Search results for: selective catalytic reduction

Authors: Abhishek Sraw, Amit Sobti, Yamini Pandey, R. K. Wanchoo, Amrit Pal Toor

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Monocrotophos (MCP) is a widely used pesticide in India, which belong to an extremely toxic organophosphorus family, is persistent in nature and its toxicity is widely reported in all environmental segments in the country. Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) is a promising solution to the problem of water pollution. TiO₂ is being widely used as a photocatalyst because of its many advantages, but it has a large band gap, due to which it is modified using metal and nonmetal dopant to make it active under sunlight and visible light. The use of nanosized powdered catalysts makes the recovery process extremely complicated. Hence the aim is to use low cost, easily available, eco-friendly clay material in form of bead as the support for the immobilization of catalyst, to solve the problem of post-separation of suspended catalyst from treated water. A recirculation type photocatalytic reactor (RTPR), using ultraviolet light emitting source (blue black lamp) was designed which work effectively for both suspended catalysts and catalyst coated clay beads. The bare, TiO₂ and W-TiO₂ coated clay beads were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and N₂ adsorption–desorption measurements techniques (BET) for their structural, textural and electronic properties. The study involved variation of different parameters like light conditions, recirculation rate, light intensity and initial MCP concentration under UV and sunlight for the degradation of MCP. The degradation and mineralization studies of the insecticide solution were performed using UV-Visible spectrophotometer, and COD vario-photometer and GC-MS analysis respectively. The main focus of the work lies in checking the recyclability of the immobilized TiO₂ over clay beads in the developed RTPR up to 30 continuous cycles without reactivation of catalyst. The results demonstrated the economic feasibility of the utilization of developed RTPR for the efficient purification of pesticide polluted water. The prepared TiO₂ clay beads delivered 75.78% degradation of MCP under UV light with negligible catalyst loss. Application of W-TiO₂ coated clay beads filled RTPR for the degradation of MCP under sunlight, however, shows 32% higher degradation of MCP than the same system based on undoped TiO₂. The COD measurements of TiO₂ coated beads led to 73.75% COD reduction while W-TiO₂ resulted in 87.89% COD reduction. The GC-MS analysis confirms the efficient breakdown of complex MCP molecules into simpler hydrocarbons. This supports the promising application of clay beads as a support for the photocatalyst and proves its eco-friendly nature, excellent recyclability, catalyst holding capacity, and economic viability.

Keywords: immobilized clay beads, monocrotophos, recirculation type photocatalytic reactor, TiO₂

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Authors: Min-Su Song, Haeng-Bok Kil, Eui-Rim Jeong

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This paper proposes a new method to reduce the overhead by pilots for single carrier frequency domain equalization (SC-FDE) transmission. In the conventional SC-FDE transmission structure, the overhead by transmitting pilot is heavy because the pilot are transmitted at every SC-FDE block. The proposed SC-FDE structure has fewer pilots and many SC-FCE blocks are transmitted between pilots. The channel estimation and equalization is performed at the pilot period and the channels between pilots are estimated through linear interpolation. This reduces the pilot overhead by reducing the pilot transmission compared with the conventional structure, and enables reliable channel estimation and equalization.

Keywords: channel estimation, linear interpolation, pilot overhead, SC-FDE

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Authors: M. Nemer, E. I. Konukseven

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In this paper, a motion generation algorithm for a six Degrees of Freedom (DoF) robotic hand in a static environment is presented. The purpose of developing this method is to be used in the path generation of the end-effector for edge finishing and inspection processes by utilizing the CAD model of the considered workpiece. Nonetheless, the proposed algorithm may be extended to be applicable for other similar manufacturing processes. A software package programmed in the application programming interface (API) of SolidWorks generates tool path data for the robot. The proposed method significantly simplifies the given problem, resulting in a reduction in the CPU time needed to generate the path, and offers an efficient overall solution. The ABB IRB2000 robot is chosen for executing the generated tool path.

Keywords: CAD-based tools, edge deburring, edge scanning, offline programming, path generation

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Authors: Aziz Ikhlef

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Most of multi-slices Computed Tomography (CT) scanners are built with detectors composed of scintillator - photodiodes arrays. The photodiodes arrays are mainly based on front-illuminated technology for detectors under 64 slices and on back-illuminated photodiode for systems of 64 slices or more. The designs based on back-illuminated photodiodes were being investigated for CT machines to overcome the challenge of the higher number of runs and connection required in front-illuminated diodes. In backlit diodes, the electronic noise has already been improved because of the reduction of the load capacitance due to the routing reduction. This is translated by a better image quality in low signal application, improving low dose imaging in large patient population. With the fast development of multi-detector-rows CT (MDCT) scanners and the increasing number of examinations, the clinical community has raised significant concerns on radiation dose received by the patient in both medical and regulatory community. In order to reduce individual exposure and in response to the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) which suggests that all exposures should be kept as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), every manufacturer is trying to implement strategies and solutions to optimize dose efficiency and image quality based on x-ray emission and scanning parameters. The added demands on the CT detector performance also comes from the increased utilization of spectral CT or dual-energy CT in which projection data of two different tube potentials are collected. One of the approaches utilizes a technology called fast-kVp switching in which the tube voltage is switched between 80 kVp and 140 kVp in fraction of a millisecond. To reduce the cross-contamination of signals, the scintillator based detector temporal response has to be extremely fast to minimize the residual signal from previous samples. In addition, this paper will present an overview of detector technologies and image chain improvement which have been investigated in the last few years to improve the signal-noise ratio and the dose efficiency CT scanners in regular examinations and in energy discrimination techniques. Several parameters of the image chain in general and in the detector technology contribute in the optimization of the final image quality. We will go through the properties of the post-patient collimation to improve the scatter-to-primary ratio, the scintillator material properties such as light output, afterglow, primary speed, crosstalk to improve the spectral imaging, the photodiode design characteristics and the data acquisition system (DAS) to optimize for crosstalk, noise and temporal/spatial resolution.

