Search results for: color removal

Authors: Magdalena Diaka, Paweł Mazierski, Joanna Żebrowska, Michał Winiarski, Tomasz Klimczuk, Adriana Zaleska-Medynska

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During the last years, TiO2 nanotubes have been widely studied due to their unique highly ordered array structure, unidirectional charge transfer and higher specific surface area compared to conventional TiO2 powder. These photoactive materials, in the form of thin layer, can be activated by low powered and low cost irradiation sources (such as LEDs) to remove VOCs, microorganism and to deodorize air streams. This is possible due to their directly growth on a support material and high surface area, which guarantee enhanced photon absorption together with an extensive adsorption of reactant molecules on the photocatalyst surface. TiO2 nanotubes exhibit also lots of other attractive properties, such as potential enhancement of electron percolation pathways, light conversion, and ion diffusion at the semiconductor-electrolyte interface. Pure TiO2 nanotubes were previously used to remove organic compounds from the gas phase as well as in water splitting reaction. The major factors limiting the use of TiO2 nanotubes, which have not been fully overcome, are their relatively large band gap (3-3,2 eV) and high recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Many different strategies were proposed to solve this problem, however titania nanostructures containing incorporated metal oxides like Ag2O shows very promising, new optical and photocatalytic properties. Unfortunately, there is still very limited number of reports regarding application of TiO2/MxOy nanostructures. In the present work, we prepared TiO2/Ag2O nanotubes obtained by anodization of Ti-Ag alloys containing 5, 10 and 15 wt. % Ag. Photocatalysts prepared in this way were characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), luminescence spectroscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The activities of new TiO2/Ag2O were examined by photocatalytic degradation of toluene in gas phase reaction and phenol in aqueous phase using 1000 W Xenon lamp (Oriel) and light emitting diodes (LED) as a irradiation sources. Additionally efficiency of bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) removal from the gas phase was estimated. The number of surviving bacteria was determined by the serial twofold dilution microtiter plate method, in Tryptic Soy Broth medium (TSB, GibcoBRL).

Keywords: photocatalysis, antibacterial properties, titania nanotubes, new TiO2/MxOy nanostructures

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Authors: Omar Faruqe Hamim, M. Shamsul Hoque, Rich C. McIlroy, Katherine L. Plant, Neville A. Stanton

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Road safety has become an alarming issue, especially in low-middle income developing countries. The traditional approaches lack the out of the box thinking, making engineers confined to applying usual techniques in making roads safer. A socio-technical approach has recently been introduced in improving road intersections through designing with intent. This Design With Intent (DWI) approach aims to give practitioners a more nuanced approach to design and behavior, working with people, people’s understanding, and the complexities of everyday human experience. It's a collection of design patterns —and a design and research approach— for exploring the interactions between design and people’s behavior across products, services, and environments, both digital and physical. Through this approach, it can be seen that how designing with people in behavior change can be applied to social and environmental problems, as well as commercially. It has a total of 101 cards across eight different lenses, such as architectural, error-proofing, interaction, ludic, perceptual, cognitive, Machiavellian, and security lens each having its own distinct characteristics of extracting ideas from the participant of this approach. For this research purpose, a three-legged accident blackspot intersection of a national highway has been chosen to perform the DWI workshop. Participants from varying fields such as civil engineering, naval architecture and marine engineering, urban and regional planning, and sociology actively participated for a day long workshop. While going through the workshops, the participants were given a preamble of the accident scenario and a brief overview of DWI approach. Design cards of varying lenses were distributed among 10 participants and given an hour and a half for brainstorming and generating ideas to improve the safety of the selected intersection. After the brainstorming session, the participants spontaneously went through roundtable discussions regarding the ideas they have come up with. According to consensus of the forum, ideas were accepted or rejected. These generated ideas were then synthesized and agglomerated to bring about an improvement scheme for the intersection selected in our study. To summarize the improvement ideas from DWI approach, color coding of traffic lanes for separate vehicles, channelizing the existing bare intersection, providing advance warning traffic signs, cautionary signs and educational signs motivating road users to drive safe, using textured surfaces at approach with rumble strips before the approach of intersection were the most significant one. The motive of this approach is to bring about new ideas from the road users and not just depend on traditional schemes to increase the efficiency, safety of roads as well and to ensure the compliance of road users since these features are being generated from the minds of users themselves.

Keywords: design with intent, road safety, human experience, behavior

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Authors: Sidra Suleman, Maliha Suleman, Stephen Brindley

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Oral rehabilitation of head and neck cancer patients plays a crucial role in the quality of life for such individuals post-treatment. Placement of dental implants or implant-retained prostheses can help restore oral function and aesthetics, which is often compromised following surgery. Conventional prosthodontic techniques can be insufficient in rehabilitating such patients due to their altered anatomy and reduced oral competence. Hence, there is a strong clinical need for the placement of dental implants. With an increasing incidence of head and neck cancer patients, the demand for such treatment is rising. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the survival rate of dental implants in head and neck cancer patients placed at the Restorative and Maxillofacial Department, Royal Stoke University Hospital (RSUH), United Kingdom. Methodology: All patients who received dental implants between January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2020 were identified. Patients were excluded based on three criteria: 1) non-head and neck cancer patients, 2) no outpatient follow-up post-implant placement 3) provision of non-dental implants. Scanned paper notes and electronic records were extracted and analyzed. Implant survival was defined as fixtures that had remained in-situ / not required removal. Sample: Overall, 61 individuals were recruited from the 143 patients identified. The mean age was 64.9 years, with a range of 35 – 89 years. The sample included 37 (60.7%) males and 24 (39.3%) females. In total, 211 implants were placed, of which 40 (19.0%) were in the maxilla, 152 (72.0%) in the mandible and 19 (9.0%) in autogenous bone graft sites. Histologically 57 (93.4%) patients had squamous cell carcinoma, with 43 (70.5%) patients having either stage IVA or IVB disease. As part of treatment, 42 (68.9%) patients received radiotherapy, which was carried out post-operatively for 29 (69.0%) cases. Whereas 21 (34.4%) patients underwent chemotherapy, 13 (61.9%) of which were post-operative. The Median follow-up period was 21.9 months with a range from 0.9 – 91.4 months. During the study, 23 (37.7%) patients died and their data was censored beyond the date of death. Results: In total, four patients who had received radiotherapy had one implant failure each. Two mandibular implants failed secondary to osteoradionecrosis, and two maxillary implants did not survive as a result of failure to osseointegrate. The overall implant survival rates were 99.1% at three years and 98.1% at both 5 and 7 years. Conclusions: Although this data shows that implant failure rates are low, it highlights the difficulty in predicting which patients will be affected. Future studies involving larger cohorts are warranted to further analyze factors affecting outcomes.

Keywords: oncology, dental implants, survival, restorative

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Authors: Homyr L. Garcia, Jr., Anne Margaret A. Rendon, Carla Michaela B. Taguinod

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Nothing is constant in this world but change. This is the reality wherein a lot of people fail to recognize and maybe, it is because of the fact that some see things that are happening with little value or no value at all until it’s gone. For the past years, Egypt was known for its stable government. It was able to withstand a lot of problems and crisis which challenged their country in ways which can never be imagined. In the present time, it seems like in just a snap of a finger, the said stability vanished and it was immediately replaced by a crisis which resulted to a failure in some parts of their government. In addition, this problem continued to worsen and the current situation of Egypt is just a reflection or a result of it. On the other hand, as the researchers continued to study the reasons why the government of Egypt is unstable, they concluded that there might be a possibility that they will be able to produce ways in which their country could be helped or improved. The instability of the government of Egypt is the product of combining all the problems which affects the lives of the people. Some of the reasons that the researchers found are the following: 1) unending doubts of the people regarding the ruling capacity of elected presidents, 2) removal of President Mohamed Morsi in position, 3) economic crisis, 4) a lot of protests and revolution happened, 5) resignation of the long term President Hosni Mubarak and 6) the office of the President is most likely available only to the chosen successor. Also, according to previous researches, there are two plausible scenarios for the instability of Egypt: 1) a military intervention specifically the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces or SCAF, resulting from a contested succession and 2) an Islamist push for political power which highlights the claim that religion is a hindrance towards the development of their country and government. From the eight possible reasons, the researchers decided that they will be focusing on economic crisis since the instability is more clearly seen in the country’s economy which directly affects the people and the government itself. In addition, they made a hypothesis which states that stable economy is a prerequisite towards a stable government. If they will be able to show how this claim is true by using the Social Autopsy Research Design for the qualitative method and Pearson’s correlation coefficient for the quantitative method, the researchers might be able to produce a proposal on how Egypt can stabilize their government and avoid such problems. Also, the hypothesis will be based from the Rational Action Theory which is a theory for understanding and modeling social and economy as well as individual behavior.

Keywords: Pearson’s correlation coefficient, rational action theory, social autopsy research design, supreme council of the armed forces (SCAF)

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Authors: O. Eso, M. Mohammadi, J. Darkwa, J. Calautit

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Residential buildings are responsible for 22% of the global end-use energy demand and 17% of global CO₂ emissions. Tropical climates particularly present higher latent heat gains, leading to more cooling loads. However, the cooling processes are all based on conventional mechanical air conditioning systems which are energy and carbon intensive technologies. Passive cooling systems have in the past been considered as alternative technologies for minimizing energy consumption in buildings. Nevertheless, replacing mechanical cooling systems with passive ones will require a careful assessment of the passive cooling system heat transfer to determine if suitable to outperform their conventional counterparts. This is because internal heat gains, indoor-outdoor heat transfer, and heat transfer through envelope affects the performance of passive cooling systems. While many studies have investigated sensible heat transfer in passive cooling systems, not many studies have focused on their latent heat transfer capabilities. Furthermore, combining heat prevention, heat modulation and heat dissipation to passively cool indoor spaces in the tropical climates is critical to achieve thermal comfort. Since passive cooling systems use only one of these three approaches at a time, integrating more than one passive cooling system for effective indoor latent heat removal while still saving energy is studied. This study is a systematic review of recently published peer review journals on integrated passive cooling systems for tropical residential buildings. The missing links in the experimental and numerical studies with regards to latent heat reduction interventions are presented. Energy simulation studies of integrated passive cooling systems in tropical residential buildings are also discussed. The review has shown that comfortable indoor environment is attainable when two or more passive cooling systems are integrated in tropical residential buildings. Improvement occurs in the heat transfer rate and cooling performance of the passive cooling systems when thermal energy storage systems like phase change materials are included. Integrating passive cooling systems in tropical residential buildings can reduce energy consumption by 6-87% while achieving up to 17.55% reduction in indoor heat flux. The review has highlighted a lack of numerical studies regarding passive cooling system performance in tropical savannah climates. In addition, detailed studies are required to establish suitable latent heat transfer rate in passive cooling ventilation devices under this climate category. This should be considered in subsequent studies. The conclusions and outcomes of this study will help researchers understand the overall energy performance of integrated passive cooling systems in tropical climates and help them identify and design suitable climate specific options for residential buildings.

Keywords: energy savings, latent heat, passive cooling systems, residential buildings, tropical residential buildings

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Authors: Al Sayed Al Soudy, Valeria Maselli, Gianluca Polese, Anna Di Cosmo

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Cephalopods are considered as a model organism with a rich behavioral repertoire. Sophisticated behaviors were widely studied and described in different species such as Octopus vulgaris, who has evolved the largest and more complex nervous system among invertebrates. In O. vulgaris, cognitive abilities in problem-solving tasks and learning abilities are associated with long-term memory and spatial memory, mediated by highly developed sensory organs. They are equipped with sophisticated eyes, able to discriminate colors even with a single photoreceptor type, vestibular system, ‘lateral line analogue’, primitive ‘hearing’ system and olfactory organs. They can recognize chemical cues either through direct contact with odors sources using suckers or by distance through the olfactory organs. Cephalopods are able to detect widespread waterborne molecules by the olfactory organs. However, many volatile odorant molecules are insoluble or have a very low solubility in water, and must be perceived by direct contact. O. vulgaris, equipped with many chemosensory neurons located in their suckers, exhibits a peculiar behavior that can be provocatively described as 'smell by touch'. The aim of this study is to establish the priority given to chemical vs. visual perception in food choice. Materials and methods: Three different types of food (anchovies, clams, and mussels) were used, and all sessions were recorded with a digital camera. During the acclimatization period, Octopuses were exposed to the three types of food to test their natural food preferences. Later, to verify if food preference is maintained, food was provided in transparent screw-jars with pierced lids to allow both visual and chemical recognition of the food inside. Subsequently, we tested alternatively octopuses with food in sealed transparent screw-jars and food in blind screw-jars with pierced lids. As a control, we used blind sealed jars with the same lid color to verify a random choice among food types. Results and discussion: During the acclimatization period, O. vulgaris shows a higher preference for anchovies (60%) followed by clams (30%), then mussels (10%). After acclimatization, using the transparent and pierced screw jars octopus’s food choices resulted in 50-50 between anchovies and clams, avoiding mussels. Later, guided by just visual sense, with transparent but not pierced jars, their food preferences resulted in 100% anchovies. With pierced but not transparent jars their food preference resulted in 100% anchovies as first food choice, the clams as a second food choice result (33.3%). With no possibility to select food, neither by vision nor by chemoreception, the results were 20% anchovies, 20% clams, and 60% mussels. We conclude that O. vulgaris uses both chemical and visual senses in an integrative way in food choice, but if we exclude one of them, it appears clear that its food preference relies on chemical sense more than on visual perception.

Keywords: food choice, Octopus vulgaris, olfaction, sensory organs, visual sense

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Authors: Olumuyiwa Ayoola Kokapi, Olugbenga Solomon Bello

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Dyes are organic compounds with complex aromatic molecular structure that resulted in fast colour on a substance. Dye effluent found in wastewater generated from the dyeing industries is one of the greatest contributors to water pollution. Groundnut hull (GH) is an agricultural material that constitutes waste in the environment. Environmental contamination by hazardous organic chemicals is an urgent problem, which is partially solved through adsorption technologies. The choice of groundnut hull was promised on the understanding that some materials of agricultural origin have shown potentials to act as Adsorbate for hazardous organic chemicals. The aim of this research is to evaluate the potential of groundnut hull to adsorb Crystal violet dye through kinetic, isotherm and thermodynamic studies. The prepared groundnut hulls was characterized using Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Operational parameters such as contact time, initial dye concentration, pH, and effect of temperature were studied. Equilibrium time for the adsorption process was attained in 80 minutes. Adsorption isotherms used to test the adsorption data were Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms model. Thermodynamic parameters such as ∆G°, ∆H°, and ∆S° of the adsorption processes were determined. The results showed that the uptake of dye by groundnut hulls occurred at a faster rate, corresponding to an increase in adsorption capacity at equilibrium time of 80 min from 0.78 to 4.45 mg/g and 0.77 to 4.45mg/g with an increase in the initial dye concentration from 10 to 50 mg/L for pH 3.0 and 8.0 respectively. High regression values obtained for pseudo-second-order kinetic model, sum of square error (SSE%) values along with strong agreement between experimental and calculated values of qe proved that pseudo second-order kinetic model fitted more than pseudo first-order kinetic model. The result of Langmuir and Freundlich model showed that the adsorption data fit the Langmuir model more than the Freundlich model. Thermodynamic study demonstrated the feasibility, spontaneous and endothermic nature of the adsorption process due to negative values of free energy change (∆G) at all temperatures and positive value of enthalpy change (∆H) respectively. The positive values of ∆S showed that there was increased disorderliness and randomness at the solid/solution interface of crystal violet dye and groundnut hulls. The present investigation showed that, groundnut hulls (GH) is a good low-cost alternative adsorbent for the removal of Crystal Violet (CV) dye from aqueous solution.

Keywords: adsorption, crystal violet dye, groundnut halls, kinetics

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Authors: Sungho Kim, Jaechoul Shin, Yujin Baek

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In recent years, due to the environmental impacts and time factor, etc., various type of pavement deterioration is increasing rapidly such as crack, pothole, rutting and roughness degradation. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport maintains regular pavement condition of the highway and the national highway using the pavement condition survey equipment and structural survey equipment in Korea. Local governments that maintain local roads, farm roads, etc. are difficult to maintain the pavement condition using the pavement condition survey equipment depending on economic conditions, skills shortages and local conditions such as narrow roads. This study presents a quantitative evaluation method of the pavement condition through the visual inspection to overcome these problems of roads managed by local governments. It is difficult to evaluate rutting and roughness with the naked eye. However, the condition of cracks can be evaluated with the naked eye. Linear cracks (m), area cracks (m²) and potholes (number, m²) were investigated with the naked eye every 100 meters for survey the cracks. In this paper, crack ratio was calculated using the results of the condition of cracks and pavement condition was evaluated by calculated crack ratio. The pavement condition survey equipment also investigated the pavement condition in the same section in order to evaluate the reliability of pavement condition evaluation by the calculated crack ratio. The pavement condition was evaluated through the SPI (Seoul Pavement Index) and calculated crack ratio using results of field survey. The results of a comparison between 'the SPI considering only crack ratio' and 'the SPI considering rutting and roughness either' using the equipment survey data showed a margin of error below 5% when the SPI is less than 5. The SPI 5 is considered the base point to determine whether to maintain the pavement condition. It showed that the pavement condition can be evaluated using only the crack ratio. According to the analysis results of the crack ratio between the visual inspection and the equipment survey, it has an average error of 1.86%(minimum 0.03%, maximum 9.58%). Economically, the visual inspection costs only 10% of the equipment survey and will also help the economy by creating new jobs. This paper advises that local governments maintain the pavement condition through the visual investigations. However, more research is needed to improve reliability. Acknowledgment: The author would like to thank the MOLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport). This work was carried out through the project funded by the MOLIT. The project name is 'development of 20mm grade for road surface detecting roadway condition and rapid detection automation system for removal of pothole'.

