Search results for: pnergy and process simulations

Authors: Zerrin Akter Anni

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The media's role in shaping perceptions of violence against women (VAW) and their portrayal in news reporting significantly influences our understanding of this critical issue. My research delves into the portrayal of violence against women in mainstream media, using the prominent case of Dr. Rumana Manzur, a former UBC Fulbright Scholar from Bangladesh who suffered a brutal assault by her ex-husband in June 2011. Employing a qualitative research approach, this study uses an ethnographic media analysis method to scrutinize news reports of the aforementioned case from selected newspapers in Bangladesh. The primary objectives are to investigate how the popular news media in Bangladesh addresses the issue of violence against women and frames the victims of such violence. The findings of this research highlight that news media can perpetuate gender stereotypes and subtly shift blame onto the victim through various techniques, creating intricate interactions between the reader and the text. These techniques include sensationalized headlines, textual content, and graphic images. This victim-blaming process not only retraumatizes the survivor but also distorts the actual facts when presenting the case to a larger audience. Consequently, the representation of violence against women cases in media, particularly the portrayal of women as victims during reporting, significantly impacts our collective comprehension of this issue. In conclusion, this paper asserts that the Bangladeshi media, particularly news outlets, in conjunction with society, continue to follow a pattern of depicting gender-based violence in ways that devalue the image of women. This research underscores the need for critical analysis of media representations of violence against women cases, as they can perpetuate harmful stereotypes and hinder efforts to combat this pervasive problem. Therefore, the outcome of this research is to comprehend the complex dynamics between media and violence against women, which is essential for fostering a more empathetic and informed society that actively works towards eradicating this problem from our society.

Keywords: media representation, violence against women (vaw), ethnographic media analysis, victim-blaming, sensationalized headline

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Authors: Roohallah Yousefi

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Introduction: Voxelotor, also known as GBT 440, binds to the alpha cleft in HbS tetramers and promotes the stability of the relaxed or oxygenated state of HbS. This process hinders the conformational change of the HbS tetramers into the deoxygenated state. Voxelotor prevents interactions between HbS tetramers in the deoxygenated state, ultimately inhibiting the polymerization of HbS tetramers and resulting in significant clinical improvements, particularly in raising hemoglobin levels in patients. In this study, we have explored the use of herbal compound models, such as rosmarinic acid and compounds with similar structures that exhibit high binding affinity to Voxelotor's hemoglobin binding site. Materials and methods: The molecular model of hemoglobin (PDB: 5E83) was initially obtained from the RCSB PDB database. In addition, we collected 453 ligand models with structural similarity to rosmarinic acid from the PubChem database. To prepare these models for molecular docking, we utilized the Molegro Virtual Docker tool. Subsequently, we used the SwissADME web tool to predict the physicochemical properties and pharmacokinetics of these compounds. Results: We investigated the affinity and binding site of 453 compounds similar to rosmarinic acid on the hemoglobin model (PDB: 5E83). Our focus was on the alpha cleft between two alpha chains of the hemoglobin model (PDB: 5E83). The results showed that most compounds had molecular weights above 500 daltons, and some exhibited acceptable hydrophobicity. Furthermore, their solubility in aqueous solutions was good. None of the compounds were able to cross the blood-brain barrier or have gastrointestinal absorption. However, they did have varying inhibitory effects on CYP2C9 cytochromes. The skin penetration rate was generally low. Conclusion: Through our study, we identified three compounds (CID: 162739375, CID: 141386569, and CID: 24015539) with promising potential for further research. These compounds demonstrated high binding affinity to the hemoglobin model, favorable dissolution and digestive absorption rates, as well as suitable hydrophobicity, making them ideal candidates for continued laboratory investigation.

Keywords: voxelotor, binding site, hemoglobin, rosmarinic acid

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Authors: Rahul Paul, Peter Mctaggart, Luke Skinner

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Maintaining public safety and network reliability are the core objectives of all electricity distributors globally. For many electricity distributors, managing vegetation clearances from their above ground assets (poles and conductors) is the most important and costly risk mitigation control employed to meet these objectives. Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) is widely used by utilities as a cost-effective method to inspect their spatially-distributed assets at scale, often captured using high powered LiDAR scanners attached to fixed wing or rotary aircraft. The resulting 3D point cloud model is used by these utilities to perform engineering grade measurements that guide the prioritisation of vegetation cutting programs. Advances in computer vision and machine-learning approaches are increasingly applied to increase automation and reduce inspection costs and time; however, real-world LiDAR capture variables (e.g., aircraft speed and height) create complexity, noise, and missing data, reducing the effectiveness of these approaches. This paper proposes a method for identifying each conductor from LiDAR data via clustering methods that can precisely reconstruct conductors in complex real-world configurations in the presence of high levels of noise. It proposes 3D catenary models for individual clusters fitted to the captured LiDAR data points using a least square method. An iterative learning process is used to identify potential conductor models between pole pairs. The proposed method identifies the optimum parameters of the catenary function and then fits the LiDAR points to reconstruct the conductors.

Keywords: point cloud, LİDAR data, machine learning, computer vision, catenary curve, vegetation management, utility industry

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Authors: Sambit Supriya Dash, Rahul Ravi R, Vikram Ramanan, Vinayak Malhotra

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Combustion in itself is a complex phenomenon that involves the interaction and interplay of multiple phenomena, the combined effect of which gives rise to the common flame that we see and use in our daily life applications from cooking to propelling our vehicles to space. The most important thing that goes unnoticed about these flames is the effect of the various phenomena from its surrounding environment that affects its behavior and properties. These phenomena cause a variety of energy interactions that lead to various types of energy transformations which in turn affect the flame behavior. This paper focuses on experimentally investigating the effect of one such phenomenon, which is the acoustics or sound energy on diffusion flames. The subject in itself is extensively studied upon as thermo-acoustics globally, whereas the current work focuses on studying its effect on soot formation on diffusion flames. The said effect is studied in this research work by the use of a butane as fuel, fitted with a nozzle that houses 3 arrays consisting of 4 holes each that are placed equidistant to each other and the resulting flame impinged with sound from two independent and similar sound sources that are placed equidistant from the centre of the flame. The entire process is systematically video graphed using a 60 fps regular CCD and analysed for variation in flame heights and flickering frequencies where the fuel mass flow rate is maintained constant and the configuration of entrainment holes and frequency of sound are varied, whilst maintaining constant ambient atmospheric conditions. The current work establishes significant outcomes on the effect of acoustics on soot formation; it is noteworthy that soot formation is the main cause of pollution and a major cause of inefficiency of current propulsion systems. This work is one of its kinds, and its outcomes are widely applicable to commercial and domestic appliances that utilize combustion for energy generation or propulsion and help us understand them better, so that we can increase their efficiency and decrease pollution.

