captive coal-based thermal power plants is used. Solar thermal energy could be a viable heat source in these furnaces. A retrofitted solar convective furnace (SCF) concept, which uses solar thermal generated hot air, has been proposed. Critical to the success of a SCF is the design of an open volumetric air receiver (OVAR), which can heat air in excess of 800oC. The OVAR is placed on top of a tower and receives concentrated solar radiation from a heliostat field. Absorbers, mixer assembly, and the return air flow chamber (RAFC) are the major components of an OVAR. The absorber is a porous structure that transfers heat from concentrated solar radiation to ambient air, referred to as primary air. The mixer ensures uniform air temperature at the receiver exit. Flow of the relatively cooler return air in the RAFC ensures that the absorbers do not fail by overheating. In an earlier publication, the detailed design basis, fabrication, and characterization of a 2 kWth open volumetric air receiver (OVAR) based laboratory solar air tower simulator was presented. Development of an experimentally-validated, CFD based mathematical model which can ultimately be used for the design and scale-up of an OVAR has been the major objective of this investigation. In contrast to the published literature, where flow and heat transfer have been modeled primarily in a single absorber module, the present study has modeled the entire receiver assembly, including the RAFC. Flow and heat transfer calculations have been carried out in ANSYS using the LTNE model. The complex return air flow pattern in the RAFC requires complicated meshes and is computational and time intensive. Hence a simple, realistic 1-D mathematical model, which circumvents the need for carrying out detailed flow and heat transfer calculations, has also been proposed. Several important results have emerged from this investigation. Circumferential electrical heating of absorbers can mimic frontal heating by concentrated solar radiation reasonably well in testing and characterizing the performance of an OVAR. Circumferential heating, therefore, obviates the need for expensive high solar concentration simulators. Predictions suggest that the ratio of power on aperture (POA) and mass flow rate of air (MFR) is a normalizing parameter for characterizing the thermal performance of an OVAR. Increasing POA/MFR increases the maximum temperature of air, but decreases the thermal efficiency of an OVAR. Predictions of the 1-D mathematical are within 5% of ANSYS predictions and computation time is reduced from ~ 5 hours to a few seconds.

Keywords: absorbers, mixer assembly, open volumetric air receiver, return air flow chamber, solar thermal energy

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Authors: Masoud Mirzaee, Ghobad Behzadi Pour

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An aircraft tire is designed to tolerate extremely heavy loads for a short duration. The number of tires increases with the weight of the aircraft, as it is needed to be distributed more evenly. Generally, aircraft tires work at high pressure, up to 200 psi (14 bar; 1,400 kPa) for airliners and higher for business jets. Tire assemblies for most aircraft categories provide a recommendation of compressed nitrogen that supports the aircraft’s weight on the ground, including a mechanism for controlling the aircraft during taxi, takeoff; landing; and traction for braking. Accurate tire pressure is a key factor that enables tire assemblies to perform reliably under high static and dynamic loads. Concerning ambient temperature change, considering the condition in which the temperature between the origin and destination airport was different, tire pressure should be adjusted and inflated to the specified operating pressure at the colder airport. This adjustment superseding the normal tire over an inflation limit of 5 percent at constant ambient temperature is required because the inflation pressure remains constant to support the load of a specified aircraft configuration. On the other hand, without this adjustment, a tire assembly would be significantly under/over-inflated at the destination. Due to an increase of human errors in the aviation industry, exorbitant costs are imposed on the airlines for providing consumable parts such as aircraft tires. The existence of an intelligent system to adjust the aircraft tire pressure based on weight, load, temperature, and weather conditions of origin and destination airports, could have a significant effect on reducing the aircraft maintenance costs, aircraft fuel and further improving the environmental issues related to the air pollution. An intelligent tire pressure regulation system (ITPRS) contains a processing computer, a nitrogen bottle with 1800 psi, and distribution lines. Nitrogen bottle’s inlet and outlet valves are installed in the main wheel landing gear’s area and are connected through nitrogen lines to main wheels and nose wheels assy. Controlling and monitoring of nitrogen will be performed by a computer, which is adjusted according to the calculations of received parameters, including the temperature of origin and destination airport, the weight of cargo loads and passengers, fuel quantity, and wind direction. Correct tire inflation and deflation are essential in assuring that tires can withstand the centrifugal forces and heat of normal operations, with an adequate margin of safety for unusual operating conditions such as rejected takeoff and hard landings. ITPRS will increase the performance of the aircraft in all phases of takeoff, landing, and taxi. Moreover, this system will reduce human errors, consumption materials, and stresses imposed on the aircraft body.