Keywords: computed tomography, X-ray detector, medical imaging, image quality, artifacts

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Authors: Christian Lauter, Corin Reuter, Shuang Wu, Thomas Troester

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Lightweight construction became more and more important over the last decades in several applications, e.g. in the automotive or aircraft sector. This is the result of economic and ecological constraints on the one hand and increasing safety and comfort requirements on the other hand. In the field of lightweight design, different approaches are used due to specific requirements towards the technical systems. The use of endless carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) offers the largest weight saving potential of sometimes more than 50% compared to conventional metal-constructions. However, there are very limited industrial applications because of the cost-intensive manufacturing of the fibers and production technologies. Other disadvantages of pure CFRP-structures affect the quality control or the damage resistance. One approach to meet these challenges is hybrid materials. This means CFRP and sheet metal are combined on a material level. Therefore, new opportunities for innovative process routes are realizable. Hybrid lightweight design results in lower costs due to an optimized material utilization and the possibility to integrate the structures in already existing production processes of automobile manufacturers. In recent and current research, the advantages of two-layered hybrid materials have been pointed out, i.e. the possibility to realize structures with tailored mechanical properties or to divide the curing cycle of the epoxy resin into two steps. Current research work at the Chair for Automotive Lightweight Design (LiA) at the Paderborn University focusses on production processes for fiber-metal-laminates. The aim of this work is the development and qualification of a large-scale production process for high-performance fiber-metal-laminates (FML) for industrial applications in the automotive or aircraft sector. Therefore, the prepreg-press-technology is used, in which pre-impregnated carbon fibers and sheet metals are formed and cured in a closed, heated mold. The investigations focus e.g. on the realization of short process chains and cycle times, on the reduction of time-consuming manual process steps, and the reduction of material costs. This paper gives an overview over the considerable steps of the production process in the beginning. Afterwards experimental results are discussed. This part concentrates on the influence of different process parameters on the mechanical properties, the laminate quality and the identification of process limits. Concluding the advantages of this technology compared to conventional FML-production-processes and other lightweight design approaches are carried out.

Keywords: composite material, fiber-metal-laminate, lightweight construction, prepreg-press-technology, large-series production

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Authors: Dorothea Voß, Tobias Esser, Michael Huber, Jakob Albert

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The growing world population and the associated increase in demand for energy and consumer goods, as well as increasing waste production, requires the development of sustainable processes. In addition, the increasing environmental awareness of our society is a driving force for the requirement that processes must be as resource and energy efficient as possible. In this context, the use of polyoxometalate catalysts (POMs) has emerged as a promising approach for the development of green processes. POMs are bifunctional polynuclear metal-oxo-anion cluster characterized by a strong Brønsted acidity, a high proton mobility combined with fast multi-electron transfer and tunable redox potential. In addition, POMs are soluble in many commonly known solvents and exhibit resistance to hydrolytic and oxidative degradation. Due to their structure and excellent physicochemical properties, POMs are efficient acid and oxidation catalysts that have attracted much attention in recent years. Oxidation processes with molecular oxygen are worth mentioning here. However, the fact that the POM catalysts are homogeneous poses a challenge for downstream processing of product solutions and recycling of the catalysts. In this regard, nanofiltration membranes have gained increasing interest in recent years, particularly due to their relative sustainability advantage over other technologies and their unique properties such as increased selectivity towards multivalent ions. In order to establish an efficient downstream process for the highly selective separation of homogeneous POM catalysts from aqueous solutions using nanofiltration membranes, a laboratory-scale membrane system was designed and constructed. By varying various process parameters, a sensitivity analysis was performed on a model system to develop an optimized method for the recovery of POM catalysts. From this, process-relevant key figures such as the rejection of various system components were derived. These results form the basis for further experiments on other systems to test the transferability to serval separation tasks with different POMs and products, as well as for recycling experiments of the catalysts in processes on laboratory scale.

Keywords: downstream processing, nanofiltration, polyoxometalates, homogeneous catalysis, green chemistry

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Authors: Prabir Patel, Eugene Ming Han Lim

