Search results for: surface water

Authors: Maryam Kiani, Abdul Basit Kiani

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To develop construction and infrastructure industry, sensors are highly desired to control building ventilation. Zinc doped magnesium ferrite nanoparticles (Z@MFO) (Zn = 0.0, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) were prepared in this paper. Structural analyses confirmed the formation of spinel cubic nanostructures. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) data represent high reactive surface area due to small average particle size about 15 nm, which efficiently influences the gas sensing mechanism. The gas sensing property of Z@MFO for several gases was obtained by measuring the resistance as a function of different factors, such as composition and response time in air and in presence of gas. The sensitivity of spinel ferrite to CO2 at room temperature has been compared. The Z@MFO nano-structure exhibited high sensitivity represented good response time of (~1 min) to CO2, demonstrated that the material can be used in the field of gas sensors with high sensitivity and good selectivity at room temperature to control building ventilation. CO2 gas sensors play a vital role in ensuring the safety, comfort, and sustainability of modern building environments.

Keywords: MgFe2O4 nanoparticles, synthesis, gas sensing properties, X ray differentiation.

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Authors: C. I. Omohimi, O. P. Sobukola, K. O. Sarafadeen, L.O. Sanni

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Flour from Mucuna beans (Mucuna pruriens) were used in producing texturized meat analogue using a single screw extruder to monitor modifications on the proximate composition and the functional properties at high moisture level. Response surface methodology based on Box Behnken design at three levels of barrel temperature (110, 120, 130°C), screw speed (100,120,140rpm) and feed moisture (44, 47, 50%) were used in 17 runs. Regression models describing the effect of variables on the product responses were obtained. Descriptive profile analyses and consumer acceptability test were carried out on optimized flavoured extruded meat analogue. Responses were mostly affected by barrel temperature and moisture level and to a lesser extent by screw speed. Optimization results based on desirability concept indicated that a barrel temperature of 120.15°C, feed moisture of 47% and screw speed of 119.19 rpm would produce meat analogue of preferable proximate composition, functional and sensory properties which reveals consumers` likeness for the product.

Keywords: Functional properties, mucuna bean flour, optimization, proximate composition, texturized meat analogue.

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Authors: A. Novák, K. Máriás

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We examined the effects of the sowing time on the yield production and oil content of the sunflower hybrids in 2010 and 2012. The crop year and the sowing time had both a strong impact on the yield, on the oil- content and yield. By delaying the sowing time both the yield crop result and the oil yield increased. In 2010 in terms of crop yield and oil yield results PR64H42 was the best, in 2012 NK Neoma, in all three sowing times. The oil content of the hybrids was better in 2010. The highest oil content was recorded at early sowing time. We found out that the hybrid had a stronger impact in 2010 on both crop yield result and on oil content than in 2012. The sowing time played a bigger role regarding yield results in 2012. In addition the sowing time influenced oil content development highly.

Keywords: Genotypes, oil content, sowing time, sunflower, yield.

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Authors: M. Barański

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This article presents a vibration diagnostic method designed for Permanent Magnets (PM) electrical machines–traction motors and generators. Those machines are commonly used in traction drives of electrical vehicles and small wind or water systems. The described method is very innovative and unique. Specific structural properties of machines excited by permanent magnets are used in this method - electromotive force (EMF) generated due to vibrations. There was analyzed number of publications, which describe vibration diagnostic methods, and tests of electrical machines and there was no method found to determine the technical condition of such machine basing on their own signals. This work presents field-circuit model, results of static tests, results of calculations and simulations.

Keywords: Electrical vehicle, permanent magnet, traction drive, vibrations, electrical machine, eccentricity, diagnostics, data acquisition, data analysis.

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Authors: Bandaris Shankar, Yohannes Yirga

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In this paper, the problem of heat and mass transfer in unsteady MHD boundary-layer flow of nanofluids over stretching sheet with a non uniform heat source/sink is considered. The unsteadiness in the flow and temperature is caused by the time-dependent stretching velocity and surface temperature. The unsteady boundary layer equations are transformed to a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations and solved numerically using Keller box method. The velocity, temperature, and concentration profiles were obtained and utilized to compute the skin-friction coefficient, local Nusselt number, and local Sherwood number for different values of the governing parameters viz. solid volume fraction parameter, unsteadiness parameter, magnetic field parameter, Schmidt number, space-dependent and temperature-dependent parameters for heat source/sink. A comparison of the numerical results of the present study with previously published data revealed an excellent agreement.

