Evaluation of the Performance of a Newly Developed Wireless Temperature and Moisture Sensor for Rice under Various Levels of Temperature, Moisture Content, and Dockage

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaushik Luthra ◽  
Soraya Shafiekhani ◽  
Brandon Stephens ◽  
Sammy Sadaka ◽  
Griffiths G Atungulu
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Maintenance Cost ◽  
Drying Process ◽  
Milled Rice ◽  
Moisture Sensor ◽  
Down Low ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Set Up ◽  
On Farm

Abstract. Monitoring on-farm, in-bin natural air drying process of rice is critical to achieve optimum milled rice quality, milling yields, and maximize profits to growers and processors. Engineering tools such as temperature/humidity cables with sensors for grain condition monitoring, and mobile applications have emerged to provide significant improvements in quality control and automation of the drying process. This research seeks to improve the performance of a recently developed, novel wireless probe for sensing temperature and moisture content of rice. The specific objective is to test the accuracy and precision of the measurements over a wide range of rice temperature (20°C to 60°C), moisture content (13% to 25% wet basis), and dockage levels (0 to 10% by weight). Wireless probes designed and built in collaboration with Deacon Technologies LLC were used in this study. The probes were calibrated against thermocouple readings for temperature measurements and standard oven method measurements for moisture content. Experiments were performed in triplicates using three different probes and three metal containers with rice samples to check the accuracy of the probes and to determine the variability amongst different probes. The probes were accurate due to the strong regressions found between the measured and true values of temperature and moisture content. The ANOVA analysis showed that there was no significant difference within different probes both for temperature (p = 0.17) and moisture content (p = 0.48) measurements. Calibration equations were developed to further reduce the variance in the probe measurements. Both for temperature and moisture content measurements, the calibration equation coefficients were statistically significant with positive slopes and small standard errors (less than 0.5). Thus, these probes could be handy for on-farm in-bin rice temperature and moisture monitoring; with the merits of portability, easy set-up and tear down, low initial and maintenance cost, and precise and accurate measurements. Keywords: Calibration, Dockage, Moisture content, On-farm in-bin drying, Rough rice, Temperature, Wireless probe.

scholarly journals Effects of rotifer densities on larval performance of spotted scat (Scatophagus argus)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (Aquaculture) ◽  
pp. 37-43
Author(s):  
Quoc Viet Le ◽  
Van Khanh Ly ◽  
Thi My Han Duong ◽  
Nguyen Duy Khoa Tran ◽  
Tomonari Kotani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Survival Rate ◽  
Growth Performance ◽  
Body Length ◽  
Fish Larvae ◽  
Larval Growth ◽  
Larval Performance ◽  
Scatophagus Argus ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Set Up

This study is aimed to determine the optimal rotifer feeding density for larviculture of spotted scat fish (Scatophagus argus). The experiment was randomly set up in triplicate with 5 treatments including 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 rotifers/mL. The fish larvae with the initial body length and depth at 2,343 ± 110 µm and 812 ± 85µm, respectively, were stocked in 250-L tanks at 10 larva/L of density and 25‰ of salinity. After 21 days of rearing, the results showed that the larval growth were at 243 – 330 µm/day of DLG and 5.50 – 6.70 %/day of SGRL; 131 –204 µm/day of DDG and 7.20 – 8.93 %/day of SGRD, but no significant difference in larval growth performance was recorded among treatments (p>0.05). However, the highest survival rate of fish larvae (35.4-48.1%) was recorded in the treatments fed 5 and 10 rotifers/mL and was significantly higher than other treatments (p<0.05). The data demonstrated that spotted scat larvae fed effectively across as wide range of rotifer densities and the range at 5-10 rotifers/mL were suggested for the husbandry practices.

Superparasitism by Spalangia drosophilae Ashm

1956 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. J. Simmonds
Keyword(s):  
Random Distribution ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Single Host ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Point Total ◽  
Perfect Discrimination ◽  
Total Parasitism