Keywords: thermoacoustics, entrainment, propulsion system, efficiency, pollution

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Authors: Ricardo Bragança, Tom Vinaimont

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This paper discusses the introduction of processes of self-determined learning (heutagogy) into a graduate course on financial modeling, using elements of entangled pedagogy and Biggs’ constructive alignment. To encourage learners to take control of their own learning journey and develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, each session in the course receives tailor-made media-enhanced pedagogical assets. The design of those assets specifically supports entangled pedagogy, which opposes technological or pedagogical determinism in support of the collaborative integration of pedagogy and technology. Media assets for each of the ten sessions in this course consist of three components. The first component in this three-pronged approach is a game-cut-like cinematographic representation that introduces the context of the session. The second component represents a character from an open-source-styled community that encourages self-determined learning. The third component consists of a character, which refers to the in-person instructor and also aligns learning outcomes and assessment tasks, using Biggs’ constructive alignment, to the cinematographic and open-source-styled component. In essence, the course's metamorphosis helps students apply the concepts they've studied to actual financial modeling issues. The audio-visual media assets create a storyline throughout the course based on gamified and real-world applications, thus encouraging student engagement and interaction. The structured entanglement of pedagogy and technology also guides the instructor in the design of the in-class interactions and directs the focus on outcomes and assessments. The transformation process of this graduate course in financial modeling led to an institutional teaching award in 2021. The transformation of this course may be used as a model for other courses and programs in many disciplines to help with intended learning outcomes integration, constructive alignment, and Assurance of Learning.

Keywords: innovative education, active learning, entangled pedagogy, heutagogy, constructive alignment, project based learning, financial modeling, graduate business education

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Authors: Nizar Jawad Hadi, Sajad Abd Alabbas

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Because of their ability to encapsulate and release drugs in a controlled manner, microspheres fabricated from polymer emulsions using microfluidic devices have shown promise for drug delivery applications. In this study, the effects of velocity, density, viscosity, and surface tension, as well as channel diameter, on microsphere generation were investigated using Fluent Ansys software. The software was programmed with the physical properties of the polymer emulsion such as density, viscosity and surface tension. Simulation will then be performed to predict fluid flow and microsphere production and improve the design of drug delivery applications based on changes in these parameters. The effects of capillary and Weber numbers are also studied. The results of the study showed that the size of the microspheres can be controlled by adjusting the speed and diameter of the channel. Narrower microspheres resulted from narrower channel widths and higher flow rates, which could improve drug delivery efficiency, while smaller microspheres resulted from lower interfacial surface tension. The viscosity and density of the polymer emulsion significantly affected the size of the microspheres, ith higher viscosities and densities producing smaller microspheres. The loading and drug release properties of the microspheres created with the microfluidic technique were also predicted. The results showed that the microspheres can efficiently encapsulate drugs and release them in a controlled manner over a period of time. This is due to the high surface area to volume ratio of the microspheres, which allows for efficient drug diffusion. The ability to tune the manufacturing process using factors such as speed, density, viscosity, channel diameter, and surface tension offers a potential opportunity to design drug delivery systems with greater efficiency and fewer side effects.

Keywords: polymer emulsion, microspheres, numerical simulation, microfluidic device

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Authors: Lukasz Mierczak, Patrick Denke, Piotr Klimczyk, Stefan Siebert

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Due to the high complexity of the magnetization in electrical machines and influence of the manufacturing processes on the magnetic properties of their components, the assessment and prediction of hysteresis and eddy current losses has remained a challenge. In the design process of electric motors and generators, the power losses of stators and rotors are calculated based on the material supplier’s data from standard magnetic measurements. This type of data does not include the additional loss from non-sinusoidal multi-harmonic motor excitation nor the detrimental effects of residual stress remaining in the motor laminations after manufacturing processes, such as punching, housing shrink fitting and winding. Moreover, in production, considerable attention is given to the measurements of mechanical dimensions of stator and rotor cores, whereas verification of their magnetic properties is typically neglected, which can lead to inconsistent efficiency of assembled motors. Therefore, to enable a comprehensive characterization of motor materials and components, Brockhaus Measurements developed a range of in-line and offline measurement technologies for testing their magnetic properties under actual motor operating conditions. Multiple sets of experimental data were obtained to evaluate the influence of various factors, such as elevated temperature, applied and residual stress, and arbitrary magnetization on the magnetic properties of different grades of non-oriented steel. Measured power loss for tested samples and stator cores varied significantly, by more than 100%, comparing to standard measurement conditions. Quantitative effects of each of the applied measurement were analyzed. This research and applied Brockhaus measurement methodologies emphasized the requirement for advanced characterization of magnetic materials used in electric drives and automotive applications.

Keywords: magnetic materials, measurement technologies, permanent magnets, stator and rotor cores

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Authors: Francesca Croce

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Governmental development strategies aimed at entrepreneurship as a major resource for economic development and poverty reduction of indigenous people. As initiatives and programs are local based, there is a need to better understand the contextual factors of indigenous entrepreneurial models. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to analyze and integrated the indigenous entrepreneurship literature in order to identify the main models of indigenous entrepreneurship. To answer this need, a systematic literature review was conducted. Relevant articles were identified in selected electronic databases (ABI/Inform Global, Business Source Premier, Web of Science; International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Academic Search, Sociological Abstract, Entrepreneurial Studies Sources and Bibliography of Native North America) and in selected electronic review. Beginning to 1st January 1995 (first International Day of the World’s Indigenous People), 59 academic articles were selected from 1411. Through systematic analysis of the cultural, social and organizational variables, the paper highlights that a typology of indigenous entrepreneurial models is possible thought the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystem, which includes the geographical position and the environment of the indigenous communities. The results show three models of indigenous entrepreneurship: the urban indigenous entrepreneurship, the semi-urban indigenous entrepreneurship, and rural indigenous entrepreneurship. After the introduction, the paper is organized as follows. In the first part theoretical and practical needs of a systematic literature review on indigenous entrepreneurship are provided. In the second part, the methodology, the selection process and evaluation of the articles are explained. In the third part, findings are presented and each indigenous entrepreneurial model characteristics are discussed. The results of this study bring a new theorization about indigenous entrepreneurship and may be useful for scientists in the field in search of overcoming the cognitive border of Indigenous business models still too little known. Also, the study is addressed to policy makers in charge of indigenous entrepreneurial development strategies more focused on contextual factors studies.

