Search results for: crop and property damage

Authors: Sumara Khursheed, Jitendra Sharma

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The present work reports synthesis of nanocomposites (NCs) of phosphor (KCaVO4:Sm3+) embedded poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) using solution casting method and their optical properties measurements for their possible application in making flexible luminescent films. X-ray diffraction analyses were employed to obtain the structural parameters as crystallinity, shape and size of the obtained NCs. The emission and excitation spectra were obtained using Photoluminescence spectroscopy to quantify the spectral properties of these fluorescent polymer/phosphor films. Optical energy gap has been estimated using UV-VIS spectroscopy while differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was exploited to measure the thermal properties of the NC films in terms of their thermal stability, glass transition temperature and degree of crystallinity etc.

Keywords: nanocomposites, luminescence, XRD, differential scanning calorimetry, PMMA

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Authors: B. Sellami, M. Belloufi

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Conjugate gradient methods are an important class of methods for unconstrained optimization, especially for large-scale problems. Recently, they have been much studied. In this paper, we propose a new two-parameter family of conjugate gradient methods for unconstrained optimization. The two-parameter family of methods not only includes the already existing three practical nonlinear conjugate gradient methods, but also has other family of conjugate gradient methods as subfamily. The two-parameter family of methods with the Wolfe line search is shown to ensure the descent property of each search direction. Some general convergence results are also established for the two-parameter family of methods. The numerical results show that this method is efficient for the given test problems. In addition, the methods related to this family are uniformly discussed.

Keywords: unconstrained optimization, conjugate gradient method, line search, global convergence

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Authors: Barakat Adebisi Raji

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In the workplace, Artificial Intelligence has, in recent years, emerged as a transformative technology that revolutionizes how organizations operate and perform tasks. It is a technology that has a significant impact on transportation, manufacturing, education, cyber security, robotics, agriculture, healthcare, and so many other organizations. By harnessing AI technology, workplaces can enhance productivity, streamline processes, and make more informed decisions. Given the potential of AI to change the way we work and its impact on the labor market in years to come, employers understand that it entails legal challenges and risks despite the advantages inherent in it. Therefore, as AI continues to integrate into various aspects of the workplace, understanding the legal and ethical implications becomes paramount. Also central to this study is the question of who is held liable where AI makes any defaults; the person (company) who created the AI, the person who programmed the AI algorithm or the person who uses the AI? Thus, the aim of this paper is to provide a detailed overview of how AI-related liabilities are addressed under each legal tradition and shed light on potential areas of accord and divergence between the two legal cultures. The objectives of this paper are to (i) examine the ability of Common law and Islamic law to accommodate the issues and damage caused by AI in the workplace and the legality of compensation for such injury sustained; (ii) to discuss the extent to which AI can be described as a legal personality to bear responsibility: (iii) examine the similarities and disparities between Common Law and Islamic Jurisprudence on the liability of AI in the workplace. The methodology adopted in this work was qualitative, and the method was purely a doctrinal research method where information is gathered from the primary and secondary sources of law, such as comprehensive materials found in journal articles, expert-authored books and online news sources. Comparative legal method was also used to juxtapose the approach of Islam and Common Law. The paper concludes that since AI, in its current legal state, is not recognized as a legal entity, operators or manufacturers of AI should be held liable for any damage that arises, and the determination of who bears the responsibility should be dependent on the circumstances surrounding each scenario. The study recommends the granting of legal personality to AI systems, the establishment of legal rights and liabilities for AI, the establishment of a holistic Islamic virtue-based AI ethics framework, and the consideration of Islamic ethics.

Keywords: AI, health- care, agriculture, cyber security, common law, Shari'ah

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Authors: Ieva Bruzauskaite, Jovile Raudoniute, Karina Poliakovaite, Danguole Zabulyte, Daiva Bironaite, Ruta Aldonyte

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Introduction: Air pollution is a growing global problem which has been shown to be responsible for various adverse health outcomes. Immunotoxicity, such as dysregulated inflammation, has been proposed as one of the main mechanisms in air pollution-associated diseases. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is among major morbidity and mortality causes worldwide and is characterized by persistent airflow limitation caused by the small airways disease (obstructive bronchiolitis) and irreversible parenchymal destruction (emphysema). Exact pathways explaining the air pollution induced and mediated disease states are still not clear. However, modern societies understand dangers of polluted air, seek to mitigate such effects and are in need for reliable biomarkers of air pollution. We hypothesise that post-translational modifications of structural proteins, e.g. citrullination, might be a good candidate biomarker. Thus, we have designed this study, where mice were exposed to diesel exhaust and the ongoing protein modifications and inflammation in lungs and other tissues were assessed. Materials And Methods: To assess the effects of diesel exhaust a in vivo study was designed. Mice (n=10) were subjected to everyday 2-hour exposure to diesel exhaust for 14 days. Control mice were treated the same way without diesel exhaust. The effects within lung and other tissues were assessed by immunohistochemistry of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues. Levels of inflammation and citrullination related markers were investigated. Levels of parenchymal damage were also measured. Results: In vivo study corroborates our own data from in vitro and reveals diesel exhaust initiated inflammatory shift and modulation of lung peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 (PAD4), citrullination associated enzyme, levels. In addition, high levels of citrulline were observed in exposed lung tissue sections co-localising with increased parenchymal destruction. Conclusions: Subacute exposure to diesel exhaust renders mice lungs inflammatory and modifies certain structural proteins. Such structural changes of proteins may pave a pathways to lost/gain function of affected molecules and also propagate autoimmune processes within the lung and systemically.

