Search results for: support vector machines application

Authors: R. Ueda

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Today global society is seeking resilient partnership in local organizations and individuals, which realizes multi-stakeholders relationship. Although it is proposed by modern global framework of sustainable development, it is conceivable that such affiliation can be found out in the traditional local community in Japan, and that traditional spirit is tacitly sustaining in modern context of disaster mitigation in society and economy. Then this research is aiming to clarify and analyze implication for the global world by actual case studies. Regional and urban resilience is the ability of multi-stakeholders to cooperate flexibly and to adapt in response to changes in the circumstances caused by disasters, but there are various conflicts affecting coordination of disaster relief measures. These conflicts arise not only from a lack of communication and an insufficient network, but also from the difficulty to jointly draw common context from fragmented information. This is because of the weakness of our modern engineering which focuses on maintenance and restoration of individual systems. Here local ‘circles’ holistically includes local community and interacts periodically. Focusing on examples of resilient organizations and wisdom created in communities, what can be seen throughout history is a virtuous cycle where the information and the knowledge are structured, the context to be adapted becomes clear, and an adaptation at a higher level is made possible, by which the collaboration between organizations is deepened and expanded. And the wisdom of a solid and autonomous disaster prevention formed by the historical community called’ Waju’ – an area surrounded by circle embankment to protect the settlement from flood – lives on in government efforts of the coastal industrial island of today. Industrial company there collaborates to create a circle including common evacuation space, road access improvement and infrastructure recovery. These days, people here adopts new interface technology. Large-scale AR- Augmented Reality for more than hundred people is expressing detailed hazard by tsunami and liquefaction. Common experiences of the major disaster space and circle of mutual discussion are enforcing resilience. Collaboration spirit lies in the center of circle. A consistent key point is a virtuous cycle where the information and the knowledge are structured, the context to be adapted becomes clear, and an adaptation at a higher level is made possible, by which the collaboration between organizations is deepened and expanded. This writer believes that both self-governing human organizations and the societal implementation of technical systems are necessary. Infrastructure should be autonomously instituted by associations of companies and other entities in industrial areas for working closely with local governments. To develop advanced disaster prevention and multi-stakeholder collaboration, partnerships among industry, government, academia and citizens are important.

Keywords: industrial recovery, multi-sakeholders, traditional culture, user experience, Waju

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Maria Ledinskaya

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This paper is part case study and part literature review. It seeks to introduce Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management concepts from business, software development, and manufacturing fields to museum conservation by looking at their practical application on a recent conservation project at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. The author outlines the advantages of leaner and more agile conservation practices in today’s faster, less certain, and more budget-conscious museum climate where traditional project structures are no longer as relevant or effective. The Morris Collection Conservation Project was carried out in 2019-2021 in Norwich, UK, and concerned the remedial conservation of around 150 Abstract Constructivist artworks bequeathed to the Sainsbury Centre by private collectors Michael and Joyce Morris. It was a medium-sized conservation project of moderate complexity, planned and delivered in an environment with multiple known unknowns – unresearched collection, unknown conditions and materials, unconfirmed budget. The project was later impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing indeterminate lockdowns, budget cuts, staff changes, and the need to accommodate social distancing and remote communications. The author, then a staff conservator at the Sainsbury Centre who acted as project manager on the Morris Project, presents an incremental, iterative, and value-based approach to managing a conservation project in an uncertain environment. The paper examines the project from the point of view of Traditional, Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management. The author argues that most academic writing on project management in conservation has focussed on a Traditional plan-driven approach – also known as Waterfall project management – which has significant drawbacks in today’s museum environment due to its over-reliance on prediction-based planning and its low tolerance to change. In the last 20 years, alternative Agile, Lean and Hybrid approaches to project management have been widely adopted in software development, manufacturing, and other industries, although their recognition in the museum sector has been slow. Using examples from the Morris Project, the author introduces key principles and tools of Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management and presents a series of arguments on the effectiveness of these alternative methodologies in museum conservation, including the ethical and practical challenges to their implementation. These project management approaches are discussed in the context of consequentialist, relativist, and utilitarian developments in contemporary conservation ethics. Although not intentionally planned as such, the Morris Project had a number of Agile and Lean features which were instrumental to its successful delivery. These key features are identified as distributed decision-making, a co-located cross-disciplinary team, servant leadership, focus on value-added work, flexible planning done in shorter sprint cycles, light documentation, and emphasis on reducing procedural, financial, and logistical waste. Overall, the author’s findings point in favour of a hybrid model, which combines traditional and alternative project processes and tools to suit the specific needs of the project.

Keywords: agile project management, conservation, hybrid project management, lean project management, waterfall project management

Procedia PDF Downloads 47

Authors: Martina I. Reinhold, Theresa Bacon-Baguley

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Background: Medical knowledge continuously evolves and to help health care providers to stay up-to-date, evidence-based medicine (EBM) has emerged as a model. The practice of EBM requires new skills of the health care provider, including directed literature searches, the critical evaluation of research studies, and the direct application of the findings to patient care. This paper describes the integration and evaluation of an evidence-based medicine course sequence into a Physician Assistant curriculum. This course sequence teaches students to manage and use the best clinical research evidence to competently practice medicine. A survey was developed to assess the outcomes of the EBM course sequence. Methodology: The cornerstone of the three-semester sequence of EBM are interactive small group discussions that are designed to introduce students to the most clinically applicable skills to identify, manage and use the best clinical research evidence to improve the health of their patients. During the three-semester sequence, the students are assigned each semester to participate in small group discussions that are facilitated by faculty with varying background and expertise. Prior to the start of the first EBM course in the winter semester, PA students complete a knowledge-based survey that was developed by the authors to assess the effectiveness of the course series. The survey consists of 53 Likert scale questions that address the nine objectives for the course series. At the end of the three semester course series, the same survey was given to all students in the program and the results from before, and after the sequence of EBM courses are compared. Specific attention is paid to overall performance of students in the nine course objectives. Results: We find that students from the Class of 2016 and 2017 consistently improve (as measured by percent correct responses on the survey tool) after the EBM course series (Class of 2016: Pre- 62% Post- 75%; Class of 2017: Pre- 61 % Post-70%). The biggest increase in knowledge was observed in the areas of finding and evaluating the evidence, with asking concise clinical questions (Class of 2016: Pre- 61% Post- 81%; Class of 2017: Pre- 61 % Post-75%) and searching the medical database (Class of 2016: Pre- 24% Post- 65%; Class of 2017: Pre- 35 % Post-66 %). Questions requiring students to analyze, evaluate and report on the available clinical evidence regarding diagnosis showed improvement, but to a lesser extend (Class of 2016: Pre- 56% Post- 77%; Class of 2017: Pre- 56 % Post-61%). Conclusions: Outcomes identified that students did gain skills which will allow them to apply EBM principles. In addition, the outcomes of the knowledge-based survey allowed the faculty to focus on areas needing improvement, specifically the translation of best evidence into patient care. To address this area, the clinical faculty developed case scenarios that were incorporated into the lecture and discussion sessions, allowing students to better connect the research studies with patient care. Students commented that ‘class discussion and case examples’ contributed most to their learning and that ‘it was helpful to learn how to develop research questions and how to analyze studies and their significance to a potential client’. As evident by the outcomes, the EBM courses achieved the goals of the course and were well received by the students. 

Keywords: evidence-based medicine, clinical education, assessment tool, physician assistant

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Carlos E. Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Karla Ruiz-Hidalgo, Kattia Madrigal-Zúñiga, Juan Salvador Chin-Pampillo, Mario Masís-Mora, Elizabeth Carazo-Rojas

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One of the main causes of contamination linked to agricultural activities is the spillage and disposal of pesticides, especially during the loading, mixing or cleaning of agricultural spraying equipment. One improvement in the handling of pesticides is the use of biopurification systems (BPS), simple and cheap degradation devices where the pesticides are biologically degraded at accelerated rates. The biologically active core of BPS is the biomixture, which is constituted by soil pre-exposed to the target pesticide, a lignocellulosic substrate to promote the activity of ligninolitic fungi and a humic component (peat or compost), mixed at a volumetric proportion of 50:25:25. Considering the known ability of lignocellulosic fungi to degrade a wide range of organic pollutants, and the high amount of lignocellulosic waste used in biomixture preparation, the bioaugmentation of biomixtures with these fungi represents an interesting approach for improving biomixtures. The present work aimed at evaluating the effect of the bioaugmentation of rice husk based biomixtures with the fungus Trametes versicolor in the removal of the insectice/nematicide carbofuran (CFN) and to optimize the composition of the biomixture to obtain the best performance in terms of CFN removal and mineralization, reduction in formation of transformation products and decrease in residual toxicity of the matrix. The evaluation of several lignocellulosic residues (rice husk, wood chips, coconut fiber, sugarcane bagasse or newspaper print) revealed the best colonization by T. versicolor in rice husk. Pre-colonized rice husk was then used in the bioaugmentation of biomixtures also containing soil pre-exposed to CFN and either peat (GTS biomixture) or compost (GCS biomixture). After spiking with 10 mg/kg CBF, the efficiency of the biomixture was evaluated through a multi-component approach that included: monitoring of CBF removal and production of CBF transformation products, mineralization of radioisotopically labeled carbofuran (14C-CBF) and changes in the toxicity of the matrix after the treatment (Daphnia magna acute immobilization test). Estimated half-lives of CBF in the biomixtures were 3.4 d and 8.1 d in GTS and GCS, respectively. The transformation products 3-hydroxycarbofuran and 3-ketocarbofuran were detected at the moment of CFN application, however their concentration continuously disappeared. Mineralization of 14C-CFN was also faster in GTS than GCS. The toxicological evaluation showed a complete toxicity removal in the biomixtures after 48 d of treatment. The composition of the GCS biomixture was optimized using a central composite design and response surface methodology. The design variables were the volumetric content of fungally pre-colonized rice husk and the volumetric ratio compost/soil. According to the response models, maximization of CFN removal and mineralization rate, and minimization in the accumulation of transformation products were obtained with an optimized biomixture of composition 30:43:27 (pre-colonized rice husk:compost:soil), which differs from the 50:25:25 composition commonly employed in BPS. Results suggest that fungal bioaugmentation may enhance the performance of biomixtures in CFN removal. Optimization reveals the importance of assessing new biomixture formulations in order to maximize their performance.

