Decarbonizing the Aligarh Muslim University Campus: An Experiential Analysis of Initiatives, their Impact and Lessons Learned

The climate crisis is the biggest existential threat to humanity in present times. Realizing this the United Nations have taken several important measures to address this challenge and prevent the rise in temperature of the earth. Increased concentration of carbon Dioxide in the environment is the major contributor to the global warming. Energy produced through the fossil fuels is a great factor behind this increase in CO2. The use of energy sources which do not produce CO2 are to be adopted and promoted aggressively.Universities have to play a crucial role in achieving this shared goal of humanity of saving the environment. The universities have to adopt sustainable development plans in their campuses, implement green energy sources and promote a culture of energy efficiency and conservation. In addition, the universities have to address the research questions in this area and train the manpower also. The Aligarh Muslim University, a leading university of India has been contributing towards these goals. This paper describes the initiatives of the university in adopting green sources of energy, energy efficiency and conservation. The future plans based on the experiential learning are also explained. Keyword: Green Energy, Energy Efficiency, Solar Energy, Energy Conservation, AM

Modelling of Thermal Resistance and Some Other Comfort Parameters of Socks in Wet State

Lidská noha může v horkém prostředí za hodinu vytvořit 30 gramů, někdy dokonce až 50 gramů potu. Průměrná produkce potu při intenzivním cvičení v chladu činí kolem 10 g/h na nohu. Intenzita pocení může dosáhnout až 30 g /h na nohu při velmi vysokých úrovní cvičení, zatímco během běžných pracovních aktivit bude produkce potu ležet mezi 3-6 g/h [3][4]. Tepelný odpor vlhkých textilií se podstatně snižuje díky mnohokrát vyšší tepelné vodivosti absorbované vody ve srovnání s tepelnou vodivostí vzduchu. Zachování vysokého tepelného odporu ponožek je důležité pro osoby pracující ve vlhkých podmínkách, aby byli chráněni před zákopy a problémy s podchlazením. Predikce tepelného odporu je také velmi důležitá při vývoj různých ochranných a sportovních textilií.Ke zkoumání vlivu obsahu vlhkosti ponožkových textilií na jejich tepelný odpor byl v této práci sestaven matematický (algebraický) model a vypočtené výsledky byly v dobré shodě s výsledky experimentálními. Výsledky ukazují, že zvyšující se obsah vlhkosti ve studovaných textiliích vedl k podstatnému snížení jejich tepelného odporu. Ve zmíněném matematickém modelu, ale při proměřování tepelného modelu vzorků byly nově respektovány (realizovány) konkrétní podmínky užívaní ponožek v praxi, tj. kromě vlivu vlhkosti bylo pří výpočtech i měření simulováno prodloužení ponožek při jejich nošení. Obecně, jakékoli úrovně absorbovaná v textiliích významně ovlivňuje všechny parametry jejich termo-fyziologického komfortu. Proto byly hladké ponožkové úplety s různým složením vláken navlhčeny na maximální úroveň a postupně vysoušeny na požadovaný obsah vlhkosti. Takto připravené vzorky ponožek byly poté proměřovány přístrojem Alambeta (pro zjištění jejich tepelného odporu a tepelné jímavosti), dále byl použit i přístroj Permetest typu Skin model (pro stanovení relativní propustnosti vzorků pro vodní páru) a na zahraničním pracovišti byl k relativně novým měřením použit Horizontální deskovým analyzátorem tření (pro zjištění součinitele tření ponožkových textilií ve vlhkém stavu). Kromě toho byly tepelné odpory nezavlhčených vzorků ponožek pro možnost porovnání výsledků měřeny i na jiných tzv. Skin modelech s různou geometrií. Jedním z nich byl tepelný model lidské nohy. Výsledky z tohoto modelu velmi dobře korelují s výsledky získaných pomocí malého Skin modelu Permetest. Pro predikci tepelného odporu vlhké textilie byly původním způsobem modifikovány tři různé již existující matematické modely pro suché textilie. Tyto modely sestavené pro predikci tepelného odporu ponožkových textilií jsou nově založeny na kombinovaném účinku skutečného koeficientu objemového zaplnění a tepelné vodivosti tzv. vlhkého vlákenného polymeru namísto polymeru suchého. Hodnoty objemové porozity textilií, nezbytné ke konstrukci uvedených tepelných modelů, byly zjištěny semi-empirickým postupem a také pomocí tzv. mikro-tomografie. Výsledky obou postupů způsobů jsou pro všechny ponožkové textilie na 95% úrovni spolehlivosti prakticky shodné. Algebraické modely, sestavené na základě výše uvedených postupů a modifikací umožňují stanovení a predikci tepelných odporů všech