Evaluation of a Proposed Dust Ventilation/Collection System in an Underground Mine Crushing Plant

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling of a dust collection system in an underground mine crushing plant was carried out. Dust was collected/absorbed through the holes along the top edge of Run of Mine (ROM) bin. The dust collection performance of the system is summarised. The detail results are presented in the form of velocity vectors and dust concentration iso-surface contours. Time dependent dust concentration isosurfaces are also presented. Dust was found to be well contained within the crusher bin and stands out as a viable option. However, the velocity magnitudes were found to be very high in and around the whole exits, which has the potential to lead to undesirable pressure drop and generation of noise

Country-of-origin effects on consumer cognitive structures and preference for foreign brands among elites

Purpose Despite the plethora of research into country-of-origin (COO) effects, research that investigates the cognitive structures behind elite consumers' preferences for foreign brands remains limited. Hence, this study aims to investigate the cognitive structures behind foreign brand preference among professional elites in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach Using the means-end chain (MEC) theory as the theoretical lens and building on the findings of 30 laddering interviews (semi-structured), a survey was conducted among 311 professional elites to uncover the key elements of the cognitive structures behind foreign brand preference. Findings The findings revealed that the cognitive structures behind foreign brand preference are influenced by a bundle of brand attributes, brand consequences and personal values of elites', which significantly influence their attitudes towards foreign brands. Multi-group analysis further revealed that the relationship between brand attributes and attitudes significantly differs across Chinese and US COOs where the path coefficient is stronger for elites' preference for Chinese brands. Originality/value This study is the first of its kind to explore the COO effects on consumer cognitive structures. The findings contribute to MEC theory and shed light on the understanding towards elites' preference for foreign brands

Exploring Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Documentation of the Untold Stories of Mak Yong Performing Art: A conceptual framework

UNESCO has recognized Mak Yong’s Theatre as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity since September 2005. Currently, there is a lack of existing collection on ICH in Malaysia, especially of the performing art heritage at the national information agencies. There is a significant need to urgently safeguarding this ancient theatre to keep them alive. The objectives of this research are to explore the undocumented stories of Mak Yong performing art theatre in Malaysia and to develop a new technique of information packaging in documenting the untold stories of the Mak Yong theatre

The key roles of salicylic acid and sulfur in plant salinity stress tolerance

The salinization of agriculture soils over the globe has become one of the most devastating stresses and is significantly limiting cultivated land area, and crop productivity and quality. It is very imperative to explore both salinity tolerance in plants and insights into approaches (and underlying mechanisms) for effectively controlling salinity impacts. To this end, the role of phytohormone salicylic acid (SA) and plant nutrient sulfur (S) in promoting salinity tolerance has been researched in isolated studies, and SA–S interaction results have been little discussed. Given this, taking into account recent literature on SA, S and soil salinity, this paper aimed to (i) overview of the major impacts of soil salinity on plant health; (ii) highlight the significance of SA and S in improving plant salinity tolerance; (iii) discuss the role and underlying mechanism of SA, S and their interaction in the modulation of plant growth and development under salinity stress; and also to (iv) appraise the discussed literature and enlighten the major prospects

TRA-953: AUTOMATION IN DRIVING FOR ENHANCING RESILIENCY IN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

The ability of the transportation system to continue to serve traffic under disruptive conditions is a resilience characteristic of infrastructure and traffic management. In the context of this research, resilience is defined as the ability to resist the loss of traffic-serving capability by using traffic (including geometric) and control system design advances (i.e. the inherent resilience) and by activating capacity-enhancing measures (i.e. the dynamic resilience). Vulnerabilities in road traffic networks cause the loss of capability to serve demand overloads. On the other hand, intelligent technology and associated methodology can potentially prevent or reduce this loss of capability. An outstanding research question is the role of automation in driving for enhancing the resilience of urban road traffic network. This paper reports research in-progress on improving resilience of adaptive capacity in traffic networks with intelligent systems and advanced methods. An introduction is provided to vulnerabilities in traffic network, and available information is used as empirical evidence of vulnerabilities. Inherent and dynamic resilience measures of the traffic system are defined at the scales of corridors and networks that can potentially overcome vulnerabilities. Features of autonomous driving are presented as resilience-enhancing measures. Finally, conclusions are presented on the potential of automation in driving to enhance the resilience of urban traffic network so that it can withstand high predictive imbalances of demand vs. capacity as well as stochastic traffic overloads and recover functionality at a tolerable level of performance within an acceptable time period

