Search results for: manufacturing sites

Authors: Violina Angelova, Mariana Perifanova-Nemska, Krasimir Ivanov

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The aim of this research was to investigate the potential for the use of Ricinus communis L. (castor oil plant) to remediate metal-polluted sites. This study was performed in industrially polluted soils containing high concentrations of Zn, Pb and Cd, situated at different distances (0.3, 2.0 and 15.0 km) from the source of pollution - the Non-Ferrous Metal Works near Plovdiv, Bulgaria. On reaching commercial ripeness, the castor oil plants were gathered and the contents of heavy metals in their different parts – roots, stems, leaves and seeds, were determined after dry ashing. Physico-chemical characterization, total, DTPA extractable and water-soluble metals in rhizospheric soil samples were carried. Translocation factors (TFs) were also determined. The quantitative measurements were carried out with ICP. A soxhlet extraction was used for the extraction of the oil, using hexane as solvent. The oil was recovered by simple distillation of the solvent. The residual oil obtained was investigated for physicochemical parameters and fatty acid composition. Bioaccumulation factor and translocation factor values (BAF and TF > 1) were greater than one suggesting efficient accumulation in the shoot. The castor oil plant may be preferred as a good candidate for phytoremediation (phytoextraction). These results indicate that R. communis has good potential for removing Pb from contaminated soils attributed to its fast growth, high biomass, strong absorption and accumulation for Pb. The concentrations of heavy metals in the oil were low as seed coats accumulated the highest concentrations of Cd and Pb. In addition, the result of the fatty acid composition analysis confirms the oil to be of good quality and can be used for industrial purposes such as cosmetics, soaps and paint.

Keywords: castor bean, heavy metals, phytoremediation, polluted soils

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Authors: Sadaf Saeed

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The consideration of walkability as an urban design parameter in conjunction with transit-oriented development is an established trend in the developed countries but an upcoming trend in developing countries. In Pakistan, the first Bus Rapid Transit (locally called as Metro Bus) has been introduced in the city of Lahore in 2013 where around 40 percent of the riders access to transit stations by walking. To what extent the aspect of walkability has been considered in the local scenario? To address this question, this paper presents an account of urban design parameters regarding pedestrian provisions and quality of walking environment between Metro Bus stations and users’ destination in the transit neighbourhoods (areas up to 500-meter radius). The primary and secondary data for objective and subjective walkability measurements has been used for neighbourhoods of five selected transit stations ranked against the predefined critical assessed factors (CAF). The multi-criteria approach including visual and geospatially-based parameters at street level, along with walkability index score at selected sites linked with CAF evaluation were the selected methods for this study. The acceptability of walkability as an urban design parameter for transit planning in terms of connectivity and social implications of the concept has also been analysed in the local context. The paper highlights that the aspect of walkability in Lahore is being derelict owing to the focus of government on other initiatives such as park and ride and feeder bus services for mobility of passengers. However, the pedestrian-friendly design parameters as a part of future transit planning can enhance social, liveable and interactive walking environment within transit neighbourhoods.

Keywords: walkability, sustainability, transit neighborhoods, social communities

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Arun K. Yadav, Adam J. Carroll, Gonzalo M. Estavillo, Greg J. Rebetzke, Barry J. Pogson

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Water limits crop productivity, so selecting for minimal yield-gap in drier environments is critical to mitigate against climate change and land-use pressures. To date, no markers measured in glasshouses have been reported to predict field-based drought tolerance. In the field, the best measure of drought tolerance is yield-gap; but this requires multisite trials that are an order of magnitude more resource intensive and can be impacted by weather variation. We investigated the responses of relative water content (RWC), stomatal conductance (gs), chlorophyll content and metabolites in flag leaves of commercial wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars to three drought treatments in the glasshouse and field environments. We observed strong genetic associations between glasshouse-based RWC, metabolites and Yield gap-based Drought Tolerance (YDT): the ratio of yield in water-limited versus well-watered conditions across 24 field environments spanning sites and seasons. Critically, RWC response to glasshouse drought was strongly associated with both YDT (r2 = 0.85, p < 8E-6) and RWC under field drought (r2 = 0.77, p < 0.05). Multiple regression analyses revealed that 98% of genetic YDT variance was explained by drought responses of four metabolites: serine, asparagine, methionine and lysine (R2 = 0.98; p < 0.01). Fitted coefficients suggested that, for given levels of serine and asparagine, stronger methionine and lysine accumulation was associated with higher YDT. Collectively, our results demonstrate that high-throughput, targeted metabolic phenotyping of glasshouse-grown plants may be an effective tool for the selection of wheat cultivars with high YDT in the field.

