Search results for: stochastic production function

Authors: Hussnain Mukhtar, Yu-Pin Lin

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This paper deals with the concept of ecologically engineered system for sustainable agriculture production with the view of sustainable cities development. Sustainable cities offer numerous eco-services to its inhabitants, and where, among other issues, wastewater nutrients can be considered to be a valuable resource to be used for a sustainable enhancement of urban agriculture in wetlands. Existing cities can be transferred from being only consumer of food and other agriculture product into important resource conserving and sustainable generators of these products. The review provides the food production capacity through introduction of wastewater into urban wetlands, potential for nutrient recovery and ecological engineering intervention to reduce the risk of food contamination by pathogens. Finally, we discuss the potential nutrients accumulating in our cities, as an important aspect of sustainable urban development.

Keywords: ecological engineering, nutrient recovery, pathogens, urban agriculture, wetlands

Procedia PDF Downloads 242

Authors: Thaís T. Valério Caetano, Lívia de Carvalho Ferreira, João Máximo De Siqueira, Carlos Alexandre Carollo, Arthur Ladeira Macedo, Vanessa C. Stein

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Nicotiana glauca, commonly known as wild tobacco or tobacco bush, belongs to the Solanaceae family. It is native to South America but has become naturalized in various regions, including Australia, California, Africa, and the Mediterranean. N. glauca is listed in the Global Invasive Species Database (GISD) and the Invasive Species Compendium (CABI). It is known for producing pyridine alkaloids, including anabasine, which is highly toxic. Anabasine is predominantly found in the leaves and can cause severe health issues such as neuromuscular blockade, respiratory arrest, and cardiovascular problems when ingested. Mistaken identity with edible plants like spinach has resulted in food poisoning cases in Israel and Brazil. Anabasine, a minor alkaloid constituent of tobacco, may contribute to tobacco addiction by mimicking or enhancing the effects of nicotine. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the production pattern of anabasine and its relationship to the developmental stages of the plant. This study aimed to establish the relationship between the phenological plant age, cultivation place, and the increase in anabasine concentration, which can lead to human intoxication cases. In this study, N. glauca plants were collected from three different rural areas in Brazil during a year to examine leaves at various stages of development. Samples were also obtained from cultivated plants in Marilândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, as well as from Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In vitro cultivated plants on MS medium were included in the study. The collected leaves were dried, powdered, and stored. Alkaloid extraction was performed using a methanol and water mixture, followed by liquid-liquid extraction with chloroform. The anabasine content was determined using HPLC-DAD analysis with nicotine as a standard. The results indicated that anabasine production increases with the plant's development, peaking in adult leaves during the reproduction phase and declining afterward. In vitro, plants showed similar anabasine production to young leaves. The successful adaptation of N. glauca in new environments poses a global problem, and the correlation between anabasine production and the plant's developmental stages has been understudied. The presence of substances produced by the plant can pose a risk to other species, especially when mistaken for edible plants. The findings from this study shed light on the pattern of anabasine production and its association with plant development, contributing to a better understanding of the potential risks associated with N. glauca and the importance of accurate identification.

Keywords: alkaloid production, invasive species, nicotiana glauca, plant phenology

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Authors: Suchitra Chnadrashekhar

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Earlier looked as a support function in an organization information technology has now become a critical utility to manage their daily operations. Organizations are processing huge amount of data which was unimaginable few decades before. This has opened the opportunity for IT sector to help industries across domains to handle the data in the most intelligent manner. Presence of IT has been a leverage for the Oil & Gas industry to store, manage and process the data in most efficient way possible thus deriving the economic value in their day-to-day operations. Proper synchronization between Operational data system and Information Technology system is the need of the hour. Predictive analytics supports oil and gas companies by addressing the challenge of critical equipment performance, life cycle, integrity, security, and increase their utilization. Predictive analytics go beyond early warning by providing insights into the roots of problems. To reach their full potential, oil and gas companies need to take a holistic or systems approach towards asset optimization and thus have the functional information at all levels of the organization in order to make the right decisions. This paper discusses how the use of predictive analysis in oil and gas industry is redefining the dynamics of this sector. Also, the paper will be supported by real time data and evaluation of the data for a given oil production asset on an application tool, SAS. The reason for using SAS as an application for our analysis is that SAS provides an analytics-based framework to improve uptimes, performance and availability of crucial assets while reducing the amount of unscheduled maintenance, thus minimizing maintenance-related costs and operation disruptions. With state-of-the-art analytics and reporting, we can predict maintenance problems before they happen and determine root causes in order to update processes for future prevention.

Keywords: hydrocarbon, information technology, SAS, predictive analytics

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Authors: Youjeong Hwang

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Purpose: Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) promotes B-cell development, immunoglobulin formation, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) production, then regulate the immune response and inflammation. As IGF-I and their receptor also exist in the periodontal tissue, they may affect the immune response caused by periodontal pathogens in aggressive periodontitis (AgP) patients. The function of IGF is regulated by IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs), and IGFBP-3 is known to most abundant in plasma. The aim of the present study was to assess the concentration of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in plasma and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) in AgP patients and to find out their association. Methods: Nine patients with AgP (test group) and nine healthy subjects (control group) were included in this study. None of the subjects had a history of systemic disease, smoking or steroids medication. GCF samples were collected by microcapillary pipettes and plasma samples were obtained by venipuncture. Probing pocket depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were recorded. Samples were assayed for IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels using ELISA. Results: Mean IGF-I level in GCF was higher in the test group than control. Mean IGF-I level in plasma and IGFBP-3 level in GCF and plasma in control group were higher than that of the test group. However, there was no statistical significance (p > 0.05). The mean level of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in GCF was lower than those in plasma. Mean IGF-I level in plasma showed a negative correlation with PD and CAL (p < 0.05) in both groups. The levels of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in GCF seemed to be negatively correlated with BOP in the test group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The difference in the level of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 between AgP and healthy subjects was not significant. Further studies that explain the mechanism of the protective role of IGF-I with more samples are needed.

