A study on stryhcnos potatorum and pisum sativum as natural coagulants for meat food processing wastewater

Wastewater generated from meat food processing industry has significant effects on the environment. Many methods have been reported for removing turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), oil and grease (O&G) and colour from meat food processing wastewater (MFPW). The most common method among them is flocculation-coagulation process which is widely used. Although inorganic coagulants are prominent in wastewater treatments, its application may cause toxic residual. In this study, the attempt has been made to study the performance of S. Potatorum (nirmali) and P. Sativum (pea) seed as natural coagulants in the flocculation process. A further aim is to determine the optimum conditions for the treatment of MFPW effluents such as coagulant dosage, mixing rate and pH. An adsorption study was also carried out to study the adsorption potential of these coagulants to treat MFPW. A lab-scale treatment tank was developed to evaluate the effectiveness in MFPW treatment. Jar test results showed that optimum dosage, pH and mixing rate for S. Potatorum were pH 8 with dosage of 150 mg/L and 150 rpm mixing rate with the removal of turbidity, TSS, COD, O&G and colour are 91%, 97.6%, 58.4%, 79.9% and 84.3% respectively. Meanwhile, for P. Sativum, the optimum condition were observed at pH 8 with dosage of 150 mg/L and 150 rpm mixing rate with the removal of turbidity, TSS, COD, O&G and colour 87.8%, 97.3%, 65.5%, 77.9% and 76.5% respectively. The adsorption study was found that the analysis fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm for both natural coagulants. Results show that the percentage of turbidity, TSS, COD, O&G removal by chemical coagulants are quite similar than natural coagulants when lab-scale treatment tank was used to treat the MFPW. This indicated that these natural coagulants have a potential to use as alternative in wastewater treatment

Enriched elderly virtual profiles by means of a multidimensional integrated assessment platform

The pressure over Healthcare systems is increasing in most developed countries. The generalized aging of the population is one of the main causes. This situation is even worse in underdeveloped, sparsely populated regions like Extremadura in Spain or Alentejo in Portugal. The authors propose to use the Situational-Context, a technique to seamlessly adapt Internet of Things systems to the needs and preferences of their users, for virtually modeling the elderly. These models could be used to enhance the elderly experience when using those kind of systems without raising the need for technical skills or the costs of implementing such systems by the regional healthcare systems. In this paper, the integration of a multidimensional integrated assessment platform with such virtual profiles is presented. The assessment platform provides and additional source of information for the virtual profiles that is used to better adapt existing systems to the elders needs

A STUDY ON HEALTH MONITORING SYSTEM: RECENT ADVANCEMENTS

ABSTRACT: A proliferating interest has been observed over the past years in the development of an accurate system for monitoring continuous human activities in the health care sectors, especially for the elderly. This paper conducts a survey of the various techniques and methods that are proposed to monitor the movements and activities of the elderly people. These techniques promise a useful and dependable detection system to give support and lessen the medical expenses of health care for the elderly. The detection approaches are divided into five main categories: wearable device based, wireless based, ambience device based, vision based and floor sensor / electric field sensors based. These techniques have focused on the pros and cons of the existing methods for recognizing the prospective scope of research in the domain of health monitoring systems. Apart from highlighting and analyzing the features of the existing techniques, perspectives on probable future studies have been detailed. ABSTRAK: Dewasa ini, pembangunan sistem yang tepat untuk memantau aktiviti berterusan terutamanya dalam sektor kesihatan warga tua mula mendapat tempat. Kaji selidik telah dijalankan dengan pelbagai teknik dan kaedah untuk meninjau pergerakan dan aktiviti golongan warga tua. Kaedah-kaedah ini memberikan sistem pengesanan yang berguna dan dipercayai untuk memberikan sokongan serta mengurangkan kos perubatan kesihatan bagi golongan tua. Pendekatan pengesanan dibahagikan kepada lima kategori utama; alatan yang dapat dipakai, alatan tanpa wayar, alatan berdasarkan persekitaran, alatan berasaskan penglihatan dan alatan berdasarkan pengesan pada lantai / medan elektrik.  Teknik-teknik ini memfokuskan kepada pro dan kontra kaedah yang sedia ada untuk mengenalpasti skop prospektif penyelidikan dalam domain sistem pengawasan kesihatan.  Selain daripada mengetengah dan menganalisa ciri-ciri teknik yang sedia ada, perspektif kajian akan datang juga diperincikan. KEYWORDS: health monitoring; elderly; wearable device; wireless device; ambience device, vision analysis; floor sensor

A Contactless Characterization of CNT/Epoxy Nanocomposites behavior under acid exposure