zkoumaných ponožkových textilií při relativně rozsáhlém stupni zavlhčení s významně vysokým součinitelem korelace. Vedle tepelných odporů, byl v této práci také poprvé experimentálné studován vliv vlhkosti na tepelnou jímavost ponožkových textilií. Tento parametr roste se zvyšováním obsahu vlhkosti v materiálech, v našem případě plošných textiliích a postupně může charakterizovat suchý, teplý chladný a mokrý tepelně - kontaktní vjem. Výsledky této studie ukazují, že hodnoty tepelné jímavosti zkoumaných nezavlhčených suchých tkanin se pohybují od 80 do 180 [Ws1/2m-2K-1]. Ve vlhké textilií je vzduch o nízké tepelné vodivosti částečně nahrazen vodou o cca 25 x vyšší tepelné vodivosti a vysoké tepelné kapacitě, takže výsledná tepelná vodivost vlhké textilie podstatně vzroste.A human foot may exhibit a sweat rate of about 30g and in some cases even up to 50g per hour in a hot environment [1][2]. The average sweat rate reaches around 10g/h per foot during heavy exercise in a cold environment. This sweat rate may reach to 30g/h per foot during very high levels of exercise. During common occupational exposures, the sweat rates are expected to lie between 3-6g/h [3][4]. The thermal resistance of wet fabrics gets substantially reduced due to the considerably higher thermal conductivity of the absorbed water as compared to that of air. Keeping high thermal resistance or their socks is important for people working under wet conditions to be protected from trench foot and hypothermia like issues. Thermal resistance prediction is also very important for product development of different textiles.In the study, an algebraic model and its experimental verification were executed to investigate the effect of moisture content on the thermal resistance of sock fabrics and the results were mutually in good agreement. The results show that increasing moisture content in the studied sock fabrics caused a significant reduction in their thermal resistance. Along with the model and its experimental verification, a novel method to measure thermal resistance and comfort properties of various knitted socks samples under real conditions of their use (it means under extension and in wet state) was proposed. Generally, any level of moisture largely influences all thermophysiological properties of textile fabrics. Therefore, plain knitted socks with different fibre composition were wetted to a saturated level, and then stepwise their moisture content was reduced. When achieving the required moisture content, the socks samples characteristics were determined by the Alambeta testing instrument (as regards thermal resistance and thermal absorptivity), and by the Permetest tester (as for relative water vapor permeability) and by the Horizontal Plate Friction Analyzer (to get the coefficient of friction in the wet state). Moreover, various skin models were also utilized to get thermal resistance values of dry samples for the comparison. One of these thermal models was a special thermal model of the human foot. The experimental results from this model well correlated with the results from the Permetest skin model. Three different existing mathematical models for the thermal resistance of dry fabrics were modified for predicting thermal resistance of knits used in socks under wet conditions. Volume porosity values of the studied fabrics, used in these thermal models, were determined both by means of semi-empirical approach and by a micro-tomography procedure. The results from both ways are in very good agreement for all the socks at a 95% confidence level. In the above-mentioned models, the prediction of thermal resistance presents newly a combined effect of the real filling coefficient and thermal conductivity of the so-called wet polymers instead of dry polymers. With these modifications, the used models predicted the thermal resistance at different moisture levels with a significantly high coefficient of correlation. Along with thermal resistance, the thermal absorptivity of the sock fabrics in a wet state (this time experimentally only) was first time investigated in the Thesis. This parameter increases with the increasing moisture content of materials, this time of textile fabrics. It characterises thermal contact feeling from dry to cool, cold, and wet feelings of any objects. The results of this study show that thermal absorptivity values of the studied dry fabrics range from 80 to 180 [Ws1/2m-2K-1]. As thermal conductivity and capacity of water are much higher than that of fibres and air entrapped in the textile structure is partly replaced by water and thermal absorptivity of wetted fabrics increases

