Search results for: reconstruction mode

Authors: Awdhesh Yadav, P. S. Saravanamurthy, Shaikh Tayyaba, Uma Shah, Ashok Agarwal

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Objectives: HIV interventions in India has leveraged Self-Help Group (SHG) as one of the key strategies under structural intervention to empower female sex workers (FSW) to reduce their risk exposure and vulnerability to STI/HIV. Understanding the role of SHGs in light of the evolving dynamics of sex work needs to be delved into to strategize HIV interventions among FSWs in India. This paper aims to study the HIV program outcome among the FSWs associated with SHGs and FSWs not associated with SHGs in Thane, Maharashtra. Study Design: This cross-sectional study, was undertaken from the Behavioral Tracking Survey (BTS) conducted among 503 FSWs in Thane in 2015. Two-stage probability based conventional sampling was done for selection of brothel and bar based FSWs, while Time Location Cluster (TLC) sampling was done for home, lodge and street-based sex workers. Methods: Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed to compare and contrast between FSWs associated with SHG and those not associated with SHG with respect to the utilization of HIV related services by them. ‘Condom use’, ‘consistent condom use’, ‘contact with peer-educators’, ‘counseling sessions’ and ‘HIV testing’ were chosen as indicators on HIV service utilization. Results: 8% (38) of FSWs are registered with SHG; 92% aged ≥ 25 years, 47% illiterate, and 71% are currently married. The likelihood of utilizing HIV services including, knowledge on HIV/AIDS and its mode of transmission (OR:5.54; CI: 1.87-16.60; p < 0.05),accessed drop-in Centre (OR: 6.53; CI: 2.15-19.88; p < 0.10), heard about joint health camps (OR: 4.71; CI:2.12-10.46); p < 0.05), negotiated or stood up against police/broker/local goonda/clients (OR: 2.26; CI: 1.08-4.73; p < 0.05), turned away clients when they refused to use condom during sex (OR: 3.76; CI: 1.27-11.15; p < 0.05) and heard of ART (OR; 4.55; CI: 2.18-9.48; p < 0.01) were higher among FSWs associated with SHG in comparison to FSWs not associated with SHG. Conclusions: Considering the improved HIV program outcomes among FSWs associated with SHG; HIV interventions among FSWs could consider facilitating the formation of SHGs with FSWs as one of the key strategies to empower the community for ensuring better program outcomes.

Keywords: empowerment, female sex workers, HIV, Thane, self-help group

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Authors: Said Ghalem

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Honey is primarily composed of sugars: glucose and fructose. Depending honey, it's either fructose or glucose predominates. More the fructose concentration and the less the glycemic index (GI) is high. Thus, changes in the insulin response shows a decrease of the amount of insulin secreted at an increased fructose honey. Honey is also a compound that can reduce the lipid in the blood. Several studies on animals, but which remain to be checked in humans, have shown that the honey can have interesting effects when combined with other molecules: associated with Metformin (a medicine taken by diabetics), it shows the benefits and effects of diabetes preserves the tissue; associated ginger, it increases the antioxidant activity and thus avoids neurologic complications, neuropathic. Molecular modeling techniques are widely used in chemistry, biology, and the pharmaceutical industry. Most of the currently existing drugs target enzymes. Inhibition of DPP-4 is an important approach in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We have chosen for the inhibition of DPP-4 the following molecules: Linagliptin (BI1356), Sitagliptin (Januvia), Vildagliptin, Saxagliptin, Alogliptin, and Metformin (Glucophage), that are involved in the disease management of type 2 diabetes and added to honey. For this, we used software Molecular Operating Environment. A Wistar rat study was initiated in our laboratory with a well-studied protocol; after sacrifice, according to international standards and respect for the animal This theoretical approach predicts the mode of interaction of a ligand with its target. The honey can have interesting effects when combined with other molecules, it shows the benefits and effects of honey preserves the tissue, it increases the antioxidant activity, and thus avoids neurologic complications, neuropathic or macrovascular. The organs, especially the kidneys of Wistar, shows that the parameters to renal function let us conclude that damages caused by diabetes are slightly perceptible than those observed without the addition of a high concentration of fructose honey.

Keywords: honey, molecular modeling, DPP4 enzyme, metformin

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Authors: Catharina Dwi Astuti Depari, Gregorius Agung Setyonugroho

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In concern for human safety, living in disaster-prone areas is twofold: it is profoundly cataclysmic yet perceptibly contributive. This paradox could be identified in Kalitengah Lor Sub-village community who inhabit Mount Merapi’s most hazardous area, putting them to the highest exposure to eruptions’ cataclysmic impacts. After the devastating incident in 2010, through the Action Plan for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, the National Government with immediate aid from humanitarian agencies initiated a relocation program by establishing nearly 2,613 temporary shelters throughout the mountain’s region. The problem arose as some of the most affected communities including those in Kalitengah Lor Sub-village, persistently refused to relocate. The obnoxious experience of those living in temporary shelters resulted from the program’s failure to support a long-term living was assumed to instigate the rejection. From the psychological standpoint, this phenomenon reflects the emotional bond between the affected communities with their former dwellings. Regarding this, the paper aims to reveal the factors influencing the emotional attachment of Kalitengah Lor community to their former dwellings including the dwellings’ spatial design transformation prior and post the eruption in 2010. The research adopted Likert five scale-questionnaire comprising a wide range of responses from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The responses were then statistically measured, leading to consensus that provides bases for further interpretations toward the local’s characteristics. Using purposive unit sampling technique, 50 respondents from 217 local households were randomly selected. Questions in the questionnaire were developed with concerns on the aspects of place attachment concept: affection, cognitive, behavior, and perception. Combined with quantitative method, the research adopted diachronic method which was aimed to analyze the spatial design transformation of each dwelling in relation to the inhabitant’s daily activities and personal preferences. The research found that access to natural resources like sand mining, agricultural farms and wood forests, social relationship and physical proximity from house to personal asset like cattle shed, are the dominant factors encouraging the locals to emotionally attached to their former dwellings. Consequently, each dwelling’s spatial design is suffered from changes in which the current house is typically larger in dimension and the bathroom is replaced by public toilet located outside the house’s backyard. Relatively unchanged, the cattle shed is still located in front of the house, the continuous visual relationship, particularly between the living and family room, is maintained, as well as the main orientation of the house towards the local street.

