Search results for: ground pipe cooling

Authors: M. Vezir Kahraman, Emre Basturk

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Energy storage technology offers new ways to meet the demand to obtain efficient and reliable energy storage materials. Thermal energy storage systems provide the potential to acquire energy savings, which in return decrease the environmental impact related to energy usage. For this purpose, phase change materials (PCMs) that work as 'latent heat storage units' which can store or release large amounts of energy are preferred. Phase change materials (PCMs) are being utilized to absorb, collect and discharge thermal energy during the cycle of melting and freezing, converting from one phase to another. Phase Change Materials (PCMs) can generally be arranged into three classes: organic materials, salt hydrates and eutectics. Many kinds of organic and inorganic PCMs and their blends have been examined as latent heat storage materials. PCMs have found different application areas such as solar energy storage and transfer, HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) systems, thermal comfort in vehicles, passive cooling, temperature controlled distributions, industrial waste heat recovery, under floor heating systems and modified fabrics in textiles. Ultraviolet (UV)-curing technology has many advantages, which made it applicable in many different fields. Low energy consumption, high speed, room-temperature operation, low processing costs, high chemical stability, and being environmental friendly are some of its main benefits. UV-curing technique has many applications. One of the many advantages of UV-cured PCMs is that they prevent the interior PCMs from leaking. Shape-stabilized PCM is prepared by blending the PCM with a supporting material, usually polymers. In our study, this problem is minimized by coating the fatty alcohols with a photo-cross-linked thiol-ene based polymeric system. Leakage is minimized because photo-cross-linked polymer acts a matrix. The aim of this study is to introduce a novel thiol-ene based shape-stabilized PCM. Photo-crosslinked thiol-ene based polymers containing fatty alcohols were prepared and characterized for the purpose of phase change materials (PCMs). Different types of fatty alcohols were used in order to investigate their properties as shape-stable PCMs. The structure of the PCMs was confirmed by ATR-FTIR techniques. The phase transition behaviors, thermal stability of the prepared photo-crosslinked PCMs were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). This work was supported by Marmara University, Commission of Scientific Research Project.

Keywords: differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Polymeric phase change material, thermal energy storage, UV-curing

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Authors: Vladimir Messerle, Alfred Mosse, Alexandr Ustimenko, Oleg Lavrichshev

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Hygiene and sanitary study of typical medical-biological waste made in Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and other countries show that their risk to the environment is much higher than that of most chemical wastes. For example, toxicity of solid waste (SW) containing cytotoxic drugs and antibiotics is comparable to toxicity of radioactive waste of high and medium level activity. This report presents the results of the thermodynamic analysis of thermal processing of SW and experiments at the developed plasma unit for SW processing. Thermodynamic calculations showed that the maximum yield of the synthesis gas at plasma gasification of SW in air and steam mediums is achieved at a temperature of 1600K. At the air plasma gasification of SW high-calorific synthesis gas with a concentration of 82.4% (СO – 31.7%, H2 – 50.7%) can be obtained, and at the steam plasma gasification – with a concentration of 94.5% (СO – 33.6%, H2 – 60.9%). Specific heat of combustion of the synthesis gas produced by air gasification amounts to 14267 kJ/kg, while by steam gasification - 19414 kJ/kg. At the optimal temperature (1600 K), the specific power consumption for air gasification of SW constitutes 1.92 kWh/kg, while for steam gasification - 2.44 kWh/kg. Experimental study was carried out in a plasma reactor. This is device of periodic action. The arc plasma torch of 70 kW electric power is used for SW processing. Consumption of SW was 30 kg/h. Flow of plasma-forming air was 12 kg/h. Under the influence of air plasma flame weight average temperature in the chamber reaches 1800 K. Gaseous products are taken out of the reactor into the flue gas cooling unit, and the condensed products accumulate in the slag formation zone. The cooled gaseous products enter the gas purification unit, after which via gas sampling system is supplied to the analyzer. Ventilation system provides a negative pressure in the reactor up to 10 mm of water column. Condensed products of SW processing are removed from the reactor after its stopping. By the results of experiments on SW plasma gasification the reactor operating conditions were determined, the exhaust gas analysis was performed and the residual carbon content in the slag was determined. Gas analysis showed the following composition of the gas at the exit of gas purification unit, (vol.%): СO – 26.5, H2 – 44.6, N2–28.9. The total concentration of the syngas was 71.1%, which agreed well with the thermodynamic calculations. The discrepancy between experiment and calculation by the yield of the target syngas did not exceed 16%. Specific power consumption for SW gasification in the plasma reactor according to the results of experiments amounted to 2.25 kWh/kg of working substance. No harmful impurities were found in both gas and condensed products of SW plasma gasification. Comparison of experimental results and calculations showed good agreement. Acknowledgement—This work was supported by Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (Agreement on grant No. 14.607.21.0118, project RFMEF160715X0118).

Keywords: coal, efficiency, ignition, numerical modeling, plasma-fuel system, plasma generator

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Authors: Yuanda Ma, Zhiyong Zhang, Zailin Yang, Guanxixi Jiang

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Anisotropy is very common in underground media, such as rock, sand, and soil. Hence, the dynamic response of anisotropy medium under elastic waves is significantly different from the isotropic one. Moreover, underground heterogeneities and structures, such as pipelines, cylinders, or tunnels, are usually made by composite materials, leading to the anisotropy of these heterogeneities and structures. Both the anisotropy of the underground medium and the heterogeneities have an effect on the surface motion of the ground. Aiming at providing theoretical references for earthquake engineering and seismology, the surface motion of anisotropic half-space with a cylindrical anisotropic inclusion embedded under the SH wave is investigated in this work. Considering the anisotropy of the underground medium, the governing equation with three elastic parameters of SH wave propagation is introduced. Then, based on the complex function method and multipolar coordinates system, the governing equation in the complex plane is obtained. With the help of a pair of transformation, the governing equation is transformed into a standard form. By means of the same methods, the governing equation of SH wave propagation in the cylindrical inclusion with another three elastic parameters is normalized as well. Subsequently, the scattering wave in the half-space and the standing wave in the inclusion is deduced. Different incident wave angle and anisotropy are considered to obtain the reflected wave. Then the unknown coefficients in scattering wave and standing wave are solved by utilizing the continuous condition at the boundary of the inclusion. Through truncating finite terms of the scattering wave and standing wave, the equation of boundary conditions can be calculated by programs. After verifying the convergence and the precision of the calculation, the validity of the calculation is verified by degrading the model of the problem as well. Some parameters which influence the surface displacement of the half-space is considered: dimensionless wave number, dimensionless depth of the inclusion, anisotropic parameters, wave number ratio, shear modulus ratio. Finally, surface displacement amplitude of the half space with different parameters is calculated and discussed.

