Search results for: solute rejection

Authors: S. El-Azzeh, A. Al-Aqqad, M. Salem, H. Al-Khaldi, S. Thaher

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Thermal comfort studies are very important during the early stages of the building’s design. If this study was ignored, problems will start to occur for the occupants in the future. In hot climates, where solar radiations are entering buildings all year long, occupant’s thermal comfort in office buildings needs to be examined. This study aims to investigate the thermal comfort at an existing office building at the Australian College of Kuwait and test its validity and improve occupant’s thermal satisfaction by covering windows with a heat rejection tint material that enables sunlight to pass through the office while reflecting solar heat outside. Environmental variables were measured using thermal comfort data logger INNOVA 1221 to find the predicted mean vote (PMV) in the selected location. Also, subjective variables were measured to find the actual mean vote (AMV) through surveys distributed among occupants in the selected case study office. All the variables collected were analyzed and classified according to international standards ISO 7730 and ASHRAE55. The results of this study showed improvement in both PMV and AMV. The mean value of PMV based on the original design was 0.691 which dropped to 0.32 after installation and it still at comfort zone. Also, the mean value of the AMV has improved for the first occupant, where before it was -0.46 and it became -1 which is cooler. For the other occupant, it was slightly warm with a mean value of 0.9 and it was improved and became cooler with a -0.25 mean value based on American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) seven-point scale.

Keywords: thermal comfort, office buildings, indoor environments, predicted mean vote

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Authors: Narayan Moger, Divya B., Preethi Jambagi, Krishnaveni C. K., Apsana M. R., B. R. Patil, Basvaraj Bagewadi

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Salinity is one of the major threats to world food security. Considering the requirement for salt tolerant crop plants in the present study was undertaken to clone and transferred the salt tolerant ectA gene from marine ecosystem into agriculture crop system to impart salinity tolerance. Ectoine is the compatible solute which accumulates in the cell membrane, is known to be involved in salt tolerance activity in most of the Halophiles. The present situation is insisting to development of salt tolerant transgenic lines to combat abiotic stress. In this background, the investigation was conducted to develop transgenic tomato lines by cloning and transferring of ectA gene is an ectoine derivative capable of enzymatic action for the production of acetyl-diaminobutyric acid. The gene ectA is involved in maintaining the osmotic balance of plants. The PCR amplified ectA gene (579bp) was cloned into T/A cloning vector (pTZ57R/T). The construct pDBJ26 containing ectA gene was sequenced by using gene specific forward and reverse primers. Sequence was analyzed using BLAST algorithm to check similarity of ectA gene with other isolates. Highest homology of 99.66 per cent was found with ectA gene sequences of isolates Halomonas elongata with the available sequence information in NCBI database. The ectA gene was further sub cloned into pRI101-AN plant expression vector and transferred into E. coli DH5α for its maintenance. Further pDNM27 was mobilized into A. tumefaciens LBA4404 through tri-parental mating system. The recombinant Agrobacterium containing pDNM27 was transferred into tomato plants through In planta plant transformation method. Out of 300 seedlings, co-cultivated only twenty-seven plants were able to well establish under the greenhouse condition. Among twenty-seven transformants only twelve plants showed amplification with gene specific primers. Further work must be extended to evaluate the transformants at T1 and T2 generations for ectoine accumulation, salinity tolerance, plant growth and development and yield.

Keywords: salinity, computable solutes, ectA, transgenic, in planta transformation

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Authors: Dina Zakeri, Ali Aminzad

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Multimedia-assisted teaching results in eliminating traditional training barriers, facilitating the cognition process and upgrading learning outcomes. This study attempted to examine the effects of implementing multimedia on teaching technical translation model and on the technical text translation ability of Iranian students of translation. To fulfill the purpose of the study, a total of forty-six learners were selected out of fifty-seven participants in a higher education center in Tehran based on their scores in Preliminary English Test (PET) and were divided randomly into the experimental and control groups. Prior to the treatment, a technical text translation questionnaire was devised and then approved and validated by three assistant professors of technical fields and three assistant professors of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) at the university. This questionnaire was administered as a pretest to both groups. Control and experimental groups were trained for five successive weeks using identical course books but with a different lesson plan that allowed employing multimedia for the experimental group only. The devised and approved questionnaire was administered as a posttest to both groups at the end of the instruction. A multivariate ANOVA was run to compare the two groups’ means on the PET, pretest and posttest. The results showed the rejection of all null hypotheses of the study and revealed that multimedia significantly improved technical text translation ability of the learners.

Keywords: multimedia, multimedia-mediated teaching, technical translation model, technical text, translation ability

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Authors: Sahar Abbaszadeh, Sharifah Rafidah Wan Alwi, Colin Webb, Nahid Ghasemi, Ida Idayu Muhamad

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Toxic heavy metal discharges into environment due to rapid industrialization is a serious pollution problem that has drawn global attention towards their adverse impacts on both the structure of ecological systems as well as human health. Lead as toxic and bio-accumulating elements through the food chain, is regularly entering to water bodies from discharges of industries such as plating, mining activities, battery manufacture, paint manufacture, etc. The application of conventional methods to degrease and remove Pb(II) ion from wastewater is often restricted due to technical and economic constrains. Therefore, the use of various agro-wastes as low-cost bioadsorbent is found to be attractive since they are abundantly available and cheap. In this study, activated carbon of papaya peel (AC-PP) (as locally available agricultural waste) was employed to evaluate its Pb(II) uptake capacity from single-solute solutions in sets of batch mode experiments. To assess the surface characteristics of the adsorbents, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) coupled with energy disperse X-ray (EDX), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis were utilized. The removal amount of Pb(II) was determined by atomic adsorption spectrometry (AAS). The effects of pH, contact time, the initial concentration of Pb(II) and adsorbent dosage were investigated. The pH value = 5 was observed as optimum solution pH. The optimum initial concentration of Pb(II) in the solution for AC-PP was found to be 200 mg/l where the amount of Pb(II) removed was 36.42 mg/g. At the agitating time of 2 h, the adsorption processes using 100 mg dosage of AC-PP reached equilibrium. The experimental results exhibit high capability and metal affinity of modified papaya peel waste with removal efficiency of 93.22 %. The evaluation results show that the equilibrium adsorption of Pb(II) was best expressed by Freundlich isotherm model (R2 > 0.93). The experimental results confirmed that AC-PP potentially can be employed as an alternative adsorbent for Pb(II) uptake from industrial wastewater for the design of an environmentally friendly yet economical wastewater treatment process.

