bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Landscape design of Ciliwung Riverbank based on ecological aspect in Pejaten Timur Settlement Area, South Jakarta
Authors: Amelia A N , Utami F N H
Published: November 2021

Jakarta is a city that has a reasonably dense population and continues to grow every year. The rapid increase in the number of residents has caused a lack of harmony between the need of land for housing and existing land availability. This condition has led to a change in the function of riverbank in the area of settlements which happened in Pejaten Timur, South Jakarta. The existing settlements area on the riverbank caused environmental problems such as river width change and pollution. These conditions caused this area is often flooded every rainy season. Therefore, this research was conducted to design the Ciliwung Riverbank and restoring the function of its riverbank which was supposed to be a green open space. Green open space is designed in the form of an urban community park that can be used as a water catchment area, improving the ecological function of the riverbanks, and as a place to relax for the citizens around the site. The design of the park is carried out by the design process method, these design process included preparation, inventory, analysis, synthesis, and site design. In the analysis section, the writer determines the potential and site constraints, and then some appropriate site development plans can be produced. The applied concept is called “Eco-relaxing riverside park”, which is an urban park on the riverbank that is environmentally friendly and has the primary function of a place to relax for visitors. The result of the urban community park design is expected to increase the aesthetic and functional value of the Ciliwung Riverbank in Pejaten Timur, South Jakarta. The final result of this research is the site plan, overall perspective, spot perspective, visible section images, detailed drawings, and explanations of the images.
Continuity of heritage urban landscape: the case of Jeron Beteng Yogyakarta
Authors: Rahmi D H
Published: November 2021

The urban landscape, which is in a dynamic environment, continues to change, meaning it has transformed the relationship between humans and the environment. Many changes have occurred since the early formation of the city until now. Nevertheless, many heritage urban landscape that has been formed hundreds of years ago are continuing to date with their various elements remain the same. Jeron Beteng is a part of the Yogyakarta Sultanate Palace, which has existed since the early construction of the palace. This traditional area was once a residential area for the abdi dalem (people who served the Sultan and Palace) and the sultanate princes or brothers of the Sultan. Along with the developments of Yogyakarta, Jeron Beteng has developed into a dense urban settlement. Various changes have occurred, both the function of the area, architecture building, and land use. As a heritage area, it is interesting to know whether Jeron Beteng can adapt to the changes and continue as the cultural identity of the Yogyakarta Palace. This paper is based on research that intends to identify the urban landscape characters of Jeron Beteng and examine the continuity of its physical landscape characters as the cultural identity of the Yogyakarta Palace. A qualitative method is used with two approaches: interpretation of the history of Jeron Beteng and qualitative approach based on the contemporary empirical phenomenon. This research found that Jeron Beteng today is the culmination of hundreds of years of physical and social management. It is not just a collection of heritage buildings, events, and precincts, but the whole landscapes, that have unique characters. The character of Jeron Beteng is mostly formed by its physical elements that have heritage values, mainly the Palace, Alun-alun, and the beteng wall. Changes in the spatial and physical environment have happened, however, the essence or core of the physical landscape character of Jeron Beteng is continuing and contributes to the cultural identity of the Yogyakarta Palace and the city.
Landscape transformation and wildlife: road mortality in Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia
Authors: Purnomo T , Kusrini M D , Mardiastuti A
Published: November 2021

The development of high way that crosses wildlife habitat will inevitably cause wildlife casualties. The purpose of this study was to identify wildlife road mortality in Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park, Southeast Sulawesi (mostly consisted of savanna). Road kill data was collected by driving along the 22.4 km highway in February and March 2020 (n=28). Traffic volumes were recorded by taking traffic samples in 5 different times of the day, an hour duration each (totaling 70 h). There were 37 species being killed (totaling 529 individuals, of which 49.3% happened along km 0-10), consisted of 19 bird species, 3 small mammal species, 10 reptile species, and 5 amphibian species. Based on taxa, the highest number of road mortality was amphibians (dominated byIngerophrynus biporcatus), followed by birds (mostlyLonchura malacca), mammals (dominated byRattus argentiventer), and reptiles (dominated byVaranus salvator). Among mammals, no big mammal (booted macaqueMacaca ochreata, wild boarSus scrofa) was killed. Landscape transformation clearly has impacted wildlife in the study area. To reduce the occurrence of road kills, it is recommended to create corridors for wildlife crossings, limiting vehicle speed in the hot spots locations, create speed bumps, as well as adding more signage and road signs along the highway.
An information support system for studying environmental aspects of the economic development of border regions
Authors: Bardakhanova T B , Eremko Z S
Published: November 2021

The present research aims to develop a scientific basis for information support system for studying environmental aspects of the economic development of border regions. The relevance of this goal stems from the peculiarities of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative’ border regions in Russia, China and Kazakhstan in terms of various aspects of economy-environment interaction in specific territories. Based on the generalization of analytical materials and scientific publications, we propose the ways to form a system of information support for the studying, which can be used to develop an ecological and economic integration policy of border regions. Approbation of the approach proposed by the authors was carried out within the framework of the scientific research program of the Baikal Institute of Nature Management SB RAS.
Formation of the population of Ulan-Ude (Buryatia, Russia)
Authors: Bolkhosoeva E B , Khalbaeva S R , Gomboev B O , Urbanova Ch B , Gabeeva D A
Published: November 2021

