bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study on suitability of single and hybrid constructed wetland for treating sewage for a small community
Authors: Vanitha Sankararajan
Published: November 2020

In this study an attempt is made to study the comparison of effectiveness of single constructed wetland and hybrid constructed wetland for treating wastewater. Single constructed wetland is made with Phragmites Australis. The flow of water is vertical. Hybrid constructed wetland is made with vertical flow constructed wetland allied with water hyacinth based free floating wetland system. Primary treated sewage is allowed to the wetland. Water quality parameters namely Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS) are measured before and after treatment. Two case studies have been in this study. In first study the water is allowed for one day contact time in single constructed wetland. In second case study, the treated water from one wetland is immediately transferred to other wetland. It is evident that, a hybrid constructed wetland gives better result in removing BOD and COD in wastewater. It is observed that there is no significant difference is observed in removing TSS removal. The water is allowed to different type of plants may increase the removal efficiency. The maximum BOD removal is obtained for hybrid wetland is 86% at one day detention time. The COD removal is obtained at one day is 48%.
Experimental Investigation on the Treatability of Greywater using Cissus quadrangularis
Authors: Ramaswamy Geethamani , Raja Varshapriya , Shanmugam Visalini
Published: November 2020

The scarcity of finding clean water for drinking has been increased due to pollution, population, and many other criteria. Multiple philosophies exist about the use of reused water for drinking and domestic purposes despite the warning on health and safety issues associated with residual contamination. This study aims to investigate the changes in the chemical parameters of greywater treating it with naturally available material, to analyze its suitability for potable water. This experimental work was done by treating the greywater using chopped oven-dried Cissus quadrangularis, a natural creeper familiar for its medicinal properties. Greywater represents the water from sinks, automatic washers, showers, and also from other kitchen instruments. The chopped and oven-dried Cissus quadrangularis was mixed with greywater and made to contact with water for the various time duration of 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and 60 minutes. The change in physic-chemical characteristics of the greywater on the addition of Cissus quadrangularis was analyzed for different contact periods. Results indicated that Cissus quadrangularis was found to be more effective in treating greywater, more particularly acidic samples. Treated greywater can be used for domestic purposes except drinking and needs further treatment if preferred to be used for drinking.
Energy recovery efficiency of Low Cost Microbial Fuel Cell using Domestic Wastewater
Authors: Umasankar Vishnupavya , Mohan Danyaa Manjai V , kalaivanan Vishvapriya , Krishnakumar Deepika sree , Mangottiri Vasudevan , Ramaswamy Geethamani
Published: November 2020

Microbial fuel cell is one of the emerging technologies which utilize wastewater to generate electricity with the help of action of microorganisms. The real interest in microbial fuel cells has tremendously grown in recent years. It converts chemical reaction into electrical energy and helps in the recovery of energy from wastewater. The main objective of this study was to enhance the electricity production and simultaneously treat the wastewater. The lab scale model consists of double chamber microbial fuel cell, i.e., two separate chambers one with salt water and the other with wastewater representing anode and cathode, a salt bridge acting as proton exchange membrane; electrodes from batteries are used for this study. In this, the proton exchange and electron transfer occurs after the redox reaction. The microbes in the sludge or wastewater are responsible for the release of electrons. These electrons tend to move through the external circuit, producing electricity. For maintaining electrical neutrality salt bridge is used. The dual chamber microbial fuel cell used in this experiment produced an average voltage of 0.37mv for a wastewater volume of one liter. This set up is done on small scale, but with further and more detailed study it can be installed in industries that produce Microbial Waste water as a by-product to generate electricity and reuse the waste water for other processes after treatment.
Study Of The Effect Of Stimulative Properties Of Alloxan - Thiosemicarbazone Schiff’s Base Ligand Synthesised In An Eco Friendly Manner
Authors: Gopalakrishnan Padma Priya , Iyer Girija Chamarahalli Ramakrishna
Published: November 2020

Ligands are fascinating class of ions or molecule that binds to a central metal ion to form coordination compounds. Ligand ability to donate lone pair of electrons or capacity to act as “Lewis Bases” has created tremendous wave in pharmaceutical industry. Schiff’s bases are multifaceted class of compound formed by condensation of aldehyde or ketone with a primary amine under preliminary condition. The ligands are efficient enough to act as antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antifungal. Recent studies reveal their ability to exhibit antiproliferative, anticancer, anti oxidant properties is a signpost in drug chemistry. The present study focuses on the efficiency of environment friendly synthesized ligand Alloxan thiosemicarbazone which is screened for its antibacterial, antifungal, docking properties.
Need for paradigm shift in design philosophy for tasks involving water - energy nexus
Authors: Sivapragasam Chandrasekaran , Kowsiga Ayyathurai , Jeraldine Ganesan Lidwin Joan
Published: November 2020

