Experimental Investigation of the Compatibility of Lime Coating with Insulation Straw Biocomposite

The use of bio-based composite as building materials is one of the innovative solutions for dealing with environmental disorders caused by the construction sector. Among these materials we find biocomposites based on vegetable aggregates, which have proven their effectiveness as insulating materials in numerous studies. Despite the growing interest in these materials and the recognition of their performance, their use remains hampered by the lack of implementation rules specific to these materials to move towards a control of their use and their durability affected by the climate and use conditions to which they will be exposed at the level of a building. The objective of this work is to study the compatibility of a protective coating with a block substrate of biocomposites based on cereal straw. It is in fact a mixture of vegetable aggregates (straw), a binder composed of lime and additives also obtained from a renewable source (Ismail et al., 2020). These additives (air-entraining agent, casein protein and a biopolymer) have been added to improve both the fibre-binder interface and the porosity of the binder. The use of these bio-based materials for external or internal thermal insulation of the building requires the application of a coating to protect them against climatic aggressions and to give them an aesthetic appearance. The lime-based coatings, air-entraining agent and casein protein selected for this study have been the subject of an experimental investigation (Brahim Ismail, 2020). In order to assess the compatibility of these coatings with the straw-based insulating material, we were interested in studying the adhesion between the biocomposite and the coating after aging cycles in accordance with the EN 1015-21 standard. The samples (biocomposite + coating) were subjected to two types of aging, one using water and the other using a saline solution of sodium sulphates (Na2SO4). The results of the bond tests after aging showed that the cohesive fracture (at the level of the substrate) is a pattern observed in all the studied systems. In Addition, It has been found that the coating to which a percentage of fine fibers has been added undergoes considerable degradation after aging with salt solution, demonstrating the need of an additional layer of outer coating without fibers in order to ensure the sustainability of the system.

A Propagation Study of LoRa P2P Links for IoT Applications: The Case of Near-Surface Measurements over Semitropical Rivers

Internet of Things (IoT) radio networks are becoming popular in several scenarios for short-range applications (e.g., wearables and home security) and medium-range applications (e.g., shipping container tracking and autonomous farming). They have also been proposed for water monitoring in flood warning systems. IoT communications may use long range (LoRa) radios working in the 915 MHz industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) band. In this research, we study the propagation characteristics of LoRa chirp radio signals close to and over water in a tropical meadow region. We use as a case study the Colima River in Mexico. We develop a novel point-to-point IoT measurement sounding system that does not require decoding of LoRa propriety bursts and provides accurate power versus distance profiles along the riparian zone of a steeply dropping mountain river. We used this system to obtain the measurements reported in this work, which are also analyzed and modeled. The results show that the LoRa signal propagation over water exhibits a log-normal distribution. As a result of the chirp signal processing, two new experimental path loss models are presented. The path loss results show a considerable degradation of the received signal power over water within vegetation and less signal degradation at antenna heights closer to the water surface.

Characterizations of novel pesticide-degrading bacterial strains from industrial wastes found in the industrial cities of Pakistan and their biodegradation potential

Background Lack of infrastructure for disposal of effluents in industries leads to severe pollution of natural resources in developing countries. These pollutants accompanied by solid waste are equally hazardous to biological growth. Natural attenuation of these pollutants was evidenced that involved degradation by native microbial communities. The current study encompasses the isolation of pesticide-degrading bacteria from the vicinity of pesticide manufacturing industries. Methods The isolation and identification of biodegrading microbes was done. An enrichment culture technique was used to isolate the selected pesticide-degrading bacteria from industrial waste. Results Around 20 different strains were isolated, among which six isolates showed significant pesticide biodegrading activity. After 16S rRNA analysis, two isolated bacteria were identified as Acinetobacter baumannii (5B) and Acidothiobacillus ferroxidans, and the remaining four were identified as different strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1A, 2B, 3C, 4D). Phylogenetic analysis confirmed their evolution from a common ancestor. All strains showed distinctive degradation ability up to 36 hours. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains 1A and 4D showed highest degradation percentage of about 80% for DDT, and P. aeruginosa strain 3C showed highest degradation percentage, i.e., 78% for aldrin whilst in the case of malathion, A. baumannii and A. ferroxidans have shown considerable degradation percentages of 53% and 54%, respectively. Overall, the degradation trend showed that all the selected strains can utilize the given pesticides as sole carbon energy sources even at a concentration of 50 mg/mL. Conclusion This study provided strong evidence for utilizing these strains to remove persistent residual pesticide; thus, it gives potential for soil treatment and restoration.

Intra-exon motif correlations as a proxy measure for mean per-tile sequence quality data in RNA-Seq

Given the wide variability in the quality of NGS data submitted to public repositories, it is essential to identify methods that can perform quality control on these datasets when additional quality control data, such as mean tile data, is missing. This is particularly important because such datasets are routinely deposited in public archives that now store data at an unprecedented scale. In this paper, we show that correlating counts of reads corresponding to pairs of motifs separated over specific distances on individual exons corresponds to mean tile data in the datasets we analysed, and can therefore be used when mean tile data is not available.As test datasets we use the H. sapiens IVT (in-vitro transcribed) dataset of Lahens et al., and a D. melanogaster dataset comprising wild and mutant types from Aerts et al.The intra-exon motif correlations as a function of both GC content parameters are much higher in the IVT-Plasmids mRNA selection free RNA-Seq sample (control) than in the other RNA-Seq samples that did undergo mRNA selection: both ribosomal depletion (IVT-Only) and PolyA selection (IVT-polyA, wild-type, and mutant). There is considerable degradation of similar correlations in the mutant samples from the D. melanogaster dataset. This matches with the available mean tile data that has been gathered for these datasets. We observe that extremely low correlations are indicative of bias of technical origin, such as flowcell errors.