Keywords: air pollution, citrullination, in vivo, lungs

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Authors: Manan Aslam, Shafqat Rasool

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This paper attempts to examine impact of major factors affecting marketed surplus of seed cotton in district Khanewal (Punjab) using primary source of data. A representative sample of 40 cotton farmers was selected using stratified random sampling technique. The impact of major factors on marketed surplus of seed cotton growers was estimated by employing double log form of regression analysis. The value of adjusted R2 was 0.64 whereas the F-value was 10.81. The findings of analysis revealed that experience of farmers, education of farmers, area under cotton crop and distance from wholesale market were the significant variables affecting marketed surplus of cotton whereas the variables (marketing cost and sale price) showed insignificant impact. The study suggests improving prevalent marketing practices to increase volume of marketed surplus of cotton in district Khanewal.

Keywords: seed cotton, marketed surplus, double log regression analysis

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Authors: Daniel Osorio, Andreas Klenk, Stefan Weihe, Andreas Kopp, Frank Rödiger

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Future power plants currently face high design requirements due to worsening climate change and environmental restrictions, which demand high operational flexibility, superior thermal performance, minimal emissions, and higher cyclic capability. The aim of the paper is, therefore, to investigate the creep and thermo-mechanical material behavior of improved materials experimentally and welded joints at component scale under near-to-service operating conditions, which are promising for application in highly efficient and flexible future power plants. These materials promise an increase in flexibility and a reduction in manufacturing costs by providing enhanced creep strength and, therefore, the possibility for wall thickness reduction. At the temperature range between 550°C and 625°C, the investigation focuses on the in-phase thermo-mechanical fatigue behavior of dissimilar welded joints of conventional materials (ferritic and martensitic material T24 and T92) to nickel-based alloys (A617B and HR6W) by means of membrane test panels. The temperature and external load are varied in phase during the test, while the internal pressure remains constant. At the temperature range between 650°C and 750°C, it focuses on the creep behavior under multiaxial stress loading of similar and dissimilar welded joints of high temperature resistant nickel-based alloys (A740H, A617B, and HR6W) by means of a thick-walled-component test. In this case, the temperature, the external axial load, and the internal pressure remain constant during testing. Numerical simulations are used for the estimation of the axial component load in order to induce a meaningful damage evolution without causing a total component failure. Metallographic investigations after testing will provide support for understanding the damage mechanism and the influence of the thermo-mechanical load and multiaxiality on the microstructure change and on the creep and TMF- strength.

Keywords: creep, creep-fatigue, component behaviour, weld joints, high temperature material behaviour, nickel-alloys, high temperature resistant steels

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Authors: Wirot Likittrakulwong, Pisit Poolprasert, Tossaporn Incharoen

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Germinated paddy rice (GPR) has the potential to be used as a feed ingredient. However, their properties have not been fully investigated. This paper examined the nutrient digestibility and the relationship to immune activity in Roman hens fed with GPR. It was found that true and apparent metabolizable energy (ME) values of GPR were 3.20 and 3.28 kcal/g air dry, respectively. GPR exhibited high content of phytonutrients, especially GABA. GPR showed similar protein profiles in comparison to non-germinated paddy rice. For immune activity, the feed with GPR enhanced the immune activity of Roman hens under high stocking density stress as evidenced by the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and lysozyme activity. In this study, GPR is proved to be a good source of functional ingredient for chicken feed.

Keywords: germinated paddy rice, nutrient digestibility, immune activity, functional property

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Authors: R. K. Purohit

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Ionizing radiation induces cellular damage through direct ionization of DNA and other cellular targets and indirectly via reactive oxygen species which may include effects from epigenetic changes. So there is a need of hour is to search for an ideal radioprotector which could minimize the deleterious and damaging effects caused by ionizing radiation. Radioprotectors are agents which reduce the radiation effects on cell when applied prior to exposure of radiation. The aim of this study was to access the efficacy of Emblica officinalis in reducing radiation and lead induced changes in mice liver. For the present experiment, healthy male Swiss albino mice (6-8 weeks) were selected and maintained under standard conditions of temperature and light. Fruit extract of Emblica was fed orally at the dose of 0.01 ml/animal/day. The animal were divided into seven groups according to the treatment i.e. lead acetate solution as drinking water (group-II) or exposed to 3.5 or 7.0 Gy gamma radiation (group-III) or combined treatment of radiation and lead acetate (group-IV). The animals of experimental groups were administered Emblica extract seven days prior to radiation or lead acetate treatment (group V, VI and VII) respectively. The animals from all the groups were sacrificed by cervical dislocation at each post-treatment intervals of 1, 2, 4, 7, 14 and 28 days. After sacrificing the animals pieces of liver were taken out and some of them were kept at -20°C for different biochemical parameters. The histopathological changes included cytoplasmic degranulation, vacuolation, hyperaemia, pycnotic and crenated nuclei. The changes observed in the control groups were compared with the respective experimental groups. An increase in the value of total proteins, glycogen, acid phosphtase, alkaline phosphatase activity and RNA was observed up to day-14 in the non drug treated group and day 7 in the Emblica treated groups, thereafter value declined up to day-28 without reaching to normal. The value of cholesterol and DNA showed a decreasing trend up to day -14 in non drug treated groups and day-7 in drug treated groups, thereafter value elevated up to day-28. The biochemical parameters were observed in the form of increase or decrease in the values. The changes were found dose dependent. After combined treatment of radiation and lead acetate synergistic effect were observed. The liver of Emblica treated animals exhibited less severe damage as compared to non-drug treated animals at all the corresponding intervals. An early and fast recovery was also noticed in Emblica pretreated animals. Thus, it appears that Emblica is potent enough to check lead and radiation induced heptic lesion in Swiss albino mice.

