Search results for: final yield

Authors: Boualla Nabila

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The increasing demand on water, either for the drinkable water supply, or for the agricultural and industrial custom, requires a very thorough hydrochemical study to protect better and manage this resource. Oran is relatively a city with the worst quality of the water. Recently, the growing populations may put stress on natural waters by impairing the quality of the water. Campaign of water sampling of 55 points capturing different levels of the aquifer system was done for chemical analyzes of nutriments elements. The results allowed us to approach the problem of contamination based on the largely uniform nationwide approach LAWA (LänderarbeitsgruppeWasser), based on the EU CIS guidance, has been applied for the identification of pressures and impacts, allowing for easy comparison. Groundwater samples were analyzed, also, for physico-chemical parameters such as pH, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate, carbonate and bicarbonate. The analytical results obtained in this hydrochemistry study were interpreted using Durov diagram. Based on these representations, the anomaly of high groundwater salinity observed in Oran Sebkha basin was explained by the high chloride concentration and to the presence of inverse cation exchange reaction. Durov diagram plot revealed that the groundwater has been evolved from Ca-HCO3 recharge water through mixing with the pre-existing groundwater to give mixed water of Mg-SO4 and Mg-Cl types that eventually reached a final stage of evolution represented by a Na-Cl water type.

Keywords: contamination, water quality, nutrients elements, approach LAWA, durov diagram

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Authors: Ganiyat Soliu, Glen Bright, Chiemela Onunka

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Performance optimization plays a key role in controlling the waiting time during manufacturing in an advanced manufacturing environment to improve productivity. Queuing mathematical modeling theory was used to examine the performance of the multi-stage production line. Robotics as a disruptive technology was implemented into a virtual manufacturing scenario during the packaging process to study the effect of waiting time on productivity. The queuing mathematical model was used to determine the optimum service rate required by robots during the packaging stage of manufacturing to yield an optimum production cost. Different rates of production were assumed in a virtual manufacturing environment, cost of packaging was estimated with optimum production cost. An equation was generated using queuing mathematical modeling theory and the theorem adopted for analysis of the scenario is the Newton Raphson theorem. Queuing theory presented here provides an adequate analysis of the number of robots required to regulate waiting time in order to increase the number of output. Arrival rate of the product was fast which shows that queuing mathematical model was effective in minimizing service cost and the waiting time during manufacturing. At a reduced waiting time, there was an improvement in the number of products obtained per hour. The overall productivity was improved based on the assumptions used in the queuing modeling theory implemented in the virtual manufacturing scenario.

Keywords: performance optimization, productivity, queuing theory, robotics

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: S. B. Bhandare, K. S. Laddha

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Podphyllum hexandrum belonging to family berberidaceae has gained attention in phytochemical and pharmacological research as it shows excellent anticancer activity and has been used in treatment of skin diseases, sunburns and radioprotection. Chemically it contains lignans and flavonoids such as kaempferol, quercetin and their glycosides. Objective: To isolate and identify Kaempferol and Quercetin from Podophyllum rhizome. Method: The powdered rhizome of Podophyllum hexandrum was subjected to soxhlet extraction with methanol. This methanolic extract is used to obtain podophyllin. Podohyllin was extracted with ethyl acetate and this extract was then concentrated and subjected to column chromatography to obtain purified kaempferol and quercetin. Result: Isolated kaempferol, quercetin were light yellow and dark yellow in colour respectively. TLC of the isolated compounds was performed using chloroform: methanol (9:1) which showed single band on silica plate at Rf 0.6 and 0.4 for kaempferol and quercetin. UV spectrometric studies showed UV maxima (methanol) at 259, 360 nm and 260, 370 nm which are identical with standard kaempferol and quercetin respectively. Both IR spectra exhibited prominent absorption bands for free phenolic OH at 3277 and 3296.2 cm-1 and for conjugated C=O at 1597 and 1659.7 cm-1 respectively. The mass spectrum of kaempferol and quercetin showed (M+1) peak at m/z 287 and 303.09 respectively. 1H NMR analysis of both isolated compounds exhibited typical four-peak pattern of two doublets at δ 6.86 and δ 8.01 which was assigned to H-3’,5’ and H-2’,6’ respectively. Absence of signals less than δ 6.81 in the 1H NMR spectrum supported the aromatic nature of compound. Kaempferol and Quercetin showed 98.1% and 97% purity by HPLC at UV 370 nm. Conclusion: Easy and simple method for isolation of Kaempferol and Quercetin was developed and their structures were confirmed by UV, IR, NMR and mass studies. Method has shown good reproducibility, yield and purity.

Keywords: flavonoids, kaempferol, podophyllum rhizome, quercetin

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Authors: Iván Rivet, Narges Dialami, Miguel Cervera, Michele Chiumenti

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Process parameters in Additive Manufacturing (AM) play a critical role in the mechanical performance of the final component. In order to find the input configuration that guarantees the optimal performance of the printed part, the process-performance relationship must be found. Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is the selected demonstrative AM technology due to its great popularity in the industrial manufacturing world. A material model that considers the different printing patterns present in a FFF part is used. A voxelized mesh is built from the manufacturing toolpaths described in the G-Code file. An Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) based on the octree strategy is used in order to reduce the complexity of the mesh while maintaining its accuracy. High-fidelity and cost-efficient Finite Element (FE) simulations are performed and the influence of key process parameters in the mechanical performance of the component is analyzed. A robust optimization process based on appropriate failure criteria is developed to find the printing direction that leads to the optimal mechanical performance of the component. The Tsai-Wu failure criterion is implemented due to the orthotropy and heterogeneity constitutive nature of FFF components and because of the differences between the strengths in tension and compression. The optimization loop implements a modified version of an Anomaly Detection (AD) algorithm and uses the computed metrics to obtain the optimal printing direction. The developed methodology is verified with a case study on an industrial demonstrator.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, optimization, printing direction, mechanical performance, voxelization

