Search results for: pore scale

Authors: Azhan Azhar, Mohammed Sakib, Zaurez Ahmad

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The energy we receive from the sun is known as solar energy, and it is a reliable, long-lasting, eco-friendly and the most widely used energy source in the 21st century. It is. There are several techniques for harnessing solar energy, and we are all seeing large utility-scale projects to collect maximum amperes from the sun using current technologies. Solar PV is now on the rise as a means of harvesting energy from the sun. Moving a step further, our project is focused on designing an All-in-one portable Solar Energy based solution. We considered the minimum load conditions and evaluated the requirements of various devices utilized in this study to resolve the power requirements of small stores, hawkers, or travelers.

Keywords: DOD-depth of discharge, pulse width modulation charge controller, renewable energy, solar PV- solar photovoltaic

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Authors: Hilal Keskin, Gülzade Uysal

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This study was conducted to determine the effect of bedside music mobile use on physiological parameters and pain level during intestinal stomaterapy in infants. The study was carried out with 66 babies (music mobile group: 33, Control group: 33) who were followed in the pediatric surgery and urology unit of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Training and Research Hospital between December 2018- October 2019. Data were collected using the “Data Collection Form” and “FLACC Pain Scale.” They were evaluated using the appropriate statistical methods in the SPSS 22.0 program. The difference between the descriptive features of music mobile and control group was not significant (p> 0.05) groups are distributed homogeneously. When the in-group results were examined; There was no significant change in the mean values of Hearth Peak Beat (HPB), SpO2 and blood pressure of the infants in the music mobile group during stomaterapy (p>0.05). Body temperature and Face, Leg, Activity, Cry, Consolability (FLACC) Pain Scale scores were found to increase immediately after stomaterapy (p<0.05). It was found that the mean scores of KTA, body temperature and FLACC pain of the babies in the control group increased significantly after the stomaterapy and SpO2 value decreased (p <0,05). After 15 minutes from stomatherapy, KTA, blood pressure, body temperature and FLACC pain scores averaged; although SpO2 value increased, it was determined that it could not reach pre-stomaterapy value. Results between groups; KTA, SpO2, systolic/diastolic blood pressure, body temperature, and FLACC pain score mean values between groups were homogeneous before stomaterapy (p> 0.05). In the control group, a significant increase was found in the mean scores of KTA, body temperature and FLACC pain after stomaterapy compared to the bedside music mobile group, and a significant decrease in SpO2 values (p <0.05). In the control group, the mean body temperature and FLACC pain scores of the infants 15 minutes after stomaterapy were significantly increased and the SpO2 values were significantly lower than the bedside music group (p <0.05). According to the results of the research; The use of bedside music mobile during intestinal stomaterapy was found to be effective in decreasing the physiological parameters and pain level. It can be recommended for use in infants during painful interventions.

Keywords: intestinal stomatherapy, infant, musical mobile, pain, physiological parameters

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Authors: Jaechun No

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This paper focuses on I/O optimizations of N-hybrid (New-Form of hybrid), which provides a hybrid file system space constructed on SSD and HDD. Although the promising potentials of SSD, such as the absence of mechanical moving overhead and high random I/O throughput, have drawn a lot of attentions from IT enterprises, its high ratio of cost/capacity makes it less desirable to build a large-scale data storage subsystem composed of only SSDs. In this paper, we present N-hybrid that attempts to integrate the strengths of SSD and HDD, to offer a single, large hybrid file system space. Several experiments were conducted to verify the performance of N-hybrid.

Keywords: SSD, data section, I/O optimizations, hybrid system

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Authors: Päärn Paiste, Margit Kõiv, Riho Mõtlep, Kalle Kirsimäe

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For small-scale wastewater management, the treatment wetlands (TWs) as a low cost alternative to conventional treatment facilities, can be used. However, P removal capacity of TW systems is usually problematic. P removal in TWs is mainly dependent on the physico–chemical and hydrological properties of the filter material. Highest P removal efficiency has been shown trough Ca-phosphate precipitation (i.e. active filtration) in Ca-rich alkaline filter materials, e.g. industrial by-products like hydrated oil shale ash (HOSA), metallurgical slags. In this contribution we report preliminary results of a full-scale TW system using HOSA material for P removal for a municipal wastewater at Nõo site, Estonia. The main goals of this ongoing project are to evaluate: a) the long-term P removal efficiency of HOSA using real waste water; b) the effect of high organic loading rate; c) variable P-loading effects on the P removal mechanism (adsorption/direct precipitation); and d) the form and composition of phosphate precipitates. Onsite full-scale experiment with two concurrent filter systems for treatment of municipal wastewater was established in September 2013. System’s pretreatment steps include septic tank (2 m2) and vertical down-flow LECA filters (3 m2 each), followed by horizontal subsurface HOSA filters (effective volume 8 m3 each). Overall organic and hydraulic loading rates of both systems are the same. However, the first system is operated in a stable hydraulic loading regime and the second in variable loading regime that imitates the wastewater production in an average household. Piezometers for water and perforated sample containers for filter material sampling were incorporated inside the filter beds to allow for continuous in-situ monitoring. During the 18 months of operation the median removal efficiency (inflow to outflow) of both systems were over 99% for TP, 93% for COD and 57% for TN. However, we observed significant differences in the samples collected in different points inside the filter systems. In both systems, we observed development of preferred flow paths and zones with high and low loadings. The filters show formation and a gradual advance of a “dead” zone along the flow path (zone with saturated filter material characterized by ineffective removal rates), which develops more rapidly in the system working under variable loading regime. The formation of the “dead” zone is accompanied by the growth of organic substances on the filter material particles that evidently inhibit the P removal. Phase analysis of used filter materials using X-ray diffraction method reveals formation of minor amounts of amorphous Ca-phosphate precipitates. This finding is supported by ATR-FTIR and SEM-EDS measurements, which also reveal Ca-phosphate and authigenic carbonate precipitation. Our first experimental results demonstrate that organic pollution and loading regime significantly affect the performance of hydrated ash filters. The material analyses also show that P is incorporated into a carbonate substituted hydroxyapatite phase.

