Search results for: dye absorption capacity

Authors: Wed Othman Alghamdi

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The current study aims to find a non-toxic, low density, hydrogen-rich material that can be used in aprons without causing health issues for nuclear medical workers that could hinder their work and negatively affect patients. Five samples were tested in terms of fast neutron removal cross-section(C21H25ClO5, C2H4, LiH,H3NBH3,MgH2) mathematically using computer program called Phy-x/PSD it is a computer program designed to calculate the fast neutron removal cross section, and it was obtained that ammonia borane (𝐻3𝑁𝐵𝐻3) with a density of 0.78 (g/ cm3) ,And it containment of the three most important elements that play a major role in protection shields, which are (hydrogen, boron, nitrogen), Hydrogen works as a moderator that slows neutrons and turn them into thermal neutrons, boron and nitrogen both have the largest neutron absorption cross section. Ammonia borane has the highest fast neutron removal cross-section with the value of (0.122959317985393cm-1) and the least for polyethylene (𝐶2𝐻4) with the value of (0.0838038707225853 cm-1) which made the ammonia borane a better candidate than polyethylene and other compounds that have been tasted in previous research for multi-layer aprons in nuclear medicine, and may approve a proper protection against the hazard radiations that its produced in nuclear medicine filed by several ways, due to it is low density and non-toxicity.

Keywords: aprons, radiation, non-toxic, nuclear medicine, neutrons

Procedia PDF Downloads 66

Authors: Genute Gedviliene, Vidmantas Tutlys

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The aim of this paper is to reveal the deployment and development of the social competence in the higher education programmes of adult education and in the continuing training and competence development of the andragogues. There will be compared how the issues of cooperation and communication in the learning and teaching processes are treated in the study programmes and in the courses of continuing training of andragogues. Theoretical and empirical research methods were combined for research analysis. For the analysis the following methods were applied: 1) Literature and document analysis helped to highlight the communication and cooperation as fundamental phenomena of the social competence, it’s important for the adult education in the context of digitalization and globalization. There were also analyzed the research studies on the development of social competence in the field of andragogy, as well as on the place and weight of the social competence in the overall competence profile of the andragogue. 2) The empirical study is based on questionnaire survey method. The population of survey consists of 240 students of bachelor and master degree studies of andragogy in Lithuania and of 320 representatives of the different bodies and institutions involved in the continuing training and professional development of the adult educators in Lithuania. The themes of survey questionnaire were defined on the basis of findings of the literature review and included the following: 1) opinions of the respondents on the role and place of a social competence in the work of andragogue; 2) opinions of the respondents on the role and place of the development of social competence in the curricula of higher education studies and continuing training courses; 3) judgements on the implications of the higher education studies and courses of continuing training for the development of social competence and it’s deployment in the work of andragogue. Data analysis disclosed a wide range of ways and modalities of the deployment and development of social competence in the preparation and continuing training of the adult educators. Social competence is important for the students and adult education providers not only as the auxiliary capability for the communication and transfer of information, but also as the outcome of collective learning leading to the development of new capabilities applied by the learners in the learning process, their professional field of adult education and their social life. Equally so, social competence is necessary for the effective adult education activities not only as an auxiliary capacity applied in the teaching process, but also as a potential for improvement, development and sustainability of the didactic competence and know-how in this field. The students of the higher education programmes in the field of adult education treat social competence as important generic capacity important for the work of adult educator, whereas adult education providers discern the concrete issues of application of social competence in the different processes of adult education, starting from curriculum design and ending with assessment of learning outcomes.

Keywords: adult education, andragogues, social competence, curriculum

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: A. Omeiri, A. Djellad, P. O. Logerais, O. Riou, J. F. Durastanti

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With the growing of electrical energy demand, wind power capacity has experienced tremendous growth in the past decade, thanks to wind power’s environmental benefits. Direct driven permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) with a full size back-to-back converter set is one of the promising technologies employed with wind power generation. Wind grid integration brings the problems of voltage fluctuation and harmonic pollution. In the present study, the filter is placed between the wind system and the network to reduce the total harmonic distortion (THD) and enhance power quality during disturbances. The models of wind turbine, PMSG, power electronic converters and the filter are implemented in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment.