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Authors: Carola Cappa

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Chickpea cooking water (known as aquafaba, AF) is a “waste” product having interesting technological properties exploitable for sustainable plant-based food applications that can encounter a larger consumers demand. Different process conditions to obtain AF were defined; the addition of hydrocolloid (i.e., guar gum) and lactic acid to improve the techno-functionalities of aquafaba was explored, and the effects of these ingredients on the foaming properties and the quality of plant-based target confectionery products were investigated. Meringues having a solid foam structure and a simple formulation (i.e., foaming agent and sugar) and chocolate mousse were chosen as target foods. The effects of the sugar particle size reduction on the empirical and fundamental rheological properties of the foaming agent and of the mousse were evaluated. The treatment did not significantly change the viscosity of the system, while the overrun and foam stability were affected by sugar particle size, and mousse with coarse sugar was characterized by a higher consistency, confirming the importance of the particle size of the ingredients on the texture of the final product. This study proved that AF, a recycled “waste” product, possesses interesting techno-functionalities properties further enhanced by adding lactic acid and modulable according to ingredient particle size; these AF results are useable for plant-based food applications.

Keywords: foaming properties, foam stability, foam texture, particle size, acidification, aquafaba

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Authors: Siwanit Autthawuttikul, Prakob Koraneekid, Sayamon Insa-ard

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The purposes of this research were to development creatively integrated teaching skills using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for professional teacher in schools under the education area of the basic education commission, ministry of education both schools under the office of primary education and those under The office of secondary education in eight western region provinces of Thailand. This is useful in defining a vision for the school strategy and restructuring schools in addition, teachers will have developed skills in teaching creative integrated ICT. The research methodology comprises quantitative and qualitative data collection. The Baseline Survey, focus group for discussions and then the model was developed creatively integrated teaching skills using ICT. The findings showed that 7 elements were important: (1) Academy Transformation (2) Information Technology Infrastructure (3) Personal Development (4) Supervision, Monitoring and Evaluation (5) Motivating and Rewarding (6) Important factor affecting the success of teaching integrated with ICT were knowledge, skills, attitudes and (7) The role of the individual concerned. The comparison creatively integrated teaching skills before and after participating in the overall shows that the average creatively integrated teaching skills using ICT after attending the event is 3.27, and standard deviation was 0.56, higher than before which is 2.60 and the standard deviation was 0.56. There are significant differences significant statistically level of .05. The final average score of the evaluation plan design creatively integrated teaching skills using ICT teachers' average score was 26.94 at the high levels.

Keywords: integrated curriculum, information and communications technology, teachers in the western region, schools

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Authors: Lei Zhu, Nan Li

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Cold stamping has been widely applied in the automotive industry for the mass production of a great range of automotive panels. Predicting the springback to ensure the dimensional accuracy of the cold-stamped components is a critical step. The main approaches for the prediction and compensation of springback in cold stamping include running Finite Element (FE) simulations and conducting experiments, which require forming process expertise and can be time-consuming and expensive for the design of cold stamping tools. Machine learning technologies have been proven and successfully applied in learning complex system behaviours using presentative samples. These technologies exhibit the promising potential to be used as supporting design tools for metal forming technologies. This study, for the first time, presents a novel application of a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based surrogate model to predict the springback fields for variable U-shape cold bending geometries. A dataset is created based on the U-shape cold bending geometries and the corresponding FE simulations results. The dataset is then applied to train the CNN surrogate model. The result shows that the surrogate model can achieve near indistinguishable full-field predictions in real-time when compared with the FE simulation results. The application of CNN in efficient springback prediction can be adopted in industrial settings to aid both conceptual and final component designs for designers without having manufacturing knowledge.

Keywords: springback, cold stamping, convolutional neural networks, machine learning

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Authors: Hawbash Jalil

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In this study, the effects of whey protein based films on various properties of kashar cheese were examined. In the study, edible film solutions based on whey protein isolate, whey protein isolate + transglutaminase enzyme and whey protein isolate + chitosan were produced and Kashar cheese samples were coated with these films by dipping method and stored at +4 ºC for 60 days. Chemical, microbiological and textural analyzes were carried out on samples at 0, 30 and 60 days of storage. As a result of the study, the highest dry matter and total nitrogen values were obtained from uncoated control samples This is an indication that the coatings limit water vapor permeability. The highest acidity and pH values obtained from the samples as storage results were 3.33% and 5.86%, respectively, in the control group samples. Both acidity and pH rise in these groups, is a consequence of the buffering of pH changes of hydrolsis products which are as a result of proteolysis occurring in the sample. Nitrogen changes and lipolysis values, which are indicative of the degree of hydrolysis of proteins and triglycerides in kashar cheese, were generally higher in the control group This result is due to limiting the micro organism reproduction by limiting the gas passage of the coatings. Hardness and chewiness values of the textural properties of the samples were significantly reduced in uncoated control samples compared to the coated samples due to maturation. The chitosan film coatings used in the study limited the development of mold yeast until the 30th day but after that did not yield successful results in this respect.

