Search results for: charged surface

Authors: Alok Khaware, Vinay Kumar Gupta, Jean Noel Pederzani

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Lifeboat launching from marine vessel or offshore platform is one of the important areas of research in offshore applications. With the advancement of computational fluid dynamic simulation (CFD) technology to solve fluid induced motions coupled with Six Degree of Freedom (6DOF), rigid body dynamics solver, it is now possible to predict the motion of the lifeboat precisely in different challenging conditions. Traditionally dynamic remeshing approach is used to solve this kind of problems, but remeshing approach has some bottlenecks to control good quality mesh in transient moving mesh cases. In the present study, an overset method with higher-order interpolation is used to simulate a lifeboat launched from an offshore platform into calm water, and volume of fluid (VOF) method is used to track free surface. Overset mesh consists of a set of overlapping component meshes, which allows complex geometries to be meshed with lesser effort. Good quality mesh with local refinement is generated at the beginning of the simulation and stay unchanged throughout the simulation. Overset mesh accuracy depends on the precise interpolation technique; the present study includes a robust and accurate least square interpolation method and results obtained with overset mesh shows good agreement with experiment.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, free surface flow, lifeboat launching, overset mesh, volume of fluid

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Authors: Rajendra Roul

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The main objective of the project is to bring attention towards the performance of an aerofoil when exposed to the fluid medium inside the wind tunnel. This project aims at involvement of civil as well as mechanical engineering thereby making itself as a multidisciplinary project. The airfoil of desired size is taken into consideration for the project to carry out effectively. An aerofoil is the shape of the wing or blade of propeller, rotor or turbine. Lot of experiment have been carried out through wind-tunnel keeping aerofoil as a reference object to make a future forecast regarding the design of turbine blade, car and aircraft. Lift and drag now become the major identification factor for any design industry which shows that wind tunnel testing along with software analysis (ANSYS) becomes the mandatory task for any researchers to forecast an aerodynamics design. This project is an initiative towards the mitigation of drag, better lift and analysis of wake surface profile by investigating the surface pressure distribution. The readings has been taken on airfoil model in Wind Tunnel Testing Machine (WTTM) at different air velocity 20m/sec, 25m/sec, 30m/sec and different angle of attack 00,50,100,150,200. Air velocity and pressures are measured in several ways in wind tunnel testing machine by use to measuring instruments like Anemometer and Multi tube manometer. Moreover to make the analysis more accurate Ansys fluent contribution become substantial and subsequently the CFD simulation results. Analysis on an Aerofoil have a wide spectrum of application other than aerodynamics including wind loads in the design of buildings and bridges for structural engineers.

Keywords: wind-tunnel, aerofoil, Ansys, multitube manometer

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Authors: Hanan H. ALQahtani, Karen Jones

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Catching a ball during sitting is a functional exercise commonly used in rehabilitation to enhance trunk muscle activity. To progress this exercise, physiotherapists incorporate a Swiss ball or change seat height. However, no study has assessed the effect of different seating surfaces on trunk muscle activity while catching a ball. Objective: To investigate the effect of catching a ball during sitting on a Swiss ball, a low seat and a high seat on trunk muscle activity. Method: A repeated-measures, counterbalanced design was used. A total of 26 healthy participants (15 female and 11 male) performed three repetitions of catching a ball on each seating surface. Using surface electromyography (sEMG), the activity of the bilateral transversus abdominis/internal oblique (TrA/IO), rectus abdominis (RA), erector spinae (ES) and lumbar multifidus (MF) was recorded. Trunk muscle activity was normalized using maximum voluntary isometric contraction and analyzed. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ .05. Results: No significant differences were observed in the activity of RA, TrA/IO, ES or MF between a low seat and a Swiss ball. However, the activity of the right and left ES on a low seat was significantly greater than on a high seat (p = .017 and p = .017, respectively). Conversely, the activity of the right and left RA on a high seat was significantly greater than on a low seat (p = .007 and p = .004, respectively). Conclusion: This study suggests that replacing a low seat with a Swiss ball while catching a ball is insufficient to increase trunk muscle activity, whereas changing the seat height could induce different trunk muscle activities. However, research conducted on patients is needed before translating these results into clinical settings.

Keywords: catching, electromyography, seating, trunk

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Authors: Mohamad Ammar Ayass, Natalya Griko, Victor Pashkov, Wanying Cao, Kevin Zhu, Jin Zhang, Lina Abi Mosleh

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Respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Early evidence pointed at the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) expressed on the epithelial cells of the lung as the main entry point of SARS-CoV-2 into the cells. The viral entry is mediated by the binding of the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of the spike protein that is expressed on the surface of the virus to the ACE-2 receptor. As the number of SARS-CoV-2 variants continues to increase, mutations arising in the RBD of SARS-CoV-2 may lead to the ineffectiveness of RBD targeted neutralizing antibodies. To address this limitation, the objective of this study is to develop a combination of aptamers that target different regions of the RBD, preventing the binding of the spike protein to ACE-2 receptor and subsequent viral entry and replication. A safe and innovative biomedical tool was developed to inhibit viral infection and reduce the harms of COVID-19. In the present study, DNA aptamers were developed against a recombinant trimer S protein using the Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential enrichment (SELEX). Negative selection was introduced at round number 7 to select for aptamers that bind specifically to the RBD domain. A series of 9 aptamers (ADI2010, ADI2011, ADI201L, ADI203L, ADI205L, ADIR68, ADIR74, ADIR80, ADIR83) were selected and characterized with high binding affinity and specificity to the RBD of the spike protein. Aptamers (ADI25, ADI2009, ADI203L) were able to bind and pull down endogenous spike protein expressed on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 virus in COVID-19 positive patient samples and determined by liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry analysis (LC-MS/MS). LC-MS/MS data confirmed that aptamers can bind to the RBD of the spike protein. Furthermore, results indicated that the combination of the 9 best aptamers inhibited the binding of the purified trimer spike protein to the ACE-2 receptor found on the surface of Vero E6 cells. In the same experiment, the combined aptamers displayed a better neutralizing effect than antibodies. The data suggests that the selected aptamers could be used in therapy to neutralize the effect of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by inhibiting the interaction between the RBD and ACE-2 receptor, preventing viral entry into target cells and therefore blocking viral replication.

