Abstract: Advanced treatments such as forward osmosis (FO)
can be used to separate or reject nutrients from secondary treated
effluents. Forward osmosis uses the chemical potential across the
membrane, which is the osmotic pressure gradient, to induce water to
flow through the membrane from a feed solution (FS) into a draw
solution (DS). The performance of FO is affected by the membrane
characteristics, composition of the FS and DS, and operating
conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the optimum
velocity and temperature for nutrient rejection and water flux
performance in FO treatments. MgCl2 was used as the DS in the FO
process. The results showed that higher cross flow velocities yielded
higher water fluxes. High rejection of nutrients was achieved by using
a moderate cross flow velocity at 0.25 m/s. Nutrient rejection was
insensitive to temperature variation, whereas water flux was
significantly impacted by it. A temperature of 25°C was found to be
good for nutrient rejection.
Abstract: Here, we study the characteristic feature of
conventional (ON-OFF keying) and soliton based transmission
system. We consider 20Gbps transmission system implemented with
Conventional Single Mode Fiber (C-SMF) to examine the role of
Gaussian pulse which is the characteristic of conventional
propagation and Hyperbolic-secant pulse which is the characteristic
of soliton propagation in it. We note the influence of these pulses
with respect to different dispersion lengths and soliton period in
conventional and soliton system respectively and evaluate the system
performance in terms of Quality factor. From the analysis, we could
prove that the soliton pulse has the consistent performance even for
long distance without dispersion compensation than the conventional
system as it is robust to dispersion. For the length of transmission of
200Km, soliton system yielded Q of 33.958 while the conventional
system totally exhausted with Q=0.
Abstract: The separation of Hg (II) from produced water by
hollow fiber contactors (HFC) was investigation. This system
included of two hollow fiber modules in the series connecting. The
first module used for the extraction reaction and the second module
for stripping reaction. Aliquat336 extractant was fed from the organic
reservoirs into the shell side of the first hollow fiber module and
continuous to the shell side of the second module. The organic liquid
was continuously feed recirculate and back to the reservoirs. The feed
solution was pumped into the lumen (tube side) of the first hollow
fiber module. Simultaneously, the stripping solution was pumped in
the same way in tube side of the second module. The feed and
stripping solution was fed which had a countercurrent flow. Samples
were kept in the outlet of feed and stripping solution at 1 hour and
characterized concentration of Hg (II) by Inductively Couple Plasma
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Feed solution was
produced water from natural gulf of Thailand. The extractant was
Aliquat336 dissolved in kerosene diluent. Stripping solution used was
nitric acid (HNO3) and thiourea (NH2CSNH2). The effect of carrier
concentration and type of stripping solution were investigated.
Results showed that the best condition were 10 % (v/v) Aliquat336
and 1.0 M NH2CSNH2. At the optimum condition, the extraction and
stripping of Hg (II) were 98% and 44.2%, respectively.
Abstract: In the present study, RBF neural networks were used
for predicting the performance and emission parameters of a
biodiesel engine. Engine experiments were carried out in a 4 stroke
diesel engine using blends of diesel and Honge methyl ester as the
fuel. Performance parameters like BTE, BSEC, Tex and emissions
from the engine were measured. These experimental results were
used for ANN modeling.
RBF center initialization was done by random selection and by
using Clustered techniques. Network was trained by using fixed and
varying widths for the RBF units. It was observed that RBF results
were having a good agreement with the experimental results.
Networks trained by using clustering technique gave better results
than using random selection of centers in terms of reduced MRE and
increased prediction accuracy. The average MRE for the performance
parameters was 3.25% with the prediction accuracy of 98% and for
emissions it was 10.4% with a prediction accuracy of 80%.
Abstract: Waste load allocation (WLA) policies may use multiobjective
optimization methods to find the most appropriate and
sustainable solutions. These usually intend to simultaneously
minimize two criteria, total abatement costs (TC) and environmental
violations (EV). If other criteria, such as inequity, need for
minimization as well, it requires introducing more binary
optimizations through different scenarios. In order to reduce the
calculation steps, this study presents value index as an innovative
decision making approach. Since the value index contains both the
environmental violation and treatment costs, it can be maximized
simultaneously with the equity index. It implies that the definition of
different scenarios for environmental violations is no longer required.
