Search results for: important bird area

Authors: Oluronke Odunjo

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The world is becoming increasingly urbanized and Nigeria is not left out. One of the indicators of human developments is housing and as such, water is needed by households for survival. This Paper assesses sources of water being used by residents in the newly urbanized areas of Ogbomoso, Southwest, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used and Oke-Adunin Community was purposively selected for the study as it has large concentration of staff and students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology. The area was captured with Google earth and two hundred and twenty two inhabited houses were found. Questionnaire was the instrument for data collection which was administered using total enumeration technique. Data obtained however, were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. Findings revealed that most of the respondents were male, while 36.03% house owners were between the ages of 46 and 55 years. Sources of water used by residents include well (56.94%), water vendors (17.77%), rain (15.29%) and borehole (3.72%). Distance travelled by house owners to sources of water was as high as 5.06 metres, resulting into stress (30.00 %), depression (25.00%) and aggressiveness (18.75%). Result of correlation analysis between the sources of water of respondents and disease prevalence showed that both rain water and water vendor had very strong positive correlation with typhoid, diarrhea and dysentery, while well water only had positive correlation with dysentery. Recommendations were therefore, proffered towards solving the problems associated with water in the area.

Keywords: newly urbanized area, Ogbomoso, sources of water, residents

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Authors: Miseri Roeslan Afany, Nur Ainun Pulungan

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The unique characteristics of Andisol differentiate them from other soils. These characteristics become a guideline in determining management and usage with regards to agriculture. Especially in the tropical area, Andisols may have fast mineral alteration due to intensive water movement in the soils. Four soil chemical tests were conducted for evaluating soils in the study area. Al/Fe humus, allophane, pH, and P retention were used to differentiate Andisols under different practices. Non-cultivation practice (e.g. natural forest) and cultivation practices (e.g. horticulture systems and intensive farming systems) are compared in this study. We applied Blackmore method for P retention analysis. The aims of this study are: (i) to analyze the specific behavior of Al/Fe humus, pH, and allophane towards P retention in order (ii) to evaluate the effect of cultivation practices on their behavior changes among Andisols, and (iii) to gain the sustainable agriculture through proposing an appropriate soil managements in the study area. 5 observation sites were selected, and 75 soil sampling were analyzed in this study. The results show that the cultivation decreases P retention in all sampling sites. There is a declining from ±90% to ±50% of P retention in the natural forest where shifts into cultivated land. The average of P retention under 15 years of cultivation down into 63%, whereas, the average of P retention more than 15 years of cultivation down into 54%. Many factors affect the retention of P in the soil such as: (1) type and amount of clay, (2) allophone and/or imogolit, (3) Al/Fe humus, (4) soil pH, (5) type and amount of organic material, (6) Exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, Na, K), (7) forms and solubility of Al/Fe. To achieve the sustainable agriculture in the study area, conventional agriculture practices should be preserved and intensive fertilizing practices should be applied in order to increase the soil pH, to maintain the organic matter of andisols, to maintain microba activities, and to release Al/Fe humus complex, and thus increase available P in the soils.

Keywords: Andisols, cultivation, P retention, sustainable agriculture

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Authors: Feng Yue, Fei Dai

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With the rapid development of urbanization process in China, its environmental protection pressure is severely tested. So, analyzing and optimizing the landscape pattern is an important measure to ease the pressure on the ecological environment. This paper takes Wuhan Urban Development Zone as the research object, and studies its landscape pattern evolution and quantitative optimization strategy. First, remote sensing image data from 1990 to 2015 were interpreted by using Erdas software. Next, the landscape pattern index of landscape level, class level, and patch level was studied based on Fragstats. Then five indicators of ecological environment based on National Environmental Protection Standard of China were selected to evaluate the impact of landscape pattern evolution on the ecological environment. Besides, the cost distance analysis of ArcGIS was applied to simulate wildlife migration thus indirectly measuring the improvement of ecological environment quality. The result shows that the area of land for construction increased 491%. But the bare land, sparse grassland, forest, farmland, water decreased 82%, 47%, 36%, 25% and 11% respectively. They were mainly converted into construction land. On landscape level, the change of landscape index all showed a downward trend. Number of patches (NP), Landscape shape index (LSI), Connection index (CONNECT), Shannon's diversity index (SHDI), Aggregation index (AI) separately decreased by 2778, 25.7, 0.042, 0.6, 29.2%, all of which indicated that the NP, the degree of aggregation and the landscape connectivity declined. On class level, the construction land and forest, CPLAND, TCA, AI and LSI ascended, but the Distribution Statistics Core Area (CORE_AM) decreased. As for farmland, water, sparse grassland, bare land, CPLAND, TCA and DIVISION, the Patch Density (PD) and LSI descended, yet the patch fragmentation and CORE_AM increased. On patch level, patch area, Patch perimeter, Shape index of water, farmland and bare land continued to decline. The three indexes of forest patches increased overall, sparse grassland decreased as a whole, and construction land increased. It is obvious that the urbanization greatly influenced the landscape evolution. Ecological diversity and landscape heterogeneity of ecological patches clearly dropped. The Habitat Quality Index continuously declined by 14%. Therefore, optimization strategy based on greenway network planning is raised for discussion. This paper contributes to the study of landscape pattern evolution in planning and design and to the research on spatial layout of urbanization.

