Search results for: international standard industrial classification

Authors: Andres Nieto-Leal, Victor N. Kaliakin, Tania P. Molina

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The nature of most engineering materials is quite complex. It is, therefore, difficult to devise a general mathematical model that will cover all possible ranges and types of excitation and behavior of a given material. As a result, the development of mathematical models is based upon simplifying assumptions regarding material behavior. Such simplifications result in some material idealization; for example, one of the simplest material idealization is to assume that the material behavior obeys the elasticity. However, soils are nonhomogeneous, anisotropic, path-dependent materials that exhibit nonlinear stress-strain relationships, changes in volume under shear, dilatancy, as well as time-, rate- and temperature-dependent behavior. Over the years, many constitutive models, possessing different levels of sophistication, have been developed to simulate the behavior geomaterials, particularly cohesive soils. Early in the development of constitutive models, it became evident that elastic or standard elastoplastic formulations, employing purely isotropic hardening and predicated in the existence of a yield surface surrounding a purely elastic domain, were incapable of realistically simulating the behavior of geomaterials. Accordingly, more sophisticated constitutive models have been developed; for example, the bounding surface elastoplasticity. The essence of the bounding surface concept is the hypothesis that plastic deformations can occur for stress states either within or on the bounding surface. Thus, unlike classical yield surface elastoplasticity, the plastic states are not restricted only to those lying on a surface. Elastoplastic bounding surface models have been improved; however, there is still need to improve their capabilities in simulating the response of anisotropically consolidated cohesive soils, especially the response in extension tests. Thus, in this work an improved constitutive model that can more accurately predict diverse stress-strain phenomena exhibited by cohesive soils was developed. Particularly, an improved rotational hardening rule that better simulate the response of cohesive soils in extension. The generalized definition of the bounding surface model provides a convenient and elegant framework for unifying various previous versions of the model for anisotropically consolidated cohesive soils. The Generalized Bounding Surface Model for cohesive soils is a fully three-dimensional, time-dependent model that accounts for both inherent and stress induced anisotropy employing a non-associative flow rule. The model numerical implementation in a computer code followed an adaptive multistep integration scheme in conjunction with local iteration and radial return. The one-step trapezoidal rule was used to get the stiffness matrix that defines the relationship between the stress increment and the strain increment. After testing the model in simulating the response of cohesive soils through extensive comparisons of model simulations to experimental data, it has been shown to give quite good simulations. The new model successfully simulates the response of different cohesive soils; for example, Cardiff Kaolin, Spestone Kaolin, and Lower Cromer Till. The simulated undrained stress paths, stress-strain response, and excess pore pressures are in very good agreement with the experimental values, especially in extension.

Keywords: bounding surface elastoplasticity, cohesive soils, constitutive model, modeling of geomaterials

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Authors: Jonathan Nii Laryea Ashong, Samuel Opare

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Current sustainable cities debate focuses on the formidable problems for the Ghana’s largest urban and rural agglomerations, the majority of all urban dwellers continue to reside in far smaller urban settlements. It is estimated that by year 2030, almost all the Ghana’s population growth will likely be intense in urban areas including Nkawkaw in the Kwahu West Municipality of Ghana. Nkawkaw is situated on the road and former railway between Accra and Kumasi, and lies about halfway between these cities. It is also connected by road to Koforidua and Konongo. According to the 2013 census, Nkawkaw has a settlement population of 61,785. Many international agencies, government and private architectures’ are been asked to adequately recognize the naming of streets and property addressing system among the 170 districts across Ghana. The naming of streets and numbering of properties is to assist Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to manage the processes for establishing coherent address system nationally. Street addressing in the Nkawkaw in the Kwahu West Municipality which makes it possible to identify the location of a parcel of land, public places or dwellings on the ground based on system of names and numbers, yet agreement on how to progress towards it remains elusive. Therefore, reliable and effective development control for proper street naming and property addressing systems are required. The Intelligent Addressing (IA) technology from the UK is being used to name streets and properties in Ghana. The intelligent addressing employs the technique of unique property Reference Number and the unique street reference number which would transform national security and other service providers’ ability to respond rapidly to distress calls. Where name change is warranted following the review of existing streets names, the Physical Planning Department (PPDs) shall, in consultation with the relevant traditional authorities and community leadership (or relevant major stakeholders), select a street name in accordance with the provisions of the policy and the processes outlined for street name change for new development. In the case of existing streets with no names, the respective PPDs shall, in consultation with the relevant traditional authorities and community leadership (or relevant major stakeholders), select a street name in accordance with the requirements set out in municipality. Naming of access ways proposed for new developments shall be done at the time of developing sector layouts (subdivision maps) for the designated areas. In the case of private gated developments, the developer shall submit the names of the access ways as part of the plan and other documentation forwarded to the Municipal District Assembly for approval. The names shall be reviewed first by the PPD to avoid duplication and to ensure conformity to the required standards before submission to the Assembly’s Statutory Planning Committee for approval. The Kwahu West Municipality is supposed to be self-sustaining, providing basic services to inhabitants as a result of proper planning layouts, street naming and property addressing system that prevail in the area. The implications of these future projections are discussed.

Keywords: Nkawkaw, Kwahu west municipality, street naming, property, addressing system

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Authors: Renu Satish Nair

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Indian higher education system is the third largest in the world next to United States and China. India is experiencing a rapid growth in higher education in terms of student enrollment as well as establishment of new universities, colleges and institutes of national importance. Presently about 22 million students are being enrolled in higher education and more than 46 thousand institutions’ are functioning as centers of higher education. Indian government plays a 'command and control' role in higher education. The main governing body is University Grants Commission, which enforces its standards, advises the government, and helps coordinate between the centre and the state. Accreditation of higher learning is over seen by 12 autonomous institutions established by the University Grants Commission. The present paper is an effort to analyze the strength, weakness, opportunities and threat (SWOT Analysis) of Indian Higher education system. The higher education in India is progressing ahead by virtue of its strength which is being recognized at global level. Several institutions of India, such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) have been globally acclaimed for their standard of education. Three Indian universities were listed in the Times Higher Education list of the world’s top 200 universities i.e. Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institute of Management and Jawahar Lal Nehru University in 2005 and 2006. Six Indian Institutes of Technology and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science - Pilani were listed among the top 20 science and technology schools in Asia by the Asia Week. The school of Business situated in Hyderabad was ranked number 12 in Globe MBA ranking by the Financial Times of London in 2010 while the All India Institute of Medical Sciences has been recognized as a global leader in medical research and treatment. But at the same time, because of vast expansion, the system bears several weaknesses. The Indian higher education system in many parts of the country is in the state of disrepair. In almost half the districts in the country higher education enrollment are very low. Almost two third of total universities and 90% of colleges are rated below average on quality parameters. This can be attributed to the under prepared faculty, unwieldy governance and other obstacles to innovation and improvement that could prohibit India from meeting its national education goals. The opportunities in Indian higher education system are widely ranged. The national institutions are training their products to compete at global level and make them capable to grab opportunities worldwide. The state universities and colleges with their limited resources are giving the products that are capable enough to secure career opportunities and hold responsible positions in various government and private sectors with in the country. This is further creating opportunities for the weaker section of the society to join the main stream. There are several factors which can be defined as threats to Indian higher education system. It is a matter of great concern and needs proper attention. Some important factors are -Conservative society, particularly for women education; -Lack of transparency, -Taking higher education as a means of business

Keywords: Indian higher education system, SWOT analysis, university grants commission, Indian institutes of technology

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Authors: Xinyu Wei, Mingming Peng, Kenji Kamiya, Eika Qian

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Iso-stearic acid as a saturated fatty acid with a branched chain shows a low pour point, high oxidative stability and great biodegradability. The industrial production of iso-stearic acid involves first isomerizing unsaturated fatty acids into branched-chain unsaturated fatty acids (BUFAs), followed by hydrogenating the branched-chain unsaturated fatty acids to obtain iso-stearic acid. However, the production yield of iso-stearic acid is reportedly less than 30%. In recent decades, extensive research has been conducted on branched fatty acids. Most research has replaced acidic clays with zeolites due to their high selectivity, good thermal stability, and renewability. It was reported that isomerization of unsaturated fatty acid occurred mainly inside the zeolite channel. In contrast, the production of by-products like dimer acid mainly occurs at acid sites outside the surface of zeolite. Further, the deactivation of catalysts is attributed to the pore blockage of zeolite. In the present study, micro/mesoporous ZSM-22 zeolites were developed. It is clear that the synthesis of a micro/mesoporous ZSM-22 zeolite is regarded as the ideal strategy owing to its ability to minimize coke formation. Different mesoporosities micro/mesoporous H-ZSM-22 zeolites were prepared through recrystallization of ZSM-22 using sodium hydroxide solution (0.2-1M) with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide template (CTAB). The structure, morphology, porosity, acidity, and isomerization performance of the prepared catalysts were characterized and evaluated. The dissolution and recrystallization process of the H-ZSM-22 microporous zeolite led to the formation of approximately 4 nm-sized mesoporous channels on the outer surface of the microporous zeolite, resulting in a micro/mesoporous material. This process increased the weak Brønsted acid sites at the pore mouth while reducing the total number of acid sites in ZSM-22. Finally, an activity test was conducted using oleic acid as a model compound in a fixed-bed reactor. The activity test results revealed that micro/mesoporous H-ZSM-22 zeolites exhibited a high isomerization activity, reaching >70% selectivity and >50% yield of BUFAs. Furthermore, the yield of oligomers was limited to less than 20%. This demonstrates that the presence of mesopores in ZSM-22 enhances contact between the feedstock and the active sites within the catalyst, thereby increasing catalyst activity. Additionally, a portion of the dissolved and recrystallized silica adhered to the catalyst's surface, covering the surface-active sites, which reduced the formation of oligomers. This study offers distinct insights into the production of iso-stearic acid using a fixed-bed reactor, paving the way for future research in this area.