Keywords: aggressive periodontitis, pathogenesis, insulin-like growth factor, insulin-like growth factor binding protein

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Authors: Frank Alexis, Jenny Antonia Rodriguez Leon, Cristobal Leonardo Dominguez Borbor, Mery Rosario Ramirez Munoz

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The shrimp industry has increased in the last years to the point of becoming one of the most dynamic industries. However, the appearance of diseases that significantly affect the production of shrimps has been an obstacle for the shrimp industry. We hypothesized that natural fibers from biodiversity can stimulate the immune system to prevent shrimp diseases like vibriosis. In this project, we extracted the fibers from vegetal sources in Ecuador and characterized them using common techniques like XRD, SEM, and then we tested the effect of fibers as immunostimulants for shrimps in-vitro and in-vivo using small aquarium and large pools. Our results demonstrate that vegetal fibers can significantly increase the survival of shrimps. Moreover, the production of shrimps in a large pool was significantly increased. Lastly, the test of color and taste successfully surpass the control group of shrimps not treated with fiber food supplements.

Keywords: fibers, immunostimulant, shrimp, vibriosis

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Authors: Roshni Raha, Karthikeyan S.

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The world's largest livestock population resides in India. Existing strategies must be modified to increase the production of livestock and their by-products in order to meet the demands of the growing human population. Even though India leads the world in both milk production and the number of cows, average production is not very healthy and productive. This may be due to the animals' poor nutrition caused by a chronic under-availability of high-quality fodder and feed. This article explores Azolla pinnata to be a promising source to produce high-quality unconventional feed and fodder for effective livestock production and good quality breeding in India. This article is an exploratory study using a literature survey and experimentation analysis. In the realm of agri-biotechnology, azolla sp gained attention for helping farmers achieve sustainability, having minimal land requirements, and serving as a feed element that doesn't compete with human food sources. It has high methionine content, which is a good source of protein. It can be easily digested as the lignin content is low. It has high antioxidants and vitamins like beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin B12. Using this concept, the paper aims to investigate and develop a model of using azolla plants as a novel, high-potential feed source to combat the problems of low production and poor quality of animals in India. A representative sample of animal feed is collected where azolla is added. The sample is ground into a fine powder using mortar. PITC (phenylisothiocyanate) is added to derivatize the amino acids. The sample is analyzed using HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) to measure the amino acids and monitor the protein content of the sample feed. The amino acid measurements from HPLC are converted to milligrams per gram of protein using the method of amino acid profiling via a set of calculations. The amino acid profile data is then obtained to validate the proximate results of nutrient enhancement of the composition of azolla in the sample. Based on the proximate composition of azolla meal, the enhancement results shown were higher compared to the standard values of normal fodder supplements indicating the feed to be much richer and denser in nutrient supply. Thus azolla fed sample proved to be a promising source for animal fodder. This would in turn lead to higher production and a good breed of animals that would help to meet the economic demands of the growing Indian population. Azolla plants have no side effects and can be considered as safe and effective to be immersed in the animal feed. One area of future research could begin with the upstream scaling strategy of azolla plants in India. This could involve introducing several bioreactor types for its commercial production. Since azolla sp has been proved in this paper as a promising source for high quality animal feed and fodder, large scale production of azolla plants will help to make the process much quicker, more efficient and easily accessible. Labor expenses will also be reduced by employing bioreactors for large-scale manufacturing.

Keywords: azolla, fodder, nutrient, protein

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Authors: Joanna Styczen, Wojciech Franus

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Currently, cement production reaches 3-6 Gt per year. The production of one ton of cement is associated with the emission of 0.5 to 1 ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which means that this process is responsible for 5% of global CO2 emissions. Simply improving the cement manufacturing process is not enough. An effective solution is the use of pozzolanic materials, which can partly replace clinker and thus reduce energy consumption, and emission of pollutants and give mortars the desired characteristics, shaping their microstructure. Pozzolanic additives modify the phase composition of cement, reducing the amount of portlandite and changing the CaO/SiO2 ratio in the C-S-H phase. Zeolites are a pozzolanic additive that is not commonly used. Three types of zeolites were synthesized in work: Na-A, sodalite and ZSM-5 (these zeolites come from three different structural groups). Zeolites were obtained by hydrothermal synthesis of fly ash in an aqueous NaOH solution. Then, the pozzolanicity of the obtained materials was assessed. The pozzolanic activity of the zeolites synthesized for testing was tested by chemical methods in accordance with the ASTM C 379-65 standard. The method consisted in determining the percentage content of active ingredients (soluble silicon oxide and aluminum).in alkaline solutions, i.e. those that are potentially reactive towards calcium hydroxide. The highest amount of active silica was found in zeolite ZSM-5 - 88.15%. The amount of active Al2O3 was small - 1%. The smallest pozzolanic activity was found in the Na-A zeolite (active SiO2 - 4.4%, and active Al2O3 - 2.52). The tests carried out using the XRD, SEM, XRF and textural tests showed that the obtained zeolites are characterized by high porosity, which makes them a valuable addition to mortars.