Keywords: anisotropy, complex function method, sh wave, surface displacement amplitude

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Authors: Marthin Dody Josias Sumajouw, Bryan Wijaya, Servie O. Dapas, Ronny E. Pandaleke, Banu Handono, Fabian J. Manoppo

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Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) takes a big role as a concrete binder in infrastructure construction purposes, nevertheless, it produces CO2 emissions abundantly. To reduce the CO2 emissions produced by OPC concrete, nowadays, geopolymer material become one of the solutions due to it being a binder made from waste with pozzolan material. In concrete industries, geopolymer concrete has evolved as a more environmentally friendly material than OPC concrete. The geopolymer concrete was created without the usage of OPC known as cementless concrete materials. Geopolymer concrete obtains silicon and aluminum from industrial by-products such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, and kaolinite. A highly alkaline solution chemically activates Si and Al, forming a matrix that holds together the loose aggregates as well as additional unreacted components in the mixture. They are then dissolved in alkaline activating solutions, where they polymerize into molecular chains, resulting in rigid binders. This research aims to get an eco-friendly material that can reduce the use of OPC as a binder and be used for infrastructure development end-products such as Curbs, Pavement Bricks, and Wall Bricks. This research was conducted as applied research to develop new products of environmentally friendly materials by utilizing fly ash and employed for infrastructure development, particularly for the production of end products such as Curbs, Pavement Bricks, and Wall Bricks. Three types of end products with various dimensions and mix designs have been made and tested in the laboratory, resulting in quantitative datasets to be used for identifying patterns and relationships among density, compressive strength, flexural strength, and water absorption. The result found that geopolymer binders can be used for the production of curbs, pavement bricks, and wall bricks. Geopolymer curbs have an average compressive strength of 19,36 MPa, which can be determined as K-233 concrete. Geopolymer pavement bricks have an average compressive strength of 20,79 MPa. It can be used in parking areas and determined as the grade B of pavement bricks according to SNI 03-0691-1996. Geopolymer wall bricks have an average compressive strength of 11,24 MPa, which can be determined as the grade I of Wall Bricks according to SNI 03-0349-1989.

Keywords: absorption, compressive strength, curbs, end products, geopolymer, pavement bricks, wall bricks

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Authors: Olivia Garcia, Sandra Tullio-Pow

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The purpose of this study was to understand what design attributes make the most ideal (wearable and memorable) national soccer jersey. The research probed Canadian soccer enthusiasts to better understand their jersey-purchasing rationale. The research questions framing this study were: how do consumers feel about their jerseys? How do these feelings influence their choices? There has been limited research on soccer jerseys from a material culture perspective, and it is not inclusive of national soccer jerseys. The results of this study may be used for product developers and advertisers who are looking to better understand the consumer base for national soccer jersey design. A mixed methods approach informed the research. To begin, a content analysis of all the home jerseys from the 2018 World Cup was done. Information such as size range, main colour, fibre content, brand, collar details, availability, sleeve length, place of manufacturing, pattern, price, fabric as per company, neckline, availability on company website, jersey inspiration, and badge/crest details were noted. Following the content analysis, wardrobe interviews were conducted with six consumers/fans. Participants brought two or more jerseys to the interviews, where the jerseys acted as clothing probes to recount information. Interview questions were semi-structured and focused on the participants’ relationship with the sport, their personal background, who they cheered for, why they bought the jerseys, and fit preferences. The goal of the inquiry was to pull out information on how participants feel about their jerseys and why. Finally, an interview with an industry professional was done. This interview was semi-structured, focusing on basic questions regarding sportswear design, sales, the popularity of soccer, and the manufacturing and marketing process. The findings proved that national soccer jerseys are an integral part of material culture. Women liked more fitted jerseys, and men liked more comfortable jerseys. Jerseys should be made with a cooling, comfortable fabric and should always prevent peeling. The symbols on jerseys are there to convey a team’s history and are most typically placed on the left chest. Jerseys should always represent the flag and/or the country’s colours and should use designs that are both fashionable and innovative. Jersey design should always consider the opinions of the consumers to help influence the design process. Jerseys should always use concepts surrounding culture, as consumers feel connected to the jerseys that represent the culture and/or family they have grown up with. Jerseys should use a team’s history, as well as the nostalgia associated with the team, as consumers prefer jerseys that reflect important moments in soccer. Jerseys must also sit at a reasonable price point for consumers, with an experience to go along with the jersey purchase. In conclusion, national soccer jerseys are considered sites of attachment and memories and play an integral part in the study of material culture.

Keywords: Design, Fashion, Material Culture, Sport

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Authors: R. Lhissou , A. El Harti , K. Chokmani, E. Bachaoui, A. El Ghmari

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Soil salinity is a serious environmental hazard in many countries around the world especially the arid and semi-arid countries like Morocco. Salinization causes negative effects on the ground; it affects agricultural production, infrastructure, water resources and biodiversity. Remote sensing can provide soil salinity information for large areas, and in a relatively short time. In addition, remote sensing is not limited by extremes in terrain or hazardous condition. Contrariwise, experimental methods for monitoring soil salinity by direct measurements in situ are very demanding of time and resources, and also very limited in spatial coverage. In the irrigated perimeter of Tadla plain in central Morocco, the increased use of saline groundwater and surface water, coupled with agricultural intensification leads to the deterioration of soil quality especially by salinization. In this study, we assessed several spectral indices of soil salinity cited in the literature using Landsat TM satellite images and field measurements of electrical conductivity (EC). Three Landsat TM satellite images were taken during 3 months in the dry season (September, October and November 2011). Based on field measurement data of EC collected in three field campaigns over the three dates simultaneously with acquisition dates of Landsat TM satellite images, a two assessment techniques are used to validate a soil salinity spectral indices. Firstly, the spectral indices are validated locally by pixel. The second validation technique is made using a window of size 3x3 pixels. The results of the study indicated that the second technique provides getting a more accurate validation and the assessment has shown its limits when it comes to assess across the pixel. In addition, the EC values measured from field have a good correlation with some spectral indices derived from Landsat TM data and the best results show an r² of 0.88, 0.79 and 0.65 for Salinity Index (SI) in the three dates respectively. The results have shown the usefulness of spectral indices as an auxiliary variable in the spatial estimation and mapping salinity in irrigated land.

Keywords: remote sensing, spectral indices, soil salinity, irrigated land

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Authors: Mehar Fatima

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This study intends to make analysis of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in the process of pedagogy and look into its repercussions in different educational institutions including school, college, and university in the capital state of India, Delhi in 2015. Field of education is a complex area with challenging issues in a modern society. Education is the breeding ground for nurturing human souls, and personalities. Since antiquity, man has been in search of truth, wisdom, contentment, peace. His efforts have brought him to acquire these through hardship, evidently through the process of teaching and learning. Computer aids and artificial intelligence have made life easy but complex. Efficient pedagogy involves direct human intervention despite the flux of technological advancements. Time and again, pedagogical practices demand sincere human efforts to understand and improve upon life’s many pragmatic concerns. Apart from the intense academic scientific approaches, EI in academia plays a vital role in the growth of education, positively achieving national progression; ‘pedagogy of pragmatic purpose.’ Use of literature is found to be one of the valuable pragmatic tools of Emotional Intelligence. This research examines the way literature provides useful influence in building better practices in teaching-learning process. The present project also scrutinizes various pieces of world literature and translation, incorporating efforts of intellectuals in promoting comprehensive amity. The importance of EI in educational arena with its pragmatic uses was established by the study of interviews, and questionnaire collected from teachers and students. In summary the analysis of obtained empirical data makes it possible to accomplish that the use Emotional Intelligence in academic scenario yields multisided positive pragmatic outcomes; positive attitude, constructive aptitude, value-added learning, enthusiastic participation, creative thinking, lower apprehension, diminished fear, leading to individual as well as collective advancement, progress, and growth of pedagogical agents.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, human efforts, pedagogy, pragmatic concerns