Keywords: activated carbon, bioadsorption, lead removal, papaya peel, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Gina Aurora Necula

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From its transformation into a taboo and its hiding under the so-called “Moldovan language” or under the euphemistic expression “state language” to its regained status recognition as an official language, the Romanian language spoken in the Republic of Moldova has undergone impressive reforms in the last 60 years. Meant to erase the awareness of citizens’ ethnic identity and turn a majority language into a minority one, all the laws and regulations issued on the field succeeded into setting numerous barriers for speakers of Romanian. Either manifested as social constraints or materialized into assumed rejection of mother tongue usage, all these laws have demonstrated their usefulness and major impact on the Romanian-speaking population. This article is the result of our research carried out over 10 years with the support of students, and Moldovan citizens, from the master's degree program "Romanian language - identity and cultural awareness." We present here a retrospective insight of the reforms, laws, and regulations that contributed to the shifted status of the Romanian language from the official language, seen as the language of common use both in the public and private spheres, in the minority language that surrendered its privileged place to the Russian language, firstly in the public sphere, and then, slowly but surely, in the private sphere. Our main goal here is to identify and make speakers understand what the barriers to learning Romanian language are nowadays when the social pressure on using Russian no longer exists.

Keywords: linguistic barriers, lingua franca, private sphere, public sphere, reformation

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Authors: Rasha Ali Dheyab, Edurad Vlad

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Migration is associated with other important global issues, including development, poverty, and human rights. Migrants are often the most dynamic members of society; historically, migration has supported economic development and the rise of nations and enriched cultures. It also presents significant challenges. The word ‘racism’ is not just about beliefs or statements; it also contains the ability to force those beliefs or world views as hegemonic and as a basis for the refusal of rights or equality. For this reason, racism is embedded in power relations of different types. Racism is not only an awareness of distinction and groups, but it also has extremely practical roles in maintaining: First, inequitable social power arrangements; and second, racist behavioral manifestations such as verbal rejection, avoidance, discrimination, physical attack, and elimination. The focus is on aspects of racism in the media to deal with the migration phenomenon. The reproduction and promotion of racism by certain areas of the media is not a simple and straightforward process. It is important to see how the media serves in the reproduction of racism. This article shows attitudes to migration as they have appeared in British periodicals over the last few years. One might conclude that the reproduction of racism by the media is not a simple and straightforward process. It has become obvious that the role of the media in the reproduction of racism is inextricably linked to the general characteristics of racism and white domination in society, particularly the structural and ideological structuring of that kind of group power. This highlights the press's function as a business, social, and cultural institution. The press has to be examined in connection to the institutions of the economic and political as well.

Keywords: British periodicals, culture studies, migration, racism

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: Ankitsinh Chauhan, Vimal Patel, A. D. Parekh, Ishant patil

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This study delves into the crucial influence of cooling tower fan operation on the performance of a chiller plant, with a specific focus on the Chiller Plant at SVNIT. Continuous operation of the chiller plant led to unexpected damage to the cooling tower's belt drive, rendering the cooling tower fan non-operational. Consequently, the efficiency of heat transfer in the condenser was significantly impaired. In response, we analyzed and calculated several vital parameters, including the Coefficient of Performance (COP), heat rejection in the condenser (Qc), work required for the compressor (Wc), and heat absorbed by the refrigerant in the evaporator (Qe). Our findings revealed that in the absence of the cooling tower fan, relying solely on natural convection, the COP of the chiller plant reached a minimum value of 5.49. However, after implementing a belt drive to facilitate forced convection for the cooling tower fan, the COP of the chiller plant experienced a noteworthy improvement, reaching approximately 6.27. Additionally, the utilization of forced convection resulted in an impressive reduction of 8.9% in compressor work, signifying enhanced energy efficiency. This study underscores the critical role of cooling tower fan operation in optimizing chiller plant performance, with practical implications for energy-efficient HVAC systems. It highlights the potential benefits of employing forced convection mechanisms, such as belt drives, to ensure efficient heat transfer in the condenser, ultimately contributing to improved energy utilization and reduced operational costs in cooling.

Keywords: cooling tower, chiller Plant, cooling tower fan, energy efficiency, VCRS.

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Authors: Naheem Olakunle Adesina

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The memristor is considered as one of the promising candidates for mamoelectronic engineering and applications. Owing to its high compatibility with CMOS, nanoscale size, and low power consumption, memristor has been employed in the design of commonly used circuits such as phase-locked loop (PLL). In this paper, we designed a memristor-based loop filter (LF) together with other components of PLL. Following this, we evaluated the noise-rejection feature of loop filter by comparing the noise levels of input and output signals of the filter. Our SPICE simulation results showed that memristor behaves like a linear resistor at high frequencies. The result also showed that loop filter blocks the high-frequency components from phase frequency detector so as to provide a stable control voltage to the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). In addition, we examined the effects of temperature on the performance of the designed phase locked loop circuit. A critical temperature, where there is frequency drift of VCO as a result of variations in control voltage, is identified. In conclusion, the memristor is a suitable choice for nanoelectronic systems owing to a small area, low power consumption, dense nature, high switching speed, and endurance. The proposed memristor-based loop filter, together with other components of the phase locked loop, can be designed using memristive emulator and EDA tools in current CMOS technology and simulated.

Keywords: Fast Fourier Transform, hysteresis curve, loop filter, memristor, noise, phase locked loop, voltage controlled oscillator

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Authors: Laila Yasir Al-Harthy, Ali H. Al-Badi

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As an emerging business model, cloud computing has been initiated to satisfy the need of organizations and to push Information Technology as a utility. The shift to the cloud has changed the way Information Technology departments are managed traditionally and has raised many concerns for both, public and private sectors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of cloud computing services replacing services provided traditionally by IT departments. Therefore, it aims to 1) explore whether organizations in Oman are ready to move to the cloud; 2) identify the deciding factors leading to the adoption or rejection of cloud computing services in Oman; and 3) provide two case studies, one for a successful Cloud provider and another for a successful adopter. This paper is based on multiple research methods including conducting a set of interviews with cloud service providers and current cloud users in Oman; and collecting data using questionnaires from experts in the field and potential users of cloud services. Despite the limitation of bandwidth capacity and Internet coverage offered in Oman that create a challenge in adopting the cloud, it was found that many information technology professionals are encouraged to move to the cloud while few are resistant to change. The recent launch of a new Omani cloud service provider and the entrance of other international cloud service providers in the Omani market make this research extremely valuable as it aims to provide real-life experience as well as two case studies on the successful provision of cloud services and the successful adoption of these services.