Keywords: active filtration, apatite, hydrated oil shale ash, organic pollution, phosphorus

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Authors: Mitchell J. Baum, Badin Gibbes, Greg Collecutt

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This study details a three-dimensional field-scale numerical investigation conducted for the Gold Coast Desalination Plant (GCDP) offshore multiport brine diffuser. Quantitative assessment of diffuser performance with regard to trajectory, dilution and mapping of seafloor concentration distributions was conducted for 100% plant operation. The quasi-steady Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed using the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations with a k-ω shear stress transport turbulence closure scheme. The study compliments a field investigation, which measured brine plume characteristics under similar conditions. CFD models used an iterative mesh in a domain with dimensions 400 m long, 200 m wide and an average depth of 24.2 m. Acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements conducted in the companion field study exhibited considerable variability over the water column. The effect of this vertical variability on simulated discharge outcomes was examined. Seafloor slope was also accommodated into the model. Ambient currents varied predominantly in the longshore direction – perpendicular to the diffuser structure. Under these conditions, the alternating port orientation of the GCDP diffuser resulted in simultaneous subjection to co-propagating and counter-propagating ambient regimes. Results from quiescent ambient simulations suggest broad agreement with empirical scaling arguments traditionally employed in design and regulatory assessments. Simulated dynamic ambient regimes showed the influence of ambient crossflow upon jet trajectory, dilution and seafloor concentration is significant. The effect of ambient flow structure and the subsequent influence on jet dynamics is discussed, along with the implications for using these different simulation approaches to inform regulatory decisions.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, desalination, field-scale simulation, multiport brine diffuser, negatively buoyant jet

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Authors: Fadhl Alakwaa

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One of the sustainable goals of the system biology is understanding gene-gene interactions. Hence, gene regulatory networks (GRN) need to be constructed for understanding the disease ontology and to reduce the cost of drug development. To construct gene regulatory from gene expression we need to overcome many challenges such as data denoising and dimensionality. In this paper, we develop an integrated system to reduce data dimension and remove the noise. The generated network from our system was validated via available interaction databases and was compared to previous methods. The result revealed the performance of our proposed method.

Keywords: gene regulatory network, biclustering, denoising, system biology

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Authors: Debananda Mohapatra, Subramanya Badrayyana, Smrutiranjan Parida

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Carbon nano-onions (CNOs) are the spherical graphitic nanostructures composed of concentric shells of graphitic carbon can be hypothesized as the intermediate state between fullerenes and graphite. These are very important members in fullerene family also known as the multi-shelled fullerenes can be envisioned as promising supercapacitor electrode with high energy & power density as they provide easy access to ions at electrode-electrolyte interface due to their curvature. There is still very sparse report concerning on CNOs as electrode despite having an excellent electrodechemical performance record due to their unavailability and lack of convenient methods for their high yield preparation and purification. Keeping all these current pressing issues in mind, we present a facile scalable and straightforward flame synthesis method of pure and highly dispersible CNOs without contaminated by any other forms of carbon; hence, a post processing purification procedure is not necessary. To the best of our knowledge, this is the very first time; we developed an extremely simple, light weight, novel inexpensive, flexible free standing pristine CNOs electrode without using any binder element. Locally available daily used cotton wipe has been used for fabrication of such an ideal electrode by ‘dipping and drying’ process providing outstanding stretchability and mechanical flexibility with strong adhesion between CNOs and porous wipe. The specific capacitance 102 F/g, energy density 3.5 Wh/kg and power density 1224 W/kg at 20 mV/s scan rate are the highest values that ever recorded and reported so far in symmetrical two electrode cell configuration with 1M Na2SO4 electrolyte; indicating a very good synthesis conditions employed with optimum pore size in agreement with electrolyte ion size. This free standing CNOs electrode also showed an excellent cyclic performance and stability retaining 95% original capacity after 5000 charge –discharge cycles. Furthermore, this unique method not only affords binder free - freestanding electrode but also provide a general way of fabricating such multifunctional promising CNOs based nanocomposites for their potential device applications in flexible solar cells and lithium-ion batteries.

Keywords: binder-free, flame synthesis, flexible, carbon nano onion

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Authors: Sharmin Sultana, Reinhard Schlickeiser

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A degenerate relativistic quantum plasma (DRQP) system (containing relativistically degenerate electrons, degenerate/non-degenerate light nuclei, and non-degenerate heavy nuclei) is considered to investigate the propagation characteristics of electrostatic solitary waves (in the ionic scale length) theoretically and numerically. The ion-acoustic solitons are found to be associated with the modified ion-acoustic waves (MIAWs) in which inertia (restoring force) is provided by mass density of the light or heavy nuclei (degenerate pressure of the cold electrons). A mechanical-motion analog (Sagdeev-type) pseudo-potential approach is adopted to study the properties of large amplitude solitary waves. The basic properties of the large amplitude MIAWs and their existence domain in terms of soliton speed (Mach number) are examined. On the other hand, a multi-scale perturbation approach, leading to an evolution equation for the envelope dynamics, is adopted to derive the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE). The criteria for the occurrence of modulational instability (MI) of the MIAWs are analyzed via the nonlinear dispersion relation of the NLSE. The possibility for the formation of highly energetic localized modes (e.g. peregrine solitons, rogue waves, etc.) is predicted in such DRQP medium. Peregrine solitons or rogue waves with amplitudes of several times of the background are observed to form in DRQP. The basic features of these modulated waves (e.g. envelope solitons, peregrine solitons, and rogue waves), which are found to form in DRQP, and their MI criteria (on the basis of different intrinsic plasma parameters), are investigated. It is emphasized that our results should be useful in understanding the propagation characteristics of localized disturbances and the modulation dynamics of envelope solitons, and their instability criteria in astrophysical DRQP system (e.g. white dwarfs, neutron stars, etc., where matters under extreme conditions are assumed to exist) and also in ultra-high density experimental plasmas.

