Search results for: horizontal tubes

Authors: Morteza Khashehchi, Kamel Hooman

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Thermal effects on the dynamics and stability of the flow past a circular cylinder operating in the mixed convection regime is studied experimentally for Reynolds number (ReD) between 1000 and 4000, and different cylinder wall temperatures (Tw) between 25 and 75°C by means of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The experiments were conducted in a horizontal wind tunnel with the heated cylinder placed horizontally. With such assumptions, the direction of the thermally induced buoyancy force acting on the fluid surrounding the heated cylinder would be perpendicular to the flow direction. In each experiment, to acquire 3000 PIV image pairs, the temperature and Reynolds number of the approach flow were held constant. By adjusting different temperatures in different Reynolds numbers, the corresponding Richardson number (RiD = Gr/Re^2) was varied between 0:0 (unheated) and 10, resulting in a change in the heat transfer process from forced convection to mixed convection. With increasing temperature of the wall cylinder, significant modifications of the wake flow pattern and wake vortex shedding process were clearly revealed. For cylinder at low wall temperature, the size of the wake and the vortex shedding process are found to be quite similar to those of an unheated cylinder. With high wall temperature, however, the high temperature gradient in the wake shear layer creates a type of vorticity with opposite sign to that of the shear layer vorticity. This temperature gradient vorticity weakens the strength of the shear layer vorticity, causing delay in reaching the recreation point. In addition to the wake characteristics, the shedding frequency for the heated cylinder is determined for all aforementioned cases. It is found that, as the cylinder wall is heated, the organization of the vortex shedding is altered and the relative position of the first detached vortices with respect to the second one is changed. This movement of the first detached vortex toward the second one increases the frequency of the shedding process. It is also found that the wake closure length decreases with increasing the Richardson number.

Keywords: heated cylinder, PIV, wake, Reynolds number

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Authors: Kim Kennedy, Daren Gibson, Stephanie Flukes, Chandra Diwakarla, Lisa Spalding, Leanne Pilkington, Andrew Redfern

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Introduction: Head and neck cancer and treatments are known for their profound effect on nutrition and tube feeding is a common requirement to maintain nutrition. Aim: We aimed to evaluate the frequency of tube feeding in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patients, and to examine the relapse and survival outcomes in patients who require enteral tube feeding. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of 320 head and neck cancer patients from a single centre in Western Australia, identifying 80 Aboriginal patients and 240 non-Aboriginal patients matched on a 1:3 ratio by site, histology, rurality, and age. Data collected included patient demographics, tumour features, treatment details, and cancer and survival outcomes. Results: Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patients required feeding tubes at similar rates (42.5% vs 46.2% respectively), however Aboriginal patients were far more likely to fail to return to oral nutrition, with 26.3% requiring long-term tube feeding versus only 15% of non-Aboriginal patients. In the overall study population, 27.5% required short-term tube feeding, 17.8% required long-term enteral tube nutrition, and 45.3% of patients did not have a feeding tube at any point. Relapse was more common in patients who required tube feeding, with relapses in 42.1% of the patients requiring long-term tube feeding, 31.8% in those requiring a short-term tube, versus 18.9% in the ‘no tube’ group. Survival outcomes for patients who required a long-term tube were also significantly poorer when compared to patients who only required a short-term tube, or not at all. Long-term tube-requiring patients were half as likely to survive (29.8%) compared to patients requiring a short-term tube (62.5%) or no tube at all (63.5%). Patients requiring a long-term tube were twice as likely to die with active disease (59.6%) as patients with no tube (28%), or a short term tube (33%). This may suggest an increased relapse risk in patients who require long-term feeding, due to consequences of malnutrition on cancer and treatment outcomes, although may simply reflect that patients with recurrent disease were more likely to have longer-term swallowing dysfunction due to recurrent disease and salvage treatments. Interestingly long-term tube patients were also more likely to die with no active disease (10.5%) (compared with short-term tube requiring patients (4.6%), or patients with no tube (8%)), which is likely reflective of the increased mortality associated with long-term aspiration and malnutrition issues. Conclusions: Requirement for tube feeding was associated with a higher rate of cancer relapse, and in particular, long-term tube feeding was associated with a higher likelihood of dying from head and neck cancer, but also a higher risk of dying from other causes without cancer relapse. This data reflects the complex effect of head and neck cancer and its treatments on swallowing and nutrition, and ultimately, the effects of malnutrition, swallowing dysfunction, and aspiration on overall cancer and survival outcomes. Tube feeding was seen at similar rates in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patient, however failure to return to oral intake with a requirement for a long-term feeding tube was seen far more commonly in the Aboriginal population.

Keywords: head and neck cancer, enteral tube feeding, malnutrition, survival, relapse, aboriginal patients

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Authors: Rensson Homero Celiz Ygnacio, Marco Aurélio Schiavo Novaes, Lucy Vanessa Sulca Ñaupas, Ana Paula Ribeiro Rodrigues

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The cryopreservation of testicular tissue emerges as an alternative for the preservation of the reproductive potential of individuals who still cannot produce sperm; however, they will undergo treatments that may affect their fertility (e.g., chemotherapy). Therefore, the present work aims to compare two cryopreservation methods (slow freezing and vitrification) in testicular tissue of prepubertal lambs. For that, to obtain the testicular tissue, the animals were castrated and the testicles were collected immediately in a physiological solution supplemented with antibiotics. In the laboratory, the testis was split into small pieces. The total size of the testicular fragments was 3×3x1 mm³ and was placed in a dish contained in Minimum Essential Medium (MEM-HEPES). The fragments were distributed randomly into non-cryopreserved (fresh control), slow freezing (SF), and vitrified. To SF procedures, two fragments from a given male were then placed in a 2,0 mL cryogenic vial containing 1,0 mL MEM-HEPES supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 20% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Tubes were placed into a Mr. Frosty™ Freezing container with isopropyl alcohol and transferred to a -80°C freezer for overnight storage. On the next day, each tube was plunged into liquid nitrogen (NL). For vitrification, the ovarian tissue cryosystem (OTC) device was used. Testicular fragments were placed in the OTC device and exposed to the first vitrification solution composed of MEM-HEPES supplemented with 10 mg/mL Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA), 0.25 M sucrose, 10% Ethylene glycol (EG), 10% DMSO and 150 μM alpha-lipoic acid for four min. The VS1 was discarded and then the fragments were submerged into a second vitrification solution (VS2) containing the same composition of VS1 but 20% EG and 20% DMSO. VS2 was then discarded and each OTC device containing up to four testicular fragments was closed and immersed in NL. After the storage period, the fragments were removed from the NL, kept at room temperature for one min and then immersed at 37 °C in a water bath for 30 s. Samples were warmed by sequentially immersing in solutions of MEM-HEPES supplemented with 3 mg/mL BSA and decreasing concentrations of sucrose. Hematoxylin-eosin staining to analyze the tissue architecture was used. The score scale used was from 0 to 3, classified with a score 0 representing normal morphologically, and 3 were considered a lot of alteration. The histomorphological evaluation of the testicular tissue shows that when evaluating the nuclear alteration (distinction of nucleoli and condensation of nuclei), there are no differences when using slow freezing with respect to the control. However, vitrification presents greater damage (p <0.05). On the other hand, when evaluating the epithelial alteration, we observed that the freezing showed scores statistically equal to the control in variables such as retraction of the basement membrane, formation of gaps and organization of the peritubular cells. The results of the study demonstrated that cryopreservation using the slow freezing method is an excellent tool for the preservation of pubertal testicular tissue.

