Search results for: pressure management

Authors: Saidulu Gadari, Manoj Kumar Yadav, V. K. Satheesh, Debasis Bhattacharyya, S. S. V. Ramakumar, Subhajit Sarkar

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Most Fluid Catalytic Cracking Units (FCCUs) are big profit makers and hence, always operated with several constraints. It is the primary source for production of gasoline, light olefins as petrochemical feedstocks, feedstock for alkylate & oxygenates, LPG, etc. in a refinery. Increasing unit capacity and improving product yields as well as qualities such as gasoline RON have dramatic impact on the refinery economics. FCCUs are often debottlenecked significantly beyond their original design capacities. Depending upon the unit configuration, operating conditions, and feedstock quality, the FCC unit can have a variety of bottlenecks. While some of these are aimed to increase the feed rate, improve the conversion, etc., the others are aimed to improve the reliability of the equipment or overall unit. Apart from investment cost, the other factors considered generally while evaluating the debottlenecking options are shutdown days, faster payback, risk on investment, etc. A low-cost solution such as replacement of feed injectors, air distributor, steam distributors, spent catalyst distributor, efficient cyclone system, etc. are the preferred way of upgrading FCCU. It also has lower lead time from idea inception to implementation. This paper discusses various bottlenecks generally encountered in FCCU and presents a case study on improvement of performance of one of the FCCUs in IndianOil through implementation of cost-effective technical solution including use of improved internals in Reactor-Regeneration (R-R) section. After implementation reduction in regenerator air, gas superficial velocity in regenerator and cyclone velocities by about 10% and improvement of CLO yield from 10 to 6 wt% have been achieved. By ensuring proper pressure balance and optimum immersion of cyclone dipleg in the standpipe, frequent formation of perforations in regenerator cyclones could be addressed which in turn improved the unit on-stream factor.

Keywords: FCC, low-cost, revamp, debottleneck, internals, distributors, cyclone, dipleg

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Authors: Xin Li, Ji-Yang Yu, Yue-Hua Niu, Lu-Yuan Wang

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As an inevitable chain of the space data acquirement system, space-borne storage system based on Nand Flash has gradually been implemented in spacecraft. In face of massive, parallel and varied data on board, efficient data management become an important issue of storage research. Face to the requirements of high-performance and reliability in Nand Flash storage system, a combination of hardware and file system design can drastically increase system dependability, even for missions with a very long duration. More sophisticated flash storage concepts with advanced operating systems have been researched to improve the reliability of Nand Flash storage system on satellites. In this paper, architecture of file system with multi-channel data acquisition and storage on board is proposed, which obtains large-capacity and high-performance with the combine of intra-channel pipeline and device partition in Nand Flash. Multi-channel data in different rate are stored as independent files with parallel-storage system in device partition, which assures the high-effective and reliable throughput of file treatments. For massive and high-speed data storage, an efficiency assessment model is established to calculate the bandwidth formula of intra-channel pipeline. Information tables designed in Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) hold the management of bad block in Nand Flash and the arrangement of file system address for the high-reliability of data storage. During the full-load test, the throughput of 3D PLUS Module 160Gb Nand Flash can reach 120Mbps for store and reach 120Mbps for playback, which efficiently satisfies the requirement of multi-channel data acquisition in Satellite. Compared with previous literature, the results of experiments verify the advantages of the proposed system.

Keywords: device partition architecture, intra-channel pipelining, nand flash, parallel storage

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Nathaniel Deboever, Malcolm Breeze, Adrian Sheen

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Basic surgical and suturing techniques are a fundamental requirement for all doctors. In order to gain confidence and competence, doctors in training need to obtain sufficient teaching and just as importantly: practice. Young doctors with an apt level of expertise on these simple surgical skills, which are often used in the Emergency Department, can help alleviate some pressure during a busy evening. Unfortunately, learning these skills can be quite difficult during medical school or even during junior doctor years. The aim of this project was to adequately train medical students attending University of Sydney’s Nepean Clinical School through a series of workshops highlighting practical skills, with hopes to further extend this program to junior doctors in the hospital. The sessions instructed basic skills via tutorials, demonstrations, and lastly, the sessions cemented these proficiencies with practical sessions. During such an endeavor, it is fundamental to employ models that appropriately resemble what students will encounter in the clinical setting. The sustainability of workshops is similarly important to the continuity of such a program. To address both these challenges, the authors have developed models including suturing platforms, knot tying, and vessel ligation stations, as well as a shave and punch biopsy models and ophthalmologic foreign body device. The unique aspect of this work is that we utilized hands-on teaching sessions, to address a gap in doctors-in-training and junior doctor curriculum. Presented to you through this poster are our approaches to creating models that do not employ animal products and therefore do not necessitate particular facilities or discarding requirements. Covering numerous skills that would be beneficial to all young doctors, these models are easily replicable and affordable. This exciting work allows for countless sessions at low cost, providing enough practice for students to perform these skills confidently as it has been shown through attendee questionnaires.

Keywords: medical education, surgical models, surgical simulation, surgical skills education

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Tong Mei Yan

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Introduction: The experience of infertility could be excruciating but has not received much attention in Hong Kong. The strong Confucian culture pressures couples to continue their family lineage resulting in women facing more stress than men in the social-cultural milieu. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment is one of the common ways to deal with the problem. Abundant literature exists the psychological trajectories of people receiving IVF treatment in Europe, the USA and other east Asian societies but not in Hong Kong. Aim: This study aims to highlight the circumstances and needs of the women before, during and after IVF treatment through examining their lived experiences. It is hoped that the public, once informed of regarding their tribulations and needs , would support the adequate provision of the required psychological support . Methods: Qualitative analysis was adopted in this study. In-depth interviews were conducted with six women who have undergone at least one complete cycle of IVF treatment within the past five years. Data was analyzed through thematic analysis and narrative analysis. Results: 4 broad themes were found, including (i) emotional responses; (ii) experiences in medical consultation; (iii) impacts of the treatment; and (iv) their coping strategies. Additionally, specific events in three cases were chosen for narrative analysis to further examine their unresolved emotional distress and the ethical issues. Conclusion: IVF treatment distressed the interviewees immensely, both physically and psychologically, with the negative emotions outweighing their physical strains, a result unexpected by all of the interviewees. The pressure for lineage continuation, the demanding treatment process and the dearth of support from health professionals all contribute to their emotional pain which could linger for both successful and unsuccessful cases. Although a number of coping strategies were attempted, most of them completely failed to ease their psychological tension. The findings of this study therefore evidence the need for psychological support for this population. A service model to cater their needs of IVF treatment before, during and after treatment is therefore proposed.