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Introduction: Current literature shows that postoperative pulmonary complications following abdominal surgery may be reduced by using lower than conventional tidal volumes intraoperatively together with moderate levels of positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP). The recent studies demonstrated significant reduction demonstrated significant reduction in major complications in elective abdominal surgery through the use of lower tidal volumes (6-8 ml/kg predicted body weight), PEEP of 5 cmH20 and recruitment manoeuvres compared to higher ‘conventional’ volumes (10-12 mls/kg PBW) without lung recruitment. Our objective was to retrospectively audit current practice for patients undergoing major abdominal surgery in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Methods: Patients over 18 undergoing elective general surgery lasting more than 3 hours and intubated during the duration of procedure were included in this audit. Data was collected over a 6 month period. Patients who had hepatic surgery, procedures necessitating one-lung ventilation, transplant surgery, documented history of pulmonary or intracranial hypertension were excluded. Results: 58 suitable patients were identified and notes were available for 54 patients. Key findings: Average peak airway pressure was 21cmH20 (+4), average peak airway pressure was less than 30 cmH20 in all patients, and less than 25 cmH20 in 80% of the cases. PEEP was used in 81% of the cases. Where PEEP was used, 75% used PEEP more than or equal to 5 cmH20. Average tidal volume per actual body weight was 7.1 ml/kg (+1.6). Average tidal volume per predicted body weight (PBW) was 8.8 ml/kg (+1.5). Average tidal volume was less than 10 ml/kg PBW in 90% of cases; 6-8 ml/kg PBW in 40% of the cases. There was no recorded use of recruitment manoeuvres in any cases. Conclusions: In the vast majority of patients undergoing prolonged abdominal surgery, a lung protective strategy using moderate levels of PEEP, peak airway pressures of less than 30 cmH20 and tidal volumes of less than 10 cmH20/kg PBW was utilised. A recent randomised control trial demonstrated benefit from utilising even lower volumes (6-8 mls/kg) based on findings in critical care patients, but this was compared to volumes of 10-12 ml/kg. Volumes of 6-8 ml/kg PBW were utilised in 40% of cases in this audit. Although theoretically beneficial, clinical benefit of lower volumes than what is currently practiced in this institution remains to be seen. The incidence of pulmonary complications was much lower than in the other cited studies and a larger data set would be required to investigate any benefit from lower tidal volume ventilation. The volumes used are comparable to results from published local and international data but PEEP utilisation was higher in this audit. Strategies that may potentially be implemented to ensure and maintain best practice include pre-operative recording of predicted body weight, adjustment of default ventilator settings and education/updates of current evidence.

Keywords: anaesthesia, intraoperative ventilation, PEEP, tidal volume

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Authors: Rizvi Hasan

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Male factor infertility due to abnormalities in prolactin levels is encountered in a significant proportion. This was a case-control study carried out to determine the effects of prolactin abnormalities in normal males with infertility, recruiting 297 male infertile patients with informed written consent. All underwent a Basic Seminal Fluid Analysis (BSA) and endocrine profiles of FSH, LH, testosterone and prolactin (PRL) hormones using the random access chemiluminescent immunoassay method (normal range 2.5-17ng/ml). Age, weight, and height matched voluntary controls were recruited for comparison. None of the cases had anatomical, medical or surgical disorders related to infertility. Among the controls; mean age 33.2yrs ± 5.2, BMI 21.04 ± 1.39kgm-2, BSA 34×106, a number of children fathered 2±1, PRL 6.78 ± 2.92ng/ml. Of the 297 patients, 28 were hyperprolactinaemic while one was hypoprolactinaemic. All the hyperprolactinaemic patients had oligoasthenospermia, abnormal morphology and decreased viability. The serum testosterone levels were markedly lowered in 26 (92.86%) of the hyperprolactinaemic subjects. In the other 2 hyperprolactinaemic subjects and the single hypoprolactinaemic subject, the serum testosterone levels were normal. FSH and LH were normal in all patients. The 29 male patients with abnormalities in their serum PRL profiles were followed up for 12 months. The 28 patients suffering from hyperprolactinaemia were treated with oral bromocriptine in a dose of 2.5 mg twice daily. The hypoprolactinaemic patient defaulted treatment. From the follow-up, it was evident that 19 (67.86%) of the treated patients responded after 3 months of therapy while 4 (14.29%) showed improvement after approximately 6 months of bromocriptine therapy. One patient responded after 1 year of therapy while 2 patients showed improvements although not up to normal levels within the same period. Response to treatment was assessed by improvement in their BSA parameters. Prolactin abnormalities affect the male reproductive system and semen parameters necessitating further studies to ascertain the exact role of prolactin on the male reproductive tract. A parallel study was carried out incorporating 200 male white rats that were grouped and subjected to variations in their serum PRL levels. At the end of 100 days of treatment, these rats were subjected to morphological studies of their male reproductive tracts.Varying morphological changes depending on the levels of PRL changes induced were evident. Notable changes were arrest of spermatogenesis at the spermatid stage, a reduced testicular cellularity, a reduction in microvilli of the pseudostratified epithelial lining of the epididymis, while measurement of the tubular diameter showed a 30% reduction compared to normal tissue. There were no changes in the vas deferens, seminal vesicles, and the prostate. It is evident that both hyperprolactinaemia and hypoprolactinaemia have a direct effect on the morphology and function of the male reproductive tract. The morphological studies carried out on the groups of rats who were subjected to variations in their PRL levels could be the basis for infertility in male human beings.

Keywords: male factor infertility, morphological studies, prolactin, seminal fluid analysis

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Authors: Mohamed H. Sorour, Hayam F. Shaalan, Heba A. Hani, Eman S. Sayed