Keywords: aptamer, ACE-2 receptor, binding inhibitor, COVID-19, spike protein, SARS-CoV-2, treatment

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Authors: M. Abdur Rashid Sarkar, Riffat Mahmud

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Boiling heat transfer plays a crucial role in cooling nuclear reactor for safe electricity generation. A two phase flow is susceptible to thermal-hydrodynamic instabilities, which may cause flow oscillations of constant amplitude or diverging amplitude. These oscillations may induce boiling crisis, disturb control systems, or cause mechanical damage. Based on their mechanisms, various types of instabilities can be classified for a nuclear reactor. From a practical engineering point of view one of the major design difficulties in dealing with multiphase flow is that the mass, momentum, and energy transfer rates and processes may be quite sensitive to the geometric configuration of the heat transfer surface. Moreover, the flow within each phase or component will clearly depend on that geometric configuration. The complexity of this two-way coupling presents a major challenge in the study of multiphase flows and there is much that remains to be done. Yet, the parametric effects on flow instability such as the effect of aspect ratio, pressure drop, channel length, its orientation inlet subcooling and surface roughness etc. have been analyzed. Another frequently occurring instability, known as the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability has been briefly reviewed. Various analytical techniques for predicting parametric effect on the instability are analyzed in terms of their applicability and accuracy.

Keywords: two phase flows, boiling crisis, thermal-hydrodynamic instabilities, water cooled nuclear reactors, kelvin–helmholtz instability

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Authors: Manpreet Kaur

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The effect of external and internal exposure in outdoor and indoor environment can be significantly gauged by natural radionuclides. Therefore, it is a consequential to approximate the level of radionuclide contents in soil samples of any area and the risks associated with it. Rate of radon emerging from soil is also one of the prominent parameters for the assessment of radon levels in environmental. In present study, natural radionuclide contents viz. ²³²Th, ²³⁸U and ⁴⁰K and radon/thoron exhalation rates were evaluated operating thallium doped sodium iodide gamma radiation detector and advanced Smart Rn Duo technique in the soil samples from 30 villages of Jammu district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Radon flux rate was also measured by using surface chamber technique. Results obtained with two different methods were compared to investigate the cause of emanation factor in the soil profile. The radon mass exhalation rate in the soil samples has been found varying from 15 ± 0.4 to 38 ± 0.8 mBq kg⁻¹ h⁻¹ while thoron surface exhalation rate has been found varying from 90 ± 22 to 4880 ± 280 Bq m⁻² h⁻¹. The mean value of radium equivalent activity (99 ± 27 Bq kg⁻¹) was appeared to be well within the admissible limit of 370 Bq kg⁻¹ suggested by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2009) report. The values of various parameters related to radiological hazards were also calculated and all parameters have been found to be well below the safe limits given by various organizations. The outcomes pointed out that region was protected from danger as per health risks effects associated with these radionuclide contents is concerned.

Keywords: absorbed dose rate, exhalation rate, human health, radionuclide

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Authors: Kiran Roat, Bhanupriya Sanger, Gayatri Swarnakar

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Amphistomiasis disease is the main health problem throughout of the world and responsible for great economic losses to cattle industries, mostly to poor cattle farmers in developing countries. Among the rumen parasites, the Paramphistomum cervi were collected from the rumen of freshly slaughtered buffalo for the further treatment process. Trigonella foenum-graecum is commonly known as methi and fenugreek and their seeds are known for their therapeutic value. The present study was considered to evaluate in vitro efficacy of aqueous extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum on P. cervi. 130 mg/ml concentration of aqueous extract shows total mortality of P. cervi at 5 hours. The ultrastructural surface topography of untreated animal was compared with a treated animal by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The body of untreated P. cervi in conical shape, tegumental surface is highly ridged with transverse folds and present abundance number of papillaes. Observations demonstrated that the body of treated P. cervi become shrunken & elongated. Treated parasite shows the deep breakage in tegument and the disappearance of tegumental folds & papillae. Severe blebs formations have been found. Above findings, it can be concluded that the seeds of Trigonella foenum-graecum can be used as an anthelminthic agent to eliminate P. cervi from the body of buffalo.

Keywords: Paramphistomum cervi, Trigonella foenum-graecum, scanning electron microscope, buffalo

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Authors: Srishti Sinha, Deepti Tikariha, Kallol K. Ghosh

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Over the past few decades protein-surfactant interactions have been a subject of extensive studies as they are of great importance in wide variety of industries, biological, pharmaceutical and cosmetic systems. Protein-surfactant interactions have been explored the effect of surfactants on structure of protein in the form of solubilization and denaturing or renaturing of protein. Globular proteins are frequently used as functional ingredients in healthcare and pharmaceutical products, due to their ability to catalyze biochemical reactions, to be adsorbed on the surface of some substance and to bind other moieties and form molecular aggregates. One of the most widely used globular protein is bovine serum albumin (BSA), since it has a well-known primary structure and been associated with the binding of many different categories of molecules, such as dyes, drugs and toxic chemicals. Protein−surfactant interactions are usually dependent on the surfactant features. Most of the research has been focused on single-chain surfactants. More recently, the binding between proteins and dimeric surfactants has been discussed. In present study interactions of one dimeric surfactant Butanediyl-1,4-bis (dimethylhexadecylammonium bromide) (16-4-16, 2Br-) and the corresponding single-chain surfactant cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) have been investigated by surface tension and spectrofluoremetric methods. It has been found that the bindings of all gemini surfactant to BSA were cooperatively driven by electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. The gemini surfactant carrying more charges and hydrophobic tails, showed stronger interactions with BSA than the single-chain surfactant.

Keywords: bovine serum albumin, gemini surfactants, hydrophobic interactions, protein surfactant interaction

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Authors: Balthazar Temu, Zhao Yan, Bogdan-Petrin Ratiu, Sang Soon Oh, Qiang Li

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Photonic crystal surface emitting lasers (PCSELs) has recently become an area of active research because of the advantages these lasers have over the edge emitting lasers and vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs). PCSELs can emit laser beams with high power (from the order of few milliwatts to Watts or even tens of Watts) which scales with the emission area while maintaining single mode operation even at large emission areas. Most PCSELs reported in the literature are air-hole based, with only few demonstrations of nanowire based PCSELs. We previously reported an optically pumped, nanowire based PCSEL operating in the O band by using the honeycomb lattice. The nanowire based PCSELs have the advantage of being able to grow on silicon platform without threading dislocations. It is desirable to extend their operating wavelength to C band to open more applications including eye-safe sensing, lidar and long haul optical communications. In this work we first analyze how the lattice constant , nanowire diameter, nanowire height and side length of the hexagon in the honeycomb pattern can be changed to increase the operating wavelength of the honeycomb based PCSELs to the C band. Then as an attempt to make our device electrically pumped, we present the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation results with metals on the nanowire. The results for different metals on the nanowire are presented in order to choose the metal which gives the device with the best quality factor. The metals under consideration are those which form good ohmic contact with p-type doped InGaAs with low contact resistivity and decent sticking coefficient to the semiconductor. Such metals include Tungsten, Titanium, Palladium and Platinum. Using the chosen metal we demonstrate the impact of thickness of the metal for a given nanowire height on the quality factor of the device. We also investigate how the height of the nanowire affects the quality factor for a fixed thickness of the metal. Finally, the main steps in making the practical device are discussed.