Keywords: Iso-stearic acid, oleic acid, skeletal isomerization, micro/mesoporous, ZSM-22

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Authors: Mariia Karizhenskaia, Tanvi Nandani, Ali Tafazoli Moghadam

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Hospice palliative care (HPC) is one of the most complicated philosophies of care in which physical, social/cultural, and spiritual aspects of human life are intermingled with an undeniably significant role in every aspect. Among these dimensions of care, culture possesses an outstanding position in the process and goal determination of HPC. This study shows the importance of cultural elements in the establishment of effective and optimized structures of HPC in the Canadian healthcare environment. Our systematic search included Medline, Google Scholar, and St. Lawrence College Library, considering original, peer-reviewed research papers published from 1998 to 2023 to identify recent national literature connecting culture and palliative care delivery. The most frequently presented feature among the articles is the role of culture in the efficiency of the HPC. It has been shown frequently that including the culturespecific parameters of each nation in this system of care is vital for its success. On the other hand, ignorance about the exclusive cultural trends in a specific location has been accompanied by significant failure rates. Accordingly, implementing a culture-wise adaptable approach is mandatory for multicultural societies. The following outcome of research studies in this field underscores the importance of culture-oriented education for healthcare staff. Thus, all the practitioners involved in HPC will recognize the importance of traditions, religions, and social habits for processing the care requirements. Cultural competency training is a telling sample of the establishment of this strategy in health care that has come to the aid of HPC in recent years. Another complexity of the culturized HPC nowadays is the long-standing issue of racialization. Systematic and subconscious deprivation of minorities has always been an adversity of advanced levels of care. The last part of the constellation of our research outcomes is comprised of the ethical considerations of culturally driven HPC. This part is the most sophisticated aspect of our topic because almost all the analyses, arguments, and justifications are subjective. While there was no standard measure for ethical elements in clinical studies with palliative interventions, many research teams endorsed applying ethical principles for all the involved patients. Notably, interpretations and projections of ethics differ in varying cultural backgrounds. Therefore, healthcare providers should always be aware of the most respectable methodologies of HPC on a case-by-case basis. Cultural training programs have been utilized as one of the main tactics to improve the ability of healthcare providers to address the cultural needs and preferences of diverse patients and families. In this way, most of the involved health care practitioners will be equipped with cultural competence. Considerations for ethical and racial specifications of the clients of this service will boost the effectiveness and fruitfulness of the HPC. Canadian society is a colorful compilation of multiple nationalities; accordingly, healthcare clients are diverse, and this divergence is also translated into HPC patients. This fact justifies the importance of studying all the cultural aspects of HPC to provide optimal care on this enormous land.

Keywords: cultural competence, end-of-life care, hospice, palliative care

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Authors: Adeline Stals

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The transformation of architectural design practices has been underway for almost forty years due to the development and democratization of computer technology. New and more efficient tools are constantly being proposed to architects, amplifying a technological wave that sometimes stimulates them, sometimes overwhelms them, depending essentially on their digital culture and the context (socio-economic, structural, organizational) in which they work on a daily basis. Our focus is on VR, AR, and MR technologies dedicated to architecture. The commercialization of affordable headsets like the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive or more low-tech like the Google CardBoard, makes it more accessible to benefit from these technologies. In that regard, researchers report the growing interest of these tools for architects, given the new perspectives they open up in terms of workflow, representation, collaboration, and client’s involvement. However, studies rarely mention the consequences of the sample studied on results. Our research provides an overview of VR, AR, and MR researches among a corpus of papers selected from conferences and journals. A closer look at the sample of these research projects highlights the necessity to take into consideration the context of studies in order to develop tools truly dedicated to the real practices of specific architect profiles. This literature review formalizes milestones for future challenges to address. The methodology applied is based on a systematic review of two sources of publications. The first one is the Cumincad database, which regroups publications from conferences exclusively about digital in architecture. Additionally, the second part of the corpus is based on journal publications. Journals have been selected considering their ranking on Scimago. Among the journals in the predefined category ‘architecture’ and in Quartile 1 for 2018 (last update when consulted), we have retained the ones related to the architectural design process: Design Studies, CoDesign, Architectural Science Review, Frontiers of Architectural Research and Archnet-IJAR. Beside those journals, IJAC, not classified in the ‘architecture’ category, is selected by the author for its adequacy with architecture and computing. For all requests, the search terms were ‘virtual reality’, ‘augmented reality’, and ‘mixed reality’ in title and/or keywords for papers published between 2015 and 2019 (included). This frame time is defined considering the fast evolution of these technologies in the past few years. Accordingly, the systematic review covers 202 publications. The literature review on studies about XR technologies establishes the state of the art of the current situation. It highlights that studies are mostly based on experimental contexts with controlled conditions (pedagogical, e.g.) or on practices established in large architectural offices of international renown. However, few studies focus on the strategies and practices developed by offices of smaller size, which represent the largest part of the market. Indeed, a European survey studying the architectural profession in Europe in 2018 reveals that 99% of offices are composed of less than ten people, and 71% of only one person. The study also showed that the number of medium-sized offices is continuously decreasing in favour of smaller structures. In doing so, a frontier seems to remain between the worlds of research and practice, especially for the majority of small architectural practices having a modest use of technology. This paper constitutes a reference for the next step of the research and for further worldwide researches by facilitating their contextualization.

Keywords: architectural design, literature review, SME, XR technologies

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Authors: Brenda Ravenscroft, Ulemu Luhanga, Bev King

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A comprehensive evaluation of online learning needs to include a blend of educational design, technology use, and online instructional practices that integrate technology appropriately for developing and delivering quality online courses. Research shows that classroom-based evaluation tools do not adequately capture the dynamic relationships between content, pedagogy, and technology in online courses. Furthermore, studies suggest that using classroom evaluations for online courses yields lower than normal scores for instructors, and may affect faculty negatively in terms of administrative decisions. In 2014, the Faculty of Arts and Science at Queen’s University responded to this evidence by seeking an alternative to the university-mandated evaluation tool, which is designed for classroom learning. The Faculty is deeply engaged in e-learning, offering large variety of online courses and programs in the sciences, social sciences, humanities and arts. This paper describes the process by which a new student survey instrument for online courses was developed and piloted, the methods used to analyze the data, and the ways in which the instrument was subsequently adapted based on the results. It concludes with a critical reflection on the challenges of evaluating e-learning. The Student Evaluation of Online Teaching Effectiveness (SEOTE), developed by Arthur W. Bangert in 2004 to assess constructivist-compatible online teaching practices, provided the starting point. Modifications were made in order to allow the instrument to serve the two functions required by the university: student survey results provide the instructor with feedback to enhance their teaching, and also provide the institution with evidence of teaching quality in personnel processes. Changes were therefore made to the SEOTE to distinguish more clearly between evaluation of the instructor’s teaching and evaluation of the course design, since, in the online environment, the instructor is not necessarily the course designer. After the first pilot phase, involving 35 courses, the results were analyzed using Stobart's validity framework as a guide. This process included statistical analyses of the data to test for reliability and validity, student and instructor focus groups to ascertain the tool’s usefulness in terms of the feedback it provided, and an assessment of the utility of the results by the Faculty’s e-learning unit responsible for supporting online course design. A set of recommendations led to further modifications to the survey instrument prior to a second pilot phase involving 19 courses. Following the second pilot, statistical analyses were repeated, and more focus groups were used, this time involving deans and other decision makers to determine the usefulness of the survey results in personnel processes. As a result of this inclusive process and robust analysis, the modified SEOTE instrument is currently being considered for adoption as the standard evaluation tool for all online courses at the university. Audience members at this presentation will be stimulated to consider factors that differentiate effective evaluation of online courses from classroom-based teaching. They will gain insight into strategies for introducing a new evaluation tool in a unionized institutional environment, and methodologies for evaluating the tool itself.

Keywords: evaluation, online courses, student survey, teaching effectiveness

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Authors: Ammar Alali, Mahmoud Abughaban

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Cost reduction and drilling optimization is the goal of many drilling operators. Historically, stuck pipe incidents were a major segment of non-productive time (NPT) associated costs. Traditionally, stuck pipe problems are part of the operations and solved post-sticking. However, the real key to savings and success is in predicting the stuck pipe incidents and avoiding the conditions leading to its occurrences. Previous attempts in stuck-pipe predictions have neglected the local geology of the problem. The proposed predictive tool utilizes geophysical data processing techniques and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to predict drilling activities events in real-time using surface drilling data with minimum computational power. The method combines two types of analysis: (1) real-time prediction, and (2) cause analysis. Real-time prediction aggregates the input data, including historical drilling surface data, geological formation tops, and petrophysical data, from wells within the same field. The input data are then flattened per the geological formation and stacked per stuck-pipe incidents. The algorithm uses two physical methods (stacking and flattening) to filter any noise in the signature and create a robust pre-determined pilot that adheres to the local geology. Once the drilling operation starts, the Wellsite Information Transfer Standard Markup Language (WITSML) live surface data are fed into a matrix and aggregated in a similar frequency as the pre-determined signature. Then, the matrix is correlated with the pre-determined stuck-pipe signature for this field, in real-time. The correlation used is a machine learning Correlation-based Feature Selection (CFS) algorithm, which selects relevant features from the class and identifying redundant features. The correlation output is interpreted as a probability curve of stuck pipe incidents prediction in real-time. Once this probability passes a fixed-threshold defined by the user, the other component, cause analysis, alerts the user of the expected incident based on set pre-determined signatures. A set of recommendations will be provided to reduce the associated risk. The validation process involved feeding of historical drilling data as live-stream, mimicking actual drilling conditions, of an onshore oil field. Pre-determined signatures were created for three problematic geological formations in this field prior. Three wells were processed as case studies, and the stuck-pipe incidents were predicted successfully, with an accuracy of 76%. This accuracy of detection could have resulted in around 50% reduction in NPT, equivalent to 9% cost saving in comparison with offset wells. The prediction of stuck pipe problem requires a method to capture geological, geophysical and drilling data, and recognize the indicators of this issue at a field and geological formation level. This paper illustrates the efficiency and the robustness of the proposed cross-disciplinary approach in its ability to produce such signatures and predicting this NPT event.