Keywords: degenerate plasma, envelope solitons, modified ion-acoustic waves, modulational instability, rogue waves

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Authors: Mary L. G. S. Senna, Veruska C. Dutra, Afonso R. Aquino

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The study is in application and analysis of two tourism management tools that can contribute to making public managers decision: the Barometer of Tourism Sustainability (BTS) and the Ecological Footprint (EF). The results have shown that BTS allows you to have an integrated view of the tourism system, awakening to the need for planning of appropriate actions so that it can achieve the positive scale proposed (potentially sustainable). Already the methodology of ecological tourism footprint is an important tool to measure potential impacts generated by tourism to tourist reality.

Keywords: barometer of tourism sustainability, ecological footprint of tourism, Jalapão/Brazil, sustainable tourism

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Authors: X. Li, Y. Liu, H. Wong, B. Pardoen, A. Fabbri, F. McGregor, E. Liu

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The target of this paper is to investigate how saturated poroelastic soils subject to freezing temperatures behave and how different boundary conditions can intervene and affect the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) responses, based on a particular but classical configuration of a finite homogeneous soil layer studied by Terzaghi. The essential relations on the constitutive behavior of a freezing soil are firstly recalled: ice crystal - liquid water thermodynamic equilibrium, hydromechanical constitutive equations, momentum balance, water mass balance, and the thermal diffusion equation, in general, non-linear case where material parameters are state-dependent. The system of equations is firstly linearized, assuming all material parameters to be constants, particularly the permeability of liquid water, which should depend on the ice content. Two analytical solutions solved by the classic Laplace transform are then developed, accounting for two different sets of boundary conditions. Afterward, the general non-linear equations with state-dependent parameters are solved using a commercial code COMSOL based on finite elements method to obtain numerical results. The validity of this numerical modeling is partially verified using the analytical solution in the limiting case of state-independent parameters. Comparison between the results given by the linearized analytical solutions and the non-linear numerical model reveals that the above-mentioned linear computation will always underestimate the liquid pore pressure and displacement, whatever the hydraulic boundary conditions are. In the nonlinear model, the faster growth of ice crystals, accompanying the subsequent reduction of permeability of freezing soil layer, makes a longer duration for the depressurization of water liquid and slower settlement in the case where the ground surface is swiftly covered by a thin layer of ice, as well as a bigger global liquid pressure and swelling in the case of the impermeable ground surface. Nonetheless, the analytical solutions based on linearized equations give a correct order-of-magnitude estimate, especially at moderate temperature variations, and remain a useful tool for preliminary design checks.

Keywords: chemical potential, cryosuction, Laplace transform, multiphysics coupling, phase transformation, thermodynamic equilibrium

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Authors: Ali Mohammadi

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The basis for the construction of any project is a map, a map where the surveyor can determine the coordinates of the points on the ground by using the coordinates and using the total station, projects such as dams, roads, tunnels and pipelines, if the base points are determined using GPS prepared can create challenges for the surveyor to control. First, we will examine some map projection on which the maps are designed, and a summary of their differences and the challenges that surveyors face in order to control them, because in order to build projects, we need real lengths and angles, so we have to use coordinates that provide us with the results of the calculations. We will examine some examples to understand the concept of localization so that the surveyor knows if he is facing a challenge or not and if he is faced with this challenge, how should he solve this problem.

Keywords: UTM, scale factor, cartesian, traverse

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Authors: G. Yakubova, A. Kavetskiy, S. A. Prior, H. A. Torbert

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In-situ soil carbon determination over large soil surface areas (several hectares) is required in regard to carbon sequestration and carbon credit issues. This capability is important for optimizing modern agricultural practices and enhancing soil science knowledge. Collecting and processing representative field soil cores for traditional laboratory chemical analysis is labor-intensive and time-consuming. The neutron-stimulated gamma analysis method can be used for in-situ measurements of primary elements in agricultural soils (e.g., Si, Al, O, C, Fe, and H). This non-destructive method can assess several elements in large soil volumes with no need for sample preparation. Neutron-gamma soil elemental analysis utilizes gamma rays issued from different neutron-nuclei interactions. This process has become possible due to the availability of commercial portable pulse neutron generators, high-efficiency gamma detectors, reliable electronics, and measurement/data processing software complimented by advances in state-of-the-art nuclear physics methods. In Pulsed Fast Thermal Neutron Analysis (PFTNA), soil irradiation is accomplished using a pulsed neutron flux, and gamma spectra acquisition occurs both during and between pulses. This method allows the inelastic neutron scattering (INS) gamma spectrum to be separated from the thermal neutron capture (TNC) spectrum. Based on PFTNA, a mobile system for field-scale soil elemental determinations (primarily carbon) was developed and constructed. Our scanning methodology acquires data that can be directly used for creating soil elemental distribution maps (based on ArcGIS software) in a reasonable timeframe (~20-30 hectares per working day). Created maps are suitable for both agricultural purposes and carbon sequestration estimates. The measurement system design, spectra acquisition process, strategy for acquiring field-scale carbon content data, and mapping of agricultural fields will be discussed.

