The Effect of Repeated Recycling at Different Levels of Addition (Virgin and Recycled Fiber) on the Surface Characteristic of Paper Before and After Calendering

Extensive work has been done on the physical properties of paper with recycling, however not much has been researched on the surface properties of paper. This thesis was intended to give more information on this fairly untouched area. An extra dimension was added with the inclusion of virgin fibers. Two loops were designed, one using the conventional 100% recycled fibers and the other, with an addition of virgin pulp. 100% never dried kraft hardwood, refined at 300 CSF, was used. All handsheets were made on the Nobel and Wood handsheet-maker and repeated reslushing was performed on the British Disintegrator. No additives, fillers, or sizing agents were used at any point, thus, recycling was only subjected to: slushing, sheet making, wet-pressing and drying. Calendering was also performed. The principal effect of recycling was the loss of the fiber bonding ability, noticeably in the first recycle for opacity and porosity (100% recycle). The addition of virgin fibers was interestingly seen to improve the brightness with recycling. This phenomena (an increase in brightness with the addition of virgin fibers in comparison to the original brightness) has to be further investigated. Calendering with its compacting and polishing action, decreased the opacity and increased the smoothness. Roughness and gloss did not show a significant change with recycling but with calendering a more smoother and glossier sheet was obtained, as expected

Marketing Efficiency of Green Peas under Different Supply Chains in Punjab

During the year 2007-08, the area under green peas in Punjab was 18.45 thousand hectares with a production of 1.11 lakh tonnes. The total consumption at the farm level being just 2.54 per cent, the marketed surplus was 97.46 per cent. The maximum quantity of green peas was sold by the growers in the wholesale market (about 89%) and the rest was sold at the farm, in the village and in Apni Mandi. The marketing of green peas has been studied by three supply chains, viz. I: Producer → wholesaler (through commission agent) → retailer → consumer; II: Producer → retailer (through commission agent) → consumer; III: Producer → consumer. The net price received by the producer was 67 per cent, 69 per cent and 94 per cent in supply chains I, II and III respectively in the Hoshiarpur market in January, 2009. The producer’s share in supply chain III was the maximum because of direct sale by the producer to the consumer. The supply chain III has been found most efficient because its marketing efficiency was 14.83 as compared to 2.70 in supply chain II and 2.38 in supply chain I. The low marketing efficiency in supply chain I was on account of a higher number of market intermediaries in this chain. The functional analysis of the factors affecting the marketing efficiency has revealed that with one per cent increase in marketing margins and costs, the marketing efficiency declined by 0.45 per cent and 0.44 per cent, respectively. The modern market infrastructure may be built up with the public-private partnership to bring efficiency in the marketing of green peas.Marketing efficiency, Green peas, Supply chains, Punjab, Price spread, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q13, Q12,

Accounting for Impact of Environmental Degradation in Agriculture of Indian Punjab

Having witnessed a fast growth, the agriculture in Punjab has reached a plateau. To sustain even the existing level, the costs are increasing and natural resources are being depleted due to overuse. This study has examined the use of certain resources and its impact on the cost of production. The data have been collected from different primary and secondary sources. The fast increase in area under rice and wheat appears to be unsustainable due to the fast decline in water table. Therefore, the cost of pumping out water with electricity has been going up, shortage of electric power has resulted in increase in the number of electric and diesel tubewells, further escalating the cost of production. The replenishment of soil health due to depleting macro and micronutrients and increased pesticide-use have also been observed to increase the cost. Thus, the cost on account of these factors together has gone up by Rs 63/t in wheat and Rs 189/t in rice. The varietal diversity of wheat has decreased and that of rice crop has increased during the past two and a half decades. The policy measures to minimize excessive use of natural resources requires suitable input pricing, particularly for water resource, improving input-use efficiency and revamping market forces to encourage diversification of state agriculture from rice to alternative crops.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Should a clinical rotation in haematology be mandatory for undergraduate medical students?

