Search results for: energy life cycle assessment

Authors: Geraldine Molina, Malou Allagnat

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Entry through meteorological and climatic phenomena, technical knowledge and engineering sciences has long been favored by the research and local public action to analyze the urban climate, develop strategies to reduce its changes and adapt their spaces. However, in their daily practices and sensitive experiences, city dwellers are confronted with the climate and constantly deal with its fluctuations. In this way, these actors develop knowledge, skills and tactics to regulate their comfort and adapt to climatic variations. Therefore, the empirical observation and analysis of these living experiences represent major scientific and social challenges. This contribution proposes to question these relationships of the inhabitants to urban climate. It tackles the construction of inhabitants’ climatic experiences to answer a central question: how do city dwellers’ deal with the urban climate and adapt to its different variations? Indeed, the city raises the question of how populations adapt to different spatial and temporal climatic variations. Local impacts of global climate change are combined with the urban heat island phenomenon and other microclimatic effects, as well as seasonal, daytime and night-time fluctuations. To provide answers, the presentation will be focused on the results of a CNRS research project (Géraldine Molina), part of which is linked to the European project Nature For Cities (H2020, Marjorie Musy, Scientific Director). From a theoretical point of view, the contribution is based on a renewed definition of adaptation centered on the capacity of individuals and social groups, a recently opened entry from a theoretical point of view by social scientists. The research adopts a "radical interdisciplinary" approach to shed light on the links between social dynamics of climate (inhabitants’ perceptions, representations and practices) and physical processes that characterize urban climate. To do so, it relied on a methodological combination of different survey techniques borrowed from the social sciences (geography, anthropology, sociology) and linked to the work, methodologies and results of the engineering sciences. From 2016 to 2019, a survey was carried out in two districts of Lyon whose morphological, micro-climatic and social characteristics differ greatly, namely the 6th arrondissement and the Guillotière district. To explore the construction of climate experiences over the long term by putting it into perspective with the life trajectories of individuals, 70 semi-directive interviews were conducted with inhabitants. In order to also punctually survey the climate experiments as they unfold in a given time and moment, observation and measurement campaigns of physical phenomena and questionnaires have been conducted in public spaces by an interdisciplinary research team1. The contribution at the ICUC 2020 will mainly focus on the presentation of the presentation of the qualitative survey conducted thanks to the inhabitants’ interviews.

Keywords: sensitive experiences, ways of life, thermal comfort, radical interdisciplinarity

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Authors: Nibal Al-Batsh, Issam A. Al-Khatib, Subha Ghannam

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Yatta is a town in the Governorate of Hebron, located 9 km south of Hebron City in the West Bank. The town houses over 100,000 people, 49% of which are females; a population that doubles every 15 years. Yatta has been connected to a water network since 1974 serving nearly 85% of the households. The water network is old and inadequate to meet the needs of the population. The water supply made available to the area is also very limited, estimated to be around 20 l/c/d. Residents are thus forced to rely on water vendors which supply water with a lower quality compared to municipal water while being 400% more expensive. As a cheaper and more reliable alternative, rainwater harvesting is a common practice in the area, with the majority of the households owning at least one cistern. Rainwater harvesting is of great socioeconomic importance in areas where water sources are scarce or polluted. In this research, the quality of harvested rainwater used for drinking and domestic purposes in the Yatta area was assessed throughout a year. A total of 100 samples, were collected from (cisterns) with an average capacity of 69 m3, which are adjacent to cement-roof catchment areas with an average area of 145 m2. Samples were analyzed for a number of parameters including: pH, alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), NO3, NH4, chloride and salinity. Biological and microbiological contents such as Total Coliforms (TCC) and Fecal Coliforms (FC) bacteria were also tested. Results showed that most of the rainwater samples were within WHO and EPA guidelines set for chemical parameters. The research also addressed the impact of different socioeconomic attributes on rainwater harvesting through questionnaire that was pre-tested before the actual statically sample is collected.

Keywords: rainwater, harvesting, water quality, socio-economic aspects

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Authors: A. E. Buyken, D. J. Mela, P. Dussort, I. T. Johnson, I. A. Macdonald, A. Piekarz, J. D. Stowell, F. Brouns

