Abstract: This paper discusses the importance of having a good initial characterization of soil samples when thermal desorption has to be applied to polluted soils for the removal of contaminants. Particular attention has to be devoted on the desorption kinetics of the samples to identify the gases evolved during the heating, and contaminant degradation pathways. In this study, two samples coming from different points of the same contaminated site were considered. The samples are much different from each other. Moreover, the presence of high initial quantity of heavy hydrocarbons strongly affected the performance of thermal desorption, resulting in formation of dangerous intermediates. Analytical techniques such TGA (Thermogravimetric Analysis), DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry) and GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass) provided a good support to give correct indication for field application.
Abstract: The aim of present research was to study of the
relationship between emotional intelligence, perceived stress, positive
religious coping with psychological distress to in a sample of
undergraduate students in Polytechnic University in Kabul. One
hundred and fifty-tow students (102 male, 50 female) were included
in this study. All participants completed the Emotional Intelligence
Scale (EIS), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 12), Perceived
Stress Scale (PSS-10), and the Brief RCOPE. The results revealed
that EI was negatively associated with perceived stress and
psychological distress. Also emotional intelligence was positively
correlated with positive religious coping. Perceived stress was
positive related with psychological distress and negatively correlated
with positive religious coping. Eventually positive religious coping
was significantly and negatively correlated with psychological
distress. However, emotional intelligence and positive religious
coping could influence on mental health.
Abstract: Recycling, as part of any sustainable environment, is continuously evolving and impacting on new materials in manufacturing. One example of this is the recycled solid waste of Tetra Pak ™ packaging, which is a highly pollutant waste as it is not biodegradable since it is manufactured with different materials. The Tetra Pak ™ container consists of thermally joined layers of paper, aluminum and polyethylene. Once disposed, this packaging is recycled by completely separating the paperboard from the rest of the materials. The aluminum and the polyethylene remain together and are used to create the poly-aluminum, which is widely used to manufacture roof tiles. These recycled tiles have different thermal and acoustic properties compared with traditional manufactured ceramic and cement tiles. In this work, we compare a group of tiles using nondestructive optical testing to measure the superficial micro deformations of the tiles under well controlled experiments. The results of the acoustic and thermal tests show remarkable differences between the recycled tile and the traditional ones. These results help to determine which tile could be better suited to the specific environmental conditions in countries where extreme climates, ranging from tropical, desert-like, to very cold are experienced throughout the year.
Abstract: This paper presents a SAC-OCDMA code with zero cross correlation property to minimize the Multiple Access Interface (MAI) as New Zero Cross Correlation code (NZCC), which is found to be more scalable compared to the other existing SAC-OCDMA codes. This NZCC code is constructed using address segment and data segment. In this work, the proposed NZCC code is implemented in an optical system using the Opti-System software for the spectral amplitude coded optical code-division multiple-access (SAC-OCDMA) scheme. The main contribution of the proposed NZCC code is the zero cross correlation, which reduces both the MAI and PIIN noises. The proposed NZCC code reveals properties of minimum cross-correlation, flexibility in selecting the code parameters and supports a large number of users, combined with high data rate and longer fiber length. Simulation results reveal that the optical code division multiple access system based on the proposed NZCC code accommodates maximum number of simultaneous users with higher data rate transmission, lower Bit Error Rates (BER) and longer travelling distance without any signal quality degradation, as compared to the former existing SAC-OCDMA codes.
Abstract: Introduction: Student nurses must develop skills in observation, communication and reflection as well as public health knowledge from their first year of training. This paper will explain a method developed for students to collect their own findings about public health in urban areas. These areas are both rich in the history of old public health that informs the content of many traditional public health walks, but are also locations where new public health concerns about chronic disease are concentrated. The learning method explained in this paper enables students to collect their own data and write original work as first year students. Examples of their findings will be given. Methodology: In small groups, health care students are instructed to walk in neighbourhoods near to the hospitals they will soon attend as apprentice nurses. On their walks, they wander slowly, engage in conversations, and enter places open to the public. As they drift, they observe with all five senses in the real three dimensional world to collect data for their reflective accounts of old and new public health. They are encouraged to stop for refreshments and taste, as well as look, hear, smell, and touch while on their walk. They reflect as a group and later develop an individual reflective account in which they write up their deep reflections about what they observed on their walk. In preparation for their walk, they are encouraged to look at studies of quality of Life and other neighbourhood statistics as well as undertaking a risk assessment for their walk. Findings: Reflecting on their walks, students apply theoretical concepts around social determinants of health and health inequalities to develop their understanding of communities in the neighbourhoods visited. They write about the treasured historical architecture made of stone, bronze and marble which have outlived those who built them; but also how the streets are used now. The students develop their observations into thematic analyses such as: what we drink as illustrated by the empty coke can tossed into a now disused drinking fountain; the shift in home-life balance illustrated by streets where families once lived over the shop which are now walked by commuters weaving around each other as they talk on their mobile phones; and security on the street, with CCTV cameras placed at regular intervals, signs warning trespasses and barbed wire; but little evidence of local people watching the street. Conclusion: In evaluations of their first year, students have reported the health walk as one of their best experiences. The innovative approach was commended by the UK governing body of nurse education and it received a quality award from the nurse education funding body. This approach to education allows students to develop skills in the real world and write original work.
