Search results for: evolution of cooperation

Authors: Maria De Los Angeles Ortega, Denis Bruneau, Patrick Sebastian, Jean-Pierre Nadeau, Alain Sommier, Saed Raji

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Phase change materials (PCM) present attractive features that made them a passive solution for thermal comfort assessment in buildings during summer time. They show a large storage capacity per volume unit in comparison with other structural materials like bricks or concrete. If their use is matched with the peak load periods, they can contribute to the reduction of the primary energy consumption related to cooling applications. Despite these promising characteristics, they present some drawbacks. Commercial PCMs, as paraffines, offer a low thermal conductivity affecting the overall performance of the system. In some cases, the material can be enhanced, adding other elements that improve the conductivity, but in general, a design of the unit that optimizes the thermal performance is sought. The material selection is the departing point during the designing stage, and it does not leave plenty of room for optimization. The PCM melting point depends highly on the atmospheric characteristics of the building location. The selection must relay within the maximum, and the minimum temperature reached during the day. The geometry of the PCM container and the geometrical distribution of these containers are designing parameters, as well. They significantly affect the heat transfer, and therefore its phenomena must be studied exhaustively. During its lifetime, an air-PCM unit in a building must cool down the place during daytime, while the melting of the PCM occurs. At night, the PCM must be regenerated to be ready for next uses. When the system is not in service, a minimal amount of thermal exchanges is desired. The aforementioned functions result in the presence of sensible and latent heat storage and release. Hence different types of mechanisms drive the heat transfer phenomena. An experimental test was designed to study the heat transfer phenomena occurring in a circular tube bundle air-PCM exchanger. An in-line arrangement was selected as the geometrical distribution of the containers. With the aim of visual identification, the containers material and a section of the test bench were transparent. Some instruments were placed on the bench for measuring temperature and velocity. The PCM properties were also available through differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) tests. An evolution of the temperature during both cycles, melting and solidification were obtained. The results showed some phenomena at a local level (tubes) and on an overall level (exchanger). Conduction and convection appeared as the main heat transfer mechanisms. From these results, two approaches to analyze the heat transfer were followed. The first approach described the phenomena in a single tube as a series of thermal resistances, where a pure conduction controlled heat transfer was assumed in the PCM. For the second approach, the temperature measurements were used to find some significant dimensionless numbers and parameters as Stefan, Fourier and Rayleigh numbers, and the melting fraction. These approaches allowed us to identify the heat transfer phenomena during both cycles. The presence of natural convection during melting might have been stated from the influence of the Rayleigh number on the correlations obtained.

Keywords: phase change materials, air-PCM exchangers, convection, conduction

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Authors: Abderrahim El Maslouhi

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The paper aims to analyze an often-overlooked dimension of global constitutionalism, which is the rise of the regulatory state and its impact on parliamentary dynamics in transition regimes. In contrast to Majone’s technocratic vision of convergence towards a single regulatory system based on competence and efficiency, national transpositions of regulatory governance and, in general, the relationship to global standards primarily depend upon a number of distinctive parameters. These include policy formation process, speed of change, depth of parliamentary tradition and greater or lesser vulnerability to the normative conditionality of donors, interstate groupings and transnational regulatory bodies. Based on a comparison between three post-Arab Spring countries -Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, whose constitutions have undergone substantive review in the period 2011-2014- and some European Union state members, the paper intends, first, to assess the degree of permeability to global constitutionalism in different contexts. A noteworthy divide emerges from this comparison. Whereas European constitutions still seem impervious to the lexicon of global constitutionalism, the influence of the latter is obvious in the recently drafted constitutions in Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. This is evidenced by their reference to notions such as ‘governance’, ‘regulators’, ‘accountability’, ‘transparency’, ‘civil society’, and ‘participatory democracy’. Second, the study will provide a contextual account of internal and external rationales underlying the constitutionalization of regulatory governance in the cases examined. Unlike European constitutionalism, where parliamentarism and the tradition of representative government function as a structural mechanism that moderates the de-parliamentarization effect induced by global constitutionalism, Arab constitutional transitions have led to a paradoxical situation; contrary to the public demands for further parliamentarization, the 2011 constitution-makers have opted for a de-parliamentarization pattern. This is particularly reflected in the procedures established by constitutions and regular legislation, to handle the interaction between lawmakers and regulatory bodies. Once the ‘constitutional’ and ‘independent’ nature of these agencies is formally endorsed, the birth of these ‘fourth power’ entities, which are neither elected nor directly responsible to elected officials, will raise the question of their accountability. Third, the paper shows that, even in the three selected countries, the de-parliamentarization intensity is significantly variable. By contrast to the radical stance of the Moroccan and Egyptian constituents who have shown greater concern to shield regulatory bodies from legislatures’ scrutiny, the Tunisian case indicates a certain tendency to provide lawmakers with some essential control instruments (e. g. exclusive appointment power, adversarial discussion of regulators’ annual reports, dismissal power, later held unconstitutional). In sum, the comparison reveals that the transposition of the regulatory state model and, more generally, sensitivity to the legal implications of global conditionality essentially relies on the evolution of real-world power relations at both national and international levels.

Keywords: Arab legislatures, de-parliamentarization, global constitutionalism, normative conditionality, regulatory state

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Authors: Javier Enciso-Benavides, Fredy Fabian, Carlos Castaneda, Luis Alfaro, Alex Choque, Aparicio Aguilar, Javier Enciso

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Background: The use of biomarkers in breast cancer diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis has gained increasing interest. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of tumor cells that can drive tumor initiation and may cause relapse. Therefore, due to the importance of diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis, several biomarkers that characterize CSCs have been identified; however, in treatment-naïve triple-negative breast tumors, there is an urgent need to identify new biomarkers and therapeutic targets. According to this, the aim of this study was to identify serum proteins associated with cancer stem cells and pluripotency in women with triple-negative breast tumors in order to subsequently identify a biomarker for this type of breast tumor. Material and Methods: Whole blood samples from 12 women with histopathologically diagnosed triple-negative breast tumors were used after obtaining informed consent from the patient. Blood serum was obtained by conventional procedure and frozen at -80ºC. Identification of cancer stem cell-associated proteins was performed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), protein analysis was obtained using the AB Sciex TOF/TOF™ 5800 system (AB Sciex, USA). Sequences not aligned by ProteinPilot™ software were analyzed by Protein BLAST. Results: The following proteins related to pluripotency and cancer stem cells were identified by MALDI TOF/TOF mass spectrometry: A-chain, Serpin A12 [Homo sapiens], AIEBP [Homo sapiens], Alpha-one antitrypsin, AT {internal fragment} [human, partial peptide, 20 aa] [Homo sapiens], collagen alpha 1 chain precursor variant [Homo sapiens], retinoblastoma-associated protein variant [Homo sapiens], insulin receptor, CRA_c isoform [Homo sapiens], Hydroxyisourate hydrolase [Streptomyces scopuliridis], MUCIN-6 [Macaca mulatta], Alpha-actinin-3 [Chrysochloris asiatica], Polyprotein M, CRA_d isoform, partial [Homo sapiens], Transcription factor SOX-12 [Homo sapiens]. Recommendations: The serum proteins identified in this study should be investigated in the exosome of triple-negative breast cancer stem cells and in the blood serum of women without breast cancer. Subsequently, proteins found only in the blood serum of women with triple-negative breast cancer should be identified in situ in triple-negative breast cancer tissue in order to identify a biomarker to study the evolution of this type of cancer, or that could be a therapeutic target. Conclusions: Eleven cancer stem cell-related serum proteins were identified in 12 women with triple-negative breast cancer, of which MUCIN-6, retinoblastoma-associated protein variant, transcription factor SOX-12, and collagen alpha 1 chain are the most representative and have not been studied so far in this type of breast tumor. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by Proyecto CONCYTEC–Banco Mundial “Mejoramiento y Ampliacion de los Servicios del Sistema Nacional de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovacion Tecnologica” 8682-PE (104-2018-FONDECYT-BM-IADT-AV).

Keywords: triple-negative breast cancer, MALDI TOF/TOF MS, serum proteins, cancer stem cells

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Authors: Lamin B Ceesay, Cecilia Rossignoli

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Inter-organizational collaboration is a growing phenomenon in both research and practice. The partnership between organizations enables firms to leverage external resources, experiences, and technology that lie with other firms. This collaborative practice is a source of improved business model performance, technological advancement, and increased competitive advantage for firms. However, the competitive intents, and even diverse institutional logics of firms, make inter-firm innovation-based partnership even more complex, and its governance more challenging. The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review of research linking the inter-organizational relationship of firms with their innovation practice and specify the different project management issues and gaps addressed in previous research. To do this, we employed a systematic review of the literature on inter-organizational innovation using two complementary scholarly databases - ScienceDirect and Web of Science (WoS). Article scoping relies on the combination of keywords based on similar terms used in the literature:(1) inter-organizational relationship, (2) business network, (3) inter-firm project, and (4) innovation network. These searches were conducted in the title, abstract, and keywords of conceptual and empirical research papers done in English. Our search covers between 2010 to 2019. We applied several exclusion criteria including Papers published outside the years under the review, papers in a language other than English, papers neither listed in WoS nor ScienceDirect and papers that are not sharply related to the inter-organizational innovation-based partnership were removed. After all relevant search criteria were applied, a final list of 84 papers constitutes the data for this review. Our review revealed an increasing evolution of inter-organizational relationship research during the period under the review. The descriptive analysis of papers according to Journal outlets finds that International Journal of Project Management (IJPM), Journal of Industrial Marketing, Journal of Business Research (JBR), etc. are the leading journal outlets for research in the inter-organizational innovation project. The review also finds that Qualitative methods and quantitative approaches respectively are the leading research methods adopted by scholars in the field. However, literature review and conceptual papers constitute the least in the field. During the content analysis of the selected papers, we read the content of each paper and found that the selected papers try to address one of the three phenomena in inter-organizational innovation research: (1) project antecedents; (2) project management and (3) project performance outcomes. We found that these categories are not mutually exclusive, but rather interdependent. This categorization also helped us to organize the fragmented literature in the field. While a significant percentage of the literature discussed project management issues, we found fewer extant literature on project antecedents and performance. As a result of this, we organized the future research agenda addressed in several papers by linking them with the under-researched themes in the field, thus providing great potential to advance future research agenda especially, in the under-researched themes in the field. Finally, our paper reveals that research on inter-organizational innovation project is generally fragmented which hinders a better understanding of the field. Thus, this paper contributes to the understanding of the field by organizing and discussing the extant literature to advance the theory and application of inter-organizational relationship.