This article examines the features of the formation of the population of the city of Ulan-Ude - the capital of the Republic of Buryatia (Russia). It shows how socio-economic and administrative changes have affected the total population, the share of the city in the overall population structure, as well as how the territorial structure has been transformed over the past 60 years. In the post-Soviet period, urbanisation has affected not only the capital city itself, but also suburban areas, while small towns and urban-type settlements have largely lost their prospects for territorial and demographic development. Unlike other regional centres of the Far Eastern Federal District, Ulan-Ude is experiencing population growth due to both migration and natural increase. The study is based on the analysis of official data from the All-USSR and All-Russian population censuses and the results of annual statistical reports by Rosstat and Buryatstat.
Comparative analysis of renewable energy development in the Republic of Buryatia (Russia) and Mongolia
Authors: Badmaev A G
Published: November 2021

The constantly growing demand for electricity and relatively small energy capacities are forcing the Republic of Buryatia (to a greater extent) and Mongolia, which are limited in some types of economic activity, to look for new sources of energy. One of these restrictions is the ban on the construction of hydroelectric power plants on rivers of the Lake Baikal basin. Therefore, Buryatia and Mongolia have taken the path of building environmentally friendly power plants and have succeeded in many ways. Despite the high costs of setting up clean power plants, infrastructure investments in alternative energy are long-term and expected to be profitable. Investors (including foreign ones) placing their money in a seemingly low-profit project, having long-term expectations. Competent investors do not run after “quick money”, realising that the return period of the constructed power plants will be long, as at the moment of development they have a relatively low efficiency. Despite the criticism of some researchers [1], they invest in green energy, modern infrastructure and a future without emissions (CO2, NO2, SO2 and other gases) from burning coal, fuel oil and firewood. Other experts see in the development of alternative energy a great potential [2-5], refuting arguments of critics about high cost of electricity [6].
Green economy as a condition for sustainable development of the Baikal region
Authors: Babikov V A , Urbanova Ch B , Maladaeva O K
Published: November 2021

The article analyses the development of a new conceptual direction of sustainable development for our country and the Republic of Buryatia, namely, “green economy” based on the rational use of natural and secondary resources, through low carbon development, recycling and reuse of waste and municipal solid waste, as well as unification of the regulatory framework in the relevant areas of economy and production. The authors identified the so-called “markers” activating and hindering the development of green economy in Baikal region, compared them with the most favourable regions for living and also with neighbouring regions in order to provide a rationale for the most promising areas of green economy for our region, which are: digitalization of the economy and public life in general, genetic engineering and various biotechnology, creating new equipment and materials (nanotechnology), various areas of tourism and recreation. As a result, it was concluded that: “green economy”, should become an important element of the concept of sustainable development of the Baikal region, it is this concept of development of the region highly coincides with the global trend of sustainable “green” low-carbon development and transformation.
External economic activity of the leading sectors of the marine economy of the Pacific Russia: current trends of the crossborder cooperation
Authors: Moshkov A V , Kornienko O S
Published: November 2021

Pacific Russia is a region with a unique natural resource and economic potential, where effective socio-economic development is possible due to its favourable economic and geographical location and cross-border cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. An important role in the development of foreign economic cooperation belongs to the sectors of the marine industry. At the same time, it should be noted that the commodity structure of exports from the Pacific region of Russia is dominated by products with low added value, and in the structure of imports, on the contrary, manufacturing products. The current trends in cross-border cooperation are due to the current structure of production in Pacific Russia, the influence of natural resource and transport factors, and the demand of foreign consumers. In Pacific Russia, there are coastal (Pacific) “Northern” and “Southern” socio-economic zones - in the “Northern”, there is the highest share of mining, production and distribution of electricity; in the “Southern” – a high share of fishing and fish farming, manufacturing, services, transport and communications.
Factors and influence of modern challenges on demographic situation in Siberian regions
Authors: Dmitrieva Yu N
Published: November 2021

The article determines basic factors that influence on demographic processes in Siberia. It is underlined that fall of relative reproduction indices reflects natural transition of population groups born in 1990s to reproductive age. We analysed indices of birthrate, death rate and natural population growth among Siberian regions. It is distinguished that natural population growth is typical for districts with traditionally high relative birthrate indices and for those with high salary level. The author underlines that value of average total birthrate coefficient is not enough for simple reproduction of population in the region. In the article we have presented the reasons of migration outflow from Siberian subjects to the west of the country. It is emphasized that modern social tendencies in the society are challenges for demographic situation in Siberia: high indices of divorces, late giving birth to the first child, orientation for having one child in a family.
Landscape-climatic features of the reforestation dynamics pyrogenically transformed geosystems of the Tunkinskaya depression
Authors: Atutova Zh V , Voropay N N , Shuklina E S
Published: November 2021

