Search results for: water distribution systems
1265 Landslide Hazard a Gigantic Problem in Indian Himalayan Region: Needs In-Depth Research to Minimize Disaster
Authors: Varun Joshi, M. S. Rawat
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The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) is inherently fragile and susceptible to landslide hazard due to its extremely weak geology, highly rugged topography and heavy monsoonal rainfall. One of the most common hazards in the IHR is landslide, and this event is particularly frequent in Himalayan states of India i.e. Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. Landslides are mostly triggered by extreme rainfall events but the incidence increases during monsoon months (June to September). Natural slopes which are otherwise stable but they get destabilized due to anthropogenic activities like construction of various developmental activities and deforestation. These activities are required to fulfill the developmental needs and upliftment of societal status in the region. Landslides also trigger during major earthquakes and reported most observable and damaging phenomena. Studies indicate that the landslide phenomenon has increased many folds due to developmental activities in Himalayan region. Gradually increasing and devastating consequences of landslides turned into one of the most important hydro-geological hazards in Himalayan states especially in Uttarakhand and Sikkim states of India. The recent most catastrophic rainfall in June 2013 in Uttarakhand lead to colossal loss of life and property. The societal damage due to this incident is still to be recovered even after three years. Sikkim earthquake of September 2011 is witnessed for triggering of large number of coseismic landslides. The rescue and relief team faced huge problem in helping the trapped villagers in remote locations of the state due to road side blockade by landslides. The recent past incidences of landslides in Uttarakhand, as well as Sikkim states, created a new domain of research in terms of understanding the phenomena of landslide and management of disaster in such situation. Every year at many locations landslides trigger which force dwellers to either evacuate their dwelling or lose their life and property. The communication and transportation networks are also severely affected by landslides at several locations. Many times the drinking water supply disturbed and shortage of daily need household items reported during monsoon months. To minimize the severity of landslide in IHR requires in-depth research and developmental planning. For most of the areas in the present study, landslide hazard zonation is done on 1:50,000 scale. The land use planning maps on extensive basis are not available. Therefore, there is a need of large-scale landslide hazard zonation and land use planning maps. If the scientist conduct research on desired aspects and their outcome of research is utilized by the government in developmental planning then the incidents of landslide could be minimized, subsequent impact on society, life and property would be reduced. Along with the scientific research, there is another need of awareness generation in the region for stake holders and local dwellers to combat with the landslide hazard, if triggered in their location.Keywords: coseismic, Indian Himalayan Region, landslide hazard zonation, Sikkim, societal, Uttarakhand
Procedia PDF Downloads 2451264 Effects of Robot-Assisted Hand Training on Upper Extremity Performance in Patients with Stroke: A Randomized Crossover Controlled, Assessor-Blinded Study
Authors: Hsin-Chieh Lee, Fen-Ling Kuo, Jui-Chi Lin
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Background: Upper extremity functional impairment that occurs after stroke includes hemiplegia, synergy movement, muscle hypertonicity, and somatosensory impairment, which result in inefficient and inaccurate movement. Robot-assisted rehabilitation is an intensive training approach that is effective in sensorimotor and hand function recovery. However, these systems mostly focused on the proximal part of the upper limb rather than the distal part. The device used in our study was Gloreha Sinfonia, which focuses on the distal part of the upper limb and uses a dynamic support system to facilitate the whole limb function. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of robot-assisted therapy (RT) with Gloreha device on sensorimotor, and ADLs in patients with stroke. Method: Patients with stroke (N=25) participated AB or BA (A = 12 RT sessions and B = 12 conventional therapy (CT) sessions) for 6 weeks (60 min at each session, twice a week), with 1-month break for washout period. The performance of the patients was assessed by a blinded assessor at 4 time points (pretest 1, posttest 1, pretest 2, posttest 2) which including the Fugl–Meyer Assessment-upper extremity (FMA-UE), box and block test, electromyography of the extensor digitorum communis (EDC) and brachioradialis, a grip dynamometer for motor evaluation; Semmes–Weinstein hand monofilament and Revision of the Nottingham Sensory Assessment for sensory evaluation; and the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) for assessing the ADL ability. Result: RT group significantly improved FMA-UE proximal scores (p = 0.038), FMA-UE total scores (p = 0.046), and MBI (p = 0.030). The EDC exhibited higher efficiency during the small block grasping task in the RT group than in the CT group (p = 0.050). Conclusions: RT with the Gloreha device might lead to beneficial effects on arm motor function, ADL ability, and EDC muscle recruitment efficacy in patients with subacute to chronic stroke.Keywords: activities of daily living, hand function, robotic rehabilitation, stroke
Procedia PDF Downloads 1091263 Corpus-Based Neural Machine Translation: Empirical Study Multilingual Corpus for Machine Translation of Opaque Idioms - Cloud AutoML Platform
Authors: Khadija Refouh
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Culture bound-expressions have been a bottleneck for Natural Language Processing (NLP) and comprehension, especially in the case of machine translation (MT). In the last decade, the field of machine translation has greatly advanced. Neural machine translation NMT has recently achieved considerable development in the quality of translation that outperformed previous traditional translation systems in many language pairs. Neural machine translation NMT is an Artificial Intelligence AI and deep neural networks applied to language processing. Despite this development, there remain some serious challenges that face neural machine translation NMT when translating culture bounded-expressions, especially for low resources language pairs such as Arabic-English and Arabic-French, which is not the case with well-established language pairs such as English-French. Machine translation of opaque idioms from English into French are likely to be more accurate than translating them from English into Arabic. For example, Google Translate Application translated the sentence “What a bad weather! It runs cats and dogs.” to “يا له من طقس سيء! تمطر القطط والكلاب” into the target language Arabic which is an inaccurate literal translation. The translation of the same sentence into the target language French was “Quel mauvais temps! Il pleut des cordes.” where Google Translate Application used the accurate French corresponding idioms. This paper aims to perform NMT experiments towards better translation of opaque idioms using high quality clean multilingual corpus. This Corpus will be collected analytically from human generated idiom translation. AutoML translation, a Google Neural Machine Translation Platform, is used as a custom translation model to improve the translation of opaque idioms. The automatic evaluation of the custom model will be compared to the Google NMT using Bilingual Evaluation Understudy Score BLEU. BLEU is an algorithm for evaluating the quality of text which has been machine-translated from one natural language to another. Human evaluation is integrated to test the reliability of the Blue Score. The researcher will examine syntactical, lexical, and semantic features using Halliday's functional theory.Keywords: multilingual corpora, natural language processing (NLP), neural machine translation (NMT), opaque idioms
Procedia PDF Downloads 1391262 The Cadence of Proximity: Indigenous Resilience as Caring for Country-in-the-City
Authors: Jo Anne Rey
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Caring for Country (Ngurrain Dharug language) is core to Aboriginal identity, Law/Lore, practice, and resilience within the continent called ‘Australia’. It is the basis of thousands of years of sustainability. However, when Ngurra is a city known as Sydney, due to 235 years of colonial impact, caring for the Country is limited, being controlled by the State and private ownership of the land title. Recent research indicates that localised Indigenous activism is most successful when community members are geographically proximate to the presences and places of connection, caring, and belonging. This article frames these findings through the cadence that proximity provides. This presentation is centred on the proximate agency that is being exercised by Dharug community through three significant sites within the Sydney basin. Those sites include, firstly, Shaw’s Creek Aboriginal Place, at the foot of the Blue Mountains in far western Sydney. Second inclusion is the site of Blacktown Native Institution, that was the part of the authoritarian colonial governance of British Governor Lachlan Macquarie (after who Macquarie University is named), which saw the beginnings of the removal of children from their families and culture to ‘civilize’ them. The third site is that of the so-called Brown’s Waterhole in the State government administered Lane Cove National Park. Each of these sites is being activated through Dharug and, more broadly, Aboriginalways of knowing, doing, and being. These ways involvethe land, water, wind, and star-based ecologies interwoven with traditional transgenerational storying of the presences (Ancestral and spiritual) creating them. Activations include, but are not limited to, the return of cultural fire for reviving plants, soils, animals, and birds. These fire practices have traditionally been at the basis of sustainable, regenerative biodiversity. These practices involve the literacy of reading Ngurra and the seasonal interactions across the ecologies. Together, they both care for the Country and support humanity, and have done so across thousands of years. However, when the cost of real-estate and rental accommodation prevents community members from being able to live on Dharug Ngurra when bureaucratic governance restricts and/or excludes traditional custodial relationships, and when private treaty land title destroys the presences and places while disconnecting people from their Ancestral practices, it becomes clear that caring for Country is only possible when the community can afford to live nearby. Recognising the cadence of proximityas the agency that underpinscaring for Country-in-the-city, sustainable change opportunities don’t have to only focus on regional and remote areas. Urban-based Aboriginal relationality offers an alternative to the unsustainable practices that underpin human-centric disconnection. Weaving Indigenous cadence offers opportunities for sustainable futures even when facing the extremes of climate changing catastrophes.Keywords: australian aboriginal, biocultural knowledges, climate change, dharug ngurra, sustainability, resilience