Keywords: diachronic method, former dwellings, local’s characteristics, place attachment, spatial design transformation

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Authors: Lata Shakya, Toshio Otsuki, Saori Imoto, Bijaya Krishna Shrestha, Umesh Bahadur Malla

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2015 Gorkha Nepal earthquake have damaged the human settlements in 14 districts of Nepal. Historic core areas of three principal cities namely Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur including numerous traditional ‘newari’ settlements in the peripheral areas have been either collapsed or severely damaged. Despite Government of Nepal and (international) non-government organisations’ attempt towards disaster risk management through the preparation of policies and guidelines and implementation of community-based activities, the recent ‘Gorkha’ earthquake has demonstrated the inadequate preparedness, poor implementation of a legal instrument, resource constraints, and managerial weakness. However, the social capital through community based institutions, self-help attitude, and community bond has helped a lot not only in rescue and relief operation but also in a post-disaster temporary shelter living thereby exhibiting the resilient power of the local community. Conducting a detailed case study of ‘Kaminani’ community with 42 houses at ward no. 16 of Bhaktapur municipality, this paper analyses the local community’s response and activities on the Gorkha earthquake in rescue and relief operation as well as in post disaster work. Leadership, the existence of internal/external aid, physical and human support are also analyzed. Social resource and networking are also explained through critical review of the existing community organisation and their activities. The research methodology includes literature review, field survey, and interview with community leaders and residents based on a semi-structured questionnaire. The study reveals that community carried their recovery process in four different phases: (i) management of emergency evacuation, (ii) constructing community owed temporary shelter for individuals, (iii) demolishing upper floors of the damaged houses, and (iv) planning for collaborative housing reconstruction. As territorial based organization, religion based agency and aim based institution exist in the survey area from pre-disaster time, it can be assumed that the community activists including leaders are well experienced to create aim-based group and manage teamwork to deal with various issues and problems collaboratively. Physical and human support including partial financial aid from external source as a result of community leader’s personal networking is extended to the community members. Thus, human/social resource and personal/social network play a crucial role in the recovery process. And to build such social capital, community should have potential from pre-disaster time.

Keywords: Gorkha Nepal earthquake, local community, recovery process, social resource, social network

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Authors: A. P. Mikhailovich, V. V. Fomin, E. M. Agapitov, V. E. Rogachev, E. A. Kostousova, E. S. Perekhodova

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Woody vegetation among the upper limit of its habitat is a sensitive indicator of biota reaction to regional climate changes. Quantitative assessment of temporal and spatial changes in the distribution of trees and plant biocenoses calls for the development of new modeling approaches based upon selected data from measurements on the ground level and ultra-resolution aerial photography. Statistical models were developed for the study area located in the Polar Urals. These models allow obtaining probabilistic estimates for placing Siberian Larch trees into one of the three age intervals, namely 1-10, 11-40 and over 40 years, based on the Weilbull distribution of the maximum horizontal crown projection. Authors developed the distribution map for larch trees with crown diameters exceeding twenty centimeters by deciphering aerial photographs made by a UAV from an altitude equal to fifty meters. The total number of larches was equal to 88608, forming the following distribution row across the abovementioned intervals: 16980, 51740, and 19889 trees. The results demonstrate that two processes can be observed in the course of recent decades: first is the intensive forestation of previously barren or lightly wooded fragments of the study area located within the patches of wood, woodlands, and sparse stand, and second, expansion into mountain tundra. The current expansion of the Siberian Larch in the region replaced the depopulation process that occurred in the course of the Little Ice Age from the late 13ᵗʰ to the end of the 20ᵗʰ century. Using data from field measurements of Siberian larch specimen biometric parameters (including height, diameter at root collar and at 1.3 meters, and maximum projection of the crown in two orthogonal directions) and data on tree ages obtained at nine circular test sites, authors developed a model for artificial neural network including two layers with three and two neurons, respectively. The model allows quantitative assessment of a specimen's age based on height and maximum crone projection values. Tree height and crown diameters can be quantitatively assessed using data from aerial photographs and lidar scans. The resulting model can be used to assess the age of all Siberian larch trees. The proposed approach, after validation, can be applied to assessing the age of other tree species growing near the upper tree boundaries in other mountainous regions. This research was collaboratively funded by the Russian Ministry for Science and Education (project No. FEUG-2023-0002) and Russian Science Foundation (project No. 24-24-00235) in the field of data modeling on the basis of artificial neural network.

Keywords: treeline, dynamic, climate, modeling

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Authors: Mohammad Hassanzadeh

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As far as incidental vocabulary learning is concerned, the basic contention of the Involvement Load Hypothesis (ILH) is that retention of unfamiliar words is, generally, conditional upon the degree of involvement in processing them. This study examined input modality and incidental vocabulary uptake in a task-induced setting whereby three variously loaded task types (marginal glosses, fill-in-task, and sentence-writing) were alternately assigned to one group of students at Allameh Tabataba’i University (n=2l) during six classroom sessions. While one round of exposure was comprised of the audiovisual medium (TV talk shows), the second round consisted of textual materials with approximately similar subject matter (reading texts). In both conditions, however, the tasks were equivalent to one another. Taken together, the study pursued the dual objectives of establishing a litmus test for the ILH and its proposed values of ‘need’, ‘search’ and ‘evaluation’ in the first place. Secondly, it sought to bring to light the superiority issue of exposure to audiovisual input versus the written input as far as the incorporation of tasks is concerned. At the end of each treatment session, a vocabulary active recall test was administered to measure their incidental gains. Running a one-way analysis of variance revealed that the audiovisual intervention yielded higher gains than the written version even when differing tasks were included. Meanwhile, task 'three' (sentence-writing) turned out the most efficient in tapping learners' active recall of the target vocabulary items. In addition to shedding light on the superiority of audiovisual input over the written input when circumstances are relatively held constant, this study for the most part, did support the underlying tenets of ILH.

Keywords: Keywords— Evaluation, incidental vocabulary learning, input mode, Involvement Load Hypothesis, need, search.

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Authors: Matthew Armitt

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The revolutionary school of architectural teaching – VKhUTEAMAS (1923-1926) was a new approach for a new society bringing architectural education to the masses and masses to the growing industrial production. The school's pedagogical contribution of the 1920s made it an important school of the modernist movement, engaging pedagogy as a mode of experimentation. The teachers and students saw design education not just as a process of knowledge transfer but as a vehicle for design innovation developing an approach without precedent. This process of teaching and learning served as a vehicle for venturing into the unknown through a discipline of architectural teaching called “Space” developed by the Soviet architect Nikolai Ladovskii (1881-1941). The creation of “Space” was paramount not only for its innovative pedagogy but also as an experimental laboratory for developing new architectural language. This paper discusses whether the historical teaching of “Space” can function in the construction of the modern teaching identity today to promote value, richness, quality, and diversity inherent in architectural design education. The history of “Space” teaching remains unknown within academic circles and separate from the current architectural teaching debate. Using VKhUTEMAS and the teaching of “Space” as a pedagogical lens and drawing upon research carried out in the Russian Federation, America, Canada, Germany, and the UK, this paper discusses how historically different models of teaching and learning can intersect through examining historical based educational research by exploring different design studio initiatives; pedagogical methodologies; teaching and learning theories and problem-based projects. There are strong arguments and desire for pedagogical change and this paper will promote new historical and educational research to widen the current academic debate by exposing new approaches to architectural teaching today.

