Search results for: physical parameters

Authors: Mohd N. Ahmad, Lariyah Mohd Sidek

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The study had shown that Sungai Penchala (urban) was experiencing localized rainfall and hazardous air pollution due to urbanization. The high rainfall that partly added by localized rain had been seen as a threat of causing the flash floods and water quality deterioration in the area. The air pollution that consisted of mainly particulate matter (PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3) gave an alarming air pollution index (API) to the surrounding area. Comparison among urban area (Sungai Penchala), sub-urban (Gombak), and green areas (Jerantut plus Temerloh) with respect to the rainfall parameters and air pollutants, it was found that the degree of intensities of the parameters was positively related with the urbanization. The air pollutants especially NO2, SO2, and CO were in tandem with the increase of the rainfall. Specifically, if the water catchment area is physically near to the urban area, then the authorities need to look into related urban development program by considering the management of emitted pollutants with respect to the ecological setting of the urban area.

Keywords: urbanization, green area localized rainfall, air pollution, sub-urban area

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Authors: Mouad Ouafi, Lahoucine Atourki, Larbi Laanab, Erika Vega, Miguel Mollar, Bernabe Marib, Boujemaa Jaber

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Despite the astonishing emergence of the methylammonium lead triiodide perovskite as a promising light harvester for solar cells, their physical properties in solution-processed MAPbI₃ are still crucial and need to be improved. The objective of this work is to investigate the hot airflow effect during the growth of MAPbI₃ films using the spin-coating process on their structural, optical and morphological proprieties. The experimental results show that many physical proprieties of the perovskite strongly depend on the air flow temperature and the optimization which has a beneficial effect on the perovskite quality. In fact, a clear improvement of the crystallinity and the crystallite size of MAPbI₃ perovskite is demonstrated by the XRD analyses, when the airflow temperature is increased up to 100°C. Alternatively, as far as the surface morphology is concerned, SEM micrographs show that significant homogenous nucleation, uniform surface distribution and pin holes free with highest surface coverture of 98% are achieved when the airflow temperature reaches 100°C. At this temperature, the improvement is also observed when considering the optical properties of the films. By contrast, a remarkable degradation of the MAPbI₃ perovskites associated to the PbI₂ phase formation is noticed, when the hot airflow temperature is higher than 100°C, especially 300°C.

Keywords: hot air flow, crystallinity, surface coverage, perovskite morphology

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Authors: Aneesh Joshi, Sagil James

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Cold Spray (CS) process is deposition of solid particles over a substrate above a certain critical impact velocity. Unlike thermal spray processes, CS process does not melt the particles thus retaining their original physical and chemical properties. These characteristics make CS process ideal for various engineering applications involving metals, polymers, ceramics and composites. The bonding mechanism involved in CS process is extremely complex considering the dynamic nature of the process. Though CS process offers great promise for several engineering applications, the realization of its full potential is limited by the lack of understanding of the complex mechanisms involved in this process and the effect of critical process parameters on the deposition efficiency. The goal of this research is to understand the complex nanoscale mechanisms involved in CS process. The study uses Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation technique to understand the material deposition phenomenon during the CS process. Impact of a single crystalline copper nanoparticle on copper substrate is modelled under varying process conditions. The quantitative results of the impacts at different velocities, impact angle and size of the particles are evaluated using flattening ratio, von Mises stress distribution and local shear strain. The study finds that the flattening ratio and hence the quality of deposition was highest for an impact velocity of 700 m/s, particle size of 20 Å and an impact angle of 90°. The stress and strain analysis revealed regions of shear instabilities in the periphery of impact and also revealed plastic deformation of the particles after the impact. The results of this study can be used to augment our existing knowledge in the field of CS processes.

Keywords: cold spray process, molecular dynamics simulation, nanoparticles, particle impact

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Authors: E. Oke, A. O. Ladokun, J. O. Daramola, O. M. Onagbesan

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There has been a growing interest on the effects of access to pasture on poultry health status. However, there is a paucity of data on the relative benefits of grass and legume pastures. An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of rearing systems {deep litter system (DL), deep litter with access to legumes (LP) or grass (GP) pastures} haematology and serum chemistry of ISA Brown layers. The study involved the use of two hundred and forty 12 weeks old pullets. The birds were reared until 60 weeks of age. Eighty birds were assigned to each treatment; each treatment had four replicates of 20 birds each. Blood samples (2.5 ml) were collected from the wing vein of two birds per replicate and serum chemistry and haematological parameters were determined. The results showed that there were no significant differences between treatments in all the parameters considered at 18 weeks of age. At 24 weeks old, the percentage of heterophyl (HET) in DL and LP were similar but higher than that of GP. The ratio of H:L was higher (P<0.05) in DL than those of LP and GP while LP and GP were comparable. At week 38 of age, the percentage of PCV in the birds in LP and GP were similar but the birds in DL had significantly lower level than that of GP. In the early production phase, serum total protein of the birds in LP was similar to that of GP but higher (P<0.05) than that of DL. At the peak production phase (week 38), the total protein in GP and DL were similar but significantly lower than that of LP. The albumin level in LP was greater (P<0.05) than GP but similar to that of DL. In the late production phase, the total protein in LP was significantly higher than that of DL but similar to that of GP. It was concluded that rearing chickens in either grass or legume pasture did not have deleterious effects on the health of laying chickens but improved some parameters including blood protein and HET/lymphocyte.