Furthermore, the solution is not necessarily the point with minimized
total costs or environmental violations. This idea is testified for Haraz
River, in north of Iran. Here, the dissolved oxygen (DO) level of river
is simulated by Streeter-Phelps equation in MATLAB software. The
WLA is determined for fish farms using multi-objective particle
swarm optimization (MOPSO) in two scenarios. At first, the trade-off
curves of TC-EV and TC-Inequity are plotted separately as the
conventional approach. In the second, the Value-Equity curve is
derived. The comparative results show that the solutions are in a
similar range of inequity with lower total costs. This is due to the
freedom of environmental violation attained in value index. As a
result, the conventional approach can well be replaced by the value
index particularly for problems optimizing these objectives. This
reduces the process to achieve the best solutions and may find better
classification for scenario definition. It is also concluded that decision
makers are better to focus on value index and weighting its contents
to find the most sustainable alternatives based on their requirements.
Abstract: In this contribution two approaches for calculating
optimal trajectories for highly automated vehicles are presented and
compared. The first one is based on a non-linear vehicle model, used
for evaluation. The second one is based on a simplified model and
can be implemented on a current ECU. In usual driving situations
both approaches show very similar results.
Abstract: Channel sections are widely used in practice as beams.
However, design rules for eccentrically loaded (not through shear
center) beams with channel cross- sections are not available in
Eurocode 3. This paper compares the ultimate loads based on the
adjusted design rules for lateral torsional buckling of eccentrically
loaded channel beams in bending to the ultimate loads obtained with
Finite Element (FE) simulations on the basis of a parameter study.
Based on the proposed design rule, this study has led to a new design
rule which conforms to Eurocode 3.
Abstract: In wastewater treatment processes, aeration introduces
air into a liquid. In these systems, air is introduced by different
devices submerged in the wastewater. Smaller bubbles result in more
bubble surface area per unit of volume and higher oxygen transfer
efficiency. Jet pumps are devices that use air bubbles and are widely
used in wastewater treatment processes. The principle of jet pumps is
their ability to transfer energy of one fluid, called primary or motive,
into a secondary fluid or gas. These pumps have no moving parts and
are able to work in remote areas under extreme conditions. The
objective of this work is to study experimentally the characteristics of
the jet pump and the size of air bubbles in the laboratory water tank.
The effect of flow rate ratio on pump performance is investigated in
order to have a better understanding about pump behavior under
various conditions, in order to determine the efficiency of receiving
air bubbles different sizes. The experiments show that we should take
care when increasing the flow rate ratio while seeking to decrease
bubble size in the outlet flow. This study will help improve and
extend the use of the jet pump in many practical applications.
Abstract: One of the most famous techniques which affect the
efficiency of a production line is the assembly line balancing (ALB)
technique. This paper examines the balancing effect of a whole
production line of a real auto glass manufacturer in three steps. In the
first step, processing time of each activity in the workstations is
generated according to a practical approach. In the second step, the
whole production process is simulated and the bottleneck stations
have been identified, and finally in the third step, several
improvement scenarios are generated to optimize the system
throughput, and the best one is proposed. The main contribution of
the current research is the proposed framework which combines two
famous approaches including Assembly Line Balancing and
Optimization via Simulation technique (OvS). The results show that
the proposed framework could be applied in practical environments,
easily.
Abstract: The secondary alloy A226 is used for many
automotive casting produced by mould casting and high pressure die
casting. This alloy has excellent castability, good mechanical
properties and cost-effectiveness. Production of primary aluminium
alloys belong to heavy source fouling of life environs. The European
Union calls for the emission reduction and reduction in energy
consumption therefore increase production of recycled (secondary)
aluminium cast alloys. The contribution is deal with influence of
recycling on the quality of the casting made from A226 in automotive
industry. The properties of the casting made from secondary
aluminium alloys were compared with the required properties of
primary aluminium alloys. The effect of recycling on microstructure
was observed using combination different analytical techniques (light
microscopy upon black-white etching, scanning electron microscopy
- SEM upon deep etching and energy dispersive X-ray analysis -
EDX). These techniques were used for the identification of the
various structure parameters, which was used to compare secondary
alloy microstructure with primary alloy microstructure.