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Recently a number of renewed dietary guidelines have been published by various health authorities. The aim of the present work was 1) to review the processes (systematic approach/review, inclusion of public consultation) and methodological approaches used to identify and select the underpinning evidence base for the established recommendations for total carbohydrate (CHO), fiber and sugar consumption, and 2) examine how differences in the methods and processes applied may have influenced the final recommendations. A search of WHO, US, Canada, Australia and European sources identified 13 authoritative dietary guidelines with the desired detailed information. Each of these guidelines was evaluated for its scientific basis (types and grading of the evidence) and the processes by which the guidelines were developed Based on the data retrieved the following conclusions can be drawn: 1) Generally, a relatively high total CHO and fiber intake and limited intake of sugars (added or free) is recommended. 2) Even where recommendations are quite similar, the specific, justifications for quantitative/qualitative recommendations differ across authorities. 3) Differences appear to be due to inconsistencies in underlying definitions of CHO exposure and in the concurrent appraisal of CHO-providing foods and nutrients as well the choice and number of health outcomes selected for the evidence appraisal. 4) Differences in the selected articles, time frames or data aggregation method appeared to be of rather minor influence. From this assessment, the main recommendations are for: 1) more explicit quantitative justifications for numerical guidelines and communication of uncertainty; and 2) greater international harmonization, particularly with regard to underlying definitions of exposures and range of relevant nutrition-related outcomes.

Keywords: carbohydrates, dietary fibres, dietary guidelines, recommendations, sugars

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Authors: Richard Patrick Kabuye

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This study focuses on the addressing the enhancement of in-service training programs as a tool of transforming the existing traditional approaches of formal lectures/contact hours. This will be supported with a more versatile, robust, and remotely accessible means of mobile based e-learning, as a support tool for the traditional means. A combination of various factors in education and incorporation of the eLearning strategy proves to be a key factor in effective in-service education. Key factor needs to be factored in so as to maintain a credible co-existence of the programs, with the prevailing social, economic and political environments. Effective in-service education focuses on having immediate transformation of knowledge into practice for a good time period, active participation of attendees, enable before training planning, in training assessment and post training feedback training analysis which will yield knowledge to the trainers of the applicability of knowledge given out. All the above require a more robust approach to attain success in implementation. Incorporating mobile technology in eLearning will enable the above to be factored together in a more coherent manner, as it is evident that participants have to take time off their duties and attend to these training programs. Making it mobile, will save a lot of time since participants would be in position to follow certain modules while away from lecture rooms, get continuous program updates after completing the program, send feedback to instructors on knowledge gaps, and a wholly conclusive evaluation of the entire program on a learn as you work platform. This study will follow both qualitative and quantitative approaches in data collection, and this will be compounded incorporating a mobile eLearning application using Android.

Keywords: in service, training, mobile, e- learning, model

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Authors: A. Lovascio, A. D’Orazio, V. Centonze

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From several years till now the aerospace industry is developing more and more small satellites for Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) missions. Such satellites have a low cost of making and launching since they have a size and weight smaller than other types of satellites. However, because of size limitations, small satellites need integrated electronic equipment based on digital logic. Moreover, the LEOs require telecommunication modules with high throughput to transmit to earth a big amount of data in a short time. In order to meet such requirements, in this paper we propose a Telemetry, Tracking & Command module optimized through the use of the Commercial Off-The-Shelf components. The proposed approach exploits the major flexibility offered by these components in reducing costs and optimizing the performance. The method has been applied in detail for the design of the front-end receiver, which has a low noise figure (1.5 dB) and DC power consumption (smaller than 2 W). Such a performance is particularly attractive since it allows fulfilling the energy budget stringent constraints that are typical for LEO small platforms.

Keywords: COTS, LEO, small-satellite, TT&C

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Authors: Dianis Wulan Sari, Takeo Minematsu, Mikako Yoshida, Hiromi Sanada

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Introduction: Pruritus is diagnosed as itching without macroscopic abnormalities on skin. It is the most skin complaint of elderly people. In the present study, we conducted a dermatological study to examine the risk factors of pruritic skin and predicted how to prevent pruritus especially in the elderly population. Pruritus is caused several types of inflammation, including epidermal innate immunity based on keratinocyte responses and acquired immunity regulated by type 1 or 2 helper T (Th) cells. The triggers of pruritus differ among inflammation types, therefore we did separately assess the pruritus-associated factors of each inflammation type in an effort to contribute to the identification of intervention targets for preventing pruritus. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the factors related with actual condition of pruritic skin by examine the skin properties. Method: This study was conducted in elderly population of Indonesian nursing home. Basic characteristics and behaviors were obtained by interview. The properties of pruritic skin were collected by examination of skin biomarker using skin blotting as novel method of non-invasive skin assessment method and examination of skin barrier function using stratum corneum hydration and skin pH. Result: The average age of participants was 74 years with independent status was 66.8%. Age (β = -0.130, p = 0.044), cumulative lifetime sun exposure (β = 0.145, p = 0.026), bathing duration (β = 0.151, p = 0.022), clothing change frequency (β = 0.135, p = 0.029), and clothing type (β = -0.139, p = 0.021) were risk factors of pruritic skin in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Risk factors of pruritic skin in elderly population were caused by internal factors such as skin senescence and external factors such as sun exposure, hygiene care and skin care behavior.

