Airborne bacterial assemblage in a zero carbon building: A case study

Currently, there is little information pertaining to the airborne bacterial communities of green buildings. In this case study, the air bacterial community of a zero carbon building (ZCB) in Hong Kong was characterized by targeting the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Bacteria associated with the outdoor environment dominated the indoor airborne bacterial assemblage, with a modest contribution from bacteria associated with human skin. Differences in overall community diversity, membership, and composition associated with short (day‐to‐day) and long‐term temporal properties were detected, which may have been driven by specific environmental genera and taxa. Furthermore, time‐decay relationships in community membership (based on unweighted UniFrac distances) and composition (based on weighted UniFrac distances) differed depending on the season and sampling location. A Bayesian source‐tracking approach further supported the importance of adjacent outdoor air bacterial assemblage in sourcing the ZCB indoor bioaerosol. Despite the unique building attributes, the ZCB microbial assemblage detected and its temporal characteristics were not dissimilar to that of conventional built environments investigated previously. Future controlled experiments and microbial assemblage investigations of other ZCBs will undoubtedly uncover additional knowledge related to how airborne bacteria in green buildings may be influenced by their distinctive architectural attributes.     

Potential pitfalls of smart city development: A study on parking mobile applications (apps) in Hong Kong

Smart cities are built upon information and communication technologies (ICTs) to enable a broad range of advanced services. Through a comprehensive literature review, this study identified four pitfalls brought by the pervasive application of ICT, including information insecurity, privacy leakage, information islands, and digital divide. Therefore, a questionnaire survey together with 27 interviews was conducted in Hong Kong to investigate how the public perceived these pitfalls within the context of mobile apps providing real-time parking information which form a major part of smart mobility. System insecurity and privacy leakage were found to arouse worries among the app-users while their awareness of protecting personal data was found to have room for improvement. Islands of real-time parking information occur as a result of the lack of collaboration among private carpark operators. Digital divide existed widely among the disadvantaged groups and the problem cannot be solved by mere provision of ICT facilities. Overall, technologies alone cannot make a city smart or smarter. It is the suitable way in which ICTs are used to serve all citizens that matters.     

Fractional Gravitational Grey Wolf Optimization to Multi-Path Data Transmission in IoT

Wireless Personal Communications - The advancements of technology in the field of communication made WSN based IoT attractive and applicable to various areas. It is comprised IoT nodes that work on...     

Damage Threshold of Ni Thin Film by Terahertz Pulses

Damage in a thin nickel film irradiated by subpicosecond pulses of terahertz (THz) radiation in the range of 1–3 THz at electric-field strengths up to 20 MV/cm at the center of a focal spot is observed. The damage threshold fluence is evaluated for single-pulse experiments. The damage pattern induced by multiple THz pulses has the appearance of a complex periodic structure in the form of elongated channels of metal film discontinuity that are perpendicular to the in-plane electric field direction of THz radiation.     

The effect of TiO2 nanotube morphological engineering and ZnS quantum dots on the water splitting reaction: A theoretical and experimental study

Ordered arrays of TiO₂ nanotubes with smooth and rippled morphologies were prepared by one-step titanium oxidation in NH₄F and ethylene glycol solution. The samples were then decorated with ZnS using a microwave-assisted solvothermal method. The experiments under constant or pulsed applied voltage resulted in smooth and rippled TiO₂material morphologies, respectively. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, incident photon-to-current efficiency, linear sweep voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to investigate the structure and morphology of the TiO₂ nanotubes, along with their photoelectrochemical activity in the water splitting reaction. An envelope function was proposed to correlate the anisotropic morphologies and broad distribution of mobility due to the random nature of charge carrier transport. The smooth and rippled morphologies were evaluated using the transmission line model. First-principles quantum mechanical calculations based on the density functional theory at the B3LYP level are conducted to obtain a better understanding of optical properties of TiO₂.     

Simplified partitioning model to simulate high pressure under-expanded jet flows impinging vertical obstacles

Various reduced-order models have been developed to quickly model high pressure underexpanded jets. One example is the two-layer partitioning model which was developed to model underexpanded jets, but it has not been evaluated for high pressure jets with obstacles in the jet flow region. This research describes an improved two-layer partitioning model based on the Abel-Noble equation of state that is applied here to model horizontal jet flows impacting a vertical obstacle with validations against high pressure gas experiments, full CFD simulations and a revised notional nozzle model based on the Abel-Noble equation of state. The improved two-layer partitioning model accurately predicts the gas concentrations on the obstacle for a 15 MPa underexpanded jet while consuming much less computational resources and time compared with the full CFD simulation.     

Hydrogen storage in Zr0.9Ti0.1(Ni0.5Cr0.5-xVx)2 Laves phase,with x = 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.375, 0.5. A theoretical approach

Density functional calculations were performed on Zr_0.9Ti_0.1(Ni_0.5Cr_0.5-xV_x)₂ Laves Phase, with x = 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.375 and 0.5, in order to study its H absorption capacity. Binding energy, electronic structure and bonding were analyzed for the intermetallic compound with different V content and increasing amounts of hydrogen.The optimized geometry was found in good agreement with experimental data of the C14 Laves phase. Hydrogen locates preferentially in A₂B₂ tetrahedral sites in the AB₂ matrix (A = Zr, Ti; B = Ni, Cr, V) but AB₃ and B₄sites are also stable. The volume of the intermetallic and the H binding energy increases with vanadium content. Theoretically H absorption is possible up to 4.5 H/F.U. but the strongest binding energy is achieved with 3 H/F. U.The main contribution to density of states is due to d states of all components of the structure and an H-metal bonding is observed in the range ?10 to ?4 eV.     

Fermented and malted millet products in Africa: Expedition from traditional/ethnic foods to industrial value-added products

With the prevalent food insecurity in Africa, there is a growing need to utilize the available crops to develop nutritious, affordable and palatable food for the populace. Millet is critical in this role, relative to its abundance in the continent and good nutritional composition. For ages, fermentation and malting have been traditionally used to transform millet into variety of produce. A paradigm shift has however occurred over the years, giving birth to new commercially available products. This review thus appraises and gives an overview of traditional and modern fermented and malted products. Although, millet has been diversified to several products, its major food uses are still restrained to traditional consumers and largely remains underutilized. Considering the potential embedded in this grain, it is important to explore this crop through the application of appropriate modern fermentation and malting technologies. This will ensure the availability of ready to eat (RTE) and ready to use (RTU) food products and to a large extent address the incessant food security challenges plaguing Africa.     

Development of an immunochromatographic assay for the β-adrenergic agonist feed additive zilpaterol

Zilpaterol is a β-adrenergic agonist feed additive approved in the United States to increase weight gain and improve feed efficiency of cattle. A zilpaterol immunochromatographic assay was developed as an economical and user-friendly rapid detection method for zilpaterol and validated using urine and tissue samples derived from animal studies. The assay sensitivity was 1.7–23.2 ng g^?1 or mL^?1 across a variety of feed and animal matrices and did not cross-react with clenbuterol or ractopamine. No sample pre-treatment of cattle and sheep urine was needed, but horse urine and feed required dilution; skeletal muscle required solvent extraction prior to testing. Of 32 incurred sheep urine samples tested, zilpaterol content was correctly identified in all but 2 samples. Horse urine containing >10 ng mL^?1 of incurred zilpaterol residue (n = 48) was correctly identified as zilpaterol positive. The assay correctly identified 0-day withdrawal sheep muscle samples as zilpaterol positive and the control and longer withdrawal day sheep muscle samples as negative. Zilpaterol was demonstrated to be stable in horse urine when stored at ?20°C for 7 years.