Abstract: A reliability-based methodology which uses structural demand hazard curves to consider the increment of the ductility demands of structures with tilting is proposed. The approach considers the effect of two orthogonal components of the ground motions as well as the influence of soil-structure interaction. The approach involves the calculation of ductility demand hazard curves for symmetric systems and, alternatively, for systems with different degrees of asymmetry. To get this objective, demand hazard curves corresponding to different global ductility demands of the systems are calculated. Next, Uniform Exceedance Rate Spectra (UERS) are developed for a specific mean annual rate of exceedance value. Ratios between UERS corresponding to asymmetric and to symmetric systems located in soft soil of the valley of Mexico are obtained. Results indicate that the ductility demands corresponding to tilted structures may be several times higher than those corresponding to symmetric structures, depending on several factors such as tilting angle and vibration period of structure and soil.
Abstract: The present work attempts to investigate the
combustion, performance and emission characteristics of an existing
single-cylinder four-stroke compression-ignition engine operated in
dual-fuel mode with hydrogen as an alternative fuel. Environmental
concerns and limited amount of petroleum fuels have caused interests
in the development of alternative fuels like hydrogen for internal
combustion (IC) engines. In this experimental investigation, a diesel
engine is made to run using hydrogen in dual fuel mode with diesel,
where hydrogen is introduced into the intake manifold using an LPGCNG
injector and pilot diesel is injected using diesel injectors. A
Timed Manifold Injection (TMI) system has been developed to vary
the injection strategies. The optimized timing for the injection of
hydrogen was 10^0 CA after top dead center (ATDC). From the study
it was observed that with increasing hydrogen rate, enhancement in
brake thermal efficiency (BTHE) of the engine has been observed
with reduction in brake specific energy consumption (BSEC).
Furthermore, Soot contents decrease with an increase in indicated
specific NOx emissions with the enhancement of hydrogen flow rate.
Abstract: Alone with fast urbanization in world, traffic control
became a big issue in urban construction. Having an efficient and
reliable traffic control system is crucial to macro-traffic control.
Traffic signal is used to manage conflicting requirement by allocating
different sets of mutually compatible traffic movement during distinct
time interval. Many approaches have been made proposed to solve
this discrete stochastic problem. Recognizing the need to minimize
right-of-way impacts while efficiently handling the anticipated high
traffic volumes, the proposed alternative system gives effective
design. This model allows for increased traffic capacity and reduces
delays by eliminating a step in maneuvering through the freeway
interchange. The concept proposed in this paper involves
construction of bridges and ramps at intersection of four roads to
control the vehicular congestion and to prevent traffic breakdown.
Abstract: The mechanisms underlying the association between
obesity and asthma may be related to a decreased immunological
tolerance induced by a defective function of regulatory T cells
(Tregs). The aim of this study is to establish the potential link
between these diseases and CD4+, CD25+ FoxP3+ Tregs as well as T
helper cells (Ths) in children. This is a prospective case control
study. Obese (n:40), asthmatic (n:40), asthmatic obese (n:40) and
healthy children (n:40), who don't have any acute or chronic diseases,
were included in this study. Obese children were evaluated according
to WHO criteria. Asthmatic patients were chosen based on GINA
criteria. Parents were asked to fill up the questionnaire. Informed
consent forms were taken. Blood samples were marked with CD4+,
CD25+ and FoxP3+ in order to determine Tregs and Ths by flow
cytometric method. Statistical analyses were performed. p≤0.05 was
chosen as meaningful threshold. Tregs exhibiting anti-inflammatory
nature were significantly lower in obese (0,16%; p≤0,001), asthmatic
(0,25%; p≤0,01) and asthmatic obese (0,29%; p≤0,05) groups than
the control group (0,38%). Ths were counted higher in asthma group
than the control (p≤0,01) and obese (p≤0,001) groups. T cell
immunity plays important roles in obesity and asthma pathogeneses.
Decreased numbers of Tregs found in obese, asthmatic and asthmatic
obese children may help to elucidate some questions in
pathophysiology of these diseases. For HOMA-IR levels, any
significant difference was not noted between control and obese
groups, but statistically higher values were found for obese
asthmatics. The values obtained in all groups were found to be below
the critical cut off points. This finding has made the statistically
significant difference observed between Tregs of obese, asthmatic,
obese asthmatic and control groups much more valuable. These
findings will be useful in diagnosis and treatment of these disorders
and future studies are needed. The production and propagation of
Tregs may be promising in alternative asthma and obesity treatments.