Procedia PDF Downloads 841261 Biosurfactants Produced by Antarctic Bacteria with Hydrocarbon Cleaning Activity
Authors: Claudio Lamilla, Misael Riquelme, Victoria Saez, Fernanda Sepulveda, Monica Pavez, Leticia Barrientos
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Biosurfactants are compounds synthesized by microorganisms that show various chemical structures, including glycolipids, lipopeptides, polysaccharide-protein complex, phospholipids, and fatty acids. These molecules have attracted attention in recent years due to the amphipathic nature of these compounds, which allows their application in various activities related to emulsification, foaming, detergency, wetting, dispersion and solubilization of hydrophobic compounds. Microorganisms that produce biosurfactants are ubiquitous, not only present in water, soil, and sediments but in extreme conditions of pH, salinity or temperature such as those present in Antarctic ecosystems. Due to this, it is of interest to study biosurfactants producing bacterial strains isolated from Antarctic environments, with the potential to be used in various biotechnological processes. The objective of this research was to characterize biosurfactants produced by bacterial strains isolated from Antarctic environments, with potential use in biotechnological processes for the cleaning of sites contaminated with hydrocarbons. The samples were collected from soils and sediments in the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, during the Antarctic Research Expedition INACH 2016, from both pristine and human occupied areas (influenced). The bacteria isolation was performed from solid R2A, M1 and LB media. The selection of strains producing biosurfactants was done by hemolysis test on blood agar plates (5%) and blue agar (CTAB). From 280 isolates, it was determined that 10 bacterial strains produced biosurfactants after stimulation with different carbon sources. 16S rDNA taxonomic markers, using the universal primers 27F-1492R, were used to identify these bacterias. Biosurfactants production was carried out in 250 ml flasks using Bushnell Hass liquid culture medium enriched with different carbon sources (olive oil, glucose, glycerol, and hexadecane) during seven days under constant stirring at 20°C. Each cell-free supernatant was characterized by physicochemical parameters including drop collapse, emulsification and oil displacement, as well as stability at different temperatures, salinity, and pH. In addition, the surface tension of each supernatant was quantified using a tensiometer. The strains with the highest activity were selected, and the production of biosurfactants was stimulated in six liters of culture medium. Biosurfactants were extracted from the supernatants with chloroform methanol (2:1). These biosurfactants were tested against crude oil and motor oil, to evaluate their displacement activity (detergency). The characterization by physicochemical properties of 10 supernatants showed that 80% of them produced the drop collapse, 60% had stability at different temperatures, and 90% had detergency activity in motor and olive oil. The biosurfactants obtained from two bacterial strains showed a high activity of dispersion of crude oil and motor oil with halos superior to 10 cm. We can conclude that bacteria isolated from Antarctic soils and sediments provide biological material of high quality for the production of biosurfactants, with potential applications in the biotechnological industry, especially in hydrocarbons -contaminated areas such as petroleum.Keywords: antarctic, bacteria, biosurfactants, hydrocarbons
Procedia PDF Downloads 2741260 Applications and Development of a Plug Load Management System That Automatically Identifies the Type and Location of Connected Devices
Authors: Amy Lebar, Kim L. Trenbath, Bennett Doherty, William Livingood
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Plug and process loads (PPLs) account for 47% of U.S. commercial building energy use. There is a huge potential to reduce whole building consumption by targeting PPLs for energy savings measures or implementing some form of plug load management (PLM). Despite this potential, there has yet to be a widely adopted commercial PLM technology. This paper describes the Automatic Type and Location Identification System (ATLIS), a PLM system framework with automatic and dynamic load detection (ADLD). ADLD gives PLM systems the ability to automatically identify devices as they are plugged into the outlets of a building. The ATLIS framework takes advantage of smart, connected devices to identify device locations in a building, meter and control their power, and communicate this information to a central database. ATLIS includes five primary capabilities: location identification, communication, control, energy metering and data storage. A laboratory proof of concept (PoC) demonstrated all but the data storage capabilities and these capabilities were validated using an office building scenario. The PoC can identify when a device is plugged into an outlet and the location of the device in the building. When a device is moved, the PoC’s dashboard and database are automatically updated with the new location. The PoC implements controls to devices from the system dashboard so that devices maintain correct schedules regardless of where they are plugged in within a building. ATLIS’s primary technology application is improved PLM, but other applications include asset management, energy audits, and interoperability for grid-interactive efficient buildings. A system like ATLIS could also be used to direct power to critical devices, such as ventilators, during a brownout or blackout. Such a framework is an opportunity to make PLM more widespread and reduce the amount of energy consumed by PPLs in current and future commercial buildings.Keywords: commercial buildings, grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEB), miscellaneous electric loads (MELs), plug loads, plug load management (PLM)
Procedia PDF Downloads 1291259 Digital and Technological Transformation of Trekking Routes of Cappadocia Valleys
Authors: Şenay Güngör, Emre Elbaşi, Beyda Sadikoğlu, Utku Eren Bağci, Ömer Uzunel
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One of the first places that comes to mind when it comes to tourism in Turkey is the Cappadocia Region. Due to its rich geological and geomorphological heritage, Cappadocia is one of the most visited destinations in the world. In fact, in the first half of 2023, the number of international tourists visiting Cappadocia exceeded 2 million. Considering that the economy of the Cappadocia region is largely based on tourism, it is understood that the quality and technology integration levels of the touristic services offered in the region are of great importance. In this context; as a result of the observations made in Kızılçukur, Meskendir, Güllüdere 1 and Güllüdere 2 valleys, where the important hiking routes of the Cappadocia Region are located, it has been observed that the digital level of the routes is insufficient. It has been observed that the telephone networks in the area are very low or have completely lost their signal strength. In addition, it was determined that the materials such as maps and brochures used by tourism agencies to introduce the valleys are simple and incomplete. It is thought that this situation negatively affects the tourists' orientation and touristic experience in the field. Eliminating these deficiencies identified in the field, improving the digital level of the above-mentioned hiking routes and increasing the added value in destinations are among the main objectives of our study. Within the scope of the study, a mobile application that can work both online and offline on hiking routes has been prepared. 3D modeling of Kızılçukur, Meskendir, Güllüdere 1 and Güllüdere 2 valleys were made using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). In addition, a website has been created to enable tourists to easily access all the above-mentioned information, visuals and technological applications related to the routes. As it is known, the effective use of information and communication technologies in touristic regions not only increases the satisfaction levels of tourists, but also positively affects the attraction of qualified tourists to the region. When the tangible and intangible outputs of this study are evaluated, it is thought that it will serve the social and economic development of the region and set an example for the digital transformation of other routes in the region.Keywords: nevşehir, cappadocia, cappadocia valleys, trekking route
Procedia PDF Downloads 591258 Antecedents and Impacts of Human Capital Flight in the Sub-Saharan Africa with Specific Reference to the Higher Education Sector: Conceptual Model
Authors: Zelalem B. Gurmessa, Ignatius W. Ferreira, Henry F. Wissink