Keywords: asphalt pavement maintenance, crack ratio, evaluation of asphalt pavement condition, SPI (Seoul Pavement Index), visual investigation

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Authors: Chua Si Wen Alicia, Marcus Goh Tian Xi, Eunice Gan Ghee Wu, Helen Bound, Lee Liang Ying, Albert Lee

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In a world full of rapid changes, people often need a set of skills to help them navigate an ever-changing workscape. These skills, often known as “future-oriented skills,” include learning to learn, critical thinking, understanding multiple perspectives, and knowledge creation. Future-oriented skills are typically assumed to be domain-general, applicable to multiple domains, and can be cultivated through a learning approach called Dialogical Inquiry. Dialogical Inquiry is known for its benefits of making sense of multiple perspectives, encouraging critical thinking, and developing learner’s capability to learn. However, it currently exists as a quantitative tool, which makes it hard to track and compare learning processes over time. With these concerns, the present research aimed to develop and validate a quantitative tool for the Map of Dialogical Inquiry, focusing Imagining aspect of learning. The Imagining aspect four dimensions: 1) speculative/ look for alternatives, 2) risk taking/ break rules, 3) create/ design, and 4) vision/ imagine. To do so, an exploratory literature review was conducted to better understand the dimensions of Imagining. This included deep-diving into the history of the creation of the Map of Dialogical Inquiry and a review on how “Imagining” has been conceptually defined in the field of social psychology, education, and beyond. Then, we synthesised and validated scales. These scales measured the dimension of Imagination and related concepts like creativity, divergent thinking regulatory focus, and instrumental risk. Thereafter, items were adapted from the aforementioned procured scales to form items that would contribute to the preliminary version of the Imagining Scale. For scale validation, 250 participants were recruited. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) sought to establish dimensionality of the Imagining Scale with an iterative procedure in item removal. Reliability and validity of the scale’s dimensions were sought through measurements of Cronbach’s alpha, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. While CFA found that the distinction of Imagining’s four dimensions could not be validated, the scale was able to establish high reliability with a Cronbach alpha of .96. In addition, the convergent validity of the Imagining scale was established. A lack of strong discriminant validity may point to overlaps with other components of the Dialogical Map as a measure of learning. Thus, a holistic approach to forming the tool – encompassing all eight different components may be preferable.

Keywords: learning, education, imagining, pedagogy, dialogical teaching

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Authors: Adejoke Omowumi Adediran

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The commitment of African states to liberalise civil aviation in Africa through the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision of 1999 was reiterated in 2015 at the African Union Assembly meeting. A declaration was made by African Heads of government at the meeting to ensure the immediate implementation of the decision towards the establishment of a Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) by 2017. A SAATM will imply among others, a removal of all commercial restrictions for African airlines in Africa; access to any route in Africa by African airlines without any required permit or authorisation; and a common set of regulations for airlines in African member states. As the envisioned 2017 date for launching the SAATM could not be met, a new date of January 2018 has been set. The lack of political will by African States, however, remains a prominent challenge to the realisation of the SAATM. As at June 2017, only twenty-one states had signed the commitment to actualise the decision creating the SAATM. In actualisation of the SAATM, a regulatory framework has been established to efficiently manage the new African airline industry, and regulatory texts have been adopted as part of the legal regime. This legal regime is to regulate both interstate and domestic operations. Airlines in Nigeria are currently faced with certain challenges which ultimately affect their effectiveness and passengers as well do not enjoy utmost customer satisfaction with services rendered by the airlines. Although Nigeria has demonstrated support for the SAATM since 2015, as Nigeria alongside ten other states, signed the initial commitment, whether or not SAATM will eventually be beneficial to airlines and passengers has become an issue in the light of the challenges of the Nigerian airline industry. Remarkably, the benefit of the SAATM is to a large extent ultimately determined by its legal framework. Using doctrinal research, this paper examines the legal implications of the SAATM on airlines and passengers in Nigeria. This paper analyses the legal framework of SAATM and juxtaposes this with the particular issues affecting airlines and passengers in Nigeria such as financial difficulties on the part of airlines and consumer protection as regards passengers. Among others, it can be asserted that the legal regime affords an opportunity for business expansion and creates a fair environment for competition. This is beneficial not only to the airlines but to passengers as well. In addition, in the interest of passengers, consumer rights are prescribed, and the regulations also cater for situations where airlines interrupt their services, as losses arising from these situations will be mitigated. There is indeed no doubt that the SAATM will be of great utility to both airlines and passengers in Nigeria.

Keywords: airlines, civil aviation, competition, consumer protection, passengers, single African air transport market, yamoussoukro decision

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Authors: Avent Grange, Frederic Bertrand, Jean-Baptiste Droin, Amandine Marrel, Jean-Henry Ferrasse, Olivier Boutin

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CEA and its industrial partners are designing a gas Power Conversion System (PCS) based on a Brayton cycle for the ASTRID Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor. Investigations of control and regulation requirements to operate this PCS during operating, incidental and accidental transients are necessary to adapt core heat removal. To this aim, we developed a methodology to optimize the thermal-hydraulic behavior of the reactor during normal operations, incidents and accidents. This methodology consists of a multi-objective optimization for a specific sequence, whose aim is to increase component lifetime by reducing simultaneously several thermal stresses and to bring the reactor into a stable state. Furthermore, the multi-objective optimization complies with safety and operating constraints. Operating, incidental and accidental sequences use specific regulations to control the thermal-hydraulic reactor behavior, each of them is defined by a setpoint, a controller and an actuator. In the multi-objective problem, the parameters used to solve the optimization are the setpoints and the settings of the controllers associated with the regulations included in the sequence. In this way, the methodology allows designers to define an optimized and specific control strategy of the plant for the studied sequence and hence to adapt PCS piloting at its best. The multi-objective optimization is performed by evolutionary algorithms coupled to surrogate models built on variables computed by the thermal-hydraulic system code, CATHARE2. The methodology is applied to a loss of off-site power sequence. Three variables are controlled: the sodium outlet temperature of the sodium-gas heat exchanger, turbomachine rotational speed and water flow through the heat sink. These regulations are chosen in order to minimize thermal stresses on the gas-gas heat exchanger, on the sodium-gas heat exchanger and on the vessel. The main results of this work are optimal setpoints for the three regulations. Moreover, Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control setting is considered and efficient actuators used in controls are chosen through sensitivity analysis results. Finally, the optimized regulation system and the reactor control procedure, provided by the optimization process, are verified through a direct CATHARE2 calculation.

Keywords: gas power conversion system, loss of off-site power, multi-objective optimization, regulation, sodium fast reactor, surrogate model

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Authors: Hyuk-Jin Lee

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Even though 23 years have passed in the 21st century, nation-state and nationality-centered cultural identities are still the sentiments and ideologies that dominate the world. Nevertheless, as seen in many cases in Europe, a new perspective is needed to recognize mutual exchanges and influences and to view them as natural cultural exchanges between countries. The situation in East Asia is completely different from Europe. This is presumed to be from the long tradition of having an ethnocentric state concept for at least hundreds of years, quite different from Europe, where the concept of a nation-state was established relatively recently. In other words, unlike Europe, where active exchanges took place, the problem stems from the unique characteristics of East Asia, which has a strong tradition of finding its identity in 'difference'. Thus, it would not be hard to find cultural studies or news of the three East Asian countries emphasizing differences among one another. This applies to all cultural areas, including traditional architecture. For example, in the Korean traditional architecture field, buildings with effects from neighboring countries tend to be ignored, even if they are traditional Korean architecture. In addition to this, in the case of Korea, there seems to be one more cultural harmful aftereffect caused by the 36 years of Japanese colonial rule in the early 20th century; the obsessive filtering concept of 'it must be different from Japan'. In other words, the implicit ideological coercion that the definition of 'Korean cultural heritage' should not be influenced by exchanges with Japan may be found throughout Korean studies. The architectural and cultural aspects of the vast period of time, from the Three Kingdoms era to the beginning of Joseon, which was a period in which cultural influence exchanges with neighboring countries were relatively strong compared to the late Joseon Dynasty, also reflect the 'distorted filtering' caused by finding a repulsive identity against the Japanese colonial period. It is important to look the cultural heritage and traditions as they are inductively, not deductively. If not, we may often ignore or limit our own precious cultural heritage. Conversely, If Baekje, the ancient Korean Kingdom, helped Japan in construction and craftsmen played a big role in building the ancient temple, it would be a healthier perspective to view it as a cultural exchange rather than proudly seeing it as a cultural owner's perspective because this point of view is a proper reconstruction of our ancient and medieval Asian culture (strictly speaking, the color common to East Asia at the time). In particular, this study will examine this topic by giving specific examples from each field of Korean cultural studies. In the search for cultural identity, it would be more helpful for healthy relations between countries and collaborative research in the sensitive part of the interpretation of historical facts as well as cultural circles to minimize excessive meanings on originality and difference.