In order to identify the features of the dynamics of the soil temperature regime during the post-fire restoration of the subtaiga light-coniferous geosystems of the Tunkinskaya depression, a study of the demutation processes in the pine forests of the Badar urochishche was conducted. Our research is based on the data of observations initiated after the fire that took place in 2010. The model key areas were selected at intact landscape complexes that did not experience pyrogenic influence, as well as the territory subjected to forest fires. Comparing the dominant composition of secondary succession biocenoses with natural plant communities in the background key area, indicators of the prospects for successful reforestation were identified. The analysis of 10-year data on the observation of the soil temperature regime from the surface to a depth of 3.2 m was carried out at the selected sites. The differences between the soil temperatures in the disturbed and natural sites, which vary during a year were revealed. During the observation period, a decrease in microclimatic differences was observed with the regeneration of vegetation cover, which indicates the restoration of the temperature regime in the pyrogenic-disturbed area.
Assessment of impact of combined heat on the environment of urbanized areas (case study of Ulan-Ude, Russia)
Authors: Dmitrieva A V , Khertuev V N , Konovalov P V , Barmitova I A
Published: November 2021

Combined heat and power plants (CHPP) are an important component of the energy balance in many countries. However, of all types of power plants, CHPPs have the largest impact on the environment. In recent years, the urban ecology has become one of the key indicators that determine the quality of life of city residents. The article evaluates the impact of the CHPPs in Ulan-Ude on the example of CHPP-1. The main sources of environmental pollution, and, accordingly, the zone of exposure of CHPP-1’ pollutants have been identified. Virtually the entire territory of the city of Ulan-Ude falls under this zone, but since northwestern winds prevail in this area, the north-western part of the city is most affected. Based on the results of a detailed dispersion calculation, we defined the following substances which should be monitored: nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, mineral oil, and inorganic dust (70-20% SiO2 and coal dust). The concentration of these substances in the air is significant.
Ecological and geochemical features of the landscapes of the Baikal State Natural Biosphere Reserve
Authors: Yu Elsukova E , Yu Arestova I , O Chunyaeva E , Mordovskoy E O
Published: November 2021

The aim of the study is a comprehensive assessment of the state of natural-territorial complexes of the Baikal State Natural Biosphere Reserve, including an ecological and geochemical assessment of soils, analysis of plant communities, determination of the ecological and biogeochemical features of the vegetation of the area. The distribution of mobile forms of heavy metals in the soils of the Baikal Biosphere Reserve has been studied. The coefficient of total soil pollution has been calculated. The maximum allowable concentrations exceedances for Cr, Mn, Cu and Pb were registered. Analysis of the microelement composition of the crust of Pinus sibirica showed the accumulation of Cd and Ni in relation to the Dobrovolsky clarke in all the studied areas of the reserve. Based on the studies carried out, it can be recommended to monitor the ecological state of natural territorial complexes on a regular basis on the territory of the Baikal State Biosphere Reserve.
Comparative analysis of anthropogenic impact levels and payments for natural resource use in the Russian model areas
Authors: Ayusheeva S N
Published: November 2021

An assessment of the effectiveness of the existing system of paid nature natural resource usage in terms of the effect of reducing the negative impact on the environment by nature users is considered. The theory and practice of the effectiveness of environmental investment, as well as environmental management fees, were used as the basis of the methodology. The basis of the methodological tools consists of calculation and analytical, comparative methods, methods of system and structural analysis. The model territories of the ecological rating of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are determined, the degree of anthropogenic impact is estimated on the basis of specific pollution indicators, the analysis of environmental investment features in the selected territories is carried out, the need for improving environmental policy is proved on the basis of the assessment of the ratio of payment for regulatory and excess pollution by environment.
Solution to the problems of complex use of mineral raw materials
Authors: Khudyakova L I , Buyantuev S L , Buyantuev V T
Published: November 2021

The increasing pace of construction in areas in eastern Russia is leading to an increased demand for building materials. To meet this demand, local raw materials, including basalt, are widely used. In this article, we have shown the possibility of complex use of basalts in the production of various types of products. Using low-temperature plasma, basalt fibre with good physical and chemical characteristics was obtained. It possesses high heat-resistance (up to 700°C) and alkali resistance, and is stable in aqueous medium. Using mechanical activation method composite binding materials were obtained. Technological parameters of their production are determined. It is shown that the binding materials with optimal composition have a compressive strength higher than the strength of the control sample by 18%. The integrated use of mineral raw materials allows us to solve the issues of energy efficiency, resource conservation and environmental safety in the development of mineral deposits and the production of new types of products.
New technique of sample preparation of Quaternary lake sediments for palynological and chironomid (Insecta: Diptera) analyses
Authors: Enushchenko I V
Published: November 2021

Almost six-years’ experience of my work on isolation and study of macrofossils of chironomid larvae showed that the conventional technique of lake sediment sampling has significant drawbacks. This paper describes the author’s method of sample preparation of lake sediments to isolate and determine macrofossils of Chironomidae larvae for paleoclimatic reconstruction. The advantage of the proposed technique is better washing of sediment samples, which facilitates a more complete sampling of the macrofossils, as well as its applicability for palynological analysis.
Numerical study of the Effect of CO2 on the NH3/CH4 Counterflow Diffusion Flame in O2/CO2/N2 Atmosphere
Authors: Li Conghao , Wang Jingfu , Chen Ying , Zhang Xiaolei
Published: November 2021