Keywords: Manetohydrodynamics, nanofluid, non-uniform heat source/sink, unsteady.

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Authors: Daniel Rowe, Christopher R. Vogel, Richard H. J. Willden

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This study documents the hydrodynamic characteristics of a recirculating water flume in preparation for experimental testing of horizontal axis tidal stream turbine models. An Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was used to measure the flow at high temporal resolution at various locations throughout the flume, enabling the spatial uniformity and turbulence flow parameters to be investigated. The mean velocity profiles exhibited high levels of spatial uniformity at the design speed of the flume, 0.6 ms−1, with variations in the three-dimensional velocity components on the order of ±1% at the 95% confidence level, along with a modest streamwise acceleration through the measurement domain, a target 5m working section of the flume. A high degree of uniformity was also apparent for the turbulence intensity, with values ranging between 1-2% across the intended swept area of the turbine rotor. The integral scales of turbulence exhibited a far higher degree of variation throughout the water column, particularly in the streamwise and vertical scales. This behaviour is believed to be due to the high signal noise content leading to decorrelation in the sampling records. To achieve more realistic levels of vertical velocity shear in the flume, a simple procedure to practically generate target vertical shear profiles in open-channel flows is described. Here, we arranged a series of non-uniformly spaced parallel bars placed across the width of the flume and normal to the onset flow. By adjusting the resistance grading across the height of the working section, the downstream profiles could be modified accordingly, characterised by changes in the velocity profile power-law exponent, 1/n. Considering the significant temporal variation in a tidal channel, the choice of the exponent denominator, n = 6 and n = 9, effectively provides an achievable range around the much-cited value of n = 7 observed at many tidal sites. The resulting flow profiles, which we intend to use in future turbine tests, have been characterised in detail. The results indicate non-uniform vertical shear across the survey area and reveal substantial corner flows, arising from the differential shear between the target vertical and cross-stream shear profiles throughout the measurement domain. In vertically sheared flow, the rotor-equivalent turbulence intensity ranges between 3.0-3.8% throughout the measurement domain for both bar arrangements, while the streamwise integral length scale grows from a characteristic dimension on the order of the bar width, similar to the flow downstream of a turbulence-generating grid. The experimental tests are well-defined and repeatable and serve as a reference for other researchers who wish to undertake similar investigations.

Keywords: Acoustic Doppler velocimetry, experimental hydrodynamics, open-channel flow, shear profiles, tidal stream turbines.

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Authors: May-Ling Tan, Yi Su, Chi-Wan Lim, Liang Zhong, Ru-San Tan

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This paper describes an automatic algorithm to restore the shape of three-dimensional (3D) left ventricle (LV) models created from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data using a geometry-driven optimization approach. Our basic premise is to restore the LV shape such that the LV epicardial surface is smooth after the restoration. A geometrical measure known as the Minimum Principle Curvature (κ2) is used to assess the smoothness of the LV. This measure is used to construct the objective function of a two-step optimization process. The objective of the optimization is to achieve a smooth epicardial shape by iterative in-plane translation of the MRI slices. Quantitatively, this yields a minimum sum in terms of the magnitude of κ 2, when κ2 is negative. A limited memory quasi-Newton algorithm, L-BFGS-B, is used to solve the optimization problem. We tested our algorithm on an in vitro theoretical LV model and 10 in vivo patient-specific models which contain significant motion artifacts. The results show that our method is able to automatically restore the shape of LV models back to smoothness without altering the general shape of the model. The magnitudes of in-plane translations are also consistent with existing registration techniques and experimental findings.