Keywords: aging, hygiene care, pruritus, skin care, sun exposure

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Authors: I. Touaїbia, E. Azzag, O. Narjes

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Power supply networks are growing continuously and their reliability is getting more important than ever. The complexity of the whole network comprises numerous components that can fail and interrupt the power supply for the end user. Underground distribution systems are normally exposed to permanent faults, due to specific construction characteristics. In these systems, visual inspection cannot be performed. In order to enhance service restoration, accurate fault location techniques must be applied. This paper describes the different faults that affect the underground distribution system of SONELGAZ (National Society of Electricity and Gas of Algeria), and cable fault location procedure with impulse reflection method (TDR), based in the analyses of the cable response of the electromagnetic impulse, allows cable fault prelocation. The results are obtained from real test in the underground distribution feeder from electrical network of energy distribution company of Souk-Ahras, in order to know the influence of cable characteristics in the types and frequency of faults.

Keywords: distribution networks, fault location, TDR, underground cable

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Authors: Sean Taylor, Sayantani Neogi, Julia Budka

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The important Egyptian New Kingdom settlement at Sai Island Sudan presents a complex stratigraphic archaeological record. This study takes the theoretic stance that it, not just the archaeological material being retrieved from the deposits but the sediments themselves that reflect human agency. These anthropogenic sediments reflect the use life of the buildings and spaces between and the post-depositional processes which operate to complicate the archaeological record. The application of soil micromorphology is a technique that takes intact block samples of sediment and analyses them in thin section under a petrological microscope. A detailed understanding of site formation processes and a contextualized knowledge of the material culture can be understood through careful and systematic observation of the changing facies. The major findings of the study are that soil and sedimentary information can provide valuable insights to the use of space during the New Kingdom and elucidate the complexities of site formation processes.

Keywords: anthropogenic sediment, New Kingdom, site formation processes, soil micromorphology

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Authors: Asghar Zamani, Mostafa Falahmorad

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Virtualization is established to combine and use the unique capabilities of employees to increase productivity and agility to provide services regardless of location. Adapting to fast and continuous change and getting maximum access to human resources are reasons why virtualization is happening. The distance problem is solved by information. Flexibility is the most important feature of virtualization, and information will be the main focus of virtualized companies. In this research, we used the Covid-19 opportunity window to assess the productivity of the companies that had been going through more virtualized management before the Covid-19 in comparison with those that just started planning on developing infrastructures on virtual management after the crises of pandemic occurred. The research process includes financial (profitability and customer satisfaction) and behavioral (organizational culture and reluctance to change) metrics assessment. In addition to financial and CRM KPIs, a questionnaire is devised to assess how manager and employees’ attitude has been changing towards the migration to virtualization. The sample companies and questions are selected by asking from experts in the IT industry of Iran. In this article, the conclusion is that companies open to virtualization based on accurate strategic planning or willing to pay to train their employees for virtualization before the pandemic are more agile in adapting to change and moving forward in recession. The prospective companies in this research, not only could compensate for the short period loss from the first shock of the Covid-19, but they could also foresee new needs of their customer sooner than other competitors, resulting in the need to employ new staff for executing the emerging demands. Findings were aligned with the literature review. Results can be a wake-up call for business owners especially in developing countries to be more resilient toward modern management styles instead of continuing with traditional ones.

Keywords: virtual management, virtual organization, competitive advantage, KPI, profit

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Authors: Aneesa Shafi

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Reproduction is a complex term in a setting where it is continuously being shaped by epistemological shifts in knowledge. It denotes not just fertility, birth and childcare related practices but also the ideas that shape those practices. These ideas and practices figure into understandings of social and cultural renewal. Patriarchy continues to be a dominating force in the formation of these ideas and practices. Contemporary times are characterized by the resurgence of the whims of patriarchal politics in delineating the margins of women’s health care. This has further emboldened the struggle for reproductive rights on the global stage. The paper examines the subordination of the right to bodily autonomy of women within the ambit of their reproductive rights. Reproductive rights are recognized human rights and women’s rights. Why these rights of women face stiff opposition is established, as is the structure that creates hurdles to their enjoyment. The negotiation of this structure in the everyday life through women’s agency is also established. The reproductive sphere includes not just the process of reproduction but also social reproduction- domestic work, spheres of production and reproduction, population and birth (control) issues.