Keywords: drought stress, grain yield, metabolomics, stomatal conductance, wheat

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Authors: Muhammad Ishaqa, Quanchao Zhanga, Qian Wangb

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The Indus Valley Civilization is predominantly found in the northeast of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the northwest of India and is considered one of the four ancient civilizations of the Old World, as well as the first urban civilization in South Asia. In 1920, John Marshall and other archaeologists established the existence of this civilization. Over the course of a century, India and Pakistan have made significant advancements in their joint archaeological investigation and excavation, contributing to the study of the Indus Valley Civilization. Given the importance of early discovery and confirmation of this civilization, our research focuses on the academic history of its archaeology by gathering published research material. Our research begins by collecting research data associated with the Indus Valley Civilization and documenting the process of archaeological investigations and excavations from the 19th century until the present day. We also summarize the archaeological works conducted during different periods. Furthermore, we present the primary academic views on the Indus Civilization from the 19th century until the present, explaining their developmental process and highlighting recent research. This forms a foundation for further study. We discovered that the archaeological research of the Indus Civilization is significantly influenced by Western archaeology and has yet to establish an independent, local research system. We delve into the three primary sites of the Indus Valley Civilization - Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, and Chanhudaro - discussing their history and archaeological excavation records. Our findings indicate that the Indus Civilization is solely dependent on archaeology, distinguishing it from the Sumerian Civilization and verifying that it originates from the Bronze Age of the Indus Valley. Lastly, we examine the primary academic issues associated with the Indus Civilization in greater depth. These issues include climate environment, political system, primitive religion, and academic contribution.

Keywords: Indus Valley civilization, archaeology, Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro

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Authors: Comfort Adeoye, Anthony Eneji

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Lead pollution by mining, industrial dumping, and other anthropogenic uses are corroding the environment. Efforts being made to control it include physical, chemical and biological methods. The failure of the aforementioned methods are largely due to the fact that they are cumbersome, expensive, and not eco-friendly. Some plant species can be used for remediation of these pollutants. The objective of this work is to investigate the abilities of two native weed species to remediate two lead-polluted soils: a) Battery dumpsite and, (b) Naturally occurring lead mine. Soil samples were taken from the two sites: a) Kumapayi in Ibadan, a battery dumpsite, (b) Zamfara, a natural lead mine. Screen house experiment in Complete Randomized Design (CRD) replicated three times was carried out at I.I.T.A. Unpolluted soils were collected and polluted with various rates of lead concentrations of 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5%. These were planted with weed species. Plant growth parameters were monitored for twelve weeks, after which the plants were harvested. Dry weight and plant uptake of the lead were taken. Analysis of data was carried out using, Genstat, Excel and descriptive statistics. Relative concentration of lead (Pb) in the above and below ground parts of Gomphrena celusoides revealed that a higher amount of Pb is taken up in the root compared with the shoots at different levels of Pb pollution. However, lead uptake at 0.5% > 0.2% > 0.1% > Control. In essence, phytoremediation of Gomphrena is highest at soil pollution of 0.5% and its retention is greater in the root than the shoot.In S. pyramidalis, soil retention ranges from 0.1% > 0.5% > 0.2% > control. Uptake is highest at 0.5% > 0.1% > 0.2 in stem. Uptake in leaves is highest at 0.2%, but none in the 0.5% pollution. Therefore, different plant species exhibited different accumulative mode probably due to their physiological and rooting systems. Gomphrena spp. rooting system is tap root,while that of S.pyramidalis is fibrous.

Keywords: grass, lead, phytoremediation, pollution

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Authors: Hong-Yi Kuo

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Leadership is a key factor of improving workplace safety, and there have been abundant of studies which support the positive effects of appropriate leadership on employee safety performance in the western academic. However, little safety research focus on the Chinese leadership style like paternalistic leadership. To fill this gap, the resent study aims to examine the relationship between authoritarian leadership (one of the ternary mode in paternalistic leadership) and safety outcomes. This study makes hypothesis on different levels. First, on the group level, as an authoritarian leader regards safety value as the most important tasks, there would be positive effect on group safety outcomes through strengthening safety group norms by the emphasis on etiquette. Second, on the cross level, when a leader with authoritarian style has high priority on safety, employees may more obey the safety rules because of fear due to emphasis on absolute authority over the leader. Therefore, employees may show more safety performance and then increase individual safety outcomes. Survey data would be collected from 50 manufacturing groups (each group with more than 5 members and a leader) and a hierarchical linear modeling analysis would be conducted to analyze the hypothesis. Above the predictive result, the study expects to be a cornerstone of safety leadership research in the Chinese academic and practice.

Keywords: safety leadership, authoritarian leadership, group norms, safety behavior, supervisor safety priority

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Authors: Shotiros Protong

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In recent years, Thailand has been affected by climate change phenomenon, which is clearly seen from the season change for different times. The occurrence of violent storms, heavy rains, floods, and drought were found in several areas. In a long dry period, the water supply is not adequate in drought areas. Nowadays, it is renowned that there is a significant decrease of rainwater use for household consumption in rural area of Thailand. Rainwater harvesting is the practice of collection and storage of rainwater in storage tanks before it is lost as surface run-off. Rooftop rainwater harvesting is used to provide drinking water, domestic water, and water for livestock. Rainwater harvesting in households is an alternative for people to readily prepare water resources for their own consumptions during the drought season, can help mitigate flooding of flooded plains, and also may reduce demand on the basin and well. It also helps in the availability of potable water, as rainwater is substantially free of salts. Application of rainwater harvesting in rural water system provide a substantial benefit for both water supply and wastewater subsystems by reducing the need for clean water in water distribution systems, less generated storm water in sewer systems, and a reduction in storm water runoff polluting freshwater bodies. The combination of rainwater quality and rainfall quantity is used to determine proper rainwater harvesting for household consumption to be safe and adequate for survivals. Rainwater quality analysis is compared with the drinking water standard. In terms of rainfall quantity, the observed rainfall data are interpolated by GIS 10.5 and showed by map during 1980 to 2020, used to assess the annual yield for household consumptions.