Keywords: drilling optimization, hazard prediction, machine learning, stuck pipe

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Authors: Parveen Kundu, Zile Singh, Kunika Kundu, Swaran Kaur

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Context: Tuberculous osteomyelitis is a relatively uncommon condition that can present with various clinical and radiological features, often mimicking bone tumors or tumor-like lesions. In endemic countries like India, tuberculosis should be considered as a potential differential diagnosis for lytic bone lesions. This study aimed to highlight the different presentations of tuberculosis that can mimic tumors or tumor-like lesions in bone and emphasize the successful outcome of antitubercular therapy (ATT) in treating these cases. Research Aim: The main objective of this research was to explore the varied presentations of tuberculosis that mimic bone tumors or tumor-like lesions both clinically and radiologically, focusing on different bones. The study aimed to raise awareness among clinicians about this possibility and highlight the importance of histopathological confirmation before initiating treatment for lytic bone lesions. Methodology: This study utilized a retrospective review of 22 patients with suspected lytic bone lesions, who were subsequently diagnosed with tuberculous osteomyelitis through histopathological examination. The cases were collected over a period of ten years. Eleven cases required curettage for extensive lesions with sequestrations, while all 22 patients received 12 months of antitubercular therapy. Findings: The study included 14 male and 8 female patients, ranging in age from 3 to 61 years, with an average age of 22.05. The clinical and radiological presentations varied, with examples including bone cysts in the metaphyseal area of long bones, lesions resembling chondroblastomas, giant cell tumors, and osteoid osteoma, as well as multifocal lytic lesions resembling metastasis or multiple myeloma. One patient had lesions in both the clavicle and hand. Lesions mimicking chondromas were also observed in the phalanges of the hand and foot metatarsal. All patients showed resolution of the lesions and no residual disability following ATT. Theoretical Importance: This study highlights the importance of considering tuberculosis as a potential differential diagnosis for lytic bone lesions, particularly in endemic regions. It emphasizes the need for histopathological confirmation to accurately diagnose tuberculous osteomyelitis, as this is considered the gold standard. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: Data for this study were collected retrospectively from medical records and radiological images of the 22 patients. The cases were analyzed based on clinical presentation, radiological findings, and histopathological confirmation. The outcomes of antitubercular therapy were also assessed. The data were summarized and presented descriptively. Question Addressed: This study aimed to address the question of how tuberculosis can mimic different bone tumors and tumor-like lesions clinically and radiologically. It also aimed to assess the successful outcome of antitubercular therapy in treating these cases. Conclusion: Tuberculous osteomyelitis can present with varied clinical and radiological features, often mimicking bone tumors or tumor-like lesions. Clinicians should consider tuberculosis as a potential diagnosis for lytic bone lesions, especially in endemic areas. Histopathological confirmation is essential for accurate diagnosis. Antitubercular therapy is an effective treatment for tuberculous osteomyelitis, leading to the resolution of the lesions with no residual disability.

Keywords: tuberculosis, tumor, curettage, bone

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Authors: Ahmad Kayvani Fard, Yehia Manawi

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Qatar’s primary source of fresh water is through seawater desalination. Amongst the major processes that are commercially available on the market, the most common large scale techniques are Multi-Stage Flash distillation (MSF), Multi Effect distillation (MED), and Reverse Osmosis (RO). Although commonly used, these three processes are highly expensive down to high energy input requirements and high operating costs allied with maintenance and stress induced on the systems in harsh alkaline media. Beside that cost, environmental footprint of these desalination techniques are significant; from damaging marine eco-system, to huge land use, to discharge of tons of GHG and huge carbon footprint. Other less energy consuming techniques based on membrane separation are being sought to reduce both the carbon footprint and operating costs is membrane distillation (MD). Emerged in 1960s, MD is an alternative technology for water desalination attracting more attention since 1980s. MD process involves the evaporation of a hot feed, typically below boiling point of brine at standard conditions, by creating a water vapor pressure difference across the porous, hydrophobic membrane. Main advantages of MD compared to other commercially available technologies (MSF and MED) and specially RO are reduction of membrane and module stress due to absence of trans-membrane pressure, less impact of contaminant fouling on distillate due to transfer of only water vapor, utilization of low grade or waste heat from oil and gas industries to heat up the feed up to required temperature difference across the membrane, superior water quality, and relatively lower capital and operating cost. To achieve the objective of this study, state of the art flat-sheet cross-flow DCMD bench scale unit was designed, commissioned, and tested. The objective of this study is to analyze the characteristics and morphology of the membrane suitable for DCMD through SEM imaging and contact angle measurement and to study the water quality of distillate produced by DCMD bench scale unit. Comparison with available literature data is undertaken where appropriate and laboratory data is used to compare a DCMD distillate quality with that of other desalination techniques and standards. Membrane SEM analysis showed that the PTFE membrane used for the study has contact angle of 127º with highly porous surface supported with less porous and bigger pore size PP membrane. Study on the effect of feed solution (salinity) and temperature on water quality of distillate produced from ICP and IC analysis showed that with any salinity and different feed temperature (up to 70ºC) the electric conductivity of distillate is less than 5 μS/cm with 99.99% salt rejection and proved to be feasible and effective process capable of consistently producing high quality distillate from very high feed salinity solution (i.e. 100000 mg/L TDS) even with substantial quality difference compared to other desalination methods such as RO and MSF.

Keywords: membrane distillation, waste heat, seawater desalination, membrane, freshwater, direct contact membrane distillation

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Authors: Ifeoma Anozie, Teka Apalata, Dominic Abaver

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Introduction: Despite use of Anti-retroviral therapy to reduce the incidence of opportunistic infections among HIV/AIDS patients, rapid episodes of re-infection after deworming are still common occurrences because pharmaceutical intervention alone does not prevent reinfection. Unsafe water and inadequate personal hygiene and parasitic infections are widely expected to accelerate the progression of HIV infection. This is because the chronic immunosuppression of HIV infection encourages susceptibility to opportunistic (including parasitic) infections which is linked to CD4+ cell count of <200 cells/μl. Intestinal parasites such as G. intestinalis and Entamoeba spp are ubiquitous protozoa that remain infectious over a long time in an environment and show resistance to standard disinfection. To control re-infection, the social factors that underpin the prevention need to be controlled. This study aims at prevention of intestinal parasites in people living with HIV/AIDS by using a treatment, hygiene education and sanitation (THEdS) bundle approach. Methods: This study was conducted in four clinics (Ngangelizwe health centre, Tsolo gateway clinic, Idutywa health centre and Nqamakwe health centre) across the seven districts in Eastern cape, South Africa. The four clinics were divided in two: experimental and control, for the purpose of intervention. Data was collected from March 2019 to February 2020. Six hundred participants were screened for intestinal parasitic infections. Stool samples were collected and analysed twice: before (Pre-test infection screening) and after (Post-test re-infection) THEdS bundle intervention. The experimental clinics received full intervention package, which include therapeutic treatment, health education on personal hygiene and sanitation training, while the control clinics received only therapeutic treatment for those found with intestinal parasitic infections. Results: Baseline prevalence of Intestinal Parasites isolated shows 12 intestinal parasites with overall frequency of 65, with Ascaris lumbricoides having most frequency (44.6%). The intervention had a cure rate of 60%, with odd ratio of 1.42, which indicates that the intervention group is 1.42 times more likely of parasite clearing as compared to the control group. The relative risk ratio of 1.17 signifies that there is 1.17 times more likelihood to clear intestinal parasite if there no intervention. Discussion and conclusion: Infection with multiple parasites can cause health defects, especially among HIV/AIDS patients. Efficiency of some HIV vaccines in HIV/AIDS patients is affected because treatment of re-infection amplifies drug resistance, affects the efficacy of the front-line drugs, and still permits transmission. In South Africa, treatment of intestinal parasites is usually offered to clinic attending HIV/AIDS patients upon suspicion but not as a mandate for patients being initiated into Antiretroviral (ART) program. The effectiveness of THEdS bundle advocates for inclusiveness of mandatory screening for intestinal parasitic infections among attendees of HIV/Aids clinics on regular basis.