Keywords: coping strategies, emotional experiences, impacts of IVF, infertility, IVF treatment, medical experiences

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Authors: B. Dehghan, T. Toppi, M. Aprile, M. Motta

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The environmental concerns related to global warming and ozone layer depletion along with the growing worldwide demand for heating and cooling have brought an increasing attention toward ecological and efficient Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. Furthermore, since space heating accounts for a considerable part of the European primary/final energy use, it has been identified as one of the sectors with the most challenging targets in energy use reduction. Heat pumps are commonly considered as a technology able to contribute to the achievement of the targets. Current research focuses on the full load operation and seasonal performance assessment of three gas-driven absorption heat pump cycles. To do this, investigations of the gas-driven air-source ammonia-water absorption heat pump systems for small-scale space heating applications are presented. For each of the presented cycles, both full-load under various temperature conditions and seasonal performances are predicted by means of numerical simulations. It has been considered that small capacity appliances are usually equipped with fixed geometry restrictors, meaning that the solution mass flow rate is driven by the pressure difference across the associated restrictor valve. Results show that gas utilization efficiency (GUE) of the cycles varies between 1.2 and 1.7 for both full and partial loads and vapor exchange (VX) cycle is found to achieve the highest efficiency. It is noticed that, for typical space heating applications, heat pumps operate over a wide range of capacities and thermal lifts. Thus, partially, the novelty introduced in the paper is the investigation based on a seasonal performance approach, following the method prescribed in a recent European standard (EN 12309). The overall result is a modest variation in the seasonal performance for analyzed cycles, from 1.427 (single-effect) to 1.493 (vapor-exchange).

Keywords: absorption cycles, gas utilization efficiency, heat pump, seasonal performance, vapor exchange cycle

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Authors: Muhammad Umar Mushtaq, Muhammad Bilal Khan Niazi, Nouman Ahmad, Dooa Arif

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Apart from organic dyes, heavy metals such as Pb, Ni, Cr, and Cu are present in textile effluent and pose a threat to humans and the environment. Many studies on removing heavy metallic ions from textile wastewater have been conducted in recent decades using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). In this study new polyether sulfone ultrafiltration membrane, modified with Cu/Co and Cu/Zn-based bimetal-organic frameworks (MOFs), was produced. Phase inversion was used to produce the membrane, and atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize it. The bimetallic MOFs-based membrane structure is complex and can be comprehended using characterization techniques. The bimetallic MOF-based filtration membranes are designed to selectively adsorb specific contaminants while allowing the passage of water molecules, improving the ultrafiltration efficiency. MOFs' adsorption capacity and selectivity are enhanced by functionalizing them with particular chemical groups or incorporating them into composite membranes with other materials, such as polymers. The morphology and performance of the bimetallic MOF-based membrane were investigated regarding pure water flux and metal ion rejection. The advantages of developed bimetallic MOFs based membranes for wastewater treatment include enhanced adsorption capacity because of the presence of two metals in their structure, which provides additional binding sites for contaminants, leading to a higher adsorption capacity and more efficient removal of pollutants from wastewater. Based on the experimental findings, bimetallic MOF-based membranes are more capable of rejecting metal ions from industrial wastewater than conventional membranes that have already been developed. Furthermore, the difficulties associated with operational parameters, including pressure gradients and velocity profiles, are simulated using Ansys Fluent software. The simulation results obtained for the operating parameters are in complete agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: bimetallic MOFs, heavy metal ions, industrial wastewater treatment, ultrafiltration.

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Authors: Daly M. J, Condron C, Mulhall C, Eppich W, O'Neill J.

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Introduction: In contemporary clinical cardiology, comprehensive and holistic bedside evaluation including accurate cardiac auscultation is in decline despite having positive effects on patients and their outcomes. Methods: Scripted histories and scoring checklists for three clinical scenarios in cardiology were co-created and refined through iterative consensus by a panel of clinical experts; these were then paired with recordings of auscultatory findings from three actual patients with known valvular heart disease. A wearable vest with embedded pressure-sensitive panel speakers was developed to transmit these recordings when examined at the standard auscultation points. RCSI medical students volunteered for a series of three formative long case examinations in cardiology (LC1 – LC3) using this hybrid simulation. Participants were randomised into two groups: Group 1 received individual teaching from an expert trainer between LC1 and LC2; Group 2 received the same intervention between LC2 and LC3. Each participant’s long case examination performance was recorded and blindly scored by two peer participants and two RCSI examiners. Results: Sixty-eight participants were included in the study (age 27.6 ± 0.1 years; 74% female) and randomised into two groups; there were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between groups. Overall, the median total faculty examiner score was 39.8% (35.8 – 44.6%) in LC1 and increased to 63.3% (56.9 – 66.4%) in LC3, with those in Group 1 showing a greater improvement in LC2 total score than that observed in Group 2 (p < .001). Using the novel checklist, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were excellent between examiners in all cases: ICC .994 – .997 (p < .001); correlation between peers and examiners improved in LC2 following peer grading of LC1 performances: ICC .857 – .867 (p < .001). Conclusion: Hybrid simulation and quantitative grading improve learning, standardisation of assessment, and direct comparisons of both performance and acumen in clinical cardiology.

Keywords: cardiology, clinical skills, long case examination, hybrid simulation, checklist

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Authors: Omneya N. Mekhaimer, Elkhayam M. Dorra, A. Samer Ezeldin

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Over the recent decades, studies on organizational culture have gained global attention in the business management literature, where it has been established that the cultural factors embedded in the organization have an implicit yet significant influence on the organization’s success. Unlike other industries, the construction industry is widely known to be operating in a dynamic and adversarial nature; considering the unique characteristics it denotes, thereby the level of disputes has propagated in the construction industry throughout the years. In the late 1990s, the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) created a Task Group (TG-23), which later evolved in 2006 into a Working Commission W112, with a strategic objective to promote research in investigating the role and impact of culture in the construction industry worldwide. To that end, this paper aims to study the influence of organizational culture in the contractor’s organization on the frequency of disputes caused between the owner and the contractor that occur in commercial projects based in Egypt. This objective is achieved by using a quantitative approach through a survey questionnaire to explore the dominant cultural attributes that exist in the contractor’s organization based on the Competing Value Framework (CVF) theory, which classifies organizational culture into four main cultural types: (1) clan, (2) adhocracy, (3) market, and (4) hierarchy. Accordingly, the collected data are statistically analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 28) software, whereby a correlation analysis using Pearson Correlation is carried out to assess the relationship between these variables and their statistical significance using the p-value. The results show that there is an influence of organizational culture attributes on the frequency of disputes whereby market culture is identified to be the most dominant organizational culture that is currently practiced in contractor’s organization, which consequently contributes to increasing the frequency of disputes in commercial projects. These findings suggest that alternative management practices should be adopted rather than the existing ones with an aim to minimize dispute occurrence.

