Search results for: environmental control

Authors: Yohannes Haile, Dipo Onipede, Jr., Omar Ashour

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The main thrust of our research is to determine Industry 4.0 readiness of small and mid-size manufacturing companies in our region and assist them to implement Cyber Physical Production System (CPPS) capabilities. Adopting CPPS capabilities will help organizations realize improved quality, order delivery, throughput, new value creation, and reduced idle time of machines and work centers of their manufacturing operations. The key metrics for the assessment include the level of intelligence, internal and external connections, responsiveness to internal and external environmental changes, capabilities for customization of products with reference to cost, level of additive manufacturing, automation, and robotics integration, and capabilities to manufacture hybrid products in the near term, where near term is defined as 0 to 18 months. In our initial evaluation of several manufacturing firms which are profitable and successful in what they do, we found low level of Physical-Digital-Physical (PDP) loop in their manufacturing operations, whereas 100% of the firms included in this research have specialized manufacturing core competencies that have differentiated them from their competitors. The level of automation and robotics integration is low to medium range, where low is defined as less than 30%, and medium is defined as 30 to 70% of manufacturing operation to include automation and robotics. However, there is a significant drive to include these capabilities at the present time. As it pertains to intelligence and connection of manufacturing systems, it is observed to be low with significant variance in tying manufacturing operations management to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Furthermore, it is observed that the integration of additive manufacturing in general, 3D printing, in particular, to be low, but with significant upside of integrating it in their manufacturing operations in the near future. To hasten the readiness of the local and regional manufacturing companies to Industry 4.0 and transitions towards CPPS capabilities, our working group (ADMAR Working Group) in partnership with our university have been engaged with the local and regional manufacturing companies. The goal is to increase awareness, share know-how and capabilities, initiate joint projects, and investigate the possibility of establishing the Center for Cyber Physical Production Systems Innovation (C2P2SI). The center is intended to support the local and regional university-industry research of implementing intelligent factories, enhance new value creation through disruptive innovations, the development of hybrid and data enhanced products, and the creation of digital manufacturing enterprises. All these efforts will enhance local and regional economic development and educate students that have well developed knowledge and applications of cyber physical manufacturing systems and Industry 4.0.

Keywords: automation, cyber-physical production system, digital manufacturing enterprises, disruptive innovation, new value creation, physical-digital-physical loop

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Authors: Elena Cangelosi, Wayne Beyea

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This research expands the resilience planning literature by exploring the barriers and enablers to climate and health adaptation planning for small urban, coastal Great Lakes communities. With funding from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Climate Ready City and States Initiative, this research took place during a 3-year pilot intervention project which integrates urban planning and public health. The project used the CDC’s Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) framework to prevent or reduce the human health impacts from climate change in Marquette County, Michigan. Using a deliberation with the analysis planning process, interviews, focus groups, and community meetings with over 25 stakeholder groups and over 100 participants identified the area’s climate-related health concerns and adaptation interventions to address those concerns. Marquette County, on the shores of Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes, was selected for the project based on their existing adaptive capacity and proactive approach to climate adaptation planning. With Marquette County as the context, this study fills a gap in the adaptation literature, which currently heavily emphasizes large-urban or agriculturally-based rural areas, and largely neglects small urban areas. This research builds on the qualitative case-study, survey, and interview approach established by previous researchers on contextual barriers and enablers for adaptation planning. This research uses a case study approach, including surveys and interviews of public officials, to identify the barriers and enablers for climate and health adaptation planning for small-urban areas within a large, non-agricultural, Great Lakes county. The researchers hypothesize that the barriers and enablers will, in some cases, overlap those found in other contexts, but in many cases, will be unique to a rural setting. The study reveals that funding, staff capacity, and communication across a large, rural geography act as the main barriers, while strong networks and collaboration, interested leaders, and community interest through a strong human-land connection act as the primary enablers. Challenges unique to rural areas are revealed, including weak opportunities for grant funding, large geographical distances, communication challenges with an aging and remote population, and the out-migration of education residents. Enablers that may be unique to rural contexts include strong collaborative relationships across jurisdictions for regional work and strong connections between residents and the land. As the factors that enable and prevent climate change planning are highly contextual, understanding, and appropriately addressing the unique factors at play for small-urban communities is key for effective planning in those areas. By identifying and addressing the barriers and enablers to climate and health adaptation planning for small-urban, coastal areas, this study can help Great Lakes communities appropriately build resilience to the adverse impacts of climate change. In addition, this research expands the breadth of research and understanding of the challenges and opportunities planners confront in the face of climate change.

Keywords: climate adaptation and resilience, climate change adaptation, climate change and urban resilience, governance and urban resilience

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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The industrialization of coal mining and related activities has a significant impact on groundwater in the surrounding areas of the Damodar River. The Damodar River basin, located in eastern India, is known as the "Ruhr of India" due to its abundant coal reserves and extensive coal mining and industrial operations. One of the major consequences of collieries on groundwater is the contamination of water sources. Coal mining activities often involve the excavation and extraction of coal through underground or open-pit mining methods. These processes can release various pollutants and chemicals into the groundwater, including heavy metals, acid mine drainage, and other toxic substances. As a result, the quality of groundwater in the Damodar River region has deteriorated, making it unsuitable for drinking, irrigation, and other purposes. The high concentration of heavy metals, such as arsenic, lead, and mercury, in the groundwater has posed severe health risks to the local population. Prolonged exposure to contaminated water can lead to various health problems, including skin diseases, respiratory issues, and even long-term ailments like cancer. The contamination has also affected the aquatic ecosystem, harming fish populations and other organisms dependent on the river's water. Moreover, the excessive extraction of groundwater for industrial processes, including coal washing and cooling systems, has resulted in a decline in the water table and depletion of aquifers. This has led to water scarcity and reduced availability of water for agricultural activities, impacting the livelihoods of farmers in the region. Efforts have been made to mitigate these issues through the implementation of regulations and improved industrial practices. However, the historical legacy of coal industrialization continues to impact the groundwater in the Damodar River area. Remediation measures, such as the installation of water treatment plants and the promotion of sustainable mining practices, are essential to restore the quality of groundwater and ensure the well-being of the affected communities. In conclusion, the coal industrialization in the Damodar River surrounding has had a detrimental impact on groundwater. This research focuses on soil subsidence induced by the over-exploitation of ground water for dewatering open pit coal mines. Soil degradation happens in arid and semi-arid regions as a result of land subsidence in coal mining region, which reduces soil fertility. Depletion of aquifers, contamination, and water scarcity are some of the key challenges resulting from these activities. It is crucial to prioritize sustainable mining practices, environmental conservation, and the provision of clean drinking water to mitigate the long-lasting effects of collieries on the groundwater resources in the region.

Keywords: coal mining, groundwater, soil subsidence, water table, damodar river

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Authors: Devin Doos, Ashley Hughes, Trang Pham, Paul Barach, Rami Ahmed