Keywords: inter-organizational relationship, inter-firm collaboration, innovation projects, project management, systematic review

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Authors: Luminiţa Duţică, Gheorghe Duţică

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One of the most powerful language innovation in the twentieth century music was the heterophony–hypostasis of the vertical syntax entered into the sphere of interest of many composers, such as George Enescu, Pierre Boulez, Mauricio Kagel, György Ligeti and others. The heterophonic syntax has a history of its growth, which means a succession of different concepts and writing techniques. The trajectory of settling this phenomenon does not necessarily take into account the chronology: there are highly complex primary stages and advanced stages of returning to the simple forms of writing. In folklore, the plurimelodic simultaneities are free or random and originate from the (unintentional) differences/‘deviations’ from the state of unison, through a variety of ornaments, melismas, imitations, elongations and abbreviations, all in a flexible rhythmic and non-periodic/immeasurable framework, proper to the parlando-rubato rhythmics. Within the general framework of the multivocal organization, the heterophonic syntax in elaborate (academic) version has imposed itself relatively late compared with polyphony and homophony. Of course, the explanation is simple, if we consider the causal relationship between the sound vocabulary elements – in this case, the modalism – and the typologies of vertical organization appropriate for it. Therefore, adding up the ‘classic’ pathway of the writing typologies (monody – polyphony – homophony), heterophony - applied equally to the structures of modal, serial or synthesis vocabulary – reclaims necessarily an own macrotemporal form, in the sense of the analogies enshrined by the evolution of the musical styles and languages: polyphony→fugue, homophony→sonata. Concerned about the prospect of edifying a new musical ontology, the composer Ştefan Niculescu experienced – along with the mathematical organization of heterophony according to his own original methods – the possibility of extrapolation of this phenomenon in macrostructural plan, reaching this way to the unique form of ‘synchrony’. Founded on coincidentia oppositorum principle (involving the ‘one-multiple’ binom), the sound architecture imagined by Ştefan Niculescu consists in one (temporal) model / algorithm of articulation of two sound states: 1. monovocality state (principle of identity) and 2. multivocality state (principle of difference). In this context, the heterophony becomes an (auto)generative mechanism, with macrotemporal amplitude, strategy that will be grown by the composer, practically throughout his creation (see the works: Ison I, Ison II, Unisonos I, Unisonos II, Duplum, Triplum, Psalmus, Héterophonies pour Montreux (Homages to Enescu and Bartók etc.). For the present demonstration, we selected one of the most edifying works of Ştefan Niculescu – Simphony II, Opus dacicum – where the form of (heterophony-)synchrony acquires monumental-symphonic features, representing an emblematic case for the complexity level achieved by this type of vertical syntax in the twentieth century music.

Keywords: heterophony, modalism, serialism, synchrony, syntax

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Authors: Xingyu Gao, Qiang Wu

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Patents play a crucial role in protecting innovation and intellectual property. Early prediction of the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) patents helps researchers and companies allocate resources and make better decisions. Understanding the key factors that influence patent impact can assist researchers in gaining a better understanding of the evolution of AI technology and innovation trends. Therefore, identifying highly impactful patents early and providing support for them holds immeasurable value in accelerating technological progress, reducing research and development costs, and mitigating market positioning risks. Despite the extensive research on AI patents, accurately predicting their early impact remains a challenge. Traditional methods often consider only single factors or simple combinations, failing to comprehensively and accurately reflect the actual impact of patents. This paper utilized the artificial intelligence patent database from the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the Len.org patent retrieval platform to obtain specific information on 35,708 AI patents. Using six machine learning models, namely Multiple Linear Regression, Random Forest Regression, XGBoost Regression, LightGBM Regression, Support Vector Machine Regression, and K-Nearest Neighbors Regression, and using early indicators of patents as features, the paper comprehensively predicted the impact of patents from three aspects: technical, social, and economic. These aspects include the technical leadership of patents, the number of citations they receive, and their shared value. The SHAP (Shapley Additive exPlanations) metric was used to explain the predictions of the best model, quantifying the contribution of each feature to the model's predictions. The experimental results on the AI patent dataset indicate that, for all three target variables, LightGBM regression shows the best predictive performance. Specifically, patent novelty has the greatest impact on predicting the technical impact of patents and has a positive effect. Additionally, the number of owners, the number of backward citations, and the number of independent claims are all crucial and have a positive influence on predicting technical impact. In predicting the social impact of patents, the number of applicants is considered the most critical input variable, but it has a negative impact on social impact. At the same time, the number of independent claims, the number of owners, and the number of backward citations are also important predictive factors, and they have a positive effect on social impact. For predicting the economic impact of patents, the number of independent claims is considered the most important factor and has a positive impact on economic impact. The number of owners, the number of sibling countries or regions, and the size of the extended patent family also have a positive influence on economic impact. The study primarily relies on data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for artificial intelligence patents. Future research could consider more comprehensive data sources, including artificial intelligence patent data, from a global perspective. While the study takes into account various factors, there may still be other important features not considered. In the future, factors such as patent implementation and market applications may be considered as they could have an impact on the influence of patents.

Keywords: patent influence, interpretable machine learning, predictive models, SHAP

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Authors: Adrienn Kiss, Karoly Zauer, Gyorgy Keglevich, Rita Molnarne Bernath

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Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a perennial plant from Southeast Asia, widely used as a spice, herb, and medicine for many illnesses since its beneficial health effects were observed thousands of years ago. Among the compounds found in ginger, zingerone [4-hydroxy-3- methoxyphenyl-2-butanone] deserves special attention: it has an anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic effect, it can be used in case of diarrheal disease, helps to prevent the formation of blood clots, has antimicrobial properties, and can also play a role in preventing the Alzheimer's disease. Ferulic acid [(E)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-prop-2-enoic acid] is another cinnamic acid derivative in ginger, which has promising properties. Like many phenolic compounds, ferulic acid is also an antioxidant. Based on the results of animal experiments, it is assumed to have a direct antitumoral effect in lung and liver cancer. It also deactivates free radicals that can damage the cell membrane and the DNA and helps to protect the skin against UV radiation. The aim of this work was to synthesize these two compounds by new methods. A few of the reactions were based on the hydrogenation of dehydrozingerone [4-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-buten-2-one] to zingerone. Dehydrozingerone can be synthesized by a relatively simple method from acetone and vanillin with good yield (80%, melting point: 41 °C). Hydrogenation can be carried out chemically, for example by the reaction of zinc and acetic acid, or Grignard magnesium and ethyl alcohol. Another way to complete the reduction is the electrochemical pathway. The electrolysis of dehydrozingerone without diaphragm in aqueous media was attempted to produce ferulic acid in the presence of sodium carbonate and potassium iodide using platinum electrodes. The electrolysis of dehydrozingerone in the presence of potassium carbonate and acetic acid to prepare zingerone was carried out similarly. Ferulic acid was expected to be converted to dihydroferulic acid [3-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)propanoic acid] in potassium hydroxide solution using iron electrodes, separating the anode and cathode space with a Soxhlet paper sheath impregnated with saturated magnesium chloride solution. For this reaction, ferulic acid was synthesized from vanillin and malonic acid in the presence of pyridine and piperidine (yield: 88.7%, melting point: 173°C). Unfortunately, in many cases, the expected transformations did not happen or took place in low conversions, although gas evolution occurred. Thus, a deeper understanding of these experiments and optimization are needed. Since both compounds are found in different plants, they can also be obtained by alkaline extraction or steam distillation from distinct plant parts (ferulic acid from ground bamboo shoots, zingerone from grated ginger root). The products of these reactions are rich in several other organic compounds as well; therefore, their separation must be solved to get the desired pure material. The products of the reactions described above were characterized by infrared spectral data and melting points. The use of these two simple methods may be informative for the formation of the products. In the future, we would like to study the ferulic acid and zingerone content of other plants and extract them efficiently. The optimization of electrochemical reactions and the use of other test methods are also among our plans.