Keywords: chitosan, edible film, transglutaminase, whey protein

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Authors: Tanvir Ahmed, Musfira Rahman, Rumpa Chowdhury

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We performed laboratory experiments to assess the suitability of using medical waste incineration fly ash in cement as a construction material based on the engineering properties of fly ash-cement matrix and the leaching potential of toxic heavy metals from the stabilized mix. Fly ash-cement samples were prepared with different proportions of fly ash (0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% by weight) in the laboratory controlled conditions. The solidified matrix exhibited a compressive strength from 3950 to 4980 psi when fly ash is mixed in varying proportions. The 28-day compressive strength has been found to decrease with the increase in fly ash content, but it meets the minimum requirement of compressive strength for cement-mortar. Soundness test results for cement-mortar mixes having up to 15% fly ash. Final and initial setting times of cement have been found to generally increase with fly ash content. Water requirement (for normal consistency) also increased with the increase in fly ash content in cement. Based on physical properties of the cement-mortar matrix it is recommended that up to 10% (by weight) medical waste incineration fly ash can be incorporated for producing cement-mortar of optimum quality. Leaching behaviours of several targeted heavy metals (As, Cu, Ni, Cd, Pb, Hg and Zn) were analyzed using Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedure (TCLP) on fly ash and solidified fly ash-cement matrix. It was found that the leached concentrations of As, Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn were reduced by 80.13%, 89.47%, 33.33% and 23.9% respectively for 10% fly ash incorporated cement-mortar matrix compared to that of original fly ash. The leached concentrations of heavy metals were from the matrix were far below the EPA land disposal limits. These results suggest that the solidified fly ash incorporated cement-mortar matrix can effectively confine and immobilize the heavy metals contained in the fly ash.

Keywords: cement-mortar, fly ash, leaching, waste management

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Authors: M. Cabuk, M. Yavuz, T. A. Yesil, H. I. Unal

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Electrorheological (ER) fluids are a class of smart materials exhibiting reversible changes in their rheological and mechanical properties under an applied electric field (E). ER fluids generally are composed of polarisable solid particles dispersed in non-conducting oil. ER fluids are fluids which exhibit. The resistance to motion of the ER fluid can be controlled by adjusting the applied E, due to their fast and reversible changes in their rheological properties presence of E. In this study, a series of chitosan/expanded perlite (CS/EP) composites with different chitosan mass fractions (10%, 20%, and 50%) was used. Characterizations of the composites were carried out by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) techniques. Antisedimentation stability and dielectric properties of the composites were also determined. The effects of volume fraction, electric field strength, shear rate, shear stress, and temperature onto ER properties of the CS/EP composite particles dispersed in silicone oil (SO) were investigated in detail. Vibration damping behavior of the CS/EP composites were determined as a function of frequence, storage (Gʹ) and loss (Gʹ ʹ) moduli. It was observed that ER response of the CS/EP/SO ER fluids increased with increasing electric field strength and exhibited the typical shear thinning non-Newtonian viscoelastic behaviors with increasing shear rate. The maximum yield stress was obtained with 1250 Pa under E = 3 kV/mm. Further, the CS/EP/SO ER fluids were observed to sensitive to vibration control by showing reversible viscosity enhancements (Gʹ > Gʹ ʹ). Acknowledgements: The authors thank the TÜBİTAK (214Z199) for the financial support of this work.

Keywords: chitosan, electrorheology, perlite, vibration control

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Authors: Sai Amulya Gollapalli, Dilip A. Patel, Parth Patel K., Lukman E. Mansuri

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Accumulation of moisture is one of the most worrisome aspects of a building. Architects and engineers tend to ignore its vitality during the designing and construction stage. Major fatalities in buildings can be caused by it. People avoid spending a lot of money on waterproofing. If the same mistake is repeated, no deep thinking is done. The quality of workmanship and construction is depleting due to negligence. It is important to do an analysis of the water maintenance issues happening in the current buildings and give a database for all the factors that are causing the defect. In this research, surveys are done with two waterproofing consultants, two client engineers, and two project managers. The survey was based on a matrix that was based on the causes of water maintenance issues. There were around 100 causes that were identified. The causes were categorized into six, namely, manpower, finance, method, management, environment, and material. In the matrices, the causes on the x-direction matched with the causes on the y-direction. 3 Likert scale was used to make a pairwise comparison between causes on each cell. Matrices were evaluated for the main categories and for each category separately. A final ranking was done by the weights achieved, and ‘cracks arriving from various construction joints’ was the highest with 0.57 relative significance, and ‘usage of the material’ was the lowest with 0.03 relative significance. Twelve defects due to water leakage were identified, and interviewees were asked to make a pairwise comparison of them, too, to understand the priorities. When the list of causes is achieved, the prioritization as per the stratification analysis is done. This will be beneficial to the consultants and contractors as they will get a primary idea of which causes to focus on.