Keywords: neutron gamma analysis, soil elemental content, carbon sequestration, carbon credit, soil gamma spectroscopy, portable neutron generators, ArcMap mapping

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Authors: Oral Lacin, Turan Calban, Fatih Sevim, Taner Celik

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In this study, Pb²⁺ uptake by the hydroxyapatite nanopowders (n-Hap) from aqueous solutions was investigated by using batch adsorption techniques. The adsorption equilibrium studies were carried out as a function of contact time, adsorbent dosage, pH, temperature, and initial Pb²⁺ concentration. The results showed that the equilibrium time of adsorption was achieved within 60 min, and the effective pH was selected to be 5 (natural pH). The maximum adsorption capacity of Pb²⁺ on n-Hap was found as 565 mg.g^-1. It is believed that the results obtained for adsorption may provide a background for the detailed mechanism investigations and the pilot and industrial scale applications.

Keywords: nanopowders, hydroxyapatite, heavy metals, adsorption

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Authors: Hamsasew Hankebo Lemago, Dóra Hessz, Zoltán Erdélyi, Imre Miklós Szilágyi

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Metal oxide inverse opals are a unique class of photocatalysts with a hierarchical structure that mimics the natural opal gemstone. They are composed of a network of interconnected pores, which provides a large surface area and efficient pathways for the transport of light and reactants. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a versatile technique for the synthesis of high-precision metal oxide thin films, including inverse opals. ALD allows for precise control over the thickness, composition, and morphology of the synthesized films, making it an ideal technique for the fabrication of photocatalysts with tailored properties. In this study, we report the synthesis of TiO2, ZnO, and Al2O3 inverse opal photocatalysts using thermal or plasma-enhanced ALD. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized using a variety of techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL), ellipsometry, and UV-visible spectroscopy. The results showed that the ALD-synthesized metal oxide inverse opals had a highly ordered structure and a tunable pore size. The PL spectroscopy results showed low recombination rates of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, while the ellipsometry and UV-visible spectroscopy results showed tunable optical properties and band gap energies. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the ALD-synthesized metal oxide inverse opals exhibited high photocatalytic activity, even under visible light irradiation. The composites photocatalysts showed even higher activity than the individual metal oxide inverse opals. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the composites can be attributed to the synergistic effect between the different metal oxides. For example, Al2O3 can act as a charge carrier scavenger, which can reduce the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The ALD-synthesized metal oxide inverse opals and their composites are promising photocatalysts for a variety of applications, such as wastewater treatment, air purification, and energy production. For example, they can be used to remove organic pollutants from wastewater, decompose harmful gases in the air, and produce hydrogen fuel from water.

Keywords: ALD, metal oxide inverse opals, composites, photocatalysis

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Authors: Abdullah Karaman, Kursad Sayin

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In this research, which information technologies are used in small hotel businesses, and the information technologies-performance perception of the managers are pointed out. During the research, the questionnaire was prepared and the small scale hotel managers were interviewed face to face and they filled out the questionnaire and the answers acquired were evaluated. As the result of the research, it was obtained that the managers do not care much about the information technologies usage in practice even though they accepted that the information technologies are important in terms of performance.

Keywords: information technologies, managers, performance, small hotels

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Authors: Andrew Freiburger, Sergi Molins

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Freshwater is a vital resource; yet, the supply of clean freshwater is diminishing as the consequence of melting snow and ice from global warming, pollution from industry, and an increasing demand from human population growth. The unsustainable trajectory of diminishing water resources is projected to jeopardize water security for billions of people in the 21st century. Membrane desalination technologies may resolve the growing discrepancy between supply and demand by filtering arbitrary feed water into a fraction of renewable, clean water and a fraction of highly concentrated brine. The leading hindrance of membrane desalination is fouling, whereby the highly concentrated brine solution encourages micro-organismal colonization and/or the precipitation of occlusive minerals (i.e. scale) upon the membrane surface. Thus, an understanding of brine formation is necessary to mitigate membrane fouling and to develop efficacious desalination technologies that can bolster the supply of available freshwater. This study presents a reactive transport simulation of brine formation and scale deposition during reverse osmosis (RO) desalination. The simulation conceptually represents the RO module as a one-dimensional domain, where feed water directionally enters the domain with a prescribed fluid velocity and is iteratively concentrated in the immobile layer of a dual porosity model. Geochemical PHREEQC code numerically evaluated the conceptual model with parameters for the BW30-400 RO module and for real water feed sources – e.g. the Red and Mediterranean seas, and produced waters from American oil-wells, based upon peer-review data. The presented simulation is computationally simpler, and hence less resource intensive, than the existent and more rigorous simulations of desalination phenomena, like TOUGHREACT. The end-user may readily prepare input files and execute simulations on a personal computer with open source software. The graphical results of fouling-potential and brine characteristics may therefore be particularly useful as the initial tool for screening candidate feed water sources and/or informing the selection of an RO module.

