Abstract: The fuel potential of six tropical hardwood species
namely: Triplochiton scleroxylon, Ceiba pentandra, Aningeria
robusta, Terminalia superba, Celtis mildbreadii and Piptadenia
africana were studied. Properties studied included species density,
gross calorific value, volatile matter, ash content, organic carbon and
elemental composition. Fuel properties were determined using
standard laboratory methods. The result indicates that the gross
calorific value (GCV) of the species ranged from 20.16 to 22.22
MJ/kg and they slightly varied from each other. Additionally, the
GCV of the biomass materials were higher than that of other biomass
materials like; wheat straw, rice straw, maize straw and sugar cane.
The ash and volatile matter content varied from 0.6075 to 5.0407%,
and 75.23% to 83.70% respectively. The overall rating of the
properties of the six biomass materials suggested that Piptadenia
africana has the best fuel property to be used as briquettes and
Aningeria robusta the worse. This study therefore suggests that a
holistic assessment of a biomass material needs to be done before
selecting it for fuel purpose.
Abstract: Numerous investigations suggest that Mesenchymal
Stem Cells (MSCs) in general represent a valuable tool for therapy of
symptoms related to chronic inflammatory diseases. Blue Horizon
Stem Cell Therapy Program is a leading provider of adult and
children’s stem cell therapies. Uniquely we have safely and
efficiently treated more than 600 patients with documenting each
procedure. The purpose of our study is primarily to monitor the
immune response in order to validate the safety of intravenous
infusion of human umbilical cord blood derived MSCs (UC-MSCs),
and secondly, to evaluate effects on biomarkers associated with
chronic inflammation. Nine patients were treated for conditions
associated with chronic inflammation and for the purpose of antiaging.
They have been given one intravenous infusion of UCMSCs.
Our study of blood test markers of 9 patients with chronic
inflammation before and within three months after MSCs treatment
demonstrates that there is no significant changes and MSCs treatment
was safe for the patients. Analysis of different indicators of chronic
inflammation and aging included in initial, 24-hours, two weeks and
three months protocols showed that stem cell treatment was safe for
the patients; there were no adverse reactions. Moreover data from
follow up protocols demonstrates significant improvement in energy
level, hair, nails growth and skin conditions. Intravenously
administered UC-MSCs were safe and effective in the improvement
of symptoms related to chronic inflammation. Further close
monitoring and inclusion of more patients are necessary to fully
characterize the advantages of UC-MSCs application in treatment of
symptoms related to chronic inflammation.
Abstract: Natural dyes are gaining interest due their expected
low risk to human health and to the environment. In this study, the
wash fastness of a natural coloring matter from the liquid waste
produced in the steam treatment of eucalyptus wood in textile fabrics
was investigated. Specifically, eucalyptus wood extract was used to
dye cotton, nylon and wool in an exhaust dyeing process without the
addition of the traditional mordanting agents and then submitted to
wash fastness analysis. The resulting dyed fabrics were evaluated for
color fastness. It was found that wash fastness of dyed fabrics was
very good to cotton and excellent to nylon and wool.
Abstract: This paper introduces a method to optimal design of a
hybrid Wind/Photovoltaic/Fuel cell generation system for a typical
domestic load that is not located near the electricity grid. In this
configuration the combination of a battery, an electrolyser, and a
hydrogen storage tank are used as the energy storage system. The aim
of this design is minimization of overall cost of generation scheme
over 20 years of operation. The Matlab/Simulink is applied for
choosing the appropriate structure and the optimization of system
sizing. A teaching learning based optimization is used to optimize the
cost function. An overall power management strategy is designed for
the proposed system to manage power flows among the different
energy sources and the storage unit in the system. The results have
been analyzed in terms of technical and economic. The simulation
results indicate that the proposed hybrid system would be a feasible
solution for stand-alone applications at remote locations.
