Search results for: high-dimensional process control

Authors: Chiang-Ho Cheng, An-Shik Yang, Hong-Yih Cheng

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This paper applies the MEMS technology to design and fabricate a micro-bubble generator by a piezoelectric actuator. Coupled with a nickel nozzle plate, an annular piezoelectric ceramic was utilized as the primary structure of the generator. In operations, the piezoelectric element deforms transversely under an electric field applied across the thickness of the generator. The surface of the nozzle plate can expand or contract because of the induction of radial strain, resulting in the whole structure to bend, and successively transport oxygen micro-bubbles into the blood flow for enhancing the oxygen content in blood. In the tests, a high magnification microscope and a high speed CCD camera were employed to photograph the time evolution of meniscus shape of gaseous bubbles dispensed from the micro-bubble generator for flow visualization. This investigation thus explored the bubble formation process including the influences of inlet gas pressure along with driving voltage and resonance frequency on the formed bubble extent.

Keywords: micro-bubble, oxygenator, nozzle, piezoelectric

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Authors: Nneka N. Uchegbu, Charles N. Ishiwu

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The nutritional composition and hypoglycaemic effect of crackers produced from a blend of sprouted pigeon pea, unripe plantain, and brewers’ spent grain and fed to Alloxan induced diabetic rat was investigated. Crackers were produced from different blends of sprouted pigeon pea, unripe plantain and brewers’ spent grain. The crackers were evaluated for proximate composition, amino acid profile and antinutritional factors. Blood glucose levels of normal and diabetic rats fed with the control sample and different formulations of cracker were measured. The protein content of the samples were significantly different (p < 0.05) from each other with sample A having the lowest value and sample B with the highest value. The values obtained showed that the samples contained most of the amino acids that are found in plant proteins. The levels of antinutritional factor determined were generally low. Administration of the formulated cracker meals led to a significant reduction in the fasting blood glucose level in the diabetic rats. The present study concluded that consumption of crackers produced from this composite flour can be recommended for the diabetics and those who are sceptical about the disease.

Keywords: crackers, diabetics rat, sprouted pigeon pea, unripe plantain and brewers’ spent grain

Procedia PDF Downloads 421

Authors: Veronique Jubera, Guillaume Salek, Manuel Gaudon, Alain Garcia, Alain Demourgues

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Luminescence of transition metal and rare earth elements cover ultraviolet to far infrared wavelengths. Applications of phosphors are numerous. One can cite lighting, sensing, laser, energy, medical or military applications. But regarding each domain, specific criteria are required and they can be achieved with a strong control of the chemical composition. Emission of doped materials can be tailored with modifications of the local environment of the cations. For instance, the increase of the crystal field effect shifts the divalent manganese radiative transitions from the green to the red color. External factor as heat-treatment can induce changes of the doping element location or modify the unit cell crystalline symmetry. By controlling carefully the synthesis route, it is possible to initiate emission shift and to establish the thermal history of a compound. We propose to demonstrate through the luminescence of divalent manganese and trivalent rare earth doped oxide, that it is possible to follow the thermal history of a material. After optimization of the synthesis route, structural and optical properties are discussed. Finally, thermal calibration graphs are successfully established on these doped compounds. This makes these materials promising probe for thermal sensing.

Keywords: emission, thermal sensing, transition metal, rare eath element

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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: Ashiff Khan, A. Seetharaman, Abhijit Dasgupta

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The new era of big data (BD) is influencing chemical industries tremendously, providing several opportunities to reshape the way they operate and help them shift towards intelligent manufacturing. Given the availability of free software and the large amount of real-time data generated and stored in process plants, chemical industries are still in the early stages of big data adoption. The industry is just starting to realize the importance of the large amount of data it owns to make the right decisions and support its strategies. This article explores the importance of professional competencies and data science that influence BD in chemical industries to help it move towards intelligent manufacturing fast and reliable. This article utilizes a literature review and identifies potential applications in the chemical industry to move from conventional methods to a data-driven approach. The scope of this document is limited to the adoption of BD in chemical industries and the variables identified in this article. To achieve this objective, government, academia, and industry must work together to overcome all present and future challenges.