Keywords: radiation, lead , emblica, mice, liver

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Authors: Dalila Oulhaci, Mohammed Zahaf

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The watering technique is essential to maintain a moist perimeter around the roots of the crop. This is the case with topical watering, where the soil around the root system can be kept permanently moist between the two extremes of water content. Moreover, one of the oldest methods used since Roman times throughout North Africa and the Near East was based on the repeated pouring of water into porous earthen vessels buried in the ground. In this context, these two techniques have been combined by replacing the earthen vase with plastic bottles filled with sand which release water through their perforated walls into the surrounding soil. The objective of this work is to first determine the purifying power of the activated sludge treatment plant of Toggourt and then that of the bottled Sawdust filter. For the station, the BOD purification rate was (96.5%), the COD purification rate was (87%) and suspended solids (90%). For the bottle, the BOD removal rate was (35%), and COD removal rate was (12.58%). This work falls within the framework of water saving, sustainable development and environmental protection, and also within the framework of agriculture.

Keywords: wasterwater, sawdust, purification, irrigation, touggourt (Algeria)

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Authors: Zhihong Luo, Guangbin Zhu, Lulu Guo, Zhujun Lyu, Kun Luo

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Cycling life has become the threshold for the prospective application of Li-O₂ batteries, and the protection of Li anode has recently regarded as the key factor to the performance. Herein, a simple low rate pre-activation (20 cycles at 0.5 Ag⁻¹ and a capacity of 200 mAh g⁻¹) was employed to effectively improve the performance and cyclability of Li-O₂ batteries. The charge/discharge cycles at 1 A g⁻¹ with a capacity of 1000 mAh g⁻¹ were maintained for up to 290 times versus 55 times for the cell without pre-activation. The ultimate battery capacity and high rate discharge property were also largely enhanced. Morphology, XRD and XPS analyses reveal that the performance improvement is in close association with the formation of the smooth and compact surface layer formed on the Li anode after low rate pre-activation, which apparently alleviated the corrosion of Li anode and the passivation of cathode during battery cycling, and the corresponding mechanism was also discussed.

Keywords: lithium oxygen battery, pre-activation, cyclability, capacity

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Authors: Jung-Ho Moon, Tae Kwon Ha

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Continually increasing working temperature and growing need for greater efficiency and reliability of automotive exhaust require systematic investigation into the thermal fatigue properties especially of high temperature stainless steels. In this study, thermal fatigue properties of 300 series austenitic stainless steels have been evaluated in the temperature ranges of 200-800°C and 200-900°C. Systematic methods for control of temperatures within the predetermined range and measurement of load applied to specimens as a function of temperature during thermal cycles have been established. Thermal fatigue tests were conducted under fully constrained condition, where both ends of specimens were completely fixed. Load relaxation behavior at the temperatures of thermal cycle was closely related with the thermal fatigue property.

Keywords: austenitic stainless steel, automotive exhaust, thermal fatigue, microstructure, load relaxation

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Authors: Souradip Paul, Arijit Paramanick, M. Suheshkumar Singh

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Traumatic injury is the leading worldwide health problem. Annually, millions of surgical wounds are created for the sake of routine medical care. The healing of these unintended injuries is always monitored based on visual inspection. The maximal restoration of tissue functionality remains a significant concern of clinical care. Although minor injuries heal well with proper care and medical treatment, large injuries negatively influence various factors (vasculature insufficiency, tissue coagulation) and cause poor healing. Demographically, the number of people suffering from severe wounds and impaired healing conditions is burdensome for both human health and the economy. An incomplete understanding of the functional and molecular mechanism of tissue healing often leads to a lack of proper therapies and treatment. Hence, strong and promising medical guidance is necessary for monitoring the tissue regeneration processes. Photoacoustic imaging (PAI), is a non-invasive, hybrid imaging modality that can provide a suitable solution in this regard. Light combined with sound offers structural, functional and molecular information from the higher penetration depth. Therefore, molecular and structural mechanisms of tissue repair will be readily observable in PAI from the superficial layer and in the deep tissue region. Blood vessel formation and its growth is an essential tissue-repairing components. These vessels supply nutrition and oxygen to the cell in the wound region. Angiogenesis (formation of new capillaries from existing blood vessels) contributes to new blood vessel formation during tissue repair. The betterment of tissue healing directly depends on angiogenesis. Other optical microscopy techniques can visualize angiogenesis in micron-scale penetration depth but are unable to provide deep tissue information. PAI overcomes this barrier due to its unique capability. It is ideally suited for deep tissue imaging and provides the rich optical contrast generated by hemoglobin in blood vessels. Hence, an early angiogenesis detection method provided by PAI leads to monitoring the medical treatment of the wound. Along with functional property, mechanical property also plays a key role in tissue regeneration. The wound heals through a dynamic series of physiological events like coagulation, granulation tissue formation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. Therefore tissue elasticity changes, can be identified using non-contact photoacoustic elastography (PAE). In a nutshell, angiogenesis and biomechanical properties are both critical parameters for tissue healing and these can be characterized in a single imaging modality (PAI).