Keywords: cloud computing, cloud deployment models, cloud service models, deciding factors

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Authors: Suguru Miyauchi, Toshiyuki Hayase

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Biological membranes have selective permeability, and the capsules or cells enclosed by the membrane show the deformation by the osmotic flow. This mass transport phenomenon is observed everywhere in a living body. For the understanding of the mass transfer in a body, it is necessary to consider the mass transfer phenomenon across the membrane as well as the deformation of the membrane by a flow. To our knowledge, in the numerical analysis, the method for mass transfer across the moving membrane has not been established due to the difficulty of the treating of the mass flux permeating through the moving membrane with selective permeability. In the existing methods for the mass transfer across the membrane, the approximate delta function is used to communicate the quantities on the interface. The methods can reproduce the permeation of the solute, but cannot reproduce the non-permeation. Moreover, the computational accuracy decreases with decreasing of the permeable coefficient of the membrane. This study aims to develop the numerical method capable of treating three-dimensional problems of mass transfer across the moving flexible membrane. One of the authors developed the numerical method with high accuracy based on the finite element method. This method can capture the discontinuity on the membrane sharply due to the consideration of the jumps in concentration and concentration gradient in the finite element discretization. The formulation of the method takes into account the membrane movement, and both permeable and non-permeable membranes can be treated. However, searching the cross points of the membrane and fluid element boundaries and splitting the fluid element into sub-elements are needed for the numerical integral. Therefore, cumbersome operation is required for a three-dimensional problem. In this paper, we proposed an improved method to avoid the search and split operations, and confirmed its effectiveness. The membrane shape was treated implicitly by introducing the level set function. As the construction of the level set function, the membrane shape in one fluid element was expressed by the shape function of the finite element method. By the numerical experiment, it was found that the shape function with third order appropriately reproduces the membrane shapes. The same level of accuracy compared with the previous method using search and split operations was achieved by using a number of sampling points of the numerical integral. The effectiveness of the method was confirmed by solving several model problems.

Keywords: finite element method, level set method, mass transfer, membrane permeability

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Authors: Sara Mercedes Barroso Pinzón, Antonio Javier Sanchéz Herencia, Begoña Ferrari, Álvaro Jesús Castro

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The current need for durable implants and bone substitutes characterised by biocompatibility, bioactivity and mechanical properties, without immunological rejection, is a major challenge for scientists. Hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been considered for decades as an ideal biomaterial for bone regeneration due to its chemical and crystallographic similarity to the mineral structure bioapatites. However, the lack of trace elements in the hydroxyapatite structure gives it very low mechanical and biological properties. In this sense, the objective of the research is to address the synthesis of hydroxyapatite with Mg from phosphate rock from sedimentary deposits in the central-eastern region of Colombia, taking advantage of the release of the species contained as natural precursors of Ca, P and Mg. The minerals present were studied, fluorapatite as the mineral of interest associated with mineralogical species of magnesium carbonates and quartz. The chemical and mineralogical composition was determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX); as well as the evaluation of the surface physicochemical properties of zeta potential (PZC), with the aim of studying the surface behaviour of the microconstituents present in the phosphate rock and to elucidate the synergistic mechanism between the minerals and establish the optimum conditions for the wet concentration process. From the products obtained and characterised by XRD, XRF, SEM, FTIR, RAMAN, HAp-Mg biocomposite scaffolds are fabricated and the influence of Mg on the morphometric parameters, mechanical and biological properties of the designed materials is evaluated.

Keywords: phosphate rock, hydroxyapatite, magnesium, biomaterials

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Authors: Seema Paul, John Mango Magero, Prosun Bhattacharya, Zahra Kalantari, Steve W. Lyon

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The purpose of this review paper is to develop an understanding of lake hydrodynamics and the potential climate impact on the Lake Victoria (LV) catchment scale. This paper briefly discusses the main problems of lake hydrodynamics and its’ solutions that are related to quality assessment and climate effect. An empirical methodology in modeling and mapping have considered for understanding lake hydrodynamic and visualizing the long-term observational daily, monthly, and yearly mean dataset results by using geographical information system (GIS) and Comsol techniques. Data were obtained for the whole lake and five different meteorological stations, and several geoprocessing tools with spatial analysis are considered to produce results. The linear regression analyses were developed to build climate scenarios and a linear trend on lake rainfall data for a long period. A potential evapotranspiration rate has been described by the MODIS and the Thornthwaite method. The rainfall effect on lake water level observed by Partial Differential Equations (PDE), and water quality has manifested by a few nutrients parameters. The study revealed monthly and yearly rainfall varies with monthly and yearly maximum and minimum temperatures, and the rainfall is high during cool years and the temperature is high associated with below and average rainfall patterns. Rising temperatures are likely to accelerate evapotranspiration rates and more evapotranspiration is likely to lead to more rainfall, drought is more correlated with temperature and cloud is more correlated with rainfall. There is a trend in lake rainfall and long-time rainfall on the lake water surface has affected the lake level. The onshore and offshore have been concentrated by initial literature nutrients data. The study recommended that further studies should consider fully lake bathymetry development with flow analysis and its’ water balance, hydro-meteorological processes, solute transport, wind hydrodynamics, pollution and eutrophication these are crucial for lake water quality, climate impact assessment, and water sustainability.

Keywords: climograph, climate scenarios, evapotranspiration, linear trend flow, rainfall event on LV, concentration

Procedia PDF Downloads 72

Authors: J. J. Lee, S. R. Sung, E. J. Yum, S. C. Kim, B. H. Hyun, M. Her, H. S. Lee