Keywords: bioaugmentation, biopurification systems, degradation, fungi, pesticides, toxicity

Procedia PDF Downloads 288

Authors: Lillian M. Seo, Curtis L. Petersen, Ryan J. Halter, David Kotz, John A. Batsis

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Background: Resistance-based exercises effectively enhance muscle strength, which is especially important in older populations as it reduces the risk of disability. Our group developed a Bluetooth-enabled handle for resistance exercise bands that wirelessly transmits relative force data through low-energy Bluetooth to a local smartphone or similar device. The system has the potential to measure home-based exercise interventions, allowing health professionals to monitor compliance. Its feasibility has already been demonstrated in both clinical and field-based settings, but it remained unclear whether the system’s usability persisted upon repeated use. The current study sought to assess the usability of this system and its users’ satisfaction with repeated use by deploying the device among younger adults to gather formative information that can ultimately improve the device’s design for older adults. Methods: A usability study was conducted in which 32 participants used the above system. Participants executed 10 repetitions of four commonly performed exercises: bicep flexion, shoulder abduction, elbow extension, and triceps extension. Each completed three exercise sessions, separated by at least 24 hours to minimize muscle fatigue. At its conclusion, subjects completed an adapted version of the usefulness, satisfaction, and ease (USE) questionnaire – assessing the system across four domains: usability, satisfaction, ease of use, and ease of learning. The 20-item questionnaire examined how strongly a participant agrees with positive statements about the device on a seven-point Likert scale, with one representing ‘strongly disagree’ and seven representing ‘strongly agree.’ Participants’ data were aggregated to calculate mean response values for each question and domain, effectively assessing the device’s performance across different facets of the user experience. Summary force data were visualized using a custom web application. Finally, an optional prompt at the end of the questionnaire allowed for written comments and feedback from participants to elicit qualitative indicators of usability. Results: Of the n=32 participants, 13 (41%) were female; their mean age was 32.4 ± 11.8 years, and no participants had a physical impairment. No usability questions received a mean score < 5 of seven. The four domains’ mean scores were: usefulness 5.66 ± 0.35; satisfaction 6.23 ± 0.06; ease of use 6.25 ± 0.43; and ease of learning 6.50 ± 0.19. Representative quotes of the open-ended feedback include: ‘A non-rigid strap-style handle might be useful for some exercises,’ and, ‘Would need different bands for each exercise as they use different muscle groups with different strength levels.’ General impressions were favorable, supporting the expectation that the device would be a useful tool in exercise interventions. Conclusions: A simple usability assessment of a Bluetooth-enabled resistance exercise band supports a consistent and positive user experience among young adults. This study provides adequate formative data, assuring the next steps can be taken to continue testing and development for the target population of older adults.

Keywords: Bluetooth, exercise, mobile health, mHealth, usability

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Javad Jozaei, Rob G. Bell, Paula Blackett, Scott A. Stephens

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In the last few decades, Social Vulnerability Assessment (SVA) has been a favoured means in evaluating the susceptibility of social systems to drivers of change, including climate change and natural disasters. However, the application of SVA to inform responsive and practical strategies to deal with uncertain climate change impacts has always been challenging, and typically agencies resort back to conventional risk/vulnerability assessment. These challenges include complex nature of social vulnerability concepts which influence its applicability, complications in identifying and measuring social vulnerability determinants, the transitory social dynamics in a changing environment, and unpredictability of the scenarios of change that impacts the regime of vulnerability (including contention of when these impacts might emerge). Research suggests that the conventional quantitative approaches in SVA could not appropriately address these problems; hence, the outcomes could potentially be misleading and not fit for addressing the ongoing uncertain rise in risk. The second phase of New Zealand’s Resilience to Nature’s Challenges (RNC2) is developing a forward-looking vulnerability assessment framework and methodology that informs the decision-making and policy development in dealing with the changing coastal systems and accounts for complex dynamics of New Zealand’s coastal systems (including socio-economic, environmental and cultural). Also, RNC2 requires the new methodology to consider plausible drivers of incremental and unknowable changes, create mechanisms to enhance social and community resilience; and fits the New Zealand’s multi-layer governance system. This paper aims to analyse the conventional approaches and methodologies in SVA and offer recommendations for more responsive approaches that inform adaptive decision-making and policy development in practice. The research adopts a qualitative research design to examine different aspects of the conventional SVA processes, and the methods to achieve the research objectives include a systematic review of the literature and case study methods. We found that the conventional quantitative, reductionist and deterministic mindset in the SVA processes -with a focus the impacts of rapid stressors (i.e. tsunamis, floods)- show some deficiencies to account for complex dynamics of social-ecological systems (SES), and the uncertain, long-term impacts of incremental drivers. The paper will focus on addressing the links between resilience and vulnerability; and suggests how resilience theory and its underpinning notions such as the adaptive cycle, panarchy, and system transformability could address these issues, therefore, influence the perception of vulnerability regime and its assessment processes. In this regard, it will be argued that how a shift of paradigm from ‘specific resilience’, which focuses on adaptive capacity associated with the notion of ‘bouncing back’, to ‘general resilience’, which accounts for system transformability, regime shift, ‘bouncing forward’, can deliver more effective strategies in an era characterised by ongoing change and deep uncertainty.

Keywords: complexity, social vulnerability, resilience, transformation, uncertain risks

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Authors: Saba Vahedi, Qiuyan Yuan

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A vast majority of small municipalities and First Nations communities in Manitoba operate facultative or aerated lagoons for wastewater treatment, and most of them use Ferric Chloride (FeCl3) or alum (usually in the form of Al2(SO4)3 ·18H2O) as coagulant for phosphorous removal. The insoluble particles that form during the coagulation process result in a massive volume of sludge which is typically left in the lagoons. Therefore, phosphorous, which is a valuable nutrient, is lost in the process. In this project, the complete recovery of phosphorous from the sludge that is produced in the process of phosphorous removal from wastewater lagoons by using a controlled composting process is investigated. Objective The main objective of this project is to compost alum precipitated sludge that is produced in the process of phosphorous removal in wastewater treatment lagoons in Manitoba. The ultimate goal is to have a product that will meet the characteristics of Class A biosolids in Canada. A number of parameters, including the bioavailability of nutrients in the composted sludge and the toxicity of the sludge, will be evaluated Investigating the bioavailability of phosphorous in the final compost product. The compost will be used as a source of P compared to a commercial fertilizer (monoammonium phosphate MAP) Experimental setup Three different batches of composts piles have been run using the Alum sludge and Ferric sludge. The alum phosphate sludge was collected from an innovative phosphorous removal system at the RM of Taché . The collected sludge was sent to ALS laboratory to analyze the C/N ratio, TP, TN, TC, TAl, moisture contents, pH, and metals concentrations. Wood chips as the bulking agent were collected at the RM of Taché landfill The sludge in the three piles were mixed with 3x dry woodchips. The mixture was turned every week manually. The temperature, the moisture content, and pH were monitored twice a week. The temperature of the mixtures was remained above 55 °C for two weeks. Each pile was kept for ten weeks to get mature. The final products have been applied to two different plants to investigate the bioavailability of P in the compost product as well as the toxicity of the product. The two types of plants were selected based on their sensitivity, growth time, and their compatibility with the Manitoba climate, which are Canola, and switchgrass. The pots are weighed and watered every day to replenish moisture lost by evapotranspiration. A control experiment is also conducted by using topsoil soil and chemical fertilizers (MAP). The experiment will be carried out in a growth room maintained at a day/night temperature regime of 25/15°C, a relative humidity of 60%, and a corresponding photoperiod of 16 h. A total of three cropping (seeding to harvest) cycles need be completed, with each cycle at 50 d in duration. Harvested biomass must be weighed and oven-dried for 72 h at 60°C. The first cycle of growth Canola and Switchgrasses in the alum sludge compost, harvested at the day 50, oven dried, chopped into bits and fine ground in a mill grinder (< 0.2mm), and digested using the wet oxidation method in which plant tissue samples were digested with H2SO4 (99.7%) and H2O2 (30%) in an acid block digester. The digested plant samples need to be analyzed to measure the amount of total phosphorus.

Keywords: wastewater treatment, phosphorus removal, composting alum sludge, bioavailibility of pohosphorus

Procedia PDF Downloads 52

Authors: Nahid Nariman

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The prosperity of any nation depends on its ability to use human potential, in particular, to offer an education that builds learners' competencies to become effective workforce participants and true citizens of the world. Ever since the Second World War, the United States has been a dominant player in the world politically, economically, socially, and culturally. The rapid rise of technological advancement and consumer technologies have made it clear that science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) play a crucial role in today’s world economy. Exploring the top qualities demanded from new hires in the industry—i.e., problem-solving skills, teamwork, dependability, adaptability, technical and communication skills— sheds light on the kind of path that is needed for a successful educational system to effectively support STEM. The focus of 21st century education has been to build student competencies by preparing them to acquire and apply knowledge, to think critically and creatively, to competently use information, be able to work in teams, to demonstrate intellectual and moral values as well as cultural awareness, and to be able to communicate. Many educational reforms pinpoint various 'ideal' pathways toward STEM that educators, policy makers, and business leaders have identified for educating the workforce of tomorrow. This study will explore how problem-based learning (PBL), an instructional strategy developed in the medical field and adopted with many successful results in K-12 through higher education, is the proper approach to stimulate underrepresented high school students' interest in pursuing STEM careers. In the current study, the effect of a problem-based STEM model on students' attitudes and career interests was investigated using qualitative and quantitative methods. The participants were 71 low-income, native Hawaiian high school students who would be first-generation college students. They were attending a summer STEM camp developed as the result of a collaboration between the University of Hawaii and the Upward Bound Program. The project, funded by the National Science Foundation's Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, used PBL as an approach in challenging students to engage in solving hands-on, real-world problems in their communities. Pre-surveys were used before camp and post-surveys on the last day of the program to learn about the implementation of the PBL STEM model. A Career Interest Questionnaire provided a way to investigate students’ career interests. After the summer camp, a representative selection of students participated in focus group interviews to discuss their opinions about the PBL STEM camp. The findings revealed a significantly positive increase in students' attitudes towards STEM disciplines and STEM careers. The students' interview results also revealed that students identified PBL to be an effective form of instruction in their learning and in the development of their 21st-century skills. PBL was acknowledged for making the class more enjoyable and for raising students' interest in STEM careers, while also helping them develop teamwork and communication skills in addition to scientific knowledge. As a result, the integration of PBL and a STEM learning experience was shown to positively affect students’ interest in STEM careers.