Keywords: ferulic acid, ginger, synthesis, zingerone

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Authors: Mohamed Emran, Giovanni Pardini, Maria Gispert, Mohamed Rashad

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Land use and abandonment in semi-arid degraded ecosystems may cause regressive dynamics in vegetation cover affecting organic matter contents, soil nutrients and structural stability, thus reducing soil resistance to erosion. Mediterranean areas are generally subjected to climatic fluctuations, which modify soil conditions and hydrological processes, such as runoff and water infiltration within the upper soil horizons. Low erosion rates occur in very fragile and shallow soils with minor clay content progressively decrease organic carbon C and nitrogen N pools in the upper soil horizons. Seven soils were selected representing variant context of land use and abandonment at the Cap de Creus Peninsula, Catalonia, NE Spain, from recent cultivated vines and olive groves, mid abandoned forests standing under cork and pine trees, pasture to late abandoned Cistus and Erica scrubs. The aim of this work was to study the effect of changes in land use and abandonment on the depletion of soil organic carbon and nitrogen transported by runoff water in shallow soils after natural rainfall events during two years with different rainfall patterns (1st year with low rainfall and 2nd year with high rainfall) by i) monitoring the most significant soil erosion parameters at recorded rainfall events, ii) studying the most relevant soil physical and chemical characteristics on seasonal basis and iii) analysing the seasonal trends of depleted carbon and nitrogen and their interaction with soil surface compaction parameters. Significant seasonal variability was observed in the relevant soil physical and chemical parameters and soil erosion parameters in all soils to establish their evolution under land use and abandonment during two years of different rainfall patterns (214 and 487 mm per year), giving important indications on soil response to rainfall impacts. Erosion rates decreased significantly with the increasing of soil C and N under low and high rainfall. In cultivated soils, C and N depletion increased by 144% and 115%, respectively by 13% increase in erosion rates during the 1st year with respect to the 2nd year. Depleted C and N were proportionally higher in soils under vines and olive with vulnerable soil structure and low soil resilience leading to degradation, altering nutrients cycles and causing adverse impact on environmental quality. Statistical analysis underlined that, during the 1st year, soil surface was less effective in preserving stocks of organic resources leading to higher susceptibility to erosion with consequent C and N depletion. During the 2nd year, higher organic reserve and water storage occurred despite the increasing of C and N loss with an effective contribution from soil surface compaction parameters. The overall estimation during the two years indicated clear differences among soils under vines, olive, cork and pines, suggesting on the one hand, that current cultivation practices are inappropriate and that reforestation with pines may delay the achievement of better soil conditions. On the other hand, the natural succession of vegetation under Cistus, pasture and Erica suggests the recovery of good soil conditions.

Keywords: land abandonment, land use, nutrient's depletion, soil erosion

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Authors: Alberto Azevedo, Ricardo Martins, André B. Fortunato, Anabela Oliveira

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Water is under severe threat today because of the rising population, increased agricultural and industrial needs, and the intensifying effects of climate change. Due to sea-level rise, erosion, and demographic pressure, the coastal regions are of significant concern to the scientific community. The Water Monitoring Sentinel Cloud platform (WORSICA) service is focused on providing new tools for monitoring water in coastal and inland areas, taking advantage of remote sensing, in situ and tidal modeling data. WORSICA is a service that can be used to determine the coastline, coastal inundation areas, and the limits of inland water bodies using remote sensing (satellite and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - UAVs) and in situ data (from field surveys). It applies to various purposes, from determining flooded areas (from rainfall, storms, hurricanes, or tsunamis) to detecting large water leaks in major water distribution networks. This service was built on components developed in national and European projects, integrated to provide a one-stop-shop service for remote sensing information, integrating data from the Copernicus satellite and drone/unmanned aerial vehicles, validated by existing online in-situ data. Since WORSICA is operational using the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) computational infrastructures, the service can be accessed via a web browser and is freely available to all European public research groups without additional costs. In addition, the private sector will be able to use the service, but some usage costs may be applied, depending on the type of computational resources needed by each application/user. Although the service has three main sub-services i) coastline detection; ii) inland water detection; iii) water leak detection in irrigation networks, in the present study, an application of the service to Óbidos lagoon in Portugal is shown, where the user can monitor the evolution of the lagoon inlet and estimate the topography of the intertidal areas without any additional costs. The service has several distinct methodologies implemented based on the computations of the water indexes (e.g., NDWI, MNDWI, AWEI, and AWEIsh) retrieved from the satellite image processing. In conjunction with the tidal data obtained from the FES model, the system can estimate a coastline with the corresponding level or even topography of the inter-tidal areas based on the Flood2Topo methodology. The outcomes of the WORSICA service can be helpful for several intervention areas such as i) emergency by providing fast access to inundated areas to support emergency rescue operations; ii) support of management decisions on hydraulic infrastructures operation to minimize damage downstream; iii) climate change mitigation by minimizing water losses and reduce water mains operation costs; iv) early detection of water leakages in difficult-to-access water irrigation networks, promoting their fast repair.

Keywords: remote sensing, coastline detection, water detection, satellite data, sentinel, Copernicus, EOSC

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Authors: Tracey Woods

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In the ever-evolving landscape of academia, the traditional role of the librarian has undergone a remarkable transformation. Once considered as custodians of books and gatekeepers of information, librarians have the potential to take on the vital role of facilitators of cross and inter-disciplinary projects. This shift is driven by the growing recognition of the value of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing complex research questions in pursuit of novel solutions to real-world problems. This paper shall explore the potential of the academic librarian’s role in facilitating innovative, multi-disciplinary projects, both recognising and validating the vital role that the librarian plays in a somewhat underplayed profession. Academic libraries support teaching, the strengthening of knowledge discourse, and, potentially, the development of innovative practices. As the role of the library gradually morphs from a quiet repository of books to a community-based information hub, a potential opportunity arises. The academic librarian’s role is to build knowledge across a wide span of topics, from the advancement of AI to subject-specific information, and, whilst librarians are generally not offered the research opportunities and funding that the traditional academic disciplines enjoy, they are often invited to help build research in support of the academic. This identifies that one of the primary skills of any 21st-century librarian must be the ability to collaborate and facilitate multi-disciplinary projects. In universities seeking to develop research diversity and academic performance, there is an increasing awareness of the need for collaboration between faculties to enable novel directions and advancements. This idea has been documented and discussed by several researchers; however, there is not a great deal of literature available from recent studies. Having a team based in the library that is adept at creating effective collaborative partnerships is valuable for any academic institution. This paper outlines the development of such a project, initiated within and around an identified library-specific need: the replication of fragile special collections for object-based learning. The research was developed as a multi-disciplinary project involving the faculties of engineering (digital twins lab), architecture, design, and education. Centred around methods for developing a fragile archive into a series of tactile objects furthers knowledge and understanding in both the role of the library as a facilitator of projects, chairing and supporting, alongside contributing to the research process and innovating ideas through the bank of knowledge found amongst the staff and their liaising capabilities. This paper shall present the method of project development from the initiation of ideas to the development of prototypes and dissemination of the objects to teaching departments for analysis. The exact replication of artefacts is also balanced with the adaptation and evolutionary speculations initiated by the design team when adapted as a teaching studio method. The dynamic response required from the library to generate and facilitate these multi-disciplinary projects highlights the information expertise and liaison skills that the librarian possesses. As academia embraces this evolution, the potential for groundbreaking discoveries and innovative solutions across disciplines becomes increasingly attainable.

Keywords: Liaison librarian, multi-disciplinary collaborations, library innovations, librarian stakeholders

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Authors: Ana L. Sánchez Regla, Igor A. Rivera González, María del Pilar Monserrat Pérez Hernández

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The ability of an organization to identify and get useful information from external sources, assimilate it, transform and apply to generate products or services with added value is called absorptive capacity. Absorptive capabilities contribute to have market opportunities to firms and get a leader position with respect to others competitors. The Bioprocess Development and Research Unit (UDIBI) is a Research and Development (R&D) laboratory that belongs to the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), which is a higher education institute in Mexico. The UDIBI was created with the purpose of carrying out R and D activities for the Transferon®, a biopharmaceutical product developed and patented by IPN. The evolution of competence and scientific and technological platform made UDIBI expand its scope by providing technological services (preclínical studies and bio-compatibility evaluation) to the national pharmaceutical industry and biopharmaceutical industry. The relevance of this study is that those industries are classified as high scientific and technological intensity, and yet, after a review of the state of the art, there is only one study of absorption capabilities in biopharmaceutical industry with a similar scope to this research; in the case of Mexico, there is none. In addition to this, UDIBI belongs to a public university and its operation does not depend on the federal budget, but on the income generated by its external technological services. This fact represents a highly remarkable case in Mexico's public higher education context. This current doctoral research (2015-2019) is contextualized within a case study, its main objective is to identify and analyze the absorptive capabilities that characterise the UDIBI that allows it had become in a one of two third authorized laboratory by the sanitary authority in Mexico for developed bio-comparability studies to bio-pharmaceutical products. The development of this work in the field is divided into two phases. In a first phase, 15 interviews were conducted with the UDIBI personnel, covering management levels, heads of services, project leaders and laboratory personnel. These interviews were structured under a questionnaire, which was designed to integrate open questions and to a lesser extent, others, whose answers would be answered on a Likert-type rating scale. From the information obtained in this phase, a scientific article was made (in review and a proposal of presentation was submitted in different academic forums. A second stage will be made from the conduct of an ethnographic study within this organization under study that will last about 3 months. On the other hand, it is intended to carry out interviews with external actors around the UDIBI (suppliers, advisors, IPN officials, including contact with an academic specialized in absorption capacities to express their comments on this thesis. The inicial findings had shown two lines: i) exist institutional, technological and organizational management elements that encourage and/or limit the creation of absorption capacities in this scientific and technological laboratory and, ii) UDIBI has had created a set of multiple transfer technology of knowledge mechanisms which have had permitted to build a huge base of prior knowledge.