Keywords: desalination, PHREEQC, reactive transport, scaling

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Authors: Janneth Gonzalez, Andrés Pinzon Velasco, Maria Angarita

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Astrocytes play an important role in various processes in the brain, including pathological conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases. Recent studies have shown that the increase in saturated fatty acids such as palmitic acid (PA) triggers pro-inflammatorypathways in the brain. The use of synthetic neurosteroids such as tibolone has demonstrated neuro-protective mechanisms. However, broad studies with a systemic point of view on the neurodegenerative role of PA and the neuro-protective mechanisms of tibolone are lacking. In this study, we performed the integration of multi-omic data (transcriptome and proteome) into a human astrocyte genomic scale metabolic model to study the astrocytic response during palmitate treatment. We evaluated metabolic fluxes in three scenarios (healthy, induced inflammation by PA, and tibolone treatment under PA inflammation). We also applied a control theory approach to identify those reactions that exert more control in the astrocytic system. Our results suggest that PA generates a modulation of central and secondary metabolism, showing a switch in energy source use through inhibition of folate cycle and fatty acid β‐oxidation and upregulation of ketone bodies formation. We found 25 metabolic switches under PA‐mediated cellular regulation, 9 of which were critical only in the inflammatory scenario but not in the protective tibolone one. Within these reactions, inhibitory, total, and directional coupling profiles were key findings, playing a fundamental role in the (de)regulation of metabolic pathways that may increase neurotoxicity and represent potential treatment targets. Finally, the overall framework of our approach facilitates the understanding of complex metabolic regulation, and it can be used for in silico exploration of the mechanisms of astrocytic cell regulation, directing a more complex future experimental work in neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: astrocytes, data integration, palmitic acid, computational model, multi-omics

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Authors: Mohd Nizam Osman

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This study explores issues and challenges of information and communication technology (ICT) adoption and application for business-related performance of Agro-based small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Globally, SMEs have championed the socio-economic development of nations across the globe, including Malaysia. Thus, the objectives of this study explore issues and challenges of agro-based SMEs' adoption and usage of ICT, the business-related performance of SMEs via the adoption of ICT, and the impact of incentives on SMEs' adoption and use of ICT. The study was conducted in Selangor, Malaysia. A qualitative research approach was deployed for the study. Data for the study emanated from semi-structured interviews and field note observation of 14 informants who are registered as small-scale business owners and operators. Based on thematic analysis, data were triangulated to ensure consistency and validation of findings for the study. Findings revealed that SMEs are faced with a lack of funding, low expertise, and lack of storage, leading to an unsustainable supply of goods and services. Although effective communication, ease of business activities/transactions, and information search by way of research were among the business performance experienced by SMEs' adoption of ICT. Further findings showed that loan conditions and personal and business interests hindered SMEs' reception and access to programs, schemes, and incentives geared at aiding the continuous growth and development of agro-based SMEs. The study suggests the need for policy change in terms of diversification of channels of funding and access to funds to enable credit guarantee schemes and peer or community-based financing. Consequently, the study recommends the engagement of SMEs in policy decision-making to ascertain the type of incentives relevant to their business operations. Likewise, from a technological standpoint, the study suggests the expansion of the framework of technology acceptance with focuses on affordability, type of users, and level of usage.

Keywords: ICT adoption, business related performance, agro-based SMEs, ICT application for SMEs

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Authors: A. Pesin, D. Pustovoytov, M. Sverdlik

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During production of rolled steel strips the quality of the surface of finished strips influences steel consumption considerably. The most critical areas for crack formation during rolling are lateral sides of slabs. Deformation behaviors of the slab edge in roughing rolling process were analyzed by the finite element method with Deform-3D. In this study our focus is the analysis of the influence of edger’s form on the possibility to decrease surface cracking during roughing hot rolling.

Keywords: roughing hot rolling, FEM, crack, bulging

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Authors: Ayman Mutahar Alrassas, Shaoran Ren, Renyuan Ren, Hung Vo Thanh, Mohammed Hail Hakimi, Zhenliang Guan

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The significant effect of CO₂ on global climate and the environment has gained more concern worldwide. Enhance oil recovery (EOR) associated with sequestration of CO₂ particularly into the depleted oil reservoir is considered the viable approach under financial limitations since it improves the oil recovery from the existing oil reservoir and boosts the relation between global-scale of CO₂ capture and geological sequestration. Consequently, practical measurements are required to attain large-scale CO₂ emission reduction. This paper presents an integrated modeling workflow to construct an accurate 3D reservoir geological model to estimate the storage capacity of CO₂ under geological uncertainty in an unconventional oil reservoir of the Paleogene Shahejie Formation (Es1) in the block Nv32, Shenvsi oilfield, China. In this regard, geophysical data, including well logs of twenty-two well locations and seismic data, were combined with geological and engineering data and used to construct a 3D reservoir geological modeling. The geological modeling focused on four tight reservoir units of the Shahejie Formation (Es1-x1, Es1-x2, Es1-x3, and Es1-x4). The validated 3D reservoir models were subsequently used to calculate the theoretical CO₂ storage capacity in the block Nv32, Shenvsi oilfield. Well logs were utilized to predict petrophysical properties such as porosity and permeability, and lithofacies and indicate that the Es1 reservoir units are mainly sandstone, shale, and limestone with a proportion of 38.09%, 32.42%, and 29.49, respectively. Well log-based petrophysical results also show that the Es1 reservoir units generally exhibit 2–36% porosity, 0.017 mD to 974.8 mD permeability, and moderate to good net to gross ratios. These estimated values of porosity, permeability, lithofacies, and net to gross were up-scaled and distributed laterally using Sequential Gaussian Simulation (SGS) and Simulation Sequential Indicator (SIS) methods to generate 3D reservoir geological models. The reservoir geological models show there are lateral heterogeneities of the reservoir properties and lithofacies, and the best reservoir rocks exist in the Es1-x4, Es1-x3, and Es1-x2 units, respectively. In addition, the reservoir volumetric of the Es1 units in block Nv32 was also estimated based on the petrophysical property models and fund to be between 0.554368

Keywords: CO₂ storage capacity, 3D geological model, geological uncertainty, unconventional oil reservoir, block Nv32