Keywords: problem-based learning, science education, STEM, underrepresented students

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Authors: Stephanie Al Otaiba, Kyle Roberts

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Background and Significance Globally far too many students read below grade level; thus improving literacy outcomes is vital. Research suggests that non-cognitive factors, including Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) are linked to success in literacy outcomes. Converging evidence exists that early interventions are more effective than later remediation; therefore teachers need strategies to support early literacy while developing students’ SEL and their vocabulary, or language, for learning. This presentation describe findings from a US federally-funded project that trained teachers to provide an evidence-based read-aloud program for young children, using commercially available books with multicultural characters and themes to help their students “GROW”. The five GROW SEL themes include: “I can name my feelings”, “I can learn from my mistakes”, “I can persist”, “I can be kind to myself and others”, and “I can work toward and achieve goals”. Examples of GROW vocabulary (from over 100 words taught across the 5 units) include: emotions, improve, resilient, cooperate, accomplish, responsible, compassion, adapt, achieve, analyze. Methodology This study used a mixed methods research design, with qualitative methods to describe data from teacher feedback surveys (regarding satisfaction, feasibility), observations of fidelity of implementation, and with quantitative methods to assess the effect sizes for student vocabulary growth. GROW Intervention and Teacher Training Procedures Researchers trained classroom teachers to implement GROW. Each thematic unit included four books, vocabulary cards with images of the vocabulary words, and scripted lessons. Teacher training included online and in-person training; researchers incorporated virtual reality videos of instructors with child avatars to model lessons. Classroom teachers provided 2-3 20 min lessons per week ranging from short-term (8 weeks) to longer-term trials for up to 16 weeks. Setting and Participants The setting for the study included two large urban charter schools in the South. Data was collected across two years; during the first year, participants included 7 kindergarten teachers and 108 and the second year involved an additional set of 5 kindergarten and first grade teachers and 65 students. Initial Findings The initial qualitative findings indicate teachers reported the lessons to be feasible to implement and they reported that students enjoyed the books. Teachers found the vocabulary words to be challenging and important. They were able to implement lessons with fidelity. Quantitative analyses of growth for each taught word suggest that students’ growth on taught words ranged from large (ES = .75) to small (<.20). Researchers will contrast the effects for more and less successful books within the GROW units. Discussion and Conclusion It is feasible for teachers of young students to effectively teach SEL vocabulary and themes during shared book reading. Teachers and students enjoyed the books and students demonstrated growth on taught vocabulary. Researchers will discuss implications of the study and about the GROW program for researchers in learning sciences, will describe some limitations about research designs that are inherent in school-based research partnerships, and will provide some suggested directions for future research and practice.

Keywords: early literacy, learning science, language and vocabulary, social and emotional learning, multi-cultural

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Authors: Marcin Zieliński, Marcin Dębowski, Mirosław Krzemieniewski

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The anaerobic degradation of substrates is limited especially by the rate and effectiveness of the first (hydrolytic) stage of fermentation. This stage may be intensified through pre-treatment of substrate aimed at disintegration of the solid phase and destruction of substrate tissues and cells. The most frequently applied criterion of disintegration outcomes evaluation is the increase in biogas recovery owing to the possibility of its use for energetic purposes and, simultaneously, recovery of input energy consumed for the pre-treatment of substrate before fermentation. Hydrodynamic cavitation is one of the methods for organic substrate disintegration that has a high implementation potential. Cavitation is explained as the phenomenon of the formation of discontinuity cavities filled with vapor or gas in a liquid induced by pressure drop to the critical value. It is induced by a varying field of pressures. A void needs to occur in the flow in which the pressure first drops to the value close to the pressure of saturated vapor and then increases. The process of cavitation conducted under controlled conditions was found to significantly improve the effectiveness of anaerobic conversion of organic substrates having various characteristics. This phenomenon allows effective damage and disintegration of cellular and tissue structures. Disintegration of structures and release of organic compounds to the dissolved phase has a direct effect on the intensification of biogas production in the process of anaerobic fermentation, on reduced dry matter content in the post-fermentation sludge as well as a high degree of its hygienization and its increased susceptibility to dehydration. A device the efficiency of which was confirmed both in laboratory conditions and in systems operating in the technical scale is a hydrodynamic generator of cavitation. Cavitators, agitators and emulsifiers constructed and tested worldwide so far have been characterized by low efficiency and high energy demand. Many of them proved effective under laboratory conditions but failed under industrial ones. The only task successfully realized by these appliances and utilized on a wider scale is the heating of liquids. For this reason, their usability was limited to the function of heating installations. Design of the presented cavitation generator allows achieving satisfactory energy efficiency and enables its use under industrial conditions in depolymerization processes of biomass with various characteristics. Investigations conducted on the laboratory and industrial scale confirmed the effectiveness of applying cavitation in the process of biomass destruction. The use of the cavitation generator in laboratory studies for disintegration of sewage sludge allowed increasing biogas production by ca. 30% and shortening the treatment process by ca. 20 - 25%. The shortening of the technological process and increase of wastewater treatment plant effectiveness may delay investments aimed at increasing system output. The use of a mechanical cavitator and application of repeated cavitation process (4-6 times) enables significant acceleration of the biogassing process. In addition, mechanical cavitation accelerates increases in COD and VFA levels.

Keywords: hydrodynamic cavitation, pretreatment, biomass, methane fermentation, Virginia fanpetals

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Authors: Kuan Lun Pan, Moo Been Chang

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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one of major air contaminants, and they can react with nitrogen oxides (NOx) in atmosphere to form ozone (O3) and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) with solar irradiation, leading to environmental hazards. In addition, some VOCs are toxic at low concentration levels and cause adverse effects on human health. How to effectively reduce VOCs emission has become an important issue. Thermal catalysis is regarded as an effective way for VOCs removal because it provides oxidation route to successfully convert VOCs into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O(g)). Single perovskite-type catalysts are promising for VOC removal, and they are of good potential to replace noble metals due to good activity and high thermal stability. Single perovskites can be generally described as ABO3 or A2BO4, where A-site is often a rare earth element or an alkaline. Typically, the B-site is transition metal cation (Fe, Cu, Ni, Co, or Mn). Catalytic properties of perovskites mainly rely on nature, oxidation states and arrangement of B-site cation. Interestingly, single perovskites could be further synthesized to form double perovskite-type catalysts which can simply be represented by A2B’B”O6. Likewise, A-site stands for an alkaline metal or rare earth element, and the B′ and B′′ are transition metals. Double perovskites possess unique surface properties. In structure, three-dimensional of B-site with ordered arrangement of B’O6 and B”O6 is presented alternately, and they corner-share octahedral along three directions of the crystal lattice, while cations of A-site position between the void of octahedral. It has attracted considerable attention due to specific arrangement of alternating B-site structure. Therefore, double perovskites may have more variations than single perovskites, and this greater variation may promote catalytic performance. It is expected that activity of double perovskites is higher than that of single perovskites toward VOC removal. In this study, double perovskite-type catalyst (La2CoMnO6) is prepared and evaluated for VOC removal. Also, single perovskites including LaCoO3 and LaMnO3 are tested for the comparison purpose. Toluene (C7H8) is one of the important VOCs which are commonly applied in chemical processes. In addition to its wide application, C7H8 has high toxicity at a low concentration. Therefore, C7H8 is selected as the target compound in this study. Experimental results indicate that double perovskite (La2CoMnO6) has better activity if compared with single perovskites. Especially, C7H8 can be completely oxidized to CO2 at 300oC as La2CoMnO6 is applied. Characterization of catalysts indicates that double perovskite has unique surface properties and is of higher amounts of lattice oxygen, leading to higher activity. For durability test, La2CoMnO6 maintains high C7H8 removal efficiency of 100% at 300oC and 30,000 h-1, and it also shows good resistance to CO2 (5%) and H2O(g) (5%) of gas streams tested. For various VOCs including isopropyl alcohol (C3H8O), ethanal (C2H4O), and ethylene (C2H4) tested, as high as 100% efficiency could be achieved with double perovskite-type catalyst operated at 300℃, indicating that double perovskites are promising catalysts for VOCs removal, and possible mechanisms will be elucidated in this paper.

