Search results for: horizontal transport

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

Procedia PDF Downloads 258

Authors: S. V. Ukwungwu, A. J. Abbas, G. G. Nasr

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The increasing high price of natural gas and oil with attendant increase in energy demand on world markets in recent years has stimulated interest in recovering residual oil saturation across the globe. In order to meet the energy security, efforts have been made in developing new technologies of enhancing the recovery of oil and gas, utilizing techniques like CO2 flooding, water injection, hydraulic fracturing, surfactant flooding etc. Surfactant flooding however optimizes production but poses risk to the environment due to their toxic nature. Amongst proven records that have utilized other type of bacterial in producing biosurfactants for enhancing oil recovery, this research uses a technique to combine biosurfactants that will achieve a scale of EOR through lowering interfacial tension/contact angle. In this study, three biosurfactants were produced from three Bacillus species from freeze dried cultures using sucrose 3 % (w/v) as their carbon source. Two of these produced biosurfactants were screened with the TEMCO Pendant Drop Image Analysis for reduction in IFT and contact angle. Interfacial tension was greatly reduced from 56.95 mN.m-1 to 1.41 mN.m-1 when biosurfactants in cell-free culture (Bacillus licheniformis) were used compared to 4. 83mN.m-1 cell-free culture of Bacillus subtilis. As a result, cell-free culture of (Bacillus licheniformis) changes the wettability of the biosurfactant treatment for contact angle measurement to more water-wet as the angle decreased from 130.75o to 65.17o. The influence of microbial treatment on crushed rock samples was also observed by qualitative wettability experiments. Treated samples with biosurfactants remained in the aqueous phase, indicating a water-wet system. These results could prove that biosurfactants can effectively change the chemistry of the wetting conditions against diverse surfaces, providing a desirable condition for efficient oil transport in this way serving as a mechanism for EOR. The environmental friendly effect of biosurfactants applications for industrial purposes play important advantages over chemically synthesized surfactants, with various possible structures, low toxicity, eco-friendly and biodegradability.

Keywords: bacillus, biosurfactant, enhanced oil recovery, residual oil, wettability

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Maria Amelia V. C. Araujo, Billy J. Araujo, Brian Greenwood

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The flow over a backward-facing step is characterized by the presence of flow separation, recirculation and reattachment, for a simple geometry. This type of fluid behaviour takes place in many practical engineering applications, hence the reason for being investigated. Historically, fluid flows over a backward-facing step have been examined in many experiments using a variety of measuring techniques such as laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV), hot-wire anemometry, particle image velocimetry or hot-film sensors. However, some of these techniques cannot conveniently be used in separated flows or are too complicated and expensive. In this work, the applicability of the acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV) technique is investigated to such type of flows, at various Reynolds numbers corresponding to different flow regimes. The use of this measuring technique in separated flows is very difficult to find in literature. Besides, most of the situations where the Reynolds number effect is evaluated in separated flows are in numerical modelling. The ADV technique has the advantage in providing nearly non-invasive measurements, which is important in resolving turbulence. The ADV Nortek Vectrino+ was used to characterize the flow, in a recirculating laboratory flume, at various Reynolds Numbers (Reh = 3738, 5452, 7908 and 17388) based on the step height (h), in order to capture different flow regimes, and the results compared to those obtained using other measuring techniques. To compare results with other researchers, the step height, expansion ratio and the positions upstream and downstream the step were reproduced. The post-processing of the AVD records was performed using a customized numerical code, which implements several filtering techniques. Subsequently, the Vectrino noise level was evaluated by computing the power spectral density for the stream-wise horizontal velocity component. The normalized mean stream-wise velocity profiles, skin-friction coefficients and reattachment lengths were obtained for each Reh. Turbulent kinetic energy, Reynolds shear stresses and normal Reynolds stresses were determined for Reh = 7908. An uncertainty analysis was carried out, for the measured variables, using the moving block bootstrap technique. Low noise levels were obtained after implementing the post-processing techniques, showing their effectiveness. Besides, the errors obtained in the uncertainty analysis were relatively low, in general. For Reh = 7908, the normalized mean stream-wise velocity and turbulence profiles were compared directly with those acquired by other researchers using the LDV technique and a good agreement was found. The ADV technique proved to be able to characterize the flow properly over a backward-facing step, although additional caution should be taken for measurements very close to the bottom. The ADV measurements showed reliable results regarding: a) the stream-wise velocity profiles; b) the turbulent shear stress; c) the reattachment length; d) the identification of the transition from transitional to turbulent flows. Despite being a relatively inexpensive technique, acoustic Doppler velocimetry can be used with confidence in separated flows and thus very useful for numerical model validation. However, it is very important to perform adequate post-processing of the acquired data, to obtain low noise levels, thus decreasing the uncertainty.

Keywords: ADV, experimental data, multiple Reynolds number, post-processing

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Authors: M. S. Nikitenko, S. A. Kizilov, D. Y. Khudonogov

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The paper considers an approach to a machine vision operating system combined with using a grid of light markers. This approach is used to solve several scientific and technical problems, such as measuring the capability of an apron feeder delivering coal from a lining return port to a conveyor in the technology of mining high coal releasing to a conveyor and prototyping an autonomous vehicle obstacle detection system. Primary verification of a method of calculating bulk material volume using three-dimensional modeling and validation in laboratory conditions with relative errors calculation were carried out. A method of calculating the capability of an apron feeder based on a machine vision system and a simplifying technology of a three-dimensional modelled examined measuring area with machine vision was offered. The proposed method allows measuring the volume of rock mass moved by an apron feeder using machine vision. This approach solves the volume control issue of coal produced by a feeder while working off high coal by lava complexes with release to a conveyor with accuracy applied for practical application. The developed mathematical apparatus for measuring feeder productivity in kg/s uses only basic mathematical functions such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Thus, this fact simplifies software development, and this fact expands the variety of microcontrollers and microcomputers suitable for performing tasks of calculating feeder capability. A feature of an obstacle detection issue is to correct distortions of the laser grid, which simplifies their detection. The paper presents algorithms for video camera image processing and autonomous vehicle model control based on obstacle detection machine vision systems. A sample fragment of obstacle detection at the moment of distortion with the laser grid is demonstrated.

Keywords: machine vision, machine vision operating system, light markers, measuring capability, obstacle detection system, autonomous transport

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Authors: María Dolores Caro, Eugenio M. Fedriani, Ángel F. Tenorio

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When lorries transport dangerous goods, there exist some legal stipulations in the European Union for assuring the security of the rest of road users as well as of those goods being transported. At this respect, lorry drivers cannot park in usual parking areas, because they must use parking areas with special conditions, including permanent supervision of security personnel. Moreover, drivers are compelled to satisfy additional regulations about resting and driving times, which involve in the practical possibility of reaching the suitable parking areas under these time parameters. The “European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road” (ADR) is the basic regulation on transportation of dangerous goods imposed under the recommendations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Indeed, nowadays there are no enough parking areas adapted for dangerous goods and no complete study have suggested the best locations to build new areas or to adapt others already existing to provide the areas being necessary so that lorry drivers can follow all the regulations. The goal of this paper is to show how many additional parking areas should be built in the Iberian Peninsula to allow that lorry drivers may park in such areas under their restrictions in resting and driving time. To do so, we have modeled the problem via graph theory and we have applied a new efficient algorithm which determines an optimal solution for the problem of locating new parking areas to complement those already existing in the ADR for the Iberian Peninsula. The solution can be considered minimal since the number of additional parking areas returned by the algorithm is minimal in quantity. Obviously, graph theory is a natural way to model and solve the problem here proposed because we have considered as nodes: the already-existing parking areas, the loading-and-unloading locations and the bifurcations of roads; while each edge between two nodes represents the existence of a road between both nodes (the distance between nodes is the edge's weight). Except for bifurcations, all the nodes correspond to parking areas already existing and, hence, the problem corresponds to determining the additional nodes in the graph such that there are less up to 100 km between two nodes representing parking areas. (maximal distance allowed by the European regulations).