Since both water and energy are highly vital and scarce resources, for the sustainability of any economic development plan (either at macro level or micro level), it is necessary to consider the interconnection between water and energy. Alternative strategies should be explored which considers this interconnection. This necessitates a paradigm shift in the design procedure/philosophy itself, the initiatives towards which are still in inception. This work proposes a typical design philosophy concerning water energy nexus and demonstrates its application at a university level scenario for augmentation of drinking water requirement. Three alternative strategies are considered for augmentation namely locating additional bore wells within the campus, reuse of treated sewage water for toilet flushing and utilizing wasted runoff from the upstream during rainy seasons. The alternatives are analysed to evaluate their merit in savings in energy utilization and water generation. The third alternative consisting of constructing a retention pond to collect the runoff water is found to be most viable which contributes most optimally towards savings in energy requirement as well as meeting the needs of water requirement. While reuse of treated wastewater contributes to 45000 l/day of water, it comes at the cost of 490 kWh/day. The construction of detention pond generates 200000 l/day of water during monsoon seasons which can used to meet water requirement as well as recharge of the groundwater. The energy requirement can be made almost nil by transporting the water under gravity flow.
Evolution of Strategic Planning for Water Sustainability in Coastal Cities of India –Contemporary Issues and Way Forward
Authors: Sivakkumar Shiva Nandhini , Mangottiri Vasudevan , Narayanan Natarajan , Saragur Suneeth Kumar
Published: November 2020

Fresh water availability along coastal India is a critical issue pertaining to and affected by population explosion, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. The coastal livelihood and infrastructure in India have subsequently grown post-independence without any substantial scientific planning for infrastructural developments such as public water distribution systems and wastewater drainage. Due to the predominant inconsistency in meeting the regular water consumption demands as against water availability, uncontrolled water distribution systems became critically responsible for harnessing our freshwater resources (surface water and groundwater). There is an ever-demanding need for strategic planning for Indian coastal cities with inclusive technological interventions to effectively utilise the available resources for achieving water sustainability. This paper reviews on the contemporary challenges and possible strategies for planning and implementing innovations in community water supply sector for coastal cities in India. Considering the pros and cons while strategic planning in the diverse geo-marine environment, we realise that ultimately the choice of water conservation mechanism must be unique for a given region, but consistent with the sustainable goals considering the overall well-being of the ultimate beneficiaries.
Characterization of Water Dynamics and Modelling of an Open Channel Irrigation System
Authors: Pallavan P Narendra Ilaya , Abhirame V S , Prabha V Suriya
Published: November 2020

Management of open channel canals is very essential to avoid overflows and overcome water demand. Automatic control of delivery canals has been gaining significance in recent years with the purpose of improving the efficiency of water management. This paper presents the development of single reach irrigation canal with the objective of controlling the water level. Upstream gate opening of an irrigation canal reach is operated based upon a constant-level reservoir height. The canal reach between two gates is divided into N nodes, and the finite-difference forms of the continuity and the momentum equations (saint venant equations) are written for each node. The Taylor series expansion is applied to linearize the equations around the equilibrium conditions. The state space model of the canal system is developed and the same will further be used to design an efficient controller for maintaining the level of water in the canal.
RF Controlled Solar Seed Sowing Machine
Authors: Devaraj Thenmozhi , Raja Sakthiya Ram Shankar , Janarthanan Madhumitha
Published: November 2020

Radio Frequency based solar controller is designed for seed sowing machine. Recently, farmers facing many economical issues, so they move in search of some other jobs. This reduces skilled labours in agriculture field. But agriculture is the back bone of our country, so we need to introduce some efficient methods to improve farming. In this Seed sowing machine, based on the instruction given the machine will operate in three modes like slow, medium and speed. Arduino is used to control the machine. Sowing, Spreading and Ploughing mechanisms can be done by using this machine. Using solar panels can improve the efficiency. The controller is designed to make the machine to drive in slant surface of 45 degree and also sense obstacles situated front and back of the machine. The distance between the two seeds will be adjusted using the motor in the machine. This type of machine will be more useful in agriculture field. Further improvements like watering based on the soil moisture will be made in future.
Using Fuzzy Based Multiple Criteria Decision Making for Selecting Private Firm for Waste Management PPP Contract Arrangement
Authors: Tiwari Ankit , Sharma Pritee
Published: November 2020

In Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM), intervention and participation of private sector is increasing day by day and various Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement is applied to enhance services across different parts of world. In Indian context new initiatives and policies like Swachh Bharat Mission(SBM), Smart City Mission (SCM) and Solid Waste Management(SWM) Rules, 2016 are launched recently to promote more integration of private actors in the MSWM system. Selecting a suitable private firm for PPP arrangement is crucial stage and needs careful assessment and feasibility study. The selection process is complex and decision making is often based on many conflicting attributes under uncertain environment. Therefore, selection of private firm for PPP contract arrangement is Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) problem. This paper with the aim of aid decision making presents a study of the selecting optimal company for the Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFOT) contract model of MSWM operations by using Fuzzy based TOPSIS (The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) Method. The numerical example for the MSWM planning problem of 4 selectable alternatives based on 10 evaluating criteria is also provided to illustrate the approach. The result revealed that approached used in the study can easily applied to any practical case of selection of private firm for PPP arrangement required for SWM services by the cities.
Machine Learning and Data Analytics for Environmental Science: A Review, Prospects and Challenges
Authors: Maganathan Tharsanee , Senthilkumar Soundariya , Balakrishnan Vishnupriya
Published: November 2020

Innovations in Machine Learning and Data Analytics can possibly affect numerous aspects of Environmental Science (ES). Data Analytics refers to a collection of data resources indicated in terms of variety, velocity, veracity and volume. Big data contributes to the ES arena in applications such as weather forecasting, energy sustainability and disaster management with the advent of techniques such as Remote Sensing, Information and Communication technologies. Though big data is used to accomplish data analysis and interpretation for ES, there are still requirements for efficient ways of data storage, processing and retrieval. Machine Learning and Deep Learning are the sub fields of artificial intelligence which deals with training the models to learn from data without being explicitly programmed. When Machine Learning and Deep Learning are combined together it is possible to unleash the supremacy of data analytics. These techniques show high prospective for process optimization, information-centric decision making and scientific discovery. Scientific developments like these will assist ES to make real time autonomous decisions by extracting useful insights from huge data. These advancements also aid in bridging the gap between the theoretical backgrounds on ES to practical implementation. The primary objective of this survey is to figure out the basic concepts of Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Data Analytics and find the state-of-the-art applications in ES, and observe the impending benefits of information-centric investigation on ES.
Weak sub-grade soil reinforced with Geogrid material - A Review
Authors: Kaur Manpreet , Aggarwal S K
Published: November 2020

Pavement design on weak subgrade soils is to a certain extent challengeable and challenging for transportation and geotechnical engineers. Weak soil is vastly compressible clayey soils so the life of the pavements is less and effect of the weakening of the paved or unpaved surface. The development of such soil are substitutes such as replacement and excavation of unsuitable soils, compaction, Mechanical and chemical stabilization, Pre-compression and reinforcement of soil, etc., are used typically at such locations. During the recent historical utilization of reinforcement of soil by various methods has been increased to progress the strength properties and bearing capacity of poor subgrades. Field signals indicate that geosynthetic reinforcements will expand pavement performance. From this, the employment of various geosynthetics to pavement surface is testified by several researchers. Geosynthetics has numerous applications such as separation, reinforcement, filtration, drainage, and containment, etc. This paper targets to study the conclusions from various studies on weak subgrade soils using reinforcement.
Analysis of Flexural Performance of Steel-timber Composite Cantilever Beam
Authors: Pan Futing , Wang Ying , Huang Chunxiao , Zhang Li
Published: November 2020

Steel-timber composite member is a new kind of structural member composed of steel plates and planks which are connected by bolts. The finite element analysis results on the flexural behavior of steel-timber composite centilever beam show that the stress of steel plate exceeds the yield strength before the bearing capacity of the composite beam is lost. Under the premise of ensuring the yield of the steel plate, the increase in the thickness of plank has little effect on the in-plane bending stiffness of composite beam, and the lateral bending stiffness of the composite beam is obviously improved which means the plank can effectively restrain the lateral buckling of the core steel plate. Based on the deflection analysis of composite beams, the deflection coefficient of steel-timber composite is derived.
Effect of Fractional Parameters on Plane Waves of Generalized Electromagneto–thermoelastic Diffusion in a Rotating Half-space
Authors: Sun Jianzhong , Wu Yaping
Published: November 2020

This paper studies the effect of score parameters on the dynamic response of a thermally conductive half-space at a constant angular velocity and with variable material properties. The problem is formulated in the context of fractional order generalized thermoelastic diffusion theory. The exact expressions for the dimensionless results are derived and graphed.
Testing the Micro Climate in Sports Shoes by a New Manikins Measurement System
Authors: Zhao Wei , Yuan Pengcheng , Kong Linghua
Published: November 2020

To measure the temperature and humidity of micro climate in the shoes is a necessary step to design and manufacture new kind of ones. The temperature and humidity in moving human foot are important factors of the shoes’ thermal-humidity comfort. A new moving manikins test system for measuring temperature and humidity in sports shoes is introduced. Experiments and calculated results by the traditional method and by the moving manikins method shows that the new moving manikins test system can measure the temperature and humidity of sports shoes correctly, repeatably and normatively.
Climate Change in Ganjiang River Basin and Its Impact on Runoff
Authors: Huang Yipeng , Liu Weilin , Wu Bin , Wan Yifan , Zhu Shengnan
Published: November 2020