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Authors: Anesha Atul Shende

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When we are aiming at high goals for economic development, such as sustainable growth and development of the economy, poverty reduction, reduction in inequality, etc., we must not forget to include each and everyone in the society in the process of achieving these goals. This study particularly talks about women participation in economic activities. The analysis is primarily done with a special focus on Indian states. The study analyses the female labour force participation rate in all many states in India. It makes a comparison between the states having low female Labour force participation with the states that have comparatively high female Labour population. In the beginning, data has been provided to know the current state of gender biases in employment. It has been found that the male workforce is dominant all across India. Further, the study highlights the major reasons for low women participation in economic activities in some of the backward states in India like Bihar, etc. These reasons basically talk about economic, cultural, and social factors that are responsible for women unemployment. Afterward, it analyses the reasons behind comparatively higher women participation in all other states in India. The case of the north-eastern state of Telangana and Tamil Nadu have been analysed in brief. These states show the improvements in female Labour participation over a few decades. This is because of government policies that have been adopted, women-friendly workplaces, availability of quality jobs for women, etc. Organization like women UN has recognized the social and economic benefits of having active women Labour force in the country. If women unemployment declines, it will improve the growth rate of the nation as well as the welfare of the society. The study discusses the reasons why an economy must try to increase women workforce participation. It further provides suggestions to improve the conditions in backward states in India, where the female unemployment rate is high. One must understand that policy interventions and government schemes are a few of the ways to recognize this issue and work on it. However, the conditions will improve only when the changes would happen from the ground level with social and moral support to the women.

Keywords: women unemployment, labour force participation, women empowerment, economic growth and development, gender disparity

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Authors: Magdalena Wilk-Kozubek, Magdalena Rowińska, Krzysztof Rola, Joanna Cybińska

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Leuco dye-based thermochromic systems are classified as intelligent materials because they exhibit thermally induced color changes. Thanks to this feature, they are mainly used as temperature sensors in many industrial sectors. For example, placing a thermochromic material on a chemical reactor may warn about exceeding the maximum permitted temperature for a chemical process. Usually two components, a color former and a developer are needed to produce a system with irreversible color change. The color former is an electron donating (proton accepting) compound such as fluoran leuco dye. The developer is an electron accepting (proton donating) compound such as organic carboxylic acid. When the developer melts, the color former - developer complex is created and the termochromic system becomes colored. Typically, the melting point of the applied developer determines the temperature at which the color change occurs. When the lactone ring of the color former is closed, then the dye is in its colorless state. The ring opening, induced by the addition of a proton, causes the dye to turn into its colored state. Since the color former and the developer are often solid, they can be incorporated into polymer films to facilitate their practical use in industry. The objective of this research was to fabricate a leuco dye-based termochromic system that will irreversibly change color after reaching the temperature of 100°C. For this purpose, benzofluoran leuco dye (as color former) and phenoxyacetic acid (as developer with a melting point of 100°C) were introduced into the polymer films during the drop casting process. The film preparation process was optimized in order to obtain thin films with appropriate properties such as transparency, flexibility and homogeneity. Among the optimized factors were the concentration of benzofluoran leuco dye and phenoxyacetic acid, the type, average molecular weight and concentration of the polymer, and the type and concentration of the surfactant. The selected films, containing benzofluoran leuco dye and phenoxyacetic acid, were combined by mild heat treatment. Structural characterization of single and combined films was carried out by FTIR spectroscopy, morphological analysis was performed by optical microscopy and SEM, phase transitions were examined by DSC, color changes were investigated by digital photography and UV-Vis spectroscopy, while emission changes were studied by photoluminescence spectroscopy. The resulting thermochromic system is colorless at room temperature, but after reaching 100°C the developer melts and it turns irreversibly pink. Therefore, it could be used as an additional sensor to warn against boiling of water in power plants using water cooling. Currently used electronic temperature indicators are prone to faults and unwanted third-party actions. The sensor constructed in this work is transparent, thanks to which it can be unnoticed by an outsider and constitute a reliable reference for the person responsible for the apparatus.

Keywords: color developer, leuco dye, thin film, thermochromism

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Authors: Francisco Fernandez de Castro

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The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) model gives monetary transfers to beneficiary families on the condition that they take specific education and health actions. According to the economic rationale of CCTs the poor need incentives to invest in their human capital because they are trapped by a lack of information and misleading beliefs. If left to their own decision, the poor will not be able to choose what is in their best interests. The basic assumption of the CCT model is that the poor need incentives to take care of their own education and health-nutrition. Due to the incentives (income cash transfers and conditionalities), beneficiary families are supposed to attend doctor visits and health talks. Children would stay in the school. These incentivized behaviors would produce outcomes such as better health and higher level of education, which in turn will reduce poverty. Based on a grounded theory approach to conduct a two-year period of qualitative data collection in northern Mexico, this study shows that this explanation is incomplete. In addition to the information failure and inadequate beliefs, there are structural barriers in everyday life of households that make health-nutrition and education investments difficult. In-depth interviews and observation work showed that the program takes for granted local conditions in which beneficiary families should fulfill their co-responsibilities. Data challenged the program’s assumptions and unveiled local obstacles not contemplated in the program’s design. These findings have policy and research implications for the CCT agenda. They bring elements for late programming due to the gap between the CCT strategy as envisioned by policy designers, and the program that beneficiary families experience on the ground. As for research consequences, these findings suggest new avenues for scholarly work regarding the causal mechanisms and social processes explaining CCT outcomes.

Keywords: conditional cash transfers, incentives, poverty, structural barriers

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Authors: Rolando Volzone

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The Congregation of Saint Paul of Serra de Ossa (Ossa Mountain) was founded in 1482, originated by the eremitic movement of the homens da pobre vida (poor life men), which is documented since 1366. The community of hermits expanded up to the first half of the 15th century, mostly in southern Portugal in the Alentejo region. In 1578, following a process of institutionalization led by the Church, an autonomous congregation was set up, affiliated in the Hungarian Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit, until 1834, when the decree of dissolution of the religious orders disbanded all the convents and monasteries in Portugal. The architectural evidences that reached our days as a legacy of the hermitical movement in Serra de Ossa, although studied and analysed from an historical point of view, are still little known with respect to the architectural characteristics of its physical implantation and its relationship with the natural systems. This research intends to expose the appropriation process of the locus eremus as a starting point for the interpretation of this landscape, evidencing the close relationship between the religious experience and the physical space chosen to reach the perfection of the soul. The locus eremus is thus determined not only by practical aspects such as the absolute and relative location, orography, existence of water resources, or the King’s favoring to the religious and settlement action of the hermits, but also by spiritual aspects related to the symbolism of the physical elements present and the solitary walk of these men. These aspects, combined with the built architectural elements and other exerted human action, may be fertile ground for the definition of a hypothetical hermitical landscape based on the sufficiently distinctive characteristics that sustain it. The landscape built by these hermits is established as a cultural and material heritage, and its preservation is of utmost importance. They deeply understood this place and took advantage of its natural resources, manipulating them in an ecological and economically sustainable way, respecting the place, without overcoming its own genius loci but becoming part of it.

