Search results for: soil density

Authors: Anne R. Fernandez, Mohammad Akmal Adnan, Tanes Prasat, Indu Bala Jaganath, Brian Kirby, Kamalan Jeevaratnam

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Introduction: Plants from the Phyllantus genus have been used indigenously for the treatment of a variety of ailments for generations. A cocktail of phytonutrients prepared from a plant of the genus Phyllanthus has demonstrated the potential to alleviate ailments which include cardiovascular disorders. In this study, we investigated the cholesterol modulating properties of a highly purified proprietary extract of a Phyllanthus species in hypercholesteraemic mice. Methods: Hypercholesteraemia was induced in ICR mice by ad-libitum feeding of high fat diet daily for six weeks. The mice were then divided into 3 groups and force fed with 10mg/kg of atorvastatin, 200mg/kg of the proprietary Phyllanthus extract and water respectively. Blood samples were taken at the end of fourth week of treatment by a tail prick. At the end of the eighth week of treatment, mice were sacrificed and serum levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides were measured. Results: The mean cholesterol levels in the mice fed with high fat diet were 44% (p < 0.05) higher than the mice on normal diet thus validating the model developed. The plasma HDL was significantly elevated in mice treated with the formulation (p ˂ 0.05) in comparison to the statin-treated and control mice. The total cholesterol levels in the mice treated with the proprietary extract were reduced significantly (p < 0.05) at the end of 4 weeks of treatment in comparison to the mice treated with atorvastatin. By the end of 8 weeks of treatment, there was no significant difference in the cholesterol levels of the mice in all groups. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that this proprietary extract from Phyllanthus species has the beneficial effect of reducing total cholesterol level more rapidly than atorvastatin and increasing HDL levels. Since an increase in the HDL cholesterol can reduce the risk of heart disease, this proprietary extract is a useful and safe therapeutic option compared to atorvastatin.

Keywords: high-density lipoprotein, hypercholesteraemic mice model, ICR mice, Phyllanthus spp.

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Authors: Seyed Abolhasan Naeini, Eisa Aliagahei

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Today, the use of geosynthetic materials in geotechnical activities is increasing significantly. One of the main uses of these materials is to increase the compressive strength of clay reinforced by geotextile layers. In the present study, the effect of clay reinforcement by geotextile layers in increasing the compressive strength of clay has been investigated using modeling in ABAQUS 6.11.3 software. For this purpose, the modified Drager Prager model has been chosen to simulate the stress-strain behavior of soil layers and the linear elastic model for the geotextile layer. Unreinforced samples and reinforced samples are modeled by geotextile layers (1, 2 and 3 geotextile layers) by software. In order to validate the results, an article in the same field was used and the numerical modeling results were calibrated with the laboratory results. Based on the obtained results, the software has a suitable capability for modeling and the results of the numerical model overlap with the laboratory results to a very acceptable extent, by increasing the number of geotextile layers, the error between the results of the laboratory sample and the software model increases. The highest amount of error is related to the sample reinforced with three layers of geotextile and is 7.3%.

Keywords: Abaqus, cap model, clay, geotextile layer, reinforced soil

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Authors: Sina Fadaie, Seyed Abolhassan Naeini

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Coastal embankments play an important role in coastal structures by reducing the effect of the wave forces and controlling the movement of sediments. Many coastal areas are underlain by weak and compressible soils. Estimation of during construction settlement of coastal embankments is highly important in design and safety control of embankments and appurtenant structures. Accordingly, selecting and establishing of an appropriate model with a reasonable level of complication is one of the challenges for engineers. Although there are advanced models in the literature regarding design of embankments, there is not enough information on the prediction of their associated settlement, particularly in coastal areas having considerable soft soils. Marine engineering study in Iran is important due to the existence of two important coastal areas located in the northern and southern parts of the country. In the present study, the validity of Terzaghi’s consolidation theory has been investigated. In addition, the settlement of these coastal embankments during construction is predicted by using special methods in PLAXIS software by the help of appropriate boundary conditions and soil layers. The results indicate that, for the existing soil condition at the site, some parameters are important to be considered in analysis. Consequently, a model is introduced to estimate the settlement of the embankments in such geotechnical conditions.

Keywords: consolidation, settlement, coastal embankments, numerical methods, finite elements method

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Authors: Humphrey Danso, Seth Adu

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The high cost of cement and its greenhouse effect on the environment have led to the use of alternative building materials in the production of block and bricks. This study seeks to investigate the properties of compressed earth blocks (CEBs) enhanced with clay pozzolana. CEBs of size 290 × 140 × 100 mm were prepared with 10, 20 and 30 % weight of clay pozzolana. The CEBs were compressed at a constant pressure of 5 MPa and cured for 28 days. The blocks, after 7, 14, 21 and 28 days of curing were tested for density, water absorption, compressive strength and erosion. It was found that amount of pozzolana content did not have much influence on blocks’ density. There was a decline in water absorption of the stabilised blocks ranged between 32.8% and 252.2% over the unstabilised blocks. The highest compressive strength (3.75MPa) of the stabilized blocks was achieved at 28th day of curing with 30% clay pozzolana content, which showed an improvement of 116.8% strength over the unstabilised blocks. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant difference in the erosion resistance between the stabilized blocks and the unstabilised blocks. The study concludes that the inclusion of the clay pozzolana increased the properties of the CEBs, and therefore recommended for use in the building of houses.