Keywords: VKhUTEMAS, discipline space, modernist pedagogy, teaching identity

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Authors: O. Gsib, U. Peirera, C. Egles, S. A. Bencherif

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In skin regenerative medicine, one of the critical issues is to produce a three-dimensional scaffold with optimized porosity for dermal fibroblast infiltration and neovascularization, which exhibits high mechanical properties and displays sufficient wound healing characteristics. In this study, we report on the synthesis and characterization of macroporous sequential interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) combining skin wound healing properties of fibrin with the excellent physical properties of polyethylene glycol (PEG). Fibrin fibers serve as a provisional biologically active network to promote cell adhesion and proliferation while PEG provides the mechanical stability to maintain the entire 3D construct. After having modified both PEG and Serum Albumin (used for promoting enzymatic degradability) by adding methacrylate residues (PEGDM and SAM, respectively), Fibrin/PEGDM-SAM sequential IPNs were synthesized as follows: Macroporous sponges were first produced from PEGDM-SAM hydrogels by a freeze-drying technique and then rehydrated by adding the fibrin precursors. Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM) and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) were used to characterize their microstructure. Human dermal fibroblasts were cultivated during one week in the constructs and different cell culture parameters (viability, morphology, proliferation) were evaluated. Subcutaneous implantations of the scaffolds were conducted on five-week old male nude mice to investigate their biocompatibility in vivo. We successfully synthesized interconnected and macroporous Fibrin/PEGDM-SAM sequential IPNs. The viability of primary dermal fibroblasts was well maintained (above 90%) after 2 days of culture. Cells were able to adhere, spread and proliferate in the scaffolds suggesting the suitable porosity and intrinsic biologic properties of the constructs. The fibrin network adopted a spider web shape that covered partially the pores allowing easier cell infiltration into the macroporous structure. To further characterize the in vitro cell behavior, cell proliferation (EdU incorporation, MTS assay) is being studied. Preliminary histological analysis of animal studies indicated the persistence of hydrogels even after one-month post implantation and confirmed the absence of inflammation response, good biocompatibility and biointegration of our scaffolds within the surrounding tissues. These results suggest that our Fibrin/PEGDM-SAM IPNs could be considered as potential candidates for dermis regenerative medicine. Histological analysis will be completed to further assess scaffold remodeling including de novo extracellular matrix protein synthesis and early stage angiogenesis analysis. Compression measurements will be conducted to investigate the mechanical properties.

Keywords: fibrin, hydrogels for dermal reconstruction, polyethylene glycol, semi-interpenetrating polymer network

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Authors: Mikael M. Johansson, Peter Stenvall, Leif Karlsson, Joel Andersson

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Sandvik Sanicro 25, UNS S31035, is an advanced high temperature austenitic stainless steel that potentially can be used in super-heaters and reheaters in the next generation of advanced ultra-super critical power plants. The material possesses both high creep strength and good corrosion resistance at temperatures up to 700°C. Its high temperature properties are positioned between other commercially available high temperature austenitic stainless steels and nickel-based alloys. It is, however, well known that an austenitic solidification mode combined with a fully austenitic microstructure exacerbate susceptibility towards hot cracking. The problem increases even more for thick walled material in multipass welding and could compromise the integrity of the welded component. Varestraint weldability testing is commonly used to evaluate susceptibility towards hot cracking of materials. In this paper, Varestraint test results are evaluated for base material of both UNS S31035 steel and are compared to those of the well-known and well-characterized UNS S31008 grade. The more creep resistant alloy, UNS S31035, is metallurgically more complicated than the UNS S31008 grade and has additions of several alloying elements to improve its high temperature properties. It benefits from both solid solution hardening as well as precipitation hardening. This investigation therefore attempts, based on the Varestraint weldability test, to understand if there are any differences in cracking mechanisms between these two grades due to the additional alloying elements used in UNS S31035. Results from Varestraint testing and crack type investigations will be presented and discussed in some detail. It is shown that hot cracking susceptibility of the UNS S31035 steel is only slightly higher than that of UNS S31008 despite the more complicated metallurgy. Weldability of the two alloys is therefore judged to be comparable making the newer alloy well suited also for critical applications.

Keywords: austenitic stainless steel, hot cracking susceptibility, UNS S31035, UNS S31008, varestraint weldability testing

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Authors: Kirsten A. Bartels

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'Never again' and 'Lest we forget' have long been messages associated with the events of the Shoah. Yet as we attempt to learn from the past, we must find new ways to engage with its memories. The preservation of the culture and the value of tradition are critical factors in Jane Yolen's works of Holocaust fiction, The Devil's Arithmetic and Mapping the Bones, emphasized through the importance of remembering. That word, in its multitude of forms (remember, remembering, memories), occurs no less than ten times in the first four pages and over one hundred times in the one hundred and sixty-four-page narrative The Devil’s Arithmetic. While Yolen takes a different approach to showcasing the importance of memory in Mapping the Bones, it is of equal import in this work and arguably to the future of Holocaust knowing. The idea of remembering, the desire to remember, and the ability to remember, are explored in three divergent ways in The Devil’s Arithmetic. First, in the importance to remember a past which is not her own – to understand history or acquired memories. Second, in the protagonist's actual or initial memories, those of her life in modern-day New York. Third, in a reverse mode of forgetting and trying to reacquire that which has been lost -- as Hannah is processed in the camp and she forgets everything, all worlds prior to the camp are lost to her. As numbers replace names, Yolen stresses the importance of self-identity or owned memories. In addition, the importance of relaying memory, the transitions of memory from perspective, and the ideas of reflective telling are explored in Mapping the Bones -- through the telling of the story through the lens of one of the twins as the events are unfolding; and then the through the reflective telling from the lens of the other twin. Parallel to the exploration of the intersemiosis of memory is the discussion of literary shadows (foreshadowing, backshadowing, and side-shadowing) and their impact on the reader's experience with Yolen's narrative. For in this type of exploration, one cannot look at the events described in Yolen's work and not also contemplate the figurative shadows cast.

Keywords: holocaust literature, memory, narrative, Yolen

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Authors: Jiayi Pan, Le Qin, Shichan Zhang

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Following the worldwide growing interest in the sharing economy, especially in China, innovations within the field are rapidly emerging. It is, therefore, appropriate to address the under-investigated sustainability issues related to the development of shared mobility. In 2019, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) introduced one of the first on-campus Time-sharing Electric Cars (TEC) that counts now about 4000 users. The increasing popularity of this original initiative highlights the necessity to assess its sustainability and find ways to extend the performance and availability of this new transport option. This study used an online questionnaire survey on TEC usage and experience to collect answers among students and university staff. The study also conducted interviews with TEC’s team in order to better understand its motivations and operating model. Data analysis underscores that TEC’s usage frequency is positively associated with a lower carbon footprint, showing that this scheme contributes to improving the environmental sustainability of transportation on campus. This study also demonstrates that TEC provides a convenient solution to those not owning a car in situations where soft mobility cannot satisfy their needs, this contributing to a globally positive assessment of TEC in the social domains of sustainability. As SJTU’s TEC project belongs to the non-profit sector and aims at serving current research, its economical sustainability is not among the main preoccupations, and TEC, along with similar projects, could greatly benefit from this study’s findings to better evaluate the overall benefits and develop operation on a larger scale. This study suggests various ways to further improve the TEC users’ experience and enhance its promotion. This research believably provides meaningful insights on the position of shared transportation within transport mode choice and how to assess the overall sustainability of such innovations.

