Search results for: pilot production

Authors: Merve Yünlü, Nihat Kandemir, Aylin Ersoy

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Temperature sensors are used in home appliances not only to monitor the basic functions of the machine but also to minimize energy consumption and ensure safe operation. In parallel with the development of smart home applications and IoT algorithms, these sensors produce important data such as the frequency of use of the machine, user preferences, and the compilation of critical data in terms of diagnostic processes for fault detection throughout an appliance's operational lifespan. Commercially available thin-film resistive temperature sensors have a well-established manufacturing procedure that allows them to operate over a wide temperature range. However, these sensors are over-designed for white goods applications. The operating temperature range of these sensors is between -70°C and 850°C, while the temperature range requirement in home appliance applications is between 23°C and 500°C. To ensure the operation of commercial sensors in this wide temperature range, usually, a platinum coating of approximately 1-micron thickness is applied to the wafer. However, the use of platinum in coating and the high coating thickness extends the sensor production process time and therefore increases sensor costs. In this study, an attempt was made to develop a low-cost temperature sensor design and production method that meets the technical requirements of white goods applications. For this purpose, a custom design was made, and design parameters (length, width, trim points, and thin film deposition thickness) were optimized by using statistical methods to achieve the desired resistivity value. To develop thin film resistive temperature sensors, one side polished sapphire wafer was used. To enhance adhesion and insulation 100 nm silicon dioxide was coated by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition technique. The lithography process was performed by a direct laser writer. The lift-off process was performed after the e-beam evaporation of 10 nm titanium and 280 nm platinum layers. Standard four-point probe sheet resistance measurements were done at room temperature. The annealing process was performed. Resistivity measurements were done with a probe station before and after annealing at 600°C by using a rapid thermal processing machine. Temperature dependence between 25-300 °C was also tested. As a result of this study, a temperature sensor has been developed that has a lower coating thickness than commercial sensors but can produce reliable data in the white goods application temperature range. A relatively simplified but optimized production method has also been developed to produce this sensor.

Keywords: thin film resistive sensor, temperature sensor, household appliance, sustainability, energy efficiency

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Authors: Elisabetta Cianfanelli, Paolo Pupparo, Maria Claudia Coppola

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The recent evolutions in the innovation processes and in the intrinsic tendencies of the product development process, lead to new considerations on the design flow. The instability and complexity that contemporary life describes, defines new problems in the production of products, stimulating at the same time the adoption of new solutions across the entire design process. The advent of Additive Manufacturing, but also of IOT and AI technologies, continuously puts us in front of new paradigms regarding design as a social activity. The totality of these technologies from the point of view of application describes a whole series of problems and considerations immanent to design thinking. Addressing these problems may require some initial intuition and the use of some provisional set of rules or plausible strategies, i.e., heuristic reasoning. At the same time, however, the evolution of digital technology and the computational speed of new design tools describe a new and contrary design framework in which to operate. It is therefore interesting to understand the opportunities and boundaries of the new man-algorithm relationship. The contribution investigates the man-algorithm relationship starting from the state of the art of the Made in Italy model, the most known fields of application are described and then focus on specific cases in which the mutual relationship between man and AI becomes a new driving force of innovation for entire production chains. On the other hand, the use of algorithms could engulf many design phases, such as the definition of shape, dimensions, proportions, materials, static verifications, and simulations. Operating in this context, therefore, becomes a strategic action, capable of defining fundamental choices for the design of product systems in the near future. If there is a human-algorithm combination within a new integrated system, quantitative values can be controlled in relation to qualitative and material values. The trajectory that is described therefore becomes a new design horizon in which to operate, where it is interesting to highlight the good practices that already exist. In this context, the designer developing new forms can experiment with ways still unexpressed in the project and can define a new synthesis and simplification of algorithms, so that each artifact has a signature in order to define in all its parts, emotional and structural. This signature of the designer, a combination of values and design culture, will be internal to the algorithms and able to relate to digital technologies, creating a generative dialogue for design purposes. The result that is envisaged indicates a new vision of digital technologies, no longer understood only as of the custodians of vast quantities of information, but also as a valid integrated tool in close relationship with the design culture.

Keywords: decision making, design euristics, product design, product design process, design paradigms

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Authors: Arif Sikander, Imran Saeed

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The behavioral pattern and performance of airline pilots are influenced by the level of stress, their ethical decision-making ability and above all their leadership style as part of the Crew Management process. Cultural differences of pilots, especially while working in ex-country airlines, could influence the stress perception. Culture also influences ethical decision making. Leadership style is also a variable dimension, and pilots need to adapt to the cultural settings while flying with the local pilots as part of their team. Studies have found that age, education, gender, and management experience are statistically significant factors in ethical maturity. However, in the decades to come, more studies are required to validate the results over and over again; thereby, providing support for the validity of the Moral Development Theory. Leadership style plays a vital role in ethical decision making. This study is grounded in the Moral Development theory and seeks to analyze the styles of leadership of airline pilots related to ethical decision making and also the influence of the culture on their stress perception. The sample for the study included commercial pilots from a National Airline. It is expected that these results should provide useful input to the literature in the context of developing appropriate Talent Management strategies. The authors intend to extend this study (carried out in one country) to major national carriers (many countries) to be able to develop a ultimate framework on Talent Management which should serve as a benchmark for any international airline as most of them (e.g., Emirates, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, etc.) are dependent on the supply of this scarce resource from outside countries.

Keywords: ethics, leadership, pilot, stress

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Authors: Ahmad Hashim, Thariq Khan Azizuddin Khan, Zulakbal Abd Karim, Nohazira Abdul Karim

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This research aims to obtain the validity and reliability of a survey instrument to evaluate the values, attitudes, and professionalism of sports science students, from the Faculty of Sports Science and Coaching, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI). It is a survey which is divided into two components namely first; moral, self-esteem, proactive, self-reliant and voluntary and second; ethics and professionalism. Development of the survey instrument is based on the Malaysian Education Development Plan, Higher Education Malaysia. There are 50 items prepared based on the five-point Likert scale which were tested at the pilot test level. It involved 212 research subjects selected based on random sampling. In addition, the research method applied is in the form of pre-experimental one group pre-test-post-test. Results of the analysis showed that overall field expert validity is r = .89, while the Cronbach alpha reliability correlation value of outdoor education instrument evaluation survey is r = .85. Next, this survey was tested again for construct validity using the factor analysis method for statistical analysis which would validate each item tested was supposed to be in the right component. From the analysis, results show that Bartlett's test is significant p < .05 and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index range is r = .87. The result showed 39 survey items are produced out of 50 items of the survey based on this factor analysis method. Research has shown that the survey instrument developed is valid and reliable to be used for the Faculty of Sports Sciences and Coaching, UPSI.