Keywords: construction projects, correlation analysis, disputes, Egypt, organizational culture

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Authors: Xie Xiaobin, Zhang Yan, Shi Yipeng, Sun Wenying, Chen Shuang, Cai Zhipeng, Zhang Hong, Zhang Lixia, Xie Like

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Objective: The objective of this research is to compare the efficacy of the late in-situ surgical revision augmented with continuous infusion and needle revision on failed trabeculectomy blebs. Methods From December 2018 to December 2021, a prospective randomized controlled trial was performed on 44 glaucoma patients with failed bleb ≥ 6months with medically uncontrolled in Eye Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. They were randomly divided into two groups. 22 eyes of 22 patients underwent the late in-situ surgical revision with continuous anterior chamber infusion in the study group, and 22 of 22 patients were treated with needle revision in the control group. Main outcome measures include preoperative and postoperative intraocular pressure (IOP), the number of anti-glaucoma medicines, the operation success rate, and the postoperative complications. Results The postoperative IOP values decreased significantly from the baseline in both groups (both P<0.05). IOP was significantly lower in the study group than in the control group at one week, 1, and 3 months postoperatively (all P<0.05). IOP reductions in the study group were substantially more prominent than in the control group at all postoperative time points (all P<0.05). The complete success rate in the study group was significantly higher than in the control group (71.4% vs. 33.3%, P<0.05), while the complete failure rate was significantly lower in the study group (0% vs. 28.5%, P<0.05). According to Cox’s proportional hazards regression analysis, high IOP at baseline was independently associated with increased risks of complete failure (adjusted hazard ratio=1.141, 95% confidence interval=1.021-1.276, P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Both in-situ surgical and needle revision have acceptable success rates and safety for the late failed trabeculectomy blebs, while the former is likely to have a higher level of efficacy over the latter. Needle revision may be insufficient for eyes with low target IOP.

Keywords: glaucoma, trabeculectomy blebs, in-situ surgical revision, needle revision

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Authors: Alua Massalimova

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Situation analysis of Blood Service revealed that the strengths dominated over the weak 1.4 times. The possibilities dominate over the threats by 1.1 times. It follows that by using timely the possibility the Service, it is possible to strengthen its strengths and avoid threats. Priority directions of the resulting analysis are the use of subjective factors, such as personal management capacity managers of the Blood Center in the field of possibilities of legal activity of administrative decisions and the mobilization of stable staff in general market conditions. We have studied for the period 2011-2015 retrospectively indicators of Blood Service of Kazakhstan. Strengths of Blood Service of RK(Ps4,5): 1) indicators of donations for 1000 people is higher than in some countries of the CIS (in Russia 14, Kazakhstan - 17); 2) the functioning science centre of transfusiology; 3) the legal possibility of additional financing blood centers in the form of paid services; 4) the absence of competitors; 5) training on specialty Transfusiology; 6) the stable management staff of blood centers, a high level of competence; 7) increase in the incidence requiring transfusion therapy (oncohematology); 8) equipment upgrades; 9) the opening of a reference laboratory; 10) growth of the proportion of issued high-quality blood components; 11) governmental organization 'Drop of Life'; 12) the functioning bone marrow register; 13) equipped with modern equipment HLA-laboratory; 14) High categorization of average medical workers; 15) availability of own specialized scientific journal; 16) vivarium. The weaknesses (Ps = 3.5): 1) the incomplete equipping of blood centers and blood transfusion cabinets according to standards; 2) low specific weight of paid services of the CC; 3) low categorization of doctors; 4) high staff turnover; 5) the low scientific potential of industrial and clinical of transfusiology; 6) the low wages paid; 7) slight growth of harvested donor blood; 8) the weak continuity with offices blood transfusion; 9) lack of agitation work; 10) the formally functioning of Transfusion Association; 11) the absence of scientific laboratories; 12) high standard deviation from the average for donations in the republic. The possibilities (Ps = 2,7): 1): international grants; 2) organization of international seminars on clinical of transfusiology; 3) cross-sectoral cooperation; 4) to increase scientific research in the field of clinical of transfusiology; 5) reduce the share of donation unsuitable for transfusion and processing; 6) strengthening marketing management in the development of fee-based services; 7) advertising paid services; 8) strengthening the publishing of teaching aids; 9) team-building staff. The threats (Ps = 2.1): 1) an increase of staff turnover; 2) the risk of litigation; 3) reduction gemoprodukts based on evidence-based medicine; 4) regression of scientific capacity; 5) organization of marketing; 6) transfusiologist marketing; 7) reduction in the quality of the evidence base transfusions.

Keywords: blood service, healthcare, Kazakhstan, quantative swot analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 222

Authors: Marco F. Benaglia, Mei H. Chen, Kune M. Tsai, Chia H. Hung

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As societal and family structures, consumer dietary habits, and awareness about food safety and quality continue to evolve in most developed countries, the demand for refrigerated and frozen foods has been growing, and the issues related to their preservation have gained increasing attention. A well-established cold chain logistics system is essential to avoid any temperature abuse; therefore, assessing potential disruptions in the operational processes of cold chain logistics centers becomes pivotal. This study preliminarily employs HACCP to find disruption factors in cold chain logistics centers that may cause temperature abuse. Then, concept mapping is applied: selected experts engage in brainstorming sessions to identify any further factors. The panel consists of ten experts, including four from logistics and home delivery, two from retail distribution, one from the food industry, two from low-temperature logistics centers, and one from the freight industry. Disruptions include equipment-related aspects, human factors, management aspects, and process-related considerations. The areas of observation encompass freezer rooms, refrigerated storage areas, loading docks, sorting areas, and vehicle parking zones. The experts also categorize the disruption factors based on perceived similarities and build a similarity matrix. Each factor is evaluated for its impact, frequency, and investment importance. Next, multiple scale analysis, cluster analysis, and other methods are used to analyze these factors. Simultaneously, key disruption factors are identified based on their impact and frequency, and, subsequently, the factors that companies prioritize and are willing to invest in are determined by assessing investors’ risk aversion behavior. Finally, Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT) is applied to verify the risk patterns. 66 disruption factors are found and categorized into six clusters: (1) "Inappropriate Use and Maintenance of Hardware and Software Facilities", (2) "Inadequate Management and Operational Negligence", (3) "Product Characteristics Affecting Quality and Inappropriate Packaging", (4) "Poor Control of Operation Timing and Missing Distribution Processing", (5) "Inadequate Planning for Peak Periods and Poor Process Planning", and (6) "Insufficient Cold Chain Awareness and Inadequate Training of Personnel". This study also identifies five critical factors in the operational processes of cold chain logistics centers: "Lack of Personnel’s Awareness Regarding Cold Chain Quality", "Personnel Not Following Standard Operating Procedures", "Personnel’s Operational Negligence", "Management’s Inadequacy", and "Lack of Personnel’s Knowledge About Cold Chain". The findings show that cold chain operators prioritize prevention and improvement efforts in the "Inappropriate Use and Maintenance of Hardware and Software Facilities" cluster, particularly focusing on the factors of "Temperature Setting Errors" and "Management’s Inadequacy". However, through the application of CPT theory, this study reveals that companies are not usually willing to invest in the improvement of factors related to the "Inappropriate Use and Maintenance of Hardware and Software Facilities" cluster due to its low occurrence likelihood, but they acknowledge the severity of the consequences if it does occur. Hence, the main implication is that the key disruption factors in cold chain logistics centers’ processes are associated with personnel issues; therefore, comprehensive training, periodic audits, and the establishment of reasonable incentives and penalties for both new employees and managers may significantly reduce disruption issues.