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The aim of this paper is to critically examine the factors contributing to academic brain drain in the Sub-Saharan Africa with specific reference to the higher education sector. Africa in general and Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, in particular, are experiencing an exodus of highly trained, qualified and competent human resources to other developing and developed countries thereby threatening the overall development of the relevant regions and impeding both public and private service delivery systems in the nation states. The region is currently in a dire situation in terms of health care services, education, science, and technology. The contribution of SSA countries to Science, Technology and Innovation is relatively minimal owing to the migration of skilled professionals due to both push and pull factors. The phenomenon calls for both international and trans-boundary, regional, national and institutional interventions to curb the exodus. Based on secondary data and the review of the literature, the article conceptualizes the antecedents and impacts of human capital flight or brain drain in the SSA countries from a higher education perspective. To this end, the article explores the magnitude, causes, and impacts of brain drain in the region. Despite the lack of consistent data on the magnitude of academic brain drain in the region, a critical analysis of the existing sources shows that pay disparity between developing and developed countries, the lack of enabling working conditions at source countries, fear of security due to political turmoil or unrest, the availability of green pastures and opportunity for development in the receiving countries were identified as major factors contributing to academic brain drain in the region. This hampers the socio-economic, technological and political development of the region. The paper also recommends that further research can be undertaken on the magnitude, causes, characteristics and impact of brain drain on the sustainability and competitiveness of SSA higher education institutions in the region.Keywords: brain drain, higher education, sub-Saharan Africa, sustainable development
Procedia PDF Downloads 2501257 Heteroatom Doped Binary Metal Oxide Modified Carbon as a Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for all Vanadium Redox Flow Battery
Authors: Anteneh Wodaje Bayeh, Daniel Manaye Kabtamu, Chen-Hao Wang
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As one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage systems, vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) have received increasing attention owing to their attractive features for largescale storage applications. However, their high production cost and relatively low energy efficiency still limit their feasibility. For practical implementation, it is of great interest to improve their efficiency and reduce their cost. One of the key components of VRFBs that can greatly influence the efficiency and final cost is the electrode, which provide the reactions sites for redox couples (VO²⁺/VO₂ + and V²⁺/V³⁺). Carbon-based materials are considered to be the most feasible electrode materials in the VRFB because of their excellent potential in terms of operation range, good permeability, large surface area, and reasonable cost. However, owing to limited electrochemical activity and reversibility and poor wettability due to its hydrophobic properties, the performance of the cell employing carbon-based electrodes remained limited. To address the challenges, we synthesized heteroatom-doped bimetallic oxide grown on the surface of carbon through the one-step approach. When applied to VRFBs, the prepared electrode exhibits significant electrocatalytic effect toward the VO²⁺/VO₂ + and V³⁺/V²⁺ redox reaction compared with that of pristine carbon. It is found that the presence of heteroatom on metal oxide promotes the absorption of vanadium ions. The controlled morphology of bimetallic metal oxide also exposes more active sites for the redox reaction of vanadium ions. Hence, the prepared electrode displays the best electrochemical performance with energy and voltage efficiencies of 74.8% and 78.9%, respectively, which is much higher than those of 59.8% and 63.2% obtained from the pristine carbon at high current density. Moreover, the electrode exhibit durability and stability in an acidic electrolyte during long-term operation for 1000 cycles at the higher current density.Keywords: VRFB, VO²⁺/VO₂ + and V³⁺/V²⁺ redox couples, graphite felt, heteroatom-doping
Procedia PDF Downloads 891256 Oblique Radiative Solar Nano-Polymer Gel Coating Heat Transfer and Slip Flow: Manufacturing Simulation
Authors: Anwar Beg, Sireetorn Kuharat, Rashid Mehmood, Rabil Tabassum, Meisam Babaie
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Nano-polymeric solar paints and sol-gels have emerged as a major new development in solar cell/collector coatings offering significant improvements in durability, anti-corrosion and thermal efficiency. They also exhibit substantial viscosity variation with temperature which can be exploited in solar collector designs. Modern manufacturing processes for such nano-rheological materials frequently employ stagnation flow dynamics under high temperature which invokes radiative heat transfer. Motivated by elaborating in further detail the nanoscale heat, mass and momentum characteristics of such sol gels, the present article presents a mathematical and computational study of the steady, two-dimensional, non-aligned thermo-fluid boundary layer transport of copper metal-doped water-based nano-polymeric sol gels under radiative heat flux. To simulate real nano-polymer boundary interface dynamics, thermal slip is analysed at the wall. A temperature-dependent viscosity is also considered. The Tiwari-Das nanofluid model is deployed which features a volume fraction for the nanoparticle concentration. This approach also features a Maxwell-Garnet model for the nanofluid thermal conductivity. The conservation equations for mass, normal and tangential momentum and energy (heat) are normalized via appropriate transformations to generate a multi-degree, ordinary differential, non-linear, coupled boundary value problem. Numerical solutions are obtained via the stable, efficient Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg scheme with shooting quadrature in MATLAB symbolic software. Validation of solutions is achieved with a Variational Iterative Method (VIM) utilizing Langrangian multipliers. The impact of key emerging dimensionless parameters i.e. obliqueness parameter, radiation-conduction Rosseland number (Rd), thermal slip parameter (α), viscosity parameter (m), nanoparticles volume fraction (ϕ) on non-dimensional normal and tangential velocity components, temperature, wall shear stress, local heat flux and streamline distributions is visualized graphically. Shear stress and temperature are boosted with increasing radiative effect whereas local heat flux is reduced. Increasing wall thermal slip parameter depletes temperatures. With greater volume fraction of copper nanoparticles temperature and thermal boundary layer thickness is elevated. Streamlines are found to be skewed markedly towards the left with positive obliqueness parameter.Keywords: non-orthogonal stagnation-point heat transfer, solar nano-polymer coating, MATLAB numerical quadrature, Variational Iterative Method (VIM)
Procedia PDF Downloads 1291255 Analyzing the Place of Technology in Communication: Case Study of Kenya during COVID-19
Authors: Josephine K. Mule, Levi Obonyo
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Technology has changed human life over time. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the work set-up, the school system, the shopping experience, church attendance, and even the way athletes train in Kenya. Although the use of technology to communicate and maintain interactions has been on the rise in the last 30 years, the uptake during the COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented. Traditionally, ‘paid’ work has been considered to take place outside the “home house” but COVID-19 has resulted in what is now being referred to as “the world’s largest work-from-home experiment” with up to 43 percent of employees working at least some of the time remotely. This study was conducted on 90 respondents from across remote work set-ups, school systems, merchants and customers of online shopping, church leaders and congregants and athletes, and their coaches. Data were collected by questionnaires and interviews that were conducted online. The data is based on the first three months since the first case of coronavirus was reported in Kenya. This study found that the use of technology is in the center of working remotely with work interactions being propelled on various online platforms including, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, among others. The school system has also integrated the use of technology, including students defending their thesis/dissertations online and university graduations being conducted virtually. Kenya is known for its long-distance runners, due to the directives to reduce interactions; coaches have taken to providing their athletes with guidance on training on social media using applications such as WhatsApp. More local stores are now offering the shopping online option to their customers. Churches have also felt the brunt of the situation, especially because of the restrictions on crowds resulting in online services becoming more popular in 2020 than ever before. Artists, innovatively have started online musical concerts. The findings indicate that one of the outcomes in the Kenyan society that is evident as a result of the COVID-19 period is a population that is using technology more to communicate and get work done. Vices that have thrived in this season where the use of technology has increased, include the spreading of rumors on social media and cyberbullying. The place of technology seems to have been cemented by demand during this period.Keywords: communication, coronavirus, COVID-19, Kenya, technology
Procedia PDF Downloads 1321254 Optimization of Waste Plastic to Fuel Oil Plants' Deployment Using Mixed Integer Programming
Authors: David Muyise
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Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) is an approach that involves the optimization of a range of decision variables in order to minimize or maximize a particular objective function. The main objective of this study was to apply the MIP approach to optimize the deployment of waste plastic to fuel oil processing plants in Uganda. The processing plants are meant to reduce plastic pollution by pyrolyzing the waste plastic into a cleaner fuel that can be used to power diesel/paraffin engines, so as (1) to reduce the negative environmental impacts associated with plastic pollution and also (2) to curb down the energy gap by utilizing the fuel oil. A programming model was established and tested in two case study applications that are, small-scale applications in rural towns and large-scale deployment across major cities in the country. In order to design the supply chain, optimal decisions on the types of waste plastic to be processed, size, location and number of plants, and downstream fuel applications were concurrently made based on the payback period, investor requirements for capital cost and production cost of fuel and electricity. The model comprises qualitative data gathered from waste plastic pickers at landfills and potential investors, and quantitative data obtained from primary research. It was found out from the study that a distributed system is suitable for small rural towns, whereas a decentralized system is only suitable for big cities. Small towns of Kalagi, Mukono, Ishaka, and Jinja were found to be the ideal locations for the deployment of distributed processing systems, whereas Kampala, Mbarara, and Gulu cities were found to be the ideal locations initially utilize the decentralized pyrolysis technology system. We conclude that the model findings will be most important to investors, engineers, plant developers, and municipalities interested in waste plastic to fuel processing in Uganda and elsewhere in developing economy.Keywords: mixed integer programming, fuel oil plants, optimisation of waste plastics, plastic pollution, pyrolyzing