Keywords: architecture, congregation of Saint Paul of Serra de Ossa, heremitical landscape, locus eremus

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Authors: Ahmed E. Hodaib, Muhammed A. Hashem

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High-speed transportation has become a growing concern. To increase high-speed efficiencies and minimize power consumption of a vehicle, we need to eliminate the friction with the ground and minimize the aerodynamic drag acting on the vehicle. Due to the complexity and high power requirements of electromagnetic levitation, we make use of the air in front of the capsule, that produces the majority of the drag, to compress it in two phases and inject a proportion of it through small nozzles to make a high-pressure air cushion to levitate the capsule. The tube is partially-evacuated so that the air pressure is optimized for maximum compressor effectiveness, optimum tube size, and minimum vacuum pump power consumption. The total relative mass flow rate of the tube air is divided into two fractions. One is by-passed to flow over the capsule body, ensuring that no chocked flow takes place. The other fraction is sucked by the compressor where it is diffused to decrease the Mach number (around 0.8) to be suitable for the compressor inlet. The air is then compressed and intercooled, then split. One fraction is expanded through a tail nozzle to contribute to generating thrust. The other is compressed again. Bleed from the two compressors is used to maintain a constant air pressure in an air tank. The air tank is used to supply air for levitation. Dividing the total mass flow rate increases the achievable speed (Kantrowitz limit), and compressing it decreases the blockage of the capsule. As a result, the aerodynamic drag on the capsule decreases. As the tube pressure decreases, the drag decreases and the capsule power requirements decrease, however, the vacuum pump consumes more power. That’s why Design optimization techniques are to be used to get the optimum values for all the design variables given specific design inputs. Aerodynamic shape optimization, Capsule and tube sizing, compressor design, diffuser and nozzle expander design and the effect of the air bearing on the aerodynamics of the capsule are to be considered. The variations of the variables are to be studied for the change of the capsule velocity and air pressure.

Keywords: tube-capsule, hyperloop, aerodynamic design optimization, air compressor, air bearing

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Authors: Prama Mukhopadhyay, Rishika Mukhopadhyay

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The twentieth century has seen the world getting divided into three distinct blocks, created by the proponents of the mainstream developmental discourse. India, which has now gained the label of being a ‘developing nation’, stands in between these three groups, as it constantly tries to ‘catch up’ and emulate the developmental standards of the ‘west’. In this endeavour, we find our country trying really hard to blindly replicate the health care infrastructures of the ‘first worlds’, without realizing the needs of evaluating the ground reality. In such a situation, the sudden outbreak of child death in the district of Malda, WB, poses an obvious questions towards the kind of development that our country has been engaging in, ever since its Post Colonial inception. Through this paper we thus try to understand the harsh veracity of the health care facility that exists in rural Bengal, and thereby challenge the conventional notion of ‘health-care’ as is normally discussed in the mainstream developmental discourse. Grounding our research work on detailed ethnography and through the help of questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions with the local government officials(BDOs), health workers (ICDS, ASHA workers, ANHM and BMOHs) and members of families with experiences of child deaths, we have tried to find out the real and humane factors behind the sudden rise of reported infant deaths in the district, issues which are normally neglected and left out while discussing and evaluating IMR in the mainstream studies on health care and planning in our nation. Therefore the main aim of this paper is to try and look at child death from a ‘wider perspective’, where it is seen from an eye not bounded by the common registers of caste, class and religion. This paper, would thus be an eye opener in some sense, bringing in stories from the rural belt of the country; where the people are regularly torn between the binaries of the developing and shining modernity of ‘India’ which now gets ready to run the last lap and gain the status of becoming a ‘developed nation’ by 2020, and the staggering, dark traditional ‘ Bharat, which lags behind.

Keywords: child mortality, development discourse, health care, tradition and modernity

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Authors: Abul Hashem

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The experiment was conducted to find out the effect of different levels of Moringa oleifiera leaf extract and synthetic antioxidant (Beta Hydroxyl Anisole) on fresh and preserved beef meatballs. For this purpose, ground beef samples were divided into five treatment groups. They are treated as control, synthetic antioxidant, 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% Moringa oleifera leaf extract as T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5, respectively. Five kinds of meatballs were made and biscuit crushed and egg albumin was mixed with beef meatballs and cooking was practiced properly. Proximate analysis, sensory tests (color, flavor, tenderness, juiciness, overall acceptability), cooking loss, pH value, free fatty acids (FFA), thiobarbituric acid values (TBARS), peroxide value(POV) and microbiological examination were determined in order to evaluate the effect of Moringa oleifiera leaf extract as natural antioxidant & antimicrobial activities in comparing to BHA (Beta Hydroxyl Anisole) at first day before freezing and for maintaining meatballs qualities on the shelf life of beef meat balls stored for 60 days under frozen condition. Freezing temperature was -20˚C. Days of intervals of experiment were on 0, 15th, 30th, and 60th days. Dry matter content of all the treatment groups differ significantly (p<0.05). On the contrary, DM content increased significantly (p<0.05) with the advancement of different days of intervals. CP content of all the treatments were increased significantly (p<0.05) among the different treatment groups. EE content at different treatment levels differ significantly (p<0.05). Ash content at different treatment levels was also differ significantly (p<0.05). FFA values, TBARS, POV were decreased significantly (p<0.05) at different treatment levels. Color, odor, tenderness, juiciness, overall acceptability, raw PH, cooked pH were increased at different treatment levels significantly (p<0.05). The cooking loss (%) at different treatment levels were differ significantly (p<0.05). TVC (logCFU/g), TCC (logCFU/g) and TYMC (logCFU/g) was decreased significantly (p<0.05) at different treatment levels comparison to control. Considering CP, tenderness, juiciness, overall acceptability, cooking loss, FFA, POV, TBARS and microbial parameters it can be concluded that Moringa oleifera leaf extract at 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% can be used instead of 0.1% synthetic antioxidant BHA in beef meatballs.

Keywords: antioxidant, beef meatball, BHA, moringa leaf extract, quality

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Authors: Chiling Chen, Chiaoying Chou, Siyang Wu

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Taiwan locates at the west of Pacific Ocean and intersects between continental and marine climate. Typhoons frequently strike Taiwan and come with meteorological disasters, i.e., heavy flooding, landslides, loss of life and properties, etc. Global climate change brings more extremely meteorological disasters. So, develop techniques to improve disaster prevention and mitigation is needed, to improve rescue processes and rehabilitations is important as well. In this study, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are applied to take instant images for improving the disaster investigation and rescue processes. Paddy rice fields in the central Taiwan are the study area. There have been attacked by heavy rain during the monsoon season in June 2016. UAV images provide the high ground resolution (3.5cm) with 3D Point Clouds to develop image discrimination techniques and digital surface model (DSM) on rice lodging. Firstly, image supervised classification with Maximum Likelihood Method (MLD) is used to delineate the area of rice lodging. Secondly, 3D point clouds generated by Pix4D Mapper are used to develop DSM for classifying the lodging levels of paddy rice. As results, discriminate accuracy of rice lodging is 85% by image supervised classification, and the classification accuracy of lodging level is 87% by DSM. Therefore, UAVs not only provide instant images of agricultural damage after the meteorological disaster, but the image discriminations on rice lodging also reach acceptable accuracy (>85%). In the future, technologies of UAVs and image discrimination will be applied to different crop fields. The results of image discrimination will be overlapped with administrative boundaries of paddy rice, to establish GIS-based assist system on agricultural damage discrimination. Therefore, the time and labor would be greatly reduced on damage detection and monitoring.