Keywords: cultural heritage identity, cultural ideology, East Asia, Korea

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Authors: Noelene Rose

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The DSM has been plagued with conceptual issues since its inception, not least discriminant validity and comorbidity issues. An attempt to remain a-theoretical in the divide between the psycho-dynamicists and the behaviourists contributed to much of this, in particular relating to the Personality Disorders. With the DSM-5, although the criterion have remained unchanged, major conceptual and structural directions have been flagged and proposed in section III. The biggest changes concern the Personality Disorders. While Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) was initially tagged for removal, instead the addition of section III proposes a move away from a categorical approach to a more dimensional approach, with a measure of Global Function of Personality. This global measure is an assessment of impairment of self-other relations; a measure of trait narcissism. In the same way mainstream psychology has struggled in its diagnosis of narcissism, so too in its treatment. Kohut’s self psychology represents the most significant inroad in theory and treatment for the narcissistic disorders. Kohut had moved away from a categorical system, towards disorders of the self. According to this theory, disorders of the self are the result of childhood trauma (impaired attunement) resulting in a developmental arrest. Self-psychological, Psychodynamic treatment of narcissism, however, is expensive, in time and money and outside the awareness or access of most people. There is more than a suggestion that narcissism is on the increase, created in trauma and worsened by a fearful world climate. A dimensional model of narcissism, from mild to severe, requires cut off points for diagnosis. But where do we draw the line? Mainstream psychology is inclined to set it high when there is some degree of impairment in functioning in daily life. Transpersonal Psychology is inclined to set it low, with the concept that we all have some degree of narcissism and that it is the point and the path of our life journey to transcend our focus on our selves. Mainstream psychology stops its focus on trait narcissism with a healthy level of self esteem, but it is at this point that Transpersonal Psychology can complement the discussion. From a Transpersonal point of view, failure to begin the process of self-transcendence will also create emotional symptoms of meaning or purpose, often later in our lives, and is also conceived of as a developmental arrest. The maps for this transcendence are hidden in plain sight; in the chakras of kundalini yoga, in the sacraments of the Catholic Church, in the Kabbalah tree of life of Judaism, in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, to name a few. This paper outlines some proposed research exploring the use of daily practices that can be incorporated into the therapy room; practices that utilise meditation, visualisation and imagination: that are informed by spiritual technology and guided by the psychodynamic theory of Self Psychology.

Keywords: narcissism, self-psychology, self-practice, self-transcendence

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Authors: E. Obreque-Slier, F. Orellana-Rodríguez, R. López-Solís

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Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites present in some foods, such as wine. Polyphenols comprise two main groups: flavonoids (anthocyanins, flavanols, and flavonols) and non-flavonoids (stilbenes and phenolic acids). Phenolic acids are low molecular weight non flavonoid compounds that are usually grouped into benzoic (gallic, vanillinic and protocatechuic acids) and cinnamic acids (ferulic, p-coumaric and caffeic acids). Likewise, tannic acid is an important polyphenol constituted mainly by gallic acid. Phenolic compounds are responsible for important properties in foods and drinks, such as color, aroma, bitterness, and astringency. Astringency is a drying, roughing, and sometimes puckering sensation that is experienced on the various oral surfaces during or immediately after tasting foods. Astringency perception has been associated with interactions between flavanols present in some foods and salivary proteins. Despite the quantitative relevance of phenolic acids in food and beverages, there is no information about its effect on salivary proteins and consequently on the sensation of astringency. The objective of this study was assessed the interaction of several phenolic acids (gallic, vanillinic, protocatechuic, ferulic, p-coumaric and caffeic acids) with saliva. Tannic acid was used as control. Thus, solutions of each phenolic acids (5 mg/mL) were mixed with human saliva (1:1 v/v). After incubation for 5 min at room temperature, 15-μL aliquots of the mixtures were dotted on a cellulose membrane and allowed to diffuse. The dry membrane was fixed in 50 g/L trichloroacetic acid, rinsed in 800 mL/L ethanol and stained for protein with Coomassie blue for 20 min, destained with several rinses of 73 g/L acetic acid and dried under a heat lamp. Both diffusion area and stain intensity of the protein spots were semiqualitative estimates for protein-tannin interaction (diffusion test). The rest of the whole saliva-phenol solution mixtures of the diffusion assay were centrifuged and fifteen-μL aliquots of each supernatant were dotted on a cellulose membrane, allowed to diffuse and processed for protein staining, as indicated above. In this latter assay, reduced protein staining was taken as indicative of protein precipitation (precipitation test). The diffusion of the salivary protein was restricted by the presence of each phenolic acids (anti-diffusive effect), while tannic acid did not alter diffusion of the salivary protein. By contrast, phenolic acids did not provoke precipitation of the salivary protein, while tannic acid produced precipitation of salivary proteins. In addition, binary mixtures (mixtures of two components) of various phenolic acids with gallic acid provoked a restriction of saliva. Similar effect was observed by the corresponding individual phenolic acids. Contrary, binary mixtures of phenolic acid with tannic acid, as well tannic acid alone, did not affect the diffusion of the saliva but they provoked an evident precipitation. In summary, phenolic acids showed a relevant interaction with the salivary proteins, thus suggesting that these wine compounds can also contribute to the sensation of astringency.

Keywords: astringency, polyphenols, tannins, tannin-protein interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 245

Authors: Pomila Sharma

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Rajasthan is among regions with greatest climate sensitivity and lowest adaptive capabilities. In many parts of the Rajasthan surface water which can be highly turbid and contaminated with fecal coliform bacteria is used for drinking purposes. The majority rely almost exclusively upon traditional sources of highly turbid and untreated pathogenic surface water for their domestic water needs. In many parts of rural areas of Rajasthan, it is still difficult to obtain clean water, especially remote habitations with no groundwater due to quality issues or depletion and limited feasibility to connect with surface water schemes due to low density of population in these areas to justify large infrastructure investment. The most viable sources are rain water harvesting, community managed open wells, private wells, ponds and small-scale irrigation reservoirs have often been the main traditional sources of rural drinking water. Turbidity is conventionally removed by treating the water with expensive chemicals. This study has to investigate the use of crushed seeds from the tree Moringa oleifera (drumstick) as a natural alternative to conventional coagulant chemicals. The use of Moringa oleifera seed powder can produce potable water of higher quality than the original source. Moringa oleifera a native species of northern India, the tree is now grown extensively throughout the tropics and found in many countries of Africa, Asia & South America. The seeds of tree contains significant quantities of low molecular weight, water soluble proteins which carries the positive charge when the crushed seeds are added to water. This protein binds in raw water with negatively charged turbid water with bacteria, clay, algae, etc. Under proper mixing, these particles make flocks, which may be left to settle by gravity or be removed by filtration. Using Moringa oleifera as a replacement coagulation in such surface sources of arid and semi-arid areas can meet the need for water purification in remote places of Rajasthan state of India. The present study accesses to find out laboratory based investigation of the effect of seeds of Moringa tree on its coagulation effectiveness (purification) using turbid water samples of surface source of the Rajasthan state. In this study, moringa seed powder showed that filtering with seed powder may diminish water pollution and bacterial counts. Results showed Moringa oleifera seeds coagulate 90-95% of turbidity and color efficiently leading to an aesthetically clear supernatant & reduced about 85-90% of bacterial load reduction in samples.

Keywords: bacterial load, coagulant, turbidity, water purification

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Mebruka Mohammed, Daniel Bisrat, Asfaw Debella, Tarekegn Birhanu

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Lack of quality control standards for medicinal plants and their preparations is considered major barrier to their integration in to effective primary health care in Ethiopia. Poor quality herbal preparations led to countless adverse reactions extending to death. Denial of penetration for the Ethiopian medicinal plants in to the world’s booming herbal market is also another significant loss resulting from absence of herbal quality control system. Thus, in the present study, Gnidia stenophylla Gilg (popular antimalarial plant of south eastern Ethiopia), is standardized and a full monograph is produced that can serve as a guideline in quality control of the crude drug. Morphologically, the roots are found to be cylindrical and tapering towards the end. It has a hard, corky and friable touch with saddle brown color externally and it is relatively smooth and pale brown internally. It has got characteristic pungent odor and very bitter taste. Microscopically it has showed lignified xylem vessels, wider medullary rays with some calcium oxalate crystals, reddish brown secondary metabolite contents and slender shaped long fibres. Physicochemical standards quantified and resulted: foreign matter (5.25%), moisture content (6.69%), total ash (40.80%), acid insoluble ash (8.00%), water soluble ash (2.30%), alcohol soluble extractive (15.27%), water soluble extractive (10.98%), foaming index (100.01 ml/g), swelling index (7.60 ml/g). Phytochemically: Phenols, flavonoids, steroids, tannins and saponins were detected in the root extract; TLC and HPLC fingerprints were produced and an analytical marker was also tentatively characterized as 3-(3,4-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxy-5-methylhex-1-en-2-yl)-7-methoxy-4-oxo-2H-chromen-8-yl)-5-hydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-7-methoxy-4H-chromen-4-one. Residue wise pesticides (i.e. DDT, DDE, g-BHC) and radiochemical levels fall below the WHO limit while Heavy metals (i.e. Co, Ni, Cr, Pb, and Cu), total aerobic count and fungal load lie way above the WHO limit. In conclusion, the result can be taken as signal that employing non standardized medicinal plants could cause many health risks of the Ethiopian people and Africans’ at large (as 80% of inhabitants in the continent depends on it for primary health care). Therefore, following a more universal approach to herbal quality by adopting the WHO guidelines and developing monographs using the various quality parameters is inevitable to minimize quality breach and promote effective herbal drug usage.