Keywords: patriarchy, women, reproduction, gender

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Authors: Maged Kamal

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Previous research papers have suggested that enhancing the environmental performance in textiles and apparel industry would affect positively on the overall enterprise competitiveness. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding simplifying the available theory to get it practically implemented with more confidence of the expected results, especially for small and medium enterprises. The aim of this paper is to simplify and best use of the concerned international norms to produce a systematic approach that could be used as a guideline for practical application of the main sustainable principles in medium size textile business. The increasing in efficiency which has been resulted from the implementation of the suggested approach/model originated from reduction in raw materials usage, energy, and water savings, in addition to the risk reduction for the people and the environment. The practical case study has been implemented in a textile factory producing knitted fabrics, readymade garments, dyed and printed fabrics. The results were analyzed to examine the effect of the suggested change on the enterprise profitability.

Keywords: apparel industry, environmental management, sustainability, textiles

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Authors: Xiangrong Liu, Chuanhui Xiong

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With the concern of large pollution emissions from coal-fired power plants and new commitment to green energy, global solar power industry was emerging recently. Due to the advanced technology, the price of solar photovoltaic(PV) module was reduced at a fast rate, which arose an interesting but challenge question to solar supply chain. This research is modeling the inventory strategies for a PV supply chain with a PV manufacturer, an assembler and an end customer. Through characterizing the manufacturer's and PV assembler's optimal decision in decentralized and centralized situation, this study shed light on how to improve supply chain performance through parameters setting in the contract design. The results suggest the assembler to lower the optimal stock level gradually each period before price reduction and set up a newsvendor base-stock policy in all periods after price reduction. As to the PV module manufacturer, a non-stationary produce-up-to policy is optimal.

Keywords: photovoltaic, supply chain, inventory policy, base-stock policy

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Authors: Rasheed Amao Busari, Ahmed Ibrahim

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The engineering properties of giant palms are crucial for the reasonable design of the processing and handling systems. The research was conducted to investigate some engineering properties of giant palm seeds in relation to their oil potential. The ripe giant palm fruit was sourced from some parts of Zaria in Kaduna State and Ado Ekiti in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The mesocarps of the fruits collected were removed to obtain the nuts, while the collected nuts were dried under ambient conditions for several days. The actual moisture content of the nuts at the time of the experiment was determined using KT100S Moisture Meter, with moisture content ranged 17.9% to 19.15%. The physical properties determined are axial dimension, geometric mean diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, sphericity, true and bulk densities, porosity, angles of repose, and coefficients of friction. The nuts were measured using a vernier caliper for physical assessment of their sizes. The axial dimensions of 100 nuts were taken and the result shows that the size ranges from 7.30 to 9.32cm for major diameter, 7.2 to 8.9 cm for intermediate diameter, and 4.2 to 6.33 for minor diameter. The mechanical properties determined were compressive force, compressive stress, and deformation both at peak and break using Instron hydraulic universal tensile testing machine. The work also revealed that giant palm seed can be classified as an oil-bearing seed. The seed gave 18% using the solvent extraction method. The results obtained from the study will help in solving the problem of equipment design, handling, and further processing of the seeds.

Keywords: giant palm seeds, engineering properties, oil potential, moisture content, and giant palm fruit

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Authors: Mohammed Alrajhi

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Radiological properties of gel dosimeters and phantom materials are often evaluated in terms of effective atomic number, electron density, photon mass attenuation coefficient, photon mass energy absorption coefficient and total stopping power of electrons. To evaluate the water equivalence of such materials for fast neutron attenuation 19 different types of gel dosimeters and phantom materials were considered. Macroscopic removal cross-sections for fast neutrons (ΣR cm-1) have been calculated for a range of ferrous-sulphate and polymeric gel dosimeters using Nxcom Program. The study showed that the value of ΣR/ρ (cm2.g-1) for all polymer gels were in close agreement (1.5- 2.8%) with that of water. As such, the slight differences in ΣR/ρ between water and gels are small and may be considered negligible. Also, the removal cross-section of the studied phantom materials were very close (~ ±1.5%) to that of water except bone (cortical) which had about 38% variation. Finally, the variation of removal cross-section with hydrogen content was studied.