Neurofibromatosis type 1: a rare cause of parotid swelling in a child

Von Recklinghausen disease, also known as neurofibromatosis type 1, is an autosomal dominant disorder that presents as neurocutaneous syndrome. These patients have increased chances of developing other tumors such as plexiform neurofibromas. Plexiform neurofibromas are a proliferation of Schwann cells in the nerve sheath. Affliction of the parotid gland in a young child is a rare presentation of these tumors. We present the management of one such case.Keywords: neurofibromatosis type 1, parotid swelling, plexiform neurofibrom

Myths and fallacies about epilepsy among residents of a Karachi slum area

Misconceptions about epilepsy may explain the considerable stigma accompanying it. We aimed to identify such fallacies through questionnaire-based interviews of 487 adult residents of a slum area in Karachi, Pakistan. Of those interviewed, 25% believed that epilepsy was caused by evil spirits, black magic and envy by others those without a school education were more likely to hold these views (P \u3c 0.05). Perceived complications included impotence and cancer. Shoe-sniffing was considered a treatment modality by 13%. It appears that misconceptions abound regarding epilepsy\u27s causes, complications and methods of treatment. However, those who had received a school education were less likely to link epilepsy with supernatural phenomena

In vitro CALLOGENESIS OF MEDICINALLY IMPORTANT AYURVEDIC HERB Enicostema littorale BLUME

Purpose: The practice of in vitro culturing of medicinally important plants has gained much attention in enhancing the secondary metabolite production. In this perspective, the current study was carried out to promote a rapid and standard method for in vitro callogenesis of Enicostema littorale Blume using different explants. Research Methods: In vitro callogenesis of Enicostema littorale was done on Murashige and Skoog’s media. Explants were cautiously sterilised and later put on MS medium added with variable combinations and combinations of growth regulators and were maintained in culture room at temperature of 25 ± 2ºC with photoperiods of 16 h. The cultures were observed at regular intervals for callus initiation and results were recorded regularly. Findings: Maximum callus was yielded from nodal explants when Murashige and Skoog medium was added with various growth promoters (6-Benzylaminopurine and Kinetin -3.0 and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid -1.5 mg each followed by Kinetin-2.0 and Naphthyl Acetic Acid -0.5 mg) per liter amount of media. Similarly, it was also revealed from the present investigation that leaf explants proved better for callogenesis on MS media added with 6-Benzylaminopurine-3.0 and Naphthyl Acetic Acid -1.0 mg/l followed by Kinetin-1.5 and NAA-0.5 mg/l. However, shoot tip explants weakly responded for callogenic induction during the present study. The present study while using combinations of growth regulators at different concentrations and combinations, all the selected explants responded distinctly. Value: The developed tissue culture protocol can be proved as rapid and reliable method for enhancing and extracting the secondary metabolite production, and as a landmark to meet the industrial need in the near future

Synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of three new Schiff bases derived from amino acids and their Ag(I) complexes

ABSTRACT. Three Schiff base ligands which were derived from glycine, asparagine and alanine L1, L2 and L3 were designed and used to synthesized their Ag(I) complexes. 1H NMR, FT-IR, UV-Visible and conductance techniques were used to characterize the ligands and their metal complexes. The synthesized compounds showed antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Schiff bases and their Ag(I) complexes were screened for antimicrobial activity, in vitro antibacterial activity against three gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella typhi with two gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis by micro plate almar blue assay (MABA), antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Candida glabrata by agar tube dilution protocol. In vitro anti-inflammatory activity was performed by heat induce denaturation method and in vivo anti-inflammatory activity was performed by induced paw edema method. Cytotoxicity of the synthesized compounds was recorded against cyclohexamide by MTT assay. Ag(I) metal complexes showed more significant biological activities as compared to ligands.                 KEY WORDS: Schiff bases, Metal complexes, Cytotoxicity, Antifungal, Antibacterial, Anti-inflammatory Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2022, 36(1), 45-56.                                                                    DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v36i1.5                                                       &nbsp