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Authors: Bhargav Baruah, Ali Shemsedin Reshad, Pankaj Tiwari

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This work presents a detailed study on the thermal degradation kinetics of co-pyrolysis of oil shale of Upper Assam, India with rubber seed shell, and lab-scale pyrolysis to investigate the influence of pyrolysis parameters on product yield and composition of products. The physicochemical characteristics of oil shale and rubber seed shell were studied by proximate analysis, elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The physicochemical study showed the mixture to be of low moisture, high ash, siliceous, sour with the presence of aliphatic, aromatic, and phenolic compounds. The thermal decomposition of the oil shale with rubber seed shell was studied using thermogravimetric analysis at heating rates of 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 °C/min. The kinetic study of the oil shale pyrolysis process was performed on the thermogravimetric (TGA) data using three model-free isoconversional methods viz. Friedman, Flynn Wall Ozawa (FWO), and Kissinger Akahira Sunnose (KAS). The reaction mechanisms were determined using the Criado master plot. The understanding of the composition of Indian oil shale and rubber seed shell and pyrolysis process kinetics can help to establish the experimental parameters for the extraction of valuable products from the mixture. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed usinf central composite design (CCD) model to setup the lab-scale experiment using TGA data, and optimization of process parameters viz. heating rate, temperature, and particle size. The samples were pre-dried at 115°C for 24 hours prior to pyrolysis. The pyrolysis temperatures were set from 450 to 650 °C, at heating rates of 2 to 20°C/min. The retention time was set between 2 to 8 hours. The optimum oil yield was observed at 5°C/min and 550°C with a retention time of 5 hours. The pyrolytic oil and gas obtained at optimum conditions were subjected to characterization using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR).

Keywords: Indian oil shale, rubber seed shell, co-pyrolysis, isoconversional methods, gas chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

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Authors: Kulin Dave, Kapil Mohan

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Earthquakes are considered to be the most destructive rapid-onset disasters human beings are exposed to. The amount of loss it brings in is sufficient to take careful considerations for designing of structures and facilities. Seismic Hazard Analysis is one such tool which can be used for earthquake resistant design. Ground Response Analysis is one of the most crucial and decisive steps for seismic hazard analysis. Rapar district of Kutch, Gujarat falls in Zone 5 of earthquake zone map of India and thus has high seismicity because of which it is selected for analysis. In total 8 bore-log data were studied at different locations in and around Rapar district. Different soil engineering properties were analyzed and relevant empirical correlations were used to calculate maximum shear modulus (Gmax) and shear wave velocity (Vs) for the soil layers. The soil was modeled using Pressure-Dependent Modified Kodner Zelasko (MKZ) model and the reference curve used for fitting was Seed and Idriss (1970) for sand and Darendeli (2001) for clay. Both Equivalent linear (EL), as well as Non-linear (NL) ground response analysis, has been carried out with Masing Hysteretic Re/Unloading formulation for comparison. Commercially available DEEPSOIL v. 7.0 software is used for this analysis. In this study an attempt is made to quantify ground response regarding generated acceleration time-history at top of the soil column, Response spectra calculation at 5 % damping and Fourier amplitude spectrum calculation. Moreover, the variation of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA), Maximum Displacement, Maximum Strain (in %), Maximum Stress Ratio, Mobilized Shear Stress with depth is also calculated. From the study, PGA values estimated in rocky strata are nearly same as bedrock motion and marginal amplification is observed in sandy silt and silty clays by both analyses. The NL analysis gives conservative results of maximum displacement as compared to EL analysis. Maximum strain predicted by both studies is very close to each other. And overall NL analysis is more efficient and realistic because it follows the actual hyperbolic stress-strain relationship, considers stiffness degradation and mobilizes stresses generated due to pore water pressure.

Keywords: DEEPSOIL v 7.0, ground response analysis, pressure-dependent modified Kodner Zelasko model, MKZ model, response spectra, shear wave velocity

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Christoph Hacker, Zeynep Karahaliloglu, Gunnar Seide, Emir Baki Denkbas, Thomas Gries

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A wound dressing material is designed to facilitate wound healing and minimize scarring. An ideal wound dressing material should protect the wound from any contaminations of exogeneous microorganism. In addition, the dressing material should provide a moist environment through extraction of body fluid from the wound area. Recently, wound dressing electrospun nanofibrous membranes are produced by electrospinning from a polymer solution or a polymer melt. These materials have a great potential as dressing materials for wound healing because of superior properties such as high surface-to-volume ratio, high porosity with excellent pore interconnectivity. Melt electrospinning is an attractive tissue engineering scaffold manufacturing process which eliminated the health risk posed by organic solvents used in electrospinning process and reduced the production costs. In this study, antibacterial wound dressing materials were prepared from TPU (Elastollan 1185A) by a melt-electrospinning technique. The electrospinning parameters for an efficient melt-electrospinning process of TPU were optimized. The surface of the fibers was modified with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) by radio-frequency glow discharge plasma deposition method and with silver nanoparticles (nAg) to improve their wettability and antimicrobial properties. TPU melt-electrospun mats were characterized using SEM, DSC, TGA and XPS. The cell viability and proliferation on modified melt-electrospun TPU mats were evaluated using a mouse fibroblast cell line (L929). Antibacterial effects of theirs against both Staphylococcus aureus strain and Escherichia coli were investigated by disk-diffusion method. TPU was successfully processed into a porous, fibrous network of beadless fibers in the micrometer range (4.896±0.94 µm) with a voltage of 50 kV, a working distance of 6 cm, a temperature of the thermocouple and hot coil of 225–230ºC, and a flow rate of 0.1 mL/h. The antibacterial test indicated that PEG-modified nAg-loaded TPU melt-electrospun structure had excellent antibacterial effects and cell study results demonstrated that nAg-loaded TPU mats had no cytotoxic effect on the fibroblast cells. In this work, the surface of a melt-electrospun TPU mats was modified via PEG monomer and then nAg. Results showed melt-electrospun TPU mats modified with PEG and nAg have a great potential for use as an antibacterial wound dressing material and thus, requires further investigation.