Keywords: dangerous goods, parking areas, Iberian peninsula, graph-based modeling

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Authors: Yusuf Ulaş Kabukçu, Si̇nan Çeli̇k, Onur Salan, Mai̇de Altuntaş, Mert Can Dalkiran, Gökseni̇n Bozdağ, Metehan Bulut, Fati̇h Yaman

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This study presents a more compact implementation of the 2.4GHz MIT Coffee Can Doppler Radar for 2.6GHz operating frequency. The main difference of our prototype depends on the use of microstrip antennas which makes it possible to transport with a small robotic vehicle. We have designed our radar system with two different channels: Tx and Rx. The system mainly consists of Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) source, low noise amplifiers, microstrip antennas, splitter, mixer, low pass filter, and necessary RF connectors with cables. The two microstrip antennas, one is element for transmitter and the other one is array for receiver channel, was designed, fabricated and verified by experiments. The system has two operation modes: speed detection and range detection. If the switch of the operation mode is ‘Off’, only CW signal transmitted for speed measurement. When the switch is ‘On’, CW is frequency-modulated and range detection is possible. In speed detection mode, high frequency (2.6 GHz) is generated by a VCO, and then amplified to reach a reasonable level of transmit power. Before transmitting the amplified signal through a microstrip patch antenna, a splitter used in order to compare the frequencies of transmitted and received signals. Half of amplified signal (LO) is forwarded to a mixer, which helps us to compare the frequencies of transmitted and received (RF) and has the IF output, or in other words information of Doppler frequency. Then, IF output is filtered and amplified to process the signal digitally. Filtered and amplified signal showing Doppler frequency is used as an input of audio input of a computer. After getting this data Doppler frequency is shown as a speed change on a figure via Matlab script. According to experimental field measurements the accuracy of speed measurement is approximately %90. In range detection mode, a chirp signal is used to form a FM chirp. This FM chirp helps to determine the range of the target since only Doppler frequency measured with CW is not enough for range detection. Such a FMCW Doppler radar may be used in border security of the countries since it is capable of both speed and range detection.

Keywords: doppler radar, FMCW, range detection, speed detection

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Authors: Martin Mensinger, Marjolaine Pfaffinger, Matthias Haslbeck

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The maintenance and expansion of the railway network represents a central task for transport planning in the future. In addition to the ultimate limit states, the aspects of resource conservation and sustainability are increasingly more necessary to include in the basic engineering. Therefore, as part of the AiF research project, ‘Integrated assessment of steel and composite railway bridges in accordance with sustainability criteria’, the entire lifecycle of engineering structures is involved in planning and evaluation, offering a way to optimize the design of steel bridges. In order to reduce the life cycle costs and increase the profitability of steel structures, it is particularly necessary to consider the demands on hanger connections resulting from fatigue. In order for accurate analysis, a number simulations were conducted as part of the research project on a finite element model of a reference bridge, which gives an indication of the internal forces of the individual structural components of a tied arch bridge, depending on the stress incurred by various types of trains. The calculations were carried out on a detailed FE-model, which allows an extraordinarily accurate modeling of the stiffness of all parts of the constructions as it is made up surface elements. The results point to a large impact of the formation of details on fatigue-related changes in stress, on the one hand, and on the other, they could depict construction-specific specifics over the course of adding stress. Comparative calculations with varied axle-stress distribution also provide information about the sensitivity of the results compared to the imposition of stress and axel distribution on the stress-resultant development. The calculated diagrams help to achieve an optimized hanger connection design through improved durability, which helps to reduce the maintenance costs of rail networks and to give practical application notes for the formation of details.

Keywords: fatigue, influence line, life cycle, tied arch bridge

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Authors: Muhammad Abdul Qyyum, Kinza Qadeer, Moonyong Lee

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Globally, liquefied natural gas (LNG) has drawn interest as a green energy source in comparison with other fossil fuels, mainly because of its ease of transport and low carbon dioxide emissions. It is expected that demand for LNG will grow steadily over the next few decades. In addition, because the demand for clean energy is increasing, LNG production facilities are expanding into new natural gas reserves across the globe. However, LNG production is an energy and cost intensive process because of the huge power requirements for compression and refrigeration. Therefore, one of the major challenges in the LNG industry is to improve the energy efficiency of existing LNG processes through economic and ecological strategies. The advancement in expansion devices such as two-phase cryogenic expander (TPE) and cryogenic hydraulic turbine (HT) were exploited for energy and cost benefits in natural gas liquefaction. Retrofitting the conventional Joule–Thompson (JT) valve with TPE and HT have the potential to improve the energy efficiency of LNG processes. This research investigated the potential feasibility of the retrofitting of a dual mixed refrigerant (DMR) process by replacing the isenthalpic expansion with isentropic expansion corresponding to energy efficient LNG production. To fully take the potential benefit of the proposed process retrofitting, the proposed DMR schemes were optimized by using a Coggins optimization approach, which was implemented in Microsoft Visual Studio (MVS) environment and linked to the rigorous HYSYS® model. The results showed that the required energy of the proposed isentropic expansion based DMR process could be saved up to 26.5% in comparison with the conventional isenthalpic based DMR process using the JT valves. Utilization of the recovered energy into boosting the natural gas feed pressure could further improve the energy efficiency of the LNG process up to 34% as compared to the base case. This work will help the process engineers to overcome the challenges relating to energy efficiency and safety concerns of LNG processes. Furthermore, the proposed retrofitting scheme can also be implemented to improve the energy efficiency of other isenthalpic expansion based energy intensive cryogenic processes.

Keywords: cryogenic liquid turbine, Coggins optimization, dual mixed refrigerant, energy efficient LNG process, two-phase expander

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Authors: Mlondi Ndovela

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Globally, the manufacturing employment has been declining and the South African manufacturing sector experiences the very same trend. Despite the commonality between the global and South African manufacturing trend, there is an understanding that local areas provide distinct contributions to the provincial/national economy. Therefore, the growth/decline of a particular manufacturing division in one local area may not be evident in another area since economic performances vary from region to region. In view of the above, the study employed the Esteban-Marquillas model of shift-share analysis (SSA) to conduct an empirical analysis of manufacturing employment performance at uMhlathuze Local Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The study set out two objectives; those are, to quantify uMhlathuze manufacturing jobs that are attributed to the provincial manufacturing employment trends and identify manufacturing divisions are growing/declining in terms of employment. To achieve these objectives, the study sampled manufacturing employment data from 2010 to 2017 and this data was categorised into ten manufacturing divisions. Furthermore, the Esteban-Marquillas model calculated manufacturing employment in terms of two effects, namely; provincial growth effect (PGE) and industrial mix effect (IME). The results show that even though uMhlathuze manufacturing sector has a positive PGE (+230), the municipality performed poorly in terms of IME (-291). A further analysis included other economic sectors of the municipality to draw employment performance comparison and the study found that agriculture; construction; trade, catering and accommodation; and transport, storage and communication, performed well above manufacturing sector in terms of PGE (+826) and IME (+532). This suggests that uMhlathuze manufacturing sector is not necessarily declining; however, other economic sectors are growing faster and bigger than it is, therefore, reducing the employment share of the manufacturing sector. To promote manufacturing growth from a policy standpoint, the government could create favourable macroeconomic policies such as import substitution policies and support labour-intensive manufacturing divisions. As a result, these macroeconomic policies can help to protect local manufacturing firms and stimulate the growth of manufacturing employment.

Keywords: allocation effect, Esteban-Marquillas model, manufacturing employment, regional competitive effect, shift-share analysis

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Authors: Wadha Alqahtani

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In recent times, polymers have seen a great surge in interest in the field of medicine, particularly chemotherapeutics. One recent innovation is the conversion of polymeric materials into “polymeric nanoparticles”. These nanoparticles can be designed and modified to encapsulate and transport drugs selectively to cancer cells, minimizing collateral damage to surrounding healthy tissues, and improve patient quality of life. In this study, we have synthesized pseudo-branched polyester polymers from bio-based small molecules, including sorbitol, glutaric acid and a propargylic acid derivative to further modify the polymer to make it “click-able" with an azide-modified target ligand. Melt polymerization technique was used for this polymerization reaction, using lipase enzyme catalyst NOVO 435. This reaction was conducted between 90- 95 °C for 72 hours. The polymer samples were collected in 24-hour increments for characterization and to monitor reaction progress. The resulting polymer was purified with the help of methanol dissolving and filtering with filter paper then characterized via NMR, GPC, FTIR, DSC, TGA and MALDI-TOF. Following characterization, these polymers were converted to a polymeric nanoparticle drug delivery system using solvent diffusion method, wherein DiI optical dye and chemotherapeutic drug Taxol can be encapsulated simultaneously. The efficacy of the nanoparticle’s apoptotic effects were analyzed in-vitro by incubation with prostate cancer (LNCaP) and healthy (CHO) cells. MTT assays and fluorescence microscopy were used to assess the cellular uptake and viability of the cells after 24 hours at 37 °C and 5% CO2 atmosphere. Results of the assays and fluorescence imaging confirmed that the nanoparticles were successful in both selectively targeting and inducing apoptosis in 80% of the LNCaP cells within 24 hours without affecting the viability of the CHO cells. These results show the potential of using biodegradable polymers as a vehicle for receptor-specific drug delivery and a potential alternative for traditional systemic chemotherapy. Detailed experimental results will be discussed in the e-poster.

Keywords: chemotherapeutic drug, click chemistry, nanoparticle, prostat cancer

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Authors: Heng Ma

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Third-party warehousing logistics has an important role in the development of external logistics. At present, the third-party logistics in our country is still a new industry, the accounting system has not yet been established, the current financial accounting system of third-party warehousing logistics is mainly in the traditional way of thinking, and only able to provide the total cost information of the entire enterprise during the accounting period, unable to reflect operating indirect cost information. In order to solve the problem of third-party logistics industry cost information distortion, improve the level of logistics cost management, the paper combines theoretical research and case analysis method to reflect cost allocation by building third-party logistics costing model using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing(TDABC), and takes S company as an example to account and control the warehousing logistics cost. Based on the idea of “Products consume activities and activities consume resources”, TDABC put time into the main cost driver and use time-consuming equation resources assigned to cost objects. In S company, the objects focuses on three warehouse, engaged with warehousing and transportation (the second warehouse, transport point) service. These three warehouse respectively including five departments, Business Unit, Production Unit, Settlement Center, Security Department and Equipment Division, the activities in these departments are classified by in-out of storage forecast, in-out of storage or transit and safekeeping work. By computing capacity cost rate, building the time-consuming equation, the paper calculates the final operation cost so as to reveal the real cost. The numerical analysis results show that the TDABC can accurately reflect the cost allocation of service customers and reveal the spare capacity cost of resource center, verifies the feasibility and validity of TDABC in third-party logistics industry cost accounting. It inspires enterprises focus on customer relationship management and reduces idle cost to strengthen the cost management of third-party logistics enterprises.

Keywords: third-party logistics enterprises, TDABC, cost management, S company

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Authors: Jinchen Cao, Tiantian Du

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As waxy crude oil is easy to crystallization and deposition in the pipeline wall, it causes pipeline clogging and leads to the reduction of oil and gas gathering and transmission efficiency. In this paper, a mesoscopic scale dissipative particle dynamics method is employed, and constructed four pipe wall models, including smooth wall (SW), hydroxylated wall (HW), rough wall (RW), and single-layer graphene wall (GW). Snapshots of the simulation output trajectories show that paraffin molecules interact with each other to form a network structure that constrains water molecules as their nucleation sites. Meanwhile, it is observed that the paraffin molecules on the near-wall side are adsorbed horizontally between inter-lattice gaps of the solid wall. In the pressure range of 0 - 50 MPa, the pressure change has less effect on the affinity properties of SS, HS, and GS walls, but for RS walls, the contact angle between paraffin wax and water molecules was found to decrease with the increase in pressure, while the water molecules showed the opposite trend, the phenomenon is due to the change in pressure, leading to the transition of paraffin wax molecules from amorphous to crystalline state. Meanwhile, the minimum crystalline phase pressure (MCPP) was proposed to describe the lowest pressure at which crystallization of paraffin molecules occurs. The maximum number of crystalline clusters formed by paraffin molecules at MCPP in the system showed NSS (0.52 MPa) > NHS (0.55 MPa) > NRS (0.62 MPa) > NGS (0.75 MPa). The MCPP on the graphene surface, with the least number of clusters formed, indicates that the addition of graphene inhibited the crystallization process of paraffin deposition on the wall surface. Finally, the thermal conductivity was calculated, and the results show that on the near-wall side, the thermal conductivity changes drastically due to the occurrence of adsorption crystallization of paraffin waxes; on the fluid side the thermal conductivity gradually tends to stabilize, and the average thermal conductivity shows: ĸRS(0.254W/(m·K)) > ĸRS(0.249W/(m·K)) > ĸRS(0.218W/(m·K)) > ĸRS(0.188W/(m·K)).This study provides a theoretical basis for improving the transport efficiency and heat transfer characteristics of waxy crude oil in terms of wall type, wall roughness, and MCPP.