The use of polymer nanocomposites is ubiquitous in every industry. The high corrosion resistance and chemical durability of CNT/Epoxy nanocomposites make them suitable for chemical plants, oil industries, and hydrogen storage. However, unexpected failures have been reported for chemicals that unavoidably penetrate, provoking deterioration and degradation of the composite constituents. Conventional methods are impractical for evaluating structural health conditions because they often require disassembly of the structure and complex post-processing analysis. Contactless material characterization methods, on the other hand, are rather promising tools. Nevertheless, the influence of nanofillers and acid attack diffusion on wireless signals has yet to be explored. In this study, the effects of acid attack periods (i.e. one, week, two weeks, and month) on the scattering parameters of microstrip antennas ere investigated using a vector network analys. Additionally, an idealised multi-scale modelling approach was developed to study the influence of electrical conductivity and porosity volume changes on return loss (S11). The data showed that the diffusion of ions altered the specimen properties as time progressed. The increment in the electrical conductivity and porosity volume is reflected especially during the month-long period. Finally, in this study, it was found that wireless methods can be implemented to characterise materials which are beneficial for real-time in-situ structural health monitoring

RFID in Healthcare: A Six Sigma DMAIC and Simulation Case Study

Develop a business model to generate quantitative evidence of the benefits of implementing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology limiting the scope to outpatient surgical processes in hospitals. Analysis showed significant estimated annual cost and time savings in carrying out patients’ surgical procedures with RFID technology implementation for the outpatient surgery processes in a hospital. This is largely due to elimination of both the non-value added activities of locating supplies and equipment and also the elimination of the “return” loop created by preventable post-operative infections. Several poka-yokes developed using RFID technology were identified to eliminate those two issues, as well as, for improving the safety of the patient and cost effectiveness of the operation to ensure the success of the outpatient surgical process. Several poka-yokes developed using RFID technology were identified for improving the safety of the patient and cost effectiveness of the operation to ensure the success of the outpatient surgical process

Detection of human movement by near field imaging : development of a novel method and applications

The proportion of senior citizens is increasing, which requires more resources in the care services. The effectiveness of these services is proposed to be increased by remote monitoring of senior citizens living at home or in nursing homes. The monitoring can be performed with various types of sensors, but the solution presented here incorporates most of the functionalities found in related work in one comprehensive system. The system that was developed uses electric field sensing to detect human presence and movement. Falls and the vital functions of a fallen person can also be extracted from the signals. The sensor arrangement consists of a matrix of thin planar electrodes under the floor surface, which makes the system completely undetectable and discreet. It is not disturbed by shading or darkness and does not require a lot of computing power. Computer vision does not enjoy these advantages. Furthermore, no devices need to be worn and no batteries need to be charged, as with systems based on transponders worn by the subject. If identification is required, the system developed in this work does not rule out the use of transponders. The impedances of the electrodes are measured using a tuned transformer and a phase-sensitive detector. A signal-to-noise ratio of 37 dB has been achieved with this structure. The mean positioning error when observing people who are walking is 21 cm. Multiple people can be discriminated with a 90% certainty if the distance between them is 78 cm. The sensitivity and specificity in fall detection have been found to be 91% and 91%, respectively. The cardiac activity and respiration are clearly visible when a person lies prone or supine on the floor. A capacitive radio frequency identification (RFID) tag in a shoe was developed for person identification. The system developed here has been installed in a large nursing home. The nurses have indicated their satisfaction in a comprehensive questionnaire, which was conducted by a representative of the nurses. Positive feedback has also been obtained from a senior person living alone and from his family members

Occupancy monitoring and prediction in ambient intelligent environment

Occupancy monitoring and prediction as an influential factor in the extraction of occupants' behavioural patterns for the realisation of ambient intelligent environments is addressed in this research. The proposed occupancy monitoring technique uses occupancy detection sensors with unobtrusive features to monitor occupancy in the environment. Initially the occupancy detection is conducted for a purely single-occupant environment. Then, it is extended to the multipleoccupant environment and associated problems are investigated. Along with the occupancy monitoring, it is aimed to supply prediction techniques with a suitable occupancy signal as the input which can enhance efforts in developing ambient intelligent environments. By predicting the occupancy pattern of monitored occupants, safety, security, the convenience of occupants, and energy saving can be improved. Elderly care and supporting people with health problems like dementia and Alzheimer disease are amongst the applications of such an environment. In the research, environments are considered in different scenarios based on the complexity of the problem including single-occupant and multiple-occupant scenarios. Using simple sensory devices instead of visual equipment without any impact on privacy and her/his normal daily activity, an occupant is monitored in a living or working environment in the single-occupant scenario. ZigBee wireless communication technology is used to collect signals from sensory devices such as motion detection sensors and door contact sensors. All these technologies together including sensors, wireless communication, and tagging are integrated as a wireless sensory agent

Technische Unterstützung für Menschen mit Demenz : Symposium 30.09. - 01.10.2013

Wie sollten technische Systeme zur Unterstützung von Menschen mit Demenz gestaltet sein? Was wünschen sich die Patienten, Angehörigen, Pflegenden, und Ärzte? Und was können technische Assistenzsysteme überhaupt leisten? Am KIT fand im Oktober 2013 ein Symposium zu diesen Fragen statt. Experten aus verschiedenen Disziplinen kamen zusammen, um den aktuellen Stand in den jeweiligen Gebieten zu erörtern. Dieser Band gibt einen Überblick über die Erkenntnisse aus den verschiedenen Blickwinkeln