Keywords: Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Left Ventricle, ShapeRestoration, Principle Curvature, Optimization

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Authors: S. Piratheepa, G. Rajendramani, T. Eswaramohan

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Current study was conducted for one year from June 2014 to May 2015, with an objective of identification of fish and shellfish diversity in the Thondamanaru lagoon ecosystem. In this study, 11 species were identified from Thondamanaru lagoon, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. There are four fishes, Chanos chanos, Hemirhamphus sp., Nematalosa sp. and Mugil cephalus and seven shell fishes, Penaeus indicus, Penaeus monodon, Penaeus latisulcatus, Penaeus semisulcatus, Metapenaeus monoceros, Portunus pelagicus and Scylla serrata. Species composition of Mugil cephalus, Penaeus indicus and Metapenaeus monoceros was high during rainy seasons. However, lagoon is being subjected to adverse environmental conditions that threaten its fish and shellfish biodiversity due to lack of saline water availability and changes in rainfall pattern.

Keywords: Diversity, shell fish, shrimp, Thondamanaru lagoon.

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Authors: A. S. Kipcak, N. Baran Acarali, E. Moroydor Derun, N. Tugrul, S. Piskin

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Zinc borates can be used as multi-functional synergistic additives with flame retardant additives in polymers. Zinc borate is white, non-hygroscopic and powder type product. The most important properties are low solubility in water and high dehydration temperature. Zinc borates dehydrate above 290°C and anhydrous zinc borate has thermal resistance about 400°C. Zinc borates can be synthesized using several methods such as hydrothermal and solidstate processes. In this study, the solid-state method was applied at low temperatures of 600oC and 700oC using the starting materials of ZnO and H3BO3 with several mole ratios. The reaction time was determined as 4 hours after some preliminary experiments. After the synthesis, the crystal structure and the morphology of the products were examined by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). As a result the forms of ZnB4O7, Zn3(BO3)2, ZnB2O4 were synthesized and obtained along with the unreacted ZnO.

Keywords: FT-IR, solid-state method, zinc borate, XRD.

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Authors: I. U. Wickramasinghe, D. J. Hargreaves, D. V. De Pellegrin

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This paper presents a strategy to predict the lifetime of rails subjected to large rolling contact loads that induce ratchetting strains in the rail head. A critical element concept is used to calculate the number of loading cycles needed for crack initiation to occur in the rail head surface. In this technique the finite element method (FEM) is used to determine the maximum equivalent ratchetting strain per load cycle, which is calculated by combining longitudinal and shear stains in the critical element. This technique builds on a previously developed critical plane concept that has been used to calculate the number of cycles to crack initiation in rolling contact fatigue under ratchetting failure conditions. The critical element concept simplifies the analytical difficulties of critical plane analysis. Finite element analysis (FEA) is used to identify the critical element in the mesh, and then the strain values of the critical element are used to calculate the ratchetting rate analytically. Finally, a ratchetting criterion is used to calculate the number of cycles to crack initiation from the ratchetting rate calculated.

Keywords: Critical element analysis, finite element modeling (FEM), wheel/rail contact.

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Authors: M. Nageswara Rao, V. S. N. K. Chaitanya, P. Pratyusha

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High voltage insulator has to withstand sever electrical stresses. Higher electrical stresses lead to erosion of the insulator surface. Degradation of insulating properties leads to flashover and in some extreme cases it may cause to puncture. For analyzing these electrical stresses and implement necessary actions to diminish the electrical stresses, numerical methods are best. By minimizing the electrical stresses, reliability of the power system will improve. In this paper electric field intensity at critical regions of 400 kV silicone composite insulator is analyzed using finite element method. Insulator is designed using FEMM-2D software package. Electric Field Analysis (EFA) results are analyzed for five cases i.e., only insulator, insulator with two sides arcing horn, High Voltage (HV) end grading ring, grading ring-arcing horn arrangement and two sides grading ring. These EFA results recommended that two sides grading ring is better for minimization of electrical stresses and improving life span of insulator.

Keywords: Polymer insulator, electric field analysis, numerical methods, finite element method, FEMM-2D.