Predicting the change of runoff in the future is significant to the management of regional water resources. In order to estimate future climate change of Ganjiang river basin and explore its impact on runoff, the changes of precipitation and temperature under the three representative concentration pathways (RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) were analyzed and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model was established to simulate the corresponding runoff in the Basin. The statistical relationship between the factors and the predictor in the Ganjiang river basin was built based on Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM). For three scenarios, the precipitation showed slight increase trends under RCP2.6 and RCP4.5, but a significant increase under RCP8.5; and generally decreased from July to October while increased from January to April. The temperature exhibited a rising trend under three scenarios, of which the rank was RCP8.5>RCP4.5>RCP2.6. The runoff had an increasing trend and the rank for the three scenarios was RCP8.5>RCP4.5>RCP2.6. Generally, runoff had a strong positive correlation with precipitation while a weak correlation with temperature. The flood risk in Ganjiang river may increase significantly in the future.
Design and Research on Full Bolt Connected Box Beam-Column Joints of Cantilever Short Beams with Attachments Connecting Plate
Authors: Wang Xiaobo , Yan Yajie
Published: November 2020

Aiming at the assembly connection of box beams and columns, this paper proposes a connection that can realize rapid on-site assembly. The joint is mainly composed of two parts, a box-shaped column welded with a short cantilever beam and structural reinforcement measures and a box-shaped beam attached with connecting plates. The connecting plates are used as accessories of the box beam and shipped with the box beam. When installing, the outer connecting plate is rotated by 180° to the designated position, the inner connecting plate is slid into the designated position, and then these members including the box beam and the short cantilever beam are connected by bolts. The joint is simple and easy to install. It can not only realize rapid assembly on site, but also transmit force directly and reliably. It is an excellent joint for assembled steel structure.
FEM Analysis of Hole-opened Metallic Plate Connections in Prefabricated Energy-dissipation Joint
Authors: Tuo Mingbei , Wang Di , Yan Guiyun , Xiao Xiaofei , Xu Liwei
Published: November 2020

The prefabricated structure is vigorously promoted due to its obvious superiorities of high-efficiency construction rate and environment-friendly construction scheme. However, this fast-growing new structural system is still facing the threat of earthquakes, especially its beam-to-column connecting joints which are the weaker link in the entire structural system all the time. This study investigates the failure behaviour of hole-opened metallic plate connections in prefabricated energy-dissipation joints and its finite element models were provided. Parametric study was performed to obtain the influence of metallic-plate size on the bearing capacity, deformation performance, and ductility. Based on the results of numerical simulation, the failure modes of specimens were focused on weakened sections. Moreover, proposed design sizes were given, comprising that the weakened length a/L of holes is from 0.25 to 0.55 and the weakened width b/B is from 0.3 to 0.5. The suggested value of width to thickness ratio is 0.2 and the value of the gap is within 0.5 to 2 mm.
Lightweight Design of Palletizing Manipulator Based on Structural Performance Influence Analysis
Authors: Hua Haiyan , Yan Xiaolei
Published: November 2020

In order to better coordinate the structural performance with lightweight goal, multi-stage lightweight strategy based on structural performance influence analysis is proposed. The framework of knowledge-guided lightweight design with multiple behavior routes was constructed firstly. Some behavior routes, such as initial structural design, lightweight optimization combined with structural performance influence analysis and knowledge-guided lightweight optimization, were designed in this section. Secondly, the decomposition of decision task and the multi-stage lightweight decision based on structural performance influence knowledge were discussed. Finally, the palletizing manipulator with parallelogram leveling mechanism was taken as an example to apply proposed strategy. Comparing with the initial optimization model in the first stage, the total weight of the components after multi-stage lightweight has been reduced by 23.37%, but the maximum stress of total manipulator only increased by 10.3Mpa, which shows the significant effect of lightweight.
Overall Equipment Efficiency Measurement System Based on Raspberry Pi
Authors: Rautio Timo , Järvenpää Antti
Published: November 2020

A complete system with the associated hardware, software and graphical user interface for Overall Equipment Efficiency measurement was developed in this work and then thoroughly tested on a factory environment for a period of over three years. The system was designed to be easily utilized on a typical production line, where the products can be identified with a simple sensor, which could also be deployed without interfering the line itself and the related electronics. This work shows that an extremely cost-effective solution based on popular Raspberry Pi architecture can be effectively utilized for all the required tasks needed for a functioning independent system. Data collection electronics with the related database for storing the data and a web server for the graphical user interface and reporting, were all integrated on a single enclosure. In addition, an analysis software was developed to get the benefit from the collected data, and the software was further developed along with the graphical user interface based on the feedback from the collaborating factory. During the test period, over three million products were correctly detected, and all the stoppages were recorded. The developed system revealed important bottle necks on the production line.
Positively Charged Gold Nanoparticle - Graphene Oxide Nanohybrid Modified Electrode for Electrochemical Detection of 5-hydroxytryptamine
Authors: Luo Suxing , Mou Qingsong , Luo Xiaoxue , Wu Yuanhui
Published: November 2020

