Search results for: nano structure–coating

Authors: Tamas Hartvanyi, Zoltan Andras Nagy, Miklos Szabo

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The dynamic and static capacity are two opposing aspect of warehouse design. Static capacity optimization aims to maximize the space-usage for goods storing, while dynamic capacity needs more free place to handling them. They are opposing by the building structure and the area utilization. According to Pareto principle: the 80% of the goods are the 20% of the variety. From the origin of this statement, it worth to store the big amount of same products by fulfill the space with minimal corridors, meanwhile the rest 20% of goods have the 80% variety of the whole range, so there is more important to be fast-reachable instead of the space utilizing, what makes the space fulfillment numbers worse. The warehouse design decisions made in present practice by intuitive and empiric impressions, the planning method is formed to one selected technology, making this way the structure of the warehouse homogeny. Of course the result can’t be optimal for the inhomogeneous demands. A new innovative model based on our research will be introduced in this paper to describe the technic capacities, what makes possible to define optimal cluster of technology. It is able to optimize the space fulfillment and the dynamic operation together with this cluster application.

Keywords: warehouse, warehouse capacity, warehouse design method, warehouse optimization

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Authors: Aniruddha Hore, Saptarshi Mitra, Sandip Ghosh, Sujoy Bose, Avijit Ghosh

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The Indian rupee is the official currency of India. With time, science and technology got advanced, and our society is slowly making its way to a cashless mode of transaction. But as India is still a developing country, a large part of our society still depends on transaction through cash. During times of pandemics, we came to understand that everything that we touch is not safe from microbial contamination. The Indian currency is also not an exception. The Indian currency is the modern-day medium of harmful bacterial as well as other microbial contaminations resulting in diseases in human bodies. Therefore, the need came to make the currency disinfectant to give our people a healthier lifestyle. The main focus of the study is to develop a solution that, when applied to the currency notes, will kill the persisting bacteria or microbes present in the notes. So various natural edible products were used in order to prepare the solution, which is highly effective against the presence of harmful bacteria such as E. coli and S. aureus. The antibacterial activity of these natural ingredients is not unknown to us, so extracts from those products were mixed together to form a solution which was made the Indian currency notes antibacterial for 20min approx. The solution was creating a layer on the surface of currency notes, therefore, making it antibacterial for a given duration of time, i.e., no bacterial growth was seen during the time period of 20 minutes, therefore, making it safe for the usage of human hands.

Keywords: Indian currency, antibacterial property of Indian currency, surface coating, currency disinfectant

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: K. Żak, S. Przetocka, R. Kitel, K. Guzik, B. Musielak, S. Malicki, G. Dubin, T. A. Holak

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Studies on tumor genesis revealed a number of factors that may potentially serve as molecular targets for immunotherapies. One of such promising targets are PD1 and PDL1 proteins. PD1 (Programmed cell death protein 1) is expressed by activated T cells and plays a critical role in modulation of the host's immune response. One of the PD1 ligands -PDL1- is expressed by macrophages, monocytes and cancer cells which exploit it to avoid immune attack. The notion of the mechanisms used by cancer cells to block the immune system response was utilized in the development of therapies blocking PD1-PDL1 interaction. Up to date, human PD1-PDL1 complex has not been crystallized and structure of the mouse-human complex does not provide a complete view of the molecular basis of PD1-PDL1 interactions. The purpose of this study is to obtain crystal structure of the human PD1-PDL1 complex which shall allow rational design of small molecule inhibitors of the interaction. In addition, the study presents results of binding small-molecules to PD1 and fragment docking towards PD1 protein which will facilitate the design and development of small–molecule inhibitors of PD1-PDL1 interaction.

Keywords: PD1, PDL1, cancer, small molecule, drug discovery

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Authors: Danilo Di Donato

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The continuous new releases of free and open source software (FOSS) and the high costs of proprietary software -whose monopoly is characterized by closed codes and the low level of implementation and customization of software by end-users- impose a reflection on possible tools that can be chosen and adopted for the design and the representation of new steel constructions. The paper aims to show experimentation carried out to verify the actual potential and the effective applicability of FOSS supports to the BIM modeling of steel structures, particularly considering the goal of a possible workflow in order to achieve high level of development (LOD); allow effective interchange methods between different software. To this end, the examined software packages are those with open source or freeware licenses, in order to evaluate their use in architectural praxis. The test has primarily involved the experimentation of Freecad -the only Open Source software that allows a complete and integrated BIM workflow- and then the results have been compared with those of two proprietary software, Sketchup and TeklaBim Sight, which are released with a free version, but not usable for commercial purposes. The experiments carried out on Open Source, and freeware software was then compared with the outcomes that are obtained by two proprietary software, Sketchup Pro and Tekla Structure which has special modules particularly addressed to the design of steel structures. This evaluation has concerned different comparative criteria, that have been defined on the basis of categories related to the reliability, the efficiency, the potentiality, achievable LOD and user-friendliness of the analyzed software packages. In order to verify the actual outcomes of FOSS BIM for the steel structure projects, these results have been compared with a simulation related to a real case study and carried out with a proprietary software BIM modeling. Therefore, the same design theme, the project of a shelter of public space, has been developed using different software. Therefore the purpose of the contribution is to assess what are the developments and potentialities inherent in FOSS BIM, in order to estimate their effective applicability to professional practice, their limits and new fields of research they propose.

