Search results for: L. Major

Authors: Nunik Junara, Sugeng Triyadi

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Sustainable Housing in Islamic perspective, can be defined as a multi-dimensional process that seeks to achieve a balance between economic and socio-cultural aspects on the side, and environmental aspect on the other. There are many quotes verses in the Quran and Hadith that leads to the belief that Islam as a Rahmatan lil Alamin, where men are encouraged to act wisely in treating nature and all living things in it. One aspect of the natural environment that closed to human is plants. In the settlement, the availability of plants or also called green open space is highly recommended. The availability of green open space in the neighborhood, both the public and private green open spaces is expected to reduce the effects of global warming that has engulfed various parts of the world. Green open space that can be viewed from the angle of eco-aestetic and eco-medical in sustainable architecture, is expected to increase the temperature and provide aesthetic impression to the surrounding environment. This paper attempts to discuss the principles of Islamic values related to the natural environment as a major resource for sustainability. This paper also aims to raise awareness of the importance of the theme of sustainability in settlements, especially in big cities. Analysis of the availability of green open space in kampung Kauman Malang is one example of the effort to apply the principles of sustainable housing.

Keywords: green open space, sustainable housing, Islamic values, Kampung Kauman Malang

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Authors: Surendra Choudhary, Sapan Tiwari

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The driver has two fundamental duties i) controlling the position of the vehicle along the longitudinal and lateral direction of movement ii) roadway width. Both of these duties are interdependent and are concurrently referred to as two-dimensional driver behavior. One of the main problems facing driver behavior modeling is to identify the parameters for describing the exemplary driving conduct and car maneuver under distinct traffic circumstances. Still, to date, there is no well-accepted theory that can comprehensively model the 2-D driver conduct (longitudinal and lateral). The primary objective of this research is to explore the vehicle's lateral longitudinal behavior in the heterogeneous condition of traffic on horizontal curves as well as the effect of road geometry on dynamic traffic parameters, i.e., car velocity and lateral placement. In this research, with their interrelationship, a thorough assessment of dynamic car parameters, i.e., speed, lateral acceleration, and turn radius. Also, horizontal curve road parameters, i.e., curvature radius, pavement friction, are performed. The dynamic parameters of the various types of car drivers are gathered using a VBOX GPS-based tool with high precision. The connection between dynamic car parameters and curve geometry is created after the removal of noise from the GPS trajectories. The major findings of the research are that car maneuvers with higher than the design limits of speed, acceleration, and lateral deviation on the studied curves of the highway. It can become lethal if the weather changes from dry to wet.

Keywords: geometry, maneuverability, terrain, trajectory, VBOX

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Authors: Pankaj K. Jha, Ajeet K. Jha, Pravin Mishra

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Goat raising is a popular livestock sub-commodity of mixed farming system in Nepal. Besides food and nutritional security, it has an important role in the economy of many peoples. Goat breeding through AI is commonly practiced worldwide. It is a very basic tool to speed up genetic improvement and increase productivity. For the goat genetic improvement program, the government of Nepal has imported some specialized exotic goat breeds and semen. Some progress has been made in the initiation of selective breeding within the local breeds and practice of AI with imported semen. Importance of AI in goats has drawn more attention among goat farmers. However, importing semen is not a permanent solution at national level; rather, it is more important to develop and establish its own frozen semen production technique. Semen quality and its relationship with fertility are said to be a major concern in animal production, hence accurate measurement of semen fertilizing potential is of great importance. The survivability of sperm cells depends on semen quality. Survivability of sperm cells is assessed through visual and microscopic evaluation of spermatozoal progressive motility and morphology. In Nepal, there is lack of scientific information on seminal attributes of buck semen, its dilution, cooling and freezing technique under management conditions of Nepal. Therefore, the objective of this review was to provide brief information about breeding system, semen production and artificial insemination in Nepalese goat.

Keywords: artificial insemination, goat, Nepal, semen

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Authors: A. Szabó Nagy, J. Szabó, Zs. Csanádi, J. Erdős

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In Hungary, the measurement of ambient PM10-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations is great importance for a number of reasons related to human health, the environment and compliance with European Union legislation. However, the monitoring of PAHs associated with PM2.5 aerosol fraction is still incomplete. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate the concentration levels of PAHs in PM2.5 urban aerosol fraction. PM2.5 and associated PAHs were monitored in November 2014 in an urban site of Győr (Northwest Hungary). The aerosol samples were collected every day for 24-hours over two weeks with a high volume air sampler provided with a PM2.5 cut-off inlet. The levels of 19 PAH compounds associated with PM2.5 aerosol fraction were quantified by a gas chromatographic method. Polluted air quality for PM2.5 (>25 g/m3) was indicated in 50% of the collected samples. The total PAHs concentrations ranged from 2.1 to 37.3 ng/m3 with the mean value of 12.4 ng/m3. Indeno(123-cd)pyrene (IND) and sum of three benzofluoranthene isomers were the most dominant PAH species followed by benzo(ghi)perylene and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). Using BaP-equivalent approach on the concentration data of carcinogenic PAH species, BaP, and IND contributed the highest carcinogenic exposure equivalent (1.50 and 0.24 ng/m3 on average). A selected number of concentration ratios of specific PAH compounds were calculated to evaluate the possible sources of PAH contamination. The ratios reflected that the major source of PAH compounds in the PM2.5 aerosol fraction of Győr during the study period was fossil fuel combustion from automobiles.

Keywords: air, PM2.5, benzo(a)pyrene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon

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Authors: Wilhelmus Hary Susilo

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The marketplace would have at least some resources that are unique (e.g., well communication, knowledgeable employees, consumer value, effective transaction, efficient production processes and institutional branding). The institutions should have an advantage in resources and then could lead to positions of competitive advantage. These major challenges focus on increasing unique consumer value on reliable purchases that influence of loyalty and pursuit of a sustainable competitive advantage from the Institutions in Jakarta. Furthermore, a research was conducted with a quantitative method and a confirmatory strategic research design. The research resulted in entire confirmatory factors analysis (1st CFA and 2nd CFA) among variables pertains to; χ2//Df (9.30, 4.38, 6.95, 2.76, 2.97, 2.91, 2.32 and 6.90), GFI (0.72, 0.82, 0.82, 0.81, 0.78, 0.84, 0.89 and 0.70) and CFI (0.90, 0.95, 0.93, 0.92, 0.95, 0.91, 0.96 and 0.89), which indicates a good model. Furthermore, the hybrid model is well fit with, χ2//Df=1.84, P value = 0.00, RMSEA = 0.076, GFI = 0.76, NNFI= 0.95, PNFI= 0.82, IFI= 0.96, RFI= 0.91, AGFI= 0.71 and CFI= 0.96. The result was significant hypothesis, i.e. variables of communitization marketing 3.0 and price perception influenced to unique value of consumer with tvalue =4.46 and 5.89. Furthermore, the consumers value influenced the purchasing with t value = 5.94. Additionally, the loyalty, the ‘communitization’, and the character building marketing 3.0 are affecting the pursuit of a sustainable competitive advantage from institutions with t value = 7.57, -2.12, and 2.04. Finally, the test between the most superior variable dimensions is significantly correlated between INOV and WDES, RESPON and ATT covariance matrix value= 0.72 and 0.71. Thus, ‘communitization’ and character building marketing 3.0 with dimensions of responsibility and technologies would increase a competitive advantage with the dimensions of the innovation and the job design from the institutions.

Keywords: consumer loyalty, marketing 3.0, unique consumer value, purchase, sustainable competitive advantage

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Authors: Shaymaa Kennedy, Sam Clark, Paul Shaply

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With the upcoming construction of high-speed rail HS2 in the UK, a number of issues surrounding the construction technology and track design need to be answered. In this paper performance of subsoil subjected to dynamic loads were studied. The material of study is Mudrock backfill, a weak prevalent rock which response under indicative loading of high-speed rail line is unknown. This paper aims to investigate the use of different track types and the influence they will have on the underlying soil, in order to evaluate the behaviour of it. Ballstless track is a well-established concept in Europe, and the investigation the benefit of the form of construction due to its known savings in maintenance costs. Physical test using a triaxial cyclic loading machine was conducted to assess the expected mechanical behaviour of mudrock under a range of dynamic loads which could be generated beneath different track constructions. Some further parameters are required to frame the problem including determining the stress change with depth and cyclic response are vital to determine the residual plastic strain which is a major concern. In addition, Stress level is discussed in this paper, which are applied to recreate conditions of soil in the laboratory. Results indicate that stress levels are highly influential on the performance of soil at shallower depth and become insignificant with increasing depth.

Keywords: stress level, dynamic load, residual plastic strain, high speed railway

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Authors: Zhou Yang, Heli Sun, Jianbin Huang, Jizhong Zhao, Shaojie Qiao

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Traffic prediction is essential in a multitude of ways in modern urban life. The researchers of earlier work in this domain carry out the investigation chiefly with two major focuses: (1) the accurate forecast of future values in multiple time series and (2) knowledge extraction from spatial-temporal correlations. However, two key considerations for traffic prediction are often missed: the completeness of raw data and the full context of the prediction timestamp. Concentrating on the two drawbacks of earlier work, we devise an approach that can address these issues in a two-phase framework. First, we utilize the raw trajectories to a greater extent through building a VLA table and data compression. We obtain the intra-trajectory features with graph-based encoding and the intertrajectory ones with a grid-based model and the technique of back projection that restore their surrounding high-resolution spatial-temporal environment. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to study direct feature extraction from raw trajectories for traffic prediction and attempt the use of raw data with the least degree of reduction. In the prediction phase, we provide a broader context for the prediction timestamp by taking into account the information that are around it in the training dataset. Extensive experiments on several well-known datasets have verified the effectiveness of our solution that combines the strength of raw trajectory data and prediction context. In terms of performance, our approach surpasses several state-of-the-art methods for traffic prediction.

Keywords: traffic prediction, raw data utilization, context building, data reduction

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Authors: Shekh Shadi Rahaman

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In Bangladesh, basic human rights more specifically right to food and right to shelter are being adversely affected by the consequences of climate change. Over the last two decades, a considerable number of environmental studies revealed that basic human rights, more specifically, the right to food and right to a shelter are going to be seriously affected by climate change. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries and livestock, which are most sensitive to climate change, are key sources interconnected with food security and the security of shelter. Consequences of climate change affecting these key sources, and with the change of time, climate change is turning into a gigantic challenge towards ensuring basic human rights in Bangladesh. This study was carried out by employing a general review of literature on climate change, focusing on effects of climate change on basic two major human rights in Bangladesh. Upon analysis of existing researches, it is found very few researches focused on correlating climate change and right to food and right to shelter. This study shows how the consequences of climate change affects food production and abode of people of Bangladesh. This study recommends that tree plantation, floating agricultural practice, co-operation with international organization, developing environment friendly institutions, increased use of renewable energy, proper management of wetlands and forests, shelter for climate induced migrated people, encouraging research and public awareness are key issues to be followed for combating climate change and protecting basic human right to food and shelter.

Keywords: achievements, agriculture and forestry, fisheries and livestock, renewable energy

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Authors: Spandan Sahu, Amiya Kumar Pati, Kishanjit Kumar Khatua

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River is the main source of water. It is a form of natural open channel which gives rise to many complex phenomenon of sciences that needs to be tackled such as the critical flow conditions, boundary shear stress and depth averaged velocity. The development of society more or less solely depends upon the flow of rivers. The rivers are major sources of many sediments and specific ingredients which are much essential for human beings. During floods, part of a river is carried by the simple main channel and rest is carried by flood plains. For such compound asymmetric channels, the flow structure becomes complicated due to momentum exchange between main channel and adjoining flood plains. Distribution of boundary shear in subsections provides us with the concept of momentum transfer between the interface of main channel and the flood plains. Experimentally, to get better data with accurate results are very complex because of the complexity of the problem. Hence, Conveyance Estimation System (CES) software has been used to tackle the complex processes to determine the shear stresses at different sections of an open channel having asymmetric flood plains on both sides of the main channel and the results are compared with the symmetric flood plains for various geometrical shapes and flow conditions. Error analysis is also performed to know the degree of accuracy of the model implemented.

Keywords: depth average velocity, non prismatic compound channel, relative flow depth , velocity distribution

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Authors: Tingirtu Gebretsadik

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This study aimed at explaining factors behind the ever increasing individualization over pastoral commons land and assesses the implication of the current change in property-ownership and land use system on the livelihoods of the Guji agro-pastoral system. Thus, three kebeles of Ana Sora woreda were selected for they conventionally appear to accommodate farming, pastoral and agro-pastoral systems. The survey method was employed to gather information on the major socio-economic condition of households. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were also held in all the three kebele. The empirical results were interpreted by integrating institutional, livelihood and adaptation frameworks. In this study individualization of ownership of pastoral commons manifested in the form of fenced closures is on the rise among the Guji and it has been adopted as the outcome of a long run process. Factors related to ecology and rangeland degradation, socio-economic changes, land registration and certification has allowed the increasing engagement in fencing commons grazing land for individual use. Consequently, the Guji pastoral system of production demonstrated a declining trend, and are adapting to alternative livelihood strategies. Moreover, farming and other developments have facilitated pastoral land losses and land use claims and tenure ambiguities.

Keywords: land tenure, traditional institutions, property rights, fenced plots

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Authors: Rezzouq Asiya, Bouftou Abderrahim, Belfadil Doha, Taoufyk Azzeddine, El Bouchti Mehdi, Zyade Souad, Cherkaoui Omar, Majid Sanaa

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Plastic packaging is widely used, but its pollution is a major environmental problem. Solutions require new sustainable technologies, environmental management, and the use of bio-based polymers as sustainable packaging. Cellulose acetate (CA) is a biobased polymer used in a variety of applications such as the manufacture of plastic films, textiles, and filters. However, it has limitations in terms of thermal stability and rigidity, which necessitates the addition of plasticizers to optimize its use in packaging. Plasticizers are molecules that increase the flexibility of polymers, but their influence on the chemical and physical properties of films (CA) has not been studied in detail. Some studies have focused on mechanical and thermal properties. However, an in-depth analysis is needed to understand the interactions between the additives and the polymer matrix. In this study, the aim is to examine the effect of two types of plasticizers, glycerol (a conventional plasticizer) and an ionic liquid, on the transparency, mechanical, thermal and barrier properties of cellulose acetate (CA) films prepared by the solution-casting method . Various analytical techniques were used to characterize these films, including infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), water vapor permeability (WVP), oxygen permeability, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), opacity, transmission analysis and mechanical tests.

Keywords: cellulose acetate, plasticizers, biopolymers, ionic liquid, glycerol.

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Authors: Atikah Binti Azudin, Nurin Nazlah Binti Muhamad Yani, Nur Alya Nadhirah Binti Naaidith, Nur Amylia Wahida Binti Mat Ayob, Nurshamimi Shakirah Binti Suboh, Nur Auni Batrisyia Binti Md. Zaini, Nur Aziemah Binti Mohamad, Nurul Suffiyah Binti Sa’Dun, Sabrina Sasha Izzati Binti Zubaile, Umi Huwaina Binti Ahmiruddin, Wan Nur Shafawati Binti Wan Ghazali

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A hazard alert is intended to provide brief information about significant incidents or existing difficulties in Department workplaces. The alert gives guidelines for proper processes, practices, and controls to be applied. When operated in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, any machine or tool utilized at work provides a safe and dependable platform for workers to accomplish job duties. However, when not utilized appropriately, the machine might pose a major hazard to employees. Employers have a duty to keep employees safe in this scenario. This Hazard Alert outlines specific occupational dangers and the controls that employers must apply to prevent injury or fatal accidents. There have been several cases of hazard alerts in Malaysia, which have had a negative impact on a few workers. Looking on the bright side, we can overcome every incident in a variety of ways. One of these is that only qualified individuals operate mobile machinery and equipment. In addition, employees may also perform frequent pre-use inspections of machinery to discover and fix flaws. Hazard alert is very important, and this study would cover a variety of subjects, including the methods employed.

Keywords: safe, hazard, impacts, duties.

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Authors: Chelsea-Anne Edwards, Paul Parker

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Flight school members are facing a major disruption in the technologies available for them to fly as electric planes enter the aviation industry. The year 2020 marked a new era in aviation with the first type certification of an electric plane. The Pipistrel Velis Electro is a two-seat electric aircraft (e-plane) designed for flight training. Electric flight training has the potential to deeply reduce emissions, noise, and cost of pilot training. Though these are all attractive features, understanding must be developed on the perceptions of the essential actor of the technology, the pilot. This study asks student pilots, flight instructors, flight center managers, and other members of flight schools about their perceptions of e-planes. The questions were divided into three categories: safety and trust of the technology, expected costs in comparison to conventional planes, and interest in the technology, including their desire to fly electric planes. Participants were recruited from flight schools using a protocol approved by the Office of Research Ethics. None of these flight schools have an e-plane in their fleet so these views are based on perceptions rather than direct experience. The results revealed perceptions that were strongly positive with many qualitative comments indicating great excitement about the potential of the new electric aviation technology. Some concerns were raised regarding battery endurance limits. Overall, the flight school community is clearly in favor of introducing electric propulsion technology and reducing the environmental impacts of their industry.

Keywords: electric planes, flight training, green aircraft, student pilots, sustainable aviation

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Authors: Adrien Cornille, Marine Blain, Bernard Boutevin, Sylvain Caillol

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Generally, linear polyurethanes (PUs) are obtained by the reaction between an oligomeric diol, a short diol as chain extender and a diisocyanate. However the use of diisocyanate should be avoided since they are generally very harmful for human health. Therefore the synthesis of NIPUs (non isocyanate PUs) from step growth polymerization of dicyclocarbonates and diamines should be favoured. This method is particularly interesting since no hazardous isocyanates are used. Thus, this reaction, extensively studied by Endo et al. is currently gaining a lot of attention as a substitution route for the synthesis of NIPUs, both from industrial and academic community. However, the reactivity of reaction between amine and cyclic carbonate is a major scientific issue, since cyclic carbonates are poorly reactive. Thus, our team developed several synthetic ways for the synthesis of various di-cyclic carbonates based on C5-, C6- and dithio- cyclic carbonates, from different biobased raw materials (glycerin isosorbide, vegetable oils…). These monomers were used to synthesize NIPUs with various mechanical and thermal properties for various applications. We studied the reactivity of reaction with various catalysts and find optimized conditions for room temperature reaction. We also studied the radical copolymerization of cyclic carbonate monomers in styrene-acrylate copolymers for coating applications. We also succeeded in the elaboration of biobased NIPU flexible foams. To the best of our knowledge, there is no report in literature on the preparation of non-isocyanate polyurethane foams.

Keywords: foam, nonisocyanate polyurethane, cyclic carbonate, blowing agent, scanning electron microscopy

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Authors: Temidayo. O. Osunsanmi, Clinton Aigbavboa, Ayodeji Oke

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The construction industry is a renowned latecomer to the efficiency offered by the adoption of information technology. Whereas, the banking, manufacturing, retailing industries have keyed into the future by using digitization and information technology as a new approach for ensuring competitive gain and efficiency. The construction industry has yet to fully realize similar benefits because the adoption of ICT is still at the infancy stage with a major concentration on the use of software. Thus, this study evaluates the awareness and readiness of construction professionals towards embracing a full digitalization of the construction industry using construction 4.0. The term ‘construction 4.0’ was coined from the industry 4.0 concept which is regarded as the fourth industrial revolution that originated from Germany. A questionnaire was utilized for sourcing data distributed to practicing construction professionals through a convenience sampling method. Using SPSS v24, the hypotheses posed were tested with the Mann Whitney test. The result revealed that there are no differences between the consulting and contracting organizations on the readiness for adopting construction 4.0 concepts in the construction industry. Using factor analysis, the study discovers that adopting construction 4.0 will improve the performance of the construction industry regarding cost and time savings and also create sustainable buildings. In conclusion, the study determined that construction professionals have a low awareness towards construction 4.0 concepts. The study recommends an increase in awareness of construction 4.0 concepts through seminars, workshops and training, while construction professionals should take hold of the benefits of adopting construction 4.0 concepts. The study contributes to the roadmap for the implementation of construction industry 4.0 concepts in the South African construction industry.

Keywords: building information technology, Construction 4.0, Industry 4.0, smart site

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Authors: Ya-Hui Lee, Chien-Hung Hsieh, Ching-Yi Lu

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Demographic aging is the major problem that Taiwanese society is facing, and retirement life adaptation is the most concerning issue. In recent years, studies have suggested that in order to have successful aging and retirement planning, a view for the future is necessary. In Taiwan, civil servants receive better pensions and retirement benefits than do other industries. Therefore, their retirement preparation is considerably more significant than other senior groups in Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to understand the correlation of proactive coping and retirement planning of senior civil servants in Taiwan. The method is conducted by questionnaire surveys, with 342 valid questionnaires collected. The results of this study are: 1. The background variables of the interviewees, including age, perceived economic statuses, and retirement statuses, are all significantly related to their proactive coping and retirement planning. 2. Regarding age, the interviewees with ages 55 and above have better proactive coping and retirement planning than those with ages 45 and below. 3. In the aspect of perceived economic statuses, the participants who feel “very good” economic statuses have better proactive coping ability and retirement readiness than those who feel “bad” and “very bad”. 4. Retirees have better proactive coping and retirement planning than those who are still working. 5. Monthly income is significant in retirement planning only. The participants’ retirement planning would be better if they have higher incomes. Furthermore, the participants’ retirement planning would be better if their revenue were €1453~€1937, than if their revenue were below €968. 6. There are positive correlations between proactive coping and retirement planning. 7. Proactive coping can predict retirement planning. The result of this study will be provided as references to the Taiwan government for educational retirement planning policies.

Keywords: proactive coping, retirement planning, civil servants, demographic aging

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Authors: C. Annapurna, Rao M. Srinivasa, Bhanu C. H. Vijaya, M. Sivalakshmi, Rao P. V. Surya

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A study on the community structure of meiobenthic fauna was undertaken during three cruises (June 2008, October 2008 and March 2009). Ten stations at depth between 10 and 40 m off Pudimadaka in Visakhapatnam (Lat.17º29′12″N and Long. 83º00′09″), East coast of India were investigated. Ninety species representing 3 major (meiofaunal) taxa namely foraminifera (2), copepoda (9), nematoda (58) and polychaeta (21) were encountered. Overall, meiofaunal (mean) abundance ranged from 2 individuals to 63 ind. 10cm-² with an average of 24.3 ind.10cm-2. The meiobenthic biomass varied between 0.135 to 0.48 mg.10cm-2 with an average 0.27 ± 0.12. On the whole, nematodes constituted 73.62% of the meiofauna in terms of numerical abundance. Shannon –Wiener index values were 2.053 ± 0.64 (June, 2008), 2.477 ± 0.177 (October 2008) and 2.2815±0.24 (March 2009). Multivariate analyses were used to define the most important taxon in nematode assemblages. Three nematode associations could be recognized off Pudimadaka coast, namely Laimella longicaudata, Euchromodora vulgaris and Sabatieria elongata assemblage (June, 2008); Catanema sp. and Leptosomatum sp. assemblage (October 2008) assemblage; Sabatieria sp. and Setosabatieria sp. assemblage (March 2009). Canonical correspondence analysis showed that temperature, organic matter, silt and mean particle diameter were important in controlling nematode community structure.

Keywords: meiofauna, marine nematode, biodiversity, community structure, India

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Authors: Bhavya Tripathi, Bhupendra Kumar Sharma

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In blood, the concentration of red blood cell varies with the arterial diameter. In the case of narrow arteries, red blood cells concentrate around the center of the artery and there exists a cell-free plasma layer near the arterial wall due to Fahraeus-Lindqvist effect. Due to non- uniformity of the fluid in the narrow arteries, it is preferable to consider the two-phase model of the blood flow. In the present article, coupled nonlinear differential equations have been developed for momentum, energy and concentration of two phase model of the blood flow assuming the Newtonian fluid in both central core and cell free plasma layer and the exact solutions have been found for the problem. For having an adequate insight into the stenosed arterial two-phase blood flow, major components of the flow as flow resistance, total flow rate, and wall shear stress have been estimated for different values of magnetic and radiation parameter. Results show that the increase in the effects of magnetic field decreases the velocity of both cores as well as plasma regions. This result can be helpful to control the blood flow in narrow arteries during surgical process. Temperature of core as well plasma regions decrease as value of radiation parameter increases. The present result is implemented in the form of radiation therapy which is very helpful for cancer patients.

Keywords: two phase blood flow, radiation, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), stenosis

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Authors: Durata Haciu, Elif Sena Tekin, Gokce Ozturk, Patricia Ramey Balcı

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Coastal zones are under increasing threat due to anthropogenic activities that introduce considerable pollutants such as heavy metals into marine ecosystems. As part of a larger experimental study examining species responses to contaminated marine sediments, surface sediments (top 5cm) were analysed for major trace elements at three locations in Istanbul Straight. Samples were randomly collected by divers (May 2018) using hand-corers from Istinye (n=4), Garipce (n=10) and Poyrazköy (n=6), at water depths of 4-8m. Twelve metals were examined: As, arsenic; Pb, lead; Cd, cadmium; Cr, chromium; Cu, Copper; Fe, Iron; Ni, Nickel; Zn, Zinc; V, vanadium; Mn, Manganese; Ba, Barium; and Ag, silver by wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (WDXRF) and Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectroscopy (ICP/MS). Preliminary results indicate that the average concentrations of metals (mg kg⁻¹) varied considerably among locations. In general, concentrations were relatively lower at Garipce compared to either Istinye or Poyrazköy. For most metals mean concentrations were highest at Poyrazköy and Ag and Cd were below detection limits (exception= Ag in a few samples). While Cd and As were undetected in all stations, the concentrations of Fe and Ni fall in the criteria of moderately polluted range and the rest of the metals in the range of low polluted range as compared to Effects Range Low (ERL) and Effects Range median (ERM) values determined by US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Keywords: effect-range classification, ICP/MS, marine sediments, XRF

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Authors: N. J. Shanono, J. G. Ndiritu

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The poor performance of water resource systems (WRS) has been reportedly linked to not only climate variability and the water demand dynamics but also human behaviour-driven unlawful activities. Some of these unlawful activities that have been adversely affecting water sector include unauthorized water abstractions, water wastage behaviour, refusal of water re‐use measures, excessive operational losses, discharging untreated or improperly treated wastewater, over‐application of chemicals by agricultural users and fraudulent WRS operation. Despite advances in WRS planning, operation, and analysis incorporating such undesirable human activities to quantitatively assess their impact on WRS performance remain elusive. This study was then inspired by the need to develop a methodological framework for WRS performance assessment that integrates the impact of human behaviour with WRS performance assessment analysis. We, therefore, proposed a conceptual framework for assessing the impact of human behaviour on WRS performance using the concept of socio-hydrology. The framework identifies and couples four major sources of WRS-related values (water values, water systems, water managers, and water users) using three missing links between human and water in the management of WRS (interactions, outcomes, and feedbacks). The framework is to serve as a database for choosing relevant social and hydrological variables and to understand the intrinsic relations between the selected variables to study a specific human-water problem in the context of WRS management.

Keywords: conceptual framework, human behaviour; socio-hydrology; water resource systems

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Authors: Popoola M. Oyenola

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Concrete plays the important role and a huge percentage of concrete is being utilized in every construction practices. Natural river sand is one of the major ingredients of concrete, is becoming expensive due to excessive cost of accessibility from sources. Also large scale depletion of sources creates environmental problems. Therefore, there is a need of economic alternative materials. Quarry dust is a waste obtained during quarrying process. It has been rampantly used in different construction practices and could be used as an effective fine aggregate instead of river sand. Partial and total replacement of fine aggregate in conventional concrete with quarry dust has been empirically conducted with the view to examining primarily the compressive strength of the resulting composite and possible total utilization of quarry dust as fine aggregate in the production of medium grade concrete. The results of the study showed that its specific gravity, porosity and water absorption showed satisfactory performance. The percentage replacement of natural river sand with quarry dust for a designed strength of 25N/mm2 varied at intervals of 10% up to a maximum value of 100%. A total of 132 cubes of 150 x 150 x 150mm were cast and tested at 7, 14 and 28 days of hydration. Compressive strength increases with curing age in all the mixes. Compressive strength decreases with increase in percentage of quarry dust. Generally the compressive strength of concrete incorporating quarry dust attained strength of 22.47 N/mm2 after 28 days which makes it a suitable aggregate for the production medium grade concrete.

Keywords: quarry dust, concrete, aggregates, compressive strength

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Authors: Villiam Ambong, Kevin Banawag, Wynne Shane Bugatan, Mark Alvin Jay Carpio, Hwan Hee Choi, Moises Kevin Chungalao

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This survey research investigated the perception of primary school teachers on the efficacy of MTB-MLE in SLU-LES, Baguio City. SLU-LES has a total of 21 primary school teachers who served as respondents of this study in an attempt to answer the major questions regarding the efficacy of MTB-MLE among primary school teachers. A questionnaire was used in collecting the data which were analyzed using weighted mean and ANOVA. The questionnaire was validated by a statistician and it was administered to a school which does not differ from the intended respondents for further validation of the items. Findings revealed from the intended respondents that they perceive MTB-MLE as effective; however, they do not prefer the use of Mother Tongue as a medium of instruction. A research on the same topic was conducted in Ibadan, Nigeria by Dr. David O. Fakeye and although his respondents were students; the results came out that the respondents do perceive MTB-MLE to be efficacious. The results of this study also showed that years of teaching experience and the number of languages spoken by the teachers have no bearing on the preference of the respondents between MT medium and English medium gave that the respondents are in melting pot community. Comparative studies between rural and urban schools are encouraged. Future researchers should include questions that elicit reasons of the respondents on the efficacy of mother tongue as well as their preference between mother tongue medium and English.

Keywords: mother tongue, primary teachers, perception, multilingual education

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Authors: Suelane Garcia Fontes, Silvio Luiz Stanzani, Pedro L. Pizzigatti Corrła Ronaldo G. Morato

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Environmental changes and major natural disasters are most prevalent in the world due to the damage that humanity has caused to nature and these damages directly affect the lives of animals. Thus, the study of animal behavior and their interactions with the environment can provide knowledge that guides researchers and public agencies in preservation and conservation actions. Exploratory analysis of animal movement can determine the patterns of animal behavior and with technological advances the ability of animals to be tracked and, consequently, behavioral studies have been expanded. There is a lot of research on animal movement and behavior, but we note that a proposal that combines resources and allows for exploratory analysis of animal movement and provide statistical measures on individual animal behavior and its interaction with the environment is missing. The contribution of this paper is to present the framework AniMoveMineR, a unified solution that aggregates trajectory analysis and data mining techniques to explore animal movement data and provide a first step in responding questions about the animal individual behavior and their interactions with other animals over time and space. We evaluated the framework through the use of monitored jaguar data in the city of Miranda Pantanal, Brazil, in order to verify if the use of AniMoveMineR allows to identify the interaction level between these jaguars. The results were positive and provided indications about the individual behavior of jaguars and about which jaguars have the highest or lowest correlation.

Keywords: data mining, data science, trajectory, animal behavior

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Authors: Jeana Cadby, Kae Miyazawa

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With rapidly expanding worldwide adoption of mobile technologies, Information and Communication Technology (ITC) is a major energy user and a contributor to global carbon emissions, due to infrastructure and operational energy consumption. The agricultural sector is also significantly responsible for contributing to global carbon emissions. However, ICT cloud computing using mobile technology can directly reduce environmental impacts in the agricultural sector through applications and mobile connectivity, such as precision fertilizer and pesticide applications, or access to weather data, for example. While direct impacts are easily calculated, indirect environmental impacts from ICT cloud computing usage have not been thoroughly investigated. For example, while women may be more poorly equipped for adaptation to environmentally sustainable agricultural practices due to resource constraints, this research concludes that indirect environmental benefits can be achieved by improving rural access to mobile technology for women. Women in advanced roles and secure land tenure are more likely to invest in long-term agricultural conservation strategies, which protect against environmental degradation. This study examines how ICT using mobile technology advances the role of women in rural agricultural systems and indirectly reduces environmental impacts from agricultural production, through literature examination from secondary sources. Increasing access for women to ICT mobile technology provides indirect environmental and social benefits in the rural agricultural sector.

Keywords: cloud computing, environmental benefits, mobile technology, women

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Authors: Ben Yahia Nouha, Harris Chris, Sebei Abdelaziz, Boussen Slim, Chaabani Fredj

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The present work has set itself the objective of studying non-detritic siliceous rocks of the extreme northwest Tunisia. It aims to examine the origin and their sedimentary depositional environment based on mineralogical and geochemical characteristics. The different sections were located in the area of Babouch and the area of Tabarka. The collected samples were subjected to mineralogical and geochemical characterization using different analytical methods: X-ray diffraction (XRD), geochemical analysis (ICP- AES), isotopic geochemistry (δ18O), to assess their suitability for industrial use. X-ray powder diffraction of the pure siliceous rock indicates quartz as the major mineral, with the total lack of amorphous silica. Trace impurities, such as carbonate and clay minerals, are concealed in the analytical results. The petrographic examination revealed allowed us to deduce that this rock was deriving from tests of siliceous organisms (the radiolarians). The chemical composition shows that SiO2, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 represent the most abundant oxides. The other oxides are present in negligible quantities. Geochemical data support a biogenic and non-hydrothermal origin of babouchite silica. Oxygen isotopic has shown that babouchites were formed in an environment with a high temperature ranging from 56 °C to 73 °C.

Keywords: biogenic silica, babouchite formation, XRD, chemical analysis, oxygen isotopic, northwest tunisia

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Authors: Samuel Oludayo Alamu, Seong Lee

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The need for generating energy from biomass in an efficient way as well as maximizing the yield of total energy from the thermal conversion process has been a major concern for researchers. A holistic approach which involves the combination of First law of thermodynamics (FLT) and the second law of thermodynamics (SLT) is required for conducting an effective assessment of an energy plant since FLT analysis alone fails to identify the quality of the dissipated energy and how much work potential is available. The overall purpose of this study is to investigate the exergy analysis of direct combustion of poultry waste being converted to energy with a handful of environmental assessment of the conversion processes in order to maximize thermal efficiency. The exergy analysis around the shell and tube heat exchanger (STHE) was investigated primarily by varying the operating parameters for different tube shapes and flow direction, and an exergy model was obtained from estimations of the higher heating value and standard entropy of poultry waste from the elemental compositions. The STHE was designed and fabricated by Lee Research Group at Morgan State University. The analysis conducted on theSTHE using the flue gas temperature entering and exiting show that only about one-third of the energy input to the STHE was available to do work with an overall efficiency of 13.8%, while a huge amount was lost to the surrounding. By recirculating the flue gas, the exergy efficiency of the combustion system can be maximized with a greater reduction in the amount of exergy loss.