In this study, positively charged gold nanoparticle - graphene oxide (AuNPs-GO) was synthesized and constructed a sensor for the detection of 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT). Various technologies were used to characterize the AuNPs-GO nanohybrid and the proposed sensor. The sensor showed a sufficient linear range from 0.5 to 60 μM 5-HT and the limit was 0.05 μM (S/N = 3). Furthermore, the sensor has been successfully utilized to determine 5-HT in real samples.
Study on Properties of Waterborne Polyurethane Acrylate Modified Epoxy Acrylate Resin
Authors: Liu Hongbo , Xue Xiaowu , Wei Jingjing , Xiao Wangdong , Bai Jing
Published: November 2020

Polyurethane acrylate modified epoxy acrylate resin with high solid content and great mechanical properties was synthesized by addition of polyethylene glycol in this work. The conversion process from liquid to solid was confirmed by comparing the FT-IR of oligomer and film. The disappearance of the carbon-carbon double bond absorption peaks at 1639 cm−1 and 819 cm−1 indicates that the oligomer is cured completely. In addition, the thermal analysis of the resin was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). According to the experimental data, it can be seen from that the resin started to decompose at 293.31 until it is almost completely decomposed at 481.73°C which indicated that the stability of the film was better and the decomposition temperature was higher. In addition: Compared with the thermosetting resin E51 and the modified resin, the glass transition temperature is reduced by about 31 °C, which solves the problem of brittleness and hardness.
Investigation of Explosion Simulation on Jet Forming of ZrCuNiAlAg Amorphous Alloy Liner with Eccentric Sub-hemisphere Structure
Authors: Cui Ping , Shi Dongmei , Xu Jingqing , Wang Deshi
Published: November 2020

Structure and material are the two key factors affecting the jet forming of the liner. To investigate the influence of new structure and new materials on the jet forming of the liner, a shaped charge model with eccentric sub-hemisphere structure based on ZrCuNiAlAg amorphous energetic alloy was proposed. The jet forming law of eccentric sub-hemispherical liner is studied by fixing other parameters and changing the structure parameters of liner in turn by means of AUTODYN numerical simulation software. The simulation results show that the eccentric sub-hemispherical liner of ZrCuNiAlAg amorphous alloy can form a shaped jet very well by using gathering energy effect. The speed of the shaped jet decreases gradually with time, and the shape of the jet changes from short and thick to long and thin. The curvature radius, eccentricity and wall thickness have a significant effect on the jet forming performance of ZrCuNiAlAg amorphous alloy. As the curvature radius or wall thickness increase, the tip velocity and the length diameter ratio (LDR) of the jet will decrease gradually, while with the increase of the eccentricity of the liner, the jet tip velocity and the LDR will increase gradually. The analysis of simulation data shows that the change of eccentricity has the greatest influence on the jet LDR. When the eccentricity increases from 25 mm to 39 mm, the jet LDR increases by 74% at 60μs. The wall thickness has the greatest influence on the tip velocity of the jet. When the wall thickness increases from 1.4 mm to 3.8 mm, the tip velocity of the jet at 60μs decreases by 29.77%. The results of this paper can be used for scientific reference in the structural design of this kind of liner.
Abnormal Magnetic Signals Characterization of Fatigue Crack Propagation Life
Authors: Shi Changliang , Zhang Xin , Lin Yimin , Guan Rutao , Yang Hongyan
Published: November 2020

In this research, the abnormal magnetic signals were detected in dynamic tension tests on the ferromagnetic material specimens, in order to study the characterization method of abnormal magnetic signals for the crack propagation life. It is indicated that fatigue crack length a is linear with the peak-peak value ΔHpa(y) of abnormal magnetic signals. The ΔHpa(y) of fatigue crack and the gradient of magnetic field intensity k increase with the increase of fatigue cycle number. Therefore, ΔHpa(y) and k are confirmed as the key parameters of characterizing crack propagation life. Then, a life prediction model of abnormal magnetic signals for the crack propagation life is founded based on the Paris equation. The maximum error between measured values and calculated values is less than 15%.
Fatigue Damage of Crystalline Solar Cell under Cyclic Loadings
Authors: Li Zhiqi
Published: November 2020

In application of building attached photovoltaic (PV) in China, the wind loads are the main mechanical loading for the modules of the PV system installed on the roofs of the bulidings. Due to the fluctuation of the wind load, the initial damages inside the cells will develop under this cyclic loading, as a result, the power loss of the solar cell can be observed due to the development of the fatigue damage. In this paper, the damage evolution equation for solar cell was derived based on the continuum damage mechanics, the fatigue damage evolution in the solar cell was simulated by FE and the results are in good agreement with that of experiment.
Application of Morgenstern-Price Method in Reversion Analysis of the Loess Strength Parameters
Authors: Lin Xiaoyan , Zhang Linfan , Yang Ze , Li Ping , Li Tonglu
Published: November 2020