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Authors: Maha Jameal Balgoon, Gehan A. Raouf, Safaa Y. Qusti, Soad Shaker Ali

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The main cause of Alzheimer disease (AD) was believed to be mainly due to the accumulation of free radicals owing to oxidative stress (OS) in brain tissue. The mechanism of the neurotoxicity of Aluminum chloride (AlCl3) induced AD in hippocampus Albino wister rat brain tissue, the curative & the protective effects of Lipidium sativum group (LS) water extract were assessed after 8 weeks by attenuated total reflection spectroscopy ATR-IR and histologically by light microscope. ATR-IR results revealed that the membrane phospholipid undergo free radical attacks, mediated by AlCl3, primary affects the polyunsaturated fatty acids indicated by the increased of the olefinic -C=CH sub-band area around 3012 cm-1 from the curve fitting analysis. The narrowing in the half band width (HBW) of the sνCH2 sub-band around 2852 cm-1 due to Al intoxication indicates the presence of trans form fatty acids rather than gauch rotomer. The degradation of hydrocarbon chain to shorter chain length, increasing in membrane fluidity, disorder, and decreasing in lipid polarity in AlCl3 group indicated by the detected changes in certain calculated area ratios compared to the control. Administration of LS was greatly improved these parameters compared to the AlCl3 group. Al influences the Aβ aggregation and plaque formation, which in turn interferes to and disrupts the membrane structure. The results also showed a marked increase in the β-parallel and antiparallel structure, that characterize the Aβ formation in Al-induced AD hippocampal brain tissue, indicated by the detected increase in both amide I sub-bands around 1674, 1692 cm-1. This drastic increase in Aβ formation was greatly reduced in the curative and protective groups compared to the AlCl3 group and approached nearly the control values. These results supported too by the light microscope. AlCl3 group showed significant marked degenerative changes in hippocampal neurons. Most cells appeared small, shrieked and deformed. Interestingly, the administration of LS in curative and protective groups markedly decreases the amount of degenerated cells compared to the non-treated group. In addition, the intensity of congo red stained cells was decreased. Hippocampal neurons looked more/or less similar to those of control. This study showed a promising therapeutic effect of Lipidium sativum group (LS) on AD rat model that seriously overcome the signs of oxidative stress on membrane lipid and restore the protein misfolding.

Keywords: Aluminum chloride, Alzheimer’s disease, ATR-IR, Lipidium sativum.

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Authors: Marius Gheju, Rodica Pode

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Hexavalent chromium is highly toxic to most living organisms and a known human carcinogen by the inhalation route of exposure. Therefore, treatment of Cr(VI) contaminated wastewater is essential before their discharge to the natural water bodies. Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III) can be beneficial because a more mobile and more toxic chromium species is converted to a less mobile and less toxic form. Zero-valence-state metals, such as scrap iron, can serve as electron donors for reducing Cr(VI) to Cr(III). The influence of pH on scrap iron capacity to reduce Cr(VI) was investigated in this study. Maximum reduction capacity of scrap iron was observed at the beginning of the column experiments; the lower the pH, the greater the experiment duration with maximum scrap iron reduction capacity. The experimental results showed that highest maximum reduction capacity of scrap iron was 12.5 mg Cr(VI)/g scrap iron, at pH 2.0, and decreased with increasing pH up to 1.9 mg Cr(VI)/g scrap iron at pH = 7.3.

Keywords: hexavalent chromium, heavy metals, scrap iron, reduction capacity, wastewater treatment.

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Authors: Oscar Vega Camacho, Andrea Vargas Guevara, Ellery Rowina Ariza

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This paper presents the application of finite dynamic programming, specifically the "Markov Chain" model, as part of the decision making process of a company in the cosmetics sector located in the vicinity of Bogota DC. The objective of this process was to decide whether the company should completely reconstruct its wastewater treatment plant or instead optimize the plant through the addition of equipment. The goal of both of these options was to make the required improvements in order to comply with parameters established by national legislation regarding the treatment of waste before it is released into the environment. This technique will allow the company to select the best option and implement a solution for the processing of waste to minimize environmental damage and the acquisition and implementation costs.

Keywords: Decision making, Markov chain, optimization, wastewater.

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Authors: A. Bakhtiar, B. Purwanggono, N. Metasari

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PT XYZ is a bottled drinking water company. To preserve production resources owned by the company so that the resources could be utilized well, it has implemented maintenance management system, which has important role in company's profitability, and is one of the factors influenced overall company's performance. Yet, up to now the company has never measured maintenance activities' contribution to company's performance. Performance evaluation is done according to adapted Balanced Scorecard model fitted to maintenance function context. This model includes six perspectives: innovation and growth, production, maintenance, environment, costumer, and finance. Actual performance measurement is done through Analytic Hierarchy Process and Objective Matrix. From the research done, we can conclude that the company's maintenance function is categorized in moderate performance. But, there are some indicators which has high priority but low performance, which are: costumers' complain rate, work lateness rate, and Return on Investment.