Keywords: rainwater harvesting, drinking water standard, annual yield, rainfall quantity

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Authors: Arkaprabha Bhattacharyya, Makarand Hastak

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The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in terms of its global reach and economic impacts. Historically, investment in infrastructure development projects has been touted to boost the economic growth of a nation. The State and Local governments responsible for delivering infrastructure assets work under tight budgets. Therefore, it is important to understand which infrastructure projects have the highest potential of boosting economic growth in the post-pandemic era. This paper presents relationships between infrastructure projects and economic growth. Statistical relationships between investment in different types of infrastructure projects (transit, water and wastewater, highways, power, manufacturing etc.) and indicators of economic growth are presented using historic data between 2002 and 2020 from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The outcome of the paper is the comparison of statistical correlations between investment in different types of infrastructure projects and indicators of economic growth. The comparison of the statistical correlations is useful in ranking the types of infrastructure projects based on their ability to influence economic prosperity. Therefore, investment in the infrastructures with the higher rank will have a better chance of boosting the economic growth. Once, the ranks are derived, they can be used by the decision-makers in infrastructure investment related decision-making process.

Keywords: economic growth, infrastructure development, infrastructure projects, strategic investment

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Authors: Pham Duc Hieu, Do Thi Huong Lan

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The aim of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting the extent of voluntary disclosure by examining the annual reports of 205 industrial and manufacturing companies listing on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HSX) and Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) for the year end of 2012. Those factors include company size, profitability, leverage, state ownership, managerial ownership, and foreign ownership, board independence, role duality and type of external auditors. Evidence from this study suggests two main findings. (1) Companies with high foreign ownership have a high level of voluntary disclosure. (2) The company size is an important factor related to the increased level of voluntary disclosure in annual reports made by Vietnamese listed companies. The larger the company, the higher the information is disclosed. However, no significant associations are found between profitability, leverage, state ownership, managerial ownership, board independence, role duality and type of external auditors as hypothesized in this study.

Keywords: voluntary disclosure, Vietnamese listed companies, voluntary, duality

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Authors: Rehan Ullah

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This paper explores the hypothesis that technology can be used to improve product quality, speed up delivery and reduced cost. For companies improving the quality of their products, reducing the cost and improving the speed of delivery makes them favorable to the client who feels like all their needs have been met. The research occurs between the months of January 2018 to April 2018 which is about four months. The research experiment design uses the pretest-posttest experimental design set up between two companies both using the traditional method of manufacturing with no technology. In one company technology is introduced while in the other company the process remains the same traditional method of production. Both companies analyze the results at the end of a four-month period before a conclusion is drawn from both the pretest and the final test. The experiment results show that technology improves quality of the product, improves the speed of delivery while at the same time reduce cost benefiting both the producer and the client. Technology should, therefore, be implemented in companies to give them an edge over the competition. With technology in companies, the United States can reclaim production from overseas companies that have taken over by providing cheap labor. Better satisfied customers mean more production which in turn means more jobs for the people in the United States.

Keywords: technology, quality of product, speed up delivery, cost

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Authors: Naoki Yamamoto, Hidenobu Ozaki, Taiichiro Ookawa, Youming Liu, Kazunori Okada, Aiping Zheng

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Rice sheath blight is one of the destructive fungal diseases in rice. We have thought that rice sheath blight resistance is a polygenic trait. Host-pathogen interactions and secondary metabolites such as lignin and phytoalexins are likely to be involved in defense against R. solani. However, to our knowledge, it is still unknown how sheath blight resistance can be enhanced in rice breeding. To seek for an alternative genetic factor that contribute to sheath blight resistance, we mined relevant allelic variations from rice core collections created in Japan. Based on disease lesion length on detached leaf sheath, we selected 30 varieties of the top tail-end and the bottom tail-end, respectively, from the core collections to perform genome-wide association mapping. Re-sequencing reads for these varieties were used for calling single nucleotide polymorphisms among the 60 varieties to create a SNP panel, which contained 1,137,131 homozygous variant sites after filitering. Association mapping highlighted a locus on the long arm of chromosome 11, which is co-localized with three sheath blight QTLs, qShB11-2-TX, qShB11, and qSBR-11-2. Based on the localization of the trait-associated alleles, we identified an ankyryn repeat-containing protein gene (ANK-M) as an uncharacterized candidate factor for rice sheath blight resistance. Allelic distributions for ANK-M in the whole rice population supported the reliability of trait-allele associations. Gene expression characteristics were checked to evaluiate the functionality of ANK-M. Since an ANK-M homolog (OsPIANK1) in rice seems a basal defense regulator against rice blast and bacterial leaf blight, ANK-M may also play a role in the rice immune system.