Keywords: community development, entrepreneurial ecosystem, indigenous entrepreneurship model, indigenous people, systematic literature review

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Authors: Abrha Ybeyn Gebremedhn, Yitea Seneshaw Getahun, Alebachew Shumye Moges, Fikrey Tesfay

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Rainfed agriculture in Ethiopia has failed to produce enough food, to achieve the increasing demand for food. Pinpointing the appropriate site for rainwater harvesting (RWH) have a substantial contribution to increasing the available water and enhancing agricultural productivity. The current study related to the identification of the potential RWH sites was conducted at the Chacha watershed central highlands of Ethiopia which is endowed with rugged topography. The Geographic Information System with Analytical Hierarchy Process was used to generate the different maps for identifying appropriate sites for RWH. In this study, 11 factors that determine the RWH locations including slope, soil texture, runoff depth, land cover type, annual average rainfall, drainage density, lineament intensity, hydrologic soil group, antecedent moisture content, and distance to the roads were considered. The overall analyzed result shows that 10.50%, 71.10%, 17.90%, and 0.50% of the areas were found under highly, moderately, marginally suitable, and unsuitable areas for RWH, respectively. The RWH site selection was found highly dependent on a slope, soil texture, and runoff depth; moderately dependent on drainage density, annual average rainfall, and land use land cover; but less dependent on the other factors. The highly suitable areas for rainwater harvesting expansion are lands having a flat topography with a soil textural class of high-water holding capacity that can produce high runoff depth. The application of this study could be a baseline for planners and decision-makers and support any strategy adoption for appropriate RWH site selection.

Keywords: runoff depth, antecedent moisture condition, AHP, weighted overlay, water resource

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Authors: Rawan A. Abdelrazeq, Ahmed M. Khalafallah, Nabil A. Kartam

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Selection of competent contractors for construction projects is usually accomplished through competitive bidding or negotiated contracting in which the contract bid price is the basic criterion for selection. The evaluation of contractor’s safety performance is still not a typical criterion in the selection process, despite the existence of various safety prequalification procedures. There is a critical need for practical and automated systems that enable owners and decision makers to evaluate contractor safety performance, among other important contractor selection criteria. These systems should ultimately favor safety-conscious contractors to be selected by the virtue of their past good safety records and current safety programs. This paper presents an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach to develop a framework for an automated decision support system that evaluates contractor safety performance based on a multitude of indicators and metrics that have been identified through a comprehensive review of construction safety research, and a survey distributed to domain experts. The framework is developed in three phases: (1) determining the indicators that depict contractor current and past safety performance; (2) soliciting input from construction safety experts regarding the identified indicators, their metrics, and relative significance; and (3) designing a decision support system using relational database models to integrate the identified indicators and metrics into a system that assesses and rates the safety performance of contractors. The proposed automated system is expected to hold several advantages including: (1) reducing the likelihood of selecting contractors with poor safety records; (2) enhancing the odds of completing the project safely; and (3) encouraging contractors to exert more efforts to improve their safety performance and practices in order to increase their bid winning opportunities which can lead to significant safety improvements in the construction industry. This should prove useful to decision makers and researchers, alike, and should help improve the safety record of the construction industry.

Keywords: construction safety, contractor selection, decision support system, relational database

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Authors: Gagik Ayvazyan, Levon Hakhoyan, Surik Khudaverdyan, Laura Lakhoyan

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Black Si (b-Si) is a nano-structured Si surface formed by a self-organized, maskless process with needle-like surfaces discernible by their black color. The combination of low reflectivity and the semi-conductive properties of Si found in b-Si make it a prime candidate for application in solar cells as an antireflection surface. However, surface recombination losses significantly reduce the efficiency of b-Si solar cells. Surface passivation using suitable dielectric films can minimize these losses. Nowadays some works have demonstrated that excellent passivation of b-Si nanostructures can be reached using Al₂O₃ films. However, the negative fixed charge present in Al₂O₃ films should provide good field effect passivation only for p- and p+-type Si surfaces. HfO2 thin films have not been practically tested for passivation of b-Si. HfO₂ could provide an alternative for n- and n+- type Si surface passivation since it has been shown to exhibit positive fixed charge. Using optical simulation by Finite-Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method, the possibility of b-Si passivation by HfO2 films has been analyzed. The FDTD modeling revealed that b-Si layers with HfO₂ films effectively suppress reflection in the wavelength range 400–1000 nm and across a wide range of incidence angles. The light-trapping performance primarily depends on geometry of the needles and film thickness. With the decrease of periodicity and increase of height of the needles, the reflectance decrease significantly, and the absorption increases significantly. Increase in thickness results in an even greater decrease in the calculated reflection coefficient of model structures and, consequently, to an improvement in the antireflection characteristics in the visible range. The excellent surface passivation and low reflectance results prove the potential of using the combination of the b-Si surface and the HfO₂ film for solar cells applications.

Keywords: antireflection, black silicon, HfO₂, passivation, simulation, solar cell

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Authors: Ishrat Zakia Sultana

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The solution to the Rohingya crisis has become complicated than it was anticipated. Because of consistent persecution, ethnic cleansing, and genocide against the Rohingya in Burma, four major influxes of the Rohingya people took place to the neighboring country Bangladesh. After the latest influx of October 2016 and August 2017, the total number of Rohingya in Bangladesh stands somewhere between 900,000 to over one million, placing Bangladesh much ahead with the number of refugees compared to Dadaab and Kakuma in Kenya, Bidibidi in Uganda, and Zaatari in Jordan. While Bangladesh received recognition and appreciation for receiving such a large number of Rohingya, eventually finding a solution to the Rohingya crisis has become a serious problem. The host country and the Rohingya themselves long for repatriation, the most desired solution to the crisis. But going back to their own country is now almost an impossible matter due to the unwillingness of the Myanmar government. The other two options to the solution to Rohingya crisis – reintegration in the host country and third country resettlement – have drawn little attention until now. On the one hand, the geopolitical factors have been making the Rohingya crisis complex. On the other, the war and conflict between Russia-Ukraine and Palestine-Israel have lessening the importance of the Rohingya issue and been diverting the world’s attention from the Rohingya crisis. Clearly, without the support of international community, Bangladesh finds no sustainable way to repatriate 1.1 million Rohingya. Yet, possibilities of a third country resettlement remain unexplored. In the past few years, some countries have expressed interest in accepting the Rohingya as part of third country resettlement but the number they wanted to take is like a drop in the ocean. This paper examines the roadblocks for third country resettlement of the Rohingya. It aims to look at the underlying reasons for which international community is less interested in accepting the Rohingya as refugees. Is it the racial and religious identity of the Rohingya that are considered problematic to the resettlement process? In what ways geopolitical complexities affecting the resettlement issue? How do the Rohingya view third country resettlement? This paper looks for the answers to these questions. The paper is based on qualitative study conducted from 2016-2018 and 2021-2023 in Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The camp management authority, the Rohingya themselves, and the NGOs working in the camp participated in the study.