Abstract: In general, classical methods such as maximum
likelihood (ML) and least squares (LS) estimation methods are used
to estimate the shape parameters of the Burr XII distribution.
However, these estimators are very sensitive to the outliers. To
overcome this problem we propose alternative robust estimators
based on the M-estimation method for the shape parameters of the
Burr XII distribution. We provide a small simulation study and a real
data example to illustrate the performance of the proposed estimators
over the ML and the LS estimators. The simulation results show that
the proposed robust estimators generally outperform the classical
estimators in terms of bias and root mean square errors when there
are outliers in data.
Abstract: The biodegradable family of polymers
polyhydroxyalkanoates is an interesting substitute for convectional
fossil-based plastics. However, the manufacturing and environmental
impacts associated with their production via intracellular bacterial
fermentation are strongly dependent on the raw material used and on
energy consumption during the extraction process, limiting their
potential for commercialization. Industrial wastewater is studied in
this paper as a promising alternative feedstock for waste valorization.
Based on results from laboratory and pilot-scale experiments, a
conceptual process design, techno-economic analysis and life cycle
assessment are developed for the large-scale production of the most
common type of polyhydroxyalkanoate, polyhydroxbutyrate.
Intracellular polyhydroxybutyrate is obtained via fermentation of
microbial community present in industrial wastewater and the
downstream processing is based on chemical digestion with
surfactant and hypochlorite. The economic potential and
environmental performance results help identifying bottlenecks and
best opportunities to scale-up the process prior to industrial
implementation. The outcome of this research indicates that the
fermentation of wastewater towards PHB presents advantages
compared to traditional PHAs production from sugars because the
null environmental burdens and financial costs of the raw material in
the bioplastic production process. Nevertheless, process optimization
is still required to compete with the petrochemicals counterparts.
Abstract: In this study, polycaprolactone (PCL) was dissolved
in chloroform:ethanol solvent system at a concentration of 18 w/v %.
1, 2, 4, and 6 droplets of formic acid were added to the prepared 10ml
PCL-chloroform:ethanol solutions separately. Fibrous webs were
produced by electrospinning technique based on the horizontal
working principle. Morphology of the webs was investigated by
using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) whereas fiber diameters
were measured by Image J Software System. The effect of formic
acid addition to the mostly used chloroform solvent on fiber
morphology was examined.
Results indicate that there is a distinct fall in fiber diameter with
the addition of formic acid drops. The average fiber diameter was
measured as 2.22μm in PCL /chloroform:ethanol solution system. On
the other hand, 328nm and 256 nm average fiber diameters were
measured for the samples of 4 drops and 6 drops formic acid added.
This study offers alternative solvent systems to produce nanoscaled,
nontoxic PCL fibrous webs by electrospinning technique.
Abstract: Problems insulation of building structures is often
closely connected with the problem of moisture remediation. In the
case of historic buildings or if only part of the redevelopment of
envelope of structures, it is not possible to apply the classical external
thermal insulation composite systems. This application is mostly
effective thermal insulation plasters with high porosity and controlled
capillary properties which assures improvement of thermal properties
construction, its diffusion openness towards the external environment
and suitable treatment capillary properties of preventing the
penetration of liquid moisture and salts thereof toward the outer
surface of the structure.
With respect to the current trend of reducing the energy
consumption of building structures and reduce the production of CO2
is necessary to develop capillary-active materials characterized by
their low density, low thermal conductivity while maintaining good
mechanical properties. The aim of researchers at the Faculty of Civil
Engineering, Brno University of Technology is the development and
study of hygrothermal behaviour of optimal materials for thermal
insulation and rehabilitation of building structures with the possible
use of alternative, less energy demanding binders in comparison with
conventional, frequently used binder, which represents cement.
The paper describes the evaluation of research activities aimed at
the development of thermal insulation and repair materials using
lightweight aggregate and alternative binders such as metakaolin and
finely ground fly ash.