Keywords: PAT, wound healing, tissue coagulation, angiogenesis

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Authors: Indunil Jayatilake, Warna Karunasena, Weena Lokuge

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An Australian manufacturer has fabricated an innovative GFRP sandwich panel made from E-glass fiber skin and a modified phenolic core for structural applications. Debonding, which refers to separation of skin from the core material in composite sandwiches, is one of the most common types of damage in composites. The presence of debonding is of great concern because it not only severely affects the stiffness but also modifies the dynamic behaviour of the structure. Generally, it is seen that the majority of research carried out has been concerned about the delamination of laminated structures whereas skin-core debonding has received relatively minor attention. Furthermore, it is observed that research done on composite slabs having multiple skin-core debonding is very limited. To address this gap, a comprehensive research investigating dynamic behaviour of composite panels with single and multiple debonding is presented. The study uses finite-element modelling and analyses for investigating the influence of debonding on free vibration behaviour of single and multilayer composite sandwich panels. A broad parametric investigation has been carried out by varying debonding locations, debonding sizes and support conditions of the panels in view of both single and multiple debonding. Numerical models were developed with Strand7 finite element package by innovatively selecting the suitable elements to diligently represent their actual behavior. Three-dimensional finite element models were employed to simulate the physically real situation as close as possible, with the use of an experimentally and numerically validated finite element model. Comparative results and conclusions based on the analyses are presented. For similar extents and locations of debonding, the effect of debonding on natural frequencies appears greatly dependent on the end conditions of the panel, giving greater decrease in natural frequency when the panels are more restrained. Some modes are more sensitive to debonding and this sensitivity seems to be related to their vibration mode shapes. The fundamental mode seems generally the least sensitive mode to debonding with respect to the variation in free vibration characteristics. The results indicate the effectiveness of the developed three-dimensional finite element models in assessing debonding damage in composite sandwich panels

Keywords: debonding, free vibration behaviour, GFRP sandwich panels, three dimensional finite element modelling

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Authors: Sheng-Po Tseng, Che-Hua Yang

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Motivation and Objective: Ultrasonic guided waves become an important tool for nondestructive evaluation of structures and components. Guided waves are used for the purpose of identifying defects or evaluating material properties in a nondestructive way. While guided waves are applied for evaluating material properties, instead of knowing the properties directly, preliminary signals such as time domain signals or frequency domain spectra are first revealed. With the measured ultrasound data, inversion calculation can be further employed to obtain the desired mechanical properties. Methods: This research is development of high speed inversion calculation technique for obtaining full-field mechanical properties from the quantitative laser ultrasound visualization system (QLUVS). The quantitative laser ultrasound visualization system (QLUVS) employs a mirror-controlled scanning pulsed laser to generate guided acoustic waves traveling in a two-dimensional target. Guided waves are detected with a piezoelectric transducer located at a fixed location. With a gyro-scanning of the generation source, the QLUVS has the advantage of fast, full-field, and quantitative inspection. Results and Discussions: This research introduces two important tools to improve the computation efficiency. Firstly, graphic procession unit (GPU) with large amount of cores are introduced. Furthermore, combining the CPU and GPU cores, parallel procession scheme is developed for the inversion of full-field mechanical properties based on the QLUVS data. The newly developed inversion scheme is applied to investigate the computation efficiency for single-layered and double-layered plate-like samples. The computation efficiency is shown to be 80 times faster than unparalleled computation scheme. Conclusions: This research demonstrates a high-speed inversion technique for the characterization of full-field material properties based on quantitative laser ultrasound visualization system. Significant computation efficiency is shown, however not reaching the limit yet. Further improvement can be reached by improving the parallel computation. Utilizing the development of the full-field mechanical property inspection technology, full-field mechanical property measured by non-destructive, high-speed and high-precision measurements can be obtained in qualitative and quantitative results. The developed high speed computation scheme is ready for applications where full-field mechanical properties are needed in a nondestructive and nearly real-time way.

Keywords: guided waves, material characterization, nondestructive evaluation, parallel processing

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Authors: Mohammadjavad Sotoudeheian, Navid Farahmandian

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Kawasaki disease (KD) is the primary cause of acquired pediatric heart disease as an acute vasculitis. In children with prolonged fever, rash, and inflammation of the mucosa KD must be considered as a clinical diagnosis. There is a persuasive suggestion of immune-mediated damage as the pathophysiologic cascade of KD. For example, the invasion of cytotoxic T-cells supports a viral etiology and the inflammasome of the innate immune system is a critical component in the vasculitis formation in KD. Animal models of KD propose the cytokine profiles, such as increased IL-1 and GM-CSF, which cause vascular damage. CRP and IFN-γ elevated expression and the upregulation of IL-6, and IL-10 production are also described in previous studies. Untreated KD is a critical risk factor for coronary artery diseases and myocardial infarction. Vascular damage may encompass amplified T-cell activity. SMAD3 is an essential molecule in down-regulating T-cells and increasing expression of FoxP3. It has a critical effect in the differentiation of regulatory T-cells. The discrepancy of regulatory T-cells and pro-inflammatory Th17 has been studied in acute coronary syndrome during KD. However in the coronary artery damaged lymphocytes and IgA plasma cells are seen at the lesion locations, the major immune cells in the coronary lesions are monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils. These cells secrete TNF-α, and activates matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-9, reducing the integrity of vessels and prompting patients to arise aneurysm. MMPs can break down the components of the extracellular matrix and assist immune cell movement. IVIG as an effective form of treatment clarified the role of the immune system, which may target pathogenic antigens and regulate cytokine production. Several reports have revealed that in the coronary arteries, high expression of MMP-9 in monocyte/macrophage results in pathologic cascades. Curcumin is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecule. Curcumin decreases the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and inhibits transcription factors like AP-1 and NF-κB. Curcumin also contains the characteristics of inhibitory effects on MMPs, especially MMP-9. The upregulation of MMP-9 is an important cellular response. Curcumin treatment caused a reverse effect and down-regulates MMP-9 gene expression which may fund the anti-inflammatory effect. Curcumin inhibits MMP-9 expression via PKC and AMPK-dependent pathways in Human monocytes cells. Elevated expression and activity of MMP-9 are correlated with advanced vascular lesions. AMPK controls lipid metabolism and oxidation, and protein synthesis. AMPK is also necessary for the MMP-9 activity and THP-1 cell adhesion to endothelial cells. Curcumin was shown to inhibit the activation of AMPKα. Compound C (AMPK inhibitor) inhibits MMP-9 expression level. Therefore, through inactivating AMPKs and PKC, curcumin decreases the MMP-9 level, which results in inhibiting monocyte/macrophage differentiation. Compound C also suppress the phosphorylation of three major classes of MAP kinase signaling, suggesting that curcumin may suppress MMP-9 level by inactivation of MAPK pathways. MAPK cascades are activated to induce the expression of MMP-9. Curcumin inhibits MAPKs phosphorylation, which contributes to the down-regulation of MMP-9. This study demonstrated that the potential inhibitory properties of curcumin over MMP-9 lead to a therapeutic strategy to reduce the risk of coronary artery involvement during KD.