Abstract: Cadmium (II) (Cd) is one of the major toxic elemental
pollutants, which is hazardous for humans, animals and plants. γ-
Polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) is an extracellular biopolymer produced
by several species of Bacillus which has been reported to be an
effective biosorbent for metal ions. The effect of γ-PGA on growth of
rice grown under laboratory conditions was investigated. Rice seeds
were germinated and then grown at 30±1°C on filter paper soaked
with Cd solution and γ-PGA for 7 days. The result showed that Cd
significantly inhibited the growth of roots, shoots by reducing root,
and shoot lengths. Fresh and dry weights also decreased compared
with control; however, the addition of 500 mg·L-1 γ-PGA alleviated
rice seedlings from the adverse effects of Cd. The analysis of
physiological traits revealed that Cd caused a decrease in the total
chlorophyll and soluble protein contents and amylase activities in all
treatments. The Cd content in seedling tissues increased for the Cd
250 μM treatment (P
Abstract: The right to basic sanitation, was elevated to the
category of fundamental right by the Constitution of 1988 to protect
the ecologically balanced environment, ensuring social rights to
health and adequate housing and put the dignity of the human person
as the foundation of the Brazilian Democratic State. Before their
essentiality to humans, this article seeks to understand why universal
access to basic sanitation is a goal so difficult to achieve in Brazil.
Therefore, this research uses the deductive and analytical method.
Given the nature of the research literature, research techniques were
centered in specialized books on the subject, journals, theses and
dissertations, laws, relevant law case and raising social indicators
relating to the theme. The relevance of the topic stems, among other
things, the fact that sanitation services are essential for a dignified
life, i.e., everyone is entitled to the maintenance of the necessary
existence conditions are satisfied. However, the effectiveness of this
right is undermined in society, since Brazil has huge deficit in
sanitation services, denying thus a worthy life to most of the
population. Thus, it can be seen that the provision of water and
sewage services in Brazil is still characterized by a large imbalance,
since the municipalities with lower population index have greater
disability in the sanitation service. The truth is that the precariousness
of water and sewage services in Brazil is still very concentrated in the
North and Northeast regions, limiting the effective implementation of
the Law 11.445/2007 in the country. Therefore, there is urgent need
for a positive service by the State in the provision of sanitation
services in order to prevent and control disease, improve quality of
life and productivity of individuals, besides preventing contamination
of water resources. More than just social and economic necessity,
there is a government duty to implement such services. In this sense,
given the current scenario, to achieve universal access to basic
sanitation imposes many hurdles. These are mainly in the field of
properly formulated and implemented public policies, i.e., it requires
an excellent institutional organization, management services,
strategic planning, social control, in order to provide answers to
complex challenges.
Abstract: This paper presents the influences on the entrainment
of serpentines by grinding and reagents during copper–nickel sulfide
flotation. The previous bench flotation tests were performed to extract
the metallic values from the ore in Yunnan Mine, China and the
relatively satisfied results with recoveries of 86.92% Cu, 54.92% Ni,
and 74.73% Pt+Pd in the concentrate were harvested at their grades of
4.02%, 3.24% and 76.61 g/t, respectively. However, the content of
MgO in the concentrate was still more than 19%. Micro-flotation tests
were conducted with the objective of figuring out the influences on the
entrainment of serpentines into the concentrate by particle size,
flocculants or depressants and collectors, as well as visual
observations in suspension by OLYMPUS camera. All the tests results
pointed to the presences of both “entrapped-in” serpentines and its
coating on the hydrophobic flocs resulted from strong collectors
(combination of butyl xanthate, butyl ammonium dithophosphate,
even after adding carboxymethyl cellulose as effective depressant.
And fine grinding may escalate the entrainment of serpentines in the
concentrate.
Abstract: As smartphones are equipped with various sensors,
there have been many studies focused on using these sensors to create
valuable applications. Human activity recognition is one such
application motivated by various welfare applications, such as the
support for the elderly, measurement of calorie consumption, lifestyle
and exercise patterns analyses, and so on. One of the challenges one
faces when using smartphone sensors for activity recognition is that
the number of sensors should be minimized to save battery power. In
this paper, we show that a fairly accurate classifier can be built that
can distinguish ten different activities by using only a single sensor
data, i.e., the smartphone accelerometer data. The approach that we
adopt to deal with this twelve-class problem uses various methods.
The features used for classifying these activities include not only the
magnitude of acceleration vector at each time point, but also the
maximum, the minimum, and the standard deviation of vector
magnitude within a time window. The experiments compared the
performance of four kinds of basic multi-class classifiers and the
performance of four kinds of ensemble learning methods based on
three kinds of basic multi-class classifiers. The results show that
while the method with the highest accuracy is ECOC based on
Random forest.