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Ion exchange adsorption has a long standing history of success for seawater softening and selective ion removal from saline sources. Strong, weak and mixed types ion exchange systems could be designed and optimized for target separation. In this paper, different types of adsorbents comprising zeolite 13X and kaolin, in addition to, poly acrylate/zeolite (AZ), poly acrylate/kaolin (AK) and stand-alone poly acrylate (A) hydrogel types were prepared via microwave (M) and ultrasonic (U) irradiation techniques. They were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The developed adsorbents were evaluated on bench scale level and based on assessment results, a composite bed has been formulated for performance evaluation in pilot scale column investigations. Owing to the hydrogel nature of the partially crosslinked poly acrylate, the developed adsorbents manifested a swelling capacity of about 50 g/g. The pilot trials have been carried out using magnesium enriched Red Seawater to simulate Red Seawater desalination brine. Batch studies indicated varying uptake efficiencies, where Mg adsorption decreases according to the following prepared hydrogel types AU>AM>AKM>AKU>AZM>AZU, being 108, 107, 78, 69, 66 and 63 mg/g, respectively. Composite bed adsorbent tested in the up-flow mode column studies indicated good performance for Mg uptake. For an operating cycle of 12 h, the maximum uptake during the loading cycle approached 92.5-100 mg/g, which is comparable to the performance of some commercial resins. Different regenerants have been explored to maximize regeneration and minimize the quantity of regenerants including 15% NaCl, 0.1 M HCl and sodium carbonate. Best results were obtained by acidified sodium chloride solution. In conclusion, developed cation exchange adsorbents comprising clay or zeolite support indicated adequate performance for Mg recovery under saline environment. Column design operated at the up-flow mode (approaching expanded bed) is appropriate for such type of separation. Preliminary cost indicators for Mg recovery via ion exchange have been developed and analyzed.

Keywords: batch and dynamic magnesium separation, seawater, polyacrylate hydrogel, cost evaluation

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Authors: Hamed Belloumi, Aymen Ammouri, Ferid Kourda

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A new trend in power converters is to design planar transformer that aim for low profile. However, at high frequency, the planar transformer ac losses become significant due to the proximity and skin effects. In this paper, the design and implementation of a novel planar litz conductor is presented in order to equalize the flux linkage and improving the current distribution. The developed PCB litz wire structure minimizes the losses in a similar way to the conventional multi stranded litz wires. In order to further illustrate the eddy current effect in different arrangements, a finite-element analysis (FEA) tool is used to analyze current distribution inside the conductors. Finally, the proposed planar transformer has been integrated in an electronic stage to test at high signal levels.

Keywords: planar transformer, finite-element analysis (FEA), winding losses, planar litz wire

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Authors: G. Meccariello, L. Della Ragione

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The exposure to outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer and increases the risk of bladder cancer. Because air pollution in urban areas is mainly caused by transportation, it is necessary to evaluate pollutant exhaust emissions from vehicles during their real-world use. Nevertheless their evaluation and reduction is a key problem, especially in the cities, that account for more than 50% of world population. A particular attention was given to the slope variability along the streets during each journey performed by the instrumented vehicle. In this paper we dealt with the problem of describing a quantitatively approach for the reconstruction of GPS coordinates and altitude, in the context of correlation study between driving cycles / emission / geographical location, during an experimental campaign realized with some instrumented cars. Finally the slope analysis can be correlated to the emission and consumption values in a specific road position, and it could be evaluated its influence on their behaviour.

Keywords: air pollution, driving cycles, GPS signal, slope, emission factor, fuel consumption

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Authors: Rina Yadav, Meng-Ting Tsai

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In the present scenario, sustainable buildings are in high demand. The essential decision for building sustainability is made during the design and preconstruction stages. Main objective of this study is reduction of unfavorable environmental impacts, which is a major cause of global warming. Based on this problem, to diminish the environmental hazards, present research study is applied to provide a guideline to designer that will be useful for material selection stage of designing. This can be achieved by using local available materials such as wood, mud, bamboos instead of cement, steel, concrete by reducing carbon dioxide emission. Energy simulation will be analyzed by software to get the comparable result. It will be encouraging and motivational for designer while using ecofriendly material to achieve points in Leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) in green rating system.

Keywords: sustainability design, lead rating, LEED, building performance analyses

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Authors: Punit Kumar, Niraj Kumar

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The influence of transverse surface roughness on EHL characteristics has been investigated numerically using an extensive set of full EHL line contact simulations for shear-thinning lubricants under pure sliding condition. The shear-thinning behavior of lubricant is modeled using Carreau viscosity equation along with Doolittle-Tait equation for lubricant compressibility. The surface roughness is assumed to be sinusoidal and it is present on the stationary surface. It is found that surface roughness causes sharp pressure peaks along with reduction in central and minimum film thickness. With increasing amplitude of surface roughness, the minimum film thickness decreases much more rapidly as compared to the central film thickness.

Keywords: EHL, Carreau, shear-thinning, surface roughness, amplitude, wavelength

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Authors: Houssem Ayari

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Sheet molding compounds (SMC) are high strength thermoset moulding materials reinforced with glass treated with thermocompression. SMC composites combine fibreglass resins and polyester/phenolic/vinyl and unsaturated acrylic to produce a high strength moulding compound. These materials are usually formulated to meet the performance requirements of the moulding part. In addition, the vinyl ester resins used in the new advanced SMC systems (A-SMC) have many desirable features, including mechanical properties comparable to epoxy, excellent chemical resistance and tensile resistance, and cost competitiveness. In this paper, a proposed model is used to take into account the Young modulus evolutions of advanced SMC systems (A-SMC) composite under fatigue tests. The proposed model and the used approach are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: composites SFRC, damage, fatigue, Mori-Tanaka

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Authors: Pengchao Wei, Xiangzhong Fang

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Noise is ubiquitous in this world. Denoising is an essential technology, especially in image semantic segmentation, where noises are generally categorized into two main types i.e. feature noise and label noise. The main focus of this paper is aiming at modeling label noise, investigating the behaviors of different types of label noise on image semantic segmentation tasks using K-Nearest-Neighbor and Convolutional Neural Network classifier. The performance without label noise and with is evaluated and illustrated in this paper. In addition to that, the influence of feature noise on the image semantic segmentation task is researched as well and a feature noise reduction method is applied to mitigate its influence in the learning procedure.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, denoising, feature noise, image semantic segmentation, k-nearest-neighbor, label noise