Keywords: cryopreservation, slow freezing, vitrification, testicular tissue, lambs

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Authors: Md. Asif Ullah, M. A. R. Sarkar

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This paper illustrates 2-D and 3-D simulations of sub-channels of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) having hexagonal array of fuel rods. At a steady state, the temperature of outer surface of the cladding of fuel rod is kept about 1200°C. The temperature of this isothermal surface is taken as boundary condition for simulation. Water with temperature of 290°C is given as a coolant inlet to the primary water circuit which is pressurized upto 157 bar. Turbulent flow of pressurized water is used for heat removal. In 2-D model, temperature, velocity, pressure and Nusselt number distributions are simulated in a vertical sectional plane through the sub-channels of a hexagonal fuel rod assembly. Temperature, Nusselt number and Y-component of convective heat flux along a line in this plane near the end of fuel rods are plotted for different Reynold’s number. A comparison between X-component and Y-component of convective heat flux in this vertical plane is analyzed. Hexagonal fuel rod assembly has three types of sub-channels according to geometrical shape whose boundary conditions are different too. In 3-D model, temperature, velocity, pressure, Nusselt number, total heat flux magnitude distributions for all the three sub-channels are studied for a suitable Reynold’s number. A horizontal sectional plane is taken from each of the three sub-channels to study temperature, velocity, pressure, Nusselt number and convective heat flux distribution in it. Greater values of temperature, Nusselt number and Y-component of convective heat flux are found for greater Reynold’s number. X-component of convective heat flux is found to be non-zero near the bottom of fuel rod and zero near the end of fuel rod. This indicates that the convective heat transfer occurs totally along the direction of flow near the outlet. As, length to radius ratio of sub-channels is very high, simulation for a short length of the sub-channels are done for graphical interface advantage. For the simulations, Turbulent Flow (K-Є ) module and Heat Transfer in Fluids (ht) module of COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS 5.0 are used.

Keywords: sub-channels, Reynold’s number, Nusselt number, convective heat transfer

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Authors: Naveen Kumar Perumalla, Devadas Kuna, Mohammed Akhter Ali

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Satellite Navigation System such as the United States Global Positioning System (GPS) plays a significant role in determining the user position. Similar to that of GPS, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is a Satellite Navigation System indigenously developed by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), India, to meet the country’s navigation applications. This system is also known as Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC). The NavIC system’s main objective, is to offer Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services to users in its two service areas i.e., covering the Indian landmass and the Indian Ocean. Six NavIC satellites are already deployed in the space and their receivers are in the performance evaluation stage. Four NavIC dual frequency receivers are installed in the ‘Advanced GNSS Research Laboratory’ (AGRL) in the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, University College of Engineering, Osmania University, India. The NavIC receivers can be operated in two positioning modes: Stand-alone IRNSS and Hybrid (IRNSS+GPS) modes. In this paper, analysis of various parameters such as Dilution of Precision (DoP), three Dimension (3D) Root Mean Square (RMS) Position Error and Horizontal Position Error with respect to Visibility of Satellites is being carried out using the real-time IRNSS data, obtained by operating the receiver in both positioning modes. Two typical days (6th July 2017 and 7th July 2017) are considered for Hyderabad (Latitude-17°24'28.07’N, Longitude-78°31'4.26’E) station are analyzed. It is found that with respect to the considered parameters, the Hybrid mode operation of NavIC receiver is giving better results than that of the standalone positioning mode. This work finds application in development of NavIC receivers for civilian navigation applications.

Keywords: DoP, GPS, IRNSS, GNSS, position error, satellite visibility

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Authors: Faran Chaudhry, Anser Daud, Doris Braunstein, Oleg Safir, Allan Gross, Paul Kuzyk

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Background: Acetabular reconstruction in the context of massive acetabular bone loss is challenging. In rare scenarios where the extent of bone loss precludes shell placement (cup-cage), reconstruction at our center consisted of a cage combined with highly porous metal augments. This study evaluates survivorship, complications, and functional outcomes using this technique. Methods: A total of 131 cup-cage implants (129 patients) were included in our retrospective review of revisions of total hip arthroplasty from January 2003 to January 2022. Among these cases, 100/131 (76.3%) were women, the mean age at surgery time was 68.7 years (range, 29.0 to 92.0; SD, 12.4), and the mean follow-up was 7.7 years (range, 0.02 to 20.3; SD, 5.1). Kaplan-Meier survivorship analysis was conducted with failure defined as revision surgery and/or failure of the cup-cage reconstruction. Results: A total of 30 implants (23%) reached the study endpoint involving all-cause revision. Overall survivorship was 74.8% at 10 years and 69.8% at 15 years. Reasons for revision included infection 12/131 (9.1%), dislocation 10/131 (7.6%), aseptic loosening of cup and/or cage 5/131 (3.8%), and aseptic loosening of the femoral stem 2/131 (1.5%). The mean LLD improved from 12.2 ± 15.9 mm to 3.9 ± 11.8 (p<0.05). The horizontal and vertical hip centres on plain film radiographs were significantly improved (p<0.05). Functionally, there was a decrease in the number of patients requiring the use of gait aids, with fewer patients (34, 25.9%) using a cane, walker, or wheelchair post-operatively compared to pre-operatively (58, 44%). There was a significant increase in the number of independent ambulators from 24 to 47 (36%). Conclusion: The cup-cage construct is a reliable treatment option for the treatment of various acetabular defects. There are favourable survivorship, clinical and radiographic outcomes, with a satisfactory complication rate.

Keywords: revision total hip arthroplasty, acetabular defect, pelvic discontinuity, trabecular metal augment, cup-cage

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Authors: B. Mack, K. Tampe-Mai, E. Diesch

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Findings of an ongoing discrete choice study of future transport mode choice will be presented. Many urban centers face the triple challenge of having to cope with ever increasing traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and greenhouse gas emission brought about by private car use. In principle, private car use may be diminished by extending public transport systems like bus lines, trams, tubes, and trains. However, there are limits to increasing the (perceived) spatial and temporal flexibility and reducing peak-time crowding of classical public transport systems. An emerging new type of system, publicly or privately operated on-demand shuttle bus services, seem suitable to ameliorate the situation. A fleet of on-demand shuttle busses operates without fixed stops and schedules. It may be deployed efficiently in that each bus picks up passengers whose itineraries may be combined into an optimized route. Crowding may be minimized by limiting the number of seats and the inter-seat distance for each bus. The study is conducted as a discrete choice experiment. The choice between private car, public transport, and shuttle service is registered as a function of several push and pull factors (financial costs, travel time, walking distances, mobility tax/congestion charge, and waiting time/parking space search time). After the completion of the discrete choice items, the study participant is asked to rate the three modes of transport with regard to the pull factors of comfort, safety, privacy, and opportunity to engage in activities like reading or surfing the internet. These ratings are entered as additional predictors into the discrete choice experiment regression model. The study is conducted in the region of Stuttgart in southern Germany. N=1000 participants are being recruited. Participants are between 18 and 69 years of age, hold a driver’s license, and live in the city or the surrounding region of Stuttgart. In the discrete choice experiment, participants are asked to assume they lived within the Stuttgart region, but outside of the city, and were planning the journey from their apartment to their place of work, training, or education during the peak traffic time in the morning. Then, for each item of the discrete choice experiment, they are asked to choose between the transport modes of private car, public transport, and on-demand shuttle in the light of particular values of the push and pull factors studied. The study will provide valuable information on the potential of switching from private car use to the use of on-demand shuttles, but also on the less desirable potential of switching from public transport to on-demand shuttle services. Furthermore, information will be provided on the modulation of these switching potentials by pull and push factors.