Abstract: The introduction of degradable plastic materials into
agricultural sectors has represented a promising alternative to
promote green agriculture and environmental friendly of modern
farming practices. Major challenges of developing degradable
agricultural films are to identify the most feasible types of
degradation mechanisms, composition of degradable polymers and
related processing techniques. The incorrect choice of degradable
mechanisms to be applied during the degradation process will cause
premature losses of mechanical performance and strength. In order to
achieve controlled process of agricultural film degradation, the
compositions of degradable agricultural film also important in order
to stimulate degradation reaction at required interval of time and to
achieve sustainability of the modern agricultural practices. A set of
photodegradable polyethylene based agricultural film was developed
and produced, following the selective optimization of processing
parameters of the agricultural film manufacturing system. Example of
agricultural films application for oil palm seedlings cultivation is
presented.
Abstract: This paper introduces an original method for
guaranteed estimation of the accuracy for an ensemble of Lipschitz
classifiers. The solution was obtained as a finite closed set of
alternative hypotheses, which contains an object of classification with
probability of not less than the specified value. Thus, the
classification is represented by a set of hypothetical classes. In this
case, the smaller the cardinality of the discrete set of hypothetical
classes is, the higher is the classification accuracy. Experiments have
shown that if cardinality of the classifiers ensemble is increased then
the cardinality of this set of hypothetical classes is reduced. The
problem of the guaranteed estimation of the accuracy for an ensemble
of Lipschitz classifiers is relevant in multichannel classification of
target events in C-OTDR monitoring systems. Results of suggested
approach practical usage to accuracy control in C-OTDR monitoring
systems are present.
Abstract: Recently, the green architecture becomes a
significant way to a sustainable future. Green building designs
involve finding the balance between comfortable homebuilding and
sustainable environment. Moreover, the utilization of the new
technologies such as artificial intelligence techniques are used to
complement current practices in creating greener structures to keep
the built environment more sustainable. The most common objectives
in green buildings should be designed to minimize the overall impact
of the built environment that effect on ecosystems in general and in
particularly human health and natural environment. This will lead to
protecting occupant health, improving employee productivity,
reducing pollution and sustaining the environmental. In green
building design, multiple parameters which may be interrelated,
contradicting, vague and of qualitative/quantitative nature are
broaden to use. This paper presents a comprehensive critical state- ofart-
review of current practices based on fuzzy and its combination
techniques. Also, presented how green architecture/building can be
improved using the technologies that been used for analysis to seek
optimal green solutions strategies and models to assist in making the
best possible decision out of different alternatives.
Abstract: The objective of countercyclical capital buffer is to
encourage banks to build up buffers in good times that can be drawn
down in bad times. The aim of the report is to assess such decisions
by banks derived from three approaches. The approaches are the
aggregate credit-to-GDP ratio, credit growth as well as banking
sector profits. The approaches are implemented for Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania for the time period 2000-2012. The report compares
three approaches and analyses their relevance to the Baltic States by
testing the correlation between a growth in studied variables and a
growth of corresponding gaps. Methods used in the empirical part of
the report are econometric analysis as well as economic analysis,
development indicators, relative and absolute indicators and other
methods. The research outcome is a cross-Baltic comparison of two
alternative approaches to establish or release a countercyclical capital
buffer by banks and their implications for each Baltic country.
Abstract: The explosion of the World Wide Web and the
electronic trend of university teaching have transformed the learning
style to become more learner-centered, which has popularized the
digital delivery of mediated lectures as an alternative or an adjunct to
traditional lectures. Despite its potential and popularity, virtual
lectures have not been adopted yet in Jordanian universities. This
research aimed to fill this gap by studying the factors that influence
students’ willingness to accept virtual lectures in one Jordanian
University. A quantitative approach was followed, by obtaining 216
survey responses and statistically applying the UTAUT model with
some modifications. Results revealed that performance expectancy,
effort expectancy, social influences, and self-efficacy could
significantly influence students’ attitudes towards virtual lectures.
Additionally, Facilitating conditions and attitudes towards virtual
lectures were found with significant influence on students’ intention
to take virtual lectures. Research implications and future work were
specified afterwards.