Keywords: volatile organic compounds, Toluene (C7H8), double perovskite-type catalyst, catalysis

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Authors: Salam N. Abdo, Orien L. Tulp, George P. Einstein

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The purpose of this exploratory study was to gather the insights into psoriasis etiology, treatment, and patient experience, for developing psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis diagnostic test. Data collection methods consisted of a comprehensive meta-analysis of relevant studies and psoriasis patient survey. Established meta-analysis guidelines were used for the selection and qualitative comparative analysis of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis research studies. Only studies that clearly discussed psoriasis etiology, treatment, and patient experience were reviewed and analyzed, to establish a qualitative data base for the study. Using the insights gained from meta-analysis, an existing psoriasis patient survey was modified and administered to collect additional data as well as triangulate the results. The hypothesis is that specific types of psoriatic disease have specific etiology and pathophysiologic pattern. The following etiology categories were identified: bacterial, environmental/microbial, genetic, immune, infectious, trauma/stress, and viral. Additional results, obtained from meta-analysis and confirmed by patient survey, were the common age of onset (early to mid-20s) and type of psoriasis (plaque; mild; symmetrical; scalp, chest, and extremities, specifically elbows and knees). Almost 70% of patients reported no prescription drug use due to severe side effects and prohibitive cost. These results will guide the development of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis diagnostic test. The significant number of medical publications classified psoriatic arthritis disease as inflammatory of an unknown etiology. Thus numerous meta-analyses struggle to report any meaningful conclusions since no definitive results have been reported to date. Therefore, return to the basics is an essential step to any future meaningful results. To date, medical literature supports the fact that psoriatic disease in its current classification could be misidentifying subcategories, which in turn hinders the success of studies conducted to date. Moreover, there has been an enormous commercial support to pursue various immune-modulation therapies, thus following a narrow hypothesis/mechanism of action that is yet to yield resolution of disease state. Recurrence and complications may be considered unacceptable in a significant number of these studies. The aim of the ongoing study is to focus on a narrow subgroup of patient population, as identified by this exploratory study via meta-analysis and patient survey, and conduct an exhaustive work up, aiming at mechanism of action and causality before proposing a cure or therapeutic modality. Remission in psoriasis has been achieved and documented in medical literature, such as immune-modulation, phototherapy, various over-the-counter agents, including salts and tar. However, there is no psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis diagnostic test to date, to guide the diagnosis and treatment of this debilitating and, thus far, incurable disease. Because psoriasis affects approximately 2% of population, the results of this study may affect the treatment and improve the quality of life of a significant number of psoriasis patients, potentially millions of patients in the United States alone and many more millions worldwide.

Keywords: biologics, early diagnosis, etiology, immune disease, immune modulation therapy, inflammation skin disorder, phototherapy, plaque psoriasis, psoriasis, psoriasis classification, psoriasis disease marker, psoriasis diagnostic test, psoriasis marker, psoriasis mechanism of action, psoriasis treatment, psoriatic arthritis, psoriatic disease, psoriatic disease marker, psoriatic patient experience, psoriatic patient quality of life, remission, salt therapy, targeted immune therapy

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Authors: Josie Gardner

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The overall intention of this research is to reimagine peacebuilding in both in theory and practical application in light of the shortcomings and unsustainability of the current peacebuilding paradigm. These limitations are identified here as an overly rational-material approach to peacebuilding that neglects the inner dimension of peace for a fragmented rather than holistic model, and that espouses a conflict and violence-centric approach to peacebuilding. In counter, this presentation is purposed to investigate the dynamics of inner and outer peace as a holistic, complex system towards ‘inner-outer’ peacebuilding. This paper draws from primary research in the protracted conflict context of north-western India (Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh) as a case study. This presentation has two central aims. First, to introduce the process of inner (psycho-spiritual) peacebuilding, which has thus far been neglected by mainstream and orthodox literature. Second, to examine why inner peacebuilding is essential for realising sustainable peace on a broader scale as outer (socio-political) peace and to better understand how the inner and outer dynamics of peace relate and affect one another. To these ends, Josephine (the researcher/author/presenter) partnered with Yakjah Reconciliation and Development Network to implement a series of action-oriented workshops and retreats centred around healing, reconciliation, leadership, and personal development for the dual purpose of collaboratively generating data, theory, and insights, as well as providing the youth leaders with an experiential, transformative experience. The research team created and used a novel methodological approach called Mapping Ritual Ecologies, which draws from Participatory Action Research and Digital Ethnography to form a collaborative research model with a group of 20 youth co-researchers who are emerging youth peace leaders in Kashmir, Jammu, and Ladakh. This research found significant intra- and inter-personal shifts towards an experience of inner peace through inner peacebuilding activities. Moreover, this process of inner peacebuilding affected their families and communities through interpersonal healing and peace leadership in an inside-out process of change. These insights have generated rich insights and have supported emerging theories about the dynamics between inner and outer peace, power, justice, and collective healing. This presentation argues that the largely neglected dimension of inner (psycho-spiritual) peacebuilding is imperative for broader socio-political (outer) change. Changing structures of oppression, injustice, and violence—i.e. structures of separation—requires individual, interpersonal, and collective healing. While this presentation primarily examines and advocates for inside-out peacebuilding and social justice, it will also touch upon the effect of systems of separation on the inner condition and human experience. This research reimagines peacebuilding as a holistic inner-outer approach. This offers an alternative path forward those weaves together self-actualisation and social justice. While contextualised within north-western India with a small case study population, the findings speak also to other conflict contexts as well as our global peacebuilding and social justice milieu.

Keywords: holistic, inner peacebuilding, psycho-spiritual, systems youth

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Authors: Eduardo Rodrigues, Gisela Mendes, José M. Torres, José E. Sousa

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In the sequence of the liberalisation of the electricity sector a progressive engagement of consumers has been considered and targeted by sector regulatory policies. With the objective of promoting market competition while protecting consumers interests, by transferring some of the upstream benefits to the end users while reaching a fair distribution of system costs, different market models to value consumers’ demand flexibility at the energy community level are envisioned. Local Energy and Flexibility Markets (LEFM) involve stakeholders interested in providing or procure local flexibility for community, services and markets’ value. Under the scope of DOMINOES, a European research project supported by Horizon 2020, the local market concept developed is expected to: • Enable consumers/prosumers empowerment, by allowing them to value their demand flexibility and Distributed Energy Resources (DER); • Value local liquid flexibility to support innovative distribution grid management, e.g., local balancing and congestion management, voltage control and grid restoration; • Ease the wholesale market uptake of DER, namely small-scale flexible loads aggregation as Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), facilitating Demand Response (DR) service provision; • Optimise the management and local sharing of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in Medium Voltage (MV) and Low Voltage (LV) grids, trough energy transactions within an energy community; • Enhance the development of energy markets through innovative business models, compatible with ongoing policy developments, that promote the easy access of retailers and other service providers to the local markets, allowing them to take advantage of communities’ flexibility to optimise their portfolio and subsequently their participation in external markets. The general concept proposed foresees a flow of market actions, technical validations, subsequent deliveries of energy and/or flexibility and balance settlements. Since the market operation should be dynamic and capable of addressing different requests, either prioritising balancing and prosumer services or system’s operation, direct procurement of flexibility within the local market must also be considered. This paper aims to highlight the research on the definition of suitable DR models to be used by the Distribution System Operator (DSO), in case of technical needs, and by the retailer, mainly for portfolio optimisation and solve unbalances. The models to be proposed and implemented within relevant smart distribution grid and microgrid validation environments, are focused on day-ahead and intraday operation scenarios, for predictive management and near-real-time control respectively under the DSO’s perspective. At local level, the DSO will be able to procure flexibility in advance to tackle different grid constrains (e.g., demand peaks, forecasted voltage and current problems and maintenance works), or during the operating day-to-day, to answer unpredictable constraints (e.g., outages, frequency deviations and voltage problems). Due to the inherent risks of their active market participation retailers may resort to DR models to manage their portfolio, by optimising their market actions and solve unbalances. The interaction among the market actors involved in the DR activation and in flexibility exchange is explained by a set of sequence diagrams for the DR modes of use from the DSO and the energy provider perspectives. • DR for DSO’s predictive management – before the operating day; • DR for DSO’s real-time control – during the operating day; • DR for retailer’s day-ahead operation; • DR for retailer’s intraday operation.

Keywords: demand response, energy communities, flexible demand, local energy and flexibility markets

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Authors: Kamyar Tolouei, Ehsan Moosavi

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In open-pit mines, the long-term production scheduling optimization problem (LTPSOP) is a complicated problem that contains constraints, large datasets, and uncertainties. Uncertainty in the output is caused by several geological, economic, or technical factors. Due to its dimensions and NP-hard nature, it is usually difficult to find an ideal solution to the LTPSOP. The optimal schedule generally restricts the ore, metal, and waste tonnages, average grades, and cash flows of each period. Past decades have witnessed important measurements of long-term production scheduling and optimal algorithms since researchers have become highly cognizant of the issue. In fact, it is not possible to consider LTPSOP as a well-solved problem. Traditional production scheduling methods in open-pit mines apply an estimated orebody model to produce optimal schedules. The smoothing result of some geostatistical estimation procedures causes most of the mine schedules and production predictions to be unrealistic and imperfect. With the expansion of simulation procedures, the risks from grade uncertainty in ore reserves can be evaluated and organized through a set of equally probable orebody realizations. In this paper, to synthesize grade uncertainty into the strategic mine schedule, a stochastic integer programming framework is presented to LTPSOP. The objective function of the model is to maximize the net present value and minimize the risk of deviation from the production targets considering grade uncertainty simultaneously while satisfying all technical constraints and operational requirements. Instead of applying one estimated orebody model as input to optimize the production schedule, a set of equally probable orebody realizations are applied to synthesize grade uncertainty in the strategic mine schedule and to produce a more profitable and risk-based production schedule. A mixture of metaheuristic procedures and mathematical methods paves the way to achieve an appropriate solution. This paper introduced a hybrid model between the augmented Lagrangian relaxation (ALR) method and the metaheuristic algorithm, the Harris Hawks optimization (HHO), to solve the LTPSOP under grade uncertainty conditions. In this study, the HHO is experienced to update Lagrange coefficients. Besides, a machine learning method called Random Forest is applied to estimate gold grade in a mineral deposit. The Monte Carlo method is used as the simulation method with 20 realizations. The results specify that the progressive versions have been considerably developed in comparison with the traditional methods. The outcomes were also compared with the ALR-genetic algorithm and ALR-sub-gradient. To indicate the applicability of the model, a case study on an open-pit gold mining operation is implemented. The framework displays the capability to minimize risk and improvement in the expected net present value and financial profitability for LTPSOP. The framework could control geological risk more effectively than the traditional procedure considering grade uncertainty in the hybrid model framework.