Keywords: determinants of travel mode choice, on-demand shuttle services, private car use, public transport

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Authors: Konstantinos G. Kostinakis, Asimina M. Athanatopoulou

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A key issue in seismic risk analysis within the context of Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering is the evaluation of the expected seismic damage of structures under a specific earthquake ground motion. The assessment of the seismic performance strongly depends on the choice of the seismic Intensity Measure (IM), which quantifies the characteristics of a ground motion that are important to the nonlinear structural response. Several conventional IMs of ground motion have been used to estimate their damage potential to structures. Yet, none of them has been proved to be able to predict adequately the seismic damage. Therefore, alternative, scalar intensity measures, which take into account not only ground motion characteristics but also structural information have been proposed. Some of these IMs are based on integration of spectral values over a range of periods, in an attempt to account for the information that the shape of the acceleration, velocity or displacement spectrum provides. The adequacy of a number of these IMs in predicting the structural damage of 3D R/C buildings is investigated in the present paper. The investigated IMs, some of which are structure specific and some are nonstructure-specific, are defined via integration of spectral values. To achieve this purpose three symmetric in plan R/C buildings are studied. The buildings are subjected to 59 bidirectional earthquake ground motions. The two horizontal accelerograms of each ground motion are applied along the structural axes. The response is determined by nonlinear time history analysis. The structural damage is expressed in terms of the maximum interstory drift as well as the overall structural damage index. The values of the aforementioned seismic damage measures are correlated with seven scalar ground motion IMs. The comparative assessment of the results revealed that the structure-specific IMs present higher correlation with the seismic damage of the three buildings. However, the adequacy of the IMs for estimation of the structural damage depends on the response parameter adopted. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the widely used spectral acceleration at the fundamental period of the structure is a good indicator of the expected earthquake damage level.

Keywords: damage measures, bidirectional excitation, spectral based IMs, R/C buildings

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Authors: Rebecca Bach, Evgenia Kanli, Nihat Kiziltoprak, Linda Hildebrand, Ulrich Knaack, Jens Schneider

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The building industry has a high demand for resources and at the same time is responsible for a significant amount of waste created worldwide. Today's building components need to contribute to the protection of natural resources without creating waste. This is defined in the product development phase and impacts the product’s degree of being cycle-oriented. Paper-based materials show advantage due to their renewable origin and their ability to incorporate different functions. Besides the ecological aspects like renewable origin and recyclability the main advantages of paper materials are its light-weight but stiff structure, the optimized production processes and good insulation values. The main deficits from building technology’s perspective are the material's vulnerability to humidity and water as well as inflammability. On material level, those problems can be solved by coatings or through material modification. On construction level intelligent setup and layering of a building component can improve and also solve these issues. The target of the present work is to provide an overview of developed building components and construction typologies mainly made from paper materials. The research is structured in four parts: (1) functions and requirements, (2) preselection of paper-based materials, (3) development of building components and (4) evaluation. As part of the research methodology at first the needs of the building sector are analyzed with the aim to define the main areas of application and consequently the requirements. Various paper materials are tested in order to identify to what extent the requirements are satisfied and determine potential optimizations or modifications, also in combination with other construction materials. By making use of the material’s potentials and solving the deficits on material and on construction level, building components and construction typologies are developed. The evaluation and the calculation of the structural mechanics and structural principals will show that different construction typologies can be derived. Profiles like paper tubes can be used at best for skeleton constructions. Massive structures on the other hand can be formed by plate-shaped elements like solid board or honeycomb. For insulation purposes corrugated cardboard or cellulose flakes have the best properties, while layered solid board can be applied to prevent inner condensation. Enhancing these properties by material combinations for instance with mineral coatings functional constructions mainly out of paper materials were developed. In summary paper materials offer a huge variety of possible applications in the building sector. By these studies a general base of knowledge about how to build with paper was developed and is to be reinforced by further research.

Keywords: construction typologies, cycle-oriented construction, innovative building material, paper materials, renewable resources

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Authors: Legkikh Victoria

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The purpose of keeping bi/multilingualism is usually a way to let the child speak two/three languages at the same level. The main problem which normally appears is a mixed language or a domination of one language. The same level of two or more languages would be ideal but practically not easily reachable. So it was made an experiment with a girl with a natural multilingualism as an attempt to avoid a dominant language in the preschool age. The girl lives in Germany and the main languages for her are Italian, Russian and German but she also hears every day English. ‘One parent – one language’ strategy was used since the beginning so Italian and Russian were spoken to her since her birth, English was spoken between the parents and when she was 1,5 it was added German as a language of a nursery. In order to avoid a dominant language, she was always put in international groups with activity in different languages. Even if it was not possible to avoid an interference of languages in this case we can talk not only about natural multilingualism but also about balanced bilingualism in preschool time. The languages have been developing in parallel with different accents in a different period. Now at the age of 6 we can see natural horizontal multilingualism Russian/Italian/German/English. At the moment, her Russian/Italian bilingualism is balanced. German vocabulary is less but the language is active and English is receptive. We can also see a reciprocal interference of all the three languages (English is receptive so the simple phrases are normally said correctly but they are not enough to judge the level of language interference and it is not noticed any ‘English’ mistakes in other languages). After analysis of the state of every language, we can see as a positive and negative result of the experiment. As a positive result we can see that in the age of 6 the girl does not refuse any language, three languages are active, she differentiate languages and even if she says a word from another language she notifies that it is not a correct word, and the most important are the fact, that she does not have a preferred language. As a prove of the last statement it is to be noticed not only her self-identification as ‘half Russian and half Italian’ but also an answer to the question about her ‘mother tongue’: ‘I do not know, probably, when I have my own children I will speak one day Russian and one day Italian and sometimes German’. As a negative result, we can notice that not only a development of all the three languages are a little bit slower than it is supposed for her age but since she does not have a dominating language she also does not have a ‘perfect’ language and the interference is reciprocal. In any case, the experiment shows that it is possible to keep at least two languages without a preference in a pre-school multilingual space.

Keywords: balanced bilingualism, language interference, natural multilingualism, preschool multilingual education

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Authors: Masih Nikgou

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ICU nurses or intensive care nurses are highly specialized and trained healthcare personnel. These nurses provide nursing care for patients with life-threatening illnesses or conditions. They provide the experience, knowledge and specialized skills that patients need to survive and recover. Intensive care nurses (ICU) are trained to make momentary decisions and act quickly when the patient's condition changes. Their primary work environment is in the hospital in intensive care units. Typically, ICU patients require a high level of care. ICU nurses work in challenging and complex fields in their nursing profession. They have the primary duty of caring for and saving patients who are fighting for their lives. Intensive care (ICU) nurses are highly trained to provide exceptional care to patients who depend on 24/7 nursing care. A patient in the ICU is often equipped with a ventilator, intubated and connected to several life support machines and medical equipment. Intensive Care Nurses (ICU) have full expertise in considering all aspects of bringing back their patients. Some of the specific responsibilities of ICU nurses include (a) Assessing and monitoring the patient's progress and identifying any sudden changes in the patient's medical condition. (b) Administration of drugs intravenously by injection or through gastric tubes. (c) Provide regular updates on patient progress to physicians, patients, and their families. (d) According to the clinical condition of the patient, perform the approved diagnostic or treatment methods. (e) In case of a health emergency, informing the relevant doctors. (f) To determine the need for emergency interventions, evaluate laboratory data and vital signs of patients. (g) Caring for patient needs during recovery in the ICU. (h) ICU nurses often provide emotional support to patients and their families. (i) Regulating and monitoring medical equipment and devices such as medical ventilators, oxygen delivery devices, transducers, and pressure lines. (j) Assessment of pain level and sedation needs of patients. (k) Maintaining patient reports and records. As the name suggests, critical care nurses work primarily in ICU health care units. ICUs are completely healthy and have proper lighting with strict adherence to health and safety from medical centers. ICU nurses usually move between the intensive care unit, the emergency department, the operating room, and other special departments of the hospital. ICU nurses usually follow a standard shift schedule that includes morning, afternoon, and night schedules. There are also other relocation programs depending on the hospital and region. Nurses who are passionate about data and managing a patient's condition and outcomes typically do well as ICU nurses. An inquisitive mind and attention to processes are equally important. ICU nurses are completely compassionate and are not afraid to advocate for their patients and family members. who are distressed.