Keywords: values, attitudes, professionalism, ethics, professionalism

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Authors: Nargess Fasihmardanloo

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The aim of this study was to comparatively study the motivations of women to physical activity in Iran and selected Arab countries Based on individual, social and Islamic components. The present study was a descriptive comparative study that was performed by field method. The statistical population of the study included female athletes in Iran and Arab countries. A total of 184 people from Iran and 179 people from Arab countries (Iraq, UAE, and Jordan) were selected through available sampling as a research sample. The research tool included a questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed and its reliability in a pilot study was 0.95 through Cronbach's alpha. The questionnaire was translated into Persian in Iran and translated into Arabic for the selected countries and was provided to the participants electronically and through cyberspace. Finally, 363 questionnaires were collected. Manova multivariate analysis of variance using spss22 software was used to analyze the data. Findings showed that between Iranian women athletes and women athletes in selected Arab countries in the components of intrapersonal motivation (p = 0.009 and f = 6.978), interpersonal motivation (p = 0.050 and f = 3.875), There is a significant difference between social motives (p = 0.001 and f = 27.619) and Islamic motives (p = 0.001 and f = 11.339). And this difference is significant at the level of p <0.01 and p <0.05. In other words, in the component of intrapersonal motivations, the average of this component in Iranian female athletes (M = 59.77) was higher than female athletes in selected Arab countries (M = 55.53). In the interpersonal motivations component, the average of this component in Iranian female athletes (M = 26.87) was lower than in female athletes in selected Arab countries (M = 28.62). In the component of social motivations, the average of this component in Iranian female athletes (M = 33.08) was lower than female athletes in selected Arab countries (M = 39.64). In the component of Islamic motives, the average of this component in Iranian female athletes (M = 21.55) was higher than female athletes in selected Arab countries (M = 19.04).

Keywords: athletes, motivation, women, Islamic

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Authors: Sanaullah Jalil, Abid Majeed, Syed Haider Abbas

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Direct dry seeded rice cultivation system is an emerging production technology in Pakistan. Weeds are a major constraint to the success of direct dry seeded rice (DDSR). Studies were carried out for two years during 2015 and 2016 to evaluate the performance of applications of pre-emergence herbicides (Top Max @ 2.25 lit/ha, Click @1.5 lit/ha and Pendimethaline @ 1.25 lit/ha) and post-emergence herbicides (Clover @ 200 g/ha, Pyranex Gold @ 250 g/ha, Basagran @ 2.50 lit/ha, Sunstar Gold @ 50 g/ha and Wardan @ 1.25 lit/ha) at rice research field area of National Agriculture Research Center (NARC), Islamabad. The experiments were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. All evaluated herbicides reduced weed density and biomass by a significant amount. The net plot size was 2.5 x 5 m with 10 rows. Basmati-385 was used as test variety of rice. Data indicated that Top Max and Click provided best weed control efficiency but suppressed the germination of rice seed which causes the lowest grain yield production (680.6 kg/ha and 314.5 kg/ha respectively). A weedy check plot contributed 524.7 kg/ha paddy yield with highest weed density. Pyranex Gold provided better weed control efficiency and contributed to significantly higher paddy yield 5116.6 kg/ha than that of all other herbicide applications followed by the Clover which give paddy yield 4241.7 kg/ha. The results of our study suggest that pre-emergence herbicides provided best weed control but not fit for direct dry seeded rice (DDSR) cultivation system, and therefore post-emergence herbicides (Pyranex Gold and Clover) can be suggested for weed control and higher yield.

Keywords: pyranex gold, clover, direct dry seeded rice (DDSR), yield

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Authors: N. K. Thakur

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A major proportion of the formations drilled for the production of hydrocarbons consists of clay containing shales. The petroleum industry has hugely investigated the role of clay minerals and their subsequent effect on wellbore stability during the drilling and production of hydrocarbons. It has been found that when the shale formation comes in contact with water-based drilling fluid, the interaction of clay minerals like montmorillonite with infiltrated water leads to hydration of the clay minerals, which causes shale swelling. When shale swelling proceeds further, it may lead to major drilling complications like caving, pipe sticking, which invariably influences wellbore stability, wellbore diameter, the mechanical strength of shale, stress distribution in the wellbore, etc. These problems ultimately lead to an increase in nonproductive time and additional costs during drilling. Several additives are used to prevent shale instability. Among the popular additives used for shale inhibition in drilling muds, ionic liquids and nanoparticles are emerging to be the best additives. The efficiency of the proposed additives will be studied and compared with conventional clay inhibitors like KCl. The main objective is to develop a highly efficient water-based mud for mitigating shale instability and reducing fluid loss which is environmentally friendly and does not alter the formation permeability. The use of nanoparticles has been exploited to enhance the rheological and fluid loss properties in water-based drilling fluid ionic liquid have attracted significant research interest due to its unique thermal stability. It is referred to as ‘green chemical’. The preliminary experimental studies performed are promising. The application of more effective mud additives is always desirable to make the drilling process techno-economically proficient.