Keywords: rearing systems, stylosanthes, cynodon serum chemistry, haematology, hen

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Authors: H. E. Budak, B. Arslan-Ilkiz, N. Cakmakci, I. Gocek, U. K. Sahin, H. Acikgoz-Tufan, M. H. Arslan

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The aim of this study is to design a novel laundry algorithm for colored textiles which have significant decoloring problem. During the experimental work, bleached knitted single jersey fabric made of 100% cotton and dyed with reactive dyestuff was utilized, since according to a conducted survey textiles made of cotton are the most demanded textile products in the textile market by the textile consumers and for coloration of textiles reactive dyestuffs are the ones that are the most commonly used in the textile industry for dyeing cotton-made products. Therefore, the fabric used in this study was selected and purchased in accordance with the survey results. The fabric samples cut out of this fabric were dyed with different dyeing parameters by using Remazol Brilliant Red 3BS dyestuff in Gyrowash machine at laboratory conditions. From the alternative reactive-dyed cotton fabric samples, the ones that have high tendency to color loss were determined and examined. Accordingly, the parameters of the dyeing process used for these fabric samples were evaluated and the dyeing process which was chosen to be used for causing high tendency to color loss for the cotton fabrics was determined in order to reveal the level of improvement in color loss during this study clearly. Afterwards, all of the untreated fabric samples cut out of the fabric purchased were dyed with the dyeing process selected. When dyeing process was completed, an experimental design was created for the laundering process by using Minitab® program considering temperature, time and mechanical action as parameters. All of the washing experiments were performed in domestic washing machine. 16 washing experiments were performed with 8 different experimental conditions and 2 repeats for each condition. After each of the washing experiments, water samples of the main wash of the laundering process were measured with UV spectrophotometer. The values obtained were compared with the calibration curve of the materials used for the dyeing process. The results of the washing experiments were statistically analyzed with Minitab® program. According to the results, the most suitable washing algorithm to be used in terms of the parameters temperature, time and mechanical action for domestic washing machines for minimizing fabric color loss was chosen. The laundry algorithm proposed in this study have the ability of minimalizing the problem of color loss of colored textiles in washing machines by eliminating the negative effects of the parameters of laundering process on color of textiles without compromising the fundamental effects of basic cleaning action being performed properly. Therefore, since fabric color loss is minimized with this washing algorithm, dyestuff residuals will definitely be lower in the grey water released from the laundering process. In addition to this, with this laundry algorithm it is possible to wash and clean other types of textile products with proper cleaning effect and minimized color loss.

Keywords: color loss, laundry algorithm, textiles, domestic washing process

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Authors: Jongwoo Lee, Dae-Eun Kang, Sang-Young Park

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This study presents a precise relative navigational method for satellites flying in formation using laser-based intermittent measurement data. The measurement data for the relative navigation between two satellites consist of a relative distance measured by a laser instrument and relative attitude angles measured by attitude determination. The relative navigation solutions are estimated by both the Extended Kalman filter (EKF) and unscented Kalman filter (UKF). The solutions estimated by the EKF may become inaccurate or even diverge as measurement outage time gets longer because the EKF utilizes a linearization approach. However, this study shows that the UKF with the appropriate scaling parameters provides a stable and accurate relative navigation solutions despite the long measurement outage time and large initial error as compared to the relative navigation solutions of the EKF. Various navigation results have been analyzed by adjusting the scaling parameters of the UKF.

Keywords: satellite relative navigation, laser-based measurement, intermittent measurement, unscented Kalman filter

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Authors: Michael Koblischka, Anjela Koblischka-Veneva, XianLin Zeng, Essia Hannachi, Yassine Slimani

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Superconducting foams of YBa2Cu3O7 (abbreviated Y-123) were produced using the infiltration growth (IG) technique from Y2BaCuO5 (Y-211) foams. The samples were investigated by SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and electrical resistivity measurements. SEM observations indicated the specific microstructure of the foam struts with numerous tiny Y-211 particles (50-100 nm diameter) embedded in channel-like structures between the Y-123 grains. The investigation of the excess conductivity of different prepared composites was analyzed using Aslamazov-Larkin (AL) model. The investigated samples comprised of five distinct fluctuation regimes, namely short-wave (SWF), one-dimensional (1D), two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional (3D), and critical (CR) fluctuations regimes. The coherence length along the c-axis at zero-temperature (ξc(0)), lower and upper critical magnetic fields (Bc1 and Bc2), critical current density (Jc) and numerous other superconducting parameters were estimated from the data. The analysis reveals that the presence of the tiny Y-211 particles alters the excess conductivity and the fluctuation behavior observed in standard YBCO samples.

Keywords: Excess conductivity, Foam, Microstructure, Superconductor YBa2Cu3Oy

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Authors: Dianelys Vega, Carlos Magluta, Ney Roitman

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The simulation of loads induced by walking people in civil engineering structures is still challenging It has been the focus of considerable research worldwide in the recent decades due to increasing number of reported vibration problems in pedestrian structures. One of the most important key in the designing of slender structures is the Human-Structure Interaction (HSI). How moving people interact with structures and the effect it has on their dynamic responses is still not well understood. To rely on calibrated pedestrian models that accurately estimate the structural response becomes extremely important. However, because of the complexity of the pedestrian mechanisms, there are still some gaps in knowledge and more reliable models need to be investigated. On this topic several authors have proposed biodynamic models to represent the pedestrian, whether these models provide a consistent approximation to physical reality still needs to be studied. Therefore, this work comes to contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon bringing an experimental validation of a pedestrian walking model and a Human-Structure Interaction model. In this study, a bi-dimensional bipedal walking model was used to represent the pedestrians along with an interaction model which was applied to a prototype footbridge. Numerical models were implemented in MATLAB. In parallel, experimental tests were conducted in the Structures Laboratory of COPPE (LabEst), at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Different test subjects were asked to walk at different walking speeds over instrumented force platforms to measure the walking force and an accelerometer was placed at the waist of each subject to measure the acceleration of the center of mass at the same time. By fitting the step force and the center of mass acceleration through successive numerical simulations, the model parameters are estimated. In addition, experimental data of a walking pedestrian on a flexible structure was used to validate the interaction model presented, through the comparison of the measured and simulated structural response at mid span. It was found that the pedestrian model was able to adequately reproduce the ground reaction force and the center of mass acceleration for normal and slow walking speeds, being less efficient for faster speeds. Numerical simulations showed that biomechanical parameters such as leg stiffness and damping affect the ground reaction force, and the higher the walking speed the greater the leg length of the model. Besides, the interaction model was also capable to estimate with good approximation the structural response, that remained in the same order of magnitude as the measured response. Some differences in frequency spectra were observed, which are presumed to be due to the perfectly periodic loading representation, neglecting intra-subject variabilities. In conclusion, this work showed that the bipedal walking model could be used to represent walking pedestrians since it was efficient to reproduce the center of mass movement and ground reaction forces produced by humans. Furthermore, although more experimental validations are required, the interaction model also seems to be a useful framework to estimate the dynamic response of structures under loads induced by walking pedestrians.