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Authors: Yu-Kuei Hsu, Yan-Gu Lin

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A facile and simple fabrication of copper(II) oxide (CuO) nanosheet on copper foil as nanoelectrode for H2O2 sensing application was proposed in this study. The spontaneous formation of CuO nanosheets by immersing the copper foil into 0.1 M NaOH aqueous solution for 48 hrs was carried out at room temperature. The sheet-like morphology with several ten nanometers in thickness and ~500 nm in width was observed by SEM. Those nanosheets were confirmed the monoclinic-phase CuO by the structural analysis of XRD and Raman spectra. The directly grown CuO nanosheets film is mechanically stable and offers an excellent electrochemical sensing platform. The CuO nanosheets electrode shows excellent electrocatalytic response to H2O2 with significantly lower overpotentials for its oxidation and reduction and also exhibits a fast response and high sensitivity for the amperometric detection of H2O2. The novel spontaneously grown CuO nanosheets electrode is readily applicable to other analytes and has great potential applications in the electrochemical detection.

Keywords: CuO, nanosheets, H2O2 detection, Cu foil

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Authors: Ji Chan Kim, Seok Hong Min, Tae Kwon Ha

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Effect of boron addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ91D Mg alloy was investigated in this study. Through calculation of phase equilibria, carried out by using FactSage® and FTLite database, solution treatment temperature was decided as 420 °C where supersaturated solid solution can be obtained. Solid solution treatment was conducted at 420 °C for 24 hrs followed by hot rolling at 420 °C and the total reduction was about 60%. Recrystallization heat treatment was followed at 420 °C for 6 hrs to obtain equiaxed microstructure. After recrystallization treatment, aging heat treatment was conducted at temperature of 200 °C for time intervals from 1 min to 200 hrs and hardness of each condition was measured by micro-Vickers method. Peak hardness was observed after 20 hrs. Tensile tests were also conducted on the specimens aged for various time intervals and the results were compared with hardness.

Keywords: AZ91D Mg alloy, boron, heat treatment, microstructure, mechanical properties, hardness

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Authors: Y. Muto, S. Araki, H. Yamamoto

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The separation of oxygen is one key technology to improve the efficiency and to reduce the cost for the processed of the partial oxidation of the methane and the condensation of the carbon dioxide. Particularly, carbon dioxide at high concentration would be obtained by the combustion using pure oxygen separated from air. However, the oxygen separation process occupied the large part of energy consumption. Therefore, it is considered that the membrane technologies enable to separation at lower cost and lower energy consumption than conventional methods. In this study, it is examined that the separation of oxygen using membranes of mixed conductors. Oxygen permeation through the membrane is occurred by the following three processes. At first, the oxygen molecules dissociate into oxygen ion at feed side of the membrane, subsequently, oxygen ions diffuse in the membrane. Finally, oxygen ions recombine to form the oxygen molecule. Therefore, it is expected that the membrane of thickness and material, or catalysts of the dissociation and recombination affect the membrane performance. However, there is little article about catalysts for the dissociation and recombination. We confirmed the performance of La0.6Sr0.4Co1.0O3-δ (LSC) based catalyst which was commonly used as the dissociation and recombination. It is known that the adsorbed amount of oxygen increase with the increase of doped Fe content in B site of LSC. We prepared the catalysts of La0.1Sr0.9Co0.9Fe0.1O3-δ(C9F1), La0.1Sr0.9Co0.5Fe0.5O3-δ(C5F5) and La0.1Sr0.9Co0.3Fe0.7O3-δ(C7F3). Also, we used Pr2NiO4 type mixed conductor as a membrane material. (Pr0.9La0.1)2(Ni0.74Cu0.21Ga0.05)O4+δ(PLNCG) shows the high oxygen permeability and the stability against carbon dioxide. Oxygen permeation experiments were carried out using a homemade apparatus at 850 -975 °C. The membrane was sealed with Pyrex glass at both end of the outside dense alumina tubes. To measure the oxygen permeation rate, air was fed to the film side at 50 ml min-1, helium as the sweep gas and reference gas was fed at 20 ml min-1. The flow rates of the sweep gas and the gas permeated through the membrane were measured using flow meter and the gas concentrations were determined using a gas chromatograph. Then, the permeance of the oxygen was determined using the flow rate and the concentration of the gas on the permeate side of the membrane. The increase of oxygen permeation was observed with increasing temperature. It is considered that this is due to the catalytic activities are increased with increasing temperature. Another reason is the increase of oxygen diffusivity in the bulk of membrane. The oxygen permeation rate is improved by using catalyst of LSC or LSCF. The oxygen permeation rate of membrane with LSCF showed higher than that of membrane with LSC. Furthermore, in LSCF catalysts, oxygen permeation rate increased with the increase of the doped amount of Fe. It is considered that this is caused by the increased of adsorbed amount of oxygen.

