Abstract: Concrete is found to undergo degradation when
subjected to elevated temperatures and loose substantial amount of its
strength. The loss of strength in concrete is mainly attributed to
decomposition of C-S-H and release of physically and chemically
bound water, which begins when the exposure temperature exceeds
100°C. When such a concrete comes in contact with moisture, the
cement paste is found rehydrate and considerable amount of strength
lost is found to recover. This paper presents results of an
experimental program carried out to investigate the effect of recuring
on strength gain of OPC concrete specimens subjected to elevated
temperatures from 200°C to 800°C, which were subjected to
retention time of two hours and four hours at the designated
temperature. Strength recoveries for concrete subjected to 7
designated elevated temperatures are compared. It is found that the
efficacy of recuring as a measure of strength recovery reduces with
increase in exposure temperature.
Abstract: In this research (using induction furnace process)
nodular iron with three different percentages of copper (residual,
0.5% and 1,2%) was obtained. Chemical analysis was performed by
mass spectrometry and microstructures were characterized by Optical
Microscopy (ASTM E3) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).
The study of mechanical behavior was carried out in a mechanical
test machine (ASTM E8) and a Pin on disk tribometer (ASTM G99)
was used to assess wear resistance. It is observed that the dissolution
of copper in crystal lattice increases the pearlite structure improving
the wear and hardness behavior, but producing a contrary effect on
the energy absorption.
Abstract: Doxorubicin, also known as Adriamycin, is an
anthracycline class of drug used in cancer chemotherapy. It is used in
the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, acute
leukemia, breast cancer, lung cancer, endometrium cancer and ovary
cancers. It functions via intercalating DNA and ultimately killing
cancer cells. The major side effects of doxorubicin are hair loss,
myelosuppression, nausea & vomiting, oesophagitis, diarrhea, heart
damage and liver dysfunction. The minor modifications in the
structure of compound exhibit large variation in the biological
activity, has prompted us to carry out the synthesis of sulfonamide
derivatives. Sulfonamide is an important feature with broad spectrum
of biological activity such as antiviral, antifungal, diuretics, antiinflammatory,
antibacterial and anticancer activities. Structure of the
synthesized compound N-(1-methyl-2-oxo-2-N-methyl anilinoethyl)
benzene sulfonamide confirmed by proton nuclear magnetic
resonance (1H NMR),13C NMR, Mass and FTIR spectroscopic tools
to assure the position of all protons and hence stereochemistry of the
molecule. Further we have reported the binding potential of
synthesized sulfonamide analogues in comparison to doxorubicin
drug using Auto Dock 4.2 software. Computational binding energy
(B.E.) and inhibitory constant (Ki) has been evaluated for the
synthesized compound in comparison of doxorubicin against Poly
(dA-dT).Poly (dA-dT) and Poly (dG-dC).Poly (dG-dC) sequences.
The in vitro cytotoxic study against human breast cancer cell lines
confirms the better anticancer activity of the synthesized compound
over currently in use anticancer drug doxorubicin. The IC50 value of
the synthesized compound is 7.12 μM whereas for doxorubicin is 7.2
μM.
Abstract: In order to detect and quantify the phenolic contents
of a wastewater with biosensors, two working electrodes based on
modified Poly(Pyrrole) films were fabricated. Enzyme horseradish
peroxidase was used as biomolecule of the prepared electrodes.
Various phenolics were tested at the biosensor. Phenol detection was
realized by electrochemical reduction of quinones produced by
enzymatic activity. Analytical parameters were calculated and the
results were compared with each other.
Abstract: The work studied the effect of germination on
proximate, phenol and flavonoid content and antioxidant activities
(AOA) of African Yam been (AYB). Germination was done in
controlled dark chamber (100% RH, 28oC). The proximate, phenol
and flavonoid content and antioxidant activities before and after
germination were investigated. The crude protein, moisture, and
crude fiber content of germinated AYB were significantly higher
(P
Abstract: In this study, an experiment was executed related to
the strength of wooden materials which have been commonly used
both in the past and present against pressure and whether fire
retardant materials used against fire have any effects or not. Totally
81 samples which included 3 different wood species, 3 different
sizes, 2 different fire retardants and 2 unprocessed samples were
prepared. Compressive pressure tests were applied to the prepared
samples, their variance analyses were executed in accordance with
the obtained results and it was aimed to determine the most
convenient wooden materials and fire-retardant coating material. It
was also determined that the species of wood and the species of
coating caused the decrease and/or increase in the resistance against
pressure.
Abstract: The Blue Nile Basin is the most important tributary of
the Nile River. Egypt and Sudan are almost dependent on water
originated from the Blue Nile. This multi-dependency creates
conflicts among the three countries Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia
making the management of these conflicts as an international issue.
