Environment
Elaheh faghihnasiri; Farhad Qaderi; S. Mustapha Rahmaninezhad
Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 30 January 2024
Abstract
Industrial processes are among human activities that cause the production of a large volume of wastewater containing organic pollutants such as phenol and its derivatives. Soil remediation is crucial for enhancing environmental quality for both humans and other living organisms. This study investigated ...
Read More
Industrial processes are among human activities that cause the production of a large volume of wastewater containing organic pollutants such as phenol and its derivatives. Soil remediation is crucial for enhancing environmental quality for both humans and other living organisms. This study investigated the use of an electro-peroxone system to remove environmental pollutants from soil. In conjunction with ozonation, the study employed electrochemically generated hydrogen peroxide using a carbon electrode, addressing concerns about transportation and storage. Experiments were structured using response surface methodology (RSM) with three variables: ozone dosages ranging from 4 to 8 l/hr, initial pollutant concentrations from 20 to 50 mg/kg, and treatment durations between 7 and 14 days. The effectiveness of phenol removal from soil was assessed by applying a consistent voltage of 2 V/cm to the soil samples in all experiments. Results revealed a negative correlation between initial pollutant concentration and ozone consumption and a positive correlation between treatment duration and pollutant removal efficiency. Optimal removal efficiency occurred with a 14-day treatment duration, an 8 l/hr ozone dosage, and a 20 mg/kg initial pollutant concentration. The electro-peroxone system's application indicates its potential as a sustainable, eco-friendly, and cost-effective approach to soil remediation for pollution.
Environment
M. J. Islam
Abstract
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is encircled by six rivers like a garland. Dhaka's growing population, urbanization, and modernization are causing problems with wastewater discharges and water pollution in the river's water body. These rivers receive wastewater from numerous sources, which are discharged ...
Read More
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is encircled by six rivers like a garland. Dhaka's growing population, urbanization, and modernization are causing problems with wastewater discharges and water pollution in the river's water body. These rivers receive wastewater from numerous sources, which are discharged as industrial effluents, municipal sewage, household wastes, clinical wastes, and oils. The water of these rivers is being polluted to an increasing degree. This study investigated how the surface water in Dhaka's rivers varies throughout the year. The results of various water quality indices, such as DO, BOD, COD, pH, TDS, EC, SS, Turbidity, and alkalinity, were compared with the guidelines set by Bangladesh's Department of Environment (DoE) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Sample collection was done in two seasons in a year, dry season and wet season. In this study, researchers also aim to determine the effect of this wastewater on the river water and thus provide a report on the state of a numerical rating for determining the rivers' water quality.
Environment
A. Sezavar; H. Farsi; S. Mohamadzadeh
Abstract
Person re-identification (re-id) is one of the most critical and challenging topics in image processing and artificial intelligence. In general, person re-identification means that a person seen in the field of view of one camera can be found and tracked by other non-overlapped cameras. Low-resolution ...
Read More
Person re-identification (re-id) is one of the most critical and challenging topics in image processing and artificial intelligence. In general, person re-identification means that a person seen in the field of view of one camera can be found and tracked by other non-overlapped cameras. Low-resolution frames, high occlusion in crowded scene, and few samples for training supervised models make re-id challenging. This paper proposes a new model for person re-identification to overcome the noisy frames and extract robust features from each frame. To this end, a noise-aware system is implemented by training an auto-encoder on artificially damaged frames to overcome noise and occlusion. A model for person re-identification is implemented based on deep convolutional neural networks. Experimental results on two actual databases, CUHK01 and CUHK03, demonstrate that the proposed method performs better than state-of-the-art methods.
Environment
J. E. Sani; T. S. Ijimdiya; G. Moses; A. A. Lawal
Abstract
The soil investigated for suitability checks, as a subgrade material in this study, was a crude oil contaminated (COC) soil treated using an electrokinetic technique. The index properties and compaction characteristics of the electrokinetic remediated (EKR) soil are natural moisture content was 10.97%; ...
Read More
The soil investigated for suitability checks, as a subgrade material in this study, was a crude oil contaminated (COC) soil treated using an electrokinetic technique. The index properties and compaction characteristics of the electrokinetic remediated (EKR) soil are natural moisture content was 10.97%; The Atterberg limit test showed liquid limit, plastic limit, plasticity index and linear shrinkage of 36.50%, 22.05%,14.45 %, and 4.30%, respectively. The percentage of 62.80% passes 0.075mm sieve with a maximum dry density (MDD) of 1.77 Mg/m3, and the moisture content decreased from 13.2% to 11.81%. The soil is classified as A-6 according to AASHTO classification system and belong to clay of low plasticity CL or OL group according to the Unified Soil Classification System. The unconfined compression strength, (UCS), durability, and California bearing ratio (CBR) of the electrokinetic remediated soil improved marginally from 46.63kN/m2 to 92.64kN/m2; from 18% to 23%; and from 2.55% to 4.05% respectively. However, these results obtained, do not meet the minimum requirement of the Nigerian General Specification. As a result, it is advised for further research, that an EKR soil be stabilized using cement stabilization to achieve the desired subgrade strength.
Environment
A. Kaviani Rad
Abstract
A global health and economic crisis was caused by a pandemic Covid-19 in 2020, which reduced human activity worldwide. As human activities decreased, researchers had the chance to evaluate the impact of humankind on the ecosystem as well as explore the causes behind natural occurrences like forest fires, ...
Read More
A global health and economic crisis was caused by a pandemic Covid-19 in 2020, which reduced human activity worldwide. As human activities decreased, researchers had the chance to evaluate the impact of humankind on the ecosystem as well as explore the causes behind natural occurrences like forest fires, which are mostly caused by humans. To assess the effect of quarantine on the forest fire situation in northern Iran. Twelve indicators were retrieved from Sentinel satellites, which represent four groups: land surface temperature, air pollutants, vegetation, and humidity. As indicated by preliminary results, the risk of fire decreased by about 34% in 2020 compared with 2018–2019; however, it subsequently increased again in 2021–2022. This leads to the conclusion that Covid-19 had a positive impact on forest health, but there was still an element of uncertainty as different ecological variables come into play. To evaluate this hypothesis in different regions, it is necessary to conduct additional studies, especially using ground-based data. In light of the adverse economic consequences of Covid-19, it is recommended that forest protection policies be implemented more effectively.
Environment
U. N. Wilson; J. E. Sani; A. Yusuf; O. C. Eze
Abstract
This research work examined the effect of jute fibre on the shear strength of concrete. Fibre volume fractions of 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, and 0.75% for grades 25, 30, 35 and 40 N/mm2 respectively were used. A total of 32 beams and 96 cubes were prepared. 16 beams and 48 cubes were cured at room temperature ...
Read More
This research work examined the effect of jute fibre on the shear strength of concrete. Fibre volume fractions of 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, and 0.75% for grades 25, 30, 35 and 40 N/mm2 respectively were used. A total of 32 beams and 96 cubes were prepared. 16 beams and 48 cubes were cured at room temperature for 28 days, while the other 16 beams and 48 cubes were cured for 28 days and kept for a period of 6 months to be observed for durability with respect to strength after testing. All the beams were tested under three-point loading system with a shear span, av = 2.5d. The results of the compressive strength showed that concrete made with 0.5% jute fibre for 28 days and 6 months gave percentage increase in compressive strength by 12%, 12.5%, 9.7% and 10.1% for grades 25, 30, 35 and 40 N/mm2 respectively compared to the control samples. Percentage increase in shear strength were by 24.5%, 16.1%, 27.9% and 16.5% for concrete grades 25, 30, 35 and 40 N/mm2 respectively compared to the control samples. The addition of the fibre to the concrete slightly reduced the workability of the concrete and increased the crack resistance of concrete.
Environment
S. O. Odeyemi; R. Abdulwahab; M. A. Akinpelu; R. Afolabi; O. D. Atoyebi
Abstract
The rising cost of concrete production due to the global recession in world economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the greenhouse gases emitted in the production of cement has necessitated the need for alternative materials for cement. In this study, bamboo strips and steel rebars were used as reinforcements ...
Read More
The rising cost of concrete production due to the global recession in world economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the greenhouse gases emitted in the production of cement has necessitated the need for alternative materials for cement. In this study, bamboo strips and steel rebars were used as reinforcements in a ternary blended concrete to determine their strength properties. In alignment with standard requirements for testing, concrete specimens were tested at curing ages of 7, 14 and 28 days for compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strengths. The morphological and bond characteristics of the bamboo were determined through the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively; while its tensile strength was determined and compared with that of steel reinforcement. These results showed that bamboo is ductile and has stretching vibrational spectrum. The combinations of quarry dust, river sand, Rice Husk Ash (RHA) and Guinea Corn Husk Ash (GCHA) yielded compressive and split tensile strengths of 20.4 N/mm2 and 2.18 N/mm2, respectively. Concrete with 50 % river sand and 50 % quarry dust performed better in flexure for both Bamboo Reinforced Concrete (BRC) and Steel Reinforced Concrete (SRC) at 28 days with strengths of 12.75 N/mm2 and 22.49 N/mm2, respectively. Therefore, bamboo, quarry dust, rice husk and guinea corn husk ash can be used for reinforced concrete production.
Environment
H. Hassanpour; Z. Mortezaie; A. Beghdadi
Abstract
Video surveillance systems are widely used in the public and private sectors for maintaining security and healthcare purposes. Performance of surveillance systems directly depends on their accuracy in re-identification. There are three regions in a camera view, including person’s body, background, ...
Read More
Video surveillance systems are widely used in the public and private sectors for maintaining security and healthcare purposes. Performance of surveillance systems directly depends on their accuracy in re-identification. There are three regions in a camera view, including person’s body, background, and possible carried object by the person. Background, in existing approaches, is either overlooked or treated like a person’s body in re-identification. In this paper, these three regions are considered in re-identification but with different importance. In our proposed technique, first, the input image is semantically segmented into the three regions using a deep semantic segmentation approach. Then, the effect of each region on characteristic features of people is tuned depending on the region’s importance in re-identification. The proposed technique, leveraging robust descriptors, such as the Gaussian of Gaussian (GOG) and Hierarchical Gaussian Descriptors (HGD), can enhance existing methods in dealing with the challenging issues such as partial occlusion caused by carried objects and background in re-identification. Experimental results on commonly used people re-identification datasets demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed technique in improving performance of existing re-identification methods.
Environment
H. Tamadon Ghareghie; M. Yazdi; D. Yousefi Kebria; H. Aminirad
Abstract
Soil contamination is considered a controversial issue in most countries. Nowadays, it is important to clearly understand how pollutants influence the soil from different sources. Today, hydrocarbons are one of the most important sources of soil contaminants, which is considered as a fundamental issue ...
Read More
Soil contamination is considered a controversial issue in most countries. Nowadays, it is important to clearly understand how pollutants influence the soil from different sources. Today, hydrocarbons are one of the most important sources of soil contaminants, which is considered as a fundamental issue at the global level. The current study aims to analyze and model the effect of simultaneous parameters (time and concentration) of phenols and naphthalene with different percentages (10, 15, 20 and 25%) together with the amount of bentonite in fine-grained sandy soil. The designed experiments made use of response surface methodology (RSM) and Design-Expert software to carry out a computer-based simulation. According to the proposed model, the amount of bentonite is most affected by the permeability of the soil. The obtained results also showed that the permeability significantly decreases in the light of increasing the percentage of phenol and naphthalene coupled with the amount of bentonite and the age of contamination. On average, an 80% reduction of permeability was observed in contaminated soil, which was found in the soil contaminated with naphthalene. According to the results of the synergistic effects of time, the considerable impacts of both the percentage of hydrocarbon pollutants and the amount of bentonite on the reduction of permeability are quite evident.
Environment
H. Esmaeil Yazdi; A. M. Salehi
Abstract
Proper acoustic design is especially important in some buildings. For example, in concert halls, one of the desirable functional features is the proper transmission of music. In this regard, an indicator that can effectively show the quality of the received sound is the sound intensity, which is the ...
Read More
Proper acoustic design is especially important in some buildings. For example, in concert halls, one of the desirable functional features is the proper transmission of music. In this regard, an indicator that can effectively show the quality of the received sound is the sound intensity, which is the purpose of this study is a way to optimize this indicator. Among the most effective variables that will affect the intensity of the received sound and also the important characteristics of the sound source are the frequency and octave of the sound, as well as the distance between the sound source and the receiver. In this research, a new method was proposed to investigate the effect of these three variables on the received sound intensity. In this regard, ODEON software, one of the most powerful software in acoustic design, was used and data analyses were implemented. Then, using full factorial method (one of the experimental design methods), targeted scenarios based on three independent variables were identified and by using the results of simulated scenarios, the linear relationship between the dependent variable (sound intensity) and independent variables (frequency, octave and distance) were developed. Using this linear relationship, it was found that the octave of sound has the greatest effect on sound intensity, and sound frequency and distance from the sound source were inversely related to the sound intensity.
Environment
R. A. Olaoye; S. O. Ojoawo; O. Bamigbade; N. Alimi; I. O. Rasaq; T. Oladejo
Abstract
The adhesion of metal ions from wastewater to surface of a material in an adsorption process had proven to be effective for remediation of wastewater before discharge. There is a growing demand to utilize alternative low-cost adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals from galvanic wastewater in most ...