Keywords: avionic system, improve efficiency, ITPRS, human error, reduced cost, tire pressure

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: Joana Almeida, Kendall Reid, Jonas Bengtsson

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Pallets are devices that are used for moving and storing freight and are nearly omnipresent in supply chains. The market is dominated by timber pallets, with plastic being a common alternative. Either option underpins the use of important resources (oil, land, timber), the emission of greenhouse gases and additional waste generation in most supply chains. This study uses a dynamic approach to the life cycle assessment (LCA) of pallets. It demonstrates that what ultimately defines the environmental burden of pallets in the supply chain is how often the length of its lifespan, which depends on the durability of the material and on how pallets are utilized. This study proposes a life cycle assessment (LCA) of pallets in supply chains supported by an algorithm that estimates pallet durability in function of material resilience and of logistics. The LCA runs from cradle-to-grave, including raw material provision, manufacture, transport and end of life. The scope is representative of timber and plastic pallets in the Australian and South-East Asia markets. The materials included in this analysis are: -tropical mixed hardwood, unsustainably harvested in SE Asia; -certified softwood, sustainably harvested; -conventional plastic, a mix of virgin and scrap plastic; -recycled plastic pallets, 100% mixed plastic scrap, which are being pioneered by Re > Pal. The logistical model purports that more complex supply chains and rougher handling subject pallets to higher stress loads. More stress shortens the lifespan of pallets in function of their composition. Timber pallets can be repaired, extending their lifespan, while plastic pallets cannot. At the factory gate, softwood pallets have the lowest carbon footprint. Re > pal follows closely due to its burden-free feedstock. Tropical mixed hardwood and plastic pallets have the highest footprints. Harvesting tropical mixed hardwood in SE Asia often leads to deforestation, leading to emissions from land use change. The higher footprint of plastic pallets is due to the production of virgin plastic. Our findings show that manufacture alone does not determine the sustainability of pallets. Even though certified softwood pallets have lower carbon footprint and their lifespan can be extended by repair, the need for re-supply of materials and disposal of waste timber offsets this advantage. It also leads to most waste being generated among all pallets. In a supply chain context, Re > Pal pallets have the lowest footprint due to lower replacement and disposal needs. In addition, Re > Pal are nearly ‘waste neutral’, because the waste that is generated throughout their life cycle is almost totally offset by the scrap uptake for production. The absolute results of this study can be confirmed by progressing the logistics model, improving data quality, expanding the range of materials and utilization practices. Still, this LCA demonstrates that considering logistics, raw materials and material durability is central for sustainable decision-making on pallet purchasing, management and disposal.

Keywords: carbon footprint, life cycle assessment, recycled plastic, waste

Procedia PDF Downloads 215

Authors: Vanessa H. S. Zago, Ana Maria H. de Avila, Paula P. Costa, Welington Corozolla, Liriam S. Teixeira, Eliana C. de Faria

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Objectives: The outcome of cardiovascular disease is affected by environment and climate. This study evaluated the possible relationships between climatic and environmental changes and the occurrence of biological rhythms in serum lipids and lipoproteins in a large population sample in the city of Campinas, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. In addition, it determined the temporal variations of death due to atherosclerotic events in Campinas during the time window examined. Methods: A large 8-year retrospective study was carried out to evaluate the lipid profiles of individuals attended at the University of Campinas (Unicamp). The study population comprised 27.543 individuals of both sexes and of all ages. Normolipidemic and dyslipidemic individuals classified according to Brazilian guidelines on dyslipidemias, participated in the study. For the same period, the temperature, relative humidity and daily brightness records were obtained from the Centro de Pesquisas Meteorologicas e Climaticas Aplicadas a Agricultura/Unicamp and frequencies of death due to atherosclerotic events in Campinas were acquired from the Brazilian official database DATASUS, according to the International Classification of Diseases. Statistical analyses were performed using both Cosinor and ARIMA temporal analysis methods. For cross-correlation analysis between climatic and lipid parameters, cross-correlation functions were used. Results: Preliminary results indicated that rhythmicity was significant for LDL-C and HDL-C in the cases of both normolipidemic and dyslipidemic subjects (n =respectively 11.892 and 15.651 both measures increasing in the winter and decreasing in the summer). On the other hand, for dyslipidemic subjects triglycerides increased in summer and decreased in winter, in contrast to normolipidemic ones, in which triglycerides did not show rhythmicity. The number of deaths due to atherosclerotic events showed significant rhythmicity, with maximum and minimum frequencies in winter and summer, respectively. Cross-correlation analyzes showed that low humidity and temperature, higher thermal amplitude and dark cycles are associated with increased levels of LDL-C and HDL-C during winter. In contrast, TG showed moderate cross-correlations with temperature and minimum humidity in an inverse way: maximum temperature and humidity increased TG during the summer. Conclusions: This study showed a coincident rhythmicity between low temperatures and high concentrations of LDL-C and HDL-C and the number of deaths due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular events in individuals from the city of Campinas. The opposite behavior of cholesterol and TG suggest different physiological mechanisms in their metabolic modulation by climate parameters change. Thus, new analyses are underway to better elucidate these mechanisms, as well as variations in lipid concentrations in relation to climatic variations and their associations with atherosclerotic disease and death outcomes in Campinas.