Procedia PDF Downloads 1231253 Framework for Explicit Social Justice Nursing Education and Practice: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Research
Authors: Victor Abu
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Background: Social justice ideals are considered as the foundation of nursing practice. These ideals are not always clearly integrated into nursing professional standards or curricula. This hinders concerted global nursing agendas for becoming aware of social injustice or engaging in action for social justice to improve the health of individuals and groups. Aim and objectives: The aim was to create an educational framework for empowering nursing students for social justice awareness and action. This purpose was attained by understanding the meaning of social justice, the effect of social injustice, the visibility of social justice learning, and ways of integrating social justice in nursing education and practice. Methods: Critical interpretive methodologies and constructivist grounded theory research designs guided the processes of recruiting nursing students (n = 11) and nurse educators (n = 11) at a London nursing university to participate in interviews and focus groups, which were analysed by coding systems. Findings: Firstly, social justice was described as ethical practices that enable individuals and groups to have good access to health resources. Secondly, social injustice was understood as unfair practices that caused minimal access to resources, social deprivation, and poor health. Thirdly, social justice learning was considered to be invisible in nursing education due to a lack of explicit modules, educator knowledge, and organisational support. Lastly, explicit modules, educating educators, and attracting leaders’ support were suggested as approaches for the visible integration of social justice in nursing education and practice. Discussion: This research proposes approaches for nursing awareness and action for the development of critical active nurse-learner, critical conscious nurse-educator, and servant nurse leader. The framework on Awareness for Social Justice Action (ASJA) created in this research is an approach for empowering nursing students for social justice practices. Conclusion: This research contributes to and advocates for greater nursing scholarship to raise the spotlight on social justice in the profession.Keywords: social justice, nursing practice, nursing education, nursing curriculum, social justice awareness, social justice action, constructivist grounded theory
Procedia PDF Downloads 481252 Matrix-Based Linear Analysis of Switched Reluctance Generator with Optimum Pole Angles Determination
Authors: Walid A. M. Ghoneim, Hamdy A. Ashour, Asmaa E. Abdo
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In this paper, linear analysis of a Switched Reluctance Generator (SRG) model is applied on the most common configurations (4/2, 6/4 and 8/6) for both conventional short-pitched and fully-pitched designs, in order to determine the optimum stator/rotor pole angles at which the maximum output voltage is generated per unit excitation current. This study is focused on SRG analysis and design as a proposed solution for renewable energy applications, such as wind energy conversion systems. The world’s potential to develop the renewable energy technologies through dedicated scientific researches was the motive behind this study due to its positive impact on economy and environment. In addition, the problem of rare earth metals (Permanent magnet) caused by mining limitations, banned export by top producers and environment restrictions leads to the unavailability of materials used for rotating machines manufacturing. This challenge gave authors the opportunity to study, analyze and determine the optimum design of the SRG that has the benefit to be free from permanent magnets, rotor windings, with flexible control system and compatible with any application that requires variable-speed operation. In addition, SRG has been proved to be very efficient and reliable in both low-speed or high-speed applications. Linear analysis was performed using MATLAB simulations based on the (Modified generalized matrix approach) of Switched Reluctance Machine (SRM). About 90 different pole angles combinations and excitation patterns were simulated through this study, and the optimum output results for each case were recorded and presented in detail. This procedure has been proved to be applicable for any SRG configuration, dimension and excitation pattern. The delivered results of this study provide evidence for using the 4-phase 8/6 fully pitched SRG as the main optimum configuration for the same machine dimensions at the same angular speed.Keywords: generalized matrix approach, linear analysis, renewable applications, switched reluctance generator
Procedia PDF Downloads 1901251 Corrosion Protective Coatings in Machines Design
Authors: Cristina Diaz, Lucia Perez, Simone Visigalli, Giuseppe Di Florio, Gonzalo Fuentes, Roberto Canziani, Paolo Gronchi
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During the last 50 years, the selection of materials is one of the main decisions in machine design for different industrial applications. It is due to numerous physical, chemical, mechanical and technological factors to consider in it. Corrosion effects are related with all of these factors and impact in the life cycle, machine incidences and the costs for the life of the machine. Corrosion affects the deterioration or destruction of metals due to the reaction with the environment, generally wet. In food industry, dewatering industry, concrete industry, paper industry, etc. corrosion is an unsolved problem and it might introduce some alterations of some characteristics in the final product. Nowadays, depending on the selected metal, its surface and its environment of work, corrosion prevention might be a change of metal, use a coating, cathodic protection, use of corrosion inhibitors, etc. In the vast majority of the situations, use of a corrosion resistant material or in its defect, a corrosion protection coating is the solution. Stainless steels are widely used in machine design, because of their strength, easily cleaned capacity, corrosion resistance and appearance. Typical used are AISI 304 and AISI 316. However, their benefits don’t fit every application, and some coatings are required against corrosion such as some paintings, galvanizing, chrome plating, SiO₂, TiO₂ or ZrO₂ coatings, etc. In this work, some coatings based in a bilayer made of Titanium-Tantalum, Titanium-Niobium, Titanium-Hafnium or Titanium-Zirconium, have been developed used magnetron sputtering configuration by PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) technology, for trying to reduce corrosion effects on AISI 304, AISI 316 and comparing it with Titanium alloy substrates. Ti alloy display exceptional corrosion resistance to chlorides, sour and oxidising acidic media and seawater. In this study, Ti alloy (99%) has been included for comparison with coated AISI 304 and AISI 316 stainless steel. Corrosion tests were conducted by a Gamry Instrument under ASTM G5-94 standard, using different electrolytes such as tomato salsa, wine, olive oil, wet compost, a mix of sand and concrete with water and NaCl for testing corrosion in different industrial environments. In general, in all tested environments, the results showed an improvement of corrosion resistance of all coated AISI 304 and AISI 316 stainless steel substrates when they were compared to uncoated stainless steel substrates. After that, comparing these results with corrosion studies on uncoated Ti alloy substrate, it was observed that in some cases, coated stainless steel substrates, reached similar current density that uncoated Ti alloy. Moreover, Titanium-Zirconium and Titanium-Tantalum coatings showed for all substrates in study including coated Ti alloy substrates, a reduction in current density more than two order in magnitude. As conclusion, Ti-Ta, Ti-Zr, Ti-Nb and Ti-Hf coatings have been developed for improving corrosion resistance of AISI 304 and AISI 316 materials. After corrosion tests in several industry environments, substrates have shown improvements on corrosion resistance. Similar processes have been carried out in Ti alloy (99%) substrates. Coated AISI 304 and AISI 316 stainless steel, might reach similar corrosion protection on the surface than uncoated Ti alloy (99%). Moreover, coated Ti Alloy (99%) might increase its corrosion resistance using these coatings.Keywords: coatings, corrosion, PVD, stainless steel
Procedia PDF Downloads 1541250 Digital And Technological Transformation of Cappadocia Valleys: Kizilçukur, Meskendi̇r, Güllüdere 1, Güllüdere 2
Authors: Şenay Güngör, Emre Elbaşi, Beyda Sadikğlu, Utku Eren Bağci, Ömer Uzunel
