Search results for: collaborative environmental management framework

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: Hamdi Omar Omar, Hela Fakhfakh, Chokri Yaich

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This work reflects the integration of different techniques, such as field sampling and observations, magnetic susceptibility measurement, cyclostratigaraphy and sequence stratigraphy. The combination of these results allows us to reconstruct the environmental evolution of the Sidi Khalif Formation in the North-South Axis (NOSA), aged of Upper Tithonian, Berriasian and Lower Valanginian. Six sedimentary facies were identified and are primarily influenced by open marine sedimentation receiving increasing terrigenous influx. Spectral analysis, based on MS variation (for the outcropped section) and wireline logging gamma ray (GR) variation (for the sub-area section) show a pervasive dominance of 405-kyr eccentricity cycles with the expression of 100-kyr eccentricity, obliquity and precession. This study provides (for the first time) a precise duration of 2.4 myr for the outcropped Sidi Khalif Formation with a sedimentation rate of 5.4 cm/kyr and the sub-area section to 3.24 myr with a sedimentation rate of 7.64 cm/kyr. We outlined 27 5th-order depositional sequences, 8 Milankovitch depositional sequences and 2 major 3rd-order cycles for the outcropping section, controlled by the long eccentricity (405 kyr) cycles and the precession index cycles. This study has demonstrated the potential of MS and GR to be used as proxies to develop an astronomically calibrated time-scale for the Mesozoic era.

Keywords: Berriasian, magnetic susceptibility, orbital tuning, Sidi Khalif Formation

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Authors: Ali Kazemi

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The digital evolution of financial services, while offering unprecedented convenience and accessibility, has also escalated the vulnerabilities to fraudulent activities. In this study, we introduce a distinct approach to real-time anomaly detection in financial transactions, aiming to fortify the defenses of banking and financial institutions against such threats. Utilizing unsupervised machine learning algorithms, specifically autoencoders and isolation forests, our research focuses on identifying irregular patterns indicative of fraud within transactional data, thus enabling immediate action to prevent financial loss. The data we used in this study included the monetary value of each transaction. This is a crucial feature as fraudulent transactions may have distributions of different amounts than legitimate ones, such as timestamps indicating when transactions occurred. Analyzing transactions' temporal patterns can reveal anomalies (e.g., unusual activity in the middle of the night). Also, the sector or category of the merchant where the transaction occurred, such as retail, groceries, online services, etc. Specific categories may be more prone to fraud. Moreover, the type of payment used (e.g., credit, debit, online payment systems). Different payment methods have varying risk levels associated with fraud. This dataset, anonymized to ensure privacy, reflects a wide array of transactions typical of a global banking institution, ranging from small-scale retail purchases to large wire transfers, embodying the diverse nature of potentially fraudulent activities. By engineering features that capture the essence of transactions, including normalized amounts and encoded categorical variables, we tailor our data to enhance model sensitivity to anomalies. The autoencoder model leverages its reconstruction error mechanism to flag transactions that deviate significantly from the learned normal pattern, while the isolation forest identifies anomalies based on their susceptibility to isolation from the dataset's majority. Our experimental results, validated through techniques such as k-fold cross-validation, are evaluated using precision, recall, and the F1 score alongside the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Our models achieved an F1 score of 0.85 and a ROC AUC of 0.93, indicating high accuracy in detecting fraudulent transactions without excessive false positives. This study contributes to the academic discourse on financial fraud detection and provides a practical framework for banking institutions seeking to implement real-time anomaly detection systems. By demonstrating the effectiveness of unsupervised learning techniques in a real-world context, our research offers a pathway to significantly reduce the incidence of financial fraud, thereby enhancing the security and trustworthiness of digital financial services.

Keywords: anomaly detection, financial fraud, machine learning, autoencoders, isolation forest, transactional data analysis

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Authors: Xu Tao, Yilun Xu, Dingwei Xiang, Yaofei Sun

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Urban community is constitute the entire city and its management ‘cell’, let ‘cells’ with growth and self-regeneration capacity and persistence, to allow the city with infinite vigor and vitality of the source; with toughness community mankind's adaptation to the basic unit of social risk, toughness of the city from the community to create a point of building is urban toughness of top-down construction mode of supplement, is of positive significance on the toughness of the urban construction. Based on the basic concept of resilience, this paper reviews the research on the four main areas of the study of urban resilience (i.e., the engineering toughness, ecological resilience, economic resilience, and social resilience, etc.). Studies and comments and summarizes the basic characteristic and main content of the four kind of toughness. Based on, from the city - community level and community level for building community resilience, including the level of urban community and create a Unicom, inclusiveness and openness of the community; community-level lifted from the four angles of the engineering community toughness, ecological toughness, resilience, social resilience, mainly including enhanced the toughness of the infrastructure, green infrastructure of toughness, resilience, social network and social relations, building with a sense of belonging, inclusive, multicultural community. Finally, summarize and prospect the resilience of the community.