Keywords: atherosclerosis, climatic variations, lipids and lipoproteins, associations

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Authors: Dominik Halstrup, Marlene Schriever

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The industry, as one of the main energy consumer, is of critical importance along the way of transforming the energy system to Renewable Energies. The distributed character of the Energy Transition demands for further flexibility being introduced to the grid. In order to shed further light on the acceptance of Electric Energy Storage (ESS) from an industrial point of view, this study therefore examines the German manufacturing industry. The analysis in this paper uses data composed of a survey amongst 101 manufacturing companies in Germany. Being part of a two-stage research design, both qualitative and quantitative data was collected. Based on a literature review an acceptance concept was developed in the paper and four user-types identified: (Dedicated) User, Impeded User, Forced User and (Dedicated) Non-User and incorporated in the questionnaire. Both descriptive and bivariate analysis is deployed to identify the level of acceptance in the different organizations. After a factor analysis has been conducted, variables were grouped to form independent acceptance factors. Out of the 22 organizations that do show a positive attitude towards ESS, 5 have already implemented ESS and show a positive attitude towards ESS. They can be therefore considered ‘Dedicated Users’. The remaining 17 organizations have a positive attitude but have not implemented ESS yet. The results suggest that profitability plays an important role as well as load-management systems that are already in place. Surprisingly, 2 organizations have implemented ESS even though they have a negative attitude towards it. This is an example for a ‘Forced User’ where reasons of overriding importance or supporters with overriding authority might have forced the company to implement ESS. By far the biggest subset of the sample shows (critical) distance and can therefore be considered ‘(Dedicated) Non-Users’. The results indicate that the majority of the respondents have not thought ESS in their own organization through yet. For the majority of the sample one can therefore not speak of critical distance but rather a distance due to insufficient information and the perceived unprofitability. This paper identifies the relative state of acceptance of ESS in the manufacturing industry as well as current reasons for hindrance and perspectives for future growth of ESS in an industrial setting from a policy level. The interest that is currently generated by the media could be channeled and taken into a more substantial and individual discussion about ESS in an industrial setting. If the current perception of profitability could be addressed and communicated accordingly, ESS and their use in for instance cooperative business models could become a topic for more organizations in Germany and other parts of the world. As price mechanisms tend to favor existing technologies, policy makers need to further access the use of ESS and acknowledge the positive effects when integrated in an energy system. The subfields of generation, transmission and distribution become increasingly intertwined. New technologies and business models, such as ESS or cooperative arrangements entering the market, increase the number of stakeholders. Organizations need to find their place within this array of stakeholders.

Keywords: acceptance, energy storage solutions, German energy transition, manufacturing industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Kostas Kouvaris, Anastasia Eleftheriou, Georgios A. Sarantitis, Apostolos Chondronasios

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To achieve the objective of almost zero carbon energy solutions by 2050, the EU needs to accelerate the development of integrated, highly efficient and environmentally friendly solutions. In this direction, district heating and cooling (DHC) emerges as a viable and more efficient alternative to conventional, decentralized heating and cooling systems, enabling a combination of more efficient renewable and competitive energy supplies. In this paper, we develop a forecasting tool for near real-time local weather and thermal energy demand predictions for an entire DHC network. In this fashion, we are able to extend the functionality and to improve the energy efficiency of the DHC network by predicting and adjusting the heat load that is distributed from the heat generation plant to the connected buildings by the heat pipe network. Two case-studies are considered; one for Vransko, Slovenia and one for Montpellier, France. The data consists of i) local weather data, such as humidity, temperature, and precipitation, ii) weather forecast data, such as the outdoor temperature and iii) DHC operational parameters, such as the mass flow rate, supply and return temperature. The external temperature is found to be the most important energy-related variable for space conditioning, and thus it is used as an external parameter for the energy demand models. For the development of the forecasting tool, we use state-of-the-art deep neural networks and more specifically, recurrent networks with long-short-term memory cells, which are able to capture complex non-linear relations among temporal variables. Firstly, we develop models to forecast outdoor temperatures for the next 24 hours using local weather data for each case-study. Subsequently, we develop models to forecast thermal demand for the same period, taking under consideration past energy demand values as well as the predicted temperature values from the weather forecasting models. The contributions to the scientific and industrial community are three-fold, and the empirical results are highly encouraging. First, we are able to predict future thermal demand levels for the two locations under consideration with minimal errors. Second, we examine the impact of the outdoor temperature on the predictive ability of the models and how the accuracy of the energy demand forecasts decreases with the forecast horizon. Third, we extend the relevant literature with a new dataset of thermal demand and examine the performance and applicability of machine learning techniques to solve real-world problems. Overall, the solution proposed in this paper is in accordance with EU targets, providing an automated smart energy management system, decreasing human errors and reducing excessive energy production.