Keywords: grade uncertainty, metaheuristic algorithms, open-pit mine, production scheduling optimization

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Authors: O. F. Elkommos

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“Humour studies” is an interdisciplinary research area that is relatively recent. It interests researchers from the disciplines of psychology, sociology, medicine, nursing, in the work place, gender studies, among others, and certainly teaching, language learning, linguistics, and literature. Linguistic theories of humour research are numerous; some of which are of interest to the present study. In spite of the fact that humour courses are now taught in universities around the world in the Egyptian context it is not included. The purpose of the present study is two-fold: to review the state of arts and to show how linguistic theories of humour can be possibly used as an art and craft of teaching and of learning in EFL literature classes. In the present study linguistic theories of humour were applied to selected literary texts to interpret humour as an intrinsic artistic communicative competence challenge. Humour in the area of linguistics was seen as a fifth component of communicative competence of the second language leaner. In literature it was studied as satire, irony, wit, or comedy. Linguistic theories of humour now describe its linguistic structure, mechanism, function, and linguistic deviance. Semantic Script Theory of Verbal Humor (SSTH), General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH), Audience Based Theory of Humor (ABTH), and their extensions and subcategories as well as the pragmatic perspective were employed in the analyses. This research analysed the linguistic semantic structure of humour, its mechanism, and how the audience reader (teacher or learner) becomes an interactive interpreter of the humour. This promotes humour competence together with the linguistic, social, cultural, and discourse communicative competence. Studying humour as part of the literary texts and the perception of its function in the work also brings its positive association in class for educational purposes. Humour is by default a provoking/laughter-generated device. Incongruity recognition, perception and resolving it, is a cognitive mastery. This cognitive process involves a humour experience that lightens up the classroom and the mind. It establishes connections necessary for the learning process. In this context the study examined selected narratives to exemplify the application of the theories. It is, therefore, recommended that the theories would be taught and applied to literary texts for a better understanding of the language. Students will then develop their language competence. Teachers in EFL/ESL classes will teach the theories, assist students apply them and interpret text and in the process will also use humour. This is thus easing students' acquisition of the second language, making the classroom an enjoyable, cheerful, self-assuring, and self-illuminating experience for both themselves and their students. It is further recommended that courses of humour research studies should become an integral part of higher education curricula in Egypt.

Keywords: ABTH, deviance, disjuncture, episodic, GTVH, humour competence, humour comprehension, humour in the classroom, humour in the literary texts, humour research linguistic theories, incongruity-resolution, isotopy-disjunction, jab line, longer text joke, narrative story line (macro-micro), punch line, six knowledge resource, SSTH, stacks, strands, teaching linguistics, teaching literature, TEFL, TESL

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Authors: Jinlu Ruan, Liang Chen, Bo Liu, Xiaoping Ouyang, Zhichao Zhu, Zhongbing Zhang, Shiyi He, Mengxuan Xu

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Plastic scintillators play an important role in the measurement of a mixed neutron/gamma pulsed radiation, neutron radiography and pulse shape discrimination technology. In some research, these luminescent properties are necessary that photons produced by the interactions between a plastic scintillator and radiations can be detected as much as possible by the photoelectric detectors and more photons can be emitted from the scintillators along a specific direction where detectors are located. Unfortunately, a majority of these photons produced are trapped in the plastic scintillators due to the total internal reflection (TIR), because there is a significant light-trapping effect when the incident angle of internal scintillation light is larger than the critical angle. Some of these photons trapped in the scintillator may be absorbed by the scintillator itself and the others are emitted from the edges of the scintillator. This makes the light extraction of plastic scintillators very low. Moreover, only a small portion of the photons emitted from the scintillator easily can be detected by detectors effectively, because the distribution of the emission directions of this portion of photons exhibits approximate Lambertian angular profile following a cosine emission law. Therefore, enhancing the light extraction efficiency and adjusting the emission angular profile become the keys for improving the number of photons detected by the detectors. In recent years, photonic crystal structures have been covered on inorganic scintillators to enhance the light extraction efficiency and adjust the angular profile of scintillation light successfully. However, that, preparation methods of photonic crystals will deteriorate performance of plastic scintillators and even destroy the plastic scintillators, makes the investigation on preparation methods of photonic crystals for plastic scintillators and luminescent properties of plastic scintillators with photonic crystal structures inadequate. Although we have successfully made photonic crystal structures covered on the surface of plastic scintillators by a modified self-assembly technique and achieved a great enhance of light extraction efficiency without evident angular-dependence for the angular profile of scintillation light, the preparation of photonic crystal structures with large area (the diameter is larger than 6cm) and perfect periodic structure is still difficult. In this paper, large area photonic crystals on the surface of scintillators were prepared by nanoimprint lithography firstly, and then a conformal layer with material of high refractive index on the surface of photonic crystal by atomic layer deposition technique in order to enhance the stability of photonic crystal structures and increase the number of leaky modes for improving the light extraction efficiency. The luminescent properties of the plastic scintillator with photonic crystals prepared by the mentioned method are compared with those of the plastic scintillator without photonic crystal. The results indicate that the number of photons detected by detectors is increased by the enhanced light extraction efficiency and the angular profile of scintillation light exhibits evident angular-dependence for the scintillator with photonic crystals. The mentioned preparation of photonic crystals is beneficial to scintillation detection applications and lays an important technique foundation for the plastic scintillators to meet special requirements under different application backgrounds.

Keywords: angular profile, atomic layer deposition, light extraction efficiency, plastic scintillator, photonic crystal

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Hirseland Andreas, Kerschbaumer Lukas

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In the case of Germany, there are about one million long-term unemployed – a figure that did not vary much during the past years. These long-term unemployed did not benefit from the prospering labor market while most short-term unemployed did. Instead, they are continuously dependent on welfare and sometimes precarious short-term employment, experiencing work poverty. Long-term unemployment thus turns into a main obstacle to become employed again, especially if it is accompanied by other impediments such as low-level education (school/vocational), poor health (especially chronical illness), advanced age (older than fifty), immigrant status, motherhood or engagement in care for other relatives. As can be shown by this current research project, in these cases the chance to regain employment decreases to near nil. Almost two-thirds of all welfare recipients have multiple impediments which hinder a successful transition from welfare back to sustainable and sufficient employment. Prospective employers are unlikely to hire long-term unemployed with additional impediments because they evaluate potential employees on their negative signaling (e.g. low-level education) and the implicit assumption of unproductiveness (e.g. poor health, age). Some findings of the panel survey “Labor market and social security” (PASS) carried out by the Institute of Employment Research (the research institute of the German Federal Labor Agency) spread a ray of hope, showing that unlikely does not necessarily mean impossible. The presentation reports on current research on these very scarce “success stories” of unlikely transitions from long-term unemployment to work and how these cases were able to perform this switch against all odds. The study is based on a mixed-method design. Within the panel survey (~15,000 respondents in ~10,000 households), only 66 cases of such unlikely transitions were observed. These cases have been explored by qualitative inquiry – in depth-interviews and qualitative network techniques. There is strong evidence that sustainable transitions are influenced by certain biographical resources like habits of network use, a set of informal skills and particularly a resilient way of dealing with obstacles, combined with contextual factors rather than by job-placement procedures promoted by Job-Centers according to activation rules or by following formal paths of application. On the employer’s side small and medium-sized enterprises are often found to give job opportunities to a wider variety of applicants, often based on a slow but steadily increasing relationship leading to employment. According to these results it is possible to show and discuss some limitations of (German) activation policies targeting the labor market and their impact on welfare dependency and long-term unemployment. Based on these findings, indications for more supportive small-scale measures in the field of labor-market policies are suggested to help long-term unemployed with multiple impediments to overcome their situation (e.g. organizing small-scale-structures and low-threshold services to encounter possible employers on a more informal basis like “meet and greet”).

Keywords: against-all-odds, mixed-methods, Welfare State, long-term unemployment

Procedia PDF Downloads 342

Authors: Christine Hough, Eddie Abbott-Halpin, Tariq Mahmood, Jessica Giles

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This paper draws together the findings from two research studies, each undertaken with cohorts of South Asian Muslim respondents located in the North of England between 2017 and 2019. The first study, entitled Faith Family and Crime (FFC), investigated the extent to which a Muslim family’s social and health well-being is affected by a family member’s involvement in the Criminal Justice System (CJS). This study captured a range of data through a detailed questionnaire and structured interviews. The data from the interview transcripts were analysed using open coding and an application of aspects of the grounded theory approach. The findings provide clear evidence that the respondents were neither well-informed nor supported throughout the processes of the CJS, from arrest to post-sentencing. These experiences gave rise to mental and physical stress, potentially unfair sentencing, and a significant breakdown in communication within the respondents’ families. They serve to highlight a particular aspect of complexity in the current needs of those South Asian Muslim families who find themselves involved in the CJS and is closely connected to family structure, culture, and faith. The second study, referred to throughout this paper as #ImamsBritain (that provides the majority of content for this paper), explores how Imams, in their role as community faith leaders, can best address the complex – and changing - needs of South Asian Muslims families, such as those that emerged in the findings from FFC. The changing socio-economic and political climates of the last thirty or so years have brought about significant changes to the lives of Muslim families, and these have created more complex levels of social, cultural, and faith-based needs for families and individuals. As a consequence, Imams now have much greater demands made of them, and so their role has undergone far-reaching changes in response to this. The #ImamsBritain respondents identified a pressing need to develop a wider range of pastoral and counseling skills, which they saw as extending far beyond the traditional role of the Imam as a religious teacher and spiritual guide. The #ImamsBritain project was conducted with a cohort of British Imams in the North of England. Data was collected firstly through a questionnaire that related to the respondents’ training and development needs and then analysed in depth using the Delphi approach. Through Delphi, the data were scrutinized in depth using interpretative content analysis. The findings from this project reflect the respondents’ individual perceptions of the kind of training and development they need to fulfill their role in 21st Century Britain. They also provide a unique framework for constructing a professional guide for Imams in Great Britain. The discussions and critical analyses in this paper draw on the discourses of professionalization and pastoral care and relevant reports and reviews on Imam training in Europe and Canada.