Keywords: wind energy conversion system, PMSG, PWM, THD, power quality, passive filter

Procedia PDF Downloads 648

Authors: Bharat Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Vijay Chaudhry

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Zirconium alloys are widely used for the core components of a pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) or Canada deuterium (CANDU) reactor due to their low neutron absorption cross-section and excellent mechanical properties. The components made of Zirconium alloys are subjected to flow-induced vibrations, resulting in fretting wear at the interface of; pressure tubes and bearing pads, pressure tubes and calandria tubes, and calandria tubes and Liquid injection shutdown system (LISS) nozzles. There is a need to explore the tribological response under such conditions. Present work simulates the contact between calandria tube and LISS nozzle of PHWR/CANDU reactor as cylinder-on-cylinder contact configuration. Reciprocating tribo-tests were conducted on Zircaloy-4 (Zr-4) under the self-mated condition at varying amplitude, frequency, and sliding time. To understand the active wear mechanism, worn surfaces were analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The change in amplitude severely affects the wear than other factors. The wear mechanism transits from adhesion to abrasion with increasing test amplitude. The dominant wear mechanisms are micro-cutting and micro-plowing followed by delamination in some areas. However, the coefficient of friction has indifferent behaviors.

Keywords: zircaloy-4, tribology, calandria tube, LISS nozzle, PHWR

Procedia PDF Downloads 209

Authors: Sophie Baudel, Aline Duplaa, Jean Muller, Stephan Lauriol, Yann Bernard

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Argos is the main satellite telemetry system used by the wildlife research community, since its creation in 1978, for animal tracking and scientific data collection all around the world, to analyze and understand animal migrations and behavior. The marine mammals' biology is one of the major disciplines which had benefited from Argos telemetry, and conversely, marine mammals biologists’ community has contributed a lot to the growth and development of Argos use cases. The Argos constellation with 6 satellites in orbit in 2017 (Argos 2 payload on NOAA 15, NOAA 18, Argos 3 payload on NOAA 19, SARAL, METOP A and METOP B) is being extended in the following years with Argos 3 payload on METOP C (launch in October 2018), and Argos 4 payloads on Oceansat 3 (launch in 2019), CDARS in December 2021 (to be confirmed), METOP SG B1 in December 2022, and METOP-SG-B2 in 2029. Argos 4 will allow more frequency bands (600 kHz for Argos4NG, instead of 110 kHz for Argos 3), new modulation dedicated to animal (sea turtle) tracking allowing very low transmission power transmitters (50 to 100mW), with very low data rates (124 bps), enhancement of high data rates (1200-4800 bps), and downlink performance, at the whole contribution to enhance the system capacity (50,000 active beacons per month instead of 20,000 today). In parallel of this ‘institutional Argos’ constellation, in the context of a miniaturization trend in the spatial industry in order to reduce the costs and multiply the satellites to serve more and more societal needs, the French Space Agency CNES, which designs the Argos payloads, is innovating and launching the Argos ANGELS project (Argos NEO Generic Economic Light Satellites). ANGELS will lead to a nanosatellite prototype with an Argos NEO instrument (30 cm x 30 cm x 20cm) that will be launched in 2019. In the meantime, the design of the renewal of the Argos constellation, called Argos For Next Generations (Argos4NG), is on track and will be operational in 2022. Based on Argos 4 and benefitting of the feedback from ANGELS project, this constellation will allow revisiting time of fewer than 20 minutes in average between two satellite passes, and will also bring more frequency bands to improve the overall capacity of the system. The presentation will then be an overview of the Argos system, present and future and new capacities coming with it. On top of that, use cases of two Argos hardware modules will be presented: the goniometer pathfinder allowing recovering Argos beacons at sea or on the ground in a 100 km radius horizon-free circle around the beacon location and the new Argos 4 chipset called ‘Artic’, already available and tested by several manufacturers.

Keywords: Argos satellite telemetry, marine protected areas, oceanography, maritime services

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: M. Nazim, S. Ameen, H. K. Seo, H. S. Shin

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Energy is the basis of life and strong attention has been growing for the cost-effective energy production. Recently, solution-processed small molecule organic solar cells (SMOSCs) have grown much attention due to the wages such as well-defined molecular structures, definite molecular weight, easy synthesis and easy purification techniques. In particular, the size of donor (D) and acceptor (A) unit is a crucial factor for the exciton-diffusion towards D-A interface and then charge-separation for the effective charge-transport to the electrodes. Furan-bridged materials are more electron-rich, high fluorescence, with better molecular-packing, and greater rigidity and greater solubility than their thiophene-counterparts In this work, a furan-bridged thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole based organic small molecule (RFTzR) was formulated and applied for BHJ organic solar cells (OSCs). The introduction of furan spacer with two terminal alkyl units improved its absorption and solubility in the common organic solvents, significantly. RFTzR exhibited a HOMO and LUMO energy levels of -5.36 eV and -3.14 eV, respectively. The fabricated solar cell devices of RFTzR (donor) with PC60BM (acceptor) as photoactive materials showed high performance of 2.72% (RFTzR:PC60BM, 2:1, w/w) ratio with open-circuit voltage of 0.756 V and high photocurrent density of 10.13 mA/cm².