Keywords: BIM, steel buildings, FOSS, LOD

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Authors: Bipin Popat Sonawane

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After 1988 Electron muon Collaboration (EMC) announcement of measurement of spin dependent structure function, it has been found that it has become a need to understand spin structure of a hadron. In the study of three-dimensional spin structure of a proton, we need to understand the foundation of quantum field theory in terms of electro-weak and strong theories using rigorous mathematical theories and models. In the process of understanding the inner dynamical stricture of proton we need understand the mathematical formalism in perturbative quantum chromodynamics (pQCD). In QCD processes like proton-proton collision at high energy we calculate cross section using conventional collinear factorization schemes. In this calculations, parton distribution functions (PDFs) and fragmentation function are used which provide the information about probability density of finding quarks and gluons ( partons) inside the proton and probability density of finding final hadronic state from initial partons. In transverse momentum dependent (TMD) PDFs and FFs, collectively called as TMDs, take an account for intrinsic transverse motion of partons. The TMD factorization in the calculation of cross sections provide a scheme of hadronic and partonic states in the given QCD process. In this study we review Transverse Momentum Dependent (TMD) factorization scheme using Collins-Soper-Sterman (CSS) Formalism. CSS formalism considers the transverse momentum dependence of the partons, in this formalism the cross section is written as a Fourier transform over a transverse position variable which has physical interpretation as impact parameter. Along with this we compare this formalism with improved CSS formalism. In this work we study the TMD evolution schemes and their comparison with other schemes. This would provide description in the process of measurement of transverse single spin asymmetry (TSSA) in hadro-production and electro-production of J/psi meson at RHIC, LHC, ILC energy scales. This would surely help us to understand J/psi production mechanism which is an appropriate test of QCD.

Keywords: QCD, PDF, TMD, CSS

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Authors: Majede Modheji, Hamid Emadi, Hossein Vojoudi

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An efficient magnetic mesoporous structure was designed and prepared for the facile pre-concentration of As(III) ions. To prepare the sorbent, a core-shell magnetic silica nanoparticle was covered by MCM-41 like structure, and then the surface was modified by guanidine via an amine linker. The prepared adsorbent was investigated as an effective and sensitive material for the adsorption of arsenic ions from the aqueous solution applying a normal batch method. The imperative variables of the adsorption were studied to increase efficiency. The dynamic and static processes were tested that matched a pseudo-second order of kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model, respectively. The sorbent reusability was investigated, and it was confirmed that the designed product could be applied at best for six cycles successively without any significant efficiency loss. The synthesized product was tested to determine and pre-concentrate trace amounts of arsenic ions in rice and natural waters as a real sample. A desorption process applying 5 mL of hydrochloric acid (0.5 mol L⁻¹) as an eluent exhibited about 98% recovery of the As(III) ions adsorbed on the GA-MSMP sorbent.

Keywords: arsenic, adsorption, mesoporous, surface modification, MCM-41

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Authors: Lidia Sanchis-Marco, Antonio Rubia, Pedro Serrano

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This paper studies the informational content of pricing errors in the term structure of sovereign CDS spreads. The residuals from a non-arbitrage model are employed to construct a Price discrepancy estimate, or noise measure. The noise estimate is understood as an indicator of market distress and reflects frictions such as illiquidity. Empirically, the noise measure is computed for an extensive panel of CDS spreads. Our results reveal an important fraction of systematic risk is not priced in default swap contracts. When projecting the noise measure onto a set of financial variables, the panel-data estimates show that greater price discrepancies are systematically related to a higher level of offsetting transactions of CDS contracts. This evidence suggests that arbitrage capital flows exit the marketplace during time of distress, and this consistent with a market segmentation among investors and arbitrageurs where professional arbitrageurs are particularly ineffective at bringing prices to their fundamental values during turbulent periods. Our empirical findings are robust for the most common CDS pricing models employed in the industry.