Keywords: clay pozzolana, compressed earth blocks (CEBs), compressive strength, erosion test

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Authors: Ana C. Sousa, Beatriz C. Santos, Fátima N. Serralha

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The Tagus estuary is heavily affected by industrial and urban activities, making bioremediation studies crucial for environmental preservation. Fuel contamination in the area can arise from various anthropogenic sources, such as oil spills from shipping, fuel storage and transfer operations, and industrial discharges. These pollutants can cause severe harm to the ecosystem and the organisms, including humans, that inhabit it. Nonetheless, there are always natural organisms with the ability to resist these pollutants and transform them into non-toxic or harmless substances, which defines the process of bioremediation. Exploring the microbial communities existing in soil and their capacity to break down hydrocarbons has the potential to enhance the development of more efficient bioremediation approaches. The aim of this investigation was to explore the existence of hydrocarbonoclastic microorganisms in six locations within the Tagus estuary, three on the north bank: Trancão River, Praia Fluvial do Cais das Colinas and Praia de Algés, and three on the south bank: Praia Fluvial de Alcochete, Praia Fluvial de Alburrica, and Praia da Trafaria. In all studied locations, native microorganisms of the genus Pseudomonas were identified. The bioremediation rate of common hydrocarbons like gasoline, hexane, and toluene was assessed using the redox indicator 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol (DCPIP). Effective hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial strains were identified in all analyzed areas, despite adverse environmental conditions. The highest bioremediation rates were achieved for gasoline (68%) in Alburrica, hexane (65%) in Algés, and toluene (79%) in Algés. Generally, the bacteria demonstrated efficient degradation of hydrocarbons added to the culture medium, with higher rates of aerobic biodegradation of hydrocarbons observed. These findings underscore the necessity for further in situ studies to better comprehend the relationship between native microbial communities and the potential for pollutant degradation in soil.

Keywords: biodegradability rate, hydrocarbonoclastic microorganisms, soil bioremediation, tagus estuary

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Authors: Kaewpradap Amornrat, Endo Takahiro, Kadowaki Satoshi

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The combustion of hydrogen-oxygen (H2-O2) mixtures was investigated to consider the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) as the greenhouse emission. Normally, the flame speed of combustion H2-O2 mixtures are very fast thus it is necessary to control the limit of mixtures with CO2 addition as H2-O2-CO2 combustion. The limit of hydrogen was set and replaced by CO2 with O2:CO2 ratio as 1:3.76, 1:4 and 1:5 for this study. In this study, the combustion of H2-O2 -CO2 on flat burner at equivalence ratio =0.5 was investigated for 10, 15 and 20 L/min of flow rate mixtures. When the ratio of CO2 increases, the power spectral density is lower, the size of attractor and cellular flame become larger because the decrease of hydrogen replaced by CO2 affects the diffusive-thermal instability. Moreover, the flow rate mixtures increases, the power spectral density increases, the size of reconstructed attractor and cell size become smaller due to decreasing of instability. The results show that the variation of CO2 and mixture flow rate affects the instability of cellular premixed flames on flat burner.

Keywords: instability, H2-O2-CO2 combustion, flat burner, diffusive-thermal instability

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Authors: Fekadu L. Bayisa, Elvan Ceyhan, Todd D. Steury

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Interaction between individuals within the same species is an important component of population dynamics. An interaction can be either static (based on spatial overlap) or dynamic (based on movement interactions). Using GPS collar data, we can quantify both static and dynamic interactions between black bears. The goal of this work is to determine the level of black bear interactions using the 95% and 50% home ranges, as well as to model black bear spatial interactions, which could be attraction, avoidance/repulsion, or a lack of interaction at all, to gain new insights and improve our understanding of ecological processes. Recent methodological developments in home range estimation, inhomogeneous multitype/cross-type summary statistics, and envelope testing methods are explored to study the nature of black bear interactions. Our findings, in general, indicate that the black bears of one type in our data set tend to cluster around another type.

Keywords: autocorrelated kernel density estimator, cross-type summary function, inhomogeneous multitype Poisson process, kernel density estimator, minimum convex polygon, pointwise and global envelope tests

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Authors: L. Nevrivova, K. Lang, M. Kotoucek, D. Vsiansky

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This entry concerned with dense silica microstructure was produced as a part of a project within the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic which is being implemented in cooperation of the biggest producer of refractories the P-D Refractories CZ company with the research organisation Brno University of Technology. The paper is focused on the influence of mixture homogenisation and the influence of grain size of the mineraliser on the resulting utility properties of the material as well as its microstructure. It has a decisive influence on the durability of the material in a building structure. This paper is a continuation of a previously published study dealing with the suitability of various types of mineralising agents in terms of density, strength and mineral composition of silica. The entry describes the influence of the method of mixture homogenisation and the influence of granulometry of the applied Fe-mineralising agent on the resulting silica microstructure. Porosity, density, phase composition and microstructure of the experimentally prepared silica samples were examined and the results were discussed in context with the technology of homogenisation and firing temperature used. The properties of silica brick samples were compared to the sample without any Fe-mineraliser.

Keywords: silica bricks, Fe-mineraliser, mineralogical composition, new developed silica material

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Authors: S. Rostampour Yasouri, M. Ghane

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Leptospirosis is one the most important common diseases between human and live stock occurred by different species of Leptospira. This disease has been construed as the native in the northern provinces of Iran and risk of the infection with pathogenic is high. One hundred fifteen samples of water (67), soil (36) and feces of rodents (12) were collected from the rice fields of the suburbs of Tonekabon Township situated in northern part of Iran in 2012. The samples, after passage from membranous filters, were cultured in the liquid and solid EMJH medium and incubated at 30°C for 1 month. Leptospira spp. were isolated using culture technique, and the plates were studied from viewpoint of colony formation, microscopic observations and then identified by phenotyping tests. Finally, the identification of Leptospira genus was verified by PCR technique and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Of 115 samples totally, 55 samples (47.82%) became positive by use of the culture technique which the positive cases included 47 water samples (70.14%) and 8 soil samples (22.22%), while the isolation was not accomplished from the sample of the rodents feces. Overall, according to these data, Leptospira spp. exists with high frequency in North Iran. Hence, based on foregoing evidence environments in the north of Iran are vehicles of Leptospira spp.