Keywords: Maintenance, performance, balanced scorecard, objective matrix.

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Authors: H. Dvořáčková, I. Mikajlo, J. Záhora, J. Elbl

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Biochar can be produced from the waste matter and its application has been associated with returning of carbon in large amounts into the soil. The impacts of this material on physical and chemical properties of soil have been described. The biggest part of the research work is dedicated to the hypothesis of this material’s toxic effects on the soil life regarding its effect on the soil biological component. At present, it has been worked on methods which could eliminate these undesirable properties of biochar. One of the possibilities is to mix biochar with organic material, such as compost, or focusing on the natural processes acceleration in the soil. In the experiment has been used as the addition of compost as well as the elimination of toxic substances by promoting microbial activity in aerated water environment. Biochar was aerated for 7 days in a container with a volume of 20 l. This way modified biochar had six times higher biomass production and reduce mineral nitrogen leaching. Better results have been achieved by mixing biochar with compost.

Keywords: Leaching of nitrogen, soil, biochar, compost.

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Authors: Yasin Khan

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Overhead electrical insulators form an important link in an electric power system. Along with the traditional insulators (i.e. glass and porcelain, etc) presently the polymeric insulators are also used world widely. These polymeric insulators are very sensitive to various environmental parameters such temperature, environmental pollution, UV-radiations, etc. which seriously effect their electrical, chemical and hydrophobic properties. The UV radiation level in the central region of Saudi Arabia is high as compared to the IEC standard for the accelerated aging of the composite insulators. Commonly used suspension type of composite EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) insulator was subjected to accelerated stress aging as per modified IEC standard simulating the inland arid deserts atmospheric condition and also as per IEC-61109 standard. The hydrophobic characteristics were studied by measuring the contact angle along the insulator surface before and after the accelerated aging of the samples. It was found that EPDM insulator loses it hydrophobic properties proportional to the intensity of UV irradiations and its rate of recovery is also very low as compared to Silicone Rubber insulator.KeywordsEPDM, composite insulators, accelerated aging, hydrophobicity, contact angle.

Keywords: EPDM, composite insulators, accelerated aging, hydrophobicity, contact angle.

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Authors: K. M. Shahot. I. A. Ekhmaj

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The research study is carried out to determine the efficiency of the Biofilm sewage treatment plant which is located at the Engineering Complex-s. Wastewater analyses have been carried out at the Environmental Engineering laboratory to study the six parameters: Biochemical Oxygen Demand BOD, Chemical Oxygen Demand COD l, and Total Suspended Solids TSS, Ammoniac Nitrogen NH3-N and Phosphorous P which have been selected to determine the wastewater quality. The plant was designed to treat 750 Pe (population equivalent) at hydraulic retention time of 5 hours in the aerobic zone. The results show that Biofilm wastewater treatment plant was able to treat sewage successfully at different flow condition. The discharge has fulfilled the Malaysia Environmental of Standard A water quality. The achieved BOD removal is more than 85%, COD is more than 80%, TSS is more than 80%, NH3-N is more than 70%, and P was more than 70%. The Biofilm system provides a very efficient process for sewage treatment and it is compact in structure thus minimizes the required land area.

Keywords: Sewage, Bio film, Cosmo-Ball, Activated sludge

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Authors: Erdal Akyol, Mutlu Alkan, Ali Aydin

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Multi criteria decision analysis (MDCA) covers both data and experience. It is very common to solve the problems with many parameters and uncertainties. GIS supported solutions improve and speed up the decision process. Weighted grading as a MDCA method is employed for solving the geotechnical problems. In this study, geotechnical parameters namely soil type; SPT (N) blow number, shear wave velocity (Vs) and depth of underground water level (DUWL) have been engaged in MDCA and GIS. In terms of geotechnical aspects, the settlement suitability of the municipal area was analyzed by the method. MDCA results were compatible with the geotechnical observations and experience. The method can be employed in geotechnical oriented microzoning studies if the criteria are well evaluated.

Keywords: GIS, spatial analysis, multi criteria decision analysis, geotechnics.