Keywords: chromophore, organic solar cells, photoactive materials, small molecule

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Juan A. Ferriz-Papi, Simon Thomas

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The construction industry generates large amounts of waste, usually mixed, which can be composed of different origin materials, most of them catalogued as non-hazardous. The European Union targets for this waste for 2020 have been already achieved by the UK, but it is mainly developed in downcycling processes (backfilling) whereas upcycling (such as recycle in new concrete batches) still keeps at a low percentage. The aim of this paper is to explore further in the use of recycled aggregates from construction and demolition waste (CDW) in concrete mixes so as to improve upcycling. A review of most recent research and legislation applied in the UK is developed regarding the production of concrete blocks. As a case study, initial tests were developed with a CDW recycled aggregate sample from a CDW plant in Swansea. Composition by visual inspection and sieving tests of two samples were developed and compared to original aggregates. More than 70% was formed by soil waste from excavation, and the rest was a mix of waste from mortar, concrete, and ceramics with small traces of plaster, glass and organic matter. Two concrete mixes were made with 80% replacement of recycled aggregates and different water/cement ratio. Tests were carried out for slump, absorption, density and compression strength. The results were compared to a reference sample and showed a substantial reduction of quality in both mixes. Despite that, the discussion brings to identify different aspects to solve, such as heterogeneity or composition, and analyze them for the successful use of these recycled aggregates in the production of concrete blocks. The conclusions obtained can help increase upcycling processes ratio with mixed CDW as recycled aggregates in concrete mixes.

Keywords: aggregates, concrete, concrete block, construction and demolition waste, recycling

Procedia PDF Downloads 299

Authors: Ceyda Dadali, Yeşim Elmaci

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Coffee was introduced as an economic crop during the fifteenth century; nowadays it is the most important food commodity ranking second after crude oil. Desirable sensory properties make coffee one of the most often consumed and most popular beverages in the world. The coffee preparation method has a significant effect on flavor and composition of coffee brews. Three different extraction methodologies namely decoction, infusion and pressure methods have been used for coffee brew preparation. Each of these methods is related to specific granulation (coffee grind) of coffee powder, water-coffee ratio temperature and brewing time. Coffee is a mixture of 1500 chemical compounds. Chemical composition of coffee highly depends on brewing methods, coffee bean species and roasting time-temperature. Coffee contains a wide number of very important bioactive compounds, such as diterpenes: cafestol and kahweol, alkaloids: caffeine, theobromine and trigonelline, melanoidins, phenolic compounds. The phenolic compounds of coffee include chlorogenic acids (quinyl esters of hidroxycinnamic acids), caffeic, ferulic, p-coumaric acid. In coffee caffeoylquinic acids, feruloylquinic acids and di-caffeoylquinic acids are three main groups of chlorogenic acids constitues 6% -10% of dry weight of coffee. The bioavailability of chlorogenic acids in coffee depends on the absorption and metabolization to biomarkers in individuals. Also, the interaction of coffee polyphenols with other compounds such as dietary proteins affects the biomarkers. Since bioactive composition of coffee depends on brewing methods effect of coffee brewing method on bioactive compounds of coffee will be discussed in this study.

Keywords: bioactive compounds of coffee, biomarkers, coffee brew, effect of brewing

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Ali Mustafa Elshawesh, Mohamed Abdulali

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The paper presents an approach to dimension circuit switched networks and find the relationship between the parameters of the circuit switched networks on the condition of specific probability of call blocking. Our work is creating a Simulation code based on Erlang (B) formula to draw graphs which show two curves for each graph; one of simulation and the other of calculated. These curves represent the relationships between average number of calls and average call duration with the probability of call blocking. This simulation code facilitates to select the appropriate parameters for circuit switched networks.