Read More
The adhesion of metal ions from wastewater to surface of a material in an adsorption process had proven to be effective for remediation of wastewater before discharge. There is a growing demand to utilize alternative low-cost adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals from galvanic wastewater in most developing countries. Cow bones are cheap, readily available and can be sourced locally from slaughterhouses and abattoir. Therefore, their use as an alternative adsorbent for remediation of galvanic wastewater had to be assessed. In this study, the efficacy of cow bone char (CBC) was assessed for simultaneous heavy metal ions removal from real life galvanic wastewater in a competitive adsorption process. The galvanic wastewater was characterized using atomic adsorption spectrophotometry while the CBC was characterized using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). Batch experiment was performed to determine the effect of adsorbent dose, contact time and agitation speed on the removal efficiency of heavy metal ions from the galvanized wastewater. The concentrations of Mn2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, Pb2+ and Cr2+ in the raw wastewater exceeded the WHO and EPA standards. The adsorbent revealed a significant distribution of well-developed porous, rough surfaces with cracks characterized by different functional groups for the efficient adsorption process. The optimum adsorbent dose for all the metal ions was 0.04 g/100 mL at an optimum contact time of 60 minutes except for Fe2+ with optimum contact time of 20 minutes, and agitation speed of 150 rpm. The maximum metal removal efficiencies obtained for Mn2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, Pb2+ and Cr2were 99.7%, 100%, 99%, 90% and 85% +, respectively. The average adsorption capacity for Mn2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, Pb2+ and Cr2+were 0.44 mg/g, 26.7 mg/g, 78.5 mg/g, 0.133 mg/g for and 10.36 mg/g, respectively. CBC offers efficient and cost-effective removal of selected metal ions from galvanized wastewater.
Environment
M. Moallem; H. Hassanpour; A. A. Pouyan
Abstract
Smart homes enable many people, especially the elderly and patients, to live alone and maintain their independence and comfort. The realization of this goal depends on monitoring all activities in the house to report any observed anomaly immediately to their relatives or nurses. Anomaly detection in ...
Read More
Smart homes enable many people, especially the elderly and patients, to live alone and maintain their independence and comfort. The realization of this goal depends on monitoring all activities in the house to report any observed anomaly immediately to their relatives or nurses. Anomaly detection in smart homes, just by existing data, is not an easy task. In this work, we train a recurrent network with raw outputs of binary sensors, including motion and door sensors, to predict which sensor will be switched on/off in the next event, and how long this on/off mode will last. Then, using Beam Search, we extend this event into k sequences of consecutive events to determine the possible range of upcoming activities. The error of this prediction i.e., the distance between these possible sequences and the real string of events is evaluated using several innovative methods for measuring the spatio-temporal similarity of the sequences. Modeling this error as a Gaussian distribution allows to assess the likelihood of anomaly scores. The input sequences that are ranked higher than a certain threshold will be considered as abnormal activities. The results of the experiments showed that this method enables the detection of abnormal activities with desirable accuracy.
Environment
V. Kanthe; S. Deo; M. Murmu
Abstract
In this research paper, the effect on autogenous healing in concrete by cementitious material such as fly ash (FA) and rice husk ash (RHA) are reported. The utilization of waste byproduct are the interest in research for healing of concrete. The non-destructive testing and microstructure analysis were ...
Read More
In this research paper, the effect on autogenous healing in concrete by cementitious material such as fly ash (FA) and rice husk ash (RHA) are reported. The utilization of waste byproduct are the interest in research for healing of concrete. The non-destructive testing and microstructure analysis were conducted to quantify autogenous healing in concrete. The concrete specimens prepared with different proportion of FA and RHA. The satisfactory results of non- destructive test were obtained with respect to the durability of concrete. In the chemical and microstructure analysis the calcium carbonate crystals formed on healed cracks surface and dense particle packing in the matrix of concrete were observed. This type of ternary blend is useful for making durable and sustainable concrete structure. The utilization of industrial and agricultural byproduct reduces the effect of environmental pollution and also reduces the consumption of cement with the same reduction in CO2 emition from cement industry.
Environment
E. S. Aghaee Meybodi; M. Ghasemzadeh
Abstract
Prediction of software vulnerabilities-severity is of particular importance. Its most important application is that managers can first deal with the most dangerous vulnerabilities when they have limited resources. This research shows how we can use the former patterns of software vulnerabilities-severity ...
Read More
Prediction of software vulnerabilities-severity is of particular importance. Its most important application is that managers can first deal with the most dangerous vulnerabilities when they have limited resources. This research shows how we can use the former patterns of software vulnerabilities-severity along with machine learning methods to predict the vulnerabilities severity of that software in the future. In this regard, we used the SVM, Decision Trees (DT), Random Forests (RF), K Nearest Neighbors (KNN), bagging and AdaBoost algorithms along with the already reported vulnerabilities of Google Android applications, Apple Safari and the Flash Player. The experimental results showed that the Bagging algorithm can predict Google Android vulnerability with accuracy of 78.21% and f1-measure equal to 77%, the vulnerability of the Flash Player software with accuracy of 82.37% and f1-measure equal to 87.73% and predict the vulnerability severity of the Apple Safari with accuracy of 70.58% and f1-measure equal to 70%. The novelty of this research is introduction of a new method for prediction of software vulnerabilities severity.