Search results for: future water resources

Authors: Pravinchandra Patel

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Sustainable agriculture in sandy loam soil generally faces large constraints due to low water holding and nutrient retention capacity, and accelerated mineralization of soil organic matter. There is need to increase soil organic carbon in the soil for higher crop productivity and soil sustainability. Recently biochar is considered as sixth element and work as a catalyst for increasing crop yield, soil fertility, soil sustainability and mitigation of climate change. Biochar was generated at the Sansoli Farm of Anand Agricultural University, Gujarat, India by pyrolysis at temperatures (250-400°C) in absence of oxygen using slow chemical process (using two kilns) from corn stover (Zea mays, L), cluster bean stover (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) and Prosopis julifera wood. There were 16 treatments; 4 organic sources (3 biochar; corn stover biochar (MS), cluster bean stover (CB) & Prosopis julifera wood (PJ) and one farmyard manure-FYM) with two rate of application (5 & 10 metric tons/ha), so there were eight treatments of organic sources. Eight organic sources was applied with the recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) (80-40-0 kg/ha N-P-K) while remaining eight organic sources were kept without RDF. Application of corn stover biochar @ 10 metric tons/ha along with RDF (RDF+MS) increased dry matter (DM) yield, crude protein (CP) yield, chlorophyll content and plant height (at 30 and 60 days after sowing) than CB and PJ biochar and FYM. Nutrient uptake of P, K, Ca, Mg, S and Cu were significantly increased with the application of RDF + corn stover @ 10 metric tons/ha while uptake of N and Mn were significantly increased in RDF + corn stover @ 5 metric tons/ha. It was found that soil application of corn stover biochar @ 10 metric tons/ha along with the recommended dose of chemical fertilizers (RDF+MS ) exhibited the highest impact in obtaining significantly higher dry matter and crude protein yields and larger removal of nutrients from the soil and it also beneficial for built up nutrients in soil. It also showed significantly higher organic carbon content and cation exchange capacity in sandy loam soil. The lower dose of corn stover biochar @ 5 metric tons/ha (RDF+ MS) was also remained the second highest for increasing dry matter and crude protein yields of forage corn crop which ultimately resulted in larger removals of nutrients from the soil. This study highlights the importance of mixing of biochar along with recommended dose of fertilizers on its synergistic effect on sandy loam soil nutrient retention, organic carbon content and water holding capacity hence, the amendment value of biochar in sandy loam soil.

Keywords: biochar, corn yield, plant nutrient, fertility status

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Authors: Tadesse Anberbir, Felix Bankole, Tomio Takara, Girma Mamo

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In the development of a text-to-speech synthesizer, automatic derivation of correct pronunciation from the grapheme form of a text is a central problem. Particularly deriving phonological features which are not shown in orthography is challenging. In the Amharic language, geminates and epenthetic vowels are very crucial for proper pronunciation but neither is shown in orthography. In this paper, we proposed and integrated a morphological analyzer into an Amharic Text-to-Speech system, mainly to predict geminates and epenthetic vowel positions, and prepared a duration modeling method. Amharic Text-to-Speech system (AmhTTS) is a parametric and rule-based system that adopts a cepstral method and uses a source filter model for speech production and a Log Magnitude Approximation (LMA) filter as the vocal tract filter. The naturalness of the system after employing the duration modeling was evaluated by sentence listening test and we achieved an average Mean Opinion Score (MOS) 3.4 (68%) which is moderate. By modeling the duration of geminates and controlling the locations of epenthetic vowel, we are able to synthesize good quality speech. Our system is mainly suitable to be customized for other Ethiopian languages with limited resources.

Keywords: Amharic, gemination, speech synthesis, morphology, epenthesis

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Authors: Ritu Ahuja

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Globally the built environment sector is striving to be highly efficient, quality-centred and socially-responsible. Built environment sector is an integral part of the economy and plays an important role in urbanization, industrialization and improved quality of living. The inherent challenges such as excessive material and process waste, over reliance on resources, energy usage, and carbon footprint need to be addressed in order to meet the needs of the economy. It is envisioned that these challenges can be resolved by integration of Lean-Green-Building Information Modelling (BIM) paradigms. Ipso facto, with BIM as a catalyst, this research identifies the operational and tactical connections of lean and green philosophies by providing a conceptual integration framework and underpinning theories. The research has developed a framework for BIM-based organizational capabilities for enhanced adoption and effective use of BIM within architectural organizations. The study was conducted through a sequential mixed method approach focusing on collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. The framework developed as part of this study will enable architectural organizations to successfully embrace BIM on projects and gain lean and green benefits.