Keywords: chemical engineering, big data analytics, industrial revolution, professional competence, data science

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Authors: Mahmoud Abu-Ghoush, Murad Al Holy

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Our main goal in this project is to study the causes and finding solutions for both the hydrolytic and the oxidative rancidity that can be produced during condensed yoghurt production. The re pasteurization of the pasteurized milk and the addition of different types of antioxidants (ascorbic acid and propyl gallate) were used to achieve this goal. Chemical, physical, microbial and sensory tests were done to evaluate the product. It was found that there were significant differences between the different treatments and the control regarding the peroxide value. This means that the addition of both types of antioxidants have a positive effect in decreasing the rancidity value. However, it was found that there were some samples have hydrolytic rancidity flavour without any type of oxidative rancidity (low peroxide value). To overcome this problem the re pasteurization step was used to destroy all the vegetative form of microbes. It was found that this treatment was very useful in controlling the rancidity flavour according to the sensory evaluation of the condensed yoghurt products for several batches. The best condensed yoghurt which contains 0.25% ascorbic acid exhibited the highest sensory properties values. Also, it has the ability in lowering the oxidative rancidity in the combination with the re pasteurization step of the pasteurized milk. This suggests that a higher quality and stable condensed yoghurt can be obtained upon using this combination. These results may help producers in selecting the best treatment methods to overcome the rancidity flavor in this type of condensed yoghurt.

Keywords: antioxidants, condensed yoghurt, repasturization, condensed milk

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Authors: Seyed Mohammad Reza Amirian, Seyedeh Khadije Amirian, Maryam Sabouri

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The present study aimed to investigate second language (L2) motivation, enjoyment, and self-regulation as the main variables for explaining variance in the process, and to find out the outcome of L2 Aural Vocabulary Knowledge (AVK) development by focusing on the Iranian EFL students at Hakim Sabzevari University. To this end, 122 EFL students (86 females) and (36 males) participated in this study. The students filled out the Motivation Questionnaire, Foreign Language Enjoyment Questionnaire, and Self-Regulation Questionnaire and also took Aural Vocabulary Knowledge (AVK) Test. Using SPSS software, the data were analyzed through multiple regressions and path analysis. A preliminary Pearson correlation analysis revealed that 2 out of 3 independent variables were significantly linked to AVK. According to the obtained regression model, self-regulation was a significant predictor of aural vocabulary knowledge test. Finally, the results of the mediation analysis showed that the indirect effect of enjoyment on AVK through self- regulation was significant. These findings are discussed, and implications are offered.

Keywords: aural vocabulary knowledge, enjoyment, motivation, self-regulation

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Authors: Çiğdem Bakır, Mecit Yüzkat

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With the increasing emphasis on water quality worldwide, the search for and expanding the market for new and intelligent monitoring systems has increased. The current method is the laboratory process, where samples are taken from bodies of water, and tests are carried out in laboratories. This method is time-consuming, a waste of manpower, and uneconomical. To solve this problem, we used machine learning methods to detect water pollution in our study. We created decision trees with the Orange3 software we used in our study and tried to determine all the factors that cause water pollution. An automatic prediction model based on water quality was developed by taking many model inputs such as water temperature, pH, transparency, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and ammonia nitrogen with machine learning methods. The proposed approach consists of three stages: preprocessing of the data used, feature detection, and classification. We tried to determine the success of our study with different accuracy metrics and the results. We presented it comparatively. In addition, we achieved approximately 98% success with the decision tree.

Keywords: decision tree, water quality, water pollution, machine learning

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Authors: Zs. Kovács, Zs. J. Viharos, J. Kodácsy

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As a well-known conventional finishing process, the grinding is commonly used to manufacture seal mating surfaces and bearing surfaces, but is also creates twisted surfaces. The machined surfaces by turning or grinding usually have twist structure on the surfaces, which can convey lubricants such as conveyor screw. To avoid this phenomenon, have to use special techniques or machines, for example start-stop turning, tangential turning, ultrasonic protection or special toll geometries. All of these solutions have high cost and difficult usability. In this paper, we describe a system and summarize the results of the experimental research carried out mainly in the field of Magnetic Abrasive Polishing (MAP) and Magnetic Roller Burnishing (MRB). These technologies are simple and also green while able to produce twist-free surfaces. During the tests, C45 normalized steel was used as workpiece material which was machined by simple and Wiper geometrical turning inserts in a CNC turning lathe. After the turning, the MAP and MRB technologies can be used directly to reduce the twist of surfaces. The evaluation was completed by advanced measuring and IT equipment.

