Search results for: electronic waste

Authors: Omer Abdalla Ishag, Magdi Baker Amien

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Physicians used the stethoscope for listening patient heart sounds in order to make a diagnosis. However, the determination of heart conditions by acoustic stethoscope is a difficult task so it requires special training of medical staff. This study developed an accurate model for analyzing the phonocardiograph signal based on PC and DSP processor. The system has been realized into two phases; offline and real time phase. In offline phase, 30 cases of heart sounds files were collected from medical students and doctor's world website. For experimental phase (real time), an electronic stethoscope has been designed, implemented and recorded signals from 30 volunteers, 17 were normal cases and 13 were various pathologies cases, these acquired 30 signals were preprocessed using an adaptive filter to remove lung sounds. The background noise has been removed from both offline and real data, using wavelet transform, then graphical and statistics features vector elements were extracted, finally a look-up table was used for classification heart sounds cases. The obtained results of the implemented system showed accuracy of 90%, 80% and sensitivity of 87.5%, 82.4% for offline data, and real data respectively. The whole system has been designed on TMS320VC5509a DSP Platform.

Keywords: code composer studio, heart sounds, phonocardiograph, wavelet transform

Procedia PDF Downloads 454

Authors: Luiz C. G. Pennafort Jr., Alexandre de S. Rios, Enio P. de Deus

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In the search for materials that replace conventional polymers in order to preserve natural resources, combined with the need to minimize the problems arising from environmental pollution generated by plastic waste, comes the recycled materials biodegradable, especially the composites reinforced with natural fibers. However, such materials exhibit properties little known, requiring studies of manufacturing methods and characterization of these composites. This article shows informations about preparation and characterization of a composite produced by extrusion, which consists of recycled PVC derived from the recycling of materials discarded, added of the micronized coconut fiber. The recycled PVC with 5% of micronized fiber were characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric, differential scanning calorimetry, mechanical analysis and optical microscopy. The use of fiber in the composite caused a decrease in its specific weight, due to the lower specific weight of fibers and the appearance of porosity, in addition to the decrease of mechanical properties.

Keywords: recycled PVC, coconut fiber, characterization, composites

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Authors: Jalalludin Abdul Malek, Zurinah Tahir

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When the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) was launched in 1995, it became the catalyst for the implementation of the intelligent city concept, an area that covers about 15 x 50 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The concept of intelligent city means that the city has an advanced infrastructure and infostructure such as information technology, advanced telecommunication systems, electronic technology and mechanical technology to be utilized for the development of urban elements such as industries, health, services, transportation and communications. For example, the Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur has also many intelligent buildings developed by the private sector such as the KLCC Tower to implement the intelligent city concept. Consequently, the intelligent buildings in the Golden Triangle can be linked directly to the Putrajaya Intelligent City and Cyberjaya Intelligent City within the confines of the MSC. However, the reality of the situation is that there are not many intelligent buildings within the Golden Triangle Kuala Lumpur scope which can be considered of high-standard intelligent buildings as referred to by the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) building standard. This increases the need to implement the real ‘intelligent city’ concept. This paper aims to show the strengths and weaknesses of the intelligent buildings in the Golden Triangle by taking into account aspects of 'intelligence' in the areas of technology and infrastructure of buildings.

Keywords: intelligent city concepts, intelligent building, Golden Triangle, Kuala Lumpur

Procedia PDF Downloads 300

Authors: Chellammal Surianarayanan

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Healthcare industry is generating large amounts of data driven by various needs such as record keeping, physician’s prescription, medical imaging, sensor data, Electronic Patient Record(EPR), laboratory, pharmacy, etc. Healthcare data is so big and complex that they cannot be managed by conventional hardware and software. The complexity of healthcare big data arises from large volume of data, the velocity with which the data is accumulated and different varieties such as structured, semi-structured and unstructured nature of data. Despite the complexity of big data, if the trends and patterns that exist within the big data are uncovered and analyzed, higher quality healthcare at lower cost can be provided. Hadoop is an open source software framework for distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of commodity hardware using a simple programming model. The core components of Hadoop include Hadoop Distributed File System which offers way to store large amount of data across multiple machines and MapReduce which offers way to process large data sets with a parallel, distributed algorithm on a cluster. Hadoop ecosystem also includes various other tools such as Hive (a SQL-like query language), Pig (a higher level query language for MapReduce), Hbase(a columnar data store), etc. In this paper an analysis has been done as how healthcare big data can be processed and analyzed using Hadoop ecosystem.