Keywords: machine learning, LSTMs, district heating and cooling system, thermal demand

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: A. Chatel, I. S. Torreguitart, T. Verstraete

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The paper deals with a single point optimization of the LS89 turbine using an adjoint optimization and defining the design variables within a CAD system. The advantage of including the CAD model in the design system is that higher level constraints can be imposed on the shape, allowing the optimized model or component to be manufactured. However, CAD-based approaches restrict the design space compared to node-based approaches where every node is free to move. In order to preserve a rich design space, we develop a methodology to refine the CAD model during the optimization and to create the best parameterization to use at each time. This study presents a methodology to progressively refine the design space, which combines parametric effectiveness with a differential evolutionary algorithm in order to create an optimal parameterization. In this manuscript, we show that by doing the parameterization at the CAD level, we can impose higher level constraints on the shape, such as the axial chord length, the trailing edge radius and G2 geometric continuity between the suction side and pressure side at the leading edge. Additionally, the adjoint sensitivities are filtered out and only smooth shapes are produced during the optimization process. The use of algorithmic differentiation for the CAD kernel and grid generator allows computing the grid sensitivities to machine accuracy and avoid the limited arithmetic precision and the truncation error of finite differences. Then, the parametric effectiveness is computed to rate the ability of a set of CAD design parameters to produce the design shape change dictated by the adjoint sensitivities. During the optimization process, the design space is progressively enlarged using the knot insertion algorithm which allows introducing new control points whilst preserving the initial shape. The position of the inserted knots is generally assumed. However, this assumption can hinder the creation of better parameterizations that would allow producing more localized shape changes where the adjoint sensitivities dictate. To address this, we propose using a differential evolutionary algorithm to maximize the parametric effectiveness by optimizing the location of the inserted knots. This allows the optimizer to gradually explore larger design spaces and to use an optimal CAD-based parameterization during the course of the optimization. The method is tested on the LS89 turbine cascade and large aerodynamic improvements in the entropy generation are achieved whilst keeping the exit flow angle fixed. The trailing edge and axial chord length, which are kept fixed as manufacturing constraints. The optimization results show that the multilevel optimizations were more efficient than the single level optimization, even though they used the same number of design variables at the end of the multilevel optimizations. Furthermore, the multilevel optimization where the parameterization is created using the optimal knot positions results in a more efficient strategy to reach a better optimum than the multilevel optimization where the position of the knots is arbitrarily assumed.

Keywords: adjoint, CAD, knots, multilevel, optimization, parametric effectiveness

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Reshu Yadav, Himanshu Joshi, S. K. Tripathi