Keywords: magnetism, finishing, polishing, roller burnishing, twist-free

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Authors: Evelyne Nguegwouo, Raoul Fonkem Sonfack Tsakem, Abel Wade, Gabriel Nama Medoua, Kamgaing Theophile

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Fresh and smoked fish are widely consumed in Cameroon. The traditional nature of smoking, the lack of hygiene in production, the poor preservation of stocks and the long storage time for certain types of fish considerably favor the contamination of products by molds, which secrete toxic molecules called mycotoxins. Today there are more than 400 types of mycotoxins, Aflatoxins being the most formidable. These toxins are considered carcinogenic in humans. It is in this perspective that we proposed to evaluate the total Aflatoxins in the fish marketed and consumed by the populations of the city of Yaoundé in Cameroon. On the one hand, it was a question of conducting a survey of fish consumers and sellers in points of sale, sampling fish of three species [Marquereau (Scomber scombrus), Cod (Gadus morhua) and Bifaka (Ethmalosa fimbriata)], randomly in some markets of the city to evaluate the total Aflatoxins contents (B1, B2, G1, G2) by the quantitative ELISA method and finally to estimate the level of exposure of the populations. It emerges from this study that of the 30 samples analyzed, 96.1% contained total Aflatoxins and two samples had total Aflatoxins levels above the standard, which is 20 ppb. These first results show that the risk is present in Cameroon and in order to improve the quality of marketed fish in terms of mycotoxins, a more thorough control must be done from the production chain to the consumer.

Keywords: aflatoxins, evaluation, exposure, mycotoxins, fish

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Authors: Yassir AbdelRazig, Amine Ghanem

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Construction projects are information intensive in nature and involve many activities that are related to each other. Wireless technologies can be used to improve the accuracy and timeliness of data collected from construction sites and shares it with appropriate parties. Nonetheless, the construction industry tends to be conservative and shows hesitation to adopt new technologies. A main concern for owners, contractors or any person in charge on a job site is the cost of the technology in question. Wireless technologies are not cheap. There are a lot of expenses to be taken into consideration, and a study should be completed to make sure that the importance and savings resulting from the usage of this technology is worth the expenses. This research attempts to assess the effectiveness of using the appropriate wireless technologies based on criteria such as performance, reliability, and risk. The assessment is based on a utility function model that breaks down the selection issue into alternatives attribute. Then the attributes are assigned weights and single attributes are measured. Finally, single attribute are combined to develop one single aggregate utility index for each alternative.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, decision theory, utility function, wireless technologies

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Authors: Khaldi Youcef

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This investigation seeks to inquire into the effectiveness of using authentic videos for grammar teaching purposes. In this investigation, an English animated situation, Hercules, was used as a type of authentic multimedia to teach a particular grammatical structure, namely conditional sentences. This study also aims at investigating the EFL learners’ attitudes toward grammar learning after being exposed to such an authentic video. To reach that purpose, 56 EFL learners were required ultimately to respond to a questionnaire with an aim to reveal their attitudes towards grammar as a language entity and as a subject for being learned. Then, as a second stage of the investigation, the EFL learners were divided into a control group and an experimental group with 28 learners in each. The first group was taught grammar -conditional sentences- using a deductive-inductive approach, while the second group was exposed to an authentic video to learn conditional sentences. There was a post-lesson stage that included a questionnaire to be answered by learners of each group. The aim of this stage is to capture any change in learners' attitudes shown in the pre-lesson questionnaire. The findings of the first stage revealed learners' negative attitudes towards grammar learning. And the third stage results showed the effectiveness of authentic videos in entirely turning learners' attitudes toward grammar learning to be significantly positive. Also, the utility of authentic videos in highly motivating EFL learners can be deduced. The findings of this survey asserted the need for incorporation and integration of authentic videos in EFL classrooms as they resulted in rising effectively learners’ awareness of grammar and looking at it from a communicative perspective.