Keywords: big data analytics, Hadoop, healthcare data, towards quality healthcare

Procedia PDF Downloads 417

Authors: O. M. Omar, A. M. Heniegal, G. D. Abd Elhameed, H. A. Mohamadien

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Local steel slag is produced as a by-product during the oxidation of steel pellets in an electric arc furnace. Using local steel slag waste as a hundred substitute of crushed stone in construction materials would resolve the environmental problems caused by the large-scale depletion of the natural sources of dolomite. This paper reports the experimental study to investigate the influence of a hundred replacement of dolomite as a coarse aggregate with local steel slag, on the fresh and hardened geopolymer concrete properties. The investigation includes traditional testing of hardening concrete, for selected mixes of cement and geopolymer concrete. It was found that local steel slag as a coarse aggregate enhanced the slump test of the fresh state of cement and geopolymer concretes. Nevertheless the unit weight of concretes was affected. Meanwhile, the good performance was observed when fly ash used as geopolymer concrete based.

Keywords: geopolymer, molarity, steel slag, sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate

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Authors: Mohamed A. Deyab, Ahmed E. Awadallah

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Under various conditions, we present a promising method for producing pure hydrogen energy from the electrochemical reaction of Mg metal in waste oilfield water (WOW). Mg metal and WOW are primarily consumed in this process. The results show that the hydrogen gas output is highly dependent on temperature and solution pH. The best conditions for hydrogen production were found to be a low pH (2.5) and a high temperature (338 K). For the first time, the Allyl methylimidazolium bis-trifluoromethyl sulfonyl imide) (IL) ionic liquid is used to regulate the rate of hydrogen generation. It has been confirmed that increasing the solution temperature and decreasing the solution pH accelerates Mg dissolution and produces more hydrogen per unit of time. The adsorption of IL on the active sites of the Mg surface is unrestricted by mixing physical and chemical orientation. Inspections using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and FT-IR spectroscopy were used to identify and characterise surface corrosion of Mg in WOW. This process is also completely safe and can create energy on demand.

Keywords: hydrogen production, Mg, wastewater, ionic liquid

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Mohamed Amin Mekheimer

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This study aimed to investigate the effects of paper-based monolingual, pop-up and type-in electronic dictionaries on improving reading comprehension and incidental vocabulary acquisition and retention in an EFL context. It tapped into how computer-mediated dictionaries may have facilitated/impeded reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. Findings showed differential effects produced by the three treatments compared with the control group. Specifically, it revealed that the pop-up dictionary condition had the shortest average vocabulary searching time, vocabulary and text reading time, yet with less than the type-in dictionary group but more than the book dictionary group in terms of frequent dictionary 'look-ups' (p<.0001). In addition, ANOVA analyses also showed that text reading time differed significantly across all four treatments, and so did reading comprehension. Vocabulary acquisition was reported as enhanced in the three treatments rather than in the control group, but still with insignificant differences across the three treatments, yet with more differential effects in favour of the pop-up condition. Data also assert that participants preferred the pop-up e-dictionary more than the type-in and paper-based groups. Explanations of the findings vis-à-vis the cognitive load theory were presented. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research were forwarded at the end.

Keywords: computer-mediated dictionaries, type-in dictionaries, pop-up dictionaries, reading comprehension, vocabulary acquisition

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Authors: Usman D. Hamza, Noor S. Nasri, Mohammed Jibril, Husna M. Zain

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Activated carbons (M4P0, M4P2, and M5P2) used in this research were produced from palm shell and polyetherether ketone (PEEK) via carbonization, impregnation, and microwave activation. The adsorption/desorption process was carried out using static volumetric adsorption. Regeneration is important in the overall economy of the process and waste minimization. This work focuses on the thermal regeneration of the CO2 exhausted microwave activated carbons. The regeneration strategy adopted was thermal with nitrogen purge desorption with N2 feed flow rate of 20 ml/min for 1 h at atmospheric pressure followed by drying at 1500C. Seven successive adsorption/regeneration processes were carried out on the material. It was found that after seven adsorption regeneration cycles; the regeneration efficiency (RE) for CO2 activated carbon from palm shell only (M4P0) was more than 90% while that of hybrid palm shell-PEEK (M4P2, M5P2) was above 95%. The cyclic adsorption and regeneration shows the stability of the adsorbent materials.

Keywords: activated carbon, palm shell-PEEK, regeneration, thermal

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Authors: Annie B. V., Anu A. G., Harikumar R.