Abstract: This paper describes the use of by-products as
adsorbents for removing heavy metals from aqueous effluent
solutions. Products of almond skin, walnut shell, saw dust, rice bran
and egg shell were evaluated as metal ion adsorbents in aqueous
solutions. A comparative study was done with commercial adsorbents
like ion exchange resins and activated carbon too. Batch experiments
were investigated to determine the affinity of all of biomasses for,
Cd(ΙΙ), Cr(ΙΙΙ), Ni(ΙΙ), and Pb(ΙΙ) metal ions at pH 5. The rate of
metal ion removal in the synthetic wastewater by the biomass was
evaluated by measuring final concentration of synthetic wastewater.
At a concentration of metal ion (50 mg/L), egg shell adsorbed high
levels (98.6 – 99.7%) of Pb(ΙΙ) and Cr(ΙΙΙ) and walnut shell adsorbed
high levels (35.3 – 65.4%) of Ni(ΙΙ) and Cd(ΙΙ). In this study, it has
been shown that by-products were excellent adsorbents for removal
of toxic ions from wastewater with efficiency comparable to
commercially available adsorbents, but at a reduced cost. Also
statistical studies using Independent Sample t Test and ANOVA Oneway
for statistical comparison between various elements adsorption
showed that there isn’t a significant difference in some elements
adsorption percentage by by-products and commercial adsorbents.
Abstract: Fuzzy regression models are useful for investigating
the relationship between explanatory variables and responses in fuzzy
environments. To overcome the deficiencies of previous models and
increase the explanatory power of fuzzy data, the graded mean
integration (GMI) representation is applied to determine
representative crisp regression coefficients. A fuzzy regression model
is constructed based on the modified dissemblance index (MDI),
which can precisely measure the actual total error. Compared with
previous studies based on the proposed MDI and distance criterion, the
results from commonly used test examples show that the proposed
fuzzy linear regression model has higher explanatory power and
forecasting accuracy.
Abstract: Forecasting electricity load plays a crucial role regards
decision making and planning for economical purposes. Besides, in
the light of the recent privatization and deregulation of the power
industry, the forecasting of future electricity load turned out to be a
very challenging problem. Empirical data about electricity load
highlights a clear seasonal behavior (higher load during the winter
season), which is partly due to climatic effects. We also emphasize
the presence of load periodicity at a weekly basis (electricity load is
usually lower on weekends or holidays) and at daily basis (electricity
load is clearly influenced by the hour). Finally, a long-term trend may
depend on the general economic situation (for example, industrial
production affects electricity load). All these features must be
captured by the model.
The purpose of this paper is then to build an hourly electricity load
model. The deterministic component of the model requires non-linear
regression and Fourier series while we will investigate the stochastic
component through econometrical tools.
The calibration of the parameters’ model will be performed by
using data coming from the Italian market in a 6 year period (2007-
2012). Then, we will perform a Monte Carlo simulation in order to
compare the simulated data respect to the real data (both in-sample
and out-of-sample inspection). The reliability of the model will be
deduced thanks to standard tests which highlight a good fitting of the
simulated values.
Abstract: With the rapid development of computer technology,
the design of computers and keyboards moves towards a trend of
slimness. The change of mobile input devices directly influences
users’ behavior. Although multi-touch applications allow entering
texts through a virtual keyboard, the performance, feedback, and
comfortableness of the technology is inferior to traditional keyboard,
and while manufacturers launch mobile touch keyboards and
projection keyboards, the performance has not been satisfying.