It is difficult to obtain reliable shear strength parameters for the stability analysis and evaluation of high loess slopes. Hence, this paper determines 17 slopes with a height of 40-120 m based on the measured loess slopes in Jingbian-Ansai subregion of northern Shaanxi, China. The model is established using the finite element method, and the comprehensive shear strength parameters of different slope heights of the high slope in the study area are obtained by inversion using the Morgenstern-Price method. The results show that when the height of the slope increases, the cohesion c in the soil increases, and the internal friction angle φ decreases. According to the calculation results, a comprehensive inversion curve of strength parameters under the slope height of 40 to 120 m is drawn, which can directly evaluate the stability of the loess high slope, which improves the work efficiency and also provides reliable data support in the high side Slope geometry design.
Structural Design of Prefabricated Sidewalk in Sponge City
Authors: Wen Xuejun , Huang Ming
Published: November 2020

In the traditional pavement design, rainwater is mainly discharged by surface runoff, and in the structural design, the key point is the pavement waterproof. Therefore, the traditional sidewalk design is inconsistent with the requirements of sponge city. The research basis of this paper comes from a field engineering, the structural parameters of prefabricated sidewalk and the corresponding design methods are studied and summarized. The structural function of sidewalk is realized by superposition and combination of each structural layer. For the realization of prefabricated sponge sidewalk technology, the function of each structural layer must be fully considered, and the function of each structural layer should be designed and combined according to the design purpose. The results show that, by discussing the function of each layer of prefabricated sidewalk, the structural layer of prefabricated sidewalk is preliminarily determined(see Figure 2 in main text); according to the strength requirements and water permeability requirements of the structure, the thickness range of the structural layer is 13.11cm-21.3cm; finally, the relationship between plate thickness and critical position load, temperature fatigue stress, and finally determines the thickness of precast cement concrete slab is 15cm.
Study on Control Standard of Frost Heave Deformation and Freeze-thaw Strength of Cohesive Soil of Expressway Widening Subgrade in Seasonal Frozen Region
Authors: Liu Shengchuan , Yu Liming , Xu Chun
Published: November 2020

This paper is aiming at control standard of frost heave deformation and freeze-thaw strength of cohesive soil of expressway widening subgrade in seasonal frozen region. Research was proposed to study the deformation law of high water content clay subgrade in freeze-thaw condition through laboratory test, field monitoring and theoretical analysis. According to the results, frost heave deformation control standard of cohesive soil subgrade has been proposed. Considering the overload load, the subgrade’s differential deformation rate should be less than 3.07‰ and the differential deformation rate must be less than 2.27‰. Considering the allowable bending tensile stress and the pavement structure service life, the differential deformation rate of the top surface of the subgrade under the effect of frost heaving of the high water content cohesive soil subgrade in the seasonal frost zone should be controlled within 2‰. After that, control standard for freeze-thaw strength of cohesive soil subgrade is put forward that, the subgrade-soil strength ratio of the high water content cohesive soil subgrade in the seasonal frost zone should be controlled within 0.75 under the standard load and within 1 under the overload load considering the allowable flexural stress and service life of the pavement structure.
Design and Application of Drilling System Digital Prototype for Deepwater Drilling Platform
Authors: Yang Xiuju , Sun Juan , Zhang Zhiwei , Xu Langjun , Wang Chunchun , Liu Zhitong , Zhang Lixian
Published: November 2020

With the rapid development of offshore oil drilling equipment industry, PDMS (Plant Design Management System) software has been widely used in offshore platform Design. Firstly, this paper combines the application of PDMS in designing the drilling system for deepwater semi-submersible offshore platform, systematically introducing the digital prototype design process based on PDMS software for the design of supporting platform (ship) drilling system. Secondly, we get the application effect of Marine engineering design based on PDMS. Finally, it is concluded that the overall layout of the platform with tight design space and high design density can be better optimized by using PDMS software, which enable multiple professionals to jointly complete the complex design process and explore an efficient Marine production mode.
Research of Shear Experiment of Interface between New Steel Fiber Self-compacting Concrete and Old Ordinary Concrete
Authors: Zhuang Jinping , Shen Sizheng , Zhang Zheng
Published: November 2020

In prefabricated concrete structure, the shear performance of interfaces between prefabricated parts and cast-in-place parts needs improvement. Steel fiber self-compacting concrete is a desirable kind of concrete to solve this problem. This paper introduced Z-shape specimens with interfaces between new steel fiber self-compacting concrete part and old ordinary concrete part as direct shear experiment objects. Factors including steel fibers volume ratio and inserting rebars were also studied. The results show that the shear strengths of interfaces increase with the increases of steel fibers volume ratio, and inserting rebars can improve shear strengths and change failure form from brittle failure to ductile failure.
VfODB: a comprehensive database of ESTs, EST-SSRs, mtSSRs, microRNA-target markers and genetic maps in Vicia faba
Authors: Mokhtar Morad M , Hussein Ebtissam H A , El-Assal Salah El-Din S , Atia Mohamed A M
Published: November 2020