Keywords: resilience, community resilience, urban resilience, construction strategies

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Authors: Arash Esmaeili, Zhibang Liu, Yang Xiang, Jimmy Yun, Lei Shao

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A high-pressure carbon dioxide (CO₂) absorption from a specific off-gas in a conventional column has been evaluated for the environmental concerns by the Aspen HYSYS simulator using a wide range of single absorbents and piperazine (PZ) blended solutions to estimate the outlet CO₂ concentration, CO₂ loading, reboiler power supply, and regeneration heat duty to choose the most efficient solution in terms of CO₂ removal and required heat duty. The property package, which is compatible with all applied solutions for the simulation in this study, estimates the properties based on the electrolyte non-random two-liquid (E-NRTL) model for electrolyte thermodynamics and Peng-Robinson equation of state for vapor phase and liquid hydrocarbon phase properties. The results of the simulation indicate that piperazine, in addition to the mixture of piperazine and monoethanolamine (MEA), demands the highest regeneration heat duty compared with other studied single and blended amine solutions, respectively. The blended amine solutions with the lowest PZ concentrations (5wt% and 10wt%) were considered and compared to reduce the cost of the process, among which the blended solution of 10wt%PZ+35wt%MDEA (methyldiethanolamine) was found as the most appropriate solution in terms of CO₂ content in the outlet gas, rich-CO₂ loading, and regeneration heat duty.

Keywords: absorption, amine solutions, aspen HYSYS, CO₂ loading, piperazine, regeneration heat duty

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Authors: Laaziz El Hassan

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The Service Network Design Problem (SNDP) is a tactical issue in freight transportation firms. The existing formulations of the problem for intermodal rail-road transportation were not always adapted to the intermodality in terms of full asset utilization and modal shift reinforcement. The objective of the article is to propose a model having a more compliant formulation with intermodality, including constraints highlighting the imperatives of asset management, reinforcing modal shift from road to rail and reducing, by the way, road mode CO2 emissions. The model is a fixed charged, path based integer nonlinear program. Its objective is to minimize services total cost while ensuring full assets utilization to satisfy freight demand forecast. The model's main feature is that it gives as output both the train sizes and the services frequencies for a planning period. We solved the program using a commercial solver and discussed the numerical results.

Keywords: intermodal transport network, service network design, model, nonlinear integer program, path-based, service frequencies, modal shift

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Authors: Harish Aryal, Thalia Balderas, Alondra Rodriguez

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Radioactivity present in nature possess a major challenge to public health and occupational concerns. Even at low doses, NORM can cause radiation-induced cancers, heritable diseases, genetic defects, etc. There have not been enough radiological studies and consequently, there is a lack of supportive data. In addition, there is no universal medical surveillance program for low-level doses and there is a need for NORM management guidelines for appropriate control. Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) is present everywhere during oil/gas exploration. Currently, there is limited data available to quantify radioactivity. This research presents the study of radioactivity in different areas in the United States to be encouraged to be used for further study in Texas or similar areas within the oil and gas industry. Many materials that are found in the oil and gas industry are NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials). The NORM is made of various types of materials, including Radium 226, Radium 228, and Radon 222. Efforts to characterize the geographic distribution of NORM have been limited by poor statistical representation in this area of study. In addition, the fate of NORM in the environment has not been fully defined, and few human health risk assessments have been conducted. To further comprehend how to measure radioactivity in oil and gas, it will be essential to understand the amount and type of radioactivity that is wasted on the water and soil of the industry.

Keywords: NORM, radium 226, radon 222, radionuclides, geological formations

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Authors: Alisha Akya, Afsaneh salami

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Background and Objective: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen associated with nosocomial infections. One of the major concerns for the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections is its resistant to a variety of antibiotics. The purpose of this study was to assess the dissemination of p. aeruginosa isolates obtained from major hospitals in Kermanshah, west of Iran. Materials and Methods: Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the minimal inhibitory concentrations. Mettalo-beta-lactamase was investigated using the double disk diffusion (DDST) test and PCR. Molecular typing was performed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Results: The 60 P. aeruginosa isolates, 30 (50%) were resistant to gentamicin, 38 (63/3%) to piperacilin, 42 (70%) to ceftazidime, and 45 (75%) to cefepime. Twenty-nine (48/3%) isolates were MBLs producer based on the DDST test. Five (8/3%) isolates were positive for VIM gene and 4 of them were from burn specimens. PFGE analysis among MBLs producers revealed 12 distinct genotype patterns. A pattern covering the highest number of strains was determined as the dominant clone. Conclusions: Our study showed that P. aeruginosa strains can be spread between patients in hospitals or acquired from different environmental sources. P. aeruginosa isolates were highly resistant to antibiotics and, therefore, the susceptibility of isolates to antibiotics should be tested before treatment. Given the clinical significance of MBLs producing isolates, identification of these organisms is essential in the hospitals in order to get a better therapeutic response and control of bacterial dissemination.