Keywords: pozzolanic properties, hydration, zeolite, alite

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Authors: Eugene Rybin

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Reduction of nutrient losses when using mineral fertilizers is a very important and urgent challenge, which is of both economic and environmental significance. This paper shows the production of slow- and controlled release fertilizers through application of inorganic coatings, which make the released nutrients plant-available. The method of production of coated fertilizers with inorganic cover material is an alternative to other methods where polymer coatings are used. The method is based on spraying an aqueous slurry onto the surface of granules with simultaneous drying in drums under certain conditions and subsequent cooling of granules. This method of production of slow- and controlled-release fertilizers is more ecofriendly compared with others because inorganic materials are used to create a membrane. That is why the coating material is definitely biodegradable. There is also shown the effect of these coatings on the properties of fertilizers, as well as on the agrochemical efficiency and nutrient efficiency/ availability to the plants. The agrochemical tests have proved the increase of nutrient efficiency for every nutrient in compound fertilizers (NPK, NPS) for 3 consecutive years by 10-20 % and by 25-28% for urea, as well as an increase in crop yield, by 10-15% in general, and its quality. Moreover, the decrease in caking by almost 70% was proven as well as slowing down the release rate of nutrients from fertilizers. Control of the release rate was achieved by regulation of thickness and contents of coating materials. All of those characteristics were researched according to the standard-used methods. The performed research has developed the fertilizer technology of slow- and controlled release of nutrients through applying of plant-available inorganic coatings. It leads to a better synchronization of nutrient release rate and plants needs, as well as reduces the harmful effects on the environment from the fertilizers applied.

Keywords: controlled release, fertilizers, nutrients, plant-available coatings

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Authors: Michael N. O'Sullivan, Con Sheahan

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Mass customization is the idea of offering custom products or services to satisfy the needs of each individual customer while maintaining the efficiency of mass production. Technologies like 3D printing and artificial intelligence have many start-ups hoping to capitalize on this dream of creating personalized products at an affordable price, and well established companies scrambling to innovate and maintain their market share. However, the majority of them are failing as they struggle to understand one key question – where does customization make sense? Customization and personalization only make sense where the value of the perceived benefit outweighs the cost to implement it. In other words, will people pay for it? Looking at the Kano Model makes it clear that it depends on the product. In products where customization is an inherent need, like prosthetics, mass customization technologies can be highly beneficial. However, for products that already sell as a standard, like headphones, offering customization is likely only an added bonus, and so the product development team must figure out if the customers’ perception of the added value of this feature will outweigh its premium price tag. This can be done through the use of a ‘serious game,’ whereby potential customers are given a limited budget to collaboratively buy and bid on potential features of the product before it is developed. If the group choose to buy customization over other features, then the product development team should implement it into their design. If not, the team should prioritize the features on which the customers have spent their budget. The level of customization purchased can also be translated to an appropriate production method, for example, the most expensive type of customization would likely be free-form design and could be achieved through digital fabrication, while a lower level could be achieved through short batch production. Twenty-five teams of final year students from design, engineering, construction and technology tested this methodology when bringing a product from concept through to production specification, and found that it allowed them to confidently decide what level of customization, if any, would be worth offering for their product, and what would be the best method of producing it. They also found that the discussion and negotiations between players during the game led to invaluable insights, and often decided to play a second game where they offered customers the option to buy the various customization ideas that had been discussed during the first game.

Keywords: Kano model, mass customization, new product development, serious game

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Authors: K. Suheiti, P. Soni, Yardha

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Challenges ahead of Indonesian agricultural development include increasing rural welfare, food needs, and the provision of employment through resource optimization that are laid out in agribusiness system. The agricultural system also responsive to the changing strategic environment. However, mounting pressure of population increase and changes in land-uses, require intensive use of agricultural land with modern agricultural machinery. Similarly, environmentally friendly technologies should continue to be developed in an effort to build and develop a good farming practice model. This paper explains the development of agricultural mechanization in Indonesia, particularly on rice production. The method of the research was analyze secondary data, tabulation and interpretation. The result showed, there was a variety of tools and agricultural machinery that have been produced and used by farmers to support national food security. The role of mechanization was needed to support national rice production and food security achievement.

Keywords: farming, Indonesia, mechanization, rice

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Authors: Young Sik Kim, Tae Kwon Ha

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This article considers the problems of economic growth and Russian energy strategy. Also in this paper, the issues related to the economic growth prospects of Russian were discussed. Russian energy strategy without standing Russia`s stature in global energy markets, at the current production and extraction rates, will not be able to sustain its own production as well as fulfil its energy strategy. Indeed, Russia’s energy sector suffers from a chronic lack of investments which are necessary to modernize its energy supply system. In recent years, especially since the international financial crisis, Russia-EU energy cooperation has made substantive progress. Recently the break-through progress has been made, resulting mainly from long-term contributing factors between the countries and recent international economic and political situation changes. Analytical material presented in the article is intended for a more detailed or substantive analysis related to foreign economic relations of the countries and Russia as well.

Keywords: Russia, energy strategy, economic growth, cooperation

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Authors: Julian David Hunt, Andreas Nascimento

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Green hydrogen is the most environmental, renewable alternative to produce hydrogen. However, an important challenge to make hydrogen a competitive energy carrier is a constant supply of renewable energy, such as solar, wind and hydropower. Given that the electricity generation potential of these sources vary seasonally and interannually, this paper proposes installing an electrolysis hydrogen production plant in a ship and move the ship to the locations where electricity is cheap, or where the seasonal potential for renewable generation is high. An example of electrolysis ship application is to produce green hydrogen with hydropower from the North region of Brazil and then sail to the Northeast region of Brazil and generate hydrogen using excess electricity from offshore wind power. The electrolysis ship concept is interesting because it has the flexibility to produce green hydrogen using the cheapest renewable electricity available in the market.