Keywords: water leakage, survey, causes, matrices, prioritization

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Authors: Alamrew Eyayu

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Riverine ecosystems are highly exposed to different forms of human activities, and different water features can affect fish distribution in such habitats. Tributaries of the Abbay and Tekeze Basins are supporting all life-requesting activities in Ethiopia. Fisheries of these habitats are also the mainstay of livelihoods. However, brutal human activities are affecting these ecosystems and the fish therein. This study was thus undertaken to examine fish distribution and community structure in relation to water parameters in Ayima, Gelegu and Shinfa Rivers. 2719 fish specimens identified into 43 species were sampled using gillnets, cast nets and electro-fishing on a seasonal campaign. Based on frequency of occurrence (%FO), 5 species fell in the ‘euconstant occurrence’ category or their FO was ≥75%, while many species were in the ‘constant occurrence’ category. Among others, site depth, total phosphorus, dissolved oxygen, and river channel diameter were key environmental factors determining fish community structure. Similarity percentage produced an overall average Bray-Curtis dissimilarity of 60.8% between the fish communities of the three rivers. The final model accounted for 77.2% of the total variance in fish composition, and all canonical axes were significant (Monte Carlo test 499, p =0.002). Generally, this study was conducted in areas where no ecological studies are undertaken, and the results obtained from this study could be important for the sustainable utilization of Ethiopian fisheries.

Keywords: fish biology, fisheries socioeconomics, aquatic biodiversity, fisheries management

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Authors: Adelaide Rethabile Motshabi Pitso-Mbili

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Higher education institutions (HEIs) are under pressure in producing PhD graduates so that they can position themselves higher in terms of rankings. However, hospitality and tourism higher degree enrolment numbers are very low within South African universities. Furthermore, hospitality and tourism students choose these fields of study because they want to travel, be social, and have fun. Students in higher education are anxious about their future after studies as they are particularly worried about the job conditions in the hospitality and tourism sector, the remuneration, and the status perceptions of many jobs in the sector. Hence, there is a need for a continuous increase in the level of education with the formation of professional aptitudes and personnel quality. In order to understand the reasons for low enrolments, this study aims to explore the perceptions of the final year in tourism and hospitality diploma students towards enrolling for higher degree qualifications after their graduation. This paper utilised a quantitative research method, and data was gathered through questionnaires. In addition, the Linkert scale design was used for questionnaires. The questionnaires were distributed to 137 hospitality and tourism students who are on their exit level at Walter Sisulu University. SPSS was used to analyse data. The findings revealed that students do not wish to continue studying for higher degrees as they believe higher degrees are not important for the industry. Furthermore, families already have financial expectations as they think one qualification is enough. In addition, some students mentioned that they would love to study further, but lack of funding is a problem since NSFAS only funds the first qualification. Thus, it is recommended that students are made aware of the benefits and opportunities available after obtaining higher degrees.

Keywords: hospitality and tourism education, higher degrees, higher education, student’s perceptions, hospitality and tourism sector

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Authors: Micheale Yifter Weldemichael

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Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is among the most important oilseed crops for its high edible oil quality and quantity. Sesame is grown for food, medicinal, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses. Sesame is also cultivated as a main cash crop in Asia and Africa by smallholder farmers. Despite the global exponential increase in sesame cultivation area, its production and productivity remain low, mainly due to biotic and abiotic constraints. Notwithstanding the efforts to solve these problems, a low level of genetic variation and inadequate genomic resources hinder the progress of sesame improvement. The objective of this paper is, therefore, to review recent advances in the area of molecular breeding and transformation to overcome major production constraints and could result in enhanced and sustained sesame production. This paper reviews various researches conducted to date on molecular breeding and genetic transformation in sesame focusing on molecular markers used in assessing the available online database resources, genes responsible for key agronomic traits as well as transgenic technology and genome editing. The review concentrates on quantitative and semi-quantitative studies on molecular breeding for key agronomic traits such as improvement of yield components, oil and oil-related traits, disease and insect/pest resistance, and drought, waterlogging and salt tolerance, as well as sesame genetic transformation and genome editing techniques. Pitfalls and limitations of existing studies and methodologies used so far are identified and some priorities for future research directions in sesame genetic improvement are identified in this review.

Keywords: abiotic stress, biotic stress, improvement, molecular breeding, oil, sesame, shattering

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Authors: Waleed K. Saib, Abdulsalam M. Alhawsawi, Essam Banoqitah

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The idea of this research is to design a radiation spectrometer using LSO scintillation detector coupled to a C series of SiPM (silicon photomultiplier). The device can be used to detects gamma and X-ray radiation. This device is also designed to estimates the activity of the source contamination. The SiPM will detect light in the visible range above the threshold and read them as counts. Three gamma sources were used for these experiments Cs-137, Am-241 and Co-60 with various activities. These sources are applied for four experiments operating the SiPM as a spectrometer, energy resolution, pile-up set and efficiency. The SiPM is connected to a MCA to perform as a spectrometer. Cerium doped Lutetium Silicate (Lu₂SiO₅) with light yield 26000 photons/Mev coupled with the SiPM. As a result, all the main features of the Cs-137, Am-241 and Co-60 are identified in MCA. The experiment shows how photon energy and probability of interaction are inversely related. Total attenuation reduces as photon energy increases. An analytical calculation was made to obtain the FWHM resolution for each gamma source. The FWHM resolution for Am-241 (59 keV) is 28.75 %, for Cs-137 (662 keV) is 7.85 %, for Co-60 (1173 keV) is 4.46 % and for Co-60 (1332 keV) is 3.70%. Moreover, the experiment shows that the dead time and counts number decreased when the pile-up rejection was disabled and the FWHM decreased when the pile-up was enabled. The efficiencies were calculated at four different distances from the detector 2, 4, 8 and 16 cm. The detection efficiency was observed to declined exponentially with increasing distance from the detector face. Conclusively, the SiPM board operated with an LSO scintillator crystal as a spectrometer. The SiPM energy resolution for the three gamma sources used was a decent comparison to other PMTs.