Keywords: membrane separation, oxygen permeation, K2NiF4-type structure, mixed conductor

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Authors: Vish Putcha, Chandrasekhar Putcha, Siva Hari

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In the current digital era of free trading and pandemic-driven remote work culture, markets worldwide gained momentum for retail investors to trade from anywhere easily. The number of retail traders rose to 24% of the market from 15% at the pre-pandemic level. Most of them are young retail traders with high-risk tolerance compared to the previous generation of retail traders. This trend boosted the growth of subscription-based market predictors and market data vendors. Young traders are betting on these predictors, assuming one of them is correct. However, 90% of retail traders are on the losing end. This paper presents multiple indicators and attempts to derive behavioral patterns from the underlying stocks. The two major indicators that traders and investors follow are technical and fundamental. The famous investor, Warren Buffett, adheres to the “Value Investing” method that is based on a stock’s fundamental Analysis. In this paper, we present multiple indicators from various methods to understand the behavior patterns of stocks. For this research, we picked five stocks with a market capitalization of more than $200M, listed on the exchange for more than 20 years, and from different industry sectors. To study the behavioral pattern over time for these five stocks, a total of 8 indicators are chosen from fundamental, technical, and financial indicators, such as Price to Earning (P/E), Price to Book Value (P/B), Debt to Equity (D/E), Beta, Volatility, Relative Strength Index (RSI), Moving Averages and Dividend yields, followed by detailed mathematical Analysis. This is an interdisciplinary paper between various disciplines of Engineering, Accounting, and Finance. The research takes a new approach to identify clear indicators affecting stocks. Statistical Analysis of the data will be performed in terms of the probabilistic distribution, then follow and then determine the probability of the stock price going over a specific target value. The Chi-square test will be used to determine the validity of the assumed distribution. Preliminary results indicate that this approach is working well. When the complete results are presented in the final paper, they will be beneficial to the community.

Keywords: stock pattern, stock market analysis, stock predictions, trading, investing, fundamental analysis, technical analysis, quantitative trading, financial analysis, behavioral analysis

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Authors: Bharti Ahirwar

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The main object of this study was to evaluate the effect of kankasava on OVA-induced asthma in mouse model. Present study has demonstrated that kankasava exhibited an antiasthmatic effect by attenuated AHR and reducing level of IgE, IL-5, and IL-13, in both serum and BALF in OVA induced asthmatic mice. Effect of kankasav on airway responsiveness was obtained by monitoring the enhanced pen value . Kankasava significantly reduced AHR can be explained, in part, by reduction in both IgE overexoression and cytokine levels. Kankasava significantly decreased IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 in BALF indicate that it may suppress the excess activity of T-cells and Th2 cytokines, which are implicated in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma, and consequently restore the Th1/Th2 imbalance of the immune system. In summary, we hypothesize that kankasava effectively suppressed elevations in IgE and cytokines levels, AHR, and mucus overproduction in mice with OVA-induced asthma suggested kankasava could be effective in immunological and pharmacological modulation of allergic asthma.

Keywords: asthma, ayurveda, kankasava, cytokine

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Authors: Marco A. S. González, Marlova P. Kulakowski, Luciano G. Breitenbach, Felipe Kirch

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The AEC sector has an expressive environmental responsibility. Actually, most building materials have severe environmental impacts along their production cycle. Professionals enrolled in building design may choice the materials and techniques with less impact among the viable options. This work presents a study about embodied energy in materials of two typical Brazilian constructive alternatives. The construction options considered are reinforced concrete structure and structural masonry. The study was developed for the region of São Leopoldo, southern Brazil. Results indicated that the energy embodied in these two constructive systems is approximately 1.72 GJ•m-2 and 1.26 GJ•m-2, respectively. It may be concluded that the embodied energy is lower in the structural masonry system, with a reduction around to 1/4 in relation to the traditional option. The results can be used to help design decisions.

Keywords: civil construction, sustainability, embodied energy, Brazil

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Authors: S. D. Kadir

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Background: Antibiotics have always been at the centrum of the revolution of modern microbiology. Micro-organisms and its pathogenicity, resistant organisms, inappropriate or over usage of various types of antibiotic agents are fuelled multidrug-resistant pathogenic organisms. Our present time review report mainly focuses on the therapeutic condition of antibiotic resistance and the possible roots behind the development of antibiotic resistance in Bangladesh in 2019. Methodology: The systemic review has progressed through a series of research analyses on various manuscripts published on Google Scholar, PubMed, Research Gate, and collected relevant information from established popular healthcare and diagnostic center and its subdivisions all over Bangladesh. Our research analysis on the possible assurance of antibiotic resistance been ensured by the selective medical reports and on random assay on the extent of individual antibiotic in 2019. Results: 5 research articles, 50 medical report summary, and around 5 patients have been interviewed while going through the estimation process. We have prioritized research articles where the research analysis been performed by the appropriate use of the Kirby-Bauer method. Kirby-Bauer technique is preferred as it provides greater efficiency, ensures lower performance expenditure, and supplies greater convenience and simplification in the application. In most of the reviews, clinical and laboratory standards institute guidelines were strictly followed. Most of our reports indicate significant resistance shown by the Beta-lactam drugs. Specifically by the derivatives of Penicillin's, Cephalosporin's (rare use of the first generation Cephalosporin and overuse of the second and third generation of Cephalosporin and misuse of the fourth generation of Cephalosporin), which are responsible for almost 67 percent of the bacterial resistance. Moreover, approximately 20 percent of the resistance was due to the fact of drug pumping from the bacterial cell by tetracycline and sulphonamides and their derivatives. Conclusion: 90 percent of the approximate antibiotic resistance is due to the usage of relative and true broad-spectrum antibiotics. The environment has been created by the following circumstances where; the excessive usage of broad-spectrum antibiotics had led to a condition where the disruption of native bacteria and a series of anti-microbial resistance causing a disturbance of the surrounding environments in medium, leading to a state of super-infection.