Good assessment of the water resources of the Blue Nile is an
important to help in managing such conflicts. Hydrological models
are good tool for such assessment. This paper presents a critical
review of the nature and variability of the climate and hydrology of
the Blue Nile Basin as a first step of using hydrological modeling to
assess the water resources of the Blue Nile. Many several attempts
are done to develop basin-scale hydrological modeling on the Blue
Nile. Lumped and semi distributed models used averages of
meteorological inputs and watershed characteristics in hydrological
simulation, to analyze runoff for flood control and water resource
management. Distributed models include the temporal and spatial
variability of catchment conditions and meteorological inputs to
allow better representation of the hydrological process. The main
challenge of all used models was to assess the water resources of the
basin is the shortage of the data needed for models calibration and
validation. It is recommended to use distributed model for their
higher accuracy to cope with the great variability and complexity of
the Blue Nile basin and to collect sufficient data to have more
sophisticated and accurate hydrological modeling.
Abstract: The effects of basil and/or chamomile seed
supplementation on the growth of Hubbard broiler chicks were
evaluated. The antioxidant effects of these supplements were also
assessed. 120 1-day-old broiler chicks were randomly divided into
four equal groups. The control group (group 1) was fed a basal diet
(BD) without supplementation. Groups 2, 3, and 4 were fed the BD
supplemented with 10g basil, 10g chamomile, and 5g basil plus 5g
chamomile per kg of food, respectively. Basil supplementation alone
or in combination with chamomile non-significantly (P≥0.05)
increased final body weight (3.2% and 0.3%, respectively) and
weight gain (3.5% and 3.6%, respectively) over the experimental
period. Chamomile supplementation alone non-significantly (P≥0.05)
reduced final body weight and weight gain over the experimental
period by 1.7% and 1.7%, respectively. In comparison to the control
group, herbal seed supplementation reduced feed intake and
improved the feed conversion and protein efficiency ratios. In
general, basil seed supplementation stimulated chicken growth and
improved the feed efficiency more effectively than chamomile seed
supplementation. The antioxidant activities of basil and/or chamomile
supplementation were examined in the thymus, bursa, and spleen. In
chickens that received supplements, the level of malondialdehyde
was significantly decreased, whereas the activities of glutathione,
superoxide dismutase, and catalase were significantly increased
(P
Abstract: In this article a comparison was made between Cu and
TiO2 supported catalysts on activated carbon for ozone
decomposition reaction. The activated carbon support in the case of
TiO2/AC sample was prepared by physicochemical pyrolysis and for
Cu/AC samples the supports are chemically modified carbons. The
prepared catalysts were synthesized by impregnation method. The
samples were annealed in two different regimes- in air and under
vacuum. To examine adsorption efficiency of the samples BET
method was used. All investigated catalysts supported on chemically
modified carbons have higher specific surface area compared to the
specific surface area of TiO2 supported catalysts, varying in the range
590÷620 m2/g. The method of synthesis of the precursors had
influenced catalytic activity.
Abstract: Comparisons of financial development across
countries are central to answering many of the questions on factors
leading to economic development. For this reason this study analyzes
the implications of financial system’s development on country’s
economic development. The aim of the article: to analyze the impact
of financial system’s development on economic development. The
following research methods were used: systemic, logical and
comparative analysis of scientific literature, analysis of statistical
data, time series model (Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL)
Model). The empirical results suggest about positive short and long
term effect of stock market development on GDP per capita.
Abstract: Artificial intelligence applications are commonly used
in industry in many fields in parallel with the developments in the
computer technology. In this study, a fire room was prepared for the
resistance of wooden construction elements and with the mechanism
here, the experiments of polished materials were carried out. By
utilizing from the experimental data, an artificial neural network
(ANN) was modelled in order to evaluate the final cross sections of
the wooden samples remaining from the fire. In modelling,
experimental data obtained from the fire room were used. In the
developed system, the first weight of samples (ws-gr), preliminary
cross-section (pcs-mm2), fire time (ft-minute), and fire temperature
(t-oC) as input parameters and final cross-section (fcs-mm2) as output
parameter were taken. When the results obtained from ANN and
experimental data are compared after making statistical analyses, the
data of two groups are determined to be coherent and seen to have no
meaning difference between them. As a result, it is seen that ANN
can be safely used in determining cross sections of wooden materials
after fire and it prevents many disadvantages.
Abstract: This paper describes the tradeoffs and the design from
scratch of a self-contained, easy-to-use health dashboard software
system that provides customizable data tracking for patients in smart
homes. The system is made up of different software modules and
comprises a front-end and a back-end component. Built with HTML,
CSS, and JavaScript, the front-end allows adding users, logging into
the system, selecting metrics, and specifying health goals. The backend
consists of a NoSQL Mongo database, a Python script, and a
SimpleHTTPServer written in Python. The database stores user
profiles and health data in JSON format. The Python script makes use
of the PyMongo driver library to query the database and displays
formatted data as a daily snapshot of user health metrics against
target goals. Any number of standard and custom metrics can be
added to the system, and corresponding health data can be fed
automatically, via sensor APIs or manually, as text or picture data
files. A real-time METAR request API permits correlating weather
data with patient health, and an advanced query system is
implemented to allow trend analysis of selected health metrics over
custom time intervals. Available on the GitHub repository system,
the project is free to use for academic purposes of learning and
experimenting, or practical purposes by building on it.