Keywords: criminal justice system, faith and culture, Imams, Muslim community leadership, professionalization, South Asian family structure

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Authors: S. A. Krutovertsev, A. E. Tarasova, L. S. Krutovertseva, O. M. Ivanova

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The aim of the work was to get stable sensitive films with good sensitivity to ethanolamine (C2H7NO) in air. Ethanolamine is used as adsorbent in different processes of gas purification and separation. Besides it has wide industrial application. Chemical sensors of sorption type are widely used for gas analysis. Their behavior is determined by sensor characteristics of sensitive sorption layer. Forming conditions and characteristics of chemical gas sensors based on nanostructured modified silica films activated by different admixtures have been studied. As additives molybdenum containing polyoxometalates of the eighteen series were incorporated in silica films. The method of hydrolythic polycondensation from tetraethyl orthosilicate solutions was used for forming such films in this work. The method’s advantage is a possibility to introduce active additives directly into an initial solution. This method enables to obtain sensitive thin films with high specific surface at room temperature. Particular properties make polyoxometalates attractive as active additives for forming of gas-sensitive films. As catalyst of different redox processes, they can either accelerate the reaction of the matrix with analyzed gas or interact with it, and it results in changes of matrix’s electrical properties Polyoxometalates based films were deposited on the test structures manufactured by microelectronic planar technology with interdigitated electrodes. Modified silica films were deposited by a casting method from solutions based on tetraethyl orthosilicate and polyoxometalates. Polyoxometalates were directly incorporated into initial solutions. Composite nanostructured films were deposited by drop casting method on test structures with a pair of interdigital metal electrodes formed at their surface. The sensor’s active area was 4.0 x 4.0 mm, and electrode gap was egual 0.08 mm. Morphology of the layers surface were studied with Solver-P47 scanning probe microscope (NT-MDT, Russia), the infrared spectra were investigated by a Bruker EQUINOX 55 (Germany). The conditions of film formation varied during the tests. Electrical parameters of the sensors were measured electronically in real-time mode. Films had highly developed surface with value of 450 m2/g and nanoscale pores. Thickness of them was 0,2-0,3 µm. The study shows that the conditions of the environment affect markedly the sensors characteristics, which can be improved by choosing of the right procedure of forming and processing. Addition of polyoxometalate into silica film resulted in stabilization of film mass and changed markedly of electrophysical characteristics. Availability of Mn3P2Mo18O62 into silica film resulted in good sensitivity and selectivity to ethanolamine. Sensitivity maximum was observed at weight content of doping additive in range of 30–50% in matrix. With ethanolamine concentration changing from 0 to 100 ppm films’ conductivity increased by 10-12 times. The increase of sensor’s sensitivity was received owing to complexing reaction of tested substance with cationic part of polyoxometalate. This fact results in intramolecular redox reaction which sharply change electrophysical properties of polyoxometalate. This process is reversible and takes place at room temperature.

Keywords: ethanolamine, gas analysis, polyoxometalate, silica film

Procedia PDF Downloads 190

Authors: Olga Kokoulina

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Today, algorithms are assuming a leading role in various areas of decision-making. Prompted by a promise to provide increased economic efficiency and fuel solutions for pressing societal challenges, algorithmic decision-making is often celebrated as an impartial and constructive substitute for human adjudication. But in the face of this implied objectivity and efficiency, the application of algorithms is also marred with mounting concerns about embedded biases, discrimination, and exclusion. In Europe, vigorous debates on risks and adverse implications of algorithmic decision-making largely revolve around the potential of data protection laws to tackle some of the related issues. For example, one of the often-cited venues to mitigate the impact of potentially unfair decision-making practice is a so-called 'right to explanation'. In essence, the overall right is derived from the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) ensuring the right of data subjects to access and mandating the obligation of data controllers to provide the relevant information about the existence of automated decision-making and meaningful information about the logic involved. Taking corresponding rights and obligations in the context of the specific provision on automated decision-making in the GDPR, the debates mainly focus on efficacy and the exact scope of the 'right to explanation'. In essence, the underlying logic of the argued remedy lies in a transparency imperative. Allowing data subjects to acquire as much knowledge as possible about the decision-making process means empowering individuals to take control of their data and take action. In other words, forewarned is forearmed. The related discussions and debates are ongoing, comprehensive, and, often, heated. However, they are also frequently misguided and isolated: embracing the data protection law as ultimate and sole lenses are often not sufficient. Mandating the disclosure of technical specifications of employed algorithms in the name of transparency for and empowerment of data subjects potentially encroach on the interests and rights of IPR holders, i.e., business entities behind the algorithms. The study aims at pushing the boundaries of the transparency debate beyond the data protection regime. By systematically analysing legal requirements and current judicial practice, it assesses the limits of the transparency requirement and right to access posed by intellectual property law, namely by copyrights and trade secrets. It is asserted that trade secrets, in particular, present an often-insurmountable obstacle for realising the potential of the transparency requirement. In reaching that conclusion, the study explores the limits of protection afforded by the European Trade Secrets Directive and contrasts them with the scope of respective rights and obligations related to data access and portability enshrined in the GDPR. As shown, the far-reaching scope of the protection under trade secrecy is evidenced both through the assessment of its subject matter as well as through the exceptions from such protection. As a way forward, the study scrutinises several possible legislative solutions, such as flexible interpretation of the public interest exception in trade secrets as well as the introduction of the strict liability regime in case of non-transparent decision-making.

Keywords: algorithms, public interest, trade secrets, transparency

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Lucas M. Furlan, Cesar A. Moreira, Jepherson F. Sales, Guilherme T. Bueno, Manuel E. Ferreira, Carla V. S. Coelho, Vania Rosolen

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Located in the western part of the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, the study area consists of a savanna environment, represented by sedimentary plateau and a soil cover composed by lateritic and hydromorphic soils - in the latter, occurring the deferruginization and concentration of high-alumina clays, exploited as refractory material. In the hydromorphic topographic depressions (wetlands) the hydropedogical relationships are little known, but it is observed that in times of rainfall, the depressed region behaves like a natural seasonal reservoir - which suggests that the wetlands on the surface of the plateau are places of recharge of the aquifer. The aquifer recharge areas are extremely important for the sustainable social, economic and environmental development of societies. The understanding of hydrodynamics in relation to the functioning of the ferruginous and hydromorphic lateritic soils system in the savanna environment is a subject rarely explored in the literature, especially its understanding through the joint application of geoprocessing by UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and electrical tomography. The objective of this work is to understand the hydrogeological dynamics in a wetland (with an area of 426.064 m²), in the Brazilian savanna,as well as the understanding of the subsurface architecture of hydromorphic depressions in relation to the recharge of aquifers. The wetland was compartmentalized in three different regions, according to the geoprocessing. Hydraulic conductivity studies were performed in each of these three portions. Electrical tomography was performed on 9 lines of 80 meters in length and spaced 10 meters apart (direction N45), and a line with 80 meters perpendicular to all others. With the data, it was possible to generate a 3D cube. The integrated analysis showed that the area behaves like a natural seasonal reservoir in the months of greater precipitation (December – 289mm; January – 277,9mm; February – 213,2mm), because the hydraulic conductivity is very low in all areas. In the aerial images, geotag correction of the images was performed, that is, the correction of the coordinates of the images by means of the corrected coordinates of the Positioning by Precision Point of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE-PPP). Later, the orthomosaic and the digital surface model (DSM) were generated, which with specific geoprocessing generated the volume of water that the wetland can contain - 780,922m³ in total, 265,205m³ in the region with intermediate flooding and 49,140m³ in the central region, where a greater accumulation of water was observed. Through the electrical tomography it was possible to identify that up to the depth of 6 meters the water infiltrates vertically in the central region. From the 8 meters depth, the water encounters a more resistive layer and the infiltration begins to occur horizontally - tending to concentrate the recharge of the aquifer to the northeast and southwest of the wetland. The hydrodynamics of the area is complex and has many challenges in its understanding. The next step is to relate hydrodynamics to the evolution of the landscape, with the enrichment of high-alumina clays, and to propose a management model for the seasonal reservoir.

Keywords: electrical tomography, hydropedology, unmanned aerial vehicle, water resources management

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Authors: Hamda Ajmal, Karen Young, Ruth Melia, John Bogue, Mary O'Sullivan, Jim Duggan, Hannah Wood

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The Covid-19 pandemic led to a range of public health mitigation strategies in order to suppress the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The drastic changes in everyday life due to lockdowns had the potential for a significant negative impact on public mental health, and a key public health goal is to now assess the evidence from available Irish datasets to provide useful insights on this issue. Text-50808 is an online text-based mental health support service, established in Ireland in 2020, and can provide a measure of revealed distress and mental health concerns across the population. The aim of this study is to explore statistical associations between public mental health in Ireland and the Covid-19 pandemic. Uniquely, this study combines two measures of emotional wellbeing in Ireland: (1) weekly text volume at Text-50808, and (2) emotional wellbeing indicators reported by respondents of the Amárach public opinion survey, carried out on behalf of the Department of Health, Ireland. For this analysis, a multivariate graphical exploratory data analysis (EDA) was performed on the Text-50808 dataset dated from 15th June 2020 to 30th June 2021. This was followed by time-series analysis of key mental health indicators including: (1) the percentage of daily/weekly texts at Text-50808 that mention Covid-19 related issues; (2) the weekly percentage of people experiencing anxiety, boredom, enjoyment, happiness, worry, fear and stress in Amárach survey; and Covid-19 related factors: (3) daily new Covid-19 case numbers; (4) daily stringency index capturing the effect of government non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in Ireland. The cross-correlation function was applied to measure the relationship between the different time series. EDA of the Text-50808 dataset reveals significant peaks in the volume of texts on days prior to level 3 lockdown and level 5 lockdown in October 2020, and full level 5 lockdown in December 2020. A significantly high positive correlation was observed between the percentage of texts at Text-50808 that reported Covid-19 related issues and the percentage of respondents experiencing anxiety, worry and boredom (at a lag of 1 week) in Amárach survey data. There is a significant negative correlation between percentage of texts with Covid-19 related issues and percentage of respondents experiencing happiness in Amárach survey. Daily percentage of texts at Text-50808 that reported Covid-19 related issues to have a weak positive correlation with daily new Covid-19 cases in Ireland at a lag of 10 days and with daily stringency index of NPIs in Ireland at a lag of 2 days. The sudden peaks in text volume at Text-50808 immediately prior to new restrictions in Ireland indicate an association between a rise in mental health concerns following the announcement of new restrictions. There is also a high correlation between emotional wellbeing variables in the Amárach dataset and the number of weekly texts at Text-50808, and this confirms that Text-50808 reflects overall public sentiment. This analysis confirms the benefits of the texting service as a community surveillance tool for mental health in the population. This initial EDA will be extended to use multivariate modeling to predict the effect of additional Covid-19 related factors on public mental health in Ireland.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, data analysis, digital health, mental health, public health, digital health