Keywords: allele mining, GWAS, QTL, rice sheath blight

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Authors: Sorour Semsari Parapari, Mehmet Ali Gülgün, Melih Papila

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Cement production is one of the most energy-intensive processes consuming a high amount of thermal energy. Nowadays, alternative fuels are being used in cement manufacturing in a large scale as a help to provide the necessary energy. The alternative fuels could consist of any disposal like waste plastics, used tires and biomass. It has been suggested that the clinker properties might be affected by using these fuels because of foreign elements incorporation to the composition. Studying the distribution of clinker phases and their chemical composition is possible with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In this study, clinker samples were produced using different alternative fuels in cement firing kilns. The microstructural observations by back-scattered electrons (BSE) mode in SEM (JEOL JSM-6010LV) showed that the clinker phase distribution was dissimilar in samples prepared with different alternative fuels. The alite to belite (a/b) phase content of samples was quantified by image analysis. The results showed that the a/b varied between 5.2 and 1.5 among samples as the average value for six clinker nodules. The elemental analysis by energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mounted on SEM indicated the variation in chemical composition among samples. Higher amounts of sulfur and alkalis seemed to reduce the alite phase formation in clinkers.

Keywords: alternative fuels, cement clinker, microstructure, SEM

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Authors: Uttam Kumar Sahoo, K. Lalhmingsangi, J. H. Lalremruati

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Non-timber forest resources particularly the high-value, low volume NTFPs has drawn interest as an activity all over the world during the past three decades that could raise standards of living for the rural folks while being compatible with forest conservation. This is particularly true for the people living in and around or fringes of protected areas. However, the economics that plays between resources’ stock and its utilization by the humans is yet to be validated and evaluated logistically. A study was therefore designed to understand the linkages between resource (especially NTFPs) availability and their utilization, existing threats to this biodiversity conservation and the role of NTFPs within the livelihood systems of those households that are most directly involved in creating conservation threats. About 25% of the households were sampled from the two sites ‘resource-rich’ and ‘resource poor’ area of Dampa Tiger Reserve (Western boundary). Our preliminary findings suggest that the collection of relatively high-volume and low value NTFPs such as fuelwood, fodder has caused degradation of forest resources while the low-volume and high-value NTFPs such as wild edible mushrooms, vegetables, other specialty food products, inputs to crafts, medicinal plants have resulted into species promotion/conservation through their domestication in traditional agroforestry systems including home gardens and/or collateral protection of the Tiger Reserve. It is thus suggested that proper assessment of these biodiversities, their direct and indirect valuation, market and non-market profits etc be carried out in greater details which would result in prescribing effective management plans around the park.

Keywords: household economy, livelihood strategies, non-timber forest products, species conservation

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Authors: Rana M. Mostafa, Nouby M. Ghazaly, Ahmed S. Ali

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This article introduces a solution for increasing the wind energy extracted from turbines to overcome the more electric power required. This objective provides a new science discipline; wind turbine control. This field depends on the development in power electronics to provide new control strategies for turbines. Those strategies should deal with all turbine operating modes. Here there are two control strategies developed for variable speed horizontal axis wind turbine for rated and over rated wind speed regions. These strategies will support wind energy validation, decrease manufacturing overhead cost. Here nonlinear adaptive method was used to design speed controllers to a scheme for ‘Aeolos50 kw’ wind turbine connected to permanent magnet generator via a gear box which was built on MATLAB/Simulink. These controllers apply maximum power point tracking concept to guarantee goal achievement. Procedures were carried to test both controllers efficiency. The results had been shown that the developed controllers are acceptable and this can be easily declared from simulation results.

Keywords: adaptive method, pitch controller, wind energy, nonlinear control

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Authors: Chih-Ping Chang

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Different from traditional objective evidence, social media evidence has its own characteristics with easily tampering, recoverability, and cannot be read without using other devices (such as a computer). Simply taking a screenshot from social network sites must be questioned its original identity. When the police search and seizure digital information, a common way they use is to directly print out digital data obtained and ask the signature of the parties at the presence, without taking original digital data back. In addition to the issue on its original identity, this conduct to obtain evidence may have another two results. First, it will easily allege that is tampering evidence because the police wanted to frame the suspect and falsified evidence. Second, it is not easy to discovery hidden information. The core evidence associated with crime may not appear in the contents of files. Through discovery the original file, data related to the file, such as the original producer, creation time, modification date, and even GPS location display can be revealed from hidden information. Therefore, how to show this kind of evidence in the courtroom will be arguably the most important task for ruling social media evidence. This article, first, will introduce forensic software, like EnCase, TCT, FTK, and analyze their function to prove the identity with another digital data. Then turning back to the court, the second part of this article will discuss legal standard for authentication of social media evidence and application of that forensic software in the courtroom. As the conclusion, this article will provide a rethinking, that is, what kind of authenticity is this rule of evidence chase for. Does legal system automatically operate the transcription of scientific knowledge? Or furthermore, it wants to better render justice, not only under scientific fact, but through multivariate debating.