Keywords: green hydrogen, electrolysis ship, renewable energies, seasonal variations

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Authors: David A. Ullisch, Yantree D. Sankar-Thomas, Stefan Wilke, Thomas Selge, Matthias Pump, Thomas Leibold, Kai Schütte, Gilbert Gorr

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Plants have been considered as a source of natural substances for ages. Secondary metabolites from plants are utilized especially in medical applications but are more and more interesting as cosmetical ingredients and in the field of nutraceuticals. However, supply of compounds from natural harvest can be limited by numerous factors i.e. endangered species, low product content, climate impacts and cost intensive extraction. Especially in the pharmaceutical industry the ability to provide sufficient amounts of product and high quality are additional requirements which in some cases are difficult to fulfill by plant harvest. Whereas in many cases the complexity of secondary metabolites precludes chemical synthesis on a reasonable commercial basis, plant cells contain the biosynthetic pathway – a natural chemical factory – for a given compound. A promising approach for the sustainable production of natural products can be plant cell fermentation (PCF®). A thoroughly accomplished development process comprises the identification of a high producing cell line, optimization of growth and production conditions, the development of a robust and reliable production process and its scale-up. In order to address persistent, long lasting production, development of cryopreservation protocols and generation of working cell banks is another important requirement to be considered. So far the most prominent example using a PCF® process is the production of the anticancer compound paclitaxel. To demonstrate the power of plant suspension cultures here we present three case studies: 1) For more than 17 years Phyton produces paclitaxel at industrial scale i.e. up to 75,000 L in scale. With 60 g/kg dw this fully controlled process which is applied according to GMP results in outstanding high yields. 2) Thapsigargin is another anticancer compound which is currently isolated from seeds of Thapsia garganica. Thapsigargin is a powerful cytotoxin – a SERCA inhibitor – and the precursor for the derivative ADT, the key ingredient of the investigational prodrug Mipsagargin (G-202) which is in several clinical trials. Phyton successfully generated plant cell lines capable to express this compound. Here we present data about the screening for high producing cell lines. 3) The third case study covers ingenol-3-mebutate. This compound is found in the milky sap of the intact plants of the Euphorbiacae family at very low concentrations. Ingenol-3-mebutate is used in Picato® which is approved against actinic keratosis. Generation of cell lines expressing significant amounts of ingenol-3-mebutate is another example underlining the strength of plant cell culture. The authors gratefully acknowledge Inspyr Therapeutics for funding.

Keywords: Ingenol-3-mebutate, plant cell culture, sustainability, thapsigargin

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Authors: Dylan Santos De Pinho, Arnaud Gay De Combes, Matthieu Steuhlet, Claude Jeannerat, Nabil Ouerhani

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The Industry 4.0 initiative has been launched to address huge challenges related to ever-smaller batch sizes. The end-user need for highly customized products requires highly adaptive production systems in order to keep the same efficiency of shop floors. Most of the classical Software solutions that operate the manufacturing processes in a shop floor are based on rigid Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), which are not capable to adapt the production order on the fly depending on changing demands and or conditions. In this paper, we present a highly modular and flexible solution to orchestrate a set of production systems composed of a micro-milling machine-tool, a polishing station, a cleaning station, a part inspection station, and a rough material store. The different stations are installed according to a novel matrix configuration of a 3x3 vertical shelf. The different cells of the shelf are connected through horizontal and vertical rails on which a set of shuttles circulate to transport the machined parts from a station to another. Our software solution for orchestrating the tasks of each station is based on a Multi-Agent System. Each station and each shuttle is operated by an autonomous agent. All agents communicate with a central agent that holds all the information about the manufacturing order. The core innovation of this paper lies in the path planning of the different shuttles with two major objectives: 1) reduce the waiting time of stations and thus reduce the cycle time of the entire part, and 2) reduce the disturbances like vibration generated by the shuttles, which highly impacts the manufacturing process and thus the quality of the final part. Simulation results show that the cycle time of the parts is reduced by up to 50% compared with MES operated linear production lines while the disturbance is systematically avoided for the critical stations like the milling machine-tool.

Keywords: multi-agent systems, micro-manufacturing, flexible manufacturing, transfer systems

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Authors: Afsaneh Mohammadnejad, Marianne Nygaard, Jan Baumbach, Shuxia Li, Weilong Li, Jesper Lund, Jacob v. B. Hjelmborg, Lene Christensen, Qihua Tan

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Cognitive impairment in the elderly is a key issue affecting the quality of life. Despite a strong genetic background in cognition, only a limited number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been found. These explain a small proportion of the genetic component of cognitive function, thus leaving a large proportion unaccounted for. We hypothesize that one reason for this missing heritability is the misspecified modeling in data analysis concerning phenotype distribution as well as the relationship between SNP dosage and the phenotype of interest. In an attempt to overcome these issues, we introduced a model-free method based on the generalized correlation coefficient (GCC) in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of cognitive function in twin samples and compared its performance with two popular linear regression models. The GCC-based GWAS identified two genome-wide significant (P-value < 5e-8) SNPs; rs2904650 near ZDHHC2 on chromosome 8 and rs111256489 near CD6 on chromosome 11. The kinship model also detected two genome-wide significant SNPs, rs112169253 on chromosome 4 and rs17417920 on chromosome 7, whereas no genome-wide significant SNPs were found by the linear mixed model (LME). Compared to the linear models, more meaningful biological pathways like GABA receptor activation, ion channel transport, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, and the renin-angiotensin system were found to be enriched by SNPs from GCC. The GCC model outperformed the linear regression models by identifying more genome-wide significant genetic variants and more meaningful biological pathways related to cognitive function. Moreover, GCC-based GWAS was robust in handling genetically related twin samples, which is an important feature in handling genetic confounding in association studies.