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Authors: W. S. Mohamed, A. A. Hammam

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Sandy soils under arid and semi-arid conditions are characterized by poor physical and biochemical properties such as low water retention, rapid organic matter decomposition, low nutrients use efficiency, and limited crop productivity. Addition of organic amendments is crucial to develop soil properties and consequently enhance nutrients use efficiency and lessen organic carbon decomposition. Two years field experiments were developed to investigate the feasibility of using poultry manure and its derived biochar integrated with different levels of N fertilizer as a soil amendment for newly reclaimed sandy soils in Western Desert of El-Minia Governorate, Egypt. Results of this research revealed that poultry manure and its derived biochar addition induced pronounced effects on soil moisture content at saturation point, field capacity (FC) and consequently available water. Data showed that application of poultry manure (PM) or PM-derived biochar (PMB) in combination with inorganic N levels had caused significant changes on a range of the investigated sandy soil biochemical properties including pH, EC, mineral N, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic N (DON) and quotient DOC/DON. Overall, the impact of PMB on soil physical properties was detected to be superior than the impact of PM, regardless the inorganic N levels. In addition, the obtained results showed that PM and PM application had the capacity to stimulate vigorous growth, nutritional status, production levels of wheat and sorghum, and to increase soil organic matter content and N uptake and recovery compared to control. By contrast, comparing between PM and PMB at different levels of inorganic N, the obtained results showed higher relative increases in both grain and straw yields of wheat in plots treated with PM than in those treated with PMB. The interesting feature of this research is that the biochar derived from PM increased treated sandy soil organic carbon (SOC) 1.75 times more than soil treated with PM itself at the end of cropping seasons albeit double-applied amount of PM. This was attributed to the higher carbon stability of biochar treated sandy soils increasing soil persistence for carbon decomposition in comparison with PM labile carbon. It could be concluded that organic manures applied to sandy soils under arid and semi-arid conditions are subjected to high decomposition and mineralization rates through crop seasons. Biochar derived from organic wastes considers as a source of stable carbon and could be very hopeful choice for substituting easily decomposable organic manures under arid conditions. Therefore, sustainable agriculture and productivity in newly reclaimed sandy soils desire one high rate addition of biochar derived from organic manures instead of frequent addition of such organic amendments.

Keywords: Biochar, dissolved organic carbon, N-uptake, poultry, sandy soil.

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Authors: Samindi Samarakoon, Ørjan Sletbakk Vie, Remi Kleiven Fjelldal

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White concrete facade elements are widely used in construction industry. It is challenging to achieve the desired workability in casting of white concrete elements. Particle Matrix model was used for proportioning the self-compacting white concrete (SCWC) to control segregation and bleeding and to improve workability. The paper presents how to reach the target slump flow while controlling bleeding and segregation in SCWC. The amount of aggregates, binders and mixing water, as well as type and dosage of superplasticizer (SP) to be used are the major factors influencing the properties of SCWC. Slump flow and compressive strength tests were carried out to examine the performance of SCWC, and the results indicate that the particle matrix model could produce successfully SCWC controlling segregation and bleeding.

Keywords: Mix design, particle, matrix model, white concrete.

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Authors: Rahim Ada, Zamari Temory, Hasan Dalgiç

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Germination and seedling responses of seven safflower seed genotypes (Dinçer, Remzibey, Black Sun2 cultivars and A19, F4, I1, J19 lines) to different salinity concentrations (0, 5, 10 and 20g l^-1) and temperatures (10 and 20^oC) evaluated in Completely Randomized Factorial Designs in Department of Field Crops of Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey. Seeds in the control (distilled water) had at 10 and 20^oC the highest germination percentage (93.88 and 94.32%), shoot length (4.60 and 8.72cm) and root length (4.27 and 6.54cm) shoot dry weight (22.37mg and 25.99mg) and root dry weight (2.22 and 2.47mg). As the salt concentration increased, values of all characters were decreased. In this experiment, in 20g l^-1 salt concentration found germination percentage (21.28 and 26.66%), shoot (1.32 and 1.35cm) and root length (1.04 and 1.10cm) shoot (8.05mg and 7.49mg) and root dry weight (0.83 and 0.98mg) at 10 and 20^oC.

Keywords: NaCl, Safflower, Temperature.