Keywords: shared mobility, sharing economy, sustainability assessment, sustainable transportation, urban electric transportation

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Authors: Sarah Ullrich, Juliane Rolle, Christian Beste, Nicole Wolff

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Inhibition and cognitive flexibility are essential parts of executive functions in our daily lives, as they enable the avoidance of unwanted responses or selectively switch between mental processes to generate appropriate behavior. There is growing interest in improving inhibition and response selection through brief mindfulness-based meditations. Arguably, open-monitoring meditation (OMM) improves inhibitory and flexibility performance by optimizing cognitive control and information processing. Yet, the underlying neurophysiological processes have been poorly studied. Using the Simon-Go/Nogo paradigm, the present work examined the effect of a single 15-minute smartphone app-based OMM on inhibitory performance and response selection in meditation novices. We used both behavioral and neurophysiological measures (event-related potentials, ERPs) to investigate which subprocesses of response selection and inhibition are altered after OMM. The study was conducted in a randomized crossover design with N = 32 healthy adults. We thereby investigated Go and Nogo trials in the paradigm. The results show that as little as 15 minutes of OMM can improve response selection and inhibition at behavioral and neurophysiological levels. More specifically, OMM reduces the rate of false alarms, especially during Nogo trials regardless of congruency. It appears that OMM optimizes conflict processing and response inhibition compared to no meditation, also reflected in the ERP N2 and P3 time windows. The results may be explained by the meta control model, which argues in terms of a specific processing mode with increased flexibility and inclusive decision-making under OMM. Importantly, however, the effects of OMM were only evident when there was the prior experience with the task. It is likely that OMM provides more cognitive resources, as the amplitudes of these EKPs decreased. OMM novices seem to induce finer adjustments during conflict processing after familiarization with the task.

Keywords: EEG, inhibition, meditation, Simon Nogo

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Authors: Sergei Voychuk

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Introduction: Adaptive response (AR) is a manifestation of radiation hormesis, which deal with the radiation resistance that may be increased with the pretreatment with small doses of radiation. In the current study, we evaluated the potency of radiofrequency EMF to induce the AR mechanisms and to increase a resistance to UV light. Methods: Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains, which were created to study induction of mutagenesis and recombination, were used in the study. The strains have mutations in rad2 and rad54 genes, responsible for DNA repair: nucleotide excision repair (PG-61), postreplication repair (PG-80) and mitotic (crossover) recombination (T2). An induction of mutation and recombination are revealed due to the formation of red colonies on agar plates. The PG-61 and T2 are UV sensitive strains, while PG-80 is sensitive to ionizing radiation. Extremely high frequency electromagnetic field (EHF-EMF) was used. The irradiation was performed in floating mode and frequency changed during exposure from 57 GHz to 62 GHz. The power of irradiation was 100 mkW, and duration of exposure was 10 and 30 min. Treatment was performed at RT and then cells were stored at 28° C during 1 h without any exposure but after that they were treated with UV light (254nm) for 20 sec (strain T2) and 120 sec (strain PG-61 and PG-80). Cell viability and quantity of red colonies were determined after 5 days of cultivation on agar plates. Results: It was determined that EHF-EMF caused 10-20% decrease of viability of T2 and PG-61 strains, while UV showed twice stronger effect (30-70%). EHF-EMF pretreatment increased T2 resistance to UV, and decreased it in PG-61. The PG-80 strain was insensitive to EHF-EMF and no AR effect was determined for this strain. It was not marked any induction of red colonies formation in T2 and PG-80 strain after EHF or UV exposure. The quantity of red colonies was 2 times more in PG-61 strain after EHF-EMF treatment and at least 300 times more after UV exposure. The pretreatment of PG-61 with EHF-EMF caused at least twice increase of viability and consequent decrease of amount of red colonies. Conclusion: EHF-EMF may induce AR in yeast cells and increase their viability under UV treatment.

Keywords: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, EHF-EMF, UV light, adaptive response

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Authors: Junali Deka

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“Pictures speak more than a thousand words”. It is the power of image which can have multiple meanings the way it is read by the viewers. This research article is an outcome of the extensive study of the phenomenon of‘selfie culture’ and dire need of self-constructed virtual identity among youths. In the recent times, there has been a revolutionary change in the concept of photography in terms of both techniques and applications. The popularity of ‘self-portraits’ mainly depend on the temporal space and time created on social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram. With reference to Stuart’s Hall encoding and decoding process, the article studies the behavior of the users who post photographs online. The photographic messages (Roland Barthes) are interpreted differently by different viewers. The notion of ‘self’, ‘self-love and practice of looking (Marita Sturken) and ways of seeing (John Berger) got new definition and dimensional together. After Oscars Night, show host Ellen DeGeneres’s selfie created the most buzz and hype in the social media. The term was judged the word of 2013, and has earned its place in the dictionary. “In November 2013, the word "selfie" was announced as being the "word of the year" by the Oxford English Dictionary. By the end of 2012, Time magazine considered selfie one of the "top 10 buzzwords" of that year; although selfies had existed long before, it was in 2012 that the term "really hit the big time an Australian origin. The present study was carried to understand the concept of ‘selfie-bug’ and the phenomenon it has created among youth (especially students) at large in developing a pseudo-image of its own. The topic was relevant and gave a platform to discuss about the cultural, psychological and sociological implications of selfie in the age of digital technology. At the first level, content analysis of the primary and secondary sources including newspapers articles and online resources was carried out followed by a small online survey conducted with the help of questionnaire to find out the student’s view on selfie and its social and psychological effects. The newspapers reports and online resources confirmed that selfie is a new trend in the digital media and it has redefined the notion of beauty and self-love. The Facebook and Instagram are the major platforms used to express one-self and creation of virtual identity. The findings clearly reflected the active participation of female students in comparison to male students. The study of the photographs of few selected respondents revealed the difference of attitude and image building among male and female users. The study underlines some basic questions about the desire of reconstruction of identity among young generation, such as - are they becoming culturally narcissist; responsible factors for cultural, social and moral changes in the society, psychological and technological effects caused by Smartphone as well, culminating into a big question mark whether the selfie is a social signifier of identity construction.

Keywords: Culture, Narcissist, Photographs, Selfie

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Authors: Naouel Boussoualim, Hayat Trabsa, Imane Krache, Seddik Khennouf, Noureddine Charef, Lekhmici Arrar, Abderrahmane Baghiani

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Purpose: To evaluate the in-vitro inhibition of xanthine oxidase (purified from bovine milk) by extracts of Lycium arabicum, as well as it is in vivo hypouricemic and renal protective effects. Methods: Four extracts of Lycium arabicum, methanol (CrE), chloroform (ChE), ethyl acetate (EaE) and aqueous (AqE) extracts, were screened for their total phenolics and potential inhibitory effects on purified bovine milk xanthine oxidase (XO) activity by measuring the formation of uric acid or superoxide radical. The mode of inhibition was investigated and compared with the standard drugs, allopurinol, quercitin, and catechin. To evaluate their hypouricemic effect, the extracts were administered to potassium oxonate-induced hyperuricemic mice at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight. Results: The results showed that EaE had the highest content of phenolic compounds and was the most potent inhibitor of uric acid formation (IC50 = 0.017 ± 0.001 mg/mL) and formation of superoxide (IC50 = 0.035 ± 0.001 mg/ml). Lineweaver-Burk analysis showed that CrE and EaE inhibited XO competitively, whereas the inhibitory activities exerted by ChE and AqE were of a mixed type. Intraperetoneal injection of L. arabicum extracts (50 mg/kg) elicited hypouricemic actions in hyperuricemic mice. Hyperuricemic mice presented a serum uric acid concentration of 4.71 ± 0.29 mg/L but this was reduced to 1.78 ± 0.11 mg/L by EaE, which was the most potent hyporuricemic extract. Conclusion: L. arabicum fractions have a strong inhibitory effect on xanthine oxidase and and also have a significantly lowering effect on serum and liver creatinine and urea levels in hyperuricemic mice.