Keywords: cognition, generalized correlation coefficient, GWAS, twins

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Authors: Karen L. Middlemiss, Denham G. Cook, Peter Jaksons, Alistair Jerrett, William Davison

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Lateralisation of cognitive function is a common phenomenon found throughout the animal kingdom. Strong biases in functional behaviours have evolved from asymmetrical brain hemispheres which differ in structure and/or cognitive function. In fish, lateralisation is involved in visually mediated behaviours such as schooling, predator avoidance, and foraging, and is considered to have a direct impact on species fitness. Currently, there is very little literature on the role of lateralisation in fish schools. The yellow-eyed mullet (Aldrichetta forsteri), is an estuarine and coastal species found commonly throughout temperate regions of Australia and New Zealand. This study sought to quantify visually mediated behaviours in yellow-eyed mullet to identify the significance of lateralisation, and the factors which influence functional behaviours in schooling fish. Our approach to study design was to conduct a series of tank based experiments investigating; a) individual and population level lateralisation, b) schooling behaviour, and d) optic lobe anatomy. Yellow-eyed mullet showed individual variation in direction and strength of lateralisation in juveniles, and trait specific spatial positioning within the school was evidenced in strongly lateralised fish. In combination with observed differences in schooling behaviour, the possibility of ontogenetic plasticity in both behavioural lateralisation and optic lobe morphology in adults is suggested. These findings highlight the need for research into the genetic and environmental factors (epigenetics) which drive functional behaviours such as schooling, feeding and aggression. Improved knowledge on collective behaviour could have significant benefits to captive rearing programmes through improved culture techniques and will add to the limited body of knowledge on the complex ecophysiological interactions present in our inshore fisheries.

Keywords: cerebral asymmetry, fisheries, schooling, visual bias

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Authors: Natarajan Tirupattur Srinivasan

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Quantum mechanics( QM) and (special) relativity (SR) have indeed revolutionized the very thinking of physicists, and the spectacular successes achieved over a century due to these two theories are mind-boggling. However, there is still a strong disquiet among some physicists. While the mathematical structure of these two theories has been established beyond any doubt, their physical interpretations are still being contested by many. Even after a hundred years of their existence, we cannot answer a very simple question, “What is an electron”? Physicists are struggling even now to come to grips with the different interpretations of quantum mechanics with all their ramifications. However, it is indeed strange that the (special) relativity theory of Einstein enjoys many orders of magnitude of “acceptance”, though both theories have their own stocks of weirdness in the results, like time dilation, mass increase with velocity, the collapse of the wave function, quantum jump, tunnelling, etc. Here, in this paper, it would be shown that by postulating an intrinsic internal motion to these enigmatic electrons, one can build a fairly consistent picture of reality, revealing a very simple picture of nature. This is also evidenced by Schrodinger’s ‘Zitterbewegung’ motion, about which so much has been written. This leads to a helical trajectory of electrons when they move in a laboratory frame. It will be shown that the helix is a three-dimensional wave having all the characteristics of our familiar 2D wave. Again, the helix, being a geodesic on an imaginary cylinder, supports ‘quantization’, and its representation is just the complex exponentials matching with the wave function of quantum mechanics. By postulating the instantaneous velocity of the electrons to be always ‘c’, the velocity of light, the entire relativity comes alive, and we can interpret the ‘time dilation’, ‘mass increase with velocity’, etc., in a very simple way. Thus, this model unifies both QM and SR without the need for a counterintuitive postulate of Einstein about the constancy of the velocity of light for all inertial observers. After all, if the motion of an inertial frame cannot affect the velocity of light, the converse that this constant also cannot affect the events in the frame must be true. But entire relativity is about how ‘c’ affects time, length, mass, etc., in different frames.

Keywords: quantum reconstruction, special theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, zitterbewegung, complex wave function, helix, geodesic, Schrodinger’s wave equations

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Authors: Ranadhir Roy

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Inverse problems arise in medical (molecular) imaging. These problems are characterized by large in three dimensions, and by the diffusion equation which models the physical phenomena within the media. The inverse problems are posed as a nonlinear optimization where the unknown parameters are found by minimizing the difference between the predicted data and the measured data. To obtain a unique and stable solution to an ill-posed inverse problem, a priori information must be used. Mathematical conditions to obtain stable solutions are established in Tikhonov’s regularization method, where the a priori information is introduced via a stabilizing functional, which may be designed to incorporate some relevant information of an inverse problem. Effective determination of the Tikhonov regularization parameter requires knowledge of the true solution, or in the case of optical imaging, the true image. Yet, in, clinically-based imaging, true image is not known. To alleviate these difficulties we have applied the penalty/modified barrier function (PMBF) method instead of Tikhonov regularization technique to make the inverse problems well-posed. Unlike the Tikhonov regularization method, the constrained optimization technique, which is based on simple bounds of the optical parameter properties of the tissue, can easily be implemented in the PMBF method. Imposing the constraints on the optical properties of the tissue explicitly restricts solution sets and can restore uniqueness. Like the Tikhonov regularization method, the PMBF method limits the size of the condition number of the Hessian matrix of the given objective function. The accuracy and the rapid convergence of the PMBF method require a good initial guess of the Lagrange multipliers. To obtain the initial guess of the multipliers, we use a least square unconstrained minimization problem. Three-dimensional images of fluorescence absorption coefficients and lifetimes were reconstructed from contact and noncontact experimentally measured data.