Keywords: nursing, intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, mobile intensive care unit, surgical intensive care unite

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Authors: Arturo Daag

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The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) is enhancing its liquefaction hazard map towards a detailed probabilistic approach using SDS and geophysical data. Target sites for liquefaction assessment are public schools in Metro Manila. Since target sites are in highly urbanized-setting, the objective of the project is to conduct both non-destructive geotechnical studies using Screw Driving Testing (SDFS) combined with geophysical data such as refraction microtremor array (ReMi), 3 component microtremor Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR), and ground penetrating RADAR (GPR). Initial test data was conducted in liquefaction impacted areas from the Mw 6.1 earthquake in Central Luzon last April 22, 2019 Province of Pampanga. Numerous accounts of liquefaction events were documented areas underlain by quaternary alluvium and mostly covered by recent lahar deposits. SDS estimated values showed a good correlation to actual SPT values obtained from available borehole data. Thus, confirming that SDS can be an alternative tool for liquefaction assessment and more efficient in terms of cost and time compared to SPT and CPT. Conducting borehole may limit its access in highly urbanized areas. In order to extend or extrapolate the SPT borehole data, non-destructive geophysical equipment was used. A 3-component microtremor obtains a subsurface velocity model in 1-D seismic shear wave velocity of the upper 30 meters of the profile (Vs30). For the ReMi, 12 geophone array with 6 to 8-meter spacing surveys were conducted. Microtremor data were computed through the Factor of Safety, which is the quotient of Cyclic Resistance Ratio (CRR) and Cyclic Stress Ratio (CSR). Complementary GPR was used to study the subsurface structure and used to inferred subsurface structures and groundwater conditions.

Keywords: screw drive testing, microtremor, ground penetrating RADAR, liquefaction

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Authors: Norman Sinnigen, Igor Izyurov, Marina Krylova, Hamidreza Jamalabadi, Sarah Alizadeh, Martin Walter

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Background: EEG is a non-invasive brain activity recording technique with a high temporal resolution that allows the use of real-time applications, such as neurofeedback. However, EEG data are susceptible to electrooculographic (EOG) and electromyography (EMG) artifacts (i.e., jaw clenching, teeth squeezing and forehead movements). Due to their non-stationary nature, these artifacts greatly obscure the information and power spectrum of EEG signals. Many EEG artifact correction methods are too time-consuming when applied to low-density EEG and have been focusing on offline processing or handling one single type of EEG artifact. A software-only real-time method for correcting multiple types of EEG artifacts of high-density EEG remains a significant challenge. Methods: We demonstrate an improved approach for automatic real-time EEG artifact correction of EOG and EMG artifacts. The method was tested on three healthy subjects using 64 EEG channels (Brain Products GmbH) and a sampling rate of 1,000 Hz. Captured EEG signals were imported in MATLAB with the lab streaming layer interface allowing buffering of EEG data. EMG artifacts were detected by channel variance and adaptive thresholding and corrected by using channel interpolation. Real-time independent component analysis (ICA) was applied for correcting EOG artifacts. Results: Our results demonstrate that the algorithm effectively reduces EMG artifacts, such as jaw clenching, teeth squeezing and forehead movements, and EOG artifacts (horizontal and vertical eye movements) of high-density EEG while preserving brain neuronal activity information. The average computation time of EOG and EMG artifact correction for 80 s (80,000 data points) 64-channel data is 300 – 700 ms depending on the convergence of ICA and the type and intensity of the artifact. Conclusion: An automatic EEG artifact correction algorithm based on channel variance, adaptive thresholding, and ICA improves high-density EEG recordings contaminated with EOG and EMG artifacts in real-time.

Keywords: EEG, muscle artifacts, ocular artifacts, real-time artifact correction, real-time ICA

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Authors: Kurias George, Ildefonso Cuesta Romeo, Clara Salueña Pérez, Jordi Sole Olle

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With the growing prevalence of wind energy there is a need, for modeling techniques to evaluate the impact of wind farms on meteorology and oceanography. This study presents an approach that utilizes the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting )with that include a Wind Farm Parametrization model to simulate the dynamics around Parc Tramuntana project, a offshore wind farm to be located near the Gulf of Roses off the coast of Barcelona, Catalonia. The model incorporates parameterizations for wind turbines enabling a representation of the wind field and how it interacts with the infrastructure of the wind farm. Current results demonstrate that the model effectively captures variations in temeperature, pressure and in both wind speed and direction over time along with their resulting effects on power output from the wind farm. These findings are crucial for optimizing turbine placement and operation thus improving efficiency and sustainability of the wind farm. In addition to focusing on atmospheric interactions, this study delves into the wake effects within the turbines in the farm. A range of meteorological parameters were also considered to offer a comprehensive understanding of the farm's microclimate. The model was tested under different horizontal resolutions and farm layouts to scrutinize the wind farm's effects more closely. These experimental configurations allow for a nuanced understanding of how turbine wakes interact with each other and with the broader atmospheric and oceanic conditions. This modified approach serves as a potent tool for stakeholders in renewable energy, environmental protection, and marine spatial planning. environmental protection and marine spatial planning. It provides a range of information regarding the environmental and socio economic impacts of offshore wind energy projects.

Keywords: weather research and forecasting, wind turbine wake effects, environmental impact, wind farm parametrization, sustainability analysis

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Authors: Dawit Assefa, Kassaye Tekie, Gebrie Alebachew, Degefu Beyene, Bikila Alemu, Naji Mohammed, Asnakech Agegnehu, Seble Tsehay, Geremew Tasew

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Background: Implementation of a Laboratory Quality Management System (LQMS) is critical to ensure accurate, reliable, and efficient laboratory testing of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, limited LQMS implementation and progress toward accreditation in the AMR surveillance laboratory testing setting exist in Ethiopia. By addressing non-conformances (NCs) and working towards accreditation, microbiology laboratories can improve the quality of their services, increase staff competence, and contribute to mitigate the spread of AMR. Methods: Using standard ISO 15189 horizontal and vertical assessment checklists, certified assessors identified NCs at Hawassa and Jimma Hospital microbiology laboratories. The Ethiopian Public Health Institute AMR mentors and IDDS staff prioritized closing the NCs through the implementation of an intensified mentorship program that included ISO 15189 orientation training, resource allocation, and action plan development. Results: For the two facilities to clear their NCs, an intensified mentorship approach was adopted by providing ISO 15189 orientation training, provision of buffer reagents, controls, standards, and axillary equipment, and facilitating equipment maintenance and calibration. Method verification and competency assessment were also conducted along with the implementation of standard operating procedures and recommended corrective actions. This approach enhanced the laboratory's readiness for accreditation. After addressing their NCs, the two laboratories applied to Ethiopian Accreditation Services for ISO 15189 accreditation. Conclusions: Clearing NCs through the implementation of intensified mentorship was crucial in preparing the two laboratories for accreditation and improving quality laboratory test results. This approach can guide other microbiology laboratories’ accreditation attainment efforts.