Keywords: designing nanowire PCSEL, designing PCSEL on silicon substrates, low threshold nanowire laser, simulation of photonic crystal lasers.

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Authors: Ryoma Tokonami, Teruya Goto, Tatsuhiro Takahashi,

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For enhancing the mechanical property ofcarbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), the surface modification of carbon fiber (CF) by multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) has received considerable attention using direct MWCNT growth on CF with a catalysis, MWCNT electrophoresis, and layer-by-layer of MWCNT with reactive polymers, etc. Among above approaches, the layer-by-layer method is the simplest process, however, the amount of MWCNTs on CF is very little, resulting in the small amount of improvement of the mechanical property of the composite. The remaining amount of MWCNT on CF after melt mixing of CF (short fiber) with thermoplastic matrix polymer was not examined clearly in the former studies. The present research aims to propose an effective layer-by-layer chemical grafting of a highly reactive oxazoline polymer, which has not been used before, and MWCNTs onto CF using the highly reactivity of oxazoline and COOH on the surface of CF and MWCNTs.With layer-by-layer method, the first uniform chemically bonded mono molecular layer on carbon fiber was formed by chemical surface reaction of carbon fiber, a reactive oxazoline polymer solution between COOH of carbon fiber and oxazoline. The second chemically bonded uniform layer of MWCNTs on the first layer was prepared through the first layer coated carbon fiber in MWCNT dispersion solution by chemical reaction between oxazoline and COOH of MWCNTs. The quantitative analysis of MWCNTs on carbon fiber was performed, showing 0.44 wt.% of MWCNTs based on carbon fiber, which is much larger amount compared with the former studies in layer-by-layer method. In addition, MWCNTs were also observed uniform coating on carbon fiber by scanning electron micrograph (SEM). Carbon fiber composites were prepared by melting mixing using polystyrene (PS) as a thermoplastic matrix because of easy removal of PS by solvent for additional analysis, resulting the 20% of enhancement of tensile strength and modulus by tensile strength test. It was confirmed bySEM the layer-by-layer structure on carbon fibers were remained after the melt mixing by removing PS with a solvent. As a conclusion, the effectiveness for the enhancement of the mechanical properties of CF(short fiber)/PS composite using the highly reactive oxazoline polymer for the first layer and MWCNT for the second layer, which act as the physical anchor, was demonstrated.

Keywords: interface, layer-by-layer, multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), oxazoline

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Authors: Francesca Alemanno

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As a complex socio-spatial phenomenon, migration is a practice that also contains a strong imaginative component with respect to the place that, through displacement, one person wants to reach. Every migrant has undertaken his journey having in his mind an image of the displacement he was about to make, of its implications and finally, of the place or city in which he was or would have liked to land. Often, however, the imaginary that has come to build before departure does not fully correspond to the reality of landing; this discrepancy, which can be more or less wide, plays an important role in the relationship that is established with the territory and in the evolution, therefore, of the city itself. In this sense, therefore, the clash that occurs between the imagined and the real is one of the factors that can contribute to making the entry of a migrant into new territory as critical as it can be. Starting from this perspective, the experiences of people who derive from a migratory context and who, over time, manage to create a bond with the land of reception, are taken into account as stories of resistance as they are necessarily charged with a force that is capable of driving difficult and articulated processes of change. The phenomenon of migrant entrepreneurship that is taken into consideration by this abstract plays a very important role because it highlights the story of many people who have managed to build such a close bond with the new territory of arrival that they can imagine and then realize the construction of their own personal business. The margin of contrast between the imagined city and the one that will be inhabited will be observed through the narratives of those who, through the realization of his business project has acted directly on the reality in which he landed. The margin of contrast that exists between the imagined city and the one actually inhabited, together with the implications that this may have on real life, has been observed and analyzed through a period of fieldwork, practicing ethnography, through the narratives of people who find themselves living in a new city as a result of a migration path, and has been contextualized with the support of semi-structured interviews and field notes. At the theoretical level, the research is inserted into a constructionist framework, particularly suited to detect and analyze processes of change, construction of the imaginary and its own modification, being able to capture the consequent repercussions of this process on the conceptual, emotional and practical level.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, imagination, migration, resistance

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Authors: Mohamed Abbas, Ramesh Singh

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This study investigates the hydrothermal aging behavior of undoped and copper oxide-doped alumina-toughened zirconia (ATZ). The ATZ ceramic composites underwent conventional sintering at temperatures ranging from 1250 to 1500°C with a holding time of 12 minutes. XRD analysis revealed a stable 100% tetragonal phase for conventionally sintered ATZ samples up to 1450°C, even after 100 hours of exposure. At 1500℃, XRD patterns of both undoped and doped ATZ samples showed no phase transformation after up to 3 hours of exposure to superheated steam. Extended exposure, however, resulted in phase transformation beyond 10 hours. CuO-doped ATZ samples initially exhibited lower monoclinic content, gradually increasing with aging. Undoped ATZ demonstrated better-aging resistance, maintaining ~40% monoclinic content after 100 hours. FESEM images post-aging revealed surface roughness changes due to the tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transformation, with limited nucleation in the largest tetragonal grains. Fracture analysis exhibited macrocracks and microcracks on the transformed surface layer after aging. This study found that 0.2wt% CuO doping did not prevent the low-temperature degradation (LTD) phenomenon at elevated temperatures. Transformation zone depth (TZD) calculations supported the trend observed in the transformed monoclinic phase.