Keywords: EMJH Medium, Leptospira, Northern of Iran, rice fields

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Authors: Virgina Claudia Latengke, Muhaammad Nur Arifin, Vanny Septia Sundari

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Kedulan Temple is located in Dusun Kedulan, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia at coordinates S 07o 44’ 57’, E 110o 28’ 17’. Kedulan Temple is a trace of the relics of life in the 3 century AD. The Kedulan Temple including exhumed landforms, which the primordial landform is first surface topography, then buried under cover mass and exposed or re-inscribed. Recognized by the existence of ancient soil (paleosoil) and ancient objects. Seen from the type of soil that closes the temple, there are 13 layers of lava type, so it is estimated that the lava that buried the temple came from 13 times the eruption of Mount Merapi. The material that buries the base of this temple is the pyroclastic surge deposits in 3 layers, each of which is limited by a thin layer of paleosol, the sediments are 1445+/-50 yBP, 1175+/-50 yBP, and 1060+/-40 yBP. This temple is buried and dug again at 940+/-100 yBP. Furthermore, the temple affected by earthquake, so the floor and foundation becomes bumpy and most of the temple stone are thrown. The temple is left alone, until exposed to hot clouds at 1285 M (740+/-50yBP). Next, repeatedly buried lava in 4 periods, in 1587 M (360+/-50 yBP, 240+/-50 yBP, 200+/-50 yBP and unknown date). From studying this temple, can be known paleogeomorphology process that occurred in Yogyakarta, especially related to the volcanic activity of Mount Merapi. Until now, the water is still flowing around the temple so there is a fluvial process that began to take a role in the temple.

Keywords: Kedulan temple, paleogeomorphology, buried, mount Merapi, Yogyakarta

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Authors: Marcel Lehr, Andreas Binder

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This paper compares three different permanent magnet synchronous machines (Doubly-Salient-Permanent-Magnet-Machine (DSPM), Flux-Reversal-Permanent-Magnet-Machine (FRPM), Flux-Switching-Permanent-Magnet-Machine (FSPM)) with the permanent magnets in the stator of the machine for use as an industrial drive for 400 V Y, 45 kW and 1000 ... 3000 min-1. The machines are compared based on the magnetic co-energy and Finite-Element-Method-Simulations regarding the torque density. The results show that the FSPM provides the highest torque density of the three machines. Therefore, an FSPM prototype was built, tested on a test bench and finally compared with an already built conventional permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) of the same size (stator outer diameter dso = 314 mm, axial length lFe = 180 mm) and rating with surface-mounted rotor magnets. These measurements show that the conventional PMSM and the FSPM machine are roughly equivalent in their electrical behavior.

Keywords: doubly-salient-permanent-magnet-machine, flux-reversal-permanent-magnet-machine, flux-switching-permanent-magnet-machine, industrial drive

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Authors: Petter Eklund, Jonathan Sjölund, Sandra Eriksson, Mats Leijon

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The spoke type rotor can be used to obtain magnetic flux concentration in permanent magnet machines. This allows the air gap magnetic flux density to exceed the remanent flux density of the permanent magnets but gives problems with leakage fluxes in the magnetic circuit. The end leakage flux of one spoke type permanent magnet rotor design is studied through measurements and finite element simulations. The measurements are performed in the end regions of a 12 kW prototype generator for a vertical axis wind turbine. The simulations are made using three dimensional finite elements to calculate the magnetic field distribution in the end regions of the machine. Also two dimensional finite element simulations are performed and the impact of the two dimensional approximation is studied. It is found that the magnetic leakage flux in the end regions of the machine is equal to about 20% of the flux in the permanent magnets. The overestimation of the performance by the two dimensional approximation is quantified and a curve-fitted expression for its behavior is suggested.

Keywords: end effects, end leakage flux, permanent magnet machine, spoke type rotor

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Authors: Natalia A. Salazar, Erika K. Méndez, Catalina Álvarez, Carlos E. Orrego

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Lyophilization, also called freeze-drying, is an important dehydration technique mainly used for pharmaceuticals. Food industry also uses lyophilization when it is important to retain most of the nutritional quality, taste, shape and size of dried products and to extend their shelf life. Vacuum-Induced during freezing cycle (VI) has been used in order to control ice nucleation and, consequently, to reduce the time of primary drying cycle of pharmaceuticals preserving quality properties of the final product. This procedure has not been applied in freeze drying of foods. The present work aims to investigate the effect of VI on the lyophilization drying time, final moisture content, density and reconstitutional properties of mango (Mangifera indica L.) slices (MS) and mango pulp-maltodextrin dispersions (MPM) (30% concentration of total solids). Control samples were run at each freezing rate without using induced vacuum. The lyophilization endpoint was the same for all treatments (constant difference between capacitance and Pirani vacuum gauges). From the experimental results it can be concluded that at the high freezing rate (0.4°C/min) reduced the overall process time up to 30% comparing process time required for the control and VI of the lower freeze rate (0.1°C/min) without affecting the quality characteristics of the dried product, which yields a reduction in costs and energy consumption for MS and MPM freeze drying. Controls and samples treated with VI at freezing rate of 0.4°C/min in MS showed similar results in moisture and density parameters. Furthermore, results from MPM dispersion showed favorable values when VI was applied because dried product with low moisture content and low density was obtained at shorter process time compared with the control. There were not found significant differences between reconstitutional properties (rehydration for MS and solubility for MPM) of freeze dried mango resulting from controls, and VI treatments.