Integration of Data Driven Technologies in Smart Grids for Resilient and Sustainable Smart Cities: A Comprehensive Review

A modern-day society demands resilient, reliable, and smart urban infrastructure for effective and in telligent operations and deployment. However, unexpected, high-impact, and low-probability events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, and hurricanes make the design of such robust infrastructure more complex. As a result of such events, a power system infrastructure can be severely affected, leading to unprecedented events, such as blackouts. Nevertheless, the integration of smart grids into the existing framework of smart cities adds to their resilience. Therefore, designing a resilient and reliable power system network is an inevitable requirement of modern smart city infras tructure. With the deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities infrastructures have taken a transformational turn towards introducing technologies that do not only provide ease and comfort to the citizens but are also feasible in terms of sustainability and dependability. This paper presents a holistic view of a resilient and sustainable smart city architecture that utilizes IoT, big data analytics, unmanned aerial vehicles, and smart grids through intelligent integration of renew able energy resources. In addition, the impact of disasters on the power system infrastructure is investigated and different types of optimization techniques that can be used to sustain the power flow in the network during disturbances are compared and analyzed. Furthermore, a comparative review analysis of different data-driven machine learning techniques for sustainable smart cities is performed along with the discussion on open research issues and challenges

Effects of globalization, foreign direct investment and economic growth on renewable electricity consumption

Renewable energy has been seen as a viable solution to the problems of environmental degradation and the energy crisis. This study examines the long – and short–run linkages between economic globalization, foreign direct investment (FDI), economic growth, and renewable electricity consumption in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries. Therefore, this study uses the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique to measure the relationship between constructs based on data collected from 2000 to 2020. The overall results show the collaborative integration of Belt and Road (BRI) countries in terms of globalization, economic growth, and renewable electricity utilization. The results show that there is a long-term positive relationship between FDI and renewable electricity consumption, but a negative relationship in the short term. Furthermore, economic growth is positively correlated with renewable electricity consumption in the long run and negatively correlated in the short run. This study suggests that the governments of BRI countries should encourage globalization by improving technology and knowledge related to renewable electricity consumption in all areas.Huaping SUN was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China [21AZD067], and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72243005). Unai Fernandez-Gamiz was supported by the government of the Basque Country [ELKARTEK21/10 KK-2021/00014 & ELKARTEK22/85 KK-2022/00043]

A Potential Approach to Enhance the Seebeck Coefficient of UHMWPE by Using the Graphene Oxide

Thermoelectric materials have been a competent source for the production of energy in the present decade. The most important and potential parameter required for the material to have better thermoelectric characteristics is the Seebeck coefficient. In this work, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites were prepared by mechanical mixing by containing 10000ppm, 50000ppm, 70000ppm, 100000ppm, 150000ppm, and 200000ppm loadings of graphene oxide. Due to the intrinsic insulating nature of UHMWPE, the value of Seebeck for pristine UHMWPE and its nanocomposites with 10000ppm & 50000ppm of GO concentration was too low to be detected. However, the Seebeck coefficient for composites with 70000ppm, 100000ppm, 150000ppm, and 200000ppm loadings of GO was found to be 180, 206, 230, and 235 µV/ K, respectively. These higher values of Seebeck coefficients were attributed to the superior thermal insulating nature of UHMWPE and the conductive network induced by the GO within the UHMWPE insulating matrix. Although, the values of the figure of merit and power factor were negligibly small due to the lower concentration of charge carriers in UHMWPE/ GO nanocomposites but still reported, results are extremely hopeful for considering the composite as the potential candidate for thermoelectric applications