Keywords: Erlang B formula, call blocking, telephone system dimension, Markov model, link capacity

Procedia PDF Downloads 612

Authors: Chandra Sekhar Singh, P. Chakrapani, B. Arun Jyothi, A. Roja Rani

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The green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) involves biocompatible ingredients under physiological conditions of temperature and pressure. Moreover, the biologically active molecules involved in the green synthesis of NPs act as functionalizing ligands, making these NPs more suitable for biomedical applications. Among the most important bioreductants are plant extracts, which are relatively easy to handle, readily available, low cost, and have been well explored for the green synthesis of other nanomaterials. Various types of metallic NPs have already been synthesized using plant extracts. They have wide applicability in various areas such as electronics, catalysis, chemistry, energy, and medicine. Metallic nanoparticles are traditionally synthesized by wet chemical techniques, where the chemicals used are quite often toxic and flammable. In our study, we were described a cost effective and environment friendly technique for green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from 1mM AgNO3 solution through the aqueous extract of Erythrina indica as reducing as well as capping agent. Nanoparticles were characterized using UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, X-ray diffraction, SEM and TEM analysis showed the average particle size of 30 nm as well as revealed their spherical structure. Further these biologically synthesized nanoparticles were found to be highly toxic against different human pathogens viz. two Gram positive namely Klebsiella pneumonia and Bacillus subtilis bacteria and two were Gram negative bacteria namely Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli (E. coli). This is for the first time reporting that Erythrina indica plant extract was used for the synthesis of nanoparticles.

Keywords: silver nanoparticles, green synthesis, antibacterial activity, FTIR, TEM, SEM

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Authors: S. Alsubari, M. Y. M. Zuhri, S. M. Sapuan, M. R. Ishaks

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Sandwich structures based on cellular cores are increasingly being utilized as energy-absorbing components in the industry. However, determining ideal structural configurations remains challenging. This chapter compares the compression properties of flax fiber-reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) of empty honeycomb core, foam-filled honeycomb and double cell wall square interlocking core sandwich structure under quasi-static compression loading. The square interlocking core is fabricated through a slotting technique, whereas the honeycomb core is made using a corrugated mold that was initially used to create the corrugated core composite profile, which is then cut into corrugated webs and assembled to form the honeycomb core. The sandwich structures are tested at a crosshead displacement rate of 2 mm/min. The experimental results showed that honeycomb outperformed the square interlocking core in terms of their strength capability and SEA by around 14% and 34%, respectively. It is observed that the foam-filled honeycomb collapse in a progressive mode, exhibiting noticeable advantages over the empty honeycomb; this is attributed to the interaction between the honeycomb wall and foam filler. Interestingly, the average SEAs of foam-filled and empty honeycomb cores have no significant difference, around 8.7kJ/kg and 8.2kJ/kg, respectively. In contrast, its strength capability is clearly pronounced, in which the foam-filled core outperforms the empty counterparts by around 33%. Finally, the results for empty and foam-filled cores were significantly superior to aluminum cores published in the literature.

Keywords: compressive strength, flax, honeycomb core, specific energy absorption

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Beata Kaczmarek-Szczepańska, Lidia Zasada

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Marine collagens such as fish skin, bone, cartilage, and scales, including both marine vertebrates and invertebrates sources, are more bioavailable compared to bovine or porcine collagen and have a higher absorption capability and more rapid bloodstream circulation due to their low molecular weight and small particle size. Fish skin may be used as a source of bioactive compounds. The advantage is that fish skin is a by-product of the food industry. The subject of the study is a lyophilizate consisting of a mixture of compounds from the group of glycosaminoglycans and collagen obtained as a result of processing fish skins. Bioactive compounds may find biomedical use in the production of dressing materials for wounds or in tissue engineering for the production of scaffolds for cells. Collagen and glycosaminoglycans were isolated from Salmo salar skin. The final mixture was obtained by the freeze-drying method. In the obtained lyophilizate, the content of amino acids was studied as well as the presence of polysaccharides. The studies showed the presence of glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, which are the main amino acids of collagen. The HPLC analysis showed the presence of glucose which is a product of polysaccharides hydrolyzation and then reduction of glucuronic acid. It may be assumed that the lyophilizate contains both collagen and polysaccharide, which is probably hyaluronic acid. Acknowledgment: This work was carried out as a result of research project no. TANGO-V-A/0020/2021 financed by the National Centre for Research and Development.

