Search results for: particle matter (PM)

Authors: Lekgowa Collen Makola, Cecil Naphtaly Moro Ouma, Sharon Moeno, Langelihle Dlamini

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In recent years, advancement in the field of nanotechnology has evolved new strategies to address energy and environmental issues. Amongst the developing technologies, visible-light-driven photocatalysis is regarded as a sustainable approach for energy production and environmental detoxifications, where transition metal oxides (TMOs) and metal-free carbon-based semiconductors such as graphitic carbon nitride (CN) evidenced notable potential in this matter. Herein, g-C₃N₄@WO₃@Ti₃C₂Tx three-component multijunction photocatalyst was fabricated via facile ultrasonic-assisted self-assembly, followed by calcination to facilitate extensive integrations of the materials. A series of different Ti₃C₂ wt% loading in the g-C₃N4@WO₃@Ti₃C₂Tx were prepared and represented as 1-CWT, 3-CWT, 5-CWT, and 7-CWT corresponding to 1, 3, 5, and 7wt%, respectively. Systematic characterization using spectroscopic and microscopic techniques were employed to validate the successful preparation of the photocatalysts. Enhanced optoelectronic and photoelectrochemical properties were observed for the WO₃@Ti₃C2@g-C₃N4 heterostructure with respect to the individual materials. Photoluminescence spectra and Nyquist plots show restrained recombination rates and improved photocarrier conductivities, respectively, and this was credited to the synergistic coupling effect and the presence of highly conductive Ti₃C2 MXene. The strong interfacial contact surfaces upon the formation of the composite were confirmed using XPS. Multiple charge transfer mechanisms were proposed for the WO3@Ti3C₂@g-C3N4, which couples Z-scheme and Schottky-junction mediated with Ti3C2 MXene. Bode phase plots show improved charge carrier life-times upon the formation of the multijunctional photocatalyst. Moreover, transient photocurrent density of 7-CWT is 40 and seven (7) times higher compared to that of g-C₃N4 and WO3, correspondingly. Unlike in the traditional Z-Scheme, the formed ternary heterostructure possesses interfaces through the metallic 2D Ti₃C₂ MXene, which provided charge transfer channels for efficient photocarrier transfers with carrier concentrations (ND) of 17.49×1021 cm-3 and 4.86% photo-to-chemical conversion efficiency. The as-prepared ternary g-C₃N₄@WO₃@Ti₃C₂Tx exhibited excellent photoelectrochemical properties with reserved redox band potential potencies to facilitate efficient photo-oxidation and -reduction reactions. The fabricated multijunction photocatalyst exhibits potentials to be used in an extensive range of photocatalytic process vis., production of valuable hydrocarbons from CO₂, production of H₂, and degradation of a plethora of pollutants from wastewater.

Keywords: photocatalysis, Z-scheme, multijunction heterostructure, Ti₃C₂ MXene, g-C₃N₄

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Authors: E. Cenderelli, E. Bruno, G. Iacoviello, A. Lazzini

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The financial sector is exposed to the risk of cyber-attacks like any other industrial sector. Furthermore, the topic of CybeRisk (cyber risk) has become particularly relevant given that Information Technology (IT) attacks have increased drastically in recent years, and cannot be stopped by single organizations requiring a response at international and national level. IT risk is never a matter purely for the IT manager, although he clearly plays a key role. A bank's risk management function requires a thorough understanding of the evolving risks as well as the tools and practical techniques available to address them. Upon the request of European and national legislation regarding CybeRisk in the financial system, banks are therefore called upon to strengthen the operational model for CybeRisk management. This will require an important change with a more intense collaboration with the structures that deal with information security for the development of an ad hoc system for the evaluation and control of this type of risk. The aim of the work is to propose a framework for the management and control of CybeRisk that will bridge the gap in the literature regarding the understanding and consideration of CybeRisk as an integral part of business management. The IT function has a strong relevance in the management of CybeRisk, which is perceived mainly as operational risk, but with a positive tendency on the part of risk management to the identification of CybeRisk assessment methods that are increasingly complete, quantitative and able to better describe the possible impacts on the business. The paper provides answers to the research questions: Is it possible to define a CybeRisk governance structure able to support the comparison between risk and security? How can the relationships between IT assets be integrated into a cyberisk assessment framework to guarantee a system of protection and risks control? From a methodological point of view, this research uses a case study approach. The choice of “Monte dei Paschi di Siena” was determined by the specific features of one of Italy’s biggest lenders. It is chosen to use an intensive research strategy: an in-depth study of reality. The case study methodology is an empirical approach to explore a complex and current phenomenon that develops over time. The use of cases has also the advantage of allowing the deepening of aspects concerning the "how" and "why" of contemporary events, on which the scholar has little control. The research bases on quantitative data and qualitative information obtained through semi-structured interviews of an open-ended nature and questionnaires to directors, members of the audit committee, risk, IT and compliance managers, and those responsible for internal audit function and anti-money laundering. The added value of the paper can be seen in the development of a framework based on a mapping of IT assets from which it is possible to identify their relationships for purposes of a more effective management and control of cyber risk.

Keywords: bank, CybeRisk, information technology, risk management

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Authors: Cathy Basterfield

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Issue: To engage in one’s own health care, health professionals need to be aware of an individual’s specific skills and abilities for best communication. One of the most discussed is health literacy. One of the assumed skills and abilities for adults is an individuals’ health literacy. Background: A review of publicly available health content appears to assume all adult readers will have a broad and full capacity to read at a high level of literacy, often at a post-school education level. Health information writers and clinicians need to recognise one critical area for why there may be little or no change in a person’s behaviour, or no-shows to appointments. Perhaps unintentionally, they are miscommunicating with the majority of the adult population. Health information contains many literacy domains. It usually includes technical medical terms or jargon. Many fact sheets and other information require scientific literacy with or without specific numerical literacy. It may include graphs, percentages, timing, distance, or weights. Each additional word or concept in these domains decreases the readers' ability to meaningfully read, understand and know what to do with the information. An attempt to begin to read the heading where long or unfamiliar words are used will reduce the readers' motivation to attempt to read. Critically people who have low literacy are overwhelmed when pages are covered with lots of words. People attending a health environment may be unwell or anxious about a diagnosis. These make it harder to read, understand and know what to do with the information. But access to health information must consider an even wider range of adults, including those with poor school attainment, migrants, and refugees. It is also homeless people, people with mental health illnesses, or people who are ageing. People with low literacy also may include people with lifelong disabilities, people with acquired disabilities, people who read English as a second (or third) language, people who are Deaf, or people who are vision impaired. Outcome: This paper will discuss Easy English, which is developed for adults. It uses the audiences’ everyday words, short sentences, short words, and no jargon. It uses concrete language and concrete, specific images to support the text. It has been developed in Australia since the mid-2000s. This paper will showcase various projects in the health domain which use Easy English to improve the understanding and functional use of written information for the large numbers of adults in our communities who do not have the health literacy to manage a range of day to day reading tasks. See examples from consent forms, fact sheets and choice options, instructions, and other functional documents, where Easy English has been developed. This paper will ask individuals to reflect on their own work practice and consider what written information must be available in Easy English. It does not matter how cutting-edge a new treatment is; when adults can not read or understand what it is about and the positive and negative outcomes, they are less likely to be engaged in their own health journey.

Keywords: health literacy, inclusion, Easy English, communication

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Authors: Shawn G. Gallaher, Lilli E. Hirth

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As permafrost thaws with the continued warming of the Alaskan North Slope, a progressively thicker active thaw layer is evidently releasing previously sequestered nutrients, metals, and particulate matter exposed to fluvial transport. In this study, we estimate material fluxes on the North Slope of Alaska during the 2019-2022 melt seasons. The watershed of the Alaskan North Slope can be categorized into three regions: mountains, tundra, and coastal plain. Precipitation and discharge data were collected from repeat visits to 14 sample sites for biogeochemical surface water samples, 7 point discharge measurements, 3 project deployed meteorology stations, and 2 U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) continuous discharge observation sites. The timing, intensity, and spatial distribution of precipitation determine the material flux composition in the Sagavanirktok and surrounding bodies of water, with geogenic constituents (e.g., dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC)) expected from mountain flushed events and biogenic constituents (e.g., dissolved organic compound (DOC)) expected from transitional tundra precipitation events. Project goals include connecting late summer precipitation events to peak discharge to determine the responses of the watershed to localized atmospheric forcing. Field study measurements showed widespread precipitation in August 2019, generating an increase in total suspended solids, dissolved organic carbon, and iron fluxes from the tundra, shifting the main-stem mountain river biogeochemistry toward tundra source characteristics typically only observed during the spring floods. Intuitively, a large-scale precipitation event (as defined by this study as exceeding 12.5 mm of precipitation on a single observation day) would dilute a body of water; however, in this study, concentrations increased with higher discharge responses on several occasions. These large-scale precipitation events continue to produce peak constituent fluxes as the thaw layer increases in depth and late summer precipitation increases, evidenced by 6 large-scale events in July 2022 alone. This increase in late summer events is in sharp contrast to the 3 or fewer large events in July in each of the last 10 years. Changes in precipitation intensity, timing, and location have introduced late summer peak constituent flux events previously confined to the spring freshet.