Keywords: cure rate, , HIV/AIDS patients, intestinal parasites, intervention studies, reinfection rate

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Authors: Luxi He, Tianfang Zhang, Zhengbin He, Songlin Yi

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Heat treatment has been widely recognized for its effectiveness in enhancing the physicochemical properties of wood, including hygroscopicity and dimensional stability. Nonetheless, the non-negligible volumetric shrinkage and loss of mechanical strength resulting from heat treatment may diminish the wood recovery and its product value. In this study, tung oil was used to alleviate heat-induced shrinkage and reduction in mechanical properties of wood during heat treatment. Tung oil was chosen as a modifier because it is a traditional Chinese plant oil that has been widely used for over a thousand years to protect wooden furniture and buildings due to its biodegradable and non-toxic properties. The effects of different heating media (air, tung oil) and their effective treatment parameters (temperature, duration) on the changes in the physical properties (morphological characteristics, pore structures, micromechanical properties), and chemical properties (chemical structures, chemical composition) of wood were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and dynamic vapor sorption. Meanwhile, the correlation between the mass changes and the color change, volumetric shrinkage, and hygroscopicity was also investigated. The results showed that the thermal degradation of wood cell wall components was the most important factor contributing to the changes in heat-induced shrinkage, color, and moisture adsorption of wood. In air-heat-treated wood samples, there was a significant correlation between mass change and heat-induced shrinkage, brightness, and moisture adsorption. However, the presence of impregnated tung oil in oil-heat-treated wood appears to disrupt these correlations among physical properties. The results of micromechanical properties demonstrated a significant decrease in elastic modulus following high-temperature heat treatment, which was mitigated by tung oil treatment. Chemical structure and compositional analyses indicated that the changes in chemical structure primarily stem from the degradation of hemicellulose and cellulose, and the presence of tung oil created an oxygen-insulating environment that slowed down this degradation process. Morphological observation results showed that tung oil permeated the wood structure and penetrated the cell walls through transportation channels, altering the micro-morphology of the cell wall surface, obstructing primary water passages (e.g., vessels and pits), and impeding the release of volatile degradation products as well as the infiltration and diffusion of water. In summary, tung oil treatment represents an environmentally friendly and efficient method for maximizing wood recovery and increasing product value. This approach holds significant potential for industrial applications in wood heat treatment.

Keywords: tung oil, heat treatment, physicochemical properties, wood cell walls

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Authors: Joshua Kaufman, Felix Tan, Morgan Monroe, Ayman Abouraddy

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Textiles and clothing have been a staple of human existence for millennia, yet the basic structure and functionality of textile fibers and yarns has remained unchanged. While color and appearance are essential characteristics of a textile, an advancement in the fabrication of yarns that allows for user-controlled dynamic changes to the color or appearance of a garment has been lacking. Touch-activated and photosensitive pigments have been used in textiles, but these technologies are passive and cannot be controlled by the user. The technology described here allows the owner to control both when and in what pattern the fabric color-change takes place. In addition, the manufacturing process is compatible with mass-producing the user-controlled, color-changing yarns. The yarn fabrication utilizes a fiber spinning system that can produce either monofilament or multifilament yarns. For products requiring a more robust fabric (backpacks, purses, upholstery, etc.), larger-diameter monofilament yarns with a coarser weave are suitable. Such yarns are produced using a thread-coater attachment to encapsulate a 38-40 AWG metal wire inside a polymer sheath impregnated with thermochromic pigment. Conversely, products such as shirts and pants requiring yarns that are more flexible and soft against the skin comprise multifilament yarns of much smaller-diameter individual fibers. Embedding a metal wire in a multifilament fiber spinning process has not been realized to date. This research has required collaboration with Hills, Inc., to design a liquid metal-injection system to be combined with fiber spinning. The new system injects molten tin into each of 19 filaments being spun simultaneously into a single yarn. The resulting yarn contains 19 filaments, each with a tin core surrounded by a polymer sheath impregnated with thermochromic pigment. The color change we demonstrate is distinct from garments containing LEDs that emit light in various colors. The pigment itself changes its optical absorption spectrum to appear a different color. The thermochromic color-change is induced by a temperature change in the inner metal wire within each filament when current is applied from a small battery pack. The temperature necessary to induce the color change is near body temperature and not noticeable by touch. The prototypes already developed either use a simple push button to activate the battery pack or are wirelessly activated via a smart-phone app over Wi-Fi. The app allows the user to choose from different activation patterns of stripes that appear in the fabric continuously. The power requirements are mitigated by a large hysteresis in the activation temperature of the pigment and the temperature at which there is full color return. This was made possible by a collaboration with Chameleon International to develop a new, customized pigment. This technology enables a never-before seen capability: user-controlled, dynamic color and pattern change in large-area woven and sewn textiles and fabrics with wide-ranging applications from clothing and accessories to furniture and fixed-installation housing and business décor. The ability to activate through Wi-Fi opens up possibilities for the textiles to be part of the ‘Internet of Things.’ Furthermore, this technology is scalable to mass-production levels for wide-scale market adoption.

Keywords: activation, appearance, color, manufacturing

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Authors: Serena Salvi

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Ageistic stereotypes and practices have become a normal and therefore pervasive phenomenon in various aspects of everyday life. Over the past years, renewed awareness towards self-directed age stereotyping in older adults has given rise to a line of research focused on the potential role of attitudes towards ageing on seniors’ health and functioning. This set of studies has showed how a negative internalisation of ageistic stereotypes would discourage older adults in seeking medical advice, in addition to be associated to negative subjective health evaluation. An important dimension of mental health that is often affected in older adults is represented by sleep quality. Self-reported sleep quality among older adults has shown to be often unreliable when compared to their objective sleep measures. Investigations focused on self-reported sleep quality among older adults have suggested how this portion of the population would tend to accept disrupted sleep if believed to be up to standard for their age. On the other hand, unrealistic expectations, and dysfunctional beliefs towards sleep in ageing, might prompt older adults to report sleep disruption even in the absence of objective disrupted sleep. Objective of this study is to examine an association between personal attitudes towards ageing in adults aged 60+ and dysfunctional sleep related cognition. More in detail, this study aims to investigate a potential association between personal attitudes towards ageing, sleep locus of control and dysfunctional beliefs towards sleep among this portion of the population. Data in this study were statistically analysed in SPSS software. Participants were recruited through the online participants recruitment system Prolific. Inclusion of attention check questions throughout the questionnaire and consistency of responses were looked at. Prior to the commencement of this study, Ethical Approval was granted (ref. 39396). Descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency, mean, and SDs of the variables. Pearson coefficient was used for interval variables, independent T-test for comparing means between two independent groups, analysis of variance (ANOVA) test for comparing the means in several independent groups, and hierarchical linear regression models for predicting criterion variables based on predictor variables. In this study self-perceptions of ageing were assessed using APQ-B’s subscales, while dysfunctional sleep related cognition was operationalised using the SLOC and the DBAS16 scales. Of the final subscales taken in consideration in the brief version of the APQ questionnaire, Emotional Representations (ER), Control Positive (PC) and Control and Consequences Negative (NC) have shown to be of particularly relevance for the remits of this study. Regression analysis show how an increase in the APQ-B subscale Emotional Representations (ER) predicts an increase in dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes towards sleep in this sample, after controlling for subjective sleep quality, level of depression and chronological age. A second regression analysis showed that APQ-B subscales Control Positive (PC) and Control and Consequences Negative (NC) were significant predictors in the change of variance of SLOC, after controlling for subjective sleep quality, level of depression and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep.

Keywords: sleep-related cognition, perceptions of aging, older adults, sleep quality

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Authors: Biao Sun, Tejas Bhatelia, Vishnu Pareek, Ranjeet Utikar, Moses Tadé

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Additive manufacturing (AM), commonly known as 3D printing, with the continuing advances in parallel processing and computational modeling, has created a paradigm shift (with significant radical thinking) in the design and operation of chemical processing plants, especially LNG plants. With the rising energy demands, environmental pressures, and economic challenges, there is a continuing industrial need for disruptive technologies such as AM, which possess capabilities that can drastically reduce the cost of manufacturing and operations of chemical processing plants in the future. However, the continuing challenge for 3D printing is its lack of adaptability in re-designing the process plant equipment coupled with the non-existent theory or models that could assist in selecting the optimal candidates out of the countless potential fabrications that are possible using AM. One of the most common packings used in the LNG process is structured packing in the packed column (which is a unit operation) in the process. In this work, we present an example of an optimum strategy for the application of AM to this important unit operation. Packed columns use a packing material through which the gas phase passes and comes into contact with the liquid phase flowing over the packing, typically performing the necessary mass transfer to enrich the products, etc. Structured packing consists of stacks of corrugated sheets, typically inclined between 40-70° from the plane. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to test and model various geometries to study the governing hydrodynamic characteristics. The results demonstrate that the costly iterative experimental process can be minimized. Furthermore, they also improve the understanding of the fundamental physics of the system at the multiscale level. SpiroPak, patented by Curtin University, represents an innovative structured packing solution currently at a technology readiness level (TRL) of 5~6. This packing exhibits remarkable characteristics, offering a substantial increase in surface area while significantly enhancing hydrodynamic and mass transfer performance. Recent studies have revealed that SpiroPak can reduce pressure drop by 50~70% compared to commonly used commercial packings, and it can achieve 20~50% greater mass transfer efficiency (particularly in CO2 absorption applications). The implementation of SpiroPak has the potential to reduce the overall size of columns and decrease power consumption, resulting in cost savings for both capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) when applied to retrofitting existing systems or incorporated into new processes. Furthermore, pilot to large-scale tests is currently underway to further advance and refine this technology.