Keywords: constrained minimization, ill-conditioned inverse problems, Tikhonov regularization method, penalty modified barrier function method

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Authors: Constanza A. Barriga, Rafael Bernardi, Amokrane Berdja, Christian D. Guzman

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Most image restoration methods in astronomy rely upon probabilistic tools that infer the best solution for a deconvolution problem. They achieve good performances when the point spread function (PSF) is spatially invariable in the image plane. However, this latter condition is not always satisfied with real optical systems. PSF angular variations cannot be evaluated directly from the observations, neither be corrected at a pixel resolution. We have developed a method for the restoration of images affected by static and anisotropic aberrations using deep neural networks that can be directly applied to sky images. The network is trained using simulated sky images corresponding to the T-80 telescope optical system, an 80 cm survey imager at Cerro Tololo (Chile), which are synthesized using a Zernike polynomial representation of the optical system. Once trained, the network can be used directly on sky images, outputting a corrected version of the image, which has a constant and known PSF across its field-of-view. The method was tested with the T-80 telescope, achieving better results than with PSF deconvolution techniques. We present the method and results on this telescope.

Keywords: aberrations, deep neural networks, image restoration, variable point spread function, wide field images

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Authors: Jéssica Ferreira Rodrigues, Júlio Silvio De Sousa Bueno Filho, Vanessa Rios De Souza, Ana Carla Marques Pinheiro

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This study aimed to evaluate the implications of the block size and testing order on efficiency and precision of preference estimation for Dulce de leche samples. Efficiency was defined as the inverse of the average variance of pairwise comparisons among treatments. Precision was defined as the inverse of the variance of treatment means (or effects) estimates. The experiment was originally designed to test 16 treatments as a series of 8 Sudoku 16x16 designs being 4 randomized independently and 4 others in the reverse order, to yield balance in testing order. Linear mixed models were assigned to the whole experiment with 112 testers and all their grades, as well as their partially balanced subgroups, namely: a) experiment with the four initial EU; b) experiment with EU 5 to 8; c) experiment with EU 9 to 12; and b) experiment with EU 13 to 16. To record responses we used a nine-point hedonic scale, it was assumed a mixed linear model analysis with random tester and treatments effects and with fixed test order effect. Analysis of a cumulative random effects probit link model was very similar, with essentially no different conclusions and for simplicity, we present the results using Gaussian assumption. R-CRAN library lme4 and its function lmer (Fit Linear Mixed-Effects Models) was used for the mixed models and libraries Bayesthresh (default Gaussian threshold function) and ordinal with the function clmm (Cumulative Link Mixed Model) was used to check Bayesian analysis of threshold models and cumulative link probit models. It was noted that the number of samples tested in the same session can influence the acceptance level, underestimating the acceptance. However, proving a large number of samples can help to improve the samples discrimination.

Keywords: acceptance, block size, mixed linear model, testing order, testing order

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Authors: Musa Ogah Ari

Abstract:

Poverty has engaged the attention of the global community. Both the rich and poor countries are concerned about its prevalence and impacts. This phenomenon is more pervasive among developing countries with the greater challenges manifesting among African countries. In Nigeria people live with very low income, and so decent three-square meals, clothes, shelter and other basic necessities are very difficult to come by for most of the population. Qualitative health facilities are seriously lacking to over 160 million population in the state. Equally lacking are educational and social infrastructures that can be available to the people at affordable rates. Roads linking the interior parts of the state are generally in deplorable conditions, particularly in the rainy season. Safe drinking water is hard to come by as the state is not properly placed and equipped to function in full capacity to serve the interest of the people. The challenges of poverty is definitely enormous for both the national and state governments consequently, debilitating scourge of poverty. As the ruling elites in Nigeria claim to reduce the rising profile of poverty through series of policies and programmes, food production, promotion and funding of co-operatives for agriculture, improvement of infrastructures at the rural areas to guaranteeing employment through skill acquisition, assistance of rural women to break away from poverty and the provision of small scale credit facilities to poor members of the public were abysmally low. It is observed that the poverty alleviation programmes and policies failed because they were by nature, character and implementation pro-elites and anti-masses. None of the programmes or policies engaged the rural poor either in terms of formulation or implementation.

Keywords: the state, poverty, government policies, strategies, social amenities, corruption

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Authors: Nicholas Pearce, Eun-jin Kim

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Pathologies of the cardiovascular (CV) system remain a serious and deadly health problem for human society. Computational modelling provides a relatively accessible tool for diagnosis, treatment, and research into CV disorders. However, numerical models of the CV system have largely focused on the function of the ventricles, frequently overlooking the behaviour of the atria. Furthermore, in the study of the pressure-volume relationship of the heart, which is a key diagnosis of cardiac vascular pathologies, previous works often evoke popular yet questionable time-varying elastance (TVE) method that imposes the pressure-volume relationship instead of calculating it consistently. Despite the convenience of the TVE method, there have been various indications of its limitations and the need for checking its validity in different scenarios. A model of the combined left ventricle (LV) and left atrium (LA) is presented, which consistently considers various feedback mechanisms in the heart without having to use the TVE method. Specifically, a synergistic model of the left ventricle is extended and modified to include the function of the LA. The synergy of the original model is preserved by modelling the electro-mechanical and chemical functions of the micro-scale myofiber for the LA and integrating it with the microscale and macro-organ-scale heart dynamics of the left ventricle and CV circulation. The atrioventricular node function is included and forms the conduction pathway for electrical signals between the atria and ventricle. The model reproduces the essential features of LA behaviour, such as the two-phase pressure-volume relationship and the classic figure of eight pressure-volume loops. Using this model, disorders in the internal cardiac electrical signalling are investigated by recreating the mechano-electric feedback (MEF), which is impossible where the time-varying elastance method is used. The effects of AV node block and slow conduction are then investigated in the presence of an atrial arrhythmia. It is found that electrical disorders and arrhythmia in the LA degrade the CV system by reducing the cardiac output, power, and heart rate.