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One of the first places that comes to mind when it comes to tourism in Turkey is the Cappadocia Region. Due to its rich geological and geomorphological heritage, Cappadocia is one of the most visited destinations in the world. In fact, in the first half of 2023, the number of international tourists visiting Cappadocia exceeded 2 million. Considering that the economy of the Cappadocia region is largely based on tourism, it is understood that the quality and technology integration levels of the touristic services offered in the region are of great importance. In this context; as a result of the observations made in Kızılçukur, Meskendir, Güllüdere 1 and Güllüdere 2 valleys, where the important hiking routes of the Cappadocia Region are located, it has been observed that the digital level of the routes is insufficient. It has been observed that the telephone networks in the area are very low or have completely lost their signal strength. In addition, it was determined that the materials such as maps and brochures used by tourism agencies to introduce the valleys are simple and incomplete. It is thought that this situation negatively affects the tourists' orientation and touristic experience in the field. Eliminating these deficiencies identified in the field, improving the digital level of the above-mentioned hiking routes and increasing the added value in destinations are among the main objectives of our study. Within the scope of the study, a mobile application that can work both online and offline on hiking routes has been prepared. 3D modeling of Kızılçukur, Meskendir, Güllüdere 1 and Güllüdere 2 valleys were made using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). In addition, a website has been created to enable tourists to easily access all the above-mentioned information, visuals and technological applications related to the routes. As it is known, the effective use of information and communication technologies in touristic regions not only increases the satisfaction levels of tourists, but also positively affects the attraction of qualified tourists to the region. When the tangible and intangible outputs of this study are evaluated, it is thought that it will serve the social and economic development of the region and set an example for the digital transformation of other routes in the region.Keywords: nevşehir, cappadocia, cappadocia valleys, tourism route
Procedia PDF Downloads 541249 Effect of Soil Resistivity on the Development of a Cathodic Protection System Using Zinc Anode
Authors: Chinedu F. Anochie
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The deterioration of materials as a result of their interaction with the environment has been a huge challenge to engineering. Many steps have been taking to tackle corrosion and its effects on harmful effects on engineering materials and structures. Corrosion inhibition, coating, passivation, materials selection, and cathodic protection are some of the methods utilized to curtail the rate at which materials corrode. The use of sacrificial anodes (magnesium, aluminum, or zinc) to protect the metal of interest is a widespread technique used to prevent corrosion in underground structures, ship hauls, and other structures susceptible to corrosion attack. However, certain factors, like resistivity, affect the performance of sacrificial anodes. To establish the effect of soil resistivity on the effectiveness of a cathodic protection system, a mild steel specimen was cathodically protected around Workshop 2 area, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. Design calculations showed that one zinc anode was sufficient to protect the pipe. The specimen (mild steel pipe) was coated with white and black polykene tapes and was subsequently buried in a high resistivity soil. The pipe-to-soil potential measurements were obtained using a digital fluke multimeter. The protection potential obtained on installation was higher than the minimum protection criteria. However, the potential results obtained over a fourteen-day intervals continually decreased to a value significantly lower than the minimum protection criteria. This showed that the sacrificial anode (zinc) was rendered ineffective by the high resistivity of the area of installation. It has been shown that the resistivity of the soil has a marked effect on the feasibility of cathodic protection systems. This work justified that zinc anode cannot be used for cathodic protection around Workshop 2 area, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria, because of the high resistivity of the area. An experimental data which explains the effectiveness of galvanic anode cathodic protection system on corrosion control of a small steel structure, exposed to a soil of high resistivity has been established.Keywords: cathodic protection, corrosion, pipe, sacrificial anode
Procedia PDF Downloads 1741248 Monitoring Surface Modification of Polylactide Nonwoven Fabric with Weak Polyelectrolytes
Authors: Sima Shakoorjavan, Dawid Stawski, Somaye Akbari
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In this study, great attempts have been made to initially modify polylactide (PLA) nonwoven surface with poly(amidoamine) (PAMMA) dendritic polymer to create amine active sites on PLA surface through aminolysis reaction. Further, layer-by-layer deposition of four layers of two weak polyelectrolytes, including PAMAM as polycation and polyacrylic acid (PAA) as polyanion on activated PLA, was monitored with turbidity analysis of waste-polyelectrolytes after each deposition step. The FTIR-ATR analysis confirmed the successful introduction of amine groups into PLA polymeric chains through the emerging peak around 1650 cm⁻¹ corresponding to N-H bending vibration and a double wide peak at around 3670-3170 cm⁻¹ corresponding to N-H stretching vibration. The adsorption-desorption behavior of (PAMAM) and poly (PAA) deposition was monitored by turbidity test. Turbidity results showed the desorption and removal of the previously deposited layer (second and third layers) upon the desorption of the next layers (third and fourth layers). Also, the importance of proper rinsing after aminolysis of PLA nonwoven fabric was revealed by turbidity test. Regarding the sample with insufficient rinsing process, higher desorption and removal of ungrafted PAMAM from aminolyzed-PLA surface into PAA solution was detected upon the deposition of the first PAA layer. This phenomenon can be due to electrostatic attraction between polycation (PAMAM) and polyanion (PAA). Moreover, the successful layer deposition through LBL was confirmed by the staining test of acid red 1 through spectrophotometry analysis. According to the results, layered PLA with four layers with PAMAM as the top layer showed higher dye absorption (46.7%) than neat (1.2%) and aminolyzed PLA (21.7%). In conclusion, the complicated adsorption-desorption behavior of dendritic polycation and linear polyanion systems was observed. Although desorption and removal of previously adsorbed layers occurred upon the deposition of the next layer, the remaining polyelectrolyte on the substrate is sufficient for the adsorption of the next polyelectrolyte through electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. Also, an increase in dye adsorption confirmed more introduction of PAMAM onto PLA surface through LBL.Keywords: surface modification, layer-by-layer technique, weak polyelectrolytes, adsorption-desorption behavior
Procedia PDF Downloads 561247 Empirical Analysis of the Effect of Cloud Movement in a Basic Off-Grid Photovoltaic System: Case Study Using Transient Response of DC-DC Converters
Authors: Asowata Osamede, Christo Pienaar, Johan Bekker
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Mismatch in electrical energy (power) or outage from commercial providers, in general, does not promote development to the public and private sector, these basically limit the development of industries. The necessity for a well-structured photovoltaic (PV) system is of importance for an efficient and cost-effective monitoring system. The major renewable energy potential on earth is provided from solar radiation and solar photovoltaics (PV) are considered a promising technological solution to support the global transformation to a low-carbon economy and reduction on the dependence on fossil fuels. Solar arrays which consist of various PV module should be operated at the maximum power point in order to reduce the overall cost of the system. So power regulation and conditioning circuits should be incorporated in the set-up of a PV system. Power regulation circuits used in PV systems include maximum power point trackers, DC-DC converters and solar chargers. Inappropriate choice of power conditioning device in a basic off-grid PV system can attribute to power loss, hence the need for a right choice of power conditioning device to be coupled with the system of the essence. This paper presents the design and implementation of a power conditioning devices in order to improve the overall yield from the availability of solar energy and the system’s total efficiency. The power conditioning devices taken into consideration in the project includes the Buck and Boost DC-DC converters as well as solar chargers with MPPT. A logging interface circuit (LIC) is designed and employed into the system. The LIC is designed on a printed circuit board. It basically has DC current signalling sensors, specifically the LTS 6-NP. The LIC is consequently required to program the voltages in the system (these include the PV voltage and the power conditioning device voltage). The voltage is structured in such a way that it can be accommodated by the data logger. Preliminary results which include availability of power as well as power loss in the system and efficiency will be presented and this would be used to draw the final conclusion.Keywords: tilt and orientation angles, solar chargers, PV panels, storage devices, direct solar radiation
Procedia PDF Downloads 1301246 Improved Operating Strategies for the Optimization of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell System Performance
Authors: Guillaume Soubeyran, Fabrice Micoud, Benoit Morin, Jean-Philippe Poirot-Crouvezier, Magali Reytier
