109 research outputs found
Corrigendum: Planning for livelihoods under hydrosocial uncertainty in periurban Pune(Front. Water, (2022), 4, (831464), 10.3389/frwa.2022.831464)
No full textIn the published article, there was an error in the author list, and authors “Sharlene L. Gomes, Shreya Chakraborty, and Leon M. Hermans” were erroneously excluded. The corrected author list appears below. “Sarah Luft Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Geography, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany Sharlene L. Gomes Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University, The Hague, Netherlands Shreya Chakraborty South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies, Hyderabad, India Leon M. Hermans Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands and Land andWaterManagement Department, IHE Delft Institute forWater Education, Delft, Netherlands.Policy Analysi
Comparison of analytical techniques to evaluate the effect of drying on oxidative status of sliced almonds during storage
No full textAlmonds (Prunus amygdalus) are highest produced tree nuts worldwide, grown mainly in Mediterranean climate. Almond contains approximately 49% total lipids of which 12g is polyunsaturated fat, 30.9% monounsaturated fat and 3.7% saturated fat. About 90% of its total fatty acid composition is unsaturated, where oleic acid is 60-70% and linoleic acid 14-26%. The unsaturated fatty acids makes the almonds susceptible to oxidative degradation by producing volatile compounds, off flavor and odor decreasing their nutritional value. The deterioration rate of the almonds lipid fraction during storage due to the oxidative process is of a great economic and nutritional importance. Therefore, before storage the fruit is subjected to multi-processing steps in order to improve its quality in term of storage stability. In this connection, the drying step and storage conditions are of decisive importance. The drying step involves removal of moisture to prevent hydrolysis and enzymatic degradation during storage which cause split of triglyceride into glycerol and free fatty acid. However over drying or under drying could lead to oxidative degradation. The combination of various analytical techniques is recommended to evaluate oxidative status as no single method is available to analyze both primary and secondary oxidation products together. In this connection, this project aims at providing most effective analytical technique that evaluates the efficiency of the drying conditions on the storage stability of sliced almonds. Therefore, four different analytical techniques have been selected, namely: Iodometric titration for peroxide value, titration method for Free Fatty acid (Acid Value), UV spectrophotometry for conjugated diene and triene and GC/MS for semi-volatile and volatile compounds were used. This study shows a positive effect of the used drying conditions on the oxidative stability since the concentration of peroxides and conjugated dienes of dried almonds decreased as compared to those of non dried and ambient dried. A constant curve for free fatty acids was obtained showing that drying was done effectively as no hydrolysis has been observed. The GC-MS method seems to be the most suitable method which gives a real picture of drying effect on the oxidative status of the stored sliced almonds.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Shreya D. Gandh
Design and characterization of three dimensional twist-braid scaffolds for anterior cruciate ligament replacement
No full textThe anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the most commonly injured ligament in the knee, with more than 350,000 ACL injuries reported annually in the United States. Current treatments include the use of autografts and allografts which have a number of disadvantages. Previous attempts to use synthetic materials in ligament replacement have been unsuccessful due to their inability to replicate the long-term mechanical properties of the native ligament. This project focuses on developing twist-braid poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) scaffolds for ACL replacement. Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) was incorporated into the twist-braid scaffolds to evaluate its impact on their mechanical behavior. The twist-braid scaffolds were also compared with braided scaffolds. Scaffold mechanical properties were evaluated based on stress-relaxation, tensile and fatigue properties of the braided-only, twist-braid and the twist-braid scaffolds with PEGDA. All the scaffolds exhibited properties comparable to the native human ACL with the twist-braid scaffolds displaying resistance to fatigue. Scaffolds were seeded with rat patellar tendon fibroblasts. The cell viability and amount of protein released was studied over a course of 8 weeks. The scaffolds were stained with picrosirius red after 8 weeks to show the deposition of extracellular matrix by the cells. The results from this study showed that the twist-braid scaffolds have properties most suitable for ligament replacement.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Shreya Madhavarap
COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF MIDAZOLAM AND KETAMINE WITH MIDAZOLAM ALONE AS ORAL PREMEDICATION IN CHILDREN”
No full textIntroduction: The main aims of preanesthetic medication in children are to reduce anxiety associated with the unfamiliar environment, facilitate the separation of the child from their parent and allow smooth induction of an-esthesia. Both oral midazolam and oral ketamine fulfil many of these char-acteristics and are useful.