Keywords: non-conformance clearance, intensified mentorship, accreditation, ISO 15189

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Authors: Cristian Matti, Valerie Fowles, Eva Enyedi, Piotr Pogorzelski

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The system mapping process can be defined as a knowledge service where a team of facilitators, experts and practitioners facilitate a guided conversation, enable the exchange of information and support an iterative curation process. System mapping processes rely on science-based tools to introduce and simplify a variety of components and concepts of socio-technical systems through metaphors while facilitating an interactive dialogue process to enable the design of co-created maps. System maps work then as “artifacts” to provide information and focus the conversation into specific areas around the defined challenge and related decision-making process. Knowledge management facilitates the curation of that data gathered during the system mapping sessions through practices of documentation and subsequent knowledge co-production for which common practices from data science are applied to identify new patterns, hidden insights, recurrent loops and unexpected elements. This study presents empirical evidence on the application of these techniques to explore mechanisms by which visual tools provide guiding principles to portray system components, key variables and types of data through the lens of climate change. In addition, data science facilitates the structuring of elements that allow the analysis of layers of information through affinity and clustering analysis and, therefore, develop simple indicators for supporting the decision-making process. This paper addresses methodological and empirical elements on the horizontal learning process that integrate system mapping through visual tools, interpretation, cognitive transformation and analysis. The process is designed to introduce practitioners to simple iterative and inclusive processes that create actionable knowledge and enable a shared understanding of the system in which they are embedded.

Keywords: indicators, knowledge management, system mapping, visual tools

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Nabila Ihaddadene, Razika Ihaddadene, Abdelwahaab Betka

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1973 energy crisis (rising oil prices) pushed the world to consider other alternative energy resources to existing conventional energies consisting predominantly of hydrocarbons. Renewable energies such as solar, the wind and geothermal have received renewed interest, especially to preserve nature ( the low-temperature rise of global environmental problems). Solar energy as an available, cheap and environmental friendly alternative source has various applications such as heating, cooling, drying, power generation, etc. In short, there is no life on earth without this enormous nuclear reactor, called the sun. Among available solar collector designs, flat plate collector (FPC) is low-temperature applications (heating water, space heating, etc.) due to its simple design and ease of manufacturing. Flat plate collectors are permanently fixed in position and do not track the sun (non-concentrating collectors). They operate by converting solar radiation into heat and transferring that heat to a working fluid (usually air, water, water plus antifreeze additive) flowing through them. An FPC generally consists of the main following components: glazing, absorber plate of high absorptivity, fluid tubes welded to or can be an integral part of the absorber plate, insulation and container or casing of the above-mentioned components. Insulation is of prime importance in thermal applications. There are three main families of insulation: mineral insulation; vegetal insulation and synthetic organic insulation. The old houses of the inhabitants of North Africa were built of brick made of composite material that is clay and straw. These homes are characterized by their thermal comfort; i.e. the air inside these houses is cool in summer and warm in winter. So, the material composed from clay and straw act as a thermal insulation. In this research document, the polystyrene used as insulation in the ET200 flat plate solar collector is replaced by the cheapest natural material which is clay and straw. Trials were carried out on a solar energy demonstration system (ET 200). This system contains a solar collector, water storage tank, a high power lamp simulating solar energy and a control and command cabinet. In the experimental device, the polystyrene is placed under the absorber plate and in the edges of the casing containing the components of the solar collector. In this work, we have replaced the polystyrene of the edges by the composite material. The use of the clay and straw as insulation instead of the polystyrene increases temperature difference (T2-T1) between the inlet and the outlet of the absorber by 0.9°C; thus increases the useful power transmitted to water in the solar collector. Tank Water is well heated when using the clay and straw as insulation. However, it is less heated when using the polystyrene as insulation. Clay and straw material improves also the performance of the solar collector by 5.77%. Thus, it is recommended to use this cheapest non-polluting material instead of synthetic insulation to improve the performance of the solar collector.

Keywords: clay, insulation material, polystyrene, solar collector, straw

Procedia PDF Downloads 456

Authors: E. Obreque-Slier, V. Contreras-Cortez, R. López-Solís

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Astringency is a drying, roughing, and sometimes puckering sensation that is experienced on the various oral surfaces during or immediately after tasting foods. This sensation has been closely related to the interaction and precipitation between salivary proteins and polyphenols, specifically flavanols or proanthocyanidins. In addition, the type and concentration of proanthocyanidin influences significantly the intensity of the astringency and consequently the protein/proanthocyanidin interaction. However, most of the studies are based on the interaction between saliva and highly complex polyphenols, without considering the effect of monomeric proanthoancyanidins present in different foods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different monomeric proanthocyanidins on the diffusion and precipitation of salivary proteins. Thus, solutions of catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin and gallocatechin (0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0 and 10 mg/mL) were mixed with human saliva (1: 1 v/v). After incubation for 5 min at room temperature, 15 µL aliquots of each mix were dotted on a cellulose membrane and allowed to dry spontaneously at room temperature. The membrane was fixed, rinsed and stained for proteins with Coomassie blue. After exhaustive washing in 7% acetic acid, the membrane was rinsed once in distilled water and dried under a heat lamp. Both diffusion area and stain intensity of the protein spots were semiqualitative estimates for protein-tannin interaction (diffusion test). The rest of the whole saliva-phenol solution mixtures of the diffusion assay were centrifuged, and 15-μL aliquots from each of the supernatants were dotted on a cellulose membrane. The membrane was processed for protein staining as indicated above. The blue-stained area of protein distribution corresponding to each of the extract dilution-saliva mixtures was quantified by Image J 1.45 software. Each of the assays was performed at least three times. Initially, salivary proteins display a biphasic distribution on cellulose membranes, that is, when aliquots of saliva are placed on absorbing cellulose membranes, and free diffusion of saliva is allowed to occur, a non-diffusible protein fraction becomes surrounded by highly diffusible salivary proteins. In effect, once diffusion has ended, a protein-binding dye shows an intense blue-stained roughly circular area close to the spotting site (non-diffusible fraction) (NDF) which becomes surrounded by a weaker blue-stained outer band (diffusible fraction) (DF). Likewise, the diffusion test showed that epicatechin caused the complete disappearance of DF from saliva with 2 mg/mL. Also, epigallocatechin and gallocatechin caused a similar effect with 4 mg/mL, while catechin generated the same effect at 8 mg/mL. In the precipitation test, the use of epicatechin and gallocatechin generated evident precipitates at the bottom of the Eppendorf tubes. In summary, the flavanol type differentially affects the diffusion and precipitation of saliva, which would affect the sensation of astringency perceived by consumers.

Keywords: astringency, polyphenols, tannins, tannin-protein interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Marija Ratkova Manovska, Mirko Prodanov, Dean Jankuloski, Katerina Blagoevska

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Staphylococci, which are widely found in the environment, animals, humans, and food products, include Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), the most significant pathogenic species in this genus. The virulence and toxicity of S. aureus are primarily attributed to the presence of specific genes responsible for producing toxins, biofilms, invasive components, and antibiotic resistance. Staphylococcal food poisoning, caused by the production of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) by these strains in food, is a common occurrence. Globally, S. aureus food intoxications are typically ranked as the third or fourth most prevalent foodborne intoxications. For this study, a total of 333 milk samples and 1160 dairy product samples were analyzed between 2016 and 2020. The strains were isolated and confirmed using the ISO 6888-1:1999 "Horizontal method for enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci." Molecular analysis of the isolates, conducted using conventional PCR, involved detecting the 23s gene of S. aureus, the nuc gene, the mecA gene, and 11 genes responsible for producing enterotoxins (sea, seb, sec, sed, see, seg, seh, sei, ser, sej, and sep). The 23s gene was found in 93 (75.6%) out of 123 isolates of Staphylococcus spp. obtained from milk. Among the 76 isolates from dairy products, either S. aureus or the 23s gene was detected in 49 (64.5%) of them. The mecA gene was identified in three isolates from raw milk and five isolates from cheese samples. The nuc gene was present in 98.9% of S. aureus strains from milk and 97.9% from dairy products. Other Staphylococcus strains carried the nuc gene in 26.7% of milk strains and 14.8% of dairy product strains. Genes associated with SEs production were detected in 85 (69.1%) strains from milk and 38 (50%) strains from dairy products. In this study, 10 out of the 11 SEs genes were found, with no isolates carrying the see gene. The most prevalent genes detected were seg and sei, with some isolates containing up to five different SEs genes. These findings indicate the presence of enterotoxigenic staphylococci strains in the tested samples, emphasizing the importance of implementing proper sanitation and hygienic practices, utilizing safe raw materials, and ensuring adequate handling of finished products. Continued monitoring for the presence of SEs is necessary to ensure food safety and prevent intoxication.