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Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) technology is considered as a solution for the reduction of CO2 emissions. However, this technology still meets several challenges for high-scale industrialization. In this context, the increase of durability remains a critical aspect for competitiveness of this technology. Fortunately, performance degradations in nominal operating conditions is partially reversible, meaning that if specific conditions are applied, a partial recovery of fuel cell performance can be achieved, while irreversible degradations can only be mitigated. Thus, it is worth studying the optimal conditions to rejuvenate these reversible degradations and assessing the long-term impact of such procedures on the performance of the cell. Reversible degradations consist mainly of anode Pt active sites poisoning by carbon monoxide at the anode, heterogeneities in water management during use, and oxidation/deactivation of Pt active sites at the cathode. The latter is identified as a major source of reversible performance loss caused by the presence oxygen, high temperature and high cathode potential that favor platinum oxidation, especially in high efficiency operating points. Hence, we studied here a recovery procedure aiming at reducing the platinum oxides by decreasing cathode potential during operation. Indeed, the application of short air starvation phase leads to a drop of cathode potential. Cell performances are temporarily increased afterwards. Nevertheless, local temperature and current heterogeneities within the cells are favored and shall be minimized. The consumption of fuel during the recovery phase shall also be considered to evaluate the global efficiency. Consequently, the purpose of this work is to find an optimal compromise between the recovery of reversible degradations by air starvation, the increase of global cell efficiency and the mitigation of irreversible degradations effects. Different operating parameters have first been studied such as cell voltage, temperature and humidity in single cell set-up. Considering the global PEMFC system efficiency, tests showed that reducing duration of recovery phase and reducing cell voltage was the key to ensure an efficient recovery. Recovery phase frequency was a major factor as well. A specific method was established to find the optimal frequency depending on the duration and voltage of the recovery phase. Then, long-term degradations have also been studied by applying FC-DLC cycles based on NEDC cycles on a 4-cell short stack by alternating test sequences with and without recovery phases. Depending on recovery phase timing, cell efficiency during the cycle was increased up to 2% thanks to a mean voltage increase of 10 mV during test sequences with recovery phases. However, cyclic voltammetry tests results suggest that the implementation of recovery phases causes an acceleration of the decrease of platinum active areas that could be due to the high potential variations applied to the cathode electrode during operation.Keywords: durability, PEMFC, recovery procedure, reversible degradation
Procedia PDF Downloads 1271245 The Effect of Technology on International Marketing Trading Researches and Analysis
Authors: Omil Nady Mahrous Maximous
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The article deals with the use of modern information technologies to achieve pro-ecological marketing goals in company-customer relationships. The purpose of the article is to show the possibilities of implementing modern information technologies. In B2C relationships, marketing departments face challenges stemming from the need to quickly segment customers and the current fragmentation of data across many systems, which significantly hinders the achievement of marketing goals. Thus, Article proposes the use of modern IT solutions in the field of marketing activities of companies, taking into account their environmental goals. As a result, its importance for the economic and social development of the emerging countries has increased. While traditional companies emphasize profit maximization as a core business principle, social enterprises must solve social problems at the expense of profit. This rationale gives social enterprises an edge over traditional businesses by meeting the needs of those at the bottom of the pyramid. This also represents a major challenge for social business, since social business acts on the one hand for the benefit of the public and on the other strives for financial stability. Otherwise, the company is unlikely to be fired from the company. Cultures play a role in business communication and research. Using the example of language in international relations, the article presents the problem of the articulation of research cultures in management and linguistics and of cultures as such. After an overview of current research on language in international relations, this article presents the approach to communication in international economy from a linguistic point of view and tries to explain the problems of communication in business starting from linguistic research. A step towards interdisciplinary research that brings together research in the fields of management and linguistics.Keywords: international marketing, marketing mix, marketing research, small and medium-sized enterprises, strategic marketing, B2B digital marketing strategy, digital marketing, digital marketing maturity model, SWOT analysis consumer behavior, experience, experience marketing, marketing employee organizational performance, internal marketing, internal customer, direct marketing, mobile phones mobile marketing, Sms advertising
Procedia PDF Downloads 371244 Poly(N-Vinylcaprolactam-Co-Itaconic Acid-Co-Ethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate)-Based Microgels Embedded in Chitosan Matrix for Controlled Release of Ketoprofen
Authors: Simone F. Medeiros, Jessica M. Fonseca, Gizelda M. Alves, Danilo M. Santos, Sérgio P. Campana-Filho, Amilton M. Santos
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Stimuli responsive and biocompatible hydrogel nanoparticles have gained special attention as systems for potential applications in controlled release of drugs to improve their therapeutic efficacy while minimizing side effects. In this work, novel solid dispersions based on thermo- and pH-responsive poly(N-vinylcaprolactam-co-itaconic acid-co-ethylene- glycol dimethacrylate) hydrogel nanoparticles embedded in chitosan matrices were prepared via spray drying for controlled release of ketoprofen. Firstly, the hydrogel nanoparticles containing ketoprofen were prepared via precipitation polymerization and their stimuli-responsive behavior, thermal properties, chemical composition, encapsulation efficiency and morphology were characterized. Then, hydrogel nanoparticles with different particles size were embedded into chitosan matrices via spray-drying. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were performed to investigate the particles size, dispersity and morphology. Finally, ketoprofen release profiles were studied as a function of pH and temperature. Chitosan/poly(NVCL-co-IA-co-EGDMA)-ketoprofen microparticles presented spherical shape, rough surface and pronounced agglomeration, indicating that hydrogels nanoparticles loaded with ketoprofen modified the surface of chitosan matrix. The maximum encapsulation efficiency of ketoprofen into hydrogel nanoparticles was 57.8% and the electrostatic interactions between amino groups from chitosan and carboxylic groups from hydrogel nanoparticles were able to control ketoprofen release. The hydrogel nanoparticles themselves were capable to retard the release of ketoprofen-loaded until 48h of in vitro release tests, while their incorporation into chitosan matrix achieved a maximum percentage of drug release of 45%, using a mass ratio of chitosan: poly(NVCL-co-IA-co-EGDMA equal to 10:7, and 69%, using a mass ratio of chitosan: poly(NVCL-co-IA-co-EGDMA equal to 5:2.Keywords: hydrogel nanoparticles, poly(N-vinylcaprolactam-co-itaconic acid-co-ethylene- glycol dimethacrylate), chitosan, ketoprofen, spray-drying
Procedia PDF Downloads 2551243 A Systematic Review of the Psychometric Properties of Augmentative and Alternative Communication Assessment Tools in Adolescents with Complex Communication Needs
Authors: Nadwah Onwi, Puspa Maniam, Azmawanie A. Aziz, Fairus Mukhtar, Nor Azrita Mohamed Zin, Nurul Haslina Mohd Zin, Nurul Fatehah Ismail, Mohamad Safwan Yusoff, Susilidianamanalu Abd Rahman, Siti Munirah Harris, Maryam Aizuddin
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Objective: Malaysia has a growing number of individuals with complex communication needs (CCN). The initiation of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention may facilitate individuals with CCN to understand and express themselves optimally and actively participate in activities in their daily life. AAC is defined as multimodal use of communication ability to allow individuals to use every mode possible to communicate with others using a set of symbols or systems that may include the symbols, aids, techniques, and strategies. It is consequently critical to evaluate the deficits to inform treatment for AAC intervention. However, no known measurement tools are available to evaluate the user with CCN available locally. Design: A systematic review (SR) is designed to analyze the psychometric properties of AAC assessment for adolescents with CCN published in peer-reviewed journals. Tools are rated by the methodological quality of studies and the psychometric measurement qualities of each tool. Method: A literature search identifying AAC assessment tools with psychometrically robust properties and conceptual framework was considered. Two independent reviewers screened the abstracts and full-text articles and review bibliographies for further references. Data were extracted using standardized forms and study risk of bias was assessed. Result: The review highlights the psychometric properties of AAC assessment tools that can be used by speech-language therapists applicable to be used in the Malaysian context. The work outlines how systematic review methods may be applied to the consideration of published material that provides valuable data to initiate the development of Malay Language AAC assessment tools. Conclusion: The synthesis of evidence has provided a framework for Malaysia Speech-Language therapists in making an informed decision for AAC intervention in our standard operating procedure in the Ministry of Health, Malaysia.Keywords: augmentative and alternative communication, assessment, adolescents, complex communication needs
Procedia PDF Downloads 1431242 Microbial Analysis of Street Vended Ready-to-Eat Meat around Thohoyandou Area, Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, RSA
Authors: Tshimangadzo Jeanette Raedani, Edgar Musie, Afsatou Traore