Keywords: cross-section, neutron, photon, coefficient, mathematics

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Authors: Swati Bajpai, S. P. K Jena

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Background: There is dramatic increase in the prevalence and severity of overweight in adolescents, raising concerns about their psychosocial and cognitive consequences, thereby indicating the immediate need to understand the effects of increased weight on scholastic performance. Although the body of research is currently limited, available results have identified an inverse relationship between obesity and cognition in adolescents. Aim: to examine the association between increased Body Mass Index in adolescents and their neurocognitive functioning. Methods: A case –control study of 28 subjects in the age group of 11-17 years (14 Males and 14 females) was taken on the basis of main inclusion criteria (Body Mass Index). All of them were randomized to (experimental group: overweight) and (control group: normal weighted). A complete neurocognitive assessment was carried out using validated psychological scales namely, Color Progressive Matrices (to assess intelligence); Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test (Perceptual motor functioning); PGI-Memory Scale for Children (memory functioning) and Malin’s Intelligence Scale Indian Children (verbal and performance ability). Results: statistical analysis of the results depicted that 57% of the experimental group lack in cognitive abilities, especially in general knowledge (99.1±12.0 vs. 102.8±6.7), working memory (91.5±8.4 vs. 93.1±8.7), concrete ability (82.3±11.5 vs. 92.6±1.7) and perceptual motor functioning (1.5±1.0 vs. 0.3±0.9) as compared to control group. Conclusion: Our investigations suggest that weight gain results, at least in part, from a neurological predisposition characterized by reduced executive function, and in turn obesity itself has a compounding negative impact on the brain. Though, larger sample is needed to make more affirmative claims.

Keywords: adolescents, body mass index, neurocognition, obesity

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Authors: Hafiz Md. HasanBabu, Khandaker Mohammad Mohi Uddin, Md. IstiakJaman Ami, Rahat Hossain Faisal

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Computing in biomolecular programming performs through the different types of reactions. Proteins and nucleic acids are used to store the information generated by biomolecular programming. DNA (Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid) can be used to build a molecular computing system and operating system for its predictable molecular behavior property. The DNA device has clear advantages over conventional devices when applied to problems that can be divided into separate, non-sequential tasks. The reason is that DNA strands can hold so much data in memory and conduct multiple operations at once, thus solving decomposable problems much faster. Programmable Logic Array, abbreviated as PLA is a programmable device having programmable AND operations and OR operations. In this paper, a DNA PLA is designed by different molecular operations using DNA molecules with the proposed algorithms. The molecular PLA could take advantage of DNA's physical properties to store information and perform calculations. These include extremely dense information storage, enormous parallelism, and extraordinary energy efficiency.

Keywords: biological systems, DNA computing, parallel computing, programmable logic array, PLA, DNA

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Authors: G. Pelozo, N. Quaranta

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The assessment of environmental hazard and ecotoxicological potential of industrial wastes has become an issue of concern in many countries. Therefore, the aim of this work is to develop a methodology, adapting an Argentinian standard, which allows analyze the ecotoxicological effect of various metallurgical and steel wastes. Foundry sand, white mud, red mud, electric arc furnace dust, converter slag, among others, are the studied wastes. The species used to analyze the ecotoxicological effects of wastes is rye grass (Lolium Perenne). The choice of this kind lies, among other things, in its easy and rapid germination making it possible to develop the test in a few days. Moreover, since the processes involved are general for most seeds, the obtained results with this kind are representative, in general, of the effects on seeds or seedlings. Since the studied residues are solids, prior to performing the assay, an eluate is obtained by stirring for 2 hours and subsequent filtration of a solution of waste in water in a relationship of 1:4. This represents 100% of eluate from which two dilutions in water (25% and 50%) are prepared. A sample with untreated solid waste and water is also performed. The test is performed by placing two filter papers in a Petri dish that are saturated with 3.5ml of the prepared dilutions. After that 20 rye grass seeds are placed, and the Petri dishes are covered and the seeds are incubated for 120 hours at 24 °C. Reference controls are carried out by distilled water. Three replicates are performed for each concentration. Once the exposure period is finished, inhibiting elongation of the root is measured (IR). The results of this test show that all the studied wastes produce an unfavorable effect on the development of the seedlings, being the electric arc furnace dust which more affects the germination.

Keywords: ecotoxicity, industrial wastes, environmental hazard, seeds

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Authors: Ali Heidari, Hany Saleem

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The tailwater requirements are important criteria in the design of the stilling basins as energy dissipation of the spillways. The adequate tailwater level that ensures the hydraulic jump inside the basin should be fulfilled by the river's natural water level and the apron depth downstream of the chute. The requirements of the hydraulic jump should mainly be checked for the design flood, however, the drawn jump condition should not be critical in the discharges lesser than the design flood. The tailwater requirement is not met in Almatti dam, built in 2005 in India, and the jump sweep out from the basin, resulting in significant scour in the apron and end sill of the basin. This paper discusses different hydraulic solutions as sustainable solutions for the rehabilitation program. The deep apron alternative is proposed for the fewer bays of the spillway as the most cost-effective, sustainable solution. The apron level of 15 gates out of 26 gates should decrease by 5.4 m compared to the existing design to ensure a safe hydraulic jump up to the discharge of 10,000 m3/s i.e. 30% of the updated PMF.