Keywords: drying time, lyophilization, mango, vacuum induced freezing

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Authors: Soumaya Mrabet, Imen Akkari, Amira Atig, Elhem Ben Jazia

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Introduction: Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory enteropathy caused by gluten. The clinical presentation is very variable. Malabsorption in the MC is responsible for an alteration of the bone metabolism. Our purpose is to study the osteoarticular manifestations related to this condition. Material and methods: It is a retrospective study of 41 cases of CD diagnosed on clinical, immunological, endoscopic and histological arguments, in the Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology Department of Farhat Hached Hospital between September 2005 and January 2016. Results: Osteoarticular manifestations were found in 9 patients (22%) among 41 patients presenting CD. These were 7 women and 2 men with an average age of 35.7 years (25 to 67 years). These manifestations were revelatory of CD in 3 cases. Abdominal pain and diarrhea were present in 6 cases. Inflammatory polyarthralgia of wrists and knees has been reported in 7 patients. Mechanical mono arthralgia was noted in 2 patients. Biological tests revealed microcytic anemia by iron deficiency in 7 cases, hypocalcemia in 5 cases, Hypophosphatemia in 3 cases and elevated alkaline phosphatases in 3 cases. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with duodenal biopsy found villous atrophy in all cases. In immunology, Anti-transglutaminase antibodies were positive in all patients, Anti-endomysium in 7 cases. Measurement of bone mineral density (BMD) by biphotonic X-ray absorptiometer with evaluation of the T-score and the Z-score was performed in Twenty patients (48.8%). It was normal in 7 cases (33%) and showed osteopenia in 5 patients (25%) and osteoporosis in 2 patients (10%). All patients were treated with a Gluten-free diet associated with vitamin D and calcium substitution in 5 cases. The evolution was favorable in all cases with reduction of bone pain and normalization of the phosphocalcic balance. Conclusion: The bone impact of CD is frequent but often asymptomatic. Patients with CD should be evaluated by the measurement of bone mineral density and monitored for calcium and vitamin D deficiencies.

Keywords: bone mineral density, celiac disease, osteoarticular manifestations, vitamin D and calcium

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Authors: T. H. N. Nguyen, A. Khodan, M. Amamra, J-V. Vignes, A. Kanaev

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The ultraporous nanofibrous alumina (NOA, Al2O3·nH2O) was synthesized by oxidation of laminated aluminium plates through a liquid mercury-silver layer in a humid atmosphere ~80% at 25°C. The material has an extremely high purity (99%), porosity (90%) and specific area (300 m2/g). The subsequent annealing of raw NOA permits obtaining pure transition phase (γ and θ) nanostructured materials. In this combination, we report on chemical, structural and phase transformations of pure and modified NOA by an impregnation of trimethylethoxysilane (TMES) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) during thermal annealing in the temperature range between 20 and 1650°C. The mass density, specific area, average diameter and specific area are analysed. The 3D model of pure NOA monoliths and silica modified NOA is proposed, which successfully describes the evolution of specific area, mass density and phase transformations. Activation energies of the mass transport in two regimes of surface diffusion and bulk sintering were obtained based on this model. We conclude about a common origin of modifications of the NOA morphology, chemical composition and phase transition.

Keywords: nanostructured materials, alumina (Al₂O₃), morphology, phase transitions

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Authors: Nicholas Sehube, Rosemary Kelebemang, Pogisego Dinake

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The extent of Pb contamination of shooting range soils has never been ascertained in Botswana, this was the first attempt in evaluating the deposition of Pb into the soils emanating from munitions. A total of 8 military shooting ranges were used for this study. Soil samples were collected at each of the 8 shooting ranges at the berm (stop butt), target line, 50 and 100 m from the berm. In all of the shooting ranges investigated the highest concentrations were found in the berm soils. The highest Pb concentrations of 38 406.87 mg/Kg were found in the berm soils of Thebephatshwa shooting range which is enclosed within a military camp with staff residential dwelling only a kilometre away. Most of the shooting ranges soils contained elevated levels of Pb in the ranges above 2000 mg/kg far exceeding the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) critical value of 400 mg/Kg. Mobilization of lead at high pH is attributed to low organic matter and such was the case with Thebephatshwa shooting range with a percept organic matter of 0.35±0.08. The predominant weathering products in these shooting ranges were cerussite (PbCO3), hydrocerussite (Pb(CO3)2(OH)2 and massicot (PbO). The detailed examination and characterization of the extent of pollution will help in the development and implementation of scientifically sound remediation and restoration of shooting ranges soils.

Keywords: ammunition, Botswana, Pb, pollution, soil

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Authors: Fabio Salvador Aparecido Santos, Spencer Chainey, Richard Wortley

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Urban morphology can be understood as the study of the physical form of cities through its elements. Crime, at this turn, can be oversimplified as an action that breaks the rules established in a certain society. This study involves these two subjects through the relationship between elements of urban morphology and density of crime occurrences. We consider that there is a research gap about the influence of urban features on crime occurrences using statistic methods and mapping techniques on Geographic Information Systems. The investigation will comprehend three main phases. The first phase involves examining how theoretical principles associated with urban morphology can be viewed in terms of their influence on crime patterns. The second phase involves the development of tools to be used to model elements of urban morphology, and measure the relationship between these urban morphological elements and patterns of crime. The third phase involves determining the extent to which elements of the urban environment can contribute to crime reduction. Understanding the relationship between urban morphology and crime patterns in a Latin American context will help highlight the influence urban planning has on the crime problems that emerge in these settings, and how effectively urban planning can contribute to reducing crime.