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Canine brucellosis is a critical problem in dogs leading to reproductive diseases which are mainly caused by Brucella canis. There are, nonetheless, not clear symptoms so that it may go unnoticed in most of the cases. Serodiagnosis for canine brucellosis has not been confirmed. Moreover, it has substantial difficulties due to broad cross-reactivity between the rough cell wall antigens of B. canis and heterospecific antibodies present in normal, uninfected dogs. Thus, this study was conducted to characterize the immunogenic proteins in cytoplasmic antigen (CPAg) of B. canis, which defined the antigenic sensitivity of the humoral antibody responses to B. canis-infected dogs. In analysis of B. canis CPAg, first, we extracted and purified the cytoplasmic proteins from cultured B. canis by hot-saline inactivation, ultrafiltration, sonication, and ultracentrifugation step by step according to the sonicated antigen extract method. For characterization of this antigen, we checked the sort and range of each protein on SDS-PAGE and verified the immunogenic proteins leading to reaction with antisera of B. canis-infected dogs. Selected immunodominant proteins were identified using MALDI-MS/MS. As a result, in an immunoproteomic assay, several polypeptides in CPAg on one or two-dimensional electrophoresis (DE) were specifically reacted to antisera from B. canis-infected dogs but not from non-infected dogs. The polypeptides with approximate 150, 80, 60, 52, 33, 26, 17, 15, 13, 11 kDa on 1-DE were dominantly recognized by antisera from B. canis-infected dogs. In the immunoblot profiles on 2-DE, ten immunodominant proteins in CPAg were detected with antisera of infected dogs between pI 3.5-6.5 at approximate 35 to 10 KDa, without any nonspecific reaction with sera in non-infected dogs. Ten immunodominant proteins identified by MALDI-MS/MS were identified as superoxide dismutase, bacteroferritin, amino acid ABC transporter substrate-binding protein, extracellular solute-binding protein family3, transaldolase, 26kDa periplasmic immunogenic protein, Rhizopine-binding protein, enoyl-CoA hydratase, arginase and type1 glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Most of these proteins were determined by their cytoplasmic or periplasmic localization with metabolism and transporter functions. Consequently, this study discovered and identified the prominent immunogenic proteins in B. canis CPAg, highlighting that those antigenic proteins may accomplish a specific serodiagnosis for canine brucellosis. Furthermore, we will evaluate those immunodominant proteins for applying to the advanced diagnostic methods with high specificity and accuracy.

Keywords: Brucella canis, Canine brucellosis, cytoplasmic antigen, immunogenic proteins

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Authors: Seung Moon Woo, Youn Suk Chung, Sang Yong Nam

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In the present time, we need advanced water treatment technology for separation of virus and bacteria in effluent which occur epidemic and waterborne diseases. Water purification system is mainly divided into two categorizations like reverse osmosis (RO) and ultrafiltration (UF). Membrane used in these systems requires higher durability because of operating in harsh condition. Of these, the membrane using in UF system has many advantages like higher efficiency and lower energy consume for water treatment compared with RO system. In many kinds of membrane, hollow fiber type membrane is possible to make easily and to get optimized property by control of various spinning conditions such as temperature of coagulation bath, concentration of polymer, addition of additive, air gap and internal coagulation. In this study, polysulfone hollow fiber membrane was successfully prepared by phase inversion method for separation of virus and bacteria. When we prepare the hollow fiber membrane, we controlled various factors such as the polymer concentration, air gap and internal coagulation to investigate effect to membrane property. Morphology of surface and cross section of membrane were measured by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Water flux of membrane was measured using test modules. Mean pore diameter of membrane was calculated using rejection of polystyrene (PS) latex beads for separation of virus and bacteria. Flux and mean flow pore diameter of prepared membrane show 1.5 LPM, 0.03 μm at 1.0 kgf/cm2. The bacteria and virus removal performance of prepared UF membranes were over 6 logs.

Keywords: hollow fiber membrane, drinking water, ultrafiltration, bacteria

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Authors: Andreas Aceranti, Simonetta Vernocchi, Elisabetta Aldrovandi, Marco Colorato, Carolina Ascrizzi

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Nowadays, especially due to an increasing flow of migration and uncontrolled globalisation, linguistic, cultural and religious differences can be a major obstacle for people belonging to different ethnic groups. Each group has its own traditional background, which, in addition to its positive aspects, also includes extremely unpleasant and dramatic situations: culture-related crimes. We analysed several cases belonging to this category of crime which is becoming more and more present in Europe, creating not only a strong social rift dictated by the misunderstanding between migrants and host populations but also by the isolation and ghettoisation of subjects classified as 'different'. Such social rejection, in fact, represents a great source of stress and frustration for those who seek to be part of the community and can generate phenomena of rebellion that result in violent acts. Similar situations must be addressed by the figure of the cultural-linguistic mediator who, thanks to his or her multidisciplinary knowledge, assumes the role of a 'bridge', thus helping the process of awareness and understanding within the social group through the use of various tools, including awareness-raising campaigns and interventions in both the school and social-health sectors. By analysing how the notions of culture and offense have evolved throughout history until they have merged into a single principle and, secondly, how the figure of the language mediator represents a fundamental role in the resolution of conflicts related to cultural diversity has helped us define the basis for new protocols in dealing with such crimes. Especially we have to define the directions of further investigations that we will carry out in the next months.

Keywords: cultural crimes, hatred crimes, immigration, cultural mediation

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Authors: Marina Kapsali, John S. Anagnostopoulos

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Greek islands’ interconnection (IC) with larger power systems, such as the mainland grid, is a crucial issue that has attracted a lot of interest; however, the recent economic recession that the country undergoes together with the highly capital intensive nature of this kind of projects have stalled or sifted the development of many of those on a more long-term basis. On the other hand, most of Greek islands are still heavily dependent on the lengthy and costly supply chain of oil imports whilst the majority of them exhibit excellent potential for wind energy (WE) applications. In this respect, the main purpose of the present work is to investigate −through a parametric study which varies both in wind farm (WF) and submarine IC capacities− the impact of large-scale WE development on the IC of the third in size island of Greece (Lesbos) with the mainland system. The energy and economic performance of the system is simulated over a 25-year evaluation period assuming two possible scenarios, i.e. S(a): without the contribution of the local Thermal Power Plant (TPP) and S(b): the TPP is maintained to ensure electrification of the island. The economic feasibility of the two options is investigated in terms of determining their Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) including also a sensitivity analysis on the worst/reference/best Cases. According to the results, Lesbos island IC presents considerable economic interest for covering part of island’s future electrification needs with WE having a vital role in this challenging venture.