Keywords: dairy products, milk, Staphylococci, enterotoxins, SE genes

Procedia PDF Downloads 67

Authors: Apurva Singh, S. P. Jaiswar, Apala Priyadarshini, Akancha Pandey

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Objective: The aim of this study is to find the association of PON1 gene polymorphism with pesticides In RPL subjects. Background: Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is defined as three or more sequential abortions before the 20th week of gestation. Pesticides and its derivatives (organochlorine and organophosphate) are proposed to accommodate a ruler chemical for RPL in the sub-humid region of India. The paraoxonase-1 enzyme (PON1) plays an important role in the toxicity of some organophosphate pesticides, with low PON1 activity being associated with higher pesticide sensitivity Methodology: This is a case-control study done in Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology & Department of Biochemistry, K.G.M.U, Lucknow, India. The subjects were enrolled after fulfilling the inclusion & exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria: Cases- Subject having two or more spontaneous abortions & Control- Healthy female having one or more alive child was selected. Exclusion criteria: Cases & Control- Subject having the following disease will be excluded from the study Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, Tuberculosis, Immunocompromised patients, any endocrine disorder and genital, colon or breast cancer any other malignancies. Blood samples were collected in EDTA tubes from cases & healthy control women & genomic DNA was extracted by phenol-chloroform method. The estimation of pesticides residue from blood was done by HPLC. Biochemical estimation was also performed. Genotyping of PON1 gene polymorphism was performed by RFLP. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS16.3 software. Results: A sum of total 14 pesticides (12 organochlorine and 2 organophosphate) selected on the basis of their persistent nature and consumption rate. The significant level of pesticide (ppb) estimated by the Mann whiney test and it was found to be significant at higher level of β-HCH (p:0.04), γ-HCH (p:0.001), δ-HCH (p: 0.002), chloropyrifos (p:0.001), pp-DDD (p:0.001) and fenvalrate (p: 0.001) in case group compare to its control. The level of antioxidant enzymes were found to be significantly decreased among the cases. Wild homozygous TT was more frequent and prevalent among control groups. However, heterozygous group (Tt) was more in cases than control groups (CI-0.3-1.3) (p=0.06). Conclusion: Higher levels of pesticides with endocrine disrupting potential in cases indicate the possible role of these compounds as one of the causes of recurrent pregnancy loss. Possibly, increased pesticide level appears to indicate increased levels of oxidative damage that has been associated with the possible cause of Recurrent Miscarriage, it may reflect indirect evidence of toxicity rather than the direct cause. Since both factors are reported to increase risk, individuals with higher levels of these 'Toxic compounds' especially in 'high-risk genotypes' might be more susceptible to recurrent pregnancy loss.

Keywords: paraoxonase, pesticides, PON1, RPL

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Laurent Pitteloud, Jörg Meier

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Piled raft foundations represent an efficient and reliable technique for transferring high vertical and horizontal loads to the subsoil. Piled raft foundations were success­fully implemented for several high-rise buildings world­wide over the last decades. For the structural design of this foundation type the stiffnesses of both the piles and the raft have to be deter­mined for the static (e.g. dead load, live load) and the dynamic load cases (e.g. earthquake). In this context the question often arises, to which proportion wind loads are to be considered as dynamic loads. Usually a piled raft foundation has to be monitored in order to verify the design hypotheses. As an additional benefit, the analysis of this monitoring data may lead to a better under­standing of the behaviour of this foundation type for future projects in similar subsoil conditions. In case the measurement frequency is high enough, one may also draw conclusions on the effect of wind loading on the piled raft foundation. For a 41-storey office building in Basel, Switzerland, the preliminary design showed that a piled raft foundation was the best solution to satisfy both design requirements, as well as economic aspects. A high-frequency monitoring of the foundation including pile loads, vertical stresses under the raft, as well as pore water pressures was performed over 5 years. In windy situations the analysis of the measure­ments shows that the pile load increment due to wind consists of a static and a cyclic load term. As piles and raft react with different stiffnesses under static and dynamic loading, these measure­ments are useful for the correct definition of stiffnesses of future piled raft foundations. This paper outlines the design strategy and the numerical modelling of the aforementioned piled raft foundation. The measurement results are presented and analysed. Based on the findings, comments and conclusions on the definition of pile and raft stiffnesses for vertical and wind loading are proposed.

Keywords: design, dynamic, foundation, monitoring, pile, raft, wind load

Procedia PDF Downloads 190

Authors: Zsofia Nagy, Tibor Dessewffy

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The relationship between social movements and the media that represents them comprises both of the media representation of movements on the one hand, and the media strategies employed by movements on the other. A third possible approach is to connect the two and look at the interactions connecting the two sides. This relationship has been affected by the emergence of social networking sites (SNS) that have a transformative effect on both actors. However, the extent and direction of these changes needs to be investigated. Empirical case studies that focus on newly enabled forms of social movements can contribute to these debates in an analytically fruitful way. Therefore in our study, we use the case of Migration Aid, a Hungarian Facebook-based grassroots relief organization that gained prominence during the refugee crisis that unfolded in Hungary in 2015. Migration Aid formed without the use of traditional mobilizational agents, and that took over roles traditionally occupied by formal NGOs or the state. Analyzing different movement strategies towards the media - we find evidence that while effectively combining these strategies, SNSs also create affordances for movements to shift their strategy towards creating alternatives, their own micromedia. Beyond the practical significance of this – the ability to disseminate alternative information independently from traditional media – it also allowed the group to frame the issue in their own terms and to replace vertical modes of communication with horizontal ones. The creation of micromedia also shifts the relationship between social movements and the media away from an asymmetrical and towards a more symbiotic co-existence. We provide four central factors – project identity, the mobilization potential of SNSs, the disruptiveness of the event and selectivity in the construction of social knowledge – that explain this shift. Finally, we look at the specific processes that contribute to the creation of the movement’s own micromedia. We posit that these processes were made possible by the rhizomatic structure of the group and a function of SNSs we coin the Social Information Thermostat function. We conclude our study by positioning our findings in relation with the broader context.

Keywords: social networking sites, social movements, micromedia, media strategies

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Authors: Anupoju Rajeev, Joanne Mathew, Amit Shelke

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In the current study, a new type of Composite Structural Insulated Panels (CSIPs) is developed and investigated its performance against shock loading which can replace the conventional wooden structural materials. The CSIPs is made of Fibre Cement Board (FCB)/aluminum as the facesheet and the expanded polystyrene foam as the core material. As tornadoes are very often in the western countries, it is suggestable to monitor the health of the CSIPs during its lifetime. So, the composite structure is installed with three smart sensors located randomly at definite locations. Each smart sensor is fabricated with an embedded half stainless phononic crystal sensor attached to both ends of the nylon shaft that can resist the shock and impact on facesheet as well as polystyrene foam core and safeguards the system. In addition to the granular crystal sensors, the accelerometers are used in the horizontal spanning and vertical spanning with a definite offset distance. To estimate the health and damage of the CSIP panel using granular crystal sensor, shock wave loading experiments are conducted. During the experiments, the time of flight response from the granular sensors is measured. The main objective of conducting shock wave loading experiments on the CSIP panels is to study the effect and the sustaining capacity of the CSIP panels in the extreme hazardous situations like tornados and hurricanes which are very common in western countries. The effects have been replicated using a shock tube, an instrument that can be used to create the same wind and pressure intensity of tornado for the experimental study. Numerous experiments have been conducted to investigate the flexural strength of the CSIP. Furthermore, the study includes the damage detection using three smart sensors embedded in the CSIPs during the shock wave loading.