It is known that the females of some species of parasites can distinguish hosts that have already been parasitised and refrain from ovipositing in them. A study was made of the extent to which Spalangia drosophilae Ashm. avoids superparasitism of the puparia of Drosophila melanogaster Mg. by means of these two steps, which are termed discrimination and restraint, respectively.Host puparia 0–24 hours old were stuck on paper, with water, equidistant ¼ in. from each other and placed in 4½ in. × 1 in. glass vials into which females of Spalangia were introduced for different periods. A series of experiments was set up, in which 25, 10 and 5 puparia were exposed to attack by 1 unmated or 1, 2 and 5 mated parasites for 24, 48 and 72 hours. In this way a wide range was obtained of the parasite-host (P/H) ratio, computed as the ratio of the number of female parasites, multiplied by the number of 24-hour periods for which they were used, to the number of host puparia exposed. Each treatment was replicated ten times, thus entailing a total of 360 experiments. The sequence of events associated with oviposition consisted of examination of the puparium by the females, stinging, followed sometimes by feeding on the fluid that exuded, and finally, but not invariably, oviposition. At the end of the experiment each puparium was examined and the number of eggs present, or the occurrence of stinging only, was recorded. The chance of a puparium being attacked was unaffected by its position on the paper and there was no significant difference between the total number of eggs that virgin and mated females laid under the same conditions.The results were assessed by comparing the observed distribution of parasite eggs amongst host puparia with the probable random distribution calculated from a formula that is given. The divergence between these distributions was greatest at the lower P/H values, and very little superparasitism occurred unless these exceeded 3/25, at which point total parasitism reached about 60–70 per cent. As the P/H value increased, so did the total parasitism and the degree of superparasitism, and the deviation of the observed from the random distribution of eggs diminished, although even amongst experiments in which parasitism reached 91–100 per cent., superparasitism was still avoided in 15·6 per cent, of them.The degree to which females of Spalangia can restrain themselves from ovipositing in hosts that have been parasitised was estimated by plotting the percentage of experiments in which restraint was observed to break down, against the level of attack, and comparing the distribution of the points so obtained with the curves that would relate these two functions if the power of restraint was to break down when the female was confronted with 2, 3 or 4 successive puparia that had already been attacked. It is concluded that the assumption that restraint breaks down at about the third successive unsuitable encounter gives the best fit with the observed data.Contributory evidence that females of Spalangia can distinguish parasitised hosts was obtained by direct observation of their behaviour, which indicated that, on the average, females took about 3½ minutes to examine an unparasitised host before deciding whether to attack or not, but, in the case of hosts already parasitised, either rejected them in half that time, or only accepted them after unduly prolonged examination.When individual mated females were supplied daily for 16 days with a single puparium, then for 3 days with 25 puparia, then again for 8 days with a single puparium and finally for 8 days with 25 puparia, the number of eggs laid daily was restricted to less than two when only a single host was available, but rose to about 9–11 on the first day an excess of hosts was provided and then fell to a normal output. The females thus adapt their egg-laying to some extent to the number of hosts available.It was hoped that this elucidation of the combination of perfect discrimination but imperfect restraint exhibited by Spalangia. when ovipositing, together with the data previously obtained on its biology, would make it possible to predict the fluctuations of a population of Spalangia in the field and its effect on the natural host, Oscinella frit (L.), but the factors involved, and their interactions, are too complex, particularly when weather effects are considered, and it is concluded that any predictions of population must be deduced empirically from field observations over a number of years.

Settlers or Movers? The Temporality of Past Migrations, Political Inaction and its Consequences, 1945–1985

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jozefien De Bock
Keyword(s):  
Temporary Workers ◽  
Guest Workers ◽  
Temporary Migration ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Settler Societies ◽  
Future Policy ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
Temporary Migrants ◽  
Multicultural Policies

Historically, those societies that have the longest tradition in multicultural policies are settler societies. The question of how to deal with temporary migrants has only recently aroused their interest. In Europe, temporary migration programmes have a much longer history. In the period after WWII, a wide range of legal frameworks were set up to import temporary workers, who came to be known as guest workers. In the end, many of these ‘guests’ settled in Europe permanently. Their presence lay at the basis of European multicultural policies. However, when these policies were drafted, the former mobility of guest workers had been forgotten. This chapter will focus on this mobility of initially temporary workers, comparing the period of economic growth 1945-1974 with the years after the 1974 economic crisis. Further, it will look at the kind of policies that were developed towards guest workers in the era before multiculturalism. This way, it shows how their consideration as temporary residents had far-reaching consequences for the immigrants, their descendants and the receiving societies involved. The chapter will finish by suggesting a number of lessons from the past. If the mobility-gap between guest workers and present-day migrants is not as big as generally assumed, then the consequences of previous neglect should serve as a warning for future policy making.

Properties of Gliricidia Wood (Gliricidia sepium) lntercropped with Cocoa (Theobroma cocoa) in Malaysia

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Mohd Helmy Ibrahim ◽  
Mohd Nazip Suratman ◽  
Razali Abd Kader
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Specific Gravity ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Wall Thickness ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Gliricidia Sepium ◽  
Cell Wall Thickness ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Lumen Diameter ◽  
Significant Difference