Keywords: Additive Manufacturing (AM), 3D printing, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD, structured packing (SpiroPak)

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Authors: Muhammad Hanif Amiri, Edris Sadeqy, Ahmad Freed Osman

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International Conference on Architectural Engineering and Skyscraper (ICAES 2016) on January 18 - 19, 2016 is aimed to exchange new ideas and application experiences face to face, to establish business or research relations and to find global partners for future collaboration. Therefore, we are very keen to participate and share our issues in order to get valuable feedbacks of the conference participants. Urbanization is a controversial issue all around the world. Substandard and unplanned urbanization has many implications on a social, cultural and economic situation of population life. Unplanned and illegal construction has become a critical issue in Afghanistan particularly Kabul city. In addition, lack of municipal bylaws, poor municipal governance, lack of development policies and strategies, budget limitation, low professional capacity of ainvolved private sector in development and poor coordination among stakeholders are the other factors which made the problem more complicated. The main purpose of this research paper is to review urbanization pattern of Kabul city and find out the improvement solutions and to evaluate the increasing of population density which caused vast illegal and unplanned development which finally converts the Kabul city to a slam area as the whole. The Kabul city Master Plan was reviewed in the year 1978 and revised for the planned 2million population. In 2001, the interim administration took place and the city became influx of returnees from neighbor countries and other provinces of Afghanistan mostly for the purpose of employment opportunities, security and better quality of life, therefore, Kabul faced with strange population growth. According to Central Statistics Organization of Afghanistan population of Kabul has been estimated approx. 5 million (2015), however a new Master Plan has been prepared in 2009, but the existing challenges have not been dissolved yet. On the other hand, 70% of Kabul population is living in unplanned (slam) area and facing the shortage of drinking water, inexistence of sewerage and drainage network, inexistence of proper management system for solid waste collection, lack of public transportation and traffic management, environmental degradation and the shortage of social infrastructure. Although there are many problems in Kabul city, but still the development of 22 townships are in progress which caused the great attraction of population. The research is completed with a detailed analysis on four main issues such as elimination of duplicated administrations, Development of regions, Rehabilitation and improvement of infrastructure, and prevention of new townships establishment in Kabul Central Core in order to mitigate the problems and constraints which are the foundation and principal to find the point of departure for an objective based future development of Kabul city. The closure has been defined to reflect the stage-wise development in light of prepared policy and strategies, development of a procedure for the improvement of infrastructure, conducting a preliminary EIA, defining scope of stakeholder’s contribution and preparation of project list for initial development. In conclusion this paper will help the transformation of Kabul city.

Keywords: development of regions, illegal construction, population density, urbanization pattern

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Authors: Areej K. Al-Jwaid, Dmitiry Berllio, Andrew Cundy, Irina Savina, Jonathan L. Caplin

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Phenol is a toxic compound that is widely distributed in the environment including the atmosphere, water and soil, due to the release of effluents from the petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries, coking plants and oil refineries. Moreover, a range of daily products, using phenol as a raw material, may find their way into the environment without prior treatment. The toxicity of phenol effects both human and environment health, and various physio-chemical methods to remediate phenol contamination have been used. While these techniques are effective, their complexity and high cost had led to search for alternative strategies to reduce and eliminate high concentrations of phenolic compounds in the environment. Biological treatments are preferable because they are environmentally friendly and cheaper than physico-chemical approaches. Some microorganisms such as Pseudomonas sp., Rhodococus sp., Acinetobacter sp. and Bacillus sp. have shown a high ability to degrade phenolic compounds to provide a sole source of energy. Immobilisation process utilising various materials have been used to protect and enhance the viability of cells, and to provide structural support for the bacterial cells. The aim of this study is to develop a new approach to the bioremediation of phenol based on an immobilisation strategy that can be used in wastewater. In this study, two bacterial species known to be phenol degrading bacteria (Pseudomonas mendocina and Rhodococus koreensis) were purchased from National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria (NCIMB). The two species and mixture of them were immobilised to produce macro porous crosslinked cell cryogels samples by using four types of cross-linker polymer solutions in a cryogelation process. The samples were used in a batch culture to degrade phenol at an initial concentration of 50mg/L at pH 7.5±0.3 and a temperature of 30°C. The four types of polymer solution - i. glutaraldehyde (GA), ii. Polyvinyl alcohol with glutaraldehyde (PVA+GA), iii. Polyvinyl alcohol–aldehyde (PVA-al) and iv. Polyetheleneimine–aldehyde (PEI-al), were used at different concentrations, ranging from 0.5 to 1.5% to crosslink the cells. The results of SEM and rheology analysis indicated that cell-cryogel samples crosslinked with the four cross-linker polymers formed monolithic macro porous cryogels. The samples were evaluated for their ability to degrade phenol. Macro porous cell–cryogels crosslinked with GA and PVA+GA showed an ability to degrade phenol for only one week, while the other samples crosslinked with a combination of PVA-al + PEI-al at two different concentrations have shown higher stability and viability to reuse to degrade phenol at concentration (50 mg/L) for five weeks. The initial results of using crosslinked cell cryogel samples to degrade phenol indicate that is a promising tool for bioremediation strategies especially to eliminate and remove the high concentration of phenol in wastewater.

Keywords: bioremediation, crosslinked cells, immobilisation, phenol degradation

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Authors: Gokulan Vethanayakam, Daniel Aston

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Introduction: The ReSPECT process supports healthcare professionals when making patient-centered decisions in the event of an emergency. It has been widely adopted by the NHS in England and allows patients to express thoughts and wishes about treatments and outcomes that they consider acceptable. It includes (but is not limited to) cardiopulmonary resuscitation decisions. ReSPECT conversations should ideally occur prior to ICU admission and should be documented in the eight sections of the nationally-standardised ReSPECT form. This audit evaluated the use of ReSPECT on a busy cardiothoracic ICU in an NHS Trust where established policies advocating its use exist. Methods: This audit was a retrospective review of ReSPECT forms for a sample of high-risk patients admitted to ICU at the Royal Papworth Hospital between January 2021 and March 2022. Patients all received one of the following interventions: Veno-Venous Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (VV-ECMO) for severe respiratory failure (retrieved via the national ECMO service); cardiac or pulmonary transplantation-related surgical procedures (including organ transplants and Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) implantation); or elective non-transplant cardiac surgery. The quality of documentation on ReSPECT forms was evaluated using national standards and a graded ranking tool devised by the authors which was used to assess narrative aspects of the forms. Quality was ranked as A (excellent) to D (poor). Results: Of 230 patients (74 VV-ECMO, 104 transplant, 52 elective non-transplant surgery), 43 (18.7%) had a ReSPECT form and only one (0.43%) patient had a ReSPECT form completed prior to ICU admission. Of the 43 forms completed, 38 (88.4%) were completed due to the commencement of End of Life (EoL) care. No non-transplant surgical patients included in the audit had a ReSPECT form. There was documentation of balance of care (section 4a), CPR status (section 4c), capacity assessment (section 5), and patient involvement in completing the form (section 6a) on all 43 forms. Of the 34 patients assessed as lacking capacity to make decisions, only 22 (64.7%) had reasons documented. Other sections were variably completed; 29 (67.4%) forms had relevant background information included to a good standard (section 2a). Clinical guidance for the patient (section 4b) was given in 25 (58.1%), of which 11 stated the rationale that underpinned it. Seven forms (16.3%) contained information in an inappropriate section. In a comparison of ReSPECT forms completed ahead of an EoL trigger with those completed when EoL care began, there was a higher number of entries in section 3 (considering patient’s values/fears) that were assessed at grades A-B in the former group (p = 0.014), suggesting higher quality. Similarly, forms from the transplant group contained higher quality information in section 3 than those from the VV-ECMO group (p = 0.0005). Conclusions: Utilisation of the ReSPECT process in high-risk patients is yet to be well-adopted in this trust. Teams who meet patients before hospital admission for transplant or high-risk surgery should be encouraged to engage with the ReSPECT process at this point in the patient's journey. VV-ECMO retrieval teams should consider ReSPECT conversations with patients’ relatives at the time of retrieval.

Keywords: audit, critical care, end of life, ICU, ReSPECT, resuscitation

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Authors: S. B. R. Slagmulder

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Monitoring inspiratory effort and dynamic lung stress in patients on pressure support ventilation in the ICU is important for protecting against self inflicted lung injury (P-SILI) and diaphragm dysfunction. Strategies to address the detrimental effects of respiratory drive and effort can lead to improved patient outcomes. Two non-invasive estimation methods, occlusion pressure (Pocc) and P0.1, have been proposed for achieving lung and diaphragm protective ventilation. However, their relationship and interpretation in neuro ICU patients is not well understood. P0.1 is the airway pressure measured during a 100-millisecond occlusion of the inspiratory port. It reflects the neural drive from the respiratory centers to the diaphragm and respiratory muscles, indicating the patient's respiratory drive during the initiation of each breath. Occlusion pressure, measured during a brief inspiratory pause against a closed airway, provides information about the inspiratory muscles' strength and the system's total resistance and compliance. Research Objective: Understanding the relationship between Pocc and P0.1 in brain-injured patients can provide insights into the interpretation of these values in pressure support ventilation. This knowledge can contribute to determining extubation readiness and optimizing ventilation strategies to improve patient outcomes. The central goal is to asses a study protocol for determining the relationship between Pocc and P0.1 in brain-injured patients on pressure support ventilation and their ability to predict successful extubation. Additionally, comparing these values between brain-damaged and non-brain-damaged patients may provide valuable insights. Key Areas of Inquiry: 1. How do Pocc and P0.1 values correlate within brain injury patients undergoing pressure support ventilation? 2. To what extent can Pocc and P0.1 values serve as predictive indicators for successful extubation in patients with brain injuries? 3. What differentiates the Pocc and P0.1 values between patients with brain injuries and those without? Methodology: P0.1 and occlusion pressures are standard measurements for pressure support ventilation patients, taken by attending doctors as per protocol. We utilize electronic patient records for existing data. Unpaired T-test will be conducted to compare P0.1 and Pocc values between both study groups. Associations between P0.1 and Pocc and other study variables, such as extubation, will be explored with simple regression and correlation analysis. Depending on how the data evolve, subgroup analysis will be performed for patients with and without extubation failure. Results: While it is anticipated that neuro patients may exhibit high respiratory drive, the linkage between such elevation, quantified by P0.1, and successful extubation remains unknown The analysis will focus on determining the ability of these values to predict successful extubation and their potential impact on ventilation strategies. Conclusion: Further research is pending to fully understand the potential of these indices and their impact on mechanical ventilation in different patient populations and clinical scenarios. Understanding these relationships can aid in determining extubation readiness and tailoring ventilation strategies to improve patient outcomes in this specific patient population. Additionally, it is vital to account for the influence of sedatives, neurological scores, and BMI on respiratory drive and occlusion pressures to ensure a comprehensive analysis.