Keywords: electricity generation cost, levelized cost of energy, mainland grid, wind energy rejection

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Authors: Waleed K. Saib, Abdulsalam M. Alhawsawi, Essam Banoqitah

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The idea of this research is to design a radiation spectrometer using LSO scintillation detector coupled to a C series of SiPM (silicon photomultiplier). The device can be used to detects gamma and X-ray radiation. This device is also designed to estimates the activity of the source contamination. The SiPM will detect light in the visible range above the threshold and read them as counts. Three gamma sources were used for these experiments Cs-137, Am-241 and Co-60 with various activities. These sources are applied for four experiments operating the SiPM as a spectrometer, energy resolution, pile-up set and efficiency. The SiPM is connected to a MCA to perform as a spectrometer. Cerium doped Lutetium Silicate (Lu₂SiO₅) with light yield 26000 photons/Mev coupled with the SiPM. As a result, all the main features of the Cs-137, Am-241 and Co-60 are identified in MCA. The experiment shows how photon energy and probability of interaction are inversely related. Total attenuation reduces as photon energy increases. An analytical calculation was made to obtain the FWHM resolution for each gamma source. The FWHM resolution for Am-241 (59 keV) is 28.75 %, for Cs-137 (662 keV) is 7.85 %, for Co-60 (1173 keV) is 4.46 % and for Co-60 (1332 keV) is 3.70%. Moreover, the experiment shows that the dead time and counts number decreased when the pile-up rejection was disabled and the FWHM decreased when the pile-up was enabled. The efficiencies were calculated at four different distances from the detector 2, 4, 8 and 16 cm. The detection efficiency was observed to declined exponentially with increasing distance from the detector face. Conclusively, the SiPM board operated with an LSO scintillator crystal as a spectrometer. The SiPM energy resolution for the three gamma sources used was a decent comparison to other PMTs.

Keywords: PMT, radiation, radiation detection, scintillation detectors, silicon photomultiplier, spectrometer

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Authors: Anne McCarthy, Anna Kim, Yin Song, Kyoo Jo, Donald Cropek, Sungmin Hong

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Corrosion prevention remains an indispensable concern across a spectrum of industries, demanding inventive and adaptable methodologies to effectively tackle the ever-evolving obstacles presented by corrosive surroundings. This abstract introduces a pioneering approach to corrosion prevention that amalgamates the distinct attributes of magneto-responsive polymers with finely adjustable hydrophobicity inspired by the structure of cicada wings, effectively deterring bacterial proliferation and biofilm formation. The proposed strategy entails the creation of an innovative array of magneto-responsive nanostructures endowed with the capacity to dynamically modulate their hydrophobic characteristics. This dynamic control over hydrophobicity facilitates active repulsion of water and corrosive agents on demand. Additionally, the cyclic motion generated by magnetic activation prevents the biofilms formation and rejection. Thus, the synergistic interplay between magneto-active nanostructures and hydrophobicity manipulation establishes a versatile defensive mechanism against diverse corrosive agents. This study introduces a novel method for corrosion prevention, harnessing the advantages of magneto-active nanostructures and the precision of hydrophobicity adjustment, resulting in water-repellency, effective biofilm removal, and offering a promising solution to handle corrosion-related challenges. We believe that the combined effect will significantly contribute to extending asset lifespan, improving safety, and reducing maintenance costs in the face of corrosion threats.

Keywords: magneto-active material, nanoimprinting, corrosion prevention, hydrophobicity

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Authors: Monika Skura

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People with physical disabilities, as with other people with differences in appearance or style of functioning come under negative social mechanisms. Therefore, it is worth asking what the relationship of the group is, who experience psychosocial effects because of their physical disability, towards people with intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments, visual impairments, mental illnesses, and their own physically disabled group. To analyse the perception of people with a physical disability, the study explores three areas: the acceptance or rejection of society’s stigmatization towards persons with disabilities; the importance of their own experience regarding their disability, in relation to another kind of disability; their level of acceptance to social interactions, in relation to various types of disabilities. The research sample consisted of 90 people with physical disabilities, who suffer from damage to the locomotor system. The data was collected using a questionnaire and the Adjective Check List by H. B. Gough and A. B. Heilbrun. This study utilized focus interviews to develop survey items for the questionnaire. The findings highlight that the response from those who were physically disabled agreed with the opinions of general society, not only with the issue of promoting integrated solutions and offering assistance but also having the same preferences and opinions about specific types of disability. However, their perception regarding their own group was noticeably different from that of general society. In the light of the study, for people with physical disabilities, just as for able-bodied people, it can be challenging to develop a meaningful relationship with people who have disabilities. All forms of disability suffer from negative attitudes and opinions that exist in society. The majority of those who were researched were focused primarily on their own problems, this inevitably hinders the integrity of the entire group, making it more difficult for it to find a cohesive voice, in which to promote their place within society.

Keywords: general society’s opinions about disability, people with different kinds of disability, perception, physical disability

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Authors: Anja Gräff, Stefan Holzer, Manfred Höld, Jörn Stumpenhausen, Heinz Bernhardt

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In view of the increasing quantity of 'green energy' from renewable raw materials and photovoltaic facilities, it is quite conceivable that power supply variations may occur, so that constantly working machines like automatic milking systems (AMS) may break down temporarily. The usage of farm-made energy is steadily increasing in order to keep energy costs as low as possible. As a result, power cuts are likely to happen more frequently. Current work in the framework of the project 'stable 4.0' focuses on possible stress reactions by simulating power cuts up to four hours in dairy farms. Based on heart activity it should be found out whether stress on dairy cows increases under these circumstances. In order to simulate a power cut, 12 random cows out of 2 herds were not admitted to the AMS for at least two hours on three consecutive days. The heart rates of the cows were measured and the collected data evaluated with HRV Program Kubios Version 2.1 on the basis of eight parameters (HR, RMSSD, pNN50, SD1, SD2, LF, HF and LF/HF). Furthermore, stress reactions were examined closely via video analysis, milk yield, ruminant activity, pedometer and measurements of cortisol metabolites. Concluding it turned out, that during the test only some animals were suffering from minor stress symptoms, when they tried to get into the AMS at their regular milking time, but couldn´t be milked because the system was manipulated. However, the stress level during a regular “time-dependent milking rejection” was just as high. So the study comes to the conclusion, that the low psychological stress level in the case of a 2-4 hours failure of an AMS does not have any impact on animal welfare and health.