Keywords: Alaska North Slope, arctic rivers, material flux, precipitation

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Authors: Ngabirano Levis

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One of Africa’s major environmental challenges remains air pollution. In 2017, UNICEF estimated over 400,000 children in Africa died as a result of indoor pollution, while 350 million children remain exposed to the risks of indoor pollution due to the use of biomass and burning of wood for cooking. Over time, indeed, the major causes of mortality across Africa are shifting from the unsafe water, poor sanitation, and malnutrition to the ambient and household indoor pollution, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain a key factor in this. In addition, studies by the OECD estimated that the economic cost of premature deaths due to Ambient Particulate Matter Pollution (APMP) and Household Air Pollution across Africa in 2013 was about 215 Billion US Dollars and US 232 Billion US Dollars, respectively. This is not only a huge cost for a continent where over 41% of the Sub-Saharan population lives on less than 1.9 US Dollars a day but also makes the people extremely vulnerable to the negative climate change and environmental degradation effects. Such impacts have led to extended droughts, flooding, health complications, and reduced crop yields hence food insecurity. Climate change, therefore, poses a threat to global targets like poverty reduction, health, and famine. Despite efforts towards mitigation, air contributors like carbon dioxide emissions are on a generally upward trajectory across Africa. In Egypt, for instance, emission levels had increased by over 141% in 2010 from the 1990 baseline. Efforts like the climate change adaptation and mitigation financing have also hit obstacles on the continent. The International Community and developed nations stress that Africa still faces challenges of limited human, institutional and financial systems capable of attracting climate funding from these developed economies. By using the qualitative multi-case study method supplemented by interviews of key actors and comprehensive textual analysis of relevant literature, this paper dissects the key emissions and air pollutant sources, their impact on the well-being of the African people, and puts forward suggestions as well as a remedial mechanism to these challenges. The findings reveal that whereas climate change mitigation plans appear comprehensive and good on paper for many African countries like Uganda; the lingering political interference, limited research guided planning, lack of population engagement, irrational resource allocation, and limited system and personnel capacity has largely impeded the realization of the set targets. Recommendations have been put forward to address the above climate change impacts that threaten the food security, health, and livelihoods of the people on the continent.

Keywords: Africa, air pollution, climate change, mitigation, emissions, effective planning, institutional strengthening

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Authors: Shiyi He, Yan Xia, Xiaoping Ouyang, Liang Chen, Zhongbing Zhang, Jinlu Ruan

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As the key system of the spacecraft, various propelling system have been developing rapidly, including ion thrust, laser thrust, solar sail and other micro-thrusters. However, there still are some shortages in these systems. The ion thruster requires the high-voltage or magnetic field to accelerate, resulting in extra system, heavy quantity and large volume. The laser thrust now is mostly ground-based and providing pulse thrust, restraint by the station distribution and the capacity of laser. The thrust direction of solar sail is limited to its relative position with the Sun, so it is hard to propel toward the Sun or adjust in the shadow.In this paper, a novel nuclear thruster based on alpha decay and spontaneous fission is proposed and the principle of this radiation-thrust with alpha particle has been expounded. Radioactive materials with different released energy, such as 210Po with 5.4MeV and 238Pu with 5.29MeV, attached to a metal film will provides various thrust among 0.02-5uN/cm2. With this repulsive force, radiation is able to be a power source. With the advantages of low system quantity, high accuracy and long active time, the radiation thrust is promising in the field of space debris removal, orbit control of nano-satellite array and deep space exploration. To do further study, a formula lead to the amplitude and direction of thrust by the released energy and decay coefficient is set up. With the initial formula, the alpha radiation elements with the half life period longer than a hundred days are calculated and listed. As the alpha particles emit continuously, the residual charge in metal film grows and affects the emitting energy distribution of alpha particles. With the residual charge or extra electromagnetic field, the emitting of alpha particles performs differently and is analyzed in this paper. Furthermore, three more complex situations are discussed. Radiation element generating alpha particles with several energies in different intensity, mixture of various radiation elements, and cascaded alpha decay are studied respectively. In combined way, it is more efficient and flexible to adjust the thrust amplitude. The propelling model of the spontaneous fission is similar with the one of alpha decay, which has a more complex angular distribution. A new quasi-sphere space propelling system based on the radiation-thrust has been introduced, as well as the collecting and processing system of excess charge and reaction heat. The energy and spatial angular distribution of emitting alpha particles on unit area and certain propelling system have been studied. As the alpha particles are easily losing energy and self-absorb, the distribution is not the simple stacking of each nuclide. With the change of the amplitude and angel of radiation-thrust, orbital variation strategy on space debris removal is shown and optimized.

Keywords: alpha decay, angular distribution, emitting energy, orbital variation, radiation-thruster

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Authors: Xiaoyun Hui, Fiona Gentle, Clemens Engelke, Margaret C. Graham

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Although past work has shown that phosphorus (P), an important nutrient, may form complexes with aqueous humic substances (HS), the principal component of natural organic matter, the nature of such interactions is poorly understood. Humic complexation may not only enhance P concentrations but it may change its bioavailability within such waters and, in addition, influence its transport within catchment settings. This project is examining the relationships and associations of P, HS, and iron (Fe) in Loch Meadie, Sutherland, North Scotland, a mesohumic freshwater loch which has been assessed as reference condition with respect to P. The aim is to identify characteristic spectroscopic parameters which can enhance the performance of the model currently used to predict reference condition TP levels for highly-coloured Scottish lochs under the Water Framework Directive. In addition to Loch Meadie, samples from other reference condition lochs in north Scotland and Shetland were analysed. By including different types of reference condition lochs (clear water, mesohumic and polyhumic water) this allowed the relationship between total phosphorus (TP) and HS to be more fully explored. The pH, [TP], [Fe], UV/Vis absorbance/spectra, [TOC] and [DOC] for loch water samples have been obtained using accredited methods. Loch waters were neutral to slightly acidic/alkaline (pH 6-8). [TP] in loch waters were lower than 50 µg L-1, and in Loch Meadie waters were typically <10 µg L-1. [Fe] in loch waters were mainly <0.6 mg L-1, but for some loch water samples, [Fe] were in the range 1.0-1.8 mg L-1and there was a positive correlation with [TOC] (r2=0.61). Lochs were classified as clear water, mesohumic or polyhumic based on water colour. The range of colour values of sampled lochs in each category were 0.2–0.3, 0.2–0.5 and 0.5–0.8 a.u. (10 mm pathlength), respectively. There was also a strong positive correlation between [DOC] and water colour (R2=0.84). The UV/Vis spectra (200-700 nm) for water samples were featureless with only a slight “shoulder” observed in the 270–290 nm region. Ultrafiltration was then used to separate colloidal and truly dissolved components from the loch waters and, since it contained the majority of aqueous P and Fe, the colloidal component was fractionated by gel filtration chromatography method. Gel filtration chromatographic fractionation of the colloids revealed two brown-coloured bands which had distinctive UV/Vis spectral features. The first eluting band had larger and more aromatic HS molecules than the second band, and in addition both P and Fe were primarily associated with the larger, more aromatic HS. This result demonstrated that P was able to form complexes with Fe-rich components of HS, and thus provided a scientific basis for the significant correlation between [Fe] and [TP] that the previous monitoring data of reference condition lochs from Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) showed. The distinctive features of the HS will be used as the basis for an improved spectroscopic tool.

Keywords: total phosphorus, humic substances, Scottish loch water, WFD model

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Authors: John Gaber

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Objectives: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a medicine or health practice that is used alongside conventional practice. Nowadays, CAM is commonly used in North America and other countries, and there is a need for more scientific study to understand its efficacy in different clinical cases. This retrospective study explores the effectiveness and recovery time of CAMs such as cupping, acupuncture, and sotai to treat cases of non-specific low back pain (ANLBP). Methods: We assessed the effectiveness of acupuncture, cupping, and sotai methods on pain and for the treatment of ANLBP. We have compared the magnitude of pain relief using a pain scale assessment method to compare the efficacy of each treatment. The Face Pain Scale assessment was conducted before and 24 hours post-treatment. This retrospective study analyzed 40 patients and categorized them according to the treatment they received. The study included the control group, and the three intervention groups, each with ten patients. Each of the three intervention groups received one of the intervention methods. The first group received the cupping treatment, where cups were placed on the lower back of both sides on points: BL23, BL25, BL26, BL54, BL37, BL40, and BL57. After vacuuming, the cups will stay for 10-15 minutes under infrared light (IR) heating. IR heating is applied by an infrared heat lamp. The second group received the acupuncture treatment, placing needles on points: BL23, BL25, BL26, BL52BL54, GB30, BL37, BL40, BL57, BL59, BL60, and KI3. The needles will be simulated with IR light. The final group received the sotai treatment, a Japanese form of structural realignment that relieves pain, balance, and mobility -moving the body naturally and spontaneously towards a comfortable direction by focusing on the inner feeling and synchronizing with the patient’s breathing. The SPSS statistical software was used to analyze the data using repeated-measures ANOVA. The data collected demonstrates the change in the FPS assessment method value over the course of treatment. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In the cupping, acupuncture, and sotai therapy groups, the mean of the FPS value reduced from 8.7±1.2, 8.8±1.2, 9.0±0.8 before the intervention to 3.5±1.4, 4.3±1.4, 3.3±1.3, 24 hours after the intervention, respectively. The data collected shows that the CAM methods included in this study all show improvements in pain relief 24 hours after treatment. Conclusion: Complementary and alternative medicine were developed to treat injuries and illnesses with the whole body in mind, designed to be used in addition to standard treatments. The data above shows that the use of these treatments can have a pain-relieving effect, but more research should be done on the matter, as finding CAM methods that are efficacious is crucial in the landscape of health sciences.