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Microgrid (MG) is a self-governing miniature section of the power system. Nowadays the majority of loads and energy storage devices are inherently in DC form. This necessitates a greater scope of research in the various types of energy storage devices in DC microgrids. In a modern power system, DC microgrid is a manageable electric power system usually integrated with renewable energy sources (RESs) and DC loads with the help of power electronic converters. The stability of the DC microgrid mainly depends on the power imbalance. Power imbalance due to the presence of intermittent renewable energy resources (RERs) is supplied by energy storage devices. Battery, supercapacitor, flywheel, etc. are some of the commonly used energy storage devices. Owing to the high energy density provided by the batteries, this type of energy storage system is mainly utilized in all sorts of hybrid energy storage systems. To minimize the stability issues, a Supercapacitor (SC) is usually interfaced with the help of a bidirectional DC/DC converter. SC can exchange power during transient conditions due to its high power density. This paper analyses the stability issues of DC microgrids with hybrid energy storage systems (HESSs) arises from a reduction in SC operating voltage due to self-discharge. The stability of DC microgrid and power management is analyzed with different control strategies.

Keywords: DC microgrid, hybrid energy storage system (HESS), power management, small signal modeling, supercapacitor

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Authors: Kherbache Radhwane

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We currently live in the world pressed by technological developments necessary for the construction, where the concept of sustainable development is truly rooted in recent years. Construction or demolitions of buildings necessarily generate environmental pollution, both inside and outside the site. Depending on the size and nature of work and the context surrounding these problems can be more or less important as is the case here in Algeria. They may affect the smooth running of the site. Moreover, there are regulations exist or are under development and should be taken into account by the various players in the act of building. This is, for example, the case of new obligations in terms of sorting and recycling of construction waste. Given this situation, it appears increasingly necessary to integrate the building sites in an effort to better respect the environment and its regulation. Several operations were performed according to this principle. The success of a project is that respects its environment through the involvement of each actor of the operation of the site with a low nuisance. As such, the client assisted by his driver and its operating contractor and the company plays a central role as an initiator of the process. It must ensure the establishment of appropriate means of organizational plans and contract.

Keywords: evolution, sustainable development, construction, demolition, building, nuisance, environmental, tailings, construction, regulations

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Authors: Kazeem K. Adewole, Ismail A. Yahya

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In the published literature, Palm Kernel Shell (PKS), an agricultural waste has largely been used as a large aggregate in PKS concrete production. In this paper, the development of Crushed Palm Kernel Shell Fine Aggregate Concrete (CPKSFAC) with crushed PKS (CPKS) as the fine aggregate and granite as the coarse aggregate is presented. 100mm x 100mm x 100mm 1:11/2:3 and 1:2:4 CPKSFAC and River Sand Fine Aggregate Concrete (RSFAC) cubes were molded, cured for 28 days and subjected to a compressive strength test. The average wet densities of the 1:11/2:3 and 1:2:4 CPKSFAC cubes are 2240kg/m3 and 2335kg/m3 respectively. The average wet densities of the 1:11/2:3 and 1:2:4 RSFAC cubes are 2606kg/m3 and 2553kg/m3 respectively. The average compressive strengths of the 1:11/2:3 and 1:2:4 CPKSFAC cubes are 15.40MPa and 14.30MPa respectively. This study demonstrates that CPKSFA is suitable for the production of non-structural C8/10 and C12/15 concrete specified in BS EN 206-1:2000.

Keywords: crushed palm kernel shell, fine aggregate, lightweight concrete, non-structural concrete

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Authors: A. Abdikian

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Using the linearized quantum hydrodynamic model (QHD) and by considering the role of quantum parameter (Bohm’s potential) and electron exchange-correlation potential in conjunction with Maxwell’s equations, electromagnetic wave propagation in a single-walled carbon nanotubes was studied. The electronic excitations are described. By solving the mentioned equations with appropriate boundary conditions and by assuming the low-frequency electromagnetic waves, two general expressions of dispersion relations are derived for the transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) modes, respectively. The dispersion relations are analyzed numerically and it was found that the dependency of dispersion curves with the exchange-correlation effects (which have been ignored in previous works) in the low frequency would be limited. Moreover, it has been realized that asymptotic behaviors of the TE and TM modes are similar in single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The results show that by adding the function of electron exchange-correlation potential lead to the phenomena and make to extend the validity range of QHD model. The results can be important in the study of collective phenomena in nanostructures.