Keywords: federal rule of evidence, internet forensic, printouts as evidence, social media evidence, United States v. Vayner

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Authors: Parastou Kharazmi

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Degradation of building materials particularly pipelines causes environmental damage during renovation or replacement and is a time consuming and costly process. Rehabilitation by polymer composites is a solution for renovation of degraded pipeline in heritage buildings and other structures which are less costly, faster and causes less damage to the environment; however, it is still not clear for how long these materials can perform as expected in the field and working condition. To study their service life, two types of composites based on Epoxy and Polyester resins have been evaluated by accelerated exposure and field exposure. The primary degradation agent used in accelerated exposure has been cycling temperature with half of the tests performed in presence of water. Thin films of materials used in accelerated testing were prepared in laboratory by using the same amount of material as well as technique of multi-layers application used in majority of the field installations. Extreme intensity levels of degradation agents have been used only to evaluate materials properties and as also mentioned in ISO 15686, are not directly correlated with degradation mechanisms that would be experienced in service. In the field exposure study, the focus has been to identify possible failure modes, causes, and effects. In field exposure, it has been observed that there are other degradation agents present which can be investigated further such as presence of contaminants and rust before application which prevents formation of a uniform layer of polymer or incompatibility between dissimilar materials. This part of the study also highlighted the importance of application’s quality of the materials in the field for providing the expected performance and service life. Results from extended accelerated exposure and field exposure can help in choosing inspection techniques, establishing the primary degradation agents and can be used for ageing exposure programs with clarifying relationship between different exposure periods and sites.

Keywords: building, renovation, service life, pipelines

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Authors: O. Nthoi-Molefe, V. Makwinja

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In the North West district of Botswana, Heritage tourism has the potential to offer tremendous economic and social opportunities for local communities in terms of supporting Tourism product development and entrepreneurship. This paper Identifies that Cultural Heritage Entrepreneur brings to the market goods and services, organizes and runs cultural heritage in a commercial or non-profit manner depending on characteristics of cultural resources identified. Data was collected through a series of focus group discussions that included sixteen village community members within the region. Data collected was transcribed and then further analyzed thematically to bring forward results to be analysed. Using Tsodilo Hills World Heritage Site as a case study, the researchers acknowledged that Cultural Heritage Entrepreneurs in that area should use a creative approach in order toidentify suitable solutions for financing different tourism activities starting with sponsored events, grant funds, donations, including the benefits of financial opportunities brough be foreign visitors and domestic tourists alike. The researchers also identified a need for specialized training for the identified entrepreneurs in order to maintain quality services of tourism products and sites (interpretation), information for tourists, visitation services, diversification, and upgrading of the heritage experience. The research reveals that the identified Cultural Heritage Entrepreneurs prefer economic motivation, exploitation over the cultural value of their resources, further calling for recommendations of the research that emphasize on the need for detailed training on how to valorize their cultural resources for the growth of Tourism in the area.

Keywords: education, community development, entrepreneurship, cultural tourism

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Authors: Paul Han, Jun-Geol Baek

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In the flat panel display industry, the scheduler and dispatching system to meet production target quantities and the deadline of production are the major production management system which controls each facility production order and distribution of WIP (Work in Process). In dispatching system, delivery time is a key factor for the time when a lot can be supplied to the facility. In this paper, we use survival analysis methods to identify main factors and a forecasting model of delivery time. Of survival analysis techniques to select important explanatory variables, the cox proportional hazard model is used to. To make a prediction model, the Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) model was used. Performance comparisons were conducted with two other models, which are the technical statistics model based on transfer history and the linear regression model using same explanatory variables with AFT model. As a result, the Mean Square Error (MSE) criteria, the AFT model decreased by 33.8% compared to the existing prediction model, decreased by 5.3% compared to the linear regression model. This survival analysis approach is applicable to implementing a delivery time estimator in display manufacturing. And it can contribute to improve the productivity and reliability of production management system.

Keywords: delivery time, survival analysis, Cox PH model, accelerated failure time model

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Authors: Imme Petersen, Wiebke Sick, Regine Kollek

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In systems medicine, high-throughput technologies produce large amounts of data on different biological and pathological processes, including (disturbed) gene expressions, metabolic pathways and signaling. The large volume of data of different types, stored in separate databases and often located at different geographical sites have posed new challenges regarding data handling and processing. Tools based on bioinformatics have been developed to resolve the upcoming problems of systematizing, standardizing and integrating the various data. However, the heterogeneity of data gathered at different levels of biological complexity is still a major challenge in data analysis. To build multilayer disease modules, large and heterogeneous data of disease-related information (e.g., genotype, phenotype, environmental factors) are correlated. Therefore, a great deal of attention in systems medicine has been put on data standardization, primarily to retrieve and combine large, heterogeneous datasets into standardized and incorporated forms and structures. However, this data-centred concept of standardization in systems medicine is contrary to the debate in science and technology studies (STS) on standardization that rather emphasizes the dynamics, contexts and negotiations of standard operating procedures. Based on empirical work on research consortia that explore the molecular profile of diseases to establish systems medical approaches in the clinic in Germany, we trace how standardized data are processed and shaped by bioinformatics tools, how scientists using such data in research perceive such standard operating procedures and which consequences for knowledge production (e.g. modeling) arise from it. Hence, different concepts and meanings of standardization are explored to get a deeper insight into standard operating procedures not only in systems medicine, but also beyond.