Keywords: landscape pattern, optimization strategy, ArcGIS, Erdas, landscape metrics, landscape architecture

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Authors: Pranita Shivankar, Arun Suryawanshi, Prabodhachandra Deshmukh, S. V. C. Kameswara Rao

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Many undesirable significant changes in landscapes and the regions in the vicinity of historically important structures occur as impacts due to anthropogenic activities over a period of time. A better understanding of such influences using recently developed satellite remote sensing techniques helps in planning the strategies for minimizing the negative impacts on the existing environment. In 1982, a fossilized hominid skull cap was discovered at a site located along the northern bank of the east-west flowing river Narmada in the village Hathnora. Close to the same site, the presence of Late Acheulian and Middle Palaeolithic tools have been discovered in the immediately overlying pebbly gravel, suggesting that the ‘Narmada skull’ may be from the Middle Pleistocene age. The reviews of recently carried out research studies relevant to hominid remains all over the world from Late Acheulian and Middle Palaeolithic sites suggest succession and contemporaneity of cultures there, enhancing the importance of Hathnora as a rare precious site. In this context, the maximum likelihood classification using digital interpretation techniques was carried out for this study area using the satellite imagery from Landsat ETM+ for the year 2006 and Landsat TM (OLI and TIRS) for the year 2016. The overall accuracy of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) classification of 2016 imagery was around 77.27% based on ground truth data. The significant reduction in the main river course and agricultural activities and increase in the built-up area observed in remote sensing data analysis are undoubtedly the outcome of human encroachments in the vicinity of the eminent heritage site.

Keywords: cultural succession, digital interpretation, Hathnora, Homo Sapiens, Late Acheulian, Middle Palaeolithic

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Catarina Ferreira Rebelo, Luis Madeira de Carvalho, Fernando González González

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The order Passeridae corresponds to the richest and most abundant group of birds, with approximately 6500 species, making it possible to assert that two out of every three bird species are passerines. They are globally distributed and exhibit remarkable morphological and ecological variability. While numerous species of parasites have been identified and described in wild birds, there has been little focus on passeriformes. Seventeen passerines admitted to GREFA, a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, throughout the months of October, November and December 2022 were analyzed. The species included Aegithalos caudatus, Anthus pratensis, Carduelis chloris, Certhia brachydactyla, Erithacus rubecula, Fringilla coelebs, Parus ater, Passer domesticus, Sturnus unicolor, Sylvia atricapilla, Turdus merula and Turdus philomelos. Data regarding past history was collected, and necropsies were conducted to identify the cause of death and body condition and determine the presence of parasites. Additionally, samples of intestinal content were collected for direct/fecal smear, flotation and sedimentation techniques. Sixteen (94.1%) passerines were considered positive for the presence of parasitic forms in at least one of the techniques used, including parasites detected in necropsy. Adult specimens of both sexes and tritonymphs of Monojoubertia microhylla and ectoparasites of the genus Ornithonyssus were identified. Macroscopic adult endoparasitic forms were also found during necropsies, including Diplotriaena sp., Serratospiculum sp. and Porrocaecum sp.. Parasitism by coccidia was observed with no sporulation. Additionally, eggs of nematodes from various genera were detected, such as Diplotriaena sp., Capillaria sp., Porrocaecum sp., Syngamus sp. and Strongyloides sp., eggs of trematodes, specifically the genus Brachylecithum and cestode oncospheres, whose genera were not identified. To our knowledge, the respiratory nematode Serratospiculum sp. found in this study is being reported for the first time in passerines in the Iberian Peninsula, along with the application of common coprological techniques for the identification of eggs in the intestinal content. The majority of parasites identified utilize intermediary hosts present in the diet of the passerines sampled. Furthermore, the discovery of certain parasites with a direct life cycle could potentially exert greater influence, particularly in specific scenarios such as within nests or during the rehabilitation process in wildlife centers. These parasites may impact intraspecific competition, increase susceptibility to predators or lead to death. However, their cost to wild birds is often not clear, as individuals can endure various parasites without significant harm. Furthermore, wild birds serve as important sources of parasites across different animal groups, including humans and other mammals. This study provides invaluable insights into the parasitic fauna of these birds, not only serving as a cornerstone for future epidemiological investigations but also enhancing our comprehension of these avian species.

Keywords: birds, parasites, passerines, wild, spain

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Authors: H. Idmoussi, L. Somoue, O. Ettahiri, A. Makaoui, S. Charib, A. Agouzouk, A. Ben Mhamed, K. Hilmi, A. Errhif

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The study on the composition, abundance, and distribution of phytoplankton was conducted along the Moroccan coast of the Mediterranean Sea (Saiidia - Three Forks Cape) in April 2018. Samples were collected at thirteen stations using Niskin bottles within two layers (surface and deep layers). The identification and enumeration of phytoplankton were carried out according to the Utermöhl method (1958). A total number of 54 phytoplankton species were identified over the entire survey area. Thirty-six species could be found both in the surface and the deep layers while eleven species were observed only in the surface layer and seven in the deep layer. The phytoplankton throughout the study area was dominated by diatoms represented mainly by Nitzschia sp., Pseudonitzschia sp., Chaetoceros sp., Cylindrotheca closterium, Leptocylindrus minimus, Leptocylindrus danicus, Dactyliosolen fragilissimus. Dinoflagellates were dominated by Gymnodinium sp., Scrippsiella sp., Gyrodinium spirale, Noctulica sp, Prorocentrum micans. Euglenophyceae, Silicoflagellates and Raphidophyceae were present in low numbers. Most of the phytoplankton were concentrated in the surface layer, particularly towards the Three Forks Cape (25200 cells·l⁻¹). Shannon species diversity (ranging from 2 and 4 Bits) and evenness index (broadly > 0.7) suggested that phytoplankton community is generally diversified and structured in the studied area.

Keywords: abundance, diversity, Mediterranean Sea, phytoplankton

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Authors: Fameli Kyriaki-Maria, Assimakopoulos D. Vasiliki, Kotroni Vassiliki

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The Greater Athens Area (GAA) faces photochemical and particulate pollution episodes as a result of the combined effects of local pollutant emissions, regional pollution transport, synoptic circulation and topographic characteristics. The area has undergone significant changes since the Athens 2004 Olympic Games because of large scale infrastructure works that lead to the shift of population to areas previously characterized as rural, the increase of the traffic fleet and the operation of highways. However, no recent modelling studies have been performed due to the lack of an accurate, updated emission inventory. The photochemical modelling system MM5/CAMx was applied in order to study the photochemical and particulate pollution characteristics above the GAA for two distinct ten-day periods in the summer of 2006 and 2010, where air pollution episodes occurred. A new updated emission inventory was used based on official data. Comparison of modeled results with measurements revealed the importance and accuracy of the new Athens emission inventory as compared to previous modeling studies. The model managed to reproduce the local meteorological conditions, the daily ozone and particulates fluctuations at different locations across the GAA. Higher ozone levels were found at suburban and rural areas as well as over the sea at the south of the basin. Concerning PM10, high concentrations were computed at the city centre and the southeastern suburbs in agreement with measured data. Source apportionment analysis showed that different sources contribute to the ozone levels, the local sources (traffic, port activities) affecting its formation.

Keywords: photochemical modelling, urban pollution, greater Athens area, MM5/CAMx

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Authors: Abbas Mohamed Abbas, Raafat El-Shafie Fat-Helbary, Karrar Omar El Fergawy, Ahmed Hamed Sayed

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The exploration in archaeological area requires non-invasive methods, and hence the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technique is a proper candidate for this task. GPR investigation is widely applied for searching for hidden ancient targets. So, in this paper GPR technique has been used in archaeological investigation. The aim of this study was to obtain information about the subsurface and associated structures beneath two selected sites at the western bank of the River Nile at Aswan city. These sites have archaeological structures of different ages starting from 6thand 12th Dynasties to the Greco-Roman period. The first site is called Nag’ El Gulab, the study area was 30 x 16 m with separating distance 2m between each profile, while the second site is Nag’ El Qoba, the survey method was not in grid but in lines pattern with different lengths. All of these sites were surveyed by GPR model SIR-3000 with antenna 200 MHz. Beside the processing of each profile individually, the time-slice maps have been conducted Nag’ El Gulab site, to view the amplitude changes in a series of horizontal time slices within the ground. The obtained results show anomalies may interpret as presence of associated tombs structures. The probable tombs structures similar in their depth level to the opened tombs in the studied areas.

Keywords: ground penetrating radar, archeology, Nag’ El Gulab, Nag’ El Qoba

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Authors: M. L. Seretlo-Rangata, T. Sodi, S. Govender

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Despite interventions by various governments to regulate water demand and address water scarcity, literature shows that billions of people across the world continue to struggle with access because not everyone contributes equally to conservation efforts. Behavioral factors such as individual and collective aspects of cognition and commitment have been found to play an important role in water conservation. The aim of the present study was to explore the perceptions of community members in the Lephalale area, Limpopo province, towards water conservation with a view to developing an explanatory psychological model on water conservation. Twenty (20) participants who relied on communal taps to access water in Lephalale Local Municipality, Limpopo province, were selected through purposeful sampling. In-depth, semi-structured, individual face-to-face interviews were used to gather data and were analyzed utilizing thematic content analysis (TCA). The research findings revealed that there are various psychological effects of water scarcity on communities, such as emotional distress, interpersonal conflicts and disruptions of daily activities of living. Additionally, the study results showed that the coping strategies developed by participants to deal with water scarcity included adopting alternative water use behaviors as well as adjusting current behaviors and lifestyles. Derived from the study findings, a psychological model of water conservation was developed. The model incorporates some ideas from the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory and the Afrocentric theory. The model suggests that people’s worldviews, including their values, beliefs and culture, are significant determinants of their pro-environmental behaviors. The study concludes by recommending that authorities and policymakers should consider psychological factors when developing water management programs, strategies and interventions with the consultation of psychology experts.

Keywords: water conservation, psychological model, pro-environmental behaviour, conservation psychology, water-use behaviour

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Authors: Gholba Niranjan Dilip, Anil Kumar

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Conduct of accurate reliable mapping of oil palm plantations and census of individual palm trees is a huge challenge. This study addresses this challenge and developed an optimized solution implemented deep learning techniques on remote sensing data. The oil palm is a very important tropical crop. To improve its productivity and land management, it is imperative to have accurate census over large areas. Since, manual census is costly and prone to approximations, a methodology for automated census using panchromatic images from Cartosat-2, SkySat and World View-3 satellites is demonstrated. It is selected two different study sites in Indonesia. The customized set of training data and ground-truth data are created for this study from Cartosat-2 images. The pre-trained model of Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD) Lite MobileNet V2 Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) from the TensorFlow Object Detection API is subjected to transfer learning on this customized dataset. The SSD model is able to generate the bounding boxes for each oil palm and also do the counting of palms with good accuracy on the panchromatic images. The detection yielded an F-Score of 83.16 % on seven different images. The detections are buffered and dissolved to generate polygons demarcating the boundaries of the oil palm plantations. This provided the area under the plantations and also gave maps of their location, thereby completing the automated census, with a fairly high accuracy (≈100%). The trained CNN was found competent enough to detect oil palm crowns from images obtained from multiple satellite sensors and of varying temporal vintage. It helped to estimate the increase in oil palm plantations from 2014 to 2021 in the study area. The study proved that high-resolution panchromatic satellite image can successfully be used to undertake census of oil palm plantations using CNNs.

Keywords: object detection, oil palm tree census, panchromatic images, single shot multibox detector

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Authors: Ahmad Kayvani Fard, Gordon Mckay, Muataz Hussien

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Adsorption/sorption is believed to be one of the optimal processes for the removal of heavy metals from water due to its low operational and capital cost as well as its high removal efficiency. Different materials have been reported in literature as adsorbent for heavy metal removal in waste water such as natural sorbents, organic polymers (synthetic) and mineral materials (inorganic). The selection of adsorbents and development of new functional materials that can achieve good removal of heavy metals from water is an important practice and depends on many factors, such as the availability of the material, cost of material, and material safety and etc. In this study we reported the synthesis of doped Activated carbon and Carbon nanotube (CNT) with different loading of metal oxide nanoparticles such as Fe2O3, Fe3O4, Al2O3, TiO2, SiO2 and Ag nanoparticles and their application in removal of heavy metals, hydrocarbon, and organics from waste water. Commercial AC and CNT with different loadings of mentioned nanoparticle were prepared and effect of pH, adsorbent dosage, sorption kinetic, and concentration effects are studied and optimum condition for removal of heavy metals from water is reported. The prepared composite sorbent is characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), the Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) nitrogen adsorption technique, and Zeta potential. The composite materials showed higher removal efficiency and superior adsorption capacity compared to commercially available carbon based adsorbent. The specific surface area of AC increased by 50% reaching up to 2000 m2/g while the CNT specific surface area of CNT increased by more than 8 times reaching value of 890 m2/g. The increased surface area is one of the key parameters along with surface charge of the material determining the removal efficiency and removal efficiency. Moreover, the surface charge density of the impregnated CNT and AC have enhanced significantly where can benefit the adsorption process. The nanoparticles also enhance the catalytic activity of material and reduce the agglomeration and aggregation of material which provides more active site for adsorbing the contaminant from water. Some of the results for treating wastewater includes 100% removal of BTEX, arsenic, strontium, barium, phenolic compounds, and oil from water. The results obtained are promising for the use of AC and CNT loaded with metal oxide nanoparticle in treatment and pretreatment of waste water and produced water before desalination process. Adsorption can be very efficient with low energy consumption and economic feasibility.

Keywords: carbon nanotube, activated carbon, adsorption, heavy metal, water treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 218

Authors: Mohammadali Tavakoli, Atefeh Heydari, Zuriati Ismail, Naomie Salim

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With the increasing number of people reviewing products online in recent years, opinion sharing websites has become the most important source of customers’ opinions. Unfortunately, spammers generate and post fake reviews in order to promote or demote brands and mislead potential customers. These are notably destructive not only for potential customers but also for business holders and manufacturers. However, research in this area is not adequate, and many critical problems related to spam detection have not been solved to date. To provide green researchers in the domain with a great aid, in this paper, we have attempted to create a high-quality framework to make a clear vision on review spam-detection methods. In addition, this report contains a comprehensive collection of detection metrics used in proposed spam-detection approaches. These metrics are extremely applicable for developing novel detection methods.

Keywords: fake reviews, feature collection, opinion spam, spam detection

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Authors: J. Hroudova, J. Zach, L. Vodova

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When insulation and rehabilitation of structures is important to use quality building materials with high utility value. One potentially interesting and promising groups of construction materials in this area are advanced, thermally insulating plaster silicate based. With the present trend reduction of energy consumption of building structures and reducing CO2 emissions to be developed capillary-active materials that are characterized by their low density, low thermal conductivity while maintaining good mechanical properties. The paper describes the results of research activities aimed at the development of thermal insulating and rehabilitation material ongoing at the Technical University in Brno, Faculty of Civil Engineering. The achieved results of this development will be the basis for subsequent experimental analysis of the influence of thermal and moisture loads developed on these materials.

Keywords: insulation materials, rehabilitation materials, lightweight aggregate, fly ash, slag, hemp fibers, glass fibers, metakaolin

Procedia PDF Downloads 220

Authors: S. Zenia, A. Menasseria, A. E. Kheidous, F. Lariouna, A. Smai, H. Saadi, F. Haddadj, A. Milla, F. Marniche

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The objective of this study was to estimate the correlation ship between different pheasant external egg quality traits. A total of 938 eggs were collected. Egg weight (g), egg length (mm), egg width (mm), volume (cm3), shape index egg, surface area and water loss were measured. The overall mean values obtained for the different variables are respectively 29.2 ± 2,24, 43.01 ± 1,84, 34.05 ± 1,44, 25.63 ± 2.88 cm3, 79.00 ± 3%, 68% and 13%. Concerning studied regressions, it was considered only the most important regressions. Those that show significant links between the different parameters studied. The ANOVA procedure was applied to estimate correlations for the examined traits. The weights of the eggs being observed before incubation and before hatching are linearly correlated with a positive correlation coefficient of order 0.75. Egg length and the weight before incubation had a good and positive correlation with a coefficient r = 0.6. However, density had high and negative correlations with egg height r = -0.78. Shape index had a good linear and negative r= - 0.71 correlation with water loss.