Keywords: ionic liquid, shale inhibitor, wellbore stability, unconventional

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Authors: Konstantinos Pikos, Dimitrios Kaimaris

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Although designing building blocks is a procedure used by many planners around the world, there isn’t an automated tool that will help planners and designers achieve their goals with lesser effort. The difficulty of the subject lies in the repeating process of manually drawing lines, while not only it is mandatory to maintain the desirable offset but to also achieve a lesser impact to the existing building stock. In this paper, using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the Python programming language, an automated tool integrated into ArcGIS PRO, is being presented. Despite its simplistic enviroment and the lack of specialized building legislation due to the complex state of the field, a planner who is aware of such technical information can use the tool to draw an initial approach of the final building blocks in an area with pre-existing buildings in an attempt to organize the usually sprawling suburbs of a city or any continuously developing area. The tool uses ESRI’s ArcPy library to handle the spatial data, while interactions with the user is made throught Tkinter. The main process consists of a modification of building edgescoordinates, using NumPy library, in an effort to draw the line of best fit, so the user can get the optimal results per block’s side. Finally, after the tool runs successfully, a table of primary planning information is shown, such as the area of the building block and its coverage rate. Regardless of the primary stage of the tool’s development, it is a solid base where potential planners with programming skills could invest, so they can make the tool adapt to their individual needs. An example of the entire procedure in a test area is provided, highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of the final results.

Keywords: arcPy, GIS, python, building blocks

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Authors: Yasin Akgül, Yusuf Polat, Emine Canbay, Ali Kılıç

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Electrospinning is the most common method to produce nanofibers. However, low production rate is still a big challenge for industrial applications of this method. In this study, morphology of nanofibers obtained from namely centrifugal spinning was investigated. Dominant process parameters acting on the fiber diameter and fiber orientation were discussed.

Keywords: centrifugal spinning, electrospinning, nanofiber, TPU nanofibers

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Authors: C. Malça, P. Gonçalves, N. Alves, A. Mateus

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Regardless of the manufacturing process used, subtractive or additive, material, purpose and application, produced components are conventionally solid mass with more or less complex shape depending on the production technology selected. Aspects such as reducing the weight of components, associated with the low volume of material required and the almost non-existent material waste, speed and flexibility of production and, primarily, a high mechanical strength combined with high structural performance, are competitive advantages in any industrial sector, from automotive, molds, aviation, aerospace, construction, pharmaceuticals, medicine and more recently in human tissue engineering. Such features, properties and functionalities are attained in metal components produced using the additive technique of Rapid Prototyping from metal powders commonly known as Selective Laser Melting (SLM), with optimized internal topologies and varying densities. In order to produce components with high strength and high structural and functional performance, regardless of the type of application, three different internal topologies were developed and analyzed using numerical computational tools. The developed topologies were numerically submitted to mechanical compression and four point bending testing. Finite Element Analysis results demonstrate how different internal topologies can contribute to improve mechanical properties, even with a high degree of porosity relatively to fully dense components. Results are very promising not only from the point of view of mechanical resistance, but especially through the achievement of considerable variation in density without loss of structural and functional high performance.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, internal topologies, porosity, rapid prototyping, selective laser melting

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Authors: Ismail Mahdi, Nidal Fahsi, Mohamed Hafidi, Abdelmounaim Allaoui, Latefa Biskri

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To meet the worldwide demand for food, smart management of arable lands is needed. This could be achieved through sustainable approaches such as the use of plant growth-promoting microorganisms including bacteria. Phosphate (P) solubilization is one of the major mechanisms of plant growth promotion by associated bacteria. In the present study, we isolated and screened 14 strains from the rhizosphere of Chenopodium quinoa wild grown in the experimental farm of UM6P and assessed their plant growth promoting properties. Next, they were identified by using 16S rRNA and Cpn60 genes sequencing as Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Enterobacter. These strains showed dispersed capacities to solubilize P (up to 346 mg L−1) following five days of incubation in NBRIP broth. We also assessed their abilities for indole acetic acid (IAA) production (up to 795,3 µg ml−1) and in vitro salt tolerance. Three Bacillus strains QA1, QA2, and S8 tolerated high salt stress induced by NaCl with a maximum tolerable concentration of 8%. Three performant isolates, QA1, S6 and QF11, were further selected for seed germination assay because of their pronounced abilities in terms of P solubilization, IAA production and salt tolerance. The early plant growth potential of tested strains showed that inoculated quinoa seeds displayed greater germination rate and higher seedlings growth under bacterial treatments. The positive effect on seed germination traits strongly suggests that the tested strains are growth promoting, halotolerant and P solubilizing bacteria which could be exploited as biofertilizers.

Keywords: phosphate solubilizing bacteria, IAA, Seed germination, salt tolerance, quinoa

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Authors: Zuzana Durajova, Natasa Diatkova, Shreya Bhardwaj

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This paper introduces the project START, its activities, goals, evaluation and final results. Over the past few decades, the legal discourse surrounding mental health has resulted in improvement in patient rights (in Netherlands, etc.), the appointment of Ombudspersons for psychiatric patients (in Austria, Sweden) and facilitating the participation of patients in decision-making processes. Czech legislation already recognizes the position of “patient’s advocate” as a person of trust. However, this instrument is not very widely known and rarely used in practice. In the pilot study of the project, legal training for patient advocacy is provided to persons with experience with mental health problems/psychiatric hospitalization chosen from a Czech-based NGO. These persons (patient advocates) visit patients in involuntary hospitalization in one closed ward in the chosen psychiatric institution. During visits, the patient advocates inform patients about their legal standing, their procedural rights and also offer them individual support in contacting their counsel, family members etc. To understand the effect of the intervention, qualitative interviews and participant observations are conducted with the patients, advocates, the hospital management and staff and other identifiable stakeholders, such as government officials responsible for mental health care reform. The interviews are held before, during and after the intervention (support from patient advocates in hospitals). Given the ethical quandaries arising from using psychiatric wards as a field setting, we assume a participatory approach to ensure respect for patient boundaries and dignity. Through this project, we seek to establish a profession of patient advocates based on professional standards.