Keywords: collagen, glycosaminoglycans, bioactive compounds, fish skin

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Yuchen Chen, Dehong Li, Bin Li, Denis Rodrigue, Xiaodong (Alice) Wang

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When selecting insulation materials, not only should their thermal efficiency be considered, but also their impact on the environment. Compared to conventional insulation materials, bio-based materials not only have comparable thermal performance, but they also have a lower embodied energy. Sheep wool has the advantages of low negative health impact, high fire resistance, eco-friendliness, and high moisture resistance. However, studies on applying sheep wool insulation in cold and humid climates are still insufficient. The purpose of this study is to simulate the hygrothermal performance of sheep wool insulation for the Quebec City climate, as well as analyze the mold growth risks. The results show that a sheep wool wall has better thermal performance than a reference wall and that both meet the minimum requirements of the Quebec Code for the thermal performance of above-ground walls. The total water content indicates that the sheep wool wall can reach dynamic equilibrium in the Quebec climate and can dry out. At the same time, a delay of almost four months in the maximum total water content indicates that the sheep wool wall has high moisture absorption compared to the reference wall. The hygrothermal profiles show that the sheathing-insulation interface of both walls is at the highest risk for condensation. When the interior surface gypsum was replaced by stucco, the mold index significantly dropped.

Keywords: sheep wool, water content, hygrothermal performance, mould growth risk

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Vishnu Pratap Singh Kirar

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The main aim of the communication system is to achieve maximum performance. In cognitive radio, any user or transceiver have the ability to sense best suitable channel, while the channel is not in use. It means an unlicensed user can share the spectrum of licensed user without any interference. Though the spectrum sensing consumes a large amount of energy and it can reduce by applying various artificial intelligent methods for determining proper spectrum holes. It also increases the efficiency of Cognitive Radio Network (CRN). In this survey paper, we discuss the use of different learning models and implementation of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to increase the learning and decision-making capacity of CRN without affecting bandwidth, cost and signal rate.

Keywords: artificial neural network, cognitive radio, cognitive radio networks, back propagation, spectrum sensing

Procedia PDF Downloads 609

Authors: Friday G. Okibe, Edit B. Agbaji, Victor O. Ajibola, Christain C. Onoyima

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Controlled drug delivery systems reduce dose-dependent toxicity associated with potent drugs, including anticancer drugs. In this research, hydroxyapatite (HA) and hydroxyapatite-sodium alginate nanocomposites (HASA) were successfully prepared and characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The FTIR result showed absorption peaks characteristics of pure hydroxyapatite (HA), and also confirmed the chemical interaction between hydroxyapatite and sodium alginate in the formation of the composite. Image analysis from SEM revealed nano-sized hydroxyapatite and hydroxyapatite-sodium alginate nanocomposites with irregular morphologies. Particle size increased with the formation of the nanocomposites relative to pure hydroxyapatite, with no significant change in particles morphologies. Drug loading and in-vitro drug release study were carried out using synthetic body fluid as the release medium, at pH 7.4 and 37 °C and under perfect sink conditions. The result shows that drug loading is highest for pure hydroxyapatite and decreased with increasing quantity of sodium alginate. However, the release study revealed that HASA-5%wt and HASA-20%wt presented better release profile than pure hydroxyapatite, while HASA-33%wt and HASA-50%wt have poor release profiles. This shows that Methotrexate-loaded hydroxyapatite-sodium alginate if prepared under optimal conditions is a potential carrier for effective delivery of Methotrexate.

Keywords: drug-delivery, hydroxyapatite, methotrexate, nanocomposites, sodium alginate

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Jade Martínez-Llinàs, Pere Colet

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By exploring the possible dynamical regimes in a prototypical model for mutually delay-coupled OEOs, here it is shown that two mutually coupled non-identical OEOs, besides in- and out-of-phase square-waves, can generate stable square-wave pulses synchronized at a quarter of the period (T/4) in a broad parameter region. The key point to obtain T/4 solutions is that the two OEO operate with mixed feedback, namely with negative feedback in one and positive in the other. Furthermore, the coexistence of multiple solutions provides a large degree of flexibility for tuning the frequency in the GHz range without changing any parameter. As a result the two coupled OEOs system is good candidate to be implemented for information encoding as a high-capacity memory device.