Keywords: antibiotics, antibiotic resistance, Kirby Bauer method, microbiology

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Authors: Rafia Akbar

Abstract:

This paper assesses different Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMs) and their impact on energy consumption and carbon footprint of an educational building located in Islamabad. A base case was first developed in accordance with typical construction practices in Pakistan. Several EEMs were separately applied to the baseline design to quantify their impact on operational energy reduction of the building and the resultant carbon emissions. Results indicate that by applying these measures, there is a potential to reduce energy consumption up to 49% as compared to the base case. It was observed that energy efficient ceiling fans and lights, insulation of the walls and roof and an efficient air conditioning system for the building can provide significant energy savings. The results further indicate that the initial investment cost of these energy efficiency measures can be recovered within 6 to 7 years of building’s service life.

Keywords: CO2 savings, educational building, energy efficiency measures, payback period

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Authors: A. Boumedine, K. Benfriha, S. Lecheb

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Manufacturing methods for products and structures made of composite materials reduce the number of parts and integrate technical functions, this advantage of composite materials leads to a lot of innovation but also to a reduction of costs and a gain in quality. A material has attributes: its density, it’s resistance, it’s cost, it’s resistance to corrosion. For the design of a product, a certain profile of these attributes is required: low density, resistance removed, low cost. The problem is then to identify this attribute profile and to compare it with those of the materials, in order to find the one that comes closest. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of characterizing a mini turbine made of 3D printed fiber-filled composite material by the process of additive manufacturing, then compare the performance of the alloy turbine with the composite turbine according to the results of the simulation by Abaqus software.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, composite materials, design, 3D printer, turbine

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Authors: Loujaina Abdelwahed

Abstract:

Debt relief granted to low-and middle-income countries effectively provides additional funds for governments that can be used to increase public investment on poverty-reducing services to alleviate poverty and boost economic growth. However, little is known about the extent to which the poor benefit from the increased public investment. This study aims to assess the impact of debt relief granted through multiple initiatives during the 1990s on poverty reduction. In particular, it assesses the impact on the level, depth and severity of poverty in 76 low-and middle income countries over the period 1990-2011. Debt relief is found to have a significant impact on reducing the level, the depth and the severity of poverty. Analysis of the different types of debt relief reveals that debt service relief reduces poverty, whereas debt principle relief does not have a significant impact.

Keywords: debt relief, developing countries, HIPC, poverty, system GMM estimator

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Authors: Davide Cocchi, Andrea Zucchelli, Luca Raimondi, Maria Brugo Tommaso

Abstract:

The increasing attention is given to the issues of environmental pollution and climate change is exponentially stimulating the development of electrically propelled vehicles powered by renewable energy, in particular, the solar one. Given the small amount of solar energy that can be stored and subsequently transformed into propulsive energy, it is necessary to develop vehicles with high mechanical, electrical and aerodynamic efficiencies along with reduced masses. The reduction of the masses is of fundamental relevance especially for the unsprung masses, that is the assembly of those elements that do not undergo a variation of their distance from the ground (wheel, suspension system, hub, upright, braking system). Therefore, the reduction of unsprung masses is fundamental in decreasing the rolling inertia and improving the drivability, comfort, and performance of the vehicle. This principle applies even more in solar propelled vehicles, equipped with an electric motor that is connected directly to the wheel hub. In this solution, the electric motor is integrated inside the wheel. Since the electric motor is part of the unsprung masses, the development of compact and lightweight solutions is of fundamental importance. The purpose of this research is the design development and optimization of a CFRP 16 wheel hub motor for solar propulsion vehicles that can carry up to four people. In addition to trying to maximize aspects of primary importance such as mass, strength, and stiffness, other innovative constructive aspects were explored. One of the main objectives has been to achieve a high geometric packing in order to ensure a reduced lateral dimension, without reducing the power exerted by the electric motor. In the final solution, it was possible to realize a wheel hub motor assembly completely comprised inside the rim width, for a total lateral overall dimension of less than 100 mm. This result was achieved by developing an innovative connection system between the wheel and the rotor with a double purpose: centering and transmission of the driving torque. This solution with appropriate interlocking noses allows the transfer of high torques and at the same time guarantees both the centering and the necessary stiffness of the transmission system. Moreover, to avoid delamination in critical areas, evaluated by means of FEM analysis using 3D Hashin damage criteria, electrospun nanofibrous mats have been interleaved between CFRP critical layers. In order to reduce rolling resistance, the rim has been designed to withstand high inflation pressure. Laboratory tests have been performed on the rim using the Digital Image Correlation technique (DIC). The wheel has been tested for fatigue bending according to E/ECE/324 R124e.