Keywords: biodynamic models, bipedal walking models, human induced loads, human structure interaction

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Authors: Nitai Biswas, Prasenjit Kapas, Arumay Jana, Asish Paul

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Introduction: Motivation is basic drive for all kinds of action. It has direct influence on academic achievement and sports performance that builds urge to incentive values of success. In other words, it can be defined as the need for success to attain excellence. Anxiety in pre competition especially in sports formulates positive inward settings in mind to overcome the challenge. There is a tendency to perceive competitive situations as some threatening issues and to respond them with feelings of apprehension and tension. Aim: Aim of the study was to compare the achievement motivation and competition anxiety among three different classes of students. Methods and Materials: To conduct the study the researcher has taken 131 male subjects from three different classes as Extra Department, Bachelor of Physical Education-I and Master of Physical EducationII, aged 19-28 years. Achievement motivation and sports competition anxiety were measured by the questionnaire. To analyze the data mean, standard deviation for each parameter as descriptive statistics and one way analysis of variance as inferential statistics were employed. Results: From the result of the study in achievement motivation (p ≥ 0.05) and competition anxiety (p ≥ 0.05) no significant differences were found among the said three groups. Conclusion: The study concluded that all three groups had almost the same state of achievement motivation and sports competition anxiety.

Keywords: anxiety, sports psychology, sports competition anxiety, achievement motivation, academic hierarchy, E.D., B.P.Ed., M.P.Ed

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Authors: A. Bachrata, N. Marie, F. Bertrand, J. B. Droin

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The in-depth understanding of severe accident propagation in Generation IV of nuclear reactors is important so that appropriate risk management can be undertaken early in their design process. This paper is focused on model improvements in the SIMMER code in order to perform studies of severe accident mitigation of Sodium Fast Reactor. During the design process of the mitigation devices dedicated to extraction of molten fuel from the core region, the molten fuel propagation from the core up to the core catcher has to be studied. In this aim, analytical as well as the complex thermo-hydraulic simulations with SIMMER-III code are performed. The studies presented in this paper focus on physical phenomena and associated physical models that influence the corium relocation. Firstly, the molten pool heat exchange with surrounding structures is analysed since it influences directly the instant of rupture of the dedicated tubes favouring the corium relocation for mitigation purpose. After the corium penetration into mitigation tubes, the fuel-coolant interactions result in formation of debris bed. Analyses of debris bed fluidization as well as sinking into a fluid are presented in this paper.

Keywords: corium, mitigation tubes, SIMMER-III, sodium fast reactor

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Authors: Ali Akber Jaffri, Asad Naseem, Javeria Khan

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The purpose of this study is to determine safety stock, maximum inventory level, reordering point, and reordering quantity by rearranging lot sizes for supplier and customer in MRO (maintenance repair operations) warehouse of Engro Polymers & Chemicals. To achieve the aim, physical analysis method and excel commands were carried out to elicit the customer and supplier data provided by the company. Initially, we rearranged the current lot sizes and MOUs (measure of units) in SAP software. Due to change in lot sizes we have to determine the new quantities for safety stock, maximum inventory, reordering point and reordering quantity as per company's demand. By proposed system, we saved extra cost in terms of reducing the time of receiving from vendor and in issuance to customer, ease of material handling in MRO warehouse and also reduce human efforts. The information requirements identified in this study can be utilized in calculating Economic Order Quantity.

Keywords: carrying cost, economic order quantity, fast moving, lead time, lot size, MRO, maximum inventory, ordering cost, physical inspection, reorder point

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Authors: Toyosi Yewande Tunde-Akintunde, Grace Oluwatoyin Ogunlakin, Bosede Folake Olanipekun

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Peppers are excellent sources of nutrients but its high moisture content makes it susceptible to spoilage. Drying, a common processing method, results in a reduction of these nutrients in the final product. Pre-treatment of pepper before drying can be used to reduce the level of degradation of nutrients. Thus this study investigated the effect of pre-treatment (hot water blanching and soaking in brine-sodium chloride) and drying methods (oven, microwave and sun) on selected quality parameters (proximate composition, capsaicin, reducing sugar and phenolic content, pH, total solid (TS), Titratable acidity (TA), water absorption capacity (WAC) and colour) of pepper. The protein and moisture content value ranged from 9.09 to 10.23% and 5.63 to 8.48% respectively. Sun dried samples had the highest value while oven dried samples had the lowest. Brine treated samples had higher protein but lower moisture content than blanched samples. Capsaicin, reducing sugar and phenolic content values ranged from 0.68 to 0.87 mg/dm3; 3.18 to 3.79 µg/ml; and 40.67 to 84.01 mg GAE/100 g d.m respectively. The sun dried samples had higher values while the lowest values were from microwave dried samples. The brine treated samples had higher values in capsaicin while the blanched samples had higher reducing sugar and phenolic contents. The values of L, a* and b* for the dried pepper varied from 58.76 to 63.13; 7.09 to 7.34; and 11.79 to 12.36 respectively. Oven dried samples had the lowest values for a*, while its L values were the highest. The L and a* values for brine treated samples were higher than blanched samples. The pre-treatment and drying method considered resulted in different values of the quality parameters considered which indicates that drying and pre-treatment has an effect on the quality of the final dried pepper samples.