Abstract: Many factors influence the educational outcome of
students. Some of these have been studied by researchers with many
emphasizing the role of students, schools, governments, peer groups
and so on. More often than not, some of these factors influencing the
academic achievement of the students have been traced back to
parents and family; being the primary platform on which learning not
only begins but is nurtured, encouraged and developed which later
transforms to the performance of the students. This study not only
explores parental and related factors that predict academic
achievement through the review of relevant literatures but also,
investigates the influence of parental background on the academic
achievement of senior secondary school students in Ibadan North
Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. As one of the criteria
of the quality of education, students’ academic achievement was
investigated because it is most often cited as an indicator of school
effectiveness by school authorities and educationists. The data
collection was done through interviews and use of well-structured
questionnaires administered to one hundred students (100) within the
target local government. This was statistically analysed and the result
showed that parents’ attitudes towards their children’s education had
significant effect(s) on students’ self-reporting of academic
achievement. However, such factors as parental education and socioeconomic
background had no significant relationship with the
students’ self-reporting of academic achievement.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present the concept of an
agile enterprise model and to initiate discussion on the research
assumptions of the model presented. The implementation of the
research project "The agility of enterprises in the process of adapting
to the environment and its changes" began in August 2014 and is
planned to last three years. The article has the form of a work-inprogress
paper which aims to verify and initiate a debate over the
proposed research model. In the literature there are very few
publications relating to research into agility; it can be concluded that
the most controversial issue in this regard is the method of measuring
agility. In previous studies the operationalization of agility was often
fragmentary, focusing only on selected areas of agility, for example
manufacturing, or analysing only selected sectors. As a result the
measures created to date can only be treated as contributory to the
development of precise measurement tools. This research project
aims to fill a cognitive gap in the literature with regard to the
conceptualization and operationalization of an agile company. Thus,
the original contribution of the author of this project is the
construction of a theoretical model that integrates manufacturing
agility (consisting mainly in adaptation to the environment) and
strategic agility (based on proactive measures). The author of this
research project is primarily interested in the attributes of an agile
enterprise which indicate that the company is able to rapidly adapt to
changing circumstances and behave pro-actively.
Abstract: The relationship between the state and the religion is
different based on the fact that how powerful is the religion faith in a
state and of the influences that affected the views of the constitution
drafters according to the constitutional system they were based to
draft their constitution. This paper aims at providing, through a
comparative methodology, how it is regulated by the constitution the
relationship between the state and the religion. The object of this
study are the constitutions of Italy as a nation with catholic religious
tradition, Greece as a nation with orthodox religion tradition, and
Turkey as a nation which represents Muslim religion, while Albania
as a nation known for its religious plurality. In particular, the analysis
will be focused on the secular or religious principle provided in the
constitution of each respective state. This comparative overview
intends to discern which of the states analyzed is more tolerant and
fully respects the freedom of religion. It results that most of the states
subject of this study, despite their religious tradition have chosen the
secular principle in their constitutions, but the religious freedom is
differently guaranteed.
Abstract: In this study, we proposed two techniques to track the
maximum power point (MPPT) of a photovoltaic system. The first is
an intelligent control technique, and the second is robust used for
variable structure system. In fact the characteristics I-V and P–V of
the photovoltaic generator depends on the solar irradiance and
temperature. These climate changes cause the fluctuation of
maximum power point; a maximum power point tracking technique
(MPPT) is required to maximize the output power. For this we have
adopted a control by fuzzy logic (FLC) famous for its stability and
robustness. And a Siding Mode Control (SMC) widely used for
variable structure system. The system comprises a photovoltaic panel
(PV), a DC-DC converter, which is considered as an adaptation stage
between the PV and the load. The modelling and simulation of the
system is developed using MATLAB/Simulink. SMC technique
provides a good tracking speed in fast changing irradiation and when
the irradiation changes slowly or it is constant the panel power of
FLC technique presents a much smoother signal with less
fluctuations.
Abstract: In this work, two fermentations at different
temperatures (25 and 30ºC), with cell recycling, were accomplished
to produce ethanol, using a mix of commercial substrates, xylose
(70%) and glucose (30%), as organic source for Scheffersomyces
stipitis. Five consecutive fermentations of 80 g L-1 (1º, 2º and 3º
recycles), 96 g L-1 (4º recycle) and 120 g L-1 (5º recycle)reduced
sugars led to a final maximum ethanol concentration of 17.2 and 34.5
g L-1, at 25 and 30ºC, respectively. Glucose was the preferred
substrate; moreover xylose startup degradation was initiated after a
remaining glucose presence in the medium. Results showed that yeast
acid treatment, performed before each cycle, provided improvements
on cell viability, accompanied by ethanol productivity of 2.16 g L-1 h-
1 at 30ºC. A maximum 36% of xylose was retained in the
fermentation medium and after five-cycle fermentation an ethanol
yield of 0.43 g ethanol/g sugars was observed. S. stipitis fermentation
capacity and tolerance showed better results at 30ºC with 83.4% of
theoretical yield referenced on initial biomass.