Trees planted from agroforestry practices can become valuable resources in meeting the wood requirements of many nations. Gliricidia sepium is an exotic species introduced to the agricultural sector in Malaysia mainly for providing shade for cocoa and coffee plantations. This study investigates its wood physical properties (specific gravity and moisture content) and fibre morphology (length, lumen diameter and cell wall thickness) of G. sepium at three intervals according to age groups ( three, five and seven years of ages). Specific gravity (0.72) was significantly higher at seven years ofage as compared to five (0.41) and three (0.35) years age group with a mean of 0.43 (p<0.05). Mean moisture content was 58.3% with no significant difference existing between the tree age groups. Fibre diameter (22.4 mm) was significantly lower (p<0.05) for the trees which were three years of age when compared to five and seven years age groups (26.6 mm and 24. 7 mm), respectively. Means of fibre length, lumen diameter and cell wall thickness were 0.83 mm, 18.3 mm, and 6.2 mm, respectively, with no significant differences detected between trees in all age groups. Further calculation on the coefficient of suppleness and runkel ratio suggest that wood from G.sepium may have the potential for insulation board manufacturing and paper making. However, future studies should experiment the utilisation of this species for these products to determine its full potential.

ORAL HISTORY SOURCES AS LEARNING MATERIALS: A CASE STUDY OF THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-93
Author(s):  
Gugulethu Shamaine Nkala ◽  
Rodreck David
Keyword(s):  
Oral History ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
National Archives ◽  
National University ◽  
Set Up

Knowledge presented by Oral History (OH) is unique in that it shares the tacit perspective, thoughts, opinions and understanding of the interviewee in its primary form. While teachers, lecturers and other education specialists have at their disposal a wide range of primary, secondary and tertiary sources upon which to relate and share or impart knowledge, OH presents a rich source of information that can improve the learning and knowledge impartation experience. The uniqueness of OH is presented in the following advantages of its use: it allows one to learn about the perspectives of individuals who might not otherwise appear in the historical record; it allows one to compensate for the digital age; one can learn different kinds of information; it provides historical actors with an opportunity to tell their own stories in their own words; and it offers a rich opportunity for human interaction. This article discusses the placement of oral history in the classroom set-up by investigating its use as a source of learning material presented by the National Archives of Zimbabwe to students in the Department of Records and Archives Management at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST). Interviews and a group discussion were used to gather data from an archivist at the National Archives of Zimbabwe, lecturers and students in the Department of Records and Archives Management at NUST, respectively. These groups were approached on the usability, uniqueness and other characteristics that support this type of knowledge about OH in a tertiary learning experience. The findings indicate several qualities that reflect the richness of OH as a teaching source material in a classroom set-up. It further points to weak areas that may be addressed where the source is considered a viable strategy for knowledge sharing and learning. The researchers present a possible model that can be used to champion the use of this rich knowledge source in classroom education at this university and in similar set-ups. 

CATFISH DRYING (Clarias Batraclus) USING ‘TEKO BERSAYAP’ SOLAR DRYER

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-20
Author(s):  
Yuwana Yuwana
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Drying Rate ◽  
Drying Process ◽  
Drying Time ◽  
Ambient Relative Humidity ◽  
Solar Dryer

Experiment on catfish drying employing ‘Teko Bersayap’ solar dryer was conducted. The result of the experiment indicated that the dryer was able to increase ambient temperature up to 44% and decrease ambient relative humidity up to 103%. Fish drying process followed equations : KAu = 74,94 e-0,03t for unsplitted fish and KAb = 79,25 e-0,09t for splitted fish, where KAu = moisture content of unsplitted fish (%), KAb = moisture content of splitted fish (%), t = drying time. Drying of unsplitted fish finished in 43.995 hours while drying of split fish completed in 15.29 hours. Splitting the fish increased 2,877 times drying rate.

Influencia de las condiciones de secado solar en la coloración de plantas medicinales

2019 ◽  
pp. 28-34
Author(s):  
Margarita Castillo-Téllez ◽  
Beatriz Castillo-Téllez ◽  
Juan Carlos Ovando-Sierra ◽  
Luz María Hernández-Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Forced Convection ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Color Change ◽  
Drying Process ◽  
Scientific Medicine ◽  
Drying Time ◽  
Bacterial Proliferation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Very High

For millennia, humans have used hundreds of medicinal plants to treat diseases. Currently, many species with important characteristics are known to alleviate a wide range of health problems, mainly in rural areas, where the use of these resources is very high, even replacing scientific medicine almost completely. This paper presents the dehydration of medicinal plants that are grown in the State of Campeche through direct and indirect solar technologies in order to evaluate the influence of air flow and temperature on the color of the final product through the L* a* scale. b*, analyzing the activity of water and humidity during the drying process. The experimental results showed that the direct solar dryer with forced convection presents a little significant color change in a drying time of 400 min on average, guaranteeing the null bacterial proliferation and reaching a final humidity between 9 % and 11 %.