Keywords: acupuncture, cupping, alternative medicine, rehabilitation, acute injury

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Authors: Navid Mosallaei, Mahmoud Reza Jaafari, Mohammad Yahya Hanafi-Bojd, Shiva Golmohammadzadeh, Bizhan Malaekeh-Nikouei

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Background: Docetaxel (DTX), a potent anticancer drug derived from the European yew tree, is effective against various human cancers by inhibiting microtubule depolymerization. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have gained attention as drug carriers for enhancing drug effectiveness and safety. SLNs, submicron-sized lipid-based particles, can passively target tumors through the "enhanced permeability and retention" (EPR) effect, providing stability, drug protection, and controlled release while being biocompatible. Methods: The SLN formulation included biodegradable lipids (Compritol and Precirol), hydrogenated soy phosphatidylcholine (H-SPC) as a lipophilic co-surfactant, and Poloxamer 188 as a non-ionic polymeric stabilizer. Two SLN preparation techniques, probe sonication and microemulsion, were assessed. Characterization encompassed SLNs' morphology, particle size, zeta potential, matrix, and encapsulation efficacy. In-vitro cytotoxicity and cellular uptake studies were conducted using mouse colorectal (C-26) and human malignant melanoma (A-375) cell lines, comparing SLN-DTX with Taxotere®. In-vivo studies evaluated tumor inhibitory efficacy and survival in mice with colorectal (C-26) tumors, comparing SLNDTX withTaxotere®. Results: SLN-DTX demonstrated stability, with an average size of 180 nm and a low polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.2 and encapsulation efficacy of 98.0 ± 0.1%. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) suggested amorphous encapsulation of DTX within SLNs. In vitro studies revealed that SLN-DTX exhibited nearly equivalent cytotoxicity to Taxotere®, depending on concentration and exposure time. Cellular uptake studies demonstrated superior intracellular DTX accumulation with SLN-DTX. In a C-26 mouse model, SLN-DTX at 10 mg/kg outperformed Taxotere® at 10 and 20 mg/kg, with no significant differences in body weight changes and a remarkably high survival rate of 60%. Conclusion: This study concludes that SLN-DTX, prepared using the probe sonication, offers stability and enhanced therapeutic effects. It displayed almost same in vitro cytotoxicity to Taxotere® but showed superior cellular uptake. In a mouse model, SLN-DTX effectively inhibited tumor growth, with 10 mg/kg outperforming even 20 mg/kg of Taxotere®, without adverse body weight changes and with higher survival rates. This suggests that SLN-DTX has the potential to reduce adverse effects while maintaining or enhancing docetaxel's therapeutic profile, making it a promising drug delivery strategy suitable for industrialization.

Keywords: docetaxel, Taxotere®, solid lipid nanoparticles, enhanced permeability and retention effect, drug delivery, cancer chemotherapy, cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, tumor inhibition

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Authors: Ozlem Uguz, Ali Demirci, Hanzade Haykiri-Acma, Serdar Yaman

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Lignitic coal holds its position as Turkey’s most important indigenous energy source to generate energy in thermal power plants. Hence, efficient and environmental-friendly use of lignite in electricity generation is of great importance. Thus, clean coal technologies have been planned to mitigate emissions and provide more efficient burning in power plants. In this context, oxygen enriched combustion (oxy-combustion) is regarded as one of the clean coal technologies, which based on burning with oxygen concentrations higher than that in air. As it is known that the most of the Turkish coals are low rank with high mineral matter content, unburnt carbon trapped in ash is, unfortunately, high, and it leads significant losses in the overall efficiencies of the thermal plants. Besides, the necessity of burning huge amounts of these low calorific value lignites to get the desired amount of energy also results in the formation of large amounts of ash that is rich in unburnt carbon. Oxygen enriched combustion technology enables to increase the burning efficiency through the complete burning of almost all of the carbon content of the fuel. This also contributes to the protection of air quality and emission levels drop reasonably. The aim of this study is to investigate the unburnt carbon content and the burning reactivities of several different lignite samples under oxygen enriched conditions. For this reason, the combined effects of temperature and oxygen/nitrogen ratios in the burning atmosphere were investigated and interpreted. To do this, Turkish lignite samples from Adıyaman-Gölbaşı and Kütahya-Tunçbilek regions were characterized first by proximate and ultimate analyses and the burning profiles were derived using DTA (Differential Thermal Analysis) curves. Then, these lignites were subjected to slow burning process in a horizontal tube furnace at different temperatures (200ºC, 400ºC, 600ºC for Adıyaman-Gölbaşı lignite and 200ºC, 450ºC, 800ºC for Kütahya-Tunçbilek lignite) under atmospheres having O₂+N₂ proportions of 21%O₂+79%N₂, 30%O₂+70%N₂, 40%O₂+60%N₂, and 50%O₂+50%N₂. These burning temperatures were specified based on the burning profiles derived from the DTA curves. The residues obtained from these burning tests were also analyzed by proximate and ultimate analyses to detect the unburnt carbon content along with the unused energy potential. Reactivity of these lignites was calculated using several methodologies. Burning yield under air condition (21%O₂+79%N₂) was used a benchmark value to compare the effectiveness of oxygen enriched conditions. It was concluded that oxygen enriched combustion method enhanced the combustion efficiency and lowered the unburnt carbon content of ash. Combustion of low-rank coals under oxygen enriched conditions was found to be a promising way to improve the efficiency of the lignite-firing energy systems. However, cost-benefit analysis should be considered for a better justification of this method since the use of more oxygen brings an unignorable additional cost.

Keywords: coal, energy, oxygen enriched combustion, reactivity

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Authors: Aboubakr Mashali

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Context: The paper focuses on the relationship between architecture and nature, emphasizing the importance of incorporating natural elements in design to reconnect individuals with the natural environment. It highlights the positive impact of a harmonious architecture on people's well-being and the environment, as well as the concept of sustainable architecture. Research aim: The aim of this research is to showcase how nature can be integrated into architectural designs, ultimately reestablishing a connection between humans and the natural world. Methodology: The research employs an in-depth approach, delving into the subject matter through extensive research and the analysis of case studies. These case studies provide practical examples and insights into successful architectural designs that have effectively incorporated nature. Findings: The findings suggest that when architecture and nature coexist harmoniously, it creates a positive atmosphere and enhances people's wellbeing. The use of materials obtained from nature in their raw or minimally refined form, such as wood, clay, stone, and bamboo, contributes to a natural atmosphere within the built environment. Additionally, a color palette inspired by nature, consisting of earthy tones, green, brown, and rusty shades, further enhances the harmonious relationship between individuals and their surroundings. The paper also discusses the concept of sustainable architecture, where materials used are renewable, and energy consumption is minimal. It acknowledges the efforts of organizations such as the US Green Building Council in promoting sustainable design practices. Theoretical importance: This research contributes to the understanding of the relationship between architecture and nature and highlights the importance of incorporating natural elements into design. It emphasizes the potential of naturefriendly architecture to create greener, resilient, and sustainable cities. Data collection and analysis procedures: The researcher gathered data through comprehensive research, examining existing literature, and studying relevant case studies. The analysis involved studying the successful implementation of nature in architectural design and its impact on individuals and the environment. Question addressed: The research addresses the question of how nature can be incorporated into architectural designs to reconnect humans with the nature. Conclusion: In conclusion, this research highlights the significance of architecture being in harmony with its surrounding, which in turn should be in harmony with nature. By incorporating nature in architectural designs, individuals can rediscover their connection with nature and experience its positive impact on their well-being. The use of natural materials and a color palette inspired by nature further enhances this relationship. Additionally, embracing sustainable design practices contributes to the creation of greener and more resilient cities. This research underscores the importance of integrating nature-friendly architecture to foster a healthier and more sustainable future.