Faba bean (Vicia faba) is an essential food and fodder legume crop worldwide due to its high content of proteins and fibres. Molecular markers tools represent an invaluable tool for faba bean breeders towards rapid crop improvement. Although there have historically been few V. faba genome resources available, several transcriptomes and mitochondrial genome sequence data have been released. These data in addition to previously developed genetic linkage maps represent a great resource for developing functional markers and maps that can accelerate the faba bean breeding programmes. Here, we present the Vicia faba Omics database (VfODB) as a comprehensive database integrating germplasm information, expressed sequence tags (ESTs), expressed sequence tags-simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs), and mitochondrial-simple sequence repeats (mtSSRs), microRNA-target markers and genetic maps in faba bean. In addition, KEGG pathway-based markers and functional maps are integrated as a novel class of annotation-based markers/maps. Collectively, we developed 31 536 EST markers, 9071 EST-SSR markers and 3023 microRNA-target markers based on V. faba RefTrans V2 mining. By mapping 7940 EST and 2282 EST-SSR markers against the KEGG pathways database we successfully developed 107 functional maps. Also, 40 mtSSR markers were developed based on mitochondrial genome mining. On the data curation level, we retrieved 3461 markers representing 12 types of markers (CAPS, EST, EST-SSR, Gene marker, INDEL, Isozyme, ISSR, RAPD, SCAR, RGA, SNP and SSR), which mapped across 18 V. faba genetic linkage maps. VfODB provides two user-friendly tools to identify, classify SSR motifs and in silico amplify their targets. VfODB can serve as a powerful database and helpful platform for faba bean research community as well as breeders interested in Genomics-Assisted Breeding.
Confronting Structural Racism in the Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in the United States
Authors: Asabor Emmanuella N , Vermund Sten H
Published: November 2020

Tuberculosis incidence in the United States is declining, yet projections indicate that we will not eliminate tuberculosis in the 21st century. Incidence rates in regions serving the rural and urban poor, including recent immigrants, are well above the national average. People experiencing incarceration and homelessness represent additional key populations. Better engagement of marginalized populations will not succeed without first addressing the structural racism that fuels continued transmission. Examples include:(1)systematic underfunding of contact tracing in health departments serving regions where Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) live;(2) poor access to affordable care in state governments that refuse to expand insurance coverage to low-income workers through the Affordable Care Act;(3) disproportionate incarceration of BIPOC into crowded prisons with low tuberculosis screening rates; and(4) fear-mongering among immigrants that discourages them from accessing preventive health services. To eliminate tuberculosis, we must first eliminate racist policies that limit essential health services in vulnerable communities.
Simulink Implementation of the Data Distribution Service for Vehicular Controllers on Top of GBE and AFDX
Authors: Takrouni Manel , Bouhouch Rim , Hasnaoui Salem
Published: November 2020

Vehicular networks have seen major changes in the past few years in order to offer reliable and real-time capable high-speed data transmission between electrical and mechatronic components to map current and future innovative functions into distributed systems within automotive applications. In the same context, the real-time middleware data distribution service (DDS) is an appropriate alternative for the standard vehicular middleware considering that it handles quality of service (QoS) parameters including real-time ones. In this paper, we are proposing a new approach for DDS implementation and integration into the vehicular system by creating a model-based design blocks. To validate this implementation, we have used the case of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) vehicle benchmark as a simulation and test model. Therefore, we designed a Simulink vehicle as specified by SAE benchmark. Then, we have introduced a new methodology to link each module to a Simulink DDS blockset. The goal of this approach is to facilitate the use of DDS with vehicular controllers and to reduce the deployment and configuration complexities associated with DDS. It will also enable distributed real-time embedded systems developers to concentrate more on the business logic of the application instead of the low-level implementation details. The final developed architecture has been tested using three different types of real-time networks: FlexRay, Gigabit Ethernet and AFDX, to demonstrate that real-time application’s QoS are always met using this model.
Flow-driven right-to-left cardiac shunting in a patient with carcinoid heart disease and patent foramen ovale without elevated right atrial pressure: a case report and literature review
Authors: Dherange Parinita , Telles Nelson , Modi Kalgi
Published: November 2020

Background

Carcinoid heart disease is present in approximately 20% of the patients with carcinoid syndrome and is associated with poor prognosis. It usually manifests with right-sided valvular involvement including tricuspid insufficiency and pulmonary stenosis. Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is present in approximately 50% of the patients with carcinoid heart disease which is twice higher than the general population. Right-to-left shunting through a PFO can occur either due to higher right atrial pressure than left (pressure-driven) or when the venous flow is directed towards the PFO (flow-driven) in the setting of normal intracardiac pressures. We report a rare case of flow-driven right-to-left atrial shunting via PFO in a patient with carcinoid heart disease.