Keywords: Agent-based Modelling, Environmental Criminology, Geographic Information System, Urban Morphology

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Authors: Abhipsa Mohanty, Harit Jha

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The world's energy demands are continuing to rise, resulting in a worldwide energy crisis and environmental pollution. Because of finite, declining supply and environmental damage, reliance on fossil fuels is unsustainable. As a result, experts are concentrating on alternative, renewable, and carbon-free energy sources. Energy sources that are both environmentally and economically sustainable are required. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have recently received a lot of attention due to their low operating temperatures and ability to use a variety of biodegradable substrates as fuel. There are single-chamber MFCs as well as traditional MFCs with anode and cathode compartments. Bioelectricity is produced when microorganisms actively catabolize substrate. MFCs can be used as a power source in small devices like biosensors. Understanding of its components, microbiological processes, limiting variables, and construction designs in MFC systems must be simplified, and large-scale systems must be developed for them to be cost-effective as well as increase electricity production. The purpose of this research was to review current microbiology knowledge in the field of electricity. The manufacturing process, the materials, and procedures utilized to construct the technology, as well as the applications of MFC technology, are all covered.

Keywords: bio-electricity, exoelectrogenic bacteria, microbial fuel cells, soil microorganisms

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Authors: Nadir Sidiqi

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Biodiversity conservation is humanity’s building block to sustain lives - ultimately allowing all living and nonliving creatures to interact in a balanced proportion. Humanity’s challenge in the 21st century is to maintain biodiversity without harming the natural habitat of plants, animals and beneficial microorganisms. There are many good reasons to consider why biodiversity is important to every nation around the world, especially for a nation like Afghanistan. One of the major values of biodiversity is its economic value: biodiversity provides goods and services to the Afghan nation directly through links and components such as the maintenance of traditional crops, medicine, fruits, animals, grazing, fuel, timber, harvesting, fishing, hunting and related supplies. Biodiversity is the variety of the living components, such as humans, plants, animals, and microorganisms, and nonliving components interaction, including air, water, sunlight, soil, humidity and environmental factors in an area. There are many ways of gauging the value of biodiversity. As an ecosystem, biodiversity includes such benefits as soil fertility, erosion control, crop pollination, crop rotation, and pest control. The conservation of biodiversity is crucial for these benefits, which would be impossible to replace. Biodiversity conservation also has heritage values; this wealth of genetic diversity provides backup to rural people living close together.

Keywords: Afghanistan, biodiversity, conservation, economy, environment

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Authors: Arzyana Sunkar, Yanto Santosa

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The expansions of independent smallholdings in Indonesia are feared to increase the negative ecological impacts of oil palm plantation on biodiversity. Hence, research is required to identify the conservation importance of independent smallholder oil palm plantations on biodiversity. This paper discussed the role of independent smallholdings in the conservation of biodiversity in oil palm plantations and to compare it with High Conservation Value Forest as a conservation standard of RSPO. The research was conducted from March to April 2016. Data on biodiversity were collected on 16 plantations and 8 private oil palm plantations in the Districts of Kampar, Pelalawan, Kuantan, Singingi and Siak of Riau Province, Indonesia. In addition, data on community environmental perceptions of both smallholder plantation and High Conservation Value (HCV) Forest were also collected. Species that were observed were birds and earthworms. Data on birds were collected using transect method, while identification of earthworm was determine by taking some soil samples and counting the number of individual earthworm found for each worm species. The research used direct interview with oil palm owners and community members, as well as direct observation to examine the environmental conditions of each plantation. In general, field observation and measurement have found that birds species richness was higher in the forested HCV Forest. Nevertheless, if compared to non-forested HCV, bird’s species richness was higher in the independent smallholdings. On the other hand, different results were observed for earthworm, where the density was higher in the independent smallholdings than in the HCV. It can be concluded from this research that managing independent smallholder oil palm plantations and forested HCV forest could enhance biodiversity conservation. The results of this study justified the importance of retaining forested area to safeguard biodiversity in oil palm plantation.

Keywords: biodiversity conservation, high conservation value forest, independent smallholdings, oil palm plantations

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Authors: D. S. Gurjar, R. Kaur, K. P. Singh, R. Singh