Keywords: MMP-9, coronary artery aneurysm, Kawasaki’s disease, curcumin, AMPK, immune system, NF-κB, MAPK

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Authors: Saul A. Torres Z., Eduardo Liceaga C., Alfredo Arias M.

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Agriculture in the world falls within the main sources of economic and global needs, so care of crop is extremely important for owners and workers; one of the major causes of loss of product is the pest infection of different types of organisms. We seek to develop a UAV for agricultural spraying at a maximum altitude of 5000 meters above sea level, with a payload of 100 liters of fumigant. For the developing the aerodynamic design of the aircraft is using computational tools such as the "Vortex Lattice Athena" software, "MATLAB"," ANSYS FLUENT"," XFoil " package among others. Also methods are being used structured programming, exhaustive analysis of optimization methods and search. The results have a very low margin of error, and the multi- objective problems can be helpful for future developments. The program has 10 functions developed in MATLAB, these functions are related to each other to enable the development of design, and all these functions are controlled by the principal code "Master.m".

Keywords: aerodynamics design, optimization, algorithm genetic, multi-objective problem, stability, vortex

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Authors: Claire Limoge Schraen, Philippe Gueguen, Cedric Giry, Cedric Desprez, Frédéric Ragueneau

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Mediterranean area is characterized by numerous monumental or vernacular masonry structures illustrating old ways of build and live. Those precious buildings are often poorly documented, present complex shapes and loadings, and are protected by the States, leading to legal constraints. This area also presents a moderate to high seismic activity. Even moderate earthquakes can be magnified by local site effects and cause collapse or significant damage. Moreover the structural resistance of masonry buildings, especially when less famous or located in rural zones has been generally lowered by many factors: poor maintenance, unsuitable restoration, ambient pollution, previous earthquakes. Recent earthquakes prove that any damage to these architectural witnesses to our past is irreversible, leading to the necessity of acting preventively. This means providing preventive assessments for hundreds of structures with no or few documents. In this context we want to propose a general method, based on hierarchized numerical models, to provide preliminary structural diagnoses at a regional scale, indicating whether more precise investigations and models are necessary for each building. To this aim, we adapt different tools, being developed such as photogrammetry or to be created such as a preprocessor starting from pictures to build meshes for a FEM software, in order to allow dynamic studies of the buildings of the panel. We made an inventory of 198 baroque chapels and churches situated in the French Alps. Then their structural characteristics have been determined thanks field surveys and the MicMac photogrammetric software. Using structural criteria, we determined eight types of churches and seven types for chapels. We studied their dynamical behavior thanks to CAST3M, using EC8 spectrum and accelerogramms of the studied zone. This allowed us quantifying the effect of the needed simplifications in the most sensitive zones and choosing the most effective ones. We also proposed threshold criteria based on the observed damages visible in the in situ surveys, old pictures and Italian code. They are relevant in linear models. To validate the structural types, we made a vibratory measures campaign using vibratory ambient noise and velocimeters. It also allowed us validating this method on old masonry and identifying the modal characteristics of 20 churches. Then we proceeded to a dynamic identification between numerical and experimental modes. So we updated the linear models thanks to material and geometrical parameters, often unknown because of the complexity of the structures and materials. The numerically optimized values have been verified thanks to the measures we made on the masonry components in situ and in laboratory. We are now working on non-linear models redistributing the strains. So we validate the damage threshold criteria which we use to compute the vulnerability curves of each defined structural type. Our actual results show a good correlation between experimental and numerical data, validating the final modeling simplifications and the global method. We now plan to use non-linear analysis in the critical zones in order to test reinforcement solutions.