Keywords: concept mapping, cold chain, HACCP, cumulative prospect theory

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Authors: Elson Szeto

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Over the past 15 years, digital technology has ubiquitously penetrated societies around the world. New values of e-learning are emerging in the preparation of future talents, while e-learning is a key driver of widening participation and knowledge transfer in Chinese higher education. As a vibrant, Chinese society in Asia, Hong Kong’s new generation university students, perhaps the digital natives, have been learning with e-learning since their basic education. They can acquire new knowledge with the use of different forms of e-learning as a generic competence. These students who embrace this competence further their study journeys in higher education. This project reviews the Government’s policy of Information Technology in Education which has largely put forward since 1998. So far, primary to secondary education has embraced advantages of e-learning capability to advance the learning of different subject knowledge. Yet, e-learning capacity in higher education is yet to be fully examined in Hong Kong. The study reported in this paper is a pilot investigation into e-learning capacity in Chinese higher education in the region. By conducting a qualitative case study of Hong Kong, the investigation focuses on (1) the institutional ICT settings in general; (2) the pedagogic responses to e-learning in specific; and (3) the university students’ satisfaction of e-learning. It is imperative to revisit the e-learning capacity for promoting effective learning amongst university students, supporting new knowledge acquisition and embracing new opportunities in the 21st century. As a pilot case study, data will be collected from individual interviews with the e-learning management team members of a university, teachers who use e-learning for teaching and students who attend courses comprised of e-learning components. The findings show the e-learning capacity of the university and the key components of leveraging e-learning capability as a university-wide learning settings. The findings will inform institutions’ senior management, enabling them to effectively enhance institutional e-learning capacity for effective learning and teaching and new knowledge acquisition. Policymakers will be aware of new potentials of e-learning for the preparation of future talents in this society at large.

Keywords: capability, e-learning, higher education, student learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Monika Simkute-Bukante

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Teachers significantly influence student achievements, personal development, and academic success. Consequently, they are subject to heightened expectations and scrutiny from governments, school administrations, parents, and even students. Increasing responsibilities and pressures impact teachers’ professional well-being, contributing to a global trend of increased teacher turnover and shortages due to stress and heavy workloads. Given the critical role of teachers in educating young people, it is essential to implement strategies to retain them. School administrations are pivotal in creating an environment conducive to optimal performance. However, there remains a gap in understanding how school administration leadership impacts teachers' professional well-being and its potential for improvement. This research aims to define teacher professional well-being, identify its attributes, and explore the factors influencing it, with a particular focus on the role of school administration. Employing the concept analysis method, this study reviews scholarly publications from 2019 to 2024 to articulate the components of teacher professional well-being. The findings highlight key attributes of teacher well-being, including self-efficacy, work engagement, job satisfaction, relationships with colleagues and students, support from administration, work autonomy, school climate, time pressure, workload, resilience, stress, burnout, and turnover intentions. The analysis demonstrates that school administration leadership directly affects these aspects by providing support in challenging situations, empowering teachers, offering recognition, facilitating open communication, and ensuring autonomy at work. In conclusion, the research shows that teachers' professional well-being is heavily dependent on relationships with school administration, colleagues, and students, as well as the overall school climate. It suggests that by enhancing these elements, school leaders can significantly improve teacher professional well-being. Recommendations are made for developing strategies to support these relationships, thereby fostering an environment that enhances teacher retention and effectiveness.

Keywords: concept analysis, teacher professional well-being, school administration leadership, well-being factors

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Authors: Yu-Chen Wei

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This study integrated the need fulfillment theory and affective event theory to investigate the effects of the interaction of job involvement and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) on well-being. Data from 196 paired samples of employees and their supervisors in one supplementary school in Taiwan were analyzed. This study found that while neither job involvement nor OCB directly affects well-being, the interaction of job involvement and OCB can predict well-being. The findings of this study suggest that management can assist employees in improving their well-being by balancing job involvement and OCB.

Keywords: job involvement, organizational citizenship behavior, well-being, need fulfillment

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Authors: Mohamed Naser Zainol, P. P. Angeline Song

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Over the years, the profile of end-stage renal patients placed under The National Kidney Foundation Singapore (NKFS) dialysis program has evolved, with a gradual incline in the number of patients with behavior-related issues. With these challenging profiles, social workers and counsellors are often expected to oversee behavior management, through referrals from its partnering colleagues. Due to the segregation of tasks usually found in many hospital-based multi-disciplinary settings, social workers’ and counsellors’ interventions are often seen as an endpoint, limiting other stakeholders’ involvement that could otherwise be potentially crucial in managing such patients. While patients’ contact in local hospitals often leads to eventual discharge, NKFS patients are mostly long term. It is interesting to note that these patients are regularly seen by a team of professionals that includes doctors, nurses, dietitians, exercise specialists in NKFS. The dynamism of relationships presents an opportunity for any of these professionals to take ownership of their potentials in leading interventions that can be helpful to patients. As such, it is important to have a framework that incorporates the strength of these professionals and also channels empowerment across the multi-disciplinary team in working towards wholistic patient care. This paper would like to suggest a new framework for NKFS’s multi-disciplinary team, where the group synergy and dynamics are used to encourage ownership and promote empowerment. The social worker and counsellor use group work skills and his/her knowledge of its members’ strengths, to generate constructive solutions that are centered towards patient’s growth. Using key ideas from Karl’s Tomm Interpersonal Communications, the Communication Management of Meaning and Motivational Interviewing, the social worker and counsellor through a series of guided meeting with other colleagues, facilitates the transmission of understanding, responsibility sharing and tapping on team resources for patient care. As a result, the patient can experience personal and concerted approach and begins to flow in a direction that is helpful for him. Using seven case studies of identified patients with behavioral issues, the social worker and counsellor apply this framework for a period of six months. Patient’s overall improvement through interventions as a result of this framework are recorded using the AB single case design, with baseline measured three months before referral. Interviews with patients and their families, as well as other colleagues that are not part of the multi-disciplinary team are solicited at mid and end points to gather their experiences about patient’s progress as a by-product of this framework. Expert interviews will be conducted on each member of the multi-disciplinary team to study their observations and experience in using this new framework. Hence, this exploratory framework hopes to identify the inherent usefulness in managing patients with behavior related issues. Moreover, it would provide indicators in improving aspects of the framework when applied to a larger population.