Keywords: alumina toughened zirconia, conventional sintering, copper oxide, hydrothermal ageing

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Authors: Ismail Tas, Yusuf Ersoy Yildirim, Yavuz Fatih Fidantemiz, Aysegul Boyacioglu, Demet Uygan, Ozgur Ates, Erdinc Savasli, Oguz Onder, Murat Tugrul

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The biggest input of agricultural production is irrigation, water and energy. Although it varies according to the conditions in drip and sprinkler irrigation systems compared to surface irrigation systems, there is a significant amount of energy expenditure. However, this expense not only increases the user's control over the irrigation water but also provides an increase in water savings and water application efficiency. Thus, while irrigation water is used more effectively, it also contributes to reducing production costs. The Mobile Drip Irrigation System (MDIS) is a system in which new technologies are used, and it is one of the systems that are thought to play an important role in increasing the irrigation water utilization rate of plants and reducing water losses, as well as using irrigation water effectively. MDIS is currently considered the most effective method for irrigation, with the development of both linear and central motion systems. MDIS is potentially more advantageous than sprinkler irrigation systems in terms of reducing wind-induced water losses and reducing evaporation losses on the soil and plant surface. Another feature of MDIS is that the sprinkler heads on the systems (such as the liner and center pivot) can remain operational even when the drip irrigation system is installed. This allows the user to use both irrigation methods. In this study, the effect of MDIS and linear sprinkler irrigation method on sugar beet yield at different irrigation water levels will be revealed.

Keywords: MDIS, linear sprinkler, sugar beet, irrigation efficiency

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Authors: Paolo Magnata

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The energy market in the Philippines remains to have one of the highest electricity rates in the region averaging at US$0.16/kWh (PHP6.89/kWh), excluding VAT, as opposed to the overall energy market average of US$0.13/kWh. The movement towards renewable energy, specifically solar energy, will pose as an expensive one with the country’s energy sector providing Feed-in-Tariff rates as high as US$0.17/kWh (PHP8.69/kWh) for solar energy power plants. Increasing the share of renewables at the current state of the energy regulatory background would yield a three-fold increase in residential electricity bills. The issue lies in the uniform charge that consumers bear regardless of where the electricity is sourced resulting in rates that only consider costs and not the consumers. But if they are given the option to choose where their electricity comes from, a number of consumers may potentially choose economically costlier sources of electricity due to higher levels of utility coupled with the willingness to pay of consuming environmentally-friendly sourced electricity. A contingent valuation survey was conducted to determine their willingness-to-pay for solar energy on a sample that was representative of Metro Manila to elicit their willingness-to-pay and a Single Bounded Dichotomous Choice and Double Bounded Dichotomous Choice analysis was used to estimate the amount they were willing to pay. The results showed that Metro Manila residents are willing to pay a premium on top of their current electricity bill amounting to US$5.71 (PHP268.42) – US$9.26 (PHP435.37) per month which is approximately 0.97% - 1.29% of their monthly household income. It was also discovered that besides higher income of households, a higher level of self-perceived knowledge on environmental awareness significantly affected the likelihood of a consumer to pay the premium. Shifting towards renewable energy is an expensive move not only for the government because of high capital investment but also to consumers; however, the Green Energy Option (a policy mechanism which gives consumers the option to decide where their electricity comes from) can potentially balance the shift of the economic burden by transitioning from a uniformly charged electricity rate to equitably charging consumers based on their willingness to pay for renewably sourced energy.

Keywords: contingent valuation, dichotomous choice, Philippines, solar energy

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Authors: Edvard Kokanyan, Narine Babajanyan, Ninel Kokanyan, Marco Bazzan

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Lithium niobate (LN) crystals, renowned for their exceptional nonlinear optical, electro-optical, piezoelectric, and photorefractive properties, stand as foundational materials in diverse fields of study and application. While they have long been utilized in frequency converters of laser radiation, electro-optical modulators, and holographic information recording media, LN crystals doped with rare earth ions represent a compelling frontier for modern compact devices. These materials exhibit immense potential as key components in infrared lasers, optical sensors, self-cooling systems, and radiation balanced laser setups. In this study, we present the successful synthesis of Ho-doped lithium niobate (LN:Ho) thin films on sapphire substrates employing the Sol-Gel technique. The films exhibit a strong crystallographic orientation along the perpendicular direction to the substrate surface, with X-ray diffraction analysis confirming the predominant alignment of the film's "c" axis, notably evidenced by the intense (006) reflection peak. Further characterization through Raman spectroscopy, employing a confocal Raman microscope (LabRAM HR Evolution) with exciting wavelengths of 532 nm and 785 nm, unraveled intriguing insights. Under excitation with a 785 nm laser, Raman scattering obeyed selection rules, while employing a 532 nm laser unveiled additional forbidden lines reminiscent of behaviors observed in bulk LN:Ho crystals. These supplementary lines were attributed to luminescence induced by excitation at 532 nm. Leveraging data from anti-Stokes Raman lines facilitated the disentanglement of luminescence spectra from the investigated samples. Surface scanning affirmed the uniformity of both structure and luminescence across the thin films. Notably, despite the robust orientation of the "c" axis perpendicular to the substrate surface, Raman signals indicated a stochastic distribution of "a" and "b" axes, validating the mosaic structure of the films along the mentioned axis. This study offers valuable insights into the structural properties of Ho-doped lithium niobate thin films, with the observed luminescence behavior holding significant promise for potential applications in optoelectronic devices.

Keywords: lithium niobate, Sol-Gel, luminescence, Raman spectroscopy

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Authors: J. R. Mudakavi, K. Puttanna

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Chromium in the environment is considered as one of the most toxic elements probably next only to mercury and arsenic. It is acutely toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic in the environment. Chromium contamination of soil and underground water due to industrial activities is a very serious problem in several parts of India covering Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh etc. Functionally modified Activated Carbon Fabrics (ACF) offer targeted chromium removal from drinking water and industrial effluents. Activated carbon fabric is a light weight adsorbing material with high surface area and low resistance to fluid flow. We have investigated surface modification of ACF using various acids in the laboratory through batch as well as through continuous flow column experiments with a view to develop the optimum conditions for chromium removal. Among the various acids investigated, phosphoric acid modified ACF gave best results with a removal efficiency of 95% under optimum conditions. Optimum pH was around 2 – 4 with 2 hours contact time. Continuous column experiments with an effective bed contact time (EBCT) of 5 minutes indicated that breakthrough occurred after 300 bed volumes. Adsorption data followed a Freundlich isotherm pattern. Nickel adsorbs preferentially and sulphate reduces chromium adsorption by 50%. The ACF could be regenerated up to 52.3% using 3 M NaOH under optimal conditions. The process is simple, economical, energy efficient and applicable to industrial effluents and drinking water.