Keywords: BIM, lean, green, AEC organizations

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Authors: Chan Jong Park, Hye Min Park, Jeong Ho Kim, Ki Hyun Park, Koan Sik Joo

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This research used the MCNPX simulation program to evaluate the utility of a filter that was developed to minimize the damage to a semiconductor device during defect testing with X-ray. The X-ray generator was designed using the MCNPX code, and the X-ray absorption spectrum of the semiconductor device was obtained based on the designed X-ray generator code. To evaluate the utility of the filter, the X-ray absorption rates of the semiconductor device were calculated and compared for Ag, Rh, Mo and V filters with thicknesses of 25μm, 50μm, and 75μm. The results showed that the X-ray absorption rate varied with the type and thickness of the filter, ranging from 8.74% to 49.28%. The Rh filter showed the highest X-ray absorption rates of 29.8%, 15.18% and 8.74% for the above-mentioned filter thicknesses. As shown above, the characteristics of the X-ray absorption with respect to the type and thickness of the filter were identified using MCNPX simulation. With these results, both time and expense could be saved in the production of the desired filter. In the future, this filter will be produced, and its performance will be evaluated.

Keywords: X-ray, MCNPX, filter, semiconductor, damage

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Authors: Piotr Wisniewski, Sławomir Dykas

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Condensation has a negative impact on turbomachinery efficiency in many energy processes.In technical applications, it is often impossible to dry the working fluid at the nozzle inlet. One of the most popular working fluid is atmospheric air that always contains water in form of steam, liquid, or ice crystals. Moreover, it always contains some amount of suspended particles which influence the phase change process. It is known that the phenomena of evaporation or condensation are connected with release or absorption of latent heat, what influence the fluid physical properties and might affect the machinery efficiency therefore, the phase transition has to be taken under account. This researchpresents an attempt to evaluate the impact of solid and liquid particles suspended in the air on the expansion of moist air in a low expansion rate, i.e., with expansion rate, P≈1000s⁻¹. The numerical study supported by analytical and experimental research is presented in this work. The experimental study was carried out using an in-house experimental test rig, where nozzle was examined for different inlet air relative humidity values included in the range of 25 to 51%. The nozzle was tested for a supersonic flow as well as for flow with shock waves induced by elevated back pressure. The Schlieren photography technique and measurement of static pressure on the nozzle wall were used for qualitative identification of both condensation and shock waves. A numerical model validated against experimental data available in the literature was used for analysis of occurring flow phenomena. The analysis of the suspended particles number, diameter, and character (solid or liquid) revealed their connection with heterogeneous condensation importance. If the expansion of fluid without suspended particlesis considered, the condensation triggers so called condensation wave that appears downstream the nozzle throat. If the solid particles are considered, with increasing number of them, the condensation triggers upwind the nozzle throat, decreasing the condensation wave strength. Due to the release of latent heat during condensation, the fluid temperature and pressure increase, leading to the shift of normal shock upstream the flow. Owing relatively large diameters of the droplets created during heterogeneous condensation, they evaporate partially on the shock and continues to evaporate downstream the nozzle. If the liquid water particles are considered, due to their larger radius, their do not affect the expanding flow significantly, however might be in major importance while considering the compression phenomena as they will tend to evaporate on the shock wave. This research proves the need of further study of phase change phenomena in supersonic flow especially considering the interaction of droplets with the aerodynamic waves in the flow.