Keywords: Gnidia stenophylla Gilg, standardization/monograph, pharmacognostic, residue/impurity, quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: Maria De Albuquerque Bercot, Caio Gustavo Mesquita Angelo, Daniela Maria Moreira Siqueira, Augusto Assucena De Vasconcellos, Rodrigo Studart Correa

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Mining is an important socioeconomic activity in Brazil although it negatively impacts the environment. Mineral operations cause irreversible changes in topography, removal of vegetation and topsoil, habitat destruction, displacement of fauna, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, siltation of watercourses and have potential to enhance climate change. Due to the impacts and its pollution potential, mining activity in Brazil is legally subjected to environmental licensing. Unlicensed mining operations or operations that not abide to the terms of an obtained license are taken as environmental crimes in the country. This work reports a case analyzed in the Forensic Institute of the Brazilian Federal District Civil Police. The case consisted of detecting illegal aspects of sand exploitation from a licensed mine in Federal District, nearby Brasilia city. The fieldwork covered an area of roughly 6 ha, which was surveyed with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (PHANTOM 3 ADVANCED). The overflight with UAV took about 20 min, with maximum flight height of 100 m. 592 UAV georeferenced images were obtained and processed in a photogrammetric software (AGISOFT PHOTOSCAN 1.1.4), which generated a mosaic of geo-referenced images and a 3D model in less than six working hours. The 3D model was analyzed in a forensic software for accurate modeling and volumetric analysis. (MAPTEK I-SITE FORENSIC 2.2). To ensure the 3D model was a true representation of the mine site, coordinates of ten control points and reference measures were taken during fieldwork and compared to respective spatial data in the model. Finally, these spatial data were used for measuring mining area, excavation depth and volume of exploited sand. Results showed that mine holder had not complied with some terms and conditions stated in the granted license, such as sand exploration beyond authorized extension, depth and volume. Easiness, the accuracy and expedition of procedures used in this case highlight the employment of UAV imagery and computational photogrammetry as efficient tools for outdoor forensic exams, especially on environmental issues.

Keywords: computational photogrammetry, environmental monitoring, mining, UAV

Procedia PDF Downloads 316

Authors: S. Arias

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New housing developments and the technological changes that this implies, adapt the styles of living of its residents, as well as new family structures and forms of work due to the particular needs of a specific group of people which involves different techniques of dealing with, organize, equip and use a particular territory. Currently, own their own space is increasingly important and the cities are faced with the challenge of providing the opportunity for such demands, as well as energy, water and waste removal necessary in the process of construction and occupation of new human settlements. Until the day of today, not has failed to give full response to these demands and needs, resulting in cities that grow without control, badly used land, avenues and congested streets. Buildings and dwellings have an important impact on the environment and on the health of the people, therefore environmental quality associated with the comfort of humans to the sustainable development of natural resources. Applied to architecture, this concept involves the incorporation of new technologies in all the constructive process of a dwelling, changing customs of developers and users, what must be a greater effort in planning energy savings and thus reducing the emissions Greenhouse Gases (GHG) depending on the geographical location where it is planned to develop. Since the techniques of occupation of the territory are not the same everywhere, must take into account that these depend on the geographical, social, political, economic and climatic-environmental circumstances of place, which in modified according to the degree of development reached. In the analysis that must be undertaken to check the degree of sustainability of the place, it is necessary to make estimates of the energy used in artificial air conditioning and lighting. In the same way is required to diagnose the availability and distribution of the water resources used for hygiene and for the cooling of artificially air-conditioned spaces, as well as the waste resulting from these technological processes. Based on the results obtained through the different stages of the analysis, it is possible to perform an energy audit in the process of proposing recommendations of sustainability in architectural spaces in search of energy saving, rational use of water and natural resources optimization. The above can be carried out through the development of a sustainable building code in develop technical recommendations to the regional characteristics of each study site. These codes would seek to build bases to promote a building regulations applicable to new human settlements looking for is generated at the same time quality, protection and safety in them. This building regulation must be consistent with other regulations both national and municipal and State, such as the laws of human settlements, urban development and zoning regulations.

Keywords: building regulations, housing, sustainability, technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: Dechao Meng, Yongqi Dong, Qiyuan Feng, Zhangzhang Cui, Xiang Hu, Haoliang Huang, Genhao Liang, Huanhua Wang, Hua Zhou, Hawoong Hong, Jinghua Guo, Qingyou Lu, Xiaofang Zhai, Yalin Lu

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Great efforts have been taken to reveal the intrinsic origins of emerging ferromagnetism (FM) in strained LaCoO₃ (LCO) films. However, some macro magnetic performances of LCO are still not well understood and even controversial, such as magnetic anisotropy. Determining and understanding magnetic anisotropy might help to find the true causes of FM in turn. Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) was the first time to be directly observed in high-quality LCO films with different thickness. The in-plane (IP) and out of plane (OOP) remnant magnetic moment ratio of 30 unit cell (u.c.) films is as large as 20. The easy axis lays in the OOP direction with an IP/OOP coercive field ratio of 10. What's more, the PMA could be simply tuned by changing the thickness. With the thickness increases, the IP/OOP magnetic moment ratio remarkably decrease with magnetic easy axis changing from OOP to IP. Such a huge and tunable PMA performance exhibit strong potentials in fundamental researches or applications. What causes PMA is the first concern. More OOP orbitals occupation may be one of the micro reasons of PMA. A cluster-like magnetic domain pattern was found in 30 u.c. with no obvious color contrasts, similar to that of LaAlO₃/SrTiO₃ films. And the nanosize domains could not be totally switched even at a large OOP magnetic field of 23 T. It indicates strong IP characters or none OOP magnetism of some clusters. The IP magnetic domains might influence the magnetic performance and help to form PMA. Meanwhile some possible nonmagnetic clusters might be the reason why the measured moments of LCO films are smaller than the calculated values 2 μB/Co, one of the biggest confusions in LCO films.What tunes PMA seems much more interesting. Totally different magnetic domain patterns were found in 180 u.c. films with cluster magnetic domains surrounded by < 110 > cross-hatch lines. These lines were regarded as structure domain walls (DWs) determined by 3D reciprocal space mapping (RSM). Two groups of in-plane features with fourfold symmetry were observed near the film diffraction peaks in (002) 3D-RSM. One is along < 110 > directions with a larger intensity, which is well match the lines on the surfaces. The other is much weaker and along < 100 > directions, which is from the normal lattice titling of films deposited on cubic substrates. The < 110 > domain features obtained from (103) and (113) 3D-RSMs exhibit similar evolution of the DWs percentages and magnetic behavior. Structure domains and domain walls are believed to tune PMA performances by transform more IP magnetic moments to OOP. Last but not the least, thick films with lots of structure domains exhibit different electrical transport behaviors. A metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) and an angular dependent negative magnetic resistivity were observed near 150 K, higher than FM transition temperature but similar to that of spin-orbital coupling related 1/4 order diffraction peaks.