Keywords: absorptive capabilities, biopharmaceutical industry, high research and development intensity industries, knowledge management, transfer of knowledge

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Authors: Antonella Falanga, Armando Cartenì

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Today, an unprecedented amount of data coming from several sources, including mobile devices, sensors, tracking systems, and online platforms, characterizes our lives. The term “big data” not only refers to the quantity of data but also to the variety and speed of data generation. These data hold valuable insights that, when extracted and analyzed, facilitate informed decision-making. The 4Vs of big data - velocity, volume, variety, and value - highlight essential aspects, showcasing the rapid generation, vast quantities, diverse sources, and potential value addition of these kinds of data. This surge of information has revolutionized many sectors, such as business for improving decision-making processes, healthcare for clinical record analysis and medical research, education for enhancing teaching methodologies, agriculture for optimizing crop management, finance for risk assessment and fraud detection, media and entertainment for personalized content recommendations, emergency for a real-time response during crisis/events, and also mobility for the urban planning and for the design/management of public and private transport services. Big data's pervasive impact enhances societal aspects, elevating the quality of life, service efficiency, and problem-solving capacities. However, during this transformative era, new challenges arise, including data quality, privacy, data security, cybersecurity, interoperability, the need for advanced infrastructures, and staff training. Within the transportation sector (the one investigated in this research), applications span planning, designing, and managing systems and mobility services. Among the most common big data applications within the transport sector are, for example, real-time traffic monitoring, bus/freight vehicle route optimization, vehicle maintenance, road safety and all the autonomous and connected vehicles applications. Benefits include a reduction in travel times, road accidents and pollutant emissions. Within these issues, the proper transport demand estimation is crucial for sustainable transportation planning. Evaluating the impact of sustainable mobility policies starts with a quantitative analysis of travel demand. Achieving transportation decarbonization goals hinges on precise estimations of demand for individual transport modes. Emerging technologies, offering substantial big data at lower costs than traditional methods, play a pivotal role in this context. Starting from these considerations, this study explores the usefulness impact of big data within transport demand estimation. This research focuses on leveraging (big) data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic to estimate the evolution of the mobility demand in Italy. Estimation results reveal in the post-COVID-19 era, more than 96 million national daily trips, about 2.6 trips per capita, with a mobile population of more than 37.6 million Italian travelers per day. Overall, this research allows us to conclude that big data better enhances rational decision-making for mobility demand estimation, which is imperative for adeptly planning and allocating investments in transportation infrastructures and services.

Keywords: big data, cloud computing, decision-making, mobility demand, transportation

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Authors: Prachi Buche Marathe

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Karanja Laad is a city located in the Vidarbha region in the state of Maharashtra, India. It has a huge amount of tangible and intangible heritage in the form of monuments, precincts, a group of structures, festivals and procession route, which is neglected and lost with time. Three different religions Hinduism, Islam and Jainism along with associations of being a birthplace of Swami Nrusinha Saraswati, an exponent of Datta Sampradaya sect and the British colonial layer have shaped the culture and society of the place over the period. The architecture of the town Karanja Laad has enhanced its unique historic and cultural value with a combination of all these historic layers. Karanja Laad is also a traditional trading historic town with unique hybrid architectural style and has a good potential for developing as a tourist place along with the present image of a pilgrim destination of Datta Sampradaya. The aim of the research is to prepare a conservation proposal for the historic town along with the management framework. Objectives of the research are to study the evolution of Karanja town, to identify the cultural resources along with issues of the historic core of the city, to understand Datta sampradaya, and contribution of Saint Nrusinha Saraswati in the religious sect and his association as an important personality with Karanja. The methodology of the research is site visits to the Karanja city, making field surveys for documentation and discussions and questionnaires with the residents to establish heritage and identify potential and issues within the historic core thereby establishing a case for conservation. Field surveys are conducted for town level study of land use, open spaces, occupancy, ownership, traditional commodity and community, infrastructure, streetscapes, and precinct activities during the festival and non-festival period. Building level study includes establishing various typologies like residential, institutional commercial, religious, and traditional infrastructure from the mythological references like waterbodies (kund), lake and wells. One of the main issues is that the loss of the traditional footprint as well as the traditional open spaces which are getting lost due to the new illegal encroachments and lack of guidelines for the new additions to conserve the original fabric of the structures. Traditional commodities are getting lost since there is no promotion of these skills like pottery and painting. Lavish bungalows like Kannava mansion, main temple Wada (birthplace of the saint) have a huge potential to be developed as a museum by adaptive re-use which will, in turn, attract many visitors during festivals which will boost the economy. Festival procession routes can be identified and a heritage walk can be developed so as to highlight the traditional features of the town. Overall study has resulted in establishing a heritage map with 137 heritage structures identified as potential. Conservation proposal is worked out on the town level, precinct level and building level with interventions such as developing construction guidelines for further development and establishing a heritage cell consisting architects and engineers for the upliftment of the existing rich heritage of the Karanja city.

Keywords: built heritage, conservation, Datta Sampradaya, Karanja Laad, Swami Nrusinha Saraswati, procession route

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Authors: Christiane Paulus

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Post-Islamism assumes that the Quran should not be viewed in terms of what Lyotard identifies as a ‘meta-narrative'. However, its socio-ethical content can be viewed as critical of power discourse (Foucault). Practicing religion seems to be limited to rites and individual spirituality, taqwa. Alternatively, can we build on Muhammad Abduh's classic-modern reform and develop it through a postmodernist frame? This is the main question of this study. Through his general and vague remarks on the context of the Quran, Abduh was the first to refer to the historical and cultural distance of the text as an obstacle for interpretation. His application, however, corresponded to the modern absolute idea of authentic sharia. He was followed by Amin al-Khuli, who hermeneutically linked the content of the Quran to the theory of evolution. Fazlur Rahman and Nasr Hamid abu Zeid remain reluctant to go beyond the general level in terms of context. The hermeneutic circle, therefore, persists in challenging, how to get out to overcome one’s own assumptions. The insight into and the acceptance of the lasting ambivalence of understanding can be grasped as a postmodern approach; it is documented in Derrida's discovery of the shift in text meanings, difference, also in Lyotard's theory of différend. The resulting mixture of meanings (Wolfgang Welsch) can be read together with the classic ambiguity of the premodern interpreters of the Quran (Thomas Bauer). Confronting hermeneutic difficulties in general, Niklas Luhmann proves every description an attribution, tautology, i.e., remaining in the circle. ‘De-tautologization’ is possible, namely by analyzing the distinctions in the sense of objective, temporal and social information that every text contains. This could be expanded with the Kantian aesthetic dimension of reason (critique of pure judgment) corresponding to the iʽgaz of the Coran. Luhmann asks, ‘What distinction does the observer/author make?’ Quran as a speech from God to the first listeners could be seen as a discourse responding to the problems of everyday life of that time, which can be viewed as the general goal of the entire Qoran. Through reconstructing koranic Lifeworlds (Alfred Schütz) in detail, the social structure crystallizes the socio-economic differences, the enormous poverty. The koranic instruction to provide the basic needs for the neglected groups, which often intersect (old, poor, slaves, women, children), can be seen immediately in the text. First, the references to lifeworlds/social problems and discourses in longer koranic passages should be hypothesized. Subsequently, information from the classic commentaries could be extracted, the classical Tafseer, in particular, contains rich narrative material for reconstructing. By selecting and assigning suitable, specific context information, the meaning of the description becomes condensed (Clifford Geertz). In this manner, the text gets necessarily an alienation and is newly accessible. The socio-ethical implications can thus be grasped from the difference of the original problem and the revealed/improved order/procedure; this small step can be materialized as such, not as an absolute solution but as offering plausible patterns for today’s challenges as the Agenda 2030.

Keywords: postmodern hermeneutics, condensed description, sociological approach, small steps of reform

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Authors: Juan A. Arzate, Funda C. Ertem, M. Nicolas Cruz-Bournazou, Peter Neubauer, Stefan Junne

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— One of the biggest challenges the world faces today is global warming that is caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs) coming from the combustion of fossil fuels for energy generation. In order to mitigate climate change, the European Union has committed to reducing GHG emissions to 80–95% below the level of the 1990s by the year 2050. Renewable technologies are vital to diminish energy-related GHG emissions. Since water and biomass are limited resources, the largest contributions to renewable energy (RE) systems will have to come from wind and solar power. Nevertheless, high proportions of fluctuating RE will present a number of challenges, especially regarding the need to balance the variable energy demand with the weather dependent fluctuation of energy supply. Therefore, biogas plants in this content would play an important role, since they are easily adaptable. Feedstock availability varies locally or seasonally; however there is a lack of knowledge in how biogas plants should be operated in a stable manner by local feedstock. This problem may be prevented through suitable control strategies. Such strategies require the development of convenient mathematical models, which fairly describe the main processes. Modelling allows us to predict the system behavior of biogas plants when different feedstocks are used with different loading rates. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a technique for analyzing several sides from evolution of a product till its disposal in an environmental point of view. It is highly recommend to use as a decision making tool. In order to achieve suitable strategies, the combination of a flexible energy generation provided by biogas plants, a secure production process and the maximization of the environmental benefits can be obtained by the combination of process modelling and LCA approaches. For this reason, this study focuses on the biogas plant which flexibly generates required energy from the co-digestion of maize, grass and cattle manure, while emitting the lowest amount of GHG´s. To achieve this goal AMOCO model was combined with LCA. The program was structured in Matlab to simulate any biogas process based on the AMOCO model and combined with the equations necessary to obtain climate change, acidification and eutrophication potentials of the whole production system based on ReCiPe midpoint v.1.06 methodology. Developed simulation was optimized based on real data from operating biogas plants and existing literature research. The results prove that AMOCO model can successfully imitate the system behavior of biogas plants and the necessary time required for the process to adapt in order to generate demanded energy from available feedstock. Combination with LCA approach provided opportunity to keep the resulting emissions from operation at the lowest possible level. This would allow for a prediction of the process, when the feedstock utilization supports the establishment of closed material circles within a smart bio-production grid – under the constraint of minimal drawbacks for the environment and maximal sustainability.