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Over 115,000 Health Care Workers (HCWs) have died from COVID-19, and millions have been infected while caring for patients. HCWs have filed thousands of safety complaints surrounding safety concerns due to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) shortages, which included concerns around inadequate and PPE reuse. Protocols for donning and doffing PPE remain ambiguous, lacking an evidence-base, and often result in wide deviations in practice. PPE donning and doffing protocol deviations commonly result in self-contamination but have not been thoroughly addressed. No evidence-driven protocols provide guidance on protecting HCW during periods of PPE reuse. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine safety-related threats and risks to Health Care Workers (HCWs) due to the reuse of PPE among Emergency Department personnel. Method: We conducted a prospective observational study to examine the risks of reusing PPE. First, ED personnel were asked to don and doff PPE in a simulation lab. Each participant was asked to don and doff PPE five times, according to the maximum reuse recommendation set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Each participant was videorecorded; video recordings were reviewed and coded independently by at least 2 of the 3trained coders for safety behaviors and riskiness of actions. A third coder was brought in when the agreement between the 2 coders could not be reached. Agreement between coders was high (81.9%), and all disagreements (100%) were resolved via consensus. A bowtie risk assessment chart was constructed analyzing the factors that contribute to increased risks HCW are faced with due to PPE use and reuse. Agreement amongst content experts in the field of Emergency Medicine, Human Factors, and Anesthesiology was used to select aspects of health care that both contribute and mitigate risks associated with PPE reuse. Findings: Twenty-eight clinician participants completed five rounds of donning/doffing PPE, yielding 140 PPE donning/doffing sequences. Two emerging threats were associated with behaviors in donning, doffing, and re-using PPE: (i) direct exposure to contaminant, and (ii) transmission/spread of contaminant. Protective behaviors included: hand hygiene, not touching the patient-facing surface of PPE, and ensuring a proper fit and closure of all PPE materials. 100% of participants (n= 28) deviated from the CDC recommended order, and most participants (92.85%, n=26) self-contaminated at least once during reuse. Other frequent errors included failure to tie all ties on the PPE (92.85%, n=26) and failure to wash hands after a contamination event occurred (39.28%, n=11). Conclusions: There is wide variation and regular errors in how HCW don and doffPPE while including in reusing PPE that led to self-contamination. Some errors were deemed “recoverable”, such as hand washing after touching a patient-facing surface to remove the contaminant. Other errors, such as using a contaminated mask and accidentally spreading to the neck and face, can lead to compound risks that are unique to repeated PPE use. A more comprehensive understanding of the contributing threats to HCW safety and complete approach to mitigating underlying risks, including visualizing with risk management toolsmay, aid future PPE designand workflow and space solutions.

Keywords: bowtie analysis, health care, PPE reuse, risk management

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Authors: Evgenia Iakovleva, Juha Koivisto, Pasi Karppinen, J. Inkinen, Mikko Alava

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Preventing the spread of infectious diseases throughout the worldwide is one of the most important tasks of modern health care. Infectious diseases not only account for one fifth of the deaths in the world, but also cause many pathological complications for the human health. Touch surfaces pose an important vector for the spread of infections by varying microorganisms, including antimicrobial resistant organisms. Further, antimicrobial resistance is reply of bacteria to the overused or inappropriate used of antibiotics everywhere. The biggest challenges in bacterial detection by existing methods are non-direct determination, long time of analysis, the sample preparation, use of chemicals and expensive equipment, and availability of qualified specialists. Therefore, a high-performance, rapid, real-time detection is demanded in rapid practical bacterial detection and to control the epidemiological hazard. Among the known methods for determining bacteria on the surfaces, Hyperspectral methods can be used as direct and rapid methods for microorganism detection on different kind of surfaces based on fluorescence without sampling, sample preparation and chemicals. The aim of this study was to assess the relevance of such systems to remote sensing of surfaces for microorganisms detection to prevent a global spread of infectious diseases. Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli with different concentrations (from 0 to 10x8 cell/100µL) were detected with hyperspectral camera using different filters as visible visualization of bacteria and background spots on the steel plate. A method of internal standards was applied for monitoring the correctness of the analysis results. Distances from sample to hyperspectral camera and light source are 25 cm and 40 cm, respectively. Each sample is optically imaged from the surface by hyperspectral imaging system, utilizing a JAI CM-140GE-UV camera. Light source is BeamZ FLATPAR DMX Tri-light, 3W tri-colour LEDs (red, blue and green). Light colors are changed through DMX USB Pro interface. The developed system was calibrated following a standard procedure of setting exposure and focused for light with λ=525 nm. The filter is ThorLabs KuriousTM hyperspectral filter controller with wavelengths from 420 to 720 nm. All data collection, pro-processing and multivariate analysis was performed using LabVIEW and Python software. The studied human eye visible and invisible bacterial stains clustered apart from a reference steel material by clustering analysis using different light sources and filter wavelengths. The calculation of random and systematic errors of the analysis results proved the applicability of the method in real conditions. Validation experiments have been carried out with photometry and ATP swab-test. The lower detection limit of developed method is several orders of magnitude lower than for both validation methods. All parameters of the experiments were the same, except for the light. Hyperspectral imaging method allows to separate not only bacteria and surfaces, but also different types of bacteria, such as Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis. Developed method allows skipping the sample preparation and the use of chemicals, unlike all other microbiological methods. The time of analysis with novel hyperspectral system is a few seconds, which is innovative in the field of microbiological tests.

Keywords: Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, hyperspectral imaging, microorganisms detection

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Authors: Morteza Sharifhasan, Davoud Hosseini, Mohammad. R. Salimpour

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The geothermal energy is considered as a worldwide important renewable energy in recent years due to rising environmental pollution concerns. Low- and medium-grade geothermal heat (< 200 ºC) is commonly employed for space heating and in domestic hot water supply. However, there is also much interest in converting the abundant low- and medium-grade geothermal heat into electrical power. The Iranian Ministry of Power - through the Iran Renewable Energy Organization (SUNA) – is going to build the first Geothermal Power Plant (GPP) in Iran in the Sabalan area in the Northwest of Iran. This project is a 5.5 MWe single flash steam condensing power plant. The efficiency of GPPs is low due to the relatively low pressure and temperature of the saturated steam. In addition to GPPs, Gas Turbines (GTs) are also known by their relatively low efficiency. The Iran ministry of Power is trying to increase the efficiency of these GTs by adding bottoming steam cycles to the GT to form what is known as combined gas/steam cycle. One of the most effective methods for increasing the efficiency is combined heat and power (CHP). This paper investigates the feasibility of superheating the saturated steam that enters the steam turbine of the Sabalan GPP (SGPP-1) to improve the energy efficiency and power output of the GPP. This purpose is achieved by combining the GPP with two 3.5 MWe GTs. In this method, the hot gases leaving GTs are utilized through a superheater similar to that used in the heat recovery steam generator of combined gas/steam cycle. Moreover, brine separated in the separator, hot gases leaving GTs and superheater are used for the supply of domestic hot water (in this paper, the cycle combined of GTs and CHP systems is named the modified SGPP-1) . In this research, based on the Heat Balance presented in the basic design documents of the SGPP-1, mathematical/numerical model of the power plant are developed together with the mentioned GTs and CHP systems. Based on the required hot water, the amount of hot gasses needed to pass through CHP section directly can be adjusted. For example, during summer when hot water is less required, the hot gases leaving both GTs pass through the superheater and CHP systems respectively. On the contrary, in order to supply the required hot water during the winter, the hot gases of one of the GTs enter the CHP section directly, without passing through the super heater section. The results show that there is an increase in thermal efficiency up to 40% through using the modified SGPP-1. Since the gross efficiency of SGPP-1 is 9.6%, the achieved increase in thermal efficiency is significant. The power output of SGPP-1 is increased up to 40% in summer (from 5.5MW to 7.7 MW) while the GTs power output remains almost unchanged. Meanwhile, the combined-cycle power output increases from the power output of the two separate plants of 12.5 MW [5.5+ (2×3.5)] to the combined-cycle power output of 14.7 [7.7+(2×3.5)]. This output is more than 17% above the output of the two separate plants. The modified SGPP-1 is capable of producing 215 T/Hr hot water ( 90 ºC ) for domestic use in the winter months.

Keywords: combined cycle, chp, efficiency, gas turbine, geothermal power plant, gas turbine, power output

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Authors: Moien Mojabi, Aurelien Hospital, Daniel Potts, Chris Young, Albert Leung

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The wave analysis is an integral part of the hydrotechnical assessment carried out during the permitting and design phases for coastal structures, such as marinas. This analysis aims in quantifying: i) the Suitability of the coastal structure design against Small Craft Harbour wave tranquility safety criterion; ii) Potential environmental impacts of the structure (e.g., effect on wave, flow, and sediment transport); iii) Mooring and dock design and iv) Requirements set by regulatory agency’s (e.g., WSA section 11 application). While a complex three-dimensional hydrodynamic modelling approach can be applied on large-scale projects, the need for an efficient and reliable wave analysis method suitable for smaller scale marina projects was identified. As a result, Tetra Tech has developed and applied an integrated analysis framework (hereafter TT approach), which takes the advantage of the state-of-the-art numerical models while preserving the level of simplicity that fits smaller scale projects. The present paper aims to describe the TT approach and highlight the key advantages of using this integrated framework in lake marina projects. The core of this methodology is made by integrating wind, water level, bathymetry, and structure geometry data. To respond to the needs of specific projects, several add-on modules have been added to the core of the TT approach. The main advantages of this method over the simplified analytical approaches are i) Accounting for the proper physics of the lake through the modelling of the entire lake (capturing real lake geometry) instead of a simplified fetch approach; ii) Providing a more realistic representation of the waves by modelling random waves instead of monochromatic waves; iii) Modelling wave-structure interaction (e.g. wave transmission/reflection application for floating structures and piles amongst others); iv) Accounting for wave interaction with the lakebed (e.g. bottom friction, refraction, and breaking); v) Providing the inputs for flow and sediment transport assessment at the project site; vi) Taking in consideration historical and geographical variations of the wind field; and vii) Independence of the scale of the reservoir under study. Overall, in comparison with simplified analytical approaches, this integrated framework provides a more realistic and reliable estimation of wave parameters (and its spatial distribution) in lake marinas, leading to a realistic hydrotechnical assessment accessible to any project size, from the development of a new marina to marina expansion and pile replacement. Tetra Tech has successfully utilized this approach since many years in the Okanagan area.

Keywords: wave modelling, wind-wave, extreme value analysis, marina

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Authors: Maritza Estela Garay-Rodriguez, Mirella Gutierrez-Arzaluz, Miguel Torres-Rodriguez, Violeta Mugica-Alvarez

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Arsenic is an element present in the earth's crust and is dispersed in the environment through natural processes and some anthropogenic activities. Naturally released into the environment through the weathering and erosion of sulphides mineral, some activities such as mining, the use of pesticides or wood preservatives potentially increase the concentration of arsenic in air, water, and soil. The natural arsenic release of a geological material is a threat to the world's drinking water sources. In aqueous phase is found in inorganic form, as arsenate and arsenite mainly, the contamination of groundwater by salts of this element originates what is known as endemic regional hydroarsenicism. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) categorizes the inorganic As within group I, as a substance with proven carcinogenic action for humans. It has been found the presence of As in groundwater in several countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Bangladesh, Canada and the United States. Regarding the concentration of arsenic in drinking water according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establish maximum concentrations of 10 μg L⁻¹. In Mexico, in some states as Hidalgo, Morelos and Michoacán concentrations of arsenic have been found in bodies of water around 1000 μg L⁻¹, a concentration that is well above what is allowed by Mexican regulations with the NOM-127- SSA1-1994 that establishes a limit of 25 μg L⁻¹. Given this problem in Mexico, this research proposes the use of a natural Mexican zeolite (clinoptilolite type) native to the district of Etla in the central valley region of Oaxaca, as an adsorbent for the removal of arsenic. The zeolite was subjected to a conditioning with iron oxide by the precipitation-impregnation method with 0.5 M iron nitrate solution, in order to increase the natural adsorption capacity of this material. The removal of arsenic was carried out in a column with a fixed bed of conditioned zeolite, since it combines the advantages of a conventional filter with those of a natural adsorbent medium, providing a continuous treatment, of low cost and relatively easy to operate, for its implementation in marginalized areas. The zeolite was characterized by XRD, SEM/EDS, and FTIR before and after the arsenic adsorption tests, the results showed that the modification methods used are adequate to prepare adsorbent materials since it does not modify its structure, the results showed that with a particle size of 1.18 mm, an initial concentration of As (V) ions of 1 ppm, a pH of 7 and at room temperature, a removal of 98.7% was obtained with an adsorption capacity of 260 μg As g⁻¹ zeolite. The results obtained indicated that the conditioned zeolite is favorable for the elimination of arsenate in water containing up to 1000 μg As L⁻¹ and could be suitable for removing arsenate from pits of water.

Keywords: adsorption, arsenic, iron conditioning, natural zeolite

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Authors: Tiffanie-Marie Borg, Yasmin Zeinolabediny, Nima Heidari, Ali Noorani, Mark Slevin, Angel Cullen, Stefano Olgiati, Alberto Zerbi, Alessandro Danovi, Adrian Wilson

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Knee Osteoarthritis (OA) is a critical cause of disability globally. In recent years, there has been growing interest in non-invasive treatments, such as intra-articular injection of micro-fragmented fat (MFAT), showing great potential in treating OA. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), originating from pericytes of micro-vessels in MFAT, can differentiate into mesenchymal lineage cells such as cartilage, osteocytes, adipocytes, and osteoblasts. Secretion of growth factor and cytokines from MSCs have the capability to inhibit T cell growth, reduced pain and inflammation, and create a micro-environment that through paracrine signaling, can promote joint repair and cartilage regeneration. Here we have shown, for the first time, data supporting the hypothesis that women respond better in terms of improvements in pain and function to MFAT injection compared to men. Historically, women have been underrepresented in studies, and studies with both sexes regularly fail to analyse the results by sex. To mitigate this bias and quantify it, we describe a technique using reproducible statistical analysis and replicable results with Open Access statistical software R to calculate the magnitude of this difference. Genetic, hormonal, environmental, and age factors play a role in our observed difference between the sexes. This observational, intention-to-treat study included the complete sample of 456 patients who agreed to be scored for pain (visual analogue scale (VAS)) and function (Oxford knee score (OKS)) at baseline regardless of subsequent changes to adherence or status during follow-up. We report that a significantly larger number of women responded to treatment than men: [90% vs. 60% change in VAS scores with 87% vs. 65% change in OKS scores, respectively]. Women overall had a stronger positive response to treatment with reduced pain and improved mobility and function. Pre-injection, our cohort of women were in more pain with worse joint function which is quite common to see in orthopaedics. However, during the 2-year follow-up, they consistently maintained a lower incidence of discomfort with superior joint function. This data clearly identifies a clear need for further studies to identify the cell and molecular biological and other basis for these differences and be able to utilize this information for stratification in order to improve outcome for both women and men.

Keywords: gender differences, micro-fragmented adipose tissue, knee osteoarthritis, stem cells

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Authors: Ellana Boada, Eric Santos-Clotas, Alba Cabrera-Codony, Maria Martin, Lluis Baneras, Frederic Gich

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Volatile methylsiloxanes (VMS) are a group of manmade silicone compounds widely used in household and industrial applications that end up on the biogas produced through the anaerobic digestion of organic matter in landfills and wastewater treatment plants. The presence of VMS during the biogas energy conversion can cause damage on the engines, reducing the efficiency of this renewable energy source. Non regenerative adsorption onto activated carbon is the most widely used technology to remove siloxanes from biogas, while new trends point out that biotechnology offers a low-cost and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional technologies. The first objective of this research was to enrich, isolate and identify bacterial species able to grow using siloxane molecules as a sole carbon source: anoxic wastewater sludge was used as initial inoculum in liquid anoxic enrichments, adding D4 (as representative siloxane compound) previously adsorbed on activated carbon. After several months of acclimatization, liquid enrichments were plated onto solid media containing D4 and thirty-four bacterial isolates were obtained. 16S rRNA gene sequencing allowed the identification of strains belonging to the following species: Ciceribacter lividus, Alicycliphilus denitrificans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas citronellolis which are described to be capable to degrade toxic volatile organic compounds. Kinetic assays with 8 representative strains revealed higher cell growth in the presence of D4 compared to the control. Our second objective was to characterize the community composition and diversity of the microbial community present in the enrichments and to elucidate whether the isolated strains were representative members of the community or not. DNA samples were extracted, the 16S rRNA gene was amplified (515F & 806R primer pair), and the microbiome analyzed from sequences obtained with a MiSeq PE250 platform. Results showed that the retrieved isolates only represented a minor fraction of the microorganisms present in the enrichment samples, which were represented by Alpha, Beta, and Gamma proteobacteria as dominant groups in the category class thus suggesting that other microbial species and/or consortia may be important for D4 biodegradation. These results highlight the need of additional protocols for the isolation of relevant D4 degraders. Currently, we are developing molecular tools targeting key genes involved in siloxane biodegradation to identify and quantify the capacity of the isolates to metabolize D4 in batch cultures supplied with a synthetic gas stream of air containing 60 mg m⁻³ of D4 together with other volatile organic compounds found in the biogas mixture (i.e. toluene, hexane and limonene). The isolates were used as inoculum in a biotrickling filter containing lava rocks and activated carbon to assess their capacity for siloxane removal. Preliminary results of biotrickling filter performance showed 35% of siloxane biodegradation in a contact time of 14 minutes, denoting that biological siloxane removal is a promising technology for biogas upgrading.

Keywords: bacterial cultivation, biogas upgrading, microbiome, siloxanes

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Authors: Sherif Fakher

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Hydrogen has been gaining a lot of global attention as an uprising contributor in the energy sector. Labeled as an energy carrier, hydrogen is used in many industries and can be used to generate electricity via fuel cells. Blue hydrogen involves the production of hydrogen from hydrocarbons using different processes that emit CO₂. However, the CO₂ is captured and stored. Hence, very little environmental damage occurs during the hydrogen production process. This research investigates the ability to use different catalysts for the production of hydrogen from different hydrocarbon sources, including coal, oil, and gas, using a two-step Aquathermolysis reaction. The research presents the results of experiments conducted to evaluate different catalysts and also highlights the main advantages of this process over other blue hydrogen production methods, including methane steam reforming, autothermal reforming, and oxidation. Two methods of hydrogen generation were investigated including partial oxidation and aquathermolysis. For those two reactions, the reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, and medium were all investigated. Following this, experiments were conducted to test the hydrogen generation potential from both methods. The porous media tested were sandstone, ash, and prozzolanic material. The spent oils used were spent motor oil and spent vegetable oil from cooking. Experiments were conducted at temperatures up to 250 C and pressures up to 3000 psi. Based on the experimental results, mathematical models were developed to predict the hydrogen generation potential at higher thermodynamic conditions. Since both partial oxidation and aquathermolysis require relatively high temperatures to undergo, it was important to devise a method by which these high temperatures can be generated at a low cost. This was done by investigating two factors, including the porous media used and the reliance on the spent oil. Of all the porous media used, the ash had the highest thermal conductivity. The second step was the partial combustion of part of the spent oil to generate the heat needed to reach the high temperatures. This reduced the cost of the heat generation significantly. For the partial oxidation reaction, the spent oil was burned in the presence of a limited oxygen concentration to generate carbon monoxide. The main drawback of this process was the need for burning. This resulted in the generation of other harmful and environmentally damaging gases. Aquathermolysis does not rely on burning, which makes it the cleaner alternative. However, it needs much higher temperatures to run the reaction. When comparing the hydrogen generation potential for both using gas chromatography, aquathermolysis generated 23% more hydrogen using the same volume of spent oil compared to partial oxidation. This research introduces the concept of using spent oil for hydrogen production. This can be a very promising method to produce a clean source of energy using a waste product. This can also help reduce the reliance on freshwater for hydrogen generation which can divert the usage of freshwater to other more important applications.

Keywords: blue hydrogen production, catalytic aquathermolysis, direct carbon dioxide capture, CCUS

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Authors: Małgorzata Golonka, Jadwiga Laska

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Self-healing polymers are one of the most investigated groups of smart materials. As materials engineering has recently focused on the design, production and research of modern materials and future technologies, researchers are looking for innovations in structural, construction and coating materials. Based on available scientific articles, it can be concluded that most of the research focuses on the self-healing of cement, concrete, asphalt and anticorrosion resin coatings. In our study, a method of obtaining and testing the properties of several types of microcapsules for use in self-healing polymer materials was developed. A method to obtain microcapsules exhibiting various mechanical properties, especially compressive strength was developed. The effect was achieved by using various polymer materials to build the shell: urea-formaldehyde resin (UFR), melamine-formaldehyde resin (MFR), melamine-urea-formaldehyde resin (MUFR). Dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) was used as the core material due to the possibility of its polymerization according to the ring-opening olefin metathesis (ROMP) mechanism in the presence of a solid Grubbs catalyst showing relatively high chemical and thermal stability. The ROMP of dicyclopentadiene leads to a polymer with high impact strength, high thermal resistance, good adhesion to other materials and good chemical and environmental resistance, so it is potentially a very promising candidate for the self-healing of materials. The capsules were obtained by condensation polymerization of formaldehyde with urea, melamine or copolymerization with urea and melamine in situ in water dispersion, with different molar ratios of formaldehyde, urea and melamine. The fineness of the organic phase dispersed in water, and consequently the size of the microcapsules, was regulated by the stirring speed. In all cases, to establish such synthesis conditions as to obtain capsules with appropriate mechanical strength. The microcapsules were characterized by determining the diameters and their distribution and measuring the shell thickness using digital optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, as well as confirming the presence of the active substance in the core by FTIR and SEM. Compression tests were performed to determine mechanical strength of the microcapsules. The highest repeatability of microcapsule properties was obtained for UFR resin, while the MFR resin had the best mechanical properties. The encapsulation efficiency of MFR was much lower compared to UFR, though. Therefore, capsules with a MUFR shell may be the optimal solution. The chemical reaction between the active substance present in the capsule core and the catalyst placed outside the capsules was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. The obtained autonomous repair systems (microcapsules + catalyst) were introduced into polyethylene in the extrusion process and tested for the self-repair of the material.

Keywords: autonomic self-healing system, dicyclopentadiene, melamine-urea-formaldehyde resin, microcapsules, thermoplastic materials

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Authors: Domenico Palladino, Nicolandrea Calabrese, Francesca Caffari, Giulia Centi, Francesca Margiotta, Giovanni Murano, Laura Ronchetti, Paolo Signoretti, Lisa Volpe, Silvia Di Turi

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The aim to achieve a fully decarbonized building stock by 2050 stands as one of the most challenging issues within the spectrum of energy and climate objectives. Numerous strategies are imperative, particularly emphasizing the reduction and optimization of energy demand. Ensuring the high energy performance of buildings emerges as a top priority, with measures aimed at cutting energy consumptions. Concurrently, it is imperative to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by using renewable energy sources for the on-site energy production, thereby striving for an energy balance leading towards zero-emission buildings. Italy's predominant building stock comprises ancient buildings, many of which hold historical significance and are subject to stringent preservation and conservation regulations. Attaining high levels of energy efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions in such buildings poses a considerable challenge, given their unique characteristics and the imperative to adhere to principles of conservation and restoration. Additionally, conducting a meticulous analysis of these buildings' current state is crucial for accurately quantifying their energy performance and predicting the potential impacts of proposed renovation strategies on energy consumption reduction. Within this framework, the paper presents a pilot case in Rome, outlining a methodological approach for the renovation of historic buildings towards achieving Zero Emission Building (ZEB) objective. The building has a mixed function with offices, a conference hall, and an exposition area. The building envelope is made of historical and precious materials used as cladding which must be preserved. A thorough understanding of the building's current condition serves as a prerequisite for analyzing its energy performance. This involves conducting comprehensive archival research, undertaking on-site diagnostic examinations to characterize the building envelope and its systems, and evaluating actual energy usage data derived from energy bills. Energy simulations and audit are the first step in the analysis with the assessment of the energy performance of the actual current state. Subsequently, different renovation scenarios are proposed, encompassing advanced building techniques, to pinpoint the key actions necessary for improving mechanical systems, automation and control systems, and the integration of renewable energy production. These scenarios entail different levels of renovation, ranging from meeting minimum energy performance goals to achieving the highest possible energy efficiency level. The proposed interventions are meticulously analyzed and compared to ascertain the feasibility of attaining the Zero Emission Building objective. In conclusion, the paper provides valuable insights that can be extrapolated to inform a broader approach towards energy-efficient refurbishment of historical buildings that may have limited potential for renovation in their building envelopes. By adopting a methodical and nuanced approach, it is possible to reconcile the imperative of preserving cultural heritage with the pressing need to transition towards a sustainable, low-carbon future.

Keywords: energy conservation and transition, energy efficiency in historical buildings, buildings energy performance, energy retrofitting, zero emission buildings, energy simulation

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Authors: Anirudh Lahiri

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Neuromorphic computing, inspired by the intricate operations of biological neural networks, offers a revolutionary approach to overcoming the limitations of traditional computing architectures. This research proposes the integration of spintronics with neuromorphic systems, aiming to enhance computational performance, scalability, and energy efficiency. Traditional computing systems, based on the Von Neumann architecture, struggle with scalability and efficiency due to the segregation of memory and processing functions. In contrast, the human brain exemplifies high efficiency and adaptability, processing vast amounts of information with minimal energy consumption. This project explores the use of spintronics, which utilizes the electron's spin rather than its charge, to create more energy-efficient computing systems. Spintronic devices, such as magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) manipulated through spin-transfer torque (STT) and spin-orbit torque (SOT), offer a promising pathway to reducing power consumption and enhancing the speed of data processing. The integration of these devices within a neuromorphic framework aims to replicate the efficiency and adaptability of biological systems. The research is structured into three phases: an exhaustive literature review to build a theoretical foundation, laboratory experiments to test and optimize the theoretical models, and iterative refinements based on experimental results to finalize the system. The initial phase focuses on understanding the current state of neuromorphic and spintronic technologies. The second phase involves practical experimentation with spintronic devices and the development of neuromorphic systems that mimic synaptic plasticity and other biological processes. The final phase focuses on refining the systems based on feedback from the testing phase and preparing the findings for publication. The expected contributions of this research are twofold. Firstly, it aims to significantly reduce the energy consumption of computational systems while maintaining or increasing processing speed, addressing a critical need in the field of computing. Secondly, it seeks to enhance the learning capabilities of neuromorphic systems, allowing them to adapt more dynamically to changing environmental inputs, thus better mimicking the human brain's functionality. The integration of spintronics with neuromorphic computing could revolutionize how computational systems are designed, making them more efficient, faster, and more adaptable. This research aligns with the ongoing pursuit of energy-efficient and scalable computing solutions, marking a significant step forward in the field of computational technology.

Keywords: material science, biological engineering, mechanical engineering, neuromorphic computing, spintronics, energy efficiency, computational scalability, synaptic plasticity.

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Authors: Jonathan Nii Laryea Ashong, Samuel Opare

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

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 488

Authors: Ivana Cabarkapa, Zorica Tomicic, Olivera Duragic

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Antimicrobial resistance represents one of the major challenges facing humanity in the last decades. Increasing antibiotic-resistant pathogens indicates the need for the development of alternative antibacterial drugs and new treatment strategies. One of the innovative emerging treatments in overcoming multidrug-resistant pathogens certainly represents the inhibition anti-quorum sensing system. For most of the food-borne pathogens, the expression of the virulence depends on their capability communication with other members of the population by means of quorum sensing (QS). QS represents a specific way of bacterial intercellular communication, which enabled owing to their ability to detect and to respond to cell population density by gene regulation. QS mechanisms are responsible for controls the pathogenesis, virulence luminescence, motility, sporulation and biofilm formation of many organisms by regulating gene expression. Therefore, research in this field is being an attractive target for the development of new natural antibacterial agents. Anti-QS compounds are known to have the ability to prohibit bacterial pathogenicity. Considering the importance of quorum sensing during bacterial pathogenesis, this research has been focused on evaluation anti - QS properties of four essential oils (EOs) Origanum heracleoticum, Origanum vulgare, Thymus vulgare, and Thymus serpyllum, using biomonitor strain of Chromobacterium violaceum CV026. Tests conducted on Luria Bertani agar supplemented with N hexanol DL homoserine lacton (HHL) 10µl/50ml of agar. The anti-QS potential of the EOs was assayed in a range of concentrations of 200 – 0.39 µl/ml using the disc diffusion method. EOs of Th. vulgaris and T. serpyllum were exhibited anti-QS activity indicated by a non- pigmented ring with a dilution-dependent manner. The lowest dilution of EOs T. vulgaris and T. serpyllum in which they exhibited visually detectable inhibition of violacein synthesis was 6.25 µl/ml for both tested EOs. EOs of O. heracleoticum and O. vulgare were displayed different active principles, i.e., antimicrobial activity indicated by the inner clear ring and anti-QS activity indicated by the outer non-pigmented ring, in a concentration-dependent manner. The lowest dilution of EOs of O. heracleoticum and O. vulgare in which exhibited visually detectable inhibition of violacein synthesis was 1.56 and 3.25 µl/ml, respectively. Considering that, the main constituents of the tested EOs represented by monoterpenes (carvacrol, thymol, γ-terpinene, and p-cymene), anti - QS properties of tested EOs can be mainly attributed to their activity. In particular, from the scientific literature, carvacrol and thymol show a sub-inhibitory effect against foodborne pathogens. Previous studies indicated that sub-lethal concentrations of carvacrol reduced the mobility of bacteria due to the ability of interference using QS mechanism between the bacterial cells, and thereby reducing the ability of biofilm formation The precise mechanism by which carvacrol inhibits biofilm formation is still not fully understood. Our results indicated that EOs displayed different active principles, i.e., antimicrobial activity indicated by the inner clear ring and anti-QS activity indicated by an outer non- pigmented ring with visually detectable inhibition of violacein. Preliminary results suggest that EOs represent a promising alternative for effective control of the emergence and spread of resistant pathogens.

Keywords: anti-quorum sensing activity, Chromobacterium violaceum, essential oils, violacein

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Authors: Prateek Goyal, Archini Paruthi, Superb K. Misra

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Contamination of water resources has been a major concern, which has drawn attention to the need to develop new material models for treatment of effluents. Existing conventional waste water treatment methods remain ineffective sometimes and uneconomical in terms of remediating contaminants like heavy metal ions (mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium and chromium); organic matter (dyes, chlorinated solvents) and high salt concentration, which makes water unfit for consumption. We believe that nanotechnology based strategy, where we use nanoparticles as a tool to remediate a class of pollutants would prove to be effective due to its property of high surface area to volume ratio, higher selectivity, sensitivity and affinity. In recent years, scientific advancement has been made to study the application of photocatalytic (ZnO, TiO2 etc.) nanomaterials and magnetic nanomaterials in remediating contaminants (like heavy metals and organic dyes) from water/wastewater. Our study focuses on the synthesis and monitoring remediation efficiency of ZnO, Fe3O4 and Fe3O4 coated ZnO nanoparticulate system for the removal of heavy metals and dyes simultaneously. Multitude of ZnO nanostructures (spheres, rods and flowers) using multiple routes (microwave & hydrothermal approach) offers a wide range of light active photo catalytic property. The phase purity, morphology, size distribution, zeta potential, surface area and porosity in addition to the magnetic susceptibility of the particles were characterized by XRD, TEM, CPS, DLS, BET and VSM measurements respectively. Further on, the introduction of crystalline defects into ZnO nanostructures can also assist in light activation for improved dye degradation. Band gap of a material and its absorbance is a concrete indicator for photocatalytic activity of the material. Due to high surface area, high porosity and affinity towards metal ions and availability of active surface sites, iron oxide nanoparticles show promising application in adsorption of heavy metal ions. An additional advantage of having magnetic based nanocomposite is, it offers magnetic field responsive separation and recovery of the catalyst. Therefore, we believe that ZnO linked Fe3O4 nanosystem would be efficient and reusable. Improved photocatalytic efficiency in addition to adsorption for environmental remediation has been a long standing challenge, and the nano-composite system offers the best of features which the two individual metal oxides provide for nanoremediation.

Keywords: adsorption, nanocomposite, nanoremediation, photocatalysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 227

Authors: Alaa G. M. Osman, Abd-El –Baset M. Abd El Reheem, Khaled Y. Abouelfadl, Usama M. Mahmoud, Mohsen A. Moustafa

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This study aimed to explore new sites of biomarker research and to establish the use of blood parameters in wild fish populations. Four hundred and twenty fish samples were collected from six sites along the whole course of the river Nile, Egypt. The mean values of erythrocytes, thrombocytes, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit value, and mean corpuscular volume were significantly lower in the blood of Nile tilapia and African catfish collected from downstream (contaminated) compared to upstream sites. In contrast, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration in the peripheral blood of both fish species significantly increased from upstream to downstream river Nile. The leukocytes count was significantly decreased in contaminated sites compared to upstream area. Hematological variables in the peripheral blood of Oreochromis niloticus niloticus and Clarias gariepinus exhibited significant (p<0.05) correlation with nearly all the detected chemical and physical parameters along the Nile course. In the present study, lower cellular and nuclear areas and cellular and nuclear shape factor were recorded in the erythrocytes of fish collected from downstream compared to those caught from upstream sites. This was confirmed by higher immature ratios of red cells in the blood of fish sampled from downstream river Nile. Karyorrhetic and enucleated erythrocytes were significantly correlated with physiochemical parameters in water samples collected from the same sites is being higher in the blood of fish collected from downstream sites. To see if there was any correlation between fish altered physiological fitness and environmental stress, we measured serum biochemical variables namely; total protein, cholesterol, triglycerides, calcium, chlorides, alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), uric acid activity, creatinine, and serum glucose. The level of all the selected biochemical variables in the blood of O. niloticus niloticus and C. gariepinus were recorded to be significantly higher (p<0.05) in downstream sites. According to the present results, nearly all the detected haematological and blood biochemical variables are suitable indicators of contaminant exposure in O. niloticus niloticus and C. gariepinus. Also the detected erythrocytes malformations in blood collected from Nile tilapia and African catfish were proven to be suitable for bio-monitoring aquatic pollution. The results revealed species-specific differences in sensitivities, suggesting that Nile tilapia may serve as a more sensitive test species compared to African catfish.

Keywords: biomarkers, water pollution, blood parameters, river nile, african catfish, nile tilapia

Procedia PDF Downloads 277

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

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

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: Winnie Kung, Xinhua Liu, Debbie Huang, Patricia Kim, Keon Kim, Xiaoran Wang, Lawrence Yang

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Considerable Asian Americans were exposed to the World Trade Center attack due to the proximity of the site to Chinatown and a sizeable number of South Asians working in the collapsed and damaged buildings nearby. Few studies focused on Asians in examining the disaster’s mental health impact, and even less longitudinal studies were reported beyond the first couple of years after the event. Based on the World Trade Center Health Registry, this study examined the trajectory of PTSD of individuals directly exposed to the attack from 2-3 to 5-6 years after the attack, comparing Asians against the non-Hispanic White group. Participants included 2,431 Asians and 31,455 Whites. Trajectories were delineated into the resilient, chronic, delayed-onset and remitted groups using PTSD checklist cut-off score at 44 at the 2 waves. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare the poorer trajectories against the resilient as a reference group, using predictors of baseline sociodemographic, exposure to the disaster, lower respiratory symptoms and previous depression/anxiety disorder diagnosis, and recruitment source as the control variable. Asians had significant lower socioeconomic status in terms of income, education and employment status compared to Whites. Over 3/4 of participants from both races were resilient, though slightly less for Asians than Whites (76.5% vs 79.8%). Asians had a higher proportion with chronic PTSD (8.6% vs 7.4%) and remission (5.9% vs 3.4%) than Whites. A considerable proportion of participants had delayed-onset in both races (9.1% Asians vs 9.4% Whites). The distribution of trajectories differed significantly by race (p<0.0001) with Asians faring poorer. For Asians, in the chronic vs resilient group, significant protective factors included age >65, annual household income >$50,000, and never married vs married/cohabiting; risk factors were direct disaster exposure, job loss due to 9/11, lost someone, and tangible loss; lower respiratory symptoms and previous mental disorder diagnoses. Similar protective and risk factors were noted for the delayed-onset group, except education being protective; and being an immigrant a risk. Between the 2 comparisons, the chronic group was more vulnerable than the delayed-onset as expected. It should also be noted that in both comparisons, Asians’ current employment status had no significant impact on their PTSD trajectory. Comparing between Asians against Whites, the direction of the relationships between the predictors and the PTSD trajectories were mostly the same, although more factors were significant for Whites than for Asians. A few factors showed significant racial difference: Higher risk for lower respiratory symptoms for Whites than Asians, higher risk for pre-9/11 mental disorder diagnosis for Asians than Whites, and immigrant a risk factor for the remitted vs resilient groups for Whites but not for Asians. Over 17% Asians still suffered from PTSD 5-6 years after the WTC attack signified its persistent impact which incurred substantial human, social and economic costs. The more disadvantaged socioeconomic status of Asians rendered them more vulnerable in their mental health trajectories relative to Whites. Together with their well-documented low tendency to seek mental health help, outreach effort to this population is needed to ensure follow-up treatment and prevention.

Keywords: PTSD, Asian Americans, World Trade Center Attack, racial differences

Procedia PDF Downloads 244

Authors: Melese Wondatir

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Flooding ranks among the most destructive natural disasters, impacting millions of individuals globally and resulting in substantial economic, social, and environmental repercussions. This study's objective was to create a comprehensive model that assesses the Nile River basin's susceptibility to flood damage and improves existing flood risk management strategies. Authorities responsible for enacting policies and implementing measures may benefit from this research to acquire essential information about the flood, including its scope and susceptible areas. The identification of severe flood damage locations and efficient mitigation techniques were made possible by the use of geospatial data. Slope, elevation, distance from the river, drainage density, topographic witness index, rainfall intensity, distance from road, NDVI, soil type, and land use type were all used throughout the study to determine the vulnerability of flood damage. Ranking elements according to their significance in predicting flood damage risk was done using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and geospatial approaches. The analysis finds that the most important parameters determining the region's vulnerability are distance from the river, topographic witness index, rainfall, and elevation, respectively. The consistency ratio (CR) value obtained in this case is 0.000866 (<0.1), which signifies the acceptance of the derived weights. Furthermore, 10.84m2, 83331.14m2, 476987.15m2, 24247.29m2, and 15.83m2 of the region show varying degrees of vulnerability to flooding—very low, low, medium, high, and very high, respectively. Due to their close proximity to the river, the northern-western regions of the Nile River basin—especially those that are close to Sudanese cities like Khartoum—are more vulnerable to flood damage, according to the research findings. Furthermore, the AUC ROC curve demonstrates that the categorized vulnerability map achieves an accuracy rate of 91.0% based on 117 sample points. By putting into practice strategies to address the topographic witness index, rainfall patterns, elevation fluctuations, and distance from the river, vulnerable settlements in the area can be protected, and the impact of future flood occurrences can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, the research findings highlight the urgent requirement for infrastructure development and effective flood management strategies in the northern and western regions of the Nile River basin, particularly in proximity to major towns such as Khartoum. Overall, the study recommends prioritizing high-risk locations and developing a complete flood risk management plan based on the vulnerability map.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, Blue Nile Basin, geospatial techniques, flood vulnerability, multi-criteria decision making

Procedia PDF Downloads 50

Authors: Omar Romero-Hernandez, Federico Castillo, Armando Sanchez, Sergio Romero, Andrea Romero, Michael Mitchell

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Environmental policies for resource conservation in rural areas include subsidies on services and social programs to cover living expenses. Government's expectation is that rural communities who benefit from social programs, such as payment for ecosystem services, are provided with an incentive to conserve natural resources and preserve natural sinks for greenhouse gases. At the same time, global climate change has affected the lives of people worldwide. The capability to adapt to global warming depends on the available resources and the standard of living, putting rural communities at a disadvantage. This paper explores whether rural entrepreneurship can represent a solution to resource conservation and global warming adaptation in rural communities. The research focuses on a sample of two coffee communities in Oaxaca, Mexico. Researchers used geospatial information contained in aerial photographs of the geographical areas of interest. Households were identified in the photos via the roofs of households and georeferenced via coordinates. From the household population, a random selection of roofs was performed and received a visit. A total of 112 surveys were completed, including questions of socio-demographics, perception to climate change and adaptation activities. The population includes two groups of study: entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. Data was sorted, filtered, and validated. Analysis includes descriptive statistics for exploratory purposes and a multi-regression analysis. Outcomes from the surveys indicate that coffee farmers, who demonstrate entrepreneurship skills and hire employees, are more eager to adapt to climate change despite the extreme adverse socioeconomic conditions of the region. We show that farmers with entrepreneurial tendencies are more creative in using innovative farm practices such as the planting of shade trees, the use of live fencing, instead of wires, and watershed protection techniques, among others. This result counters the notion that small farmers are at the mercy of climate change and have no possibility of being able to adapt to a changing climate. The study also points to roadblocks that farmers face when coping with climate change. Among those roadblocks are a lack of extension services, access to credit, and reliable internet, all of which reduces access to vital information needed in today’s constantly changing world. Results indicate that, under some circumstances, funding and supporting entrepreneurship programs may provide more benefit than traditional social programs.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, global warming, rural communities, climate change adaptation

Procedia PDF Downloads 218

Authors: Dipankar Saha, J. P. Singh, C. B. Pandey

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Indian Thar desert being the seventh largest in the world is the main hot sand desert occupies nearly 385,000km2 and about 9% of the area of the country harbours several species likely the flora of 682 species (63 introduced species) belonging to 352 genera and 87 families. The degree of endemism of plant species in the Thar desert is 6.4 percent, which is relatively higher than the degree of endemism in the Sahara desert which is very significant for the conservationist to envisage. The advent and development of computer technology for digitization and data base management coupled with the rapidly increasing importance of biodiversity conservation resulted in the invention of biodiversity informatics as discipline of basic sciences with multiple applications. Aichi Target 19 as an outcome of Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) specifically mandates the development of an advanced and shared biodiversity knowledge base. Information on species distributions in space is the crux of effective management of biodiversity in the rapidly changing world. The efficiency of biodiversity management is being increased rapidly by various stakeholders like researchers, policymakers, and funding agencies with the knowledge and application of biodiversity informatics. Herbarium specimens being a vital repository for biodiversity conservation especially in climate change scenario the digitization process usually aims to improve access and to preserve delicate specimens and in doing so creating large sets of images as a part of the existing repository as arid plant information facility for long-term future usage. As the leaf characters are important for describing taxa and distinguishing between them and they can be measured from herbarium specimens as well. As a part of this activity, laminar characterization (leaves being the most important characters in assessing climate change impact) initially resulted in classification of more than thousands collections belonging to ten families like Acanthaceae, Aizoaceae, Amaranthaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Anacardeaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Aristolochiaceae, Berseraceae and Bignoniaceae etc. Taxonomic diversity indices has also been worked out being one of the important domain of biodiversity informatics approaches. The digitization process also encompasses workflows which incorporate automated systems to enable us to expand and speed up the digitisation process. The digitisation workflows used to be on a modular system which has the potential to be scaled up. As they are being developed with a geo-referencing tool and additional quality control elements and finally placing specimen images and data into a fully searchable, web-accessible database. Our effort in this paper is to elucidate the role of BIs, present effort of database development of the existing botanical collection of institute repository. This effort is expected to be considered as a part of various global initiatives having an effective biodiversity information facility. This will enable access to plant biodiversity data that are fit-for-use by scientists and decision makers working on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in the region and iso-climatic situation of the world.

Keywords: biodiversity informatics, climate change, digitization, herbarium, laminar characters, web accessible interface

Procedia PDF Downloads 207

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

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

Keywords: activation, appearance, color, manufacturing

Procedia PDF Downloads 264

Authors: Inbal Zuriely, Yonit Weiss, Hilla Zaharoni, Hadas Lewkowicz, Tatiana Vander, Tarif Bader

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early active movement, along with adjusting optimal nutrition, prevents aggravation of muscle degeneracy and functional decline. Eating is a basic activity of daily life, which reflects the patient's independence. When eating and feeding are experienced successfully, they lead to a sense of pleasure and satisfaction. However, when they are experienced as a difficulty, they might evoke feelings of helplessness and frustration. This stresses the essential process of gradual weaning off the enteral feeding tube. the work describes the collaboration of a dietitian, determining the nutritional needs of patients undergoing enteral tube weaning as part of the rehabilitation process, with the suited treatment of an occupational therapist. Occupational therapy intervention regarding eating capabilities focuses on improving the required motor and cognitive components, along with environmental adjustments and aids, imparting eating strategies and training to patients and their families. The project was conducted in the long-term, ventilated patients’ department at the Herzfeld Rehabilitation Geriatric Medical Center on patients undergoing enteral tube weaning with the staff’s assistance. Establishing continuous collaboration between the dietician and the occupational therapist, starting from the beginning of the feeding-tube weaning process: 1.The dietician updates the occupational therapist about the start of the process and the approved diet. 2.The occupational therapist performs cognitive, motor, and functional assessments and treatments regarding the patient’s eating capabilities and recommends the required adjustments for independent eating according to the FIM (Functional Independence Measure) scale. 3.The occupational therapist closely follows up on the patient’s degree of independence in eating and provides a repeated update to the dietician. 4.The dietician accordingly guides the ward staff on whether and how to feed the patient or allow independent eating. The project aimed to promote patients toward independent feeding, which leads to a sense of empowerment, enjoyment of the eating experience, and progress of functional ability, along with performing active movements that will motivate mobilization. From the beginning of 2022, 26 patients participated in the project. 79% of all patients who started the weaning process from tube feeding achieved different levels of independence in feeding (independence levels ranged from supervision (FIM-5) to complete independence (FIM-7). The integration of occupational therapy and dietary treatment is based on a patient-centered approach while considering the patient’s personal needs, preferences, and goals. This interdisciplinary partnership is essential for meeting the complex needs of prolonged mechanically ventilated patients and promotes independent functioning and quality of life.

Keywords: dietary, mechanical ventilation, occupational therapy, tube feeding weaning

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: Yanxue Shang, Jingbin Zeng

Abstract:

Chlorobenzene homologues (CBHs) are a category of environmental pollutants that can not be ignored. They can stay in the environment for a long period and are potentially carcinogenic. The traditional degradation method of CBHs is dechlorination followed by sample preparation and analysis. This is not only time-consuming and laborious, but the detection and analysis processes are used in conjunction with large-scale instruments. Therefore, this can not achieve rapid and low-cost detection. Compared with traditional sensing methods, colorimetric sensing is simpler and more convenient. In recent years, chromaticity sensors based on fluorescence have attracted more and more attention. Compared with sensing methods based on changes in fluorescence intensity, changes in color gradients are easier to recognize by the naked eye. Accordingly, this work proposes to use single drop microextraction (SDME) technology to solve the above problems. After the dechlorination reaction was completed, the organic droplet extracts Cl⁻ and realizes fluorescence colorimetric sensing at the same time. This method was integrated sample processing and visual in-situ detection, simplifying the detection process. As a fluorescence colorimetric sensor material, CsPbBr₃ was encapsulated in MOF-5 to construct CsPbBr₃@MOF-5 fluorescence colorimetric composite. Then the fluorescence colorimetric sensor was constructed by dispersing the composite in SDME organic droplets. When the Br⁻ in CsPbBr₃ exchanges with Cl⁻ produced by the dechlorination reactions, it is converted into CsPbCl₃. The fluorescence color of the single droplet of SDME will change from green to blue emission, thereby realizing visual observation. Therein, SDME can enhance the concentration and enrichment of Cl⁻ and instead of sample pretreatment. The fluorescence color change of CsPbBr₃@MOF-5 can replace the detection process of large-scale instruments to achieve real-time rapid detection. Due to the absorption ability of MOF-5, it can not only improve the stability of CsPbBr₃, but induce the adsorption of Cl⁻. Simultaneously, accelerate the exchange of Br- and Cl⁻ in CsPbBr₃ and the detection process of Cl⁻. The absorption process was verified by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This method exhibits exceptional linearity for Cl⁻ in the range of 10⁻² - 10⁻⁶ M (10000 μM - 1 μM) with a limit of detection of 10⁻⁷ M. Whereafter, the dechlorination reactions of different kinds of CBHs were also carried out with this method, and all had satisfactory detection ability. Also verified the accuracy by gas chromatography (GC), and it was found that the SDME we developed in this work had high credibility. In summary, the in-situ visualization method of dechlorination reaction detection was a combination of sample processing and fluorescence colorimetric sensing. Thus, the strategy researched herein represents a promising method for the visual detection of dechlorination reactions and can be extended for applications in environments, chemical industries, and foods.