Keywords: Monsoon, supervised classification, Pix4D, 3D point clouds, discriminate accuracy

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Authors: Huang Bingling, Jia Yuhong, Liu Yanhui

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As an important part of aircraft, landing gears are responsible for taking-off and landing function. In recent years, big airplane's structural quality increases a lot. As a result, landing gears have stricter technical requirements than ever before such as structure strength and etc. If the structural strength of the landing gear is enhanced through traditional methods like increasing structural quality, the negative impacts on the landing gear's function would be very serious and even counteract the positive effects. Thus, in order to solve this problem, the impact of pre-rotating of landing gears on performance of landing gears is studied from the theoretical and experimental verification in this paper. By increasing the pre-rotating speed of the wheel, it can improve the performance of the landing gear and reduce the structural quality, the force of joint parts and other properties. In addition, the pre-rotating of the wheels also has other advantages, such as reduce the friction between wheels and ground and extend the life of the wheel. In this paper, the impact of the pre-rotating speed on landing gears and the connecting between landing gears performance and pre-rotating speed would be researched in detail. This paper is divided into three parts. In the first part, large airplane landing gear model is built by CATIA and LMS. As most general landing gear type in big plane, four-wheel landing gear is picked as model. The second part is to simulate the process of landing in LMS motion, and study the impact of pre-rotating of wheels on the aircraft`s properties, including the buffer stroke, efficiency, power; friction, displacement and relative speed between piston and sleeve; force and load distribution of tires. The simulation results show that the characteristics of the different pre-rotation speed are understood. The third part is conclusion. Through the data of the previous simulation and the relationship between the pre-rotation speed of the aircraft wheels and the performance of the aircraft, recommended speed interval is proposed. This paper is of great theoretical value to improve the performance of large airplane. It is a very effective method to improve the performance of aircraft by setting wheel pre-rotating speed. Do not need to increase the structural quality too much, eliminating the negative effects of traditional methods.

Keywords: large airplane, landing gear, pre-rotating, simulation

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Authors: A. T. Toci, M. V. B. Zanoni

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The advanced oxidation processes have been defined as destructive technologies treatment of wastewater. These involve the formation of powerful oxidizing agents (usually hydroxyl radical .OH) capable of reacting with organic compounds present in wastewater, transforming damaging substances in CO2 and H2O (mineralization) or other innocuous products. However, the photochemical degradation with singlet oxygen has been little explored as oxidative pathway for the treatment of effluents containing food colorants. The molecular oxygen is an effective suppressor of organic molecules in the triplet excited state. One of the possible results of the physical withdrawal is the formation of singlet oxygen. Studies with singlet oxygen (1O2) show an high reactivity of the excited state of the molecule with olefins, aromatic hydrocarbons and a number of other organic and inorganic compounds. Its reactivity is about 2500 times larger than the oxygen in the ground state. Thus, in this work, it was studied the degradation of some dyes used in food industry (tartrazine, sunset yellow, erythrosine and carmoisine) by singlet oxygen. The sensitizer used for generating the 1O2 was methylene blue, which has a quantum yield generation of 0.50. Samples were prepared in water at a concentration of 5 ppm and irradiated with a sunlight simulator (Newport brand, model no. 67005) by consecutive 8h. The absorption spectra of UV-Vis molecules were made each hour irradiation. The degradation kinetics for each dye was determined using the maximum length of each dye absorption. The analysis by UV-Vis revealed that the processes were very efficient for the colorants sunset yellow and carmoisine. Both presented degradation kinetics of order zero with degradation constants 0.416 and 0.104, respectively. In the case of sunset yellow degradation reached 53% after 7h irradiation, Demonstrating the process efficiency. The erithrosine presented during the period irradiated a oscillating degradation kinetics, which requires further study. In the other hand, tartrazine was stable in the presence of 1O2. The investigation of the dyes degradation products owned degradation by 1O2 are underway, the techniques used for this are MS and NMR. The results of this study will enable the application of the cleanest methods for the treatment of industrial effluents, as there are other non-toxic and polluting molecules to generate 1O2.

Keywords: food colourants, singlet oxygen, degradation, wastewater, oxidative

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Authors: A. Burakowska, M. Piotrowski, M. Kubicki, H. Trzaskowska, R. Sosnowiec, B. Myslek-Laurikainen

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The most important source of atmospheric radioactivity are radionuclides generated as a result of the impact of primary and secondary cosmic radiation, with the nuclei of nitrogen oxygen and carbon in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. This creates about thirty radioisotopes of more than twenty elements. For organisms, the four of them are most important: ³H, ⁷Be, ²²Na, ¹⁴C. The natural radionuclides, which are present in Earth crust, also settle on dust and particles of water vapor. By this means, the derivatives of uranium and thorium, and long-life 40K get into the air. ¹³⁷Cs is the most widespread isotope, that is implemented by humans into the environment. To determine the concentration of radionuclides in the atmosphere, high volume air samplers were used, where the aerosol collection took place on a special filter fabric (Petrianov filter tissue FPP-15-1.5). In 2002 the high volume air sampler AZA-1000 was installed at the Polish Polar Observatory of the Polish Academy of Science in Hornsund, Spitsbergen (77°00’N, 15°33’E), designed to operate in all weather conditions of the cold polar region. Since 1991 (with short breaks) the ASS-500 air sampler has been working, which is located in Swider at the Kalinowski Geophysical Observatory of Geophysics Institute of the Polish Academy of Science (52°07’N, 21°15’E). The following results of radionuclides concentrations were obtained from both stations using gamma spectroscopy analysis: ⁷Be, ¹³⁷Cs, ¹³⁴Cs, ²¹⁰Pb, ⁴⁰K. For gamma spectroscopy analysis HPGe (High Purity Germanium) detector were used. These data were compared with each other. The preliminary results gave evidence that radioactivity measured in aerosols is not proportional to the amount of dust for both studied regions. Furthermore, the results indicate annual variability (seasonal fluctuations) as well as a decrease in the average activity of ⁷Be with increasing latitude. The content of ⁷Be in surface air also indicates the relationship with solar activity cycles.

Keywords: aerosols, air filters, atmospheric beryllium, environmental radionuclides, gamma spectroscopy, mid-latitude regions radionuclides, polar regions radionuclides, solar cycles

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Authors: Orly Sela

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The lecture discusses a Language Teaching program in a Teacher Education College in northern Israel. An on-line course was added to the program in order to keep on-campus attendance at a minimum, thus allowing the students to keep their full-time jobs in school. In addition, the use of educational technology to allow students to study anytime anywhere, in keeping with 21st-century innovative teaching-learning practices, was also an issue, as was the wish for this course to serve as a model which the students could then possibly use in their K-12 teaching. On the other hand, there were strong considerations against including an online course in the program. The students in the program were mostly Israeli-Arab married women with young children, living in a traditional society which places a strong emphasis on the place of the woman as a wife, mother, and home-maker. In addition, as teachers, they used much of their free time on school-related tasks. Having careers at the same time as studying was ground-breaking for these women, and using their time at home for studying rather than taking care of their families may have been simply too much to ask of them. At the end of the course, feedback was collected through an online questionnaire including both open and closed questions. The data collected shows that the students believed in online teaching-learning in principle, but had trouble implementing it in practice. This evidence raised the question of whether or not such a course should be included in a graduate program for mature, professional students, particular women with families living in a traditional society. This issue is not relevant to Israel alone, but also to academic institutions worldwide serving such populations. The lecture discusses this issue, sharing the researcher’s conclusions with the audience. Based on the evidence offered, it is the researcher’s conclusion that online education should, indeed, be offered to such audiences. However, the courses should be designed with the students’ special needs in mind, with emphasis placed on initial planning and course organization based on acknowledgment of the teaching context; modeling of online teaching/learning suited for in-service teacher education, and special attention paid to social-constructivist aspects of learning.