Keywords: credit default swaps, noise measure, illiquidity, capital arbitrage

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Authors: Konstantinos G. Kostinakis, Asimina M. Athanatopoulou

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A key issue in seismic risk analysis within the context of Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering is the evaluation of the expected seismic damage of structures under a specific earthquake ground motion. The assessment of the seismic performance strongly depends on the choice of the seismic Intensity Measure (IM), which quantifies the characteristics of a ground motion that are important to the nonlinear structural response. Several conventional IMs of ground motion have been used to estimate their damage potential to structures. Yet, none of them has been proved to be able to predict adequately the seismic damage. Therefore, alternative, scalar intensity measures, which take into account not only ground motion characteristics but also structural information have been proposed. Some of these IMs are based on integration of spectral values over a range of periods, in an attempt to account for the information that the shape of the acceleration, velocity or displacement spectrum provides. The adequacy of a number of these IMs in predicting the structural damage of 3D R/C buildings is investigated in the present paper. The investigated IMs, some of which are structure specific and some are nonstructure-specific, are defined via integration of spectral values. To achieve this purpose three symmetric in plan R/C buildings are studied. The buildings are subjected to 59 bidirectional earthquake ground motions. The two horizontal accelerograms of each ground motion are applied along the structural axes. The response is determined by nonlinear time history analysis. The structural damage is expressed in terms of the maximum interstory drift as well as the overall structural damage index. The values of the aforementioned seismic damage measures are correlated with seven scalar ground motion IMs. The comparative assessment of the results revealed that the structure-specific IMs present higher correlation with the seismic damage of the three buildings. However, the adequacy of the IMs for estimation of the structural damage depends on the response parameter adopted. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the widely used spectral acceleration at the fundamental period of the structure is a good indicator of the expected earthquake damage level.

Keywords: damage measures, bidirectional excitation, spectral based IMs, R/C buildings

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Authors: Xiaoheng Tan, Xianfang Li, Tan Guo, Yuchuan Liu, Zhijun Yang, Hongye Li, Kai Fu, Yufang Wu, Heling Gong

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The image data collected in reality often have high dimensions, and it contains noise and redundant information. Therefore, it is necessary to extract the compact feature expression of the original perceived image. In this process, effective use of prior knowledge such as data structure distribution and sample label is the key to enhance image feature discrimination and robustness. Based on the above considerations, this paper proposes a local preserving discriminant feature learning model based on graph optimization. The model has the following characteristics: (1) Locality preserving constraint can effectively excavate and preserve the local structural relationship between data. (2) The flexibility of graph learning can be improved by constructing a new local geometric structure graph using label information and the nearest neighbor threshold. (3) The L₂,₁ norm is used to redefine LDA, and the diagonal matrix is introduced as the scale factor of LDA, and the samples are selected, which improves the robustness of feature learning. The validity and robustness of the proposed algorithm are verified by experiments in two public image datasets.

Keywords: feature extraction, graph optimization local preserving projection, linear discriminant analysis, L₂, ₁ norm

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Authors: Roghayyeh Motallebzadeh, Shahin Hajizadeh, Mohammad Reza Ghasemi

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Laminar mixed convection heat transfer of a nanofluid with prescribed constant heat flux on the inner wall of horizontal annular tube has been studied numerically based on two-phase mixture model in different Rayleigh numbers and Azimuth angles. Effects of applying of different volume fractions of Al2O3 nanoparticles in water as a base fluid on hydrodynamic and thermal behaviours of the fluid flow such as axial velocity, secondary flow, temperature, heat transfer coefficient and friction coefficient at the inner and outer wall region, has been investigated. Conservation equations in elliptical form has been utilized and solved in three dimensions for a steady flow. It is observed that, there is a good agreement between results in this work and previously published experimental and numerical works on mixed convection in horizontal annulus. These particles cause to increase convection heat transfer coefficient of the fluid, meanwhile there is no considerable effect on friction coefficient.

Keywords: buoyancy force, laminar mixed convection, mixture model, nano-fluid, two-phase

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Authors: Shahnaz Mansouri, David Martin, Xiao Dong Chen, Meng Wai Woo

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Ultrafine hydrophobic and non-water-soluble drugs can increase the percentage of absorbed compared to their initial dosage. This paper provides a scalable new method of making ultrafine particles of substantially insoluble water compounds specifically, submicron particles of ethanol soluble and water insoluble pharmaceutical materials by steaming an ethanol droplet to prepare a suspension and then followed by immediate drying. This suspension is formed by adding evaporated water molecules as an anti-solvent to the solute of the samples and in early stage of precipitation continued to dry by evaporating both solvent and anti-solvent. This fine particle formation has produced fast dispersion powder in water. The new method is an extension of the antisolvent vapour precipitation technique which exposes a droplet to an antisolvent vapour with reference to the dissolved materials within the droplet. Ultrafine vitamin D3 and ibuprofen particles in the submicron ranges were produced. This work will form the basis for using spray dryers as high-throughput scalable micro-precipitators.