Keywords: activated carbon fabric, hexavalent chromium, adsorption, drinking water

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Authors: Carlos Caro, Ernest Blade, Nestor Rojas

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This study determined the relationship between basic geo-technical parameters and parameters of the hydro logical model Thomas for water balance of rural watersheds, as a methodological calibration application, applicable in distributed models as IBER model, which represents a distributed system simulation models for unsteady flow numerical free surface. There was an exploration in 25 points (on 15 sub) basin of Rio Piedras (Boy.) obtaining soil samples, to which geo-technical characterization was performed by laboratory tests. Thomas model has a physical characterization of the input area by only four parameters (a, b, c, d). Achieve measurable relationship between geo technical parameters and 4 values of hydro logical parameters helps to determine subsurface, underground and surface flow more agile manner. It is intended in this way to reach some solutions regarding limits initial model parameters on the basis of Thomas geo-technical characterization. In hydro geological models of rural watersheds, calibration is an important process in the characterization of the study area. This step can require a significant computational cost and time, especially if the initial values or parameters before calibration are outside of the geo-technical reality. A better approach in these initial values means optimization of these process through a geo-technical materials area, where is obtained an important approach to the study as in the starting range of variation for the calibration parameters.

Keywords: distributed hydrology, hydrological and geotechnical characterization, Iber model

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Authors: I. Hosni, L. Bennaceur Farah, N. Saber, R Bennaceur

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Soil moisture content is a key variable in many environmental sciences. Even though it represents a small proportion of the liquid freshwater on Earth, it modulates interactions between the land surface and the atmosphere, thereby influencing climate and weather. Accurate modeling of the above processes depends on the ability to provide a proper spatial characterization of soil moisture. The measurement of soil moisture content allows assessment of soil water resources in the field of hydrology and agronomy. The second parameter in interaction with the radar signal is the geometric structure of the soil. Most traditional electromagnetic models consider natural surfaces as single scale zero mean stationary Gaussian random processes. Roughness behavior is characterized by statistical parameters like the Root Mean Square (RMS) height and the correlation length. Then, the main problem is that the agreement between experimental measurements and theoretical values is usually poor due to the large variability of the correlation function, and as a consequence, backscattering models have often failed to predict correctly backscattering. In this study, surfaces are considered as band-limited fractal random processes corresponding to a superposition of a finite number of one-dimensional Gaussian process each one having a spatial scale. Multiscale roughness is characterized by two parameters, the first one is proportional to the RMS height, and the other one is related to the fractal dimension. Soil moisture is related to the complex dielectric constant. This multiscale description has been adapted to two-dimensional profiles using the bi-dimensional wavelet transform and the Mallat algorithm to describe more correctly natural surfaces. We characterize the soil surfaces and sub-surfaces by a three layers geo-electrical model. The upper layer is described by its dielectric constant, thickness, a multiscale bi-dimensional surface roughness model by using the wavelet transform and the Mallat algorithm, and volume scattering parameters. The lower layer is divided into three fictive layers separated by an assumed plane interface. These three layers were modeled by an effective medium characterized by an apparent effective dielectric constant taking into account the presence of air pockets in the soil. We have adopted the 2D multiscale three layers small perturbations model including, firstly air pockets in the soil sub-structure, and then a vegetable canopy in the soil surface structure, that is to simulate the radar backscattering. A sensitivity analysis of backscattering coefficient dependence on multiscale roughness and new soil moisture has been performed. Later, we proposed to change the dielectric constant of the multilayer medium because it takes into account the different moisture values of each layer in the soil. A sensitivity analysis of the backscattering coefficient, including the air pockets in the volume structure with respect to the multiscale roughness parameters and the apparent dielectric constant, was carried out. Finally, we proposed to study the behavior of the backscattering coefficient of the radar on a soil having a vegetable layer in its surface structure.

Keywords: multiscale, bidimensional, wavelets, backscattering, multilayer, SPM, air pockets

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Authors: Marita Pigłowska, Beata Kurc, Maciej Galiński

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The application of carbon materials in the branches of the electrochemical industry shows an increasing tendency each year due to the many interesting properties they possess. These are, among others, a well-developed specific surface, porosity, high sorption capacity, good adsorption properties, low bulk density, electrical conductivity and chemical resistance. All these properties allow for their effective use, among others in supercapacitors, which can store electric charges of the order of 100 F due to carbon electrodes constituting the capacitor plates. Coals (including expanded graphite, carbon black, graphite carbon fibers, activated carbon) are commonly used in electrochemical methods of removing oil derivatives from water after tanker disasters, e.g. phenols and their derivatives by their electrochemical anodic oxidation. Phenol can occupy practically the entire surface of carbon material and leave the water clean of hydrophobic impurities. Regeneration of such electrodes is also not complicated, it is carried out by electrochemical methods consisting in unblocking the pores and reducing resistances, and thus their reactivation for subsequent adsorption processes. Graphite is commonly used as an anode material in lithium-ion cells, while due to the limited capacity it offers (372 mAh g-1), new solutions are sought that meet both capacitive, efficiency and economic criteria. Increasingly, biodegradable materials, green materials, biomass, waste (including agricultural waste) are used in order to reuse them and reduce greenhouse effects and, above all, to meet the biodegradability criterion necessary for the production of lithium-ion cells as chemical power sources. The most common of these materials are cellulose, starch, wheat, rice, and corn waste, e.g. from agricultural, paper and pharmaceutical production. Such products are subjected to appropriate treatments depending on the desired application (including chemical, thermal, electrochemical). Starch is a biodegradable polysaccharide that consists of polymeric units such as amylose and amylopectin that build an ordered (linear) and amorphous (branched) structure of the polymer. Carbon is also used as a catalyst. Elemental carbon has become available in many nano-structured forms representing the hybridization combinations found in the primary carbon allotropes, and the materials can be enriched with a large number of surface functional groups. There are many examples of catalytic applications of coal in the literature, but the development of this field has been hampered by the lack of a conceptual approach combining structure and function and a lack of understanding of material synthesis. In the context of catalytic applications, the integrity of carbon environmental management properties and parameters such as metal conductivity range and bond sequence management should be characterized. Such data, along with surface and textured information, can form the basis for the provision of network support services.