Keywords: data, science and technology studies (STS), standardization, systems medicine

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Authors: Ali Rabah

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This research received no grant or financial support from any public, commercial, or none governmental agency. The author conducted this work as part of his normal research activities as a professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Khartoum, Sudan. Abstract While fossil oil reserves have been receding, the demand for diesel and gasoline has been growing. In recent years, syngas of biomass origin has been emerging as a viable feedstock for Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis, a process for manufacturing synthetic gasoline and diesel. This paper reports the optimization of syngas quality to match FT synthesis requirements. The optimization model maximizes the thermal efficiency under the constraint of H2/CO≥2.0 and operating conditions of equivalent ratio (0 ≤ ER ≤ 1.0), steam to biomass ratio (0 ≤ SB ≤ 5), and gasification temperature (500 °C ≤ Tg ≤ 1300 °C). The optimization model is executed using the optimization section of the Model Analysis Tools of the Aspen Plus simulator. The model is tested using eleven (11) types of MSW. The optimum operating conditions under which the objective function and the constraint are satisfied are ER=0, SB=0.66-1.22, and Tg=679 - 763°C. Under the optimum operating conditions, the syngas quality is H2=52.38 - 58.67-mole percent, LHV=12.55 - 17.15 MJ/kg, N2=0.38 - 2.33-mole percent, and H2/CO≥2.15. The generalized optimization model reported could be extended to any other type of biomass and coal. Keywords: MSW, Syngas, Optimization, Fischer-Tropsch.

Keywords: syngas, MSW, optimization, Fisher-Tropsh

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Authors: Claire P. Griffin

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The education provision for students with special educational needs, including students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), has undergone significant national and international changes in recent years. In particular, an increase in resource-based provision has occurred across educational settings in an effort to support inclusive practices. This paper seeks to explore the role of the Special Needs Assistant (SNA) in supporting children with ASD in Irish schools. This research stems from the second national evaluation of ‘Education Provision for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Ireland’ (NCSE, 2016). This research was commissioned by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) in Ireland and conducted by a team of researchers from Mary Immaculate College, Limerick from February to July 2014. This study involved a multiple case study research strategy across 24 educational sites, as selected through a stratified sampling process. Research strategies included semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, documentary review and child conversations. Data analysis was conducted electronically using Nvivo software, with use of an additional quantitative recording mechanism based on scaled weighting criteria for collected data. Based on such information, key findings from the NCSE national evaluation will be presented and critically reviewed, with particular reference to the role of the SNA in supporting pupils with ASD. Examples of positive practice inherent within the SNA role will be outlined and contrasted with discrete areas for development. Based on such findings, recommendations for the evolving role of the SNA will be presented, with the aim of informing both policy and best practice within the field.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, inclusive education , paraprofessional, special needs assistant

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Authors: Pieter Conradie, M. Marina Moller

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Web 2.0 Internet-based technologies have intruded all aspects of human life. Presently, this phenomenon is especially evident in the educational context, with increased disruptive Web 2.0 technology infusions dramatically changing educational practice. The most prominent of these Web 2.0 intrusions can be identified as Massive Open Online Courses (Coursera, EdX), video and photo sharing sites (Youtube, Flickr, Instagram), and Web 2.0 online tools utilize to create Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) (Symbaloo (aggregator), Delicious (social bookmarking), PBWorks (collaboration), Google+ (social networks), Wordspress (blogs), Wikispaces (wiki)). These Web 2.0 technologies have supported the realignment from a teacher-based pedagogy (didactic presentation) to a learner-based pedagogy (problem-based learning, project-based learning, blended learning), allowing greater learner autonomy. No longer is the educator the source of knowledge. Instead the educator has become the facilitator and mediator of the learner, involved in developing learner competencies to support life-long learning (continuous learning) in the 21st century. In this study, the self-regulated learning skills of thirty first-year university learners were explored by utilizing the Online Self-regulated Learning Questionnaire. Implementing an action research method, an intervention was affected towards improving the self-regulation skill set of the participants. Statistical significant results were obtained with increased self-regulated learning proficiency, positively impacting learner performance. Goal setting, time management, environment structuring, help seeking, task (learning) strategies and self-evaluation skills were confirmed as determinants of improved learner success.

Keywords: andragogy, online self-regulated learning questionnaire, self-regulated learning, web 2.0

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Authors: A. A. Adebayo, A. O. Ogunkeyede, A. O. Adeigbe

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Digital globalisation and yarn of Nigeria society to overcome the digital divide have resulted in contamination of soil by heavy metals (HMs) from e-waste activities at Alaba international market, Lagos, Nigeria. The aim of this research was to determine the concentration of various metals {Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), and Lead (Pb)} and identify their ecological and health risks for the people within the study area. A total of 60 soil samples were collected at Alaba market study area. Two types of samples were collected from each sampling points: topsoil (0-15 cm), subsoil (15 -30 cm). The metal concentration results showed that the soils were heavily contaminated by HMs at topsoil and subsoil. The geoaccummulation and ecological risk indices revealed high pollution level from all studied site. The health risk assessment results suggested that there is high possibility of carcinogenic risk to humans because the carcinogenic risk via corresponding exposure pathways exceeded the safety limit of 10-6 (the acceptable level of carcinogenic risk for human). Furthermore, inhalation of soil particles is the main exposure pathway for Cr to enter the human body for all ages. Children in the vicinity are exposed more to ingestion of Pb since they tend to eat earth (pica) and repeatedly suck their fingers. This study provides basic information to create awareness for a need to introduce pollution control measures and the need to protect the ecosystem and human health within the study area at Alaba international market.