Keywords: course design, in-service teacher-education, mature students, online teaching/learning

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Authors: Neeta Khurana, Ritu Sharma

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This paper is an impact assessment study of the rehabilitation work done for Chhara women in the rural precincts of Ahmedabad. The Chharas constitute a denotified tribe and live in abject poverty. The women of this community are infamous absconders of law and active bootleggers of locally made liquor. As part of a psychological study with a local NGO, the authors headed a training program aimed at rehabilitating and providing these women alternate modes of employment, thereby driving them away from a life of crime. The paper centers on the idea of women entrepreneurship and women empowerment. It notes the importance of handholding in a conflict situation. Most of the research on Chharas is either focused on victimising them for state-sponsored violence or mostly makes a plea on reconditioning them in the mainstream. Going against this trend, this paper which documents the study argues that making these poor women self-dependent is a panacea for their sluggish development. The alienation caused due to the demonisation of the community has made them abandon traditional modes of employment. This has further led the community astray into making illegal country liquor causing further damage to their reputation. Women are at the centre of this vicious circle facing much repression and ostracisation. The study conducted by the PDPU team was an attempt to change this dogmatic alienation of these poor women. It was found that with consistent support and reformist approach towards law, it is possible to drive these women away from a life of penury repression and crime. The aforementioned study uses empirical tools to verify this claim. Placed at the confluence of the sociology of gender and psychology, this paper is a good way to argue that law enforcement cannot be effective without sensitisation to the ground realities of conflict. The study conducted from which the paper borrows was a scientific survey focused on markers of gender and caste realities of the Chharas. The paper mentions various dynamics involved in the training program that paved the way for the successful employment of the women. In an attempt to explain its uniqueness, the paper also has a section on comparing similar social experiments.

Keywords: employment, gender, handholding, rehabilitation

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Authors: Maffo Maffo Nicole Liliane, Mounmemi Kpoumie Hubert, Libalah Moses, Ouandji Angele, Zapfack Louis

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Forest degradation causes biodiversity and carbon loss and thus indirectly contributes to climate change. In order to assess the contribution of forests to climate change mitigation, the present study was conducted in the Ngambe-Ndom-Nyanon Communal Forest with the main objective of assessing the floristic diversity and estimating the carbon stock in the different reservoirs of the said forest. Nine plots of 2000 m² each were installed in 3 TOSs of the forest (young secondary forests, gallery forests and fallow lands) with a total area of 18,000 m² or 1,8 ha. All trees with a Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) ≥ 5 cm were inventoried at 1.30 m from the ground in each plot. Species richness, floristic diversity indices, and structural parameters were studied. 1542 trees divided into 162 species, 122 genera and 44 families were identified. The most important families were listed: Myristicaceae (30.22%), Apocynaceae (25.20%), Fabaceae (24.41%), Euphorbiaceae (22.91%) and Phyllanthaceae (20.23%). The richest genera are: Cola, Macaranga, Oncoba (4 species each); the genera Diospyros, Trichilia, Vitex and Zanthoxylum (3 species each). The ecologically important species within the forest studied are: Funtumia africana (26.14%), Coelocaryon preussii (18.46%), Pycnanthus angolensis (15.57%), Tabernaemontana crassa (14.85%) and Olax subscorpioidea (13.04%). Assessment of carbon stocks in the six forest reservoirs studied (living trees and roots, understorey, dead wood, litter and rootlets) shows that they vary according to the land-use types. It is 119.41 t.C.ha-¹ in gallery forest, 115.2 t.C.ha-¹ in young secondary forest and 90.56 t.C.ha-¹ in fallow. The Wilcoxon statistical test shows that the carbon in the young secondary forest is identical to that in the fallow, which is identical to the carbon in the gallery forest. At the individual species level, the largest diameter class [25-35[ sequesters the most carbon (232.94 tC/ha). This work shows that the quantity of carbon sequestered by a biotope is a function of the age of the stand.

Keywords: floristic diversity, carbon stocks, evergreen forests, communal forest, Ngambé-Ndom-Nyanon

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Authors: Ime R. Udotong, Ofonime U. M. John, Justina I. R. Udotong

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Ibeno, Nigeria hosts the operational base of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil and the current highest oil and condensate producer in Nigeria. Besides MPNU, other multinational oil companies like Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd, Elf Petroleum Nigeria Ltd and Nigerian Agip Energy, a subsidiary of ENI E&P operate onshore, on the continental shelf and deep offshore of the Atlantic Ocean in Ibeno, Nigeria, respectively. This study was designed to carry out the survey of the oil impacted sites in Ibeno, Nigeria. A combinations of electrical resistivity (ER), ground penetrating radar (GPR) and physico-chemical as well as microbiological characterization of soils and water samples from the area were carried out. Results obtained revealed that there have been hydrocarbon contaminations of this environment by past crude oil spills as observed from significant concentrations of THC, BTEX and heavy metal contents in the environment. Also, high resistivity values and GPR profiles clearly showing the distribution, thickness and lateral extent of hydrocarbon contamination as represented on the radargram reflector tones corroborates previous significant oil input. Contaminations were of varying degrees, ranging from slight to high, indicating levels of substantial attenuation of crude oil contamination over time. Hydrocarbon pollution of the study area was confirmed by the results of soil and water physico-chemical and microbiological analysis. The levels of THC contamination observed in this study are indicative of high levels of crude oil contamination. Moreover, the display of relatively lower resistivities of locations outside the impacted areas compared to resistivity values within the impacted areas, the 3-D Cartesian images of oil contaminant plume depicted by red, light brown and magenta for high, low and very low oil impacted areas, respectively as well as the high counts of hydrocarbonoclastic microorganisms in excess of 1% confirmed significant recent pollution of the study area.

Keywords: oil-polluted sites, physico-chemical analyses, microbiological characterization, geotechnical investigations, total hydrocarbon content

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Authors: D. A. S. Gamage, B. F. A Basnayake, W. A. J. M. de Costa

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Rice is one of the world’s most important cereals. Increasing food production both to meet in-country requirements and to help overcome food crises is one of the major issues facing Sri Lanka today. However, productive land is limited and has mostly been utilized either for food crop production or other uses. Agriculture plays an important and strategic role in the performance of Sri Lankan national economy. A variety of modern agricultural inputs have been introduced, namely ploughs and harvesters, pesticides, fertilizers and lime. Besides, there are several agricultural institutions developing and updating the management of agricultural sector. Modern agricultural inputs cooperate as a catalyst in raising the productivity. However, in the eagerness of gaining profits from the efficient and productive techniques, this modern agricultural input has affected the environment and living things especially those which have been blended from various chemical substance. The increased pressure to maintain a high level of rice output for consumption has resulted in increased use of pesticides and inorganic fertilizer on rice fields in Sri Lanka. The application of inorganic fertilizer has become a burdened to the country in many ways. The excessive reuse of the ground water resources with a considerable application of organic and chemical fertilizers will lead to a deterioration of the quality and quantity of water. Biochar is a form of charcoal produced through the heating of natural organic materials. It has received significant attention recently for its potential as a soil conditioner, a fertilizer and as a means of storing carbon in a sustainable manner. It is the best solution for managing the agricultural wastes while providing a useful product for increasing agricultural productivity and protecting the environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate rice husk charcoal coated urea as a slow releasing fertilizer and compare the total N, P, K, organic matter in soil and yield of rice production.