Keywords: waxy crude oil, thermal conductivity, crystallization, dissipative particle dynamics, MCPP

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Authors: Stephen Tullis, M. David DiDonato, Hong Sung Park

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Rowing boats (shells) are often steered by a small rudder operated by one of the backward-facing rowers; the attention required of that athlete then slightly decreases the power that that athlete can provide. Reducing the steering distraction would then increase the overall boat speed. Races are straight 2000 m courses with each boat in a 13.5 m wide lane marked by small (~15 cm) widely-spaced (~10 m) buoys, and the boat trajectory is affected by both cross-currents and winds. An optical buoy recognition and tracking system has been developed that provides the boat’s location and orientation with respect to the lane edges. This information is provided to the steering athlete as either: a simple overlay on a video display, or fed to a simplified autopilot system giving steering directions to the athlete or directly controlling the rudder. The system is then effectively a “lane-assist” device but with small, widely-spaced lane markers viewed from a very shallow angle due to constraints on camera height. The image is captured with a lightweight 1080p webcam, and most of the image analysis is done in OpenCV. The colour RGB-image is converted to a grayscale using the difference of the red and blue channels, which provides good contrast between the red/yellow buoys and the water, sky, land background and white reflections and noise. Buoy detection is done with thresholding within a tight mask applied to the image. Robust linear regression using Tukey’s biweight estimator of the previously detected buoy locations is used to develop the mask; this avoids the false detection of noise such as waves (reflections) and, in particular, buoys in other lanes. The robust regression also provides the current lane edges in the camera frame that are used to calculate the displacement of the boat from the lane centre (lane location), and its yaw angle. The interception of the detected lane edges provides a lane vanishing point, and yaw angle can be calculated simply based on the displacement of this vanishing point from the camera axis and the image plane distance. Lane location is simply based on the lateral displacement of the vanishing point from any horizontal cut through the lane edges. The boat lane position and yaw are currently fed what is essentially a stripped down marine auto-pilot system. Currently, only the lane location is used in a PID controller of a rudder actuator with integrator anti-windup to deal with saturation of the rudder angle. Low Kp and Kd values decrease unnecessarily fast return to lane centrelines and response to noise, and limiters can be used to avoid lane departure and disqualification. Yaw is not used as a control input, as cross-winds and currents can cause a straight course with considerable yaw or crab angle. Mapping of the controller with rudder angle “overall effectiveness” has not been finalized - very large rudder angles stall and have decreased turning moments, but at less extreme angles the increased rudder drag slows the boat and upsets boat balance. The full system has many features similar to automotive lane-assist systems, but with the added constraints of the lane markers, camera positioning, control response and noise increasing the challenge.

Keywords: auto-pilot, lane-assist, marine, optical, rowing

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Authors: Jan Van Uden

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The paper reviews classical agency-theory and its contributions to the analysis of complex business negotiations and gives an approach for the modification of the basic agency-model in order to examine the negotiation specific dimensions of agency-problems. By illustrating fundamental potentials for the modification of agency-theory in context of business negotiations the paper highlights recent empirical research that investigates agent-based negotiations and inter-team constellations. A general theoretical analysis of complex negotiation would be based on a two-level approach. First, the modification of the basic agency-model in order to illustrate the organizational context of business negotiations (i.e., multi-agent issues, common-agencies, multi-period models and the concept of bounded rationality). Second, the application of the modified agency-model on complex business negotiations to identify agency-problems and relating areas of risk in the negotiation process. The paper is placed on the first level of analysis – the modification. The method builds on the one hand on insights from behavior decision research (BRD) and on the other hand on findings from agency-theory as normative directives to the modification of the basic model. Through neoclassical assumptions concerning the fundamental aspects of agency-relationships in business negotiations (i.e., asymmetric information, self-interest, risk preferences and conflict of interests), agency-theory helps to draw solutions on stated worst-case-scenarios taken from the daily negotiation routine. As agency-theory is the only universal approach able to identify trade-offs between certain aspects of economic cooperation, insights obtained provide a deeper understanding of the forces that shape business negotiation complexity. The need for a modification of the basic model is illustrated by highlighting selected issues of business negotiations from agency-theory perspective: Negotiation Teams require a multi-agent approach under the condition that often decision-makers as superior-agents are part of the team. The diversity of competences and decision-making authority is a phenomenon that overrides the assumptions of classical agency-theory and varies greatly in context of certain forms of business negotiations. Further, the basic model is bound to dyadic relationships preceded by the delegation of decision-making authority and builds on a contractual created (vertical) hierarchy. As a result, horizontal dynamics within the negotiation team playing an important role for negotiation success are therefore not considered in the investigation of agency-problems. Also, the trade-off between short-term relationships within the negotiation sphere and the long-term relationships of the corporate sphere calls for a multi-period perspective taking into account the sphere-specific governance-mechanisms already established (i.e., reward and monitoring systems). Within the analysis, the implementation of bounded rationality is closely related to findings from BRD to assess the impact of negotiation behavior on underlying principal-agent-relationships. As empirical findings show, the disclosure and reservation of information to the agent affect his negotiation behavior as well as final negotiation outcomes. Last, in context of business negotiations, asymmetric information is often intended by decision-makers acting as superior-agents or principals which calls for a bilateral risk-approach to agency-relations.

Keywords: business negotiations, agency-theory, negotiation analysis, interteam negotiations

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Authors: Xi Wang, Yoshio Bando

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Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) can deliver high levels of energy storage density and offer long operating lifetimes, but their power density is too low for many important applications. Therefore, we developed some new strategies and fabricated novel electrodes for fast Li transport and its facile synthesis including N-doped graphene-SnO2 sandwich papers, bicontinuous nanoporous Cu/Li4Ti5O12 electrode, and binder-free N-doped graphene papers. In addition, by using advanced in-TEM, STEM techniques and the theoretical simulations, we systematically studied and understood their storage mechanisms at the atomic scale, which shed a new light on the reasons of the ultrafast lithium storage property and high capacity for these advanced anodes. For example, by using advanced in-situ TEM, we directly investigated these processes using an individual CuO nanowire anode and constructed a LIB prototype within a TEM. Being promising candidates for anodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), transition metal oxide anodes utilizing the so-called conversion mechanism principle typically suffer from the severe capacity fading during the 1st cycle of lithiation–delithiation. Also we report on the atomistic insights of the GN energy storage as revealed by in situ TEM. The lithiation process on edges and basal planes is directly visualized, the pyrrolic N "hole" defect and the perturbed solid-electrolyte-interface (SEI) configurations are observed, and charge transfer states for three N-existing forms are also investigated. In situ HRTEM experiments together with theoretical calculations provide a solid evidence that enlarged edge {0001} spacings and surface "hole" defects result in improved surface capacitive effects and thus high rate capability and the high capacity is owing to short-distance orderings at the edges during discharging and numerous surface defects; the phenomena cannot be understood previously by standard electron or X-ray diffraction analyses.