Keywords: carbon materials, catalysis, BET, capacitors, lithium ion cell

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Authors: Valentina V. Goftman, Vladislav A. Pankratov, Alexey V. Markin, Tangi Aubert, Zeger Hens, Sarah De Saeger, Irina Yu. Goryacheva

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The most important requirements for biochemical applicability of quantum dots (QDs) are: 1) the surface cap should render intact or improved optical properties; 2) mono-dispersion and good stability in aqueous phase in a wide range of pH and ionic strength values; 3) presence of functional groups, available for bioconjugation; 4) minimal impact from the environment on the QDs’ properties and, vice versa, minimal influence of the QDs’ components on the environment; and 5) stability against chemical/biochemical/physical influence. The latter is especially important for in vitro and in vivo applications. For example, some physical intracellular delivery strategies (e.g., electroporation) imply a rapid high-voltage electric field impulse in order to temporarily generate hydrophilic pores in the cell plasma membrane, necessary for the passive transportation of QDs into the cell. In this regard, it is interesting to investigate how different capping layers, which can provide high stability and sufficient fluorescent properties of QDs in a water solution, behave under these abnormal conditions. In this contribution, hydrophobic core-shell CdSe/CdS/CdZnS/ZnS QDs (λem=600 nm), produced by means of the Successive Ion Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) technique, were transferred to a water solution using two of the most commonly used methods: (i) encapsulation in an amphiphilic brush polymer based on poly(maleic anhydride-alt-1-octadecene) (PMAO) modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains and (ii) silica covering. Polymer encapsulation preserves the initial ligands on the QDs’ surface owing to the hydrophobic attraction between the hydrophobic groups of the amphiphilic molecules and the surface hydrophobic groups of the QDs. This covering process allows maintaining the initial fluorescent properties, but it leads to a considerable increase of the QDs’ size. However, covering with a silica shell, by means of the reverse microemulsion method, allows maintaining both size and fluorescent properties of the initial QDs. The obtained water solutions of polymer covered and silica-coated QDs in three different concentrations were exposed to a low-voltage electric field for a short time and the fluorescent properties were investigated. It is shown that the PMAO-PEG polymer acquires some additional charges in the presence of the electric field, which causes repulsion between the polymer and the QDs’ surface. This process destroys the homogeneity of the whole amphiphilic shell and it dramatically decreases the fluorescent properties (dropping to 10% from its initial value) because of the direct contact of the QDs with the strongly oxidative environment (water). In contrast, a silica shell possesses dielectric properties which allow retaining 90% of its initial fluorescence intensity, even after a longer electric impact. Thus, silica shells are clearly a preferable covering for bio-application of QDs, because – besides the high uniform morphology, controlled size and biocompatibility – it allows protecting QDs from oxidation, even under the influence of an electric field.

Keywords: electric field, polymer coating, quantum dots, silica covering, stability

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Authors: Feicheng Liu, Weiming Liao, Jianjing Zhang

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A pile-supported embankment with geosynthetic-reinforced mat (PSGR embankment) has been considered as an effective solution to reduce the total and differential settlement of the embankment constructed over soft soil. In this paper, a new simplified method proposed firstly incorporates the load transfer between piles and surrounding soil and the settlement of pile, and also considers arching effect in embankment fill, membrane effect of geosynthetic reinforcement, and subsoil resistance, to evaluate the behavior of PSGR embankment. Subsoil settlement is assumed to consist of two parts:(1) the settlement of subsoil surface between piles equivalent to that of pile caps assuming the geosynthetic reinforcement without deformation yet; (2) the subsoil subsiding along with the geosynthetic deforming, and the deflected geosynthetic being considered as centenary. The force equilibrium, including loads acting on the upper surface of geosynthetic, subsoil resistance, as well as the stress-strain relationship of the geosynthetic reinforcement at the edge of pile cap, is established, thus the expression of subsoil resistance is deduced, and subsequently the tension of geosynthetic and stress concentration ratio between piles can be calculated. The proposed method is validated through observed data from three field tests and also compared with other eight analytical solutions available in the literature. In addition, a sensitive analysis is provided to demonstrate the influence of with/without considering pile-soil interaction for evaluating the performance of PSGR embankment.

Keywords: pile-supported embankment, geosynthetic, analytical solution, soil arching effect, the settlement of pile, sensitive analysis

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Authors: A. O. Abulibdeh

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The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the changes in the Land Surface Temperature (LST) as a function of urbanization, particularly land use/land cover changes, in three cities in the UAE, mainly Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Al Ain. The scale of this assessment will be at the macro- and micro-levels. At the macro-level, a comparative assessment will take place to compare between the four cities in the UAE. At the micro-level, the study will compare between the effects of different land use/land cover on the LST. This will provide a clear and quantitative city-specific information related to the relationship between urbanization and local spatial intra-urban LST variation in three cities in the UAE. The main objectives of this study are 1) to investigate the development of LST on the macro- and micro-level between and in three cities in the UAE over two decades time period, 2) to examine the impact of different types of land use/land cover on the spatial distribution of LST. Because these three cities are facing harsh arid climate, it is hypothesized that (1) urbanization is affecting and connected to the spatial changes in LST; (2) different land use/land cover have different impact on the LST; and (3) changes in spatial configuration of land use and vegetation concentration over time would control urban microclimate on a city scale and control macroclimate on the country scale. This study will be carried out over a 20-year period (1996-2016) and throughout the whole year. The study will compare between two distinct periods with different thermal characteristics which are the cool/cold period from November to March and warm/hot period between April and October. The best practice research method for this topic is to use remote sensing data to target different aspects of natural and anthropogenic systems impacts. The project will follow classical remote sensing and mapping techniques to investigate the impact of urbanization, mainly changes in land use/land cover, on LST. The investigation in this study will be performed in two stages. Stage one remote sensing data will be used to investigate the impact of urbanization on LST on a macroclimate level where the LST and Urban Heat Island (UHI) will be compared in the three cities using data from the past two decades. Stage two will investigate the impact on microclimate scale by investigating the LST and UHI using a particular land use/land cover type. In both stages, an LST and urban land cover maps will be generated over the study area. The outcome of this study should represent an important contribution to recent urban climate studies, particularly in the UAE. Based on the aim and objectives of this study, the expected outcomes are as follow: i) to determine the increase or decrease of LST as a result of urbanization in these four cities, ii) to determine the effect of different land uses/land covers on increasing or decreasing the LST.