Keywords: structure domain, magnetic anisotropy, magnetic domain, domain wall, 3D-RSM, strain

Procedia PDF Downloads 152

Authors: Cibele F. Oliveira, Debora P. Jaeschke, Rodrigo R. Laurino, Amanda R. Andrade, Ligia D. F. Marczak

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Raspberry is well-known as a good source of phenolic compounds, mainly anthocyanin. Some studies pointed out the importance of these bioactive compounds consumption, which is related to the decrease of the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The most consumed raspberry products are juices, yogurts, ice creams and jellies and, to ensure the safety of these products, raspberry is commonly pasteurized, for enzyme and microorganisms inactivation. Despite being efficient, the pasteurization process can lead to degradation reactions of the bioactive compounds, decreasing the products healthy benefits. Therefore, the aim of the present work was to evaluate moderate electric field (MEF) and ultrasound (US) technologies application on the pasteurization process of raspberry juice and compare the results with conventional pasteurization process. For this, phenolic compounds, anthocyanin content and physical-chemical parameters (pH, color changes, titratable acidity) of the juice were evaluated before and after the treatments. Moreover, microbiological analyses of aerobic mesophiles microorganisms, molds and yeast were performed in the samples before and after the treatments, to verify the potential of these technologies to inactivate microorganisms. All the pasteurization processes were performed in triplicate for 10 min, using a cylindrical Pyrex® vessel with a water jacket. The conventional pasteurization was performed at 90 °C using a hot water bath connected to the extraction cell. The US assisted pasteurization was performed using 423 and 508 W cm-2 (75 and 90 % of ultrasound intensity). It is important to mention that during US application the temperature was kept below 35 °C; for this, the water jacket of the extraction cell was connected to a water bath with cold water. MEF assisted pasteurization experiments were performed similarly to US experiments, using 25 and 50 V. Control experiments were performed at the maximum temperature of US and MEF experiments (35 °C) to evaluate only the effect of the aforementioned technologies on the pasteurization. The results showed that phenolic compounds concentration in the juice was not affected by US and MEF application. However, it was observed that the US assisted pasteurization, performed at the highest intensity, decreased anthocyanin content in 33 % (compared to in natura juice). This result was possibly due to the cavitation phenomena, which can lead to free radicals formation and accumulation on the medium; these radicals can react with anthocyanin decreasing the content of these antioxidant compounds in the juice. Physical-chemical parameters did not present statistical differences for samples before and after the treatments. Microbiological analyses results showed that all the pasteurization treatments decreased the microorganism content in two logarithmic cycles. However, as values were lower than 1000 CFU mL-1 it was not possible to verify the efficacy of each treatment. Thus, MEF and US were considered as potential alternative technologies for pasteurization process, once in the right conditions the application of the technologies decreased microorganism content in the juice and did not affected phenolic and anthocyanin content, as well as physical-chemical parameters. However, more studies are needed regarding the influence of MEF and US processes on microorganisms’ inactivation.

Keywords: MEF, microorganism inactivation, anthocyanin, phenolic compounds

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: Alessandro Evangelista, Vito M. Manghisi, Michele Gattullo, Enricoandrea Laviola

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In this work, we propose a custom visualization technique for Out-Of-View-Objects in Virtual and Augmented Reality applications using Head Mounted Displays. In the last two decades, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies experienced a remarkable growth of applications for navigation, interaction, and collaboration in different types of environments, real or virtual. Both environments can be potentially very complex, as they can include many virtual objects located in different places. Given the natural limitation of the human Field of View (about 210° horizontal and 150° vertical), humans cannot perceive objects outside this angular range. Moreover, despite recent technological advances in AR e VR Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs), these devices still suffer from a limited Field of View, especially regarding Optical See-Through displays, thus greatly amplifying the challenge of visualizing out-of-view objects. This problem is not negligible when the user needs to be aware of the number and the position of the out-of-view objects in the environment. For instance, during a maintenance operation on a construction site where virtual objects serve to improve the dangers' awareness. Providing such information can enhance the comprehension of the scene, enable fast navigation and focused search, and improve users' safety. In our research, we investigated how to represent out-of-view-objects in HMD User Interfaces (UI). Inspired by commercial video games such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare, we designed a customized Compass. By exploiting the Unity 3D graphics engine, we implemented our custom solution that can be used both in AR and VR environments. The Compass Bar consists of a graduated bar (in degrees) at the top center of the UI. The values of the bar range from -180 (far left) to +180 (far right), the zero is placed in front of the user. Two vertical lines on the bar show the amplitude of the user's field of view. Every virtual object within the scene is represented onto the compass bar as a specific color-coded proxy icon (a circular ring with a colored dot at its center). To provide the user with information about the distance, we implemented a specific algorithm that increases the size of the inner dot as the user approaches the virtual object (i.e., when the user reaches the object, the dot fills the ring). This visualization technique for out-of-view objects has some advantages. It allows users to be quickly aware of the number and the position of the virtual objects in the environment. For instance, if the compass bar displays the proxy icon at about +90, users will immediately know that the virtual object is to their right and so on. Furthermore, by having qualitative information about the distance, users can optimize their speed, thus gaining effectiveness in their work. Given the small size and position of the Compass Bar, our solution also helps lessening the occlusion problem thus increasing user acceptance and engagement. As soon as the lockdown measures will allow, we will carry out user-tests comparing this solution with other state-of-the-art existing ones such as 3D Radar, SidebARs and EyeSee360.

Keywords: augmented reality, situation awareness, virtual reality, visualization design

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Catalina Iticescu, Lucian P. Georgescu, Mihaela Timofti, Gabriel Murariu

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Since the accumulation of large quantities of sewage sludge is producing serious environmental problems, numerous environmental specialists are looking for solutions to solve this problem. The sewage sludge obtained by treatment of municipal wastewater may be used as fertiliser on agricultural soils because such sludge contains large amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter. In many countries, sewage sludge is used instead of chemical fertilizers in agriculture, this being the most feasible method to reduce the increasingly larger quantities of sludge. The use of sewage sludge on agricultural soils is allowed only with a strict monitoring of their physical and chemical parameters, because heavy metals exist in varying amounts in sewage sludge. Exceeding maximum permitted quantities of harmful substances may lead to pollution of agricultural soil and may cause their removal aside because the plants may take up the heavy metals existing in soil and these metals will most probably be found in humans and animals through food. The sewage sludge analyzed for the present paper was extracted from the Wastewater Treatment Station (WWTP) Galati, Romania. The physico-chemical parameters determined were: pH (upH), total organic carbon (TOC) (mg L⁻¹), N-total (mg L⁻¹), P-total (mg L⁻¹), N-NH₄ (mg L⁻¹), N-NO₂ (mg L⁻¹), N-NO₃ (mg L⁻¹), Fe-total (mg L⁻¹), Cr-total (mg L⁻¹), Cu (mg L⁻¹), Zn (mg L⁻¹), Cd (mg L⁻¹), Pb (mg L⁻¹), Ni (mg L⁻¹). The determination methods were electrometrical (pH, C, TSD) - with a portable HI 9828 HANNA electrodes committed multiparameter and spectrophotometric - with a Spectroquant NOVA 60 - Merck spectrophotometer and with specific Merck parameter kits. The tests made pointed out the fact that the sludge analysed is low heavy metal falling within the legal limits, the quantities of metals measured being much lower than the maximum allowed. The results of the tests made to determine the content of nutrients in the sewage sludge have shown that the existing nutrients may be used to increase the fertility of agricultural soils. Other tests were carried out on lands where sewage sludge was applied in order to establish the maximum quantity of sludge that may be used so as not to constitute a source of pollution. The tests were made on three plots: a first batch with no mud and no chemical fertilizers applied, a second batch on which only sewage sludge was applied, and a third batch on which small amounts of chemical fertilizers were applied in addition to sewage sludge. The results showed that the production increases when the soil is treated with sludge and small amounts of chemical fertilizers. Based on the results of the present research, a fertilization plan has been suggested. This plan should be reconsidered each year based on the crops planned, the yields proposed, the agrochemical indications, the sludge analysis, etc.

Keywords: agricultural use, crops, physico–chemical parameters, sewage sludge

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Rasha Al-Saedi, Anthony Meijer

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The progress of new porous materials has increased rapidly over the past decade for use in applications such as catalysis, gas storage and removal of environmentally unfriendly species due to their high surface area and high thermal stability. In this work, a theoretical study of the zirconium-based metal organic framework (MOFs) were examined in order to determine their potential for gas adsorption of various guest molecules: CO2, N2, CH4 and H2. The zirconium cluster consists of an inner Zr6O4(OH)4 core in which the triangular faces of the Zr6- octahedron are alternatively capped by O and OH groups which bound to nine formate groups and three benzoate groups linkers. General formula is [Zr(μ-O)4(μ-OH)4(HCOO)9((phyO2C)3X))] where X= CH2OH, CH2NH2, CH2CONH2, n(NH2); (n = 1-3). Three types of adsorption sites on the Zr metal center have been studied, named according to capped chemical groups as the ‘−O site’; the H of (μ-OH) site removed and added to (μ-O) site, ‘–OH site’; (μ-OH) site removed, the ‘void site’ where H2O molecule removed; (μ-OH) from one site and H from other (μ-OH) site, in addition to no defect versions. A series of investigations have been performed aiming to address this important issue. First, density functional theory DFT-B3LYP method with 6-311G(d,p) basis set was employed using Gaussian 09 package in order to evaluate the gas adsorption performance of missing-linker defects in zirconium cluster. Next, study the gas adsorption behaviour on different functionalised zirconium clusters. Those functional groups as mentioned above include: amines, alcohol, amide, in comparison with non-substitution clusters. Then, dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT-D) calculations were performed to further understand the enhanced gas binding on zirconium clusters. Finally, study the water effect on CO2 and N2 adsorption. The small functionalized Zr clusters were found to result in good CO2 adsorption over N2, CH4, and H2 due to the quadrupole moment of CO2 while N2, CH4 and H2 weakly polar or non-polar. The adsorption efficiency was determined using the dispersion method where the adsorption binding improved as most of the interactions, for example, van der Waals interactions are missing with the conventional DFT method. The calculated gas binding strengths on the no defect site are higher than those on the −O site, −OH site and the void site, this difference is especially notable for CO2. It has been stated that the enhanced affinity of CO2 of no defect versions is most likely due to the electrostatic interactions between the negatively charged O of CO2 and the positively charged H of (μ-OH) metal site. The uptake of the gas molecule does not enhance in presence of water as the latter binds to Zr clusters more strongly than gas species which attributed to the competition on adsorption sites.

