Indoor mould growth prediction using coupled computational fluid dynamics and mould growth model

This study investigates, using in-situ and numerical simulation experiments, airflow and hygrothermal distribution in a mechanically ventilated academic research facility with known cases of microbial proliferations. Microclimate parameters were obtained from in-situ experiments and used as boundary conditions and validation of the numerical experiments with a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis tool using the standard k–ε model. Good agreements were obtained with less than 10% deviations between the measured and simulated results. Subsequent upon successful validation, the model was used to investigate hygrothermal and airflow profile within the shelves holding stored components in the facility. The predicted in-shelf hygrothermal profile was superimposed on mould growth limiting curve earlier documented in the literature. Results revealed the growth of xerophilic species in most parts of the shelves. The mould growth prediction was found in correlation with the microbial investigation in the case-studied room reported by the authors elsewhere. Satisfactory prediction of mould growth in the room successfully proved that the CFD simulation can be used to investigate the conditions that lead to microbial growth in the indoor environment

Hygrothermal performance of building envelopes in the tropics under operative conditions : condensation and mould growth risk appraisal

Poor indoor hygrothermal performance increases the risk of indoor moisture problems and deterioration due to mould growth, corrosion and damage to archival materials. Hence, proper control of indoor thermohygric intensity abates indoor moisture and its associated problems. This paper presents the results of envelopes hygrothermal performance assessments in a hot and humid climate building with varying operational profile between adjacent spaces. The case-studied building runs on 24hrs cooling mode in one part against natural and/or mechanical supply-exhaust fan means on the other. In-situ experiments were combined with hygrothermal analytical methods to assess the envelope thermal quality together with the operative conditions against condensation and mould growth risks. The results show that the building is overcooled leading to poor envelope hygrothermal performance with associated condensation and mould growth problems on non-airconditioned sides of the envelopes

Propagation of Grapefruit (Citrus Paradisi Macf) by Shoot Tip Micrografting

This study was conducted to develop an in vitro technique for micrografting of grapefruit on sour orange rootstock during August, 2001 to May, 2002. The best in vitro germination of rootstock seed was obtained when both seed coats (hard and soft) were removed before in vitro culturing on a nutrient medium. The success of micrografting was affected by the age of rootstock seedling, light incubation conditions, source and method of placement of meristem tips and concentration of sucrose in the nutrient medium. High frequency of successful micrografts was obtained when the rootstock seedlings were germinated under darkness till the age of two weeks and then incubated in the same condition for two to three weeks after grafting. Plants grown in the greenhouse were the best source for meristem tips. Placement of scion on an inverted T incision at the point of decapitation was found to be the most suitable method of micrografting. The frequency of successful micro. grafts improved significantly when Murashige and Skoog medium was supplemented with 7.5% sucrose compared with normal sucrose concentration (3%).. INTRODUCTIO

Control design of a de-weighting upper-limb exoskeleton: extended-based fuzzy

One of the most common issues to human is fatigue. A technology known as exoskeleton has been identified as one of the solutions to address this issue. However, there are two issues that need to be solved. One of them is the control approach. Hence, the main aim of this work, is to investigate the control design for upper-limb exoskeleton. An extended based fuzzy control is proposed to observe the effectiveness of the exoskeleton in dealing with human with different strength. Three conditions of human strength were applied. PID was used for a comparison purpose. It is shown that with the proposed control approach, the exoskeleton can assist human to achieve the desired trajectory accurately with a minimal amount of torque required

Control design of a de-weighting upper limb exoskeleton

One of the most common problems in humans is a muscle fatigue. Exoskeletons are known as one of the solution to deal with human muscle fatigue. However, several issues related to the development of exoskeletons for such a case have been identified. One of these is the control mechanism. Thus, the objective of this paper is to investigate development of a control strategy for the upper-limb exoskeleton. In this paper, a new control mechanism for an upper-limb exoskeleton is proposed. A fuzzy-based PD controller and PID are used in the proposed control mechanism, and a comparative assessment of the performance of both controllers is made. The results show that the control mechanism with fuzzy-based PD controller performs better than the PID controller in terms of trajectory tracking accuracy and control torque analysis

Diversity and gradients of vegetation of Sivrihisar Mountains (Eskişehir-Turkey). Online supplement

This study was carried out to determine the plant communities and understand the main topographical driving factors of floristic differentiation in the Sivrihisar Mountains (Eskişehir Province). Vegetation samplings were carried out according to the Braun-Blanquet approach. The relevés were stored in the TURBOVEG database management program. Hierarchical classification was carried out in PC ORD program with Ward’s method and Euclidean distance as a resemblance measure. The diagnostic species were identified by a fidelity measure in the JUICE program. The results of the classification were visualized by ordination techniques in the CANOCO package by using principal component analysis. In conclusion, except for the degraded forest community, all the 7 steppe and 1 scrub plant communities studied were identified and described as new associations. Also, a syntaxonomical scheme for the vegetation of Sivrihisar Mountains was suggested

Diversity and gradients of vegetation of Sivrihisar Mountains (Eskişehir-Turkey)

This study was carried out to determine the plant communities and understand the main topographical driving factors of floristic differentiation in the Sivrihisar Mountains (Eskişehir Province). Vegetation samplings were carried out according to the Braun-Blanquet approach. The relevés were stored in the TURBOVEG database management program. Hierarchical classification was carried out in PC ORD program with Ward’s method and Euclidean distance as a resemblance measure. The diagnostic species were identified by a fidelity measure in the JUICE program. The results of the classification were visualized by ordination techniques in the CANOCO package by using principal component analysis. In conclusion, except for the degraded forest community, all the 7 steppe and 1 scrub plant communities studied were identified and described as new associations. Also, a syntaxonomical scheme for the vegetation of Sivrihisar Mountains was suggested