Keywords: brain damage, diaphragm dysfunction, occlusion pressure, p0.1, respiratory drive

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Authors: Liudmyla Vesper

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The problems of modern education are large-scale and diverse. The aspirations of parents, teachers, and experts converge - everyone interested in growing up a generation of whole, well-educated persons. Both the family and society are expected in the future generation to be self-sufficient, desirable in the labor market, and capable of lifelong learning. Today's children have a powerful potential that is difficult to realize in the conditions of traditional school approaches. Focusing on STEM education in practice often ends with the simple use of computers and gadgets during class. "Science", "technology", "engineering" and "mathematics" are difficult to combine within school and university curricula, which have not changed much during the last 10 years. Solving the problems of modern education largely depends on teachers - innovators, teachers - practitioners who develop and implement effective educational methods and programs. Teachers who propose innovative pedagogical practices that allow students to master large-scale knowledge and apply it to the practical plane. Effective education considers the creation of stable neural structures during the learning process, which allow to preserve and increase knowledge throughout life. The author proposed a method of integrated lessons – cases based on the maths patterns for forming a holistic perception of the world. This method and program are scientifically substantiated and have more than 15 years of practical application experience in school and student classrooms. The first results of the practical application of the author's methodology and curriculum were announced at the International Conference "Teaching and Learning Strategies to Promote Elementary School Success", 2006, April 22-23, Yerevan, Armenia, IREX-administered 2004-2006 Multiple Component Education Project. This program is based on the concept of interdisciplinary connections and its implementation in the process of continuous learning. This allows students to save and increase knowledge throughout life according to a single pattern. The pattern principle stores information on different subjects according to one scheme (pattern), using long-term memory. This is how neural structures are created. The author also admits that a similar method can be successfully applied to the training of artificial intelligence neural networks. However, this assumption requires further research and verification. The educational method and program proposed by the author meet the modern requirements for education, which involves mastering various areas of knowledge, starting from an early age. This approach makes it possible to involve the child's cognitive potential as much as possible and direct it to the preservation and development of individual talents. According to the methodology, at the early stages of learning students understand the connection between school subjects (so-called "sciences" and "humanities") and in real life, apply the knowledge gained in practice. This approach allows students to realize their natural creative abilities and talents, which makes it easier to navigate professional choices and find their place in life.

Keywords: science education, maths education, AI, neuroplasticity, innovative education problem, creativity development, modern education problem

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Authors: Estela Díaz

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This article aims to make three contributions. First, build on the literature on ethical decision-making literature by exploring factors that influence the intention of adopting veganism. Second, study the superiority of extended models of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for understanding the process involved in forming the intention of adopting veganism. Third, analyze the moderating effect of gender on TPB given that attitudes and behavior towards animals are gender-sensitive. No study, to our knowledge, has examined these questions. Veganism is not a diet but a political and moral stand that exclude, for moral reasons, the use of animals. Although there is a growing interest in studying veganism, it continues being overlooked in empirical research, especially within the domain of social psychology. TPB has been widely used to study a broad range of human behaviors, including moral issues. Nonetheless, TPB has rarely been applied to examine ethical decisions about animals and, even less, to veganism. Hence, the validity of TPB in predicting the intention of adopting veganism remains unanswered. A total of 476 non-vegan Spanish university students (55.6% female; the mean age was 23.26 years, SD= 6.1) responded to online and pencil-and-paper self-reported questionnaire based on previous studies. TPB extended models incorporated two background factors: ‘general attitudes towards humanlike-attributes ascribed to animals’ (AHA) (capacity for reason/emotions/suffer, moral consideration, and affect-towards-animals); and ‘general attitudes towards 11 uses of animals’ (AUA). SPSS 22 and SmartPLS 3.0 were used for statistical analyses. This study constructed a second-order reflective-formative model and took the multi-group analysis (MGA) approach to study gender effects. Six models of TPB (the standard and five competing) were tested. No a priori hypotheses were formulated. The results gave partial support to TPB. Attitudes (ATTV) (β = .207, p < .001), subjective norms (SNV) (β = .323, p < .001), and perceived control behavior (PCB) (β = .149, p < .001) had a significant direct effect on intentions (INTV). This model accounted for 27,9% of the variance in intention (R2Adj = .275) and had a small predictive relevance (Q2 = .261). However, findings from this study reveal that contrary to what TPB generally proposes, the effect of the background factors on intentions was not fully mediated by the proximal constructs of intentions. For instance, in the final model (Model#6), both factors had significant multiple indirect effect on INTV (β = .074, 95% C = .030, .126 [AHA:INTV]; β = .101, 95% C = .055, .155 [AUA:INTV]) and significant direct effect on INTV (β = .175, p < .001 [AHA:INTV]; β = .100, p = .003 [AUA:INTV]). Furthermore, the addition of direct paths from background factors to intentions improved the explained variance in intention (R2 = .324; R2Adj = .317) and the predictive relevance (Q2 = .300) over the base-model. This supports existing literature on the superiority of enhanced TPB models to predict ethical issues; which suggests that moral behavior may add additional complexity to decision-making. Regarding gender effect, MGA showed that gender only moderated the influence of AHA on ATTV (e.g., βWomen−βMen = .296, p < .001 [Model #6]). However, other observed gender differences (e.g. the explained variance of the model for intentions were always higher for men that for women, for instance, R2Women = .298; R2Men = .394 [Model #6]) deserve further considerations, especially for developing more effective communication strategies.

Keywords: veganism, Theory of Planned Behavior, background factors, gender moderation

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Authors: Manjula Kola, K. Chandralekha

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Anaemia is one of the world’s most widespread health problems. Prevalence of anemia in south Asia is among the highest in the world. Iron deficiency anemia accounts for almost 85 percent of all types of anemia in India and affects more than half of the total population. Women of childbearing age particularly pregnant women, infants, preschool children and adolescents are at greatest risk of developing iron deficiency anemia. In India, 74 percent children between 6-35 months of age are anemic. Children between 1-6 years in major cities are found with a high prevalence rate of 64.8 percent. Iron deficiency anemia is not only a public health problem, but also a development problem. Its prevention and reduction must be viewed as investment in human capital that will enhance development and reduce poverty. Ending this hidden hunger in the form of iron deficiency is the most important achievable international health goal. Eliminating the underlying problem is essential to the sustained elimination of the iron deficiency anemia. The intervention programmes toward the sustained elimination need to be broadly based so that interventions become accepted community practices. Hence, intervention strategies need to go well beyond traditional health and nutrition systems and based upon empowering people and communities so that they will be capable of arranging for and sustaining an adequate intake of foods with respect to iron, independent of external support. Such strategies must necessarily be multisectoral and integrate interventions with social communications, evaluation and surveillance. The main objective of the study was to design a community based Nutrition intervention using theoretical framework of social marketing to sustain improvement of iron nutriture among preschool children. In order to carryout the study eight rural communities In Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India were selected. A formative research was carryout for situational analysis and baseline data was generated with regard to demographic and socioeconomic status, dietary intakes, Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of the mothers of preschool children, clinical and hemoglobin status of the target group. Based on the formative research results, the research area was divides into four groups as experimental area I,II,III and control area. A community based, integrated and comprehensive social marketing intervention was designed based on various theories and models of nutrition education/ communication. In Experimental area I, Nutrition intervention using social marketing and a weekly iron folic acid supplementation was given to improve iron nutriture of preschool children. In experimental area II, Social marketing alone was implemented and in experimental area III Iron supplementation alone was given. No intervention was given in control area. The Impact evaluation revealed that among different interventions tested, the integrated social marketing intervention resulted best outcomes. The overall observations of the study state that social marketing, an integrated and functional strategy for nutrition communication to prevent and control iron deficiency. Various theoretical frame works / models for nutrition communication facilitate to design culturally appropriate interventions thus achieved improvements in the knowledge, attitude and practices there by resulting successful impact on nutritional status of the target groups.