Keywords: land use/land cover, global warming, land surface temperature, remote sensing

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Authors: Yawen Dai, Ping Cheng, Jian Ru Gong

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Photoelctrochemical (PEC) water splitting using semiconductors (SCs) provides a convenient way to convert sustainable but intermittent solar energy into clean hydrogen energy, and it has been regarded as one of most promising technology to solve the energy crisis and environmental pollution in modern society. However, the record energy conversion efficiency of a PEC cell (~3%) is still far lower than the commercialization requirement (~10%). The sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) half reaction on photoanodes is a significant limiting factor of the PEC device efficiency, and electrocatalysts (ECs) are always deposited on SCs to accelerate the hole injection for OER. However, an active EC cannot guarantee enhanced PEC performance, since the newly emerged SC-EC interface complicates the interfacial charge behavior. Herein, α-Fe2O3 photoanodes coated with Co3O4 and CoO ECs are taken as the model system to glean fundamental understanding on the EC-dependent interfacial charge behavior. Intensity modulated photocurrent spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to investigate the competition between interfacial charge transfer and recombination, which was found to be dominated by the charge storage capacities of ECs. The combined results indicate that both ECs can store holes and increase the hole density on photoanode surface. It is like a double-edged sword that benefit the multi-hole participated OER, as well as aggravate the SC-EC interfacial charge recombination due to the Coulomb attraction, thus leading to a nonmonotonic PEC performance variation trend with the increasing surface hole density. Co3O4 has low hole storage capacity which brings limited interfacial charge recombination, and thus the increased surface holes can be efficiently utilized for OER to generate enhanced photocurrent. In contrast, CoO has overlarge hole storage capacity that causes severe interfacial charge recombination, which hinders hole transfer to electrolyte for OER. Therefore, the PEC performance of α-Fe2O3 is improved by Co3O4 but decreased by CoO despite the similar electrocatalytic activity of the two ECs. First-principle calculation was conducted to further reveal how the charge storage capacity depends on the EC’s intrinsic property, demonstrating that the larger hole storage capacity of CoO than that of Co3O4 is determined by their Co valence states and original Fermi levels. This study raises up a new strategy to manipulate interfacial charge behavior and the resultant PEC performance by the charge storage capacity of ECs, providing insightful guidance for the interface design in PEC devices.

Keywords: charge storage capacity, electrocatalyst, interfacial charge behavior, photoelectrochemistry, water-splitting

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Authors: Soha A Soliman, Yasser A Ahmed, Mohamed A Khalaf

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Although the enormous literature describing the histology of the stomach of different avian species during the posthatching development, the available literature on the pre-hatching development of quail stomach development is scanty. Thus, the current study was undertaken to provide a careful description of the main histological events during the embryonic development of quail stomach. To achieve this aim, daily histological specimens from the stomach of quail of 4 days post-incubation till the day 17 (few hours before hatching) were examined with light microscopy. The current study showed that the primitive gut tube of the embryonic quail appeared at the 4th day post incubation, and both parts of stomach (proventriculus and gizzard) were similar in structure and composed of endodermal epithelium of pseudostratified type surrounded by undifferentiated mesenchymal tissue. The sequences of the developmental events in the gut tube were preceded in a cranio-caudal pattern. By the 5th day, the endodermal covering of the primitive proventriculus gave rise to sac-like invaginations. The primitive gizzard was distinguished into thick-walled bodies and thin-walled sacs. In the 6th day, the prospective proventricular glandular epithelium became canalized and the muscular layer was developed in the cranial part of the proventriculus, whereas the primitive muscular coat of the gizzard was represented by a layer of condensed mesenchyme. In the 7th day, the proventricular glandular epithelial invaginations increased in depth and number, while, the muscularis mucosa and the muscular layer began to be distinguished. In the 8th day, the myoblasts differentiated into spindle shaped smooth muscle fibers. In the 10th day, branching of the proventricular glands began. The branching continued later on. The surface and the glandular epithelium were transformed into simple columnar type in the 12th day. The epithelial covering of the gizzard gave rise to tubular invaginations lined by simple cuboidal epithelium and the surface epithelium became simple columnar. Canalization of the tubular glands was recognized in the 14th day. In the 15th day, the proventricular surface epithelium invaginated in an concentric manner around a central cavity to form immature secretory units. The central cavity was lined by eosinophilic cells which form the ductal epithelia. The peripheral lamellae were lined by basophilic cells; the undifferentiated oxyntico-peptic cells. Entero-endocrine cells stained positive for silver impregnation in the proventricular glands. The mucosal folding in the gizzard appeared in the 15th day to form the plicae and the sulci. The wall of the proventriculus and gizzard in the 17th day acquired the main histological features of post-hatching birds, but neither the surface nor the ductal epithelium were differentiated to mucous producing cells. The current results shoed be considered in the molecular developmental studies.

Keywords: quail, proventriculus, gizzard, pre-hatching, histology

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Authors: Ahmet Helvaci, Selcuk Dogan

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Reed in especially almost all the lakes in Western Anatolia grows naturally. Due to the abundance of reed, pyrolysis of reed is very economical and practical application. In this study, it is aimed to determine the optimum conditions for the pyrolysis of the reed which is a cheap and abundant raw material and to evaluate pyrolysis products. For this purpose, reed was used obtained from Eber Lake located in the borders of Bolvadin county of Afyonkarahisar. Optimum pyrolysis conditions have been determined by examining the effects of changes in pyrolysis temperature and pyrolysis time. The evaluation of the obtained liquid and solid pyrolysis products has been investigated. Especially evaluability of solid carbon black production of tires has been investigated. Tire samples were prepared with carbon black samples obtained as a result of the pyrolysis process at different temperatures. Then, performance tests were made and compared with reference carbon blacks, used in the market and standards. At the same time, surface area measurement analysis of carbon black samples was made and compared again with reference carbon blacks. In addition, the fuel values of liquid products were also determined by calorimeter. It has been determined that the best surface area (about 370 m²/g) for carbon black samples, for tire production is 40 minutes at 500ᵒC. It was also found that the best result for evaluation studies in tire production was carbon black samples obtained at 450ᵒC pyrolysis temperature. In addition, it was seen that the calorimetry results of the liquid product obtained during 60 minutes of pyrolysis were quite good (around 5500 kcal/kg).

Keywords: evaluation of products, optimization, pyrolysis, reed

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Authors: R. Kerbachi , Y. Medkour, F. Sahnoune

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The integrated waste management is an important aspect in the implementation of sustainable development. Leachate generated by sanitary landfills is a high-strength wastewater that is likely to contain large amounts of organic and inorganic matter, with humic substances, as well as ammonia nitrogen, heavy metals, chlorinated organic and inorganic salts. Untreated leachates create a great potential for harm to the environment, they can permeate ground water or mix with surface water and contribute to the pollution of soil, ground water, and surface water. In Algeria, the treatment of landfill leachate is the weakest link in the solid waste management. This study focuses on the evaluation of the pollution load carried by leachate produced in a former sanitary landfill located to the west of Algiers and the implementation of advanced oxidation treatment (advanced oxidation process, AOP), Fenton, electro-Fenton etc. The characterization of these leachates shows that they have a high organic load, mineral and nitrogen. Measured COD reaches very high values of the order of 5000 to 20,000 mg O2 / L. On this non-biodegradable leachate, treatment tests have been carried out by the methods of coagulation-flocculation, Fenton oxidation, electrocoagulation and electro-Fenton. The removal efficiencies of pollution obtained for each of these modes of treatment are respectively 69, 80, 84 and 97%. The study shows that advanced oxidation processes are very suitable for the treatment of poorly biodegradable leachate.