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Authors: J. Kluabwang

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An economic operation scheduling problem of a hydro-thermal power generation system has been properly solved by the proposed multipath adaptive tabu search algorithm (MATS). Four reservoirs with their own hydro plants and another one thermal plant are integrated to be a studied system used to formulate the objective function under complicated constraints, eg water managements, power balance and thermal generator limits. MATS with four subsearch units (ATSs) and two stages of discarding mechanism (DM), has been setting and trying to solve the problem through 25 trials under function evaluation criterion. It is shown that MATS can provide superior results with respect to single ATS and other previous methods, genetic algorithms (GA) and differential evolution (DE).

Keywords: Hydro-thermal scheduling problem, economic dispatch, adaptive tabu search, multipath adaptive tabu search

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Authors: S. Grishin

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This article is dedicated to development of mathematical models for determining the dynamics of concentration of hazardous substances in urban turbulent atmosphere. Development of the mathematical models implied taking into account the time-space variability of the fields of meteorological items and such turbulent atmosphere data as vortex nature, nonlinear nature, dissipativity and diffusivity. Knowing the turbulent airflow velocity is not assumed when developing the model. However, a simplified model implies that the turbulent and molecular diffusion ratio is a piecewise constant function that changes depending on vertical distance from the earth surface. Thereby an important assumption of vertical stratification of urban air due to atmospheric accumulation of hazardous substances emitted by motor vehicles is introduced into the mathematical model. The suggested simplified non-linear mathematical model of determining the sought exhaust concentration at a priori unknown turbulent flow velocity through non-degenerate transformation is reduced to the model which is subsequently solved analytically.

Keywords: Urban ecology, time-dependent mathematical model, exhaust concentration, turbulent and molecular diffusion, airflow velocity.

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Authors: Felipe V. Díaz, Claudio A. Mammana, Armando P. M. Guidobono, Raúl E. Bolmaro

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Through a proper analysis of residual strain and stress distributions obtained at the surface of high speed milled specimens of AA 6082–T6 aluminium alloy, the performance of an improved indentation method is evaluated. This method integrates a special device of indentation to a universal measuring machine. The mentioned device allows introducing elongated indents allowing to diminish the absolute error of measurement. It must be noted that the present method offers the great advantage of avoiding both the specific equipment and highly qualified personnel, and their inherent high costs. In this work, the cutting tool geometry and high speed parameters are selected to introduce reduced plastic damage. Through the variation of the depth of cut, the stability of the shapes adopted by the residual strain and stress distributions is evaluated. The results show that the strain and stress distributions remain unchanged, compressive and small. Moreover, these distributions reveal a similar asymmetry when the gradients corresponding to conventional and climb cutting zones are compared.

Keywords: Residual strain, residual stress, high speed milling, indentation methods, aluminium alloys.

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Authors: Santhosh K. S. Annayappa, Nupur Pruthi

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The region of dentate nucleus is a common site for various pathologies like hematomas, tumours, etc. We aimed to study in detail the relationship of this region with the vermis, especially the pyramid using microscopic fibre dissection technique. To achieve this aim, 20 cerebellar hemispheres were studied from the 11 cerebellums. Dissection was performed using wooden spatulas and micro dissectors under a microscope following Klingler’s preservation technique. The relationship between the pyramid of vermis and the dentate nucleus was studied in detail. A similar relationship was studied on the MRI of randomly selected trigeminal neuralgia patients and correlated with anatomical findings. Results show the mean distance of the lateral margin of the dentate nucleus from the midline on anatomic specimens was 21.4 ± 1.8 mm (19-25 mm) and 23.4 ± 3.4 mm (15-29 mm) on right and left side, respectively. Similar measurements made on the MRI were 22.97 ± 2.0 mm (20.03-26.15 mm) on the right side and 23.98 ± 2.1 mm (21.47-27.67 mm) on the left side. The amount of white matter dissection required to reach the dentate nucleus at the pyramidal attachment area was 7.3 ± 1.0 mm (6-9 mm) on the right side and 6.8 ± 1.4 mm (5-10 mm) on the left side. It was concluded that the pyramid of vermis has a constant relationship with the dentate nucleus and can be used as an excellent landmark during surgery to localise the dentate nucleus on the suboccipital surface.