Keywords: AMOCO model, GHG emissions, life cycle assessment, modelling

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Authors: Hamza Saeed, Khurram Iqbal Ahmad Khan

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Effective information management is crucial for any construction project and its success. Primary areas of information generation are either the construction site or the design office. There are different types of information required at different stages of construction involving various stakeholders creating complexity. There is a need for effective management of information flows to reduce uncertainty creating complexity. Nature provides a unique perspective in terms of dealing with complexity, in particular, information complexity. System dynamics methodology provides tools and techniques to address complexity. It involves modeling and simulation techniques that help address complexity. Nature has been dealing with complex systems since its creation 4.5 billion years ago. It has perfected its system by evolution, resilience towards sudden changes, and extinction of unadaptable and outdated species that are no longer fit for the environment. Nature has been accommodating the changing factors and handling complexity forever. Humans have started to look at their natural counterparts for inspiration and solutions for their problems. This brings forth the possibility of using a biomimetics approach to improve the management practices used in the construction sector. Ants inhabit different habitats. Cataglyphis and Pogonomyrmex live in deserts, Leafcutter ants reside in rainforests, and Pharaoh ants are native to urban developments of tropical areas. Detailed studies have been done on fifty species out of fourteen thousand discovered. They provide the opportunity to study the interactions in diverse environments to generate collective behavior. Animals evolve to better adapt to their environment. The collective behavior of ants emerges from feedback through interactions among individuals, based on a combination of three basic factors: The patchiness of resources in time and space, operating cost, environmental stability, and the threat of rupture. If resources appear in patches through time and space, the response is accelerating and non-linear, and if resources are scattered, the response follows a linear pattern. If the acquisition of energy through food is faster than energy spent to get it, the default is to continue with an activity unless it is halted for some reason. If the energy spent is rather higher than getting it, the default changes to stay put unless activated. Finally, if the environment is stable and the threat of rupture is low, the activation and amplification rate is slow but steady. Otherwise, it is fast and sporadic. To further study the effects and to eliminate the environmental bias, the behavior of four different ant species were studied, namely Red Harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex Barbatus), Argentine ants (Linepithema Humile), Turtle ants (Cephalotes Goniodontus), Leafcutter ants (Genus: Atta). This study aims to improve the information system in the construction sector by providing a guideline inspired by nature with a systems-thinking approach, using system dynamics as a tool. Identified factors and their interdependencies were analyzed in the form of a causal loop diagram (CLD), and construction industry professionals were interviewed based on the developed CLD, which was validated with significance response. These factors and interdependencies in the natural system corresponds with the man-made systems, providing a guideline for effective use and flow of information.

Keywords: biomimetics, complex systems, construction management, information management, system dynamics

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Authors: Camelia Vizireanu, Daniela Istrati, Alina Georgiana Profir, Rodica Mihaela Dinica

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Globally, there is a great interest in promoting the consumption of fruit and vegetables to improve health. Due to the content of essential compounds such as antioxidants, important amounts of fruits and vegetables should be included in the daily diet. Juices are good sources of vitamins and can also help increase overall fruit and vegetable consumption. Starting from this trend (introduction into the daily diet of vegetables and fruits) as well as the desire to diversify the range of functional products for both adults and children, a fermented juice was made using probiotic microorganisms based on root vegetables, with potential beneficial effects in the diet of children, vegetarians and people with lactose intolerance. The three vegetables selected for this study, red beet, carrot, and celery bring a significant contribution to functional compounds such as carotenoids, flavonoids, betalain, vitamin B and C, minerals and fiber. By fermentation, the functional value of the vegetable juice increases due to the improved stability of these compounds. The combination of probiotic microorganisms and vegetable fibers resulted in a nutrient-rich synbiotic product. The stability of the nutritional and sensory qualities of the obtained synbiotic product has been tested throughout its shelf life. The evaluation of the physico-chemical changes of the synbiotic drink during storage confirmed that: (i) vegetable juice enriched with honey and vegetable pulp is an important source of nutritional compounds, especially carbohydrates and fiber; (ii) microwave treatment used to inhibit pathogenic microflora did not significantly affect nutritional compounds in vegetable juice, vitamin C concentration remained at baseline and beta-carotene concentration increased due to increased bioavailability; (iii) fermentation has improved the nutritional quality of vegetable juice by increasing the content of B vitamins, polyphenols and flavonoids and has a good antioxidant capacity throughout the shelf life; (iv) the FTIR and Raman spectra have highlighted the results obtained using physicochemical methods. Based on the analysis of IR absorption frequencies, the most striking bands belong to the frequencies 3330 cm⁻¹, 1636 cm⁻¹ and 1050 cm⁻¹, specific for groups of compounds such as polyphenols, carbohydrates, fatty acids, and proteins. Statistical data processing revealed a good correlation between the content of flavonoids, betalain, β-carotene, ascorbic acid and polyphenols, the fermented juice having a stable antioxidant activity. Also, principal components analysis showed that there was a negative correlation between the evolution of the concentration of B vitamins and antioxidant activity. Acknowledgment: This study has been founded by the Francophone University Agency, Project Réseau régional dans le domaine de la santé, la nutrition et la sécurité alimentaire (SaIN), No. at Dunarea de Jos University of Galati 21899/ 06.09.2017 and by the Sectorial Operational Programme Human Resources Development of the Romanian Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports trough the Financial Agreement POSDRU/159/1.5/S/132397 ExcelDOC.

Keywords: bioactive compounds, fermentation, synbiotic drink from vegetables, stability during storage

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Authors: Bensaid A., Mostephaoui T., Nedjai R.

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Nowadays, wetlands are the subject of contradictory debates opposing scientific, political and administrative meanings. Indeed, given their multiple services (drinking water, irrigation, hydrological regulation, mineral, plant and animal resources...), wetlands concentrate many socio-economic and biodiversity issues. In some regions, they can cover vast areas (>100 thousand ha) of the landscape, such as the Camargue area in the south of France, inside the Rhone delta. The high biological productivity of wetlands, the strong natural selection pressures and the diversity of aquatic environments have produced many species of plants and animals that are found nowhere else. These environments are tremendous carbon sinks and biodiversity reserves depending on their age, composition and surrounding environmental conditions, wetlands play an important role in global climate projections. Covering more than 3% of the earth's surface, wetlands have experienced since the beginning of the 1990s a tremendous revival of interest, which has resulted in the multiplication of inventories, scientific studies and management experiments. The geographical and physical characteristics of the wetlands of the central region conceal a large number of natural habitats that harbour a great biological diversity. These wetlands, one of the natural habitats, are still influenced by human activities, especially agriculture, which affects its layout and functioning. In this perspective, decision-makers need to delimit spatial objects (natural habitats) in a certain way to be able to take action. Thus, wetlands are no exception to this rule even if it seems to be a difficult exercise to delimit a type of environment as whose main characteristic is often to occupy the transition between aquatic and terrestrial environment. However, it is possible to map wetlands with databases, derived from the interpretation of photos and satellite images, such as the European database Corine Land cover, which allows quantifying and characterizing for each place the characteristic wetland types. Scientific studies have shown limitations when using high spatial resolution images (SPOT, Landsat, ASTER) for the identification and characterization of small wetlands (1 hectare). To address this limitation, it is important to note that these wetlands generally represent spatially complex features. Indeed, the use of very high spatial resolution images (>3m) is necessary to map small and large areas. However, with the recent evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning methods for satellite image processing have shown a much better performance compared to traditional processing based only on pixel structures. Our research work is also based on spectral and textural analysis on THR images (Spot and IRC orthoimage) using two object-oriented approaches, the nearest neighbour approach (k-NN) and the Super Vector Machine approach (SVM). The k-NN approach gave good results for the delineation of wetlands (wet marshes and moors, ponds, artificial wetlands water body edges, ponds, mountain wetlands, river edges and brackish marshes) with a kappa index higher than 85%.

Keywords: land development, GIS, sand dunes, segmentation, remote sensing

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Authors: Adeline Stals

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The transformation of architectural design practices has been underway for almost forty years due to the development and democratization of computer technology. New and more efficient tools are constantly being proposed to architects, amplifying a technological wave that sometimes stimulates them, sometimes overwhelms them, depending essentially on their digital culture and the context (socio-economic, structural, organizational) in which they work on a daily basis. Our focus is on VR, AR, and MR technologies dedicated to architecture. The commercialization of affordable headsets like the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive or more low-tech like the Google CardBoard, makes it more accessible to benefit from these technologies. In that regard, researchers report the growing interest of these tools for architects, given the new perspectives they open up in terms of workflow, representation, collaboration, and client’s involvement. However, studies rarely mention the consequences of the sample studied on results. Our research provides an overview of VR, AR, and MR researches among a corpus of papers selected from conferences and journals. A closer look at the sample of these research projects highlights the necessity to take into consideration the context of studies in order to develop tools truly dedicated to the real practices of specific architect profiles. This literature review formalizes milestones for future challenges to address. The methodology applied is based on a systematic review of two sources of publications. The first one is the Cumincad database, which regroups publications from conferences exclusively about digital in architecture. Additionally, the second part of the corpus is based on journal publications. Journals have been selected considering their ranking on Scimago. Among the journals in the predefined category ‘architecture’ and in Quartile 1 for 2018 (last update when consulted), we have retained the ones related to the architectural design process: Design Studies, CoDesign, Architectural Science Review, Frontiers of Architectural Research and Archnet-IJAR. Beside those journals, IJAC, not classified in the ‘architecture’ category, is selected by the author for its adequacy with architecture and computing. For all requests, the search terms were ‘virtual reality’, ‘augmented reality’, and ‘mixed reality’ in title and/or keywords for papers published between 2015 and 2019 (included). This frame time is defined considering the fast evolution of these technologies in the past few years. Accordingly, the systematic review covers 202 publications. The literature review on studies about XR technologies establishes the state of the art of the current situation. It highlights that studies are mostly based on experimental contexts with controlled conditions (pedagogical, e.g.) or on practices established in large architectural offices of international renown. However, few studies focus on the strategies and practices developed by offices of smaller size, which represent the largest part of the market. Indeed, a European survey studying the architectural profession in Europe in 2018 reveals that 99% of offices are composed of less than ten people, and 71% of only one person. The study also showed that the number of medium-sized offices is continuously decreasing in favour of smaller structures. In doing so, a frontier seems to remain between the worlds of research and practice, especially for the majority of small architectural practices having a modest use of technology. This paper constitutes a reference for the next step of the research and for further worldwide researches by facilitating their contextualization.