Keywords: aerodynamics, computational fluid dynamics, condensation, moist air, multi-phase flows

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Authors: Stephy Saavedra, Annsy C. Arredondo, Gisele Monteiro, Adalberto Pessoa Jr, Carol N. Flores-Fernandez, Amparo I. Zavaleta

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L-asparaginase from bacterial sources is used in leukemic treatment and food industry. This enzyme is classified based on its affinity towards L-asparagine and L-glutamine. Likewise, ansZ genes express L-asparaginase with higher affinity to L-asparagine. The aim of this work was to clone and express of ansZ gene from Bacillus sp. CH11 isolated from Chilca salterns in Peru. The gene encoding L-asparaginase was cloned into pET15b vector and transformed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) pLysS. The expression was carried out in a batch culture using LB broth and 0.5 mM IPTG. The recombinant L-asparaginase showed a molecular weight of ~ 39 kDa by SDS PAGE and a specific activity of 3.19 IU/mg of protein. The cloning and expression of ansZ gene from this halotolerant Bacillus sp. CH11 allowed having a biological input to improve a future scaling-up.

Keywords: ansZ gene, Bacillus sp, Chilca salterns, recombinant L-asparaginase

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Authors: Abdurahim Abogdera, Omar Hamza, David Elliott

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The soil bacteria can be affected by some factors such as pH, calcium ions and Electrical conductivity. Fresh concrete has high pH value, which is between 11 and 13 and these values will be prevented the bacteria to produce CO₂ to participate with Calcium ions that released from the concrete to get calcite. In this study we replaced 15% and 25% of cement with Fly ash as the fly ash reduce the value of the pH at the concrete. The main goal of this study was investigated whether bacteria can be used on the soil rather than in the concrete to avoid the challenges and limitations of containing bacteria inside the concrete. This was achieved by incubating cracked cement mortar specimens into fully saturated sterilized and non-sterilized soil. The crack sealing developed in the specimens during the incubation period in both soil conditions were evaluated and compared. Visual inspection, water absorption test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) were conducted to evaluate the healing process.

Keywords: pH, calcium ions, MICP, salinity

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Authors: Denver E. Severt, Cynthia Mejia

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With a grey wave sweeping across the world and people living longer than ever, more individuals will reside in retirement communities in unprecedented numbers. Enhancing the resident stay within these communities is imperative to reduce past stigmas associated with senior communities. This exploratory quantitative investigation examined interview contents of employees and residents to see if empathy was observed. The results showed the employees across all ranges had a much better grasp of affective empathy, yet with greater experience and age, it was clear that cognitive empathy had to be used with affective empathy in order to gain better trust across the community of residents. Outcomes from the study suggest that future training programs for employees are operationalized to include both affective and cognitive empathy practices. This study is unique in that two scales of empathy were transformed into qualitative questions, and in-depth employee and resident interviews were conducted. The study answers many calls of research to provide more specific studies in senior living communities.

Keywords: senior living community, transformational service research, qualitative research

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Authors: Bjørn Salskov, Nicolaj Bang, Charlotte Falko

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Future labour markets demand employees that can carry out a non-linear task which is still not possible for computers. This means that employees must have well-developed soft-skills to perform at high levels in such a work environment. One of these soft-skills is presenting a message effectively. To be able to present a message effectively, one needs to practice this. To practice effectively, the trainee needs feedback on the current performance. Here VR environments can be used as a practice tool because it gives the trainee a sense of presence and reality. VR environments are becoming a cost-effective training method since it does not demand the presence of an expert to provide this feedback. The research article analysed in this study suggests that VR environment can be used and are able to provide the necessary feedback to the trainee which in turn will help the trainee become better at the task. The research analysed in this review does, however, show that there is a need for a study with larger sample size and a study which runs over a longer period.

Keywords: training, presentation, presentation skills, VR training, VR as a training tool, VR and presentation

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Authors: Orestis Kasinopoulos, Maria Karekla, Vasilis Vasiliou, Evangelos Karademas

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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an empirically supported intervention for treating Chronic Pain Patients, yet its effectiveness for some chronic conditions or when adapted to other languages, has not been explored. An ACT group intervention was designed to explore the effectiveness of treating a Greek speaking heterogeneous sample of Chronic Pain patients with the aim of increasing quality of life, acceptance of pain and functionality. Sixty-nine patients were assessed and randomly assigned to an ACT or control group (relaxation techniques) for eight, 90-minute, sessions. Results are currently being analysed and follow-ups (6 and 12 month) are being completed. Low adherence rates and high attrition rates observed in the study, however point to the direction of future modified interventions. Such modifications may include web-based and smartphone interventions and their benefits in being implemented in chronic pain patients.