Keywords: melt electrospinning, nanofiber, silver nanoparticles, wound dressing

Procedia PDF Downloads 461

Authors: Kossigan Bernard Dedey, David Grenier, Tiphaine Lucas

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Bread dough is often described as a dispersion of gas cells in a continuous gluten/starch matrix. The final bread crumb structure is strongly related to gas cell walls (GCWs) rupture during baking. At the end of proofing and during baking, part of the thinnest GCWs between expanding gas cells is reduced to a gluten film of about the size of a starch granule. When such size is reached gluten and starch granules must be considered as interacting phases in order to account for heterogeneities and appropriately describe GCW rupture. Among experimental investigations carried out to assess GCW rupture, no experimental work was performed to observe the GCW rupture in the baking conditions at GCW scale. In addition, attempts to numerically understand GCW rupture are usually not performed at the GCW scale and often considered GCWs as continuous. The most relevant paper that accounted for heterogeneities dealt with the gluten/starch interactions and their impact on the mechanical behavior of dough film. However, stress concentration in GCW was not discussed. In this study, both experimental and numerical approaches were used to better understand GCW rupture in bread dough during baking. Experimentally, a macro-scope placed in front of a two-chamber device was used to observe the rupture of a real GCW of 200 micrometers in thickness. Special attention was paid in order to mimic baking conditions as far as possible (temperature, gas pressure and moisture). Various differences in pressure between both sides of GCW were applied and different modes of fracture initiation and propagation in GCWs were observed. Numerically, the impact of gluten/starch interactions (cohesion or non-cohesion) and rheological moduli ratio on the mechanical behavior of GCW under unidirectional extension was assessed in 2D/3D. A non-linear viscoelastic and hyperelastic approach was performed to match the finite strain involved in GCW during baking. Stress concentration within GCW was identified. Simulated stresses concentration was discussed at the light of GCW failure observed in the device. The gluten/starch granule interactions and rheological modulus ratio were found to have a great effect on the amount of stress possibly reached in the GCW.

Keywords: dough, experimental, numerical, rupture

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Jong-Bae Lee, Seongsoo Lee

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Local interconnect network (LIN) is a communication protocol that combines sensors, actuators, and processors to a functional module in automotive applications. In this paper, a LIN ver. 2.2A controller was designed in Verilog hardware description language (Verilog HDL) and implemented in field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Its operation was verified by making full-scale LIN network with the presented FPGA-implemented LIN controller, commercial LIN transceivers, and commercial processors. When described in Verilog HDL and synthesized in 0.18 μm technology, its gate size was about 2,300 gates.

Keywords: local interconnect network, controller, transceiver, processor

Procedia PDF Downloads 286

Authors: M. R. Babaei, S. M. Hosseini, S. Rahmani, L. Moradi

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Today, the quality of education and training systems and the effectiveness of the education systems of most concern to stakeholders and decision-makers of our country's development in each country. In Iran this is a double issue of concern to numerous reasons; So that governments, over the past decade have hardly even paid the running costs of education. ICT is claiming it has the power to change the structure of a program for training, reduce costs and increase quality, and do education systems and products consistent with the needs of the community and take steps to practice education. Own of the areas that the introduction of information technology has fundamentally changed is the field of education. The aim of this research is process reengineering management in schools simultaneously has been using field studies to collect data in the form of interviews and a questionnaire survey. The statistical community of this research has been the country of Iran and smart schools under the education. Sampling was targeted. The data collection tool was a questionnaire composed of two parts. The questionnaire consists of 36 questions that each question designates one of effective factors on the management of smart schools. Also each question consists of two parts. The first part designates the operating position in the management process, which represents the domain's belonging to the management agent (planning, organizing, leading, controlling). According to the classification of Dabryn and in second part the factors affect the process of managing the smart schools were examined, that Likert scale is used to classify. Questions the validity of the group of experts and prominent university professors in the fields of information technology, management and reengineering of approved and Cronbach's alpha reliability and also with the use of the formula is evaluated and approved. To analyse the data, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the factors contributing to the rating of (Linkert scale) descriptive statistics (frequency table data, mean, median, mode) was used. To analyse the data using analysis of variance and nonparametric tests and Friedman test, the assumption was evaluated. The research conclusions show that the factors influencing the management process re-engineering smart schools in school performance is affected.

Keywords: re-engineering, management process, smart school, Iran's school

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Pronab Ganguly, Ahmed A. Moustafa