Keywords: nature, architecture, reconnecting, greencities, sustainable, openspaces, landscape

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Authors: Alfonsina Buoniconto

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The aim of this study is to investigate the degree of cross-linguistic and intra-linguistic variation in the encoding of motion events (MEs) in English and Italian, these being typologically different languages both showing signs of disobedience to their respective types. As a matter of fact, the traditional typological classification of MEs encoding distributes languages into two macro-types, based on the preferred locus for the expression of Path, the main ME component (other components being Figure, Ground and Manner) characterized by conceptual and structural prominence. According to this model, Satellite-framed (SF) languages typically express Path information in verb-dependent items called satellites (e.g. preverbs and verb particles) with main verbs encoding Manner of motion; whereas Verb-framed languages (VF) tend to include Path information within the verbal locus, leaving Manner to adjuncts. Although this dichotomy is valid altogether, languages do not always behave according to their typical classification patterns. English, for example, is usually ascribed to the SF type due to the rich inventory of postverbal particles and phrasal verbs used to express spatial relations (i.e. the cat climbed down the tree); nevertheless, it is not uncommon to find constructions such as the fog descended slowly, which is typical of the VF type. Conversely, Italian is usually described as being VF (cf. Paolo uscì di corsa ‘Paolo went out running’), yet SF constructions like corse via in lacrime ‘She ran away in tears’ are also frequent. This paper will try to demonstrate that such a typological overlapping is due to the fact that the semantic units making up MEs are distributed within several loci of the sentence –not only verbs and satellites– thus determining a number of different constructions stemming from convergent factors. Indeed, the linguistic expression of motion events depends not only on the typological nature of languages in a traditional sense, but also on a series morphological, lexical, and syntactic resources, as well as on inferential, discursive, usage-related, and cultural factors that make semantic information more or less accessible, frequent, and easy to process. Hence, rather than describe English and Italian in dichotomic terms, this study focuses on the investigation of cross-linguistic and intra-linguistic variation in the use of all the strategies made available by each linguistic system to express motion. Evidence for these assumptions is provided by parallel corpora analysis. The sample texts are taken from two contemporary Italian novels and their respective English translations. The 400 motion occurrences selected (200 in English and 200 in Italian) were scanned according to the MODEG (an acronym for Motion Decoding Grid) methodology, which grants data comparability through the indexation and retrieval of combined morphosyntactic and semantic information at different levels of detail.

Keywords: construction typology, motion event encoding, parallel corpora, satellite-framed vs. verb-framed type

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Authors: Fentie Bishaw Wagayie

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This study was carried out with the objective of studying the response of Farta sheep in feed intake and live weight change when fed on hay supplemented with noug seed cake (NSC), wheat bran (WB), and their mixtures. The digestibility trial of 7 days and 90 days of feeding trial was conducted using 25 intact male Farta sheep with a mean initial live weight of 16.83 ± 0.169 kg. The experimental animals were arranged randomly into five blocks based on the initial live weight, and the five treatments were assigned randomly to each animal in a block. Five dietary treatments used in the experiment comprised of grass hay fed ad libitum (T1), grass hay ad libitum + 300 g DM WB (T2), grass hay ad libitum + 300 g DM (67% WB: 33% NSC mixture) (T3), grass hay ad libitum + 300 g DM (67% NSC: 33% WB) (T4) and 300 g DM/ head/day NSC (T5). Common salt and water were offered ad libitum. The supplements were offered twice daily at 0800 and 1600 hours. The experimental sheep were kept in individual pens. Supplementation of NSC, WB, and their mixtures significantly increased (p < 0.01) the total dry matter (DM) (665.84-788 g/head/day) and (p < 0.001) crude protein (CP) intake. Unsupplemented sheep consumed significantly higher (p < 0.01) grass hay DM (540.5g/head/day) as compared to the supplemented treatments (365.8-488 g/h/d), except T2. Among supplemented sheep, T5 had significantly higher (p < 0.001) CP intake (99.98 g/head/day) than the others (85.52-90.2 g/head/day). Supplementation significantly improved (p < 0.001) the digestibility of CP (66.61-78.9%), but there was no significant effect (p > 0.05) on DM, OM, NDF, and ADF digestibility between supplemented and control treatments. Very low CP digestibility (11.55%) observed in the basal diet (grass hay) used in this study indicated that feeding sole grass hay could not provide nutrients even for the maintenance requirement of growing sheep. Significant final and daily live weight gain (p < 0.001) in the range of 70.11-82.44 g/head/day was observed in supplemented Farta sheep, but unsupplemented sheep lost weight by 9.11g/head/day. Numerically, among the supplemented treatments, sheep supplemented with a higher proportion of NSC in T4 (201 NSC + 99 g WB) gained more weight than the rest, though not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The absence of statistical difference in daily body weight gain between all supplemented sheep indicated that the supplementation of NSC, WB, and their mixtures had similar potential to provide nutrients. Generally, supplementation of NSC, WB, and their mixtures to the basal grass hay diet improved feed conversion ratio, total DM intake, CP intake, and CP digestibility, and it also improved the growth performance with a similar trend for all supplemented Farta sheep over the control group. Therefore, from a biological point of view, to attain the required level of slaughter body weight within a short period of the growing program, sheep producer can use all the supplement types depending upon their local availability, but in the order of priority, T4, T5, T3, and T2, respectively. However, based on partial budget analysis, supplementation of 300 g DM/head /day NSC (T5) could be recommended as profitable for producers with no capital limitation, whereas T4 supplementation (201 g NSC + 99 WB DM/day) is recommended when there is capital scarcity.

Keywords: weight gain, supplement, Farta sheep, hay as basal diet

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Authors: Ana Cristina García-Luna Romero

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This document seeks to reflect on the urban project from its conceptual identity root. In the first instance, a proposal is made on how the city project is sustained from the conceptual root, from the logos: it opens a way to assimilate the imagination; what we imagine becomes a reality. In this way, firstly, the need to use language as a vehicle for transmitting the stories that sustain us as humanity can be deemed as an important social factor that enables us to social behavior. Secondly, the need to attend to the written language as a mechanism of power, as a means to consolidate a dominant ideology or a political position, is raised; as it served to carry out the modernization project, it is therefore addressed differences between the real and the literate city. Thus, the consolidated urban-architectural project is based on logos, the project, and planning. Considering the importance of materiality and its relation to subjective well-being contextualized from a socio-urban approach, we question ourselves into how we can look at something that is doubtful. From a philosophy perspective, the truth is considered to be nothing more than a matter of correspondence between the observer and the observed. To understand beyond the relative of the gaze, it is necessary to expose different perspectives since it depends on the understanding of what is observed and how it is critically analyzed. Therefore, the analysis of materiality, as a political field, takes a proposal based on this research in the principles in transgenesis: principle of communication, representativeness, security, health, malleability, availability of potentiality or development, conservation, sustainability, economy, harmony, stability, accessibility, justice, legibility, significance, consistency, joint responsibility, connectivity, beauty, among others. The (urban) human being acts because he wants to live in a certain way: in a community, in a fair way, with opportunity for development, with the possibility of managing the environment according to their needs, etc. In order to comply with this principle, it is necessary to design strategies from the principles in transgenesis, which must be named, defined, understood, and socialized by the urban being, the companies, and from themselves. In this way, the technical status of the city in the neoliberal present determines extraordinary conditions for reflecting on an almost emergency scenario created by the impact of cities that, far from being limited to resilient proposals, must aim at the reflection of the urban process that the present social model has generated. Therefore, can we rethink the paradigm of the perception of life quality in the current neoliberal model in the production of the character of public space related to the practices of being urban. What we are trying to do within this document is to build a framework to study under what logic the practices of the social system that make sense of the public space are developed, what the implications of the phenomena of the inscription of action and materialization (and its results over political action between the social and the technical system) are and finally, how we can improve the quality of life of individuals from the urban space.

Keywords: cities, nature, society, urban quality of life

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: Mathieu Hemono, Sophie Puig-Malet, Patrick Zylberman, Avner Bar-Hen, Rainer Sauerborn, Stefanie Schütte, Niamh Herlihi, Antoine Flahault et Anneliese Depoux

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Since the IPCC released its first report in 1990, an increasing number of peer-reviewed publications have reported the health risks associated with climate change. Although there is a large body of evidence supporting the association between climate change and poor health outcomes, the media is inconsistent in the attention it pays to the subject matter. This study aims to analyze the modalities and rhetoric in the media concerning the impact of climate change on health in order to better understand its role in information dissemination. A review was conducted of articles published between 1990 and 2015 in the francophone newspapers Le Monde and Jeune Afrique. A detailed search strategy including specific climate and health terminology was used to search the newspapers’ online databases. 1202 articles were identified as having referenced the terms climate change and health. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to narrow the search to articles referencing the effects of climate change on human health and 160 articles were included in the final analysis. Data was extracted and categorized to create a structured database allowing for further investigation and analysis. The review indicated that although 66% of the selected newspaper articles reference scientific evidence of the impact of climate change on human health, the focus on the topic is limited major political events or is circumstances relating to public health crises. Main findings also include that among the many direct and indirect health outcomes, infectious diseases are the main health outcome highlighted in association with climate change. Lastly, the articles suggest that while developed countries have caused most of the greenhouse effect, the global south is more immediately affected. Overall, the reviewed articles reinforce the need for international cooperation in finding a solution to mitigate the effects of climate change on health. The manner in which scientific results are communicated and disseminated, impact individual and collective perceptions of the topic in the public sphere and affect political will to shape policy. The results of this analysis will underline the modalities of the rhetoric of transparency and provide the basis for a perception study of media discourses. This study is part of an interdisciplinary project called 4CHealth that confronts results of the research done on scientific, political and press literature to better understand how the knowledge on climate changes and health circulates within those different fields and whether and how it is translated to real world change.