Keywords: contaminated soil, ecological risk, hazard index, risk factor, exposure pathways, heavy metals

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Authors: Ibrahim Rassoul, E-K. Si Ahmed

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The growth, deformation, and detachment of fluid droplets adherent to solid substrates is a problem of fundamental interest with numerous practical applications. Specific interest in this proposal is the problem of a droplet on a fibrous, hydrophobic substrate subjected to body or external forces (gravity, convection). The past decade has seen tremendous advances in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology. However, there remain many challenges to bring commercially viable stationary PEMFC products to the market. PEMFCs are increasingly emerging as a viable alternative clean power source for automobile and stationary applications. Before PEMFCs can be employed to power automobiles and homes, several key technical challenges must be properly addressed. One technical challenge is elucidating the mechanisms underlying water transport in and removal from PEMFCs. On the one hand, sufficient water is needed in the polymer electrolyte membrane or PEM to maintain sufficiently high proton conductivity. On the other hand, too much liquid water present in the cathode can cause 'flooding' (that is, pore space is filled with excessive liquid water) and hinder the transport of the oxygen reactant from the gas flow channel (GFC) to the three-phase reaction sites. The aim of this work is to investigate the stability of a liquid water droplet emerging form a GDL pore, to gain fundamental insight into the instability process leading to detachment. The approach will combine analytical and numerical modeling with experimental visualization and measurements.

Keywords: polymer electrolyte fuel cell, water droplet, gas diffusion layer, contact angle, surface tension

Procedia PDF Downloads 247

Authors: Monika Kallubai, Shreya Dubey, Rajagopal Subramanyam

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Our study is all about the biological interactions of synthesized 5β-dihydrocortisol (Dhc) and 5β-dihydrocortisol acetate (DhcA) molecules with carrier protein Human Serum Albumin (HSA). The cytotoxic study was performed on breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) normal human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK293), the IC50 values for MCF-7 cells were 28 and 25 µM, respectively, whereas no toxicity in terms of cell viability was observed with HEK293 cell line. The further experiment proved that Dhc and DhcA induced 35.6% and 37.7% early apoptotic cells and 2.5%, 2.9% late apoptotic cells respectively. Morphological observation of cell death through TUNEL assay revealed that Dhc and DhcA induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. The complexes of HSA–Dhc and HSA–DhcA were observed as static quenching, and the binding constants (K) was 4.7±0.03×104 M-1 and 3.9±0.05×104 M-1, and their binding free energies were found to be -6.4 and -6.16 kcal/mol, respectively. The displacement studies confirmed that lidocaine 1.4±0.05×104 M-1 replaced Dhc, and phenylbutazone 1.5±0.05×104 M-1 replaced by DhcA, which explains domain I and domain II are the binding sites for Dhc and DhcA. Further, CD results revealed that the secondary structure of HSA was altered in the presence of Dhc and DhcA. Furthermore, the atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that the dimensions like height and molecular sizes of the HSA–Dhc and HSA–DhcA complex were larger compared to HSA alone. Detailed analysis through molecular dynamics simulations also supported the greater stability of HSA–Dhc and HSA–DhcA complexes, and root-mean-square-fluctuation interpreted the binding site of Dhc as domain IB and domain IIA for DhcA. This information is valuable for the further development of steroid derivatives with improved pharmacological significance as novel anti-cancer drugs.

Keywords: apoptosis, dihydrocortisol, fluorescence quenching, protein conformations

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Amir Jalalian-Khakshour, T. N. Croft

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Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) systems are becoming increasingly popular as they have a number of advantages over traditional wind turbines. The advantages are reliability, ease of transportation and manufacturing. These attributes could make these technologies useful in developing economies. The performance characteristics of a VAWT are different from a horizontal axis wind turbine, which can be attributed to the low tip speed ratio operation. To unlock the potential of these VAWT systems, the operational behaviour in a number of system topologies and environmental conditions needs to be understood. In this study, a non-linear dynamic simulation method was developed in Matlab and validated against in field data of a large scale, 8-meter rotor diameter prototype. This simulation method has been utilised to determine the performance characteristics of a number of control methods and system topologies. The motivation for this research was to develop a simulation method which accurately captures the operating behaviour and is computationally inexpensive. The model was used to evaluate the performance through parametric studies and optimisation techniques. The study gave useful insights into the applications and energy generation potential of this technology.