Keywords: correlation, egg, morphometry of eggs, analysis of variance

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Authors: Sefiu Adebowale Adewumi

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Continuous improvement programme (CIP) adopts an approach to improve organizational performance with small incremental steps over time. In this approach, it is not the size of each step that is important, but the likelihood that the improvements will be ongoing. Many companies in developing nations are now complementing continuous improvement with innovation, which is the successful exploitation of new ideas. Focus area of CIP in the organization was in relation to the size of the organizations and also in relation to the generic classification of these organizations. Product quality was prevalent in the manufacturing industry while manpower training and retraining and marketing strategy were emphasized for improvement to be made in the service, transport and supply industries. However, focus on innovation in raw materials, process and methods are needed because these are the critical factors that influence product quality in the manufacturing industries.

Keywords: continuous improvement programme, developing countries, generic classfications, technological innovation

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Authors: Amir Hossein Ashari, Sedighe Erfan Manesh

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One of the problems in developing countries is renovating the historical context and inducing behaviors appropriate to modern life to such a context. This study was conducted using field and library methods in 2012. Similar cases carried out in Iran and developing countries were compared to unveil the strengths and weaknesses of these projects. At present, in the historical context of Shiraz, the distance between two religious shrines of Shahcheragh (Ahmad ibn Musa) and Astaneh (Sayed Alaa al-Din Hossein), which are significant places in religious, cultural, social, and economic terms, is an area full of historic places called Bein Al-Haramein. Unfortunately, some of these places have been worn out and are not appropriate for common uses. The basic strategy of Bein Al-Haramein was to improve social development of Shiraz, to enhance the vitality and dynamism of the historical context of Bein Al-Haramein and to create tourist attractions in order to boost the city's economic and social stability. To this end, the project includes the huge Bein Al-Haramein Commercial Complex which is under construction now. To construct the complex, officials have decided to demolish places of historical value which can lead to irreparable consequences. Iranian urban design has always been based on three elements of bazaars, mosques and government facilities with bazaars being the organic connector of the other elements. Therefore, the best strategy in the above case is to provide for a commercial connection between the two poles. Although this strategy is included in the project, lack of attention to renovation principles in this area and complete destruction of the context will lead to its irreversible damage and will destroy its cultural and historical identity. In urban planning of this project, some important issues have been neglected including: preserving valuable buildings and special old features of the city, rebuilding worn buildings and context to attract trust and confidence of the people, developing new models according to changes, improving the structural position of old context with minimal degradation, attracting partnerships of residents and protecting their rights and finally using potential facilities of the old context. The best strategy for achieving sustainability in Bein Al-Haramein can be the one used in the distance between Santa Maria Novella and Santa Maria Del Fiore churches in historical context where while protecting the historic context and constructions, old buildings were renovated and given different commercial and service uses making them sustainable and dynamic places. Similarly, in Bein Al-Haramein, renovating old constructions and monuments and giving different commercial and other uses to them can help improve the economic and social sustainability of the area.

Keywords: Bein Al-Haramein, sustainability, historical context, historical context

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Authors: Oladejo Olagoke Peter, Adagunodo T. A., Ogunkoya C. O.

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The research investigated the arrangement of some geological features under Ilesa employing aeromagnetic data. The obtained data was subjected to various data filtering and processing techniques, which are Total Horizontal Derivative (THD), Depth Continuation and Analytical Signal Amplitude using Geosoft Oasis Montaj 6.4.2 software. The Reduced to the Equator –Total Magnetic Intensity (TRE-TMI) outcomes reveal significant magnetic anomalies, with high magnitude (55.1 to 155 nT) predominantly at the Northwest half of the area. Intermediate magnetic susceptibility, ranging between 6.0 to 55.1 nT, dominates the eastern part, separated by depressions and uplifts. The southern part of the area exhibits a magnetic field of low intensity, ranging from -76.6 to 6.0 nT. The lineaments exhibit varying lengths ranging from 2.5 and 16.0 km. Analyzing the Rose Diagram and the analytical signal amplitude indicates structural styles mainly of E-W and NE-SW orientations, particularly evident in the western, SW and NE regions with an amplitude of 0.0318nT/m. The identified faults in the area demonstrate orientations of NNW-SSE, NNE-SSW and WNW-ESE, situated at depths ranging from 500 to 750 m. Considering the divergence magnetic susceptibility, structural style or orientation of the lineaments, identified fault and their depth, these lithological features could serve as a valuable foundation for assessing ground motion, particularly in the presence of sufficient seismic energy.

Keywords: lineament, aeromagnetic, anomaly, fault, magnetic

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Authors: S. Moumen, M. Melizi

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In order to characterize rabbits does of an Aures local population raised in Algeria; a study of their milk yield was realized in the experimental rabbitry of El Hadj Lakhdhar University. Milk production of does was measured every day during the days following 215 parturitions. It was estimated by weighing the female before and after the single daily suckling (10-15 min between the 2 weighing operations). The various calculated parameters were the quantity of milk produced per day, per week and the total quantity produced in 21 days, as well as the intake of milk by young rabbits. The analysis concerned the effects of the number of successive litters (3 classes: 1 to 3 and more) and of the average number of the number of young rabbits suckled per litter (6 classes: from 1-2 kits to more than 6). During the 21 days of controlled lactation, the average litter size was 6±3. The rabbits of the Aures area produced on average 2544.34±747 g in 21 days that is 121 g of milk/day or 21g of milk/kit/day. The milk yield increased from 526, 1035, 1240, and 2801g to 760, 1365, 1715 and 3840 for week 1, 2, 3 and the total period of lactation respectively. Nevertheless, milk production available per kit and per day decreased linearly with kits number in the litter for each of the 3 weeks considered. On the other hand the milk yield was not affected by the weight at birth of kits.