Keywords: behavior management, end-stage renal failure, satellite dialysis, multi-disciplinary team

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Authors: Martins A. Adefisoye, Mpaka Lindelwa, Fadare Folake, Anthony I. Okoh

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Evolution and rapid dissemination of antibiotic resistance from one ecosystem to another has been responsible for wide-scale epidemic and endemic spreads of multi-drug resistance pathogens. This study assessed the prevalence of Enterobacteriaceae in different environmental samples, including river water, hospital effluents, abattoir wastewater, animal rectal swabs and faecal droppings, soil, and vegetables, using standard microbiological procedure. The identity of the isolates were confirmed using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrophotometry (MALDI-TOF) while the isolates were profiled for resistance against a panel of 16 antibiotics using disc diffusion (DD) test, and the occurrence of resistance genes (ARG) was determined by polymerase chain reactions (PCR). Enterobacteriaceae counts in the samples range as follows: river water 4.0 × 101 – 2.0 × 104 cfu/100 ml, hospital effluents 1.5 × 103 – 3.0 × 107 cfu/100 ml, municipal wastewater 2.3 × 103 – 9.2 × 104 cfu/100 ml, faecal droppings 3.0 × 105 – 9.5 × 106 cfu/g, animal rectal swabs 3.0 × 102 – 2.9 × 107 cfu/ml, soil 0 – 1.2 × 105 cfu/g and vegetables 0 – 2.2 × 107 cfu/g. Of the 700 randomly selected presumptive isolates subjected to MALDI-TOF analysis, 129 (18.4%), 68 (9.7%), 67 (9.5%), 41 (5.9%) were E. coli, Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter spp., and Citrobacter spp. respectively while the remaining isolates belong to other genera not targeted in the study. The DD test shows resistance ranging between 91.6% (175/191) for cefuroxime and (15.2%, 29/191) for imipenem The predominant multiple antibiotic resistance phenotypes (MARP), (GM-AUG-AP-CTX-CXM-CIP-NOR-NI-C-NA-TS-T-DXT) occurred in 9 Klebsiella isolates. The multiple antibiotic resistance indices (MARI) the isolates (range 0.17–1.0) generally showed >95% had MARI above the 0.2 thresholds, suggesting that most of the isolates originate from high-risk environments with high antibiotic use and high selective pressure for the emergence of resistance. The associated ARG in the isolates include: bla TEM 61.9 (65), bla SHV 1.9 (2), bla OXA 8.6 (9), CTX-M-2 8.6 (9), CTX-M-9 6.7 (7), sul 2 26.7 (28), tet A 16.2 (17), tet M 17.1 (18), aadA 59.1 (62), strA 34.3 (36), aac(3)A 19.1 (20), (aa2)A 7.6 (8), and aph(3)-1A 10.5 (11). The results underscore the need for preventative measures to curb the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria including Enterobacteriaceae to protect public health.

Keywords: enterobacteriaceae, antibiotic-resistance, MALDI-TOF, resistance genes, MARP, MARI, public health

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Authors: Eric Pla Erra, Mariana Jimenez Martinez

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While aggregated loads at a community level tend to be easier to predict, individual household load forecasting present more challenges with higher volatility and uncertainty. Furthermore, the drastic changes that our behavior patterns have suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic have modified our daily electrical consumption curves and, therefore, further complicated the forecasting methods used to predict short-term electric load. Load forecasting is vital for the smooth and optimized planning and operation of our electric grids, but it also plays a crucial role for individual domestic consumers that rely on a HEMS (Home Energy Management Systems) to optimize their energy usage through self-generation, storage, or smart appliances management. An accurate forecasting leads to higher energy savings and overall energy efficiency of the household when paired with a proper HEMS. In order to study how COVID-19 has affected the accuracy of forecasting methods, an evaluation of the performance of a state-of-the-art LGBM (Light Gradient Boosting Model) will be conducted during the transition between pre-pandemic and lockdowns periods, considering day-ahead electric load forecasting. LGBM improves the capabilities of standard Decision Tree models in both speed and reduction of memory consumption, but it still offers a high accuracy. Even though LGBM has complex non-linear modelling capabilities, it has proven to be a competitive method under challenging forecasting scenarios such as short series, heterogeneous series, or data patterns with minimal prior knowledge. An adaptation of the LGBM model – called “resilient LGBM” – will be also tested, incorporating a concept drift detection technique for time series analysis, with the purpose to evaluate its capabilities to improve the model’s accuracy during extreme events such as COVID-19 lockdowns. The results for the LGBM and resilient LGBM will be compared using standard RMSE (Root Mean Squared Error) as the main performance metric. The models’ performance will be evaluated over a set of real households’ hourly electricity consumption data measured before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. All households are located in the city of Barcelona, Spain, and present different consumption profiles. This study is carried out under the ComMit-20 project, financed by AGAUR (Agència de Gestiód’AjutsUniversitaris), which aims to determine the short and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on building energy consumption, incrementing the resilience of electrical systems through the use of tools such as HEMS and artificial intelligence.