Ammonia, as a carbon-neutral fuel, draws people attentions recently. NH3/CH4 blends is considered as a kind of fuel. A numerical simulation of the effects of CO2 dilution on the combustion characteristics and NO emission of NH3/CH4 counterflow diffusion flame was conducted in this study. Diffusion flame structure, the influence of CO2 radiation characteristics on temperature and NO emission characteristics were studies at normal temperature and pressure. The dilution and radiation of CO2 reduce the flame temperature significantly. NO concentration decreased with the CO2 mole fraction increase effectively. The study extends the basic combustion characteristics of NH3 containing fuel.
Effect of Photoconductivity of Silicon Oxide Passivation Film on the Performance of Crystalline Silicon Cell and Module
Authors: Wang Shaoliang , Zhou Gang , Wang Yilun , Deng Xiaofan , Xie Bingxin
Published: November 2021

In the paper, the effect of different deposition process of silicon oxide passivation film on the performance of crystalline silicon cell and module was studied. It was found that the thermal oxidation passivation film has better passivation effect than ozone oxidation passivation film at room temperature, and the cell and module has good stability and low attenuation. The thermal oxidation passivation effect is related to the film thickness. The thicker the film thickness is, the better the anti-PID (potential induced attenuation) performance is. The results can provide reference for photovoltaic industry.
Foreign Body Detection and Analysis in Gas Insulated Switchgear Based on Vibration Signal
Authors: Wu Xutao , Ma Yunong , He Ninghui , Li Xiuguang , Ma Bo , Han Xiuying
Published: November 2021

Maintenance tools are often left inside the equipment in the process of installation and maintenance of Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS). Vibration detection can make up for the shortcomings of foreign body detection in traditional GIS to a certain extent. In this paper, the vibration signal during the operation of the circuit breaker is collected and analyzed based on the 330kV GIS test platform. Through the method of Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD), by comparing with the multiple measurement results between the two cases of whether there is a foreign body in the equipment or not, it is found that there is a great difference in the characteristics of the two kinds of vibration signals. The presence of most foreign objects can be detected by the above methods.
Influence of CO2-brine-rock Interactions on the Physical Properties of Tight Sandstone Cores via Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Authors: Liu Hanbin , Li Chengzheng , Zhao Zhenfeng , Wang Guangtao , Li Changheng , Zhao Jinsheng
Published: November 2021

For sandstone reservoirs with extra-low permeability, CO2 injection is regarded as a valid method to enhance oil recovery. When CO2 injection is implemented in such reservoirs, the physical properties of the formation could be altered owing to the interactions between CO2, water, and rock. In this study, the influence of CO2–brine–rock interactions on the physical properties of tight sandstone cores was analyzed by comparing the obtained T

2
spectrum before and after CO2 injection. The results revealed that the T2 spectrum after CO2 injection was significantly different from the original T2 spectrum. CO2 injection changed the pore size distribution of the core samples. When the injection pressure was low, the pore volume decreased from micropores to macropores leading to a decrease in both permeability and porosity. As the injection pressure increasing, the dissolution of CO2 in the micropores was enhanced thus improving the pore-throat connectivity; which ultimately improved the reservoir physical properties.
Preparation of High-purity Alumina via Hydrolysis of Aluminum Isopropoxide after Desilication with Lanthanum Oxide
Authors: Yin Qinnan , Jin Huixin , Wu Fuzhong , Wang Weijie , Yang Qian
Published: November 2021

High-purity alumina refers to ultra-fine alumina powder with a purity exceeding 99.99% and a uniform particle size. This material exhibits excellent corrosion resistance, high-temperature resistance, wear resistance, and oxidation resistance. Owing to the high silicon content of alumina prepared by means of the alcohol-aluminum hydrolysis method, the purity of the alumina is often unsatisfactory. Therefore, in this work, a new method for adding lanthanum oxide to isopropanol in the early aluminum isopropoxide synthesis stage is proposed. When lanthanum oxide was added, the silicon content of the precursor aluminum isopropoxide decreased to 0.0051%.Remove calcium, sodium, magnesium and other impurities by cleaning with hydrochloric acid under an ultrasonic field. The optimal hydrolysis conditions were determined as follows: hydrolysis temperature: 55, hydrolysate concentration: 80%, water to alkoxide ratio: 6:1. The alumina precursor calcined at 1200 yielded a high-purity alumina with a purity level of more than 99.99%, and the particle size reaches 2.037 μm.
A Method for Segmentation of Transformer Oil Level Region Based on Infrared Image
Authors: Chen Ying , Fan Songhai , Liu Yicen , Ma Xiaomin , Shi Zhu
Published: November 2021