Keywords: dam, spillway, stilling basin, Almatti

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Authors: Mohammed Auwal Ibrahim, Aminu Mohammed

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Stigmasterol has previously been reported to possess antitrypanosomal activity using in vitro and in vivo models. However, the mechanism of antitrypanosomal activity is yet to be elucidated. In the present study, molecular docking was used to decipher the mode of interaction and binding affinity of stigmasterol to three known antitrypanosomal drug targets viz; adenosine kinase, ornithine decarboxylase and triose phosphate isomerase. Stigmasterol was found to bind to the selected trypanosomal enzymes with minimum binding energy of -4.2, -6.5 and -6.6 kcal/mol for adenosine kinase, ornithine decarboxylase, and triose phosphate isomerase respectively. However, hydrogen bond was not involved in the interaction of stigmasterol with all the three enzymes, but hydrophobic interaction seemed to play a vital role in the binding phenomenon which was predicted to be non-competitive like type of inhibition. It was concluded that binding to the three selected enzymes, especially triose phosphate isomerase, might be involved in the antitrypanosomal activity of stigmasterol but not mediated via a hydrogen bond interaction.

Keywords: antitrypanosomal, in silico, molecular docking, stigmasterol

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Authors: Nan KANG, Pierre Coddet, Hanlin Liao, Christian Coddet

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In this study, the almost dense eutectic Al-12Si alloys were fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) from the powder mixture of pure Aluminum and pure Silicon, which show the mean particle sizes of 30 μm and 5μm respectively, under the argon environment. The image analysis shows that the highest value of relative density (95 %) was measured for the part obtained at the laser power of 280 W. X ray diffraction (XRD), Optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were employed to determine the microstructures of the SLM-processed Al-Si alloy, which illustrate that the SLM samples present the ultra-fine microstructure. The XRD results indicate that no clearly phase transformation happened during the SLM process. Additionally, the vaporization behavior of Aluminum was detected for the parts obtained at high laser power. Besides, the maximum microhardness value, about 95 Hv, was measured for the samples obtained at laser power of 280 W, and which shows the highest wear resistance.

Keywords: al-Si alloy, selective laser melting, wear behavior, microstructure

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Authors: Siva Kumar Bathina, Sudheer Siddapureddy

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Fires accident becomes even worse when the hazardous equipment like reactors or radioactive waste packages are engulfed in fire. In this work, large-eddy numerical fire simulations are performed using fire dynamic simulator to predict the thermal behavior of such bodies engulfed in hydrocarbon pool fires. A radiatively dominated 0.3 m circular burner with n-heptane as the fuel is considered in this work. The fire numerical simulation results without anybody inside the fire are validated with the reported experimental data. The comparison is in good agreement for different flame properties like predicted mass burning rate, flame height, time-averaged center-line temperature, time-averaged center-line velocity, puffing frequency, the irradiance at the surroundings, and the radiative heat feedback to the pool surface. Cask of different sizes is simulated with SS304L material. The results are independent of the material of the cask simulated as the adiabatic surface temperature concept is employed in this study. It is observed that the mass burning rate increases with the blockage ratio (3% ≤ B ≤ 32%). However, the change in this increment is reduced at higher blockage ratios (B > 14%). This is because the radiative heat feedback to the fuel surface is not only from the flame but also from the cask volume. As B increases, the volume of the cask increases and thereby increases the radiative contribution to the fuel surface. The radiative heat feedback in the case of the cask engulfed in the fire is increased by 2.5% to 31% compared to the fire without cask.

Keywords: adiabatic surface temperature, fire accidents, fire dynamic simulator, radiative heat feedback

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Authors: Sandra Mendes

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Social Work has encountered over time with multivariate requests in the field of its action, provisioning frameworks of knowledge and praxis. Over the years, we have observed a transformation of society and, consequently, of the public who deals with the social work practitioners. Both, training and profession have had need to adapt and readapt the ways of doing, bailing up theories to action, while action unfolds emancipation of new theories. The theoretical questioning of this subject lies on classical authors from social sciences, and contemporary authors of Social Work. In fact, both enhance, in the design of social work, an integration and social cohesion function, creating a culture of action and theory, attributing to its method a relevant function, which shall be promoter of social changes in various dimensions of both individual and collective life, as well as scientific knowledge. On the other hand, it is assumed that Social Work, through its professionalism and through the academy, is now closer to distinguish itself from other Social Sciences as an autonomous scientific field, being, however, in the center of power struggles. This paper seeks to fill the gap in social work literature about the study of the scientific field of this area of knowledge.