Keywords: architectural design, literature review, SME, XR technologies

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Authors: Peter Falanga

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During the process of de-Stalinization that began in 1956 with the Twentieth Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, many filmmakers in Hungary chose to explore their country’s political discomforts by using Socialist Realism as a negative model against which they could react to the dominating ideology. A renewed national film industry and a more permissive political regime would allow filmmakers to take to task the plight of the preceding generation who had experienced the fatal political turmoil of both World Wars and the purges of Stalin. What follows is no longer the multigenerational unity found in Socialist Realism wherein both the old and the young embrace Stalin’s revolutionary optimism; instead, the protagonists are parentless, and thus their connection to the previous generation is partially severed. In these films, violent historical forces leave one generation to search for both a connection with their family’s past, and for moral guidance to direct their future. István Szabó’s Father (1966), Márta Mészáros Diary for My Children (1984), and Pál Gábor’s Angi Vera (1978) each consider the fraught relationship between successive generations through the lens of postwar youth. A characteristic each of their protagonist’s share is that they are all missing one or both parents, and cope with familial loss either through recalling memories of their parents in dream-like sequences, or, in the case of Angi Vera, through embracing the surrogate paternalism that the Communist Party promises to provide. This paper considers the argument these films present about the progress of Hungarian history, and how this topic is explored in more recent films that similarly focus on the transmission of generational values. Scholars such as László Strausz and John Cunningham have written on the continuous concern with the transmission of generational values in more recent films such as István Szabó’s Sunshine (1999), Béla Tarr’s Werckmeister Harmonies (2000), György Pálfi’s Taxidermia (2006), Ágnes Kocsis’ Pál Adrienn (2010), and Kornél Mundruczó’s Evolution (2021). These films, they argue, make intimate portrayals of the various sweeping political changes in Hungary’s history and question how these epochs or events have impacted Hungarian identities. If these films attempt to personalize historical shifts of Hungary, then what is the significance of featuring characters who have lost one or both parents? An attempt to understand this coherent trend in Hungarian cinema will profit from examining the earlier, celebrated films of Szabó, Mészáros, and Gábor, who inaugurated this preoccupation with generational values. The pervasive interplay of dreams and memory in their films invites an additional element to their argument concerning historical progression. This paper incorporates Richard Teniman’s notion of the “dialectics of memory” in which memory is in a constant process of negation and reinvention to explain why these Directors prefer to explore Hungarian identity through the disarranged form of psychological realism over the linear causality structure of historical realism.

Keywords: film theory, Eastern European Studies, film history, Eastern European History

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Authors: Lorenzo Casagrande, Antonio Bonati, Ferdinando Auricchio, Antonio Occhiuzzi

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This paper summarizes the results of a survey on smart non-structural element dynamic dissipation when installed in modern high-rise mega-frame prototypes. An innovative glazed curtain wall was designed using Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) joints in order to increase the energy dissipation and enhance the seismic/wind response of the structures. The studied buildings consisted of thirty- and sixty-storey planar frames, extracted from reference three-dimensional steel Moment Resisting Frame (MRF) with outriggers and belt trusses. The internal core was composed of a CBF system, whilst outriggers were placed every fifteen stories to limit second order effects and inter-storey drifts. These structural systems were designed in accordance with European rules and numerical FE models were developed with an open-source code, able to account for geometric and material nonlinearities. With regard to the characterization of non-structural building components, full-scale crescendo tests were performed on aluminium/glass curtain wall units at the laboratory of the Construction Technologies Institute (ITC) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), deriving force-displacement curves. Three-dimensional brick-based inelastic FE models were calibrated according to experimental results, simulating the fac¸ade response. Since recent seismic events and extreme dynamic wind loads have generated the large occurrence of non-structural components failure, which causes sensitive economic losses and represents a hazard for pedestrians safety, a more dissipative glazed curtain wall was studied. Taking advantage of the mechanical properties of SMA, advanced smart joints were designed with the aim to enhance both the dynamic performance of the single non-structural unit and the global behavior. Thus, three-dimensional brick-based plastic FE models were produced, based on the innovated non-structural system, simulating the evolution of mechanical degradation in aluminium-to-glass and SMA-to-glass connections when high deformations occurred. Consequently, equivalent nonlinear links were calibrated to reproduce the behavior of both tested and smart designed units, and implemented on the thirty- and sixty-storey structural planar frame FE models. Nonlinear time history analyses (NLTHAs) were performed to quantify the potential of the new system, when considered in the lateral resisting frame system (LRFS) of modern high-rise MRFs. Sensitivity to the structure height was explored comparing the responses of the two prototypes. Trends in global and local performance were discussed to show that, if accurately designed, advanced materials in non-structural elements provide new sources of energy dissipation.

Keywords: advanced technologies, glazed curtain walls, non-structural elements, seismic-action reduction, shape memory alloy

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Authors: Pablo Oteiza, Ricardo Alvarez, Mehrdad Pirnia, Fuat Can

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To effectively combat climate change, many countries around the world have committed to a decarbonisation of their electricity, along with promoting a large-scale integration of renewable energy sources (RES). While this trend represents a unique opportunity to effectively combat climate change, achieving a sound and cost-efficient energy transition towards low-carbon power systems poses significant challenges for the multi-year Transmission Network Expansion Planning (TNEP) problem. The objective of the multi-year TNEP is to determine the necessary network infrastructure to supply the projected demand in a cost-efficient way, considering the evolution of the new generation mix, including the integration of RES. The rapid integration of large-scale RES increases the variability and uncertainty in the power system operation, which in turn increases short-term flexibility requirements. To meet these requirements, flexible generating technologies such as energy storage systems must be considered within the TNEP as well, along with proper models for capturing the operational challenges of future power systems. As a consequence, TNEP formulations are becoming more complex and difficult to solve, especially for its application in realistic-sized power system models. To meet these challenges, there is an increasing need for developing efficient algorithms capable of solving the TNEP problem with reasonable computational time and resources. In this regard, a promising research area is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for solving large-scale mixed-integer optimization problems, such as the TNEP. In particular, the use of AI along with mathematical optimization strategies based on decomposition has shown great potential. In this context, this paper presents an efficient algorithm for solving the multi-year TNEP problem. The algorithm combines AI techniques with Column Generation, a traditional decomposition-based mathematical optimization method. One of the challenges of using Column Generation for solving the TNEP problem is that the subproblems are of mixed-integer nature, and therefore solving them requires significant amounts of time and resources. Hence, in this proposal we solve a linearly relaxed version of the subproblems, and trained a binary classifier that determines the value of the binary variables, based on the results obtained from the linearized version. A key feature of the proposal is that we integrate the binary classifier into the optimization algorithm in such a way that the optimality of the solution can be guaranteed. The results of a study case based on the HRP 38-bus test system shows that the binary classifier has an accuracy above 97% for estimating the value of the binary variables. Since the linearly relaxed version of the subproblems can be solved with significantly less time than the integer programming counterpart, the integration of the binary classifier into the Column Generation algorithm allowed us to reduce the computational time required for solving the problem by 50%. The final version of this paper will contain a detailed description of the proposed algorithm, the AI-based binary classifier technique and its integration into the CG algorithm. To demonstrate the capabilities of the proposal, we evaluate the algorithm in case studies with different scenarios, as well as in other power system models.

Keywords: integer optimization, machine learning, mathematical decomposition, transmission planning

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Authors: Rouzbeh Jafari, Joe Nava

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This study includes learnings from an engineering practice normally performed on large scale biohydrogen processes. If properly scale-up is done, biohydrogen can be a reliable pathway for biowaste valorization. Most of the studies on biohydrogen process development have used model feedstock to investigate process key performance indicators (KPIs). This study does not intend to compare different technologies with model feedstock. However, it reports economic drivers and technical challenges which help in developing a road map for expanding biohydrogen economy deployment in Canada. BBA is a consulting firm responsible for the design of hydrogen production projects. Through executing these projects, activity has been performed to identify, register and mitigate technical drawbacks of large-scale hydrogen production. Those learnings, in this study, have been applied to the biohydrogen process. Through data collected by a comprehensive literature review, a base case has been considered as a reference, and several case studies have been performed. Critical parameters of the process were identified and through common engineering practice (process design, simulation, cost estimate, and life cycle assessment) impact of these parameters on the commercialization risk matrix and class 5 cost estimations were reported. The process considered in this study is food waste and woody biomass dark fermentation. To propose a reliable road map to develop a sustainable biohydrogen production process impact of critical parameters was studied on the end-to-end process. These parameters were 1) feedstock composition, 2) feedstock pre-treatment, 3) unit operation selection, and 4) multi-product concept. A couple of emerging technologies also were assessed such as photo-fermentation, integrated dark fermentation, and using ultrasound and microwave to break-down feedstock`s complex matrix and increase overall hydrogen yield. To properly report the impact of each parameter KPIs were identified as 1) Hydrogen yield, 2) energy consumption, 3) secondary waste generated, 4) CO2 footprint, 5) Product profile, 6) $/kg-H2 and 5) environmental impact. The feedstock is the main parameter defining the economic viability of biohydrogen production. Through parametric studies, it was found that biohydrogen production favors feedstock with higher carbohydrates. The feedstock composition was varied, by increasing one critical element (such as carbohydrate) and monitoring KPIs evolution. Different cases were studied with diverse feedstock, such as energy crops, wastewater slug, and lignocellulosic waste. The base case process was applied to have reference KPIs values and modifications such as pretreatment and feedstock mix-and-match were implemented to investigate KPIs changes. The complexity of the feedstock is the main bottleneck in the successful commercial deployment of the biohydrogen process as a reliable pathway for waste valorization. Hydrogen yield, reaction kinetics, and performance of key unit operations highly impacted as feedstock composition fluctuates during the lifetime of the process or from one case to another. In this case, concept of multi-product becomes more reliable. In this concept, the process is not designed to produce only one target product such as biohydrogen but will have two or multiple products (biohydrogen and biomethane or biochemicals). This new approach is being investigated by the BBA team and the results will be shared in another scientific contribution.