Keywords: dairy cow, heart activity, power cut, stable 4.0

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Authors: Rajesha Kumar Alambi, Mansour Ahmed, Garudachari Bhadrachari, Safiyah Al-Muqahwi, Mansour Al-Rughaib, Jibu P. Thomas

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Membrane-based pressure assisted osmosis (PAO) for seawater desalination has the potential to overcome the challenges of forward osmosis technology. PAO technology is gaining interest among the research community to ensure the sustainability of freshwater with a significant reduction in energy. The requirements of PAO membranes differ from the FO membrane; as it needs a slightly higher porous with sufficient mechanical strength to overcome the applied hydraulic pressure. The porous metal-organic framework (MOF) as a filler for the membrane synthesis has demonstrated a great potential to generate new channels for water transport, high selectivity, and reduced fouling propensity. Accordingly, this study is aimed at fabricating the UiO-66 MOF-based thin film nanocomposite membranes with specific characteristics for water desalination by PAO. A PAO test unit manufactured by Trevi System, USA, was used to determine the performance of the synthesized membranes. Further, the synthesized membranes were characterized in terms of morphological features, hydrophilicity, surface roughness, and mechanical properties. The 0.05 UiO-66 loaded membrane produced highest flux of 38L/m2h and with low reverse salt leakage of 2.1g/m²h for the DI water as feed solution and 2.0 M NaCl as draw solutions at the inlet feed pressure of 0.6 MPa. The new membranes showed a good tolerance toward the applied hydraulic pressure attributed to the fabric support used during the membrane synthesis.

Keywords: metal organic framework, composite membrane, desalination, salt rejection, flux

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Authors: Masoumeh Haghbin Nazarpak, Hamidreza Tolabi, Aryan Ekhlasi

Abstract:

Bone defects are mentioned as one of the most challenging clinical conditions, affecting millions of people each year. A fracture, osteoporosis, tumor, or infection usually causes these defects. At present, autologous and allogeneic grafts are used to correct bone defects, but these grafts have some difficulties, such as limited access, infection, disease transmission, and immune rejection. Bone tissue engineering is considered a new strategy for repairing bone defects. However, problems with scaffolds’ design with unique structures limit their clinical applications. In addition, numerous in-vitro studies have been performed on the behavior of bone cells in two-dimensional environments. Still, cells grow in physiological situations in the human body in a three-dimensional environment. As a result, the controlled design of porous structures with high structural complexity and providing the necessary flexibility to meet specific needs in bone tissue repair is beneficial. For this purpose, a three-dimensional composite scaffold based on gelatin and sodium alginate hydrogels is used in this research. In addition, the antibacterial drug-loaded halloysite nanotubes were introduced into the hydrogel scaffold structure to provide a suitable substrate for controlled drug release. The presence of halloysite nanotubes improved hydrogel’s properties, while the drug eliminated infection and disease transmission. Finally, it can be acknowledged that the composite scaffold prepared in this study for bone tissue engineering seems promising.

Keywords: halloysite nanotubes, bone tissue engineering, composite scaffold, controlled drug release

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Authors: Serin Darwish, Hakim Saibi, Amir Gabr

Abstract:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is situated within an arid zone where the climate is arid and the recharge of the groundwater is very low. Groundwater is the primary source of water in the United Arab Emirates. However, rapid expansion, population growth, agriculture, and industrial activities have negatively affected these limited water resources. The shortage of water resources has become a serious concern due to the over-pumping of groundwater to meet demand. In addition to the deficit of groundwater, the UAE has one of the highest per capita water consumption rates in the world. In this study, a combination of time-lapse measurements of microgravity and depth to groundwater level in selected wells in Al Ain city was used to estimate the variations in groundwater storage. Al-Ain is the second largest city in Abu Dhabi Emirates and the third largest city in the UAE. The groundwater in this region has been overexploited. Relative gravity measurements were acquired using the Scintrex CG-6 Autograv. This latest generation gravimeter from Scintrex Ltd provides fast, precise gravity measurements and automated corrections for temperature, tide, instrument tilt and rejection of data noise. The CG-6 gravimeter has a resolution of 0.1μGal. The purpose of this study is to measure the groundwater storage changes in the shallow aquifers based on the application of microgravity method. The gravity method is a nondestructive technique that allows collection of data at almost any location over the aquifer. Preliminary results indicate a possible relationship between microgravity and water levels, but more work needs to be done to confirm this. The results will help to develop the relationship between monthly microgravity changes with hydrological and hydrogeological changes of shallow phreatic. The study will be useful in water management considerations and additional future investigations.

Keywords: Al-Ain, arid region, groundwater, microgravity

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Authors: Rebeca V. Tholen, Elaine Bundy

Abstract:

Background: Liver transplantation (LT) is considered the only curative treatment for end-stage liver disease Background: Liver transplantation (LT) is considered the only curative treatment for end-stage liver disease (ESLD). The effects of alcoholism can cause irreversible liver damage, cirrhosis and subsequent liver failure. Alcohol relapse after transplant occurs in 20-50% of patients and increases the risk for recurrent cirrhosis, organ rejection, and graft failure. Alcohol relapse after transplant has been identified as a problem among liver transplant recipients at a large urban academic transplant center in the United States. Transplantation will reverse the complications of ESLD, but it does not treat underlying alcoholism or reduce the risk of relapse after transplant. The purpose of this quality improvement project is to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a High-Risk Alcoholism Relapse (HRAR) Scale to screen and identify patients at high-risk for alcohol relapse after receiving an LT. Methods: The HRAR Scale is a predictive tool designed to determine the severity of alcoholism and risk of relapse after transplant. The scale consists of three variables identified as having the highest predictive power for early relapse including, daily number of drinks, history of previous inpatient treatment for alcoholism, and the number of years of heavy drinking. All adult liver transplant recipients at a large urban transplant center were screened with the HRAR Scale prior to hospital discharge. A zero to two ordinal score is ranked for each variable, and the total score ranges from zero to six. High-risk scores are between three to six. Results: Descriptive statistics revealed 25 patients were newly transplanted and discharged from the hospital during an 8-week period. 40% of patients (n=10) were identified as being high-risk for relapse and 60% low-risk (n=15). The daily number of drinks were determined by alcohol content (1 drink = 15g of ethanol) and number of drinks per day. 60% of patients reported drinking 9-17 drinks per day, and 40% reported ≤ 9 drinks. 50% of high-risk patients reported drinking ≥ 25 years, 40% for 11-25 years, and 10% ≤ 11 years. For number of inpatient treatments for alcoholism, 50% received inpatient treatment one time, 20% ≥ 1, and 30% reported never receiving inpatient treatment. Findings reveal the importance and value of a validated screening tool as a more efficient method than other screening methods alone. Integration of a structured clinical tool will help guide the drinking history portion of the psychosocial assessment. Targeted interventions can be implemented for all high-risk patients. Conclusions: Our findings validate the effectiveness of utilizing the HRAR scale to screen and identify patients who are a high-risk for alcohol relapse post-LT. Recommendations to help maintain post-transplant sobriety include starting a transplant support group within the organization for all high-risk patients. (ESLD). The effects of alcoholism can cause irreversible liver damage, cirrhosis and subsequent liver failure. Alcohol relapse after transplant occurs in 20-50% of patients, and increases the risk for recurrent cirrhosis, organ rejection, and graft failure. Alcohol relapse after transplant has been identified as a problem among liver transplant recipients at a large urban academic transplant center in the United States. Transplantation will reverse the complications of ESLD, but it does not treat underlying alcoholism or reduce the risk of relapse after transplant. The purpose of this quality improvement project is to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a High-Risk Alcoholism Relapse (HRAR) Scale to screen and identify patients at high-risk for alcohol relapse after receiving a LT. Methods: The HRAR Scale is a predictive tool designed to determine severity of alcoholism and risk of relapse after transplant. The scale consists of three variables identified as having the highest predictive power for early relapse including, daily number of drinks, history of previous inpatient treatment for alcoholism, and the number of years of heavy drinking. All adult liver transplant recipients at a large urban transplant center were screened with the HRAR Scale prior to hospital discharge. A zero to two ordinal score is ranked for each variable, and the total score ranges from zero to six. High-risk scores are between three to six. Results: Descriptive statistics revealed 25 patients were newly transplanted and discharged from the hospital during an 8-week period. 40% of patients (n=10) were identified as being high-risk for relapse and 60% low-risk (n=15). The daily number of drinks were determined by alcohol content (1 drink = 15g of ethanol) and number of drinks per day. 60% of patients reported drinking 9-17 drinks per day, and 40% reported ≤ 9 drinks. 50% of high-risk patients reported drinking ≥ 25 years, 40% for 11-25 years, and 10% ≤ 11 years. For number of inpatient treatments for alcoholism, 50% received inpatient treatment one time, 20% ≥ 1, and 30% reported never receiving inpatient treatment. Findings reveal the importance and value of a validated screening tool as a more efficient method than other screening methods alone. Integration of a structured clinical tool will help guide the drinking history portion of the psychosocial assessment. Targeted interventions can be implemented for all high-risk patients. Conclusions: Our findings validate the effectiveness of utilizing the HRAR scale to screen and identify patients who are a high-risk for alcohol relapse post-LT. Recommendations to help maintain post-transplant sobriety include starting a transplant support group within the organization for all high-risk patients.