Keywords: anemia, iron deficiency, social marketing, theoretical framework

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Authors: Eman Ghoneim, Amr S. Fahil

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Many regions in Egypt are facing a reduction in crop productivity due to environmental degradation. One factor of crop deterioration includes the unsustainable drainage of surface water, leading to salinized soil conditions. Egypt has exerted time and effort to identify solutions to mitigate the surface water drawdown problem and its resulting effects by exploring renewable and sustainable sources of energy. Siwa Oasis represents one of the most favorable regions in Egypt for geothermal exploitation since it hosts an evident cluster of superficial thermal springs. Some of these hot springs are characterized by high surface temperatures and bottom hole temperatures (BHT) ranging between 20°C to 40 °C and 21 °C to 121.7°C, respectively. The depth to the Precambrian basement rock is commonly greater than 440 m, ranging from 440 m to 4724.4 m. It is this feature that makes the locality of Siwa Oasis sufficient for industrial processes and geothermal power production. In this study, BHT data from 27 deep oil wells were processed by applying the widely used Horner and Gulf of Mexico correction methods to obtain formation temperatures. BHT, commonly used in geothermal studies, remains the most abundant and readily available data source for subsurface temperature information. Outcomes of the present work indicated a geothermal gradient ranging from 18 to 42 °C/km, a heat flow ranging from 24.7 to 111.3 m.W.k⁻¹, and a thermal conductivity of 1.3–2.65 W.m⁻¹.k⁻¹. Remote sensing thermal infrared, topographic, geologic, and geothermal data were utilized to provide geothermal potential maps for the Siwa Oasis. Important physiographic variables (including surface elevation, lineament density, drainage density), geological and geophysical parameters (including land surface temperature, depth to basement, bottom hole temperature, magnetic, geothermal gradient, heat flow, thermal conductivity, and main rock units) were incorporated into GIS to produce a geothermal potential map (GTP) for the Siwa Oasis region. The model revealed that both the northeastern and southeastern sections of the study region are of high geothermal potential. The present work showed that combining bottom-hole temperature measurements and remote sensing data with the selected geospatial methodologies is a useful tool for geothermal prospecting in geologically and tectonically comparable settings in Egypt and East Africa. This work has implications for identifying sustainable resources needed to support food production and renewable energy resources.

Keywords: BHT, geothermal potential map, geothermal gradient, heat flow, thermal conductivity, satellite imagery, GIS

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Authors: Puzanova Zhanna Vasilyevna, Larina Tatiana Igorevna, Tertyshnikova Anastasia Gennadyevna

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In this day and age, extremism in various forms of its manifestation is a real threat to the world community, the national security of a state and its territorial integrity, as well as to the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. Extremism, as it is known, in general terms described as a commitment to extreme views and actions, radically denying the existing social norms and rules. Supporters of extremism in the ideological and political struggles often adopt methods and means of psychological warfare, appeal not to reason and logical arguments, but to emotions and instincts of the people, to prejudices, biases, and a variety of mythological designs. They are dissatisfied with the established order and aim at increasing this dissatisfaction among the masses. Youth extremism holds a specific place among the existing forms and types of extremism. In this context in 2015, we conducted a survey among Moscow college and high school students. The aim of this study was to determine how great or small is the difference in understanding and attitudes towards extremism manifestations, inclination and readiness to take part in extremist activities and what causes this predisposition, if it exists. We performed multivariate analysis and found the Russian college and high school students' opinion about the extremism and terrorism situation in our country and also their cognition on these topics. Among other things, we showed, that the level of aggressiveness of young people were not above the average for the whole population. The survey was conducted using the questionnaire method. The sample included college and high school students in Moscow (642 and 382, respectively) by method of random selection. The questionnaire was developed by specialists of RUDN University Sociological Laboratory and included both original questions (projective questions, the technique of incomplete sentences), and the standard test Dayhoff S. to determine the level of internal aggressiveness. It is also used as an experiment, the technique of study option using of FACS and SPAFF to determine the psychotypes and determination of non-verbal manifestations of emotions. The study confirmed the hypothesis that in respondents’ opinion, the level of aggression is higher today than a few years ago. Differences were found in the understanding of and respect for such social phenomena as extremism, terrorism, and their danger and appeal for the two age groups of young people. Theory of psychotypes, SPAFF (specific affect cording system) and FACS (facial action cording system) are considered as additional techniques for the diagnosis of a tendency to extreme views. Thus, it is established that diagnostics of acceptance of extreme views among young people is possible thanks to simultaneous use of knowledge from the different fields of socio-humanistic sciences. The results of the research can be used in a comparative context with other countries and as a starting point for further research in the field, taking into account its extreme relevance.

Keywords: extremism, youth extremism, diagnostics of extremist manifestations, forecast of behavior, sociological polls, theory of psychotypes, FACS, SPAFF

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Authors: Anthony F. Peressini

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The concept of race has recently come prominently back into discussion in the context of medicine and medical science, along with renewed effort to biologize racial concepts. This paper argues that this renewed effort to biologize race by way of medicine and population genetics fail on their own terms, and more importantly, that the philosophical project of biologizing race ought to be recognized for what it is—a retrograde racial project—and abandoned. There is clear agreement that standard racial categories and concepts cannot be grounded in the old way of racial naturalism, which understand race as a real, interest-independent biological/metaphysical category in which its members share “physical, moral, intellectual, and cultural characteristics.” But equally clear is the very real and pervasive presence of racial concepts in individual and collective consciousness and behavior, and so it remains a pressing area in which to seek deeper understanding. Recent philosophical work has endeavored to reconcile these two observations by developing a “thin” conception of race, grounded in scientific concepts but without the moral and metaphysical content. Such “thin,” science-based analyses take the “commonsense” or “folk” sense of race as it functions in contemporary society as the starting point for their philosophic-scientific projects to biologize racial concepts. A “philosophic-scientific analysis” is a special case of the cornerstone of analytic philosophy: a conceptual analysis. That is, a rendering of a concept into the more perspicuous concepts that constitute it. Thus a philosophic-scientific account of a concept is an attempt to work out an analysis of a concept that makes use of empirical science's insights to ground, legitimate and explicate the target concept in terms of clearer concepts informed by empirical results. The focus in this paper is on three recent philosophic-scientific cases for retaining “race” that all share this general analytic schema, but that make use of “medical necessity,” population genetics, and human genetic clustering, respectively. After arguing that each of these three approaches suffers from internal difficulties, the paper considers the general analytic schema employed by such biologizations of race. While such endeavors are inevitably prefaced with the disclaimer that the theory to follow is non-essentialist and non-racialist, the case will be made that such efforts are not neutral scientific or philosophical projects but rather are what sociologists call a racial project, that is, one of many competing efforts that conjoin a representation of what race means to specific efforts to determine social and institutional arrangements of power, resources, authority, etc. Accordingly, philosophic-scientific biologizations of race, since they begin from and condition their analyses on “folk” conceptions, cannot pretend to be “prior to” other disciplinary insights, nor to transcend the social-political dynamics involved in formulating theories of race. As a result, such traditional philosophical efforts can be seen to be disciplinarily parochial and to address only a caricature of a large and important human problem—and thereby further contributing to the unfortunate isolation of philosophical thinking about race from other disciplines.

Keywords: population genetics, ontology of race, race-based medicine, racial formation theory, racial projects, racism, social construction

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Authors: L. R. Valencia Pérez, J. M. Peña Aguilar, A. Lamadrid Álvarez, A. Pastrana Palma, H. F. Valencia Pérez, M. Vivanco Vargas

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This work proposes a Cooperation-Competitive (Coopetitive) approach that allows coordinated work among the Secretary of Public Education (SEP), the Autonomous University of Querétaro (UAQ) and government funds from National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) or some other international organizations. To work on an overall knowledge transfer strategy with e-learning over the Cloud, where experts in junior high and high school education, working in multidisciplinary teams, perform analysis, evaluation, design, production, validation and knowledge transfer at large scale using a Cloud Computing platform. Allowing teachers and students to have all the information required to ensure a homologated nationally knowledge of topics such as mathematics, statistics, chemistry, history, ethics, civism, etc. This work will start with a pilot test in Spanish and initially in two regional dialects Otomí and Náhuatl. Otomí has more than 285,000 speaking indigenes in Queretaro and Mexico´s central region. Náhuatl is number one indigenous dialect spoken in Mexico with more than 1,550,000 indigenes. The phase one of the project takes into account negotiations with indigenous tribes from different regions, and the Information and Communication technologies to deliver the knowledge to the indigenous schools in their native dialect. The methodology includes the following main milestones: Identification of the indigenous areas where Otomí and Náhuatl are the spoken dialects, research with the SEP the location of actual indigenous schools, analysis and inventory or current schools conditions, negotiation with tribe chiefs, analysis of the technological communication requirements to reach the indigenous communities, identification and inventory of local teachers technology knowledge, selection of a pilot topic, analysis of actual student competence with traditional education system, identification of local translators, design of the e-learning platform, design of the multimedia resources and storage strategy for “Cloud Computing”, translation of the topic to both dialects, Indigenous teachers training, pilot test, course release, project follow up, analysis of student requirements for the new technological platform, definition of a new and improved proposal with greater reach in topics and regions. Importance of phase one of the project is multiple, it includes the proposal of a working technological scheme, focusing in the cultural impact in Mexico so that indigenous tribes can improve their knowledge about new forms of crop improvement, home storage technologies, proven home remedies for common diseases, ways of preparing foods containing major nutrients, disclose strengths and weaknesses of each region, communicating through cloud computing platforms offering regional products and opening communication spaces for inter-indigenous cultural exchange.

