A novel air backwashing method for reversing wetting in membrane distillation

This paper describes a new method to reverse wetting of the hydrophobic membrane in membrane distillation. Pressurized air is pushed through the wetted membrane from the distillate side, thus forcing out wetted feed water, instead of merely allowing it to evaporate. To test its effectiveness, the liquid entry pressure (LEP) of the membranes was tested before and after the pressurized-air process. The results reveal that the air backwashing method was very effective, restoring LEP to nearly 85% of the original value, without requiring the long delay times associated with dryout

Cellulose-based templating agents in the production of novel mesoporous geopolymer-based heterogeneous catalysts

Abstract. This thesis examines the novel approach of synthesizing mesoporous geopolymer by hard templating technique using cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as the templating agent. Geopolymers have the advantage of tailoring their porosity to form hierarchical porous structure which makes them a promising material in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. Hard templating technique is one of the options through which the porosity of the geopolymer can be tailored in more controllable manner compared to post-synthetic treatment approaches. Thus synthesizing geopolymer through hard templating technique using CNCs as template has the potential of producing mesoporous geopolymer with high surface area and high pore volume which was the prime objective of this thesis. Moreover, the synthesized geopolymer-CNC composites are also environmental friendly and cost-effective as the raw materials for geopolymers are obtained from naturally occurring materials and CNCs are obtained mainly from the trees and plants which also make them abundantly available. This study presents the synthesis and characteristics of the synthesized geopolymer- CNC composites and investigates the reasons for not having the desired surface area and pore volume in any of the samples. A number of trials were made in the whole work by modifying the chemical composition of geopolymer-CNC composites and also by modifying the synthesis procedure. In all the trials, the molar ratio for SiO₂/Al₂O₃ for normal geopolymer was ~3.5 and for the one synthesized with high silicon content was ~6.5. Different weight percentage of CNCs was added to geopolymer in different attempt of this work. Two forms of CNC were applied; one was aqueous suspension form used as received from the supplier and another was freeze dried form. CNC template was removed from the geopolymer by calcination in air. Ion-exchange of the calcined powder was performed to generate the acidic sites into the geopolymer framework. To induce secondary mesoporosity into geopolymer structure acid wash followed by ion-exchange was also performed in one of the trials. As the main goal of this work to synthesize mesoporous geopolymer with high surface area and pore volume, most of prepared samples underwent only N2 adsorption-desorption technique in most of the trials. Because of the low surface area and pore volume, only the samples prepared in the final attempt of this thesis underwent further analysis through XRD, FT-IR spectrometry, Raman spectrometry, TGA-MS, SEM, TEM alongside N₂ adsorption-desorption technique to investigate the reason for not getting the desired outcome. From the obtained results of different analysis, some promising results were found from the SEM micrographs of the geopolymer that was prepared with 10wt% aqueous suspension of CNCs and cured at 40° C overnight. Round shaped elements were found which were well dispersed on the geopolymer surface. These elements were assumed to be rod-shaped cellulose nanocrystals which were embedded in the geopolymer particles. The presence of these elements was found even in the samples that were thermally treated at 650° C for longer period of times. Assuming the obtained particles in geopolymer matrix are CNCs, some modifications can be made in the future endeavors which may include acid hydrolysis of the geopolymer-CNC composite to decompose cellulose nanocrystals or thermal decomposition at a different temperature with different heating rate. If decomposed successfully, the synthesized mesoporous geopolymer may contain promising potential to be used in various heterogeneous catalysis applications