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Fresh water is a scarce resource which is essential for humans and ecosystems, but its distribution is uneven. Agricultural production accounts for 70% of all surface water supplies. It is projected that against the expansion in the area equipped for irrigation by 0.6% per year, the global potential irrigation water demand would rise by 9.5% during 2021-25. This would, on one hand, have to compete against the sharply rising urban water demand. On the other, it would also have to face the fear of climate change, as temperatures rise and crop yields could drop from 10-30% in many large areas. The huge demand for irrigation combined with fresh water scarcity encourages to explore the reuse of wastewater as a resource. However, the use of such wastewater is often linked to the safety issues when used non judiciously or with poor safeguards while irrigating food crops. Paddy is one of the major crops globally and amongst the most important in South Asia and Africa. In many parts of the world, use of municipal wastewater has been promoted as a viable option in this regard. In developing and fast growing countries like India, regularly increasing wastewater generation rates may allow this option to be considered quite seriously. In view of this, a pilot field study was conducted at the Jagjeetpur Municipal Sewage treatment plant situated in the Haridwar town of Uttarakhand state, India. The objectives of the present study were to study the effect of treated wastewater on the production of various paddy varieties (Sharbati, PR-114, PB-1, Menaka, PB1121 and PB 1509) and emission of GHG gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O) as compared to the same varieties grown in the control plots irrigated with fresh water. Of late, the concept of water footprint assessment has emerged, which explains enumeration of various types of water footprints of an agricultural entity from its production to processing stages. Paddy, the most water demanding staple crop of Uttarakhand state, displayed a high green water footprint value of 2966.538 m3/ton. Most of the wastewater irrigated varieties displayed upto 6% increase in production, except Menaka and PB-1121, which showed a reduction in production (6% and 3% respectively), due to pest and insect infestation. The treated wastewater was observed to be rich in Nitrogen (55.94 mg/ml Nitrate), Phosphorus (54.24 mg/ml) and Potassium (9.78 mg/ml), thus rejuvenating the soil quality and not requiring any external nutritional supplements. Percentage increase of GHG gases on irrigation with treated municipal waste water as compared to control plots was observed as 0.4% - 8.6% (CH4), 1.1% - 9.2% (CO2), and 0.07% - 5.8% (N2O). The variety, Sharbati, displayed maximum production (5.5 ton/ha) and emerged as the most resistant variety against pests and insects. The emission values of CH4 ,CO2 and N2O were 729.31 mg/m2/d, 322.10 mg/m2/d and 400.21 mg/m2/d in water stagnant condition. This study highlighted a successful possibility of reuse of wastewater for non-potable purposes offering the potential for exploiting this resource that can replace or reduce existing use of fresh water sources in agricultural sector.

Keywords: greenhouse gases, nutrients, water footprint, wastewater irrigation

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: Frederick Huie, Lauren Fusfeld, William Burchenal, Scott Howell, Alyssa McVey, Thomas F. Goss

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Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a degenerative brain disease characterized by memory loss and cognitive decline that presents a substantial economic burden for patients and health insurers in the US. This study evaluates the payer budget impact of the DISCERN™ test in the diagnosis and management of patients with symptoms of dementia evaluated for AD. DISCERN™ comprises three assays that assess critical factors related to AD that regulate memory, formation of synaptic connections among neurons, and levels of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain and can provide a quicker, more accurate diagnosis than tests in the current diagnostic pathway (CDP). An Excel-based model with a three-year horizon was developed to assess the budget impact of DISCERN™ compared with CDP in a Medicare Advantage plan with 1M beneficiaries. Model parameters were identified through a literature review and were verified through consultation with clinicians experienced in diagnosis and management of AD. The model assesses direct medical costs/savings for patients based on the following categories: •Diagnosis: costs of diagnosis using DISCERN™ and CDP. •False Negative (FN) diagnosis: incremental cost of care avoidable with a correct AD diagnosis and appropriately directed medication. •True Positive (TP) diagnosis: AD medication costs; cost from a later TP diagnosis with the CDP versus DISCERN™ in the year of diagnosis, and savings from the delay in AD progression due to appropriate AD medication in patients who are correctly diagnosed after a FN diagnosis.•False Positive (FP) diagnosis: cost of AD medication for patients who do not have AD. A one-way sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the effect of varying key clinical and cost parameters ±10%. An additional scenario analysis was developed to evaluate the impact of individual inputs. In the base scenario, DISCERN™ is estimated to decrease costs by $4.75M over three years, equating to approximately $63.11 saved per test per year for a cohort followed over three years. While the diagnosis cost is higher with DISCERN™ than with CDP modalities, this cost is offset by the higher overall costs associated with CDP due to the longer time needed to receive a TP diagnosis and the larger number of patients who receive a FN diagnosis and progress more rapidly than if they had received appropriate AD medication. The sensitivity analysis shows that the three parameters with the greatest impact on savings are: reduced sensitivity of DISCERN™, improved sensitivity of the CDP, and a reduction in the percentage of disease progression that is avoided with appropriate AD medication. A scenario analysis in which DISCERN™ reduces the utilization for patients of computed tomography from 21% in the base case to 16%, magnetic resonance imaging from 37% to 27% and cerebrospinal fluid biomarker testing, positive emission tomography, electroencephalograms, and polysomnography testing from 4%, 5%, 10%, and 8%, respectively, in the base case to 0%, results in an overall three-year net savings of $14.5M. DISCERN™ improves the rate of accurate, definitive diagnosis of AD earlier in the disease and may generate savings for Medicare Advantage plans.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, budget, dementia, diagnosis.