With the rapid development of computer and artificial intelligence technology, infrared images are playing a higher and higher value in the state monitoring of electrical equipment in substations. Aiming at the detection of the oil level area of the oil conservator in the substation, in order to accurately obtain the oil level information, this paper proposes a transformer oil level detection method combining maximum entropy threshold segmentation algorithm and SLIC (simple linear iterativeclustering) segmentation algorithm. First, the original infrared image is pre-processed by image cutting technology to obtain the infrared image of the oil pillow area; the green channel image is extracted, and then the infrared image is segmented by the maximum entropy threshold segmentation algorithm to remove the background interference and obtain the target area of the electrical equipment. Finally, SLIC is used to super the pixel segmentation algorithm performs segmentation to obtain the oil level area. Experiments show that the algorithm can clearly segment the oil level area of the oil pillow, and it has certain practical value.
Composting of food waste in passive aerated bioreactor with turning mode
Authors: Zahrim A Y , Darwis M , Samantha D , Siti Hasanah A Z , Nur Aqeela S A , Junidah L , Sariah S , Mariani R
Published: November 2021

Almost 45% of municipal solid waste in Malaysia consist of food waste. Composting is one of the sustainable ways to manage food waste compared to incineration and landfilling. This paper investigates the physicochemical and phytotoxicity characteristics during food waste composting in passive aerated bioreactor assisted with compost turning. The initial compost mixture consists of 124 kg of food waste mixed with 62 kg of dry leaves. The composting process was conducted for 40 days, and physicochemical characteristics i.e., temperature, moisture content, total organic carbon, pH and conductivity were monitored. Seed germination test was conducted with cabbage seeds (Brassica oleracea). The highest temperature and final moisture content obtained were 42 °C and 78%, respectively. The seed germination index value was 127%, indicating that the compost is suitable for plant growth.
Thermogravimetric kinetic analysis of in-situ catalytic pyrolysis of palm oil wastes with the presence of palm oil wastes ash catalyst
Authors: Hii S W , Chin B L F , Yiin C L , Majing F R S , Jawad Z A , Lim H Y , Yusup S , Acda M N , Unrean P , Rianawati E
Published: November 2021

The thermal degradation and kinetic analysis for oil palm frond (OPF) and oil palm trunk (OPT) with its ashes were investigated using thermogravimetric approach (TGA). OPF ash, OPT ash and its mixtures are used as a natural source of catalysts in the pyrolytic conversion of the palm oil wastes to bioenergy. The TGA experiments were conducted in a range of heating rates of 10-100 K/min from the temperature of 323 K to 1173 K. Coats-Redfern model is applied in this study to evaluate the activation energy (EA
) and pre-exponential factor (A). The average EA
values ranged 24.27-32.36 kJ.mol−1 and 41.42-46.10 kJ.mol−1 for pyrolysis of OPF and OPT respectively. Meanwhile, the average EA
values ranged 24.27-31.06 kJ.mol−1 and 31.77-43.45 kJ.mol−1 for catalytic pyrolysis of OPF and OPT respectively.
Fabrication and characterization of chitosan-titanium oxide nanotubes scaffolds reinforced with tiger milk mushroom
Authors: Rosli N , Loh H-S , Chiang C L , Lim S S
Published: November 2021

Chitosan-based scaffolds have been reported to promote cellular activities but lack mechanical strength which is much sought after for bone regeneration. The current research work aided to reinforce chitosan-based scaffolds with tiger milk mushroom (TMM) powder, a naturally occurring polysaccharide. Scaffolds of chitosan-titanium oxide nanotubes (TNTs) reinforced with tiger milk mushroom (TMM-CTNTs) were fabricated via direct-blending and freeze-drying methods. Prior to that, TNTs were hydrothermally synthesized and blended with chitosan solution and TMM powder at 1-5 weight percent (wt %). The pore size, microstructure, porosity, swelling, degradation, compressive modulus and functional groups of resultant scaffolds were characterized. These cylindrical scaffolds of TMM-CTNTs showed pore size of 48 – 68 μm. The addition of TMM from 3 wt% to 5 wt% in scaffolds reduced the porosity from 81.7 % to 79.9 %. The compressive modulus of 3 wt%-5 wt% TMM-CTNTs scaffolds increased %from 0.013 MPa – 0.038 MPa. The incorporation of TMM influenced the swelling property of scaffolds. The swelling percentage of TMM-CTNTs reduced from 400% to 373% as TMM powder was introduced from 1 wt% to 5 wt%. The degradation ratio increased from 0.959% to 2.385 % as TMM powder was introduced from 1 wt% to 5 wt%. The Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra of TMM-CTNTs scaffolds revealed the presence of β-glucan which verified that the processing methods in this study preserved the medicinal property of TMM. A preliminaryin vitrotest, MTT assay, was used to study proliferation rate of MG63 (osteoblast-like cells) cultured on TMM-CTNTs scaffolds with different weight percent of TMM. Notably, the cells proliferation of MG63 showed high biocompatibility at 3 days of culture.
Synthesis and characterization of perovskite-supported CoNi catalyst for CO oxidation via exsolution
Authors: Lew G L , Ibrahim N , Abdullah S , Daud W R W , Ramli W K W
Published: November 2021