Method: As 48 patients of ASA grade 1 and 2, aged between 2-10 years un-dergoing elective surgery were allocated to one of two study groups using random numbers: Group 1 received midazolam 0.5mg/kg and group 2 re-ceived midazolam 0.25 mg/kg with ketamine 3 mg/kg. The medications were prepared and mixed with 25% dextrose up to a maximum volume of 0.3 ml/kg.
Result: Uniform and acceptable sedation scores were seen in both the groups, without any serious side effects. However, the combination offered significantly more children in an awake, calm and quiet state, who were eas-ily separated from their parents. The induction scores, Recovery room characteristics and time to achieve satisfactory Aldrete score were also comparable between the two groups.
Conclusion: Oral midazolam alone and a combination of midazolam with ketamine provide equally effective anxiolysis and separation characteristics. However, the combination provided more Benefits
Performance of photobioreactor, constructed wetland and anaerobic membrane bioreactor in treating antibiotic resistant bacteria in the Barapullah drain, New Delhi, India
No full textLimitless usage of antibiotics has led antibiotic resistance to be one of the largest threats to world health and development. In this study, the concentrations of Extended spectrum betalactamase Escherichia coli and carbapenem resistant Escherichia Coli was assessed in a major drain in New Delhi, India. The performance of Anaerobic membrane bioreactor, photobioreactor and constructed wetlands in treating ESBL-E.coli and CRE-E.coli was evaluated. The results showed ESBL-E.coli and CRE-E.coli removal efficiencies of 99.82% and 99.69% for AnMBR, 99.62% and 99.86% for PBR and 98.1-99.3% for constructed wetlands respectively. Log10 reduction values of 2.7-3 for AnMBR, 2.8-3.2 for PBR and 1.82.3 for CWs was achieved in this study. Coupling micro-aeration with AnMBR improved the removal efficiency by 36-46%. A quantitative microbial risk assessment showed probability of infection by Enterotoxigenic E.coli (ETEC O55) post treatment to be reduced below 10-18% for AnMBR and PBR and below 20-35% for CWs. Treated effluents accounted for a high reduction in the total DALYs pppy by 63% for PBR, followed by 41.6% for AnMBR and 12.5% for CWS. ESBL-E. coli and CRE-E.coli counts decreased below the monitoring level of 103-105 for unrestricted irrigation and 104-105 for restricted irrigation as declared by WHO. Treated water was not recommended for direct consumption due to higher risk above 10%. This study exhibits the potential of these efficient and sustainable technologies in treating antibiotic resistant bacteria. CIE5050-09 Additional Graduation WorkLOTUS-H
Preliminary Design of Composite Wind Turbine Towers
No full textOver the past decade, wind turbine towers have grown taller and wider to support high capacity turbines. It may, therefore, be prudent to investigate materials alternative to steel to mitigate an increase in tower mass, cost, and complexities in transportation & manufacturing associated with the steel towers. The current research focuses on the preliminary design of economically feasible composite wind turbine towers.Some of the project objectives involve setting up the design tool for tubular and lattice tower made up of Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) material, preliminary design of possible joining techniques, setting up the cost model for various manufacturing approaches and assembly techniques and comparison of composite towers to steel tower design regarding mass and cost. The design tool will incorporate all the essential load cases, structural and geometric constraints and will help to analyze the composite towers with various hub heights and for 2.1 MW and 5 MW turbinecapacities.Loads and constraints are estimated through the literature study. Preliminary design of the tubular tower has been carried out using an analytical approach. For the lattice towers, a Finite Element Method (FEM) approach using Matlab was the suitable method to perform the analysis. A minimum first natural frequency constraint of 0.27Hz and 0.22Hz have been incorporated during the design for 2.1MW and 5MW turbine capacity towers respectively. For the joint design, bolted and adhesive joints are considered and the failure modes associatedwith these joints have been incorporated into the design to get an estimate of the joint mass and cost. The cost modeling of composite structures was done using the parametricequations that fit the Process Cost Analysis Database (PCAD) cost model in the region of interest. These parametric equations are usually functions of the surface area of the structure, perimeter, the number of plies and the complexity of the part. The final part involves comparison of the GFRP and CFRP towers with steel towers and comments on the feasibility of the composite towers.CFRP tubular and lattice towers show a mass reduction of up to 60% for lower hub height towers (<=100m), but this advantage decreases with height. Due to the high material cost, the CFRP towers are at least 3-4 times costlier than steel towers. For the GFRP material system, up to 35% mass reduction was found in the tubular design with lower hub height (<=100m). 