Keywords: cardiovascular system, left atrium, numerical model, MEF

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Authors: Bahram Fathi, Seyedhossein Sajadifar, Naser Khiabani

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Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has recently gained popularity in energy efficiency analysis. A common feature of the previously proposed DEA models for measuring energy efficiency performance is that they treat energy consumption as an input within a production framework without considering undesirable outputs. However, energy use results in the generation of undesirable outputs as byproducts of producing desirable outputs. Within a joint production framework of both desirable and undesirable outputs, this paper presents several DEA-type linear programming models for measuring energy efficiency performance. In addition to considering undesirable outputs, our models treat different energy sources as different inputs so that changes in energy mix could be accounted for in evaluating energy efficiency. The proposed models are applied to measure the energy efficiency performances of 12 OPEC countries and the results obtained are presented.

Keywords: energy efficiency, undesirable outputs, data envelopment analysis

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Authors: Pauline Cuenin, Marcelo Leles Romarco Oliveira

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Based on their localities and following their ecological rationality, family-based farmers have experimented, adapted and innovated to improve their production systems continuously for millennia. With the technological package transfer processes of the so-called Green Revolution for agricultural holdings, farmers have become increasingly dependent on ready-made "recipes" built from so-called "universal" and global knowledge to face the problems that emerge in the management of local agroecosystems, thus reducing their creative and experiential capacities. However, the production of novelties within farms is fundamental to the transition to more sustainable agro food systems. In fact, as the fruits of local knowledge and / or the contextualization of exogenous knowledge, novelties are seen as seeds of transition. By presenting new techniques, new organizational forms and epistemological approaches, agroecology was pointed out as a way to encourage and promote the creative capacity of farmers. From this perspective, this theoretical work aims to analyze how agroecology encourages the innovative capacity of farmers, and in general, the production of novelties. For this, an analysis was made of the theoretical and methodological bases of agroecology through a literature review, specifically looking for the way in which it articulates the local with the global, complemented by an analysis of agro ecological Brazilian experiences. It was emphasized that, based on the peasant way of doing agriculture, that is, on ecological / social co-evolution or still called co-production (interaction between human beings and living nature), agroecology recognizes and revalues peasant involves the deep interactions of the farmer with his site (bio-physical and social). As a "place science," practice and movement, it specifically takes into consideration the local and empirical knowledge of farmers, which allows questioning and modifying the paradigms that underpin the current agriculture that have disintegrated farmers' creative processes. In addition to upgrade the local, agroecology allows the dialogue of local knowledge with global knowledge, essential in the process of changes to get out of the dominant logic of thought and give shape to new experiences. In order to reach this articulation, agroecology involves new methodological focuses seeking participatory methods of study and intervention that express themselves in the form of horizontal spaces of socialization and collective learning that involve several actors with different knowledge. These processes promoted by agroecology favor the production of novelties at local levels for expansion at other levels, such as the global, through trans local agro ecological networks.

Keywords: agroecology, creativity, global, local, novelty

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Authors: Doyoung Kim, Hyo Seon Park

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Studies of System Identification(SI) based on Structural Health Monitoring(SHM) have actively conducted for structural safety. Recently SI techniques have been rapidly developed with output-only SI paradigm for estimating modal parameters. The features of these output-only SI methods consist of Frequency Domain Decomposition(FDD) and Stochastic Subspace Identification(SSI) are using the algorithms based on orthogonal decomposition such as singular value decomposition(SVD). But the SVD leads to high level of computational complexity to estimate modal parameters. This paper proposes the technique to estimate mode shape with lower computational cost. This technique shows pseudo modal Operating Deflections Shape(ODS) through bandpass filter and suggests time history Modal Assurance Criterion(MAC). Finally, mode shape could be estimated from pseudo modal ODS and time history MAC. Analytical simulations of vibration measurement were performed and the results with mode shape and computation time between representative SI method and proposed method were compared.

Keywords: modal assurance criterion, mode shape, operating deflection shape, system identification

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Authors: Ali Zaker, Zhi Chen

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Due to the concerns about the depletion of fossil fuel sources and the deteriorating environment, the attempt to investigate the production of renewable energy will play a crucial role as a potential to alleviate the dependency on mineral fuels. In this respect, biofuels are measured as a vital nominee for national energy security and energy sustainability. Sewage sludge (SS), as an alternative source of renewable energy with a complex composition, is a major waste generated during wastewater treatment. Stricter legislation is continuously refining the requirements for the level of removal of various pollutants in treated water, causing continuous growth of sludge production, which has become a global challenge. In general, there are two main procedures for dealing with SS: incineration and landfill. However, there are a variety of limitations in these options (e.g., production of greenhouse gases and restrictive environmental regulations) in regard to negative social and economic impacts. Pyrolysis is a feasible and cost-effective technology that can simultaneously tackle boundaries concerning the current disposal routes while retrieving bioenergy. Pyrolysis of SS has drawn vigorous interest in research due to the ability of high mass yield of pyrolytic liquid production. Nonetheless, the presence of high molecular weight hydrocarbons and oxygenated- and nitrogenated compounds poses a considerable challenge. In this context, catalytic pyrolysis is another attainable route in order to upgrade the bio-oil quality. Among different catalysts (i.e., zeolites) studied for sewage sludge pyrolysis, activated chars are eco-friendly and low-cost alternatives. The beneficial features comprise comparatively large surface area, long-term stability, and enriched surface functional groups. In light of these premises, this research attempts to investigate the catalytic pyrolysis of sewage sludge with a high-performance sludge-based activated char in contrast to HZSM5 from a theoretical and experimental point of view.