Keywords: clonal dissemination, mettalo-beta-lactamase, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, PFGE

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Authors: Tharntip Tawnie Chutikulrungsee, Oliver Kisalay Burmeister, Maumita Bhattacharya, Dragana Calic

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Sharing on social network sites (SNSs) has rapidly emerged as a new social norm and has become a global phenomenon. Billions of users reveal not only their own information (self disclosure) but also information about others (other-generated disclosure), resulting in a risk and a serious threat to either personal or informational privacy. Self-disclosure (SD) has been extensively researched in the literature, particularly regarding control of individual and existing privacy management. However, far too little attention has been paid to other-generated disclosure (OGD), especially by insiders. OGD has a strong influence on self-presentation, self-image, and electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Moreover, OGD is more credible and less likely manipulated than SD, but lacks privacy control and legal protection to some extent. This article examines OGD in depth, ranging from motivation to both online and offline impacts, based upon lived experiences from both ‘the disclosed’ and ‘the discloser’. Using purposive sampling, this phenomenological study involves an online survey and in-depth interviews. The findings report the influence of peer disclosure as well as users’ strategies to mitigate privacy issues. This article also calls attention to the challenge of OGD privacy and inadequacies in the law related to privacy protection in the digital domain.

Keywords: facebook, online privacy, other-generated disclosure, social networks sites (SNSs)

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Authors: Sanjeev Kumar Raghuwanshi, Yadvendra Singh

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The objective of this paper is to develop and optimize the Fiber Bragg (FBG) grating based Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) sensor for monitoring the hazardous toxic chemicals and gases in underground mines or any industrial area. A fully cladded telecommunication standard FBG is proposed to develop to produce surface plasmon resonance. A thin few nm gold/silver film (subject to optimization) is proposed to apply over the FBG sensing head using e-beam deposition method. Sensitivity enhancement of the sensor will be done by adding a composite nanostructured Graphene Oxide (GO) sensing layer using the spin coating method. Both sensor configurations suppose to demonstrate high responsiveness towards the changes in resonance wavelength. The GO enhanced sensor may show increased sensitivity of many fold compared to the gold coated traditional fibre optic sensor. Our work is focused on to optimize GO, multilayer structure and to develop fibre coating techniques that will serve well for sensitive and multifunctional detection of hazardous chemicals. This research proposal shows great potential towards future development of optical fiber sensors using readily available components such as Bragg gratings as highly sensitive chemical sensors in areas such as environmental sensing.

Keywords: surface plasmon resonance, fibre Bragg grating, sensitivity, toxic gases, MATRIX method

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Authors: L. Rashidian, M. Rajabali

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Climate changes have unpredictable and costly effects on water resources of various basins. The impact of atmospheric phenomena on human life and the environment is so significant that only knowledge of management can reduce its consequences. In this study, using LARS.WG model and down scaling of general circulation climate model HADCM-3 and according to the IPCC scenarios, including series A1b, A2 and B1, we simulated data from 2010 to 2040 in order to using them for long term forecasting of climate parameters of the Caspian Sea and its impact on sea level. Our research involves collecting data on monthly precipitation amounts, minimum and maximum temperature and daily sunshine hours, from meteorological organization for Caspian Sea coastal station such as Gorgan, Ramsar, Rasht, Anzali, Astara and Ghaemshahr since their establishment until 2010. Considering the fact that the fluctuation range of water level in the Caspian Sea has various ups and downs in different times, there is an increase in minimum and maximum temperature for all the mentioned scenarios, which will last until 2040. Overall, the amount of rainfall in cities bordering the Caspian Sea was studied based on the three scenarios, which shows an increase in the amount. However, there will be a decrease in water level of the Caspian Sea till 2040.

Keywords: IPCC, climate change, atmospheric circulation, Caspian Sea, HADCM3, sea level

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Authors: Genevieve Zingg

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Since the onset of the 2015 ‘refugee crisis’ in the European Union (EU), migrant deaths have overwhelmingly occurred in the Mediterranean Sea. However, far less attention has been paid to the startling number of injuries, deaths, and allegations of systematic human rights violations occurring within European refugee camps. Most troubling is the assertion that injuries and deaths in EU refugee camps have occurred as a result of negligent management and poor access to healthcare, food, water and sanitation, and other elements that comprise an adequate standard of living under international human rights law. Using available evidence and documentation, this paper will conduct a thorough examination of the causes of death and injury in EU refugee camps, with a specific focus on Greece, in order to identify instances of negligence or conditions that amount to potential breaches of human rights law. Based on its analysis, this paper will subsequently explore potential legal avenues to achieving justice and accountability under international human rights law in order to effectively address and remedy inadequate standards of living causing wrongful death or injury in European refugee camps.

Keywords: European Union, Greece, human rights, international human rights law, migration, refugees

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Authors: Maysoon Khalil Askar

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The delineation of possible areas of corrosion along the external face of an underground oil pipeline in Trunk line of Al- Garraf oil field was investigated using the horizontal electrical resistivity profiling technique and study the contribution of pH, Moisture Content in Soil and Presence chlorides, sulfates and total dissolve salts in soil and water. The test sites represent a physical and chemical properties of soils. The hydrogen-ion concentration of soil and groundwater range from 7.2 to 9.6, and the resistivity values of the soil along the pipeline were obtained using the YH302B model resistivity meter having values between 1588 and 720 Ohm-cm. the chloride concentration in soil and groundwater is high (more than 1000 ppm), total soulable salt is more than 5000 ppm, and sulphate range from 0.17% and 0.98% in soil and more than 600 ppm in groundwater. The soil is poor aeration, the soil texture is fine (clay and silt soil), the water content is high (the groundwater is close to surface), the chloride and sulphate is high in the soil and groundwater, the total soulable salt is high in ground water and finally the soil electric resistivity is low that the soil is very corrosive and there is the possibility of the pipeline failure. These methods applied in the study are quick, economic and efficient for detecting along buried pipelines which need to be protected. Routine electrical geophysical investigations along buried oil pipelines should be undertaken for the early detection and prevention of pipeline failure with its attendant environmental, human and economic consequences.