Keywords: lycium arabicum, uric acid, creatinine, superoxide, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, hyperuricemia

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Authors: V. Schmidt, L. Janovák, N. Wiegand, B. Patczai, K. Turzó

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Large bone defects are not able to heal spontaneously. Bioactive glasses seem to be appropriate (bio)materials for bone reconstruction. Bioactive glasses are osteoconductive and osteoinductive, therefore, play a useful role in bony regeneration and repair. Because of their not optimal mechanical properties (e.g., brittleness, low bending strength, and fracture toughness), their applications are limited. Bioactive glass can be used as a coating material applied on metal surfaces. In this way -when using them as implants- the excellent mechanical properties of metals and the biocompatibility and bioactivity of glasses will be utilized. Furthermore, ion release effects of bioactive glasses regarding osteogenic and angiogenic responses have been shown. Silicate bioactive glasses (45S5 Bioglass) induce the release and exchange of soluble Si, Ca, P, and Na ions on the material surface. This will lead to special cellular responses inducing bone formation, which is favorable in the biointegration of the orthopedic prosthesis. The incorporation of other additional elements in the silicate network such as fluorine, magnesium, iron, silver, potassium, or zinc has been shown, as the local delivery of these ions is able to enhance specific cell functions. Although hip and knee prostheses present a high success rate, bacterial infections -mainly implant associated- are serious and frequent complications. Infection can also develop after implantation of hip prostheses, the elimination of which means more surgeries for the patient and additional costs for the clinic. Prosthesis-related infection is a severe complication of orthopedic surgery, which often causes prolonged illness, pain, and functional loss. While international efforts are made to reduce the risk of these infections, orthopedic surgical infections (SSIs) continue to occur in high numbers. It is currently estimated that up to 2.5% of primary hip and knee surgeries and up to 20% of revision arthroplasties are complicated by periprosthetic joint infection (PJIs). According to some authors, these numbers are underestimated, and they are also increasing. Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of both SSIs and PJIs, and the prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is on the rise, particularly in the United States. These deep infections lead to implant removal and consequently increase morbidity and mortality. The study targets this clinical problem using our experience so far with the Ag-doped polymer coatings on Titanium implants. Non-modified or modified (e.g., doped with antibacterial agents, like Ag) bioactive glasses could play a role in the prevention of infections or the therapy of infected tissues. Bioactive glasses have excellent biocompatibility, proved by in vitro cell culture studies of human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells. Ag-doped bioactive glass-scaffold has a good antibacterial ability against Escherichia coli and other bacteria. It may be concluded that these scaffolds have great potential in the prevention and therapy of implant-associated bone infection.

Keywords: antibacterial agents, bioactive glass, hip and knee prosthesis, medical implants

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Authors: Murali Aarthy, Sanjeev Kumar Singh

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High risk human papillomaviruses are highly associated with the carcinoma of the cervix and the other genital tumors. Cervical cancer develops through the multistep process in which increasingly severe premalignant dysplastic lesions called cervical intraepithelial neoplastic progress to invasive cancer. The oncoprotein E7 of human papillomavirus expressed in the lower epithelial layers drives the cells into S-phase creating an environment conducive for viral genome replication and cell proliferation. The replication of the virus occurs in the terminally differentiating epithelium and requires the activation of cellular DNA replication proteins. To date, no suitable drug molecule is available to treat HPV infection whereas identification of potential drug targets and development of novel anti-HPV chemotherapies with unique mode of actions are expected. Hence, our present study aimed to identify the potential inhibitors analogous to EGCG, a green tea molecule which is considered to be safe to use for mammalian systems. A 3D similarity search on the natural small molecule library from natural product database using EGCG identified 11 potential hits based on their similarity score. The structure based docking strategies were implemented in the potential hits and the key interacting residues of protein with compounds were identified through simulation studies and binding free energy calculations. The conformational changes between the apoprotein and the complex were analyzed with the simulation and the results demonstrated that the dynamical and structural effects observed in the protein were induced by the compounds and indicated the dominance to the oncoprotein. Overall, our study provides the basis for the structural insights of the identified potential hits and EGCG and hence, the analogous compounds identified can be potent inhibitors against the HPV 16 E7 oncoprotein.

Keywords: EGCG, oncoprotein, molecular dynamics simulation, analogues

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Authors: Arnold Missiame

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In Ghana, rural dwellers who depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihood constitute about 60% of the country’s population. This shows the critical role and potentials of the agricultural sector in helping to achieve Ghana’s vision 2030. With the current threat of climate change and advancements in technology, agricultural extension is not just about technology transfer and improvements in productivity, but it is also about improving the managerial and technical skills of farmers. In Ghana, the government of Ghana as well as other players in the sector like; non-governmental organizations, NGOs, local and international funding agencies, for decades now, have made capacity-building-investments in smallholder farmers by way of extension services delivery. This study sought to compare the technical efficiency of farmers who have access to agricultural extension and farmers who do not in Ghana. The study employed the stochastic meta-frontier model to analyze household survey data comprising 300 smallholder cassava farmers from the Fanteakwa district of Ghana. The farmers were selected through a two-stage sampling technique where 5 communities were purposively selected in the first stage and then 60 smallholder cassava farmers were randomly selected from each of the 5 communities. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data on farmers’ socioeconomic and farm-level characteristics. The results showed that farmers who have access to agricultural extensions services have higher technical efficiencies (TE) and produce much closer to their meta-production frontiers (higher technology gap ratios (TGR) than farmers who do not have access to such extension services. Furthermore, experience in cassava cultivation and formal education significantly improves the technical efficiencies of farmers. The study recommends that the mode and scope of agricultural extension service delivery in the country should be enhanced to ensure that smallholder farmers have easy access to extension agents.

