scholarly journals Modelling and Analysis of a Solid Waste Composter for Urban Houses

2021 ◽  
Vol 850 (1) ◽  
pp. 012004
Author(s):  
Naveen Raj Srinivasan ◽  
J Chamala Vaishnavi ◽  
V Anuja ◽  
S Akash Menon ◽  
Devendrán ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solid Waste ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Kitchen Gardens ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Proven Method ◽  
Original Amount

Abstract Disposal of waste is an important issue faced by sanitation agencies, especially in India, where the volume of waste generated has been increasing rapidly over the last few years. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, as of January 2020, 147,613 metric tonnes (MT) of solid waste is generated per day in the country. Part of the waste that is expunged on a daily basis from homes, is food and other kitchen waste, which are biodegradable or compostable. In rural areas, such waste is disposed of in landfills, such that they get decomposed to form compost that is used as manure for crops. But this is not feasible in large cities where empty land, as well as the time required for waste to get converted into compost, is in short supply. Composting is a proven method to reduce the volume of waste, to almost 15-20% of its original amount. Therefore, this work is focused on designing an electric composter that could decompose waste artificially, and is compact, efficient, odourless, and easy to operate. This product can thus manage biodegradable waste at the source of its generation, and effectively supplant the wastebasket in a kitchen by occupying no greater space than the latter. The yield of compost would also provide nutritive natural fertilizer to homes wherein kitchen gardens or terrace farms have been set up, as well as promote the creation of the same wherever space is available. In this paper, the important parameters involved in the design of composter, including geometry parameters and the ones of operational significance such as speed and number of blades of agitator and bin temperature, have been discussed thoroughly, along with providing an understanding of the processes and considerations necessitated.

From Rags to Riches: Tapping the Social Capital within the Solid Waste Informal Sector

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-89
Author(s):  
Sameer Prasad ◽  
Ashish Jain ◽  
Jasmine Tata ◽  
Shantha Parthan
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Informal Sector ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Informal Networks ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Promising Area ◽  
Value Streams

Many large cities in the developing world cannot keep up with the vast quantities of solid waste being produced on a daily basis. Often, only 15 per cent of the waste is handled by municipal waste management systems; the rest is handled by the informal sector consisting of networks of rag-pickers who collect, sort, process and dispose of solid waste. These networks and waste streams hold not only economic but also environmental and social value. The current literature, however, has largely ignored this promising area of study, and provides limited direction in terms of the informal networks and their influence on economic, environmental and social outcomes. In this research, we use qualitative methodology and archival data to develop a typology connecting social capital to three value streams within this informal solid waste network. We find that the social capital of the rag-pickers provides superior economic, social and environmental yields. In addition, we discuss the role of NGOs in fostering social capital.

A Review : Sustainability from Waste

2019 ◽  
pp. 134-155
Author(s):  
Kriti Jain ◽  
Chirag Shah
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Waste Generation ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
Waste Dumps ◽  
Waste Segregation ◽  
Treatment And Disposal ◽  
Engineered Landfill

The increasing volume and complexity of waste associated with the modern economy as due to the ranging population, is posing a serious risk to ecosystems and human health. Every year, an estimated 11.2 billion tonnes of solid waste is collected worldwide and decay of the organic proportion of solid waste is contributing about 5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions (UNEP). Poor waste management - ranging from non-existing collection systems to ineffective disposal causes air pollution, water and soil contamination. Open and unsanitary landfills contribute to contamination of drinking water and can cause infection and transmit diseases. The dispersal of debris pollutes ecosystems and dangerous substances from waste or garbage puts a strain on the health of urban dwellers and the environment. India, being second most populated country of the world that too with the lesser land area comparatively, faces major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste collection, transport, treatment and disposal. Population explosion, coupled with improved life style of people, results in increased generation of solid wastes in urban as well as rural areas of the country. The challenges and barriers are significant, but so are the opportunities. A priority is to move from reliance on waste dumps that offer no environmental protection, to waste management systems that retain useful resources within the economy [2]. Waste segregation at source and use of specialized waste processing facilities to separate recyclable materials has a key role. Disposal of residual waste after extraction of material resources needs engineered landfill sites and/or investment in waste-to-energy facilities. This study focusses on the minimization of the waste and gives the brief about the various initiations for proper waste management system. Hence moving towards the alternatives is the way to deal with these basic problems. This paper outlines various advances in the area of waste management. It focuses on current practices related to waste management initiatives taken by India. The purpose of this article put a light on various initiatives in the country and locates the scope for improvement in the management of waste which will also clean up the unemployment.