Keywords: biohydrogen, process scale-up, economic evaluation, commercialization uncertainties, hydrogen economy

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Authors: Piotr Jablonski, Krzysztof Mars, Wiktor Niemiec, Agnieszka Kyziol, Marek Hebda, Halina Krawiec, Karol Kyziol

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NiTi alloys, possessing unique mechanical properties such as pseudoelasticity and shape memory effect (SME), are suitable for many applications, including implanthology and biomedical devices. Additionally, these alloys have similar values of elastic modulus to those of human bones, what is very important in orthopedics. Unfortunately, the environment of physiological fluids in vivo causes unfavorable release of Ni ions, which in turn may lead to metalosis as well as allergic reactions and toxic effects in the body. For these reasons, the surface properties of NiTi alloys should be improved to increase corrosion resistance, taking into account biological properties, i.e. excellent biocompatibility. The prospective in this respect are layers based on DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) structures, which are an attractive solution for many applications in implanthology. These coatings (DLC), usually obtained by PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) and PA CVD (Plasma Activated Chemical Vapour Deposition) methods, can be also modified by doping with other elements like silicon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, titanium and silver. These methods, in combination with a suitably designed structure of the layers, allow the possibility co-decide about physicochemical and biological properties of modified surfaces. Mentioned techniques provide specific physicochemical properties of substrates surface in a single technological process. In this work, the following types of layers based on DLC structures (incl. Si-DLC or Si/N-DLC) were proposed as prospective and attractive approach in surface functionalization of shape memory alloy. Nitinol substrates were modified in plasma conditions, using RF CVD (Radio Frequency Chemical Vapour Deposition). The influence of plasma treatment on the useful properties of modified substrates after deposition DLC layers doped with silica and/or nitrogen atoms, as well as only pre-treated in O2 NH3 plasma atmosphere in a RF reactor was determined. The microstructure and topography of the modified surfaces were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Furthermore, the atomic structure of coatings was characterized by IR and Raman spectroscopy. The research also included the evaluation of surface wettability, surface energy as well as the characteristics of selected mechanical and biological properties of the layers. In addition, the corrosion properties of alloys after and before modification in the physiological saline were also investigated. In order to determine the corrosion resistance of NiTi in the Ringer solution, the potentiodynamic polarization curves (LSV – Linear Sweep Voltamperometry) were plotted. Furthermore, the evolution of corrosion potential versus immersion time of TiNi alloy in Ringer solution was performed. Based on all carried out research, the usefullness of proposed modifications of nitinol for medical applications was assessed. It was shown, inter alia, that the obtained Si-DLC layers on the surface of NiTi alloy exhibit a characteristic complex microstructure, increased surface development, which is an important aspect in improving the osteointegration of an implant. Furthermore, the modified alloy exhibits biocompatibility, the transfer of the metal (Ni, Ti) to Ringer’s solution is clearly limited.

Keywords: bioactive coatings, corrosion resistance, doped DLC structure, NiTi alloy, RF CVD

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Authors: Alessandra Swiny, Michalis Georgiou, Yiorgos Hadjichristou

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This paper focuses on the questions raised through the work of Unit 5: ‘In/Out of crisis, emergent and adaptive’; an architectural research-based studio at the University of Nicosia. It focusses on sustainable architectural and urban explorations tackling with the ever growing crises in its various types, phases and locations. ‘Great crisis situations’ are seen as ‘great chances’ that trigger investigations for further development and evolution of the built environment in an ultimate sustainable approach. The crisis is taken as an opportunity to rethink the urban and architectural directions as new forces for inventions leading to emergent and adaptive built environments. The Unit 5’s identity and environment facilitates the students to respond optimistically, alternatively and creatively towards the global current crisis. Mark Wigley’s notion that “crises are ultimately productive” and “They force invention” intrigued and defined the premises of the Unit. ‘Weather and nature are coauthors of the built environment’ Jonathan Hill states in his ‘weather architecture’ discourse. The weather is constantly changing and new environments, the subnatures are created which derived from the human activities David Gissen explains. The above set of premises triggered innovative responses by the Unit’s students. They thoroughly investigated the various kinds of crisis and their causes in relation to their various types of Terrains. The tools used for the research and investigation were chosen in contradictive pairs to generate further crisis situations: The re-used/salvaged competed with the new, the handmade rivalling with the fabrication, the analogue juxtaposed with digital. Students were asked to delve into state of art technologies in order to propose sustainable emergent and adaptive architectures and Urbanities, having though always in mind that the human and the social aspects of the community should be the core of the investigation. The resulting unprecedented spatial conditions and atmospheres of the emergent new ways of living are deemed to be the ultimate aim of the investigation. Students explored a variety of sites and crisis conditions such as: The vague terrain of the Green Line in Nicosia, the lost footprints of the sinking Venice, the endangered Australian coral reefs, the earthquake torn town of Crevalcore, and the decaying concrete urbanscape of Athens. Among other projects, ‘the plume project’ proposes a cloud-like, floating and almost dream-like living environment with unprecedented spatial conditions to the inhabitants of the coal mine of Centralia, USA, not just to enable them to survive but even to prosper in this unbearable environment due to the process of the captured plumes of smoke and heat. Existing water wells inspire inversed vertical structures creating a new living underground network, protecting the nomads from catastrophic sand storms in the Araoune of Mali. “Inverted utopia: Lost things in the sand”, weaves a series of tea-houses and a library holding lost artifacts and transcripts into a complex underground labyrinth by the utilization of the sand solidification technology. Within this methodology, crisis is seen as a mechanism for allowing an emergence of new and fascinating ultimate sustainable future cultures and cities.

Keywords: adaptive built environments, crisis as opportunity, emergent urbanities, forces for inventions

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Authors: Shazi Farooqui, Anupam Sharma

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The Mahi River (~600km long) is an important west flowing the river of Central India. It originates in Madhya Pradesh and starts flowing in NW direction and enters into the state of Rajasthan. It flows across southern Rajasthan and then enters into Gujarat and finally debouches in the Gulf of Cambay. In Gujarat state, it flows through all four geomorphic zones i.e. eastern upland zone, shallow buried piedmont zone, alluvial zone and coastal zone. In lower reaches and particularly when it is flowing under the coastal regime, it provides an opportunity to study – 1. Land–Sea interaction and role of relative sea level changes, 2. Coastal/estuarine geological process, 3. Landscape evolution in marginal areas and so on. The Late Quaternary deposits of Mainland Gujarat is appreciably studied by Chamyal and his group of MS University of Baroda, and they have established that the 30-35m thick sediment package of the Mainland Gujarat is comprised of marine, fluvial and aeolian sediments. It is also established that in the estuarine zone, the upper few meter thick sediments package is of marine nature. However, its thickness, characters and the depositional environment including the role of climate and tectonics is still not clearly defined. To understand few aspects of the above mentioned, in the present study, a 17m subsurface sediment core has been retrieved from the estuarine zone of Mahi river basin. The Multiproxy studies which include the textural analysis (grain size), Loss on ignition (LOI), Bulk and clay mineralogy and geochemical studies have been carried out. In the entire sedimentary sequence, the grain size largely varies from coarse sand to clay; however, a solitary gravel bed is also noticed. The lower part (depth 9-17m), is mainly comprised of sub equal proportion of sand and silt. The sediments mainly have bimodal and leptokurtic distribution and deposited in alternate sand-silt package, probably indicating flood deposits. Relatively low moisture (1.8%) and organic carbon (2.4%) with increased carbonate values (12%) indicate that conditions must have to remain oxidizing. The middle part (depth 9–6m) has a 1m thick gravel bed at the bottom and overlain by coarse sand to very fine sand showing fining upward sequence. The presence of gravel bed suggests some kind of tectonic activity resulting into change in base level or enhanced precipitation in the catchment region. The upper part (depth 6–0m; top part of sequence) mainly comprised of fine sand to silt size grains (with appreciable clay content). The sediment of this part is Unimodal and very leptokurtic in nature suggesting wave and winnowing process and deposited in low energy suspension environment. This part has relatively high moisture (2.1%) and organic carbon (2.7%) with decreased carbonate content (4.2%) indicating change in the depositional environment probably under estuarine conditions. The presence of chlorite along with smectite clay mineral further supports the significant marine contribution in the formation of upper part of the sequence.

Keywords: grain size, statistical analysis, clay minerals, late quaternary, LOI

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Authors: Mohammad Shajid Rahman, Tarik Kaya, Edgar Matida

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Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, may have become a tool to improve smoking cessation due to their ability to provide nicotine at a selected rate. Unlike traditional cigarettes, which produce toxic elements from tobacco combustion, e-cigarettes generate aerosols by heating a liquid solution (commonly a mixture of propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine and some flavoring agents). However, caution still needs to be taken when using e-cigarettes due to the presence of addictive nicotine and some harmful substances produced from the heating process. Particle size distribution (PSD) and associated velocities generated by e-cigarettes have significant influence on aerosol deposition in different regions of human respiratory tracts. On another note, low actuation power is beneficial in aerosol generating devices since it exhibits a reduced emission of toxic chemicals. In case of e-cigarettes, lower heating powers can be considered as powers lower than 10 W compared to a wide range of powers (0.6 to 70.0 W) studied in literature. Due to the importance regarding inhalation risk reduction, deeper understanding of particle size characteristics of e-cigarettes demands thorough investigation. However, comprehensive study on PSD and velocities of e-cigarettes with a standard testing condition at relatively low heating powers is still lacking. The present study aims to measure particle number count and size distribution of undiluted aerosols of a latest fourth-generation e-cigarette at low powers, within 6.5 W using real-time particle counter (time-of-flight method). Also, temporal and spatial evolution of particle size and velocity distribution of aerosol jets are examined using phase Doppler anemometry (PDA) technique. To the authors’ best knowledge, application of PDA in e-cigarette aerosol measurement is rarely reported. In the present study, preliminary results about particle number count of undiluted aerosols measured by time-of-flight method depicted that an increase of heating power from 3.5 W to 6.5 W resulted in an enhanced asymmetricity in PSD, deviating from log-normal distribution. This can be considered as an artifact of rapid vaporization, condensation and coagulation processes on aerosols caused by higher heating power. A novel mathematical expression, combining exponential, Gaussian and polynomial (EGP) distributions, was proposed to describe asymmetric PSD successfully. The value of count median aerodynamic diameter and geometric standard deviation laid within a range of about 0.67 μm to 0.73 μm, and 1.32 to 1.43, respectively while the power varied from 3.5 W to 6.5 W. Laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) and PDA measurement suggested a typical centerline streamwise mean velocity decay of aerosol jet along with a reduction of particle sizes. In the final submission, a thorough literature review, detailed description of experimental procedure and discussion of the results will be provided. Particle size and turbulent characteristics of aerosol jets will be further examined, analyzing arithmetic mean diameter, volumetric mean diameter, volume-based mean diameter, streamwise mean velocity and turbulence intensity. The present study has potential implications in PSD simulation and validation of aerosol dosimetry model, leading to improving related aerosol generating devices.

