Search results for: future water resources

Authors: Su-Hyun Jung, Chang-Bin Ha, Hyoung-Kyu Song

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Recently, increasing the quality of experience (QoE) is an important issue. Since performance degradation at cell edge extremely reduces the QoE, several techniques are defined at LTE/LTE-A standard to remove inter-cell interference (ICI). However, the conventional techniques have disadvantage because there is a trade-off between resource allocation and reliable communication. The proposed scheme reduces the ICI more efficiently by using channel state information (CSI) smartly. It is shown that the proposed scheme can reduce the ICI with less resources.

Keywords: adaptive beamforming, CoMP, LTE-A, ICI reduction

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Authors: Hao-Wei Fu, Chung-Feng Kao

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In the era of rapid technological advancement, information technology (IT) has become integral to modern life, exerting significant influence across diverse sectors and serving as a catalyst for development in various industries. Within agriculture, the integration of IT offers substantial benefits, notably enhancing operational efficiency. Real-time monitoring systems, for instance, have been widely embraced in agriculture, effectively improving crop management practices. This study specifically addresses the management of rice panicle fertilizer, presenting the development of a web application tailored to handle data associated with rice panicle fertilizer management. Leveraging the normalized difference red edge index, this application optimizes the quantity of rice panicle fertilizer used, providing recommendations to agricultural stakeholders and service providers in the agricultural information sector. The overarching objective is to minimize costs while maximizing yields. Furthermore, a robust database system has been established to store and manage relevant data for future reference in rice cultivation management. Additionally, the study utilizes the Representational State Transfer software architectural style to construct an application programming interface (API), facilitating data creation, retrieval, updating, and deletion for users via the HyperText Transfer Protocol methods. Future plans involve integrating this API with third-party services to incorporate it into larger frameworks, thus catering to the diverse requirements of various third-party services.

Keywords: application programming interface, HyperText Transfer Protocol, nitrogen fertilizer intelligent management, web-based application

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Authors: Chakkrit Poonpakdee, Jing-Hua Tzen, Ya-Zhen Huang, Yao-Tung Lin

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Potassium (K) is a known macro nutrient and essential element for plant growth. Single leaching and modified sequential extraction schemes have been developed to estimate the relative phase associations of soil samples. The sequential extraction process is a step in analyzing the partitioning of metals affected by environmental conditions, but it is not a tool for estimation of K bioavailability. While, traditional single leaching method has been used to classify K speciation for a long time, it depend on its availability to the plants and use for potash fertilizer recommendation rate. Clay mineral in soil is a factor for controlling soil fertility. The change of the micro-structure of clay minerals during various environment (i.e. swelling or shrinking) is characterized using Transmission X-Ray Microscopy (TXM). The objective of this study are to 1) compare the distribution of K speciation between single leaching and sequential extraction process 2) determined clay particle flocculation structure before/after suspension with K+ using TXM. Four tropical soil samples: farming without K fertilizer (10 years), long term applied K fertilizer (10 years; 168-240 kg K2O ha-1 year-1), red soil (450-500 kg K2O ha-1 year-1) and forest soil were selected. The results showed that the amount of K speciation by single leaching method were high in mineral K, HNO3 K, Non-exchangeable K, NH4OAc K, exchangeable K and water soluble K respectively. Sequential extraction process indicated that most K speciations in soil were associated with residual, organic matter, Fe or Mn oxide and exchangeable fractions and K associate fraction with carbonate was not detected in tropical soil samples. In farming long term applied K fertilizer and red soil were higher exchangeable K than farming long term without K fertilizer and forest soil. The results indicated that one way to increase the available K (water soluble K and exchangeable K) should apply K fertilizer and organic fertilizer for providing available K. The two-dimension of TXM image of clay particles suspension with K+ shows that the aggregation structure of clay mineral closed-void cellular networks. The porous cellular structure of soil aggregates in 1 M KCl solution had large and very larger empty voids than in 0.025 M KCl and deionized water respectively. TXM nanotomography is a new technique can be useful in the field as a tool for better understanding of clay mineral micro-structure.

Keywords: potassium, sequential extraction process, clay mineral, TXM

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Authors: Carla Idely Palencia-Aguilar

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Artificial wetlands play an important role at Guasca Municipality in Colombia, not only because they are used for the agroindustry, but also because more than 45 species were found, some of which are endemic and migratory birds. Remote sensing was used to determine the changes in the area occupied by water of artificial wetlands by means of Aster and Modis images for different time periods. Evapotranspiration was also determined by three methods: Surface Energy Balance System-Su (SEBS) algorithm, Surface Energy Balance- Bastiaanssen (SEBAL) algorithm, and Potential Evapotranspiration- FAO. Empirical equations were also developed to determine the relationship between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) versus net radiation, ambient temperature and rain with an obtained R2 of 0.83. Groundwater level fluctuations on a daily basis were studied as well. Data from a piezometer placed next to the wetland were fitted with rain changes (with two weather stations located at the proximities of the wetlands) by means of multiple regression and time series analysis, the R2 from the calculated and measured values resulted was higher than 0.98. Information from nearby weather stations provided information for ordinary kriging as well as the results for the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) developed by using PCI software. Standard models (exponential, spherical, circular, gaussian, linear) to describe spatial variation were tested. Ordinary Cokriging between height and rain variables were also tested, to determine if the accuracy of the interpolation would increase. The results showed no significant differences giving the fact that the mean result of the spherical function for the rain samples after ordinary kriging was 58.06 and a standard deviation of 18.06. The cokriging using for the variable rain, a spherical function; for height variable, the power function and for the cross variable (rain and height), the spherical function had a mean of 57.58 and a standard deviation of 18.36. Threatens of eutrophication were also studied, given the unconsciousness of neighbours and government deficiency. Water quality was determined over the years; different parameters were studied to determine the chemical characteristics of water. In addition, 600 pesticides were studied by gas and liquid chromatography. Results showed that coliforms, nitrogen, phosphorous and prochloraz were the most significant contaminants.