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Iris Vural Gursel, Andrea Ramirez

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Effective utilization of lignin is an important mean for developing economically profitable biorefineries. Current literature suggests that large amounts of lignin will become available in second generation biorefineries. New conversion technologies will, therefore, be needed to carry lignin transformation well beyond combustion to produce energy, but towards high-value products such as chemicals and transportation fuels. In recent years, significant progress on catalysis has been made to improve transformation of lignin, and new catalytic processes are emerging. In this work, a techno-economic assessment of two of these novel conversion routes and comparison with more established lignin pyrolysis route were made. The aim is to provide insights into the potential performance and potential hotspots in order to guide the experimental research and ease the commercialization by early identifying cost drivers, strengths, and challenges. The lignin conversion routes selected for detailed assessment were: (non-catalytic) lignin pyrolysis as the benchmark, direct hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of lignin and hydrothermal lignin depolymerisation. Products generated were mixed oxygenated aromatic monomers (MOAMON), light organics, heavy organics, and char. For the technical assessment, a basis design followed by process modelling in Aspen was done using experimental yields. A design capacity of 200 kt/year lignin feed was chosen that is equivalent to a 1 Mt/y scale lignocellulosic biorefinery. The downstream equipment was modelled to achieve the separation of the product streams defined. For determining external utility requirement, heat integration was considered and when possible gasses were combusted to cover heating demand. The models made were used in generating necessary data on material and energy flows. Next, an economic assessment was carried out by estimating operating and capital costs. Return on investment (ROI) and payback period (PBP) were used as indicators. The results of the process modelling indicate that series of separation steps are required. The downstream processing was found especially demanding in the hydrothermal upgrading process due to the presence of significant amount of unconverted lignin (34%) and water. Also, external utility requirements were found to be high. Due to the complex separations, hydrothermal upgrading process showed the highest capital cost (50 M€ more than benchmark). Whereas operating costs were found the highest for the direct HDO process (20 M€/year more than benchmark) due to the use of hydrogen. Because of high yields to valuable heavy organics (32%) and MOAMON (24%), direct HDO process showed the highest ROI (12%) and the shortest PBP (5 years). This process is found feasible with a positive net present value. However, it is very sensitive to the prices used in the calculation. The assessments at this stage are associated with large uncertainties. Nevertheless, they are useful for comparing alternatives and identifying whether a certain process should be given further consideration. Among the three processes investigated here, the direct HDO process was seen to be the most promising.

Keywords: biorefinery, economic assessment, lignin conversion, process design

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Authors: Minjung Maing, Sibei Liu

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This research discusses the results of a study of window opening behavior of large housing developments in the high-density megacity of Hong Kong. The methods used for the study involved field observations using photo documentation of the four cardinal elevations (north, south-east, and west) of two large housing developments in a very dense urban area of approx. 46,000 persons per square meter within the city of Hong Kong. The targeted housing developments (A and B) are large public housing with a population of about 13,000 in each development of lower income. However, the mean income level in development A is about 40% higher than development B and home ownership is 60% in development A and 0% in development B. Mapping of the surrounding amenities and layout of the developments were also studied to understand the available activities to the residents. The photo documentation of the elevations was taken from November 2016 to February 2018 to gather a full spectrum of different seasons and both in the morning and afternoon (am/pm) times. From the photograph, the window opening behavior was measured by counting the amount of windows opened as a percentage of all the windows on that façade. For each date of survey data collected, weather data was recorded from weather stations located in the same region to collect temperature, humidity and wind speed. To further understand the behavior, simulation studies of microclimate conditions of the housing development was conducted using the software ENVI-met, a widely used simulation tool by researchers studying urban climate. Four major conclusions can be drawn from the data analysis and simulation results. Firstly, there is little change in the amount of window opening during the different seasons within a temperature range of 10 to 35 degrees Celsius. This means that people who tend to open their windows have consistent window opening behavior throughout the year and high tolerance of indoor thermal conditions. Secondly, for all four elevations the lower-income development B opened more windows (almost two times more units) than higher-income development A meaning window opening behavior had strong correlations with income level. Thirdly, there is a lack of correlation between outdoor horizontal wind speed and window opening behavior, as the changes of wind speed do not seem to affect the action of opening windows in most conditions. Similar to the low correlation between horizontal wind speed and window opening percentage, it is found that vertical wind speed also cannot explain the window opening behavior of occupants. Fourthly, there is a slightly higher average of window opening on the south elevation than the north elevation, which may be due to the south elevation being well shaded from high angle sun during the summer and allowing heat into units from lower angle sun during the winter season. These findings are important to providing insight into how to better design urban environments and indoor thermal environments for a liveable high density city.