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A greater volume of wastewater generate from urban areas in India. Due to the adequate availability, less energy requirement and nutrient richness, farmers of urban and peri-urban areas are deliberately using wastewater to grow high value vegetable crops. Wastewater contains pathogens and toxic pollutants, which can enter in the food chain system while using wastewater for irrigating vegetable crops. Hence, wastewater can use for growing commercial flower crops that may avoid food chain contamination. Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) is one of the most important commercially grown, cultivated over 30, 000 ha area, flower crop in India. Its popularity is mainly due to the sweet fragrance as well as the long keeping quality of the flower spikes. The flower spikes of tuberose has high market price and usually blooms during summer and rainy seasons when there is meager supply of other flowers in the market. It has high irrigation water requirement and fresh water supply is inadequate in tuberose growing areas of India. Therefore, wastewater may fulfill the water and nutrients requirements and may enhance the productivity of tuberose. Keeping in view, the present study was carried out at WTC farm of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi in 2014-15. Prajwal was the variety of test crop. The seven treatments were taken as T-1. Wastewater irrigation at 0.6 ID/CPE, T-2: Wastewater irrigation at 0.8 ID/CPE, T-3: Wastewater irrigation at 1.0 ID/CPE, T-4: Wastewater irrigation at 1.2 ID/CPE, T-5: Wastewater irrigation at 1.4 ID/CPE, T-6: Conjunctive use of Groundwater and Wastewater irrigation at 1.0 ID/CPE in cyclic mode, T-7: Control (Groundwater irrigation at 1.0 ID/CPE) in randomized block design with three replication. Wastewater and groundwater samples were collected on monthly basis (April 2014 to March 2015) and analyzed for different parameters of irrigation quality (pH, EC, SAR, RSC), pollution hazard (BOD, toxic heavy metals and Faecal coliforms) and nutrients potential (N, P, K, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) as per standard methods. After harvest of tuberose crop, soil samples were also collected and analyzed for different parameters of soil quality as per standard methods. The vegetative growth and flower parameters were recorded at flowering stage of tuberose plants. Results indicated that wastewater samples had higher nutrient potential, pollution hazard as compared to groundwater used in experimental crop. Soil quality parameters such as pH EC, available phosphorous & potassium and heavy metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cd. Pb, Ni, Cr, Co, As) were not significantly changed whereas organic carbon and available nitrogen were significant higher in the treatments where wastewater irrigations were given at 1.2 and 1.4 ID/CPE as compared to groundwater irrigations. Significantly higher plant height (68.47 cm), leaves per plant (78.35), spike length (99.93 cm), rachis length (37.40 cm), numbers of florets per spike (56.53), cut spike yield (0.93 lakh/ha) and loose flower yield (8.5 t/ha) were observed in the treatment of Wastewater irrigation at 1.2 ID/CPE. Study concluded that given quality of wastewater improves the productivity of tuberose without an adverse impact on soil quality/health. However, its long term impacts need to be further evaluated.

Keywords: conjunctive use, irrigation, tuberose, wastewater

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Authors: MD Mashiur Rahman, Muhammad Arshadul Haque

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Emerging conservation agriculture (CA) is an option for improving soil health and maintaining environmental sustainability for intensive agriculture, especially in the tropical climate. Three years lengthy research experiment was performed in arid climate from 2018 to 2020 at research field of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Station (RARS)F, Jamalpur (soil texture belongs to Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ)-8/9, 24˚56'11''N latitude and 89˚55'54''E longitude and an altitude of 16.46m) to evaluate the effect of CA approaches on energy use efficiency and a streamlined life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of wheat production. For this, the conservation tillage practices (strip tillage (ST) and minimum tillage (MT)) were adopted in comparison to the conventional farmers' tillage (CT), with retained a fixed level (30 cm) of residue retention. This study examined the relationship between energy consumption and life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of wheat cultivation in Jamalpur region of Bangladesh. Standard energy equivalents megajoules (MJ) were used to measure energy from different inputs and output, similarly, the global warming potential values for the 100-year timescale and a standard unit kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent (kg CO₂eq) was used to estimate direct and indirect GHG emissions from the use of on-farm and off-farm inputs. Farm efficiency analysis tool (FEAT) was used to analyze GHG emission and its intensity. A non-parametric data envelopment (DEA) analysis was used to estimate the optimum energy requirement of wheat production. The results showed that the treatment combination having MT with optimum energy inputs is the best suit for cost-effective, sustainable CA practice in wheat cultivation without compromising with the yield during the dry season. A total of 22045.86 MJ ha⁻¹, 22158.82 MJ ha⁻¹, and 23656.63 MJ ha⁻¹ input energy for the practice of ST, MT, and CT was used in wheat production, and output energy was calculated as 158657.40 MJ ha⁻¹, 162070.55 MJ ha⁻¹, and 149501.58 MJ ha⁻¹, respectively; where energy use efficiency/net energy ratio was found to be 7.20, 7.31 and 6.32. Among these, MT is the most effective practice option taken into account in the wheat production process. The optimum energy requirement was found to be 18236.71 MJ ha⁻¹ demonstrating for the practice of MT that if recommendations are followed, 18.7% of input energy can be saved. The total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission was calculated to be 2288 kgCO₂eq ha⁻¹, 2293 kgCO₂eq ha⁻¹ and 2331 kgCO₂eq ha⁻¹, where GHG intensity is the ratio of kg CO₂eq emission per MJ of output energy produced was estimated to be 0.014 kg CO₂/MJ, 0.014 kg CO₂/MJ and 0.015 kg CO₂/MJ in wheat production. Therefore, CA approaches ST practice with 30 cm residue retention was the most effective GHG mitigation option when the net life cycle GHG emission was considered in wheat production in the silt clay loam soil of Bangladesh. In conclusion, the CA approaches being implemented for wheat production involving MT practice have the potential to mitigate global warming potential in Bangladesh to achieve soil carbon footprint, where the life cycle assessment approach needs to be applied to a more diverse range of wheat-based cropping systems.

Keywords: conservation agriculture and tillage, energy use efficiency, life cycle GHG, Bangladesh

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Authors: S. Asreazad

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This paper presents the results that the soil volumetric strain and shear strength are closely related to the confining stress and initial matric suction under constant water content testing on the specimens of unsaturated sand with clay and silt fines contents. The silty sand specimens reached their peak strength after a very small axial strain followed by a post-peak softening towards an ultimate value. The post-peak drop in stress increased by an increment of the suction, while there is no peak strength for clayey sand specimens. The clayey sand shows compressibility and possesses ductile stress-strain behaviour. Shear strength increased nonlinearly with respect to matric suction for both soil types. When suction exceeds a certain range, the effect of suction on shear strength increment weakens gradually. Under the same confining stress, the dilatant tendencies in the silty sand increased under lower values of suction and decreased for higher suction values under the same confining stress. However, the amount of contraction increased with increasing initial suction for clayey sand specimens.