Keywords: rohingya, refugee, resettlement, bangladesh

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Authors: María Jesús Luengo-Valderrey, Mónica Moso-Díez

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In the knowledge-based economy, innovation is considered essential in order to achieve survival and growth in organizations. On the other hand, knowledge management is currently understood as one of the keys to innovation process. Both factors are generally admitted as generators of competitive advantage in organizations. Specifically, activities on R&D&I and those that generate internal knowledge have a positive influence in innovation results. This paper examines this effect and if it is similar or not is what we aimed to quantify in this paper. We focus on the impact that proportion of knowledge workers, the R&D&I investment, the amounts destined for ICTs and training for innovation have on the variation of tangible and intangibles returns for the sector of high and medium technology in Spain. To do this, we have performed an empirical analysis on the results of questionnaires about innovation in enterprises in Spain, collected by the National Statistics Institute. First, using clusters methodology, the behavior of these enterprises regarding knowledge management is identified. Then, using SEM methodology, we performed, for each cluster, the study about cause-effect relationships among constructs defined through variables, setting its type and quantification. The cluster analysis results in four groups in which cluster number 1 and 3 presents the best performance in innovation with differentiating nuances among them, while clusters 2 and 4 obtained divergent results to a similar innovative effort. However, the results of SEM analysis for each cluster show that, in all cases, knowledge workers are those that affect innovation performance most, regardless of the level of investment, and that there is a strong correlation between knowledge workers and investment in knowledge generation. The main findings reached is that Spanish high and medium technology companies improve their innovation performance investing in internal knowledge generation measures, specially, in terms of R&D activities, and underinvest in external ones. This, and the strong correlation between knowledge workers and the set of activities that promote the knowledge generation, should be taken into account by managers of companies, when making decisions about their investments for innovation, since they are key for improving their opportunities in the global market.

Keywords: high and medium technology sector, innovation, knowledge management, Spanish companies

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Authors: Rasheed Owolabi Oloyede, Joseph Olusegun Adelusi, Seun Oluwadare

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Sleep has been found to have many recuperative and restorative beneficial effects on athletic recovery. When a person is deprived of sleep this can have many effects on their immune and endocrine systems. Both of these systems are extremely important for the recovery process of any athlete and when we deprive ourselves of sleep, we are depriving ourselves of recovery. This study examined how sleep deprivation can hinder sport performance among selected athletes representing Adeyemi College of Education at Nigeria Colleges of Education Games (NICEGA) competitions at Minna. A total of 32 athletes were sampled for the study. They were exposed to two different activities. Each activity was performed before and after sleep deprivation, the activities were 100m dash, shuttle relay. The athletes were randomly assigned to two groups that are experimental and control groups. Pretest were conducted on both groups before apply treatment to the other group. A day before the activities to be performed the control group was denied of sleep between 10p.m to 5a.m for a period of 6 weeks. The analysis of the data showed that athletes performance in the two selected activities performed on equal basis before the sleep deprivation. After sleep deprivation the performance of experimental group was a little better than the control group that were denied of sleep. It was concluded that sleep allows the body to spend less energy resources on body processes needed while awake, it was concluded that sleep deprivation enables the body system work effectively. The body can expend needed energy, balance and adequate reaction time if it is allowed to have enough rest. Lack of adequate sleep results to dullness of the brain, nervousness and anxiety which all have negative effect on performance of activities by athletes. Based on the findings, it was recommended that extend nightly sleep for several week to reduce your sleep debt before competition. Maintain a low sleep debt by obtaining a sufficient amount of nightly sleep (seven to eight hours for adults, nine or more hours for teens and young adults). Keep a regular sleep-wake schedule, going to bed and waking up at the same times every day.

Keywords: activities, deprivation, performance, sleep

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Authors: Daniela N. Correa-Llantén, Sebastián A. Muñoz-Ibacache, Mathilde Maire, Jenny M. Blamey

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The biosynthesis of nanoparticles by microorganisms, on the contrary to chemical synthesis, is an environmentally-friendly process which has low energy requirements. In this investigation, we used the microorganism Geobacillus wiegelii, strain GWE1, an aerobic thermophile belonging to genus Geobacillus, isolated from a drying oven. This microorganism has the ability to reduce selenite evidenced by the change of color from colorless to red in the culture. Elemental analysis and composition of the particles were verified using transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The nanoparticles have a defined spherical shape and a selenium elemental state. Previous experiments showed that the presence of the whole microorganism for the reduction of selenite was not necessary. The results strongly suggested that an intracellular NADPH/NADH-dependent reductase mediates selenium nanoparticles synthesis under aerobic conditions. The enzyme was purified and identified by mass spectroscopy MALDI-TOF TOF technique. The enzyme is a 1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase. Histograms of nanoparticles sizes were obtained. Size distribution ranged from 40-160 nm, where 70% of nanoparticles have less than 100 nm in size. Spectroscopic analysis showed that the nanoparticles are composed of elemental selenium. To analyse the effect of pH in size and morphology of nanoparticles, the synthesis of them was carried out at different pHs (4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0). For thermostability studies samples were incubated at different temperatures (60, 80 and 100 ºC) for 1 h and 3 h. The size of all nanoparticles was less than 100 nm at pH 4.0; over 50% of nanoparticles have less than 100 nm at pH 5.0; at pH 6.0 and 8.0 over 90% of nanoparticles have less than 100 nm in size. At neutral pH (7.0) nanoparticles reach a size around 120 nm and only 20% of them were less than 100 nm. When looking at temperature effect, nanoparticles did not show a significant difference in size when they were incubated between 0 and 3 h at 60 ºC. Meanwhile at 80 °C the nanoparticles suspension lost its homogeneity. A change in size was observed from 0 h of incubation at 80ºC, observing a size range between 40-160 nm, with 20% of them over 100 nm. Meanwhile after 3 h of incubation at size range changed to 60-180 nm with 50% of them over 100 nm. At 100 °C the nanoparticles aggregate forming nanorod structures. In conclusion, these results indicate that is possible to modulate size and shape of biologically synthesized nanoparticles by modulating pH and temperature.

Keywords: genus Geobacillus, NADPH/NADH-dependent reductase, selenium nanoparticles, biosynthesis

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Authors: Navven Desai, Veena Soraganvi

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Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury do not have biological significance hence they are known to be extremely toxic heavy metals. Water contains various heavy metals like Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Arsenic (As), Lead (Pb), and Zinc (Zn) etc., when it gets polluted with industrial waste water. These heavy metals cause various health effects even at low concentration when consumed by humans. Most of the heavy metals are poisonous to living organisms. Heavy metals are non-degradable and are preserved in the environment through bioaccumulation. Therefore removal of heavy metals from water is necessary. In recent years, a great deal of attentions has been focused on to the application of nanosized metal oxides to treat heavy metals, especially titanium oxides, ferric oxides, manganese oxides, aluminium oxides and magnesium oxides as adsorbent and photocatalyst. TiO2 based photocatalysts have attracted continuously increasing attention because of the excellent properties such as high light -conversion efficiency, chemical stability, nontoxic nature, low cost. The catalyst displays high photocatalytic activity because of its large surface area. In this study, the photocatalytic degradation of Lead (Pb) from aqueous solution was investigated in natural sunlight by using TiO2 as Nanomaterial. This study was performed at laboratory scale. All the experiments were carried out in the batch process. The concentration of lead was constant (25mg/lit) in the experiment and effect of titanium dioxide dose and pH were varied to study the removal efficiency of the lead by adsorption. Further study was performed on the dependence of photocatalytic reaction on the reaction temperature. The aqueous solution was prepared by Lead metal powder. TiO2 photo catalyst nanopowder used was Sisco-74629 grade. The heavy metal is analyzed with VARIAN AA 240 atomic adsorption spectrophotometer. The study shows, with increasing TiO2 dose and pH the lead removal increases. According to study, it can be concluded that the utilization of titanium dioxide accounted for higher efficiency in the removal of lead from aqueous solution.

Keywords: adsorption, heavy metals, nanomaterial, photocatalysis

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Authors: Florina Dutt, Subhajit Das, Matthew Swartz

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Lighting design and its impact on indoor comfort conditions are an integral part of good interior design. Impact of lighting in an interior space is manifold and it involves many sub components like glare, color, tone, luminance, control, energy efficiency, flexibility etc. While other components have been researched and discussed multiple times, this paper discusses the research done to understand the glare component from an artificial lighting source in an indoor space. Consequently, the paper discusses a parametric model to convey real time glare level in an interior space to the designer/ architect. Our end users are architects and likewise for them it is of utmost importance to know what impression the proposed lighting arrangement and proposed furniture layout will have on indoor comfort quality. This involves specially those furniture elements (or surfaces) which strongly reflect light around the space. Essentially, the designer needs to know the ramification of the ‘discomfortable glare’ at the early stage of design cycle, when he still can afford to make changes to his proposed design and consider different routes of solution for his client. Unfortunately, most of the lighting analysis tools that are present, offer rigorous computation and analysis on the back end eventually making it challenging for the designer to analyze and know the glare from interior light quickly. Moreover, many of them do not focus on glare aspect of the artificial light. That is why, in this paper, we explain a novel approach to approximate interior glare data. Adding to that we visualize this data in a color coded format, expressing the implications of their proposed interior design layout. We focus on making this analysis process very fluid and fast computationally, enabling complete user interaction with the capability to vary different ranges of user inputs adding more degrees of freedom for the user. We test our proposed parametric model on a case study, a Computer Lab space in our college facility.

Keywords: computational geometry, glare impact in interior space, info visualization, parametric lighting analysis

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Authors: Benjamin Osayawe Ehigie, Olufunmilola Olayinka Miriki

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Context: The research focuses on the psychological health of assisted conception patients in an African cultural context, where infertility is stigmatized. The study examines the influence of gender, religiosity, and marital satisfaction on the mental well-being of these patients, as consumers of the services of assisted reproductive technology (ART). Research aim: To investigate the psychosocial influences on the psychological health (depression, anxiety, and stress) of assisted conception patients in Africa. Questions addressed: The study addressed the influence of gender, religiosity, and marital satisfaction on the psychological health of assisted conception patients in an African context. Theoretical importance: The study integrates the Need-based Theory and Biopsychosocial Model to enhance understanding of psychological health in assisted conception patients in Africa. Methodology: A mixed research design incorporating Focus Group Discussions and online surveys was utilized. Standardized psychological scales were administered to 100 participants from two teaching hospitals in Nigeria. Data collection: Data was collected through FGDs and online surveys using validated psychological scales. Analysis procedures: Statistical analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between gender, religiosity, marital satisfaction, and psychological health, as well hierarchical regression analysis to determine the joint prediction of participants’ psychological health by gender, religiosity, and marital satisfaction. Findings: Females experienced higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress compared to males, attributed to cultural expectations. Religiosity and marital satisfaction negatively affected patients' psychological health, while older age was associated with better mental well-being. Conclusion: The research highlights the importance of addressing psychosocial factors in managing the psychological health of assisted conception patients in Africa. Limitations: This sample size is limited and conclusions based on a single data collection process.

Keywords: Africa, psychological health, assisted-conception, psychological health

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Authors: S. Reshma Reghu, Shiburaj Sugathan, T. G. Nandu, K. B. Ramesh Kumar, Mathew Dan

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Bacterial diseases are considered to be one of the most prevalent health hazards in the developing world and many bacteria are becoming resistant to existing antibiotics making the treatment ineffective. Thus, it is necessary to find novel targets and develop new antibacterial drugs with a novel mechanism of action. The process of bacterial cell division is a novel and attractive target for new antibacterial drug discovery. FtsZ, a homolog of eukaryotic tubulin, is the major protein of the bacterial cell division machinery and is considered as an important antibacterial drug target. Zingiberaceae, the Ginger family consists of aromatic herbs with creeping rhizomes. Many of these plants have antimicrobial properties.This study aimed to determine the anti-bacterial activity of selected Zingiberaceous plants by targeting bacterial cell division protein, FtsZ. Essential oils and methanol extracts of Amomum ghaticum, Alpinia galanga, Kaempferia galanga, K. rotunda, and Zingiber officinale were tested to find its antibacterial efficiency using disc diffusion method against authentic bacterial strains obtained from MTCC (India). Essential oil isolated from A.galanga and Z.officinale were further assayed for FtsZ inhibition assay following non-radioactive malachite green-phosphomolybdate assay using E. coli FtsZ protein obtained from Cytoskelton Inc., USA. Z.officinale essential oil possess FtsZ inhibitory property. A molecular docking study was conducted with the known bioactive compounds of Z. officinale as ligands with the E. coli FtsZ protein homology model. Some of the major constituents of this plant like catechin, epicatechin, and gingerol possess agreeable docking scores. The results of this study revealed that several chemical constituents in Ginger plants can be utilised as potential source of antibacterial activity and it can warrant further investigation through drug discovery studies.

Keywords: antibacterial, FtsZ, zingiberaceae, docking

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Authors: Maryam Memarian, Mahmood Naghizadeh

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Deconstruction is an approach that is entirely incompatible with the traditional prevalent architecture. Considering the fact that this approach attempts to put architecture in sharp contrast with its opposite events and transpires with attending to the neglected and missing aspects of architecture and deconstructing its stable structures. It also recklessly proceeds beyond the existing frameworks and intends to create a different and more efficient prospect for space. The aim of deconstruction architecture is to satisfy both the prospective and retrospective visions as well as takes into account all tastes of the present in order to transcend time. Likewise, it ventures to fragment the facts and symbols of the past and extract new concepts from within their heart, which coincide with today’s circumstances. Since this approach is an attempt to surpass the limits of the prevalent architecture, it can be employed to design places in which creative events occur and imagination and ambition flourish. Thought-provoking artistic events can grow and mature in such places and be represented in the best way possible to all people. The concept of event proposed in the plan grows out of the interaction between space and creation. In addition to triggering surprise and high impressions, it is also considered as a bold journey into the suspended realms of the traditional conflicts in architecture such as architecture-landscape, interior-exterior, center-margin, product-process, and stability-instability. In this project, at first, through interpretive-historical research method and examining the inputs and data collection, recognition and organizing takes place. After evaluating the obtained data using deductive reasoning, the data is eventually interpreted. Given the fact that the research topic is in its infancy and there is not a similar case in Iran with limited number of corresponding instances across the world, the selected topic helps to shed lights on the unrevealed and neglected parts in architecture. Similarly, criticizing, investigating and comparing specific and highly prized cases in other countries with the project under study can serve as an introduction into this architecture style.

Keywords: anti-architecture, creativity, deconstruction, event

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Authors: Lonna Mabandla, Godfrey Musvoto

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Transportation is a catalytic feature in cities. Transport and land use activity are interdependent and have a feedback loop between how land is developed and how transportation systems are designed and used. This recursive relationship between land use and transportation is reflected in how public transportation routes internal to the inner-city enhance accessibility, therefore creating spaces that are conducive to business activity, while the business activity also informs public transportation routes. It is for this reason that the focus of this research is on public transportation within inner-city areas where the dynamic is evident. Durban is the chosen case study where the dominating form of public transportation within the central business district (CBD) is minibus taxis. The paradox here is that minibus taxis still form part of the informal economy even though they are the leading form of public transportation in South Africa. There have been many attempts to formalise this industry to follow more regulatory practices, but minibus taxis are privately owned, therefore complicating any proposed intervention. The argument of this study is that the application of collaborative planning through a sustainable partnership between the public and private sectors will improve the social and environmental sustainability of public transportation. One of the major challenges that exist within such collaborative endeavors is power dynamics. As a result, a key focus of the study is on power relations. Practically, power relations should be observed over an extended period, specifically when the different stakeholders engage with each other, to reflect valid data. However, a lengthy data collection process was not possible to observe during the data collection phase of this research. Instead, interviews were conducted focusing on existing procedural planning practices between the inner-city minibus taxi association (South and North Beach Taxi Association), the eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA), and the eThekwini Town Planning Department. Conclusions and recommendations were then generated based on these data.

Keywords: collaborative planning, sustainability, public transport, minibus taxis

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Authors: Azad Hussain, Andrew Cobley

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The demand for lightweight parts with high mechanical strength(s) and integrity, in sectors such as the aerospace and automotive is ever increasing, motivated by the need for weight reduction in order to increase fuel efficiency with components usually manufactured using a high grade primary metal or alloy. For components manufactured using the squeeze casting process, this alloy is usually A356 aluminium (Al), it is one of the most versatile Al alloys; and is used extensively in castings for demanding environments. The A356 castings provide good strength to weight ratio making it an attractive option for components where strength has to be maintained, with the added advantage of weight reduction. In addition, the versatility in castabilitiy, weldability and corrosion resistance are other attributes that provide for the A356 cast alloy to be used in a large array of industrial applications. Conversely, it is rare to use remelted Al in these cases, due the nature of the applications of components in demanding environments, were material properties must be defined to meet certain specifications for example a known strength or ductility. However the use of remelted Al, especially primary grade Al such as A356, would offer significant cost and energy savings for manufacturers using primary alloys, provided that remelted aluminium can offer similar benefits in terms of material microstructure and mechanical properties. This study presents the results of the material microstructure and properties of 100% primary A356 Al and 100% remelt Al cast, manufactured via the direct squeeze cast method. The microstructures of the castings made from remelted A356 Al were then compared with the microstructures of primary A356 Al. The outcome of using remelting Al on the microstructure was examined via different analytical techniques, optical microscopy of polished and etched surfaces, and scanning electron microscopy. Microstructural analysis of the 100% remelted Al when compared with primary Al show similar α-Al phase, primary Al dendrites, particles and eutectic constituents. Mechanical testing of cast samples will elucidate further information as to the suitability of utilising 100% remelt for casting.

Keywords: A356, microstructure, remelt, squeeze casting

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Authors: Peter Collett, Mike Pynn, Haseeb Ur Rahman

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For the last few years across the UK there has been a push towards implementing treatment escalation plans (TEP) for every patient admitted to hospital. This is a paper form which is completed by a junior doctor then countersigned by the consultant responsible for the patient's care. It is designed to address what level of care is appropriate for the patient in question at point of entry to hospital. It helps decide whether the patient would benefit for ward based, high dependency or intensive care. They are completed to ensure the patient's best interests are maintained and aim to facilitate difficult decisions which may be required at a later date. For example, a frail patient with significant co-morbidities, unlikely to survive a pathology requiring an intensive care admission is admitted to hospital the decision can be made early to state the patient would not benefit from an ICU admission. This decision can be reversed depending on the clinical course of the patient's admission. It promotes discussions with the patient regarding their wishes to receive certain levels of healthcare. This poster describes the steps taken in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) when implementing the TEP form. The team implementing the TEP form campaigned for it's use to the board of directors. The directors were eager to hear of experiences of other health boards who had implemented the TEP form. The team presented the data produced in a number of health boards and demonstrated the proposed form. Concern was raised regarding the legalities of the form and that it could upset patients and relatives if the form was not explained properly. This delayed the effectuation of the TEP form and further research and discussion would be required. When COVID 19 reached the UK the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence issued guidance stating every patient admitted to hospital should be issued a TEP form. The TEP form was accelerated through the vetting process and was approved with immediate effect. The TEP form in ABUHB has now been in circulation for a month. An audit investigating it's uptake and a survey gathering opinions have been conducted.