Marital Disharmony among Working Couples in Metropolitan Life: an In-depth Study in Kolkata City

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 72-85
Author(s):  
Nilanjana Ghoshal ◽  
Mst Tania Parveen ◽  
Dr Asraful Alam
Keyword(s):  
Functional Method ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Metropolitan Cities ◽  
Urban India ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
Working Couples ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Time Required ◽  
The City ◽  
Opposite Gender

In India, traditionally and from time immemorial, marriage has always been a sacred bond for people of this country. The aim of this study is to explain a socially sanctioned sex relationship involving people of two opposite gender whose relationship is expected to endure beyond time required for gestation. The functional method of the study has been set up on the field-based observation to find out the reasons behind rising of marital disharmony among working couples. But the problem is initially in modern times the concept of marriage is gradually taking a different turn between couples. Hence the focus of this paper is to study the various factors giving rise to marital disharmonies among working couples in urban India and how these discords can be solved so that couples can lead a happy harmonious married life ahead. Survey has been done in the city of Kolkata taking people from various walks of life. As Kolkata is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India it was easier to find people belonging to different professions. The result of this study is every marriage brings challenges in life. Maximum working couples are losing attachment with each other as they have lack of time for each other. Bringing work at home, sharing of parenthood, indifference towards each other, lack of adjustments are the causes for which level of disharmony is increasing.

The territory of the Russian Federation is a rescue from the COVID-19 coronavirus

2020 ◽  
pp. 26-29
Author(s):  
Yu. Kozlov ◽  
R. Serebryakov
Keyword(s):  
Wind Power ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Small Area ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Air Spring ◽  
Atmospheric Air ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Wind Power Plants ◽  
The World ◽  
The Russian Federation

A new coronavirus pandemic is raging all over the world, especially in densely populated areas. Unlike most countries, more than half of the territory of Russia is not used by humans — which means that it is possible to settle large cities to avoid crowding people on a small area. The authors of the article consider wind power, namely vortex wind power plants, as a new source of energy that can be quickly and with less harm built in rural areas. The article also discusses the possibilities of an alternative Autonomous non-volatile installation "Air spring" for obtaining fresh water from atmospheric air.

scholarly journals Urban Sustainability at the Cost of Rural Unsustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5466
Author(s):  
Guangwei Huang
Keyword(s):  
Urban Sprawl ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Sustainability ◽  
Negative Externalities ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Rural Sustainability ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
The Cost ◽  
New Framework ◽  
Japan And China

Urban sustainability refers to building and maintaining cities that can continue to function without running out of resources. However, growing cities require more land and urban sprawl has transformed surrounding rural areas into urbanized settlements. Furthermore, the prosperity of large cities depends on the supply of both natural and human resources from rural areas, either nearby or remote. On the other hand, the use of resources of rural areas by cities may cause negative externalities to rural areas, affecting their sustainability. Therefore, a critical, but very much neglected issue, is how unban sustainability should be pursued without affecting rural sustainability. In this study, cases in Japan and China were analyzed from resources and population migration perspectives to provide evidence for the possibility that urban sustainability might have been pursued at the cost of rural unsustainability. It was intended to develop a better understanding of urban sustainability through the lens of externalities. Based on the analysis, a new framework for urban sustainability study was proposed, which consists of three new pillars. Namely, externality, vulnerability, and population instability.

scholarly journals Prediction of Pest Insect Appearance Using Sensors and Machine Learning

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 4846
Author(s):  
Dušan Marković ◽  
Dejan Vujičić ◽  
Snežana Tanasković ◽  
Borislav Đorđević ◽  
Siniša Ranđić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Lower Percentage ◽  
Timely Manner ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Accuracy Of Prediction

The appearance of pest insects can lead to a loss in yield if farmers do not respond in a timely manner to suppress their spread. Occurrences and numbers of insects can be monitored through insect traps, which include their permanent touring and checking of their condition. Another more efficient way is to set up sensor devices with a camera at the traps that will photograph the traps and forward the images to the Internet, where the pest insect’s appearance will be predicted by image analysis. Weather conditions, temperature and relative humidity are the parameters that affect the appearance of some pests, such as Helicoverpa armigera. This paper presents a model of machine learning that can predict the appearance of insects during a season on a daily basis, taking into account the air temperature and relative humidity. Several machine learning algorithms for classification were applied and their accuracy for the prediction of insect occurrence was presented (up to 76.5%). Since the data used for testing were given in chronological order according to the days when the measurement was performed, the existing model was expanded to take into account the periods of three and five days. The extended method showed better accuracy of prediction and a lower percentage of false detections. In the case of a period of five days, the accuracy of the affected detections was 86.3%, while the percentage of false detections was 11%. The proposed model of machine learning can help farmers to detect the occurrence of pests and save the time and resources needed to check the fields.

scholarly journals Job preferences of undergraduate pharmacy students in China: a discrete choice experiment

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Liu ◽  
Shimeng Liu ◽  
Tiantian Gong ◽  
Quan Li ◽  
Gang Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Discrete Choice Experiment ◽  
Discrete Choice ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Job Characteristics ◽  
Pharmacy Students ◽  
Preference Heterogeneity ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
Job Preferences ◽  
Open Management