Keywords: Bell pepper, microwave drying, oven drying, quality, sun drying

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Authors: Ahmed Elaksher, Islam Omar

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For many years, Mars surface has been a mystery for scientists. Lately with the help of geospatial data and photogrammetric procedures researchers were able to capture some insights about this planet. Two of the most imperative data sources to explore Mars are the The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) and the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). HiRISE is one of six science instruments carried by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched August 12, 2005, and managed by NASA. The MOLA sensor is a laser altimeter carried by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and launched on November 7, 1996. In this project, we used MOLA-based DEMs to orthorectify HiRISE optical images for generating a more accurate and trustful surface of Mars. The MOLA data was interpolated using the kriging interpolation technique. Corresponding tie points were digitized from both datasets. These points were employed in co-registering both datasets using GIS analysis tools. In this project, we employed three different 3D to 2D transformation models. These are the parallel projection (3D affine) transformation model; the extended parallel projection transformation model; the Direct Linear Transformation (DLT) model. A set of tie-points was digitized from both datasets. These points were split into two sets: Ground Control Points (GCPs), used to evaluate the transformation parameters using least squares adjustment techniques, and check points (ChkPs) to evaluate the computed transformation parameters. Results were evaluated using the RMSEs between the precise horizontal coordinates of the digitized check points and those estimated through the transformation models using the computed transformation parameters. For each set of GCPs, three different configurations of GCPs and check points were tested, and average RMSEs are reported. It was found that for the 2D transformation models, average RMSEs were in the range of five meters. Increasing the number of GCPs from six to ten points improve the accuracy of the results with about two and half meters. Further increasing the number of GCPs didn’t improve the results significantly. Using the 3D to 2D transformation parameters provided three to two meters accuracy. Best results were reported using the DLT transformation model. However, increasing the number of GCPS didn’t have substantial effect. The results support the use of the DLT model as it provides the required accuracy for ASPRS large scale mapping standards. However, well distributed sets of GCPs is a key to provide such accuracy. The model is simple to apply and doesn’t need substantial computations.

Keywords: mars, photogrammetry, MOLA, HiRISE

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Authors: Alice Carter, Lucy Dumbell, Lorna Cameron, Victoria Lewis

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The Olympic discipline of eventing is the triathlon of equestrian sport, consisting of dressage, cross-country and show jumping. Falls on the cross-country are common and can be serious even causing death to rider. Research identifies an increased risk of a fall with an increasing number of obstacles and for jumping efforts later in the course suggesting fatigue maybe a contributing factor. Advice based on anecdotal evidence suggests riders undertake strength and conditioning programs to improve their ‘core’, thus improving their ability to maintain and control their riding position. There is little empirical evidence to support this advice. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate truck muscle fatigue and cognitive function during a simulated jumping test. Eight adult riders participated in a riding test on a Racewood Event simulator for 10 minutes, over a continuous jumping programme. The SEMG activity of six trunk muscles were bilaterally measured at every minute, and normalised root mean squares (RMS) and median frequencies (MDF) were computed from the EMG power spectra. Visual analogue scales (VAS) measuring Fatigue and Pain levels and Cognitive Function ‘tapping’ tests were performed before and after the riding test. Average MDF values for all muscles differed significantly between each sampled minute (p = 0.017), however a consistent decrease from Minute 1 and Minute 9 was not found, suggesting the trunk muscles fatigued and then recovered as other muscle groups important in maintaining the riding position during dynamic movement compensated. Differences between the MDF and RMS of different muscles were highly significant (H=213.01, DF=5, p < 0.001), supporting previous anecdotal evidence that different trunk muscles carry out different roles of posture maintenance during riding. RMS values were not significantly different between the sampled minutes or between riders, suggesting the riding test produced a consistent and repeatable effect on the trunk muscles. MDF values differed significantly between riders (H=50.8, DF = 5, p < 0.001), suggesting individuals may experience localised muscular fatigue of the same test differently, and that other parameters of physical fitness should be investigated to provide conclusions. Lumbar muscles were shown to be important in maintaining the position, therefore physical training program should focus on these areas. No significant differences were found between pre- and post-riding test VAS Pain and Fatigue scores or cognitive function test scores, suggesting the riding test was not significantly fatiguing for participants. However, a near significant correlation was found between time of riding test and VAS Pain score (p = 0.06), suggesting somatic pain may be a limiting factor to performance. No other correlations were found between the factors of participant riding test time, VAS Pain and Fatigue, however a larger sample needs to be tested to improve statistical analysis. The findings suggest the simulator riding test was not sufficient to provoke fatigue in the riders, however foundations for future studies have been laid to enable methodologies in realistic eventing settings.

Keywords: eventing, fatigue, horse-rider, surface EMG, trunk muscles

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Authors: Wameed Alghazali, Shawn Kenny, Paul J. Van Geel

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Settlement of municipal solid waste (MSW) in landfills can be represented by mechanical settlement, which is instantaneous and time-dependent creep components, and biodegradation-induced settlement. Mechanical settlement is governed by the physical characteristics of MSW and the applied overburden pressure. Several research studies used oedometers and different size compression cells to evaluate the primary and mechanical creep compression indices/ratios. However, MSW is known for its heterogeneity, which means data obtained from laboratory testing are not necessary to be a good representation of the mechanical response observed in the field. Furthermore, most of the laboratory tests found in the literature were conducted on shredded samples of MSW to obtain specimens that are suitable for the testing setup. It is believed that shredding MSW samples changes the physical and mechanical properties of the waste. In this study, settlement field data was collected during the filling stage of Ste. Sophie landfill was used to estimate the primary and mechanical creep compression ratios. The field results from Ste. Sophie landfill indicated that both the primary and mechanical creep compression ratios of MSW are not constants but decrease with the increase in the applied vertical stress.