Keywords: density functional theory, gas adsorption, metal- organic frameworks, molecular simulation, porous materials, theoretical chemistry

Procedia PDF Downloads 183

Authors: M. Sulieman, H. Arabiyat, H. Ali, K. Potiszil, I. Abbas, R. English, P. King, I. Brown, P. Drew

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Introduction: The incidence of breast ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) has been increasing; it currently represents up 20-25% of all breast carcinomas. Some aspects of DCIS management are still controversial, mainly due to the heterogeneity of its clinical presentation and of its biological and pathological characteristics. In DCIS, histological diagnosis obtained preoperatively, carries the risk of sampling error if the presence of invasive cancer is subsequently diagnosed. The mammographic extent over than 4–5 cm and the presence of architectural distortion, focal asymmetric density or mass on mammography are proven important risk factors of preoperative histological under staging. Intracystic papillary cancer (IPC) is a rare form of breast carcinoma. Despite being previously compared to DCIS it has been shown to present histologically with invasion of the basement membrane and even metastasis. SLNB – Carries the risk of associated comorbidity that should be considered when planning surgery for DCIS and IPC. Objectives: The aim of this Audit was to better define a ‘high risk’ group of patients with pre-op diagnosis of non-invasive cancer undergoing breast conserving surgery, who would benefit from sentinel node biopsy. Method: Retrospective data collection of all patients with ductal carcinoma in situ over 5 years. 636 patients identified, and after exclusion criteria applied: 394 patients were included. High risk defined as: Extensive micro-calcification >40mm OR any mass forming DCIS. IPC: Winpath search from for the term ‘papillary carcinoma’ in any breast specimen for 5 years duration;.29 patients were included in this group. Results: DCIS: 188 deemed high risk due to >40mm calcification or a mass forming (radiological or palpable) 61% of those had a mastectomy and 32% BCS. Overall, in that high-risk group - the number with invasive disease was 38%. Of those high-risk DCIS pts 85% had a SLN - 80% at the time of surgery and 5% at a second operation. For the BCS patients - 42% had SLN at time of surgery and 13% (8 patients) at a second operation. 15 (7.9%) pts in the high-risk group had a positive SLNB, 11 having a mastectomy and 4 having BCS. IPC: The provisional diagnosis of encysted papillary carcinoma is upgraded to an invasive carcinoma on final histology in around a third of cases. This has may have implications when deciding whether to offer sentinel node removal at the time of therapeutic surgery. Conclusions: We have defined a ‘high risk’ group of pts with pre-op diagnosis of non-invasive cancer undergoing BCS, who would benefit from SLNB at the time of the surgery. In patients with high-risk features; the risk of invasive disease is up to 40% but the risk of nodal involvement is approximately 8%. The risk of morbidity from SLN is up to about 5% especially the risk of lymphedema.

Keywords: breast ductal carcinoma in Situ (DCIS), intracystic papillary carcinoma (IPC), sentinel node biopsy (SLNB), high-risk, non-invasive, cancer disease

Procedia PDF Downloads 109

Authors: Marina Shargorodsky

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Aim: Gestational weight gain (GWG) has been related to altering future weight-gain curves and increased risks of obesity later in life. Obesity may contribute to vascular atherosclerotic changes as well as excess cardiovascular morbidity and mortality observed in these patients. Noninvasive arterial testing, such as ultrasonographic measurement of carotid IMT, is considered a surrogate for systemic atherosclerotic disease burden and is predictive of cardiovascular events in asymptomatic individuals as well as recurrent events in patients with known cardiovascular disease. Currently, there is no consistent evidence regarding the vascular impact of excessive GWG. The present study was designed to investigate the impact of GWG on early atherosclerotic changes during late pregnancy, using intima-media thickness, as well as placental vascular circulation and inflammatory lesions and pregnancy outcomes. Methods: The study group consisted of 59 pregnant women who gave birth and underwent a placental histopathological examination at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Israel, in 2019. According to the IOM guidelines the study group has been divided into two groups: Group 1 included 32 women with pregnancy weight gain within recommended range; Group 2 included 27 women with excessive weight gain during pregnancy. The IMT was measured from non-diseased intimal and medial wall layers of the carotid artery on both sides, visualized by high-resolution 7.5 MHz ultrasound (Apogee CX Color, ATL). Placental histology subdivided placental findings to lesions consistent with maternal vascular and fetal vascular malperfusion according to the criteria of the Society for Pediatric Pathology, subdividing placental findings to lesions consistent with maternal vascular and fetal vascular malperfusion, as well as the inflammatory response of maternal and fetal origin. Results: IMT levels differed between groups and were significantly higher in Group 1 compared to Group 2 (0.7+/-0.1 vs 0.6+/-0/1, p=0.028). Multiple linear regression analysis of IMT included variables based on their associations in univariate analyses with a backward approach. Included in the model were pre-gestational BMI, HDL cholesterol and fasting glucose. The model was significant (p=0.001) and correctly classified 64.7% of study patients. In this model, pre-pregnancy BMI remained a significant independent predictor of subclinical atherosclerosis assessed by IMT (OR 4.314, 95% CI 0.0599-0.674, p=0.044). Among placental lesions related to fetal vascular malperfusion, villous changes consistent with fetal thrombo-occlusive disease (FTOD) were significantly higher in Group 1 than in Group 2, p=0.034). In Conclusion, the present study demonstrated that excessive weight gain during pregnancy is associated with an adverse effect on early stages of subclinical atherosclerosis, placental vascular circulation and neonatal complications. The precise mechanism for these vascular changes, as well as the overall clinical impact of weight control during pregnancy on IMT, placental vascular circulation as well as pregnancy outcomes, deserves further investigation.

Keywords: obesity, pregnancy, complications, weight gain

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

Authors: Ayesha Anjum, Arbaz Basha

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Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are the actively accreting centers of the galaxies that host supermassive black holes. AGN emits radiation in all wavelengths and also shows variability across all the wavelength bands. The analysis of flux variability tells us about the morphology of the site of emission radiation. Some of the major classifications of AGN are (a) Blazars, with featureless spectra. They are subclassified as BLLacertae objects, Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs), and others; (b) Seyferts with prominent emission line features are classified into Broad Line, Narrow Line Seyferts of Type 1 and Type 2 (c) quasars, and other types. Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is an optical telescope based in Mexico that has observed and classified billions of objects based on automated photometric and spectroscopic methods. A sample of blazars is obtained from the third Fermi catalog. For variability analysis, we searched for light curves for these objects in Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and Near Earth Orbit WISE (NEOWISE) in two bands: W1 (3.4 microns) and W2 (4.6 microns), reducing the final sample to 256 objects. These objects are also classified into 155 BLLacs, 99 FSRQs, and 2 Narrow Line Seyferts, namely, PMNJ0948+0022 and PKS1502+036. Mid-infrared variability studies of these objects would be a contribution to the literature. With this as motivation, the present work is focused on studying a final sample of 256 objects in general and the Seyferts in particular. Owing to the fact that the classification is automated, SDSS has miclassified these objects into quasars, galaxies, and stars. Reasons for the misclassification are explained in this work. The variability analysis of these objects is done using the method of flux amplitude variability and excess variance. The sample consists of observations in both W1 and W2 bands. PMN J0948+0022 is observed between MJD from 57154.79 to 58810.57. PKS 1502+036 is observed between MJD from 57232.42 to 58517.11, which amounts to a period of over six years. The data is divided into different epochs spanning not more than 1.2 days. In all the epochs, the sources are found to be variable in both W1 and W2 bands. This confirms that the object is variable in mid-infrared wavebands in both long and short timescales. Also, the sources are observed for color variability. Objects either show a bluer when brighter trend (BWB) or a redder when brighter trend (RWB). The possible claim for the object to be BWB (present objects) is that the longer wavelength radiation emitted by the source can be suppressed by the high-energy radiation from the central source. Another result is that the smallest radius of the emission source is one day since the epoch span used in this work is one day. The mass of the black holes at the centers of these sources is found to be less than or equal to 108 solar masses, respectively.