Keywords: DEM, evapotranspiration, geostatistics, NDVI

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Authors: Athanasia Chatzifotiou, Karen Tait

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Eco-school is an international initiative that offers schools the opportunity to develop practices on education for sustainable development (EfSD). Such practices need to focus on nine areas, namely: energy, water, biodiversity, school grounds, healthy living, transport, litter, waste and global citizenship. Acquiring the green flag status is the ultimate stage (silver and bronze are the other two) that is awarded by a committee external to the school and it lasts for two years. Our project focused on two such primary schools that had acquired the green flag status. The aim of our project is to describe the schools’ approach of becoming an eco-school, the practitioners’ role in promoting the values and principles of such endeavors, thus identifying the impact of EfSD. We chose the eco-schools initiative as it gives a clear and straightforward way to identify a school with an interest in EfSD. The project is important because even though EfSD attracts high attention in rhetoric, there is evidence indicating that EfSD may be neglected in practice. This paper presents part of a bigger project that aims to compare how primary schools and early years settings have approached EfSD via the eco-school initiative in the North East of England. This is a qualitative project that used a case study design to focus on the practices of two particular primary schools to gain a green flag status. A semi-structured interview was used with the lead teachers/practitioners of the schools; an audit was also conducted as part of a tour of the schools’ premises highlighting the initiatives, curriculum work, projects undertaken as well as resources available to school. A content analysis of the interview transcripts was conducted with the creation of response categories and response narratives by the two researchers first working individually and then collaboratively; the findings of the project reflected issues that concerned: a) pupils’ cognitive, physical and socio-emotional development, b) the wider community and c) the lead practitioners’ role and status in school. In relation to EfSD, our findings indicated that its impact upon these two eco-schools was rather minimal; a mismatch was identified between the eco-school practices and a holistic understanding of issues that EfSD aims to achieve. This mismatch between eco-school practices and EfSD is discussed with regard to: a) pupils’ understanding of the sustainability dimension in the topics they addressed; and b) teachers’ knowledge of sustainability and willingness to keep on such work in schools.

Keywords: eco-schools, environment, primary schools, sustainability education

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Authors: Sulila Anar

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Institutions of any kind are regulated by laws which could be formal or informal, visible or invisible that influences the very structure of the institutions itself. Here in this paper the attempt will be to see how institutions of higher education are regulated by the regulatory institutions by taking the case of India, the third largest education system in the world. The attempt is to try to see how regulation of higher education creates a space for contestation among regulatory institutions based on secondary resources and how this affects the governance of university to achieve the goals and visions.

Keywords: higher education, regulation, autonomy, space

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Authors: Kunyaporn Pipithsangchan, Alongkorn Korntong, Assanee Songserm, Phatchara Piriyavinit, Saowanee Dechakampoo

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The Kingdom of Thailand is one of the South East Asian countries. From its area of 514,000 square kilometers (51 million ha), at least 18,000 plant species (8% of the world total) have been estimated to be found in the country. As a result, the conservation of plant genetic diversity, particularly food crops, is becoming important and is an assurance for the national food security. Department of Agriculture Genebank or DOA Genebank, Thailand is responsible for the conservation of plant germplasm by participating and accomplishing several collaborative projects both at national and international levels. Integrated Management System of Plant Genetic Resources or IMPGR is one of the most outstandingly successful cooperation. It is a multilateral project under the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (AFACI) supported by the Rural Development Administration (RDA) of South Korea. The member countries under the project consist of 11 nations namely Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos PDR, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea. The project enabled the members to jointly address the global issues in plant genetic resource (PGR) conservation and strengthen their network in this aspect. The 1st phase of IMPGR project, entitled 'Collection, Conservation, Regeneration and Characterization of Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae 2012-2014', comprises three main objectives that are: 1) To improve management in storage facilities, collection, and regeneration, 2) To improve linkage between Genebank and material sources (for regeneration), and 3) To improve linkage between Genebank and other field crop or/and horticultural research centers. The project was done for three years from 2012 to 2014. The activities of the project can be described as following details: In the 1st year, there were 9 target provinces for completing plant genetic resource survey and collection. 108 accessions of PGR were collected. In the 2nd year, PGR were continuously surveyed and collected from 9 provinces. The total number of collection was 140 accessions. In addition, the process of regeneration of 237 accessions collected from 1st and 2nd year was started at several sites namely Biotechnology Research and Development Office, Sukothai Horticultural Research Center, Tak Research, and Development Center and Nakhon Ratchasima Research and Development Center. In the 3rd year, besides survey and collection of 115 accessions from 9 target provinces, PGR characterization and evaluation were done for 206 accessions. Moreover, safety duplication of 253 PGR at the World Seed Vault, RDA, was also done according to Standard Agreement on Germplasm Safety Duplication between Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Kingdom of Thailand and the National Agrobiodiversity Center, Rural Development Administration of the Republic of Korea. The success of the 1st phase project led to the second phase which entitled 'Collection and Characterization for Effective Conservation of Local Capsicum spp., Solanum spp. and Lycopersicon spp. in Thailand 2015-2017'.

Keywords: characterization, conservation, DOA genebank, plant genetic resources

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Authors: A. Gagat-Matuła

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There is a definite lack – in Poland, as well as around the world – of empirical studies of families raising handicapped child, in which one parent migrates. In diagnostics of the functioning of such families emphasis should be placed not only on the difficulties, but most of all it should be indicated what possibilities are there for the family and how it overcomes the difficulties. Migration of a parent on the one hand is a chance to improve the family’s material situation. In certain circumstances this may only be an “escape” into work from the issues associated with the upbringing and rehabilitation of a handicapped child. The aim of the study was to learn the functioning of a temporarily single parent family system as a result of migration of a parent from the perspective of adolescents with cerebral palsy. The study was conducted in the year 2013 in the area of Eastern Poland. It involved an analysis of 70 persons (with cerebral palsy in an intellectual capacity) from families in which at least one of the parents migrates. The study incorporated the diagnostic survey method. These tools were used: Family Evaluation Scales (SOR) adapted for Poland by Andrzej Margasiński. The explorations in this study indicate, that 47% of studied temporarily single parent families are balanced models. This is evidence of the resources at the disposal of the family which, despite the disability of the child and temporary separation, is able to function properly. The conducted studies show, that 37% of temporarily single parent families are imbalanced models in the perception of adolescents with cerebral palsy. These families experience functional difficulties and require psychological and pedagogical support. There is a need for building skills related to effective coping with family stress. Especially considering, that families of an imbalanced type do not use the internal and external resources of the family system. Such a situation may deepen the disarrangement of family life. In intermediate families (16%) there are also temporary difficulties in functioning. Separation anxiety experienced by mothers may disrupt relations and introduce additional stress factors. For that reason it is important to provide support for women with difficulties coping with the emotions associated with raising handicapped adolescents and migratory separation.

Keywords: child with cerebral palsy, family, migration, parents

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Authors: Atena Naeimi, Mehri-Sadat Ekrami-Kakhki

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Fe3O4 is one of the important magnetic oxides with spinel structure; it has exhibited unique electric and magnetic properties based on the electron transfer between Fe2+ and Fe3+ in the octahedral sites. Fe3O4 have received considerable attention in various areas such as cancer therapy, drug targeting, enzyme immobilization catalysis, magnetic cell separation, magnetic refrigeration systems and super-paramagnetic materials. Fe3O4–ZnO nanostructures were synthesized via a surfactant-free ultrasonic reaction at room temperatures. The effect of various parameters such as temperature, time, and power on the size and morphology of the product was investigated. Alternating gradient force magnetometer shows that Fe3O4 nanoparticles exhibit super-paramagnetic behaviour at room temperature. For preparation of nanocomposite 1 g of Fe3O4 nanostructures were dispersed in 100 mL of distilled water. 0.25 g of Zn (NO3)2 and 20 mL of NH3 solution 1 M were then slowly added to the solution under ultrasonic irradiation. The product was centrifuged, washed with distilled water and dried in the air. The photocatalytic behaviour of Fe3O4–ZnO nanoparticles was evaluated using the degradation of a methyl orange aqueous solution under ultraviolet light irradiation. As time increased, more and more methyl orange was adsorbed on the nanoparticles catalyst, until the absorption peak vanish. The methyl orange concentration decreased rapidly with increasing UV-irradiation time.

Keywords: nanocomposite, ultrasonic, paramagnetic, photocatalytic

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Authors: S. Mokhtar, R. Ibrahim, K. Abdan, A. Rashidi

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The population in the world are growing in very fast rate. It is expected that urban growth and development would create serious questions of food production and processing, transport, and consumption. Future smart green city policies are emerging to support new ways of visualizing, organizing and managing the city and its flows towards developing more sustainable cities in ensuring food security while maintaining its biodiversity. This is a survey paper analyzing the feasibility of developing a smart vertical farming system for climbing food plant to meet the need of food consumption in urban cities with an alternative green material. This paper documents our investigation on specific requirement for farming high valued climbing type food plant suitable for vertical farming, development of appropriate biocomposite material composition, and design recommendations for developing a new smart vertical farming system inside urban buildings. Results include determination of suitable specific climbing food plant species and material manufacturing processes for reinforcing natural fiber for biocomposite material. The results are expected to become recommendations for developing alternative structural materials for climbing food plant later on towards the development of the future smart vertical farming system. This paper contributes to supporting urban farming in cities and promotes green materials for preserving the environment. Hence supporting efforts in food security agenda especially for developing nations.

Keywords: biocomposite, natural reinforce fiber, smart farming, vertical farming

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Authors: Erika K. Méndez, Carlos E. Orrego, Diana L. Manrique, Juan D. Gonzalez, Doménica Vallejo

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High moisture content in fruits generates post-harvest problems such as mechanical, biochemical, microbial and physical losses. Dehydration, which is based on the reduction of water activity of the fruit, is a common option for overcoming such losses. However, regular hot air drying could affect negatively the quality properties of the fruit due to the long residence time at high temperature. Power ultrasound (US) application during the convective drying has been used as a novel method able to enhance drying rate and, consequently, to decrease drying time. In the present study, a new approach was tested to evaluate the effect of US on the drying time, the final antioxidant activity (AA) and the total polyphenol content (TPC) of banana slices (BS), mango slices (MS) and guava slices (GS). There were also studied the drying kinetics with nine different models from which water effective diffusivities (Deff) (with or without shrinkage corrections) were calculated. Compared with the corresponding control tests, US assisted drying for fruit slices showed reductions in drying time between 16.23 and 30.19%, 11.34 and 32.73%, and 19.25 and 47.51% for the MS, BS and GS respectively. Considering shrinkage effects, Deff calculated values ranged from 1.67*10-10 to 3.18*10-10 m2/s, 3.96*10-10 and 5.57*10-10 m2/s and 4.61*10-10 to 8.16*10-10 m2/s for the BS, MS and GS samples respectively. Reductions of TPC and AA (as DPPH) were observed compared with the original content in fresh fruit data in all kinds of drying assays.

Keywords: banana, drying, effective diffusivity, guava, mango, ultrasound

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Authors: Bengi Hakguder Taze, Sevcan Unluturk

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Şalak apricot (Prunus armeniaca L., cv. Şalak) is a specific variety grown in Igdir, Turkey. The fruit has distinctive properties distinguish it from other cultivars, such as its unique size, color, taste and higher water content. Drying is the widely used method for preservation of apricots. However, fresh consumption is preferred for Şalak apricot instead of drying due to its low dry matter content. Higher amounts of water in the structure and climacteric nature make the fruit sensitive against rapid quality loss during storage. Hence, alternative processing methods need to be introduced to extend the shelf life of the fresh produce. Mild heat (MH) treatment is of great interest as it can reduce the microbial load and inhibit enzymatic activities. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of mild heat treatment on the natural microflora found on Şalak apricot surfaces and some physical quality parameters of the fruit, such as color and firmness. For this purpose, apricot samples were treated at different temperatures between 40 and 60 ℃ for different periods ranging between 10 to 60 min using a temperature controlled water bath. Natural flora on the fruit surfaces was examined using standard plating technique both before and after the treatment. Moreover, any changes in color and firmness of the fruit samples were also monitored. It was found that control samples were initially containing 7.5 ± 0.32 log CFU/g of total aerobic plate count (TAPC), 5.8±0.31 log CFU/g of yeast and mold count (YMC), and 5.17 ± 0.22 log CFU/g of coliforms. The highest log reductions in TAPC and YMC were observed as 3.87-log and 5.8-log after the treatments at 60 ℃ and 50 ℃, respectively. Nevertheless, the fruit lost its characteristic aroma at temperatures above 50 ℃. Furthermore, great color changes (ΔE ˃ 6) were observed and firmness of the apricot samples was reduced at these conditions. On the other hand, MH treatment at 41 ℃ for 10 min resulted in 1.6-log and 0.91-log reductions in TAPC and YMC, respectively, with slightly noticeable changes in color (ΔE ˂ 3). In conclusion, application of temperatures higher than 50 ℃ caused undesirable changes in physical quality of Şalak apricots. Although higher microbial reductions were achieved at those temperatures, temperatures between 40 and 50°C should be further investigated considering the fruit quality parameters. Another strategy may be the use of high temperatures for short time periods not exceeding 1-5 min. Besides all, MH treatment with UV-C light irradiation can be also considered as a hurdle strategy for better inactivation results.

Keywords: color, firmness, mild heat, natural flora, physical quality, şalak apricot

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Authors: Laura Lamas Abraira

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Large-scale Chinese immigration in Spain emerged in the 80's. Engaged in their own businesses or working for other Chinese migrants with long schedules, young couples had to choose between contracting or transnationalising the care labour as they were unable to combine productive and reproductive tasks. In most cases, they decided to transnationalize the care labour embodied on grandparents or children migratory paths. Either the grandparents go to Spain to take care of their grandchildren or the kids were left behind or sent to China after being born in Spain in order to be raised with their extended family members. Very little is known about how the people who have been raised in a transnational context relates their own experience and agency as care managers within the family care cycle. In order to fill this gap, this paper aims to inquire into these transnationally-reared Chinese young adults’ narratives about their own experience and expectations (past, present and future) by adopting care circulation and care cycle approach within life course framework. Drawing upon a qualitative study resulting from a multi-sited ethnography (Spain-China), we argue that young adults raised in transnational context build their narratives as a result of an otherness process related to their parents and an essentialization of their Chinese roots to use selectively among different contexts. In doing so, these family narratives constitute a part of their social identity that interact with other dimensions such as the ethnic one. We suggest when building their parent's otherness they also build their sameness among pairs, as members of the same club, marked by transnational care on a double time basis: the practices of their parents as wrong past, and their own as an amendable future.

Keywords: Chinese families, narratives, transnational care, young adults

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Authors: Livinus A. Obasi, Augustine N. Ajah

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Biotechnology in recent times has tried to develop a mechanism whereby sustainable electricity can be generated by the activity of microorganisms on waste and renewable biomass (often regarded as “negative value”) in a device called microbial fuel cell, MFC. In this paper, we established how the biocatalytic activities of bacteria on organic matter (substrates) produced some electrons with the associated removal of some water pollution parameters; Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) to the tune of 77.2% and 88.3% respectively from a petrochemical sanitary wastewater. The electricity generation was possible by conditioning the bacteria to operate anaerobically in one chamber referred to as the anode while the electrons are transferred to the fully aerated counter chamber containing the cathode. Power densities ranging from 12.83 mW/m² to 966.66 mW/m² were achieved using a dual-chamber starch membrane MFC experimental set-up. The maximum power density obtained in this research shows an improvement in the use of low cost MFC set up to achieve power production. Also, the level of organic matter removal from the sanitary waste water by the operation of this device clearly demonstrates its potential benefit in achieving an improved benign environment. The beauty of the MFCs is their potential utility in areas lacking electrical infrastructures like in most developing countries.

Keywords: bioelectricity, COD, microbial fuel cell, sanitary wastewater, wheat starch

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Authors: J. Iwaro, A. Mwasha, K. Ramsubhag

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Global warming has become a threat of our time. It poses challenges to the existence of beings on earth, the built environment, natural environment and has made a clear impact on the level of energy and water consumption. As such, increase in the ambient temperature increases indoor and outdoor temperature level of the buildings which brings about the use of more energy and mechanical air conditioning systems. In addition, in view of the increased modernization and economic growth in the developing countries, a significant amount of energy is being used, especially those with hot climatic conditions. Since modernization in developing countries is rising rapidly, more pressure is being placed on the buildings and energy resources to satisfy the indoor comfort requirements. This paper presents a sustainable passive roof solution as a means of reducing energy cooling loads for satisfying human comfort requirements in a hot climate. As such, the study based on the field study data discusses indoor thermal roof design strategies for a hot climate by investigating the impacts of roof thermal performance on indoor thermal comfort in naturally ventilated building envelope small scaled structures. In this respect, the traditional concrete flat roof, corrugated galvanised iron roof and pre-painted standing seam roof were used. The experiment made used of three identical small scale physical models constructed and sited on the roof of a building at the University of the West Indies. The results show that the utilization of insulation in traditional roofing systems will significantly reduce heat transfer between the internal and ambient environment, thus reducing the energy demand of the structure and the relative carbon footprint of a structure per unit area over its lifetime. Also, the application of flat slab concrete roofing system showed the best performance as opposed to the metal roof sheeting alternative systems. In addition, it has been shown experimentally through this study that a sustainable passive roof solution such as insulated flat concrete roof in hot dry climate has a better cooling strength that can provide building occupant with a better thermal comfort, conducive indoor conditions and energy efficiency.

Keywords: building envelope, roof, energy consumption, thermal comfort

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Authors: Sivakumar Kottapalli, Abdesselam Abdelouas, Christoph Hartnack

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Spent nuclear fuel generates a mixed field of ionizing radiation to the water. This radiation field is generally dominated by gamma rays and a limited flux of fast neutrons. The fuel cladding effectively attenuates beta and alpha particle radiation. Small fraction of the spent nuclear fuel exhibits some degree of fuel cladding penetration due to pitting corrosion and mechanical failure. Breaches in the fuel cladding allow the exposure of small volumes of water in the cask to alpha and beta ionizing radiation. The safety of the transport of radioactive material is assured by the package complying with the IAEA Requirements for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material SSR-6. It is of high interest to avoid generation of hydrogen inside the cavity which may to an explosive mixture. The risk of hydrogen production along with other radiation gases should be analyzed for a typical spent fuel for safety issues. This work aims to perform a realistic study of the production of hydrogen by radiolysis assuming most penalizing initial conditions. It consists in the calculation of the radionuclide inventory of a pellet taking into account the burn up and decays. Westinghouse 17X17 PWR fuel has been chosen and data has been analyzed for different sets of enrichment, burnup, cycles of irradiation and storage conditions. The inventory is calculated as the entry point for the simulation studies of hydrogen production by radiolysis kinetic models by MAKSIMA-CHEMIST. Dose rates decrease strongly within ~45 μm from the fuel surface towards the solution(water) in case of alpha radiation, while the dose rate decrease is lower in case of beta and even slower in case of gamma radiation. Calculations are carried out to obtain spectra as a function of time. Radiation dose rate profiles are taken as the input data for the iterative calculations. Hydrogen yield has been found to be around 0.02 mol/L. Calculations have been performed for a realistic scenario considering a capsule containing the spent fuel rod. Thus, hydrogen yield has been debated. Experiments are under progress to validate the hydrogen production rate using cyclotron at > 5MeV (at ARRONAX, Nantes).

Keywords: radiolysis, spent fuel, hydrogen, cyclotron

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Authors: Nattapol Pourprasert

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This research is to study qualitative research having two objectives: 1. to study comparison of private sector of government to compare with ASEAN Member States, 2. to study trend of private enterprise administration of ASEAN Member States. The results are: (1) Thai people focus on personal resource administrative system, (2) Indonesia focuses on official system by good administrative principles, (3) Malaysia focuses on technology development to service people, (4) Philippines focuses on operation system development, (5) Singapore focuses on public service development, (6) Brunei Darussalam focuses on equality in government service of people, (7) Vietnam focuses on creating government labor base and develop testing and administration of operation test, (8) Myanmar focuses on human resources development, (9) Laos focuses on form of local administration, (10) Cambodia focuses on policy revolution in personal resources. The result of the second part of the study are: (1) Thailand created government personnel to be power under qualitative official structural event, (2) Indonesia has Bureaucracy Reform Roadmap of Bureaucracy Reform and National Development Plan Medium Term, (3) Malaysia has database for people service, (4) Philippines follows up control of units operation by government policy, (5) Singapore created reliability, participation of people to set government policy people’s demand, (6) Brunei Darussalam has social welfare to people, (7) Vietnam revolved testing system and administration including manpower base construction of government effectively, (8) Myanmar creates high rank administrators to develop country, (9) Laos distributes power to locality, and (10) Cambodia revolved personnel resource policy.

Keywords: public administration development, ASEAN member states, private sector, government

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Authors: Mahesh Kumar Farejiya, Anil Kumar Dikshit

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The toxic metal contamination and their biomagnification in marine fishes is a serious public health concern specially, in the coastal areas and the small islands. In the present study, concentration of toxic heavy metals like zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr) and mercury (Hg) were determined in the tissues of tunas (T. albacores) caught from the area near to Lakshdweep Islands. The heavy metals are one of the indicators for the marine water pollution. Geochemical weathering, industrialization, agriculture run off, fishing, shipping and oil spills are the major pollutants. The presence of heavy toxic metals in the near coastal water fishes at both western coast and eastern coast of India has been well established. The present study was conducted assuming that the distant island will not have the metals presence in a way it is at the near main land coast. However, our study shows that there is a significant amount of the toxic metals present in the tissues of tuna samples. The gill, lever and flash samples were collected in waters around Lakshdweep Islands. They were analyzed using ICP–AES for the toxic metals after microwave digestion. The concentrations of the toxic metals were found in all fish samples and the general trend of presence was in decreasing order as Zn > Al > Cd > Pb > Cr > Ni > Hg. The amount of metals was found to higher in fish having more weight.

Keywords: toxic metals, marine tuna fish, bioaccumulation, biomagnifications

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Authors: Mohammad Yousefikia, Sara Moridpour, Ehsan Mazloumi

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Perceiving track geometry deterioration decisively influences the optimization of track maintenance operations. The effective management of this deterioration and increasingly utilized system with limited financial resources is a significant challenge. This paper provides a review of degradation models relevant for railroad tracks. Furthermore, due to the lack of long term information on the condition development of tram infrastructures, presents the methodology which will be used to derive degradation models from the data of Melbourne tram network.

Keywords: deterioration modeling, asset management, railway, tram

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Authors: Marie-Claude Roy, David Locky, Ermias Azeria, Jim Schieck

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It is estimated that up to 70% of the wetlands in the Parkland and Grassland natural regions of Alberta have been lost due to various land-use activities. These losses include ecosystem function and services they once provided. Those wetlands remaining are often embedded in a matrix of human-modified habitats and despite efforts taken to protect them the effects of land-uses on wetland condition and function remain largely unknown. We used biophysical field data and remotely-sensed human footprint data collected at 322 open-water wetlands by the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI) to evaluate the impact of surrounding land use on the physico-chemistry characteristics and plant functional traits of wetlands. Eight physio-chemistry parameters were assessed: wetland water depth, water temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and dissolved organic carbon. Three plant functional traits were evaluated: 1) origin (native and non-native), 2) life history (annual, biennial, and perennial), and 3) habitat requirements (obligate-wetland and obligate-upland). Intensity land-use was quantified within a 250-meter buffer around each wetland. Ninety-nine percent of wetlands in the Grassland and Parkland regions of Alberta have land-use activities in their surroundings, with most being agriculture-related. Total phosphorus in wetlands increased with the cover of surrounding agriculture, while salinity, total nitrogen, and dissolved organic carbon were positively associated with the degree of soft-linear (e.g. pipelines, trails) land-uses. The abundance of non-native and annual/biennial plants increased with the amount of agriculture, while urban-industrial land-use lowered abundance of natives, perennials, and obligate wetland plants. Our study suggests that land-use types surrounding wetlands affect the physicochemical and biological conditions of wetlands. This research suggests that reducing human disturbances through reclamation of wetland buffers may enhance the condition and function of wetlands in agricultural landscapes.

Keywords: wetlands, biophysical assessment, land use, grassland and parkland natural regions

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Authors: Hygreeva Kiran Namburi, Anna Hojna, Edita Lecianova, Fencl Zdenek

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Irradiation Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking [IASCC] is one of the most significant environmental degradation in the internal components made from Austenitic stainless steel. This mechanism is still not fully understood and there are no suitable criteria for prediction of the damage during operation. In this work, core basket material 08Ch18N10T austenitic stainless steel acquired from decommissioned NPP Nord / Greifswald Unit 1, VVER 440-230 type, operated for 15 years and irradiated at 5.2 dpa is studied. This material was tensile tested at two different test temperatures and strain rates in air and at the elevated temperature under the water environment. SEM observations of the fracture surface documented ductile fracture of the samples tested in air, but areas of IASCC tested in water. This paper emphasizes on the microscopic examination results from the mechanically tested samples to determine the underlying IASCC physical damage process. TEM observations of thin foils made from the gauge sections that are closer to the fractured surface of the specimen aimed to find variances in interaction of dislocations and grain boundaries owing to different test conditions.

Keywords: irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking, core basket material, SEM observations of the fracture surface, microscopic examination results

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Authors: Frederic Barth, Wouter Vanhoudt, Marc Londo, Jaap C. Jansen, Karine Veum, Javier Castro, Klaus Nürnberger, Matthias Altmann

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Hydrogen is expected to play a key role in the transition towards a low-carbon economy, especially within the transport sector, the energy sector and the (petro)chemical industry sector. However, the production and use of hydrogen only make sense if the production and transportation are carried out with minimal impact on natural resources, and if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced in comparison to conventional hydrogen or conventional fuels. The CertifHy project, supported by a wide range of key European industry leaders (gas companies, chemical industry, energy utilities, green hydrogen technology developers and automobile manufacturers, as well as other leading industrial players) therefore aims to: 1. Define a widely acceptable definition of green hydrogen. 2. Determine how a robust Guarantee of Origin (GoO) scheme for green hydrogen should be designed and implemented throughout the EU. It is divided into the following work packages (WPs). 1. Generic market outlook for green hydrogen: Evidence of existing industrial markets and the potential development of new energy related markets for green hydrogen in the EU, overview of the segments and their future trends, drivers and market outlook (WP1). 2. Definition of “green” hydrogen: step-by-step consultation approach leading to a consensus on the definition of green hydrogen within the EU (WP2). 3. Review of existing platforms and interactions between existing GoO and green hydrogen: Lessons learnt and mapping of interactions (WP3). 4. Definition of a framework of guarantees of origin for “green” hydrogen: Technical specifications, rules and obligations for the GoO, impact analysis (WP4). 5. Roadmap for the implementation of an EU-wide GoO scheme for green hydrogen: the project implementation plan will be presented to the FCH JU and the European Commission as the key outcome of the project and shared with stakeholders before finalisation (WP5 and 6). Definition of Green Hydrogen: CertifHy Green hydrogen is hydrogen from renewable sources that is also CertifHy Low-GHG-emissions hydrogen. Hydrogen from renewable sources is hydrogen belonging to the share of production equal to the share of renewable energy sources (as defined in the EU RES directive) in energy consumption for hydrogen production, excluding ancillary functions. CertifHy Low-GHG hydrogen is hydrogen with emissions lower than the defined CertifHy Low-GHG-emissions threshold, i.e. 36.4 gCO2eq/MJ, produced in a plant where the average emissions intensity of the non-CertifHy Low-GHG hydrogen production (based on an LCA approach), since sign-up or in the past 12 months, does not exceed the emissions intensity of the benchmark process (SMR of natural gas), i.e. 91.0 gCO2eq/MJ.

Keywords: green hydrogen, cross-cutting, guarantee of origin, certificate, DG energy, bankability

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Authors: Thomas Okechukwu Onah, Onyekachi Marcel Egwuagu

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Zero-surface temperature, which controlled the cooling profile, was modeled and used to investigate the effect of process parameters on the hot-rolled steel plates. The parameters include impingement gaps of 40mm to 70mm; pipe diameters of 20mm to 45mm feeding jet nozzle with 30 holes of 8mm diameters each; and flow rates within 2.896x10-⁶m³/s and 3.13x10-⁵m³/s. The developed simulation model of the Zero-Surface Temperature, upon validation, showed 99% prediction accuracy with dimensional homogeneity established. The evaluated Zero-Surface temperature of Controlled Water Jet Impingement Steel plates showed a high cooling rate of 36.31 Celsius degree/sec at an optimal cooling nozzle diameter of 20mm, impingement gap of 70mm and a flow rate of 1.77x10-⁵m³/s resulting in Reynold's number 2758.586, in the turbulent regime was obtained. It was also deduced that as the nozzle diameter was increasing, the impingement gap was reducing. This achieved a faster rate of cooling to an optimum temperature of 300oC irrespective of the starting surface cooling temperature. The results additionally showed that with a tested-plate initial temperature of 550oC, a controlled cooling temperature of about 160oC produced a film and nucleated boiling heat extraction that was particularly beneficial at the end of controlled cooling and influenced the microstructural properties of the test plates.

Keywords: temperature, mechanistic-model, plates, impingements, dimensionless-numbers

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Authors: Viktor Kochkodan

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The main problem arising upon water treatment and desalination using pressure driven membrane processes such as microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis is membrane fouling that seriously hampers the application of the membrane technologies. One of the main approaches to mitigate membrane fouling is to minimize adhesion interactions between a foulant and a membrane and the surface coating of the membranes with polyelectrolytes seems to be a simple and flexible technique to improve the membrane fouling resistance. In this study composite polyamide membranes NF-90, NF-270, and BW-30 were modified using electrostatic deposition of polyelectrolyte multilayers made from various polycationic and polyanionic polymers of different molecular weights. Different anionic polyelectrolytes such as: poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate), poly(vinyl sulfonic acid, sodium salt), poly(4-styrene sulfonic acid-co-maleic acid) sodium salt, poly(acrylic acid) sodium salt (PA) and cationic polyelectrolytes such as poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride), poly(ethylenimine) and poly(hexamethylene biguanide were used for membrane modification. An effect of deposition time and a number of polyelectrolyte layers on the membrane modification has been evaluated. It was found that degree of membrane modification depends on chemical nature and molecular weight of polyelectrolytes used. The surface morphology of the prepared composite membranes was studied using atomic force microscopy. It was shown that the surface membrane roughness decreases significantly as a number of the polyelectrolyte layers on the membrane surface increases. This smoothening of the membrane surface might contribute to the reduction of membrane fouling as lower roughness most often associated with a decrease in surface fouling. Zeta potentials and water contact angles on the membrane surface before and after modification have also been evaluated to provide addition information regarding membrane fouling issues. It was shown that the surface charge of the membranes modified with polyelectrolytes could be switched between positive and negative after coating with a cationic or an anionic polyelectrolyte. On the other hand, the water contact angle was strongly affected when the outermost polyelectrolyte layer was changed. Finally, a distinct difference in the performance of the noncoated membranes and the polyelectrolyte modified membranes was found during treatment of seawater in the non-continuous regime. A possible mechanism of the higher fouling resistance of the modified membranes has been discussed.

Keywords: contact angle, membrane fouling, polyelectrolytes, surface modification

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Authors: Adnan F. Sheikh, Fayaz A. Mir

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After the recent devastating flood in Kashmir in 2014, dredging of the local water bodies, especially Jhelum River has become a priority for the government. Local government under the project name of 'Comprehensive Flood Management Programme' plans to undertake an increase in discharge of existing flood channels by removal of encroachments and acquisition of additional land, dredging and other works of the water bodies. The total quantity of soil to be dredged will be 16.15 lac cumecs. Dredged soil is a major component that would result from the project which requires disposal/utilization. This study analyses the effect of cement and sand on the engineering properties of soil. The tests were conducted with variable additions of sand (10%, 20% and 30%), whereas cement was added at 12%. Samples with following compositions: soil-cement (12%) and soil-sand (30%) were tested as well. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the engineering characteristics of soil, i.e., compaction, strength, and CBR characteristics. The strength characteristics of the soil were determined by unconfined compressive strength test and direct shear test. Unconfined compressive strength of the soil was tested immediately and for a curing period of seven days. CBR test was performed for unsoaked, soaked (worst condition- 4 days) and cured (4 days) samples.

Keywords: comprehensive flood management programme, dredge soil, strength characteristics, flood

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Authors: Ndibarafinia Young Tobin, Simon Burnett

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In spite of the benefits of implementing whole life costing technique as a valuable approach for comparing alternative building designs allowing operational cost benefits to be evaluated against any initial cost increases and also as part of procurement in the construction industry, its adoption has been relatively slow due to the lack of tangible evidence, ‘know-how’ skills and knowledge of the practice, i.e. the lack of professionals in many establishments with knowledge and training on the use of whole life costing technique, this situation is compounded by the absence of available data on whole life costing from relevant projects, lack of data collection mechanisms and so on. This has proved to be very challenging to those who showed some willingness to employ the technique in a construction project. The knowledge generated from a project can be considered as best practices learned on how to carry out tasks in a more efficient way, or some negative lessons learned which have led to losses and slowed down the progress of the project and performance. Knowledge management in whole life costing practice can enhance whole life costing analysis execution in a construction project, as lessons learned from one project can be carried on to future projects, resulting in continuous improvement, providing knowledge that can be used in the operation and maintenance phases of an assets life span. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report an effective approach which can be utilised in capturing knowledge in whole life costing practice in a construction project. Design/methodology/approach: An extensive literature review was first conducted on the concept of knowledge management and whole life costing. This was followed by a semi-structured interview to explore the existing and good practice knowledge management in whole life costing practice in a construction project. The data gathered from the semi-structured interview was analyzed using content analysis and used to structure an effective knowledge capturing approach. Findings: From the results obtained in the study, it shows that the practice of project review is the common method used in the capturing of knowledge and should be undertaken in an organized and accurate manner, and results should be presented in the form of instructions or in a checklist format, forming short and precise insights. The approach developed advised that irrespective of how effective the approach to knowledge capture, the absence of an environment for sharing knowledge, would render the approach ineffective. Open culture and resources are critical for providing a knowledge sharing setting, and leadership has to sustain whole life costing knowledge capture, giving full support for its implementation. The knowledge capturing approach has been evaluated by practitioners who are experts in the area of whole life costing practice. The results have indicated that the approach to knowledge capture is suitable and efficient.

Keywords: whole life costing, knowledge capture, project review, construction industry, knowledge management

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Authors: Abadi Berhane, Walelign Worku, Berhanu Abrha, Gebre Hadgu

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Sesame is an important oilseed crop in Ethiopia, which is the second most exported agricultural commodity next to coffee. However, there is poor soil fertility management and a research-led farming system for the crop. The AquaCrop model was applied as a decision-support tool, which performs a semi-quantitative approach to simulate the yield of crops under different soil fertility levels. The objective of this experiment was to calibrate and validate the AquaCrop model for simulating the growth and yield of sesame under different nitrogen fertilizer levels and to test the performance of the model as a decision-support tool for improved sesame cultivation in the study area. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in a factorial arrangement in the 2016, 2017, and 2018 main cropping seasons. In this experiment, four nitrogen fertilizer rates, 0, 23, 46, and 69 Kg/ha nitrogen, and three improved varieties (Setit-1, Setit-2, and Humera-1). In the meantime, growth, yield, and yield components of sesame were collected from each treatment. Coefficient of determination (R2), Root mean square error (RMSE), Normalized root mean square error (N-RMSE), Model efficiency (E), and Degree of agreement (D) were used to test the performance of the model. The results indicated that the AquaCrop model successfully simulated soil water content with R2 varying from 0.92 to 0.98, RMSE 6.5 to 13.9 mm, E 0.78 to 0.94, and D 0.95 to 0.99, and the corresponding values for AB also varied from 0.92 to 0.98, 0.33 to 0.54 tons/ha, 0.74 to 0.93, and 0.9 to 0.98, respectively. The results on the canopy cover of sesame also showed that the model acceptably simulated canopy cover with R2 varying from 0.95 to 0.99 and a RMSE of 5.3 to 8.6%. The AquaCrop model was appropriately calibrated to simulate soil water content, canopy cover, aboveground biomass, and sesame yield; the results indicated that the model adequately simulated the growth and yield of sesame under the different nitrogen fertilizer levels. The AquaCrop model might be an important tool for improved soil fertility management and yield enhancement strategies of sesame. Hence, the model might be applied as a decision-support tool in soil fertility management in sesame production.

Keywords: aquacrop model, normalized water productivity, nitrogen fertilizer, canopy cover, sesame

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Authors: Thea Werkhoven, Wayne Cotton

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Adult and childhood rates of obesity in Australia are health concerns of high national priority, retaining epidemic status in the populations affected. Attempts to prevent further increases in prevalence of childhood obesity in the population aged below eighteen years have had varied success. A multidisciplinary approach has been used, employing strategies in schools, through established health care system usage and public health campaigns. Over the last decade a plateau in prevalence has been reached in the youth population afflicted by obesity and interest has peaked in school based strategies to prevent and treat overweight and obesity. Of interest to this study is the importance of the tertiary training of future health educators or health professionals destined to be involved in obesity prevention and treatment strategies. Health educators and health professionals are considered instrumental to the success of prevention and treatment strategies, required to possess sufficient and accurate knowledge in order to be effective in their positions. A common influence on the success of school based health promoting activities are the weight based attitudes possessed by health educators, known to be negative and biased towards overweight or obese children during training and practice. Whilst the tertiary training of future health professionals includes minimal nutrition education, there is no mandatory training in health education or nutrition for pre-service health educators in Australian tertiary institutions. This study aimed to assess the impact of a pedagogical intervention on pre-service health educators and health professionals enrolled in a health and wellbeing elective. The intervention aimed to increase nutrition knowledge and decrease weight bias and was embedded in the twelve week elective. Participants (n=98) were tertiary students at a major Australian University who were enrolled in health (47%) and non-health related degrees (53%). A quantitative survey using four valid and reliable instruments was conducted to measured nutrition knowledge, antifat attitudes and weight stereotyping attitudes at baseline and post-intervention. Scores on each instrument were compared between time points to check if they had significantly changed and to determine the effect of the intervention on attitudes and knowledge. Antifat attitudes at baseline were considered low and decreased further over the course of the intervention. Scores representing weight bias did decrease but the change was not significant. Fat stereotyping attitudes became stronger over the course of the intervention and this change was significant. Nutrition knowledge significantly improved from baseline to post-intervention. The design of the nutrition knowledge and attitude amelioration content of the intervention was semi-successful in achieving its outcomes. While the level of nutrition knowledge was improved over the course of the intervention, an unintentional increase was observed in weight based prejudice which is known to occur in interventions that employ stigma reduction methodologies. Further research is required into a structured methodology that increases level of nutrition knowledge and ameliorates weight bias at the tertiary level. In this way training provided would help prepare future health educators with the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to be effective and bias free in their practice.

Keywords: education, intervention, nutrition, obesity

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Authors: N. N. M. Pauzi, M. R. Karim, M. Jamil, R. Hamid, M. F. M. Zain

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The aim of this study is to conduct an experimental investigation on the influence of complete replacement of natural coarse aggregate with spherically-shape and crushed waste cathode ray tube (CRT) glass to the aspect of workability, density, and compressive strength of the concrete. After characterizing the glass, a group of concrete mixes was prepared to contain a 40% spherical CRT glass and 60% crushed CRT glass as a complete (100%) replacement of natural coarse aggregates. From a total of 16 types of concrete mixes, the optimum proportion was selected based on its best performance. The test results showed that the use of spherical and crushed glass that possesses a smooth surface, rounded, irregular and elongated shape, and low water absorption affects the workability of concrete. Due to a higher specific gravity of crushed glass, concrete mixes containing CRT glass had a higher density compared to ordinary concrete. Despite the spherical and crushed CRT glass being stronger than gravel, the results revealed a reduction in compressive strength of the concrete. However, using a lower water to binder (w/b) ratio and a higher superplasticizer (SP) dosage, it is found to enhance the compressive strength of 60.97 MPa at 28 days that is lower by 13% than the control specimen. These findings indicate that waste CRT glass in the form of spherical and crushed could be used as an alternative of coarse aggregate that may pave the way for the disposal of hazardous e-waste.

Keywords: cathode ray tube, glass, coarse aggregate, compressive strength

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Authors: Koppula Prawan, Kehinde D. Oyeyemi, Kushal P. Singh

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As people become more conscious of the detrimental consequences of conventional agricultural practices on the environment and human health, organic, sustainable agriculture and plant protection employing microorganisms have grown in importance. Although the use of microorganisms in agriculture is a centuries-old tradition, it has recently attracted renewed interest as a sustainable alternative to chemical-based plant protection and fertilization. Healthy soil is the cornerstone of sustainable agriculture, and microbes are essential to this process. Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides can destroy the beneficial microorganisms in the soil, upsetting the ecosystem's equilibrium. By utilizing organic farming's natural practices, such as the usage of microbes, it aims to maintain and improve the health of the soil. Microbes have several functions in agriculture, including nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, and disease suppression. Nitrogen fixation is the process by which certain microbes, such as rhizobia and Azotobacter, convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that plants can use. Phosphorus solubilization involves the conversion of insoluble phosphorus into a soluble form that plants can absorb. Disease suppression involves the use of microbes to control plant diseases by competing with pathogenic organisms for resources or by producing antimicrobial compounds. Microbes can be applied to plants through seed coatings, foliar sprays, or soil inoculants. Seed coatings involve applying a mixture of microbes and nutrients to the surface of seeds before planting. Foliar sprays involve applying microbes and nutrients to the leaves of plants during the growing season. Soil inoculants involve adding microbes to the soil before planting. The use of microbes in plant protection and fertilization has several advantages over conventional methods. Firstly, microbes are natural and non-toxic, making them safe for human health and the environment. Secondly, microbes have the ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions, making them more resilient to drought and other stressors. Finally, the use of microbes can reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, reducing costs and minimizing environmental impact. In conclusion, organic, sustainable agriculture and plant protection using microbes are an effective and sustainable alternatives to conventional farming practices. The use of microbes can help to preserve and enhance soil health, increase plant productivity, and reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. As the demand for organic and sustainable agriculture continues to grow, the use of microbes is likely to become more widespread, providing a more environmentally friendly and sustainable future for agriculture.

Keywords: microbes, inoculants, fertilization, soil health, conventional.

Procedia PDF Downloads 74