Keywords: heritage structures, masonry numerical modeling, seismic vulnerability assessment, vibratory measure

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Authors: Jintang Zhou, Zhengjun Yao, Tiantian Yao

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Li₀.₃₅Zn₀.₃Fe₂.₃₅O₄(LZFO) grafted with polyaniline (PANI) fibers was synthesized by in situ polymerization. FTIR, XRD, SEM, and vector network analyzer were used to investigate chemical composition, micro-morphology, electromagnetic properties and microwave absorbing properties of the composite. The results show that PANI fibers were grafted on the surfaces of LZFO particles. The reflection loss exceeds 10 dB in the frequency range from 2.5 to 5 GHz and from 15 to 17GHz, and the maximum reflection loss reaches -33 dB at 15.9GHz. The enhanced microwave absorption properties of LZFO/PANI-fiber composites are mainly ascribed to the combined effect of both dielectric loss and magnetic loss and the improved impedance matching.

Keywords: Li₀.₃₅Zn₀.₃Fe₂.₃₅O₄, polyaniline, electromagnetic properties, microwave absorbing properties

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Authors: Robert Poenaru, Mihail Pleşa

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In this work, a solution that addresses the protection of pre-trained neural networks is developed: Singularization. This method involves applying permutations to the weight matrices of a pre-trained model, introducing a form of structured noise that obscures the original model’s architecture. These permutations make it difficult for an attacker to reconstruct the original model, even if the permuted weights are obtained. Experimental benchmarks indicate that the application of singularization has a profound impact on model performance, often degrading it to the point where retraining from scratch becomes necessary to recover functionality, which is particularly effective for securing intellectual property in neural networks. Moreover, unlike other approaches, singularization is lightweight and computationally efficient, which makes it well suited for resource-constrained environments. Our experiments also demonstrate that this technique performs efficiently in various image classification tasks, highlighting its broad applicability and practicality in real-world scenarios.

Keywords: machine learning, ANE, CNN, security

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Authors: Sung-Uk Wee, Chang-Sung Seok, Jae-Mean Koo, Jeong-Min Lee

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Gas turbine blade is important part of power plant, so it is necessary to evaluate gas turbine reliability. For better heat efficiency, inlet temperature of gas turbine has been elevated more and more so gas turbine blade is exposed to high-temperature environment. Then, higher inlet temperature affects mechanical behavior of the gas turbine blade, so it is necessary that evaluation of mechanical property of gas turbine blade at high-temperature environment. In this study, tensile test and fatigue test were performed at various high temperature, and fatigue life was predicted by Coffin-Manson equation at each temperature. The experimental results showed that gas turbine blade has a lower elastic modulus and shorter fatigue life at higher temperature.

Keywords: gas turbine blade, tensile test, fatigue life, stress-strain

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Authors: Z. Bayat

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A quantitative structure–property relationship (QSPR) study was performed to develop models those relate the structures of 65 Kovats retention index (RI) of adamantane derivatives. Molecular descriptors derived solely from 3D structures of the molecular compounds. The usefulness of the quantum chemical descriptors, calculated at the level of the DFT theories using 6-311+G** basis set for QSAR study of adamantane derivatives was examined. The use of descriptors calculated only from molecular structure eliminates the need to experimental determination of properties for use in the correlation and allows for the estimation of RI for molecules not yet synthesized. The prediction results are in good agreement with the experimental value. A multi-parametric equation containing maximum Four descriptors at B3LYP/6-31+G** method with good statistical qualities (R2train=0.913, Ftrain=97.67, R2test=0.770, Ftest=3.21, Q2LOO=0.895, R2adj=0.904, Q2LGO=0.844) was obtained by Multiple Linear Regression using stepwise method.

Keywords: DFT, adamantane, QSAR, Kovat

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Authors: Radostina Popova

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The analysis of the competitiveness of the innovation of furniture enterprises in Bulgaria requires distinguishing types of innovation and innovation activities to determine the results. Main object of the analysis are the results of innovative activities with a high degree of novelty that determine competitiveness and high innovation. It is focused on innovative research in the EU in the last three-year period and its level is directly related to the forms of protection of industrial property, which enterprises use. The results are from studies of innovation of furniture enterprises in Bulgaria during the period - 2006-2012 on a sample of more than 600 furniture companies. The results from studies are focused on product and process (technological) innovations with a high degree of novelty.

Keywords: innovations, competitiveness, furniture enterprises, Bulgaria

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Authors: Vitalijus Leibenka

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After 2014 the world of Russia’s actions in annexing Crimea has seen a hybrid war that has helped Russia achieve its goals. The world and NATO nations have pointed out that hybrid action can help achieve not only military but also economic and political goals. One of the weapons of action in hybrid warfare is information warfare tools, the use of which helps to carry out actions in the context of hybrid warfare as a whole. In addition, information war tools can be used alone, over time and for long-term purposes. Although forms of information war, such as propaganda and disinformation, have been used in the past, in old conflicts and wars, new forms of information war have emerged as a result of technological development, making the dissemination of information faster and more efficient. The world understands that information is becoming a weapon, but not everyone understands that both information war and information warfare differ in their essence and full content. In addition, the damage and impact of the use of information war, which may have worse consequences than a brief military conflict, is underestimated. Lithuania is also facing various interpretations of the information war. Some believe that the information attack is an information war and the understanding of the information war is limited to a false message in the press. Others, however, deepen and explain the essence of the information war. Society has formed in such a way that not all people are able to assess the threats of information war, to separate information war from information attack. Recently, the Lithuanian government has been taking measures in the context of the information war, making decisions that allow the development of the activities of the state and state institutions in order to create defense mechanisms in the information war. However, this is happening rather slowly and incompletely. Every military conflict, related to Lithuania in one way or another, forces Lithuanian politicians to take up the theme of information warfare again. As a result, a national cyber security center is being set up, and Russian channels spreading lies are banned. However, there is no consistent development and continuous improvement of action against information threats. Although a sufficiently influential part of society (not a political part) helps to stop the spread of obscure information by creating social projects such as “Demaskuok” and “Laikykis ten su Andriumi tapinu”, it goes without saying that it will not become a key tool in the fight against information threats. Therefore, in order to achieve clean dissemination of information in Lithuania, full-fledged and substantial political decisions are necessary, the adoption of which would change the public perception of the information war, its damage, impact and actions that would allow to combat the spread. Political decisions should cover the educational, military, economic and political areas, which are one of the main and most important in the state, which would allow to fundamentally change the situation against the background of information war.