Abstract: Africa enjoys some of the best solar radiation levels in
the world averaging between 4-6 kWh/m2/day for most of the year
and the global economic and political conditions that tend to make
African countries more dependent on their own energy resources
have caused growing interest in renewable energy based
technologies. However to-date, implementation of modern Energy
Technologies in Africa is still very low especially the use of solar
conversion technologies. This paper presents literature review and
analysis relating to the techno-economic feasibility of solar
photovoltaic power generation in Africa. The literature is basically
classified into the following four main categories. Techno-economic
feasibility of solar photovoltaic power generation, design methods,
performance evaluations of various systems and policy of potential
future of technological development of photovoltaic (PV) in Africa
by exploring the impact of alternative policy instruments and
technology cost reductions on the financial viability of investing solar
photovoltaic in Africa.
Abstract: With drug resistance becoming widespread in
Plasmodium falciparum infections, the development of the alternative
drugs is the desired strategy for prevention and cure of malaria. Three
drug targets were selected to screen promising drug molecules from
the GSK library of 13469 molecules. Using an in silico structure-based
drug designing approach, the differences in binding energies of
the substrate and inhibitor were exploited between target sites of
parasite and human to design a drug molecule against Plasmodium.
The docking studies have shown several promising molecules from
GSK library with more effective binding as compared to the already
known inhibitors for the drug targets. Though stronger interaction has
been shown by several molecules as compared to the reference, few
molecules have shown the potential as drug candidates though in
vitro studies are required to validate the results. In case of
thymidylate synthase-dihydrofolatereductase (TS-DHFR), three
compounds have shown promise for future studies as potential drugs.
Abstract: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed
during the pyrolysis of scrap tyres to produce tyre pyrolytic oil
(TPO). Due to carcinogenic, mutagenic, and toxic properties PAHs
are priority pollutants. Hence it is essential to remove PAHs from
TPO before utilising TPO as a petroleum fuel alternative (to run the
engine). Agricultural wastes have promising future to be utilized as
biosorbent due to their cost effectiveness, abundant availability, high
biosorption capacity and renewability. Various low cost adsorbents
were prepared from natural sources. Uptake of PAHs present in tyre
pyrolytic oil was investigated using various low-cost adsorbents of
natural origin including sawdust (shisham), coconut fiber, neem bark,
chitin, activated charcoal. Adsorption experiments of different PAHs
viz. naphthalene, acenaphthalene, biphenyl and anthracene have been
carried out at ambient temperature (25°C) and at pH 7. It was
observed that for any given PAH, the adsorption capacity increases
with the lignin content. Freundlich constant Kf and 1/n have been
evaluated and it was found that the adsorption isotherms of PAHs
were in agreement with a Freundlich model, while the uptake
capacity of PAHs followed the order: activated charcoal> saw dust
(shisham) > coconut fiber > chitin. The partition coefficients in
acetone-water, and the adsorption constants at equilibrium, could be
linearly correlated with octanol–water partition coefficients. It is
observed that natural adsorbents are good alternative for PAHs
removal. Sawdust of Dalbergia sissoo, a by-product of sawmills was
found to be a promising adsorbent for the removal of PAHs present in
TPO. It is observed that adsorbents studied were comparable to those
of some conventional adsorbents.
Abstract: Standard processes, similar and limited production
lines, the production of high direct costs will be more accurate than
the use of parts of the traditional cost systems in the literature.
However, direct costs, overhead expenses, in turn, decrease the
burden of increasingly sophisticated production facilities, a situation
that led the researchers to look for the cost of traditional systems of
alternative techniques. Variety cost management approaches for
example Total quality management (TQM), just-in-time (JIT),
benchmarking, kaizen costing, targeting cost, life cycle costs (LLC),
activity-based costing (ABC) value engineering have been
introduced. Management and cost applications have changed over the
past decade and will continue to change. Modern cost systems can
provide relevant and accurate cost information. These methods
provide the decisions about customer, product and process
improvement. The aim of study is to describe and explain the
adoption and application of costing systems in SME. This purpose
reports on a survey conducted during 2014 small and medium sized
enterprises (SME) in Ankara. The survey results were evaluated
using SPSS18 package program.
Abstract: The decision-making process is theoretically clearly
defined. Generally, it includes the problem identification and
analysis, data gathering, goals and criteria setting, alternatives
development and optimal alternative choice and its implementation.
In practice however, various modifications of the theoretical
decision-making process can occur. The managers can consider some
of the phases to be too complicated or unfeasible and thus they do not
carry them out and conversely some of the steps can be
overestimated.