Keywords: high-density housing, subtropical climate, urban behavior, window opening

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Authors: Santiagomani Alex Parimalam

Abstract:

Lack of awareness on the consequences of open defecation and myths and misconceptions related to use of toilets have led to the continued practice of open defecation in India. Government of India initiated a multi-pronged intensive communication campaign against the practice of open defecation in the last few years. The primary vision of this communication campaign was to provide increased demand for toilets and to ensure that all have access to safe sanitation. The campaign strategy included the use of mass media, group and folk media, and interpersonal communication to expedite achieving its objectives. The campaign included the use of various media such as posters, wall writings, slides in cinema theatres, kiosks, pamphlets, newsletters, flip charts and folk media to bring behavioural changes in the communities. The author did a concurrent monitoring and process documentation of the campaigns initiated by the state of Tamilnandu, India between 2013 and 2016 commissioned by UNICEF India. The study was carried out to assess the effectiveness of the communication campaigns in combating the practice of open defecation and promote construction of toilets in the state of Tamilnadu, India. Initial findings revealed the gap in understanding the audience and the use of appropriate media. The first phase of the communication campaign by name as Chi Chi Chollapa (bringing shame concept) also revealed that use of interpersonal communication, group and community media were the most effective strategy in reaching the rural masses. The failure of various other media used especially the print media (poster, handbills, newsletter, kiosks) provides insights as to where the government needs to invest its resources in bringing health-seeking behaviour in the community. The findings shared with the government enabled to strengthen the campaign resulting in improved response. Taking cues from the study, the government understood the potency of the women, school children, youth and community leaders as the effective carriers of the message. The government narrowed down its focus and invested on the voluntary workers (village poverty reduction committee workers VPRCs) in the community. The effectiveness of interpersonal communication and peer education by the credible community worker threw light on the need for localising the content and communicator. From this study, we could derive that only community and group media are preferred by the people in the rural community. Children, youth, women, and credible local leaders are proved to be ambassadors in behaviour change communication. This study discloses the lacunae involved in the communication campaign and points out that the state should have carried out a proper communication need analysis and piloting. The study used a survey method with random sampling. The study used both quantitative and qualitative tools such as interview schedules, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions in rural areas of Tamilnadu in phases. The findings of the study would provide directions to future campaigns to any campaign concerning health and rural development.

Keywords: appropriate, communication, combating, open defecation

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Authors: Kaveri Dutta, Ratna Sharma

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Indian traditional textile is a synthesis of various cultures. Art and crafts of a country showcases the rich cultural and artistic history of that nation. Prehistorically Indian handicrafts were basically made for day to day use; the yearning for aesthetic application soon saw the development of flooding designs and motifs. Similarly, Bagh print a traditional hand block Print with natural colours an Indian handicraft practiced in Bagh, Madhya Pradesh(India). Bagh print has its roots in Sindh, which is now a part of Pakistan. The present form of Bagh printing actually started in 1962 when the craftsmen migrated from Manavar to the neighboring town of Bagh situated in Madhya Pradesh and hence Bagh has always been associated with this printing style. Bagh printing basically involved blocks that are carved onto motifs that represent flora such as Jasmine, Mushroom leheriya and so on. There are some prints that were inspired by the jaali work that embellished the Taj Mahal and various other forts. Inspiration is also drawn from the landscapes and geometrical figures. The motifs evoke various moods in the serenity of the prints and that is the catchy element of Bagh prints. The development in this traditional textile is as essential as in another field. Nowadays fashion trends are fragile and innovative changes over existing fashion field in the short span is the demand of times. We must make efforts to preserve this cultural heritage of arts and crafts and this is done either by documenting the various ancient traditions or by making a blend of it. Since this craft is well known over the world, but the need is to document the original motif, fabric, technology and colors used in contemporary fashion. Hence keeping above points in mind this study on bagh print textiles of Madhya Pradesh work has been formulated. The information incorporated in the paper was based on secondary data taken from relevant books, journals, museum visit and articles. Besides for the demographic details and working profile of the artisans dealt with printing, an interview schedule was carried out in three regions of Madhya Pradesh. This work of art was expressed in Cotton fabric. For this study selected traditional motifs for Bang printing was used. Some of the popular traditional Bagh motifs are Jasmine, Mushroom leheriya, geometrical figures and jaali work. The Bagh printed cotton fabrics were developed into a range of men’s ethic wear in combination with embroideries from Rajasthan. Products developed were bandhgala jackets, kurtas, serwani and dupattas. From the present study, it can be observed that the embellished traditional Bang printed range of ethnic men’s wear resulted in the fresh and colourful pattern. The embroidered Bagh printed cotton fabric also created a huge change in a positive way among artisans of the three regions.