Keywords: transverse magnetic, transverse electric, quantum hydrodynamic model, electron exchange-correlation potential, single-wall carbon nanotubes

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Authors: Garba Iliyasu, Lamaran Dattijo

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Introduction: Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a disease of humans and other primates caused by Ebola viruses. The most widespread epidemic of EVD in history occurred recently in several West African countries. The burden and outcome of EVD in pregnant women remains uncertain. There are very few studies to date reporting on maternal and fetal outcomes among pregnant women with EVD, hence the justification for this comprehensive review of these published studies. Methods: Published studies in English that reported on maternal and or fetal outcome among pregnant women with EVD up to May 2016 were searched in electronic databases (Google Scholar, Medline, Embase, PubMed, AJOL, and Scopus). Studies that did not satisfy the inclusion criteria were excluded. We extracted the following variables from each study: geographical location, year of the study, settings of the study, participants, maternal and fetal outcome.Result: There were 12 studies that reported on 108 pregnant women and 110 fetal outcomes. Six of the studies were case reports, 3 retrospective studies, 2 cross-sectional studies and 1 was a technical report. There were 91(84.3%) deaths out of the 108 pregnant women, while only 1(0.9%) fetal survival was reported out of 110. Survival rate among the 15 patients that had spontaneous abortion/stillbirth or induced delivery was 100%. Conclusion: There was a poor maternal and fetal outcome among pregnant women with EVD, and fetal evacuation significantly improves maternal survival.

Keywords: Africa, ebola, maternofetal, outcome

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Authors: Ujwal Kishor Zore, Shankar Balajirao Kausley, Aniruddha Bhalchandra Pandit

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There are some important design parameters of activated sludge process (ASP) for wastewater treatment and they must be optimally defined to have the optimized plant working. To know them, developing a mathematical model is a way out as it is nearly commensurate the real world works. In this study, a mathematical model was developed for ASP, solved under activated sludge model no 1 (ASM 1) conditions and MATLAB tool was used to solve the mathematical equations. For its real-life validation, the developed model was tested for the inputs from the municipal wastewater treatment plant and the results were quite promising. Additionally, the most cardinal assumptions required to design the treatment plant are discussed in this paper. With the need for computerization and digitalization surging in every aspect of engineering, this mathematical model developed might prove to be a boon to many biological wastewater treatment plants as now they can in no time know the design parameters which are required for a particular type of wastewater treatment.

Keywords: waste water treatment, activated sludge process, mathematical modeling, optimization

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Authors: Mert Kıranç, Ekrem Duman, Murat Özbilen

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In order to achieve new product development (NPD) activities on time and within budgetary constraints, the NPD managers need a well-designed methodology. This study intends to create an integrated project management methodology for the ones who focus on new product development projects. In the scope of the study, four different management systems are combined. These systems are called as 'Schedule-oriented Stage-Gate Method, Risk Management, Change Management and Earned Value Management'. New product development term is quite common in many different industries such as defense industry, construction, health care/dental, higher education, fast moving consumer goods, white goods, electronic devices, marketing and advertising and software development. All product manufacturers run against each other’s for introducing a new product to the market. In order to achieve to produce a more competitive product in the market, an optimum project management methodology is chosen, and this methodology is adapted to company culture. The right methodology helps the company to present perfect product to the customers at the right time. The benefits of proposed methodology are discussed as an application by a company. As a result, how the integrated methodology improves the efficiency and how it achieves the success of the project are unfolded.

Keywords: project, project management, management methodology, new product development, risk management, change management, earned value, stage-gate

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Authors: Siamak Eskandari, Neda Ebadi

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After discovering and using Freon as refrigerant in refrigerators and air conditioners, researchers have been working hard to minimize massive environmental damage caused by this type of systems, including ozone depletion, heat production, and urban warming. However, there is a growing concern for global warming and climate change and its impacts on climates. Although gas air conditioners can provide comfort in short term, there are long-term consequences and effects, including global warming, polar ice melting, sea level rising, rising sea surface temperatures, reduction in seasonal precipitation, tropical storms, and drought. In this theoretical and practical study, Peltier electronic chip was used with no gas in the structure and operation. In fact, cooling and heating are based on bipolar electronics. With an innovative method, Peltier air conditioners provide cooling in warm seasons and heating in cold seasons in buildings. Such a system prevents ambient warming. The problem of air circulation between high buildings in large cities and draught will be considerably resolved through the use of the silent fan in the system. In addition, the system is designed and developed in accordance with international standards such as LEED and Energy Star.

