Abstract: This paper presents the modeling approach in SBO
sequence for VVER 1000 reactors and describes the reactor core
behavior at late in-vessel phase in case of late reflooding by HPIS
and gives preliminary results for the ASTECv2 validation. The work
is focused on investigation of plant behavior during total loss of
power and the operator actions. The main goal of these analyses is to
assess the phenomena arising during the Station blackout (SBO)
followed by primary side high pressure injection system (HPIS)
reflooding of already damaged reactor core at very late “in-vessel”
phase. The purpose of the analyses is to define how the later HPIS
switching on can delay the time of vessel failure or possibly avoid
vessel failure. The times for HPP injection were chosen based on
previously performed investigations.
Abstract: This study intends to show the influence of the
hydrolytic degradation on the properties of the e-PTFE/NOMEX®
membranes used in fire-protective clothing. The modification of
water vapour permeability, morphology and chemical structure was
examined by MOCON Permatran, electron microscopy scanning
(SEM), and ATR-FTIR, respectively. A decrease in permeability to
water vapour of the aged samples was observed following closure of
transpiration pores. Analysis of fiber morphology indicates the
appearance of defects at the fibers surface with the presence of micro
cavities. ATR-FTIR analysis reveals the presence of a new absorption
band attributed to carboxylic acid terminal groups generated during
the amide bond hydrolysis.
Abstract: Crops diversity and maintaining and enhancing the
fertility of agricultural lands are basic principles of organic farming.
With a wider range of crops in agroecosystem can improve the ability
to control weeds, pests and diseases, and the performance of crops
rotation and food safety. In this sense, the main objective of the
research was to study the productivity and chemical composition of
some alternative crops and their adaptability to soil and climatic
conditions of the agricultural area in Southern Romania and to
cultivation in the organic farming system. The alternative crops were:
lentil (7 genotypes); five species of grain legumes (5 genotypes); four
species of oil crops (5 genotypes). The seed production was, on
average: 1343 kg/ha of lentil; 2500 kg/ha of field beans; 2400 kg/ha
of chick peas and blackeyed peas; more than 2000 kg/ha of atzuki
beans, over 1250 kg/ha of fenugreek; 2200 kg/ha of safflower; 570
kg/ha of oil pumpkin; 2150 kg/ha of oil flax; 1518 kg/ha of camelina.
Regarding chemical composition, lentil seeds contained: 22.18%
proteins, 3.03% lipids, 33.29% glucides, 4.00% minerals, and 259.97
kcal energy values. For field beans: 21.50% proteins, 4.40% lipids,
63.90% glucides, 5.85% minerals, 395.36 kcal energetic value. For
chick peas: 21.23% proteins, 4.55% lipids, 53.00% glucides, 3.67%
minerals, 348.22 kcal energetic value. For blackeyed peas: 23.30%
proteins, 2.10% lipids, 68.10% glucides, 3.93% minerals, 350.14 kcal
energetic value. For adzuki beans: 21.90% proteins, 2.60% lipids,
69.30% glucides, 4.10% minerals, 402.48 kcal energetic value. For
fenugreek: 21.30% proteins, 4.65% lipids, 63.83% glucides, 5.69%
minerals, 396.54 kcal energetic value. For safflower: 12.60%
proteins, 28.37% lipids, 46.41% glucides, 3.60% minerals, 505.78
kcal energetic value. For camelina: 20.29% proteins, 31.68% lipids,
36.28% glucides, 4.29% minerals, 526.63 kcal energetic value. For
oil pumpkin: 29.50% proteins, 36.92% lipids, 18.50% glucides,
5.41% minerals, 540.15 kcal energetic value. For oil flax: 22.56%
proteins, 34.10% lipids, 27.73% glucides, 5.25% minerals, 558.45
kcal energetic value.
Abstract: Transparent nickel doped cobalt sulfide was fabricated
on a SnO2:F electrode and tested as an efficient electrocatalyst and as
an alternative to the expensive platinum counter electrode. In order to
investigate how this electrode could affect the electrical
characteristics of a dye-sensitized solar cell, we manufactured cells
with the same TiO2 photoanode sensitized with dye (N719) and
employing the same quasi-solid electrolyte, altering only the counter
electrode used. The cells were electrically and electrochemically
characterized and it was observed that the ones with the Ni doped
CoS2 outperformed the efficiency of the cells with the Pt counter
electrode (3.76% and 3.44% respectively). Particularly, the higher
efficiency of the cells with the Ni doped CoS2 counter electrode (CE)
is mainly because of the enhanced photocurrent density which is
attributed to the enhanced electrocatalytic ability of the CE and the
low charge transfer resistance at the CE/electrolyte interface.