Keywords: in-situ TEM, STEM, advanced anode, lithium-ion batteries, storage mechanism

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Authors: Ahmed Sami Hammami, Mohamed Jellazi

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Background: The aim of the study is to evaluate the magnitude of different psychological outcomes among Tunisian health care professionals (HCP) during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify the associated factors. Methods: HCP completed a cross-sectional questionnaire from April 4th to April, 28th 2020. The survey collected demographic information, factors that may interfere with the psychological outcomes, behavior changes and mental health measurements. The latter was assessed through 3 scales; the 7-item questions Insomnia Severity Index, the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire and the 2-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with psychological outcomes. Results: A total of 503 HCP successfully completed the survey; among those, n=493 consented to enroll in the study, 411 [83.4%] were physicians, 323 [64.2%] were women and 271 [55%] had a second-line working position. A significant proportion of HCP had anxiety 35.7%, depression 35.1% and insomnia 23.7%. Females, those with psychiatric history and those using public transport exhibited the highest proportions for overall symptoms compared to other groups e.g., depression among females vs. males: 44,9% vs. 18,2%, P=0.00. Those with a previous medical history and nurses, had more anxiety and insomnia compared to other groups e.g. anxiety among nurses vs. interns/residents vs. attending 45,1% vs 36,1% vs 27,5%; p=0.04. Multivariable logistic regression showed that female gender was a risk factor for all psychological outcomes e.g. female sex increased the odds of anxiety by 2.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1, 78-4, 60; P=0.00, whereas having a psychiatric history was a risk factor for both anxiety and insomnia. (e.g. for insomnia OR=2,86; 95% [CI], 1,78-4,60; P=0.00), Having protective equipment was associated with lower risk for depression (OR=0,41; 95% CI, 0,27-0,62; P=0.00) and anxiety. Physical activity was also protective against depression and anxiety (OR=0,41, 95% CI, 0,25-0,67, P=0.00). Conclusion: Psychological symptoms are usually undervalued among HCP, though the COVID-19 pandemic played a major role in exacerbating this burden. Prompt psychological support should be endorsed and simple measures such as physical activity and ensuring the necessary protection are paramount to improve mental health outcomes and the quality of care provided to patients.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, health care professionals, mental health, protective factors, psychological symptoms, risk factors

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Authors: Beth Taylor, Kojima Mituaki, Atsushi Senda, Koji Morishita, Yasuhiro Otomo

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Intestinal ischaemia-reperfusion injury drives systemic inflammation and organ failure following trauma/haemorrhagic shock (T/HS), through the release of pro-inflammatory mediators into the mesenteric lymph (ML). However, changes in the biological function of ML are not fully understood, and therefore, a specific model of intestinal ischaemia-reperfusion injury is required to obtain ML for the study of its biological function upon inflammatory cells. ML obtained from a model of intestinal ischaemia-reperfusion injury was used to assess biological function upon inflammatory cells and investigate changes in the biological function of individual ML components. An additional model was used to determine the effect of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) upon biological function. Rat ML was obtained by mesenteric lymphatic duct cannulation before and after occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery (SMAO). ML was incubated with human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs), monocytes and lymphocytes, and the biological function of these cells was assessed. ML was then separated into supernatant, exosome and micro-vesicle components, and biological activity was compared in monocytes. A model with an additional VNS phase was developed, in which the right cervical vagal nerve was exposed and stimulated, and ML collected for comparison of biological function with the conventional model. The biological function of ML was altered by intestinal ischaemia-reperfusion injury, increasing PMN activation, monocyte activation, and lymphocyte apoptosis. Increased monocyte activation was only induced by the exosome component of ML, with no significant changes induced by the supernatant or micro-vesicle components. VNS partially attenuated monocyte activation, but no attenuation of PMN activation was observed. Intestinal ischaemia-reperfusion injury induces changes in the biological function of ML upon both innate and adaptive inflammatory cells, supporting the role of intestinal ischaemia-reperfusion injury in driving systemic inflammation following T/HS. The exosome component of ML appears to be critical to the transport of pro-inflammatory mediators in ML. VNS partially attenuates changes in innate inflammatory cell biological activity observed, presenting possibilities for future novel treatment development in multiple organ failure patients.

Keywords: exosomes, inflammation, intestinal ischaemia, mesenteric lymph, vagal stimulation

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Authors: Ahsan Ali, Mayank Ostwal, Nikhil Agarwal

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Abstract—According to a World Bank report, millions of people across the globe still do not have access to improved water services. With uninterrupted growth of cities and urban inhabitants, there is a mounting need to safeguard the sustainable expansion of cities. Efficient functioning of the urban components and high living standards of the residents are needed to be ensured. The water and sanitation network of an urban development is one of its most essential parts of its critical infrastructure. The growth in urban population is leading towards increased water demand, and thus, the local water resources are severely strained. 'Smart water' is referred to water and waste water infrastructure that is able to manage the limited resources and the energy used to transport it. It enables the sustainable consumption of water resources through co-ordinate water management system, by integrating Information Communication Technology (ICT) solutions, intended at maximizing the socioeconomic benefits without compromising the environmental values. This paper presents a case study from a medium sized city in North-western Pakistan. Currently, water is getting contaminated due to the proximity between water and sewer pipelines in the study area, leading to public health issues. Due to unsafe grey water infiltration, the scarce ground water is also getting polluted. This research takes into account the design of smart urban water network by integrating ICT (Information and Communication Technology) with urban water network. The proximity between the existing water supply network and sewage network is analyzed and a design of new water supply system is proposed. Real time mapping of the existing urban utility networks will be projected with the help of GIS applications. The issue of grey water infiltration is addressed by providing sustainable solutions with the help of locally available materials, keeping in mind the economic condition of the area. To deal with the current growth of urban population, it is vital to develop new water resources. Hence, distinctive and cost effective procedures to harness rain water would be suggested as a part of the research study experiment.

Keywords: GIS, smart water, sustainability, urban water management

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Authors: Markus Pajones, Theresa Steiner, Matthias Neubauer

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Selecting a logistics location is vital for logistics providers, food retailing and other trading companies since the selection poses an essential factor for economic success. Therefore various location search methods like cost-benefit analysis and others are well known and under usage. The development of a logistics location can be related to considerable negative effects for the eco system such as sealing the surface, wrecking of biodiversity or CO2 and noise emissions generated by freight and commuting traffic. The increasing importance of sustainability demands for taking an informed decision when selecting a logistics location for the future. Sustainability considers economic, ecologic and social aspects which should be equally integrated in the process of location search. Objectives of this paper are to define various methods which support the selection of sustainable logistics locations and to generate knowledge about the suitability, assets and limitations of the methods within the selection process. This paper investigates the role of economical, ecological and social aspects when searching for new logistics locations. Thereby, related work targeted towards location search is analyzed with respect to encoded sustainability aspects. In addition, this research aims to gain knowledge on how to include aspects of sustainability and take an informed decision when searching for a logistics location. As a result, a decomposition of the various location search methods in there components leads to a comparative analysis in form of a matrix. The comparison within a matrix enables a transparent overview about the mentioned assets and limitations of the methods and their suitability for selecting sustainable logistics locations. A further result is to generate knowledge on how to combine the separate methods to a new method for a more efficient selection of logistics locations in the context of sustainability. Future work will especially investigate the above mentioned combination of various location search methods. The objective is to develop an innovative instrument, which supports the search for logistics locations with a focus on a balanced sustainability (economy, ecology, social). Because of an ideal selection of logistics locations, induced traffic should be reduced and a mode shift to rail and public transport should be facilitated.