The introduction of perovskite oxide as catalysts alternative has increased the worldwide interest due to its advantages such as its versatility to accommodate different transition metals. This study set out to evaluate the catalytic activity of CO oxidative perovskite catalysts (LCCNTO), fabricated via solid-state method and reduced under various reducing condition for the exsolution of the active metals, Cobalt-Nickel (CoNi) from the perovskite lattice. The effect of reducing parameter modification towards the catalytic activity of the fabricated LCCNTO was discussed in terms of CO conversion and CO2 production rate. Through the light-off test, the sample that reduced with the longest deration (S2T10H6-R5H5) showed the highest CO conversion of 45.45% and CO2 production rate of 0.1409 × 10−4 mol s−
1g−1 at the reaction temperature of 500 °C. Not only that, it was discovered that by controlling the reducing duration, the initiate temperature for the reaction to occur was lowered from 360 °C (S2T10H6-R5H3) enabling the reaction to occur at lower temperature at 280 °C in S2T10H6-R5H5. Under the same reducing temperature, the CO2 production of sample reduced for 200 minutes (S2T10H6-R5H3) started at 360 °C but as the reducing duration increased to 300 minutes (S2T10H6-R5H5), the CO oxidation initiated at a much lower temperature of 280 °C. Although LCCNTO catalyst still suffer from similar deterioration as the other reported base metal catalyst, but tuning the reducing duration given to a sample, it greatly affects the initiation temperature for the reaction to occur.
Effect of magnetite on alginate-based hydrogel beads composite bio-sorbent for copper removal
Authors: Rahman A S A , Yahaya A N A , Khalil N A , Fizal A N S , A’zim M A S , Hossain M S , Zulkifli M
Published: November 2021

A composite magnetite alginate-based bio-sorbent in hydrogel beads form as adsorbent for copper ion removal was prepared through this work. Two types of composite bio-sorbents which are cellulose-magnetite-alginate (CeMA) and chitosan-magnetite-alginate (CMA) hydrogel beads were synthesized by the physical cross-linking method. Ratios of magnetite iron oxide 0, 0.1, and 1.0 were used during the synthesis of bio-sorbents to observe the effect of magnetite ratios on copper ion removals. Based on the performance of bio-sorbents on copper removals, 24.6% of the highest percentage copper removal was achieved by CMA with a magnetite ratio of 0.1 at an adsorption equilibrium time of 24 hours and initial concentration of 100 mg/L. In addition, through this work, magnetite embedded bio-sorbent with the simple synthesized method was done by utilizing the capability of alginate to instantaneously form hydrogel beads upon addition into calcium chloride (Ca2+). Therefore, this work proves the potential of magnetite embedded in alginate-based composite bio-sorbent hydrogel beads for heavy metal industrial wastewater.
Photocatalytic degradation of anthracene by biochar-based graphitic carbon nitride
Authors: Syed Abd Halim S N Q , Nazri N A M , Nordin N A H M
Published: November 2021

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent and toxic to living organisms, that can be classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic pollutants. In this study, a green photocatalyst of biochar-based graphitic carbon nitride (BC/g-C3N4-M) is derived from sugarcane bagasse (SB) and melamine were developed as a potential material for the degradation of PAHs. BC(SB)/g-C3N4-M prepared with varied ratios of melamine to SB and different synthesis temperature were characterized by FTIR, BET and UV-DRS. The efficiency of the catalyst for the degradation of anthracene were investigated further in terms of its efficiency at various pH mediums, catalyst dosage and anthracene initial concentration. Experimental results revealed that g-C3N4 showed better degradation efficiency to anthracene than BC(SB)/g-C3N4-M. Additionally, the best degradation efficiency of anthracene by g-C3N4 and BC/g-C3N4-M75% composites were found at pH 3 with 1.0 g/L dosage at 2 ppm and 1 ppm initial concentration, respectively. The catalysts were also discovered to be reusable for 5 cycles with a slight decrease in photocatalytic degradation. The use of agricultural biomass waste in this study could provide a promising approach to water and wastewater treatment.
Study of forced aeration system for fruit and vegetable waste composting
Authors: Then Y H , Lai J C , Then Y L
Published: November 2021

Composting of fruit and vegetable waste (FVW) was investigated in a forced aeration system to determine the effects of aeration rate (AR) and aeration method (AM) on compost quality. Rice husk was mixed with FVW as bulking agent to compost for seven days and aerated in continuous and intermittent at rates of 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 L min−1. Intermittent aeration at rate of 0.3 L min−1 was observed to have higher initial temperature increasing rate and peak temperature compared to continuous aeration. Moisture loss at rate of 0.3 L min−1 was found smaller than other two rates regardless of AM. With comparison made for similar AR, intermittent aeration had experienced less moisture loss with an average of 17.15 %. The pH of compost was found to vary in aeration method where higher peak pH was found in intermittent aeration at low rate, corresponding to their temperature profile. Largest carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio reduction was attained by compost treated in intermittent aeration at rate of 0.3 L min−1. Further optimization was performed at a rate of 0.1 L min−1, 0.2 L min−1, and 0.4 L min−1. The result showed an improvement at rate of 0.2 L min−1 in intermittent aeration.
Extraction of cellulose from oil palm empty fruit bunch using eco-friendly solvents for preparation of transparent cellulose thin film
Authors: Izzaha N S , Yahaya A N A , Zuhudi N Z M , Khalil N A , Zulkifli M
Published: November 2021