EVALUASI DAN RE-FORMULASI STRATEGI BISNIS HOTEL XYZ

Hotel XYZ adalah hotel milik Badan Usaha Milik Negara Indonesia yang berkembang pasca gempa bumi tahun 2009 di Kota Padang. Untuk mencapai keunggulan bersaing bagi pelaku usaha jasa perhotelan sangat dipengaruhi oleh lingkungan internal dan eksternal. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengevaluasi strategi dan merekomendasikan strategi alternatif yang terbaik digunakan oleh Hotel XYZ sesuai dengan kondisi lingkungan perusahaan. Resources Based View (RBV) analysis and Valuable, Rare, Inmitable, Non-Substitutable (VRIN) analysis dilingkungan Internal Politic, Ekologic, Social, Technology, Enviroment and Law (PESTEL) analysis dilingkungan External. Teknik analisis data mengunakan tiga tahapan, Tahap input dengan RBV analysis & VRIN analysis mengunakan Internal Factor Evaluating (IFE) Matrix sedangkan PESTEL analysis dengan External Factor Evaluating (IFE) Matrix, kemudian pesaing dianalisis dengan Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM). Tahapan pencocokan mengunakan SWOT Matrix dan Internal External (IE) Matrix untuk mendapatkan beberapa strategi alternatif yang akhirnya pada diputuskan ditahap keputusan strategi yang tepat melalui Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM). Hasil penelitian ini merekomendasikan bahwa Hotel XYZ sebenarnya memilki kekuatan internal dan peluang eksternal yang besar dalam rangka mengembangkan usaha dan menghadapi tingkat persaingan dengan mengunakan Strategi Intensif Penentrasi Pasar lewat usaha pemasaran yang lebih luas dengan memiliki Online Travel Agent (OTA) dan pemasaran melalui Content Creative. Kata Kunci: Stategic Evaluating, RBV, VRIO, PESTEL, Matrik EFE, Matrik EFI, CPM, Matrik SWOT, Matrik IE, Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM)

Eco-entrepreneurship Study in Improving Competitive Human Resources: A Survey in Students in Jakarta, Semarang, and Malang

This research aims to examine the entrepreneurial behavior of students and to investigate whether the level of innovation moderates the relationship of environmental concern and entrepreneur behavior of students. The samples are the students from Jakarta, Semarang, and Malang totaling 742 data. The findings show that the level of entrepreneur behavior is still in low level. Students are also less concerned about environmental issues and have low level of innovation. The model could not find the moderation effect of level of innovation variables.     Keywords: entrepreneurship, eco-entrepreneurship, level of innovatio

An Implantable Device to Regulate Urination through Deep Brain Stimulation

Urinary Incontinence (UI) is a disease in which patients lose control of their bladder. It is particularly common in elderly women having a prevalence of as much as 30% to 50% [1]. Many of these patients are left without successful treatment. A recent study has shown a new option for treatment that consists of deep brain stimulation (DBS) at a site known as the periaqueductal gray (PAG) [2, 3]. To test the effectiveness of this treatment, chronic stimulation of the PAG should be used in animals to see if it can reliably prevent micturition in the long term. A device was created that incorporated a piezoresistive pressure sensor and two electrodes connected through an implantable circuit developed by other members of this lab. The pressure sensor was implanted in the bladder and the electrodes were implanted in the PAG. When the bladder pressure reached a level greater than XXmmHg, XXmA of current was sent between the electrodes. The threshold was set slightly lower than the actual voiding pressure to ensure effectiveness. Results showed that the circuit and pressure sensor used could accurately detect voiding in a rat’s bladder. There was a steady increase in the voltage output and a sharp spike followed by a quick decrease during voiding. This shows that an implantable chronic device to regulate micturition is very feasible as long as the electrodes are placed in the correct location. The next step is to insert electrodes, stimulate, and look for changes in the bladder pressure readings

Mutation of BRAF V600E in Iraqi Female Patients Diagnosed With Breast Cancer

هدفت هذه الدراسة الى التحري عن وجود طفرة BRAF V600E من عدمها في الاناث التي تم تشخيصهن بالاصابة بسرطان الثدي وفي اعمار مختلفة، حيث تم جمع عينات الدم والانسجة من 46 مريضة وباعمار(46± 3.54)، حيث تم تقسيمها اللى مجموعتين، المجموعة التي  تحت العلاج الكيمياوي وعددها 31 مصابة والمجموعة الاخرى بدون علاج كيمياوي وعددها 15 مصابة كما تم مقارنة النتائج مع مجموعة الاصحاء كمجموعة سيطرة وعددهم 23 شخصا وباعمار(47.93±3.05) سنة.تم اجراء  تفاعل البلمرة المتسلسل ( (PCR وباستخدام بوادئ تم تصميمها ضمن الدراسة الحالية على جميع العينات. اظهرت النتائج عدم وجود علاقة مابين الاصابة بسرطان الثدي وطفرة BRAF V600E في المرضى العراقين المشمولين بالدراسة الحالية.This study aimed to investigate the possible presence of BRAF V600E mutation in the Iraqi female patients who diagnosed with breast cancer in different ages, in which Blood and tissue samples were collected from 46 female patients with  age (46.73±3.54);Those were divided into two groups; who took chemotherapy (31 persons) as treated group and without chemotherapy as an untreated group (15 persons) and from (23) healthy person with age(47.93±3.05).  Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were done with newly designed primers. The results revealed no correlation between breast cancer occurrence and BRAF V600E mutation in the Iraqi patients enrolled  in the current study. &nbsp