Keywords: information war, information warfare, hybrid war, hybrid warfare, NATO, Lithuania, Russia

Procedia PDF Downloads 62

Authors: Mengdan Guo, Zongmin Wang, Haibo Yang

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Drought is one of the most complex and destructive natural disasters, with a huge impact on both nature and society. In recent years, adverse climate conditions and uncontrolled human activities have exacerbated the occurrence of global droughts, among which socio-economic droughts are closely related to human survival. The study of socio-economic drought risk assessment is crucial for sustainable social development. Therefore, this study comprehensively considered the risk of disaster causing factors, the exposure level of the disaster-prone environment, and the vulnerability of the disaster bearing body to construct a socio-economic drought risk assessment model for Chuxiong Prefecture in Yunnan Province. Firstly, a threedimensional frequency analysis of intensity area duration drought was conducted, followed by a statistical analysis of the drought risk of the socio-economic system. Secondly, a grid analysis model was constructed to assess the exposure levels of different agents and study the effects of drought on regional crop growth, industrial economic growth, and human consumption thresholds. Thirdly, an agricultural vulnerability model for different irrigation levels was established by using the DSSAT crop model. Industrial economic vulnerability and domestic water vulnerability under the impact of drought were investigated by constructing a standardized socio-economic drought index and coupling water loss. Finally, the socio-economic drought risk was assessed by combining hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. The results show that the frequency of drought occurrence in Chuxiong Prefecture, Yunnan Province is relatively high, with high population and economic exposure concentrated in urban areas of various counties and districts, and high agricultural exposure concentrated in mountainous and rural areas. Irrigation can effectively reduce agricultural vulnerability in Chuxiong, and the yield loss rate under the 20mm winter irrigation scenario decreased by 10.7% compared to the rain fed scenario. From the perspective of comprehensive risk, the distribution of long-term socio-economic drought risk in Chuxiong Prefecture is relatively consistent, with the more severe areas mainly concentrated in Chuxiong City and Lufeng County, followed by counties such as Yao'an, Mouding and Yuanmou. Shuangbai County has the lowest socio-economic drought risk, which is basically consistent with the economic distribution trend of Chuxiong Prefecture. And in June, July, and August, the drought risk in Chuxiong Prefecture is generally high. These results can provide constructive suggestions for the allocation of water resources and the construction of water conservancy facilities in Chuxiong Prefecture, and provide scientific basis for more effective drought prevention and control. Future research is in the areas of data quality and availability, climate change impacts, human activity impacts, and countermeasures for a more comprehensive understanding and effective response to drought risk in Chuxiong Prefecture.

Keywords: DSSAT model, risk assessment, socio-economic drought, standardized socio-economic drought index

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

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 238

Authors: Saheed A. Gbadegeshin

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Commercialization method is a means to make inventions available at the market for final consumption. It is described as an important tool for keeping business enterprises sustainable and improving national economic growth. Thus, there are several scholarly publications on it, either presenting or testing different methods for commercialization. However, young entrepreneurs, technologists and scientists would like to know the best method to commercialize their innovations. Then, this question arises: What is the best commercialization method? To answer the question, a systematic literature review was conducted, and practitioners were interviewed. The literary results revealed that there are many methods but new methods are needed to improve commercialization especially during these times of economic crisis and political uncertainty. Similarly, the empirical results showed there are several methods, but the best method is the one that reduces costs, reduces the risks associated with uncertainty, and improves customer participation and acceptability. Therefore, it was concluded that new commercialization method is essential for today's high technologies and a method was presented.

Keywords: commercialization method, technology, knowledge, intellectual property, innovation, invention

Procedia PDF Downloads 343

Authors: A. Pourahmad, Sh. Gharipour

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The present work describes the preparation and characterization of nanosized SiO₂@PbS core-shell particles by using a simple wet chemical route. This method utilizes silica spheres formation followed by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method assisted lead sulphide shell layer formation. The final product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–vis spectroscopic, infrared spectroscopy (IR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments. The morphological studies revealed the uniformity in size distribution with core size of 250 nm and shell thickness of 18 nm. The electron microscopic images also indicate the irregular morphology of lead sulphide shell layer. The structural studies indicate the face-centered cubic system of PbS shell with no other trace for impurities in the crystal structure.

Keywords: core-shell, nanostructure, semiconductor, optical property, XRD

Procedia PDF Downloads 299

Authors: Juneseok You, Kuewhan Jang, Chanho Park, Jaeyeong Choi, Hyunjun Park, Sehyun Shin, Changsoo Han, Sungsoo Na

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Nanomaterials occur toxic effects to human being or ecological systems. Some sensors have been developed to detect toxic materials and the standard for toxic materials has been established. Zinc oxide nanowire (ZnO NW) is known for toxic material. By ionizing in cell body, ionized Zn ions are overexposed to cell components, which cause critical damage or death. In this paper, we detected ZnO NW in water using QCM (Quartz Crystal Microbalance) and ssDNA (single strand DNA). We achieved 30 minutes of response time for real time detection and 100 pg/mL of limit of detection (LOD).