Keywords: agricultural extension, Ghana, smallholder farmers, stochastic meta-frontier model, technical efficiency

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Authors: Jitendra Sharma

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Here a Homogeneous Charge is used as in a spark-ignited engine, but the charge is compressed to auto ignition as in a diesel. The main difference compared with the Spark Ignition (SI) engine is the lack of flame propagation and hence the independence from turbulence. Compared with the diesel engine. HCCI has a homogeneous charge and have no problems associated with soot and Nox but HC and CO were higher than in SI mode. It was not possible to achieve high IMEP (Indicated Mean Effective Pressure) values with HCCI. The Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is an attractive technology because of its high efficiency and low emissions. However, HCCI lakes a direct combustion trigger making control of combustion timing challenging, especially during transients. To aid in HCCI engine control we present a simple model of the HCCI combustion process valid over a range of intake pressures, intake temperatures, equivalence ratios and engine speeds. HCCI a new combustion technology that may develop as an alternative to diesel engines with high efficiency and low Knox and particulate matter emissions. The homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is a promising new engine technology that combines elements of the diesel and gasoline engine operating cycles. HCCI as a way to increase the efficiency of the gasoline engine. The attractive properties are increased fuel efficiency due to reduced throttling losses, increased expansion ratio and higher thermodynamic efficiency. With the advantages there are some mechanical limitations to the operation of the HCCI engine. The implementation of homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) to gasoline engines is constrained by many factors. The main drawback of HCCI is the absence of direct combustion timing control. Therefore all the right conditions for auto ignition have to be set before combustion starts. This paper describes the past and current research done on HCCI engine. Many research got considerable success in doing detailed modeling of HCCI combustion. This paper aims at studying the fundamentals of HCCI combustion, the strategy to control the limitation of HCCI engine.

Keywords: HCCI, diesel engine, combustion, elementary investigation

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Authors: Noor Ul Huda, Mushtaq Ahmed, Nadia Mushtaq, Naila Sher, Rahmat Ali Khan

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Purpose: The green synthesis of AgNPs has been favored over chemical synthesis due to their distinctive properties such as high dispersion, surface-to-volume ratio, low toxicity, and easy preparation. In the present work, the biosynthesis of AgNPs (KE-AgNPs) was carried out in one step by using the traditionally used plant Kickxia elatine (KE) extract and then investigated its enzyme inhibiting activity against rat’s brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in vitro. Methods: KE-AgNPs were synthesized from 1mM AgNO₃ using KE extract and characterized by UV–spectroscopy, SEM, EDX, XRD, and FTIR analysis. Rat’s brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition activity was evaluated by the standard protocol. Results: UV–spectrum at 416 nm confirmed the formation of KE-AgNPs. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern presented 2θ values corresponding to the crystalline nature of KE-AgNPs with an average size of 42.47nm. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis confirmed the presence of spherical-shaped and huge density KE-AgNPs with a size of 50nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) suggested that the functional groups present in KE extract and on the surface of KE-AgNPs are responsible for the stability of biosynthesized NPs. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) displayed an intense sharp peak at 3.2 keV, presenting that Ag was the chief element with 61.67%. Both KE extract and KE-AgNPs showed good and potent anti-AChE activity, with higher inhibition potential at a concentration of 175 µg/ml. Statistical analysis showed that both KEE and AgNPs exhibited non-competitive type inhibition against AChE, i.e., Vmax decreased (34.17-68.64% and 22.29- 62.10%) in the concentration-dependent mode for KEE and KE-AgNPs respectively and while Km values remained constant. Conclusions: KEE and KE-AgNPs can be considered an inhibitor of rats’ brain AChE, and the synthesis of KE-AgNPs-based drugs can be used as a cheaper and alternative option against diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Keywords: Kickxia elatine, AgNPs, brain homogenate, acetylcholinesterase, kinetics

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Authors: Lilian Nantume Wampande

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Group-based strategies in the delivery of HIV care have opened up new avenues not only for meaningful participation for HIV positive people but also platforms for deconstruction and reconstruction of knowledge about living with the virus. Yet the contributions of such strategies among patients who live in high risk areas are still not explored. This case study research assessed the impact of HIV support networks on sexual health outcomes of HIV positive out-of-school adolescents residing in fishing islands of Kalangala in Uganda. The study population was out-of-school adolescents living with HIV and their sexual partners (n=269), members of their households (n=80) and their health service providers (n=15). Data were collected via structured interviews, observations and focus group discussions between August 2016 and March 2017. Data was then analyzed inductively to extract key themes related to the approaches and outcomes of the groups’ activities. The study findings indicate that support groups unite HIV positive adolescents in a bid for social renegotiation to achieve change but individual constraints surpass the groups’ intentions. Some adolescents for example reported increased fear which led to failure to cope, sexual violence, self-harm and denial of status as a result of the high expectations placed on them as members of the support groups. Further investigations around this phenomenon show that HIV networks play a monotonous role as information sources for HIV positive out-of-school adolescents which limit their creativity to seek information elsewhere. Results still indicate that HIV adolescent groups recognize the complexity of long-term treatment and stay in care leading to improved immunity for the majority yet; there is still scattered evidence about how effective they are among adolescents at different phases in the disease trajectory. Nevertheless, the primary focus of developing adolescent self-efficacy and coping skills significantly address a range of disclosure difficulties and supports autonomy. Moreover, the peer techniques utilized in addition to the almost homogeneous group characteristics accelerates positive confidence, hope and belongingness. Adolescent HIV-support groups therefore have the capacity to both improve and/or worsen sexual health outcomes for a young adolescent who is out-of-school. Communication interventions that seek to increase awareness about ‘self’ should therefore be emphasized more than just fostering collective action. Such interventions should be sensitive to context and gender. In addition, facilitative support supervision done by close and trusted health care providers, most preferably Village Health Teams (who are often community elected volunteers) would help to follow-up, mentor, encourage and advise this young adolescent in matters involving sexuality and health outcomes. HIV/AIDS prevention programs have extended their efforts beyond individual focus to those that foster collective action, but programs should rekindle interpersonal level strategies to address the complexity of individual behavior.

Keywords: adolescent, HIV, support groups, Uganda

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Authors: Renzo Castillo, George Tsatsaronis

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High-temperature ceramic membranes for air separation represents an important option to reduce the significant efficiency drops incurred in state-of-the-art cryogenic air separation for high tonnage oxygen production required in oxyfuel power stations. This study is focused on the thermodynamic analysis of two power plant model designs: the state-of-the-art supercritical 600ᵒC hard coal plant (reference power plant Nordrhein-Westfalen) and the membrane-based oxyfuel concept implemented in this reference plant. In the latter case, the oxygen is separated through a mixed-conducting hollow fiber perovskite membrane unit in the three-end operation mode, which has been simulated under vacuum conditions on the permeate side and at high-pressure conditions on the feed side. The thermodynamic performance of each plant concept is assessed by conventional exergetic analysis, which determines location, magnitude and sources of efficiency losses, and advanced exergetic analysis, where endogenous/exogenous and avoidable/unavoidable parts of exergy destruction are calculated at the component and full process level. These calculations identify thermodynamic interdependencies among components and reveal the real potential for efficiency improvements. The endogenous and exogenous exergy destruction portions are calculated by the decomposition method, a recently developed straightforward methodology, which is suitable for complex power stations with a large number of process components. Lastly, an improvement priority ranking for relevant components, as well as suggested changes in process layouts are presented for both power stations.

Keywords: exergy, carbon capture and storage, ceramic membranes, perovskite, oxyfuel combustion

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Authors: Sara Franco Ortega, Alina Goldberg Cavalleri, Nawaporn Onkokesung, Richard Dale, Melissa Brazier-Hicks, Robert Edwards

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Safeners are agrochemicals that enhance the selective chemical control of wild grasses by increasing the ability of the crop to metabolise the herbicide. Although these compounds are widely used, their mode of action is not well understood. It is known that safeners enhance the metabolism of herbicides, by up-regulating the associated detoxification system we have termed the xenome. The xenome proteins involved in herbicide metabolism have been previously divided into four different phases, with cytochrome P450s (CYPs) playing a key role in phase I metabolism by catalysing hydroxylation and dealkylation reactions. Subsequently, glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) and UDP-glucosyltransferases lead to the formation of Phase II conjugates prior to their transport into the vacuole by ABCs transporters (Phase III). Maize (Zea mays), was been treated with different safeners to explore the selective induction of xenome proteins, with a special interest in the regulation of the CYP superfamily. Transcriptome analysis enabled the identification of key safener-inducible CYPs that were then functionally assessed to determine their role in herbicide detoxification. In order to do that, CYP’s were codon optimised, synthesised and inserted into the yeast expression vector pYES3 using in-fusion cloning. CYP’s expressed as recombinant proteins in a strain of yeast engineered to contain the P450 co-enzyme (cytochrome P450 reductase) from Arabidopsis. Microsomes were extracted and treated with herbicides of different chemical classes in the presence of the cofactor NADPH. The reaction products were then analysed by LCMS to identify any herbicide metabolites. The results of these studies will be presented with the key CYPs identified in maize used as the starting point to find orthologs in other crops and weeds to better understand their roles in herbicide selectivity and safening.

Keywords: CYPs, herbicide detoxification, LCMS, RNA-Seq, safeners

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Authors: Meng Wang

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Historically, young members (children) in the society have been oppressed by adults through direct violent acts. Direct violence was evident in rampant child labor and child maltreatment cases. After acknowledging the rights of children from the United Nations, it is believed in public that children have been protected against direct physical violence. Nevertheless, at present, this paper argues from Foucauldian and disability study standpoints that similar to the old times, children are oppressed objects in the context of child play, which is constructed by adults to substitute direct violence in regulating children. Particularly, this paper suggests that on the one hand, preschool play is a new way that adults adopt to oppress preschoolers and regulate the society as a whole; on the other hand, preschoolers are taught how to play as an acquired skill and master self-regulation through play. There is a line of contemporary research that centers on child play from social constructivism perspective. Yet, current teaching practices pertaining to child play including guided child play and free play, in fact, serve the interest of adults and society at large. By acknowledging and deconstructing the prevalence of 'evidence-based best practice' in early childhood education field within western society, reconstruction of child-adult power relation could be achieved and alternative truth could be found in early childhood education. To support the argument of this paper, an on-going observational case study is conducted in a preschool setting in the United States. Age range of children is 2.5 to 4 years old. Approximately 10 children (5 boys) are participating in this case study. Observation is conducted throughout the weekdays as children follow through the classroom routine with a lead and an assistant teacher. Classroom teachers are interviewed pertaining to their classroom management strategies. Preliminary research finding of this case study suggested that preschool teachers tended to utilize scenarios from preschoolers’ dramatic play to impart core cultural values to young children. These values were pre-determined by adults. In addition, if young children have failed to follow teachers' guidance in terms of playing in a correct way, children ran the risk of being excluded from the play scenario by peers and adults. Furthermore, this study tended to indicate that through child play, preschoolers are obliged to develop an internal violence system, that is self-regulation skill to regulate their own behavior; and if this internal system is unestablished based on various assessments by adults, then potentially there will be consequences of negative labeling and disabling toward young children intended by adults. In conclusion, this paper applies Foucauldian analysis into the context of child play. At present, within preschool, child play is not free as it seems to be. Young children are expected to perform cultural tasks through their play activities designed by adults. Adults utilize child play as technologies of governmentality to further predict and regulate future society at large.

Keywords: child play, developmentally appropriate practice, DAP, poststructuralism, technologies of governmentality

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Authors: Al-Amin, Huanjun Jiang, Anayat Ali

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Reinforced concrete frames (RC), especially Ordinary RC frames, are prone to structural failures/collapse during seismic events, leading to a large proportion of debris from the structures, which obstructs adjacent areas, including streets. These blocked areas severely impede post-earthquake resilience. This study uses computational simulation (FEM) to investigate the amount of debris generated by the seismic collapse of an ordinary reinforced concrete moment frame building and its effects on the adjacent pedestrian and road network. A three-story ordinary reinforced concrete frame building, primarily designed for gravity load and earthquake resistance, was selected for analysis. Sixteen different ground motions were applied and scaled up until the total collapse of the tested building to evaluate the failure mode under various seismic events. Four types of collapse direction were identified through the analysis, namely aligned (positive and negative) and skewed (positive and negative), with aligned collapse being more predominant than skewed cases. The amount and distribution of debris around the collapsed building were assessed to investigate the interaction between collapsed buildings and adjacent street networks. An interaction was established between a building that collapsed in an aligned direction and the adjacent pedestrian walkway and narrow street located in an unplanned old city. The FEM model was validated against an existing shaking table test. The presented results can be utilized to simulate the interdependency between the debris generated from the collapse of seismic-prone buildings and the resilience of street networks. These findings provide insights for better disaster planning and resilient infrastructure development in earthquake-prone regions.

Keywords: building collapse, earthquake-induced debris, ORC moment resisting frame, street network

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Authors: Marco Naegele, Klaus Stoppel, Thomas Dekorsy

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Passively Q-switched microchip lasers enable the great potential for sophisticated LiDAR systems due to their compact overall system design, excellent beam quality, and scalable pulse energies. However, many near-infrared solid-state lasers show emitting wavelengths > 1000 nm, which are not compatible with state-of-the-art silicon detectors. Here we demonstrate a passively Q-switched microchip laser operating at 914 nm. The microchip laser consists of a 3 mm long Nd:YVO₄ crystal as a gain medium, while Cr⁴⁺:YAG with an initial transmission of 98% is used as a saturable absorber. Quasi-continuous pumping enables single pulse operation, and low duty cycles ensure low overall heat generation and power consumption. Thus, thermally induced instabilities are minimized, and operation without active cooling is possible while ambient temperature changes are compensated by adjustment of the pump laser current only. Single-emitter diode pumping at 808 nm leads to a compact overall system design and robust setup. Utilization of a microchip cavity approach ensures single-longitudinal mode operation with spectral bandwidths in the picometer regime and results in short laser pulses with pulse durations below 10 ns. Beam quality measurements reveal an almost diffraction-limited beam and enable conclusions concerning the thermal lens, which is essential to stabilize the plane-plane resonator. A 7% output coupler transmissivity is used to generate pulses with energies in the microjoule regime and peak powers of more than 600 W. Long-term pulse duration, pulse energy, central wavelength, and spectral bandwidth measurements emphasize the excellent system stability and facilitate the utilization of this laser in the context of a LiDAR system.