5MW-100m hub height GFRP tubular tower showed the highest mass advantage (35%) and was the closest in cost to the steel design with the GFRP tower being 4% costlier. The GFRP lattice towers showed a similar trend with up to 35% but were at least 27% costlier than steel tower due to the high material and joint costs.The only region where composite currently shows any promises of mass and cost feasibility is for smaller hub heights (<=100m) and on tubular towers. The major existing difficulties with steel towers are for heights in the range of 125-150m, and in this region, the composite tower design does not show mass or cost advantages. Based on the results of the various trade studies and optimized designs, it was concluded that the composites do not hold a definitive promise as an alternative material for wind turbine towers over steel. With the current technology and understanding of the tower designs, the mass advantage promised by composite towers is not enough for composites to be deemed a viable option that can thrive in a competitive market for renewable energy. Thus a few scopes for future research are provided that can help in strengthening the understanding of the composite tower designAerospace Engineerin
Imagineering use of augmented reality in food supply chains: A study of Cargill's food safety and quality processes
No full text"Imagineering is letting your imagination soar, and then engineering it down to earth." (Alcoa Aluminum, 1942)The fourth industrial revolution is focused on integrating technologies into the production environment that can increase revenue and optimize production. As the lines between the physical and digital worlds are blurring with the introduction of new technologies, companies have to be open to digital transformations and employ new management approaches. Industry 4.0 has also shown to be a great opportunity for the progress of the food sector. Augmented reality smart glasses, a technology that is worn like normal glasses but overlays the user’s view with virtual information is one such technology within Industry 4.0 that can transform the internal processes of a business. However, in literature, opportunities for digitalization in the food sector seemed under-researched and had not covered the possibilities of digitalizing food safety and quality business processes using smart glasses.Cargill is a multinational corporation operating in the areas of food, agriculture, financial, and industrial products, that started exploring the usage of augmented reality smart glasses in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. During these dire times, Cargill explored the solution of AR smart glasses for conducting remote food audits. However, this device was limited to this use case only Cargill was keen on expanding the applications of the novel technology. Additionally, they were looking for an implementation plan to adopt smart glasses in different use cases. The working, principles, and components required for the smooth functioning of augmented reality technologies were explored in great detail. Value drivers and barriers to adoption that may affect the future of the technology were studied. The domain of food safety, quality, and regulatory within the edible oils supply chain of Cargill was chosen to identify potential applications. Resources, competencies, and capabilities required to embrace the technology were recognized. Finally, an implementation plan was drafted for organizations that would like to adopt augmented reality smart glasses to digitalize relevant business processes.Management of Technology (MoT
Understanding the schedule delay within design-construction interface (In an infrastructure mega-project): Summary report
No full textInfrastructure mega-projects are highly important for economic and societal growth, but they are also extremely susceptible to a high degree of risks leading to massive delays. These delays affect not only the project schedule but also the cost and the quality. The delay events are present throughout the project life cycle but, according to the researcher’s observation, most of the delays were found to occur in the design-construction interface. In general, the problem of delay has been studied a lot by previous researchers; however, being one of the critical phases, delays in the design-construction interface have still not been investigated. Therefore, this research conducts a detailed study for developing mitigation measures for delays within the design-construction interface in the infrastructure mega-project. To achieve the above goal, the research investigates critical events in an infrastructure megaproject to develop measures with the help of the critical incident technique (CIT). CIT was used for the research because it helped in evaluating the success or failure of the adopted and recommended measures. Based on the evaluation the research proposed a preventive and corrective measure framework to minimize the delay's effect on the project schedule. NOTE: This summary report is specifically drafted for the repository to address the graduation research and to discuss the original objectives and main results, while keeping the confidentiality required by the company.Civil Engineering | Construction Management and Engineerin
Electrocoagulation as a tertiary treatment of municipal wastewater: Removal of enteric pathogen indicators and antibiotic-resistant bacteria