Keywords: chronic pain, ACT, internet-delivered, digitalised intervention, adherence, attrition

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Authors: Sandeep Kaur

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Phycoerythrin (PE) from the mesophilic filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc piscinale PUPCCC 405.17, a good producer of phycobiliproteins, has been characterized in terms of their unit assembly and stability. The phycoerythrin was extracted by freeze-thawing the cells in water, concentrated by ammonium sulphate fractionation and purified by anion exchange chromatography. The purification process resulted in 2.90 fold increase in phycoerythrin purity reaching to 1.54. Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate- Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis of purified PE demonstrated three protein bands of 14.3, 27.54 and 39.81 kDa. The native PE also showed one band of 125.87 kDa, assumed to be a dimer (αβ)2γ based on results of non-denaturing PAGE. Lyophilized powder PE was more stable compared to phycoerythrin in the solution. The half-life of dry PE is 80 days when stored at 4 °C under dark. The phycoerythrin from this organism has potential applications in food as natural colour and as a fluorescent marker.

Keywords: characterization, Nostoc piscinale, phycoerythrin, purification

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Authors: Vriddhi Prasad

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The paper briefly outlines the nature of contemporary Architecture Education in India and its present challenges with theoretically feasible solutions. It explores in detail the arduous position of architecture education owing to, privatization of higher education institutes in India, every changing demand of the technology driven industry and discipline, along with regional and cultural resources that should be explored academically for the enrichment of graduates. With the government's education policy of supporting privatization, a comprehensive role for the regulating body of Architecture Education becomes imperative. The paper provides key insights through empirical research into the nature of these roles and the areas which need attention in light of the problems. With the aid of critically acclaimed education model like Design Build, contextual retrofits for Indian institutes can be stressed for inclusion in the curriculum. The pairing of a private institute and public industry/research body and vice versa can lead to pro-economic and pro-social research environment. These reforms if stressed by an autonomous nationwide regulating body rather than the state will lead to uniformity and flexibility of curriculum which promotes the creation of fresh graduates who are adaptable to the changing needs.

Keywords: architecture education, building information modelling, design build, pedagogy

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Authors: Viloria Marin Hermes, Paredes Santiago Maritza, Viloria Paredes Jonathan

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The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of Burnout syndrome in a sample of 600 professors at the University of Guayaquil (Ecuador) using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (M.B.I.). In addition, assessment was made of the effects on health from professional burnout using the General Health Questionnaire (G.H.Q.-28), and the influence of Emotional Intelligence on prevention of its symptoms using the Spanish version of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (T.M.M.S.-24). After confirmation of the underlying factor structure, the three measurement tools showed high levels of internal consistency, and specific cut-off points were proposed for the group of Latin American academics in the M.B.I. Statistical analysis showed the syndrome is present extensively, particularly on medium levels, with notably low scores given for Professional Self-Esteem. The application of Canonical Correspondence Analysis revealed that low levels of self-esteem are related to depression, with a lack of personal resources related to anxiety and insomnia, whereas the ability to perceive and control emotions and feelings improves perceptions of professional effectiveness and performance.

Keywords: burnout, academics, emotional intelligence, general health, canonical correspondence analysis

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Authors: Samir Khene

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Present and future industrial uses of high critical temperature superconductors require high critical temperatures TC and strong current densities JC. These two aims constitute the two motivations of scientific research in this domain. The most significant feature of any superconductor, from the viewpoint of uses, is the maximum electrical transport current density that this superconductor is capable of withstanding without loss of energy. In this work, vortices pinning in conventional and high-TC superconductors will be studied. Our experiments on vortices pinning in single crystals and nanoparticles of YBₐ₂Cu₃O₇₋δ and La₁.₈₅ Sr₀.₁₅CuO will be presented. It will be given special attention to the study of the YBₐ₂Cu₃O₇₋δ nanoparticles doped by ferromagnetic nanoparticles of Y₃Fe₅O₁₂. The ferromagnetism and superconductivity coexistence in this compound will be demonstrated, and the influence of these ferromagnetic nanoparticles on the variations of the critical current density JC in YBₐ₂Cu₃O7₇₋δ nanoparticles as a function of applied field H and temperature T will be studied.

Keywords: superconductors, high critical temperature, vortices pinning, nanoparticles, ferromagnetism, coexistence

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Authors: H. Gonen, M. Dogan

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Meerschaum, which is found in the earth’s crust, is a white and clay like hydrous magnesium silicate. It has a wide area of use from production of carious ornaments to chemical industry. It has a white and irregular crystalline structure. It is wet and moist when extracted, which is a good form for processing. At drying phase, it gradually loses its moisture and becomes lighter and harder. In through-dry state, meerschaum is durable and floats on the water. After processing of meerschaum, A ratio between %15 to %40 of the amount becomes waste. This waste is usually kept in a dry-atmosphere which is isolated from environmental effects so that to be used right away when needed. In this study, use of meerschaum waste as aggregate in lightweight concrete is studied. Stress-strain diagrams for concrete with meerschaum aggregate are obtained. Then, stress-strain diagrams of lightweight concrete and concrete with regular aggregate are compared. It is concluded that meerschaum waste can be used in production of lightweight concrete.

Keywords: lightweight concrete, meerschaum, aggregate, sepiolite, stress-strain diagram

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Authors: D. Pinto, L. Castro, M. L. Cruzat, S. Barros, J. Gironás, C. Oberli, M. Torres, C. Escauriaza, A. Cipriano

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Flash floods, together with landslides, are a common natural threat for people living in mountainous regions and foothills. One way to deal with this constant menace is the use of Early Warning Systems, which have become a very important mitigation strategy for natural disasters. In this work, we present our proposal for a pilot Flash Flood Early Warning System for Santiago, Chile, the first stage of a more ambitious project that in a future stage shall also include early warning of landslides. To give a context for our approach, we first analyze three existing Flash Flood Early Warning Systems, focusing on their general architectures. We then present our proposed system, with main focus on the decision support system, a system that integrates empirical models and fuzzy expert systems to achieve reliable risk estimations.

Keywords: decision support systems, early warning systems, flash flood, natural hazard

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Authors: Khaled S. Abdallah, Abdel-Aziz M. Mohamed

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Moving industries consume numerous resources and dispose masses of used packaging materials. Proper sorting, recycling and disposing the packaging materials is necessary to avoid a sever pollution disaster. This research paper presents a conceptual model to propose sustainable truck rental operations instead of the regular one. An optimization model was developed to select the locations of truck rental centers, collection sites, maintenance and repair sites, and identify the rental fees to be charged for all routes that maximize the total closed supply chain profits. Fixed costs of vehicle purchasing, costs of constructing collection centers and repair centers, as well as the fixed costs paid to use disposal and recycling centers are considered. Operating costs include the truck maintenance, repair costs as well as the cost of recycling and disposing the packing materials, and the costs of relocating the truck are presented in the model. A mixed integer model is developed followed by a simulation model to examine the factors affecting the operation of the model.

Keywords: modeling, truck rental, supply chains management.

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Authors: Madara Apsalone

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Knowledge management and innovation is key to competitive advantage and sustainable business development in advanced economies. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have lower capacity and more constrained resources for long-term and high-uncertainty research and development investments. At the same time, SMEs can implement organizational innovation to improve their performance and further foster other types of innovation. The purpose of this study is to analyze, how socio-cultural factors such as shared values, organizational behaviors, work organization and decision making processes can influence knowledge management and help to develop organizational innovation via an empirical study. Surveying 600 SMEs in Latvia, the author explores the contribution of different socio-cultural factors to organizational innovation and the role of knowledge management and organizational learning in this process. A conceptual model, explaining the impact of organizational team, development, result-orientation and structure is created. The study also proposes insights that contribute to theoretical and practical discussions on fostering innovation of small businesses in small economies.

Keywords: knowledge management, organizational innovation, small and medium-sized enterprises, socio-cultural factors

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Authors: M. Pourshirazi, M. Esmaelifar, A. Aliahmadi, F. Yazdian, A. S. Hatamian Zarami, S. J. Ashrafi

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Monascus purpureus is an antioxidant-producing fungus whose secondary metabolites can be used in drug industries. The growth yield and antioxidant activity of extract were investigated in 3-L liquid fermentation media in a 5-L stirred tank bioreactor (STD) at 30°C, pH 5.93 and darkness for 4 days with 150 rpm agitation and 40% dissolved oxygen. Results were compared to extract isolated from Erlenmeyer flask with the same condition. The growth yield was 0.21 and 0.17 in STD condition and Erlenmeyer flask, respectively. Furthermore, the IC50 of DPPH scavenging activity was 256.32 µg/ml and 150.43 µg/ml for STD extract and flask extract, respectively. Our data demonstrated that transferring the growth condition into the STD caused an increase in growth yield but not in antioxidant activity. Accordingly, there is no relationship between growth rate and secondary metabolites formation. More studies are needed to determine the mass transfer coefficient and also evaluating the hydrodynamic condition have to be done in the future studies.