Abstract: This paper presents the design and fabrication of an
optical window for an optical modulator toward image sensing
applications. An optical window consists of micrometer-order SiO2
capillaries (porous solid) that can modulate transmission light
intensity by moving the liquid in and out of porous solid. A high
optical transmittance of the optical window can be achieved due to
refractive index matching when the liquid is penetrated into the
porous solid. Otherwise, its light transmittance is lower because of
light reflection and scattering by air holes and capillary walls. Silicon
capillaries fabricated by deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) process are
completely oxidized to form the SiO2 capillaries. Therefore, high
aspect ratio SiO2 capillaries can be achieved based on silicon
capillaries formed by DRIE technique. Large compressive stress of
the oxide causes bending of the capillary structure, which is reduced
by optimizing the design of device structure. The large stress of the
optical window can be released via thin supporting beams. A 7.2 mm
x 9.6 mm optical window area toward a fully integrated with the
image sensor format is successfully fabricated and its optical
transmittance is evaluated with and without inserting liquids (ethanol
and matching oil). The achieved modulation range is approximately
20% to 35% with and without liquid penetration in visible region
(wavelength range from 450 nm to 650 nm).
Abstract: In this paper two approaches to joint signal detection,
time of arrival (ToA) and angle of arrival (AoA) estimation in
multi-element antenna array are investigated. Two scenarios were
considered: first one, when the waveform of the useful signal
is known a priori and, second one, when the waveform of the
desired signal is unknown. For first scenario, the antenna array
signal processing based on multi-element matched filtering (MF)
with the following non-coherent detection scheme and maximum
likelihood (ML) parameter estimation blocks is exploited. For second
scenario, the signal processing based on the antenna array elements
covariance matrix estimation with the following eigenvector analysis
and ML parameter estimation blocks is applied. The performance
characteristics of both signal processing schemes are thoroughly
investigated and compared for different useful signals and noise
parameters.
Abstract: Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is a non-invasive and
non-ionizing imaging modality that combines the absorption contrast
of light with ultrasound resolution. Laser is used to deposit optical
energy into a target (i.e., optical fluence). Consequently, the target
temperature rises, and then thermal expansion occurs that leads to
generating a PA signal. In general, most image reconstruction
algorithms for PAI assume uniform fluence within an imaging object.
However, it is known that optical fluence distribution within the
object is non-uniform. This could affect the reconstruction of PA
images. In this study, we have investigated the influence of optical
fluence distribution on PA back-propagation imaging using finite
element method. The uniform fluence was simulated as a triangular
waveform within the object of interest. The non-uniform fluence
distribution was estimated by solving light propagation within a
tissue model via Monte Carlo method. The results show that the PA
signal in the case of non-uniform fluence is wider than the uniform
case by 23%. The frequency spectrum of the PA signal due to the
non-uniform fluence has missed some high frequency components in
comparison to the uniform case. Consequently, the reconstructed
image with the non-uniform fluence exhibits a strong smoothing
effect.
Abstract: In terms of ecology forecast effects of desertification, the purpose of this study is to develop a predictive model of growth and adaptation of species in arid environment and bioclimatic conditions. The impact of climate change and the desertification phenomena is the result of combined effects in magnitude and frequency of these phenomena. Like the data involved in the phytopathogenic process and bacteria growth in arid soil occur in an uncertain environment because of their complexity, it becomes necessary to have a suitable methodology for the analysis of these variables. The basic principles of fuzzy logic those are perfectly suited to this process. As input variables, we consider the physical parameters, soil type, bacteria nature, and plant species concerned. The result output variable is the adaptability of the species expressed by the growth rate or extinction. As a conclusion, we prevent the possible strategies for adaptation, with or without shifting areas of plantation and nature adequate vegetation.
Abstract: In the era of sustainability, utilization of livestock wastes as soil amendment to provide micronutrients for crops is very economical and sustainable. It is well understood that livestock wastes are comparable, if not better, nutrient sources for crops as chemical fertilizers. However, the large concentrated volumes of animal manure produced from livestock operations and the limited amount of available nearby agricultural land areas necessitated the need for volume reduction of these animal wastes. Composting of these animal manures is a viable option for biomass and pathogenic reduction in the environment. Nevertheless, composting also increases the potential loss of available nutrients for crop production as well as unwanted emission of anthropogenic air pollutants due to the loss of ammonia and other compounds via volatilization. In this study, we examine the emission of ammonia and nitrous oxide from swine manure windrows to evaluate the benefit of biomass reduction in conjunction with the potential loss of available nutrients. The feedstock for the windrows was obtained from swine farm in Kentucky where swine manure was mixed with wood shaving as absorbent material. Static flux chambers along with photoacoustic gas analyzer were used to monitor ammonia and nitrous oxide concentrations during the composting process. The results show that ammonia and nitrous oxide fluxes were quite high during the initial composting process and after the turning of each compost pile. Over the period of roughly three months of composting, the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) decreased by about 90%. Although composting of animal waste is quite beneficial for biomass reduction, composting may not be economically feasible from an agronomical point of view due to time, nutrient loss (N loss), and potential environmental pollution (ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions). Therefore, additional studies are needed to assess and validate the economics and environmental impact of animal (swine) manure composting (e.g., crop yield or impact on climate change).