Keywords: commuting traffic, freight traffic, logistics location search, location search method

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Authors: Filippo Verre

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This paper explores Turkey’s role as an influential waterpower in the Middle East, emphasizing the Peace Water Pipeline Project as a paradigm of hydro solidarity rather than conventional water diplomacy. Hydro solidarity transcends the strategic and often competitive nature of water diplomacy, highlighting cooperative, inclusive, and mutually beneficial approaches to water resource management. The Peace Water Pipeline Project, which aimed to transport freshwater from Turkey’s Manavgat River to several water-scarce nations in the Middle East, exemplifies this ethos. By providing a reliable water supply to address the chronic shortages in the region, the project underscored Turkey’s commitment to fostering regional cooperation, stability, and collective well-being through shared water resources. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the Peace Water Pipeline Project, examining its technical specifications, environmental impact, and political implications. It discusses how the project’s foundation on principles of hydro solidarity could facilitate stronger regional ties, mitigate water-related conflicts, and promote sustainable development. By prioritizing collective benefits over unilateral gains, Turkey’s approach exemplified a transformative model of resource sharing that could inspire similar initiatives globally. Through a comprehensive review of historical contexts, policy analyses, and stakeholder perspectives, this paper highlights the significance of hydro solidarity in contemporary international relations. It argues that the Peace Water Pipeline Project serves as a crucial case study in demonstrating how shared natural resources can be leveraged to build trust, enhance cooperation, and achieve common goals in a geopolitically volatile region. The findings emphasize the importance of adopting hydro solidarity as a guiding principle for future transboundary water projects, showcasing how collaborative water management can play a pivotal role in fostering peace, security, and sustainable development in the Middle East and beyond.

Keywords: hydro-solidarity, Middle East, transboundary water management, peace water pipeline project, water scarcity

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Authors: K. C. Apil, Keshab Sharma, Bigul Pokharel

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Kathmandu Valley, capital city of Nepal houses numerous historical monuments as well as religious structures which are as old as from the 4th century A.D. The city alone is home to seven UNESCO’s world heritage sites including various public squares and religious sanctums which are often regarded as living heritages by various historians and archeological explorers. Recently on April 25, 2015, the capital city including other nearby locations was struck with Gorkha earthquake of moment magnitude (Mw) 7.8, followed by the strongest aftershock of moment magnitude (Mw) 7.3 on May 12. This study reports structural failures and collapse of heritage structures in Kathmandu Valley during the earthquake and presents preliminary findings as to the causes of failures and collapses. Field reconnaissance was carried immediately after the main shock and the aftershock, in major heritage sites: UNESCO world heritage sites, a number of temples and historic buildings in Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, and Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Despite such catastrophe, a significant number of heritage structures stood high, performing very well during the earthquake. Preliminary reports from archeological department suggest that 721 of such structures were severely affected, whereas numbers within the valley only were 444 including 76 structures which were completely collapsed. This study presents recorded accelerograms and geology of Kathmandu Valley. Structural typology and architecture of the heritage structures in Kathmandu Valley are briefly described. Case histories of damaged heritage structures, the patterns, and the failure mechanisms are also discussed in this paper. It was observed that performance of heritage structures was influenced by the multiple factors such as structural and architecture typology, configuration, and structural deficiency, local ground site effects and ground motion characteristics, age and maintenance level, material quality etc. Most of such heritage structures are of masonry type using bricks and earth-mortar as a bonding agent. The walls' resistance is mainly compressive, thus capable of withstanding vertical static gravitational load but not horizontal dynamic seismic load. There was no definitive pattern of damage to heritage structures as most of them behaved as a composite structure. Some structures were extensively damaged in some locations, while structures with similar configuration at nearby location had little or no damage. Out of major heritage structures, Dome, Pagoda (2, 3 or 5 tiered temples) and Shikhara structures were studied with similar variables. Studying varying degrees of damages in such structures, it was found that Shikhara structures were most vulnerable one where Dome structures were found to be the most stable one, followed by Pagoda structures. The seismic performance of the masonry-timber and stone masonry structures were slightly better than that of the masonry structures. Regular maintenance and periodic seismic retrofitting seems to have played pivotal role in strengthening seismic performance of the structure. The study also recommends some key functions to strengthen the seismic performance of such structures through study based on structural analysis, building material behavior and retrofitting details. The result also recognises the importance of documentation of traditional knowledge and its revised transformation in modern technology.

Keywords: Gorkha earthquake, field observation, heritage structure, seismic performance, masonry building

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Authors: Claudia Aguilar, Amen Farooq

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Among other cities in the United States, the city of Atlanta is experiencing levels of growth that surpass anything we have witnessed in the last century. With the surge of population influx, the available housing is practically bursting at the seams. Supply is low, and demand is high. In effect, the average one-bedroom apartment runs for 1,800 dollars per month. The city is desperately seeking new opportunities to provide affordable housing at an expeditious rate. This has been made evident by the recent updates to the city’s zoning. With the recent influx in the housing market, young professionals, in particular millennials, are desperately looking for alternatives to stay within the city. To remedy Atlanta’s affordable housing crisis, the city of Atlanta is planning to introduce 40 thousand of new affordable housing units by 2026. To achieve the urgent need for more affordable housing, the architectural response needs to adapt to overcome this goal. A method that has proven successful in modern housing is to practice modular means of development. A method that has been constrained to the dimensions of the max load for an eighteen-wheeler. This approach has diluted the architect’s ability to produce site-specific, informed design and rather contributes to the “cookie cutter” stigma that the method has been labeled with. This thesis explores the design methodology for modular housing by revisiting its constructability and adaptability. This research focuses on a modular housing type that could break away from the constraints of transport and deliver adaptive reconfigurable assemblies. The adaptive assemblies represent an integrated design strategy for assembling the future of affordable dwelling units. The goal is to take advantage of a component-based system and explore a scalable solution to modular housing. This proposal aims specifically to design a kit of parts that are made to be easily transported and assembled but also gives the ability to customize the use of components to benefit all unique conditions. The benefits of this concept could include decreased construction time, cost, on-site labor, and disruption while providing quality housing with affordable and flexible options.

Keywords: adaptive assemblies, modular architecture, adaptability, constructibility, kit of parts

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Authors: Jiri Beranovsky, Jaroslav Knapek, Tomas Kralik, Kamila Vavrova

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The paper deals with the results of research focused on the complex aspects of the use of intentionally grown biomass on agricultural land for the production of solid biofuels as an alternative for individual household heating. . The study primarily deals with the analysis of CO2 emissions of the logistics cycle of biomass for the production of energy pellets. Growing, harvesting, transport and storage are evaluated in the pellet production cycle. The aim is also to take into account the consumption profile during the year in terms of heating of common family houses, which are typical end-market segment for these fuels. It is assumed that in family houses, bio-pellets are able to substitute typical fossil fuels, such as brown coal and old wood burning heating devices and also electric boilers. One of the competing technology with the pellets are heat pumps. The results show the CO2 emissions related with considered fuels and technologies for their utilization. Comparative analysis is aimed biopellets from intentionally grown biomass, brown coal, natural gas and electricity used in electric boilers and heat pumps. Analysis combines CO2 emissions related with individual fuels utilization with costs of these fuels utilization. Cost of biopellets from intentionally grown biomass is derived from the economic models of individual energy crop plantations. At the same time, the restrictions imposed by EU legislation on Ecodesign's fuel and combustion equipment requirements and NOx emissions are discussed. Preliminary results of analyzes show that to achieve the competitiveness of pellets produced from specifically grown biomass, it would be necessary to either significantly ecological tax on coal (from about 0.3 to 3-3.5 EUR/GJ), or to multiply the agricultural subsidy per area. In addition to the Czech Republic, the results are also relevant for other countries, such as Bulgaria and Poland, which also have a high proportion of solid fuels for household heating.