Keywords: multimedia, authentic videos, negative attitudes, grammar learning, EFL learners

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Authors: Jawad Alzeer

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Natural products are well recognized as sources of drugs in several human ailments. To investigate the impact of variable extraction techniques on the cytotoxic effects of medicinal plant extracts, 5 well-known medicinal plants from Palestine were extracted with 90% ethanol, 80% methanol, acetone, coconut water, apple vinegar, grape vinegar or 5% acetic acid. The resulting extracts were screened for cytotoxic activities against three different cancer cell lines (B16F10, MCF-7, and HeLa) using a standard resazurin-based cytotoxicity assay and Nile Blue A as the positive control. Highly variable toxicities and tissue sensitivity were observed, depending upon the solvent used for extraction. Acetone consistently gave lower extraction yields but higher cytotoxicity, whereas other solvent systems gave much higher extraction yields with lower cytotoxicity. Interestingly, coconut water was found to offer a potential alternative to classical organic solvents; it gave consistently highest extraction yields, and in the case of S. officinalis L., highly toxic extracts towards MCF-7 cells derived from human breast cancer. These results demonstrate how the cytotoxicity of plant extracts can be inversely proportional to the yield, and that solvent selection plays an important role in both factors.

Keywords: plant extract, natural products, anti cancer drug, cytotoxicity

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Authors: V. Khosravi, F. D. Ardejani, A. Aryafar, M. Sedighi

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Heavy metals have a damaging impact for the environment, animals and humans due to their extreme toxicity and removing them from wastewaters is a very important and interesting task in the field of water pollution control. Biosorption is a relatively new method for treatment of wastewaters and recovery of heavy metals. In this study, a continuous fixed bed study was carried out by using Bacillus thuringiensis as a biosorbent for the removal of Cu and Mn ions from Sarcheshmeh Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). The effect of operating parameters such as flow rate and bed height on the sorption characteristics of B. thuringiensis was investigated at pH 6.0 for each metal ion. The experimental results showed that the breakthrough time decreased with increasing flow rate and decreasing bed height. The data also indicated that the equilibrium uptake of both metals increased with decreasing flow rate and increasing bed height. BDST, Thomas, and Yoon–Nelson models were applied to experimental data to predict the breakthrough curves. All models were found suitable for describing the whole dynamic behavior of the column with respect to flow rate and bed height. In order to regenerate the adsorbent, an elution step was carried out with 1 M HCl and five adsorption-desorption cycles were carried out in continuous manner.

Keywords: acid mine drainage, bacillus thuringiensis, biosorption, cu and mn ions, fixed bed

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Authors: Ziwen Wang

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There are close links between religion and migration. As newcomers to a foreign nation, new immigrants endured many pressures and challenges. Religion can be an important part of a migrant’s personal identity, and religious communities can offer valued connections and relationships. During the migration process, religion can undergo significant changes as migrants travel across geographical and cultural gaps and as they face new opportunities or new constraints. For those migrants who are not religious, during this unsettling time, people might become sensitive to the "sacredness", accepting its guidance, and occasionally contemplating religious conversion. This research examines the role of faith and the church in supporting new Chinese immigrants from the perspective of the social function of Christianity, utilizing Chinese immigrants in New Zealand as a case study. Through participant observation in four Chinese churches and over seventy semi-structured interviews, this research illustrates how religion has provided them with a haven and how the church provides indispensable material, spiritual, and informational resources essential for their adaptation to life in New Zealand.