Keywords: biochar, paddy husk, soil conditioner, rice straw compost

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Authors: Mohamed Khiatine, Amal Medjnoun, Ramdane Bahar

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The North Algeria is a highly seismic zone, as evidenced by the historical seismicity. During the past two decades, it has experienced several moderate to strong earthquakes. Therefore, the geotechnical engineering problems that involve dynamic loading of soils and soil-structure interaction system requires, in the presence of saturated loose sand formations, liquefaction studies. Bejaia city, located in North-East of Algiers, Algeria, is a part of the alluvial plain which covers an area of approximately 750 hectares. According to the Algerian seismic code, it is classified as moderate seismicity zone. This area had not experienced in the past urban development because of the different hazards identified by hydraulic and geotechnical studies conducted in the region. The low bearing capacity of the soil, its high compressibility and the risk of liquefaction and flooding are among these risks and are a constraint on urbanization. In this area, several cases of structures founded on shallow foundations have suffered damages. Hence, the soils need treatment to reduce the risk. Many field and laboratory investigations, core drilling, pressuremeter test, standard penetration test (SPT), cone penetrometer test (CPT) and geophysical down hole test, were performed in different locations of the area. The major part of the area consists of silty fine sand , sometimes heterogeneous, has not yet reached a sufficient degree of consolidation. The ground water depth changes between 1.5 and 4 m. These investigations show that the liquefaction phenomenon is one of the critical problems for geotechnical engineers and one of the obstacles found in design phase of projects. This paper presents an analysis to evaluate the liquefaction potential, using the empirical methods based on Standard Penetration Test (SPT), Cone Penetration Test (CPT) and shear wave velocity and numerical analysis. These liquefaction assessment procedures indicate that liquefaction can occur to considerable depths in silty sand of harbor zone of Bejaia.

Keywords: earthquake, modeling, liquefaction potential, laboratory investigations

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Authors: Adolfo Martucci, Iulian Mihai

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By means of the expansion through a Conical Nozzle and the low pressure inside the Test Chamber, a large hypersonic stable flow takes place for a duration of up to 30 minutes. Downstream the Test Chamber, the diffuser has the function of reducing the flow velocity to subsonic values, and as a consequence, the temperature increases again. In order to cool down the flow, a heat exchanger is present at the end of the diffuser. The Vacuum System generates the necessary vacuum conditions for the correct hypersonic flow generation, and the DeNOx system, which follows the Vacuum System, reduces the nitrogen oxide concentrations created inside the plasma flow behind the limits imposed by Italian law. This very large, powerful, and complex facility allows researchers and engineers to reproduce entire re-entry trajectories of space vehicles into the atmosphere. One of the most important parameters for a hypersonic flowfield representative of re-entry conditions is the specific total enthalpy. This is the whole energy content of the fluid, and it represents how severe could be the conditions around a spacecraft re-entering from a space mission or, in our case, inside a hypersonic wind tunnel. It is possible to reach very high values of enthalpy (up to 45 MJ/kg) that, together with the large allowable size of the models, represent huge possibilities for making on-ground experiments regarding the atmospheric re-entry field. The maximum nozzle exit section diameter is 1950 mm, where values of Mach number very much higher than 1 can be reached. The specific total enthalpy is evaluated by means of a number of measurements, each of them concurring with its value and its uncertainty. The scope of the present paper is the evaluation of the sensibility of the uncertainty of the specific total enthalpy versus all the parameters and measurements involved. The sensors that, if improved, could give the highest advantages have so been individuated. Several simulations in Python with the METAS library and by means of Monte Carlo simulations are presented together with the obtained results and discussions about them.

Keywords: hypersonic, uncertainty, enthalpy, simulations

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Authors: K. Sahithya, I. Balasundar, Pritapant, T. Raghua

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Ni-based superalloy with a nominal composition Ni-14% Cr-11% Co-5.8% Mo-2.4% Ti-2.4% Nb-2.8% Al-0.26 % Fe-0.032% Si-0.069% C (all in wt %) is used as turbine discs in a variety of aero engines. Like any other superalloy, the primary processing of the as-cast superalloy poses a major challenge due to its complex alloy chemistry. The challenge was circumvented by characterizing the different phases present in the material, optimizing the homogenization treatment, identifying a suitable thermomechanical processing window using dynamic materials modeling. The as-cast material was subjected to homogenization at 1200°C for a soaking period of 8 hours and quenched using different media. Water quenching (WQ) after homogenization resulted in very fine spherical γꞌ precipitates of sizes 30-50 nm, whereas furnace cooling (FC) after homogenization resulted in bimodal distribution of precipitates (primary gamma prime of size 300nm and secondary gamma prime of size 5-10 nm). MC type primary carbides that are stable till the melting point of the material were found in both WQ and FC samples. Deformation behaviour of both the materials below (1000-1100°C) and above gamma prime solvus (1100-1175°C) was evaluated by subjecting the material to series of compression tests at different constant true strain rates (0.0001/sec-1/sec). An in-detail examination of the precipitate dislocation interaction mechanisms carried out using TEM revealed precipitate shearing and Orowan looping as the mechanisms governing deformation in WQ and FC, respectively. Incoherent/semi coherent gamma prime precipitates in the case of FC material facilitates better workability of the material, whereas the coherent precipitates in WQ material contributed to higher resistance to deformation of the material. Both the materials exhibited discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) above gamma prime solvus temperature. The recrystallization kinetics was slower in the case of WQ material. Very fine grain boundary carbides ( ≤ 300 nm) retarded the recrystallisation kinetics in WQ. Coarse carbides (1-5 µm) facilitate particle stimulated nucleation in FC material. The FC material was cogged (primary hot working) 1120˚C, 0.03/sec resulting in significant grain refinement, i.e., from 3000 μm to 100 μm. The primary processed material was subjected to intensive thermomechanical deformation subsequently by reducing the temperature by 50˚C in each processing step with intermittent heterogenization treatment at selected temperatures aimed at simultaneous coarsening of the gamma prime precipitates and refinement of the gamma matrix grains. The heterogeneous annealing treatment carried out, resulted in gamma grains of 10 μm and gamma prime precipitates of 1-2 μm. Further thermo mechanical processing of the material was carried out at 1025˚C to increase the homogeneity of the obtained micro-duplex structure.

Keywords: superalloys, dynamic material modeling, nickel alloys, dynamic recrystallization, superplasticity

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Authors: John Masani Nduko, Joseph Wafula Matofari

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Many spontaneously fermented milk products are produced in Kenya, where they are integral to the human diet and play a central role in enhancing food security and income generation via small-scale enterprises. Fermentation enhances product properties such as taste, aroma, shelf-life, safety, texture, and nutritional value. Some of these products have demonstrated therapeutic and probiotic effects although recent reports have linked some to death, biotoxin infections, and esophageal cancer. These products are mostly processed from poor quality raw materials under unhygienic conditions resulting to inconsistent product quality and limited shelf-lives. Though very popular, research on their processing technologies is low, and none of the products has been produced under controlled conditions using starter cultures. To modernize the processing technologies for these products, our study aims at describing the microbiology and biochemistry of a representative Kenyan spontaneously fermented milk product, Mursik using modern biotechnology (DNA sequencing) and their chemical composition. Moreover, co-creation processes reflecting stakeholders’ experiences on traditional fermented milk production technologies and utilization, ideals and senses of value, which will allow the generation of products based on common ground for rapid progress will be discussed. Knowledge of the value of clean starting raw material will be emphasized, the need for the definition of fermentation parameters highlighted, and standard equipment employment to attain controlled fermentation discussed. This presentation will review the available information regarding traditional fermented milk (Mursik) and highlight our current research work on the application of molecular approaches (metagenomics) for the valorization of Mursik production process through starter culture/ probiotic strains isolation and identification, and quality and safety aspects of the product. The importance of the research and future research areas on the same subject will also be highlighted.