Abstract: Batch production plants provide a wide range of
scheduling problems. In pharmaceutical industries a batch process
is usually described by a recipe, consisting of an ordering of tasks
to produce the desired product. In this research work we focused
on pharmaceutical production processes requiring the culture of
a microorganism population (i.e. bacteria, yeasts or antibiotics).
Several sources of uncertainty may influence the yield of the culture
processes, including (i) low performance and quality of the cultured
microorganism population or (ii) microbial contamination. For
these reasons, robustness is a valuable property for the considered
application context. In particular, a robust schedule will not collapse
immediately when a cell of microorganisms has to be thrown away
due to a microbial contamination. Indeed, a robust schedule should
change locally in small proportions and the overall performance
measure (i.e. makespan, lateness) should change a little if at all.
In this research work we formulated a constraint programming
optimization (COP) model for the robust planning of antibiotics
production. We developed a discrete-time model with a multi-criteria
objective, ordering the different criteria and performing a
lexicographic optimization. A feasible solution of the proposed
COP model is a schedule of a given set of tasks onto available
resources. The schedule has to satisfy tasks precedence constraints,
resource capacity constraints and time constraints. In particular
time constraints model tasks duedates and resource availability
time windows constraints. To improve the schedule robustness, we
modeled the concept of (a, b) super-solutions, where (a, b) are input
parameters of the COP model. An (a, b) super-solution is one in
which if a variables (i.e. the completion times of a culture tasks)
lose their values (i.e. cultures are contaminated), the solution can be
repaired by assigning these variables values with a new values (i.e.
the completion times of a backup culture tasks) and at most b other
variables (i.e. delaying the completion of at most b other tasks).
The efficiency and applicability of the proposed model is
demonstrated by solving instances taken from a real-life
pharmaceutical company. Computational results showed that
the determined super-solutions are near-optimal.
Abstract: This study aims to investigate the mixing behaviors of
deionized (DI) water and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) solutions in
C-shaped serpentine micromixers over a wide range of flow
conditions. The flow of CMC solutions exhibits shear-thinning
behaviors. Numerical simulations are performed to investigate the
effects of the mean flow speed, fluid properties and geometry
parameters on flow and mixing in the micromixers with the serpentine
channel of the same overall channel length. From the results, we can
find the following trends. When convection dominates fluid mixing,
the curvature-induced vortices enhance fluid mixing effectively. The
mixing efficiency of a micromixer consisting of semicircular C-shaped
repeating units with a smaller centerline radius is better than that of a
micromixer consisting of major segment repeating units with a larger
centerline radius. The viscosity of DI water is less than the overall
average apparent viscosity of CMC solutions, and so the effect of
curvature-induced vortices on fluid mixing in DI water is larger than
that in CMC solutions for the cases with the same mean flow speed.
Abstract: Effects of nicotine on pre-partum body weight and
preimplantation embryonic development has been reported
previously. Present study was conducted to determine the effects of
annatto (Bixa orellana)-derived delta-tocotrienol (TCT) (with
presence of 10% gamma-TCT isomer) on the nicotine-induced
reduction in body weight and 8-cell embryonic growth in mice.
Twenty-four 6-8 weeks old (23-25g) female balb/c mice were
randomly divided into four groups (G1-G4; n=6). Those groups were
subjected to the following treatments for 7 consecutive days: G1
(control) were gavaged with 0.1 ml tocopherol stripped corn oil. G2
was subcutaneously (s.c.) injected with 3 mg/kg/day of nicotine. G3
received concurrent treatment of nicotine (3 mg/kg/day) and 60
mg/kg/day of δ-TCT mixture (contains 90% delta & 10% gamma
isomers) and G4 was given 60 mg/kg/day of δ-TCT mixture alone.