Keywords: patient advocacy, involuntary hospitalization, Czech Republic, patient Rights, professionalization

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: M. Kobylanski, D. Buskulic, P.-H. Duron, D. Revuz, F. Ruggieri, E. Sandier, C. Tijus

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In order to design a cooperative e-learning platform, we observed teams of Teacher [T], Computer Scientist [CS] and exerciser's programmer-designer [ED] cooperating for the conception of a self-correcting exercise, but without the use of such a device in order to catch the kind of interactions a useful platform might provide. To do so, we first run a task analysis on how T, CS and ED should be cooperating in order to achieve, at best, the task of creating and implementing self-directed, self-paced, repeatable self-correcting exercises (RSE) in the context of open educational resources. The formalization of the whole process was based on the “objectives, activities and evaluations” theory of educational task analysis. Second, using the resulting frame as a “how-to-do it” guide, we run a series of three contrasted Hackathon of RSE-production to collect data about the cooperative process that could be later used to design the collaborative e-learning platform. Third, we used two complementary methods to collect, to code and to analyze the adequate survey data: the directional flow of interaction among T-CS-ED experts holding a functional role, and the Means-End Problem Solving analysis. Fourth, we listed the set of derived recommendations useful for the design of the exerciser as a cooperative e-learning platform. Final recommendations underline the necessity of building (i) an ecosystem that allows to sustain teams of T-CS-ED experts, (ii) a data safety platform although offering accessibility and open discussion about the production of exercises with their resources and (iii) a good architecture allowing the inheritance of parts of the coding of any exercise already in the data base as well as fast implementation of new kinds of exercises along with their associated learning activities.

Keywords: editorialization, open educational resources, pedagogical alignment, produsage, repeatable self-correcting exercises, team roles

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Authors: Ibrahim Sengor, Sumeyye Cesur, Ilyas Kartal, Faik Nuzhet Oktar, Nazmi Ekren, Ahmet Talat Inan, Oguzhan Gunduz

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In recent years, many researchers focused on nano-size fiber production. Nanofibers have been studied due to their different and superior physical, chemical and mechanical properties. Poly (lactic acid) (PLA), is a type of biodegradable thermoplastic polyester derived from renewable sources used in biomedical owing to its biocompatibility and biodegradability. In addition, zinc oxide is an antibacterial material and hazelnut shell powder is a filling material. In this study, nanofibers were obtained by adding of different ratio Zinc oxide, (ZnO) and hazelnut shell powder at different concentration into Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) by using electrospinning method which is the most common method to obtain nanofibers. After dissolving the granulated polylactic acids in % 1,% 2,% 3 and% 4 with chloroform solvent, they are homogenized by adding tween and hazelnut shell powder at different ratios and then by electrospinning, nanofibers are obtained. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and physical analysis such as density, electrical conductivity, surface tension, viscosity measurement and antimicrobial test were carried out after production process. The resulting structures of the nanofiber possess antimicrobial and antiseptic properties, which are attractive for biomedical applications. The resulting structures of the nanofiber possess antimicrobial, non toxic, self-cleaning and rigid properties, which are attractive for biomedical applications.

Keywords: electrospinning, hazelnut shell powder, nanofibers, poly (lactic acid), zinc oxide

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Authors: Mohammad Nazri Mustafa, Sh Norliza Sy Salim, Pedram Hatami Abdullah

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Civil and structural assets normally have an average of more than 30 years of design life. Adding to this advantage, the assets are normally subjected to slow degradation process. Due to the fact that repair and strengthening work for these assets are normally not dependent on plant shut down, the maintenance and integrity restoration of these assets are mostly done based on “as required” and “run to failure” basis. However unlike other industries, the exposure in oil and gas environment is harsher as the result of corrosive soil and groundwater, chemical spill, frequent wetting and drying, icing and de-icing, steam and heat, etc. Due to this type of exposure and the increasing level of structural defects and rectification in line with the increasing age of plants, assets integrity assessment requires a more defined scope and procedures that needs to be based on risk and assets criticality. This leads to the establishment of risk based inspection and proactive maintenance procedure for civil and structural assets. To date there is hardly any procedure and guideline as far as integrity assessment and systematic inspection and maintenance of civil and structural assets (onshore) are concerned. Group Technical Solutions has developed a procedure and guideline that takes into consideration credible failure scenario, assets risk and criticality from process safety and structural engineering perspective, structural importance, modeling and analysis among others. Detailed inspection that includes destructive and non-destructive tests (DT & NDT) and structural monitoring is also being performed to quantify defects, assess severity and impact on integrity as well as identify the timeline for integrity restoration. Each defect and its credible failure scenario is assessed against the risk on people, environment, reputation and production loss. This technical paper is intended to share on the established procedure and guideline and their execution in oil & gas plants. In line with the overall roadmap, the procedure and guideline will form part of specialized solutions to increase production and to meet the “Operational Excellence” target while extending service life of civil and structural assets. As the result of implementation, the management of civil and structural assets is now more systematically done and the “fire-fighting” mode of maintenance is being gradually phased out and replaced by a proactive and preventive approach. This technical paper will also set the criteria and pose the challenge to the industry for innovative repair and strengthening methods for civil & structural assets in oil & gas environment, in line with safety, constructability and continuous modification and revamp of plant facilities to meet production demand.

Keywords: assets criticality, credible failure scenario, proactive and preventive maintenance, risk based inspection

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Authors: Gergely Horváth

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The study presents the complexity of food safety dividing it into two layers. Beyond the basic layer of requirements, there is a more demanding higher level linked with quality and purity aspects. It would be important to give special prominence to both layers, given that massive illnesses are caused by foods even though officially licensed. Then the study discusses an exciting safety challenge stemming from the risks of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Furthermore, it features legal case examples that illustrate how certain liability questions are solved or not yet decided in connection with the production of genetically modified crops. In addition, a special kind of land grabbing, more precisely land grabbing from non-GMO farming systems can also be noticed as well as a new phenomenon eroding food sovereignty. Coexistence, the state where organic, conventional, and GM farming systems are standing alongside each other is an unsuitable experiment that cannot be successful, because of biophysical reasons (such as cross-pollination). Agricultural and environmental lawyers both try to find the optimal solution. Agri-environmental measures are introduced as a special subfield of law maintaining also food safety. The important steps of agri-environmental legislation are aiming at the protection of natural values, the environmental media and strengthening food safety as well, practically the quality of agricultural products intended for human consumption. The major findings of the study focus on searching for the appropriate approach capable of solving the security and safety problems of food production. The most interesting concepts of the Hungarian national and EU food law legislation are analyzed in more detail with descriptive, analytic and comparative methods.