The purpose of this research is to extract the cellulose using eco-friendly reagents of hydrogen peroxide and formic acid and determine the optimum reaction time for delignification process. The extracted cellulose and characterised using FTIR, TGA and PSA. The percentage yield of extracted cellulose were calculated. The highest yield was found to be 65.78 % at reaction time 120 min. The FTIR spectral studies confirm the removal of lignin from the delignified cellulose at peak 1613 cm−1 and the TGA result shows the thermal degradation of extracted cellulose at 329.04, 329.92 and 330.99 °C at reaction time 60, 90 and 120 min. The PSA studies provided the evidence of extracted particle size of the cellulose become finer as the reaction time increase. The particle size observed for delignified cellulose at 60, 90 and 120 min are 68.4, 64.6 and 57.3 μm. The extraction of cellulose and characterization to determine the optimum reaction time was able to obtain. From the result obtained, it can be concluded that the longer the reaction time, the higher the percentage yield of cellulose extracted. Film formation was later carried out using the extracted cellulose from different reaction time.
Preparation of nano manganese oxides by H2O2
in-situ oxidation: effect of regulation mechanism on physical and chemical properties
Authors: Li Mingdong , Wang Jiawei , Fu Dejin , Gou Bibo , Chen Xiaoliang , Wang Haifeng
Published: November 2021

Manganese oxides showed many special physicochemical properties in many fields such as electrochemistry, adsorption and catalysis. They were widely used in cathode materials for lithium batteries, molecular sieves, catalytic materials and adsorbents. In this paper, in situ oxidation of manganese sulfate solution was conducted with H2O2 as oxidant, and the characterization means of XRD, SEM and BET were used. The purpose was to study the effects of different regulation mechanisms on the physical and chemical properties of manganese oxides such as morphology, phase composition, surface properties and specific surface area. The adsorption properties of γ-MnO2 for Co and Ni in manganese ore leaching solution were tested. The results showed as follows. Under alkaline conditions, the main product of manganese sulfate solution oxidized by H2O2 was Mn3O4 spherical particles with a radius of about 50 nm, these particles had micropores or mesopores, the oxidation reaction rate was rapid, and the specific surface area and N2 adsorption capacity changed with the change of reaction conditions.The temperature had a great influence on the micro morphology of the product.The micro morphology was slender nanorod when the temperature was 20 °C. With the increase of temperature, the length of nanorod became shorter. When the temperature rises to 50 °C, the rod became spherical. When the pH value decreased from 9 to 7, the diffraction peak of each crystal plane in the product Mn3O4 decreased gradually. The diffraction peak of γ-MnO2 appeared when the pH value decreased to 5. All the products were γ-MnO2 when the pH value decreased to 3. With the increase of Mn2+ concentration, the grain size decreased and agglomeration was easy to occur. The optimum conditions were obtained as follows: the temperature was 30 °C, pH was 3, reaction time was 90 min, the mole ration of H2O2 to Mn2+ was 1:1, and Mn2+ concentration was 10 g l−1. Under the optimum conditions, γ-MnO2 with high specific surface area (172.41 m2 g−1) was prepared. This γ-MnO2 has a good adsorption effect on Co and Ni in manganese ore leaching solution, and the adsorption efficiency could be reached 94.75% and 95.67%. This study would provide a reference for the preparation of manganese oxides with different physical and chemical properties.
Viscous effects on plasmoid formation from nonlinear resistive tearing growth in a Harris sheet
Authors: AHMAD Nisar , ZHU Ping , ALI Ahmad , ZENG Shiyong
Published: November 2021

In this work, the evolution of a highly unstable m = 1 resistive tearing mode, leading to plasmoid formation in a Harris sheet, is studied in the framework of full MHD model using the Non-Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics with Rotation, Open Discussion simulation. Following the initial nonlinear growth of the primary m = 1 island, the X-point develops into a secondary elongated current sheet that eventually breaks into plasmoids. Two distinctive viscous regimes are found for the plasmoid formation and saturation. In the low viscosity regime (i.e. P
r ≲ 1), the plasmoid width increases sharply with viscosity, whereas in the viscosity dominant regime (i.e. P
r ≳ 1), the plasmoid size gradually decreases with viscosity. Such a finding quantifies the role of viscosity in modulating the plasmoid formation process through its effects on the plasma flow and the reconnection itself.
Establishing a multidisciplinary taskforce to improve anticoagulation safety at a large health system
Authors: Attia Engie , Fuentes Amaris , Vassallo Mark , Dobbs Stuart , Nguyen Peter , Baker Kelty
Published: November 2021

Purpose

To describe the development of a multidisciplinary anticoagulant safety taskforce (ASTF) to address anticoagulation-related issues across the medication-use system.