Keywords: alcoholism, liver transplant, quality improvement, substance abuse

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Authors: F. Mutelet, L. Cesari

Abstract:

Development of safer and environmentally friendly processes and products is needed to achieve sustainable production and consumption patterns. Ionic liquids, which are of great interest to the chemical and related industries because of their attractive properties as solvents, should be considered. Ionic liquids are comprised of an asymmetric, bulky organic cation and a weakly coordinating organic or inorganic anion. A large number of possible combinations allows for the ability to ‘fine tune’ the solvent properties for a specific purpose. Physical and chemical properties of ionic liquids are not only influenced by the nature of the cation and the nature of cation substituents but also by the polarity and the size of the anion. These features infer to ionic liquids numerous applications, in organic synthesis, separation processes, and electrochemistry. Separation processes required a good knowledge of the behavior of organic compounds with ionic liquids. Gas chromatography is a useful tool to estimate the interactions between organic compounds and ionic liquids. Indeed, retention data may be used to determine infinite dilution thermodynamic properties of volatile organic compounds in ionic liquids. Among others, the activity coefficient at infinite dilution is a direct measure of solute-ionic liquid interaction. In this work, infinite dilution thermodynamic properties of volatile organic compounds in specific bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide based ionic liquids measured by gas chromatography is presented. It was found that apolar compounds are not miscible in this family of ionic liquids. As expected, the solubility of organic compounds is related to their polarity and hydrogen-bond. Through activity coefficients data, the performance of these ionic liquids was evaluated for different separation processes (benzene/heptane, thiophene/heptane and pyridine/heptane). Results indicate that ionic liquids may be used for the extraction of polar compounds (aromatics, alcohols, pyridine, thiophene, tetrahydrofuran) from aliphatic media. For example, 1-benzylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide and 1-cyclohexylmethyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide are more efficient for the extraction of aromatics or pyridine from aliphatics than classical solvents. Ionic liquids with long alkyl chain length present important capacity values but their selectivity values are low. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that specific bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide based ILs containing polar chain grafted on the cation (for example benzyl or cyclohexyl) increases considerably their performance in separation processes.

Keywords: interaction organic solvent-ionic liquid, gas chromatography, solvation model, COSMO-RS

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Authors: Uday S. Goel, G. Senthil Kumar, Biswajit Ghosh, V. V. Mahashabde, Dhirendra Kumar, H. Manjunath, Ritesh Kumar, Mahesh Bhagwat, Subodh Pandey

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Tata Steel Bhushan Steel Ltd.(TSBSL)’s Hot Mill at Angul , Orissa , India, was facing shape issues in Hot Rolled (HR) coils. This was resulting in a defect called as ‘Ridge’, which was appearing in subsequent cold rolling operations at various cold mills (CRM) and external customers. A collaborative project was undertaken to resolve this issue. One of the reasons identified was the strange drop in thermal crown after rolling of 20-25 coils in the finishing mill (FM ) schedule. On the shop floor, it was observed that work roll temperatures in the FM after rolling were very high and non uniform across the work roll barrel. Jammed work roll cooling nozzles, insufficient roll bite lubrication and inadequate roll cooling water quality were found to be the main reasons. Regular checking was initiated to check roll cooling nozzles health, and quick replacement done if found jammed was implemented. Improvements on roll lubrication, especially flow rates, was done. Usage of anti-peeling headers and inter stand descaling was enhanced. A subsequent project was also taken up for improving the quality of roll cooling water. Encouraging results were obtained from the project with a reduction in rejection due to ridge at CRM’s by almost 95% of the pre project start levels. Poor profile occurrence of HR coils at HSM was also reduced from a high of 32% in May’19 to <1% since Apr’20.