Keywords: single droplet drying, nano size particles, non-water-soluble drugs, precipitators

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Authors: Nino Kupatadze, Shorena Tskhadadze, Mzevinar Bedinashvili, David Tugushi, Ramaz Katsarava

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Surgical device-associated infection and biofilm formation are some of the major problems in biomedicine for today. The losing protection ability of conventional antimicrobial-drugs leads to the challenges in the current antibiotic therapy, the most serious of which is antibiotic resistance. Our strategy to overcome the biofilm formation consists in coating devices with polymeric film containing nanosilver(AgNPs) as a bactericidal agent. Such bionanocomposites are also promising as wound dressing materials. For this purpose, we have developed a new generation of AgNPs containing polymeric composites in which amino acid based biodegradable poly(ester amide)s (PEAs) were served as both matrices and AgNPs stabilizers. The AgNPs were formed by photochemical (daylight) reduction of AgNO3 in ethanol solution. The formation of AgNPs was monitored by coloring the solution in brownish-red and appearance of the absorption maximum at 420-430 nm in UV spectrum. Comparative studies of PEAs with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as particle stabilizers were carried out. It was found that PVP is better stabilizer in terms of particles yield and stability. Therefore, in subsequent experiments blends of PEAs and PVP were used as stabilizers for fabricating AgNPs. As expected, PVP increased the stabilizing effect and this apparently observed in the UV spectrum of the samples after 7 h daylight irradiation: for pure PVP λmax = 430 nm, D = 2.03, for pure PEA λmax= 420 nm, D = 0.65, and for the blend of PVP and PEA λmax = 435 nm, D = 1.88. Further study of the obtained nanobiocomposites is in progress now.

Keywords: biodegradation, bionanocompositions, polymer, nanosilver

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Authors: Jinan B. Al-Dabbagh, Rozman Mohd Tahar, Mahadzir Ishak

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TiAl alloy nano-powder was successfully produced by a mechanical alloying (MA) technique in a planetary ball mill. The influence of milling parameters, such as the milling duration, rotation speed, and balls-to-powder mass ratio, on the characteristics of the Ti50%Al powder, including the microstructure, crystallite size refinement, and phase formation, were investigated. It was found that MA of elemental Ti and Al powders promotes the formation of TiAl alloys, as Ti (Al) solid solution was formed after 5h of milling. Milling without the addition of process control agents led to a dramatic decrease in the crystallite size to 17.8 nm after 2h of milling. Higher rotation energy and a higher ball-to-powder weight ratio also accelerated the reduction in crystallite size. Subsequent heating up to 850°C resulted in the formation of a new intermetallic phase with a dominant TiAl3 phase plus minor γ-TiAl or α2-Ti3Al phase or both. A longer milling duration also exhibited a better effect on the micro-hardness of Ti50%Al powders.

Keywords: TiAl alloys, nanocrystalline materials, mechanical alloying, materials science

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Authors: Caje F. Pinto, Jivan S. Parab, Gourish M. Naik

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This paper is about the development of non-invasive heart rate and oxygen saturation in human blood using Altera NIOS II soft-core processor system. In today's world, monitoring oxygen saturation and heart rate is very important in hospitals to keep track of low oxygen levels in blood. We have designed an Embedded System On Peripheral Chip (SOPC) reconfigurable system by interfacing two LED’s of different wavelengths (660 nm/940 nm) with a single photo-detector to measure the absorptions of hemoglobin species at different wavelengths. The implementation of the interface with Finger Probe and Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) was carried out using NIOS II soft-core system running on Altera NANO DE0 board having target as Cyclone IVE. This designed system is used to monitor oxygen saturation in blood and heart rate for different test subjects. The designed NIOS II processor based non-invasive heart rate and oxygen saturation was verified with another Operon Pulse oximeter for 50 measurements on 10 different subjects. It was found that the readings taken were very close to the Operon Pulse oximeter.

Keywords: heart rate, NIOS II, oxygen saturation, photoplethysmography, soft-core, SOPC

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Authors: Fu Jinyu, Lin Jinguan

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This paper introduces a novel approach that unifies two types of models: one is the continuous-time jump-diffusion used to model high-frequency data, and the other is discrete-time GQARCH employed to model low-frequency financial data by embedding the discrete GQARCH structure with jumps in the instantaneous volatility process. This model is named “GQARCH-It\^{o} -Jumps mode.” We adopt the realized range-based threshold estimation for high-frequency financial data rather than the realized return-based volatility estimators, which entail the loss of intra-day information of the price movement. Meanwhile, a quasi-likelihood function for the low-frequency GQARCH structure with jumps is developed for the parametric estimate. The asymptotic theories are mainly established for the proposed estimators in the case of finite activity jumps. Moreover, simulation studies are implemented to check the finite sample performance of the proposed methodology. Specifically, it is demonstrated that how our proposed approaches can be practically used on some financial data.

Keywords: It\^{o} process, GQARCH, leverage effects, threshold, realized range-based volatility estimator, quasi-maximum likelihood estimate

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Authors: Ezgi Avci-Surucu, Doganbey Akgul

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Turkey’s energy reforms has achieved energy security through a variety of interlinked measures including electricity, gas, renewable energy and energy efficiency legislation; the establishment of an energy sector regulatory authority; energy price reform; the creation of a functional electricity market; restructuring of state-owned energy enterprises; and private sector participation through privatization and new investment. However, current strategies, namely; “Electricity Sector Reform and Privatization Strategy” and “Electricity Market and Supply Security Strategy” has been criticized for various aspects. The present paper analyzes the implementation of the aforementioned strategies in the framework of generation scheduling, transmission constraints, bidding structure and general aspects; and argues the deficiencies of current strategies which decelerates power investments and creates uncertainties. We conclude by policy suggestions to eliminate these deficiencies in terms of price and risk management, infrastructure, customer focused regulations and systematic market development.