Keywords: concept drift, forecasting, home energy management system (HEMS), light gradient boosting model (LGBM)

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Authors: S. Fares, K. Mellakh, A. Hmouri

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The StorMer project aims to set up a network of researchers to study traditional hydraulic rainwater harvesting systems in the Mediterranean basin, a region suffering from the major impacts of climate change and limited natural water resources. The arid and semi-arid Mediterranean basin has a long history of pioneering water management practices. The region has developed various ancient traditional water management systems, such as cisterns and qanats, to sustainably manage water resources under historical conditions of scarcity. Therefore, the StorMer project brings together Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Jordan and Morocco to explore traditional rainwater harvesting practices and systems in the Mediterranean region and to develop accurate modeling to simulate the performance and sustainability of these technologies under present-day climatic conditions. The ultimate goal of this project was to resuscitate and valorize these practices in the context of contemporary challenges. This project was intended to establish a Mediterranean network to serve as a basis for a more ambitious project. The ultimate objective was to analyze traditional hydraulic systems and create a prototype hydraulic ecosystem using a coupled environmental approach and traditional and ancient know-how, with the aim of reinterpreting them in the light of current techniques. The combination of ‘traditional’ and ‘modern knowledge/techniques’ is expected to lead to proposals for innovative hydraulic systems. The pandemic initially slowed our progress, but in the end it forced us to carry out the fieldwork in Morocco and Saudi Arabia, and so restart the project. With the participation of colleagues from chronologically distant fields (archaeology, sociology), we are now prepared to share our observations and propose the next steps. This interdisciplinary approach should give us a global vision of the project's objectives and challenges. A diachronic approach is needed to tackle the question of the long-term adaptation of societies in a Mediterranean context that has experienced several periods of water stress. The next stage of the StorMer project is the implementation of pilots in non-urbanized regions. These pilots will test the implementation of traditional systems and will be maintained and evaluated in terms of effectiveness, cost and acceptance. Based on these experiences, larger projects will be proposed and could provide information for regional water management policies. One of the most important lessons learned from this project is the highly social nature of managing traditional rainwater harvesting systems. Unlike modern, centralized water infrastructures, these systems often require the involvement of communities, which assume ownership and responsibility for them. This kind of community engagement leads to greater maintenance and, therefore, sustainability of the systems. Knowledge of the socio-cultural characteristics of these communities means that the systems can be adapted to the needs of each location, ensuring greater acceptance and efficiency.

Keywords: oasis, rainfall harvesting, arid regions, Mediterranean

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Authors: Mohd Asharf Ganie, Aafia Rashid, Mohd Afzal Zargar, Showkat Ali Zargar, Syed Mudasar, Tabasum Parvaiz, Zafar Amin Shah

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Accumulating evidence suggests that Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) might at least contribute to the metabolic co-morbidities in PCOS. Hence, we aimed to study the effect of vitamin D supplementation in co-prescription with insulin sensitizers like metformin and pioglitazone on clinical, hormonal and metabolic parameters in women with PCOS. In this open label randomized, controlled trial a total of 120 women with PCOS diagnosis (AE-PCOS 2009 Criteria) were assigned to four treatment groups (n= 30 in each): group I (metformin 1 gm/day in combination with cholecalciferol 4000 IU/day), group II (pioglitazone 30 mg/day in combination with cholecalciferol 4000 IU/day), group III (metformin 1 gm /day) and group IV (pioglitazone 30 mg/day). Vitamin D supplementation was given as 60,000 units every two weeks for 24 weeks. All the subjects were routinely evaluated for clinical, biochemical, hormonal and insulin sensitivity parameters in addition to various safety parameters especially serum calcium levels at baseline and after 24 weeks of the treatment. Our results indicate that 95.5% of PCOS women were vitamin D deficient at baseline. Serum 25 (OH) D levels increased significantly (p < 0.001) in groups I and II without any adverse effects after 24 weeks of oral administration of 4000 IU cholecalciferol daily. However, serum 25 (OH) D levels remained unchanged in group III and IV. By six months, number of menstrual cycles per year increased whereas Ferriman-Gallwey score, serum total testosterone and HOMA-IR decreased significantly (P < 0.001) in the treatment groups supplemented with cholecalciferol as compared to those treated either drug alone. No significant beneficial changes were observed on weight, BMI, blood pressure, glucose tolerance and serum lipids in any of the groups supplemented with cholecalciferol. We conclude that daily dose of 4000 IU cholecalciferol might be a useful adjunct in complex treatment of PCOS with fewer adverse events. Furthermore, pioglitazone and cholecalciferol combination seems to be marginally better although there was no statistical significance.

Keywords: PCOS, vitamin D supplementation, insulin resistance, spironolactone, metformin, pioglitazone

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Authors: Baikunthanath Sahoo, Santosh Kumar Sahu, Krishna Malakar

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With the essence of global environmental sustainability and green business management, the wind of business research moved towards Corporate Social Responsibility. In addition to international and national treaties, businesses have also started realising environmental protection and energy efficiency through CSR as part of business strategy in response to climate change. Considering the ambitious emission reduction target and rapid economic development of India, this study is an attempt to explore the effect of CSR on the energy efficiency management of manufacturing firms in India. By using firm-level data, the panel fixed effect model shows that the CSR dummy variable is negatively influencing the energy intensity or technically, they are energy efficient. The result demonstrates that in the presence of CSR, all the production economic variables are significant. The result also shows that doing environmental expenditure does not improve energy efficiency might be because very few firms are motivated to do such expenditure and also not common to all sectors. The interactive effect model result conforms that without considering CSR dummy as an intervening variable only Manufacturers of Chemical and Chemical products, Manufacturers of Pharmaceutical, medical chemical, and botanical products firms energy intensity low but after considering CSR in their business practices all six sub-sector firms become energy efficient. The empirical result also validate that firms are continuously engaged in CSR activities they are highly energy efficient. It is an important motivational factor for firms to become economically and environmentally sustainable in the corporate world. This analysis would help business practitioners to know how to manage today’s profitability and tomorrow’s sustainability to achieve a comparative advantage in the emerging market economy. The paper concludes that reducing energy consumption as part of their social responsibility to care for the environment, will need collaborative efforts of business society and policy bodies.

Keywords: CSR, Energy Efficiency, Indian manufacturing Sector, Business strategy

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Authors: Kwasi Sarfo, Bernard Okoampah Otu

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The 1992 constitution of the Republic of Ghana recognises the authority and roles of traditional leaders and considers them as being entrusted with fiduciary responsibility over land in their respective territories. The new land act, Act 1036 of 2020, in buttressing the fiduciary role of traditional leaders in land matters, inserted the traditional leaders’ accountability clause. Many traditional leaders have expressed their misgivings about the insertion of this clause. Therefore, there appears to be a misunderstanding of the concept of fiduciary in land management in Ghana. The objective of this study is to examine the concept of fiduciary in respect of allodial rights holders in land management and administration and how this concept is perceived and applied by traditional leaders. The study seeks to provide insights into the discrepancy between fiduciary theory and its practical implementation in Ghana. The study is based on a qualitative empirical research approach and adopts in-depth interviews as a primary method of data collection. The study also adopts the theory of New Institutionalism of social anthropology in analysing and interpreting the findings. The data for this study was collected over a period of one year, from July 2022 to July 2023, as part of one of the author's PhD dissertation. The collected data were carefully analysed using the principles of thematic analysis, identifying key themes and patterns. This study does not seek to pursue the discussions from a legal standpoint but from a social anthropological perspective and argues that the concept of fiduciary in theory is far different from what pertains in practice and that traditional leaders’ assumptions and application of this concept contribute to the alienation of customary and communal land at the expense of their subjects. This study deepens our understanding of the continuous expropriation of communal landholders in many rural communities in Africa in the era of global land grabbing, which worsens their poverty levels. It also explains further the theory of new institutionalism of social anthropology by highlighting how the theory manifests in practice in the case of Ghana.