Keywords: energy, Building cooling and heating, peltier, leed, energy star

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Authors: Mai Ashraf Talaat

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Background: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an essential nutrient for the development and repair of all body tissues. It can be obtained from a healthy diet or through supplementation. Due to its importance, vitamin C has become a mainstay in the treatment and prevention of many diseases and in maintaining immune, skin, bone and overall health. This review article aims to discuss the studies and case reports conducted to evaluate the effect of Vitamin C on oral health and the recent advances in oral medicine that involve the use of vitamin C. Data/Sources: The review was conducted for clinical studies, case reports and published literature in the English language that addresses this topic. An extensive search in the electronic databases of PubMed, PubMed Central, Web of Science, National Library of Medicine and ResearchGate was performed. Conclusion: Vitamin C is thought to treat periodontal diseases and gingival enlargement. It also affects biofilm formation and therefore, it helps in reducing caries incidence. Recently, vitamin C mesotherapy has been used to treat inflamed gingiva, bleeding gums and gingival hyperpigmentation. More research and randomized controlled trials are needed on this specific topic for more accurate judgment. Clinical significance: A minimally invasive approach - the usage of vitamin C in dental care could drastically reduce the need for surgical intervention.

Keywords: oral health, periodontology, vitamin C, Gingivitis

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Authors: Preshanthan Moodley, E. B. Gueguim Kana

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This study examines the kinetics of S. cerevisiae BY4743 growth and bioethanol production from sugarcane leaf waste (SLW), utilizing two different optimized pretreatment regimes; under two fermentation modes: steam salt-alkali filtered enzymatic hydrolysate (SSA-F), steam salt-alkali unfiltered (SSA-U), microwave salt-alkali filtered (MSA-F) and microwave salt-alkali unfiltered (MSA-U). The kinetic coefficients were determined by fitting the Monod, modified Gompertz, and logistic models to the experimental data with high coefficients of determination R² > 0.97. A maximum specific growth rate (µₘₐₓ) of 0.153 h⁻¹ was obtained under SSA-F and SSA-U whereas, 0.150 h⁻¹ was observed with MSA-F and MSA-U. SSA-U gave a potential maximum bioethanol concentration (Pₘ) of 31.06 g/L compared to 30.49, 23.26 and 21.79g/L for SSA-F, MSA-F and MSA-U respectively. An insignificant difference was observed in the μmax and Pm for the filtered and unfiltered enzymatic hydrolysate for both SSA and MSA pretreatments, thus potentially reducing a unit operation. These findings provide significant insights for process scale up.

Keywords: lignocellulosic bioethanol, microwave pretreatment, sugarcane leaves, kinetics

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Authors: Monika Chuchro

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This paper presents a preliminary attempt to apply classification of time series using meta-clusters in order to improve the quality of regression models. In this case, clustering was performed as a method to obtain a subgroups of time series data with normal distribution from inflow into waste water treatment plant data which Composed of several groups differing by mean value. Two simple algorithms: K-mean and EM were chosen as a clustering method. The rand index was used to measure the similarity. After simple meta-clustering, regression model was performed for each subgroups. The final model was a sum of subgroups models. The quality of obtained model was compared with the regression model made using the same explanatory variables but with no clustering of data. Results were compared by determination coefficient (R2), measure of prediction accuracy mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and comparison on linear chart. Preliminary results allows to foresee the potential of the presented technique.

Keywords: clustering, data analysis, data mining, predictive models

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Authors: A. M. Ahmed, Mona A. Darwish

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Removal of Ni++ ions from aqueous solution by sorption ontoNano-bentonite was investigated. Experiments were carried out as a function amount of Nano-bentonite, pH, concentration of metal, constant time, agitation speed and temperature. The adsorption parameter of metal ions followed the Langmuir Freundlich adsorption isotherm were applied to analyze adsorption data. The adsorption process has fit pseudo-second order kinetic models. Thermodynamics parameters e.g.ΔG*, ΔS °and ΔH ° of adsorption process have also been calculated and the sorption process was found to be endothermic. The adsorption process has fit pseudo-second order kinetic models. Langmuir and Freundich adsorption isotherm models were applied to analyze adsorption data and both were found to be applicable to the adsorption process. Thermodynamic parameters, e.g., ∆G °, ∆S ° and ∆H ° of the on-going adsorption process have also been calculated and the sorption process was found to be endothermic. Finally, it can be seen that Bentonite was found to be more effective for the removal of Ni (II) same with some experimental conditions.