Keywords: lactic acid bacteria, high throughput biotechnology, spontaneous fermentation, Mursik

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Authors: Monica Jong, Antonios Banos, Tom Scott, Chris Webster, David Fletcher

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Hydrogen, as a clean alternative to methane, is relatively easy to make, either from water using electrolysis or from methane using steam reformation. However, hydrogen is much trickier to store than methane, and without effective storage, it simply won’t pass muster as a suitable methane substitute. Physical storage of hydrogen is quite inefficient. Storing hydrogen as a compressed gas at pressures up to 900 times atmospheric is volumetrically inefficient and carries safety implications, whilst storing it as a liquid requires costly and constant cryogenic cooling to minus 253°C. This is where DU steps in as a possible solution. Across the periodic table, there are many different metallic elements that will react with hydrogen to form a chemical compound known as a hydride (or metal hydride). From a chemical perspective, the ‘king’ of the hydride forming metals is palladium because it offers the highest hydrogen storage volumetric capacity. However, this material is simply too expensive and scarce to be used in a scaled-up bulk hydrogen storage solution. Depleted Uranium is the second most volumetrically efficient hydride-forming metal after palladium. The UK has accrued a significant amount of DU because of manufacturing nuclear fuel for many decades, and that is currently without real commercial use. Uranium trihydride (UH3) contains three hydrogen atoms for every uranium atom and can chemically store hydrogen at ambient pressure and temperature at more than twice the density of pure liquid hydrogen for the same volume. To release the hydrogen from the hydride, all you do is heat it up. At temperatures above 250°C, the hydride starts to thermally decompose, releasing hydrogen as a gas and leaving the Uranium as a metal again. The reversible nature of this reaction allows the hydride to be formed and unformed again and again, enabling its use as a high-density hydrogen storage material which is already available in large quantities because of its stockpiling as a ‘waste’ by-product. Whilst the tritium storage credentials of Uranium have been rigorously proven at the laboratory scale and at the fusion demonstrator JET for over 30 years, there is a need to prove the concept for depleted uranium hydrogen storage (HyDUS) at scales towards that which is needed to flexibly supply our national power grid with energy. This is exactly the purpose of the HyDUS project, a collaborative venture involving EDF as the interested energy vendor, Urenco as the owner of the waste DU, and the University of Bristol with the UKAEA as the architects of the technology. The team will embark on building and proving the world’s first pilot scale demonstrator of bulk chemical hydrogen storage using depleted Uranium. Within 24 months, the team will attempt to prove both the technical and commercial viability of this technology as a longer duration energy storage solution for the UK. The HyDUS project seeks to enable a true by-product to wonder material story for depleted Uranium, demonstrating that we can think sustainably about unlocking the potential value trapped inside nuclear waste materials.

Keywords: hydrogen, long duration storage, storage, depleted uranium, HyDUS

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Authors: Apichaya Aneksampant, Xuefei Tu, Masami Fukushima, Mitsuo Yamamoto

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The restoration of seaweed beds recovery has been developed using a fertilization technique for supplying dissolved iron to barren coastal areas. The fertilizer is composed of iron oxides as a source of iron and compost as humic substance (HS) source, which can serve as chelator of iron to stabilize the dissolved species under oxic seawater condition. However, elution mechanisms of iron from iron oxide surfaces have not sufficiently elucidated. In particular, roles of microbial activities in the elution of iron from the fertilizer are not sufficiently understood. In the present study, a fertilizer (iron oxide/compost = 1/1, v/v) was incubated in a water tank at Mashike coast, Hokkaido Japan. Microorganisms in the 6-month fertilizer were isolated and identified as Exiguobacterium oxidotolerans sp. (T-2-2). The identified bacteria were inoculated to perform iron elution test in a postgate B medium, prepared in artificial seawater. Hematite was used as a model iron oxide and anthraquinone-2,7-disolfonate (AQDS) as a model for HSs. The elution test performed in presence and absence of bacteria inoculation. ICP-AES was used to analyze total iron and a colorimetric technique using ferrozine employed for the determination of ferrous ion. During the incubation period, sample contained hematite and T-2-2 in both presence and absence of AQDS continuously showed the iron elution and reached at the highest concentration after 9 days of incubation and then slightly decrease to stabilize within 20 days. Comparison to the sample without T-2-2, trace amount of iron was observed, suggesting that iron elution to seawater can be attributed to bacterial activities. The levels of total organic carbon (TOC) in the culture solution with hematite decreased. This may be to the adsorption of organic compound, AQDS, to hematite surfaces. The decrease in UV-vis absorption of AQDS in the culture solution also support the results of TOC that AQDS was adsorbed to hematite surfaces. AQDS can enhance the iron elution, while the adsorption of organic matter suppresses the iron elution from hematite.

Keywords: anthraquinone-2, 7-disolfonate, barren ground, E.oxidotolerans sp., hematite, humic substances, iron elution

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Authors: Su-Lin Yu

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Coalition politics has been one of feminists’ persistent concerns. Following recent feminist discussion on new modes of affiliation across difference, she will explore how the process of female subject formation depends on alliances across different cultural locations. First, she will examine how coalition politics is reformulated across difference in contemporary feminist literature. In particular, the paper will identify the particular contexts and locations in which coalition building both enables and constrains the female subject. She will attempt to explore how contemporary feminist literature highlights the possibilities and limitations for solidarity and affiliations. To understand coalition politics in contemporary feminist works, she will engage in close readings of two texts: Rebecca Walker’s Black, White and Jewish: Memoir of a Shifting Self and Danzy Senna’s Caucasia. Both Walker and Senna have articulated the complex nodes of identity that are staged by a politics of location as they refuse to be boxed into simplistic essentialist positions. Their texts are characterized by the characters’ racial ambiguity and their social and geographical mobility of life in the contemporary United States. Their experiences of living through conflictual and contradictory relationships never fully fit the boundaries of racial categorization. Each of these texts demonstrates the limits as well as the possibilities of working with diversity among and within persons and groups, thus, laying the ground for complex alliance formation. Because each of the protagonists must negotiate a set of contradictions, they will have to constantly shift their affiliations. Rather than construct a static alliance, they describe a process of moving ‘beyond boundaries,’ an embracing of multiple locations. As self-identified third wavers, Rebecca Walker and Danzy Senna have been identified and marked with the status of ‘leader’ by the feminist establishment and by mainstream U.S. media. Their texts have captured both mass popularity and critical attention in the feminist and, often, the non-feminist literary community. By analyzing these texts, she will show how contemporary American feminist literature reveals coalition politics which is fraught with complications and unintended consequences. Taken as a whole, then, these works provide an important examination not only of coalition politics of American feminism, but also a snapshot of a central debate among feminist critique of coalition politics as a whole.

Keywords: coalition politics, contemporary women’s literature, identity, female subject

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