Keywords: fiduciary, customary land tenure, allodial rights, land alienation, communal land, Ghana

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Authors: Samir Ali-arous, Mohamed Beddane, Khaled Djelouah

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This study investigated the insect diversity of olive (Olea europaea Linnaeus (Oleaceae)) groves grown in an arid climate in Algeria. In this context, several sampling methods were used within two orchards differently managed. Fifty arthropod species belonging to diverse orders and families were recorded. Hymenopteran species were quantitatively the most abundant, followed by species associated with Heteroptera, Aranea, Coleoptera and Homoptera orders. Regarding functional feeding groups, phytophagous species were dominant in the weeded and the unweeded orchard; however, higher abundance was recorded in the weeded site. Predators were ranked second, and pollinators were more frequent in the unweeded olive orchard. Two-factor Anova with repeated measures had revealed high significant effect of the weed management system, measures repetition and interaction with measurement repetition on arthropod’s abundances (P < 0.05). Likewise, generalized linear models showed that N/S ratio varied significantly between the two weed management approaches, in contrast, the remaining diversity indices including the Shannon index H’ had no significant correlation. Moreover, diversity parameters of arthropod’s communities in each agro-system highlighted multiples significant correlations (P <0.05). Rarefaction and extrapolation (R/E) sampling curves, evidenced that the survey and monitoring carried out in both sites had a optimum coverage of entomofauna present including scarce and transient species. Overall, calculated diversity and similarity indices were greater in the unweeded orchard than in the weeded orchard, demonstrating spontaneous flora's key role in entomofaunal diversity. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has defined correlations between arthropod’s abundances and naturally occurring plants in olive orchards, including beneficials.

Keywords: Algeria, olive, insects, diversity, wild plants

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Authors: Sinan Bilgen, Bekir Ozer Ay, Nilay Sezer Uzol

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After decades of conventional shapes, irregular forms with complex geometries are getting more popular for form generation of tall buildings all over the world. This trend has recently brought out diverse building forms such as twisting tall buildings. This study investigates both the aerodynamic and design features of twisting tall buildings through comparative analyses. Since twisting a tall building give rise to additional complexities related with the form and structural system, lateral load effects become of greater importance on these buildings. The aim of this study is to analyze the inherent characteristics of these iconic forms by comparing the wind loads on twisting tall buildings with those on their prismatic twins. Through a case study research, aerodynamic analyses of an existing twisting tall building and its prismatic counterpart were performed and the results have been compared. The prismatic twin of the original building were generated by removing the progressive rotation of its floors with the same plan area and story height. Performance-based measures under investigation have been evaluated in conjunction with the architectural design. Aerodynamic effects have been analyzed by both wind tunnel tests and computational methods. High frequency base balance tests and pressure measurements on 3D models were performed to evaluate wind load effects on a global and local scale. Comparisons of flat and real surface models were conducted to further evaluate the effects of the twisting form without façade texture contribution. Comparisons highlighted that, the twisting form under investigation shows better aerodynamic behavior both for along wind but particularly for across wind direction. Compared to the prismatic counterpart; twisting model is superior on reducing vortex-shedding dynamic response by disorganizing the wind vortices. Consequently, despite the difficulties arisen from inherent complexity of twisted forms, they could still be feasible and viable with their attractive images in the realm of tall buildings.

Keywords: aerodynamic tests, motivation for twisting, tall buildings, twisted forms, wind excitation

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Authors: Morteza Naderi

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The Persian fallow deer was considered as a globally extinct species until 1956 when a small population was rediscovered from Dez Wildlife Refuge and Karkheh Wildlife Refuge in southwestern parts of Iran. After long species rehabilitation process, the species was transplanted to Dasht-e-Naz Wildlife Refuge in northern Iran, and from where, follow deer was introduced to the different selected habitats such as Ashk Island in Lake Uromiyeh National Park. During 12 years, (from 1978 to 1989) 58 individuals (25 males and 33 females) were transferred to Ask Island. The main threat to the established population was related to the freshwater shortage and existing just one single trough such as high mortality rate of adult males during rutting season, snake biting and dilutional hyponatremia. Desiccation of Lake Uromiyeh in recent years raised new challenges to the conservation process, as about 80 individuals, nearly one third of the population were died in 2011. Connection of Island to the mainland caused predators’ accessibility (such as wolf and Jackal) to the Ask Island and higher mortality because of follow deer attraction to the surrounding mainland farms. Conservation team faced such new challenges that may cause introduction plan to be probably failed. Investigations about habitat affinities and carrying capacity are the main basic researches in the management and conservation of the species. Logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of the different fresh water resources as well as Allium akaka and Pistacia atlantica are the main environmental variables affect Follow deer habitat selection. Habitat carrying capacity analysis both in summer and winter seasons indicated that Ashk Island can support 240±30 of Persian follow deer.

Keywords: carrying capacity, follow deer, lake Uromiyeh, microhabitat affinities, population oscillation, predation, sex ratio

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Authors: Chinwe Susan Oguejiofor, Daniel Osamwonyi Iyioha

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Over the last two decades, Nigeria has witnessed an upsurge in graduate unemployment occasioned by the lack of industries and proliferation of tertiary institutions churning out thousands of graduates every year to compete for the few available job space. The astronomical rise in the unemployment rate amongst Nigerian graduates however, is principally assumed to be the defective curricula of the universities and other tertiary institutions whose focus is on training for white-collar jobs. Although graduate unemployment has become a global scourge, its adverse economic impact is believed to be more in developing economies like Nigeria with a huge young population within the working age who cannot seem to find gainful employment to make out a respectable livelihood. Thus, higher institutions especially Universities found itself under pressure and intense competition to produce graduates who can think outside the box and create jobs; hence there was the need to focus on instilling hands-on practical job skills into their students that will make them job creators rather than job seekers on graduation. In the same vein stakeholders in education have continued to lend their voices to the philosophy that the undergraduate curricula should be completely overhauled to accomodate the development of hand-on practical skills and innovative capacity relevant to creating solutions to societal problems. In a bid to correct this anomaly, the Federal Government of Nigeria in conjunction with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment inaugurated a programme tagged “University Entrepreneurship Development Programme” (UNEDEP) whose objective was basically to promote self-employment among the youth right from the institutions of higher learning. But the question is whether the objectives of the programme have actually been achieved. Despite the inclusion in Nigerian educational curriculum close to two decades now,, one wonder if the essence has been aborted. Thus, the paper focused on the concept of entrepreneurship education, objectives of entrepreneurship education, Graduates unemployment, rethinking entrepreneurship education programme in tertiary institution for employment generation , role of entrepreneurship in job creation, challenges of entrepreneurship education in tertiary institution in Nigeria, conclusion and recommendations were drawn accordingly.