Keywords: nonlinear optics, optoelectronic oscillators, square waves, synchronization

Procedia PDF Downloads 370

Authors: Thomas Larm, Anna Wahlsten

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An international literature study has been carried out for comparison of commonly used methods for the dimensioning of transport systems and stormwater facilities for flow detention. The focus of the literature study regarding the calculation of design flow and detention has been the widely used Rational method and its underlying parameters. The impact of chosen design parameters such as return time, rain intensity, runoff coefficient, and climate factor have been studied. The parameters used in the calculations have been analyzed regarding how they can be calculated and within what limits they can be used. Data used within different countries have been specified, e.g., recommended rainfall return times, estimated runoff times, and climate factors used for different cases and time periods. The literature study concluded that the determination of runoff coefficients is the most uncertain parameter that also affects the calculated flow and required detention volume the most. Proposals have been developed for new runoff coefficients, including a new proposed method with equations for calculating runoff coefficients as a function of return time (years) and rain intensity (l/s/ha), respectively. Suggestions have been made that it is recommended not to limit the use of the Rational Method to a specific catchment size, contrary to what many design manuals recommend, with references to this. The proposed relationships between return time or rain intensity and runoff coefficients need further investigation and to include the quantification of uncertainties. Examples of parameters that have not been considered are the influence on the runoff coefficients of different dimensioning rain durations and the degree of water saturation of green areas, which will be investigated further. The influence of climate effects and design rain on the dimensioning of the stormwater facilities grassed ditches and biofilters (bio retention systems) has been studied, focusing on flow detention capacity. We have investigated how the calculated runoff coefficients regarding climate effect and the influence of changed (increased) return time affect the inflow to and dimensioning of the stormwater facilities. We have developed a smart design of ditches and biofilters that results in both high treatment and flow detention effects and compared these with the effect from dry and wet ponds. Studies of biofilters have generally before focused on treatment of pollutants, but their effect on flow volume and how its flow detention capability can improve is only rarely studied. For both the new type of stormwater ditches and biofilters, it is required to be able to simulate their performance in a model under larger design rains and future climate, as these conditions cannot be tested in the field. The stormwater model StormTac Web has been used on case studies. The results showed that the new smart design of ditches and biofilters had similar flow detention capacity as dry and wet ponds for the same facility area.

Keywords: runoff coefficients, flow detention, smart design, biofilter, ditch

Procedia PDF Downloads 87

Authors: Weidong Xia, Malgorzata Kolotylo, Xuan Tan

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This study examines the key factors that influence general practitioners’ learning and transfer of specialized arthritis knowledge and self-care techniques to patients during normal patient visits. Drawing on the theory of planed behavior and using matched survey data collected from general practitioners before and after training sessions provided by specialized orthopedic physicians, the study suggests that the general practitioner’s intention to use and transfer learned knowledge was influenced mainly by intrinsic motivation, organizational learning culture and absorptive capacity, but was not influenced by extrinsic motivation. The results provide both theoretical and practical implications.

Keywords: empirical study, healthcare knowledge management, patient self-care, physician knowledge transfer

Procedia PDF Downloads 299

Authors: Nagia Ali, R. S. R. El-Mohamedy

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The purpose of this paper is to irradiate the dyes biologically through the use of Moreinga oleifera. The study confirms the potential use of Moringa oleifera in decolourization of dyes and thus opens up a scope for future analysis pertaining to its performance in treatment of textile effluent. In this paper, the ability of natural products in removing dyes was tested using two reactive dyes and one acid dye. After a preliminary screening for dye removal capacity, a vegetal protein extract derived from Moeringa oleifera seed was fully studied. The influences of several parameters such as pH, temperature or initial dye concentration were tested and the behavior of coagulants was compared. It was found that dye removal decreased as pH increased. Temperature did not seem to have a considerable effect, while initial dye concentration appeared to be a very important variable.

Keywords: Moreinga oleifera, decolourization, waste water, reactive dyes, acid dyes

Procedia PDF Downloads 366

Authors: Kanayo Kenneth Asogwa

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The influence of the flow of nanoparticles in nanofluids across a vertical surface is significant, and its application in medical sciences, engineering, pharmaceutical, and food industries is enormous & widely published. However, the comparative examination of alumina nanoparticles with cupric nanoparticles past a rapid progressive Riga plate remains unknown. Thus, this report investigates water-based alumina and cupric nanoparticles passing through an exponentially accelerated Riga plate. Nanofluids containing copper (II) oxide (CuO) and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles are considered. The Laplace transform technique is used to solve the partial differential equations guiding the flow. The effect of various factors on skin friction coefficient, Nusselt number, velocity and temperature profiles is investigated and reported in tabular and graphical form. The upsurge of Modified Hartmann number and radiative impact improves copper (II) oxide nanofluid compared to aluminum oxide nanofluid due to Lorentz force and since CuO is a better heat conductor. At the same time, heat absorption and reactive species favor a slight decline in Alumina nanofluid than Cupric nanofluid in the thermal and velocity fields. The higher density of Cupric nanofluid is enhanced by increasing nanoparticle volume fraction over Alumina nanofluid with a decline in velocity distribution.