Body weights were recorded daily during the treatment. On Day 8,
females were superovulated with 5 IU Pregnant Mare’s Serum
Gonadotropin (PMSG) for 48 hours followed with 5 IU human
Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) before mated with males at the ratio
of 1:1. Females were sacrificed by cervical dislocation for embryo
collection 48 hours post-coitum. Collected embryos were cultured in
vitro. Results showed that throughout Day 1 to Day 7, the body
weight of nicotine treated group (G2) was significantly lower
(p
Abstract: In the present study, the properties of Al-Al2O3
nanocomposite hollow sphere structures were investigated. For this
reason, the Al-based nanocomposite hollow spheres with different
amounts of nano-alumina reinforcement (0-10wt %) and different
ratio of thickness to diameter (t/D: 0.06-0.3) were prepared via a
powder metallurgy method. Then, the effect of mentioned parameters
was studied on physical and quasi static mechanical properties of
their related prepared structures (open/closed cell) such as density,
hardness, strength, and energy absorption. It was found that, as the
t/D ratio increases the relative density, compressive strength and
energy absorption increase. The highest values of strength and energy
absorption were obtained from the specimen with 5 wt. % of
nanoparticle reinforcement, t/D of 0.3 (t=1 mm, D=400μm) as 22.88
MPa and 13.24 MJ/m3, respectively. The moderate specific strength
of prepared composites in the present study showed the good
consistency with the properties of others low carbon steel composite
with similar structure.
Abstract: Method of combined teaching laws of classical
mechanics and hydrostatics in non-inertial reference frames for
undergraduate students is proposed. Pressure distribution in a liquid
(or gas) moving with acceleration is considered. Combined effect of
hydrostatic force and force of inertia on a body immersed in a liquid
can lead to paradoxical results, in a motion of pendulum in particular.
The body motion under Stokes force influence and forces in rotating
reference frames are investigated as well. Problems and difficulties in
student perceptions are analyzed.
Abstract: The use of titanium fluoride and iron fluoride
(TiF3/FeF3) catalysts in combination with polutetrafluoroethylene
(PTFE) in plain zinc- dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) oil is important
for the study of engine tribocomponents and is increasingly a strategy
to improve the formation of tribofilm and provide low friction and
excellent wear protection in reduced phosphorus plain ZDDP oil. The
influence of surface roughness and the concentration of
TiF3/FeF3/PTFE were investigated using bearing steel samples
dipped in lubricant solution at 100°C for two different heating time
durations. This paper addresses the effects of water drop contact
angle using different surface; finishes after treating them with
different lubricant combination. The calculated water drop contact
angles were analyzed using Design of Experiment software (DOE)
and it was determined that a 0.05 μm Ra surface roughness would
provide an excellent TiF3/FeF3/PTFE coating for antiwear resistance
as reflected in the Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and
the tribological testing under extreme pressure conditions. Both
friction and wear performance depend greatly on the PTFE/and
catalysts in plain ZDDP oil with 0.05 % phosphorous and on the
surface finish of bearing steel. The friction and wear reducing effects,
which was observed in the tribological tests, indicated a better micro
lubrication effect of the 0.05 μm Ra surface roughness treated at
100°C for 24 hours when compared to the 0.1 μm Ra surface
roughness with the same treatment.
Abstract: Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) is the most common primary
mineral used for the commercial production of copper. The low
dissolution efficiency of chalcopyrite in sulfate media has prevented
an efficient industrial leaching of this mineral in sulfate media. Ferric
ions, bacteria, oxygen and other oxidants have been used as oxidizing
agents in the leaching of chalcopyrite in sulfate and chloride media
under atmospheric or pressure leaching conditions. Two leaching
methods were studied to evaluate chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) dissolution
in acid media. First, the conventional oxidative acid leaching method
was carried out using sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and potassium
dichromate (K2Cr2O7) as oxidant at atmospheric pressure. Second,
microwave-assisted acid leaching was performed using the
microwave accelerated reaction system (MARS) for same reaction
media. Parameters affecting the copper extraction such as leaching
time, leaching temperature, concentration of H2SO4 and
concentration of K2Cr2O7 were investigated. The results of
conventional acid leaching experiments were compared to the
microwave leaching method. It was found that the copper extraction
obtained under high temperature and high concentrations of oxidant
with microwave leaching is higher than those obtained
conventionally. 81% copper extraction was obtained by the
conventional oxidative acid leaching method in 180 min, with the
concentration of 0.3 mol/L K2Cr2O7 in 0.5M H2SO4 at 50 ºC, while
93.5% copper extraction was obtained in 60 min with microwave
leaching method under same conditions.