Clinical rotations form the foundation of medical education. Medical students in the UK are offered conventional rotations such as cardiology, surgery and psychiatry as part of their curriculum, but a rotation of haematology is not currently compulsory. This article explores the benefits of a compulsory haematology rotation, and suggests recommendations for its implementation into UK medical school curricula

Chloride Permeability and Abrasion Resistance of Self-Compacting Concrete Incorporating Iron slag

The dumping of industrialized by-products is a primary burden because of ironclad environmental rules. Adoption of industrial by-products as an alternative fine aggregate in the concrete is the only quick fix. This study shows the exchange of iron slag with fine aggregate (sand) in self-compacting concrete (SCC).  Percentages of iron slag 0, 15, 30 and 45 were incorporated. Rice husk ash (15%) was used to prepare control mix in addition with cement. Experimental tests were conducted to check the fresh properties, strength and durability properties of SCC with iron slag. Tests were conducted for slump flow, V-funnel, U-box, L-box, compressive strength, rapid chloride permeability and abrasion resistance. The test finding (up to 90 days) of compressive strength and chloride ion permeability indicate that iron slag can be suitable used in making SCC. SCC mixes containing up to 45% iron slag gave lower permeability values than control SCC mix. The results of compressive strength of SCC are significantly better than control SCC.Keywords: Compressive strength, Chloride permeability, Abrasion, Iron Slag

Optimum Illuminant Determination Based on Reduced and Optimized Multispectral Spectroscopy to Enhance Vein Detection

Venepuncture as a mode of gaining intravenous access has been a prime practice in surgical procedures and other conventional drug administering into a patient. Biomedical engineering has stressed relatively high scale of importance in the spectroscopic analysis of vein imaging as a sparky approach to promote a non-invasive catheterization. However, medical personnel are challenged by the physiological circumstances of skin tone, presence of scars and irregularity of the epidermal topology, when performing subcutaneous vein localization, which led them to increase number of insertion attempts. Hence, this paper proposes an optimized solution to provide enhanced visual aids for personnel to achieve successful vein catheterization at first attempt

Development and storage stability of a dried tomato product produced by osmotic concentration and dehydration

An acceptable dried tomato product (18% moisture) was developed by osmotic concentration and dehydration. In the first experiment, ripe Roma tomatoes were prepared and processed In 0.6% acidified 40 or 50 ° Brlx sucrose solutions held at 30, 40 or 50°C for 2, 3 or 4 hr. Measurements Included moisture loss (ML), net weight loss (NWL) and solids weight gain (SWG), Hunter color (L and hue-angle), lycopene, pH, titratable acidity, soluble solids, water activity and sensory acceptability. The experimental variables affected the measurements variously. Osmotic concentration followed by dehydration produced an acceptable product with potential uses such as an Ingredient in bakery Items or as snacks. In a second experiment, storage stability of two selected treatments was determined with respect to moisture content, color stability, lycopene concentration, firmness, microbiological presence and sensory acceptability. Ripe Roma tomatoes were prepared and processed In 40 or 50 °Brlx, both at 40°C and 3 hr. Samples were packaged under air, partial vacuum or nitrogen gas flush and stored for up to 5 mo. The experimental variables and their Interactions affected the measurements variously, also. The process treatments produced two dried tomato products which were acceptable and shelf stable when stored for at least 5 mo

Exploring Data Driven Models of Transit Travel Time and Delay

Transit travel time and operating speed influence service attractiveness, operating cost, system efficiency and sustainability. The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) provides public transportation service in the tri-county Portland metropolitan area. TriMet was one of the first transit agencies to implement a Bus Dispatch System (BDS) as a part of its overall service control and management system. TriMet has had the foresight to fully archive the BDS automatic vehicle location and automatic passenger count data for all bus trips at the stop level since 1997. More recently, the BDS system was upgraded to provide stop-level data plus 5-second resolution bus positions between stops. Rather than relying on prediction tools to determine bus trajectories (including stops and delays) between stops, the higher resolution data presents actual bus positions along each trip. Bus travel speeds and intersection signal/queuing delays may be determined using this newer information. This thesis examines the potential applications of higher resolution transit operations data for a bus route in Portland, Oregon, TriMet Route 14. BDS and 5-second resolution data from all trips during the month of October 2014 are used to determine the impacts and evaluate candidate trip time models. Comparisons are drawn between models and some conclusions are drawn regarding the utility of the higher resolution transit data. In previous research inter-stop models were developed based on the use of average or maximum speed between stops. We know that this does not represent realistic conditions of stopping at a signal/crosswalk or traffic congestion along the link. A new inter-stop trip time model is developed using the 5-second resolution data to determine the number of signals encountered by the bus along the route. The variability in inter-stop time is likely due to the effect of the delay superimposed by signals encountered. This newly developed model resulted in statistically significant results. This type of information is important to transit agencies looking to improve bus running times and reliability. These results, the benefits of archiving higher resolution data to understand bus movement between stops, and future research opportunities are also discussed