Keywords: waste water, nickel, bentonite, adsorption

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Authors: Mohd Mudasir Shafi, Zafrul Hasan, Talat Saleem

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Information and communication Technology (ICT) services have been defined as a route to good governance. Introduction of ICT into Governance has given rise to the idea of e-governance which helps in enhancing transparency, generating accountability and responsiveness in the system in order to provide faster and quality service to the citizen. Advancement in ICT has provided governments all over the world to speed up the delivery of information and services to citizens and businesses and increase their participation in governance. There has been varying degree of success over the past decade into providing services to the citizens using internet and different web services. These e-government initiatives have been extensively researched. Our research is aimed at the transition from electronic government to mobile government (m-government) initiatives implementing the mobile services and concerned to understand the major factors which will aid to adoption and distribution of these services. There must be some amount of research done in the integration process between e-government and m-government. There must also be enough amount of investigation done all the factors that could affect the transition process. Such factors differ between different places and the advancement in information and technology available there. In this paper, we have discussed why mobile communication system can be used for effective e-governance and the areas where m-governance can be implemented. The paper will examine some of the reasons as well as the main opportunities for improving effective governance through mobile phones.

Keywords: e-governance, mobile phones, information technology, m-government

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Authors: N. Ouslimani, M. T. Abadlia, S. Yakoub, F. Tebbani

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Water has always been synonymous with life and growth. Blue gold is first essential to the survival of the human being whose body consists of more than 65% with the development of industrialization and consumption patterns; volumes of wastewater discharges have increased considerably whether industrial or domestic, waste water must be purified before discharge. Treatment, therefore, aims to reduce the pollution load which contain. The resources in Algeria are limited and unevenly distributed. Thus, to meet all the water needs of the country and to preserve the waters of good quality drinking water supply, one solution would be to use them according to their quality and to irrigate crops for the food or be directed to the irrigation of green areas or sports complex. The purification performance of this STEP has been established since the pH analyzed pollution criteria (7.36) and temperature (16°C), MES (10 mg / l), electrical conductivity (1122 / µs / cm), DBO5 (6mg / l), DCO (15mg / l) meet the discharge standards. Arguably the purified water discharged out of the boumerdes STEP comply with Algerian regulations and can be reused in agriculture. COD biodegradability of the coefficient / BOD5 is 2.5 (less than 3) indicates that of the effluent are biodegradable hence their urban origin.

Keywords: irrigation, recovery, treated, wastewater

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Authors: Zheng Zhang, Xin Chen, Guoqing Ding

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Electronic apex locators (EAL) has been widely used clinically for measuring root canal working length with high accuracy, which is crucial for successful endodontic treatment. In order to maintain high accuracy in different measurement environments, this study presented a system for root canal length measurement based on multifrequency impedance method. This measuring system can generate a sweep current with frequencies from 100 Hz to 1 MHz through a direct digital synthesizer. Multiple impedance ratios with different combinations of frequencies were obtained and transmitted by an analog-to-digital converter and several of them with representatives will be selected after data process. The system analyzed the functional relationship between these impedance ratios and the distance between the file and the apex with statistics by measuring plenty of teeth. The position of the apical foramen can be determined by the statistical model using these impedance ratios. The experimental results revealed that the accuracy of the system based on multifrequency impedance ratios method to determine the position of the apical foramen was higher than the dual-frequency impedance ratio method. Besides that, for more complex measurement environments, the performance of the system was more stable.

Keywords: root canal length, apex locator, multifrequency impedance, sweep frequency

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Authors: Nurhayati Abdullah, Fauziah Sulaiman, Muhamad Azman Miskam, Rahmad Mohd Taib

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Banana pseudo-stem and fruit-bunch-stem are agricultural residues that can be used for conversion to bio-char, bio-oil, and gases by using thermochemical process. The aim of this work is to characterize banana pseudo-stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem through proximate analysis, elemental analysis, chemical analysis, thermo-gravimetric analysis, and heating calorific value. The ash contents of the banana pseudo-stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem are 11.0 mf wt.% and 20.6 mf wt.%; while the carbon content of banana pseudo-stem and fruit-bunch-stem are 37.9 mf wt.% and 35.58 mf wt.% respectively. The molecular formulas for banana stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem are C24H33NO26 and C19H29NO33 respectively. The measured higher heating values of banana pseudo-stem and banana fruit-bunch-stem are 15.5MJ/kg and 12.7 MJ/kg respectively. By chemical analysis, the lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose contents in the samples will also be presented. The feasibility of the banana wastes to be a feedstock for thermochemical process in comparison with other biomass will be discussed in this paper.