Keywords: alumina, cupric, nanoparticles, water-based

Procedia PDF Downloads 202

Authors: Kianoosh Samimi, Siham Kamali-Bernard, Ali Akbar Maghsoudi

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Due to the difficult placement and vibration between reinforcements of reinforced concrete and the defects that it may cause, the use of self-compacting concrete (SCC) is becoming more widespread. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is the most widely used binder in the construction industry. However, the manufacture of this cement results in a significant amount of CO₂ being released, which is detrimental to the environment. Thus, an alternative to reduce the cost of SCC is the use of more economical and environmental mineral additives in partial or total substitution of Portland cement. Our study is in this context and aims to develop SCCs both economic and ecological. Two natural pozzolans such as pumice and zeolite are chosen in this research. This research tries to answer questions including the microstructure of the two types of natural pozzolan and their influence on the mechanical properties as well as on the transport property of SCC. Based on the findings of this study, the studied zeolite is a clinoptilolite that presents higher pozzolan activity compared to pumice. However, the use of zeolite decreases the compressive strength of SCC composites. On the contrary, the compressive strength in SCC containing of pumice increases at both early and long term ages with a remarkable increase at long term. A correlation is obtained between the compressive strength with permeable pore and capillary absorption. Also, the results concerning compressive strength and transport property are well justified by evaporable and non-evaporable water content measurement. This paper shows that the substitution of Portland cement by 15% of pumice or 10% of zeolite in HSSCC is suitable in all aspects. 

Keywords: concrete, durability, pumice, SCC, transport, zeolite

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Ewa M. Boryczka

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Contemporary city is a subject to rapid economic and social changes. Therefore it requires an active policy designed to meet the diverse needs of their residents, build competitive position and capacity to compete with other cities. Competitiveness of cities depends largely on their resources, but also to a large extent, on the policies and performance of local authorities. Cooperation with private and social sectors also plays an important role, as it affects the use of resources and builds an advantage over other cities. The subject of this article is city's contemporary problems of development with particular emphasis on central areas. This issue is a starting point for reflection on the process of urban regeneration in medium size cities in Poland, as well as cooperation between various actors and their roles in the revitalization processes of Polish cities' centres.

Keywords: city, cooperation between sectors, crisis of city centres, revitalization

Procedia PDF Downloads 447

Authors: Maia Seturi, Tamari Todua

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Economic growth is seen as the increase in the production capacity of a country. It enables a country to produce more and more material wealth and social benefits. Today, the success of any product on the market is closely related to the issue of branding. The brand is a source of information for a user/consumer, which helps to simplify the choice of goods and reduce consumer risk. The paper studies the role of branding in order to promote Georgian tea brands. The main focus of the research is directed to consumer attitudes regarding Georgian tea brands. The methodology of the paper is based on marketing research. The findings study revealed that the majority of consumers prefer foreign tea brands. The final part of the article presents the main recommendations.

Keywords: marketing research, customer behavior, brand, successful brand

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: S. Shaaban, T. McNamara, S. Hudson

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This paper reports on the performance of deliberately unbalanced, reliable, non-automated and assembly lines that merge, whose workstations differ in terms of their mean operation times. Simulations are carried out on 5- and 8-station lines with 1, 2 and 4 buffer capacity units, % degrees of line imbalance of 2, 5 and 12, and 24 different patterns of means imbalance. Data on two performance measures, namely throughput and average buffer level were gathered, statistically analysed and compared to a merging balanced line counterpart. It was found that the best configurations are a balanced line arrangement and a monotone decreasing order for each of the parallel merging lines, with the first generally resulting in a lower throughput and the second leading to a lower average buffer level than those of a balanced line.

Keywords: average buffer level, merging lines, simulation, throughput, unbalanced

Procedia PDF Downloads 322

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

Abstract:

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

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Authors: M. M. Othman, Walid El-Khattam, Y. G. Hegazy, A. Y. Abdelaziz

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This paper presents a method for finding the optimal location and capacity of dispatchable DGs connected to the distribution feeders for optimal planning for a specified power loss without violating the system practical constraints. The distributed generation units in the proposed algorithm is modeled as voltage controlled node with the flexibility to be converted to constant power node in case of reactive power limit violation. The proposed algorithm is implemented in MATLAB and tested on the IEEE 37-nodes feeder. The results that are validated by comparing it with results obtained from other competing methods show the effectiveness, accuracy and speed of the proposed method.