No full textWith the growing population and economic development, there is more stress on natural water resources. Additionally, current and future water shortages, increasing environmental concerns and stringent discharge standards demand high-quality treated water. In this scenario, it is crucial to recover water and wastewater resources for reuse, reducing the dependency on new resources. While aiming for water reclamation, the influence of wastewater quality parameters on human health is given foremost attention in recent times. Enteric pathogens are a major concern when reclaiming municipal wastewater. Electrocoagulation (EC) process that introduces coagulants by electrochemical means has been successfully employed for the treatment of groundwater, industrial and municipal wastewater. EC has been widely accepted over other physicochemical processes due to its process design and lowcost material. In this research, EC has been thoroughly investigated as a tertiary treatment technology for water reclamation from municipal wastewater. This research is focused on determining the efficiency of low voltage iron EC for the removal of enteric pathogen indicators and antibiotic-resistant bacteria from secondary wastewater effluent. The effect of operational parameters: charge dosage (C/L) and charge dosage rate (C/L/min) on pollutant reduction was evaluated in different water matrices: demineralized water, synthetic wastewater effluent and real wastewater effluent. EC operated at 400 C/L, 7.2 C/L/min and natural pH allowed > 3.5 log units removal for E. coli and Enterococci, > 2.5 log units for ESBL E. coli and VRE and > 2 and 2.7 log units for Somatic coliphages and Clostridium perfringens spores respectively in real wastewater effluent. Furthermore, a significant reduction of phosphorous, COD and the true color was observed at 400 C/L and 36 C/L/min. Pollutant reduction was influenced by sedimentation and floatation mechanisms observed at varying charge dosage rates. A marginally higher removal rate constant of pathogen indicators as a function of charge dosage at low charge dosage rate showed slow iron dosing to improve microbial adsorption and increase contact time with iron precipitates. The reduction of pathogen indicators was associated with physical removal mechanisms like adsorption, sweep coagulation and entrapment within the flocs, charge neutralization and aggregation based on literature. The effective removal of physical, chemical and microbiological parameters in real wastewater effluent was achieved at 400 C/L and 7.2 C/L/min at an operating cost of 0.17 €/m3 indicating EC to be a cost-effective treatment in comparison to alternative technologies like ozone, UV, activated carbon and reverse osmosis
EFFECT OF DEXAMETHASONE AS AN ADJUVANT TO BUPIVACAINE IN ULTRASOUND GUIDED INTERSCALENE BRACHIAL PLEXUS BLOCK IN UPPER ARM SURGERIES
No full textBackground:Ultrasound (US) in regional anaesthesia offers a new standard in nerve location and identification, allows real-time imaging of nerves and direct needle guidance.In present study we have access efficacy and safety of Dexamethasone as adjuvant to US guided Interscalene block for Upper arm surgeries.
Aims:The study was conducted to compare the efficacy of Dexamethasone as an adjuvant to Bupivacaine in ultrasound guided interscalene brachial plexus block to provide intraoperative anaesthesia and postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing upper arm surgeries and to evaluate Hemodynamic Stability
Methods:Present study was conducted at tertiary care hospital on 60 patients posted for elective upper arm surgeries, with ASA grade I and II, in age group of 18-70 years. The patients were randomly divided into 2 groups – Group A and Group B. All patients were given ultrasound guided interscalene block with 15 ml of 0.5% Plain Bupivacaine. Inj. Dexamethasone 8mg was added to local anaesthetic drug in Group A and 0.9% normal saline 2ml was added in Group B. All patients received 17 ml of volume of study drug perineurally. All blocks were successful to provide surgical anaesthesia and analgesia.Both the groups were evaluated for onset and duration of sensory and motor blockade, duration of analgesia, perioperative haemodynamic stability, total number of analgesic requests in 24 hours and any adverse reactions/complications.
Results: Both the groups were comparable with respect to patient characteristics. In our study, Onset of sensory block was faster in Group A (3.866 ± 1.33 mins)compared to Group B (7.566 ± 1.67 mins) (p value <0.0001). Onset of motor block was faster in Group A (7.933mins) compared to Group B (11.733 mins) (p <0.0001). Duration of mean sensory block was longer in Group A (904 mins) compared to Group B (305.33mins)(p<0.0001).Duration of mean motor block was longer in Group A (861 mins) compared to Group B (264.33mins) (p< 0.0001). Mean Duration of analgesia was longer in Group A (1455.86 mins)compared to Group B (806.16 mins) (p<0.0001). Total number of analgesic requests was less in Group A (1.2 ) compared to Group B (2.37 ) (p <0.0001).Both groups showed perioperative haemodynamic stability. And no adverse reactions or complications were observed in any patient in Group A, whereas 2 patients (6.67%) in Group B had Postoperative Nausea Vomiting
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