Keywords: climate change, health, health impacts, communication, media, rhetoric, awareness, Global South, Africa

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Authors: Pooja Ichplani, Archna Kumar, Jessica Mayberry

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Community Video (CV) is a participatory medium that has immense potential to strengthen community communications and amplify the voice of people for their empowerment. By building capacities especially of marginalized community groups and providing a platform to freely voice their ideas, CV endeavours to bring about shifts towards more participatory, bottom up development processes and greater power in the hands of the people, especially the disadvantaged. In various parts of the world, among marginalized community groups, community video initiatives have become instrumental in facilitating micro-level, yet significant changes in communities. Video Volunteers (VV) is an organization that promotes community media and works towards providing disadvantaged communities with journalistic, critical thinking and creative skills they need for catalysing change in their communities. Working since 2002, VV has evolved a unique community media model fostering locally-owned and managed media production, as well as building people’s capacities to articulate and share their perspectives on the issues that matter to them – on a local and a global scale. Further, by integrating a livelihood aspect within its model, VV has actively involved people from poor marginalized communities and provided them a new tool for serving their communities whilst keeping their identities intact. This paper, based on a qualitative research, seeks to map the range of VV impacts in communities and provide an in-depth analysis of factors contributing to VV impacting change in communities. Study tools included content analysis of a longitudinal sample of impact videos produced, narratives of community correspondents using the Most Significant Change Technique (MSCT) and interviews with key informants. Using a multi-fold analysis, the paper seeks to gain holistic insights. At the first level, the paper profiles the Community Correspondents (CCs), spearheading change, and maps their personal and social context and their perceptions about VV in their personal lives. Secondly, at an organizational level, the paper maps the significance of impacts brought about in the CCs communities and their association, challenges and achievements while working with VV. Lastly, at the community level, it consists of analysis of the nature of impacts achieved and aspects influencing the same. Finally, the study critiques the functioning of Video Volunteers as a community media initiative using the tipping point theory emphasizing on the power of context that is constituted by their socio-cultural environment. It concludes how empowerment of its Community Correspondents, multifarious activities during pre and post video production, and other innovative mechanisms have enabled in center staging issues of marginalized communities and snowballing processes of change in communities.

Keywords: community media, empowerment, participatory communication, social change

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Xuechun Kan, Dongdong Li, Fan Li, Peidang Liu

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Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most malignant subtype of breast cancer with a poor prognosis, and radiotherapy is one of the main treatment methods. However, due to the obvious resistance of tumor cells to radiotherapy, high dose of ionizing radiation is required during radiotherapy, which causes serious damage to normal tissues near the tumor. Therefore, how to improve radiotherapy resistance and enhance the specific killing of tumor cells by radiation is a hot issue that needs to be solved in clinic. Recent studies have shown that silver-based nanoparticles have strong radiosensitization, and silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) also provide a broad prospect for tumor targeted radiosensitization therapy due to their ultra-small size, low toxicity or non-toxicity, self-fluorescence and strong photostability. Aptamer 5TR1 is a 25-base oligonucleotide aptamer that can specifically bind to mucin-1 highly expressed on the membrane surface of TNBC 4T1 cells, and can be used as a highly efficient tumor targeting molecule. In this study, AgNCs were synthesized by DNA template based on 5TR1 aptamer (NC-T5-5TR1), and its role as a targeted radiosensitizer in TNBC radiotherapy was investigated. The optimal DNA template was first screened by fluorescence emission spectroscopy, and NC-T5-5TR1 was prepared. NC-T5-5TR1 was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. The inhibitory effect of NC-T5-5TR1 on cell activity was evaluated using the MTT method. Laser confocal microscopy was employed to observe NC-T5-5TR1 targeting 4T1 cells and verify its self-fluorescence characteristics. The uptake of NC-T5-5TR1 by 4T1 cells was observed by dark-field imaging, and the uptake peak was evaluated by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The radiation sensitization effect of NC-T5-5TR1 was evaluated through cell cloning and in vivo anti-tumor experiments. Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining flow cytometry was utilized to detect the impact of nanomaterials combined with radiotherapy on apoptosis. The results demonstrated that the particle size of NC-T5-5TR1 is about 2 nm, and the UV-visible absorption spectrum detection verifies the successful construction of NC-T5-5TR1, and it shows good dispersion. NC-T5-5TR1 significantly inhibited the activity of 4T1 cells and effectively targeted and fluoresced within 4T1 cells. The uptake of NC-T5-5TR1 reached its peak at 3 h in the tumor area. Compared with AgNCs without aptamer modification, NC-T5-5TR1 exhibited superior radiation sensitization, and combined radiotherapy significantly inhibited the activity of 4T1 cells and tumor growth in 4T1-bearing mice. The apoptosis level of NC-T5-5TR1 combined with radiation was significantly increased. These findings provide important theoretical and experimental support for NC-T5-5TR1 as a radiation sensitizer for TNBC.

Keywords: 5TR1 aptamer, silver nanoclusters, radio sensitization, triple-negative breast cancer

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Authors: Malek Miladi, Miguel Vegara, Maria Perez-Infantes, Khaled Mohamed Ramadan, Antonio Ruiz-Canales, Damaris Nunez-Gomez

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Coffee is the second consumed commodity worldwide, yet it also generates colossal waste. Proper management of coffee waste is proposed by converting them into products with higher added value to achieve sustainability of the economic and ecological footprint and protect the environment. Based on this, a study looking at the recovery of coffee waste is becoming more relevant in recent decades. Spent coffee grounds (SCG's) resulted from brewing coffee represents the major waste produced among all coffee industry. The fact that SCGs has no economic value be abundant in nature and industry, do not compete with agriculture and especially its high oil content (between 7-15% from its total dry matter weight depending on the coffee varieties, Arabica or Robusta), encourages its use as a sustainable feedstock for bio-oil production. The bio-oil extraction is a crucial step towards biodiesel production by the transesterification process. However, conventional methods used for oil extraction are not recommended due to their high consumption of energy, time, and generation of toxic volatile organic solvents. Thus, finding a sustainable, economical, and efficient extraction technique is crucial to scale up the process and to ensure more environment-friendly production. Under this perspective, the aim of this work was the statistical study to know an efficient strategy for oil extraction by n-hexane using indirect sonication. The coffee waste mixed Arabica and Robusta, which was used in this work. The temperature effect, sonication time, and solvent-to-solid ratio on the oil yield were statistically investigated as dependent variables by Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD) 23. The results were analyzed using STATISTICA 7 StatSoft software. The CCRD showed the significance of all the variables tested (P < 0.05) on the process output. The validation of the model by analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed good adjustment for the results obtained for a 95% confidence interval, and also, the predicted values graph vs. experimental values confirmed the satisfactory correlation between the model results. Besides, the identification of the optimum experimental conditions was based on the study of the surface response graphs (2-D and 3-D) and the critical statistical values. Based on the CCDR results, 29 ºC, 56.6 min, and solvent-to-solid ratio 16 were the better experimental conditions defined statistically for coffee waste oil extraction using n-hexane as solvent. In these conditions, the oil yield was >9% in all cases. The results confirmed the efficiency of using an ultrasound bath in extracting oil as a more economical, green, and efficient way when compared to the Soxhlet method.

Keywords: coffee waste, optimization, oil yield, statistical planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: Nada Verdel, Tomaz Rijavec, Albin Pintar, Ales Lapanje

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Objectives: White water circuits of woodfree paper mills contain suspended, dissolved, and colloidal particles, such as cellulose, starch, paper sizings, and dyes. By closing the white water circuits, these particles start to accumulate and affect the production. Due to high amount of organic matter that scavenge radicals and adsorbs onto catalyst surfaces, treatment of white water with photocatalysis is inappropriate. The most suitable approach should be bioaugmentation-assisted bioremediation. Accordingly, objectives were: - to isolate bacteria capable of degrading organic compounds used for the papermaking process - to select the most active bacteria for bioaugmentation. Status: The state-of-the-art of bioaugmentation of pulp and paper mill effluents is mostly based on biodegradation of lignin. Whereas in white water circuits of woodfree paper mills only papermaking compounds are present. As far as one can tell from the literature, the study on degradation activities of bacteria for all possible compounds of the papermaking process is a novelty. Methodology: The main parameters of the selected white water were systematically analyzed during a period of two months. Bacteria were isolated on selective media with particular carbon source. Organic substances used as carbon source either enter white water circuits as base paper or as recycled broke. The screening of bacterial activities for starch, cellulose, latex, polyvinyl alcohol, alkyl ketene dimers, and resin acids was followed by addition of lugol. Degraders of polycyclic aromatic dyes were selected by cometabolism tests; cometabolism is simultaneous biodegradation of two compounds, in which the degradation of the second compound depends on the presence of the first. The obtained strains were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. Findings: 335 autochthonous strains were isolated on plates with selected carbon source. The isolated strains were selected according to degradation of the particular carbon source. The ultimate degraders of cationic starch, cellulose, and sizings are Pseudomonas sp. NV-CE12-CF and Aeromonas sp. NV-RES19-BTP. The most active strains capable of degrading azo dyes are Aeromonas sp. NV-RES19-BTP and Sphingomonas sp. NV-B14-CF. Klebsiella sp. NV-Y14A-BTP degrade polycyclic aromatic direct blue 15 and also yellow dye, Agromyces sp. NV-RED15A-BF and Cellulosimicrobium sp. NV-A4-BF are specialists for whitener and Aeromonas sp. NV-RES19-BTP is general degrader of all compounds. To the white water adapted bacteria were isolated and selected according to their degradation activities for particular organic substances. Mostly isolated bacteria are specialized to lower the competition in the microbial community. Degraders of readily-biodegradable compounds do not degrade recalcitrant polycyclic aromatic dyes and vice versa. General degraders are rare.