Keywords: composite structural insulated panels, damage detection, flexural strength, sandwich structures, shock wave loading

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Debabrata Biswas

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The current trend in the development of antibiotic resistance by multiple bacterial pathogens has resulted in a troubling loss of effective antibiotic options for human. The emergence of multi-drug-resistant pathogens has necessitated higher dosages and combinations of multiple antibiotics, further exacerbating the problem of antibiotic resistance. Zoonotic bacterial pathogens, such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (such as enterohaemorrhagic E. coli or EHEC), and Listeria are the most common and predominant foodborne enteric infectious agents. It was observed that these pathogens gained/developed their ability to survive in the presence of antibiotics either in farm animal gut or farm environment and researchers believe that therapeutic and sub-therapeutic antibiotic use in farm animal production might play an important role in it. The mechanism of action of antimicrobial components used in farm animal production in genomic interplay in the gut and farm environment, has not been fully characterized. Even the risk of promoting the exchange of mobile genetic elements between microbes specifically pathogens needs to be evaluated in depth, to ensure sustainable farm animal production, safety of our food and to mitigate/limit the enteric infection with multiple antibiotic resistant bacterial pathogens. Due to the consumer’s demand and considering the current emerging situation, many countries are in process to withdraw antibiotic use in farm animal production. Before withdrawing use of the sub-therapeutic antibiotic or restricting the use of therapeutic antibiotics in farm animal production, it is essential to find alternative natural antimicrobials for promoting the growth of farm animal and/or treating animal diseases. Further, it is also necessary to consider whether that compound(s) has the potential to trigger the acquisition or loss of genetic materials in zoonotic and any other bacterial pathogens. Development of alternative therapeutic and sub-therapeutic antimicrobials for farm animal production and food processing and preservation and their effective implementation for sustainable strategies for farm animal production as well as the possible risk for horizontal gene transfer in major enteric pathogens will be focus in the study.

Keywords: food safety, natural antimicrobial, sustainable farming, antibiotic resistance

Procedia PDF Downloads 264

Authors: Fatemeh Faramarzi, Hosein Mahjoob

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Building dams on rivers for utilization of water resources causes problems in hydrodynamic equilibrium and results in leaving all or part of the sediments carried by water in dam reservoir. This phenomenon has also significant impacts on water and sediment flow regime and in the long term can cause morphological changes in the environment surrounding the river, reducing the useful life of the reservoir which threatens sustainable development through inefficient management of water resources. In the past, empirical methods were used to predict the sedimentation amount in dam reservoirs and to estimate its efficient lifetime. But recently the mathematical and computational models are widely used in sedimentation studies in dam reservoirs as a suitable tool. These models usually solve the equations using finite element method. This study compares the results from tow software packages, GSTARS4 & HEC-6, in the prediction of the sedimentation amount in Dez dam, southern Iran. The model provides a one-dimensional, steady-state simulation of sediment deposition and erosion by solving the equations of momentum, flow and sediment continuity and sediment transport. GSTARS4 (Generalized Sediment Transport Model for Alluvial River Simulation) which is based on a one-dimensional mathematical model that simulates bed changes in both longitudinal and transverse directions by using flow tubes in a quasi-two-dimensional scheme to calibrate a period of 47 years and forecast the next 47 years of sedimentation in Dez Dam, Southern Iran. This dam is among the highest dams all over the world (with its 203 m height), and irrigates more than 125000 square hectares of downstream lands and plays a major role in flood control in the region. The input data including geometry, hydraulic and sedimentary data, starts from 1955 to 2003 on a daily basis. To predict future river discharge, in this research, the time series data were assumed to be repeated after 47 years. Finally, the obtained result was very satisfactory in the delta region so that the output from GSTARS4 was almost identical to the hydrographic profile in 2003. In the Dez dam due to the long (65 km) and a large tank, the vertical currents are dominant causing the calculations by the above-mentioned method to be inaccurate. To solve this problem, we used the empirical reduction method to calculate the sedimentation in the downstream area which led to very good answers. Thus, we demonstrated that by combining these two methods a very suitable model for sedimentation in Dez dam for the study period can be obtained. The present study demonstrated successfully that the outputs of both methods are the same.

Keywords: Dez Dam, prediction, sedimentation, water resources, computational models, finite element method, GSTARS4, HEC-6

Procedia PDF Downloads 309

Authors: Masoud Ghaemi, MohammadJafar Hedayati, Faezeh Yousefzadeh, Hoseinali Heydarzadeh

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According to the statistics of the International Committee on Large Dams, internal erosion and piping (scour) are major causes of the destruction of earth-fill dams. If such dams are constructed in narrow valleys, the valley walls will increase the arching of the dam body due to the transfer of vertical and horizontal stresses, so the occurrence of hydraulic fracturing in these embankments is more likely. Roudbar Dam in Lorestan is a clay-core pebble earth-fill dam constructed in a relatively narrow valley in western Iran. Three years after the onset of impoundment, there has been a fall in dam behavior. Evaluation of the dam behavior based on the data recorded on the instruments installed inside the dam body and foundation confirms the occurrence of internal erosion in the lower and adjacent parts of the core on the left support (abutment). The phenomenon of hydraulic fracturing is one of the main causes of the onset of internal erosion in this dam. Accordingly, the main objective of this paper is to evaluate the validity of this hypothesis. To evaluate the validity of this hypothesis, the dam behavior during construction and impoundment has been first simulated with a three-dimensional numerical model. Then, using validated empirical equations, the safety factor of the occurrence of hydraulic fracturing phenomenon upstream of the dam score was calculated. Then, using the artificial neural network, the failure time of the given section was predicted based on the maximum stress trend created. The study results show that steep slopes of valley walls, sudden changes in coefficient, and differences in compressibility properties of dam body materials have caused considerable stress transfer from core to adjacent valley walls, especially at its lower levels. This has resulted in the coefficient of confidence of the occurrence of hydraulic fracturing in each of these areas being close to one in each of the empirical equations used.