Keywords: food law, food safety, food security, GMO, Genetically Modified Organisms, agri-environmental measures

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Authors: F. Ruiz-Navarro, M. Matzner, G. Kobinia

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Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) encompasses the largest group of childhood movement disorders, the patterns and severity varies widely. Today, the management focuses only on a rehabilitation therapy that tries to secure the functions remained and prevents complications. However the treatments are not aimed to cure the disease. Stem cells (SCs) transplant via intrathecal is a new approach to the disease. Method: Our aim was to performed a pilot study under the condition of unproven treatment on clinical practice to assessed the safety and efficacy of Neuron Point-of-care Stem cell Therapy (N-POCST), an ambulatory procedure of autologous bone marrow derived SCs (BM-SCs) harvested from the posterior superior iliac crest undergo an on-site cell separation for intrathecal infusion via lumbar puncture. Results: 82 patients were treated in a period of 28 months, with a follow-up after 6 months. They had a mean age of 6,2 years old and male predominance (65,9%). Our preliminary results show that: A. No patient had any major side effects, B. Only 20% presented mild headache due to LP, C. 53% of the patients had an improvement in spasticity, D. 61% improved the coordination abilities, 23% improved the motor function, 15% improved the speech, 23% reduced the number of convulsive events with the same doses or less doses of anti-convulsive medication and 94% of the patients report a subjective general improvement. Conclusions: These results support previous worldwide publications that described the safety and effectiveness of autologous BM-SCs transplant for patients wit CP.

Keywords: autologous transplant, cerebral palsy, point of care, childhood movement disorders

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Authors: Tania Vazquez, Aida Huerta

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Way to get our food has changed over the time, and it is a daily necessity. Nowadays we found a lot of problems involved with the economy, environment, and society, which affect the agrifood system. Some problems as construction of big cities and growing population have been increasing demand food directly. Due to the countryside are far away from the city, another alternative systems have come from, such as Urban Agriculture (UA). UA system offers food production into the cities, products with characteristics as quality, healthy and good prices, close to the customers, recycling culture and the promote environmental education. Last years in Mexico City urban gardens have taken strongly in various politic delegations. There are establishment’s public and private initiatives. Moreover, these places have had different issues like low income, many activities, few workers, low production, lack of training and advice, devaluation of your work and low sales, all these shortcomings generate the devaluation of their work. The aim of this paper is to evaluate a business plan in Mexico City´s urban gardens that contribute to ensuring economic, environmental and social sustainability; to adjust business plan for this places so that they reach viability over time. As a part of soft systems methodology developed of Peter Checkland, we interviewed owners of urban gardens and we found that recurring problem was lack planning manager activities and a master plan about their business. We evaluate the business plan based on “Ten principles in sustainable food value chain development” proposed for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). With this study was possible measure, understand and improve performance of business plan in the three pillars of the sustainability in addition to this it allowed us to fit in with the needs of urban gardens.

Keywords: business plan, Mexico City, urban agriculture, urban gardens

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Authors: Giorgia Carratta

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Since the beginning of mass production, plastic items have been crucial in our daily lives. Thanks to their physical and chemical properties, plastic materials have proven almost irreplaceable in a number of economic sectors such as packaging, automotive, building and construction, textile, and many others. At the same time, the disruptive consequences of plastic pollution have been progressively brought to light in all environmental compartments. The overaccumulation of plastics in the environment, and its adverse effects on habitats, wildlife, and (most likely) human health, represents a call for action to decision-makers around the globe. From a regulatory perspective, plastic production is an unprecedented challenge at all levels of governance. At the international level, the design of new legal instruments, the amendment of existing ones, and the coordination among the several relevant policy areas requires considerable effort. Under the pressure of both increasing scientific evidence and a concerned public opinion, countries seem to slowly move towards the discussion of a new international ‘plastic treaty.’ However, whether, how, and with which scopes such instrument would be adopted is still to be seen. Additionally, governments are establishing regional-basedstrategies, prone to consider the specificities of the plastic issue in a certain geographical area. Thanks to the new Circular Economy Action Plan, approved in March 2020 by the European Commission, EU countries are slowly but steadily shifting to a carbon neutral, circular economy in the attempt to reduce the pressure on natural resources and, parallelly, facilitate sustainable economic growth. In this context, the EU Plastic Strategy is promising to change the way plastic is designed, produced, used, and treated after consumption. In fact, only in the EU27 Member States, almost 26 million tons of plastic waste are generated herein every year, whose 24,9% is still destined to landfill. Positive effects of the Strategy also include a more effective protection of our environment, especially the marine one, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, a reduced need for imported fossil energy sources, more sustainable production and consumption patterns. As promising as it may sound, the road ahead is still long. The need to implement these measures in domestic legislations makes their outcome difficult to predict at the moment. An analysis of the current international and European Union legal framework on plastic pollution, binding, and voluntary instruments included, could serve to detect ‘blind spots’ in the current governance as well as to facilitate the development of policy interventions along the plastic value chain, where it appears more needed.

Keywords: environmental law, European union, governance, plastic pollution, sustainability

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Authors: Enes Huylu, Sude Erkin, Nur A. Özdemir, Hatice K. Güney, Cemre S. Atılgan, Hüseyin Y. Altıntaş, Aysemin Top, Muammer Yılman, Özak Durmuş

