Games for active ageing, wellbeing and quality of life: A pilot study

The goal of this study is to identify a set of psychosocial variables and design domains important for game designers to encourage active ageing, well-being and quality of life. Sixty adult learners at four universities of third age were randomly assigned to three groups: the experimental group (G1), who tested firstly a game-based learning platform (GBLP) and then a computer-assisted platform (CAP); the comparison group (G2), who tested firstly the CAP and then the GBLP and the control group (G3) that did not take part in the intervention. Participants were assessed on their health-related well-being and quality of life, using the SF36v2 and WHOQOL-BREF scales before and after each experiment. Findings suggest that there were differences between the group type and their perception on mental health (F(2,57) = 3.771, p =.029) and general health-related well-being (F(2,57) = 5.231, p =.008), in which the GBLP showed improvements relative to the CAP. The environment and mental health were some of the psychosocial domains that should be considered, whereas storytelling, context-aware challenges, game space, immediate feedback, role-playing and social engagement were relevant design domains for these games

Processing real-world waste plastics by pyrolysis-reforming for hydrogen and high-value carbon nanotubes

Producing both hydrogen and high-value carbon nanotubes (CNTs) derived from waste plastics is reported here using a pyrolysis-reforming technology comprising a two-stage reaction system, in the presence of steam and a Ni-Mn-Al catalyst. The waste plastics consisted of plastics from a motor oil container (MOC), commercial waste high density polyethylene (HDPE) and regranulated HDPE waste containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The results show that hydrogen can be produced from the pyrolysis-reforming process, but also carbon nanotubes are formed on the catalyst. However, the content of 0.3 wt.% polyvinyl chloride in the waste HDPE (HDPE/PVC) has been shown to poison the catalyst and significantly reduce the quantity and purity of CNTs. The presence of sulfur has shown less influence on the production of CNTs in terms of quantity and CNT morphologies. Around 94.4 mmol H g plastic was obtained for the pyrolysis-reforming of HDPE waste in the presence of the Ni-Mn-Al catalyst and steam at a reforming temperature of 800 C. The addition of steam in the process results in an increase of hydrogen production and reduction of carbon yield; in addition, the defects of CNTs, for example, edge dislocations were found to be increased with the introduction of steam (from Raman analysis)

Hydrogen and Carbon Nanotubes from Pyrolysis-Catalysis of Waste Plastics: A Review

More than 27 million tonnes of waste plastics are generated in Europe each year representing a considerable potential resource. There has been extensive research into the production of liquid fuels and aromatic chemicals from pyrolysis-catalysis of waste plastics. However, there is less work on the production of hydrogen from waste plastics via pyrolysis coupled with catalytic steam reforming. In this paper, the different reactor designs used for hydrogen production from waste plastics are considered and the influence of different catalysts and process parameters on the yield of hydrogen from different types of waste plastics are reviewed. Waste plastics have also been investigated as a source of hydrocarbons for the generation of carbon nanotubes via the chemical vapour deposition route. The influences on the yield and quality of carbon nanotubes derived from waste plastics are reviewed in relation to the reactor designs used for production, catalyst type used for carbon nanotube growth and the influence of operational parameters

Linear topological spaces

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