Therefore, this study discussed the design factors of slim
pressure-sensitive keyboards. The factors were evaluated with an
objective (accuracy and speed) and a subjective evaluation
(operability, recognition, feedback, and difficulty) depending on the
shape (circle, rectangle, and L-shaped), thickness (flat, 3mm, and
6mm), and force (35±10g, 60±10g, and 85±10g) of the keyboard.
Moreover, MANOVA and Taguchi methods (regarding
signal-to-noise ratios) were conducted to find the optimal level of each
design factor. The research participants, by their typing speed (30
words/ minute), were divided in two groups. Considering the
multitude of variables and levels, the experiments were implemented
using the fractional factorial design. A representative model of the
research samples were established for input task testing. The findings
of this study showed that participants with low typing speed primarily
relied on vision to recognize the keys, and those with high typing
speed relied on tactile feedback that was affected by the thickness and
force of the keys. In the objective and subjective evaluation, a
combination of keyboard design factors that might result in higher
performance and satisfaction was identified (L-shaped, 3mm, and
60±10g) as the optimal combination. The learning curve was analyzed
to make a comparison with a traditional standard keyboard to
investigate the influence of user experience on keyboard operation.
The research results indicated the optimal combination provided input
performance to inferior to a standard keyboard. The results could serve
as a reference for the development of related products in industry and
for applying comprehensively to touch devices and input interfaces
which are interacted with people.
Abstract: Biological processes based on oxidation of sulfur
compounds by chemolithotrophic microorganisms are emerging as an
efficient and eco-friendly technique for removal of sulfur from the
coal. In the present article, study was carried out to investigate the
potential of biodesulfurization process in removing the sulfur from
lignite coal sample collected from a Mongolian coal mine. The batch
biodesulfurization experiments were conducted in 2.5 L borosilicate
baffle type reactors at 35 ºC using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans.
The effect of pulp density on efficiency of biodesulfurization was
investigated at different solids concentration (1-10%) of coal. The
results of the present study suggested that the rate of desulfurization
was retarded at higher coal pulp density. The optimum pulp density
found 5% at which about 48% of the total sulfur was removed from
the coal.
Abstract: Topology optimization technique utilizes constant
element densities as design parameters. Finally, optimal distribution
contours of the material densities between voids (0) and solids (1) in
design domain represent the determination of topology. It means that
regions with element density values become occupied by solids in
design domain, while there are only void phases in regions where no
density values exist. Therefore the void regions of topology
optimization results provide design information to decide appropriate
depositions of web-opening in structure. Contrary to the basic
objective of the topology optimization technique which is to obtain
optimal topology of structures, this present study proposes a new idea
that topology optimization results can be also utilized for decision of
proper web-opening’s position. Numerical examples of linear
elastostatic structures demonstrate efficiency of methodological
design processes using topology optimization in order to determinate
the proper deposition of web-openings.
Abstract: The purposes of this study are 1) to study the frequent
English writing errors of students registering the course: Reading and
Writing English for Academic Purposes II, and 2) to find out the
results of writing error correction by using coded indirect corrective
feedback and writing error treatments. Samples include 28 2nd year
English Major students, Faculty of Education, Suan Sunandha
Rajabhat University. Tool for experimental study includes the lesson
plan of the course; Reading and Writing English for Academic
Purposes II, and tool for data collection includes 4 writing tests of
short texts. The research findings disclose that frequent English
writing errors found in this course comprise 7 types of grammatical
errors, namely Fragment sentence, Subject-verb agreement, Wrong
form of verb tense, Singular or plural noun endings, Run-ons
sentence, Wrong form of verb pattern and Lack of parallel structure.
Moreover, it is found that the results of writing error correction by
using coded indirect corrective feedback and error treatment reveal
the overall reduction of the frequent English writing errors and the
increase of students’ achievement in the writing of short texts with
the significance at .05.
Abstract: During airport planning and design stages, the major issues of capacity and safety in construction and operation of an airport need to be taken into consideration. The airside of an airport is a major and critical infrastructure that usually consists of runway(s), taxiway system, and apron(s) etc., which have to be designed according to the international standards and recommendations, and local limitations to accommodate the forecasted demands. However, in many cases, airport airsides are suffering from unexpected risks that occurred during airport operations. Therefore, safety risk assessment should be applied in the planning and design of airsides to cope with the probability of risks and their consequences, and to make decisions to reduce the risks to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) based on safety risk assessment. This paper presents a combination approach of Failure Modes, Effect, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), Fuzzy Reasoning Approach (FRA), and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to develop a risk analysis model for safety risk assessment. An illustrated example is used to the demonstrate risk assessment process on how the design of an airside in an airport can be analysed by using the proposed safety design risk assessment model.