The aim of the paper is to reveal and characterize the perception of
the individual phases of decision-making process by the managers.
The research is concerned with managers in the military environment
– commanders. Quantitative survey is focused cross-sectionally in the
individual levels of management of the Ministry of Defence of the
Czech Republic. On the total number of 135 respondents the analysis
focuses on which of the decision-making process phases are
problematic or not carried out in practice and which are again
perceived to be the easiest. Then it is examined the reasons of the
findings.
Abstract: Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) represent a promising
technology for simultaneous bioelectricity generation and wastewater
treatment. Catalysts are significant portions of the cost of microbial
fuel cell cathodes. Many materials have been tested as aqueous
cathodes, but air-cathodes are needed to avoid energy demands for
water aeration. The sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) rate at
air cathode necessitates efficient electrocatalyst such as carbon
supported platinum catalyst (Pt/C) which is very costly. Manganese
oxide (MnO2) was a representative metal oxide which has been
studied as a promising alternative electrocatalyst for ORR and has
been tested in air-cathode MFCs. However the single MnO2 has poor
electric conductivity and low stability. In the present work, the MnO2
catalyst has been modified by doping Pt nanoparticle. The goal of the
work was to improve the performance of the MFC with minimum Pt
loading. MnO2 and Pt nanoparticles were prepared by hydrothermal
and sol gel methods, respectively. Wet impregnation method was
used to synthesize Pt/MnO2 catalyst. The catalysts were further used
as cathode catalysts in air-cathode cubic MFCs, in which anaerobic
sludge was inoculated as biocatalysts and palm oil mill effluent
(POME) was used as the substrate in the anode chamber. The asprepared
Pt/MnO2 was characterized comprehensively through field
emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-Ray diffraction
(XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and cyclic
voltammetry (CV) where its surface morphology, crystallinity,
oxidation state and electrochemical activity were examined,
respectively. XPS revealed Mn (IV) oxidation state and Pt (0)
nanoparticle metal, indicating the presence of MnO2 and Pt.
Morphology of Pt/MnO2 observed from FESEM shows that the
doping of Pt did not cause change in needle-like shape of MnO2
which provides large contacting surface area. The electrochemical
active area of the Pt/MnO2 catalysts has been increased from 276 to
617 m2/g with the increase in Pt loading from 0.2 to 0.8 wt%. The
CV results in O2 saturated neutral Na2SO4 solution showed that
MnO2 and Pt/MnO2 catalysts could catalyze ORR with different
catalytic activities. MFC with Pt/MnO2 (0.4 wt% Pt) as air cathode
catalyst generates a maximum power density of 165 mW/m3, which
is higher than that of MFC with MnO2 catalyst (95 mW/m3). The
open circuit voltage (OCV) of the MFC operated with MnO2 cathode
gradually decreased during 14 days of operation, whereas the MFC
with Pt/MnO2 cathode remained almost constant throughout the
operation suggesting the higher stability of the Pt/MnO2 catalyst.
Therefore, Pt/MnO2 with 0.4 wt% Pt successfully demonstrated as an
efficient and low cost electrocatalyst for ORR in air cathode MFC with higher electrochemical activity, stability and hence enhanced
performance.
Abstract: The main aim of this research was to investigate a
prototype bamboo shading device. There were two objectives to this
study: first, to investigate the effects of non-chemical treatments on
bamboo shading devices damaged by powder-post beetles and fungi,
and second to develop a prototype bamboo shading device. This
study of the effects of non-chemical treatments on bamboo shading
devices damage by powder-post beetles in the laboratory showed
that, among seven treatments tested, wood vinegar treatment can
protect powder-post beetles better than the original method by up to
92.91%. It was also found that wood vinegar treatment shows the
best performance in fungi protection and works better than the
original method by up to 40%. A second experiment was carried out
by constructing four bamboo shading devices and installing them on
a building for 28 days. All aspects of shading device were
investigated in terms of their beauty, durability, and ease of
construction and assembly. The final prototype was developed from
the lessons learned from the test results. In conclusion, this study
showed the effectiveness of some natural preservatives against insect
and fungi damage, and it also illustrated the characteristics of a
prototype bamboo shading device that can be constructed by rural
workers within one week.