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Remanufacturing (reman) applications allow manufacturers to contribute to the circular economy and help to introduce products with almost the same quality, environment-friendly, and lower cost. The objective of this study is to present that the carbon footprint of automotive spare parts used in vehicles could be reduced by reman applications based on Life Cycle Analysis which was framed with ISO 14040 principles. In that case, it was aimed to investigate reman applications for 21 parts in total. So far, research and calculations have been completed for the alternator, turbocharger, starter motor, compressor, manual transmission, auto transmission, and DPF (diesel particulate filter) parts, respectively. Since the aim of Ford Motor Company and Ford OTOSAN is to achieve net zero based on Science-Based Targets (SBT) and the Green Deal that the European Union sets out to make it climate neutral by 2050, the effects of reman applications are researched. In this case, firstly, remanufacturing articles available in the literature were searched based on the yearly high volume of spare parts sold. Paper review results related to their material composition and emissions released during incoming production and remanufacturing phases, the base part has been selected to take it as a reference. Then, the data of the selected base part from the research are used to make an approximate estimation of the carbon footprint reduction of the relevant part used in Ford OTOSAN. The estimation model is based on the weight, and material composition of the referenced paper reman activity. As a result of this study, it was seen that remanufacturing applications are feasible to apply technically and environmentally since it has significant effects on reducing the emissions released during the production phase of the vehicle components. For this reason, the research and calculations of the total number of targeted products in yearly volume have been completed to a large extent. Thus, based on the targeted parts whose research has been completed, in line with the net zero targets of Ford Motor Company and Ford OTOSAN by 2050, if remanufacturing applications are preferred instead of recent production methods, it is possible to reduce a significant amount of the associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of spare parts used in vehicles. Besides, it is observed that remanufacturing helps to reduce the waste stream and causes less pollution than making products from raw materials by reusing the automotive components.

Keywords: greenhouse gas emissions, net zero targets, remanufacturing, spare parts, sustainability

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Authors: Ratih Julistina, M. Agoes Moelyadi

Abstract:

Innovation in aviation technology evolved rapidly by time to time for acquiring the most favorable value of utilization and is usually denoted by efficiency parameter. Nature always become part of inspiration, and for this sector, many researchers focused on studying the behavior of flying animal to comprehend the fundamental, one of them is birds. Experimental testing has already conducted by several researches to seek and calculate the efficiency by putting the object in wind tunnel. Hence, computational simulation is needed to conform the result and give more visualization which is based on Reynold Averaged Navier-Stokes equation solution for unsteady case in time-dependent viscous flow. By creating model from simplification of the real bird as a rigid body, those are Hawk which has low aspect ratio and Swift with high aspect ratio, subsequently generating the multi grid structured mesh to capture and calculate the aerodynamic behavior and characteristics. Mimicking the motion of downstroke and upstroke of bird flight which produced both lift and thrust, the sinusoidal function is used. Simulation is carried out for varied of flapping frequencies within upper and lower range of actual each bird’s frequency which are 1 Hz, 2.87 Hz, 5 Hz for Hawk and 5 Hz, 8.9 Hz, 13 Hz for Swift to investigate the dependency of frequency effecting the efficiency of aerodynamic characteristics production. Also, by comparing the result in different condition flights with the morphology of each bird. Simulation has shown that higher flapping frequency is used then greater aerodynamic coefficient is obtained, on other hand, efficiency on thrust production is not the same. The result is analyzed from velocity and pressure contours, mesh movement as to see the behavior.

Keywords: characteristics of aerodynamic, efficiency, flapping frequency, flapping wing, unsteady simulation

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Authors: Seyed Reza Naghibulsadat

Abstract:

The nature of communication includes various forms of media productions, which include film and theater. In the current situation, since social networks have emerged, they have brought their own communication capabilities and have features that show speed, public access, lack of media organization and the production of extensive content, and the development of critical thinking; Also, they contain capabilities to develop access to all kinds of media productions, including movies and theater shows; Of course, this works differently in different conditions and communities. In terms of the scale of exploitation, the film has a more general audience, and the theater has a special audience. The film industry is more developed based on more modern technologies, but the theater, based on the older ways of communication, contains more intimate and emotional aspects. ; But in general, the main focus is the development of access to movies and theater shows, which is emphasized by those involved in this field due to the capabilities of social networks. In this research, we will look at these 2 areas and the relevant components for both areas through social networks and also the common points of both types of media production. The main goal of this research is to know the strengths and weaknesses of using social networks for the marketing of movies and theater shows and, at the same time are, also considered the opportunities and threats of this field. The attractions of these two types of media production, with the emergence of social networks, and the ability to change positions, can provide the opportunity to become a media with greater exploitation and higher profitability; But the main consideration is the opinions about these capabilities and the ability to use them for film and theater marketing. The main question of the research is, what are the marketing components for movies and theaters using social media capabilities? What are its strengths and weaknesses? And what opportunities and threats are facing this market? This research has been done with two methods SWOT and meta-analysis. Non-probability sampling has been used with purposeful technique. The results show that a recent approach is an approach based on eliminating threats and weaknesses and emphasizing strengths, and exploiting opportunities in the direction of developing film and theater marketing based on the capabilities of social networks within the framework of local cultural values and presenting achievements on an international scale or It is universal. This introduction leads to the introduction of authentic Iranian culture and foreign enthusiasts in the framework of movies and theater art. Therefore, for this issue, the model for using the capabilities of social networks for movie or theater marketing, according to the results obtained from Respondents, is a model based on SO strategies and, in other words, offensive strategies so that it can take advantage of the internal strengths and made maximum use of foreign situations and opportunities to develop the use of movies and theater performances.

Keywords: marketing, movies, theatrical show, social network potentials

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Authors: Walelgn Dilnesa Cherie, Fasikaw Atanaw Zimale, Bekalu W. Asres

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The most catastrophic condition for agricultural production is a drought event, which is also one of the most hydro-metrological-related hazards. According to the combined susceptibility of plants to meteorological and hydrological conditions, agricultural drought is defined as the magnitude, severity, and duration of a drought that affects crop production. The accurate and timely assessment of agricultural drought can lead to the development of risk management strategies, appropriate proactive mechanisms for the protection of farmers, and the improvement of food security. The evaluation of agricultural drought in the East Gojjam zone was the primary subject of this study. To identify the agricultural drought, soil moisture anomalies, soil moisture deficit indices, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI) are used. The measured welting point, field capacity, and soil moisture were utilized to validate the soil water deficit indices computed from the satellite data. The soil moisture and soil water deficit indices in 2013 in all woredas were minimum; this makes vegetation stress also in all woredas. The soil moisture content decreased in 2013/2014/2019, and 2021 in Dejen, 2014, and 2019 in Awobel Woreda. The max/ min values of NDVI in 2013 are minimum; it dominantly shows vegetation stress and an observed agricultural drought that happened in all woredas. The validation process of satellite and in-situ soil moisture and soil water deficit indices shows a good agreement with a value of R²=0.87 and 0.56, respectively. The study area becomes drought detected region, so government officials, policymakers, and environmentalists pay attention to the protection of drought effects.