Oral and parenteral anticoagulants have been classified as high-alert medications because of their potential for harm. Errors at the point of prescribing, monitoring, and administering therapy have been noted in safety literature. Our hospital system, which includes 1 academic medical center, 6 community hospitals, and 1 long-term care facility, designed a multidisciplinary ASTF to address anticoagulation-related issues. The ASTF used the 2017 Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) Medication Safety Self-Assessment for Antithrombotic Therapy as the primary tool for reviewing current practices, performing gap analyses, and identifying our greatest areas of opportunity. The top 8 best practice elements related to anticoagulant use were identified for initial efforts of ASTF activity. Meetings were led by a medication safety pharmacist who reviewed process opportunities and actions to address gaps. The hospital chief quality and patient safety officer and the vice president of quality were the executive sponsors of the ASTF. Key stakeholders such as the medication safety committee chair and the president of the medical staff were instrumental in leading the initiative. Recommendations from the ASTF were reviewed and approved by the system medication safety committee and the system pharmacy and therapeutics committee to support system-wide implementation. The ASTF accomplished more than initially planned within its first year. Error mitigation occurred through policy revisions, order set development and modification, and implementation of practice changes to comply with each best practice. The ISMP antithrombotic self-assessment score improved from 67% to 87%, surpassing the initially targeted score of 75%. To overcome implementation barriers with the electronic health record, we enlisted support from our informatics leadership to leverage information technology. Overall, the success of the taskforce was attributed to the teamwork and leadership of key individuals within the organization.

Conclusion

Leveraging interest from key stakeholders across multiple disciplines with an established assessment tool was key in developing a productive and successful ASTF. The group came together to evaluate anticoagulant-related issues and implement sustainable changes to decrease anticoagulation error potential.
FedSPL: federated self-paced learning for privacy-preserving disease diagnosis
Authors: Wang Qingyong , Zhou Yun
Published: November 2021

The growing expansion of data availability in medical fields could help improve the performance of machine learning methods. However, with healthcare data, using multi-institutional datasets is challenging due to privacy and security concerns. Therefore, privacy-preserving machine learning methods are required. Thus, we use a federated learning model to train a shared global model, which is a central server that does not contain private data, and all clients maintain the sensitive data in their own institutions. The scattered training data are connected to improve model performance, while preserving data privacy. However, in the federated training procedure, data errors or noise can reduce learning performance. Therefore, we introduce the self-paced learning, which can effectively select high-confidence samples and drop high noisy samples to improve the performances of the training model and reduce the risk of data privacy leakage. We propose the federated self-paced learning (FedSPL), which combines the advantage of federated learning and self-paced learning. The proposed FedSPL model was evaluated on gene expression data distributed across different institutions where the privacy concerns must be considered. The results demonstrate that the proposed FedSPL model is secure, i.e. it does not expose the original record to other parties, and the computational overhead during training is acceptable. Compared with learning methods based on the local data of all parties, the proposed model can significantly improve the predicted F1-score by approximately 4.3%. We believe that the proposed method has the potential to benefit clinicians in gene selections and disease prognosis.
Accelerating bioactive peptide discovery via mutual information-based meta-learning
Authors: He Wenjia , Jiang Yi , Jin Junru , Li Zhongshen , Zhao Jiaojiao , Manavalan Balachandran , Su Ran , Gao Xin , Wei Leyi
Published: November 2021

Recently, machine learning methods have been developed to identify various peptide bio-activities. However, due to the lack of experimentally validated peptides, machine learning methods cannot provide a sufficiently trained model, easily resulting in poor generalizability. Furthermore, there is no generic computational framework to predict the bioactivities of different peptides. Thus, a natural question is whether we can use limited samples to build an effective predictive model for different kinds of peptides. To address this question, we propose Mutual Information Maximization Meta-Learning (MIMML), a novel meta-learning-based predictive model for bioactive peptide discovery. Using few samples from various functional peptides, MIMML can sufficiently learn the discriminative information amongst various functions and characterize functional differences. Experimental results show excellent performance of MIMML though using far fewer training samples as compared to the state-of-the-art methods. We also decipher the latent relationships among different kinds of functions to understand what meta-model learned to improve a specific task. In summary, this study is a pioneering work in the field of functional peptide mining and provides the first-of-its-kind solution for few-sample learning problems in biological sequence analysis, accelerating the new functional peptide discovery. The source codes and datasets are available on https://github.com/TearsWaiting/MIMML.
Comparing SARS-CoV-2 case rates between pupils, teachers and the general population: results from Germany
Authors: Koestner Clemens , Letzel Stephan , Eggert Viktoria , Beutel Till , Dietz Pavel
Published: November 2021

Given the inconsistent state of research regarding the role of pupils and teachers during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Germany, statewide and nationwide data of infection case rates were analyzed to contribute to the discourse. Infection data from official sources ranging from mid to late 2020 were collected, prepared and analyzed to answer the question if pupils, teachers and general population differed in active case rates or not. The data showed that pupils and teachers case rates didn’t exceeded those of the general population. In conclusion, it seems appropriate to appraise school-related measures to mitigate the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic sufficiently. Data quality is a yet to overcome obstacle to provide good evidence-based recommendations regarding the management around infection cases in schools.