Keywords: unsaturated soils, silty sand, clayey sand, triaxial test

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Authors: Behnoush Dousti, Ye Choi, Gil S. Lee

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Supercapacitors which are also known as ultra supercapacitors play a significant role in development of energy storage devices owing to their high power density and rate capability. Nobel research has been conducted on micro scale energy storage systems currently to address the demand for smaller wearable technology and portable devices. Improving the performance of these microsupercapacitors have been always a challenge. Here, we demonstrate a facile fabrication of a microsupercapacitor (MSC) with interdigitated electrodes using novel structure of carbon nanotube sheets which are spun directly from as-grown carbon nanotube forests. Stability and performance of the device was tested using an aqueous PVA-H3PO4 gel electrolyte that also offers desirable electrochemical capacitive properties. High Coulombic efficiency around 100%, great rate capability and excellent capacitance retention over 15,000 cycles were obtained. Capacitive performance greatly improved with surface modification with acid and nitrogen doping of the CNT sheets. The high power density and stable cycling performance make this microsupercapacitor a suitable candidate for verity of energy storage application.

Keywords: carbon nanotube sheet, energy storage, solid state electrolyte, supercapacitor

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Authors: Adishirin Mammadov

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Polymers and polymer composites play vital roles in diverse industries, including food and beverage packaging, transportation innovations, and medical advancements. However, the advancements in polymer technology bring certain risks, particularly concerning water and soil pollution due to the presence of polymers. The creation of new polymers is a critical aspect of this field. While the primary focus is on improving their physical and chemical properties, ensuring their ecological compatibility is equally important. An advanced method for developing innovative polymer types involves integrating fillers with diverse characteristics, offering advantages such as cost reduction and improved quality indicators. In the conducted research, efforts were made to enhance environmental aspects by employing waste fillers. Specifically, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was used as the polymer, and waste from cocoon factories was chosen as the filler. Following a process of cleaning, drying, and crushing the filler to specific dimensions, it was incorporated into polyethylene through a mechanical-chemical method under laboratory conditions. The varied rheological properties of the resulting polyethylene compositions examined at temperatures ranging from 145 to 165 degrees Celsius. These compositions demonstrated different rheological properties at various temperature intervals. Achieving homogeneity in the obtained compositions is crucial in the polymers mechanochemical process. Beyond rheological properties, swelling rates in different environments and percentages of mass loss at different temperatures learned using the differential thermal analysis method. The research revealed that, to a certain extent, the physico-chemical properties of polyethylene were not significantly affected by the polymer compositions. This suggests that incorporating cocoon waste enables cost reduction in composite production while positively impacting the environment.

Keywords: polyethylene, polymer, composites, filler, reology

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Authors: K. R. Sreenivas, Shaurya Kaushal

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After sunset, under calm & clear-sky nocturnal conditions, the air layer near the surface containing aerosols cools through radiative processes to the upper atmosphere. Due to this cooling, surface air-layer temperature can fall 2-6 degrees C lower than the ground-surface temperature. This unstable convection layer, on the top, is capped by a stable inversion-boundary layer. Radiative divergence, along with the convection within the surface layer, governs the vertical transport of heat and moisture. Micro-physics in this layer have implications for the occurrence and growth of the fog layer. This particular configuration, featuring a convective mixed layer beneath a stably stratified inversion layer, exemplifies a classic case of penetrative convection. In this study, we conduct numerical simulations of the penetrative convection phenomenon within the nocturnal atmospheric surface layer and elucidate its relevance to the dynamics of fog layers. We employ field and laboratory measurements of aerosol number density to model the strength of the radiative cooling. Our analysis encompasses horizontally averaged, vertical profiles of temperature, density, and heat flux. The energetic incursion of the air from the mixed layer into the stable inversion layer across the interface results in entrainment and the growth of the mixed layer, modeling of which is the key focus of our investigation. In our research, we ascertain the appropriate length scale to employ in the Richardson number correlation, which allows us to estimate the entrainment rate and model the growth of the mixed layer. Our analysis of the mixed layer and the entrainment zone reveals a close alignment with previously reported laboratory experiments on penetrative convection. Additionally, we demonstrate how aerosol number density influences the growth or decay of the mixed layer. Furthermore, our study suggests that the presence of fog near the ground surface can induce extensive vertical mixing, a phenomenon observed in field experiments.

Keywords: inversion layer, penetrative convection, radiative cooling, fog occurrence

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Authors: Johnson Opoku-Asante, Emmanuel Bobobee, Joseph Akowuah, Eric Amoah Asante