Keywords: power generation, renewable energy, rotordynamics, wind energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 302

Authors: Monica M. Marcos

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In the framework of Archaeological Research, Heritage Conservation and Restoration, the object of study is metrology applied in composition of religious architecture in ancient Egypt, and usefulness in Archaology. The objective is the determination of the geometric and metrological relations in architectural models and the module used in the initial project of the buildings. The study and data collection of religious buildings, tombs and temples of the ancient Egypt, is completed with plans. The measurements systematization and buildings modulation makes possible to establish common compositional parameters, with a module determined by the measurement unit used. The measurement system corresponding to the main period of egyptian history, was the Egyptian royal cubit. The analysis of units measurements, used in architectural design, provides exact numbers on buildable spaces dimensions. It allows establishing proportional relationships between them, and finding a geometric composition module, on which the original project was based. This responds to a philosophical and functional concept of projected spaces. In the heritage rehabilitation and restoration field, knowledge of metrology helps in excavation, reconstruction and restoration of construction elements. The correct use of metrology contributes to the identification of possible work areas, helping to locate where the damaged or missing areas are. Also in restoration projects, metrology is useful for reordering and locating decontextualized parts of buildings. The conversion of measurements taken in the current International System to the ancient egyptian measurements, allows understand its conceptual purpose and its functionality, which makes easier to carry out archaeological intervention. In the work carried out in archaeological excavations, metrology is an essential tool for locating sites and establishing work zones.

Keywords: egyptology, metrology, archaeology, measurements, Egyptian cubit

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Authors: Kanchan J. Kakade, S. A. Annadate

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This paper presents design and development of underground coal mine monitoring using mbed arm cortex controller and ZigBee communication. Coal mine is a special type of mine which is dangerous in nature. Safety is the most important feature of a coal industry for proper functioning. It’s not only for employees and workers but also for environment and nation. Many coal producing countries in the world face phenomenal frequently occurred accidents in coal mines viz, gas explosion, flood, and fire breaking out during coal mines exploitation. Thus, such emissions of various gases from coal mines are necessary to detect with the help of robot. Coal is a combustible, sedimentary, organic rock, which is made up of mainly carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Coal Mine Detection Robot mainly detects mash gas and carbon monoxide. The mash gas is the kind of the mixed gas which mainly make up of methane in the underground of the coal mine shaft, and sometimes it abbreviate to methane. It is formed from vegetation, which has been fused between other rock layers and altered by the combined effects of heat and pressure over millions of years to form coal beds. Coal has many important uses worldwide. The most significant uses of coal are in electricity generation, steel production, cement manufacturing and as a liquid fuel.

Keywords: Zigbee communication, various sensors, hazardous gases, mbed arm cortex M3 core controller

Procedia PDF Downloads 464

Authors: Mohammad Zafar-ul Islam, Shaily Menon, Xingong Li, A. Townsend Peterson

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In addition to the mounting empirical data on direct implications of climate change for natural and human systems, evidence is increasing for other, indirect climate change phenomena such as sea-level rise. Rising sea levels and associated marine intrusion into terrestrial environments are predicted to be among the most serious eventual consequences of climate change. The many complex and interacting factors affecting sea levels create considerable uncertainty in sea-level rise projections: conservative estimates are on the order of 0.5-1.0 m globally, while other estimates are much higher, approaching 6 m. Marine intrusion associated with 1– 6 m sea-level rise will impact species and habitats in coastal ecosystems severely. Examining areas most vulnerable to such impacts may allow design of appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies. We present an overview of potential effects of 1 and 6 m sea level rise for coastal conservation areas in the Indian Subcontinent. In particular, we examine the projected magnitude of areal losses in relevant biogeographic zones, ecoregions, protected areas (PAs), and Important Bird Areas (IBAs). In addition, we provide a more detailed and quantitative analysis of likely effects of marine intrusion on 22 coastal PAs and IBAs that provide critical habitat for birds in the form of breeding areas, migratory stopover sites, and overwintering habitats. Several coastal PAs and IBAs are predicted to experience higher than 50% losses to marine intrusion. We explore consequences of such inundation levels on species and habitat in these areas.

Keywords: sea-level change, coastal inundation, marine intrusion, biogeographic zones, ecoregions, protected areas, important bird areas, adaptation, mitigation

Procedia PDF Downloads 253

Authors: P. S. Thein, S. Pramumijoyo, K. S. Brotopuspito, J. Kiyono, W. Wilopo, A. Furukawa, A. Setianto

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In this study, we estimated the seismic ground motion parameters based on microtremor measurements at Palu City. Several earthquakes have struck along the Palu-Koro Fault during recent years. The USGS epicenter, magnitude Mw 6.3 event that occurred on January 23, 2005 caused several casualties. We conducted a microtremor survey to estimate the strong ground motion distribution during the earthquake. From this survey we produced a map of the peak ground acceleration, velocity, seismic vulnerability index and ground shear strain maps in Palu City. We performed single observations of microtremor at 151 sites in Palu City. We also conducted 8-site microtremors array investigation to gain a representative determination of the soil condition of subsurface structures in Palu City. From the array observations, Palu City corresponds to relatively soil condition with Vs ≤ 300 m/s, the predominant periods due to horizontal vertical ratios (HVSRs) are in the range of 0.4 to 1.8 s and the frequency are in the range of 0.7 to 3.3 Hz. Strong ground motions of the Palu area were predicted based on the empirical stochastic green’s function method. Peak ground acceleration and velocity becomes more than 400 gal and 30 kine in some areas, which causes severe damage for buildings in high probability. Microtremor survey results showed that in hilly areas had low seismic vulnerability index and ground shear strain, whereas in coastal alluvium was composed of material having a high seismic vulnerability and ground shear strain indication.

Keywords: Palu-Koro fault, microtremor, peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity, seismic vulnerability index

Procedia PDF Downloads 404