Keywords: CO2 emissions, heating costs, energy crop, pellets, brown coal, heat pumps, economical evaluation

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Authors: Saeed Farhadypour, Majid Azadi, Habibolla Sayyari, Mahmood Mosavi, Shahram Irani, Aliakbar Bidokhti, Omid Alizadeh Choobari, Ziba Hamidi

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In the recent decades, frequencies of dust events have increased significantly in west and south west of Iran. First, a survey on the dust events during the period (1990-2013) is investigated using historical dust data collected at 6 weather stations scattered over west and south-west of Iran. After statistical analysis of the observational data, one of the most severe dust storm event that occurred in the region from 3rd to 6th July 2009, is selected and analyzed. WRF-Chem model is used to simulate the amount of PM10 and how to transport it to the areas. The initial and lateral boundary conditions for model obtained from GFS data with 0.5°×0.5° spatial resolution. In the simulation, two aerosol schemas (GOCART and MADE/SORGAM) with 3 options (chem_opt=106,300 and 303) were evaluated. Results of the statistical analysis of the historical data showed that south west of Iran has high frequency of dust events, so that Bushehr station has the highest frequency between stations and Urmia station has the lowest frequency. Also in the period of 1990 to 2013, the years 2009 and 1998 with the amounts of 3221 and 100 respectively had the highest and lowest dust events and according to the monthly variation, June and July had the highest frequency of dust events and December had the lowest frequency. Besides, model results showed that the MADE / SORGAM scheme has predicted values and trends of PM10 better than the other schemes and has showed the better performance in comparison with the observations. Finally, distribution of PM10 and the wind surface maps obtained from numerical modeling showed that the formation of dust plums formed in Iraq and Syria and also transportation of them to the West and Southwest of Iran. In addition, comparing the MODIS satellite image acquired on 4th July 2009 with model output at the same time showed the good ability of WRF-Chem in simulating spatial distribution of dust.

Keywords: dust storm, MADE/SORGAM scheme, PM10, WRF-Chem

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Authors: Hendri Purwadi, Christine McCloud

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Triage is a complex decision-making process that aims to categorize a victim’s level of acuity and the need for medical assistance. Two common triage systems have been widely used in Mass Casualty Incidents (MCIs) and disaster situation are START (Simple triage algorithm and rapid treatment) and SALT (sort, asses, lifesaving, intervention, and treatment/transport). There is currently controversy regarding the effectiveness of SALT over START triage system. This systematic review aims to investigate and compare the effectiveness between SALT and START triage system in disaster and MCIs setting. Literatures were searched via systematic search strategy from 2009 until 2019 in PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Scopus, Science direct, Medlib, ProQuest. This review included simulated-based and medical record -based studies investigating the accuracy and applicability of SALT and START triage systems of adult and children population during MCIs and disaster. All type of studies were included. Joana Briggs institute critical appraisal tools were used to assess the quality of reviewed studies. As a result, 1450 articles identified in the search, 10 articles were included. Four themes were identified by review, they were accuracy, under-triage, over-triage and time to triage per individual victim. The START triage system has a wide range and inconsistent level of accuracy compared to SALT triage system (44% to 94. 2% of START compared to 70% to 83% of SALT). The under-triage error of START triage system ranged from 2.73% to 20%, slightly lower than SALT triage system (7.6 to 23.3%). The over-triage error of START triage system was slightly greater than SALT triage system (START ranged from 2% to 53% compared to 2% to 22% of SALT). The time for applying START triage system was faster than SALT triage system (START was 70-72.18 seconds compared to 78 second of SALT). Consequently; The START triage system has lower level of under-triage error and faster than SALT triage system in classifying victims of MCIs and disaster whereas SALT triage system is known slightly more accurate and lower level of over-triage. However, the magnitude of these differences is relatively small, and therefore the effect on the patient outcomes is not significance. Hence, regardless of the triage error, either START or SALT triage system is equally effective to triage victims of disaster and MCIs.

Keywords: disaster, effectiveness, mass casualty incidents, START triage system, SALT triage system

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: G.–A. Constantin, G. Voicu, E.–M. Stefan, P. Tudor, G. Paraschiv, M.–G. Munteanu

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In the activity of handling and transport of food products, the products may be subjected to mechanical stresses that may lead to their deterioration by deformation, breaking, or crushing. This is the case for biscuits, regardless of their type (gluten-free or sugary), the addition of ingredients or flour from which they are made. However, gluten-free biscuits have a higher mechanical resistance to breakage or crushing compared to easily shattered sugar biscuits (especially those for children). The paper presents the results of the experimental evaluation of the texture for four varieties of commercial biscuits, using the penetrometer equipped with needle cone at five different additional weights on the cone-rod. The assortments of biscuits tested in the laboratory were Petit Beurre, Picnic, and Maia (all three manufactured by RoStar, Romania) and Sultani diet biscuits, manufactured by Eti Burcak Sultani (Turkey, in packs of 138 g). For the four varieties of biscuits and the five additional weights (50, 77, 100, 150 and 177 g), the experimental data obtained were subjected to regression analysis in the MS Office Excel program, using Velon's relationship (h = a∙ln(t) + b). The regression curves were analysed comparatively in order to identify possible differences and to highlight the variation of the penetration depth h, in relation to the time t. Based on the penetration depth between two-time intervals (every 5 seconds), the curves of variation of the penetration speed in relation to time were then drawn. It was found that Velon's law verifies the experimental data for all assortments of biscuits and for all five additional weights. The correlation coefficient R2 had in most of the analysed cases values over 0.850. The values recorded for the penetration depth were framed, in general, within 45-55 p.u. (penetrometric units) at an additional mass of 50 g, respectively between 155-168 p.u., at an additional mass of 177 g, at Petit Beurre biscuits. For Sultani diet biscuits, the values of the penetration depth were within the limits of 32-35 p.u., at an additional weight of 50 g and between 80-114 p.u., at an additional weight of 177g. The data presented in the paper can be used by both operators on the manufacturing technology flow, as well as by the traders of these food products, in order to establish the most efficient parametric of the working regimes (when packaging and handling).

Keywords: biscuits resistance/texture, penetration depth, penetration velocity, sharp pin penetrometer

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Authors: Ichiro Takahashi

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One of the major assumptions of mainstream macroeconomics is the path independence of capital stock. This paper challenges this assumption by employing an agent-based approach. The simulation results showed the existence of multiple "quasi-steady state" equilibria of the capital stock, which may cast serious doubt on the validity of the assumption. The finding would give a better understanding of many phenomena that involve hysteresis, including the causes of poverty. The "market-clearing view" has been widely shared among major schools of macroeconomics. They understand that the capital stock, the labor force, and technology, determine the "full-employment" equilibrium growth path and demand/supply shocks can move the economy away from the path only temporarily: the dichotomy between the short-run business cycles and the long-run equilibrium path. The view then implicitly assumes the long-run capital stock to be independent of how the economy has evolved. In contrast, "Old Keynesians" have recognized fluctuations in output as arising largely from fluctuations in real aggregate demand. It will then be an interesting question to ask if an agent-based macroeconomic model, which is known to have path dependence, can generate multiple full-employment equilibrium trajectories of the capital stock in the super-long run. If the answer is yes, the equilibrium level of capital stock, an important supply-side factor, would no longer be independent of the business cycle phenomenon. This paper attempts to answer the above question by using the agent-based macroeconomic model developed by Takahashi and Okada (2010). The model would serve this purpose well because it has neither population growth nor technology progress. The objective of the paper is twofold: (1) to explore the causes of long-term business cycle, and (2) to examine the super-long behaviors of the capital stock of full-employment economies. (1) The simulated behaviors of the key macroeconomic variables such as output, employment, real wages showed widely diversified macro-economies. They were often remarkably stable but exhibited both short-term and long-term fluctuations. The long-term fluctuations occur through the following two adjustments: the quantity and relative cost adjustments of capital stock. The first one is obvious and assumed by many business cycle theorists. The reduced aggregate demand lowers prices, which raises real wages, thereby decreasing the relative cost of capital stock with respect to labor. (2) The long-term business cycles/fluctuations were synthesized with the hysteresis of real wages, interest rates, and investments. In particular, a sequence of the simulation runs with a super-long simulation period generated a wide range of perfectly stable paths, many of which achieved full employment: all the macroeconomic trajectories, including capital stock, output, and employment, were perfectly horizontal over 100,000 periods. Moreover, the full-employment level of capital stock was influenced by the history of unemployment, which was itself path-dependent. Thus, an experience of severe unemployment in the past kept the real wage low, which discouraged a relatively costly investment in capital stock. Meanwhile, a history of good performance sometimes brought about a low capital stock due to a high-interest rate that was consistent with a strong investment.