Keywords: acute medicine, clinical governance, intensive care, patient centered decision making

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Authors: Merfat Algethami, Anton Blencowe, Bryce Feltis, Stephen Best, Moshi Geso

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Nano-materials with high atomic number atoms have been demonstrated to enhance the effective radiation dose and thus potentially could improve therapeutic efficacy in radiotherapy. The optimal nanoparticulate agents require high X-ray absorption coefficients, low toxicity, and should be cost effective. The focus of our research is the development of a nanoparticle therapeutic agent that can be used in radiotherapy to provide optimal enhancement of the radiation effects on the target. In this study, we used bismuth (Bi) nanoparticles coated with starch and bismuth sulphide nanoparticles (Bi2S3) coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). These NPs are of low toxicity and are one of the least expensive heavy metal-based nanoparticles. The aims of this study were to synthesise Bi2S3 and Bi NPs, and examine their cytotoxicity to human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cells (A549). The dose enhancing effects of NPs on A549 cells were examined at both KV and MV energies. The preliminary results revealed that bismuth based nanoparticles show increased radio-sensitisation of cells, displaying dose enhancement with KV X-ray energies and to a lesser degree for the MV energies. We also observed that Bi NPs generated a greater dose enhancement effect than Bi2S3 NPs in irradiated A549 cells. The maximum Dose Enhancement Factor (DEF) was obtained at lower energy KV range when cells treated with Bi NPs (1.5) compared to the DEF of 1.2 when cells treated with Bi2S3NPs. Less radiation dose enhancement was observed when using high energy MV beam with higher DEF value of Bi NPs treatment (1.26) as compared to 1.06 DEF value with Bi2S3 NPs. The greater dose enhancement was achieved at KV energy range, due the effect of the photoelectric effect which is the dominant process of interaction of X-ray. The cytotoxic effect of Bi NPs on enhancing the X-ray dose was higher due to the higher amount of elemental Bismuth present in Bi NPs compared to Bi2S3 NPs. The results suggest that Bismuth based NPs can be considered as valuable dose enhancing agents when used in clinical applications.

Keywords: A549 lung cancer cells, Bi2S3 nanoparticles, dose enhancement effect, radio-sensitising agents

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Authors: Esra Zengin, Sinan Akkar

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Reliable and accurate prediction of nonlinear structural response requires specification of appropriate earthquake ground motions to be used in nonlinear time history analysis. The current research has mainly focused on selection and manipulation of real earthquake records that can be seen as the most critical step in the performance based seismic design and assessment of the structures. Utilizing amplitude scaled ground motions that matches with the target spectra is commonly used technique for the estimation of nonlinear structural response. Representative ground motion ensembles are selected to match target spectrum such as scenario-based spectrum derived from ground motion prediction equations, Uniform Hazard Spectrum (UHS), Conditional Mean Spectrum (CMS) or Conditional Spectrum (CS). Different sets of criteria exist among those developed methodologies to select and scale ground motions with the objective of obtaining robust estimation of the structural performance. This study presents ground motion selection and scaling procedure that considers the spectral variability at target demand with the level of ground motion dispersion. The proposed methodology provides a set of ground motions whose response spectra match target median and corresponding variance within a specified period interval. The efficient and simple algorithm is used to assemble the ground motion sets. The scaling stage is based on the minimization of the error between scaled median and the target spectra where the dispersion of the earthquake shaking is preserved along the period interval. The impact of the spectral variability on nonlinear response distribution is investigated at the level of inelastic single degree of freedom systems. In order to see the effect of different selection and scaling methodologies on fragility curve estimations, results are compared with those obtained by CMS-based scaling methodology. The variability in fragility curves due to the consideration of dispersion in ground motion selection process is also examined.

Keywords: ground motion selection, scaling, uncertainty, fragility curve

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Authors: James Barmby

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Canada’s westernmost provinces of British Columbia and Alberta are similar in many respects as they are both reliant on volatile natural resources for major portions of their economies. The two provinces have banded together to develop mutually beneficial trade, investment and labour market mobility rules, but in terms of developing systems of higher education, the two provinces are attempting to align higher education programs to economic development objectives by means that are quite different. In British Columbia, the recently announced initiative, B.C’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint will “make sure education and training programs are aligned with the demands of the labor market.” Meanwhile in Alberta, the province’s institutions of higher education are enjoying the tenth year of their membership in the Campus Alberta Quality Council, which makes recommendations to government on issues related to post-secondary education, including the approval of new programs. In B.C., public institutions of higher education are encouraged to comply with government objectives, and are rewarded with targeted funds for their efforts. In Alberta, the institutions as a system tell the government what programs they want to offer and government can agree or not agree to fund these programs through a ministerial approval process. In comparing the two higher education systems, the question emerges as to which one is more beneficial to the province: the one where change is directed primarily by financial incentives to achieve economic objectives or the one that makes recommendations to the government for changes in programs to achieve institutional objectives? How is institutional autonomy affected in each strategy? Does institutional autonomy matter anymore? In recent years, much has been written in regard to academic freedom, but less about institutional autonomy, which is seen by many as essential to protecting academic freedom. However, while institutional autonomy means freedom from government control, it does not necessarily mean self-government. In this study, a comparison of the two higher education systems is made using recent government policy initiatives in both provinces, and responses to those actions by the higher education institutions. The findings indicate that the economic needs in both provinces take precedence over issues of institutional autonomy.