Keywords: advanced oxidation processes, electrocoagulation, electro-Fenton, leachates treatment, sanitary landfill

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Authors: Chung-Kwei Wang, Kuo-Ying Lo

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The study is aimed to examine main and moderation effect of Chinese traditional social wisdom ‘Ren-qing Shi-kuon' the adjustment of social worker students during their practicum. Ren-qing Shi-ku as a social wisdom has been emphasized by collective-oriented Chinese society for thousand years. Based on interview and literature review, we operationalized the concept as four factors, including ‘harmonious interaction’, ‘understanding and tolerance’, ‘empathetic communication’ and ‘rule abiding’. We administer the scale to 96 social worker senior students before their summer practicums begins and collect their response on emotion labor, emotional exhaustion, work load, work satisfaction. We also ask their supervisors rated their performance on empathy, interpersonal relationships, performance on practicum and their Ren-qing Shi-ku performance. Results indicated that self-ratings of students on Ren-qing Shi-ku scale are correlated with rating from their supervisors. Students who have higher Ren-qing Shi-ku have better adjustment and higher ratings from their supervisor. Ren-qing Shi-ku also moderate effects of surface acting labor and work load on emotional exhaustion and work satisfaction. However, Ren-qing Shi-ku seems more beneficial under low work load situations. The finding of this study suggested traditional social skill training might be very effective for social service providers in a collective-oriented culture.

Keywords: emotion labor, ren-qing shi-ku, emotional exhaustion, work satisfaction and performance

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Authors: Salem Alsanusi, Loubna Bentaher

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Response Surface Methods (RSM) provide statistically validated predictive models that can then be manipulated for finding optimal process configurations. Variation transmitted to responses from poorly controlled process factors can be accounted for by the mathematical technique of propagation of error (POE), which facilitates ‘finding the flats’ on the surfaces generated by RSM. The dual response approach to RSM captures the standard deviation of the output as well as the average. It accounts for unknown sources of variation. Dual response plus propagation of error (POE) provides a more useful model of overall response variation. In our case, we implemented this technique in predicting compressive strength of concrete of 28 days in age. Since 28 days is quite time consuming, while it is important to ensure the quality control process. This paper investigates the potential of using design of experiments (DOE-RSM) to predict the compressive strength of concrete at 28th day. Data used for this study was carried out from experiment schemes at university of Benghazi, civil engineering department. A total of 114 sets of data were implemented. ACI mix design method was utilized for the mix design. No admixtures were used, only the main concrete mix constituents such as cement, coarse-aggregate, fine aggregate and water were utilized in all mixes. Different mix proportions of the ingredients and different water cement ratio were used. The proposed mathematical models are capable of predicting the required concrete compressive strength of concrete from early ages.

Keywords: mix proportioning, response surface methodology, compressive strength, optimal design

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Authors: J. Subbalakshmi, G. Dhruvasamhith, S. M. Hussain

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Polyaniline (PANI) is one of the most extensively studied material among the conducting polymers due to its simple synthesis by chemical and electrochemical routes. PANIs have advantages of chemical stability and high conductivity making their commercial applications quite attractive. However, to our knowledge, very little work has been reported on the tensile strength properties of templated PANIs processed with polyvinyl alcohol and also, detailed study has not been carried out. We have investigated the effect of small molecule and polymers as templates on PANI. Stable aqueous colloidal suspensions of trisodium citrate (TSC), poly(ethylenedioxythiophene)-polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT-PSS), and polyethylene glycol (PEG) templated PANIs were prepared through chemical synthesis, processed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and were fabricated into films by solution casting. Absorption and infra-red spectra were studied to gain insight into the possible molecular interactions. Surface morphology was studied through scanning electron microscope and optical microscope. Interestingly, tensile testing studies revealed least strain for pure PVA when compared to the blends of templated PANI. Furthermore, among the blends, TSC templated PANI possessed maximum elasticity. The ultimate tensile strength for PVA processed, PEG-templated PANI was found to be five times more than other blends considered in this study. We establish structure–property correlation with morphology, spectral characterization and tensile testing studies.

Keywords: surface morphology, processed films, polyvinyl alcohol, templated polyanilines, tensile testing

Procedia PDF Downloads 215

Authors: Anvesh Gaddam, Amit Agrawal, Suhas Joshi, Mark Thompson

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An increase in surface area to volume ratio with a decrease in characteristic length scale, leads to a rapid increase in pressure drop across the microchannel. Texturing the microchannel surfaces reduce the effective surface area, thereby decreasing the pressured drop. Surface texturing introduces two wetting states: a metastable Cassie-Baxter state and stable Wenzel state. Predicting wetting transition in textured microchannels is essential for identifying optimal parameters leading to maximum drag reduction. Optical methods allow visualization only in confined areas, therefore, obtaining whole-field information on wetting transition is challenging. In this work, we propose a non-invasive method to capture wetting transitions in textured microchannels under flow conditions. To this end, we tracked the behavior of the Poiseuille number Po = f.Re, (with f the friction factor and Re the Reynolds number), for a range of flow rates (5 < Re < 50), and different wetting states were qualitatively demarcated by observing the inflection points in the f.Re curve. Microchannels with both longitudinal and transverse ribs with a fixed gas fraction (δ, a ratio of shear-free area to total area) and at a different confinement ratios (ε, a ratio of rib height to channel height) were fabricated. The measured pressure drop values for all the flow rates across the textured microchannels were converted into Poiseuille number. Transient behavior of the pressure drop across the textured microchannels revealed the collapse of liquid-gas interface into the gas cavities. Three wetting states were observed at ε = 0.65 for both longitudinal and transverse ribs, whereas, an early transition occurred at Re ~ 35 for longitudinal ribs at ε = 0.5, due to spontaneous flooding of the gas cavities as the liquid-gas interface ruptured at the inlet. In addition, the pressure drop in the Wenzel state was found to be less than the Cassie-Baxter state. Three-dimensional numerical simulations confirmed the initiation of the completely wetted Wenzel state in the textured microchannels. Furthermore, laser confocal microscopy was employed to identify the location of the liquid-gas interface in the Cassie-Baxter state. In conclusion, the present method can overcome the limitations posed by existing techniques, to conveniently capture wetting transition in textured microchannels.

Keywords: drag reduction, Poiseuille number, textured surfaces, wetting transition

Procedia PDF Downloads 162