Keywords: soil resistivity, corrosion, cathodic protection, chloride concentration, water content

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Authors: Abderrazek Ben Maatoug, Ibrahim Fatnassi, Wassim Ben Ayed

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In this paper we investigate the issue of market risk quantification for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Islamic market equity. We use Value-at-Risk (VaR) as a measure of potential risk in Islamic stock market, for long and short position, based on Riskmetrics model and the conditional parametric ARCH class model volatility with normal, student and skewed student distribution. The sample consist of daily data for the 2006-2014 of 11 Islamic stock markets indices. We conduct Kupiec and Engle and Manganelli tests to evaluate the performance for each model. The main finding of our empirical results show that (i) the superior performance of VaR models based on the Student and skewed Student distribution, for the significance level of α=1% , for all Islamic stock market indices, and for both long and short trading positions (ii) Risk Metrics model, and VaR model based on conditional volatility with normal distribution provides the best accurate VaR estimations for both long and short trading positions for a significance level of α=5%.

Keywords: value-at-risk, risk management, islamic finance, GARCH models

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Authors: Robert McGrath, Zara Qureshi

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A innovative leadership philosophy that is proposed herein is distinctly more humane than most leadership approaches Concerned Leadership. The central idea to this approach is to consider the whole person that comes to work; their professional skills and talents, as well as any personal, emotional challenges that could be affecting productivity and effectiveness at work. This paper explores Concerned Leadership as an integration of the two conceptual models areas examined in this paper –(1) leaderful organizations and practices, as well as (2) organizational culture, and defines leadership in the context of Mental Health and Wellness in the workplace. Leaderful organizations calls for organizations to implement leaderful practice. Leaderful practice is when leadership responsibility and decision-making is shared across all team members and levels, versus only delegated to top management as commonly seen. A healthy culture thrives off key aspects such as acceptance, employee pride, equal opportunity, and strong company leadership. Concerned Leadership is characterized by five main components: Self-Concern, Leaderful Practice, Human Touch, Belonging, and Compassion. As scholars and practitioners conceptualize leadership in practice, the present model seeks to uphold the dignity of each organizational member, thereby having the potential to transform workplaces and support all members.

Keywords: leadership, mental health, reflective practice, organizational culture

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Authors: Soukaina Motia, Nadia El Alami El Hassani, Alassane Diouf, Benachir Bouchikhi, Nezha El Bari

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Parabens are the antimicrobial molecules largely used in cosmetic products as a preservative agent. Among them, the methylparaben (MP) is the most frequently used ingredient in cosmetic preparations. Nevertheless, their potential dangers led to the development of sensible and reliable methods for their determination in environmental samples. Firstly, a sensitive and selective molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) based on screen-printed gold electrode (Au-SPE), assembled on a polymeric layer of carboxylated poly(vinyl-chloride) (PVC-COOH), was developed. After the template removal, the obtained material was able to rebind MP and discriminate it among other interfering species such as glucose, sucrose, and citric acid. The behavior of molecular imprinted sensor was characterized by Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Then, the biosensor was found to have a linear detection range from 0.1 pg.mL^-1 to 1 ng.mL^-1 and a low limit of detection of 0.12 fg.mL^-1 and 5.18 pg.mL^-1 by DPV and EIS, respectively. For applications, this biosensor was employed to determine MP content in four wastewaters in Meknes city and two cosmetic products (shower gel and shampoo). The operational reproducibility and stability of this biosensor were also studied. Secondly, another MIP biosensor based on tungsten trioxide (WO₃) functionalized by gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) assembled on a polymeric layer of PVC-COOH was developed. The main goal was to increase the sensitivity of the biosensor. The developed MIP biosensor was successfully applied for the MP determination in wastewater samples and cosmetic products.

Keywords: cosmetic products, methylparaben, molecularly imprinted polymer, wastewater

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Authors: Elaine Y. L. Ng

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Elizabeth Gilbert’s (2006) biography Eat, Pray, Love describes her travels to Italy, India, and Indonesia after a painful divorce. The author’s experiences with love, loss, search for happiness, and meaning have resonated with a huge readership. As regards the translation of Gilbert’s (2006) Eat, Pray, Love into Chinese, it was first translated by a Taiwanese translator He Pei-Hua and published in Taiwan in 2007 by Make Boluo Wenhua Chubanshe with the fairly catching title “Enjoy! Traveling Alone.” The same translation was translocated to China, republished in simplified Chinese characters by Shanxi Shifan Daxue Chubanshe in 2008 and renamed in China, entitled “To Be a Girl for the Whole Life.” Later on, the same translation in simplified Chinese characters was reprinted by Hunan Wenyi Chubanshe in 2013. This study employs Munday’s (2002) systemic model for descriptive translation studies to investigate the translation of Gilbert’s (2006) Eat, Pray, Love into Chinese by the Taiwanese translator Hu Pei-Hua. It employs an interdisciplinary approach, combining systemic functional linguistics and corpus stylistics with sociohistorical research within a descriptive framework to study the translator’s discursive presence in the text. The research consists of three phases. The first phase is to locate the target text within its socio-cultural context. The target-text context concerning the para-texts, readers’ responses, and the publishers’ orientation will be explored. The second phase is to compare the source text and the target text for the categorization of translation shifts by using the methodological tools of systemic functional linguistics and corpus stylistics. The investigation concerns the rendering of mental clauses and speech and thought presentation. The final phase is an explanation of the causes of translation shifts. The linguistic findings are related to the extra-textual information collected in an effort to ascertain the motivations behind the translator’s choices. There exist sets of possible factors that may have contributed to shaping the textual features of the given translation within a specific socio-cultural context. The study finds that the translator generally reproduces the mental clauses and speech and thought presentation closely according to the original. Nevertheless, the language of the translation has been widely criticized to be unidiomatic and stiff, losing the elegance of the original. In addition, the several Chinese translations of the given text produced by one Taiwanese and two Chinese publishers are basically the same. They are repackaged slightly differently, mainly with the change of the book cover and its captions for each version. By relating the textual findings to the extra-textual data of the study, it is argued that the popularity of the Chinese translation of Gilbert’s (2006) Eat, Pray, Love may not be attributed to the quality of the translation. Instead, it may have to do with the way the work is promoted strategically by the social media manipulated by the four e-bookstores promoting and selling the book online in China.

Keywords: chinese translation of eat pray love, corpus stylistics, motivations for translation shifts, systemic approach to translation studies

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Authors: Mohammad Salameh Almasarweh

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The primary aim of this research is to explore the mediating role of physiological climate in the relationship between green HRM practices (specifically, GHRM practices, GHRM recruitment, GHRM training, GHRM performance appraisal, and GHRM empowerment) and employee performance within the hotel industry. The study revealed that green HRM practices, encompassing green recruiting, green training, green performance evaluation, and green empowerment, exerted a statistically significant influence on employee performance. A quantitative method was employed for this research, focusing on hotel managers in Jordan as the study's population. Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to a convenience sample of 300 managers from various hotels in Jordan. The results of the study align with prior research, supporting the notion that green HRM practices positively impact both employee performance and physiological climate. Furthermore, the findings of this study indicate that physiological climate acts as a mediating factor in the relationship between green HRM practices and employee performance in Jordanian hotels.

Keywords: GHRM practices, GHRM recruitment, GHRM training, GHRM performance appraisal, GHRM empowerment, employee’s performance, physiological climate

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Authors: Suprit Pradhan, Sushil Pradhan

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Photosynthesis is a physiological process where green plants prepare their food from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water being absorbed from the soil in presence of sun light and chlorophyll. From this definition it is clear that four reactants (Carbon Dioxide, Water, Light and Chlorophyll) are essential for the process to proceed and the product is a sugar or carbohydrate ultimately stored as starch. The entire process has “Light Reaction” (Photochemical) and “Dark Reaction” (Biochemical). Biochemical reactions are very much complicated being catalysed by various enzymes and the path of carbon is known as “Calvin Cycle” according to the name of its discover. The overall reaction which is now universally accepted can be explained like this. Six molecules of carbon dioxide react with twelve molecules of water in presence of chlorophyll and sun light to give only one molecule of sugar (Carbohydrate) six molecules of water and six molecules of oxygen is being evolved in gaseous form. This is the accepted equation and also chemically balanced. However while teaching the subject the author came across a new balanced equation from among the students who happened to be the daughter of the author. In the new balanced equation in place of twelve water molecules in the reactant side seven molecules can be expressed and accordingly in place of six molecules of water in the product side only one molecule of water is produced. The energetics of the photosynthesis as related to the environment and the newly reported balanced chemical equation has been discussed in detail in the present research paper presentation in this international conference on energy, environmental and chemical engineering.

Keywords: biochemistry, enzyme , isotope, photosynthesis

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Authors: Mehdi Ganjkhani, Sobhan Badakhshan, Seyedvahid Hosseini

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Power plants exploit striking proportion of underground water consumption. Correspondingly, natural gas-fired power plants need less water than the other conventional power plants. Therefore, shifting unit commitment planning toward these power plants would help to save water consumption. This paper discusses the impacts of water consumption limitation on natural gas consumption and vice versa as a short-term water consumption management solution. To do so, conventional unit commitment problem is extended by adding water consumption and natural gas constraints to the previous constrains. The paper presents the impact of water saving on natural gas demands as well as natural gas shortage on water demand. Correspondingly, the additional cost of electricity production according to the aforementioned constraints is evaluated. Finally, a test system is applied to investigate potentials and impacts of water saving and natural gas shortage. Different scenarios are conducted and the results are presented. The results of the study illustrate that in order to use less water for power production it needs to use more natural gas. Meanwhile, natural gas shortage causes to utilize more amount of water in aggregate.

Keywords: electric energy generation system, underground water sources, unit commitment, water consumption saving, natural gas

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Authors: Gerson E. Cornejo, Luis A. Gamarra, David S. Mauricio

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The Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) allows the integration of all the business processes of the functional areas of the companies, in order to automate and standardize the processes, obtain accurate information and improve decision making in time real. In Peru, 79% of medium and small companies (SMEs) do not use any management software, this is because it is believed that ERPs are expensive, complex and difficult to implement. However, for more than 20 years there have been Open Source ERPs, which are more accessible and have the same benefit as proprietary ERPs, but there is little information on the implementation process. In this work is made a case of study, in order to show the implementation process of an Open Source ERP, Odoo, based on the ASAP methodology (Accelerated SAP) and applied to a company of corrective and preventive maintenance services of vehicles. The ERP allowed the SME to standardize its business processes, increase its productivity, reducing up to 40% certain processes. The study of this case shows that it is feasible and profitable to implement an Open Source ERP in SMEs in the Automotive Sector of Peru. In addition, it is shown that the ASAP methodology is adequate to carry out Open Source ERPs implementation projects.

Keywords: ASAP, automotive sector, ERP implementation, open source

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Authors: James Alberto Ortega Morales, Nelson Andrés Martínez Marín

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The bulding industry is one of the most important sectors all around the world in terms of contribution to index like GDP and labor. On the other hand, it is a major contributor to Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and waste generation contributing to global warming. In this sense, it is necessary to establish sustainable practices both from the strategic point of view to the operations point of view as well in all business and industries. Business models don’t scape to this reality attending it´s mediator role between strategy and operations. Business models can turn from the traditional practices searching economic benefits to sustainable bussines models that generate both economic value and value for society and the environment. Recent advances in the analysis of sustainable business models find different classifications that allow finding potential triple bottom line (economic, social and environmental) solutions applicable in every business sector. Into the metioned Advances have been identified, 11 groups and 45 patterns of sustainable business models have been identified; such patterns can be found either in the business models as a whole or found concurrently in their components. This article presents the analysis of a case study, seeking to identify the components and elements that are part of it, using the ECO CANVAS conceptual model. The case study allows showing the concurrent existence of different patterns of business models for sustainability empirically, serving as an example and inspiration for other Latin American companies interested in integrating sustainability into their new and existing business models.

Keywords: sustainable business models, business sustainability, business model patterns, case study, construction industry

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Authors: Dimitri Bigot, Bruno Malet-Damour, Jérôme Vigneron

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Many studies have been made about using bio-based materials in buildings. The goal is to reduce its environmental footprint by analyzing its life cycle. This can lead to minimize the carbon emissions or energy consumption. A previous work proposed to numerically study the feasibility of using wood chips to regulate relative humidity inside a building. This has shown the capability of a wood chips bed to regulate humidity inside the building, to improve thermal comfort, and so potentially reduce building energy consumption. However, it also shown that some physical parameters of the wood chips must be identified to validate the proposed model and the associated results. This paper presents an experimental setup able to study such a wood chips bed with different solicitations. It consists of a simple duct filled with wood chips and crossed by an air flow with variable temperature and relative humidity. Its main objective is to study the thermal behavior of the wood chips bed by controlling temperature and relative humidity of the air that enters into it and by observing the same parameters at the output. First, the experimental set up is described according to previous results. A focus is made on the particular properties that have to be characterized. Then some case studies are presented in relation to the previous results in order to identify the key physical properties. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed technology is discussed, and some model validation paths are given.

Keywords: wood chips bed, experimental set-up, bio-based material, desiccant, relative humidity, water content, thermal behaviour, air treatment

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Authors: Maryam Amiri, Ali Rajabzade, Gholam Reza Goudarzi, Reza Heidari

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Growth of technology and environmental changes are so fast and therefore, companies and industries have much tendency to do activities of R&D for active participation in the market and achievement to a competitive advantages. Aviation industry and its subdivisions have high level technology and play a special role in economic and social development of countries. So, in the aviation industry for getting new technologies and competing with other countries aviation industry, there is a requirement for capability in R&D. Considering of appropriate R&D strategy is supportive that day technologies of the world can be achieved. Biofuel technology is one of the newest technologies that has allocated discussion of the world in aviation industry to itself. The purpose of this research has been formulation of R&D strategy of biofuel technology in aviation industry of Iran. After reviewing of the theoretical foundations of the methods and R&D strategies, finally we classified R&D strategies in four main categories as follows: internal R&D, collaboration R&D, out sourcing R&D and in-house R&D. After a review of R&D strategies, a model for formulation of R&D strategy with the aim of developing biofuel technology in aviation industry in Iran was offered. With regard to the requirements and aracteristics of industry and technology in the model, we presented an integrated approach to R&D. Based on the techniques of decision making and analyzing of structured expert opinion, 4 R&D strategies for different scenarios and with the aim of developing biofuel technology in aviation industry in Iran were recommended. In this research, based on the common features of the implementation process of R&D, a logical classification of these methods are presented as R&D strategies. Then, R&D strategies and their characteristics was developed according to the experts. In the end, we introduced a model to consider the role of aviation industry and biofuel technology in R&D strategies. And lastly, for conditions and various scenarios of the aviation industry, we have formulated a specific R&D strategy.

Keywords: aviation industry, biofuel technology, R&D, R&D strategy

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Authors: Julio C. Ferreira, Maria T. A. Steiner

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The aim of this work is to present a solution procedure referred to here as the Multi-objective Optimization for Green Vehicle Routing Problem (MOOGVRP) to provide solutions for a case study. The proposed methodology consists of three stages to resolve Scenario A. Stage 1 consists of the “treatment” of data; Stage 2 consists of applying mathematical models of the p-Median Capacitated Problem (with the objectives of minimization of distances and homogenization of demands between groups) and the Asymmetric Traveling Salesman Problem (with the objectives of minimizing distances and minimizing time). The weighted method was used as the multi-objective procedure. In Stage 3, an analysis of the results is conducted, taking into consideration the environmental aspects related to the case study, more specifically with regard to fuel consumption and air pollutant emission. This methodology was applied to a (partial) database that addresses newspaper distribution in the municipality of Curitiba, Paraná State, Brazil. The preliminary findings for Scenario A showed that it was possible to improve the distribution of the load, reduce the mileage and the greenhouse gas by 17.32% and the journey time by 22.58% in comparison with the current scenario. The intention for future works is to use other multi-objective techniques and an expanded version of the database and explore the triple bottom line of sustainability.

Keywords: Asymmetric Traveling Salesman Problem, Green Vehicle Routing Problem, Multi-objective Optimization, p-Median Capacitated Problem

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Authors: Shereen Kamel

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This study explores the recent application of bilingual education in Egyptian public schools. It aims to provide an overall picture of bilingual education programs globally and examine its adequacy to the Egyptian social and cultural context. The study also assesses the current application process of teaching English as a Second Language in public schools from the early childhood education stage and onwards, instead of starting it from middle school; as a strategy that promotes English language proficiency and equity among students. The theoretical framework is based on Jim Cummins’ bilingual education theories and on recent trends adopting different developmental theories and perspectives, like Stephen Crashen’s theory of Second Language Acquisition that calls for communicative and meaningful interaction rather than memorization of grammatical rules. The question posed here is whether bilingual education, with its peculiar nature, could be a good chance to reach out to all Egyptian students and prepare them to become global citizens. In addition to this, a more specific question is related to the extent to which social and cultural variables can affect the young learners’ second language acquisition. This exploratory analytical study uses mixed-methods research design to examine the application of bilingual education in Egyptian public schools. The study uses a cluster sample of schools in Egypt from different social and cultural backgrounds to assess the determining variables. The qualitative emphasis is on interviewing teachers and reviewing students’ achievement documents. The quantitative aspect is based on observations of in-class activities through tally sheets and checklists. Having access to schools and documents is authorized by governmental and institutional research bodies. Data sources will comprise achievement records, students’ portfolios, parents’ feedback and teachers’ viewpoints. Triangulation and SPSS will be used for analysis. Based on the gathered data, new curricula have been assigned for elementary grades and teachers have been required to teach the newly developed materials all of a sudden without any prior training. Due to shortage in the teaching force, many assigned teachers have not been proficient in the English language. Hence, teachers’ incompetency and unpreparedness to teach this grade specific curriculum constitute a great challenge in the implementation phase. Nevertheless, the young learners themselves as well as their parents seem to be enthusiastic about the idea itself. According to the findings of this research study, teaching English as a Second Language to children in public schools can be applicable and is culturally relevant to the Egyptian context. However, there might be some social and cultural differences and constraints when it comes to application in addition to various aspects regarding teacher preparation. Therefore, a new mechanism should be incorporated to overcome these challenges for better results. Moreover, a new paradigm shift in these teacher development programs is direly needed. Furthermore, ongoing support and follow up are crucial to help both teachers and students realize the desired outcomes.

Keywords: bilingual education, communicative approach, early childhood education, language and culture, second language acquisition

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Authors: Kidus Dawit Gedamu

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Addis Ababa City Road Authority is responsible for managing and setting performance evaluation of the city’s road network using the International Roughness Index (IRI). This helps the authority to conduct pavement condition assessments of asphalt roads each year to determine the health status or Level of service (LOS) of the roadway network and plan program improvements such as maintenance, resurfacing and rehabilitation. For a lower IRI limit economical and acceptable maintenance strategy may be selected among a number of maintenance alternatives. The Highway Development and Management (HDM-4) tool can do such measures to help decide which option is the best by evaluating the economic and structural conditions. This paper specifically addresses flexible pavement, including two principal arterial streets under the administration of the Addis Ababa City Roads Authority. The roads include the road from Megenagna Interchange to Ayat Square and from Ayat Square to Tafo RA. First, it was assessed the procedures followed by the city's road authority to develop the appropriate road maintenance strategies. Questionnaire surveys and interviews are used to collect information from the city's road maintenance departments. Second, the project analysis was performed for functional and economic comparison of different maintenance alternatives using HDM-4.