Keywords: agent-based macroeconomic model, business cycle, hysteresis, stability

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Authors: Manal Elsayed Elkheshin, Rasha Saleh Mansour, Mohamed Fawzy Mohamed Eldnasury, Mamdouh Elbadry Mohamed

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This research Aims to identify the main factors affecting the production and the fish consumption in Egypt, through the econometric estimation for various forms functions of fish production and fish consumption during the period (1991-2014), as the aim of this research to forecast the production and the fish consumption in Egypt until 2020, through determine the best standard methods using (ARIMA).This research also aims to the economic feasibility of the production of fish in aquaculture farms study; investment cost and represents the value of land, buildings, equipment and irrigation. Aquaculture requires three types of fish (Tilapia, carp fish, and mullet fish), and the total area of the farm, about an acre. The annual Fish production from this project about 3.5 tons. The annual investment costs of about 50500 pounds, Find conclude that the project can repay the cost of their investments after about 4 years and 5 months, and therefore recommend the implementation of the project, and internal rate of return reached (IRR) of about 22.1%, where it is clear that the rate of large internal rate of return, and achieves pound invested in this project annual return is estimated at 22.1 pounds, more than the opportunity cost, so we recommend the need to implement the project.Recommendations:1. Increasing the fish agriculture to decrease the gap of animal protein. 2.Increasing the number of mechanism fishing boats, and the provision of transport equipped to maintain the quality of fish production. 3.Encourage and attract the local and foreign investments, providing advice to the investor on the aquaculture field. 4. Action newsletters awareness of the importance of these projects where these projects resulted in a net profit after recovery in less than five years, IRR amounted to about 23%, which is much more than the opportunity cost of a bank interest rate is about 7%, helping to create work and graduates opportunities, and contribute to the reduction of imports of the fish, and improve the performance of the food trade balance.

Keywords: equation model, individual share, red meat, consumption, production, endogenous variable, exogenous variable, financial performance evaluates fish culture, feasibility study, fish production, aquaculture

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Authors: Vivian A. Panes, Raymond John S. Rebong, Miel Q. Diaz

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Moringa oleifera Lam. is known mainly for its high nutritional value and medicinal properties contributing to its popular reputation as a 'miracle plant' in the tropical climates where it usually grows. The main objective of this study is to discover the genes and gene products involved in abiotic stress-induced activity that may impact the M. oleifera Lam. mature seeds as well as their corresponding functions. In this study, RNA-sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly were performed using two assemblers, Trinity and Oases, which produced 177,417 and 120,818 contigs respectively. These transcripts were then subjected to various bioinformatics tools such as Blast2GO, UniProt, KEGG, and COG for gene annotation and the analysis of relevant metabolic pathways. Furthermore, FPKM analysis was performed to identify gene expression levels. The sequences were filtered according to the 'response to stress' GO term since this study dealt with stress response. Clustered Orthologous Groups (COG) showed that the highest frequencies of stress response gene functions were those of cytoskeleton which make up approximately 14% and 23% of stress-related sequences under Trinity and Oases respectively, recombination, repair and replication at 11% and 14% respectively, carbohydrate transport and metabolism at 23% and 9% respectively and defense mechanisms 16% and 12% respectively. KEGG pathway analysis determined the most abundant stress-response genes in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis at counts of 187 and 166 pathways for Oases and Trinity respectively, purine metabolism at 123 and 230 pathways, and biosynthesis of antibiotics at 105 and 102. Unique and cumulative GO term counts revealed that majority of the stress response genes belonged to the category of cellular response to stress at cumulative counts of 1,487 to 2,187 for Oases and Trinity respectively, defense response at 754 and 1,255, and response to heat at 213 and 208, response to water deprivation at 229 and 228, and oxidative stress at 508 and 488. Lastly, FPKM was used to determine the levels of expression of each stress response gene. The most upregulated gene encodes for thiamine thiazole synthase chloroplastic-like enzyme which plays a significant role in DNA damage tolerance. Data analysis implies that M. oleifera stress response genes are directed towards the effects of climate change more than other stresses indicating the potential of M. oleifera for cultivation in harsh environments because it is resistant to climate change, pathogens, and foreign invaders.

Keywords: stress response, genes, Moringa oleifera, transcriptomics

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Authors: B. Vinod, L. Jsudev

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Natural fibers as reinforcement in polymer matrix material is gaining lot of attention in recent years, as they are light in weight, less in cost, and ecologically advanced surrogate material to glass and carbon fibers in composites. Natural fibers like jute, sisal, coir, hemp, banana etc. have attracted substantial importance as a potential structural material because of its attractive features along with its good mechanical properties. Cryogenic applications of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites like cryogenic wind tunnels, cryogenic transport vessels, support structures in space shuttles and rockets are gaining importance. In these unique cryogenic applications, the requirements of polymer composites are extremely severe and complicated. These materials need to possess good mechanical and physical properties at cryogenic temperatures such as liquid helium (4.2 K), liquid hydrogen (20 K), liquid nitrogen (77 K), and liquid oxygen (90 K) temperatures, etc., to meet the high requirements by the cryogenic engineering applications. The objective of this work is to investigate the mechanical behavior of hybrid hemp/jute fibers reinforced epoxy composite material at liquid nitrogen temperature. Hemp and Jute fibers are used as reinforcement material as they have high specific strength, stiffness and good adhering property and has the potential to replace the synthetic fibers. Hybrid hemp/jute fibers reinforced polymer composite is prepared by hand lay-up method and test specimens are cut according to ASTM standards. These test specimens are dipped in liquid nitrogen for different time durations. The tensile properties, flexural properties and impact strength of the specimen are tested immediately after the specimens are removed from liquid nitrogen container. The experimental results indicate that the cryogenic treatment of the polymer composite has a significant effect on the mechanical properties of this material. The tensile properties and flexural properties of the hybrid hemp/jute fibers epoxy composite at liquid nitrogen temperature is higher than at room temperature. The impact strength of the material decreased after subjecting it to liquid nitrogen temperature.

Keywords: liquid nitrogen temperature, polymer composite, tensile properties, flexural properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 324