Keywords: bioaugmentation, biodegradation of azo dyes, cometabolism, smart wastewater treatment technologies

Procedia PDF Downloads 169

Authors: Ben Otange, Wolfgang Parak, Florian Schulz, Michael Alexander Rubhausen

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The feasibility of extending the usage of molecular imprinting technique in complex biomolecules is demonstrated in this research. This technique is promising in diverse applications in areas such as drug delivery, diagnosis of diseases, catalysts, and impurities detection as well as treatment of various complications. While molecularly imprinted polymers MIP remain robust in the synthesis of molecules with remarkable binding sites that have high affinities to specific molecules of interest, extending the usage to complex biomolecules remains futile. This work reports on the successful synthesis of MIP from complex proteins: BSA, Transferrin, and MUC1. We show in this research that despite the heterogeneous binding sites and higher conformational flexibility of the chosen proteins, relying on their respective epitopes and motifs rather than the whole template produces highly sensitive and selective MIPs for specific molecular binding. Introduction: Proteins are vital in most biological processes, ranging from cell structure and structural integrity to complex functions such as transport and immunity in biological systems. Unlike other imprinting templates, proteins have heterogeneous binding sites in their complex long-chain structure, which makes their imprinting to be marred by challenges. In addressing this challenge, our attention is inclined toward the targeted delivery, which will use molecular imprinting on the particle surface so that these particles may recognize overexpressed proteins on the target cells. Our goal is thus to make surfaces of nanoparticles that specifically bind to the target cells. Results and Discussions: Using epitopes of BSA and MUC1 proteins and motifs with conserved receptors of transferrin as the respective templates for MIPs, significant improvement in the MIP sensitivity to the binding of complex protein templates was noted. Through the Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy FCS measurements on the size of protein corona after incubation of the synthesized nanoparticles with proteins, we noted a high affinity of MIPs to the binding of their respective complex proteins. In addition, quantitative analysis of hard corona using SDS-PAGE showed that only a specific protein was strongly bound on the respective MIPs when incubated with similar concentrations of the protein mixture. Conclusion: Our findings have shown that the merits of MIPs can be extended to complex molecules of higher biomolecular mass. As such, the unique merits of the technique, including high sensitivity and selectivity, relative ease of synthesis, production of materials with higher physical robustness, and higher stability, can be extended to more templates that were previously not suitable candidates despite their abundance and usage within the body.

Keywords: molecularly imprinted polymers, specific binding, drug delivery, high biomolecular mass-templates

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Authors: N. Renuka, R. Ramesh Babu, N. Vijayan

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Ion beams play a significant role in the process of tuning the properties of materials. Based on the radiation behavior, the engineering materials are categorized into two different types. The first one comprises organic solids which are sensitive to the energy deposited in their electronic system and the second one comprises metals which are insensitive to the energy deposited in their electronic system. However, exposure to swift heavy ions alters this general behavior. Depending on the mass, kinetic energy and nuclear charge, an ion can produce modifications within a thin surface layer or it can penetrate deeply to produce long and narrow distorted area along its path. When a high energetic ion beam impinges on a material, it causes two different types of changes in the material due to the columbic interaction between the target atom and the energetic ion beam: (i) inelastic collisions of the energetic ion with the atomic electrons of the material; and (ii) elastic scattering from the nuclei of the atoms of the material, which is extremely responsible for relocating the atoms of matter from their lattice position. The exposure of the heavy ions renders the material return to equilibrium state during which the material undergoes surface and bulk modifications which depends on the mass of the projectile ion, physical properties of the target material, its energy, and beam dimension. It is well established that electronic stopping power plays a major role in the defect creation mechanism provided it exceeds a threshold which strongly depends on the nature of the target material. There are reports available on heavy ion irradiation especially on crystalline materials to tune their physical and chemical properties. L-Arginine Acetate [LAA] is a potential semi-organic nonlinear optical crystal and its optical, mechanical and thermal properties have already been reported The main objective of the present work is to enhance or tune the structural and optical properties of LAA single crystals by heavy ion irradiation. In the present study, a potential nonlinear optical single crystal, L-arginine acetate (LAA) was grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique. The grown LAA single crystal was irradiated with oxygen ions at the dose rate of 600 krad and 1M rad in order to tune the structural and optical properties. The structural properties of pristine and oxygen ions irradiated LAA single crystals were studied using Powder X- ray diffraction and Fourier Transform Infrared spectral studies which reveal the structural changes that are generated due to irradiation. Optical behavior of pristine and oxygen ions irradiated crystals is studied by UV-Vis-NIR and photoluminescence analyses. From this investigation we can concluded that oxygen ions irradiation modifies the structural and optical properties of LAA single crystals.

Keywords: heavy ion irradiation, NLO single crystal, photoluminescence, X-ray diffractometer

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Authors: Alexis Polanco Jr, Tsai Lu Liu

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Research on digital assessment for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students is negligible. Part of this stems from the DHH assessment design existing at the intersection of the emergent disciplines of usability, accessibility, and child-computer interaction (CCI). While these disciplines have some prevailing guidelines —e.g. in user experience design (UXD), there is Jacob Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics (Nielsen-10); for accessibility, there are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) & the Principles of Universal Design (PUD)— this research was unable to uncover a unified set of guidelines. Given that digital assessments have lasting implications for the funding and shaping of U.S. school districts, it is vital that cross-disciplinary guidelines emerge. As a result, this research seeks to provide a framework by which these disciplines can share knowledge. The framework entails a process of asking subject-matter experts (SMEs) and design & development professionals to self-describe their fields of expertise, how their work might serve DHH students, and to expose any incongruence between their ideal process and what is permissible at their workplace. This research used two rounds of mixed methods. The first round consisted of structured interviews with SMEs in usability, accessibility, CCI, and DHH education. These practitioners were not designers by trade but were revealed to use designerly work processes. In addition to asking these SMEs about their field of expertise, work process, etc., these SMEs were asked to comment about whether they believed Nielsen-10 and/or PUD were sufficient for designing products for middle-school DHH students. This first round of interviews revealed that Nielsen-10 and PUD were, at best, a starting point for creating middle-school DHH design guidelines or, at worst insufficient. The second round of interviews followed a semi-structured interview methodology. The SMEs who were interviewed in the first round were asked open-ended follow-up questions about their semantic understanding of guidelines— going from the most general sense down to the level of design guidelines for DHH middle school students. Designers and developers who were never interviewed previously were asked the same questions that the SMEs had been asked across both rounds of interviews. In terms of the research goals: it was confirmed that the design of digital assessments for DHH students is inherently cross-disciplinary. Unexpectedly, 1) guidelines did not emerge from the interviews conducted in this study, and 2) the principles of Nielsen-10 and PUD were deemed to be less relevant than expected. Given the prevalence of Nielsen-10 in UXD curricula across academia and certificate programs, this poses a risk to the efficacy of DHH assessments designed by UX designers. Furthermore, the following findings emerged: A) deep collaboration between the disciplines of usability, accessibility, and CCI is low to non-existent; B) there are no universally agreed-upon guidelines for designing digital assessments for DHH middle school students; C) these disciplines are structured academically and professionally in such a way that practitioners may not know to reach out to other disciplines. For example, accessibility teams at large organizations do not have designers and accessibility specialists on the same team.

Keywords: deaf, hard of hearing, design, guidelines, education, assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 48

Authors: Kaling Taki, Rohit Gahlot, Manish Kumar

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Disposal of Sewage Sludge (SS) is a big issue especially in developing nation like India, where there is no control in the dynamicity of SS produced. The present research work demonstrates the potential application of SS amended with varying percentage (0-100%) of Fly Ash (FA) for brick manufacturing as an alternative of SS management. SS samples were collected from Jaspur sewage treatment plant (Ahmedabad, India) and subjected to different preconditioning treatments: (i) atmospheric drying (ii) pulverization (iii) heat treatment in oven (110°C, moisture removal) and muffle furnace (440°C, organic content removal). Geotechnical parameters of the SS were obtained as liquid limit (52%), plastic limit (24%), shrinkage limit (10%), plasticity index (28%), differential free swell index (DFSI, 47%), silt (68%), clay (27%), organic content (5%), optimum moisture content (OMC, 20%), maximum dry density (MDD, 1.55gm/cc), specific gravity (2.66), swell pressure (57kPa) and unconfined compressive strength (UCS, 207kPa). For FA liquid limit, plastic limit and specific gravity was 44%, 0% and 2.2 respectively. Initially, for brick casting pulverized SS sample was heat treated in a muffle furnace around 440℃ (5 hours) for removal of organic matter. Later, mixing of SS, FA and water by weight ratio was done at OMC. 7*7*7 cm3 sample mold was used for casting bricks at MDD. Brick samples were then first dried in room temperature for 24 hours, then in oven at 100℃ (24 hours) and finally firing in muffle furnace for 1000℃ (10 hours). The fired brick samples were then cured for 3 days according to Indian Standards (IS) common burnt clay building bricks- specification (5th revision). The Compressive strength of brick samples (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 ,60, 70, 80, 90, 100%) of FA were 0.45, 0.76, 1.89, 1.83, 4.02, 3.74, 3.42, 3.19, 2.87, 0.78 and 4.95MPa when evaluated through compressive testing machine (CTM) for a stress rate of 14MPa/min. The highest strength was obtained at 40% FA mixture i.e. 4.02MPa which is much higher than the pure SS brick sample. According to IS 1077: 1992 this combination gives strength more than 3.5 MPa and can be utilized as common building bricks. The loss in weight after firing was much higher than the oven treatment, this might be due to degradation temperature higher than 100℃. The thermal conductivity of the fired brick was obtained as 0.44Wm-1K-1, indicating better insulation properties than other reported studies. TCLP (Toxicity characteristic leaching procedure) test of Cr, Cu, Co, Fe and Ni in raw SS was found as 69, 70, 21, 39502 and 47 mg/kg. The study positively concludes that SS and FA at optimum ratio can be utilized as common building bricks such as partitioning wall and other small strength requirement works. The uniqueness of the work is it emphasizes on utilization of FA for stabilizing SS as construction material as a replacement of natural clay as reported in existing studies.