Abstract: Teaching and learning should involve social issues by which effectiveness and humanity is due consideration as a guideline for sharing and co-creating knowledge. A qualitative method was used after a pioneer study to confirm pre-service teachers’ awareness of open knowledge. There are 17 in-service teacher candidates sampling from 181 schools in Taiwan. Two questions are to resolve: a) How did teachers change their educational ideas, in particular, their attitudes to meet the needs of knowledge sharing and co-creativity; and b) How did they acknowledge the necessity of working out an appropriate way between the educational efficiency and the nature of education for high performance management. This interview investigated teachers’ attitude of sharing and co-creating knowledge. The results show two facts in Taiwan: A) Individuals who must be able to express themselves will be capable of taking part in an open learning environment; and B) Teachers must lead the direction to inspire high performance and improve students’ capacity via knowledge sharing and co-creating knowledge, according to the student-centered philosophy. Collected data from interviewing showed that the teachers were well aware of changing their teaching methods and make some improvements to balance the educational efficiency and the nature of education. Almost all teachers acknowledge that ICT is helpful to motivate learning enthusiasm. Further, teaching integrated with ICT saves teachers’ time and energy on teaching preparation and promoting effectiveness. Teachers are willing to co-create knowledge with students, though using information is not easy due to the lack of operating skills of the website and ICT. Some teachers are against to co-create knowledge in the informational background since they hold that is not feasible for there being a knowledge gap between teachers and students. Technology would easily mislead teachers and students to the goal of instrumental rationality, which makes pedagogy dysfunctional and inhumane; however, any high quality of teaching should take a dialectical balance between effectiveness and humanity.
Abstract: The increasing high price of natural gas and oil with attendant increase in energy demand on world markets in recent years has stimulated interest in recovering residual oil saturation across the globe. In order to meet the energy security, efforts have been made in developing new technologies of enhancing the recovery of oil and gas, utilizing techniques like CO2 flooding, water injection, hydraulic fracturing, surfactant flooding etc. Surfactant flooding however optimizes production but poses risk to the environment due to their toxic nature. Amongst proven records that have utilized other type of bacterial in producing biosurfactants for enhancing oil recovery, this research uses a technique to combine biosurfactants that will achieve a scale of EOR through lowering interfacial tension/contact angle. In this study, three biosurfactants were produced from three Bacillus species from freeze dried cultures using sucrose 3 % (w/v) as their carbon source. Two of these produced biosurfactants were screened with the TEMCO Pendant Drop Image Analysis for reduction in IFT and contact angle. Interfacial tension was greatly reduced from 56.95 mN.m-1 to 1.41 mN.m-1 when biosurfactants in cell-free culture (Bacillus licheniformis) were used compared to 4. 83mN.m-1 cell-free culture of Bacillus subtilis. As a result, cell-free culture of (Bacillus licheniformis) changes the wettability of the biosurfactant treatment for contact angle measurement to more water-wet as the angle decreased from 130.75o to 65.17o. The influence of microbial treatment on crushed rock samples was also observed by qualitative wettability experiments. Treated samples with biosurfactants remained in the aqueous phase, indicating a water-wet system. These results could prove that biosurfactants can effectively change the chemistry of the wetting conditions against diverse surfaces, providing a desirable condition for efficient oil transport in this way serving as a mechanism for EOR. The environmental friendly effect of biosurfactants applications for industrial purposes play important advantages over chemically synthesized surfactants, with various possible structures, low toxicity, eco-friendly and biodegradability.
Abstract: In recent years, non-invasive Focused Ultrasound (FU) has been utilized for generating bubbles (cavities) to ablate target tissue by mechanical fractionation. Intensities >10 kW/cm2 are required to generate the inertial cavities. The generation, rapid growth, and collapse of these inertial cavities cause tissue fractionation and the process is called Histotripsy. The ability to fractionate tissue from outside the body has many clinical applications including the destruction of the tumor mass. The process of tissue fractionation leaves a void at the treated site, where all the affected tissue is liquefied to particles at sub-micron size. The liquefied tissue will eventually be absorbed by the body. Histotripsy is a promising non-invasive treatment modality. This paper presents a technique for generating inertial cavities at lower intensities (< 1 kW/cm2). The technique (patent pending) is based on amplitude modulation (AM), whereby a low frequency signal modulates the amplitude of a higher frequency FU wave. Cavitation threshold is lower at low frequencies; the intensity required to generate cavitation in water at 10 kHz is two orders of magnitude lower than the intensity at 1 MHz. The Amplitude Modulation technique can operate in both continuous wave (CW) and pulse wave (PW) modes, and the percentage modulation (modulation index) can be varied from 0 % (thermal effect) to 100 % (cavitation effect), thus allowing a range of ablating effects from Hyperthermia to Histotripsy. Furthermore, changing the frequency of the modulating signal allows controlling the size of the generated cavities. Results from in vitro work demonstrate the efficacy of the new technique in fractionating soft tissue and solid calcium carbonate (Chalk) material. The technique, when combined with MR or Ultrasound imaging, will present a precise treatment modality for ablating diseased tissue without affecting the surrounding healthy tissue.