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In recent years, the issue of postharvest losses has become a serious concern in Sub-Saharan Africa. Postharvest technology development and adaptation need urgent attention, particularly for small and medium-scale rice farmers in Africa. However, to better develop any postharvest technology, knowledge of the mechanical properties of different varieties of paddy rice is vital. There is also the issue of the development of new rice cultivars. The objectives of this research are to (1) determine the mechanical properties of the selected paddy rice varieties at varying moisture content. (2) conduct a comparative analysis of the mechanical properties of selected rice paddy for different variety-moisture content interactions. (3) determine the significant statistical differences between the mean values of the various variety-moisture content interactions The mechanical properties of AGRA rice, CRI-Amankwatia, CRI-Enapa and CRI-Dartey, four local varieties developed by Crop Research Institute of Ghana are compared at 11.5%, 13.0% and 16.5% dry basis moisture content. The mechanical properties measured are Sphericity, Aspect ratio, Grain mass, 1000 Grain mass, Bulk Density, True Density, Porosity and Angle of Repose. Samples were collected from the Kwadaso Agric College of the CRI in Kumasi. The samples were threshed manually and winnowed before conducting the experiment. The moisture content was determined on a dry basis using the Moistex Screw-Type Digital Grain Moisture Meter. Other equipment used for data collection were venire calipers and Citizen electronic scale. A 4×3 factorial arrangement was used in a completely randomized design in three replications. Tukey's HSD comparisons test was conducted during data analysis to compare all possible pairwise combinations of the various varieties’ moisture content interaction. From the results, it was concluded that Sphericity recorded 0.391 mm³ to 0.377 mm³ for CRI-Dartey at 16.5% and CRI-Enapa at 13.5%, respectively, whereas Aspect Ratio recorded 0.298 mm³ to 0.269 mm³ for CRI-Dartey at 16.5% and CRI-Enapa at 13.5% respectively. For grain mass, AGRA rice at 13.0% also recorded 0.0312 g as the highest score and CRI-Enapa at 13.0% obtained 0.0237 as the lowest score. For the GM1000, it was observed that it ranges from 29.33 g for CRI-Amankwatia at 16.5% moisture content to 22.54 g for CRI-Enapa at 16.5% interactions. Bulk Density ranged from 654.0 kg/m³ to 422.9 kg/m³ for CRI-Amankwatia at 16.5% and CRI-Enapa at 11.5% as the highest and lowest recordings, respectively. It was also observed that the true Density ranges from 1685.8 kg/m3 for AGRA rice at 13.0% moisture content to 1352.5 kg/m³ for CRI-Enapa at 16.5% interactions. In the case of porosity, CRI-Enapa at 11.5% received the highest score of 70.83% and CRI-Amankwatia at 16.5 received the lowest score of 55.88%. Finally, in the case of Angle of Repose, CRI-Amankwatia at 16.5% recorded the highest score of 47.3o and CRI-Enapa at 11.5% recorded the least score of 34.27o. In all cases, the difference in mean value was less than the LSD. This indicates that there were no significant statistical differences between their mean values, indicating that technologies developed and adapted for one variety can equally be used for all the other varieties.

Keywords: angle of repose, aspect ratio, bulk density, porosity, sphericity, mechanical properties

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Authors: Stella O. Olubodun, George E. Eriyamremu

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The study assessed the effect of crude oil applied at rates, 0, 2, 5, and 10% on the fractional chemical forms and availability of some metals in soils from Usen, Edo State, with no known crude oil contamination and soil from a crude oil spill site in Ubeji, Delta State, Nigeria. Three methods were used to determine the bioavailability of metals in the soils: maize (Zea mays) plant, EDTA and BCR sequential extraction. The sequential extract acid soluble fraction of the BCR extraction (most labile fraction of the soils, normally associated with bioavailability) were compared with total metal concentration in maize seedlings as a means to compare the chemical and biological measures of bioavailability. Total Fe was higher in comparison to other metals for the crude oil contaminated soils. The metal concentrations were below the limits of 4.7% Fe, 190mg/kg Cu and 720mg/kg Zn intervention values and 36mg/kg Cu and 140mg/kg Zn target values for soils provided by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) guidelines. The concentration of the metals in maize seedlings increased with increasing rates of crude oil contamination. Comparison of the metal concentrations in maize seedlings with EDTA extractable concentrations showed that EDTA extracted more metals than maize plant.

Keywords: availability, crude oil contamination, EDTA, maize, metals

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Authors: Fisseha Zewdie, Naresh Bhatnagar

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Lightweight and strong aluminum foam is developed by reinforcing Al-Si-Cu alloy (LM24) with Cermet Hollow Spheres (CHS) as porous creating agents. The foam samples were prepared by mixing the CHS in molten LM24 at 750°C, using gravity and stir casting. The CHSs were fabricated using a blend of silicon carbide and stainless-steel powders using the powder metallurgy technique. It was found that CHS reinforcement greatly enhances the performance of the composite metal foam, making it suitable for high impact loading applications such as crash protection and shock absorption. This study examined the strength, density, energy absorption and possible applications of the new aluminum foam. The results revealed that the LM24 foam reinforced with the CHS has the highest energy absorption of about 88 MJ/m3 among all categories of foam samples tested. Its density was found to be 1.3 g/cm3, while the strength, densification strains and porosity were 420 MPa, 34% and 70%, respectively. Besides, the matrix and reinforcement's microstructure, chemical composition, X-ray diffraction, HRTEM and related micrographic analyses are performed for characterization and verifications.

Keywords: composite metal foam, hollow spheres, gravity casting, energy absorption

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Authors: Ejoh Nonso Francis

Abstract:

: Irrigation scheduling is a critical aspect of sustainable agriculture as it ensures optimal use of water resources, reduces water waste, and enhances crop yields. This paper presents a case study of a farm in Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria, where irrigation scheduling was optimized using a combination of soil moisture sensors and weather data. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach in improving water use efficiency and crop productivity. The results showed that the optimized irrigation scheduling approach led to a 30% reduction in water use while increasing crop yield by 20%. The study demonstrates the potential of technology-based irrigation scheduling to enhance sustainable agriculture in Nigeria and beyond.

Keywords: irrigation scheduling, sustainable agriculture, soil moisture sensors, weather data, water use efficiency, crop productivity, nigeria, onitsha, anambra state, technology-based irrigation scheduling, water resources, environmental degradation, crop water requirements, overwatering, water waste, farming systems, scalability

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