Keywords: migration and religion, overseas chinese, religious capital, christianity

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Authors: T. Thompson, E. F. Zegeye

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Bacterial Cellulose (BC) is a structural organic compound produced in the anaerobic process. This material can be a useful eco-friendly substitute for commercial textiles that are used in industries today. BC is easily and sustainably produced and has the capabilities to be used as a replacement in textiles. However, BC is extremely fragile when it completely dries. This research was conducted to improve the mechanical properties of the BC by reinforcing with an organic polymer and exfoliated graphite (EG). The BC films were grown over a period of weeks in a green tea and kombucha solution at 30 °C, then cleaned and added to an enhancing solution. The enhancing solutions were a mixture of 2.5 wt% polymer and 2.5 wt% latex solution, a 5 wt% polymer solution, a 0.20 wt% graphite solution and were each allowed to sit in a furnace for 48 h at 50 °C. Tensile test samples were prepared and tested until fracture at a strain rate of 8 mm/min. From the research with the addition of a 5 wt% polymer solution, the flexibility of the BC has significantly improved with the maximum strain significantly larger than that of the base sample. The addition of EG has also increased the modulus of elasticity of the BC by about 25%.

Keywords: bacterial cellulose, exfoliated graphite, kombucha scoby, tensile test

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Authors: He Chao, Zhang Lei, Liu Ran, Li Ang

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Temperature regulating system by gaseous nitrogen is of importance to the space environment simulator, which keep the shrouds in the temperature range from -150℃ to +150℃. Liquid nitrogen spray equipment is one of the most critical parts in the temperature regulating system by gaseous nitrogen. Y type jet atomizer and internal mixing atomizer of the liquid nitrogen spray equipment are studied in this paper, 2D/3D atomizer model was established and grid division was conducted respectively by the software of Catia and ICEM. Based on the above preparation, numerical simulation on the spraying process of the atomizer by FLUENT is performed. Using air and water as the medium, comparison between the tests and numerical simulation was conducted and the results of two ways match well. Hence, it can be conclude that this atomizer model can be applied in the numerical simulation of liquid nitrogen spray equipment.

Keywords: space environmental simulator, liquid nitrogen spray, Y type jet atomizer, internal mixing atomizer, numerical simulation, fluent

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Authors: A. Rabin, G. Mazor, I. Ladizhenski, R. Shneck, Z.

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The hardness and hardenability of AISI D2 cold work tool steel with conventional quenching (CQ), deep cryogenic quenching (DCQ) and rapid deep cryogenic quenching heat treatments caused by temporary porous coating based on magnesium sulfate was investigated. Each of the cooling processes was examined from the perspective of the full process efficiency, heat flux in the austenite-martensite transformation range followed by characterization of the temporary porous layer made of magnesium sulfate using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), surface and core hardness and hardenability using Vickr’s hardness technique. The results show that the cooling rate (CR) at the austenite-martensite transformation range have a high influence on the hardness of the studied steel.

Keywords: AISI D2, controllable cooling, magnesium sulfate coating, rapid cryogenic heat treatment, temporary porous layer

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Authors: Abdelghani Alidra, Mohamed Tahar Kimour

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Genetic algorithm must adapt themselves at design time to cope with the search problem specific requirements and at runtime to balance exploration and convergence objectives. In a previous article, we have shown that modeling and implementing Genetic Algorithms (GA) using the software product line (SPL) paradigm is very appreciable because they constitute a product family sharing a common base of code. In the present article we propose to extend the use of the feature model of the genetic algorithms family to model the potential states of the GA in what is called a Dynamic Software Product Line. The objective of this paper is the systematic generation of a reconfigurable architecture that supports the dynamic of the GA and which is easily deduced from the feature model. The resultant GA is able to perform dynamic reconfiguration autonomously to fasten the convergence process while producing better solutions. Another important advantage of our approach is the exploitation of recent advances in the domain of dynamic SPLs to enhance the performance of the GAs.