Keywords: mechanical creep compression ratio, municipal solid waste, primary compression ratio, stress level

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Authors: Anjali Suresh

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Kerala is well known for its unique settlement pattern; comprising the most part, a continuous spread of habitation. The notable urbanization trend in Kerala is urban spread rather than concentration which points out the increasing urbanization of peripheral areas of existing urban centers. This has thrown a challenge for the authorities to cater the needs of the urban population like to provide affordable housing and infrastructure facilities to sustain their livelihood; which is a matter of concern that needs policy attention in fixing the optimum FSI value. Based on recent reports (Post Disaster Need Analysis –PDNA) from the UN, addressing the unsafe situation of the carpet FAR/FSI practice in the state showcasing the varying geological & climatic conditions should also be the matter of concern. The FSI (Floor space index- the ratio of the built-up space on a plot to the area of the plot) value is certainly one of the key regulation factors in checking the land utilization for the varying occupancies desired for the overall development of a state with limitation in land availability when compared to its neighbors. The pattern of urbanization, physical conditions, topography, etc., varies within the state and can change remarkably over time which identifies that the practicing FSI norms in Kerala does not fulfils the intended function. Thus the FSI regulation is expected to change dynamically from location to location. So for determining the optimum value of FSI /FAR of a region in the state of Kerala, the government agencies should consider the optimum land utilization for the growing urbanization. On the other hand, shall keep in check the overutilization of the same in par with environmental and geographic nature. Therefore the study identifies parameters that should be considered for assigning FSI within the Kerala context, and through expert surveys; opinions arrive at a methodology for assigning an optimum FSI value of a region in the state of Kerala.

Keywords: floor space index, urbanization, density, civic pressure, optimization

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Authors: Baso Hamdani, Arniati Massinai, Jamaluddin Jompa

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Coral diseases are one of the factors affect reef degradation. This research had analysed the progression rate, incidence, and prevalence of Black Band Disease (BBD) on stony coral (Pachyseris sp.) in relation to the environmental parameters (pH, nitrate, phospate, Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM), and turbidity). The incidence of coral disease was measured weekly for 6 weeks using Belt Transect Method. The progression rate of BBD was measured manually. Furthermore, the prevalence and incidence of BBD were calculated each colonies infected. The relationship between environmental parameters and the progression rate, prevalence and incidence of BBD was analysed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results showed the average of progression rate is 0,07 ± 0,02 cm/ hari. The prevalence of BBD increased from 0,92% - 19,73% in 7 weeks observation with the average incidence of new infected colonies coral 0,2 - 0,65 colony/day The environment factors which important were pH, Nitrate, Phospate, DOM, and Turbidity.

Keywords: progression rate, incidence, prevalence, Black Band Disease, Barranglompo

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Authors: Seungsik Yu, Minho Kang

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As the threat of terrorism to nuclear facilities is increasing globally after the attacks of September 11, we are striving to recognize the physical protection system and strengthen the emergency response system. Since 2015, Korea has implemented physical protection security exercise for nuclear facilities. The exercise should be carried out with full cooperation between the operator and response forces. Performance testing of the physical protection system should include appropriate exercises, for example, force-on-force exercises, to determine if the response forces can provide an effective and timely response to prevent sabotage. Significant deficiencies and actions taken should be reported as stipulated by the competent authority. The IAEA(International Atomic Energy Agency) is also preparing force-on-force exercise program documents to support exercise of member states. Currently, ROK(Republic of Korea) is implementing exercise on the force-on-force exercise evaluation system which is developed by itself for the nuclear power plant, and it is necessary to establish the exercise procedure considering the use of the force-on-force exercise evaluation system. The purpose of this study is to establish the work procedures of the three major organizations related to the force-on-force exercise of nuclear power plants in ROK, which conduct exercise using force-on-force exercise evaluation system. The three major organizations are composed of licensee, KINAC (Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control), and the NSSC(Nuclear Safety and Security Commission). Major activities are as follows. First, the licensee establishes and conducts an exercise plan, and when recommendations are derived from the result of the exercise, it prepares and carries out a force-on-force result report including a plan for implementation of the recommendations. Other detailed tasks include consultation with surrounding units for adversary, interviews with exercise participants, support for document evaluation, and self-training to improve the familiarity of the MILES (Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System). Second, KINAC establishes a force-on-force exercise plan review report and reviews the force-on-force exercise plan report established by licensee. KINAC evaluate force-on-force exercise using exercise evaluation system and prepare training evaluation report. Other detailed tasks include MILES training, adversary consultation, management of exercise evaluation systems, and analysis of exercise evaluation results. Finally, the NSSC decides whether or not to approve the force-on-force exercise and makes a correction request to the nuclear facility based on the exercise results. The most important part of ROK's force-on-force exercise system is the analysis through the exercise evaluation system implemented by KINAC after the exercise. The analytical method proceeds in the order of collecting data from the exercise evaluation system and analyzing the collected data. The exercise application process of the exercise evaluation system introduced in ROK in 2016 will be concretely set up, and a system will be established to provide objective and consistent conclusions between exercise sessions. Based on the conclusions drawn up, the ultimate goal is to complement the physical protection system of licensee so that the system makes licensee respond effectively and timely against sabotage or unauthorized removal of nuclear materials.