Keywords: Mexicans indigenous tribes, education, knowledge transfer, cloud computing, otomi, Náhuatl, language

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Authors: Sahar Nasr, Lin Li, Edwin Wang

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Bladder cancer (BLCA) is known as the 13th cause of death among cancer patients worldwide, and ~575,000 new BLCA cases are diagnosed each year. Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is the most prevalent subtype among BLCA patients, which can be categorized into muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Currently, various therapeutic options are available for UC patients, including (1) transurethral resection followed by intravesical instillation of chemotherapeutics or Bacillus Calmette-Guérin for NMIBC patients, (2) neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy (NAC) plus radical cystectomy is the standard of care for localized MIBC patients, and (3) systematic chemotherapy for metastatic UC. However, conventional treatments may lead to several challenges for treating patients. As an illustration, some patients may suffer from recurrence of the disease after the first line of treatment. Recently, immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) has been introduced as an alternative treatment strategy for the first or second line of treatment in advanced or metastatic BLCA patients. Although ICT showed lucrative results for a fraction of BLCA patients, ~80% of patients were not responsive to it. Therefore, novel treatment methods are required to augment the ICI response rate within BLCA patients. It has been shown that the infiltration of T-cells into the tumor microenvironment (TME) is positively correlated with the response to ICT within cancerous patients. Therefore, the goal of this study is to enhance the infiltration of cytotoxic T-cells into TME through the identification of target genes within the tumor that are responsible for the non-T-cell inflamed TME and their inhibition. BLCA bulk RNA-sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and immune score for TCGA samples were used to determine the Pearson correlation score between the expression of different genes and immune score for each sample. The genes with strong negative correlations were selected (r < -0.2). Thereafter, the correlation between the expression of each gene and survival in BLCA patients was calculated using the TCGA data and Cox regression method. The genes that are common in both selected gene lists were chosen for further analysis. Afterward, BLCA bulk and single-cell RNA-sequencing data were ranked based on the expression of each selected gene and the top and bottom 25% samples were used for pathway enrichment analysis. If the pathways related to the T-cell infiltration (e.g., antigen presentation, interferon, or chemokine pathways) were enriched within the low-expression group, the gene was included for downstream analysis. Finally, the selected genes will be used to calculate the correlation between their expression and the infiltration rate of the activated CD+8 T-cells, natural killer cells and the activated dendric cells. A list of potential target genes has been identified and ranked based on the above-mentioned analysis and criteria. SUN-1 got the highest score within the gene list and other identified genes in the literature as benchmarks. In conclusion, inhibition of SUN1 may increase the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and the efficacy of ICI in BLCA patients. BLCA tumor cells with and without SUN-1 CRISPR/Cas9 knockout will be injected into the syngeneic mouse model to validate the predicted SUN-1 effect on increasing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes.

Keywords: data analysis, gene expression analysis, gene identification, immunoinformatic, functional genomics, transcriptomics

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Authors: Mareike Dornhoefer, Madjid Fathi

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Water supply and water quality are key problems of mankind at the moment and - due to increasing population - in the future. Management disciplines like water, environment and quality management therefore need to closely interact, to establish a high level of water quality and to guarantee water supply in all parts of the world. Groundwater remediation is one aspect in this process. From a knowledge management perspective it is only possible to solve complex ecological or environmental problems if different factors, expert knowledge of various stakeholders and formal regulations regarding water, waste or chemical management are interconnected in form of a knowledge base. In general knowledge management focuses the processes of gathering and representing existing and new knowledge in a way, which allows for inference or deduction of knowledge for e.g. a situation where a problem solution or decision support are required. A knowledge base is no sole data repository, but a key element in a knowledge based system, thus providing or allowing for inference mechanisms to deduct further knowledge from existing facts. In consequence this knowledge provides decision support. The given paper introduces an environmental knowledge system in water management. The proposed environmental knowledge system is part of a research concept called Green Knowledge Management. It applies semantic technologies or concepts such as ontology or linked open data to interconnect different data and information sources about environmental aspects, in this case, water quality, as well as background material enriching an established knowledge base. Examples for the aforementioned ecological or environmental factors threatening water quality are among others industrial pollution (e.g. leakage of chemicals), environmental changes (e.g. rise in temperature) or floods, where all kinds of waste are merged and transferred into natural water environments. Water quality is usually determined with the help of measuring different indicators (e.g. chemical or biological), which are gathered with the help of laboratory testing, continuous monitoring equipment or other measuring processes. During all of these processes data are gathered and stored in different databases. Meanwhile the knowledge base needs to be established through interconnecting data of these different data sources and enriching its semantics. Experts may add their knowledge or experiences of previous incidents or influencing factors. In consequence querying or inference mechanisms are applied for the deduction of coherence between indicators, predictive developments or environmental threats. Relevant processes or steps of action may be modeled in form of a rule based approach. Overall the environmental knowledge system supports the interconnection of information and adding semantics to create environmental knowledge about water environment, supply chain as well as quality. The proposed concept itself is a holistic approach, which links to associated disciplines like environmental and quality management. Quality indicators and quality management steps need to be considered e.g. for the process and inference layers of the environmental knowledge system, thus integrating the aforementioned management disciplines in one water management application.

Keywords: water quality, environmental knowledge system, green knowledge management, semantic technologies, quality management

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Authors: David Philpott, Karen Kennedy

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In recognition of an increasingly diverse student population, a Teaching and Learning Framework was developed at Memorial University of Newfoundland. This framework emphasizes work that is engaging, supportive, inclusive, responsive, committed to discovery, and is outcomes-oriented for both educators and learners. The goal of the Teaching and Learning framework was to develop a number of initiatives that builds on existing knowledge, proven programs, and existing supports in order to respond to the specific needs of identified groups of diverse learners: 1) academically vulnerable first year students; 2) students with individual learning needs associated with disorders and/or mental health issues; 3) international students and those from non-western cultures. This session provides an overview of this process. The strategies employed to develop these initiatives were drawn primarily from research on student success and retention (literature review), information on pre-existing programs (environmental scan), an analysis of in-house data on students at our institution; consultations with key informants at all of Memorial’s campuses. The first initiative that emerged from this research was a pilot project proposal for a first-year success program in support of the first-year experience of academically vulnerable students. This program offers a university experience that is enhanced by smaller classes, supplemental instruction, learning communities, and advising sessions. The second initiative that arose under the mandate of the Teaching and Learning Framework was a collaborative effort between two institutions (Memorial University and the College of the North Atlantic). Both institutions participated in a shared conversation to examine programs and services that support an accessible and inclusive environment for students with disorders and/or mental health issues. A report was prepared based on these conversations and an extensive review of research and programs across the country. Efforts are now being made to explore possible initiatives that address culturally diverse and non-traditional learners. While an expanding literature has emerged on diversity in higher education, the process of developing institutional initiatives is usually excluded from such discussions, while the focus remains on effective practice. The proposals that were developed constitute a co-ordination and strengthening of existing services and programs; a weaving of supports to engage a diverse body of students in a sense of community. This presentation will act as a guide through the process of developing projects addressing learner diversity and engage attendees in a discussion of institutional practices that have been implemented in support of overcoming challenges, as well as provide feedback on institutional and student outcomes. The focus of this session will be on effective practice, and will be of particular interest to university administrators, educational developers, and educators wishing to implement similar initiatives on their campuses; possible adaptations for practice will be addressed. A presentation of findings from this research will be followed by an open discussion where the sharing of research, initiatives, and best practices for the enhancement of teaching and learning is welcomed. There is much insight and understanding to be gained through the sharing of ideas and collaborative practice as we move forward to further develop the program and prepare other initiatives in support of diversity and inclusion.

Keywords: eco-scale, green analysis, environmentally-friendly, pharmaceuticals analysis

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Authors: P. Naderi, M. N. Ouarzazi, S. C. Hirata, H. Ben Hamed, H. Beji

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The stability of mixed convection in a Newtonian fluid medium heated from below and cooled from above, also known as the Poiseuille-Rayleigh-Bénard problem, has been extensively investigated in the past decades. To our knowledge, mixed convection in porous media has received much less attention in the published literature. The present paper extends the mixed convection problem in porous media for the case of a viscoelastic fluid flow owing to its numerous environmental and industrial applications such as the extrusion of polymer fluids, solidification of liquid crystals, suspension solutions and petroleum activities. Without a superimposed through-flow, the natural convection problem of a viscoelastic fluid in a saturated porous medium has already been treated. The effects of the viscoelastic properties of the fluid on the linear and nonlinear dynamics of the thermoconvective instabilities have also been treated in this work. Consequently, the elasticity of the fluid can lead either to a Hopf bifurcation, giving rise to oscillatory structures in the strongly elastic regime, or to a stationary bifurcation in the weakly elastic regime. The objective of this work is to examine the influence of the main horizontal flow on the linear and characteristics of these two types of instabilities. Under the Boussinesq approximation and Darcy's law extended to a viscoelastic fluid, a temporal stability approach shows that the conditions for the appearance of longitudinal rolls are identical to those found in the absence of through-flow. For the general three-dimensional (3D) perturbations, a Squire transformation allows the deduction of the complex frequencies associated with the 3D problem using those obtained by solving the two-dimensional one. The numerical resolution of the eigenvalue problem concludes that the through-flow has a destabilizing effect and selects a convective configuration organized in purely transversal rolls which oscillate in time and propagate in the direction of the main flow. In addition, by using the mathematical formalism of absolute and convective instabilities, we study the nature of unstable three-dimensional disturbances. It is shown that for a non-vanishing through-flow, general three-dimensional instabilities are convectively unstable which means that in the absence of a continuous noise source these instabilities are drifted outside the porous medium, and no long-term pattern is observed. In contrast, purely transversal rolls may exhibit a transition to absolute instability regime and therefore affect the porous medium everywhere including in the absence of a noise source. The absolute instability threshold, the frequency and the wave number associated with purely transversal rolls are determined as a function of the Péclet number and the viscoelastic parameters. Results are discussed and compared to those obtained from laboratory experiments in the case of Newtonian fluids.

Keywords: instability, mixed convection, porous media, and viscoelastic fluid

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