Keywords: catalytic pyrolysis, sewage sludge, char, HZSM5, bio-oil.

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Authors: Maria A. Castillo H., Andres R. Leandro, Jose F. Bienvenido B.

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In 2015, Guatemala officially adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) according to the 2030 Agenda agreed by the United Nations Organization. In 2016, these objectives and goals were reviewed, and the National Priorities were established within the K'atún 2032 National Development Plan. In 2019 and 2021, progress was evaluated with 120 defined indicators, and the need to improve quality and availability of statistical data necessary for the analysis of sustainability indicators was detected, so the values to be reached in 2024 and 2032 were adjusted. The need for greater agricultural technology is one of the priorities established within SDG 2 "Zero Hunger". Within this area, protected agricultural production provides greater productivity throughout the year, reduces the use of chemical products to control pests and diseases, reduces the negative impact of climate and improves product quality. During the crisis caused by Covid-19, there was an increase in exports of fruits and vegetables produced in greenhouses from Guatemala. However, this information has not been considered in the 2021 revision of the Plan. The objective of this study is to evaluate the information available on Greenhouse Agricultural Production and its integration into the Sustainability Indicators for Guatemala. This study was carried out in four phases: 1. Analysis of the Goals established for SDG 2 and the indicators included in the K'atún Plan. 2. Analysis of Environmental, Social and Economic Indicator Models. 3. Definition of territorial levels in 2 geographic scales: Departments and Municipalities. 4. Diagnosis of the available data on technological agricultural production with emphasis on Greenhouses at the 2 geographical scales. A summary of the results is presented for each phase and finally some recommendations for future research are added. The main contribution of this work is to improve the available data that allow the incorporation of some agricultural technology indicators in the established goals, to evaluate their impact on Food Security and Nutrition, Employment and Investment, Poverty, the use of Water and Natural Resources, and to provide a methodology applicable to other production models and other geographical areas.

Keywords: greenhouses, protected agriculture, sustainable indicators, Guatemala, sustainability, SDG

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Authors: Mustafa Kara, Yasemin Kilic, Bahattin Murat Demir, Ümit Ustaoglu, Cavit Unal

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This paper reports utilization of different kind of construction and demolition wastes (C&D) in the production of bricks at industrial scale. Plastered brick waste and tile wastes were collected from ISTAÇ Co. Compost and Recovery Plant, Istanbul, Turkey. Plastered brick waste and tile waste are mixed with brick clay in the proportion of 0-30% and fired at 900ºC. The physical and mechanical properties of the produced bricks were determined and evaluated according to IKIZLER Brick Company Production values, Brick Industry Association (BIA) and Turkish Standards (TS). The resulted showed that plastered brick waste and tile waste can be used to produce good quality brick for various engineering applications in construction and building. The replacement of brick clay by plastered brick waste and tile waste at the levels of 30% has good effects on the compressive strength of the bricks.

Keywords: commercial brick, construction and demolition waste, manufacturing, recycling

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Authors: Nataly De La Pava, Christian S. A. Silva-Torres, Arodí P. Favaris, José Maurício S. Bento

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The lady beetles Tenuisvalve notata and Cryptolaemus montrouzieri are important predators of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). Similar to the prey, these lady beetles produce wax filaments that cover their body during the larval stage. It has been hypothesized that lady beetle body wax chemical profiles are similar to their prey as i) a mechanism of camouflage and ii) conveying protection to the lady beetle larvae against aphid-tending predatory ants. In this study, we tested those hypotheses for the predators T. notata and C. montrouzieri and two mealybug prey species, Ferissia dasyrilii, and Planococcus citri. Next, we evaluated the influence of feeding on cuticular chemistry during predator development and identified possible metabolic costs associated with wax production. Cuticular wax samples were analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID. Also, the metabolic cost linked to wax production was evaluated in the 4th instar larvae of the two predators when subjected to body wax removal from 0 to 4 times. Results showed that predator body wax profiles are not similar to the chemical profile of prey body wax. There was a metabolic cost associated with wax removal; predators (male and female) showed a significant reduction in adult body weight when the wax was removed. This suggests the reallocation of energy to wax replacement instead of growth. In addition, it was detected effects of wax removal on fecundity and egg viability. The results do not support the hypothesis that predators mimic the cuticular wax composition of prey as a means of camouflage.

Keywords: biological control, body wax, coccinellids, cuticular hydrocarbons, metabolism cost, reproduction

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Authors: Yağmur Can Gündoğan, Kübra Gürcan Bayrak, Ece Özerdem, Buse Katipoğlu, Erhan Ayas, Rifat Yılmaz

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Eutectic oxide based ceramic matrix composites have a unique microstructure that does not include grain boundary in the form of a continuous network. Because of this, these materials have the properties of perfect high-temperature strength, creep strength, and high oxidation strength. Mechanical properties of them are much related to occurring solidification structures during eutectic reactions. One of the most important production methods of this kind of material is the process of vacuum arc melting. Within scope of this studying, it is aimed to investigate the production of Al₂O₃-YAG-based eutectic ceramics by Arc melting and Spark Plasma Sintering methods for use in aerospace and defense industries where high-temperature environments play an important role and to examine the effects of ZrO₂ and LiF additions on microstructure development and mechanical properties.

Keywords: alumina, composites, eutectic, YAG

Procedia PDF Downloads 101