Keywords: Force-on-Force exercise, nuclear power plant, physical protection, sabotage, unauthorized removal

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Authors: Faiza Marrium, Masood Rabbani, Ali Ahmad Sheikh, Muhammad Yasin Tipu Javed Muhammad, Sohail Raza

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More than 75% diseases spreading in the past 10 years in human population globally are linked to veterinary sector. Veterinary diagnostic labs are the powerful ally for diagnosis, prevention and monitoring of animal diseases in any country. In order to avoid detrimental effects of errors in disease diagnostic and biorisk management, there is a dire need to establish quality control system. In current study, 3 private and 6 public sectors veterinary diagnostic labs were selected for survey. A questionnaire survey in biorisk management guidelines of CWA 15793 was designed to find quality control breaches in lab design, personal, equipment and consumable, quality control measures adopted in lab, waste management, environmental monitoring and customer care. The data was analyzed through frequency distribution statistically by using (SPSS) version 18.0. A non-significant difference was found in all parameters of lab design, personal, equipment and consumable, quality control measures adopted in lab, waste management, environmental monitoring and customer care with an average percentage of 46.6, 57.77, 52.7, 55.5, 54.44, 48.88 and 60, respectively. A non-significant difference among all nine labs were found, with highest average compliance percentage of all parameters are lab 2 (78.13), Lab 3 (70.56), Lab 5 (57.51), Lab 6 (56.37), Lab 4 (55.02), Lab 9 (49.58), Lab 7 (47.76), Lab 1 (41.01) and Lab 8 (36.09). This study shows that in Lahore district veterinary diagnostic labs are not giving proper attention to quality of their system and there is no significant difference between setups of private and public sector laboratories. These results show that most of parameters are between 50 and 80 percent, which needs some work and improvement as per WHO criteria.

Keywords: veterinary lab, quality management system, accreditation, regulatory body, disease identification

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Authors: Akram Sadat Jafari Roodbandi, Alireza Choobineh, Nazanin Hosseini, Vafa Feyzi

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Introduction: Physical fitness and optimum functional movement are essential for efficiently performing job tasks without fatigue and injury. Functional Movement Screening (FMS) tests are used in screening of athletes and military forces. Nurses and emergency medical staff are obliged to perform many physical activities such as transporting patients, CPR operations, etc. due to the nature of their jobs. This study aimed to assess relationship between FMS test score and the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in emergency nurses and emergency medical services (EMS) staff. Methods: 134 male and female emergency nurses and EMS technicians participated in this cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study. After video tutorial and practical training of how to do FMS test, the participants carried out the test while they were wearing comfortable clothes. The final score of the FMS test ranges from 0 to 21. The score of 14 is considered weak in the functional movement base on FMS test protocol. In addition to the demographic data questionnaire, the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire was also completed for each participant. SPSS software was used for statistical analysis with a significance level of 0.05. Results: Totally, 49.3% (n=66) of the subjects were female. The mean age and work experience of the subjects were 35.3 ± 8.7 and 11.4 ± 7.7, respectively. The highest prevalence of MSDs was observed at the knee and lower back with 32.8% (n=44) and 23.1% (n=31), respectively. 26 (19.4%) health worker had FMS test score of 14 and less. The results of the Spearman correlation test showed that the FMS test score was significantly associated with MSDs (r=-0.419, p < 0.0001). It meant that MSDs increased with the decrease of the FMS test score. Age, sex, and MSDs were the remaining significant factors in linear regression logistic model with dependent variable of FMS test score. Conclusion: FMS test seems to be a usable screening tool in pre-employment and periodic medical tests for occupations that require physical fitness and optimum functional movements.

Keywords: functional movement, musculoskeletal disorders, health care worker, screening test

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Authors: D. Calogine, O. Chau, S. Dotti, O. Ramiarinjanahary, P. Rasoavonjy, F. Tovondahiniriko

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Mafate is a natural circus in the north-western part of Reunion Island, without an electrical grid and road network. A micro-grid concept is being experimented in this area, composed of a photovoltaic production combined with electrochemical batteries, in order to meet the local population for self-consumption of electricity demands. This work develops a discrete model as well as a stochastic model in order to reach an optimal equilibrium between production and consumptions for a cluster of houses. The management of the energy power leads to a large linearized programming system, where the time interval of interest is 24 hours The experimental data are solar production, storage energy, and the parameters of the different electrical devices and batteries. The unknown variables to evaluate are the consumptions of the various electrical services, the energy drawn from and stored in the batteries, and the inhabitants’ planning wishes. The objective is to fit the solar production to the electrical consumption of the inhabitants, with an optimal use of the energies in the batteries by satisfying as widely as possible the users' planning requirements. In the discrete model, the different parameters and solutions of the linear programming system are deterministic scalars. Whereas in the stochastic approach, the data parameters and the linear programming solutions become random variables, then the distributions of which could be imposed or established by estimation from samples of real observations or from samples of optimal discrete equilibrium solutions.

Keywords: photovoltaic production, power consumption, battery storage resources, random variables, stochastic modeling, estimations of probability distributions, mixed integer linear programming, smart micro-grid, self-consumption of electricity.

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Authors: Jungho Moon, Myunggon Yoon

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This paper presents an implementation of a configurable UART-to-Ethernet converter using an ARM-based 32-bit microcontroller as well as a dedicated configuration program running on a PC for configuring the operating parameters of the converter. The program was written in Python. Various parameters pertaining to the operation of the converter can be modified by the configuration program through the Ethernet interface of the converter. The converter supports 3 representative asynchronous serial communication protocols, RS-232, RS-422, and RS-485 and supports 3 network modes, TCP/IP server, TCP/IP client, and UDP client. The TCP/IP and UDP protocols were implemented on the microcontroller using an open source TCP/IP protocol stack called lwIP (A lightweight TCP/IP) and FreeRTOS, a free real-time operating system for embedded systems. Due to the use of a real-time operating system, the firmware of the converter was implemented as a multi-thread application and as a result becomes more modular and easier to develop. The converter can provide a seamless bridge between a serial port and an Ethernet port, thereby allowing existing legacy apparatuses with no Ethernet connectivity to communicate using the Ethernet protocol.

Keywords: converter, embedded systems, ethernet, lwIP, UART

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Authors: Park Sung-Min, Chan Kwon Park, Kim Chae-Bogk

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This study aims to analyze the relationship between nonverbal communication, perceived expertise, service quality, and trust. The study was conducted with clients using cosmetic stores in the Daegu area of Korea. Based on the prior study, the measurement questions are correctly amended and organized in this study. The exploration factor analysis was performed using SPSS 22 for the configured measurement questions. And PLS 2.0 was used to perform a confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis. As a result of the analysis, nonverbal communication has been categorized as physical appearance, kinesics, vocal behavior and proxemics. It has been shown that all of the factors in nonverbal communication have a (+) significant effect on perceived expertise. The degree of impact has been analyzed to influence the perceived expertise in the order in which physical appearance, vocal behavior, kinesics and proxemics. The perceived expertise was analyzed to have a (+) significant effect on the service quality. It has been shown that the service quality has a (+) significant effect on trust.