Abstract: This research presents the first comprehensive survey of congener profiles (7 indicator congeners) of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sediment samples covering ten sites in CauBay River, Vietnam. Chemical analyses were carried out in gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) for tri- to hepta- brominated congeners. Results pointed out a non-homogenous contamination of the sediment with ∑7 PBDE values ranging from 8.93 to 25.64ng g−1, reflecting moderate to low contamination closely in conformity to other Asian aquatic environments. The general order of decreasing congener contribution to the total load was: BDE 47 > 99 > 100 > 154, similar to the distribution pattern worldwide. PBDEs had rare risks in the sediment of studied area. However, due to the propensity of PBDEs to accumulate in various compartments of wildlife and human food webs, evaluation of biological tissues should be undertaken as a high priority.
Abstract: This paper studied the CSS-based indoor localization system which is easy to implement, inexpensive to compose the systems, additionally CSS-based indoor localization system covers larger area than other system. However, this system has problem which is affected by reflected distance data. This problem in localization is caused by the multi-path effect. Error caused by multi-path is difficult to be corrected because the indoor environment cannot be described. In this paper, in order to solve the problem by multi-path, we have supplemented the localization system by using pattern matching method based on extended database. Thereby, this method improves precision of estimated. Also this method is verified by experiments in gymnasium. Database was constructed by 1m intervals, and 16 sample data were collected from random position inside the region of DB points. As a result, this paper shows higher accuracy than existing method through graph and table.
Abstract: Biopolymers have gained much attention as ecofriendly alternatives to petrochemical-based plastics because they are biodegradable and can be produced from renewable feedstocks. One class of biopolyester with many potential environmentally
friendly applications is polylactic acid (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL). The PLA/PCL biodegradable copolyesters were synthesized by bulk ring-opening copolymerization of successively added Llactide (LL) and ε-caprolactone (CL) in the presence of toluene, using 1-hexanol as initiator and stannous octoate (Sn(Oct)2) as catalyst. Reaction temperature, reaction time and amount of catalyst were evaluated to obtain optimum reaction conditions. The results showed that the %conversion increased with increases in reaction temperature and reaction time, but after a critical amount of catalyst was reached the %conversion decreased. The yield of PLA/PCL biopolymer achieved 98.02% at the reaction temperature 160 °C, amount of catalyst 0.3 mol% and reaction time of 48 h. In addition, the thermal properties of the product were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).
Abstract: In this paper a novel ultra-wideband (UWB) slot antenna with band notch characteristics for world interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) is proposed. The designed antenna consists of a rectangular radiating patch and a ground plane with tapered shape slot. To realize a notch band, a curved parasitic element has been etched out along with the radiating patch. It is observed that by adjusting the length, thickness and position of the parasitic element, the proposed antenna can achieved an impedance bandwidth of 8.01GHz (2.84 to 10.85GHz) with a notched band of 3.28-3.85GHz. Compared to the recently reported band notch antennas, the proposed antenna has a simple configuration to realize band notch characteristics in order to mitigate the potential interference between WiMAX and UWB system. Furthermore, a stable radiation pattern and moderate gain except at the notched band makes the proposed antenna suitable for various UWB applications.
Abstract: Nowadays, consumption of whole flours and flours
with high extraction rate is recommended, because of their high
amount of fibers, vitamins and minerals. Despite nutritional benefits
of whole flour, concentration of some undesirable components such
as phytic acid is higher than white flour. In this study, effect of
several lactic acid bacteria sourdough on Toast bread is investigated.
Sourdough from lactic acid bacteria (Lb. plantarum, Lb. reuteri) with
different dough yield (250 and 300) is made and incubated at 30°C
for 20 hour, then added to dough in the ratio of 10, 20 and 30%
replacement. Breads that supplemented with Lb. plantarum
sourdough had lower phytic acid. Higher replacement of sourdough
and higher DY cause higher decrease in phytic acid content.
Sourdough from Lb. plantarum, DY = 300 and 30% replacement
cause the highest decrease in phytic acid content (49.63 mg/100g).
As indicated by panelists, Lb. reuteri sourdough can present the
greatest effect on overall quality score of the breads. DY reduction
cause a decrease in bread quality score. Sensory score of Toast bread
is 81.71 in the samples that treated with Lb. reuteri sourdough with
DY = 250 and 20% replacement.