Keywords: electricity markets, risk management, regulations, balancing and settlement, bilateral trading, generation scheduling, bidding structure

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Authors: Masoud Mahdavi

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Today, developed and industrial cities have all kinds of sewage and water transfer canals, subway tunnels, infrastructure facilities, etc., which have caused underground cavities to be created under the buildings. The presence of these cavities causes behavioral changes in the structural behavior that must be fully evaluated. In the present study, using Abaqus finite element software, the effect of cavities with 0.5 and 1.5 meters in diameter at a depth of 2.5 meters from the earth's surface (with a circular cross-section) on the performance of the foundation and the ground (soil) has been evaluated. For this purpose, the Kobe earthquake was applied to the models for 10 seconds. Also, pore water pressure and weight were considered on the models to get complete results. The results showed that by creating and increasing the diameter of circular cavities in the soil, three indicators; 1) von Mises stress, 2) displacement and 3) plastic strain have had oscillating, ascending and ascending processes, respectively, which shows the relationship between increasing the diameter index of underground cavities and structural indicators of structure-foundation-soil.

Keywords: underground excavations, foundation, structural substrates, Abaqus software, Kobe earthquake, time history analysis

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Authors: Md. Maksudur Rahman Khan, M. Rahim Uddin, Hamidah Abdullah, Kaykobad Md. Rezaul Karim, Abu Yousuf, Chin Kui Cheng, Huei Ruey Ong

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A systematic study was conducted to explore the photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into methanol on TiO₂ loaded copper ferrite (CuFe₂O₄) photocatalyst under visible light irradiation. The phases and crystallite size of the photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and it indicates CuFe₂O₄ as tetragonal phase incorporation with anatase TiO₂ in CuFe₂O₄/TiO₂ hetero-structure. The XRD results confirmed the formation of spinel type tetragonal CuFe₂O₄ phases along with predominantly anatase phase of TiO₂ in the CuFe₂O₄/TiO₂ hetero-structure. UV-Vis absorption spectrum suggested the formation of the hetero-junction with relatively lower band gap than that of TiO₂. Photoluminescence (PL) technique was used to study the electron–hole (e⁻/h⁺) recombination process. PL spectra analysis confirmed the slow-down of the recombination of electron–hole (e⁻/h⁺) pairs in the CuFe₂O₄/TiO₂ hetero-structure. The photocatalytic performance of CuFe₂O₄/TiO₂ was evaluated based on the methanol yield with varying amount of TiO₂ over CuFe₂O₄ (0.5:1, 1:1, and 2:1) and changing light intensity. The mechanism of the photocatalysis was proposed based on the fact that the predominant species of CO₂ in aqueous phase were dissolved CO₂ and HCO₃^- at pH ~5.9. It was evident that the CuFe₂O₄ could harvest the electrons under visible light irradiation, which could further be injected to the conduction band of TiO₂ to increase the life time of the electron and facilitating the reactions of CO₂ to methanol. The developed catalyst showed good recycle ability up to four cycles where the loss of activity was ~25%. Methanol was observed as the main product over CuFe₂O₄, but loading with TiO₂ remarkably increased the methanol yield. Methanol yield over CuFe₂O₄/TiO₂ was found to be about three times higher (651 μmol/g_cat L) than that of CuFe₂O₄ photocatalyst. This occurs because the energy of the band excited electrons lies above the redox potentials of the reaction products CO₂/CH₃OH.

Keywords: photocatalysis, CuFe2O4/TiO2, band-gap energy, methanol

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Authors: Adrien Cornille, Marine Blain, Bernard Boutevin, Sylvain Caillol

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Generally, linear polyurethanes (PUs) are obtained by the reaction between an oligomeric diol, a short diol as chain extender and a diisocyanate. However the use of diisocyanate should be avoided since they are generally very harmful for human health. Therefore the synthesis of NIPUs (non isocyanate PUs) from step growth polymerization of dicyclocarbonates and diamines should be favoured. This method is particularly interesting since no hazardous isocyanates are used. Thus, this reaction, extensively studied by Endo et al. is currently gaining a lot of attention as a substitution route for the synthesis of NIPUs, both from industrial and academic community. However, the reactivity of reaction between amine and cyclic carbonate is a major scientific issue, since cyclic carbonates are poorly reactive. Thus, our team developed several synthetic ways for the synthesis of various di-cyclic carbonates based on C5-, C6- and dithio- cyclic carbonates, from different biobased raw materials (glycerin isosorbide, vegetable oils…). These monomers were used to synthesize NIPUs with various mechanical and thermal properties for various applications. We studied the reactivity of reaction with various catalysts and find optimized conditions for room temperature reaction. We also studied the radical copolymerization of cyclic carbonate monomers in styrene-acrylate copolymers for coating applications. We also succeeded in the elaboration of biobased NIPU flexible foams. To the best of our knowledge, there is no report in literature on the preparation of non-isocyanate polyurethane foams.