Keywords: diode-pumping, LiDAR system, microchip laser, Nd:YVO4 laser, passively Q-switched

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Authors: Sreto Boljevic

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In the absence of considerable investment in electricity generation, transmission and distribution network (DN) capacity, the demand for electrical energy will quickly strain the capacity of the existing electrical power network. With anticipated growth and proliferation of Electric vehicles (EVs) and Heat pump (HPs) identified the likelihood that the additional load from EV changing and the HPs operation will require capital investment in the DN. While an area-wide implementation of EVs and HPs will contribute to the decarbonization of the energy system, they represent new challenges for the existing low-voltage (LV) network. Distributed energy resources (DER), operating both as part of the DN and in the off-network mode, have been offered as a means to meet growing electricity demand while maintaining and ever-improving DN reliability, resiliency and power quality. DN planning has traditionally been done by forecasting future growth in demand and estimating peak load that the network should meet. However, new problems are arising. These problems are associated with a high degree of proliferation of EVs and HPs as load imposes on DN. In addition to that, the promotion of electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES). High distributed generation (DG) penetration and a large increase in load proliferation at low-voltage DNs may have numerous impacts on DNs that create issues that include energy losses, voltage control, fault levels, reliability, resiliency and power quality. To mitigate negative impacts and at a same time enhance positive impacts regarding the new operational state of DN, CHP system integration can be seen as best action to postpone/reduce capital investment needed to facilitate promotion and maximize benefits of EVs, HPs and RES integration in low-voltage DN. The aim of this paper is to generate an algorithm by using an analytical approach. Algorithm implementation will provide a way for optimal placement of the CHP system in the DN in order to maximize the integration of RES and increase in proliferation of EVs and HPs.

Keywords: combined heat & power (CHP), distribution networks, EVs, HPs, RES

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Authors: Syed Hadi Hasan, Devendra Kumar Singh, Viyaj Kumar

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Cr (VI) is a known toxic heavy metal and has been considered as a priority pollutant in water. The effluent of various industries including electroplating, anodizing baths, leather tanning, steel industries and chromium based catalyst are the major source of Cr (VI) contamination in the aquatic environment. Cr (VI) show high mobility in the environment and can easily penetrate cell membrane of the living tissues to exert noxious effects. The Cr (VI) contamination in drinking water causes various hazardous health effects to the human health such as cancer, skin and stomach irritation or ulceration, dermatitis, damage to liver, kidney circulation and nerve tissue damage. Herein, an attempt has been done to develop an efficient adsorbent for the removal of Cr (VI) from water. For this purpose nanosorbent composed of polyvinyl alcohol functionalized graphene oxide (GO/PVA) was prepared. Thus, obtained GO/PVA was characterized through FTIR, XRD, SEM, and Raman Spectroscopy. As prepared nanosorbent of GO/PVA was utilized for the removal Cr (VI) in batch mode experiment. The process variables such as contact time, initial Cr (VI) concentration, pH, and temperature were optimized. The maximum 99.8 % removal of Cr (VI) was achieved at initial Cr (VI) concentration 60 mg/L, pH 2, temperature 35 °C and equilibrium was achieved within 50 min. The two widely used isotherm models viz. Langmuir and Freundlich were analyzed using linear correlation coefficient (R2) and it was found that Langmuir model gives best fit with high value of R2 for the data of present adsorption system which indicate the monolayer adsorption of Cr (VI) on the GO/PVA. Kinetic studies were also conducted using pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order models and it was observed that chemosorptive pseudo-second order model described the kinetics of current adsorption system in better way with high value of correlation coefficient. Thermodynamic studies were also conducted and results showed that the adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic in nature.

Keywords: adsorption, GO/PVA, isotherm, kinetics, nanosorbent, thermodynamics

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Authors: Fils Olivier Kamanzi

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This research Paper shows that materials CFRP were used to rehabilitate 9 Beams and retrofitting of 9 Beams with size (125x250x2300) mm each for M50 grade of concrete with 20% of Volume of Cement replaced by GGBS as a mineral Admixture. Superplasticizer (ForscoConplast SP430) used to reduce the water-cement ratio and maintaining good workability of fresh concrete (Slump test 57mm). Concrete Mix ratio 1:1.56:2.66 with a water-cement ratio of 0.31(ACI codebooks). A sample of 6cubes sized (150X150X150) mm, 6cylinders sized (150ФX300H) mm and 6Prisms sized (100X100X500) mm were cast, cured, and tested for 7,14&28days by compressive, tensile and flexure test; finally, mix design reaches the compressive strength of 59.84N/mm2. 21 Beams were cast and cured for up to 28 days, 3Beams were tested by a two-point loading machine as Control beams. 9 Beams were distressed in flexure by adopting failure up to final Yielding point under two-point loading conditions by taking 90% off Ultimate load. Three sets, each composed of three distressed beams, were rehabilitated by using CFRP sheets, one, two & three layers, respectively, and after being retested up to failure mode. Another three sets were freshly retrofitted also by using CFRP sheets one, two & three layers, respectively, and being tested by a two-point load method of compression strength testing machine. The aim of this study is to determine the flexural Strength & behaviors of repaired and retrofitted Beams by CFRP sheets for gaining good strength and considering economic aspects. The results show that rehabilitated beams increase its strength 47 %, 78 % & 89 %, respectively, to thickness of CFRP sheets and 41%, 51 %& 68 %, respectively too, for retrofitted Beams. The conclusion is that three layers of CFRP sheets are the best applicable in repairing and retrofitting the bonded beams method.

Keywords: retrofitting, rehabilitation, cfrp, rcc beam, flexural strength and behaviors, ggbs, and epoxy resin

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Authors: Moloud Torkandam

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Any cities must be designed and built in a way that minimizes their need for fossil fuel. Undoubtedly, the necessity of accepting this principle in the previous eras is undeniable with respect to the mode of constructions. Perhaps only due to the great diversity of materials and new technologies in the contemporary era, such a principle in buildings has been forgotten. The question of optimizing energy consumption in buildings has attracted a great deal of attention in many countries and, in this way, they have been able to cut down the consumption of energy up to 30 percent. The energy consumption is remarkably higher than global standards in our country, and the most important reason is the undesirable state of buildings from the standpoint of energy consumption. In addition to providing the means to protect the natural and fuel resources for the future generations, reducing the use of fossil energies may also bring about desirable outcomes such as the decrease in greenhouse gases (whose emissions cause global warming, the melting of polar ice, the rise in sea level and the climatic changes of the planet earth), the decrease in the destructive effects of contamination in residential complexes and especially urban environments and preparation for national self-sufficiency and the country’s independence and preserving national capitals. This research realize that in this modern day and age, living sustainably is a pre-requisite for ensuring a bright future and high quality of life. In acquiring this living standard, we will maintain the functions and ability of our environment to serve and sustain our livelihoods. Electricity is now an integral part of modern life, a basic necessity. In the provision of electricity, we are committed to respecting the environment by reducing the use of fossil fuels through the use of proven technologies that use local renewable and natural resources as its energy source. As far as this research concerned it is completely necessary to work on different type of energy producing such as solar and CPVT system.

Keywords: energy, photovoltaic, termal system, solar energy, CPVT

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