Keywords: PMT, radiation, radiation detection, scintillation detectors, silicon photomultiplier, spectrometer

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Authors: Samira B. R. Prado, Paulo R. Melfi, Beatriz T. Minguzzi, João P. Fabi

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Fruit softening is the main change that occurs during papaya (Carica papaya L.) ripening. It is characterized by the depolymerization of cell wall polysaccharides, especially the pectic fractions, which causes cell wall disassembling. However, it is uncertain how the modification of the two main pectin polysaccharides fractions (water-soluble – WSF, and oxalate-soluble fractions - OSF) accounts for fruit softening. The aim of this work was to correlate molecular weight changes of WSF and OSF with the gene expression of pectin-solubilizing enzymes (pectinases) during papaya ripening. Papaya fruits obtained from a producer were harvest and storage under specific conditions. The fruits were divided in five groups according to days after harvesting. Cell walls from all groups of papaya pulp were isolated and fractionated (WSF and OSF). Expression profiles of pectinase genes were achieved according to the MIQE guidelines (Minimum Information for publication of Quantitative real-time PCR Experiments). The results showed an increased yield and a decreased molecular weight throughout ripening for WSF and OSF. Gene expression data support that papaya softening is achieved by polygalacturonases (PGs) up-regulation, in which their actions might have been facilitated by the constant action of pectinesterases (PMEs). Moreover, BGAL1 gene was up-regulated during ripening with a simultaneous galactose release, suggesting that galactosidases (GALs) could also account for pulp softening. The data suggest that a solubilization of galacturonans and a depolymerization of cell wall components were caused mainly by the action of PGs and GALs.

Keywords: carica papaya, fruit ripening, galactosidases, plant cell wall, polygalacturonases

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Authors: Ganatsios Vassilios, Terpou Antonia, Maria Kanellaki, Bekatorou Argyro, Athanasios Koutinas

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In this study, a new fermentation technology is proposed with potential application in home wine-making. Delignified cellulosic material was used to preserve Tubular Cellulose (TC), an effective fermentation support material in high osmotic pressure, low temperature, and alcohol concentration. The psychrotolerant yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae AXAZ-1 was immobilized on TC to preserve a novel home wine making biocatalyst (HWB) and the entrapment was examined by SEM. Various concentrations of HWB was added in high-density grape must and the mixture was dried immediately. The dried mixture was stored for various time intervals and its fermentation examined after addition of potable water. The percentage of added water was also examined to succeed high alcohol and residual sugar concentration. The effect of low temperature (1-10 oC) on fermentation kinetics was studied revealing the ability of HBW on low-temperature sweet wine making. Sweet wines SPME GC-MS analysis revealed the promotion effect of TC on volatile by-products formation in comparison with free cells. Kinetics results and aromatic profile of final product encouraged the efforts of high-quality sweet wine making in domestic refrigerator and potential marketable opportunities are also assessed and discussed.

Keywords: tubular cellulose, sweet wine, Saccharomyces cerevisiae AXAZ-1, residual sugar concentration

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Authors: Jyotsna Gupta, S. Ghosh, S. Aravindan

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The requirement of artificial prostheses (such as hip and knee joints) has increased with time. Many researchers are working to develop new implants with improved properties such as excellent biocompatibility with no tissue reactions, corrosion resistance in body fluid, high yield strength and low elastic modulus. Further, the morphological properties of the artificial implants should also match with that of the human bone so that cell adhesion, proliferation and transportation of the minerals and nutrition through body fluid can be obtained. Present study attempts to make porous Ti6Al15Mo alloys through powder metallurgy route using space holder technique. The alloy consists of 6wt% of Al which was taken as α phase stabilizer and 15wt% Mo was taken as β phase stabilizer with theoretical density 4.708. Ammonium hydrogen carbonate is used as a space holder in order to generate the porosity. The porosity of these fabricated porous alloys was controlled by adding the 0, 50, 70 vol.% of the space holder content. Three phases were found in the microstructure: α, α_2 and β phase of titanium. Kirkendall pores are observed to be decreased with increase of holding time during sintering and parallelly compressive strength and elastic modulus value increased slightly. Compressive strength and elastic modulus of porous Ti-6Al-15Mo alloy (1.17 g/cm3 density) is found to be suitable for cancellous bone. Released ions from Ti-6Al-15Mo alloy are far below from the permissible limits in human body.

Keywords: bone implant, powder metallurgy, sintering time, Ti-6Al-15Mo

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Authors: N. Hedayat, E. Karamifar

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Sustainable food and fiber production is emerging as an irresistible option in agrarian planning. Although one should not underestimate the successes of the Green Revolution in enhancing crop production, its adverse environmental and ecosystem consequences have also been remarkable. The aim of this paper is to identify ways of improving crop production to ensure agricultural sustainability and environmental integrity. Systematic observations are used for data collection on intensive farming, deforestation and the environmental implications of industrial pollutants on agricultural sustainability at national and international levels. These were achieved within a comparative analytical model of data interpretation. Results show that while multiple factors enhance yield, they have a simultaneous effect in undermining the ecosystem and environmental integrity. Results show that application of excessive agrichemical have been one of the major cause of polluting the surface and underground water bodies as well as soil layers in affected croplands. Results consider rapid deforestation in the tropical regions has been the underlying cause of impairing the integrity of biodiversity and oxygen-generation regime. These, coupled with production of greenhouse gasses, have contributed to global warming and hydrological irregularities. Continuous production of pollutants and effluents has affected marine and land biodiversity arising from acid rains generated by modern farming and deforestation. Continuous production of greenhouse gases has also been instrumental in affecting climatic behavior manifested in recurring draughts and contraction of lakes and ponds as well as emergence of potential flooding of waterways and floodplains in the future.