Keywords: zinc oxide nanowire, QCM, ssDNA, toxic material, biosensor

Procedia PDF Downloads 428

Authors: Turban Kar, Maitree Bhattacharyya

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Curcumin, a dietary antioxidant has been identified as a wonder molecule to possess therapeutic properties protecting the cellular macromolecules from oxidative damage. In our experimental study, we have explored the effectiveness of curcumin in protecting the structural paradigm of Human Serum Albumin (HSA) when exposed to gamma irradiation. HSA, being an important transport protein of the circulatory system, is involved in binding of variety of metabolites, drugs, dyes and fatty acids due to the presence of hydrophobic pockets inside the structure. HSA is also actively involved in the transportation of drugs and metabolites to their targets, because of its long half-life and regulation of osmotic blood pressure. Gamma rays, in its increasing concentration, results in structural alteration of the protein and superoxide radical generation. Curcumin, on the other hand, mitigates the damage, which has been evidenced in the following experiments. Our study explores the possibility for protection by curcumin during the molecular and conformational changes of HSA when exposed to gamma irradiation. We used a combination of spectroscopic methods to probe the conformational ensemble of the irradiated HSA and finally evaluated the extent of restoration by curcumin. SDS - PAGE indicated the formation of cross linked aggregates as a consequence of increasing exposure of gamma radiation. CD and FTIR spectroscopy inferred significant decrease in alpha helix content of HSA from 57% to 15% with increasing radiation doses. Steady state and time resolved fluorescence studies complemented the spectroscopic measurements when lifetime decay was significantly reduced from 6.35 ns to 0.37 ns. Hydrophobic and bityrosine study showed the effectiveness of curcumin for protection against radiation induced free radical generation. Moreover, bityrosine and hydrophobic profiling of gamma irradiated HSA in presence and absence of curcumin provided light on the formation of ROS species generation and the protective (magical) role of curcumin. The molecular mechanism of curcumin protection to HSA from gamma irradiation is yet unknown, though a possible explanation has been proposed in this work using Thioflavin T assay. It was elucidated, that when HSA is irradiated at low dose of gamma radiation in presence of curcumin, it is capable of retaining the native characteristic properties to a greater extent indicating stabilization of molecular structure. Thus, curcumin may be utilized as a therapeutic strategy to protect cellular proteins.

Keywords: Bityrosine content, conformational change, curcumin, gamma radiation, human serum albumin

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Benachour Karima

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Pollination is a key factor in crop production and the presence of insect pollinators, mainly wild bees, is essential for improving yields. In this work, visiting apoids of two vegetable crops, the turnip (Brassica rapa L.) and the radish (Raphanus sativus L.) (Brassicaceae) were recorded during flowering times of 2003 and 2004 in Constantine area (36°22’N 06°37’E, 660 m). The observations were conducted in a plot of approximately 308 m2 of the Institute of Nutrition, Food and Food Technology (University of Mentouri Brothers). To estimate the density of bees (per 100 flowers or m2), 07 plots (01m2 for each one) are defined from the edge of the culture and in the first two rows. From flowering and every two days, foraging insects are recorded from 09 am until 17 pm (Gmt+1).The purpose of visit (collecting nectar, pollen or both) and pollinating efficiency (estimated by the number of flowers visited per minute and the number of positive visits) were noted for the most abundant bees on flowers. The action of pollinating insects is measured by comparing seed yields of 07 plots covered with tulle with 07 other accessible to pollinators. 04 families of Apoidea: Apidae, Halictidae, Andrenidae and Megachilidae were observed on the two plants. On turnip, the honeybee is the most common visitor (on average 214visites/ m2), it is followed by the Halictidae Lasioglossum mediterraneum whose visits are less intense (20 individuals/m2). Visits by Andrenidae, represented by several species such as Andrena lagopus, A.flavipes, A.agilissima and A.rhypara were episodic. The honeybee collected mainly nectar, its visits were all potentially fertilizing (contact with stigma) and more frequent (on average 14 flowers/min. L.mediterraneum visited only 05 flrs/min, it collected mostly the two products together and all its visits were also positive. On radish, the wild bee Ceratina cucurbitina recorded the highest number of visits (on average 06 individuals/100flo wers), the Halictidae represented mainly by L.mediterraneum, and L.malachurum, L.pauxillum were less abundant. C.cucurbitina visited on average 10 flowers /min and all its visits are positive. Visits of Halictidae were less frequent (05-06 flowers/min) and not all fertilizing. Seed yield of Brassica rapa (average number of pods /plant, seeds/ pods and average weight of 1000 seeds) was significantly higher in the presence of pollinators. Similarly, the pods of caged plants gave a percentage of aborted seeds (10.3%) significantly higher than that obtained on free plants (4.12%), the pods of caged plants also gave a percentage of malformed seeds (1.9%) significantly higher than that of the free plants (0.9%). For radish, the seed yield in the presence and absence of insects are almost similar. Only the percentage of malformed seeds (3.8%) obtained from the pods of caged plants was significantly higher in comparison with pods of free plants (1.9%). Following these results, it is clear that pollinators especially bees are essential for the production and improvement of crop yields and therefore it is necessary to protect this fauna increasingly threatened.

Keywords: foraging behavior, honey bee, radish, seed yield, turnip, wild bee

Procedia PDF Downloads 214