Keywords: milk production, litter size, rabbit, Aures area, Algeria

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Authors: Ying-Chu Chen

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Waste to energy (WTE) technology is becoming increasingly important throughout the world. There are 24 WTE plants in operation in Taiwan that might be ranked the top in density (number of MSW incinerators/area) in the world. Many problems exist in WTE plants, such as low-quality construction, leakage of pipelines, irregular feedings, and lack of maintenance. These problems should be identified and analyzed for effective implementation and efficient operation of WTE plants. This research applies a fault tree analysis (FTA) to identify failures and evaluate their effects on the operation of WTE plants from a technical point of view. Five subsystems of a WTE plant were defined, including loading system, incineration system, effluent disposal system, structural components, and control system. This research results proved that FTA is suitable for WTE evaluation and is an effective analysis tool for technical evaluation in the field of WTE technology.

Keywords: delphi method, fault tree approach, municipal solid waste, waste to energy, WTE

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Authors: G. Baraneedaran, Deepak Singh, Kollipara Tejesh

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The wireless sensors network has been an active research area over the y-ear passed. Due to the limited energy and communication ability of sensor nodes, it seems especially important to design a routing protocol for WSNs so that sensing data can be transmitted to the receiver effectively, an energy-balanced routing method based on forward-aware factor (FAF-EBRM) is proposed in this paper. In FAF-EBRM, the next-hop node is selected according to the awareness of link weight and forward energy density. A spontaneous reconstruction mechanism for Local topology is designed additionally. In this experiment, FAF-EBRM is compared with LEACH and EECU, experimental results show that FAF-EBRM outperforms LEACH and EECU, which balances the energy consumption, prolongs the function lifetime and guarantees high Qos of WSN.

Keywords: energy balance, forward-aware factor (FAF), forward energy density, link weight, network performance

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Authors: Tomasz Stenzel, Daria Dziewulska, Ewa Łukaszuk, Joy Custer, Simona Kraberger, Arvind Varsani

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Viral diseases, especially those leading to impairment of the immune system, are among the most important problems in avian pathology. However, there is not much data available on this subject other than commercial poultry bird species. Recently, increasing attention has been paid to racing pigeons, which have been refined for many years in terms of their ability to return to their place of origin. Currently, these birds are used for races at distances from 100 to 1000 km, and winning pigeons are highly valuable. The rearing system of racing pigeons contradicts the principles of biosecurity, as birds originating from various breeding facilities are commonly transported and reared in “One Loft Race” (OLR) facilities. This favors the spread of multiple infections and provides conditions for the development of novel variants of various pathogens through recombination. One of the most significant viruses occurring in this avian species is the pigeon circovirus (PiCV), which is detected in ca. 70% of pigeons. Circoviruses are characterized by vast genetic diversity which is due to, among other things, the recombination phenomenon. It consists of an exchange of fragments of genetic material among various strains of the virus during the infection of one organism. The rate and intensity of the development of PiCV recombinants have not been determined so far. For this reason, an experiment was performed to investigate the frequency of development of novel PiCV recombinants in racing pigeons kept in OLR-type conditions. 15 racing pigeons originating from 5 different breeding facilities, subclinically infected with various PiCV strains, were housed in one room for eight weeks, which was supposed to mimic the conditions of OLR rearing. Blood and swab samples were collected from birds every seven days to recover complete PiCV genomes that were amplified through Rolling Circle Amplification (RCA), cloned, sequenced, and subjected to bioinformatic analyses aimed at determining the genetic diversity and the dynamics of recombination phenomenon among the viruses. In addition, virus shedding rate/level of viremia, expression of the IFN-γ and interferon-related genes, and anti-PiCV antibodies were determined to enable the complete analysis of the course of infection in the flock. Initial results have shown that 336 full PiCV genomes were obtained, exhibiting nucleotide similarity ranging from 86.6 to 100%, and 8 of those were recombinants originating from viruses of different lofts of origin. The first recombinant appeared after seven days of experiment, but most of the recombinants appeared after 14 and 21 days of joint housing. The level of viremia and virus shedding was the highest in the 2nd week of the experiment and gradually decreased to the end of the experiment, which partially corresponded with Mx 1 gene expression and antibody dynamics. The results have shown that the OLR pigeon-rearing system could play a significant role in spreading infectious agents such as circoviruses and contributing to PiCV evolution through recombination. Therefore, it is worth considering whether a popular gambling game such as pigeon racing is sensible from both animal welfare and epidemiological point of view.

Keywords: pigeon circovirus, recombination, evolution, one loft race

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Authors: E. O. Fakoya, B. G. Abiona, W. O. Oyediran, A. M. Omoare

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This study examined the socio-economic effects of micro-credit on small scale poultry farmers’ livelihood in Ado Odo-Ota Local Government area of Ogun State. Purposive sampling method was used to select eighty (80) small scale poultry farmers that benefited in micro credit. Interview guide was used to obtain information on the respondents’ socio-economic characteristic, sources of micro-credit and the effects of micro-credit on their livelihood. The results revealed that most of the respondents (77.50 %) were males while half (40.00%) of the respondents were between the ages of 31-40 years. A high proportion (72.50%) of the respondents had formal education. The major sources of micro credit to small scale poultry farmers were cooperative society (47.50%) and personal savings (20.00%). The findings also revealed that micro-credit had positive effect on the assets and livelihoods of small scale poultry farmers’ livelihood. Results of t-test analysis showed a significant difference between the effects before and after micro-credit on small-scale poultry farmers’ Livelihood at p < 0.05. The study recommends that formal lending institution should be given necessary support by government to enable poultry farmers have access to credit facilities in the study area.

Keywords: micro-credit, effects, livelihood, poultry farmers, socio-economic, small scale

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Authors: Benhenni Abdellaziz

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Irrigation is a limiting factor for agricultural production and socio-economic development of many countries in arid and semiarid in the world. However, the sustainability of irrigation systems requires a rational management of the water resource that is becoming increasingly rare in these regions. The objective of this work is to apply a geographic information system (GIS) coupled to a model for calculating crop water requirements (CROPWATER) for the management of irrigation water in irrigated area and offer managers with an effective tool to better manage water resources in these areas. The application area of GIS is the irrigated perimeter of Western Middle Cheliff which is located in a semi-arid region (Middle Cheliff). The scope in question is a considerable agrarian dynamics and an increased need for irrigation of most crops.

Keywords: geographical information, irrigation, economical, use rational

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Authors: H. Nacef, L. Larous

Abstract:

Salin soils occupy about 7% of land area; they are characterized by unsuitable physical conditions for the growth of living organisms. However, researches showed that some microorganisms especially fungi are able to grow and adapt to such extreme conditions; it is due to their ability to develop different physiological mechanisms in their adaptation. The aim of this study is to identify qualitatively the osmolytes that the biotechnological important fungus A. oryzae accumulated and/or produced in its adaptation, which they were detected by Thin-layer chromatography technique (TLC) using several systems, from different media (Wheat brane, MNM medium and MM medium). The results showed that The moderately halotolerant fungus A. oryzae, accumulates mixture of molecules, containing polyols and sugars , some amino acids in addition to some molecules which were not defined. Wheat bran was the best medium for the extraction of these molecules, where the proportion was 85.71%, followed by MNM medium 64.28%, then the minimum medium MM 14.28%. Properties of osmolytes are becoming increasingly useful in molecular biology, agriculture pharmaceutical, medicinal, and biotechnological interests.

Keywords: salinity, aspergillus oryzae, halo tolerance, osmolytes, compatible solutes

Procedia PDF Downloads 402

Authors: Luca Martignoni, Joseph Nserat, Eric Arand, Marvin Braun

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The increasing application of conversational agents in healthcare and the demand for applications that enable patients to take informed decisions is changing the way patients access healthcare and take decisions. Promising results related to the acceptance of CAs in healthcare have been accomplished. In that regard, understanding how to design CAs in a way that patients trust their recommendations and decisions constitutes an important area of research. Our study examines self-disclosure and transparency as drivers of trust to enhance the medical assistance of CAs for patients. Accordingly, we examined the effects of self-disclosure and transparency on patients trust and service satisfaction by conducting an online experiment with 136 participants. Our results show that the expression of both self-disclosure and conversational agents transparency leads to an increased perception of trust but does not necessarily improve the service satisfaction. Therefore, developers should implement self-disclosure and transparency to create a trustworthy environment.

Keywords: conversational agent, transparency, self-disclosure, healthcare

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Samaneh Poormohammadi, Farid Golkar, Vahideh Khatibi Sarabi

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Climate change and consecutive droughts have increased the importance of using rainwater harvesting methods. One of the methods of rainwater harvesting and, in other words, the management of atmospheric water resources is the use of weather modification technologies. Weather modification (also known as weather control) is the act of intentionally manipulating or altering the weather. The most common form of weather modification is cloud seeding, which increases rain or snow, usually for the purpose of increasing the local water supply. Cloud seeding operations in Iran have been married since 1999 in central Iran with the aim of harvesting rainwater and reducing the effects of drought. In this research, we analyze the results of cloud seeding operations in the Simindashtplain in northern Iran. Rainwater harvesting with the help of cloud seeding technology has been evaluated through its effects on surface water and underground water. For this purpose, two different methods have been used to estimate runoff. The first method is the US Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number method. Another method, known as the reasoning method, has also been used. In order to determine the infiltration rate of underground water, the balance reports of the comprehensive water plan of the country have been used. In this regard, the study areas located in the target area of each province have been extracted by drawing maps of the influence coefficients of each area in the GIS software. It should be mentioned that the infiltration coefficients were taken from the balance sheet reports of the country's comprehensive water plan. Then, based on the area of each study area, the weighted average of the infiltration coefficient of the study areas located in the target area of each province is considered as the infiltration coefficient of that province. Results show that the amount of water extracted from the rain with the help of cloud seeding projects in Simindasht is as follows: an increase in runoff 63.9 million cubic meters (with SCS equation) or 51.2 million cubic meters (with logical equation) and an increase in ground water resources: 40.5 million cubic meters.