Keywords: Fiber dissection, micro neurosurgery, dentate nucleus of cerebellum, pyramid of vermis.

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Authors: S. Zolghadri, H. Yousefnia, A. R. Jalilian

Abstract:

Bone metastases are observed in a wide range of cancers leading to intolerable pain. While early detection can help the physicians in the decision of the type of treatment, various radiopharmaceuticals using phosphonates like ⁶⁸Ga-EDTMP have been developed. In this work, due to the importance of absorbed dose, human absorbed dose of this new agent was calculated for the first time based on biodistribution data in Wild-type rats. ⁶⁸Ga was obtained from ⁶⁸Ge/⁶⁸Ga generator with radionuclidic purity and radiochemical purity of higher than 99%. The radiolabeled complex was prepared in the optimized conditions. Radiochemical purity of the radiolabeled complex was checked by instant thin layer chromatography (ITLC) method using Whatman No. 2 paper and saline. The results indicated the radiochemical purity of higher than 99%. The radiolabelled complex was injected into the Wild-type rats and its biodistribution was studied up to 120 min. As expected, major accumulation was observed in the bone. Absorbed dose of each human organ was calculated based on biodistribution in the rats using RADAR method. Bone surface and bone marrow with 0.112 and 0.053 mSv/MBq, respectively, received the highest absorbed dose. According to these results, the radiolabeled complex is a suitable and safe option for PET bone imaging.

Keywords: Absorbed dose, EDTMP, 68Ga, rats.

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Authors: S. E. Musa, N. E. Mohamed, N. A. Ahmed

Abstract:

In this study, several crossplots of the P-impedance with the lithology logs (gamma ray, neutron porosity, deep resistivity, water saturation and Vp/Vs curves) were made in three available wells, which were drilled in central part of the Blue Nile basin in depths varies from 1460m to 1600m. These crossplots were successful to discriminate between sand and shale when using PImpedance values, and between the wet sand and the pay sand when using both P-impedance and Vp/Vs together. Also some impedance sections were converted to porosity sections using linear formula to characterize the reservoir in terms of porosity. The used crossplots were created on log resolution, while the seismic resolution can identify only the reservoir, unless a 3D seismic angle stacks were available; then it would be easier to identify the pay sand with great confidence; through high resolution seismic inversion and geostatistical approach when using P-impedance and Vp/Vs volumes.

Keywords: Basin, Blue Nile, Inversion, Seismic.

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Authors: M. Eickermann, M. K. Class, J. Junk

Abstract:

Winter oilseed rape, Brassica napus L., is characterized by a high number of herbicide applications. Therefore, its cultivation can lead to massive contamination of ground water and soil by herbicide and their metabolites. A multi-side long-term field experiment (EFFO, Efficient crop rotation) was set-up in Luxembourg to quantify these effects. Based on soil sampling and laboratory analysis, preliminary results showed reduced dehydrogenase activities of several soil organisms due to herbicide treatments. This effect is highly depending on the soil type. Relation between the dehydrogenase activity and the amount of microbial carbon showed higher variability on the test side with loamy Brown Earth, based on Bunter than on those with sandy-loamy Brown Earth, based on calciferous Sandstone.

Keywords: Cropping system, dehydrogenase activity, herbicides, mechanical weed control, oilseed rape.

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Authors: Sérgio Afonso Mulema, Andrés Carrión García, Vicente Ernesto

Abstract:

This paper analyses the effect of fertilizer (organic and inorganic) in the growth of tilapia. An experiment was implemented in the Aquapesca Company of Mozambique; there were considered four different treatments. Each type of fertilizer was applied in two of these treatments; a feed was supplied to the third treatment, and the fourth was taken as control. The weight and length of the tilapia were used as the growth parameters, and to measure the water quality, the physical-chemical parameters were registered. The results show that the weight and length were different for tilapias cultivated in different treatments. These differences were evidenced mainly by organic and feed treatments, where there was the largest and smallest value of these parameters, respectively. In order to prove that these differences were caused only by applied treatment without interference for the aquatic environment, a Fisher discriminant analysis was applied, which confirmed that the treatments were exposed to the same environment condition.

Keywords: Fertilizer, tilapia, growth, statistical methods.

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