Keywords: alberta, British Columbia, institutional autonomy, funding

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Authors: Letemariam Gebreslassie Gebrekidan

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Water pollution is one of the most feared problems in modern societies, especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. Nanoparticles with controlled size and composition are of fundamental and technological interest as they provide solutions to technological and environmental challenges in the areas of solar energy conversion, catalysis, medicine, and water treatment. The synthesis of metallic nanoparticles is an active area of academic and, more importantly, application research in nanotechnology. Adsorption is a process in which pollutants are absorbed on a solid surface. A molecule (pollutant) adhered to the solid surface is called an adsorbate, and the solid surface is an adsorbent. Adsorption is controlled by various parameters such as temperature, the nature of the adsorbate and adsorbent, and the presence of other pollutants along with the experimental conditions (pH, concentration of pollutants, contact time, particle size, and temperature). Depending on the main problem of water pollution, this research is available on the adsorption of wastewater using silver nanoparticles extracted from phytolacca Dodecandra leaf. AgNP was synthesized from a 1mM aqueous solution of silver nitrate (AgNO3) and Phytolacca Dodecandra leaf extract at room temperature. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using UV/visible Spectrometer, FTIR and XRD. In the UV-Vis spectrum, The Surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) peak was observed at 414 nm, which confirmed the synthesis of AgNPs. FTIR spectroscopy, recorded from 4000 cm-1 to 400 cm-1, indicated the presence of a capping agent with the nanoparticles. From the XRD results, the average crystalline size was estimated to be 20 nm Confirming the nanoparticle nature of the obtained sample. Thus, the present method leads to the formation of silver nanoparticles with well-defined dimensions. The effects of different parameters like solution pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and initial concentration of dye were studied. The concentration of MB is 0.01 mg/L and 0.002 mg/L before and after adsorption, respectively. The wastewater containing MB was well purified using AgNP adsorbent.

Keywords: wastewater, silver nanoparticle, Characterization, adsorption, parameter

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Authors: Dovile Petkeviciute-Barysiene

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Legal technologies not only create new ways for accessing and providing legal services but also transform the role of legal practitioners. Both lawyers and users of legal services expect automated solutions to outperform people with objectivity and impartiality. Although fairness of the automated decisions is crucial, research on assessing various characteristics of automated processes related to the perceived fairness has only begun. One of the major obstacles to this research is the lack of comprehensive understanding of what legal actions are automated and could be meaningfully automated, and to what extent. Neither public nor legal practitioners oftentimes cannot envision technological input due to the lack of general without illustrative examples. The aim of this study is to map decision making stages and automation levels which are and/or could be achieved in legal actions related to pre-trial and trial processes. Major legal decisions and judgments are identified during the consultations with legal practitioners. The dual-process model of information processing is used to describe cognitive processes taking place while making legal decisions and judgments during pre-trial and trial action. Some of the existing legal technologies are incorporated into the analysis as well. Several published automation level taxonomies are considered because none of them fit well into the legal context, as they were all created for avionics, teleoperation, unmanned aerial vehicles, etc. From the information processing perspective, analysis of the legal decisions and judgments expose situations that are most sensitive to cognitive bias, among others, also help to identify areas that would benefit from the automation the most. Automation level analysis, in turn, provides a systematic approach to interaction and cooperation between humans and algorithms. Moreover, an integrated map of legal decisions and judgments, information processing characteristics, and automation levels all together provide some groundwork for the research of legal technology perceived fairness and acceptance. Acknowledgment: This project has received funding from European Social Fund (project No 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-19-0116) under grant agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT).

Keywords: automation levels, information processing, legal judgment and decision making, legal technology

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Authors: Yu Chen, Xiaoguang Yang, Lin Lin

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Traffic engineering construction is an important infrastructure for economic and social development. In the process of construction and operation, the ability to make a correct evaluation of the project's environmental impact appears to be crucial to the rational operation of existing transportation projects, the correct development of transportation engineering construction and the adoption of corresponding measures to scientifically carry out environmental protection work. Most of the existing research work on ecological and environmental impact assessment is limited to individual aspects of the environment and less to the overall evaluation of the environmental system; in terms of research conclusions, there are more qualitative analyses from the technical and policy levels, and there is a lack of quantitative research results and quantitative and operable evaluation models. In this paper, a comprehensive analysis of the ecological and environmental impacts of transportation construction projects is conducted, and factors such as the accessibility of data and the reliability of calculation results are comprehensively considered to extract indicators that can reflect the essence and characteristics. The qualitative evaluation indicators were screened using the expert review method, the qualitative indicators were measured using the fuzzy statistics method, the quantitative indicators were screened using the principal component analysis method, and the quantitative indicators were measured by both literature search and calculation. An environmental impact evaluation index system with the general objective layer, sub-objective layer and indicator layer was established, dividing the environmental impact of the transportation construction project into two periods: the construction period and the operation period. On the basis of the evaluation index system, the index weights are determined using the hierarchical analysis method, and the individual indicators to be evaluated are dimensionless, eliminating the influence of the original background and meaning of the indicators. Finally, the thesis uses the above research results, combined with the actual engineering practice, to verify the correctness and operability of the evaluation method.

Keywords: transportation construction projects, ecological and environmental impact, analysis and evaluation, indicator evaluation system

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Authors: Nahid Hassanshahi, Ayoub Karimi-Jashni, Nasser Talebbeydokhti

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Due to the economic and environmental benefits of producing less waste, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduces source reduction as one of the most important means to deal with the problems caused by increased landfills and pollution. Waste reduction involves all waste management methods, including source reduction, recycling, and composting, which reduce waste flow to landfills or other disposal facilities. Source reduction of waste can be studied from two perspectives: avoiding waste production, or reducing per capita waste production, and waste deviation that indicates the reduction of waste transfer to landfills. The present paper has investigated home composting as a managerial solution for reduction of waste transfer to landfills. Home composting has many benefits. The use of household waste for the production of compost will result in a much smaller amount of waste being sent to landfills, which in turn will reduce the costs of waste collection, transportation and burial. Reducing the volume of waste for disposal and using them for the production of compost and plant fertilizer might help to recycle the material in a shorter time and to use them effectively in order to preserve the environment and reduce contamination. Producing compost in a home-based manner requires very small piece of land for preparation and recycling compared with other methods. The final product of home-made compost is valuable and helps to grow crops and garden plants. It is also used for modifying the soil structure and maintaining its moisture. The food that is transferred to landfills will spoil and produce leachate after a while. It will also release methane and greenhouse gases. But, composting these materials at home is the best way to manage degradable materials, use them efficiently and reduce environmental pollution. Studies have shown that the benefits of the sale of produced compost and the reduced costs of collecting, transporting, and burying waste can well be responsive to the costs of purchasing home compost machine and the cost of related trainings. Moreover, the process of producing home compost may be profitable within 4 to 5 years and as a result, it will have a major role in reducing waste management.

Keywords: compost, home compost, reducing waste, waste management

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