Keywords: NDVI, agricultural drought, SWDI, soil moisture

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Authors: Elma C. Sultan

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The study concentrated on Vernacular Language Origin and Students’ Accent Neutralization of the College of Arts and Sciences fourth students in Samar State University, Catbalogan City answering respondent’s locale profile, vernacular language origin in terms of local dialect/s and domestic language/s used; the significant relationship between vernacular language origin and accent neutralization of the respondents; and the proposed activities to adopt in neutralizing students’ accent. It utilized the descriptive-correlational method of research determining the significant relationship between vernacular language origin and students’ accent neutralization. The researcher used: (1) questionnaire divided into three parts: the first part identified the students’ locale; the second part determined the respondents’ domestic language/s used while the third part identified their local language/s used, (2) validated accent neutralization assessment tool, (3) statistical treatments in the analysis of data: percentage to determine the profile of the students; chi-square test for independence to determine the significant relationship between vernacular language origin and students’ accent neutralization. Findings of the study showed that vowel and diphthong sound production, domestic and local languages in indigenous, and native dialects are significantly related to accent neutralization. While, slow reading speed has a higher possibility in affecting accent neutralization. These caused designing a 50-hour short-term program for accent neutralization focusing in the correct vowel and diphthong sounds production and appropriate reading speed in preparation for the respondents’ search for BPO employment. This short-term program ran for 5 hours in a day for five days in a week.

Keywords: accent neutralization, dialect, diphthongs, indigenous, language origin, language, native, reading speed, vernacular, vowels

Procedia PDF Downloads 487

Authors: Zerihun Yohannes Amare, Belayneh Birku Geremew, Nigatu Melise Kebede, Sisaynew Getahun Amera

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In Ethiopia, agricultural production is predominantly rainfed. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the driver of climate variability, which affects the agricultural production system in the country. This paper aims to study trends, variability of rainfall, and impacts of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on rainfall amount. The study was carried out in Ethiopia's Western Amhara National Regional State, which features a variety of seasons that characterize the nation. Monthly rainfall data were collected from fifteen meteorological stations of Western Amhara. Selected El Niño and La Niña years were also extracted from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1986 to 2015. Once the data quality was checked and inspected, the monthly rainfall data of the selected stations were arranged in Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and analyzed using XLSTAT software. The coefficient of variation and the Mann-Kendall non-parametric statistical test was employed to analyze trends and variability of rainfall and temperature. The long-term recorded annual rainfall data indicated that there was an increasing trend from 1986 to 2015 insignificantly. The rainfall variability was less (Coefficient of Variation, CV = 8.6%); also, the mean monthly rainfall of Western Amhara decreased during El Niño years and increased during La Niña years, especially in the rainy season (JJAS) over 30 years. This finding will be useful to suggest possible adaptation strategies and efficient use of resources during planning and implementation.

Keywords: rainfall, Mann-Kendall test, El Niño, La Niña, Western Amhara, Ethiopia

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Authors: L. Correia-Sá, S. Norberto, Conceição Calhau, C. Delerue-Matos, V. F. Domingues

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Endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs) are synthetic compounds that even though being initially designed for a specific function are now being linked with a wide range of side effects. The list of possible EDCs is growing and includes phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA). Phthalates are one of the most widely used plasticizers to improve the extensibility, elasticity and workability of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinyl acetates, etc. Considered non-toxic and harmless additives for polymers, they were used unrestrainedly all over the world for several decades. However, recent studies have indicated that some phthalates and their metabolic products are reproductive and developmental toxicants in animals and suspected endocrine disruptors in humans. BPA (2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane) is a high production volume chemical mainly used in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Although BPA was initially considered to be a weak environmental estrogen, nowadays it is known that this compound can stimulate several cellular responses at very low levels of concentrations. The aim of this study was to develop a method based on tandem SPE to evaluate the presence of phthalates, metabolites and BPA in human urine samples. The analyzed compounds included: dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), BPA, mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP), monobutyl phthalate (MBP) and. mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) (MEOHP). Two SPE cartridges were applied both from Phenomenex, the strata X polymeric reversed phase and the strata X A (Strong anion). Chromatographic analyses were carried out in a Thermo GC ULTRA GC-MS/MS. Good recoveries and linear calibration curves were obtained. After validation, the methodology was applied to human urine samples for phthalates, metabolites and BPA evaluation.

Keywords: Bisphenol A (BPA), gas chromatography, metabolites, phtalates, SPE, tandem mode

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Michael Kenomore, Mohamed Hassan, Amjad Shah, Hom Dhakal

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Shale gas reservoirs have been of greater importance compared to shale oil reservoirs since 2009 and with the current nature of the oil market, understanding the technical and economic performance of shale gas reservoirs is of importance. Using the Barnett shale as a case study, an economic model was developed to quantify the effect of finding and development costs and gas prices on the basins in the Barnett shale using net present value as an evaluation parameter. A rate of return of 20% and a payback period of 60 months or less was used as the investment hurdle in the model. The Barnett was split into four basins (Strawn Basin, Ouachita Folded Belt, Forth-worth Syncline and Bend-arch Basin) with analysis conducted on each of the basin to provide a holistic outlook. The dataset consisted of only horizontal wells that started production from 2008 to at most 2015 with 1835 wells coming from the strawn basin, 137 wells from the Ouachita folded belt, 55 wells from the bend-arch basin and 724 wells from the forth-worth syncline. The data was analyzed initially on Microsoft Excel to determine the estimated ultimate recoverable (EUR). The range of EUR from each basin were loaded in the Palisade Risk software and a log normal distribution typical of Barnett shale wells was fitted to the dataset. Monte Carlo simulation was then carried out over a 1000 iterations to obtain a cumulative distribution plot showing the probabilistic distribution of EUR for each basin. From the cumulative distribution plot, the P10, P50 and P90 EUR values for each basin were used in the economic model. Gas production from an individual well with a EUR similar to the calculated EUR was chosen and rescaled to fit the calculated EUR values for each basin at the respective percentiles i.e. P10, P50 and P90. The rescaled production was entered into the economic model to determine the effect of the finding and development cost and gas price on the net present value (10% discount rate/year) as well as also determine the scenario that satisfied the proposed investment hurdle. The finding and development costs used in this paper (assumed to consist only of the drilling and completion costs) were £1 million, £2 million and £4 million while the gas price was varied from $2/MCF-$13/MCF based on Henry Hub spot prices from 2008-2015. One of the major findings in this study was that wells in the bend-arch basin were least economic, higher gas prices are needed in basins containing non-core counties and 90% of the Barnet shale wells were not economic at all finding and development costs irrespective of the gas price in all the basins. This study helps to determine the percentage of wells that are economic at different range of costs and gas prices, determine the basins that are most economic and the wells that satisfy the investment hurdle.