Case summary

A 54-year-old male with a metastatic neuroendocrine tumour to liver presented with progressive shortness of breath for 5 months. Patient was found to be hypoxic with oxygen saturation of 78% and examination revealed a holosystolic murmur. Arterial blood gas showed oxygen tension of 43 mmHg. A transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiogram showed aneurysmal inter-atrial septum with a PFO, severe tricuspid regurgitation directed anteriorly towards the inter-atrial septum leading to a marked right-to-left shunt. Right heart catheterization showed right atrial pressure of 8 mmHg, mean pulmonary artery pressure of 12 mmHg, and normal oxygen saturations in the right atrium, right ventricle, and pulmonary arteries. The patient then underwent closure of the PFO along with tricuspid valve and pulmonary valve replacement at an experienced cardiovascular surgical centre and has been asymptomatic since.

Conclusion

Right-to-left shunting through a PFO in patients with normal right atrial pressure can be successfully treated with closure of the PFO. Thus, understanding the mechanism of intracardiac shunts is important to accurately diagnose and treat this rare and fatal condition.
COVID-19 patient with coronary thrombosis supported with ECMO and Impella 5.0 ventricular assist device: a case report
Authors: Valchanov Kamen , Krishnan Unni , Hoole Stephen P , Davies Will R , Pettit Stephen , Jones Nicola , Parmar Jas , Catarino Pedro , Osman Mohamed , Berman Marius
Published: November 2020

Background

COVID-19 can present with cardiovascular complications.

Case summary

We present a case report of a 43-year-old previously fit patient who suffered from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection with thrombosis of the coronary arteries causing acute myocardial infarction. These were treated with coronary stenting during which the patient suffered cardiac arrest. He was supported with automated chest compressions followed by peripheral veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO). No immediate recovery of the myocardial function was observed and, after insufficient venting of the left ventricle was diagnosed, an Impella 5 pump was implanted. The cardiovascular function recovered sufficiently and ECMO was explanted and inotropic infusions discontinued. Due to SARS-CoV-2 pulmonary infection, hypoxia became resistant to conventional mechanical ventilation and the patient was nursed prone overnight. After initial recovery of respiratory function, the patient received a tracheostomy and was allowed to wake up. Following a short period of agitation his neurological function recovered completely. During the third week of recovery, progressive multisystem dysfunction, possibly related to COVID-19, developed into multiorgan failure, and the patient died.

Discussion

We believe that this is the first case report of coronary thrombosis related to COVID-19. Despite the negative outcome in this patient, we suggest that complex patients may in the future benefit from advanced cardiovascular support, and may even be nursed safely in the prone position with Impella devices.
Evaluation of the GERAADA score for prediction of 30-day mortality in patients with acute type A aortic dissection
Authors: Luehr Maximilian , Merkle-Storms Julia , Gerfer Stephen , Li Yupeng , Krasivskyi Ihor , Vehrenberg Johannes , Rahmanian Parwis , Kuhn-Régnier Ferdinand , Mader Navid , Wahlers Thorsten
Published: November 2020

OBJECTIVES

The German Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection Type A (GERAADA) score to predict 30-day mortality in patients suffering from acute aortic dissection type A (AADA) was recently introduced. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the GERAADA score’s prediction corresponds with the authors’ institutional results.

METHODS

All consecutive AADA patients between 2010 and 2020 were included. Retrospective data collection comprised 11 preoperative parameters: age, sex, previous cardiac surgery, inotropic support at referral, resuscitation before surgery, aortic regurgitation, preoperative hemiparesis, intubation/ventilation at referral, preoperative organ malperfusion, extension of aortic dissection and location of primary entry site. Calculations of the GERAADA score were individually performed by a cardiac surgeon blinded to the study for all patients via a web-based application (https://www.dgthg.de/de/GERAADA_Score).

RESULTS

A total of 371 AADA patients were operated at the authors’ institution. The mean age was 62.7 ± 13.5 years and 233 (63%) were males. Prediction of 30-day mortality was accurate for the entire study cohort (actual vs predicted 30-day mortality: 15.1% vs 15.7%; P = 0.776) as well as for all 26 subgroups. In addition, preoperative resuscitation (P < 0.001), advanced age (P = 0.042) and other/unknown malperfusion (P = 0.032) were identified as independent risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS

The GERAADA score prediction of 30-day mortality after surgery is accurate, easily accessible due to its web-based platform and can be calculated with very basic preoperative clinical parameters. A prospective clinical trial is required to further evaluate the new GERAADA score as a useful tool to allow for improved decision-making in the emergency setting of AADA.