Keywords: self-adaptive genetic algorithms, software engineering, dynamic software product lines, reconfigurable architecture

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Authors: T. Valdbjørn Rasmussen

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Design criteria for achieving an acceptable indoor radon concentration are presented in this paper. The paper suggests three design criteria. These criteria have to be considered at the early stage of the building design phase to meet the latest recommendations from the World Health Organization in most countries. The three design criteria are; first, establishing a radon barrier facing the ground; second, lowering the air pressure in the lower zone of the slab on ground facing downwards; third, diluting the indoor air with outdoor air. The first two criteria can prevent radon from infiltrating from the ground, and the third criteria can dilute the indoor air. By combining these three criteria, the indoor radon concentration can be lowered achieving an acceptable level. In addition, a cheap and reliable method for measuring the radon concentration in the indoor air is described. The provision on radon in the Danish Building Regulations complies with the latest recommendations from the World Health Organization. Radon can cause lung cancer and it is not known whether there is a lower limit for when it is not harmful to human beings. Therefore, it is important to reduce the radon concentration as much as possible in buildings. Airtightness is an important factor when dealing with buildings. It is important to avoid air leakages in the building envelope both facing the atmosphere, e.g. in compliance with energy requirements, but also facing the ground, to meet the requirements to ensure and control the indoor environment. Infiltration of air from the ground underneath a building is the main providing source of radon to the indoor air.

Keywords: radon, natural radiation, barrier, pressure lowering, ventilation

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Authors: Omar Alshehri, Vic Lally

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This paper examined the attitudes of using social media tools to support learning at a university in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, it investigated the students’ current usage of these tools and examined the barriers they could face during the use of social media tools in the education process. Participants in this study were 42 university students. A web-based survey was used to collect data for this study. The results indicate that all of the students were familiar with social media and had used at least one type of social media for learning. It was found out that all students had very positive attitudes towards the use of social media and welcomed using these tools as a supplementary to the curriculum. However, the results indicated that the major barriers to using these tools in learning were distraction, opposing Islamic religious teachings, privacy issues, and cyberbullying. The study recommended that this study could be replicated at other Saudi universities to investigate factors and barriers that might affect Saudi students’ attitudes toward using social media to support learning.

Keywords: barriers to social media use, benefits of social media use, higher education, Saudi Arabia, social media

Procedia PDF Downloads 152

Authors: Yulistiani Yulistiani, Zamrotul Izzah, Lintang Bismantara, Wenny Putri Nilamsari, Arif Bachtiar, Budi Suprapti

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Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are pro-inflammatory cytokines, which have the protective immune response against Tuberculosis (TB). Indeed, pro-inflammatory cytokines Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and NK cells increase the level of production of IFN-γ, a cytokine critical for augmenting the microbicidal activity of phagocytes. On the other hand, M. tuberculosis reduces the effects of IFN-γ by inhibiting the transcription of IFN-γ- responsive genes and by inducing the secretion of IL-6, which inhibits IFN-γ signaling. Probiotics Lactobacillus sp. and Bifidobacterium sp. were known to increase IFN-γ production in vivo, while vitamin B1, B6, and B12 worked on macrophages and releasing cytokines. Therefore, the present study was to evaluate the effect of probiotics and vitamin B supplement on changes of plasma cytokine levels in active pulmonary TB. From October to November 2016, twelve M. tuberculosis-infected patients starting anti-TB drugs were recruited, then divided into two groups. Seven patients were given a combination of probiotics and vitamin B, while five patients were in the control group. Plasma IFN-γ and IL-6 levels were measured by the ELISA kit before and a month after treatment. IFN-γ levels raised in four patients receiving the supplement (P = 0.743), while IL-6 increased in three patients in this group until day 30 of treatment (P = 0.298). Taken together, these results show the promising effect of probiotics and vitamin B on stimulation of IFN-γ and IL-6 production during intensive therapy of TB.

Keywords: interferon-gamma, interleukin-6, probiotic, tuberculosis

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Authors: Nusrat T. Chowdhury, M. F. Baki, A. Azab

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The production planning problem is concerned with specifying the optimal quantities to produce in order to meet the demand for a prespecified planning horizon with the least possible expenditure. Making the right decisions in production planning will affect directly the performance and productivity of a manufacturing firm, which is important for its ability to compete in the market. Therefore, developing and improving solution procedures for production planning problems is very significant. In this paper, we develop a Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition of a multi-item hierarchical production planning problem with capacity constraint and present a column generation approach to solve the problem. The original Mixed Integer Linear Programming model of the problem is decomposed item by item into a master problem and a number of subproblems. The capacity constraint is considered as the linking constraint between the master problem and the subproblems. The subproblems are solved using the dynamic programming approach. We also propose a multi-step iterative capacity allocation heuristic procedure to handle any kind of infeasibility that arises while solving the problem. We compare the computational performance of the developed solution approach against the state-of-the-art heuristic procedure available in the literature. The results show that the proposed heuristic-based decomposition approach improves the solution quality by 20% as compared to the literature.

Keywords: inventory, multi-level capacitated lot-sizing, emission control, setup carryover

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Authors: D. Nareshyadav, K. Anand Kishore, D. Bhagawan

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Water scarcity is the much-identified issue all over the world. The available sources of water need to be reused to sustainable future. The present work explores the treatment of dye wastewater using combinative photocatalysis and ceramic nanofiltration membrane. Commercial ceramic membrane and TiO₂ catalyst were used in this study to investigate the removal of crystal violet dye from the aqueous solution. The effect of operating parameters such as inlet pressure, initial concentration of crystal violet dye, catalyst (TiO₂) loading, initial pH was investigated in the individual system as well as the combined system. In this study, 95 % of dye water was decolorized and 89 % of total organic carbon (TOC) was removed by the hybrid system for 500 ppm of dye and 0.75 g/l of TiO₂ concentrations at pH 9. The operation of the integrated photocatalytic reactor and ceramic membrane filtration has shown the maximum removal of crystal violet dye compared to individual systems. Hence this proposed method may be effective for the removal of Crystal violet dye from effluents.

Keywords: advanced oxidation process, ceramic nanoporous membrane, dye degradation/removal, hybrid system, photocatalysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Muhammad Imran Hussain, Ramisha Ibtisam, Tayyaba Fatima, Huba Khalid, Ayesha Aziz, Khansa, Adan Sitara, Anam Shahzad, Aymen Jabeen

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Vitamin D supports the immune system fight TB by inhibiting Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and lowering host inflammation. The purpose of the research was to see if giving the vitamin D supplements to TB patients affected their prognosis. A randomized placebo control study of 200 TB patients was performed among which 106 received 400,000 IU of injectable vitamin D3 and 94 received placebo for 2 doses. Assessment was carried out at the end of every month for 3 months. IFN-γ responses to whole blood stimulation generated by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis sonicate (MTBs) antigen and early secreted and T cell activated 6 kDa (ESAT6) were assessed at 0 and 12 weeks. The statistical analysis used descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), Friedman's test and Fisher's test. The vitamin D group gained significantly more weight (+3.90 pounds) and had less persistent lung disease on imaging (1.33 zones vs. 1.84 zones). They also had a 50% decrease in cavity size. Additionally, patients with low baseline serum concentrations of 25-(OH)D had a significant increase in MTB-induced IFN-γ production after taking vitamin D supplements. Vitamin D administration in large amounts can hasten the recovery of TB patients. The findings point is a therapeutically useful activity of Vitamin D's in the management for tuberculosis.

Keywords: tuberculosis, vitamin D, interferon gamma, protein, infection

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Authors: Shamima Akhter, Siegfried Bauer

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The aim of this study is to analyze the migration process of the rural population of Bangladesh. Heckman Probit model with sample selection was applied in this paper to explore the determinants of migration and intensity of migration at farm household level. The farm survey was conducted in the central part of Bangladesh on 160 farm households with migrant and on 154 farm households without migrant including a total of 316 farm households. The results from the applied model revealed that main determinants of migration at farm household level are household age, economically active males and females, number of young and old dependent members in the household and agricultural land holding. On the other hand, the main determinants of intensity of migration are availability of economically adult male in the household, number of young dependents and agricultural land holding.