Keywords: shale gas, Barnett shale, unconventional gas, estimated ultimate recoverable

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Authors: Lilla Szabó Hangya, Szilvia Jambori

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The comfort zone is less studied area in the field of psychology. One of the most important definitions is that comfort zone is a psychological state in which things feel familiar to a person with low level of anxiety and stress. But the validity of comfort zone does not confirm till now. The aim of our pilot research is to test which psychological factors could determine how young adults behave during their decision process to stay in one’s comfort zone or to leave it. Every person has a number of comfort zones, so we are not able to measure it directly, only those personality traits which predict if someone leaves his comfort zone easier or harder. In our study at first we wanted to clarify the meaning of comfort zone. 110 young adults (male: 37, female: 73; ages from 18 to 70, average age: 26,6) took part in the study. Beside their demographic datas we asked them what does the comfort zone mean for them. The results showed that the meaning of the comfort zone can be grouped in five dimensions: comfort (49,6 %), leaving it-change (8,1%), ambivalent feelings (10,6%), related to other people (10,6%), pursuit of self-realization (16,8%). Our results demonstrated age related characteristics. For young people at the age of 19 the comfort zone is related to other people, because during adolescents peer relationships become more important. Subjects at the age 20-30 answered that the comfort zone means comfort and stability for them. Their life becomes stable for a while, they are studying or working. But at the age of 25, when they finish university, most of them answered comfort zone means a changing process for them. On the other hand for subjects at the age of 27 the means of the comfort zone is pursuit of self-realization. After that period at the age of 31 when they have families and stable job the stability will also dominant. We saw that the comfort zone has much more meaning besides a pleasant psychological trait. Further we would like to determine which psychological factors relate to comfort zone, and what kind of personality traits could predict leaving or staying in one’s comfort zone. We want to observe the relationship between comfort zone and subjective well-being, life satisfaction self-efficacy or self-esteem.

Keywords: comfort zone, development, personality trait, young adults

Procedia PDF Downloads 326

Authors: Tripti Nayak, R. K. Bajpai

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An ongoing field experiment was conducted at Long term fertilizer experiment, Raipur, to study the Effect of fertilization (both organic and inorganic) on soil Physical properties (infiltration rate) of Vertisol of ten treatments viz. The treatment combinations for were T1(Control),T2(50%NPK), T3(100%NPK), T4(150%NPK), T5(100%NPK+Zn), T6(100%NP), T7(100%N), T8(100%NPK+FYM), T9 (50%NPK+BGA) and T10(50%NPK+GM). Farmyard manure and green manure is applied at the treatment of T8 (100%NPK+FYM) and T10 (50%NPK+GM). Result showed that the highest infiltration rate recorded T8(100%NPK+FYM) and T10 (50%NPK+GM). These considerations have led to a renewed interest in the organic manures such as FYM, compost and green manures, which are formulations helps in sustainable agriculture production either by providing plants with fixed nitrogen, available P or by other plant growth promoting substances. Organic matter (OM) is the life of the soil because it contains all the essential elements required for plant growth. It also serves as food for soil bacteria. Decomposed OM, known as humus, improves the soil tilth, quality and helps the plant to grow. In general among all the other treatments and control gave poorest infiltration rate. Incorporation of organic sources considerably improved the soil physical properties such as decrease in bulk density and increase in infiltration rate and available NPK status of the soil. Study showed that wherever, nitrogen was substituted through GM, FYM or crop residue (rice straw) in rice, Corresponding decrease in bulk density favorably enhanced the infiltration rate and it was found to be highest in the green-manured plot, FYM and lowest in control. Concluded that Continuous monitoring of physical properties should be carried out for maintaining soil health and enhancing the crop production.

Keywords: long term effect, FYM, green manure, infiltration rate, soil health, crop productivity, vertisol

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: Alban Igwe, Ijeoma Kalu, Alloy Ezirim

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Food insecurity is a global problem, and the search for food security has assumed a central stage in the global development agenda as the United Nations currently placed zero hunger as a goal number in its sustainable development goals. Nigeria currently ranks 107th out of 113 countries in the global food security index (GFSI), a metric that defines a country's ability to furnish its citizens with food and nutrients for healthy living. Paradoxically, Nigeria is a global leader in food production, ranking 1st in yam (over 70% of global output), beans (over 41% of global output), cassava (20% of global output) and shea nuts, where it commands 53% of global output. Furthermore, it ranks 2nd in millet, sweet potatoes, and cashew nuts. It is Africa's largest producer of rice. So, it is apparent that Nigeria's food insecurity woes must relate to a factor other than food production. We investigated the nexus between food security and downstream supply chain losses in the yam industry with secondary data from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAOSTAT) and the National Bureau of Statics for the decade 2012-2021. In analyzing the data, multiple regression techniques were used, and findings reveal that downstream losses have a strong positive correlation with food security (r = .763*) and a 58.3% variation in food security is explainable by post-downstream supply chain food losses. The study discovered that yam supply chain losses within the period under review averaged 50.6%, suggestive of the fact that downstream supply chain losses are the drainpipe and the major source of food insecurity in Nigeria. Therefore, the study concluded that there is a significant relationship between downstream supply chain losses and food insecurity and recommended the establishment of food supply chain structures and policies to enhance food security in Nigeria.

Keywords: food security, downstream supply chain losses, yam, nigeria, supply chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 81