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Authors: E. Mosiniewicz-Szablewska, P. Suchocki, P. C. Morais

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Despite the significant progress in cancer treatment, there is a need to search for new therapeutic methods in order to minimize side effects. Chemotherapy, the main current method of treating cancer, is non-selective and has a number of limitations. Toxicity to healthy cells is undoubtedly the biggest problem limiting the use of many anticancer drugs. The problem of how to kill cancer without harming a patient can be solved by using organic selenium (IV) compounds. Organic selenium (IV) compounds are a new class of materials showing a strong anticancer activity. They are first organic compounds containing selenium at the +4 oxidation level and therefore they eliminate the multidrug-resistance for all tumor cell lines tested so far. These materials are capable of selectively killing cancer cells without damaging the healthy ones. They are obtained by the incorporation of selenous acid (H2SeO3) into molecules of fatty acids of sunflower oil and therefore, they are inexpensive to manufacture. Attaching these compounds to magnetic carriers enables their precise delivery directly to the tumor area and the simultaneous application of the magnetic hyperthermia, thus creating a huge opportunity to effectively get rid of the tumor without any side effects. Polylactic-co-glicolic acid (PLGA) nanocapsules loaded with maghemite (-Fe2O3) nanoparticles and organic selenium (IV) compounds are successfully prepared by nanoprecipitation method. In vitro antitumor activity of the nanocapsules were evidenced using murine melanoma (B16-F10), oral squamos carcinoma (OSCC) and murine (4T1) and human (MCF-7) breast lines. Further exposure of these cells to an alternating magnetic field increased the antitumor effect of nanocapsules. Moreover, the nanocapsules presented antitumor effect while not affecting normal cells. Magnetic properties of the nanocapsules were investigated by means of dc magnetization, ac susceptibility and electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements. The nanocapsules presented a typical superparamagnetic behavior around room temperature manifested itself by the split between zero field-cooled/field-cooled (ZFC/FC) magnetization curves and the absence of hysteresis on the field-dependent magnetization curve above the blocking temperature. Moreover, the blocking temperature decreased with increasing applied magnetic field. The superparamagnetic character of the nanocapsules was also confirmed by the occurrence of a maximum in temperature dependences of both real ′(T) and imaginary ′′ (T) components of the ac magnetic susceptibility, which shifted towards higher temperatures with increasing frequency. Additionally, upon decreasing the temperature the ESR signal shifted to lower fields and gradually broadened following closely the predictions for the ESR of superparamagnetoc nanoparticles. The observed superparamagnetic properties of nanocapsules enable their simple manipulation by means of magnetic field gradient, after introduction into the blood stream, which is a necessary condition for their use as magnetic drug carriers. The observed anticancer and superparamgnetic properties show that the magnetic nanocapsules loaded with organic selenium (IV) compounds should be considered as an effective material system for magnetic drug delivery and magnetohyperthermia inductor in antitumor therapy.

Keywords: cancer treatment, magnetic drug delivery system, nanomaterials, nanotechnology

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Authors: Jessica To

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Feedback is one of the powerful levers for enhancing students’ performance. However, some students are under-engaged with feedback because they lack responsibility for feedback uptake. To resolve this conundrum, recent literature proposes feedback partnerships in which students and teachers share the power and responsibilities to co-construct feedback. During feedback co-construction, students express feedback needs to teachers, and teachers respond to individuals’ needs in return. Though this approach can increase students’ feedback ownership, its application is lagging as the field lacks conceptual clarity and implementation guide. This presentation aims to discuss the conceptual framework of feedback partnerships and feedback co-construction strategies. It identifies the components of feedback partnerships and strategies which could facilitate feedback co-construction. A systematic literature review was conducted to answer the questions. The literature search was performed using ERIC, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar with the keywords “assessment partnership”, “student as partner,” and “feedback engagement”. No time limit was set for the search. The inclusion criteria encompassed (i) student-teacher partnerships in feedback, (ii) feedback engagement in higher education, (iii) peer-reviewed publications, and (iv) English as the language of publication. Those without addressing conceptual understanding and implementation strategies were excluded. Finally, 65 publications were identified and analysed using thematic analysis. For the procedure, the texts relating to the questions were first extracted. Then, codes were assigned to summarise the ideas of the texts. Upon subsuming similar codes into themes, four themes emerged: students’ responsibilities, teachers’ responsibilities, conditions for partnerships development, and strategies. Their interrelationships were examined iteratively for framework development. Establishing feedback partnerships required different responsibilities of students and teachers during feedback co-construction. Students needed to self-evaluate performance against task criteria, identify inadequacies and communicate their needs to teachers. During feedback exchanges, they interpreted teachers’ comments, generated self-feedback through reflection, and co-developed improvement plans with teachers. Teachers had to increase students’ understanding of criteria and evaluation skills and create opportunities for students’ expression of feedback needs. In feedback dialogue, teachers responded to students’ needs and advised on the improvement plans. Feedback partnerships would be best grounded in an environment with trust and psychological safety. Four strategies could facilitate feedback co-construction. First, students’ understanding of task criteria could be increased by rubrics explanation and exemplar analysis. Second, students could sharpen evaluation skills if they participated in peer review and received teacher feedback on the quality of peer feedback. Third, provision of self-evaluation checklists and prompts and teacher modeling of self-assessment process could aid students in articulating feedback needs. Fourth, the trust could be fostered when teachers explained the benefits of feedback co-construction, showed empathy, and provided personalised comments in dialogue. Some strategies were applied in interactive cover sheets in which students performed self-evaluation and made feedback requests on a cover sheet during assignment submission, followed by teachers’ response to individuals’ requests. The significance of this presentation lies in unpacking the conceptual framework of feedback partnerships and outlining feedback co-construction strategies. With a solid foundation in theory and practice, researchers and teachers could better enhance students’ engagement with feedback.

Keywords: conceptual framework, feedback co-construction, feedback partnerships, implementation strategies

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Authors: Benjamin Thomas Greer, Grace Cotulla, Mandy Johnson

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Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing international crimes and human rights violations in the world. The United States Department of State (State Department) approximates some 800,000 to 900,000 people are annually trafficked across sovereign borders, with approximately 14,000 to 17,500 of these people coming into the United States. Today’s slavery is conducted by unscrupulous individuals who are often connected to organized criminal enterprises and transnational gangs, extracting huge monetary sums. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), human traffickers collect approximately $32 billion worldwide annually. Surpassed only by narcotics dealing, trafficking of humans is tied with illegal arms sales as the second largest criminal industry in the world and is the fastest growing field in the 21st century. Perpetrators of this heinous crime abound. They are not limited to single or “sole practitioners” of human trafficking, but rather, often include Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCO), domestic street gangs, labor contractors, and otherwise seemingly ordinary citizens. Monetary gain is being elevated over territorial disputes and street gangs are increasingly operating in a collaborative effort with TCOs to further disguise their criminal activity; to utilizing their vast networks, in an attempt to avoid detection. Traffickers rely on a network of clandestine routes to sell their commodities with impunity. As law enforcement agencies seek to retard the expansion of transnational criminal organization’s entry into human trafficking, it is imperative that they develop reliable trafficking mapping of known exploitative routes. In a recent report given to the Mexican Congress, The Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) disclosed, from 2008 to 2010 they had identified at least 47 unique criminal networking routes used to traffic victims and that Mexico’s estimated domestic victims number between 800,000 adults and 20,000 children annually. Designing a reliable mapping system is a crucial step to effective law enforcement response and deploying a successful victim support system. Creating this mapping analytic is exceedingly difficult. Traffickers are constantly changing the way they traffic and exploit their victims. They swiftly adapt to local environmental factors and react remarkably well to market demands, exploiting limitations in the prevailing laws. This article will highlight how human trafficking has become one of the fastest growing and most high profile human rights violations in the world today; compile current efforts to map and illustrate trafficking routes; and will demonstrate how the proprietary analytical mapping analysis of point-source and destination-source mapping can help local law enforcement, governmental agencies and victim services providers effectively respond to the type and nature of trafficking to their specific geographical locale. Trafficking transcends state and international borders. It demands an effective and consistent cooperation between local, state, and federal authorities. Each region of the world has different impact factors which create distinct challenges for law enforcement and victim services. Our mapping system lays the groundwork for a targeted anti-trafficking response.