Abstract Background Pharmacists are a crucial part of the health workforce and play an important role in achieving universal health coverage. In China, pharmaceutical human resources are in short supply, and the distribution is unequal. This study aimed to identify the key job characteristics that influence the job preferences of undergraduate pharmacy students and to elicit the relative importance of different job characteristics to shed light on future policy interventions. Methods A discrete choice experiment was conducted to assess the job preferences of undergraduate pharmacy students from 6 provinces in mainland China. A face-to-face interview was used to collect data. Conditional logit and mixed logit models were used to analyse data, and the final model was chosen according to the model fit statistics. A series of policy simulations was also conducted. Results In total, 581 respondents completed the questionnaire, and 500 respondents who passed the internal consistency test were analysed. All attributes were statistically significant except for open management. Monthly income and work location were most important to respondents, followed by work unit (which refers to the nature of the workplace) and years to promotion. There was preference heterogeneity among respondents, e.g., male students preferred open management, and female students preferred jobs in public institutions. Furthermore, students with an urban background or from a single-child family placed higher value on a job in the city compared to their counterparts. Conclusion The heterogeneity of attributes showed the complexity of job preferences. Both monetary and nonmonetary job characteristics significantly influenced the job preferences of pharmacy students in China. A more effective policy intervention to attract graduates to work in rural areas should consider both incentives on the job itself and the background of pharmacy school graduates.

scholarly journals Simple low dose radiography allows precise lung volume assessment in mice

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amara Khan ◽  
Andrea Markus ◽  
Thomas Rittmann ◽  
Jonas Albers ◽  
Frauke Alves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Function ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Acquisition Time ◽  
Micro Ct ◽  
Lung Volumes ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Volume Assessment ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Time Required

AbstractX-ray based lung function (XLF) as a planar method uses dramatically less X-ray dose than computed tomography (CT) but so far lacked the ability to relate its parameters to pulmonary air volume. The purpose of this study was to calibrate the functional constituents of XLF that are biomedically decipherable and directly comparable to that of micro-CT and whole-body plethysmography (WBP). Here, we developed a unique set-up for simultaneous assessment of lung function and volume using XLF, micro-CT and WBP on healthy mice. Our results reveal a strong correlation of lung volumes obtained from radiographic XLF and micro-CT and demonstrate that XLF is superior to WBP in sensitivity and precision to assess lung volumes. Importantly, XLF measurement uses only a fraction of the radiation dose and acquisition time required for CT. Therefore, the redefined XLF approach is a promising tool for preclinical longitudinal studies with a substantial potential of clinical translation.

The Reduction of Bias Error in Transfer Function Estimates Using FFT-Based Analyzers

1984 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Cawley
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Function ◽  
Random Excitation ◽  
Analogue Computer ◽  
Bias Error ◽  
Testing Time ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Modal Mass ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Good Agreement

The susceptibility to bias error of two methods for computing transfer (frequency response) functions from spectra produced by FFT-based analyzers using random excitation has been investigated. Results from tests with an FFT analyzer on a single degree-of-freedom system set up on an analogue computer show good agreement with the theoretical predictions. It has been shown that, around resonance, the bias error in the transfer function estimate H2 (Syy/Sxy*) is considerably less than that in the more commonly used estimate, H1 (Sxy/Sxx). The record length, and hence the testing time, required for a given accuracy is reduced by over 50 percent if the H2 calculation procedure is used. The analysis has also shown that if shaker excitation is used on lightly damped structures with low modal mass, it is important to minimize the mass of the force gage and the moving element of the shaker.

scholarly journals The European TeleCheck-AF project on remote app-based management of atrial fibrillation during the COVID-19 pandemic: centre and patient experiences

EP Europace ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Gawałko ◽  
David Duncker ◽  
Martin Manninger ◽  
Rachel M J van der Velden ◽  
Astrid N L Hermans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Patient Characteristics ◽  
Patient Experiences ◽  
Af Ablation ◽  
District Hospitals ◽  
Inclusion Rate ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Short Time

Abstract Aims TeleCheck-AF is a multicentre international project initiated to maintain care delivery for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) during COVID-19 through teleconsultations supported by an on-demand photoplethysmography-based heart rate and rhythm monitoring app (FibriCheck®). We describe the characteristics, inclusion rates, and experiences from participating centres according the TeleCheck-AF infrastructure as well as characteristics and experiences from recruited patients. Methods and results Three surveys exploring centre characteristics (n = 25), centre experiences (n = 23), and patient experiences (n = 826) were completed. Self-reported patient characteristics were obtained from the app. Most centres were academic (64%) and specialized public cardiology/district hospitals (36%). Majority of the centres had AF outpatient clinics (64%) and only 36% had AF ablation clinics. The time required to start patient inclusion and total number of included patients in the project was comparable for centres experienced (56%) or inexperienced in mHealth use. Within 28 weeks, 1930 AF patients were recruited, mainly for remote AF control (31% of patients) and AF ablation follow-up (42%). Average inclusion rate was highest during the lockdown restrictions and reached a steady state at a lower level after easing the restrictions (188 vs. 52 weekly recruited patients). Majority (>80%) of the centres reported no problems during the implementation of the TeleCheck-AF approach. Recruited patients [median age 64 (55–71), 62% male] agreed that the FibriCheck® app was easy to use (94%). Conclusion Despite different health care settings and mobile health experiences, the TeleCheck-AF approach could be set up within an extremely short time and easily used in different European centres during COVID-19.

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