Keywords: composite laminate, delamination, DIC, lightweight vehicle, motor hub wheel, nanofiber

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Authors: Diego F. Camacho, Cristian J. Mejia, Carlos Duque-Daza

Abstract:

The recent widespread use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has fueled a renewed interest in efficiency and performance of airfoils, particularly for applications at low and moderate Reynolds numbers, typical of this kind of vehicles. Most of previous efforts in the aeronautical industry, regarding aerodynamic efficiency, had been focused on high Reynolds numbers applications, typical of commercial airliners and large size aircrafts. However, in order to increase the levels of efficiency and to boost the performance of these UAV, it is necessary to explore new alternatives in terms of airfoil design and application of drag reduction techniques. The objective of the present work is to carry out the analysis and comparison of performance levels between a standard NACA0012 profile against another one featuring a wall protuberance or surface perturbation. A computational model, based on the finite volume method, is employed to evaluate the effect of the presence of geometrical distortions on the wall. The performance evaluation is achieved in terms of variations of drag and lift coefficients for the given profile. In particular, the aerodynamic performance of the new design, i.e. the airfoil with a surface perturbation, is examined under conditions of incompressible and subsonic flow in transient state. The perturbation considered is a shaped protrusion prescribed as a small surface deformation on the top wall of the aerodynamic profile. The ultimate goal by including such a controlled smooth artificial roughness was to alter the turbulent boundary layer. It is shown in the present work that such a modification has a dramatic impact on the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil, and if properly adjusted, in a positive way. The computational model was implemented using the unstructured, FVM-based open source C++ platform OpenFOAM. A number of numerical experiments were carried out at Reynolds number 5x104, based on the length of the chord and the free-stream velocity, and angles of attack 6° and 12°. A Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach was used, together with the dynamic Smagorinsky approach as subgrid scale (SGS) model, in order to account for the effect of the small turbulent scales. The impact of the surface perturbation on the performance of the airfoil is judged in terms of changes in the drag and lift coefficients, as well as in terms of alterations of the main characteristics of the turbulent boundary layer on the upper wall. A dramatic change in the whole performance can be appreciated, including an arguably large level of lift-to-drag coefficient ratio increase for all angles and a size reduction of laminar separation bubble (LSB) for a twelve-angle-of-attack.

Keywords: CFD, LES, Lift-to-drag ratio, LSB, NACA 0012 airfoil

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Authors: Seyed Abolhasan Naeini, Hamidreza Rahmani

Abstract:

Laboratory consolidated undrained triaxial (CU) tests were carried out to study the strength behavior of silty soil reinforced with randomly plastic waste bottle chips. Specimens mixed with plastic waste chips in triaxial compression tests with 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.25% by dry weight of soil and tree different length including 4, 8, and 12 mm. In all of the samples, the width and thickness of plastic chips were kept constant. According to the results, the amount and size of plastic waste bottle chips played an important role in the increasing of the strength parameters of reinforced silt compared to the pure soil. Because of good results, the suggested method of soil improvement can be used in many engineering problems such as increasing the bearing capacity and settlement reduction in foundations.

Keywords: reinforcement, silt, soil improvement, triaxial test, waste bottle chips

Procedia PDF Downloads 267

Authors: Rosyidah, Permata Wulandari

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We investigate the price effect of addition and deletions from the Indonesia Sharia Stock Index (ISSI) and Jakarta Islamic Index (JII). Using event study methodology, we measure abnormal returns for firms over the period June 2019 - to December 2021. Through the sample of 107 additions and 95 deletions, we find evidence to support the theory of Muslim country investment behavior. We find that additions to the Islamic index led to a significant positive stock market reaction and deletions to the Islamic index led to a negative stock market reaction on Jakarta Islamic Index (JII) and there is no significant reaction of addition and deletion on Indonesia Sharia Stock Index (ISSI).

Keywords: abnormal return, abnormal volume, event study, index changes, sharia index

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Gaweł Magdalena, Lipkowska Anna, Olbert Magdalena, Frąckiewicz Ewelina, Librowski Tadeusz, Nowak Gabriel, Pilc Andrzej

Abstract:

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), also known as heat shock protein 32 (HSP32), has been shown to be implicated in cytoprotection in various organs. Its activation plays a significant role in acute and chronic inflammation, protecting cells from oxidative injury and apoptosis. This inducible isoform of HO catalyzes the first and rate-limiting step in heme degradation to produce equimolar quantities of biologically active products: carbon monoxide (CO), free iron and biliverdin. CO has been reported to possess anti-apoptotic properties. Moreover, it inhibits the production of proinflammatory cytokines and stimulates the synthesis of the anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 (IL-10), as well as promotes vasodilatation at sites of inflammation. The second product of catalytic HO-1 activity, free cytotoxic iron, is promptly sequestered into the iron storage protein ferritin, which lowers the pro-oxidant state of the cell. The third product, biliverdin, is subsequently converted by biliverdin reductase into the bile pigment bilirubin, the most potent endogenous antioxidant among the constituents of human serum, which modulates immune effector functions and suppresses inflammatory response. Furthermore, being one of the so-called stress proteins, HO-1 adaptively responds to different stressors, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), inflammatory cytokines and heavy metals and thus protects cells against such conditions as ischemia, hemorrhagic shock, heat shock or hypoxia. It is suggested that pharmacologic modulation of HO-1 may represent an effective strategy for prevention of stress and drug-induced gastrointestinal toxicity. HO-1 is constitutively expressed in normal gastric, intestinal and colonic mucosa and up-regulated during inflammation. It has been proven that HO-1 up-regulated by hemin, heme and cobalt-protoporphyrin ameliorates experimental colitis. In addition, the up-regulation of HO-1 partially explains the mechanism of action of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), which is used clinically as an anti-colitis agent. In 2009 Ueda et al. has reported for the first time that mucosal protection by Polaprezinc, a chelate compound of zinc and L-carnosine used as an anti-ulcer drug in Japan, is also attributed to induction of HO-1 in the stomach. Since then, inducers of HO-1 are desired subject of research, as they may constitute therapeutically effective anti-ulcer drugs.

Keywords: heme oxygenase-1, gastric lesions, gastroprotection, Polaprezinc

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