Keywords: banana waste, biomass, renewable energy, thermo-chemical characteristics

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Authors: Seyfullah Madakbas, Emrah Cakmakci

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Polyaniline (PANI), the most studied member of the conductive polymers, has a wide range of uses from several electronic devices to various conductive high-technology applications. Boron nitride (BN) is a boron and nitrogen containing compound with superior chemical and thermal resistance and thermal conductivity. Even though several composites of PANI was prepared in literature, the preparation of h-BN/PANI composites is rare. In this work PANI was polymerized in the presence of different amounts of h-BN (1, 3 and 5% with respect to PANI) by using 0.1 M solution of NH4S2O8 in HCl as the oxidizing agent and conductive composites were prepared. Composites were structurally characterized with FTIR spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). Thermal properties of conductive composites were determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Dielectric measurements were performed in the frequency range of 106–108 Hz at room temperature. The corresponding bands for the benzenoid and quinoid rings at around 1593 and 1496 cm-1 in the FTIR spectra of the composites proved the formation of polyaniline. Together with the FTIR spectra, XRD analysis also revealed the existence of the interactions between PANI and h-BN. Glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the composites increased with the increasing amount of PANI (from 87 to 101). TGA revealed that the char yield of the composites increased as the amount of h-BN was increased in the composites. Finally the dielectric permittivity of 3 wt.%h-BN-containing composite was measured and found as approximately 17. This work was supported by Marmara University, Commission of Scientific Research Project.

Keywords: dielectric permittivity, h-BN, PANI, thermal analysis

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Authors: Ravande Kishore

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The paper present the results of experimental investigation carried out to understand the mechanical properties of concrete containing marble dust. Two grades of concrete viz. M25 and M35 have been considered for investigation. For each grade of concrete five replacement percentages of sand viz. 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% by marble dust have been considered. In all, 12 concrete mix cases including two control concrete mixtures have been studied to understand the key properties such as Compressive strength, Modulus of elasticity, Modulus of rupture and Split tensile strength. Development of Compressive strength is also investigated. In general, the results of investigation indicated improved performance of concrete mixture containing marble dust. About 21% increase in Compressive strength is noticed for concrete mixtures containing 20% marble dust and 80% river sand. An overall assessment of investigation results pointed towards high potential for marble dust as alternative construction material coming from waste generated in marble industry.

Keywords: construction material, partial replacement, marble dust, compressive strength

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Authors: Peter G. Youssef, Saad M. Mahmoud, Raya K. AL-Dadah

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Many water desalination technologies have been developed but in general they are energy intensive and have high cost and adverse environmental impact. Recently, adsorption technology for water desalination has been investigated showing the potential of using low temperature waste heat (50-85oC) thus reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. This work mathematically compares the performance of an adsorption cycle that produces two useful effects namely, fresh water and cooling using two different adsorbents, silica-gel and an advanced zeolite material AQSOA-ZO2, produced by Mitsubishi plastics. It was found that at low chilled water temperatures, typically below 20oC, the AQSOA-Z02 is more efficient than silica-gel as the cycle can produce 5.8 m3 of fresh water per day and 50.1 Rton of cooling per tonne of AQSOA-ZO2. Above 20oC silica-gel is still better as the cycle production reaches 8.4 m3 per day and 62.4 Rton per tonne of silica-gel. These results show the potential of using the AQSOA-Z02 at low chilled water temperature for water desalination and cooling applications.

Keywords: adsorption, desalination, refrigeration, seawater

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Authors: Ilija Musa

Abstract:

Positive legal regulation of juvenile privacy protection, current state of showing a child in BH media and possibilities of a child’s privacy protection by more adequate media legislature which should be arranged in accordance to recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Privacy of the minors in Bosnian-Herzegovinian media is insufficiently legally arranged. Due to the fact that there is no law on media area arrangement at the state level, electronic media are under jurisdiction of Communications regulatory agency, which at least partially, regulated the sector of radio and television broadcasting by adequate protection of child’s privacy. However, print and online media are under jurisdiction of non-governmental association Print and online media council in B&H which is not authorized to punish violators of this body’s Codex, what points out the necessity of passing the unique media law which would enable sanctioning the child’s privacy violation. The analysis of media content, which is a common violation of the child's privacy, analysis of positive legislation which regulates the media, confirmed the working hypothesis by which the minor’s protection policy in BH media is not protected at the appropriate level. Taking this into consideration, in the conclusion of this article the author gives recommendations for the regulation of legal protection of minor’s privacy in BH media.

