REVISING THE THEORY OF SOCIALLY INCLUSIVE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING SOCIAL IMPACT CONSIDERATIONS IN DISTRIBUTED ASSISTIVE SYSTEMS FOR THE LEARNING DISABLED

the relationship between humans and advanced technology can be viewed as a network of interests of technical and non-technical agents. Drawing upon instrumental realist approaches as set out in agent network theory the paper describes a project currently underway in Ireland and Bulgaria which delivers comprehensive, assistive systems for people with learning disabilities. These systems address many of the difficulties associated with current assistive technology (AT) programmes, problems typically associated with the narrow focus of AT upon technology solutions. Whilst limited, it delivers a sound ethical basis for technology-centred programmes, and new trajectories for engineering research

Investigation of mechanical properties and coefficients of sound insulation of innovative silicone composite material

A new non-combustible, non-flammable, waterproof, long-lasting, heat-insulating composite material was made of glass foam granules (derived from glass waste) and a hydraulic inorganic binder in the form of a white Portland cement solution (CEM I 52.5 N), zeolite, airborne agent and water. The resulting composite is resistant to climatic temperature fluctuations, characterized by a coefficient of thermal conductivity of λ = 0.047 W/mK and is potentially applicable for the production of sound and heat insulating panels for non-bearing partition walls and external insulation of buildings. The technology for obtaining the product is in line with the current tendencies for the development of ecological productions through the utilization of waste materials and provides the opportunity to produce various standard monolith products suitable for direct use or further processing. Experimental studies of the acoustic and mechanical performance of standard experimental samples made from the developed composite material were carried out. The average sound insulation value is 30 dB. An average tensile strength of 0.036 MPa and an average compressive strength of 0.55 MPa were found

Nuclear structure studies in mirror nuclei

The nuclear structure of the A=31 and A=47 mirror couples produced by two fusion evaporation reactions has been elaborated, utilizing the Doppler-shift attenuation method. Excited states in 31P and 31S were populated using the 1p and 1n exit channels, respectively, of the reaction 20Ne + 12C, while in 47Cr and 47V couple excited states were populated based on 28Si + 28Si reaction, as products of 2an and 2ap exit channels. The A=31 mirror couple was studied utilizing Piave-Alpi accelerator of the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro with GASP multidetector array and for A=47 one - with the EUROBALL array using XTU Tandem also in Legnaro. In both cases the lifetime measurements in mirror couples at the same experiment open possibilities for investigations of isospin symmetry. Determined B(E1) strengths in the mirror nuclei 31P and 31S allow to extract the isoscalar component, which can reach up to 24% of the isovector one. The B(E1) values can be modeled by the Equation of motion method. In the case of A=47 mirror couple, the quadrupole moments can be described by shell-model calculations

Unveiling the potentialities of activated carbon in recovering palladium from model leaching solutions

The production of secondary precious and rare-earth metals is a key topic for sustainable development, due,to the increasing demand and the lowering of natural resources. Palladium is one of the most largely used noble metals, and there is an increasing interest toward its recovery from waste materials. Processes for secondary palladium production often include refinery processes in which the metal must be recovered from an acid leachate. Adsorption and ion-exchange are among the most reliable refinery methods. In the past years, several interesting studies deeply investigated the palladium capture capacity of ionic exchangers or functionalized biomasses. Thanks, to its mechanical properties, market size, industrial experience in process design and relatively low cost, the simple, non-impregnated, activated carbon may occupy a niche market in the production of secondary palladium. This paper reports experimental evidences on the capture of palladium over two commercial activated carbons, one derived from bituminous coal and one from coconut shell. Model solutions of palladium in both HNO3 and HCl were adopted and pH, temperature and salinity (in NaNO3 and NaCl) were varied. The experiments revealed that palladium adsorption in HC1 is about ten times higher than in HNO3. Moreover, palladium adsorption was almost insensitive to pH and salinity variation, while it reduced with temperature. A comparison with the pertinent literature was based on the values of the adsorption capacity in two reference liquid concentration, one referred to a high leachate concentration, 15 mg L-1, and one referred to a tentative final concentration of 1 mg L-1 .The adsorption capacities of the activated carbons in the two cases were higher than 60% and 76% of the compared materials. The experimental results suggest that palladium capture took place over the protonated basal plane of the carbon thanks to a network of adsorption and redox reactions, which led to the formation of elemental palladium over the carbon surface. Besides, palladium micro-precipitation also took place at pH between 3 and 4.5, further increasing the overall uptake capacity on the sorbent. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved