Academic literature on the topic 'Adapted filtration'

This chapter empirically examines factors affecting the adoption of broadband in the developing countries of Bangladesh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). In the case of Bangladesh, attitudinal, normative, and control factors—discussed in the UK case study in Division I of this book—were used and adapted in order to provide insights about broadband adopters and non-adopters within the developing nations. In order to examine the adoption of broadband in the KSA, a number of variables were employed, which also included some of the variables discussed in the UK case study in Division I. As the Internet was introduced comparatively late in Bangladesh (in 1996), in early 2004 the total penetration of Internet within the country was only 0.25 percent (Totel, 2004). It was suggested that the major obstacles associated with low Internet penetration were the low economic status and still-developing infrastructure within the country (Totel, 2004). A recent media report further emphasised that “Bangladesh is not anywhere on the global broadband map, but it is doing its best to get online. Local service provider, DNS SatComm has started deploying fixed wireless gear from Cambridge Broadband and will offer access to government offices, and other commercial entities” (Malik, 2005). It has also been suggested that Internet connection is slow and costly and not affordable by the general public (Hossain, 2004). Given the situations of Bangladesh in terms of demography, telecommunication infrastructure, and affordability of Internet by people, it was felt that understanding factors including cost of Internet access and subscription affecting consumer adoption might help to encourage further diffusion of high speed Internet. In the KSA, the Internet has taken some time to diffuse and is therefore seen as a relatively new technology. The KSA first started with dial up connections and then moved on to adopt broadband and satellite connections to provide better data communication services to its citizens. However, even with the availability of broadband technology, the rate of adoption is considered to be relatively poor in comparison to other developed countries such as the UK, as well as newly industrialised leading broadband users, such as South Korea (Oh et al., 2003). This poor connectivity is often claimed to be caused by website filtration in the region. Consequently, broadband adoption has been slower than expected in the region. Furthermore, a survey of existing literature on broadband adoption suggests that although both macro and micro level studies were conducted in order to understand the deployment of broadband in the developed world and leading countries such as South Korea, none of these studies focus upon developing countries, such as Bangladesh and the KSA. Although this could be attributed to the slow infrastructure development and low rate of adoption within the two countries, this has provided the motivation for undertaking exploratory research in order to develop an understanding of the perceptions of consumers regarding broadband adoption in these developing nations. Thus, this chapter aims to explore the reasons for the slow adoption of broadband in Bangladesh and the KSA by examining the individual level factors affecting broadband uptake in both cases. The research will thereby seek to adapt the individual level factors from the UK case study (Division I) and attempt to examine if and why the adapted factors affect consumers’ attitudes towards the adoption of broadband in the countries. The chapter begins with a brief discussion of the theoretical basis and variables employed to examine broadband adoption. This is followed by a brief discussion of the utilized research methods. The findings are then presented and discussed. Finally, a conclusion to the chapter is provided.

Rice (Oryza sativa) is cultivated in swampy geographical locations of tropical Nigeria, West Africa. Here it is infected by a host of fungal pathogens on the field or contaminated at postharvest. This has led to its loss and reduction in its production in both the national and global market. Lasiodiplodia theobromae and Rhizoctonia solani have recently been identified as the major fungal phytopathogens causing the deterioration of this grain on the field and at postharvest and affecting its production in Nigeria leading to gross capital loss. Hence the need to determine physiological control measures for the eradication of both phytopathogens on the field and at postharvest. In this study, tropical strains of Lasiodiplodia theobromae and Rhizoctonia solani obtained from deteriorated rice (Oryza sativa) were grown in a growth nutrient medium composed of MgSo4.7H20, K2HPO4, FeSO4.7H20, potassium nitrate and pectin at 30°C. Endo-Polygalacturonase activities were produced by the fungal isolates in the growth medium within ten days. The endo-polygalacturonases from both fungi were purified by a combination of ammonium sulphate precipitation, dialysis, gel filtration (on Sephadex G-100 column) and ion-exchange chromatography (on CM-Sephadex C-50 and CM-Sephadex C-25 columns). The molecular weight of endo-polygalacturonase from the Lasiodiplodia theobromae using Sephadex G-100 was estimated as 124,000 Daltons while that of the Rhizoctonia solani was estimated as 92,000 Daltons. The purified endo-polygalcuronase from the Lasiodiplodia theobromae exhibited optimum activity at 30°C and at pH 4.5 while that from the Rhizoctonia solani exhibited optimum activity at 32°C and at pH 5.0. The purified endo-polygalacturonases from both fungi exhibited optimum activities at 0.2% pectin concentration. They were stimulated by Ca2+ but inhibited by ethlylenediamine tetracetic acid (EDTA) and 2,4-dinitrophenol. The purified endo-polygalacturonase from the Lasiodiplodia theobromae lost 80% of its activity within 20 minutes of heat at 80°C. While the purified endo-polygalacturonase from the Rhizoctonia solani lost 82% of its activity within 20 minutes of heat at 80°C. Potassium nitrate as nitrogen source in the defined growth medium with pectin as carbon source supported highest activity of endo-polygalacturonase by the Lasiodiplodia theobromae while ammonium chloride as nitrogen source in the defined growth medium with pectin as carbon source supported highest activity of endo-polygalacturonase by the Rhizoctonia solani. In conclusion, the conditions inhibiting endo-polygalacturonases from Lasiodiplodia theobromae and Rhizoctonia solani capable of degrading the pectin portion of rice (Oryza sativa) can be adapted as feasible control measures limiting the infection and contamination of rice (Oryza sativa) by these phytopathogens on the field and at postharvest. Temperature and pH extreme from 30°C and pH 4.5 will be feasible inhibitory control measures for the growth of Lasiodiplodia theobromae on rice (Oryza sativa) in Nigeria while temperature and pH extreme from 32°C and pH 5.0 will inhibit growth of Rhizoctonia solani on the grain. These physiological conditions will preserve pectin in rice (Oryza sativa) from degradation by these two fungal phytopathogens.

The study of the structure of the candle flame is discussed in the work. The optical diagnostics adapted to the study of combustion problems is based on the visualization of phase disturbances induced in the probe light field by the medium under study with using Hilbert optics and interferometry methods combined with pixel-by-pixel processing of the dynamic structure of the recorded images. The diagnostic complex is implemented on the basis of the IAB–463M device with modified blocks of optical filtration, light source, registration and information processing. The dynamic phase structure of th

In hazardous industrial activities such as in nuclear facilities, High Efficiency Particulate Air filters (HEPA filters) are essential to ensure the containment of airborne contamination. Most of the filters used in ventilation networks are pleated, in order to offer a larger surface of filtration. For industrial risks likely to lead to an important release of particles (e.g. fire), predicting the evolution of the pressure drop of pleated filters is very important, in order to anticipate any dysfunction, failure or breaking of these devices. Pressure drop variations are linked to airflow rate