Keywords: children, media, legislation, privacy protection, Bosnia Herzegovina

Procedia PDF Downloads 496

Authors: Zhuang Ma, Zihan Zhang, Yu Li

Abstract:

Environmental concerns from stakeholders (e.g., governments & customers) have pushed firms to integrate environmental management systems into business processes such as R&D, manufacturing, and marketing. Environmental systems include managing environmental risks and pollution control (e.g., air pollution control, waste-water treatment, noise control, energy recycling & solid waste treatment) through raw material management, the elimination and reduction of contaminants, recycling, and reuse in firms' operational processes. Despite increasing studies on firms' proactive adoption of environmental management, their focus is primarily on large corporations operating in developed economies. Investigations in the environmental management efforts of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are scarce. This is problematic for SMEs because, unlike large corporations, SMEs have limited awareness, resources, capabilities to adapt their operational routines to address environmental impacts. The purpose of this study is to explore how SMEs develop organizational capabilities through interactions with business partners (e.g., environmental management specialists & customers). Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) and an organizational capabilities perspective, this study investigates the interactively developed capabilities that allow SMEs to adopt environmental management systems. Using an exploratory approach, the study includes 12 semi-structured interviews with senior managers from four SMEs, two environmental management specialists, and two customers in the pharmaceutical sector in Chongqing, China. Findings of this study include four key organizational capabilities: 1) ‘dynamic marketing’ capability, which allows SMEs to recoup the investments in environmental management systems by developing environmentally friendly products to address customers' ever-changing needs; 2) ‘process improvement’ capability, which allows SMEs to select and adopt the latest technologies from biology, chemistry, new material, and new energy sectors into the production system for improved environmental performance and cost-reductions; and 3) ‘relationship management’ capability which allows SMEs to improve corporate image among the public, social media, government agencies, and customers, who in turn help SMEs to overcome their competitive disadvantages. These interactively developed capabilities help SMEs to address larger competitors' foothold in the local market, reduce market constraints, and exploit competitive advantages in other regions (e.g., Guangdong & Jiangsu) of China. These findings extend the RBV and organizational capabilities perspective; that is, SMEs can develop the essential resources and capabilities required for environmental management through interactions with upstream and downstream business partners. While a limited number of studies did highlight the importance of interactions among SMEs, customers, suppliers, NGOs, industrial associations, and consulting firms, they failed to explore the specific capabilities developed through these interactions. Additionally, the findings can explain how a proactive adoption of environmental management systems could help some SMEs to overcome the institutional and market restraints on their products, thereby springboarding into larger, more environmentally demanding, yet more profitable markets compared with their existing market.

Keywords: capabilities, environmental management systems, interactions, SMEs

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Mabel Y. C. Yau, Roy C. F. Lai, Hugo Y. H. Or

Abstract:

This study is a pilot surveillance of hygiene compliance and food microbial safety of both licensed and mobile vendors selling Chinese ready–to-eat snack foods in Hong Kong. The study reflects similar situations in running mobile food vending business on trucks. Hong Kong is about to launch the Food Truck Pilot Scheme by the end of 2016 or early 2017. Technically, selling food on the vehicle is no different from hawking food on the street or vending food on the street. Each type of business bears similar food safety issues and cast the same impact on public health. Present findings demonstrate exemplarily situations that also apply to food trucks. 9 types of Cantonese style snacks of 32 samples in total were selected for microbial screening. A total of 16 vending sites including supermarkets, street markets, and snack stores were visited. The study finally focused on a traditional snack, the steamed rice cake with red beans called Put Chai Ko (PCK). PCK is a type of classical Cantonese pastry sold on push carts on the street. It used to be sold at room temperature and served with bamboo sticks in the old days. Some shops would have them sold steam fresh. Microbial examinations on aerobic counts, yeast, and mould, coliform, salmonella as well as Staphylococcus aureus detections were carried out. Salmonella was not detected in all samples. Since PCK does not contain ingredients of beef, poultry, eggs or dairy products, the risk of the presence of Salmonella in PCK was relatively lower although other source of contamination might be possible. Coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus was found in 6 of the 14 samples sold at room temperature. Among these 6 samples, 3 were PCK. One of the samples was in an unacceptable range of total colony forming units higher than 105. The rest were only satisfactory. Observational evaluations were made with checklists on personal hygiene, premises hygiene, food safety control, food storage, cleaning and sanitization as well as waste disposals. The maximum score was 25 if total compliance were obtained. The highest score among vendors was 20. Three stores were below average, and two of these stores were selling PCK. Most of the non-compliances were on food processing facilities, sanitization conditions and waste disposal. In conclusion, although no food poisoning outbreaks happened during the time of the investigation, the risk of food hazard existed in these stores, especially among street vendors. Attention is needed in the traditional practice of food selling, and that food handlers might not have sufficient knowledge to properly handle food products. Variations in food qualities existed among supply chains or franchise eateries or shops. It was commonly observed that packaging and storage conditions are not properly enforced in the retails. The same situation could be reflected across the food business. It did indicate need of food safety training in the industry and loopholes in quality control among business.

Keywords: cantonese snacks, food safety, microbial, hygiene, street food

Procedia PDF Downloads 308