Keywords: field theory, knowledge, science, social work

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Authors: L. Srikanth, D. Neelima Satyam

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The transmission line towers are one of the important life line structures in the distribution of power from the source to the various places for several purposes. The predominant external loads which act on these towers are wind and earthquake loads. In this present study tower is analyzed using Indian Standards IS: 875:1987 (Wind Load), IS: 802:1995 (Structural Steel), IS:1893:2002 (Earthquake) and dynamic analysis of tower has been performed considering ground motion of 2001 Bhuj Earthquake (India). The dynamic analysis was performed considering a tower system consisting two towers spaced 800m apart and 35m height each. This analysis has been performed using numerical time stepping finite difference method which is central difference method were employed by a developed MATLAB program to get the normalized ground motion parameters includes acceleration, frequency, velocity which are important in designing the tower. The tower is analyzed using response spectrum analysis.

Keywords: response spectra, dynamic analysis, central difference method, transmission tower

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Authors: W. A. M. Abdel Kawy, Kh. M. Darwish

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Adequate land use selection is an essential step towards achieving sustainable development. The main object of this study is to develop a new scale for land suitability system, which can be compatible with the local conditions. Furthermore, it aims to adapt the conventional land suitability systems to match the actual environmental status in term of soil types, climate and other conditions to evaluate land suitability for newly reclaimed areas. The new system suggests calculation of land suitability considering 20 factors affecting crop selection grouping into five categories; crop-agronomic, land management, development, environmental conditions and socio – economic status. Each factor is summed by each other to calculate the total points. The highest rating for each factor indicates the highest preference for the evaluated crop. The highest rated crops for each group are those with the highest points for the actual suitability. This study was conducted to assess the application efficiency of the new land suitability scale in recently reclaimed sites in Egypt. Moreover, 35 representative soil profiles were examined, and soil samples were subjected to some physical and chemical analysis. Actual and potential suitabilities were calculated by using the new land suitability scale. Finally, the obtained results confirmed the applicability of a new land suitability system to recommend the most promising crop rotation that can be applied in the study areas. The outputs of this research revealed that the integration of different aspects for modeling and adapting a proposed model provides an effective and flexible technique, which contribute to improve land suitability assessment for several crops to be more accurate and reliable.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, land suitability, multi-criteria analysis, new reclaimed areas, soil parameters

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Authors: Makenzy Lee Gilbert

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This literature review explores the role of attractor neural networks (ANNs) in modeling psychological processes in artificial and biological systems. By synthesizing research from dynamical systems theory, psychology, and computational neuroscience, the review provides an overview of the current understanding of ANN function in memory formation, reinforcement, retrieval, and forgetting. Key mathematical foundations, including dynamical systems theory and energy functions, are discussed to explain the behavior and stability of these networks. The review also examines empirical applications of ANNs in cognitive processes such as semantic memory and episodic recall, as well as highlighting the hippocampus's role in pattern separation and completion. The review addresses challenges like catastrophic forgetting and noise effects on memory retrieval. By identifying gaps between theoretical models and empirical findings, it highlights the interdisciplinary nature of ANN research and suggests future exploration areas.

Keywords: attractor neural networks, connectionism, computational modeling, cognitive neuroscience

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Authors: Marcela Karmazínová, Jindrich Melcher, Lubomír Vítek, Petr Cikrle

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The paper deals with the diagnostics of steel roof structure of the winter sports stadiums built in 1970 year. The necessity of the diagnostics has been given by the requirement to the evaluation design of this structure, which has been caused by the new situation in the field of the loadings given by the validity of the European Standards in the Czech Republic from 2010 year. Due to these changes in the normative rules, in practice, existing structures are gradually subjected to the evaluation design and depending on its results to the strengthening or reconstruction, respectively. The steel roof is composed of plane truss main girders, purlins and bracings and the roof structure is supported by two arch main girders with the span of L=84 m. The in situ diagnostics of the roof structure was oriented to the following parts: (i) determination and evaluation of the actual material properties of used steel and (ii) verification of the actual dimensions of the structural members. For the solution, the non-destructive methods have been used for in situ measurement. For the indicative determination of steel strengths the modified method based on the determination of Rockwell’s hardness has been used. For the verification of the member’s dimensions (thickness of hollow sections) the ultrasound method has been used. This paper presents the results obtained using these testing methods and their evaluation, from the viewpoint of the usage for the subsequent static assessment and design evaluation of the existing structure. For the comparison, the examples of the similar evaluations realized for steel structures of the stadiums in Olomouc and Jihlava cities are briefly illustrated, too.