Abstract: The use of engineered nanomaterials has increased as
a result of their positive impact on many sectors of the economy,
including agriculture. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are now used to
enhance seed germination, plant growth, and photosynthetic quantum
efficiency and as antimicrobial agents to control plant diseases. In
this study, we examined the effect of AgNP dosage on the seed
germination of three plant species: corn (Zea mays L.), watermelon
(Citrullus lanatus [Thunb.] Matsum. & Nakai) and zucchini
(Cucurbita pepo L.). This experiment was designed to study the
effect of AgNPs on germination percentage, germination rate, mean
germination time, root length and fresh and dry weight of seedlings
for the three species. Seven concentrations (0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2
and 2.5 mg/ml) of AgNPs were examined at the seed germination
stage. The three species had different dose responses to AgNPs in
terms of germination parameters and the measured growth
characteristics. The germination rates of the three plants were
enhanced in response to AgNPs. Significant enhancement of the
germination percentage values was observed after treatment of the
watermelon and zucchini plants with AgNPs in comparison with
untreated seeds. AgNPs showed a toxic effect on corn root
elongation, whereas watermelon and zucchini seedling growth were
positively affected by certain concentrations of AgNPs. This study
showed that exposure to AgNPs caused both positive and negative
effects on plant growth and germination.
Abstract: The article represents the results of clinical researches
of composite herbal medicinal product based on essential oils of
Sedum plants growing in Kazakhstan in commercial reserves at the
territory of Kazakhstan. The results of comparative analysis are
represented in obstetric-gynecologic practice during combined
therapy for postnatal complications, inflammatory infiltrates in the
area of surgical wounds including wounds after caesarean section.
Abstract: The article represents the results of research of
antitumor activity of different structural types of plant flavonoids
extracted by authors from Polygonum L. plants in commercial
reserves at the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan. For the first
time ever the results comparative research of antitumor activity of
plant flavonoids of different structural groups and their synthetic
derivatives have been represented. The results of determination of
toxicity of flavonoids in single parenteral infusion conditions have
been represented. Experimental substantiation of possible
mechanisms of antiproliferative and cytotoxic action of flavonoids
has been suggested. The perspectives of usage of plant flavonoids as
medications and creation of effective dosage forms of antitumor
medicines on their basis have been substantiated.
Abstract: Failure of typical seismic frames has been found by
plastic hinge occurring on beams section near column faces. On the
other hand, the seismic capacity of the frames can be enhanced if the
plastic hinges of the beams are shifted away from the column faces.
This paper presents detailing of reinforcements in the interior beam–
column connections aiming to relocate the plastic hinge of reinforced
concrete and precast concrete frames. Four specimens were tested
under quasi-static cyclic load including two monolithic specimens
and two precast specimens. For one monolithic specimen, typical
seismic reinforcement was provided and considered as a reference
specimen named M1. The other reinforced concrete frame M2
contained additional intermediate steel in the connection area
compared with the specimen M1. For the precast specimens,
embedded T-section steels in joint were provided, with and without
diagonal bars in the connection area for specimen P1 and P2,
respectively. The test results indicated the ductile failure with beam
flexural failure in monolithic specimen M1 and the intermediate steel
increased strength and improved joint performance of specimen M2.
For the precast specimens, cracks generated at the end of the steel
inserts. However, slipping of reinforcing steel lapped in top of the
beams was seen before yielding of the main bars leading to the brittle
failure. The diagonal bars in precast specimens P2 improved the
connection stiffness and the energy dissipation capacity.
Abstract: With the growing of computer and network, digital
data can be spread to anywhere in the world quickly. In addition,
digital data can also be copied or tampered easily so that the security
issue becomes an important topic in the protection of digital data.
Digital watermark is a method to protect the ownership of digital data.
Embedding the watermark will influence the quality certainly. In this
paper, Vector Quantization (VQ) is used to embed the watermark into
the image to fulfill the goal of data hiding. This kind of watermarking
is invisible which means that the users will not conscious the existing
of embedded watermark even though the embedded image has tiny
difference compared to the original image. Meanwhile, VQ needs a lot
of computation burden so that we adopt a fast VQ encoding scheme by
partial distortion searching (PDS) and mean approximation scheme to
speed up the data hiding process.
The watermarks we hide to the image could be gray, bi-level and
color images. Texts are also can be regarded as watermark to embed.
In order to test the robustness of the system, we adopt Photoshop to
fulfill sharpen, cropping and altering to check if the extracted
watermark is still recognizable. Experimental results demonstrate that
the proposed system can resist the above three kinds of tampering in
general cases.