Keywords: distributed generators, firefly technique, optimization, power loss

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Authors: Chansiri Singhtaun

Abstract:

This paper proposes a mathematical model and examines the performance of an exact algorithm for a location–transportation problems in humanitarian relief. The model determines the number and location of distribution centers in a relief network, the amount of relief supplies to be stocked at each distribution center and the vehicles to take the supplies to meet the needs of disaster victims under capacity restriction, transportation and budgetary constraints. The computational experiments are conducted on the various sizes of problems that are generated. Branch and bound algorithm is applied for these problems. The results show that this algorithm can solve problem sizes of up to three candidate locations with five demand points and one candidate location with up to twenty demand points without premature termination.

Keywords: disaster response, facility location, humanitarian relief, transportation

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Authors: Manoj Kumar Mahapatra, Arvind Kumar

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Batch adsorption experiments were carried out for the removal of phenol from its aqueous solution using water hyancith activated carbon (WHAC) as an adsorbent. The sorption kinetics were analysed using pseudo-first order kinetics and pseudo-second order model, and it was observed that the sorption data tend to fit very well in pseudo-second order model for the entire sorption time. The experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Equilibrium data fitted well to the Freundlich model with a maximum biosorption capacity of 31.45 mg/g estimated using Langmuir model. The adsorption intensity 3.7975 represents a favorable adsorption condition.

Keywords: adsorption, isotherm, kinetics, phenol

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Authors: Robert Grzeszczak

Abstract:

The article deals with one of the most significant issues concerning the functioning of the public sector in the European Union. The objectives of good governance were formulated by the EU itself and also the Scholars in reaction to the discussion that started a decade ago and concerned the role of the government in 21st century, the future of integration processes and globalization challenges in Europe. Currently, the concept of good governance is mainly associated with the improvement of management of public policies in the European Union, concerning both domestic and EU policies. However, it goes beyond the issues of state capacity and effectiveness of management. Good governance relates also to societal participation in the public administration and verification of decisions made in public authorities’ (including public administration). Indirectly, the concept and practice of good governance are connected to societal legitimisation of public bodies in the European Union.

Keywords: good governance, government, European law, European Union

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Authors: Mark Jackson

Abstract:

Description: This paper is based on an theoretical analysis of the efficacy of the dominant model of policing in western jurisdictions. Those results are then compared with a similar analysis of a traditional reactive model. It is found that neither model provides for optimal delivery of services. Instead optimal service can be achieved by a synchronous hybrid model, termed the Convectory Policing approach. Methodology and Findings: For over three decades problem oriented policing (PO) has been the dominant model for western police agencies. Initially based on the work of Goldstein during the 1970s the problem oriented framework has spawned endless variants and approaches, most of which embrace a problem solving rather than a reactive approach to policing. This has included the Area Policing Concept (APC) applied in many smaller jurisdictions in the USA, the Scaled Response Policing Model (SRPM) currently under trial in Western Australia and the Proactive Pre-Response Approach (PPRA) which has also seen some success. All of these, in some way or another, are largely based on a model that eschews a traditional reactive model of policing. Convectory Policing (CP) is an alternative model which challenges the underpinning assumptions which have seen proliferation of the PO approach in the last three decades and commences by questioning the economics on which PO is based. It is argued that in essence, the PO relies on an unstated, and often unrecognised assumption that resources will be available to meet demand for policing services, while at the same time maintaining the capacity to deploy staff to develop solutions to the problems which were ultimately manifested in those same calls for service. The CP model relies on the observations from a numerous western jurisdictions to challenge the validity of that underpinning assumption, particularly in fiscally tight environment. In deploying staff to pursue and develop solutions to underpinning problems, there is clearly an opportunity cost. Those same staff cannot be allocated to alternative duties while engaged in a problem solution role. At the same time, resources in use responding to calls for service are unavailable, while committed to that role, to pursue solutions to the problems giving rise to those same calls for service. The two approaches, reactive and PO are therefore dichotomous. One cannot be optimised while the other is being pursued. Convectory Policing is a pragmatic response to the schism between the competing traditional and contemporary models. If it is not possible to serve either model with any real rigour, it becomes necessary to taper an approach to deliver specific outcomes against which success or otherwise might be measured. CP proposes that a structured roster-driven approach to calls for service, combined with the application of what is termed a resource-effect response capacity has the potential to resolve the inherent conflict between traditional and models of policing and the expectations of the community in terms of community policing based problem solving models.

Keywords: policing, reactive, proactive, models, efficacy

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