Degradation of Hardness of Alloys from Phase Coarsening

The hardness of alloys after phase coarsening is analyzed through the linkage between the multiparticle diffusion simulation and the finite element method simulation. Our analysis demonstrates that considerable degradation of the hardness of alloys occurs due to phase coarsening, which is related to the precipitate sizes and their distribution within the alloy. The microstructural evolution alters the manners of the nucleation, multiplication and movement of dislocations within the material, and further leads to different degradation of macroscopic hardness of alloys.

Cartographie Des Zones À Risque D’incendies De Forêts À L'aide Du SIG Et La Télédétection Dans L'arrière-Pays Du Port Tanger Med

Moroccan natural environments, in recent decades, have undergone considerable degradation which is related primarily to the development of populations and the pressure they have exerted on natural resources. One aspect of this degradation is forest fire that has accelerated alarmingly. The study area belongs to the forest area of Tangier which covers an area of 42.000ha. The latter is known for its sensitivity to heat, especially because of the nature of the vegetation cover, weather conditions (frequent and strong wind), and high population density. The present work aims to prioritize the plot study area according to the degree of fire risk of forests using the model established by Dagorne Y. Duche in 1994. To achieve this goal, the application of GIS and Remote Sensing is required to develop a fire risk map in the hinterland of Tangier Mediterranean port.

Estudio De Caso: Comportamiento Mecanico Del Hierro Fundido Gris Perlitico Sometido Al Fenómeno De Termofluencia

The application of foundries has been extended in recent times due to the advancement in casting and cooling techniques. This leads to a better control of their mechanical properties by allowing them to replace steel in multiple applications. In this work, the results of an experimental study that seeks to obtain information on the combined effect of tension (1224 Kgf / cm2) and temperature (500, 550, 600 and 650 ° C) in the pearlitic gray cast iron was addressed. The methodology used is analytical, qualitative, quantitative, deductive, and experimental logic. The tests were carried out according to the ASTM E139 standard using flat specimens of reduced section sized according to ISO 6892: 1998 (E). From the specimens tested, specimens were extracted from the fractured area to perform metallographic and microhardness tests. The results showed that for the temperatures of 500, 550 and 600°C, no complete curves characteristic of the creep phenomenon were obtained, while at 650°C, the curve obtained was complete. Regarding the metallographic study, it did not present a considerable degradation at the different study temperatures despite reaching the fracture in all cases. From the study of the hardness, a similar behavior was obtained in the curves for all the specimens as measurements were made moving away from the fracture.

Water Quality in the Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal: A Modification of Viable Field-based Testing Methods

Poorly managed solid waste disposal in the Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal, (SNP) is causing considerable degradation of major rivers and drinking water in the region. This research began as a study to: (1) identify sources of water contamination; (2) better understand the breadth of this problem; and (3) begin to develop technical solutions for resolving these problems. The remoteness of the study site and rugged terrain challenged the equipment used to collect and store samples and caused us to modify our protocols. Further, the complex interactions among natural resource management issues, increasing tourism, a struggling economy, climate change, and the risk of natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes) in the SNP triggered a change in our initial approach to the problem. We decided to broaden our research goals to include community-based resource management efforts designed to inform how resources are protected and governed in the SNP. Understanding communities, residents, and other stakeholder’s attitudes and perceptions of the social, economic, and environmental risks is necessary to help community leaders develop and sustain a useful governing framework to support water quality risk mitigation. This manuscript is an effort to communicate the evolving nature of our methodology over time and make a case for flexible research design, particularly in areas where geography, culture, and resource management potentially pose substantial challenges to traditional research methods. The methodology we eventually adopted is generalizable to similar remote mountainous regions around the globe.

Metal-mediated diradical tuning for DNA replication arrest via template strand scission

A series of M(PyED)·X (X = 2Cl−, SO42−) pyridine–metalloenediyne complexes [M = Cu(II), Fe(II), or Zn(II)] and their independently synthesized, cyclized analogs have been prepared to investigate their potential as radical-generating DNA-damaging agents. All complexes possess a 1:1 metal-to-ligand stoichiometry as determined by electronic absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Solution structural analysis reveals a pπ Cl → Cu(II) LMCT (22,026 cm−1) for Cu(PyED)·2Cl, indicating three nitrogens and a chloride in the psuedo-equatorial plane with the remaining pyridine nitrogen and solvent in axial positions. EPR spectra of the Cu(II) complexes exhibit an axially elongated octahedron. This spectroscopic evidence, together with density functional theory computed geometries, suggest six-coordinate structures for Cu(II) and Fe(II) complexes and a five-coordinate environment for Zn(II) analogs. Bergman cyclization via thermal activation of these constructs yields benzannulated product indicative of diradical generation in all complexes within 3 h at 37 °C. A significant metal dependence on the rate of the reaction is observed [Cu(II) > Fe(II) > Zn(II)], which is mirrored in in vitro DNA-damaging outcomes. Whereas in situ chelation of PyED leads to considerable degradation in the presence of all metals within 1 h under hyperthermia conditions, Cu(II) activation produces >50% compromised DNA within 5 min. Additionally, Cu(II) chelated PyED outcompetes DNA polymerase I to successfully inhibit template strand extension. Exposure of HeLa cells to Cu(PyBD)·SO4 (IC50 = 10 μM) results in a G2/M arrest compared with untreated samples, indicating significant DNA damage. These results demonstrate metal-controlled radical generation for degradation of biopolymers under physiologically relevant temperatures on short timescales.