Keywords: arching, artificial neural network, FLAC3D, hydraulic fracturing, internal erosion, pore water pressure

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: M. Soleimani, D. Cree, C. Chafe, L. Bates

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The accidental release of petroleum products into the environment could have harmful consequences to our ecosystem. Different techniques such as mechanical separation, membrane filtration, incineration, treatment processes using enzymes and dispersants, bioremediation, and sorption process using sorbents have been applied for oil spill remediation. Most of the techniques investigated are too costly or do not have high enough efficiency. This study was conducted to determine the sorption performance of hemp byproducts (cellulosic materials) in terms of sorption capacity and kinetics for hydrophobic and hydrophilic fluids. In this study, heavy oil, light oil, diesel fuel, and water/water vapor were used as sorbate fluids. Hemp stalk in different forms, including loose material (hammer milled (HM) and shredded (Sh) with low bulk densities) and densified forms (pellet form (P) and crumbled pellets (CP)) with high bulk densities, were used as sorbents. The sorption/retention tests were conducted according to ASTM 726 standard. For a quick-purpose application of the sorbents, the sorption tests were conducted for 15 min, and for an ideal sorption capacity of the materials, the tests were carried out for 24 h. During the test, the sorbent material was exposed to the fluid by immersion, followed by filtration through a stainless-steel wire screen. Water vapor adsorption was carried out in a controlled environment chamber with the capability of controlling relative humidity (RH) and temperature. To determine the kinetics of sorption for each fluid and sorbent, the retention capacity also was determined intervalley for up to 24 h. To analyze the kinetics of sorption, pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second order and intraparticle diffusion models were employed with the objective of minimal deviation of the experimental results from the models. The results indicated that HM and Sh materials had the highest sorption capacity for the hydrophobic fluids with approximately 6 times compared to P and CP materials. For example, average retention values of heavy oil on HM and Sh was 560% and 470% of the mass of the sorbents, respectively. Whereas, the retention of heavy oil on P and CP was up to 85% of the mass of the sorbents. This lower sorption capacity for P and CP can be due to the less exposed surface area of these materials and compacted voids or capillary tubes in the structures. For water uptake application, HM and Sh resulted in at least 40% higher sorption capacity compared to those obtained for P and CP. On average, the performance of sorbate uptake from high to low was as follows: water, heavy oil, light oil, diesel fuel. The kinetic analysis indicated that the second-pseudo order model can describe the sorption process of the oil and diesel better than other models. However, the kinetics of water absorption was better described by the pseudo-first-order model. Acetylation of HM materials could improve its oil and diesel sorption to some extent. Water vapor adsorption of hemp fiber was a function of temperature and RH, and among the models studied, the modified Oswin model was the best model in describing this phenomenon.

Keywords: environment, fiber, petroleum, sorption

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Authors: César Coelho, Nikolai Wiegand

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The advancement of nanosatellite technology has opened new avenues for cost-effective and faster space missions. The NanoSat MO Framework (NMF) from the European Space Agency (ESA) provides a modular and simpler approach to the development of flight software and operations of small satellites. This paper presents a methodology using the NMF together with Docker for simulating constellations of satellites. By leveraging Docker containers, the software environment of individual satellites can be easily replicated within a simulated constellation. This containerized approach allows for rapid deployment, isolation, and management of satellite instances, facilitating comprehensive testing and development in a controlled setting. By integrating the NMF lightweight simulator in the container, a comprehensive simulation environment was achieved. A significant advantage of using Docker containers is their inherent scalability, enabling the simulation of hundreds or even thousands of satellites with minimal overhead. Docker's lightweight nature ensures efficient resource utilization, allowing for deployment on a single host or across a cluster of hosts. This capability is crucial for large-scale simulations, such as in the case of mega-constellations, where multiple traditional virtual machines would be impractical due to their higher resource demands. This ability for easy horizontal scaling based on the number of simulated satellites provides tremendous flexibility to different mission scenarios. Our results demonstrate that leveraging Docker containers with the NanoSat MO Framework provides a highly efficient and scalable solution for simulating satellite constellations, offering not only significant benefits in terms of resource utilization and operational flexibility but also enabling testing and validation of ground software for constellations. The findings underscore the importance of taking advantage of already existing technologies in computer science to create new solutions for future satellite constellations in space.

Keywords: containerization, docker containers, NanoSat MO framework, satellite constellation simulation, scalability, small satellites

Procedia PDF Downloads 37

Authors: Giovana Vesentini, Fernanda Piculo, Gabriela Marini, Debora Damasceno, Angelica Barbosa, Selma Martheus, Marilza Rudge

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Problem statement: Skeletal muscle is highly adaptable, muscle fiber composition and size can respond to a variety of stimuli, such physiologic, as pregnancy, and metabolic abnormalities, as Diabetes mellitus. This study aimed to analyze the effects of pregnancy-associated diabetes on the rectus abdominis muscle (RA), and to compare this changes in rats and women. Methods: Female Wistar rats were maintained under controlled conditions and distributed in Pregnant (P) and Long-term mild pregnant diabetic (LTMd) (n=3 r/group). Diabetes in rats was induced by streptozotocin (100mg/Kg, sc) on the first day of life, for a hyperglycemic state between 120-300 mg/dL in adult life. Female rats were mated overnight, at day 21 of pregnancy were anesthetized, and killed for the harvesting of maternal RA. Pregnant women who attended the Diabetes Prenatal Care Clinic of Botucatu Medical School were distributed in Pregnant non-diabetic (Pnd) and Gestational Diabetic (GDM) (n=3 w/group). The diagnosis of GDM was established according to ADA’s criteria (2016). The harvesting of RA was during the cesarean section. Transversal cross-sections of the RA of both women and rats were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. All procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee on Animal Experiments of the Botucatu Medical School (Protocol Number 1003/2013) and by the Botucatu Medical School Ethical Committee for Human Research in Medical Sciences (CAAE: 41570815.0.0000.5411). Results: The photomicrographs of the RA of rats revealed disorganized Z lines, thinning sarcomeres, and a usual quantity of intermyofibrillar mitochondria in the P group. The LTMd group showed swollen sarcoplasmic reticulum, dilated T tubes and areas with sarcomere disruption. The ultrastructural analysis of Pnd non-diabetic women in the RA showed well-organized myofibrils forming intact sarcomeres, organized Z lines and a normal distribution of intermyofibrillar mitochondria. The GDM group revealed increase in intermyofibrillar mitochondria, areas with sarcomere disruption and increased lipid droplets. Conclusion: Pregnancy and diabetes induce adaptations in the ultrastructure of the rectus abdominis muscle for both women and rats, changing the architectural design of these tissues. However, in rats these changes are more severe maybe because, besides the high blood glucose levels, the quadrupedal animal may suffer an excessive mechanical tension during pregnancy by gravity. Probably, these findings may suggest that these alterations are a risk factor that contributes to the development of muscle dysfunction in women with GDM and may motivate treatment strategies in these patients.

Keywords: gestational diabetes, muscle dysfunction, pregnancy, rectus abdominis

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Authors: Jie Su, Zhenghua Zhou, Yushi Wang, Yongyi Li

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The ground motion characteristics, which are given by the analysis of acceleration records, underlie the formulation and revision of the seismic design code of structural engineering. China Digital Strong Motion Network had recorded a lot of accelerograms of main shock from 478 permanent seismic stations, during the Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake on 12th May, 2008. These accelerograms provided a large number of essential data for the analysis of ground motion characteristics of the event. The spatial distribution characteristics, rupture directivity effect, hanging-wall and footwall effect had been studied based on these acceleration records. The results showed that the contours of horizontal peak ground acceleration and peak velocity were approximately parallel to the seismogenic fault which demonstrated that the distribution of the ground motion intensity was obviously controlled by the spatial extension direction of the seismogenic fault. Compared with the peak ground acceleration (PGA) recorded on the sites away from which the front of the fault rupture propagates, the PGA recorded on the sites toward which the front of the fault rupture propagates had larger amplitude and shorter duration, which indicated a significant rupture directivity effect. With the similar fault distance, the PGA of the hanging-wall is apparently greater than that of the foot-wall, while the peak velocity fails to observe this rule. Taking account of the seismic intensity distribution of Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake, the shape of strong ground motion contours was significantly affected by the directional effect in the regions with Chinese seismic intensity level VI ~ VIII. However, in the regions whose Chinese seismic intensity level are equal or greater than VIII, the mutual positional relationship between the strong ground motion contours and the surface outcrop trace of the fault was evidently influenced by the hanging-wall and foot-wall effect.

Keywords: hanging-wall and foot-wall effect, peak ground acceleration, rupture directivity effect, strong ground motion

Procedia PDF Downloads 347