EFFECT OF SPIRULIN (ARTHROSPIRA PLATENSIS) A AND NANNOCHLOROPSIS (NANNOCHLOROPSIS GADITANA) SUPPLEMENTATION ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE, FEED UTILIZATION AND CARCASS COMPOSITION OF NILE TILAPIA (Oreochromis niloticus)

The study was carried out  at  Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University to assess the effect of two of algae species (Arthrospira platensis and Nannochloropsis gaditana) on growth performance of monosex  tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus), fish were fed on a basal diet supplemented with 0,3,5,7% of each algae. To perform seven experimental treatments were assigned in three replicates each. The experiment was designated as follows:  (T1) control (without algae), (T2) basal diet supplemented with 3% spirulina (spiru 3), (T3) basal diet supplemented with 5% spirulina (spiru 5), (T4) basal diet supplemented with 7% spirulina (spiru 7), (T5) basal diet supplemented with 3% Nannochloropsis (nanno 3), (T6) basal diet supplemented with 5% Nannochloropsis (nanno 5) and (T7) basal diet supplemented with 7% Nannochloropsis  (nanno 7). Experimental tanks were a part of closed recirculating system, where almost constant environmental conditions were kept throughout the experimental period. Twenty-one quadrate fiber glass tanks with 108-liter water capacity were stocked with 15 fish per tank. The individual initial body weight (2.7 g) was recorded at the beginning of the experiment. All fish in each tank was weighed every two weeks during the whole experimental period. The fish were fed the experimental diet for 95 days Results indicated that nanno 5 treatment had higher significant trend (P<0.05) final body weight (FBW), average weight  gain (AWG) and average daily gain (ADG) compared with the other experimental treatments. The best specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and feed efficiency ratio (FER) were found in nanno 7. Also, it was observed that spiru 7 have a high significant difference (P<0.05) in protein efficiency ratio (PER) and protein productive value (PPV). On the other hand, the results showed that the lowest AWG, ADG and (FER) appeared in spiru 7%. No mortality in nanno7 and spiru 7. Finally, using of nano 5% or spiru 7% enhance growth performance and feeding in tilapia fish

The effect of water deprivation on the pharmacokinetics of antipyrine and sulphadimidine following intravenous administration in Nubian goats

The effect of water deprivation on the pharmacokinetic parameters of antipyrine and sulphadimidine in the Nubian goat was studied. Water deprivation, to a level of dehydration at which the animals lost an average of 7.5% body weight, resulted in a significant reduction in antipyrine clearance (p < 0.05), and a consequently increased AUC value (p < 0.05). No effect was observed on the distribution parameters of the drug. In dehydrated animals which had lost an average of 10% or 12.5% of their body weight owing to water deprivation, significant changes were found in the distribution and elimination pharmacokinetic parameters of antipyrine and sulphadimidine. The volume of distribution was significantly decreased, resulting n elevated plasma levels for the two drags compared to normally watered animals. Significant decreases in clearance and subsequent prolongation of the elimination half-lives were observed during these periods of water deprivation. These changes in the disposition kinetics of the two drugs may be attributed to the loss of total body water and extracellular fluids and changes in the liver and kidney functions taking place during dehydration

Design of a Multisensing Control System

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The &nbsp;goal &nbsp;&nbsp;of &nbsp;&nbsp;this &nbsp;paper &nbsp;is &nbsp;to design &nbsp;a reconfigurable multisensing &nbsp;control system. The implemented design tools are based on static random access memory field programmable grid array &nbsp;(SRAM FPGA) &nbsp;circuit &nbsp;board &nbsp;and &nbsp;a &nbsp;very &nbsp;high speed integrated circuit hardware description language (VHDL). The design steps &nbsp;start with software development which consists of HDL &nbsp;processes &nbsp;&nbsp;where V HDL &nbsp;program &nbsp;that &nbsp;describes &nbsp;the architectural &nbsp;behavior &nbsp;of &nbsp;the &nbsp;multisensing &nbsp;control system. An HDL synthesis is the second step, which converts the design in behavioral description file into gates. These steps are followed by implementation techniques and downloading the design from PC onto FPGA via a joint test action group (J TAG) cable. Different type &nbsp;&nbsp;of&nbsp; &nbsp;sensors; namely two ultrasonic, smoke detector, water level switch, thermostat, and light detector are connected to the inputs of the programmed FPGA and activated to test the design. The &nbsp;results show that&nbsp; the overall average delay timing between inputs to outputs is equal to 6.437 ns which is relatively small as compared with delay time at sensors and 1/0 modules. Therefore, it can be &nbsp;clearly &nbsp;stated &nbsp;that the speed of &nbsp;control &nbsp;is limited by sensors &nbsp;and 1/0 &nbsp;modules &nbsp;rather &nbsp;than &nbsp;the processing performance of &nbsp;the proposed design. This &nbsp;is a &nbsp;stark &nbsp;contrast &nbsp;to &nbsp;traditional control &nbsp;system &nbsp;where &nbsp;the &nbsp;processing performance is typically the limiting factor. Thus &nbsp;the use of &nbsp;FPGA and V HDL to deploy multi sensing&nbsp; &nbsp;control &nbsp;&nbsp;system&nbsp; &nbsp;efficiently &nbsp;improves&nbsp; &nbsp;its &nbsp;reliability, flexibility, and &nbsp;real &nbsp;time &nbsp;data &nbsp;processing. &nbsp;Finally, &nbsp;it &nbsp;can &nbsp;be concluded &nbsp;that the proposed multisensing control system can be effectively implemented in so many application areas including building security, home automation, robot activities, airports and industry control systems