Keywords: agricultural sustainability, environmental integrity, pollution, eco-system

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Authors: Saja M. Nabat Al-Ajrash, Charles Browning, Rose Eckerle, Li Cao

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Three preceramic polymer formulations for potential use in 3D printing technologies were investigated. The polymeric precursors include an allyl hydrido polycarbosilane (SMP-10), SMP-10/1,6-dexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) mixture, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The rheological property of the polymeric precursors, including the viscosity within a wide shear rate range was compared to determine the applicability in additive manufacturing technology. The structural properties of the polymeric solutions and their photocureability were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Moreover, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were utilized to study polymeric to ceramic conversion for versatile precursors. The prepared precursor resin proved to have outstanding photo-curing properties and the ability to transform to the silicon carbide phase at temperatures as low as 850 °C. The obtained ceramic was fully dense with nearly linear shrinkage and a shiny, smooth surface after pyrolysis. Furthermore, after pyrolysis to 1350 °C and TGA analysis, PDMS polymer showed the highest onset decomposition temperature and the lowest retained weight (52 wt%), while SMP.10/HDDA showed the lowest onset temperature and ceramic yield (71.7 wt%). In terms of crystallography, the ceramic matrix composite appeared to have three coexisting phases, including silicon carbide, and silicon oxycarbide. The results are very promising to fabricate ceramic materials working at high temperatures with complex geometries.

Keywords: preceramic polymer, silicon carbide, photocuring, allyl hydrido polycarbosilane, SMP-10

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Authors: Eduwin Eko Franjaya, Andi Gunawan, Wahju Qamara Mugnisjah

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Sustainable agriculture in the form of integrated farming with its LEISA (Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture) concept has brought a positive impact on agriculture development and ambient amelioration. But, most of the small farmers in Indonesia did not know how to put the concept of it and how to combine agricultural commodities on the site effectively and efficiently. This research has an aim to promote integrated farming (agrofisheries, etc) to the farmers by designing the agricultural landscape to become integrated farming landscape as medium of education for the farmers. The method used in this research is closely related with the rule of design in the landscape architecture science. The first step is inventarization for the existing condition on the research site. The second step is analysis. Then, the third step is concept-making that consists of base concept, design concept, and developing concept. The base concept used in this research is sustainable agriculture with LEISA. The concept design is related with activity base on site. The developing concept consists of space concept, circulation, vegetation and commodity, production system, etc. The fourth step as the final step is planning and design. This step produces site plan of integrated farming based on LEISA. The result of this research is site plan of integrated farming with its explanation, including the energy flow of integrated farming system on site and the production calendar of integrated farming commodities for education and agri-tourism opportunity. This research become the right way to promote the integrated farming and also as a medium for the farmers to learn and to develop it.

Keywords: integrated farming, LEISA, planning and design, site plan

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Authors: Jing Li Hong

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This study compared Michel Foucault’s thoughts and the Chan School’s thoughts on the idea of healing. Healing is not an unfamiliar idea in Buddhist thoughts. The paired concepts of illness and medicine are often used as a metaphor to describe the relationship between people and truth. Foucault investigated the topic of care of self in his later studies and dedicated a large portion of his final semester course at the Collège de France in 1984 to discuss the meaning of Socrates’s offering of a sacrifice to the god of medicine in Phaedo. Foucault indicated a key preposition in ancient philosophy, namely healing. His idea of healing also addressed the relationship between subject and truth. From this relationship, Foucault unraveled his novel study on truth, namely the technologies of the self, with an emphasis on the care of self. Whereas numerous philosophers ask obvious questions such as ‘what is truth’ and ‘how to learn about truth,’ Foucault proposed distinct questions such as ‘what is our relationship to truth’ and ‘how does our relationship with truth turn us into who we are now?’ Thus, healing in both Buddhist and Foucault’s thoughts is related to the relationship between being and truth. This study first reviews Buddhist and Foucault’s ideas of healing to explicate what is illness and what is medicine. Because Buddhist thoughts cover an extensive scope, this study focuses on the thoughts of the Chan School. The second part is a discussion on medicine (treatment), specifically what is used as the medicine for the illness in both thoughts, and how can this medicine treat the illness. This part includes a description and comparison of the use of concepts of negation in these two thought groups. Finally, the subjects that practice the technologies of the self in both groups are compared from the idea of care of self; in other words, the differences between the subjects formed by the different relationships between being and truth are analyzed.