TRA-952: ENHANCING RESILIENCE OF TRAFFIC NETWORKS WITH CONNECTED VEHICLES

Improving resilience of transportation infrastructure is a multifaceted subject. One of these addresses the traffic serving capability of the transportation system. As the profession progresses in finding ways to improve infrastructure resilience in physical terms, an associated thought process is underway to enhance the adaptive capacity in traffic networks with intelligent systems and advanced related methods in order to cope with shocks in the traffic environment caused by nature-induced or other events. This paper reports research in-progress on measures for enhancing the resilience of road traffic networks with applications of connected vehicles. The need for resilient road traffic networks is defined in order to reduce the risk of severe loss of capability to serve demand. Resilience is the ability to resist the loss of traffic-serving capability by using traffic (geometric) and control system design advances (i.e. the inherent resilience) and by dynamically activating capacity-enhancing measures (i.e. the dynamic resilience). There is a need to go beyond the adaptive traffic control of intersections by enhancing inherent plus dynamic resilience of the traffic system at a broader spatial scale of a corridor or a wide-area road network. Connected vehicle technology and associated methods that yield resiliency measures (i.e. adaptive capacity attributes) are described. Ideas are advanced on how to apply these resiliency measures in practice in order to address efficiency and other issues in urban transportation. Finally, concluding remarks are presented on the technical feasibility of implementing the research ideas presented in this paper

Determination of pyridoxine (vitamin B-6) in pharmaceuticals and urine samples using unmodified boron-doped diamond electrode

Pyridoxine (vitamin B-6, VB6) was detected in pharmaceutical preparation and human urine samples by employing differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at unmodified boron doped electrode. In Britton-Robinson buffer solution (BRBS) at pH 6, VB6 provides well defined oxidation peak at around +1.05 V vs. Ag/AgCl (3 M KCl). The influence of most of the interferents present in real samples, supporting electrolyte and DPV parameters was investigated. A VB6 sensor with and linear range from 7 to 47 and a detection limit of 3.76 was obtain after optimization. Repeatability of the proposed procedure calculated after 7 measurements of 9 and 30 mu M of VB6 was 3.6 and 2.4%, respectively. Proposed methodology was successfully applied for the determination of VB6 in real samples, and from obtained results, it can be concluded that proposed analytical procedure can be an inexpensive alternative to the widely used separation methods. Prime Novelty statement: This work presents the quantification of vitamin B-6, using differential pulse voltammetry, with boron-doped diamond electrode. BDD electrode is, up to date, one of the best electrode materials, with extremely low background current and negligible passivation. The aim of this study was to develop method for vitamin B-6 determination in various matrices, as can be seen from the results, the obtained procedure shows good recovery values in tested samples and could be a satisfactory replacement to the separation methods and modified electrodes. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This is peer-reviewed version of the following article: Kuzmanović, D.; Khan, M.; Mehmeti, E.; Nazir, R.; Amaizah, N. R. R.; Stanković, D. Determination of Pyridoxine (Vitamin B-6) in Pharmaceuticals and Urine Samples Using Unmodified Boron-Doped Diamond Electrode. Diamond and Related Materials 2016, 64, 184–189. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diamond.2016.02.018