Keywords: rainwater harvesting, ground water, atmospheric water resources, weather modification, cloud seeding

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: Destha Titi Raharjana

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The finding of this research results from three action researches conducted in three rurals, namely Bokoharjo, Sambirejo, and Tirtomartani. Those rurals are close to Prambanan, a well-known cultural heritage site located in Sleman Regency, Indonesia. This action research is conducted using participative method through observation, interview, and focus group discussion with local residents as the subjects. This research aims to (a) present identifications of potencies, obstacles, and opportunities existed in development process, which is able to give more encouragement, involvement and empowerment for local residents in maintaining the cultural heritage area, (b) present participatory empowerment programs which adjust the needs of local residents and human resources, and (c) identify potential stakeholders that can support empowerment programs. Through action research method, this research is able to present (a) potential mapping; difficulties and opportunities in the development process in each rural, (b) empowerment program planning needed by local residents as a follow-up of this action research. Moreover, this research also presents identifications of potential stakeholders who are able to do an empowerment program follow-up. It is expected that, at the end of the programs, the local residents are able to maintain Prambanan, as one of cultural heritage sites that needs to be protected, in a more sustainable way.

Keywords: action research, local resident, empowerment, cultural heritage area, Prambanan, Sleman, Indonesia

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: R. M. K. S. Chandana, A. P. D. G. Pathirana, N. Priyankarage, W. A. D. Nayananjalie, S. S. P. Silva

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Full fat soybean meal (FFSBM) has been used in many parts of the world together with solvent-extracted soybean meal (SBM) in livestock feeds. Although some local FFSBM is available, their use has not been assessed experimentally. This study was carried out to evaluate the use of local extruded FFSBM in broiler rations. Four treatment diets were formulated by incorporating locally produced FFSBM (0, 10, 20, and 30%) as a replacement for soybean meal (SBM) in a two-phase (starter and finisher) feeding program. Two hundred Hubbard F 15 day old broiler chicks were randomly assigned into four treatments with five replicates per each. Bodyweight gain (BWG), feed intakes (FI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated for a period of 42 days. Nutrient utilization in the form of dry matter (DM), energy, nitrogen, and fat retention were estimated by the total collection method in three weeks old broilers. At the end of the experiment, carcass weight was measured, and the dressing percentage was calculated. Data were analyzed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SAS. There was no significant effect of FFSBM on feed intakes of chicks fed different diets (p > 0.05). Birds fed the control diet, and FF10 (10% FFSBM diet) gained significantly more than that of birds fed FF20 or FF30 diets (p > 0.05). In the finisher period, control birds gained more than all the other treatment birds. FCR was poorer in bird fed higher levels of FFSBM compared to the control or FF10 birds during their early life, but that was not evident in the latter part of the experiment. Treatments did not alter (p > 0.05) the retention of DM and nitrogen, but energy utilization was lowest (p < 0.05) in birds fed with 0% FFSBM, and the highest fat digestibility was observed in birds fed with 30% FFSBM diets. Thus, it can be concluded that FFSBM can be used as a substitute for SBM in broiler rations and could be incorporated up to 10% of the diet safely with no adverse effects on broiler performances.

Keywords: body weight, broiler, digestibility, full fat soybean meal, soybean meal

Procedia PDF Downloads 125

Authors: Hadj Miloua, Abbes Azzi

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The objective of the present paper is to understand, predict and modeled the fire behavior in confined and open area in different conditions and diverse fuels such as liquid pool fire and the vegetative materials. The distinctive problems are a ventilated road tunnel used for urban transport, by the characterization installations of ventilation and his influence in the mode of smoke dispersion and the flame shape. A general investigation is relatively traditional, based on the modeling and simulation the scenario of the pool fire interacted with wind ventilation by the use of numerical software fire dynamic simulator FDS ver.5 to simulate the fire in ventilated tunnel. The second simulation by WFDS.5 is Wildland fire which is always occurs in forest and rangeland fire environments and will thus have an impact on people, property and resources.

Keywords: fire, road tunnel, simulation, vegetation, wildland

Procedia PDF Downloads 498

Authors: Yu. Mateyshina, A. Ulihin, N. Uvarov

Abstract:

Supercapacitors are one of the most promising devices for energy storage applications as they can provide higher power density than batteries and higher energy density than conventional dielectric capacitors. Carbon materials with various microtextures are considered as main candidates for supercapacitors in terms of high surface area, interconnected pore structure, controlled pore size, high electrical conductivity and environmental friendliness. The specific capacitance (C) of the electrode material of the Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors (EDLC) is known to depend on the specific surface area (Ss) and the pore structure. Activated carbons are most commonly used in supercapacitors because of their high surface area (Ss ≥ 1000 m2/g), good adhesion to electrolytes and low cost. In this work, electrochemical properties of new microporous and mesoporous carbon electrode materials were studied. The aim of the work was to investigate the relationship between the specific capacitance and specific surface area in a series of materials prepared from different organic precursors.. As supporting matrixes different carbon samples with Ss = 100-2000 m2/g were used. The materials were modified by treatment in acids (H2SO4, HNO3, acetic acid) in order to enable surface hydrophilicity. Then nanoparticles of transition metal oxides (for example NiO) were deposited on the carbon surfaces using methods of salts impregnation, mechanical treatment in ball mills and the precursors decomposition. The electrochemical characteristics of electrode hybrid materials were investigated in a symmetrical two-electrode cell using an impedance spectroscopy, voltammetry in both potentiodynamic and galvanostatic modes. It was shown that the value of C for the materials under study strongly depended on the preparation method of the electrode and the type of electrolyte (1 M H2SO4, 6 M KOH, 1 M LiClO4 in acetonitryl). Specific capacity may be increased by the introduction of nanoparticles from 50-100 F/g for initial carbon materials to 150-300 F/g for nanocomposites which may be used in supercapacitors. The work is supported by the по SC-14.604.21.0013.

Keywords: supercapacitors, carbon electrode, mesoporous carbon, electrochemistry

Procedia PDF Downloads 280