Abstract: The borate glasses are known by their structural
characterized by existence of unit’s structural composed by triangles
and tetrahedrons boron in different configurations depending on the
percentage of B2O3 in the glass chemical composition. In this paper,
effect of lithium oxide addition on the thermal and physical
properties of an alumina borate glass, was investigated. It was found
that the boron abnormality has a significant effect in the change of
glass properties according to the addition rate of lithium oxide.
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.
Abstract: This work reports the potential of using Palm Kernel
(PK) ash and shell as a partial substitute for Portland Cement (PC)
and coarse aggregate in the development of mortar and concrete. PK
ash and shell are agro-waste materials from palm oil mills, the
disposal of PK ash and shell is an environmental problem of concern.
The PK ash has pozzolanic properties that enables it as a partial
replacement for cement and also plays an important role in the
strength and durability of concrete, its use in concrete will alleviate
the increasing challenges of scarcity and high cost of cement. In order
to investigate the PC replacement potential of PK ash, three types of
PK ash were produced at varying temperature (350-750C) and they
were used to replace up to 50% PC. The PK shell was used to replace
up to 100% coarse aggregate in order to study its aggregate
replacement potential. The testing programme included material
characterisation, the determination of compressive strength, tensile
splitting strength and chemical durability in aggressive sulfatebearing
exposure conditions. The 90 day compressive results showed
a significant strength gain (up to 26.2 N/mm2). The Portland cement
and conventional coarse aggregate has significantly higher influence
in the strength gain compared to the equivalent PK ash and PK shell.
The chemical durability results demonstrated that after a prolonged
period of exposure, significant strength losses in all the concretes
were observed. This phenomenon is explained, due to lower change
in concrete morphology and inhibition of reaction species and the
final disruption of the aggregate cement paste matrix.
Abstract: The development of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
into a regional trade, tourism, finance and logistics hub has
transformed its real estate markets. However, speculative activity and
price volatility remain concerns. UAE residential market values
(MV) are exposed to fluctuations in capital flows and migration
which, in turn, are affected by geopolitical uncertainty, oil price
volatility and global investment market sentiment. Internally, a
complex interplay between administrative boundaries, land tenure,
building quality and evolving location characteristics fragments UAE
residential property markets. In short, the UAE Residential Valuation
System (UAE-RVS) confronts multiple challenges to collect, filter
and analyze relevant information in complex and dynamic spatial and
capital markets. A robust (RVS) can mitigate the risk of unhelpful
volatility, speculative excess or investment mistakes. The research
outlines the institutional, ontological, dynamic and epistemological
issues at play. We highlight the importance of system capabilities,
valuation standard salience and stakeholders trust.
Abstract: Environmental impact assessment techniques have
been developed as a result of the worldwide efforts to reduce the
environmental impact of global warming. By using the quantification
method in the construction industry, it is now possible to manage the
greenhouse gas is to systematically evaluate the impact on the
environment over the entire construction process. In particular, the
proportion of greenhouse gas emissions at the production stage of
construction material occupied is high, and efforts are needed in
particular in the construction field.
In this research, intended for concrete products for the construction
materials, by using the LCA method, we compared the results of
environmental impact assessment and carbon emissions of developing
products that have been applied low-carbon technologies compared to
existing products. As a results, by introducing a raw material of
industrial waste, showed carbon reduction. Through a comparison of
the carbon emission reduction effect of low carbon technologies, it is
intended to provide academic data for the evaluation of greenhouse
gases in the construction sector and the development of low carbon
technologies of the future.
Abstract: In order to study the aerodynamic performance of a
semi-flexible membrane wing, Fluid-Structure Interaction simulations
have been performed. The fluid problem has been modeled using
two different approaches which are the vortex panel method and the
numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations. Nonlinear analysis
of the structural problem is performed using the Finite Element
Method. Comparison between the two fluid solvers has been made.
Aerodynamic performance of the wing is discussed regarding its
lift and drag coefficients and they are compared with those of the
equivalent rigid wing.
Abstract: A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is
developed for rechargeable non-aqueous electrolyte lithium-air
batteries with a partial opening for oxygen supply to the cathode.
Multi-phase transport phenomena occurred in the battery are
considered, including dissolved lithium ions and oxygen gas in the
liquid electrolyte, solid-phase electron transfer in the porous
functional materials and liquid-phase charge transport in the
electrolyte. These transport processes are coupled with the
electrochemical reactions at the active surfaces, and effects of
discharge reaction-generated solid Li2O2 on the transport properties
and the electrochemical reaction rate are evaluated and implemented
in the model. The predicted results are discussed and analyzed in terms
of the spatial and transient distribution of various parameters, such as
local oxygen concentration, reaction rate, variable solid Li2O2 volume
fraction and porosity, as well as the effective diffusion coefficients. It
is found that the effect of the solid Li2O2 product deposited at the solid
active surfaces is significant on the transport phenomena and the
overall battery performance.