Keywords: determinants, Heckman Probit model, migration, rural-urban

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Authors: Jorge Ferrada Herrera, Pablo M. Millán-Millán

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The delimitation in the cities of heritage areas implicit in strong processes of transformation, both social and material. The study shows how two cities, seemingly different as Seville (Spain) and Valparaiso (Chile), share the same transformation process from its declaration as heritage cities. The metdología used in research has been on the one hand the analytic-criticism has shown us all processes and the level of involvement of these. On the other hand the direct observation methodology has allowed us to ratify all studied. Faced with these processes research shows social resources that people have developed to address each of them. The study concludes the need to strengthen the social and associative fabric in heritage areas as a resource to ensure the survival of heritage, not only material but also social and cultural. As examples, we have chosen Seville and Valparaiso: the gentrification of Seville prior to the universal exhibition of ‘92 –with pretty specific plans-- is paralleled by Valparaiso’s plan to revitalize its port and its protected (UNESCO) area. The whole of our theoretical discourse will be based thereupon.

Keywords: historical centers, tourism, heritage, social processes

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: A. A. Dehpour, B. Eslami, S. Rezaie, S. F. Hashemian, F. Shafie, M. Kiaie

Abstract:

The aims of study were investigation on chemical composition essential oil and the effect of extract of Coronilla varia on antimicrobial and cytotoxicity activity. The essential oils of Coronilla varia is obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by (GC/MS) for determining their chemical composition and identification of their components. Antibacterial activity of plant extract was determined by disc diffusion method. The effect of hydroalcolic extracts from Cornilla varia investigated on MCF7 cancer cell line by MTT assay. The major components were Caryophyllene Oxide (60.19%), Alphacadinol (4.13%) and Homoadantaneca Robexylic Acid (3.31%). The extracts from Coronilla varia had interesting activity against Proteus mirabilis in the concentration of 700 µg/disc and did not show any activity against Staphylococus aureus, Bacillus subtillis, Klebsiella pneumonia and Entrobacter cloacae. The positive control, Ampicillin, Chloramphenicol and Cenphalothin had shown zone of inhibition resistant all bacteria. Corohilla varia ethanol extract could inhibit the proliferation of MCF7 cell line in RPMI 1640 medium. IC50 5(mg/ml) was the optimum concentration of extract from Coronilla varia inhibition of cell line growth. The MCF7 cancer cell line and Proteus mirabilis were more sensitive to Coronilla varia ethanol extract.

Keywords: Coronilla varia, essential oil, antibacterial, anticancer, hela cell line

Procedia PDF Downloads 378

Authors: Hamza A. Al-Sewadi, Akram N. A. Aldakari

Abstract:

Copyright protection and ownership proof of digital multimedia are achieved nowadays by digital watermarking techniques. A text watermarking algorithm for protecting the property rights and ownership judgment of color images is proposed in this paper. Embedding is achieved by inserting texts elements randomly into the color image as noise. The YIQ image processing model is found to be faster than other image processing methods, and hence, it is adopted for the embedding process. An optional choice of encrypting the text watermark before embedding is also suggested (in case required by some applications), where, the text can is encrypted using any enciphering technique adding more difficulty to hackers. Experiments resulted in embedding speed improvement of more than double the speed of other considered systems (such as least significant bit method, and separate color code methods), and a fairly acceptable level of peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) with low mean square error values for watermarking purposes.

Keywords: steganography, watermarking, time complexity measurements, private keys

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Marina Paula Carreira Rolim

Abstract:

In order to have ELLs take responsibility for their own learning, it is important that they develop skills to work their studies strategically. The less they rely on the instructor as the content provider, the more they become active learners and have a higher sense of self-regulation and confidence in the learning process. This e-poster proposes a new teacher-student relationship that encourages learners to reflect, think critically, and act upon their realities. It also suggests the implementation of different autonomy-supportive teaching tools, such as portfolios, written journals, problem-solving activities, and strategy-based discussions in class. These teaching tools enable ELLs to develop awareness of learning strategies, learning styles, study plans, and available learning resources as means to foster their creative power of learning outside of classroom. In the role of a learning advisor, the teacher is no longer the content provider but a facilitator that introduces skills such as ‘elaborating’, ‘planning’, ‘monitoring’, and ‘evaluating’. The teacher acts as an educator and promotes the use of lifelong metacognitive skills to develop learner autonomy in the ESL/EFL context.

Keywords: autonomy, metacognitive skills, self-regulation, learning strategies, reflection

Procedia PDF Downloads 353