Nanofiltration of endocrine disrupting compounds

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 321-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Gallenkemper ◽  
T. Wintgens ◽  
T. Melin
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Compounds ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Water And Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Set Up

Endocrine disrupting compounds can affect the hormone system in organisms. A wide range of endocrine disrupters were found in sewage and effluents of municipal wastewater treatment plants. Toxicological evaluations indicate that conventional wastewater treatment plants are not able to remove these substances sufficiently before disposing effluent into the environment. Membrane technology, which is proving to be an effective barrier to these substances, is the subject of this research. Nanofiltration provides high quality permeates in water and wastewater treatment. Eleven different nanofiltration membranes were tested in the laboratory set-up. The observed retention for nonylphenol (NP) and bisphenol A (BPA) ranged between 70% and 100%. The contact angle is an indicator for the hydrophobicity of a membrane, whose influence on the permeability and retention of NP was evident. The retention of BPA was found to be inversely proportional to the membrane permeability.

Aerosol generation through pars plana vitrectomy

2020 ◽  
pp. bjophthalmol-2020-317214
Author(s):  
Hasan Naveed ◽  
Fong May Chew ◽  
Hanbin Lee ◽  
Edward Hughes ◽  
Mayank A Nanavaty
Keyword(s):  
Pars Plana Vitrectomy ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Dynamic Changes ◽  
Aerosol Generation ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Optical Particle Counter ◽  
Pars Plana ◽  
23 Gauge ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Ex Vivo Study

PurposeTo assess whether pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) is an aerosol-generating procedure (AGP) in an ex vivo experimental model.MethodsIn this ex vivo study on 10 porcine eyes, optical particle counter was used to measure particles ≤10 μm using cumulative mode in the six in-built channels: 0.3 μm, 0.5 μm, 1 μm, 2.5 μm, 5 μm and 10 μm aerosols during PPV. Two parts of the study were as follows: (1) to assess the pre-experimental baseline aerosol count in the theatre environment where there are dynamic changes in temperature and humidity and (2) to measure aerosol generation with 23-gauge and 25-gauge set-up. For each porcine eye, five measurements were taken for each consecutive step in the experiment including pre-PPV, during PPV, fluid–air exchange (FAX) and venting using a flute with 23-gauge set-up and a chimney with 25-gauge set-up. Therefore, a total of 200 measurements were recorded.ResultsWith 23-gauge and 25-gauge PPV, there was no significant difference in aerosol generation in all six channels comparing pre-PPV versus PPV or pre-PPV versus FAX. Venting using flute with 23-gauge PPV showed significant reduction of aerosol ≤1 μm. Air venting using chimney with 25-gauge set-up showed no significant difference in aerosol of ≤1 μm. For cumulative aerosol counts of all particles measuring ≤5 μm, compared with pre-PPV, PPV or FAX, flute venting in 23-gauge set-up showed significant reduction unlike the same comparison for chimney venting in 25-gauge set-up.ConclusionPPV and its associate steps do not generate aerosols ≤10 μm with 23-gauge and 25-gauge set-ups.

scholarly journals Wood Chip Drying through the Using of a Mobile Rotary Dryer

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Del Giudice ◽  
Andrea Acampora ◽  
Enrico Santangelo ◽  
Luigi Pari ◽  
Simone Bergonzoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Black Locust ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Initial Moisture Content ◽  
Wood Chip ◽  
Wood Chips ◽  
Cocurrent Flow ◽  
Drying Process ◽  
Rotary Dryer

Drying is a critical point for the exploitation of biomass for energy production. High moisture content negatively affects the efficiency of power generation in combustion and gasification systems. Different types of dryers are available however; it is known that rotary dryers have low cost of maintenance and consume 15% and 30% less in terms of specific energy. The study analyzed the drying process of woody residues using a new prototype of mobile rotary dryer cocurrent flow. Woodchip of poplar (Populus spp.), black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), and grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) pruning were dried in a rotary drier. The drying cycle lasted 8 h for poplar, 6 h for black locust, and 6 h for pruning of grapevine. The initial biomass had a moisture content of around 50% for the poplar and around 30% for grapevine and black locust. The study showed that some characteristics of the biomass (e.g., initial moisture content, particle size distribution, bulk density) influence the technical parameters (i.e., airflow temperature, rate, and speed) of the drying process and, hence, the energy demand. At the end of the drying process, 17% of water was removed for poplar wood chips and 31% for grapevine and black locust wood chips. To achieve this, result the three-biomass required 1.61 (poplar), 0.86 (grapevine), and 1.12 MJ kgdry solids−1 (black locust), with an efficiency of thermal drying (η) respectively of 37%, 12%, and 27%. In the future, the results obtained suggest an increase in the efficiency of the thermal insulation of the mobile dryer, and the application of the mobile dryer in a small farm, for the recovery of exhaust gases from thermal power plants.

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