Keywords: Chan, heterogeneous, living style, language of paradox, Michel Foucault, negation, parrhesia, the care of self

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Authors: Jianhong Xiang, Rui Sun, Linyu Wang

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In recent years, due to the continuous improvement of deep learning theory, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) has played a great superior performance in the research of Hyperspectral Image (HSI) classification. Since HSI has rich spatial-spectral information, only utilizing a single dimensional or single size convolutional kernel will limit the detailed feature information received by CNN, which limits the classification accuracy of HSI. In this paper, we design a multi-scale CNN with MLP based on residual and attention modules (INRAM-3DCNN) for the HSI classification task. We propose to use multiple 3D convolutional kernels to extract the packet feature information and fully learn the spatial-spectral features of HSI while designing residual 3D convolutional branches to avoid the decline of classification accuracy due to network degradation. Secondly, we also design the 2D Inception module with a joint channel attention mechanism to quickly extract key spatial feature information at different scales of HSI and reduce the complexity of the 3D model. Due to the high parallel processing capability and nonlinear global action of the Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), we use it in combination with the previous CNN structure for the final classification process. The experimental results on two HSI datasets show that the proposed INRAM-3DCNN method has superior classification performance and can perform the classification task excellently.

Keywords: INRAM-3DCNN, residual, channel attention, hyperspectral image classification

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Authors: Nuruol S. Mohd, Safia Ahmed, Rumana Riffat, Baoqiang Li

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Anaerobic digestion at mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures have been widely studied and evaluated by numerous researchers. Limited extensive research has been conducted on anaerobic digestion in the intermediate zone of 45°C, mainly due to the notion that limited microbial activity occurs within this zone. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the performance and the capability of anaerobic digestion at 45°C in producing class A biosolids, in comparison to a mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion system operated at 35°C and 55°C, respectively. In addition to that, the investigation on the possible inhibition factors affecting the performance of the digestion system at this temperature will be conducted as well. The 45°C anaerobic digestion systems were not able to achieve comparable methane yield and high-quality effluent compared to the mesophilic system, even though the systems produced biogas with about 62-67% methane. The 45°C digesters suffered from high acetate accumulation, but sufficient buffering capacity was observed as the pH, alkalinity and volatile fatty acids (VFA)-to-alkalinity ratio were within recommended values. The accumulation of acetate observed in 45°C systems were presumably due to the high temperature which contributed to high hydrolysis rate. Consequently, it produced a large amount of toxic salts that combined with the substrate making them not readily available to be consumed by methanogens. Acetate accumulation, even though contributed to 52 to 71% reduction in acetate degradation process, could not be considered as completely inhibitory. Additionally, at 45°C, no ammonia inhibition was observed and the digesters were able to achieve volatile solids (VS) reduction of 47.94±4.17%. The pathogen counts were less than 1,000 MPN/g total solids, thus, producing Class A biosolids.

Keywords: 45°C anaerobic digestion, acetate accumulation, class A biosolids, salt toxicity

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Authors: Meiju Chen, Chaoyu Guo, Chia Wei Tang

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The present study's purpose is twofold: first, to construct indicators for learning-oriented school education and, second, to conduct a survey to examine how learning-oriented education has been implemented in junior high schools after the launch of the 12-year compulsory curriculum. For indicator system construction, we compiled relevant literature to develop a preliminary indicator list model and then conducted two rounds of a questionnaire survey to gain comprehensive feedback from experts to finalize our indicator model. In the survey's first round, 12 experts were invited to evaluate the indicators' appropriateness. Based on the experts' consensus, we determined our final indicator list and used it to develop the Fuzzy Delphi questionnaire to finalize the indicator system and each indicator's relative value. For the fact-finding survey, we collected 454 valid samples to examine how the concept of learning-oriented education is adopted and implemented in the junior high school context. We also used this data in our importance-performance analysis to explore the strengths and weaknesses of school education in Taiwan. The results suggest that the indicator system for learning-oriented school education must consist of seven dimensions and 34 indicators. Among the seven dimensions, 'student learning' and 'curriculum planning and implementation' are the most important yet underperforming dimensions that need immediate improvement. We anticipate that the indicator system will be a useful tool for other countries' evaluation of schools' performance in learning-oriented education.

Keywords: learning-oriented education, school education, fuzzy Delphi method, importance-performance analysis

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Authors: Masek A., Diakowska K., Zaborski M.

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Polymeric materials have found their use almost in every branch of industry worldwide. Most of them constitute so-called “petropolymers" obtained from crude oil. However literature information sounds a warning that its global sources are running out. Thus, it seems that one should search for polymeric materials from renewable raw materials belonging to the group of green polymers. Therefore on account of environmental protection and the issue of sustainable technologies, nowadays greater and greater achievements have been observed in the field of green technology using engineering sciences to develop composite materials. The main aim of this study was to research what is the influence of biofillers on the properties. We used biofillers like : cellulose with different length of fiber, cellulose UFC100, silica and montmorillonite. In our research, we reported on biodegradable composites exhibitingspecificity properties by melt blending of polylactide (PLA), one of the commercially available biodegradable material, and epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) containing 50 mol.%epoxy group. Blending hydrophilic natural polymers and aliphatic polyesters is of significant interest, since it could lead to the development of a new range of biodegradable polymeric materials. We research the degradation of composites on the basis epoxidized natural rubber and poly(lactide). The addition of biofillers caused far-reaching degradation processes. The greatest resistance to biodegradation showed a montmorillonite-based mixtures, the smallest inflated cellulose fibers of varying length.The final aim in the present study is to use ENR and poly(lactide) to design composite from renewable resources with controlled degradation.