Keywords: Monascus purpureus, bioreactor, antioxidant, growth yield

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Authors: Wei Lu

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With the development of information technology in China, network consumption is becoming more and more popular. As a special group, college students have a high degree of education and distinct opinions and personalities. In the future, the key groups of network consumption have gradually become the focus groups of network consumption. Studying college students’ online consumption behavior has important theoretical significance and practical value. Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) driving model and the structural equation model, this paper establishes the influencing factors model of College students’ online consumption behavior, evaluates and amends the model by using SPSS and AMOS software, analyses and determines the positive factors of marketing college students’ consumption, and provides an effective basis for guiding and promoting college student consumption.

Keywords: college students, online consumption, stimulate-organism-reaction driving model, structural equation model

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Authors: S. Aghanajafizadeh, M. Poursina

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We studied the selection of winter habitat by Persian Gazelle (Gazella subguttrosa) in Bydoyeh protected area. Habitat variables such as plant species number, vegetation percent, distance to the nearest water sources and plant patch of present sites were compared with randomly selected non- used sites. The results showed that the most important factors influencing habitat selection were number and vegetation percent of Artemisia sieberi. Vegetation percent of plants. vegetation percent and number of Artemisia sieberi were significantly higher compared with the control area.

Keywords: Persian gazelle, habitat use, Bydoyeh protected area, Kerman, Iran

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Authors: Tamás Mankovits, Dávid Huri, Imre Kállai, Imre Kocsis, Tamás Szabó

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Non-linear FEM calculations are indispensable when important technical information like operating performance of a rubber component is desired. Rubber bumpers built into air-spring structures may undergo large deformations under load, which in itself shows non-linear behavior. The changing contact range between the parts and the incompressibility of the rubber increases this non-linear behavior further. The material characterization of an elastomeric component is also a demanding engineering task. In this paper, a comprehensive investigation is introduced including laboratory measurements, mesh density analysis and complex finite element simulations to obtain the load-displacement curve of the chosen rubber bumper. Contact and friction effects are also taken into consideration. The aim of this research is to elaborate an FEM model which is accurate and competitive for a future shape optimization task.

Keywords: rubber bumper, finite element analysis, compression test, Mooney-Rivlin material model

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Authors: Kartikaningsih Danis, Yao-Hui Huang

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Various techniques including conventional and advanced have been employed for the boron treatment from water and wastewater. The electrocoagulation involves an electrolytic reactor for coagulation/flotation with aluminium as anode and cathode. There is aluminium as coagulant to be used for removal which may induce secondary pollution in chemical coagulation. The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the performance between electrocoagulation and chemical coagulation on boron removal from synthetic wastewater. The effect of different parameters, such as pH reaction, coagulant dosage, and initial boron concentration were examined. The results show that the boron removal using chemical coagulation was lower. At the optimum condition (e.g. pH 8 and 0.8 mol coagulant dosage), boron removal efficiencies for chemical coagulation and electrocoagulation were 61% and 91%, respectively. In addition, the electrocoagulation needs no chemical reagents and makes the boron treatment easy for application.

Keywords: boron removal, chemical coagulation, aluminum, electro-coagulation

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Authors: Morteza Maleki

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In the present study is that it tried to behave in the environment to be monitored and the respective roles of environment (assumed as a vessel) and human beings (assumed as occupants of this vessel) inevitably create effects which can be expressed as various behaviors on the part of human being. The mutual relationship between man and his environment is exhibited through perceptions, behaviors, subjective images, activities, etc. This study investigates the conceptual dimension in the form of the four components of readability, sense of place, identity, and Tenability (tenability) at the Ahmadabad Axis in Mashhad. The theoretical fundamentals and the data regarding the status quo were presented through the descriptive method and the proposed policies were derived through analyzing the available status quo information. The required data were gathered from library resources and documents related to the studied area as well as from instruments used in field methods such as questionnaires. Upon conducting the necessary investigation, the conceptual dimension within the design area was analyzed. The SWOT table was presented, and the results obtained for improving environmental perception were arranged in the form of policy-making tables and operational projects tables for improving the sense of place, creating imagery, and other investigated components.