Keywords: rethinking, entrepreneurship education, remedy, unemployment, job creation

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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: Vephkhvia Grigalashvili

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This paper provides an overview of criteria for good governance in Georgian defense sector and scientific outcomes of comparative research. A respect for good governance and its realization into Georgian national defense sector represents a fundamental institutional necessity as well as country`s politico-legal obligation within the framework of the existing collaboration mechanisms with NATO (especially Building Integrity (BI) Programme) and the Association Agreement between the EU and Georgia. Furthermore good governance is considered as a democracy measuring criterion in country`s Euro-Atlantic integration process. Accordingly, integration and further development of the contemporary approaches of good governance into Georgian defense management model represents a burning issue of the country. The assessment of an existing model of the country, identification of defects and determination of course of institutional reforms in a mutual comparison format of good governance mechanisms of NATO or/and the EU member Eastern European or Baltic countries positively assessed by the international organizations is considered as a precondition for its effective realization. Scientific aims of this study are: (a) to conduct comparative analysis of Georgian national principles and generalized standards of NATO or/and the EU member Eastern European and Baltic countries in following segments of good governance: open governance; anticorruption policy; conflict of interests; integrity; internal and external control bodies; (b) to formulate theoretical and practical recommendations on reforms to be implemented in the country`s national defence sector. As research reveals, although, institutional / legal pillars of good governance in Georgian defense sector generally are in compliance with international principles, the quality of implementation of good government norms still remains as an area that needs further development by raising awareness of public servants and community.

Keywords: anti-corruption policy within Georgian defense governance, conflict of interests within Georgian defense governance, good governance in Georgian defense sector, principles of integrity in Georgian defense management

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Authors: Mohammed Sani Abdulai

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Public sector budgeting, all over the world, is underpinned by some universally accepted principles of sound budget management such as budget unity, universality, annuality, and a balanced budget. These traditional principles, though fundamental, had, in recent years, been augmented by the more modern principles of budgeting within fiscal objective, alignment with medium-term strategic plans as well as the observance of such related concepts as transparency, openness and accessibility. In this paper, we have endeavored to shed light, from literature and practice, on the meaning and purposes of such fundamental budgeting principles. We have also assessed the extent to which the Government of Ghana’s budget complies with the four traditional principles of budget unity, universality, annuality, and a balanced budget and the three out of the ten modern principles of budgetary governance of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). We did so by using a qualitative method of review and analysis of existing documents and the performance assessment reports on Ghana’s Public Financial Management (PFM) measured using such frameworks as the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA), the Open Budget Survey (OBS) and its Index (OBI), the reports and action plans of Open Government Partnership (OGP) and the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT). Other performance assessment reports that were relied on included, but not limited to, the Joint Evaluation Report of PFM in Ghana, 2001-2010, and the Joint Evaluation of Budget Support to Ghana, 2005-2015. We have, through this paper, brought to the fore the lessons that could be learned on how those budgetary principles undergird the Government of Ghana’s budget formulation, execution, accounting, control, and oversight. These lessons include, but are not limited to, the need for both scholars and practitioners in the PFM space to be aware of the impact of those principles on public sector budgeting.

Keywords: annulaity, balanced budget, budget unity, budgetary principles, OECD’s principles on budgetary governance, open budget index, public expenditure and financial accountability, universality

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Authors: Jakub Bryla

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Cities are now seen as business entities, and their executive body is similar to a chief executive officer. However, it is not enough for the legal system to provide a strong role for the executive branch. It seems that the authority must take the form of a managerial body. This solution answers the demands of smart governance, which in such a regulated relation between the unit head and the city see a guarantee of reliable implementation of the municipal strategy proposed during the recruitment and of the motivation to carry out statutory tasks to communes and their residents.

Keywords: smart cities, local government, executive organ, municipality, city management

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Authors: Sezer Kefeli, Sertaç Arslan

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In this paper, supercavitationphenomena, and parameters are explained, and hydrodynamic design approaches are investigated for supercavitating torpedoes. In addition, drag force calculation methods ofsupercavitatingvehicles are obtained. Basically, conventional heavyweight torpedoes reach up to ~50 knots by classic hydrodynamic techniques, on the other hand super cavitating torpedoes may reach up to ~200 knots, theoretically. However, in order to reachhigh speeds, hydrodynamic viscous forces have to be reduced or eliminated completely. This necessity is revived the supercavitation phenomena that is implemented to conventional torpedoes. Supercavitation is a type of cavitation, after all, it is more stable and continuous than other cavitation types. The general principle of supercavitation is to separate the underwater vehicle from water phase by surrounding the vehicle with cavitation bubbles. This situation allows the torpedo to operate at high speeds through the water being fully developed cavitation. Conventional torpedoes are entitled as supercavitating torpedoes when the torpedo moves in a cavity envelope due to cavitator in the nose section and solid fuel rocket engine in the rear section. There are two types of supercavitation phase, these are natural and artificial cavitation phases. In this study, natural cavitation is investigated on the disk cavitators based on numerical methods. Once the supercavitation characteristics and drag reduction of natural cavitationare studied on CFD platform, results are verified with the empirical equations. As supercavitation parameters cavitation number (), pressure distribution along axial axes, drag coefficient (C_?) and drag force (D), cavity wall velocity (U_?) and dimensionless cavity shape parameters, which are cavity length (L_?/d_?), cavity diameter(d_ₘ/d_?) and cavity fineness ratio (〖L_?/d〗_ₘ) are investigated and compared with empirical results. This paper has the characteristics of feasibility study to carry out numerical solutions of the supercavitation phenomena comparing with empirical equations.

Keywords: CFD, cavity envelope, high speed underwater vehicles, supercavitating flows, supercavitation, drag reduction, supercavitation parameters

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