Keywords: appropriate maintenance strategy, cost stream, road deterioration, maintenance alternative

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Authors: Viktoriia Malinovska, Iryna Kuklina, Katerina Grabicova, Milos Buric, Pavel Kozak

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Personal care products, including organic UV filters, are considered emerging contaminants and their toxic effects have been a concern for the last decades. Sunscreen compounds continually enter the surface waters via sewage water treatment due to incomplete removal and during human recreational and laundry activities. Despite the environmental occurrence of organic UV filters in the freshwater environment, little is known about their impacts on aquatic biota. In this study, environmentally relevant concentrations of 5-Benzoyl-4-hydroxy-2-methoxybenzenesulfonic acid (BP-4, 2.5 µg/L) and 2-Phenylbenzimidazole-5-sulfonic acid (PBSA, 3 µg/L) were used to evaluate the cardiac and locomotor responses of signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus during a short time period. The effects of these compounds were evident in experimental animals. Specimens exposed to both tested compounds exhibited significantly bigger changes in distance moved and time movement than controls. Significant differences in changes in mean heart rate were detected in both PBSA and BP-4 experimental groups compared to control groups. Such behavioral and physiological alterations demonstrate the ecological effects of selected sunscreen compounds during a short time period. Since the evidence of the impacts of sunscreen compounds is scarce, the knowledge of how organic UV filters influence aquatic organisms is of key importance for future research.

Keywords: aquatic pollutants, behavior, freshwaters, heart rate, invertebrate

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Authors: Timo Avikainen, Tuukka Verho

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The use of natural fibers as reinforcements is growing increasingly in polymers which are involved in e.g. structural, vibration, and acoustic applications. The use of bio composites is being investigated as lightweight materials with specific properties like the ability to dissipate vibration energy and positive environmental profile and are thus considered as potential replacements for synthetic composites. The macro-level mechanical properties of the biocomposite material depend on several parameters in the detailed architecture and morphology of the reinforcing fiber structure. The polymer matrix phase is often applied to remain the fiber structure in touch. A big role in the packaging details of the fibers is related to the used manufacturing processes like extrusion, injection molding and treatments. There are typically big variances in the detailed parameters of the microstructure fibers. The study addressed the question of how the multiscale simulation methodology works in bio composites with short pulp fibers. The target is to see how the vibro – acoustic performance of thin–walled panels can be controlled by the detailed characteristics of the fiber material. Panels can be used in sound-producing speakers or sound insulation applications. The multiscale analysis chain is tested starting from the microstructural level and continuing via macrostructural material parameters to the product component part/assembly levels. Another application is the dynamic impact type of loading, exposing the material to the crack type damages that is in this study modeled as the Charpy impact tests.

Keywords: bio composite, pulp fiber, vibration, acoustics, impact, FEM

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Authors: Vrajesh Rawal

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India's economic landscape has witnessed significant transformations over the past decades, characterized by shifts from agrarian to service-oriented economies. Recently, there has been a growing emphasis on transitioning towards a manufacturing-led growth model driven by factors such as demographic changes, technological advancements, and evolving global trade dynamics. These changes reflect broader efforts to enhance industrialization, boost employment opportunities, and diversify the economic base beyond traditional sectors. Within this context, this research focuses on understanding the specific drivers and dynamics behind India's shift from a predominantly service-based economy to one centered on manufacturing. It seeks to explore how political ideologies influence economic policies and shape sectoral priorities, with a particular focus on contrasting approaches between the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Additionally, the study evaluates the alignment of IMF policy recommendations with India's economic goals and priorities within the theoretical frameworks of neoliberalism and political economy theory. Despite the extensive literature on India's economic reforms and political economy, there remains a gap in understanding how political ideology influences sectoral shifts and economic policy outcomes, particularly in the context of IMF recommendations. Existing studies often focus narrowly on either political ideologies or economic reforms without fully integrating both perspectives. This research aims to bridge this gap by providing a comprehensive analysis that integrates political economy theories with empirical evidence from political speeches, government documents, and IMF reports. Through qualitative content analysis of speeches by political leaders, document analysis of key governmental documents, and scrutiny of party manifestos, this research demonstrates how political ideologies translate into distinct economic strategies and developmental agendas. It highlights the extent to which IMF policy prescriptions align with India's economic objectives and how these interactions shape broader socio-economic outcomes. The theoretical framework of neoliberalism and political economy theory provides a lens to interpret these findings, offering insights into the complex interplay between economic policies, political ideologies, and institutional frameworks in India. The findings of this study are expected to provide valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners involved in economic governance and development planning in India. By understanding the factors driving sectoral shifts and the influence of political ideologies on economic policies, policymakers can make informed decisions to foster sustainable economic growth and development. Implementation of these insights could contribute to refining policy frameworks, enhancing alignment with national development priorities, and optimizing engagement with international financial institutions like the IMF to better meet India's socio-economic challenges and opportunities in the evolving global context.

Keywords: political economy, international politics, social science, policy analysis

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