Keywords: Compressive strength, Curing, Fly Ash, Sewage Sludge.

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Authors: Sachin B. Patil, Narendra M. Kanhe

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A typical cane molasses based distillery generates 15 L of waste water per liter of alcohol production. Distillery waste with COD of over 1,00,000 mg/l and BOD of over 30,000 mg/l ranks high amongst the pollutants produced by industries both in magnitude and strength. Treatment and safe disposal of this waste is a challenging task since long. The high strength of waste water renders aerobic treatment very expensive and physico-chemical processes have met with little success. Thermophilic anaerobic treatment of distillery waste may provide high degree of treatment and better recovery of biogas. It may prove more feasible in most part of tropical country like India, where temperature is suitable for thermophilic micro-organisms. Researchers have reviled that, at thermophilic conditions due to increased destruction rate of organic matter and pathogens, higher digestion rate can be achieved. Literature review reveals that the variety of anaerobic reactors including anaerobic lagoon, conventional digester, anaerobic filter, two staged fixed film reactors, sludge bed and granular bed reactors have been studied, but little attempts have been made to evaluate the usefulness of thermophilic anaerobic treatment for treating distillery waste. The present study has been carried out, to study feasibility of thermophilic anaerobic digestion to facilitate the design of full scale reactor. A pilot scale anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor (AFFFB) of capacity 25m3 was designed, fabricated, installed and commissioned for thermophilic (55-65°C) anaerobic digestion at a constant pH of 6.5-7.5, because these temperature and pH ranges are considered to be optimum for biogas recovery from distillery wastewater. In these conditions, working of the reactor was studied, for different hydraulic retention times (HRT) (0.25days to 12days) and variable organic loading rates (361.46 to 7.96 Kg COD/m3d). The parameters such as flow rate and temperature, various chemical parameters such as pH, chemical oxygen demands (COD), biogas quantity, and biogas composition were regularly monitored. It was observed that, with the increase in OLR, the biogas production was increased, but the specific biogas yield decreased. Similarly, with the increase in HRT, the biogas production got decrease, but the specific biogas yield was increased. This may also be due to the predominant activity of acid producers to methane producers at the higher substrate loading rates. From the present investigation, it can be concluded that for thermophilic conditions the highest COD removal percentage was obtained at an HRT of 08 days, thereafter it tends to decrease from 8 to 12 days HRT. There is a little difference between COD removal efficiency of 8 days HRT (74.03%) and 5 day HRT (78.06%), therefore it would not be feasible to increase the reactor size by 1.5 times for mere 4 percent more efficiency. Hence, 5 days HRT is considered to be optimum, at which the biogas yield was 98 m3/day and specific biogas yield was 0.385 CH4 m3/Kg CODr.

Keywords: spent wash, anaerobic digestion, biomass, biogas

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Authors: Danny Alexander R. Moreno, Gustavo L. Sartorello, Yuli Andrea P. Bermudez, Richard R. Lobo, Ives Claudio S. Bueno, Augusto H. Gameiro

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Meat production is a significant sector for Brazil's economy; however, the agricultural segment has suffered censure regarding the negative impacts on the environment, which consequently results in climate change. Therefore, it is essential the implementation of nutritional strategies that can improve the environmental performance of livestock. This research aimed to estimate the environmental impact and profitability of the use of yerba mate extract (Ilex paraguariensis) as an additive in the feeding of feedlot lamb. Thirty-six castrated male lambs (average weight of 23.90 ± 3.67 kg and average age of 75 days) were randomly assigned to four experimental diets with different levels of inclusion of yerba mate extract (0, 1, 2, and 4 %) based on dry matter. The animals were confined for fifty-three days and fed with 60:40 corn silage to concentrate ratio. As an indicator of environmental impact, the carbon footprint (CF) was measured as kg of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂-eq) per kg of body weight produced (BWP). The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as methane (CH₄) generated from enteric fermentation, were calculated using the sulfur hexafluoride gas tracer (SF₆) technique; while the CH₄, nitrous oxide (N₂O - emissions generated by feces and urine), and carbon dioxide (CO₂ - emissions generated by concentrate and silage processing) were estimated using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology. To estimate profitability, the gross margin was used, which is the total revenue minus the total cost; the latter is composed of the purchase of animals and food. The boundaries of this study considered only the lamb fattening system. The enteric CH₄ emission from the lamb was the largest source of on-farm GHG emissions (47%-50%), followed by CH₄ and N₂O emissions from manure (10%-20%) and CO₂ emission from the concentrate, silage, and fossil energy (17%-5%). The treatment that generated the least environmental impact was the group with 4% of yerba mate extract (YME), which showed a 3% reduction in total GHG emissions in relation to the control (1462.5 and 1505.5 kg CO₂-eq, respectively). However, the scenario with 1% YME showed an increase in emissions of 7% compared to the control group. In relation to CF, the treatment with 4% YME had the lowest value (4.1 kg CO₂-eq/kg LW) compared with the other groups. Nevertheless, although the 4% YME inclusion scenario showed the lowest CF, the gross margin decreased by 36% compared to the control group (0% YME), due to the cost of YME as a food additive. The results showed that the extract has the potential for use in reducing GHG. However, the cost of implementing this input as a mitigation strategy increased the production cost. Therefore, it is important to develop political strategies that help reduce the acquisition costs of input that contribute to the search for the environmental and economic benefit of the livestock sector.

Keywords: meat production, natural additives, profitability, sheep

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Authors: Sally Abu Sabaa, Lindsey Gutt

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In an attempt to use education as a way of raising a socially responsible and engaged global citizen, the YU-Bridge program, the largest and fastest pathway program of its kind in North America, has embarked on the journey of integrating general themes from the UN’s sustainable developmental goals (SDGs) in its English for Academic Purposes (EAP) curriculum. The purpose of this initiative was to redefine the general philosophy of education in the middle of a pandemic and align with York University’s University Academic Plan that was released in summer 2020 framed around the SDGs. The YUB program attracts international students from all over the world but mainly from China, and its goal is to enable students to achieve the minimum language requirement to join their undergraduate courses at York University. However, along with measuring outcomes, objectives, and the students’ GPA, instructors and academics are always seeking innovation of the YUB curriculum to adapt to the ever growing challenges of academics in the university context, in order to focus more on subject matter that students will be exposed to in their undergraduate studies. However, with the sudden change that has happened globally with the advance of the COVID-19 pandemic, and other natural disasters like the increase in forest fires and floods, rethinking the philosophy and goal of education was a must. Accordingly, the SDGs became the solid pillars upon which we, academics and administrators of the program, could build a new curriculum and shift our perspective from simply ESL education to education with moral and ethical goals. The preliminary implementation of this initiative was supported by an institutional-wide consultation with EAP instructors who have diverse experiences, disciplines, and interests. Along with brainstorming sessions and mini-pilot projects preceding the integration of the SDGs in the YUB-EAP curriculum, those meetings led to creating a general outline of a curriculum and an assessment framework that has the SDGs at its core with the medium of ESL used for language instruction. Accordingly, a community of knowledge exchange was spontaneously created and facilitated by instructors. This has led to knowledge, resources, and teaching pedagogies being shared and examined further. In addition, experiences and reactions of students are being shared, leading to constructive discussions about opportunities and challenges with the integration of the SDGs. The discussions have branched out to discussions about cultural and political barriers along with a thirst for knowledge and engagement, which has resulted in increased engagement not only on the part of the students but the instructors as well. Later in the program, two surveys will be conducted: one for the students and one for the instructors to measure the level of engagement of each in this initiative as well as to elicit suggestions for further development. This paper will describe this fundamental step into using ESL methodology as a mode of disseminating essential ethical and socially correct knowledge for all learners in the 21st Century, the students’ reactions, and the teachers’ involvement and reflections.