Keywords: actual dimensions, destructive methods, diagnostics, existing steel structure, indirect non-destructive methods, Rockwel’s hardness, sport hall, steel strength, ultrasound method.

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Authors: Christolyn Raj, Lewis Levitz

Abstract:

Introduction: Two cases of late presentation ( > five years ) of bilateral pseudophakic macula edema related to oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors are described. These cases are the first of their type in the published literature. A review of ocular inflammatory complications of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the current literature is explored. Case Presentations(s): Case 1 is an 83-year-old female who has been stable on Ibrutinib (Imbruvica ®) for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). She presented with bilateral blurred vision from severe cystoid macula edema seven years following routine cataract surgery. She was treated with intravitreal steroids with complete resolution without relapse. Case 2 is a 76-year-old female who was on therapy for polycythemia vera with Ruxolitinib (Jakafi®). She presented with bilateral blurred vision from mild cystoid macula edema six years following routine cataract surgery. She responded well to topical steroids without relapse. In both cases, oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor agents were presumed to be the underlying cause and were ceased. Over the last five years, there have been increasing reports in the literature of the inflammatory effects of tyrosine kinase inhibitors on the retina, uvea and optic nerve. Conclusion: Late presentation of pseudophakic macula edema following routine cataract surgery is rare. Such presentations should prompt investigation of the chronic use of systemic medications, especially oral kinase inhibitors. Patients who must remain on these agents require ongoing ophthalmologic assessment in view of their long-term inflammatory side effects.

Keywords: macula edema, oral kinase inhibitors, retinal toxicity, pseudo-phakia

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Authors: Youping Huang, Yang Liu

Abstract:

Mountainous cities have unique landscape relationship, topography and urban spatial pattern different from plain cities, which put forward different requirements for greenway system planning strategy. Taking the greenway planning of Chengkou County in Chongqing as an example, this paper discusses the greenway system planning strategy of mountainous cities based on urban and rural green space, urban landscape resources, human resources and other factors. Through multi-angle maintenance of landscape pattern, multi-objective integration of urban resources, multi-level construction of greenway network, and multi-interactive development control, the sustainable development of mountain city landscape resources is realized, the new urban ecology is constructed, and the quality of life of urban and rural residents is improved.

Keywords: greenway planning, mountain city, landscape pattern, cultural resources, chongqing

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Authors: Md. Ahsan Ayub, Kazi A. Kalpoma, Humaira Tasnim Proma, Syed Mehrab Kabir, Rakib Ibna Hamid Chowdhury

Abstract:

Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) is observed in various applications, i.e., scheduling problems, timetabling problems, assignment problems, etc. Researchers adopt a CSP technique to tackle a certain problem; however, each technique follows different approaches and ways to solve a problem network. In our exhaustive study, it has been possible to visualize the processes of essential CSP algorithms from a very concrete constraint satisfaction example, NQueens Problem, in order to possess a deep understanding about how a particular constraint satisfaction problem will be dealt with by our studied and implemented techniques. Besides, benchmark results - time vs. value of N in N-Queens - have been generated from our implemented approaches, which help understand at what factor each algorithm produces solutions; especially, in N-Queens puzzle. Thus, extended decisions can be made to instantiate a real life problem within CSP’s framework.

Keywords: arc consistency (AC), backjumping algorithm (BJ), backtracking algorithm (BT), constraint satisfaction problem (CSP), forward checking (FC), least constrained values (LCV), maintaining arc consistency (MAC), minimum remaining values (MRV), N-Queens problem

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Authors: Kwang-Ho Kim, Kwan-Hong Min, Pyungwoo Jang, Chisup Jung, Kyu Seomoon

Abstract:

By restricting the dimensions of silicon to less than Bohr radius of bulk crystalline silicon (∼5 nm), quantum confinement causes its effective bandgap to increase. Therefore, silicon quantum wells (QWs) using these quantum phenomena could be a good candidate to achieve high performance silicon solar cells. The Al2O3/Si QW structures were fabricated by using the successive deposition technique, as a quantum confinement device to increase the effective energy bandgap and passivation effect in Si surface for the 3rd generation solar cell applications. In Si/Al2O3 QWs, the thicknesses of Si layers and Al2O3 layers were varied between 1 to 5 nm, respectively. The roughness of deposited Si on Al2O3 was less than 4 Å in the thickness of 2 nm. By using the Al2O3/Si QW structures on Si surfaces, the lifetime measured by u-PCD technique increased as a result of passivated surface effects. The discussion about the other properties such as electrical and optical properties of the QWs structures as well as the fabricated solar cells will be presented in this paper.

Keywords: Al2O3/Si quantum well, quantum confinement, solar cells, third generation, successive deposition technique

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