Keywords: human trafficking, mapping, routes, law enforcement intelligence

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Authors: Alaa Fezai, Anuj Sharma, Wolfgang Mueller-Hirsch, André Zimmermann

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Viscoelastic materials have been widely used in the automotive industry over the last few decades with different functionalities. Besides their main application as a simple and efficient surface damping treatment, they may ensure optimal operating conditions for on-board electronics as thermal interface or sealing layers. The dynamic behavior of viscoelastic materials is generally dependent on many environmental factors, the most important being temperature and strain rate or frequency. Prior to the reliability analysis of systems including viscoelastic layers, it is, therefore, crucial to accurately predict the dynamic and lifetime behavior of these materials. This includes the identification of the dynamic material parameters under critical temperature and frequency conditions along with a precise damage localization and identification methodology. The goal of this work is twofold. The first part aims at applying an inverse viscoelastic material-characterization approach for a wide frequency range and under different temperature conditions. For this sake, dynamic measurements are carried on a single lap joint specimen using an electrodynamic shaker and an environmental chamber. The specimen consists of aluminum beams assembled to adapter plates through a viscoelastic adhesive layer. The experimental setup is reproduced in finite element (FE) simulations, and frequency response functions (FRF) are calculated. The parameters of both the generalized Maxwell model and the fractional derivatives model are identified through an optimization algorithm minimizing the difference between the simulated and the measured FRFs. The second goal of the current work is to guarantee an on-line detection of the damage, i.e., delamination in the viscoelastic bonding of the described specimen during frequency monitored end-of-life testing. For this purpose, an inverse technique, which determines the damage location and size based on the modal frequency shift and on the change of the mode shapes, is presented. This includes a preliminary FE model-based study correlating the delamination location and size to the change in the modal parameters and a subsequent experimental validation achieved through dynamic measurements of specimen with different, pre-generated crack scenarios and comparing it to the virgin specimen. The main advantage of the inverse characterization approach presented in the first part resides in the ability of adequately identifying the material damping and stiffness behavior of soft viscoelastic materials over a wide frequency range and under critical temperature conditions. Classic forward characterization techniques such as dynamic mechanical analysis are usually linked to limitations under critical temperature and frequency conditions due to the material behavior of soft viscoelastic materials. Furthermore, the inverse damage detection described in the second part guarantees an accurate prediction of not only the damage size but also its location using a simple test setup and outlines; therefore, the significance of inverse numerical-experimental approaches in predicting the dynamic behavior of soft bonding layers applied in automotive electronics.

Keywords: damage detection, dynamic characterization, inverse approaches, vibration testing, viscoelastic layers

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Viktor D. Dubrovin, Masoud Mollaee, Jie Zong, Xiushan Zhu, Nasser Peyghambarian

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Glasses doped with high rare-earth (RE) elements concentration attracted considerable attention since the middle of the 20th century due to their particular magneto-optical properties. Such glasses exhibit the Faraday effect in which the polarization plane of a linearly polarized light beam is rotated by the interaction between the incident light and the magneto-optical material. That effect found application in optical isolators that are useful for laser systems, which can prevent back reflection of light into lasers or optical amplifiers and reduce signal instability and noise. Glasses are of particular interest since they are cost-effective and can be formed into fibers, thus breaking the limits of traditional bulk optics requiring optical coupling for use with fiber-optic systems. The advent of high-power fiber lasers operating near 2µm revealed a necessity in the development of all fiber isolators for this region. Ce³⁺, Pr³⁺, Dy³⁺, and Tb³⁺ ions provide the biggest contribution to the Verdet constant value of optical materials among the RE. It is known that Pr³⁺ and Tb³⁺ ions have strong absorption bands near 2 µm, thus making Dy³⁺ and Ce³⁺ the only prospective candidates for fiber isolator operating in that region. Due to the high tendency of Ce³⁺ ions pass to Ce⁴⁺ during the synthesis, glasses with high cerium content usually suffers from Ce⁴⁺ ions absorption extending from visible to IR. Additionally, Dy³⁺ (₆H¹⁵/²) same as Ho³⁺ (⁵I₈) ions, have the largest effective magnetic moment (µeff = 10.6 µB) among the RE ions that starts to play the key role if the operating region is far from 4fⁿ→ 4fⁿ⁻¹5 d¹ electric-dipole transition relevant to the Faraday Effect. Considering the high effective magnetic moment value of Er³⁺ ions (µeff = 9.6 µB) that is 3rd after Dy³⁺/ Ho³⁺ and Tb³⁺, it is possible to assume that Er³⁺ doped glasses should exhibit Verdet constant value near 2µm that is comparable with one of Dy doped glasses. Thus, partial replacement of Dy³⁺ on Er³⁺ ions has been performed, keeping the overall concentration of Re₂O₃ equal to 70 wt.% (30.6 mol.%). Al₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂-30.6RE₂O₃ (RE= Er, Dy) glasses had been synthesized, and their thermal, spectral, optical, structural, and magneto-optical properties had been studied. Glasses synthesis had been conducted in Pt crucibles for 3h at 1500 °C. The obtained melt was poured into preheated up to 400 °C mold and annealed from 800 oC to room temperature for 12h with 1h dwell. The mass of obtained glass samples was about 200g. Shown that the difference between crystallization and glass transition temperature is about 150 oC, even taking into account the fact that high content of RE₂O₃ leads to glass network depolymerization. Verdet constant of Al₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂-30.6RE₂O₃ glasses for wavelength 1950 nm can reach more than 5.9 rad/(T*m), which is among the highest number reported for a paramagnetic glass at this wavelength. The refractive index value was found to be equal to 1.7545 at 633 nm. Our experimental results show that Al₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂-30.6RE₂O₃ glasses with high Dy₂O₃ content are expected to be promising material for use as highly effective Faraday isolators and modulators of electromagnetic radiation in the 2μm region.

Keywords: oxide glass, magneto-optical, dysprosium, erbium, Faraday rotator, boron-aluminosilicate system

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Authors: Wenfa Yu, Thuva Gnanasampanthan, John Finlay, Jessica Clarke, Charlotte Anderson, Tony Clare, Axel Rosenhahn

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Marine biofouling is a worldwide problem at vast economic and ecological costs. Historically it was combated with toxic coatings such as tributyltin. As those coatings being banned nowadays, finding environmental friendly antifouling solution has become an urgent topic. In this study antifouling coatings consisted of natural occurring polysaccharides hyaluronic acid (HA), alginic acid (AA), chitosan (Ch) and polyelectrolyte polyethylenimine (PEI) are constructed into polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) in a Layer-by-Layer (LbL) method. LbL PEM construction is a straightforward way to assemble biomacromolecular coatings on surfaces. Advantages about PEM include ease of handling, highly diverse PEM composition, precise control over the thickness and so on. PEMs have been widely employed in medical application and there are numerous studies regarding their protein adsorption, elasticity and cell adhesive properties. With the adjustment of coating composition, termination layer charge, coating morphology and cross-linking method, it is possible to prepare low marine biofouling coatings with PEMs. In this study, using spin coating technology, PEM construction was achieved at smooth multilayers with roughness as low as 2nm rms and highly reproducible thickness around 50nm. To obtain stability in sea water, the multilayers were covalently cross-linked either thermally or chemically. The cross-linking method affected surface energy, which was reflected in water contact angle, thermal cross-linking led to hydrophobic surfaces and chemical cross-linking generated hydrophilic surfaces. The coatings were then evaluated regarding its protein resistance and biological species resistance. While the hydrophobic thermally cross-linked PEM had low resistance towards proteins, the resistance of chemically cross-linked PEM strongly depended on the PEM termination layer and the charge of the protein, opposite charge caused high adsorption and same charge low adsorption, indicating electrostatic interaction plays a crucial role in the protein adsorption processes. Ulva linza was chosen as the biological species for antifouling performance evaluation. Despite of the poor resistance towards protein adsorption, thermally cross-linked PEM showed good resistance against Ulva spores settlement, the chemically cross-linked multilayers showed poor resistance regardless of the termination layer. Marine species adhesion is a complex process, although it involves proteins as bioadhesives, protein resistance its own is not a fully indicator for its antifouling performance. The species will pre select the surface, responding to cues like surface energy, chemistry, or charge and so on. Thus making it difficult for one single factors to determine its antifouling performance. Preparing PEM coating is a comprehensive work involving choosing polyelectrolyte combination, determining termination layer and the method for cross-linking. These decisions will affect PEM properties such as surface energy, charge, which is crucial, since biofouling is a process responding to surface properties in a highly sensitive and dynamic way.

Keywords: hyaluronic acid, polyelectrolyte multilayers, protein resistance, Ulva linza zoospores

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Sandra Regina Cavalcante, Rodolfo A. G. Vilela

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Introduction: Work accidents and occupational diseases are a big problem for public health around the world and the main health problem of workers with high social and economic costs. Brazil has shown progress over the last years, with the development of the regulatory system to improve safety and quality of life in the workplace. However, the situation is far from acceptable, because the occurrences remain high and there is a great gap between legislation and reality, generated by the low level of voluntary compliance with the law. Brazilian laws provide procedural legal instruments for both, to compensate the damage caused to the worker's health and to prevent future injuries. In the Judiciary, the prevention idea is in the collective action, effected through Brazilian Class Actions. Inhibitory guardianships may impose both, improvements to the working environment, as well as determine the interruption of activity or a ban on the machine that put workers at risk. Both the Labor Prosecution and trade unions have to stand to promote this type of action, providing payment of compensation for collective moral damage. Objectives: To verify how class actions (known as ‘public civil actions’), regulated in Brazilian legal system to protect diffuse, collective and homogeneous rights, are being used to protect workers' health and safety. Methods: The author identified and evaluated decisions of Brazilian Superior Court of Labor involving collective actions and work accidents. The timeframe chosen was December 2015. The online jurisprudence database was consulted in page available for public consultation on the court website. The categorization of the data was made considering the result (court application was rejected or accepted), the request type, the amount of compensation and the author of the cause, besides knowing the reasoning used by the judges. Results: The High Court issued 21,948 decisions in December 2015, with 1448 judgments (6.6%) about work accidents and only 20 (0.09%) on collective action. After analyzing these 20 decisions, it was found that the judgments granted compensation for collective moral damage (85%) and/or obligation to make, that is, changes to improve prevention and safety (71%). The processes have been filed mainly by the Labor Prosecutor (83%), and also appeared lawsuits filed by unions (17%). The compensation for collective moral damage had average of 250,000 reais (about US$65,000), but it should be noted that there is a great range of values found, also are several situations repaired by this compensation. This is the last instance resource for this kind of lawsuit and all decisions were well founded and received partially the request made for working environment protection. Conclusions: When triggered, the labor court system provides the requested collective protection in class action. The values of convictions arbitrated in collective actions are significant and indicate that it creates social and economic repercussions, stimulating employers to improve the working environment conditions of their companies. It is necessary to intensify the use of collective actions, however, because they are more efficient for prevention than reparatory individual lawsuits, but it has been underutilized, mainly by Unions.

Keywords: Brazilian Class Action, collective action, work accident penalization, workplace accident prevention, workplace protection law

Procedia PDF Downloads 249