Abstract: Frequently a group of people jointly decide and authorize
a specific person as a representative in some business/poitical
occasions, e.g., the board of a company authorizes the chief executive
officer to close a multi-billion acquisition deal. In this paper, an
integrated proxy multi-signature scheme that allows anonymously
vetoable delegation is proposed. This protocol integrates mechanisms
of private veto, distributed proxy key generation, secure transmission
of proxy key, and existentially unforgeable proxy multi-signature
scheme. First, a provably secure Guillou-Quisquater proxy signature
scheme is presented, then the “zero-sharing" protocol is extended
over a composite modulus multiplicative group, and finally the above
two are combined to realize the GQ proxy multi-signature with
anonymously vetoable delegation. As a proxy signature scheme, this
protocol protects both the original signers and the proxy signer.
The modular design allows simplified implementation with less
communication overheads and better computation performance than
a general secure multi-party protocol.
Abstract: One of the most important problems in production planning of flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is machine tool selection and operation allocation problem that directly influences the production costs and times .In this paper minimizing machining cost, set-up cost and material handling cost as a multi-objective problem in flexible manufacturing systems environment are considered. We present a 0-1 integer linear programming model for the multiobjective machine tool selection and operation allocation problem and due to the large scale nature of the problem, solving the problem to obtain optimal solution in a reasonable time is infeasible, Paretoant colony optimization (P-ACO) approach for solving the multiobjective problem in reasonable time is developed. Experimental results indicate effectiveness of the proposed algorithm for solving the problem.
Abstract: In this work, we try to find the best setting
of Computational Fluid Dynamic solver available for the problems in
the field of supersonic internal flows. We used the supersonic air-toair
ejector to represent the typical problem in focus. There are
multiple oblique shock waves, shear layers, boundary layers
and normal shock interacting in the supersonic ejector making this
device typical in field of supersonic inner flows. Modeling of shocks
in general is demanding on the physical model of fluid, because
ordinary conservation equation does not conform to real conditions in
the near-shock region as found in many works. From these reasons,
we decided to take special care about solver setting in this article by
means of experimental approach of color Schlieren pictures and
pneumatic measurement. Fast pressure transducers were used to
measure unsteady static pressure in regimes with normal shock in
mixing chamber. Physical behavior of ejector in several regimes is
discussed. Best choice of eddy-viscosity setting is discussed on the
theoretical base. The final verification of the k-ω SST is done on the
base of comparison between experiment and numerical results.
Abstract: In this paper, a block code to minimize the peak-toaverage
power ratio (PAPR) of orthogonal frequency division
multiplexing (OFDM) signals is proposed. It is shown that cyclic
shift and codeword inversion cause not change to peak envelope
power. The encoding rule for the proposed code comprises of
searching for a seed codeword, shifting the register elements, and
determining codeword inversion, eliminating the look-up table for
one-to-one correspondence between the source and the coded data.
Simulation results show that OFDM systems with the proposed code
always have the minimum PAPR.
Abstract: Neonatal lupus erythematous (NLE) is a rare disease marked by clinical characteristic and specific maternal autoantibody. Many cutaneous, cardiac, liver, and hematological manifestations could happen with affect of one organ or multiple. In this case, both babies were premature, low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA) and born through caesarean section from a systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) mother. In the first case, we found a baby girl with dyspnea and grunting. Chest X ray showed respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) great I and echocardiography showed small atrial septal defect (ASD) and ventricular septal defect (VSD). She also developed anemia, thrombocytopenia, elevated C-reactive protein, hypoalbuminemia, increasing coagulation factors, hyperbilirubinemia, and positive blood culture of Klebsiella pneumonia. Anti-Ro/SSA and Anti-nRNP/sm were positive. Intravenous fluid, antibiotic, transfusion of blood, thrombocyte concentrate, and fresh frozen plasma were given. The second baby, male presented with necrotic tissue on the left ear and skin rashes, erythematous macula, athropic scarring, hyperpigmentation on all of his body with various size and facial haemorrhage. He also suffered from thrombocytopenia, mild elevated transaminase enzyme, hyperbilirubinemia, anti-Ro/SSA was positive. Intravenous fluid, methyprednisolone, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), blood, and thrombocyte concentrate transfution were given. Two cases of neonatal lupus erythematous had been presented. Diagnosis based on clinical presentation and maternal auto antibody on neonate. Organ involvement in NLE can occur as single or multiple manifestations.
Abstract: Titanium dioxide coatings were deposited by utilizing
atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) system. The agglomerated nanopowder
and different spraying parameters were used to determine
their influences on the microstructure surface feature and photoabsorption
of the coatings. The microstructure of as-sprayed TiO2
coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM).
Surface characteristics were investigated by Fourier Transform
Infrared (FT-IR). The photo absorption was determined by UV-VIS
spectrophotometer. It is found that the spray parameters have an
influence on the microstructure, surface feature and photo-absorption
of the TiO2 coatings.