Keywords: exergy analysis, shell and tube heat exchanger, thermodynamics, combustion system, thermal efficiency

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Authors: Eldah Ephraim Buba, Sanusi Abubakar Sadiq

Abstract:

Habitat can be degraded by tourism leisure activities for example wildlife viewing can bring abrupt stress for animals and alter their natural behaviors when tourist come too close and wildlife watching have degradation effects on the habitats as they often are accompanied by the noise and commotion created by tourist as they chase wild animals. It is observed that Jos Wild Life Park is usually congested during on-peak periods which causes littering and contamination of the environment by tourist which may lead to changes in the soil nutrient. The issue of unauthorized feeding of animals by a tourist in which the food might be dangerous and harmful to their health and making them be so aggressive is also observed. The aim of the study is to investigate the environmental impact of tourists’ activities in Jos Wild Life Park, Nigeria. The study used survey questionnaires to both tourists and the staff of the wildlife park. One hundred questionnaires were self-administered to randomly selected tourists as the visit the park and some staff. The average mean score of the response was used to show agreement or disagreement. Major findings show the negative impact of tourist’s activities to the environment as air pollution, overcrowding, and congestion, solid littering of the environment, distress to animals and alteration of the ecosystem. Furthermore, the study found the positive impact of tourists activities on the environment to be income generation through tourists activities and infrastructural development. It is recommended that the impact of tourism should be minimized through admitting the right carrying capacity and impact assessment.

Keywords: environmental, impact, investigation, tourists, activities

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: Villiam C. Ambong, Kevin G. Banawag, Wynne Shane B. Bugatan, Mark Alvin Jay R. Carpio, Hwan Hee Choi, Moses Kevin L. Chungalao

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This survey research investigated the perception of primary school teachers on the efficacy of MTB-MLE in SLU-LES, Baguio City. SLU-LES has a total of 21 primary school teachers who served as the respondents of this study in an attempt to answer three major questions regarding the efficacy of MTB-MLE among primary school teachers. A questionnaire was used in collecting the data which were analyzed using weighted mean and ANOVA. The questionnaire was validated by a statistician and it was administered to a school which does not differ from the intended respondents for further validation of the items. Findings revealed from the intended respondents that they perceive MTB-MLE as effective; however, they do not prefer the use of Mother Tongue as medium of instruction. A research of the same topic was conducted in Ibadan, Nigeria by Dr. David O. Fakeye and although his respondents were students; the results came out that the respondents do perceive MTB-MLE to be efficacious. The results of this study also showed that years of teaching experience and number of languages spoken by the teachers have no bearing on the preference of the respondents between MT medium and English medium given that the respondents are in a melting pot community. Comparative studies between rural schools and urban schools are encouraged. Future researches should include questions that elicit reasons of the respondents on the efficacy of mother tongue as well as their preference between mother tongue medium and English.

Keywords: mother tongue, primary teachers, perception, multilingual education

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Authors: Nishal Parbhoo, John B. Dewar, Samantha Gildenhuys

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Rotavirus is the major cause of severe gastroenteritis worldwide in children aged 5 and younger. Death rates are high particularly in developing countries. The mature rotavirus is a non-enveloped triple-layered nucleocapsid containing 11 double-stranded RNA segments. Here a global view on the sequence and structure of the three main capsid proteins, VP7, VP6, and VP2 is taken by generating a consensus sequence for each of these rotavirus proteins, for each species obtained from published data of representative rotavirus genotypes from across the world and across species. The degree of conservation between species was represented on homology models for each of the proteins. VP7 shows the highest level of variation with 14 - 45 amino acids showing conservation of less than 60%. These changes are localized to the outer surface which is exposed to antibodies alluding to a possible mechanism in evading the immune system. The middle layer, VP6 shows lower variability with only 14-32 sites having lower than 70% conservation. The inner structural layer made up of VP2 showed the lowest variability with only 1-16 sites having less than 70% conservation across species. The results correlate with proteins’ multiple structural roles. Although the nucleotide sequences vary due to an error-prone replication and lack of proofreading, the corresponding amino acid sequence of VP2, 6 and 7 remains conserved. Sequence conservation maintained for the virus results in stable protein structures, fit for function. This can be exploited in drug design, molecular studies and biotechnological applications.

Keywords: amino acid sequence conservation, capsid protein, protein structure, vaccine candidate

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Authors: Kyu Jin Kim, Byung Kwan Oh, Hyo Seon Park

Abstract:

The seismic responses-based structural health monitoring system has been performed to reduce seismic damage. The inter-story drift ratio which is the major index of the seismic capacity assessment is employed for estimating the seismic damage of buildings. Meanwhile, seismic response analysis to estimate the structural responses of building demands significantly high computational cost due to increasing number of high-rise and large buildings. To estimate the inter-story drift ratio of buildings from the earthquake efficiently, this paper suggests the estimation method of inter-story drift for buildings using an artificial neural network (ANN). In the method, the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) is integrated with optimization algorithm to optimize the variable through evolutionary learning that refers to evolutionary radial basis function neural network (ERBFNN). The estimation method estimates the inter-story drift without seismic response analysis when the new earthquakes are subjected to buildings. The effectiveness of the estimation method is verified through a simulation using multi-degree of freedom system.

Keywords: structural health monitoring, inter-story drift ratio, artificial neural network, radial basis function neural network, genetic algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 327