Abstract: This paper introduces a boost converter with a new
active snubber cell. In this circuit, all of the semiconductor
components in the converter softly turns on and turns off with the
help of the active snubber cell. Compared to the other converters, the
proposed converter has advantages of size, number of components
and cost. The main feature of proposed converter is that the extra
voltage stresses do not occur on the main switches and main diodes.
Also, the current stress on the main switch is acceptable level.
Moreover, the proposed converter can operates under light load
conditions and wide input line voltage. In this study, the operating
principle of the proposed converter is presented and its operation is
verified with the Proteus simulation software for a 1 kW and 100 kHz
model.
Abstract: The synthesis of CuFe2O4 spinel powders by an
optimized combustion-like process followed by calcination is
described herein. The samples were characterized using X-ray
diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA), scanning
electron microscopy (SEM), dilatometry and 4-probe DC methods.
Different glycine to nitrate (G/N) ratios of 1 (fuel-deficient), 1.48
(stoichiometric) and 2 (fuel-rich) were employed. Calcining the asprepared
powders at 800 and 1000°C for 5 hours showed that the G/N
ratio of 2 results in the formation of the desired copper spinel single
phase at both calcination temperatures. For G/N=1, formation of
CuFe2O4 takes place in three steps. First, iron and copper nitrates
decompose to iron oxide and pure copper. Then, copper transforms to
copper oxide and finally, copper and iron oxides react with each other
to form a copper ferrite spinel phase. The electrical conductivity and
the coefficient of thermal expansion of the sintered pelletized
samples were 2 S.cm-1 (800°C) and 11×10-6 °C-1 (25-800°C),
respectively.
Abstract: The current paper presents an extensive bottom-up
framework for assessing building sector-specific vulnerability to
climate change: energy supply and demand. The research focuses on
the application of downscaled seasonal models for estimating energy
performance of buildings in Greece. The ARW-WRF model has
been set-up and suitably parameterized to produce downscaled
climatological fields for Greece, forced by the output of the CFSv2
model. The outer domain, D01/Europe, included 345 x 345 cells of
horizontal resolution 20 x 20 km2 and the inner domain, D02/Greece,
comprised 180 x 180 cells of 5 x 5 km2 horizontal resolution. The
model run has been setup for a period with a forecast horizon of 6
months, storing outputs on a six hourly basis.
Abstract: Plants can contain a wide variety of substances with
antioxidative properties which are associated with important health
benefits. These positive health effects are of great importance at a
time when the environment is laden with many toxic substances. Five
selected herbal plants namely, Mimosa pudica, Phyllanthus niruri,
Ceiba pentandra, Eleusine polydactyla and Trema amboinensi, were
chosen for the experiment to investigate their total phenolics content
and antioxidant activities using ABTS radical cation decolorization
power, and ferric reducing antioxidant power. The total phenolic
content of each herbal plants ranges from 0.84 to 42.59 mg gallic acid
equivalent/g. The antioxidant activity in the ABTS radical cation
decolorization power varies from 0.005 to 0.362 mg trolox
equivalent/g and the FRAP ranges from 0.30 to 28.42 mg gallic acid
equivalent/g. Among the five medicinal plants, Mimosa pudica has
been an excellent performer in terms of the 3 parameters measured; it
is followed by Phyllanthus niruri. The 5 herbal plants do not have
equivalent antioxidant power. The relative high values for M. pudica
and P. niruri supports the medicinal value of both plants. The total
phenolics, ABTS and FRAP correlate strongly with one another.
Abstract: Polyaniline is an indispensible component in lightemitting
devices (LEDs), televisions, cellular telephones, automotive,
corrosion-resistant coatings, actuators etc. The electrical conductivity
properties was found be increased by introduction of metal nano
particles. In the present study, an attempt has been made to utilize
platinum nano particles to achieve the improved electrical properties.
Polyaniline and Pt-polyaniline composite are synthesized by
electrochemical routes. X-ray diffractometer confirms the amorphous
nature of polyaniline. The Bragg’s diffraction peaks correspond to
platinum nanoparticles in Pt-polyaniline composite and
thermogravimetric analyzer indicates its decomposition at certain
temperature. The Scanning Electron Micrographs of colloidal
platinum nanoparticles were spherical, uniform shape in the
composite. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the PANI and
composites were also studied which indicate a significant decreasing
resistivity than PANI-Platinum after introduction of pt nanoparticles
in the matrix of polyaniline (PANI).