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Holistic management of schizophrenia involves mainstream pharmacological intervention, complimentary medicine intervention, therapeutic intervention and other psychosocial factors such as accommodation, education, job training, employment, relationship, friendship, exercise, overall well-being, smoking, substance abuse, suicide prevention, stigmatisation, recreation, entertainment, violent behaviour, arrangement of public trusteeship and guardianship, day-day-living skill, integration with community, and management of overweight due to medications and other health complications related to medications amongst others. Our review shows that there is no integrated survey by combining all these factors. An international web-based survey was conducted to evaluate the significance of all these factors and present them in a unified manner. It is believed this investigation will contribute positively towards holistic management of schizophrenia. There will be two surveys. In the pharmacological intervention survey, five popular drugs for schizophrenia will be chosen and their efficacy as well as harmful side effects will be evaluated on a scale of 0 -10. This survey will be done by psychiatrists. In the second survey, each element of therapeutic intervention and psychosocial factors will be evaluated according to their significance on a scale of 0 - 10. This survey will be done by care givers, psychologists, case managers and case workers. For the first survey, professional bodies of psychiatrists in English speaking countries will be contacted to request them to ask their members to participate in the survey. For the second survey, professional bodies of clinical psychologist and care givers in English speaking countries will be contacted to request them to ask their members to participate in the survey. Additionally, for both the surveys, relevant professionals will be contacted through personal contact networks. For both the surveys, mean, mode, median, standard deviation and net promoter score will be calculated for each factor and then presented in a statistically significant manner. Subsequently each factor will be ranked according to their statistical significance. Additionally, country specific variation will be highlighted to identify the variation pattern. The results of these surveys will identify the relative significance of each type of pharmacological intervention, each type of therapeutic intervention and each type of psychosocial factor. The determination of this relative importance will definitely contribute to the improvement in quality of life for individuals with schizophrenia.

Keywords: schizophrenia, holistic management, antipsychotics, quality of life

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Simon B. N. Thompson

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Early indicator of neurological disease has been proposed by the expanded Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis which suggests that yawning is linked to rises in cortisol levels. Cortisol is essential to the regulation of the immune system and pathological yawning is a symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). Electromyography activity (EMG) in the jaw muscles typically rises when the muscles are moved – extended or flexed; and yawning has been shown to be highly correlated with cortisol levels in healthy people. It is likely that these elevated cortisol levels are also seen in people with MS. The possible link between EMG in the jaw muscles and rises in saliva cortisol levels during yawning were investigated in a randomized controlled trial of 60 volunteers aged 18-69 years who were exposed to conditions that were designed to elicit the yawning response. Saliva samples were collected at the start and after yawning, or at the end of the presentation of yawning-provoking stimuli, in the absence of a yawn, and EMG data was additionally collected during rest and yawning phases. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Yawning Susceptibility Scale, General Health Questionnaire, demographic, and health details were collected and the following exclusion criteria were adopted: chronic fatigue, diabetes, fibromyalgia, heart condition, high blood pressure, hormone replacement therapy, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. Significant differences were found between the saliva cortisol samples for the yawners, t (23) = -4.263, p = 0.000, as compared with the non-yawners between rest and post-stimuli, which was non-significant. There were also significant differences between yawners and non-yawners for the EMG potentials with the yawners having higher rest and post-yawning potentials. Significant evidence was found to support the Thompson Cortisol Hypothesis suggesting that rises in cortisol levels are associated with the yawning response. Further research is underway to explore the use of cortisol as a potential diagnostic tool as an assist to the early diagnosis of symptoms related to neurological disorders. Bournemouth University Research & Ethics approval granted: JC28/1/13-KA6/9/13. Professional code of conduct, confidentiality, and safety issues have been addressed and approved in the Ethics submission. Trials identification number: ISRCTN61942768. http://www.controlled-trials.com/isrctn/

Keywords: cortisol, electromyography, neurology, yawning

Procedia PDF Downloads 589

Authors: Ayanda Ndokwana, Stanley Fore

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Industrial prosperity and rapid expansion of human population in South Africa over the past two decades, have increased the use of conventional fossil fuels such as crude oil, coal and natural gas to meet the country’s energy demands. However, the inevitable depletion of fossil fuel reserves, global volatile oil price and large carbon footprint are some of the crucial reasons the South African Government needs to make a considerable investment in the development of the biofuel industry. In South Africa, this industry is still at the introductory stage with no large scale manufacturing plant that has been commissioned yet. Bioethanol is a potential replacement of gasoline which is a fossil fuel that is used in motor vehicles. Using bioethanol for the transport sector as a source of fuel will help Government to save heavy foreign exchange incurred during importation of oil and create many job opportunities in rural farming. In 2007, the South African Government developed the National Biofuels Industrial Strategy in an effort to make provision for support and attract investment in bioethanol production. However, capital investment in the production of bioethanol on a large scale, depends on the sound economic assessment of the available manufacturing technologies. The aim of this study is to evaluate the profitability of an advanced bioethanol manufacturing technology which uses maize as a feedstock in South Africa. The impact of fiber or bran fractionation in this technology causes it to possess a number of merits such as energy efficiency, low capital expenditure, and profitability compared to a conventional dry-mill bioethanol technology. Quantitative techniques will be used to collect and analyze numerical data from suitable organisations in South Africa. The dependence of three profitability indicators such as the Discounted Payback Period (DPP), Net Present Value (NPV) and Return On Investment (ROI) on plant capacity will be evaluated. Profitability analysis will be done on the following plant capacities: 100 000 ton/year, 150 000 ton/year and 200 000 ton/year. The plant capacity with the shortest Discounted Payback Period, positive Net Present Value and highest Return On Investment implies that a further consideration in terms of capital investment is warranted.

Keywords: bioethanol, economic evaluation, maize, profitability indicators

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: T. Davitashvili

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In this paper, some results of numerical simulation of the air flow dynamics in the troposphere over the Caucasus Mountains taking place in conditions of nonstationarity of large-scale undisturbed background flow are presented. Main features of the atmospheric currents changeability while air masses are transferred from the Black Sea to the land’s surface had been investigated. In addition, the effects of thermal and advective-dynamic factors of atmosphere on the changes of the West Georgian climate have been studied. It was shown that non-proportional warming of the Black Sea and Colkhi lowland provokes the intensive strengthening of circulation and effect of climate cooling in the western Georgia.

Keywords: regional climate, numerical simulation, local circulation, orographic effect

Procedia PDF Downloads 481