Keywords: EAP, curriculum, education, global citizen

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Authors: Amar Ghelani

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People with auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) who seek support from mental health services commonly report feeling unheard and invalidated in their interactions with social workers and psychiatric professionals. Current mental health training and clinical approaches have proven to be inadequate in addressing the complex nature of voice hearing. Childhood trauma is a key factor in the development of AVH and can render people more vulnerable to hearing both supportive and/or disturbing voices. Lived experiences of racism, poverty, and immigration are also associated with development of what is broadly classified as psychosis. Despite evidence affirming the influence of environmental factors on voice hearing, the Western biomedical system typically conceptualizes this experience as a symptom of genetically-based mental illnesses which requires diagnosis and treatment. Overemphasis on psychiatric medications, referrals, and directive approaches to people’s problems has shifted clinical interventions away from assessing and addressing problems directly related to AVH. The Maastricht approach offers voice hearers and mental health workers an alternative and respectful starting point for understanding and coping with voices. The approach was developed by voice hearers in partnership with mental health professionals and entails an innovative method to assess and create meaning from voice hearing and related life stressors. The objectives of the approach are to help people who hear voices: (1) understand the problems and/or people the voices may represent in their history, and (2) cope with distress and find solutions to related problems. The Maastricht approach has also been found to help voice hearers integrate emotional conflicts, reduce avoidance or fear associated with AVH, improve therapeutic relationships, and increase a sense of control over internal experiences. The proposed oral presentation will be guided by a recovery-oriented theoretical framework which suggests healing from psychological wounds occurs through social connections and community support systems. The presentation will start with a brainstorming exercise to identify participants pre-existing knowledge of the subject matter. This will lead into a literature review on the relations between trauma, intersectionality, and AVH. An overview of the Maastricht approach and review of research related to its therapeutic risks and benefits will follow. Participants will learn trauma-informed coping skills and questions which can help voice hearers make meaning from their experiences. The presentation will conclude with a review of resources and learning opportunities where participants can expand their knowledge of the Hearing Voices Movement and Maastricht approach.

Keywords: Maastricht interview, recovery, therapeutic assessment, voice hearing

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Authors: Igor V. Grigoriev

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Understanding of biological processes encoded in fungi is instrumental in addressing future food, feed, and energy demands of the growing human population. Genomics is a powerful and quickly evolving tool to understand these processes. The Fungal Genomics Program of the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (JGI) partners with researchers around the world to explore fungi in several large scale genomics projects, changing the fungal genomics landscape. The key trends of these changes include: (i) rapidly increasing scale of sequencing and analysis, (ii) developing approaches to go beyond culturable fungi and explore fungal ‘dark matter,’ or unculturables, and (iii) functional genomics and multi-omics data integration. Power of comparative genomics has been recently demonstrated in several JGI projects targeting mycorrhizae, plant pathogens, wood decay fungi, and sugar fermenting yeasts. The largest JGI project ‘1000 Fungal Genomes’ aims at exploring the diversity across the Fungal Tree of Life in order to better understand fungal evolution and to build a catalogue of genes, enzymes, and pathways for biotechnological applications. At this point, at least 65% of over 700 known families have one or more reference genomes sequenced, enabling metagenomics studies of microbial communities and their interactions with plants. For many of the remaining families no representative species are available from culture collections. To sequence genomes of unculturable fungi two approaches have been developed: (a) sequencing DNA from fruiting bodies of ‘macro’ and (b) single cell genomics using fungal spores. The latter has been tested using zoospores from the early diverging fungi and resulted in several near-complete genomes from underexplored branches of the Fungal Tree, including the first genomes of Zoopagomycotina. Genome sequence serves as a reference for transcriptomics studies, the first step towards functional genomics. In the JGI fungal mini-ENCODE project transcriptomes of the model fungus Neurospora crassa grown on a spectrum of carbon sources have been collected to build regulatory gene networks. Epigenomics is another tool to understand gene regulation and recently introduced single molecule sequencing platforms not only provide better genome assemblies but can also detect DNA modifications. For example, 6mC methylome was surveyed across many diverse fungi and the highest among Eukaryota levels of 6mC methylation has been reported. Finally, data production at such scale requires data integration to enable efficient data analysis. Over 700 fungal genomes and other -omes have been integrated in JGI MycoCosm portal and equipped with comparative genomics tools to enable researchers addressing a broad spectrum of biological questions and applications for bioenergy and biotechnology.

Keywords: fungal genomics, single cell genomics, DNA methylation, comparative genomics

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Authors: Fei Wang, Jie Meng, Qingxiang Meng

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China is rich in straw and by-product resources, whose utilization has always been a hot topic. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of feeding soybean straw and wine distiller’s grain as a replacement for corn stover on performance of beef cattle. Sixty Simmental×local crossbred bulls averaging 12 months old and 335.7 ± 39.1 kg of body weight (BW) were randomly assigned into four groups (15 animals per group) and allocated to a diet with 40% maize stover (MSD), a diet with 40% wrapping package maize silage (PMSD), a diet with 12% soybean straw plus 28% maize stover (SSD) and a diet with 12% wine distiller’s grain plus 28% maize stover (WDD). Bulls were fed ad libitum an TMR consisting of 36.0% maize, 12.5% of DDGS, 5.0% of cottonseed meal, 4.0% of soybean meal and 40.0% of by-product as described above. Treatment period lasted for 22 weeks, consisting of 1 week of dietary adaptation. The results showed that dry matter intake (DMI) was significantly higher (P < 0.01) for PMSD group than MSD and SSD groups during 0-7 week and 8-14week, and PMSD and WDD groups had higher (P < 0.05) DMI values than MSD and SSD groups during the whole period. Average daily gain (ADG) values were 1.56, 1.72, 1.68 and 1.58 kg for MSD, PMSD, SSD and WDD groups respectively, although the differences were not significant (P > 0.05). The value of blood sugar concentration was significantly higher (P < 0.01) for MSD group than WDD group, and the blood urea nitrogen concentration of SSD group was lower (P < 0.05) than MSD and WDD groups. No significant difference (P > 0.05) of serum total cholesterol, triglycerides or total protein content was observed among the different groups. Ten bulls with similar body weight were selected at the end of feeding trial and slaughtered for measurement of slaughtering performance, carcass quality and meat chemical composition. SSD group had significantly lower (P < 0.05) shear force value and cooking loss than MSD and PMSD groups. The pH values of MSD and SSD groups were lower (P < 0.05) than PMSD and WDD groups. WDD group had a higher fat color brightness (L*) value than PMSD and SSD groups. There were no significant differences in dressing percentage, meat percentage, top grade meat weight, ribeye area, marbling score, meat color and meat chemical compositions among different dietary treatments. Based on these results, the packed maize stover silage showed a potential of improving the average daily gain and feed intake of beef cattle. Soybean straw had a significant effect on improving the tenderness and reducing cooking loss of beef. In general, soybean straw and packed maize stover silage would be beneficial to nitrogen deposition and showed a potential to substitute maize stover in beef cattle diets.

Keywords: beef cattle, by-products, carcass quality, growth performance

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Authors: S. R. H. Baqri, T. Shahina, M. T. Hasan

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Pakistan is facing acute shortage of energy and looking for indigenous resources of the energy mix to meet the short fall. After the discovery of huge coal resources in Thar Desert of Sindh province, focus has shifted to coal power generation. The government of Pakistan has planned power generation of 20000 MW on coal by the year 2025. This target will be achieved by mining and power generation in Thar coal Field and on imported coal in different parts of Pakistan. Total indigenous coal production of around 3.0 million tons is being utilized in brick kilns, cement and sugar industry. Coal-based power generation is only limited to three units of 50 MW near Hyderabad from nearby Lakhra Coal field. The purpose of this presentation is to identify and redressal of issues of coal mining and utilization with reference to environmental hazards. Thar coal resource is estimated at 175 billion tons out of a total resource estimate of 184 billion tons in Pakistan. Coal of Pakistan is of Tertiary age (Palaeocene/Eocene) and classified from lignite to sub-bituminous category. Coal characterization has established three main pollutants such as Sulphur, Carbon dioxide and Methane besides some others associated with coal and rock types. The element Sulphur occurs in organic as well as inorganic forms associated with coals as free sulphur and as pyrite, gypsum, respectively. Carbon dioxide, methane and minerals are mostly associated with fractures, joints local faults, seatearth and roof rocks. The abandoned and working coal mines give kerosene odour due to escape of methane in the atmosphere. While the frozen methane/methane ices in organic matter rich sediments have also been reported from the Makran coastal and offshore areas. The Sulphur escapes into the atmosphere during mining and utilization of coal in industry. The natural erosional processes due to rivers, streams, lakes and coastal waves erode over lying sediments allowing pollutants to escape into air and water. Power plants emissions should be controlled through application of appropriate clean coal technology and need to be regularly monitored. Therefore, the systematic and scientific studies will be required to estimate the quantity of methane, carbon dioxide and sulphur at various sites such as abandoned and working coal mines, exploratory wells for coal, oil and gas. Pressure gauges on gas pipes connecting the coal-bearing horizons will be installed on surface to know the quantity of gas. The quality and quantity of gases will be examined according to the defined intervals of times. This will help to design and recommend the methods and procedures to stop the escape of gases into atmosphere. The element of Sulphur can be removed partially by gravity and chemical methods after grinding and before industrial utilization of coal.

Keywords: atmosphere, coal production, energy, pollutants

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