Keywords: art and craft of Madhya Pradesh, evolution of printing in India, history of Bagh printing, sources of inspiration

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Authors: A. F. G. Van Woezik, L. M. A. Braakman-Jansen, O. A. Kulyk, J. E. W. C. Van Gemert-Pijnen

Abstract:

Background: Zoonoses pose a serious threat to public health and economies worldwide, especially as antimicrobial resistance grows and newly emerging zoonoses can cause unpredictable outbreaks. In order to prevent and control emerging and re-emerging zoonoses, collaboration between veterinary, human health and public health domains is essential. In reality however, there is a lack of cooperation between these three disciplines and uncertainties exist about their tasks and responsibilities. The objective of this ongoing research project (ZonMw funded, 2014-2018) is to develop an online education and communication One Health platform, “eZoon”, for the general public and professionals working in veterinary, human health and public health domains to support the risk communication of non-alimentary zoonoses in the Netherlands. The main focus is on education and communication in times of outbreak as well as in daily non-outbreak situations. Methods: A participatory development approach was used in which stakeholders from veterinary, human health and public health domains participated. Key stakeholders were identified using business modeling techniques previously used for the design and implementation of antibiotic stewardship interventions and consisted of a literature scan, expert recommendations, and snowball sampling. We used a stakeholder salience approach to rank stakeholders according to their power, legitimacy, and urgency. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders (N=20) from all three disciplines to identify current problems in risk communication and stakeholder values for the One Health platform. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded inductively by two researchers. Results: The following key values were identified (but were not limited to): (a) need for improved awareness of veterinary and human health of each other’s fields, (b) information exchange between veterinary and human health, in particularly at a regional level; (c) legal regulations need to match with daily practice; (d) professionals and general public need to be addressed separately using tailored language and information; (e) information needs to be of value to professionals (relevant, important, accurate, and have financial or other important consequences if ignored) in order to be picked up; and (f) need for accurate information from trustworthy, centrally organised sources to inform the general public. Conclusion: By applying a participatory development approach, we gained insights from multiple perspectives into the main problems of current risk communication strategies in the Netherlands and stakeholder values. Next, we will continue the iterative development of the One Health platform by presenting key values to stakeholders for validation and ranking, which will guide further development. We will develop a communication platform with a serious game in which professionals at the regional level will be trained in shared decision making in time-critical outbreak situations, a smart Question & Answer (Q&A) system for the general public tailored towards different user profiles, and social media to inform the general public adequately during outbreaks.

Keywords: ehealth, one health, risk communication, stakeholder, zoonosis

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Authors: Nioofar Margarite Rouhani

Abstract:

Using a case study methodology, this study explores the lived experiences of elite women footballers (soccer) team in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the challenges and enablers women in this country encountered in their journey to competing at an international level. Through a series of face-to-face interviews with members of the first all-Emirati (people with UAE passport) women’s football team, members of the team’s coaching staff and key policymakers, the study sought to explore the social and cultural conditions that enabled the emergence of this team. A key aim of the study was to analyze the cultural shifts that have seemingly facilitated changes to gender relations in the UAE and to highlight possibilities for future gender equality work. The study explores the significance of sport in UAE society and its role in disrupting traditional gender boundaries. To do this, the study identifies and analyses contemporary social (religion, class, and culture) conditions that facilitate, and/or restrict, women’s sports participation in the public sphere of sport. Drawing on a feminist poststructural framework the study sought to analyse the discursive enactment of (disruptive) gender identity positions, using lenses such as ‘discourse’ and ‘power’. With a particular focus on elite women’s sport, the study sought to build knowledge around the advance of female participation in what has long been considered as a masculine domain. Here, the study sought to explore the lived experience of social change through a series of face-to-face interviews with members of the first all-Emirati- women’s football team and key support personnel. To maintain representational integrity, the principles of narrative methodology were employed for their ability to privilege the voices of participants while integrating contextual forces that comprised the stories they told about their experiences and the key people who participated in them. This approach supported a key aim of the study, being to analyse the cultural shifts that have supported changes in gender performance in the UAE and to highlight possibilities for future gender disruption. While the results of the study convey a growing sense of opportunity for aspiring sportswomen in the UAE, they also reveal that the participant pathways were full of contestation and restriction. What we learn from the stories of the first Emirate women’s football team is that where the will is strong enough, there can be a way. While it is reasonable to assume that such pathways will become easier in the future, as the participation of women in such sporting arenas becomes less exceptional, there are factors that are likely to enable and disable such journeys. Prominent here is the presence of a ‘powerful’ guardian and mentor who can offer sustained support, and influence. In a society where males continue to have disproportionate access to social and domestic power, such support can be extremely influential. Guardians and mentors can play a crucial role in garnering the support of dominant male figures, or helping to find ways to work around it.

Keywords: gender equality, women, sport, Middle East

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