Keywords: public space, perception, environment, behavior

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Authors: Mentor Sulollari

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Albania, according to (UNU-EHS) United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security studies for 2015, is listed as the number one country in Europe for the possibility to be caught by natural catastrophes. This is conditioned by unstudied human activity, which has seriously damaged the environment. Albanian part of Ohrid graben that lies in Southeast of Albania, is endangered by landslides and floods, as a result of uncontrolled urban development and low level of investment in infrastructure, rugged terrain in its western part and capricious climate caused by global warming. To be dealt with natural disasters, which cause casualties and material damage, it is important to study them in order to anticipate and reduce damages in future. As part of this study is the construction of natural hazards map, which show us where they are distributed, and which are the vulnerable areas. This article will also be dealing with socio-economic and environmental costs of those events and what are the measures to be taken to reduce them.

Keywords: flooding, landslides, natural catastrophes mapping, Pogradec, lake Ohrid, Albanian part of Ohrid graben

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Authors: Qiong Hu, Ming Yue

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Language variation signals the newest usage of language community, which might become the developmental trend of that language. The personal pronoun we is prescribed as a plural pronoun in grammar, but its number value is more flexible in actual use. Based on the homemade Friends corpus, the present research explores the number value of the first person pronoun we in nowadays American spoken English. With consideration of the subjectivity of we, this paper used ‘we+ PCU (Perception-cognation-utterance) verbs’ collocations and ‘we+ plural categories’ as the parameters. Results from corpus data and manual annotation show that: 1) the overall frequency of we has been increasing; 2) we has been increasingly used with other plural categories, indicating a weakening of its plural reference; and 3) we has been increasingly used with PCU (perception-cognition-utterance) verbs of strong subjectivity, indicating a strengthening of its singular reference. All these seem to support our hypothesis that we is undergoing the process of further grammaticalization towards a singular reference, though future evidence is needed to attest the bold prediction.

Keywords: number, PCU verbs, personal pronoun we,

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Authors: Andrey Norov

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Reduction of inefficient losses of nutrients when using mineral fertilizers is a very important and urgent challenge, which is of both economic and environmental significance. The loss of nutrients to the environment leads to the release of greenhouse gases, eutrophication of water bodies, soil salinization and degradation, and other undesirable phenomena. This report focuses on slow and controlled release fertilizers produced through the application of inorganic coatings, which make the released nutrients plant-available. There are shown the advantages of these fertilizers their improved physical and chemical properties, as well as the effect of the coatings on yield growth and on the degree of nutrient efficiency. This type of fertilizers is an alternative to other polymer-coated fertilizers and is more ecofriendly. The production method is protected by the Russian patent.

Keywords: coatings, controlled release, fertilizer, nutrients, nutrient efficiency, yield increase

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Authors: Mbaeyi-Nwaoha, Ifeoma Elizabeth, Orngu, Africa Orngu

Abstract:

Composite flours were processed from blends of yellow maize (Zea mays), sesame seed (Sesamum indicum) and oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) powder in the ratio of 80:20:0; 75:20:5; 70:20:10; 65:20:10 and 60:20:20, respectively to produce the breakfast cereal coded as YSB, SMB, TMB, PMB and OMB with YSB as the control. The breakfast cereals were produced by hydration and toasting of yellow maize and sesame to 160oC for 25 minutes and blended together with oven dried and packaged oyster mushroom. The developed products (flours and breakfast cereals) were analyzed for proximate composition, vitamins, minerals, anti-nutrients, phytochemicals, functional, microbial and sensory properties. Results for the flours showed: proximate composition (%): moisture (2.59-7.27), ash (1.29-7.57), crude fat (0.98-14.91), fibre (1.03-16.02), protein (10.13-35.29), carbohydrate (75.48-38.18) and energy (295.18-410.75kcal). Vitamins ranged as: vitamin A (0.14-9.03 ug/100g), vitamin B1 (0.14-0.38), vitamin B2 (0.07-0.15), vitamin B3(0.89-4.88) and Vitamin C (0.03-4.24). Minerals (mg/100g) were reported thus: calcium (8.01-372.02), potassium (1.40-1.85), magnesium (12.09-13.15), iron (1.23-5.25) and zinc (0.85-2.20). The results for anti-nutrients and phytochemical ranged from: tannin (1.50-1.61mg/g), Phytate (0.40-0.71mg/g), Oxalate(1.81-2.02mg/g), Flavonoid (0.21-1.27%) and phenolic (1.12-2.01%). Functional properties showed: bulk density (0.51-0.77g/ml), water absorption capacity (266.0-301.5%), swelling capacity (136.0-354.0%), least Gelation (0.55-1.45g/g) and reconstitution index (35.20-69.60%). The total viable count ranged from 6.4× 102to1.0× 103cfu/g while the total mold count was from 1.0× 10to 3.0× 10 cfu/g. For the breakfast cereals, proximate composition (%) ranged thus: moisture (4.07-7.08), ash (3.09-2.28), crude fat(16.04-12.83), crude fibre(4.30-8.22), protein(16.14-22.54), carbohydrate(56.34-47.04) and energy (434.34-393.83Kcal).Vitamin A (7.99-5.98 ug/100g), vitamin B1(0.08-0.42mg/100g), vitamin B2(0.06-0.15 mg/100g), vitamin B3(1.91-4.52 mg/100g) and Vitamin C(3.55-3.32 mg/100g) were reported while Minerals (mg/100g) were: calcium (75.31-58.02), potassium (0.65-4.01), magnesium(12.25-12.62), iron (1.21-4.15) and zinc (0.40-1.32). The anti-nutrients and phytochemical revealed the range (mg/g) as: tannin (1.12-1.21), phytate (0.69-0.53), oxalate (1.21-0.43), flavonoid (0.23-1.22%) and phenolic (0.23-1.23%). The bulk density (0.77-0.63g/ml), water absorption capacity (156.5-126.0%), swelling capacity (309.5-249.5%), least gelation (1.10-0.75g/g) and reconstitution index (49.95-39.95%) were recorded. From the total viable count, it ranged from 3.3× 102to4.2× 102cfu/g but no mold growth was detected. Sensory scores revealed that the breakfast cereals were acceptable to the panelist with oyster mushroom supplementation up to 10%.

Keywords: oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), sesame seed (Sesamum indicum), yellow maize (Zea mays, instant breakfast cereals

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: L. M. López López, J. V. Montesdeoca Contreras, A. R. Cuji Fajardo, L. E. Garzón Muñoz, J. I. Fajardo Seminario

Abstract:

In this article a new method of cleaning process of metal sheets for household appliances was developed, using low-pressure cold plasma. In this context, this research consist in analyze the results of metal sheets cleaning process using plasma and compare with pickling process to determinate the efficiency of each process and the level of contamination produced. Surface Cleaning was evaluated by measuring the contact angle with deionized water, diiodo methane and ethylene glycol, for the calculus of the surface free energy by means of the Fowkes theories and Wu. Showing that low-pressure cold plasma is very efficient both in cleaning process how in environment impact.

Keywords: efficient use of plasma, ecological impact of plasma, metal sheets cleaning means, plasma cleaning process.

Procedia PDF Downloads 339

Authors: Mohammad Zare, Mahbubeh Sheikh

Abstract:

Many of the impact of climate change will material through change in soil erosion which were rarely addressed in Iran. This paper presents an investigation of the impacts of climate change soil erosin for the Kasilian basin. LARS-WG5 was used to downscale the IPCM4 and GFCM21 predictions of the A2 scenarios for the projected periods of 1985-2030 and 2080-2099. This analysis was carried out by means of the dataset the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) of Trieste. Soil loss modeling using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). Results indicate that soil erosion increase or decrease, depending on which climate scenarios are considered. The potential for climate change to increase soil loss rate, soil erosion in future periods was established, whereas considerable decreases in erosion are projected when land use is increased from baseline periods.

Keywords: Kasilian watershed, climatic change, soil erosion, LARS-WG5 Model, RUSLE

Procedia PDF Downloads 494