Abstract: Grid connection of a large-scale wind farm affects power system small-signal angular stability in two aspects. Firstly, connection of the wind farm brings about the change of load flow and configuration of a power system. Secondly, the dynamic interaction is introduced by the wind farm with the synchronous generators (SGs) in the power system. This paper proposes a method to assess the two aspects of the effect of the wind farm on power system small-signal angular stability. The effect of the change of load flow/system configuration brought about by the wind farm can be examined separately by displacing wind farms with constant power sources, then the effect of the dynamic interaction of the wind farm with the SGs can be also computed individually. Thus, a clearer picture and better understanding on the power system small-signal angular stability as affected by grid connection of the large-scale wind farm are provided. In the paper, an example power system with grid connection of a wind farm is presented to demonstrate the proposed approach.
Abstract: Geopolymer (cement-free) concrete is the most promising green alternative to ordinary Portland cement concrete and other cementitious materials. While a range of different geopolymer concretes have been produced, a common feature of these concretes is heat curing treatment which is essential in order to provide sufficient mechanical properties in the early age. However, there are several practical issues with the application of heat curing in large-scale structures. The purpose of this study is to develop cement-free concrete without heat curing treatment. Experimental investigations were carried out in two phases. In the first phase (Phase A), the optimum content of water, polycarboxylate based superplasticizer contents and potassium silicate activator in the mix was determined. In the second stage (Phase B), the effect of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) incorporation on the compressive strength of fly ash (FA) and Slag based geopolymer mixtures was evaluated. Setting time and workability were also conducted alongside with compressive tests. The results showed that as the slag content was increased the setting time was reduced while the compressive strength was improved. The obtained compressive strength was in the range of 40-50 MPa for 50% slag replacement mixtures. Furthermore, the results indicated that increment of water and superplasticizer content resulted to retarding of the setting time and slight reduction of the compressive strength. The compressive strength of the examined mixes was considerably increased as potassium silicate content was increased.
Abstract: One of the essential topics in the information systems is the registration management. The objective of this project is to create a web portal designed to help new students on the first access to the Sultan Moulay Slimane University SMSU (Practical Information, Pre-Registration, Placement Test, Terms of use ... etc.) while creating a secure space protecting both data from the institutions of the University and student information. This portal is accessible from any computer connected to the Internet inside and outside the campus. In this work, we present a platform on the first access to the SMSU which is essential for authentication in the digital work space of the university. This platform allows university to make better decisions for students clustering, to avoid traditional manual method, and to reduce the cost in human and material resources.
Abstract: The identification of lipid and soluble sugar components in flour samples of different cultivars belonging to common oat species (Avena sativa L.) was performed: spring oat, winter oat and hulless oat. Fatty acids were extracted from flour samples with n-hexane, and derivatized into volatile methyl esters, using TMSH (trimethylsulfonium hydroxide in methanol). Soluble sugars were then extracted from defatted and dried samples of oat flour with 96% ethanol, and further derivatized into corresponding TMS-oximes, using hydroxylamine hydrochloride solution and BSTFA (N,O-bis-(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide). The hexane and ethanol extracts of each oat cultivar were analyzed using GC-MS system. Lipid and simple sugar compositions are very similar in all samples of investigated cultivars. Chemometric tool was applied to numeric values of automatically integrated surface areas of detected lipid and simple sugar components in their corresponding derivatized forms. Hierarchical cluster analysis shows a very high similarity between the investigated flour samples of oat cultivars, according to the fatty acid content (0.9955). Moderate similarity was observed according to the content of soluble sugars (0.50). These preliminary results support the idea of establishing methods for oat flour authentication, and provide the means for distinguishing oat flour samples, regardless of the variety, from flour samples made of other cereal species, just by lipid and simple sugar profile analysis.