Keywords: renewable resources, biopolymer, degradation, polylactide

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Authors: Chayanoot Sangwichien, Taweesak Reungpeerakul, Kyaw Thu

Abstract:

Oil palm mills in Southern Thailand produced a large amount of biomass solid wastes. Lignocellulose biomass is the main source for production of biofuel which can be combined or used as an alternative to fossil fuels. Biomass composed of three main constituents of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Thermochemical conversion process applied to produce biofuel from biomass. Pyrolysis of biomass is the best way to thermochemical conversion of biomass into pyrolytic products (bio-oil, gas, and char). Operating parameters play an important role to optimize the product yields from fast pyrolysis of biomass. This present work concerns with the modeling of reaction kinetics parameters for fast pyrolysis of empty fruit bunch in the fluidized bed reactor. A global kinetic model used to predict the product yields from fast pyrolysis of empty fruit bunch. The reaction temperature and vapor residence time parameters are mainly affected by product yields of EFB pyrolysis. The reaction temperature and vapor residence time parameters effects on empty fruit bunch pyrolysis are considered at the reaction temperature in the range of 450-500˚C and at a vapor residence time of 2 s, respectively. The optimum simulated bio-oil yield of 53 wt.% obtained at the reaction temperature and vapor residence time of 450˚C and 2 s, 500˚C and 1 s, respectively. The simulated data are in good agreement with the reported experimental data. These simulated data can be applied to the performance of experiment work for the fast pyrolysis of biomass.

Keywords: kinetics, empty fruit bunch, fast pyrolysis, modeling

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Authors: Ekin Nurbaş

Abstract:

One of the essential challenges in array signal processing, which has drawn enormous research interest over the past several decades, is estimating the direction of arrival (DOA) of plane waves impinging on an array of sensors. In recent years, the Compressive Sensing based DoA estimation methods have been proposed by researchers, and it has been discovered that the Compressive Sensing (CS)-based algorithms achieved significant performances for DoA estimation even in scenarios where there are multiple coherent sources. On the other hand, the Genetic Algorithm, which is a method that provides a solution strategy inspired by natural selection, has been used in sparse representation problems in recent years and provides significant improvements in performance. With all of those in consideration, in this paper, a method that combines the Genetic Algorithm (GA) and the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approaches for Direction of Arrival (DoA) estimation in the Compressive Sensing (CS) framework is proposed. In this method, we generate a multi-objective optimization problem by splitting the norm minimization and reconstruction loss minimization parts of the Compressive Sensing algorithm. With the help of the Genetic Algorithm, multiple non-dominated solutions are achieved for the defined multi-objective optimization problem. Among the pareto-frontier solutions, the final solution is obtained with the multiple MCDM methods. Moreover, the performance of the proposed method is compared with the CS-based methods in the literature.

Keywords: genetic algorithm, direction of arrival esitmation, multi criteria decision making, compressive sensing

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Authors: Ashish Bohre, Blaž Likozar, Saikat Dutta, Dionisios G. Vlachos, Basudeb Saha

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Graphene oxide, decorated with surface oxygen functionalities, has emerged as a sustainable alternative to precious metal catalysts for many reactions. Herein, we report for the first time that graphene oxide becomes super active for C-C coupling upon incorporation of multilayer crystalline features, highly oxidized surface, Brønsted acidic functionalities and defect sites on the surface and edges via modified oxidation. The resulting improved graphene oxide (IGO) demonstrates superior activity to commonly used framework zeolites for upgrading of low carbon biomass furanics to long carbon chain aviation fuel precursors. A maximum 95% yield of C15 fuel precursor with high selectivity is obtained at low temperature (60 C) and neat conditions via hydroxyalkylation/alkylation (HAA) of 2-methylfuran (2-MF) and furfural. The coupling of 2-MF with carbonyl molecules ranging from C3 to C6 produced the precursors of carbon numbers 12 to 21. The catalyst becomes inactive in the 4th cycle due to the loss of oxygen functionalities, defect sites and multilayer features; however, regains comparable activity upon regeneration. Extensive microscopic and spectroscopic characterization of the fresh and reused IGO is presented to elucidate high activity of IGO and to establish a correlation between activity and surface and structural properties. Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations are presented to further illustrate the surface features and the reaction mechanism.

Keywords: methacrylic acid, itaconic acid, biomass, monomer, solid base catalyst

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Authors: Yu-Chi Chou

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to establish a logical path of an instructional model of empathy and social regulation, providing feasibility evidence on the model implementation in students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This newly developed Emotional Bug-Out Bag (BoB) curriculum was designed to enhance the empathy and socially shared regulation of students with ASD. The BoB model encompassed three instructional phases of basic theory lessons (BTL), action plan practices (APP), and final theory practices (FTP) during implementation. Besides, a learning flow (teacher-directed instruction, student self-directed problem-solving, group-based task completion, group-based reflection) was infused into the progress of instructional phases to deliberately promote the social regulatory process in group-working activities. A total of 23 junior high school students with ASD were implemented with the BoB curriculum. To examine the logical path for model implementation, data was collected from the participating students’ self-report scores on the learning nodes and understanding questions. Path analysis using structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized for analyzing scores on 10 learning nodes and 41 understanding questions through the three phases of the BoB model. Results showed (a) all participants progressed throughout the implementation of the BoB model, and (b) the models of learning nodes and phases were positive and significant as expected, confirming the hypothesized logic path of this curriculum.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, empathy, regulation, socially shared regulation

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