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Background: Street-vended meats, including chicken, pork, and beef, are popular in urban areas worldwide due to their convenience and affordability. However, these meats often pose a significant risk of foodborne diseases. The high water activity, protein content, and nearly neutral pH of meat create conditions conducive to the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Street foods, particularly meats, are frequently linked to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses due to potential contamination from improper handling and preparation. This study aimed to assess the microbial quality and safety of street-vended ready-to-eat meat sold in the Thohoyandou area. Method: The study involved collecting 168 samples of street-vended meat, split evenly between chicken (n=84) and beef (n=84), from various vendors around Thohoyandou. The samples were randomly selected and transported in sterile conditions to the Department of Food Microbiology at the University of Venda for analysis. Each 10-gram sample was cultured in selective media: MSA for Staphylococcus aureus, EMB for E. coli O157, XLD agar for Salmonella, and Sorbitol McConkey for Shigella. After initial culturing, the presumptive colonies were sub-cultured for purification and identified through Gram staining and biochemical tests, including Catalase, API 20E, Klingler Iron Agar Test, and Vitek 2 system. Antibiotic susceptibility was tested using agents such as Ampicillin, Chloramphenicol, Penicillin, Neomycin, Tetracycline, Streptomycin, and Amoxicillin. Molecular characterization was performed to identify E. coli pathotypes using multiplex PCR. Results: Out of 168 samples tested, 32 (19%) were positive for Staphylococcus spp., with the highest prevalence found in cooked chicken meat. The most common staphylococcus species identified were S. xylosus (13.2%) and S. saprophyticus (10.5%). E. coli was present in 29 (19.3%) of the samples, with the highest prevalence in fried chicken. Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that 100% of E. coli isolates were resistant to Ampicillin, Tetracycline, and Penicillin, but 100% were susceptible to Neomycin. Staphylococcus spp. isolates were also 100% resistant to Ampicillin and 100% susceptible to Neomycin. The study detected a range of virulence genes in E. coli, with prevalence rates from 13.33% to 86.67%. The identified pathotypes included EPEC, EHEC, ETEC, EAEC, and EIEC, with many isolates showing mixed pathotypes. Conclusion: The study highlighted that the microbial quality and safety of street-vended meats in Thohoyandou are inadequate, rendering them unsafe for consumption. The presence of pathogenic microorganisms in both beef and chicken samples indicates significant risks associated with poor personal hygiene and food preparation practices. This underscores the need for improved monitoring and stricter food safety measures to prevent foodborne diseases and ensure consumer safety.Keywords: meat, microbial analysis, street vendors, E. coli
Procedia PDF Downloads 81241 External Business Environment and Sustainability of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Jigawa State, Nigeria
Authors: Shehu Isyaku
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The general objective of the study was to investigate ‘the relationship between the external business environment and the sustainability of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Jigawa state’, Nigeria. Specifically, the study was to examine the relationship between 1) the economic environment, 2) the social environment, 3) the technological environment, and 4) the political environment and the sustainability of MSMEs in Jigawa state, Nigeria. The study was drawn on Resource-Based View (RBV) Theory and Knowledge-Based View (KBV). The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data from the 350 managers/owners who were selected using stratified, purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Data analysis was done using means and standard deviations, factor analysis, Correlation Coefficient, and Pearson Linear Regression analysis. The findings of the study revealed that the sustainability potentials of the managers/owners were rated as high potential (economic, environmental, and social sustainability using 5 5-point Likert scale. Mean ratings of effectiveness of the external business environment were; as highly effective. The results from the Pearson Linear Regression Analysis rejected the hypothesized non-significant effect of the external business environment on the sustainability of MSMEs. Specifically, there is a positive significant relationship between 1) economic environment and sustainability; 2) social environment and sustainability; 3) technological environment and sustainability and political environment and sustainability. The researcher concluded that MSME managers/owners have a high potential for economic, social and environmental sustainability and that all the constructs of the external business environment (economic environment, social environment, technological environment and political environment) have a positive significant relationship with the sustainability of MSMEs. Finally, the researcher recommended that 1) MSME managers/owners need to develop marketing strategies and intelligence systems to accumulate information about the competitors and customers' demands, 2) managers/owners should utilize the customers’ cultural and religious beliefs as an opportunity that should be utilized while formulating business strategies.Keywords: business environment, sustainability, small and medium enterprises, external business environment
Procedia PDF Downloads 431240 A Taxonomy of Professional Engineering Attributes for Tackling Global Humanitarian Challenges
Authors: Georgia Kremmyda, Angelos Georgoulas, Yiannis Koumpouros, James T. Mottram
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There is a growing interest in enhancing the creativity and problem-solving ability of engineering students by expanding their engagement to complex, interdisciplinary problems such as environmental issues, resilience to man-made and natural disasters, global health matters, water needs, increased energy demands, and other global humanitarian challenges. Tackling societal challenges requires knowledgeable and erudite engineers who can handle, combine, transform and create innovative, affordable and sustainable solutions. This view simultaneously complements and challenges current conceptions of an emerging educational movement that, almost without exception, are underpinned by calls for competitive economic growth and technological development. This article reveals a taxonomy of humanitarian attributes to be enabled to professional engineers, through reformed curricula and innovative pedagogies, which once implemented and integrated efficiently in higher engineering education, they will provide students and educators with opportunities to explore interdependencies and connections between resources, sustainable design, societal needs, and the natural environment and to critically engage with implicit and explicit facets of disciplinary identity. The research involves carrying out a study on (a) current practices, best practices and barriers in knowledge organisation, content, and hierarchy in graduate engineering programmes, (b) best practices associated with teaching and research in engineering education around the world, (c) opportunities inherent in general reforms of graduate engineering education and inherent in integrating the humanitarian context throughout engineering education programmes, and, (d) an overarching taxonomy of professional attributes for tackling humanitarian challenges. Research methods involve state-of-the-art literature review on engineering education and pedagogy to resource thematic findings on current status in engineering education worldwide, and qualitative research through three practice dialogue workshops, run in Asia (Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh) involving a variety of national, international and local stakeholders (industries; NGOs, governmental organisations). Findings from this study provide evidence on: (a) what are the professional engineering attributes (skills, experience, knowledge) needed for tackling humanitarian challenges; (b) how we can integrate other disciplines and professions to engineering while defining the professional attributes of engineers who are capable of tackling humanitarian challenges. The attributes will be linked to those discipline(s) and profession(s) that are more likely to enforce the attributes (removing the assumption that engineering education as it stands at the moment can provide all attributes), and; (c) how these attributes shall be supplied; what kind of pedagogies or training shall take place beyond current practices. Acknowledgment: The study is currently in progress and is being undertaken in the framework of the project ENHANCE - ENabling Humanitarian Attributes for Nurturing Community-based Engineering (project No: 598502-EEP-1-2018-1-UK-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP (2018-2582/001-001), funded by the Erasmus + KA2 Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices – Capacity building in the field of Higher Education.Keywords: professional engineering attributes, engineering education, taxonomy, humanitarian challenges, humanitarian engineering
Procedia PDF Downloads 1861239 Transport of Reactive Carbo-Iron Composite Particles for in situ Groundwater Remediation Investigated at Laboratory and Field Scale
Authors: Sascha E. Oswald, Jan Busch
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The in-situ dechlorination of contamination by chlorinated solvents in groundwater via zero-valent iron (nZVI) is potentially an efficient and prompt remediation method. A key requirement is that nZVI has to be introduced in the subsurface in a way that substantial quantities of the contaminants are actually brought into direct contact with the nZVI in the aquifer. Thus it could be a more flexible and precise alternative to permeable reactive barrier techniques using granular iron. However, nZVI are often limited by fast agglomeration and sedimentation in colloidal suspensions, even more so in the aquifer sediments, which is a handicap for the application to treat source zones or contaminant plumes. Colloid-supported nZVI show promising characteristics to overcome these limitations and Carbo-Iron Colloids is a newly developed composite material aiming for that. The nZVI is built onto finely ground activated carbon of about a micrometer diameter acting as a carrier for it. The Carbo-Iron Colloids are often suspended with a polyanionic stabilizer, and carboxymethyl cellulose is one with good properties for that. We have investigated the transport behavior of Carbo-Iron Colloids (CIC) on different scales and for different conditions to assess its mobility in aquifer sediments as a key property for making its application feasible. The transport properties were tested in one-dimensional laboratory columns, a two-dimensional model aquifer and also an injection experiment in the field. Those experiments were accompanied by non-invasive tomographic investigations of the transport and filtration processes of CIC suspensions. The laboratory experiments showed that a larger part of the CIC can travel at least scales of meters for favorable but realistic conditions. Partly this is even similar to a dissolved tracer. For less favorable conditions this can be much smaller and in all cases a particular fraction of the CIC injected is retained mainly shortly after entering the porous medium. As field experiment a horizontal flow field was established, between two wells with a distance of 5 meters, in a confined, shallow aquifer at a contaminated site in North German lowlands. First a tracer test was performed and a basic model was set up to define the design of the CIC injection experiment. Then CIC suspension was introduced into the aquifer at the injection well while the second well was pumped and samples taken there to observe the breakthrough of CIC. This was based on direct visual inspection and total particle and iron concentrations of water samples analyzed in the laboratory later. It could be concluded that at least 12% of the CIC amount injected reached the extraction well in due course, some of it traveling distances larger than 10 meters in the non-uniform dipole flow field. This demonstrated that these CIC particles have a substantial mobility for reaching larger volumes of a contaminated aquifer and for interacting there by their reactivity with dissolved contaminants in the pore space. Therefore they seem suited well for groundwater remediation by in-situ formation of reactive barriers for chlorinated solvent plumes or even source removal.Keywords: carbo-iron colloids, chlorinated solvents, in-situ remediation, particle transport, plume treatment