Keywords: hot rolling flat, shape, ridge, work roll, roll cooling nozzle, lubrication

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Authors: Wantana Amatariyakul, Chumnong Amatariyakul

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The research aims to examine the spread of drugs in higher education, especially amphetamine which is rapidly increasing in Thai society, its causes and effects, including the sociological perspective, in order to explain, prevent, control, and solve the problems. The students who participated in this research are regular students of Rajamangala University of Technology Isan, Khon Kaen Campus. The data were collected using questionnaires, group discussions, and in-depth interviews. The quantity data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation and using content analysis to analyzed quality data. The result of the study showed that the students had the results of examination on level of knowledge and understanding on drug abuse projected that the majority of sample group attained their knowledge on drug abuse respectively. Despite their uncertainty, the majority of samples presumed that amphetamine, marijuana and grathom (Mitragyna Speciosa Korth) would most likely be abused. The reason for first drug abuse is because they want to try and their friends convince them, as well as, they want to relax or solve the problems in life, respectively. The bad effects appearing to the drug addicts shows that their health deteriorates or worsens, as well as, they not only lose their money but also face with worse mental states. The reasons that respondents tried to avoid using drugs or refused drugs offered by friends were: not wanting to disappoint or upset their family members, fear of rejection by family members, afraid of being arrested by the police, afraid of losing their educational opportunity and ruining their future respectively. Students therefore defended themselves against drug addiction by refusing to try all drugs. Besides this, the knowledge about the danger and the harm of drugs persuaded them to stay away from drugs.

Keywords: drugs, higher education, drug addiction, spread of drugs

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Authors: Carlos Teodoro, Oscar Bautista

Abstract:

In this work, we analyze theoretically the mass transport in a time-periodic electroosmotic flow through a parallel flat plate microchannel under different periodic functions of the applied external electric field. The microchannel connects two reservoirs having different constant concentrations of an electro-neutral solute, and the zeta potential of the microchannel walls are assumed to be uniform. The governing equations that allow determining the mass transport in the microchannel are given by the Poisson-Boltzmann equation, the modified Navier-Stokes equations, where the Debye-Hückel approximation is considered (the zeta potential is less than 25 mV), and the species conservation. These equations are nondimensionalized and four dimensionless parameters appear which control the mass transport phenomenon. In this sense, these parameters are an angular Reynolds, the Schmidt and the Péclet numbers, and an electrokinetic parameter representing the ratio of the half-height of the microchannel to the Debye length. To solve the mathematical model, first, the electric potential is determined from the Poisson-Boltzmann equation, which allows determining the electric force for various periodic functions of the external electric field expressed as Fourier series. In particular, three different excitation wave forms of the external electric field are assumed, a) sawteeth, b) step, and c) a periodic irregular functions. The periodic electric forces are substituted in the modified Navier-Stokes equations, and the hydrodynamic field is derived for each case of the electric force. From the obtained velocity fields, the species conservation equation is solved and the concentration fields are found. Numerical calculations were done by considering several binary systems where two dilute species are transported in the presence of a carrier. It is observed that there are different angular frequencies of the imposed external electric signal where the total mass transport of each species is the same, independently of the molecular diffusion coefficient. These frequencies are called crossover frequencies and are obtained graphically at the intersection when the total mass transport is plotted against the imposed frequency. The crossover frequencies are different depending on the Schmidt number, the electrokinetic parameter, the angular Reynolds number, and on the type of signal of the external electric field. It is demonstrated that the mass transport through the microchannel is strongly dependent on the modulation frequency of the applied particular alternating electric field. Possible extensions of the analysis to more complicated pulsation profiles are also outlined.

Keywords: electroosmotic flow, mass transport, oscillatory flow, species separation

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Authors: Azam Fazelpour, Saeed R. Dehghani, Vlastimil Masek, Yuri S. Muzychka

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The study uses an image analysis technique employing thermal imaging to measure the percentage of areas with various temperatures on a freezing surface. An image segmentation method using threshold values is applied to a sequence of image recording the freezing process. The phenomenon is transient and temperatures vary fast to reach the freezing point and complete the freezing process. Freezing salt water is subjected to the salt rejection that makes the freezing point dynamic and dependent on the salinity at the phase interface. For a specific area of freezing, nucleation starts from one side and end to another side, which causes a dynamic and transient temperature in that area. Thermal cameras are able to reveal a difference in temperature due to their sensitivity to infrared radiance. Using Experimental setup, a video is recorded by a thermal camera to monitor radiance and temperatures during the freezing process. Image processing techniques are applied to all frames to detect and classify temperatures on the surface. Image processing segmentation method is used to find contours with same temperatures on the icing surface. Each segment is obtained using the temperature range appeared in the image and correspond pixel values in the image. Using the contours extracted from image and camera parameters, stratified areas with different temperatures are calculated. To observe temperature contours on the icing surface using the thermal camera, the salt water sample is dropped on a cold surface with the temperature of -20°C. A thermal video is recorded for 2 minutes to observe the temperature field. Examining the results obtained by the method and the experimental observations verifies the accuracy and applicability of the method.

Keywords: ice contour boundary, image processing, image segmentation, salt ice, thermal image

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Authors: Sukriti Sabharwal, Sonali Bhattar, Shikhar Saxena

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Introduction: COVID-19 molecular diagnostic laboratory is the cornerstone of the COVID-19 disease diagnosis as the patient’s treatment and management protocol depend on the molecular results. For this purpose, it is extremely important that the laboratory conducting these results adheres to the quality management processes to increase the accuracy and validity of the reports generated. We started our own molecular diagnostic setup at the onset of the pandemic. Therefore, we conducted this study to generate our quality management data to help us in improving on our weak points. Materials and Methods: A total of 14561 samples were evaluated by the retrospective observational method. The quality variables analysed were classified into pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical variables, and the results were presented in percentages. Results: Among the pre-analytical variables, sample leaking was the most common cause of the rejection of samples (134/14561, 0.92%), followed by non-generation of SRF ID (76/14561, 0.52%) and non-compliance to triple packaging (44/14561, 0.3%). The other pre-analytical aspects assessed were incomplete patient identification (17/14561, 0.11%), insufficient quantity of samples (12/14561, 0.08%), missing forms/samples (7/14561, 0.04%), samples in the wrong vials/empty VTM tubes (5/14561, 0.03%) and LIMS entry not done (2/14561, 0.01%). We are unable to obtain internal quality control in 0.37% of samples (55/14561). We also experienced two incidences of cross-contamination among the samples resulting in false-positive results. Among the post-analytical factors, a total of 0.07% of samples (11/14561) could not be dispatched within the stipulated time frame. Conclusion: Adherence to quality control processes is foremost for the smooth running of any diagnostic laboratory, especially the ones involved in critical reporting. Not only do the indicators help in keeping in check the laboratory parameters but they also allow comparison with other laboratories.

Keywords: laboratory quality management, COVID-19, molecular diagnostics, healthcare

Procedia PDF Downloads 142