Keywords: foam, nonisocyanate polyurethane, cyclic carbonate, blowing agent, scanning electron microscopy

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Authors: Kun Liang Ang, Eng Toon Saw, Wei He, Xuecheng Dong, Seeram Ramakrishna

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Ester solvents are widely used in pharmaceutical, printing and flavor industry due to their good miscibility, low toxicity, and high volatility. Through pervaporation, these ester solvents can be recovered from industrial wastewater. While metal-doped silicalite 1 zeolite membranes are commonly used in organic solvent recovery in the pervaporation process, these ceramic membranes suffer from low membrane permeation flux, mainly due to the high thickness of the metal-doped zeolite membrane. Herein, a simple method of fabricating an ultrathin tin-silicalite 1 membrane supported on alumina tube is reported. This ultrathin membrane is able to achieve high permeation flux and separation factor for an ester in a diluted aqueous solution. Nanosized tin-Silicalite 1 seeds which are smaller than 500nm has been formed through hydrothermal synthesis. The sn-Silicalite 1 seeds were then seeded onto alumina tube through dip coating, and the tin-Silicalite 1 membrane was then formed by hydrothermal synthesis in an autoclave through secondary growth method. Multiple membrane synthesis factors such as seed size, ceramic substrate surface pore size selection, and secondary growth conditions were studied for their effects on zeolite membrane growth. The microstructure, morphology and the membrane thickness of tin-Silicalite 1 zeolite membrane were examined. The membrane separation performance and stability will also be reported.

Keywords: ceramic membrane, pervaporation, solvent recovery, Sn-MFI zeolite

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Authors: Sokratis Koskinakis, Georgia Frakolaki, Magdalini Krokida

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Regular consumption of omega-3 fatty acid-rich lipids is said to provide a wide range of health benefits, including prevention of inflammation, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. Because of their potential nutritional and health benefits, the omega-3 PUFAs are increasingly being supplemented in functional food products meant to improve human health and wellbeing. However, dietary fortification with PUFAs is difficult due to their low water solubility, tendency to oxidize quickly, and inconsistent bioavailability. These issues can be solved through application of modern encapsulation technologies, which typically entail integrating omega-3 oils into well-designed matrices made from food-grade components. Electrospinning, for example, is an effective encapsulation method for producing sub-micron or nano-scale polymer fibers. For this purpose, various combinations of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and cellulose nanocrystals/ nanofibers were assessed for the encapsulation of omega-3 fatty acids through the innovative technology of electrospinning. The encapsulation yield was evaluated through GC-analysis, and the morphology of the final products was assessed through SEM analysis.

Keywords: electrospinning, encapsulation, omega-3 fatty acids, cellulose nanocrystals / nanofibers

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Authors: Lidija R. Jevrić, Sanja O. Podunavac-Kuzmanović, Strahinja Z. Kovačević

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Quantitative structure-retention relationship (QSRR) analysis was used to predict the chromatographic behavior of s-triazine derivatives by using theoretical descriptors computed from the chemical structure. Fundamental basis of the reported investigation is to relate molecular topological descriptors with chromatographic behavior of s-triazine derivatives obtained by reversed-phase (RP) thin layer chromatography (TLC) on silica gel impregnated with paraffin oil and applied ethanol-water (φ = 0.5-0.8; v/v). Retention parameter (RM0) of 14 investigated s-triazine derivatives was used as dependent variable while simple connectivity index different orders were used as independent variables. The best QSRR model for predicting RM0 value was obtained with simple third order connectivity index (3χ) in the second-degree polynomial equation. Numerical values of the correlation coefficient (r=0.915), Fisher's value (F=28.34) and root mean square error (RMSE = 0.36) indicate that model is statistically significant. In order to test the predictive power of the QSRR model leave-one-out cross-validation technique has been applied. The parameters of the internal cross-validation analysis (r2CV=0.79, r2adj=0.81, PRESS=1.89) reflect the high predictive ability of the generated model and it confirms that can be used to predict RM0 value. Multivariate classification technique, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), has been applied in order to group molecules according to their molecular connectivity indices. HCA is a descriptive statistical method and it is the most frequently used for important area of data processing such is classification. The HCA performed on simple molecular connectivity indices obtained from the 2D structure of investigated s-triazine compounds resulted in two main clusters in which compounds molecules were grouped according to the number of atoms in the molecule. This is in agreement with the fact that these descriptors were calculated on the basis of the number of atoms in the molecule of the investigated s-triazine derivatives.