Ethnoveterinary Study of Medicinal Plants in a Tribal Society of Sulaiman Range

The aims of the present study were (i) to document ethnoveterinary plants and their formulation techniques in an unexplored region of Pakistan and (ii) to select candidate medicinal plants with high consensus factor and fidelity value for further in vitro investigation. A total of 60 informants were interviewed using semistructured questionnaire. A total of 41 plants belonging to 30 families were used to treat livestock ailments in study area. Mostly leaves (47%) were used in recipes formulation mostly in the form of decoction. Gastrointestinal infections were found more common and majority of the plants were used against cow (31) and buffaloes (24) ailments. Recovery time of majority of the recipes was three to four days. Informant consensus factor (Fic) results have shown a high degree of consensus for gastrointestinal, respiratory, and reproductive (0.95 each) ailments. Fidelity level (FL) results showed that Asparagus gracilis ranked first with FL value 93% followed by Rumex hastatus ranked second (91%) and Tinospora cordifolia ranked third (90%). Aged farmers and nomads had more traditional knowledge as compared to younger ones. Plants with high Fic and FL values could be further investigated in vitro for the search of some novel bioactive compounds and young generation should be educated regarding ethnoveterinary practices

Enhancing the Properties of Marl Soils for Effective Construction in Saudi Arabian Region

Marl, containing primarily carbonate (CaCO3) and clays of different percentages with occasional traces of organic matter, silt or sand is usually used as bases and sub-bases for roads and highways. Marl is usually used as sub-grade layers or as a backfill in base and sub-base layers for roads and highways. This type of soil has poor strength and high water sensitivity; a drastic loss of bearing capacity may occur upon immersion.Due to its poor strength and high water sensitivity, appropriate treatment from engineering perspective is necessary before such soils are recommended for use in any construction project. Critical analysis of different stabilization techniques employed in Saudi Arabia for last 30 years has been carried to find the best technique. Mechanical and chemical treatments were found to be more economical than Drainage, dewatering and other techniques. It has been noticed that no study was done in stabilization of Marl Soil using Geo-synthetics technique Hence, it can be an alternate way for future research to improve marl.Marl, containing primarily carbonate (CaCO3) and clays of different percentages with occasional traces of organic matter, silt or sand is usually used as bases and sub-bases for roads and highways. Marl is usually used as sub-grade layers or as a backfill in base and sub-base layers for highway pavements. This type of soil has poor strength and high water sensitivity; a drastic loss of bearing capacity may occur upon immersion. Due to its poor strength and high water sensitivity, appropriate treatment from engineering perspective is necessary before such soils are recommended for use in any construction project effectively. Critical analysis of different stabilization techniques employed for enhancing the marl soil properties in Saudi Arabia for the last 30 years has been carried out to find the best engineering solution. Mechanical and chemical treatments were found to be more economical than drainage, dewatering and other techniques. It has been noticed that no study was done in stabilization of Marl Soil using Geo-synthetics technique Hence, it can be an alternate way for future research to improve marl

Ads in gaming apps:Experiential value of gamers

Purpose –  Even though there is a noticeable market value in the mobile gaming apps industry, there has been limited research examining experiential value of gamers with respect to in-game ads in gaming apps. This study fills the void in the literature by examining factors associated with “experiential value of gamers through ads in gaming apps” as well as investigating its antecedents (cognitive and affective involvement) and consequences (positive word of mouth and intention to continue playing the mobile game). Design/methodology/approach – A total of 600 valid responses from gamers was used to test the model fit, measurement and structural models, conditional probabilistic queries, and nonlinearity.  Findings –  This study found that experiential value of gamers through ads in gaming apps is a second-order factor of four constructs: escapism, enjoyment, social affiliation and entertainment. Most of the structural paths between cognitive/affective involvement and dimensions of experiential value are supported. Surprisingly, only social affiliation and entertainment values predict positive word of mouth and intention to continue playing the mobile game, in a nonlinear way.  Originality/value –  This study is the first to introduce “experiential value of gamers through ads in gaming apps”. The findings have important implications for companies to develop brand and communication strategies by leveraging specific advertisement formats and present their ads to the right audience in the right gaming apps and at the right time