Keywords: E-cigarette aerosol, laser doppler velocimetry, particle size distribution, particle velocity, phase Doppler anemometry

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Authors: Saif Al Ghafri, Thomas Hughes, Armand Karimi, Kumarini Seneviratne, Jordan Oakley, Michael Johns, Eric F. May

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Knowledge of the thermophysical properties of complex mixtures at extreme conditions of pressure and temperature have always been essential to the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry’s evolution because of the tremendous technical challenges present at all stages in the supply chain from production to liquefaction to transport. Each stage is designed using predictions of the mixture’s properties, such as density, viscosity, surface tension, heat capacity and phase behaviour as a function of temperature, pressure, and composition. Unfortunately, currently available models lead to equipment over-designs of 15% or more. To achieve better designs that work more effectively and/or over a wider range of conditions, new fundamental property data are essential, both to resolve discrepancies in our current predictive capabilities and to extend them to the higher-pressure conditions characteristic of many new gas fields. Furthermore, innovative experimental techniques are required to measure different thermophysical properties at high pressures and over a wide range of temperatures, including near the mixture’s critical points where gas and liquid become indistinguishable and most existing predictive fluid property models used breakdown. In this work, we present a wide range of experimental measurements made for different binary and ternary mixtures relevant to LNG processing, with a particular focus on viscosity, surface tension, heat capacity, bubble-points and density. For this purpose, customized and specialized apparatus were designed and validated over the temperature range (200 to 423) K at pressures to 35 MPa. The mixtures studied were (CH4 + C3H8), (CH4 + C3H8 + CO2) and (CH4 + C3H8 + C7H16); in the last of these the heptane contents was up to 10 mol %. Viscosity was measured using a vibrating wire apparatus, while mixture densities were obtained by means of a high-pressure magnetic-suspension densimeter and an isochoric cell apparatus; the latter was also used to determine bubble-points. Surface tensions were measured using the capillary rise method in a visual cell, which also enabled the location of the mixture critical point to be determined from observations of critical opalescence. Mixture heat capacities were measured using a customised high-pressure differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The combined standard relative uncertainties were less than 0.3% for density, 2% for viscosity, 3% for heat capacity and 3 % for surface tension. The extensive experimental data gathered in this work were compared with a variety of different advanced engineering models frequently used for predicting thermophysical properties of mixtures relevant to LNG processing. In many cases the discrepancies between the predictions of different engineering models for these mixtures was large, and the high quality data allowed erroneous but often widely-used models to be identified. The data enable the development of new or improved models, to be implemented in process simulation software, so that the fluid properties needed for equipment and process design can be predicted reliably. This in turn will enable reduced capital and operational expenditure by the LNG industry. The current work also aided the community of scientists working to advance theoretical descriptions of fluid properties by allowing to identify deficiencies in theoretical descriptions and calculations.

Keywords: LNG, thermophysical, viscosity, density, surface tension, heat capacity, bubble points, models

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Authors: Neelofar, Khursheed Alam, Jamal Ahmad

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Protein modification in diabetes mellitus may lead to early glycation products (EGPs) or amadori product as well as advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Early glycation involves the reaction of glucose with N-terminal and lysyl side chain amino groups to form Schiff’s base which undergoes rearrangements to form more stable early glycation product known as Amadori product. After Amadori, the reactions become more complicated leading to the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that interact with various AGE receptors, thereby playing an important role in the long-term complications of diabetes. Millard reaction or nonenzymatic glycation reaction accelerate in diabetes due to hyperglycation and alter serum protein’s structure, their normal functions that lead micro and macro vascular complications in diabetic patients. In this study, Human Serum Albumin (HSA) with a constant concentration was incubated with different concentrations of glucose at 370C for a week. At 4th day, Amadori product was formed that was confirmed by colorimetric method NBT assay and TBA assay which both are authenticate early glycation product. Conformational changes in native as well as all samples of Amadori albumin with different concentrations of glucose were investigated by various biophysical and biochemical techniques. Main biophysical techniques hyperchromacity, quenching of fluorescence intensity, FTIR, CD and SDS-PAGE were used. Further conformational changes were observed by biochemical assays mainly HMF formation, fructoseamine, reduction of fructoseamine with NaBH4, carbonyl content estimation, lysine and arginine residues estimation, ANS binding property and thiol group estimation. This study find structural and biochemical changes in Amadori modified HSA with normal to hyperchronic range of glucose with respect to native HSA. When glucose concentration was increased from normal to chronic range biochemical and structural changes also increased. Highest alteration in secondary and tertiary structure and conformation in glycated HSA was observed at the hyperchronic concentration (75mM) of glucose. Although it has been found that Amadori modified proteins is also involved in secondary complications of diabetes as AGEs but very few studies have been done to analyze the conformational changes in Amadori modified proteins due to early glycation. Most of the studies were found on the structural changes in Amadori protein at a particular glucose concentration but no study was found to compare the biophysical and biochemical changes in HSA due to early glycation with a range of glucose concentration at a constant incubation time. So this study provide the information about the biochemical and biophysical changes occur in Amadori modified albumin at a range of glucose normal to chronic in diabetes. Although many implicates currently in use i.e. glycaemic control, insulin treatment and other chemical therapies that can control many aspects of diabetes. However, even with intensive use of current antidiabetic agents more than 50 % of diabetic patient’s type 2 suffers poor glycaemic control and 18 % develop serious complications within six years of diagnosis. Experimental evidence related to diabetes suggests that preventing the nonenzymatic glycation of relevant proteins or blocking their biological effects might beneficially influence the evolution of vascular complications in diabetic patients or quantization of amadori adduct of HSA by authentic antibodies against HSA-EGPs can be used as marker for early detection of the initiation/progression of secondary complications of diabetes. So this research work may be helpful for the same.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, glycation, albumin, amadori, biophysical and biochemical techniques

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh, Bhabani Prasad Mukhopadhay, Ananya Mukhopadhyay, Harendra Nath Bhattacharya

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This study investigates the global issue of electronic waste (e-waste), focusing on its prevalence in India and other regions. E-waste has emerged as a significant worldwide problem, with India contributing a substantial share of annual e-waste generation. The primary sources of e-waste in India are computer equipment and mobile phones. Many developed nations utilize India as a dumping ground for their e-waste, with major contributions from the United States, China, Europe, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. The study identifies Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai, and Delhi as prominent contributors to India's e-waste crisis. This issue is contextualized within the broader framework of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which encompasses 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated targets to address poverty, environmental preservation, and universal prosperity. The study underscores the interconnectedness of e-waste management with several SDGs, including health, clean water, economic growth, sustainable cities, responsible consumption, and ocean conservation. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data reveals that e-waste generation surpasses that of plastic waste, increasing annually at a rate of 31%. However, only 20% of electronic waste is recycled through organized and regulated methods in underdeveloped nations. In Europe, efficient e-waste management stands at just 35%. E-waste pollution poses serious threats to soil, groundwater, and public health due to toxic components such as mercury, lead, bromine, and arsenic. Long-term exposure to these toxins, notably arsenic in microchips, has been linked to severe health issues, including cancer, neurological damage, and skin disorders. Lead exposure, particularly concerning for children, can result in brain damage, kidney problems, and blood disorders. The study highlights the problematic transboundary movement of e-waste, with approximately 352,474 metric tonnes of electronic waste illegally shipped from Europe to developing nations annually, mainly to Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania. Effective e-waste management, underpinned by appropriate infrastructure, regulations, and policies, offers opportunities for job creation and aligns with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for SDGs, especially in the realms of decent work, economic growth, and responsible production and consumption. E-waste represents hazardous pollutants and valuable secondary resources, making it a focal point for anthropogenic resource exploitation. The United Nations estimates that e-waste holds potential secondary raw materials worth around 55 billion Euros. The study also identifies numerous challenges in e-waste management, encompassing the sheer volume of e-waste, child labor, inadequate legislation, insufficient infrastructure, health concerns, lack of incentive schemes, limited awareness, e-waste imports, high costs associated with recycling plant establishment, and more. To mitigate these issues, the study offers several solutions, such as providing tax incentives for scrap dealers, implementing reward and reprimand systems for e-waste management compliance, offering training on e-waste handling, promoting responsible e-waste disposal, advancing recycling technologies, regulating e-waste imports, and ensuring the safe disposal of domestic e-waste. A mechanism, Buy-Back programs, will compensate customers in cash when they deposit unwanted digital products. This E-waste could contain any portable electronic device, such as cell phones, computers, tablets, etc. Addressing the e-waste predicament necessitates a multi-faceted approach involving government regulations, industry initiatives, public awareness campaigns, and international cooperation to minimize environmental and health repercussions while harnessing the economic potential of recycling and responsible management.

Keywords: e-waste management, sustainable development goal, e-waste disposal, recycling technology, buy-back policy

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