Keywords: s-triazines, QSRR, chemometrics, chromatography, molecular descriptors

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Authors: Carlos Joel Tchawouo Mbiada

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This paper intends to refrain from debating the different meanings of justice, such as its social or moral meaning, nor to discuss the different theories of justice. This paper focuses on the legal understanding of access to justice to mean access to the court. Using the Labour and Labour Appeal Courts as a case study, this paper investigates whether the composition of the bench, the personnel and state mechanisms to promote access to court offer ideal conditions to access to court. The investigation is benchmarked against the South African new constitutional order underpinned by the concept of social justice to eradicate past injustices. To provide justice to all, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 guarantees the right to access to the court. The question that takes centre stage in this paper is whether litigants are denied the right to access the Labour and Labour Appeal Courts. The paper argues that factors such as the status of the Labour and Labour Appeal Courts, the number of judges, and the building structure prevent litigants from accessing these courts. The paper advocates for a legislative overhaul of the Labour and Labour Appeal Courts structure so that litigants may access the courts. Until such time, the paper argues that the right to access the Labour and Labour Appeal Courts would remain far from the reach of many litigants.

Keywords: access to justice, access to court, labour court, labour appeal court

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Authors: Ying Yi Wu

Abstract:

The study of finite groups is a central topic in algebraic structures, and one of the most fundamental questions in this field is the classification of finite groups up to isomorphism. In this paper, we investigate the cyclic property of groups of prime order, which is a crucial result in the classification of finite abelian groups. We prove the following statement: If p is a prime, then every group G of order p is cyclic. Our proof utilizes the properties of group actions and the class equation, which provide a powerful tool for studying the structure of finite groups. In particular, we first show that any non-identity element of G generates a cyclic subgroup of G. Then, we establish the existence of an element of order p, which implies that G is generated by a single element. Finally, we demonstrate that any two generators of G are conjugate, which shows that G is a cyclic group. Our result has significant implications in the classification of finite groups, as it implies that any group of prime order is isomorphic to the cyclic group of the same order. Moreover, it provides a useful tool for understanding the structure of more complicated finite groups, as any finite abelian group can be decomposed into a direct product of cyclic groups. Our proof technique can also be extended to other areas of group theory, such as the classification of finite p-groups, where p is a prime. Therefore, our work has implications beyond the specific result we prove and can contribute to further research in algebraic structures.

Keywords: group theory, finite groups, cyclic groups, prime order, classification.

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Authors: Yasmina Houda Bendahma, Tewfik Bouchaour, Meriem Merad, Ulrich Maschke

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The purpose of this work is to study retention of dye dissolved in distilled water, by an hydrophilic acrylic polymer network. The polymer network considered is Poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA): it is prepared by photo-polymerization under UV irradiation in the presence of a monomer (HEMA), initiator and an agent cross-linker. PHEMA polymer network obtained can be used in the retention of dye molecules present in the wastewater. The results obtained are interesting in the study of the kinetics of swelling and de-swelling of cross linked polymer networks PHEMA in colored aqueous solutions. The dyes used for retention by the PHEMA networks are eosin Y and Malachite Green, dissolved in distilled water. Theoretical conformational study by a simplified molecular model of system cross linked PHEMA / dye (eosin Y and Malachite Green), is used to simulate the retention phenomenon (or Docking) dye molecules in cavities in nano-domains included in the PHEMA polymer network.

Keywords: dye retention, molecular modeling, photochemically crosslinked polymer network, swelling deswelling, PHEMA, HEMA

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Authors: Umar Adli Amran, Tan Choon Chek, Mohd Shahkhirat Norizan, Then Kek Hoe

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Controlled release fertilizer (CRF) enables a regulated nutrients release for more efficient plant uptake compared to the normal granular fertilizer. It reduces nutrients loss via surface run-off and leaching, hence promotes sustainable agriculture. Although the performance of CRF in providing consistent and timely nutrients supply is well known, its expensive price limits it usage in a large scale plantation. This study is conducted to evaluate the properties and performance of bio-based polyurethane (PU)-coated CRF via laboratory and oil palm main nursery trial. The CRF is produced by coating of a normal commercial compound granular fertilizer from FGV Fertiliser Sdn. Bhd., namely Felda 10 (10.5-8-20-3+0.5B), and designated as CRF FGV10. Based on laboratory evaluation, the CRF FGV10 can sustain nutrients release for more than 6 months. Vegetative growth parameters such as girth size, palm height, third frond length, and the total number of fronds produced were recorded. Besides that, dry biomass of the oil palm seedlings was also determined. From the evaluation, it is proved that at 50% reduction of nutrients application rate and for only two times application (T3), CRF FGV10 enabled the oil palm seedlings to achieve similar vegetative growth with the control samples (T1). It is also proven that only PU-coated CRF FGV10 had allowed the reduction of fertilizer rate and application rounds.