Keywords: chlorobenzene homologues, colorimetric sensor, metal halide perovskite, metal-organic frameworks, single drop microextraction

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Authors: Gautier Girard, Marion Martiny, Sebastien Mercier, Mohamad Jrad, Mohamed-Slim Bahi, Laurent Bodin, Francois Lechleiter, David Nevo, Sophie Dareys

Abstract:

Reliability of electronic devices has always been of highest interest for Aero-MIL and space applications. In any electronic device, Printed Circuit Board (PCB), providing interconnection between components, is a key for reliability. During the last decades, PCB technologies evolved to sustain and/or fulfill increased original equipment manufacturers requirements and specifications, higher densities and better performances, faster time to market and longer lifetime, newer material and mixed buildups. From the very beginning of the PCB industry up to recently, qualification, experiments and trials, and errors were the most popular methods to assess system (PCB) reliability. Nowadays OEM, PCB manufacturers and scientists are working together in a close relationship in order to develop predictive models for PCB reliability and lifetime. To achieve that goal, it is fundamental to characterize precisely base materials (laminates, electrolytic copper, …), in order to understand failure mechanisms and simulate PCB aging under environmental constraints by means of finite element method for example. The laminates are woven composites and have thus an orthotropic behaviour. The in-plane properties can be measured by combining classical uniaxial testing and digital image correlation. Nevertheless, the out-of-plane properties cannot be evaluated due to the thickness of the laminate (a few hundred of microns). It has to be noted that the knowledge of the out-of-plane properties is fundamental to investigate the lifetime of high density printed circuit boards. A homogenization method combining analytical and numerical approaches has been developed in order to obtain the complete elastic orthotropic behaviour of a woven composite from its precise 3D internal structure and its experimentally measured in-plane elastic properties. Since the mechanical properties of the resin surrounding the fibres are unknown, an inverse method is proposed to estimate it. The methodology has been applied to one laminate used in hyperfrequency spatial applications in order to get its elastic orthotropic behaviour at different temperatures in the range [-55°C; +125°C]. Next; numerical simulations of a plated through hole in a double sided PCB are performed. Results show the major importance of the out-of-plane properties and the temperature dependency of these properties on the lifetime of a printed circuit board. Acknowledgements—The support of the French ANR agency through the Labcom program ANR-14-LAB7-0003-01, support of CNES, Thales Alenia Space and Cimulec is acknowledged.

Keywords: homogenization, orthotropic behaviour, printed circuit board, woven composites

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Eman Ghoneim, Amr S. Fahil

Abstract:

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

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: Supria Sarkar, Vasit Sagan, Sourav Bhadra, Meghnath Pokharel, Felix B.Fritschi

Abstract:

Soybean and their derivatives are very important agricultural commodities around the world because of their wide applicability in human food, animal feed, biofuel, and industries. However, the significance of soybean production depends on the quality of the soybean seeds rather than the yield alone. Seed composition is widely dependent on plant physiological properties, aerobic and anaerobic environmental conditions, nutrient content, and plant phenological characteristics, which can be captured by high temporal resolution remote sensing datasets. Planet scope (PS) satellite images have high potential in sequential information of crop growth due to their frequent revisit throughout the world. In this study, we estimate soybean seed composition while the plants are in the field by utilizing PlanetScope (PS) satellite images and different machine learning algorithms. Several experimental fields were established with varying genotypes and different seed compositions were measured from the samples as ground truth data. The PS images were processed to extract 462 hand-crafted vegetative and textural features. Four machine learning algorithms, i.e., partial least squares (PLSR), random forest (RFR), gradient boosting machine (GBM), support vector machine (SVM), and two recurrent neural network architectures, i.e., long short-term memory (LSTM) and gated recurrent unit (GRU) were used in this study to predict oil, protein, sucrose, ash, starch, and fiber of soybean seed samples. The GRU and LSTM architectures had two separate branches, one for vegetative features and the other for textures features, which were later concatenated together to predict seed composition. The results show that sucrose, ash, protein, and oil yielded comparable prediction results. Machine learning algorithms that best predicted the six seed composition traits differed. GRU worked well for oil (R-Squared: of 0.53) and protein (R-Squared: 0.36), whereas SVR and PLSR showed the best result for sucrose (R-Squared: 0.74) and ash (R-Squared: 0.60), respectively. Although, the RFR and GBM provided comparable performance, the models tended to extremely overfit. Among the features, vegetative features were found as the most important variables compared to texture features. It is suggested to utilize many vegetation indices for machine learning training and select the best ones by using feature selection methods. Overall, the study reveals the feasibility and efficiency of PS images and machine learning for plot-level seed composition estimation. However, special care should be given while designing the plot size in the experiments to avoid mixed pixel issues.

Keywords: agriculture, computer vision, data science, geospatial technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Yevheniia Varyvoda, Douglas Taren

Abstract:

At the aggregate level, climate variability, the rising number of active violent conflicts, globalization and industrialization of agriculture, the loss in diversity of crop species, the increase in demand for agricultural production, and the adoption of healthy and sustainable dietary patterns are exacerbating factors of food system destabilization. The importance of pseudocereals to fuel and sustain resilient food systems is recognized by leading organizations working to end hunger, particularly for their critical capability to diversify livelihood portfolios and provide plant-sourced healthy nutrition in the face of systemic shocks and stresses. Amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa are the most promising and used pseudocereals for ensuring food system resilience in the reality of climate change due to their high nutritional profile, good digestibility, palatability, medicinal value, abiotic stress tolerance, pest and disease resistance, rapid growth rate, adaptability to marginal and degraded lands, high genetic variability, low input requirements, and income generation capacity. The study provides the rationale and examples of advancing local and regional food systems' resilience by scaling up the utilization of amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa along all components of food systems to architect indirect nutrition interventions and climate-smart approaches. Thus, this study aims to explore the drivers for ancient pseudocereal utilization, the potential resilience benefits that can be derived from using them, and the challenges and opportunities for pseudocereal utilization within the food system components. The PSALSAR framework regarding the method for conducting systematic review and meta-analysis for environmental science research was used to answer these research questions. Nevertheless, the utilization of pseudocereals has been slow for a number of reasons, namely the increased production of commercial and major staples such as maize, rice, wheat, soybean, and potato, the displacement due to pressure from imported crops, lack of knowledge about value-adding practices in food supply chain, limited technical knowledge and awareness about nutritional and health benefits, absence of marketing channels and limited access to extension services and information about resilient crops. The success of climate-resilient pathways based on pseudocereal utilization underlines the importance of co-designed activities that use modern technologies, high-value traditional knowledge of underutilized crops, and a strong acknowledgment of cultural norms to increase community-level economic and food system resilience.

Keywords: resilience, pseudocereals, food system, climate change

Procedia PDF Downloads 61