Keywords: active galaxies, variability, Seyfert galaxies, SDSS, WISE

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Authors: Hamed Delrobai Ghoochan Atigh

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Androgenic alopecia (AGA) is a common form of hair loss, impacting approximately 50% of females, which leads to reduced self-esteem and quality of life. It causes progressive follicular miniaturization in genetically predisposed individuals. Mesotherapy -- a minimally invasive procedure, topical 2% minoxidil, and oral finasteride have emerged as popular treatment options in the realm of cosmetics. However, the efficacy of mesotherapy compared to other options remains unclear. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of mesotherapy when it is added to topical 2% minoxidil treatment on female androgenic alopecia. Mesotherapy, also known as intradermotherapy, is a technique that entails administering multiple intradermal injections of a carefully composed mixture of compounds in low doses, applied at various points in close proximity to or directly over the affected areas. This study involves a randomized controlled trial with 100 female participants diagnosed with androgenic alopecia. The subjects were randomly assigned to two groups: Group A used topical 2% minoxidil twice daily and took Finastride oral tablet. For Group B, 10 mesotherapy sessions were added to the prior treatment. The injections were administered every week in the first month of treatment, every two weeks in the second month, and after that the injections were applied monthly for four consecutive months. The response assessment was made at baseline, the 4th session, and finally after 6 months when the treatment was complete. Clinical photographs, 7-point Likert scale patient self-evaluation, and 7-point Likert scale assessment tool were used to measure the effectiveness of the treatment. During this evaluation, a significant and visible improvement in hair density and thickness was observed. The study demonstrated a significant increase in treatment efficacy in Group B compared to Group A post-treatment, with no adverse effects. Based on the findings, it appears that mesotherapy offers a significant improvement in female AGA over minoxidil. Hair loss was stopped in Group B after one month and improvement in density and thickness of hair was observed after the third month. The findings from this study provide valuable insights into the efficacy of mesotherapy in treating female androgenic alopecia. Our evaluation offers a detailed assessment of hair growth parameters, enabling a better understanding of the treatments' effectiveness. The potential of this promising technique is significantly enhanced when carried out in a medical facility, guided by appropriate indications and skillful execution. An interesting observation in our study is that in areas where the hair had turned grey, the newly regrown hair does not retain its original grey color; instead, it becomes darker. The results contribute to evidence-based decision-making in dermatological practice and offer different insights into the treatment of female pattern hair loss.

Keywords: androgenic alopecia, female hair loss, mesotherapy, topical 2% minoxidil

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Isabel Brás, Artur Figueirinha, Bruno Esteves, Luísa P. Cruz-Lopes

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The agriculture lignocellulosic by-products are receiving increased attention, namely in the search for filter materials that retain contaminants from water. These by-products, specifically almond and hazelnut shells are abundant in Portugal once almond and hazelnuts production is a local important activity. Hazelnut and almond shells have as main constituents lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses, water soluble extractives and tannins. Along the adsorption of heavy metals from contaminated waters, water soluble compounds can leach from shells and have a negative impact in the environment. Usually, the chemical characterization of treated water by itself may not show environmental impact caused by the discharges when parameters obey to legal quality standards for water. Only biological systems can detect the toxic effects of the water constituents. Therefore, the evaluation of toxicity by biological tests is very important when deciding the suitability for safe water discharge or for irrigation applications. The main purpose of the present work was to assess the potential impacts of waters after been treated for heavy metal removal by hazelnut and almond shells adsorption systems, with short term acute toxicity tests. To conduct the study, water at pH 6 with 25 mg.L-1 of lead, was treated with 10 g of shell per litre of wastewater, for 24 hours. This procedure was followed for each bark. Afterwards the water was collected for toxicological assays; namely bacterial resistance, seed germination, Lemna minor L. test and plant grow. The effect in isolated bacteria strains was determined by disc diffusion method and the germination index of seed was evaluated using lettuce, with temperature and humidity germination control for 7 days. For aquatic higher organism, Lemnas were used with 4 days contact time with shell solutions, in controlled light and temperature. For terrestrial higher plants, biomass production was evaluated after 14 days of tomato germination had occurred in soil, with controlled humidity, light and temperature. Toxicity tests of water treated with shells revealed in some extent effects in the tested organisms, with the test assays showing a close behaviour as the control, leading to the conclusion that its further utilization may not be considered to create a serious risk to the environment.

Keywords: lignocellulosic wastes, adsorption, acute toxicity tests, risk assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 364

Authors: Jeroen Rotteveel, Zeger De Groot

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The small satellite community is more and more aware of the need to start operating responsibly and sustainably in order to secure the use of outer space in the long run. On the technical side, many debris mitigation techniques have been investigated and demonstrated on board small satellites, showing that technically, a lot of things can be done to curb the growth of space debris and operate more responsible. However, in the absence of strict laws and constraints, one cannot help but wonder what the incentive is to incur significant costs (paying for debris mitigation systems and the launch mass of these systems) and to lose performance onboard resource limited small satellites (mass, volume, power)? Many small satellite developers are operating under tight budgets, either from their sponsors (in case of academic and research projects) or from their investors (in case of startups). As long as it is not mandatory to act more responsibly, we might need to consider the implementation of incentives to stimulate developers to accommodate deorbiting modules, etc. ISISPACE joined the NetZeroSpace initiative in 2021 with the aim to play its role in secure the use of low earth orbit for the next decades by facilitating more sustainable use of space. The company is in a good position as both a satellite builder, a rideshare launch provider, and a technology development company. ISISPACE operates under one of the stricter space laws in the world in terms of maximum orbital lifetime and has been active in various debris mitigation and debris removal in-orbit demonstration missions in the past 10 years. ISISPACE proposes to introduce together with launch partners and regulators an incentive scheme for CubeSat developers to baseline debris mitigation systems on board their CubeSats in such a way that is does not impose too many additional costs to the project. Much like incentives to switch to electric cars or install solar panels on your house, such an incentive can help to increase market uptake of behavior or solutions prior to legislation or bans of certain practices. This can be achieved by: Introducing an extended launch volume in CubeSat deployers to accommodate debris mitigation systems without compromising available payload space for the payload of the main mission Not charging the fee for the launch mass for the additional debris mitigation module Whenever possible, find ways to further co-fund the purchase price, or otherwise reduce the cost of flying debris mitigation modules onboard the CubeSats. The paper will outline the framework of such an incentive scheme and provides ISISPACE’s way forward to make this happen in the near future.

Keywords: netZerospace, cubesats, debris mitigation, small satellite community

Procedia PDF Downloads 152

Authors: Paola Millare, Nelinda Catherine Pangilinan

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Background and Aim: Cervical cancer is the most commonly diagnosed gynecological malignancy during pregnancy. Owing to the rarity of the disease, and the complexity of all factors that have to be taken into consideration, standardization of treatment is very difficult. Cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy among women. The treatment of cancer during pregnancy is most challenging in the case of cervical cancer, since the pregnant uterus itself is affected. This report aims to present a case of cervical cancer in a pregnant woman and how to manage this case and several issues accompanied with it. Methods: This is a case of a 28 year-old, Gravida 4 Para 2 (1111), who presented with watery to mucoid, whitish, non-foul smelling and increasing in amount. Internal examination revealed normal external genitalia, parous outlet, cervix was transformed into a fungating mass measuring 5x4 cm, with left parametrial involvement, body of uterus was enlarged to 24 weeks size, no adnexal mass or tenderness. She had cervical punch biopsy, which revealed, adenocarcinoma, well-differentiated cervical tissue. Standard management for cases with stage 2B cervical carcinoma was to start radiation or radical hysterectomy. In the case of patients diagnosed with cervical cancer and currently pregnant, these kind of management will result to fetal loss. The patient still declined the said management and opted to delay the treatment and wait for her baby to reach at least term and proceed to cesarean section as route of delivery. Results: The patient underwent an elective cesarean section at 37th weeks age of gestation, with an outcome of a term, live baby boy APGAR score 7,9 birthweight 2600 grams. One month postpartum, the patient followed up and completed radiotherapy, chemotherapy and brachytherapy. She was advised to go back after 6 months for monitoring. On her last check up, an internal examination was done which revealed normal external genitalia, vagina admits 2 fingers with ease, there is a palpable fungating mass at the cervix measuring 2x2 cm. A repeat gynecologic oncologic ultrasound was done revealing cervical mass, endophytic, grade 1 color score with stromal invasion 35% post radiation reactive lymph nodes with intact paracolpium, pericervical, and parametrial involvement. The patient was then advised to undergo pelvic boost and for close monitoring of the cervical mass. Conclusion: Cervical cancer in pregnancy is rare but is a dilemma for women and their physicians. Treatment should be multidisciplinary and individualized following careful counseling. In this case, the treatment was clearly on the side of preventing the progression of cervical cancer while she is pregnant, however due to ethical reasons, the management deviates on the right of the patient to decide for her own health and her unborn child. The collaborative collection of data relating to treatment and outcome is strongly encouraged.

Keywords: cancer, cervical, ethical, pregnancy

Procedia PDF Downloads 244