Keywords: nutrition, oil palm seedlings, polyurethane, sustainable manuring, vegetative growth

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Authors: Lara Al-Haddad, Mark Whittington

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This paper aims to examine the impact of two influential internal corporate governance mechanisms, namely board characteristics and ownership structure on the use of real activities-based and accrual-based earnings management by Jordanian public firms. Using panel data from Jordanian public firms after the introduction of the Jordanian Corporate Governance Code (JCGC) in 2009, the study finds both institutional ownership and managerial ownership constrain the use of real and accrual earnings manipulations. On the other side, both independent directors and largest shareholders are found to exaggerate the incidence of using real and accrual earnings management. The study also examines the trade-off between real and accrual earnings management and found that Jordanian firms use a combination of real and accrual-based earnings management to obtain the greatest effect on earnings reporting strategies. For the purpose of this study, three types of real earnings management are considered: sales manipulation, overproduction, and the abnormal reduction of discretionary expenditures. The abnormal discretionary accrual is considered for accruals management. While for the internal corporate governance mechanisms; board characteristics are examined by using board independence, board size, and CEO-duality; and ownership structure is examined by using managerial ownership, institutional ownership, foreign ownership and largest shareholder ownership. To the best knowledge of the researchers, this study is the first to examine the relationship between board characteristics and real earnings management in Jordan. Further, it is the first to examine the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and discretionary accruals after the introduction of the Jordanian Corporate Governance Code in 2009. Thus, the findings of this study have important policy implications for policymakers, regulators, standard setters, audit professional, and investors in their attempts to constrain the practice of earnings management, whether real or accrual, and to improve the financial reporting quality in Jordan.

Keywords: board characteristics, Jordan, ownership structure, real earnings management

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Authors: Innocent C. Ezenwa, Takashi Yoshino

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Knowledge of the transport properties of Fe and its alloys at extreme high pressure (P), temperature (T) conditions are essential for understanding the generation and sustainability of the magnetic field of the rocky planets with a metallic core. Since Pt, an unfilled d-band late transition metal with an electronic structure of Xe4f¹⁴5d⁹6s¹, is paramagnetic and remains close-packed structure at ambient conditions and high P-T, it is expected that its transport properties at these conditions would be similar to those of ε-Fe. We investigated the T-dependent electrical resistivity of solid and liquid Pt up to 8 GPa and found it constant along its melting curve both on the liquid and solid sides in agreement with theoretical prediction and experimental results estimated from thermal conductivity measurements. Our results suggest that the T-dependent resistivity of ε-Fe is linear and would not saturate at high P, T conditions. This, in turn, suggests that the thermal conductivity of liquid Fe at Earth’s core conditions may not be as high as previously suggested by models employing saturation resistivity. Hence, thermal convection could have powered the geodynamo before the birth of the inner core. The electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity on the liquid and solid sides of the inner core boundary of the Earth would be significantly different in values.

Keywords: electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, transport properties, geodynamo and geomagnetic field

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Authors: Logaiswari Indiran, Zainab Khalifah, Kamariah Ismail

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Business incubators have now been recognized as effective tools in providing business assistance to start-up firms. In both developed and developing countries, the number of incubators is growing tremendously. As the birth rate of incubators increases, so do its challenges. Malaysia, as one of the developing countries in the Asian continent, has also established a number of business incubators to breed and foster the growth and survival of start-up firms. Thus, this study discusses the incubation model applied in Malaysia and the challenges faced by these incubators using secondary data including policies, previous literature, and reports related to Malaysian incubators. The findings of this study call the government to rethink the key role of incubator managers and staffs, internal structure of the incubator concept and process, intellectual properties management, strategic alliances with universities-industries and funding supports in enhancing the support provided by the business incubators in Malaysia. The key challenges highlighted in this study signal important policy lessons for other developing countries that aim to create and map an effective business incubator ecosystem.

Keywords: business incubators, incubation challenges, funding support, incubator managers, internal structure, start-up firms

Procedia PDF Downloads 275

Authors: M. Rahimnejad, B. Vahidi, B. Ebrahimi Hoseinzadeh, F. Yazdian, P. Motamed Fath, R. Jamjah

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In this study, we developed and simulated nano-drug delivery systems efficacy in compare to free drug prescription. Computational models can be utilized to accelerate experimental steps and control the experiments high cost. Molecular dynamics simulation (MDS), in particular NAMD was utilized to better understand the anti-cancer drug interaction with cell membrane model. Paclitaxel (PTX) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) were selected for the drug molecule and as a natural phospholipid nanocarrier, respectively. This work focused on two important interaction parameters between molecules in terms of center of mass (COM) and van der Waals interaction energy. Furthermore, we compared the simulation results of the PTX interaction with the cell membrane and the interaction of DPPC as a nanocarrier loaded by the drug with the cell membrane. The molecular dynamic analysis resulted in low energy between the nanocarrier and the cell membrane as well as significant decrease of COM amount in the nanocarrier and the cell membrane system during the interaction. Thus, the drug vehicle showed notably better interaction with the cell membrane in compared to free drug interaction with the cell membrane.

Keywords: anti-cancer drug, center of mass, interaction energy, molecular dynamics simulation, nanocarrier

Procedia PDF Downloads 341