Keywords: nonverbal communication, perceived expertise, service quality, trust

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Authors: Adedolapo Ayoade, John the Beloved Dada

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This study identified the phytoplankton assemblage of the Dandaru Lake (that received effluents from a zoological garden and hospital) as bioindicators of water quality. Physicochemical parameters including Dissolved Oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand, nitrate, phosphate and heavy metals were also determined. Samples of water and plankton were collected once monthly from April to September, 2015 at five stations (I – V). The mean physicochemical parameters were within the limits of National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and USEPA except Lead, 0.02 ± 0.08 mg/ L; Manganese, 0.46 ± 1.00 mg/ L and Zinc, 0.05 ± 0.17 mg/ L. Means of DO, alkalinity, and phosphate were significantly different between the stations at p < 0.05. While highest mean DO (6.88 ± 1.34 mg/L) was recorded in station I with less anthropogenic activities, highest phosphate concentration (0.28 ± 0.28 mg/L) occurred in station II, the entry point of wastewater from hospital and zoological garden. The 147 phytoplankton species found in the lake belonged to six classes: Chlorophyceae (50), Euglenophyceae (40), Bacillariophyceae (37), Cyanophyceae (17), Xanthophyceae and Chrysophyceae (3). The order of abundance for phytoplankton was Euglenophyceae (49.77%) > Bacillariophyceae (18.00%) > Cyanophyceae (17.39%) > Chlorophyceae (13.7%) > Xanthophyceae (1.06%) > Chrysophyceae (0.02%). The stations impacted with effluents were dominated by members of Euglenophyceae (Station III, 77.09%; IV, 50.55%) and Cyanophyceae (Station II, 27.7%; V, 32.57%). While station I was dominated by diatoms (57.98%). The species richness recorded was 0.32 – 4.49. Evenness index was highest in station I and least in station III. Generally, pollution tolerant species (Microcystis, Oscillatoria, Scenedesmus, Anabaena, and Euglena) showed greater density in areas impacted by human activities. The phytoplankton assemblage and comparatively low biotic diversity in Dandaru Lake could be attributed to perturbations in the water column that exerted selective effects on the biological assemblage.

Keywords: manmade lake, Nigeria, phytoplankton, water quality

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Authors: Qi Lu, Jian Deng, Daishun Huang, Chao Guo

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The lead cooled fast reactor is considered as one of the most potential Generation IV nuclear systems due to the low working pressure, the appreciable neutron economy, and the considerable passive characteristics. Meanwhile, the lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) has the related advantages of lead with the weaker corrosiveness, which has been paid much attention by recent decades. Moreover, the sub-channel code is a necessary analysis tool for the reactor thermal-hydraulic design and safety analysis, which has been developed combined with the accumulation of LBE experimental data and the understanding of physical phenomena. In this study, a sub-channel code available for LBE was developed, and the corresponding geometric characterization method of typical sub-channels was described in detail, especially for for the fuel assembly with wire spacer. As for this sub-channel code, the transversal thermal conduction through gap was taken into account. In addition, the physical properties, the heat transfer model, the flow resistance model and the turbulent mixing model were analyzed. Finally, the thermal-hydraulic experiments of LBE conducted on THEADES (THErmal-hydraulics and Ads DESign) were selected as the evaluation data of this sub-channel code, including 19 rods with wire spacer, and the calculated results were in good agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: lead bismuth eutectic, sub-channel code, wire spacer, transversal thermal conduction

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Authors: M. M. Bashandy, A. R. Ahmed, M. El-Gaffary, Sahar S. Abd El-Rahman

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This study evaluated the acute toxicity and tissue distribution of intravenously administered gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in male rabbits. Rabbits were exposed to single dose of AuNPs (300 µg/ kg). Toxic effects were assessed via general behavior, hematological parameters, serum biochemical parameters and histopathological examination of various rabbits’ organs. Tissue distribution of AuNPs was evaluated at a dose of 300 µg/ kg in male rabbit. Inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine gold concentrations in tissue samples collected at predetermined time intervals. After one week, AuNPs exerted no obvious acute toxicity in rabbits. However, inflammatory reactions in lung and liver cells were induced in rabbits treated at the300 µg/ kg dose level. The highest gold levels were found in the spleen, followed by liver, lungs and kidneys. These results indicated that AuNPs could be distributed extensively to various tissues in the body, but primarily in the spleen and liver.

Keywords: gold nanoparticles, toxicity, pathology, hematology, liver function, kidney function

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Authors: Hammadi Larbi

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Water erosion, the main cause of the siltation of a dam, is a natural phenomenon governed by natural physical factors such as aggressiveness, climate change, topography, lithology, and vegetation cover. Currently, a vase from certain dams is released downstream of the dikes during devastation by hydraulic means. The vases are characterized by complex rheological behaviors: rheofluidification, yield stress, plasticity, and thixotropy. In this work, we studied the effect of the aging time of the vase in the dam and the mass concentration of the vase on the flow behavior of a vase from the Fergoug dam located in the Mascara region. In order to test the reproducibility of results, two replicates were performed for most of the experiments. The flow behavior of the vase studied as a function of storage time and mass concentration is analyzed by the Herschel Bulkey model. The increase in the aging time of the vase in the dam causes an increase in the yield stress and the consistency index of the vase. This phenomenon can be explained by the adsorption of the water by the vase and the increase in volume by swelling, which modifies the rheological parameters of the vase. The increase in the mass concentration in the vase leads to an increase in the yield stress and the consistency index as a function of the concentration. This behavior could be explained by interactions between the granules of the vase suspension. On the other hand, the increase in the aging time and the mass concentration of the vase in the dam causes a reduction in the flow index of the vase. The study also showed an exponential decrease in apparent viscosity with the increase in the aging time of the vase in the dam. If a vase is allowed to age long enough for the yield stress to be close to infinity, its apparent viscosity is also close to infinity; then the apparent viscosity also tends towards infinity; this can, for example, subsequently pose problems when dredging dams. For good dam management, it could be then deduced to reduce the dredging time of the dams as much as possible.