Procedia PDF Downloads 2421238 Numerical Model of Crude Glycerol Autothermal Reforming to Hydrogen-Rich Syngas
Authors: A. Odoom, A. Salama, H. Ibrahim
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Hydrogen is a clean source of energy for power production and transportation. The main source of hydrogen in this research is biodiesel. Glycerol also called glycerine is a by-product of biodiesel production by transesterification of vegetable oils and methanol. This is a reliable and environmentally-friendly source of hydrogen production than fossil fuels. A typical composition of crude glycerol comprises of glycerol, water, organic and inorganic salts, soap, methanol and small amounts of glycerides. Crude glycerol has limited industrial application due to its low purity thus, the usage of crude glycerol can significantly enhance the sustainability and production of biodiesel. Reforming techniques is an approach for hydrogen production mainly Steam Reforming (SR), Autothermal Reforming (ATR) and Partial Oxidation Reforming (POR). SR produces high hydrogen conversions and yield but is highly endothermic whereas POR is exothermic. On the downside, PO yields lower hydrogen as well as large amount of side reactions. ATR which is a fusion of partial oxidation reforming and steam reforming is thermally neutral because net reactor heat duty is zero. It has relatively high hydrogen yield, selectivity as well as limits coke formation. The complex chemical processes that take place during the production phases makes it relatively difficult to construct a reliable and robust numerical model. Numerical model is a tool to mimic reality and provide insight into the influence of the parameters. In this work, we introduce a finite volume numerical study for an 'in-house' lab-scale experiment of ATR. Previous numerical studies on this process have considered either using Comsol or nodal finite difference analysis. Since Comsol is a commercial package which is not readily available everywhere and lab-scale experiment can be considered well mixed in the radial direction. One spatial dimension suffices to capture the essential feature of ATR, in this work, we consider developing our own numerical approach using MATLAB. A continuum fixed bed reactor is modelled using MATLAB with both pseudo homogeneous and heterogeneous models. The drawback of nodal finite difference formulation is that it is not locally conservative which means that materials and momenta can be generated inside the domain as an artifact of the discretization. Control volume, on the other hand, is locally conservative and suites very well problems where materials are generated and consumed inside the domain. In this work, species mass balance, Darcy’s equation and energy equations are solved using operator splitting technique. Therefore, diffusion-like terms are discretized implicitly while advection-like terms are discretized explicitly. An upwind scheme is adapted for the advection term to ensure accuracy and positivity. Comparisons with the experimental data show very good agreements which build confidence in our modeling approach. The models obtained were validated and optimized for better results.Keywords: autothermal reforming, crude glycerol, hydrogen, numerical model
Procedia PDF Downloads 1341237 In vitro and in vivo Effects of 'Sonneratia alba' Extract against the Fish Pathogen 'Aphanomyces invadans'
Authors: S. F. Afzali, W. L. Wong
Abstract:
The epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) causes by the oomycete fungus, Aphanomyces invadans; known to be one of the infectious fish diseases for farmed and wild fishes in fresh and brackish-water from the Asia-pacific region, America and Africa. Although, EUS had been documented by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) since 1995, hitherto, there is neither standard chemical agents that can be used for successful treatment of this destructive infection in the time of outbreak; nor available vaccine for prevention. Plant-based remedies in controlling fish diseases are gaining much attention recently as an alternative to chemical treatments, which possess negative effects to the environment and human. In present study, Sonneratia alba, a mangrove plant belongs to the Sonneratiaceae family, was screened in vitro and in vivo for its antifungal activity against A. invadans mycelium growth and its effects on fish innate immune system and disease resistant. The in vitro tests was performed using the disc diffusion methods with measurements of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and inhibition zone. For in vivo study, the S. alba extract supplemented diets were administrated at 0.0, 1.0%, 3.0%, and 5.0% on healthy goldfish, Carassius auratus, which challenged with A. invadans zoospores (100 spores/ml). To compare the significant differences in the hematological and immunological parameters obtained from the experiments, the data were analysed using the SPSS. The methanol extract of S. alba effectively inhibited the mycelial growth of A. invadans at a minimum concentration of 1000 ppm for agar and filter paper diffusion experiments. In the agar diffusion test, 500 ppm of the extract inhibited the fungus mycelial growth up to 96 hours after exposure. The mycelial growth from the edge of the pre-inoculated A. invadans agar discs treated with S. alba extracts at concentrations of 100, 500 and 1000 ppm were 15, 8 and 0 mm respectively. The results of the filter paper disc test showed that the S. alba extract at its minimal inhibitory concentration (1000 ppm) has similar qualitative inhibitory effect as malachite green at 1 ppm and formalin at 250 ppm. According to the in vivo tests findings, in the infected fish fed with 3.0% and 5.0% supplementation diet, the numbers of white blood cell and myeloperoxidase activity significantly increased after the second week of treatment. Whilst the numbers of red blood cell significantly decreased in the infected fish fed with 0.0 and 1.0% supplementation diet. After the third week of feeding, significant increases in the total protein, albumin level, lysozyme activity were recorded in the infected fish fed with 3.0% and 5.0% supplementation diet. Also, the enriched diets increased the survival rate as compared to the untreated group that suffered from 90% mortality. The present study indicated that S. alba extract may inhibit the mycelial growth of A. invadans effectively, suggesting an alternative to other chemotherapeutic agents, which brought much environmental and health concerns to the public, for EUS treatment.Keywords: fungal pathogen, goldfish, organic extract, treatment
Procedia PDF Downloads 2801236 Leveraging Advanced Technologies and Data to Eliminate Abandoned, Lost, or Otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear and Derelict Fishing Gear
Authors: Grant Bifolchi
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As global environmental problems continue to have highly adverse effects, finding long-term, sustainable solutions to combat ecological distress are of growing paramount concern. Ghost Gear—also known as abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) and derelict fishing gear (DFG)—represents one of the greatest threats to the world’s oceans, posing a significant hazard to human health, livelihoods, and global food security. In fact, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear represents approximately 10% of marine debris by volume. Around the world, many governments, governmental and non-profit organizations are doing their best to manage the reporting and retrieval of nets, lines, ropes, traps, floats and more from their respective bodies of water. However, these organizations’ ability to effectively manage files and documents about the environmental problem further complicates matters. In Ghost Gear monitoring and management, organizations face additional complexities. Whether it’s data ingest, industry regulations and standards, garnering actionable insights into the location, security, and management of data, or the application of enforcement due to disparate data—all of these factors are placing massive strains on organizations struggling to save the planet from the dangers of Ghost Gear. In this 90-minute educational session, globally recognized Ghost Gear technology expert Grant Bifolchi CET, BBA, Bcom, will provide real-world insight into how governments currently manage Ghost Gear and the technology that can accelerate success in combatting ALDFG and DFG. In this session, attendees will learn how to: • Identify specific technologies to solve the ingest and management of Ghost Gear data categories, including type, geo-location, size, ownership, regional assignment, collection and disposal. • Provide enhanced access to authorities, fisheries, independent fishing vessels, individuals, etc., while securely controlling confidential and privileged data to globally recognized standards. • Create and maintain processing accuracy to effectively track ALDFG/DFG reporting progress—including acknowledging receipt of the report and sharing it with all pertinent stakeholders to ensure approvals are secured. • Enable and utilize Business Intelligence (BI) and Analytics to store and analyze data to optimize organizational performance, maintain anytime-visibility of report status, user accountability, scheduling, management, and foster governmental transparency. • Maintain Compliance Reporting through highly defined, detailed and automated reports—enabling all stakeholders to share critical insights with internal colleagues, regulatory agencies, and national and international partners.Keywords: ghost gear, ALDFG, DFG, abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear, data, technology
Procedia PDF Downloads 88