Keywords: vase of dam, aging time, rheological behavior, yield stress, apparent viscosity, thixotropy

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Authors: K. Swapna

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A Series of Alkali-Earth Boro Tellurite (AEBT) glasses doped with different concentrations of Dy³⁺ ions have been prepared by using melt quenching technique and characterized through spectroscopic techniques such as optical absorption, excitation, emission and photoluminescence decay to understand their utility in optoelectronic devices such as lasers and white light emitting diodes (w-LEDs). Raman spectrum recorded for an undoped glass is used to measure the phonon energy of the host glass and various functional groups present in the host glass (AEBT). The intensities of the electronic transitions and the ligand environment around the Dy³⁺ ions were studied by applying Judd-Ofelt (J-O) theory to the recorded absorption spectra of the glasses. The evaluated J-O parameters are subsequently used to measure various radiative parameters such as transition probability (AR), radiative branching ratio (βR) and radiative lifetimes (τR) for the prominent fluorescent levels of Dy³⁺ ions in the as-prepared glasses. The luminescence spectra recorded at 387 nm excitation show three emission transitions (⁴F9/2→⁶H15/2 (blue), ⁴F9/2→⁶H13/2 (yellow) and ⁴F9/2 → ⁶H11/2 (red)) of which the yellow transition observed at 575 nm is found to be highly intense. The experimental branching ratio (βexp) and stimulated emission crosssection (σse) were measured from luminescence spectra. The experimental lifetimes (τexp) measured from the decay spectral profiles are combined with radiative lifetimes to measure quantum efficiencies of the as-prepared glasses. The yellow to blue intensity ratios and chromaticity color coordinates are found to vary with Dy³⁺ ion concentrations. The aforementioned results reveal that these glasses are aptly suitable for w-LEDs and laser devices.

Keywords: glasses, J-O parameters, photoluminescence, I-H model

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Authors: Mohammad Amjad, Muhammad Iqbal Zafar, Ashfaq Ahmed Maan, Muhammad Tayyab Kashif

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Obesity is an abnormal physical condition where an increased and undesirable fat accumulates in the human body. Obesity is an international phenomenon. In the present study, 12 schools were randomly selected from each district considering the areas i.e. Elite Private Schools in the private sector, Government schools in urban areas and Government schools in rural areas. Interviews were conducted with male students studying in grade 5 to grade 9 in each school. The sample size was 600 students; 300 from Faisalabad district and 300 from Rawalpindi district in Pakistan. A well-structured and pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection. The calibrated scales were used to attain the heights and weights of the respondents. Obesity of school-going children depends on family types, family size, family history, junk food consumption, mother’s education, weekly time spent in walking, and sports facility at school levels. Academic performance, physical health and psychological health of school going children are affected with obesity. Concrete steps and policies could minimize the incidence of obesity in children in Pakistan.

Keywords: body mass index, cardiovascular disease, fast food, morbidity, overweight

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Authors: Olfat A. Mohamed

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Rhamnolipids biosurfactants have distinct properties given them importance in many industrial applications, especially their great new future applications in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. These applications have encouraged the search for diverse and renewable resources to control the cost of production. The experimental results were then applied to find a suitable mathematical model for obtaining the design criteria of the batch bioreactor. This research aims to produce Rhamnolipids from different oily wastewater sources such as petroleum crude oil (PO) and vegetable oil (VO) by using Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027. Different concentrations of the PO and the VO are added to the media broth separately are in arrangement (0.5 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 % v/v) and (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10%v/v). The effect of the initial concentration of oil residues and the addition of glycerol and palmitic acid was investigated as an inducer in the production of rhamnolipid and the surface tension of the broth. It was found that 2% of the waste (PO) and 6% of the waste (VO) was the best initial substrate concentration for the production of rhamnolipids (2.71, 5.01 g rhamnolipid/l) as arrangement. Addition of glycerol (10-20% v glycerol/v PO) to the 2% PO fermentation broth led to increase the rhamnolipid production (about 1.8-2 times fold). However, the addition of palmitic acid (5 and 10 g/l) to fermentation broth contained 6% VO rarely enhanced the production rate. The experimental data for 2% initially (PO) was used to estimate the various kinetic parameters. The following results were obtained, maximum rate or velocity of reaction (Vmax) = 0.06417 g/l.hr), yield of cell weight per unit weight of substrate utilized (Yx/s = 0.324 g Cx/g Cs) maximum specific growth rate (μmax = 0.05791 hr⁻¹), yield of rhamnolipid weight per unit weight of substrate utilized (Yp/s)=0.2571gCp/g Cs), maintenance coefficient (Ms =0.002419), Michaelis-Menten constant, (Km=6.1237 gmol/l), endogenous decay coefficient (Kd=0.002375 hr⁻¹). Predictive parameters and advanced mathematical models were applied to evaluate the time of the batch bioreactor. The results were as follows: 123.37, 129 and 139.3 hours in respect of microbial biomass, substrate and product concentration, respectively compared with experimental batch time of 120 hours in all cases. The expected mathematical models are compatible with the laboratory results and can, therefore, be considered as tools for expressing the actual system.

Keywords: batch bioreactor design, glycerol, kinetic parameters, petroleum crude oil, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, rhamnolipids biosurfactants, vegetable oil

Procedia PDF Downloads 133