Search results for: forage production area

Authors: Nafisa Banu

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The present study is an attempt to analyze the regional disparities in the level of education in West Bengal. The data based on secondary sources obtained from a census of India. The study is divided into four sections. The first section presents introductions, objectives and brief descriptions of the study area, second part discuss the methodology and data base, while third and fourth comprise the empirical results, interpretation, and conclusion respectively. For showing the level of educational development, 8 indicators have been selected and Z- score and composite score techniques have been applied. The present study finds out there are large variations of educational level due to various historical, economical, socio-cultural factors of the study area.

Keywords: education, regional disparity, literacy rate, Z-score, composite score

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Authors: Aravind Ravichandran, Marc Ramuz, Sylvain Blayac

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With the rapid development of wearable electronics and sensor networks, batteries cannot meet the sustainable energy requirement due to their limited lifetime, size and degradation. Ambient energies such as wind have been considered as an attractive energy source due to its copious, ubiquity, and feasibility in nature. With miniaturization leading to high-power and robustness, triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) have been conceived as a promising technology by harvesting mechanical energy for powering small electronics. TENG integration in large-scale applications is still unexplored considering its attractive properties. In this work, a state of the art design TENG based on wind venturi system is demonstrated for use in any complex environment. When wind introduces into the air gap of the homemade TENG venturi system, a thin flexible polymer repeatedly contacts with and separates from electrodes. This device structure makes the TENG suitable for large scale harvesting without massive volume. Multiple stacking not only amplifies the output power but also enables multi-directional wind utilization. The system converts ambient mechanical energy to electricity with 400V peak voltage by charging of a 1000mF super capacitor super rapidly. Its future implementation in an array of applications aids in environment friendly clean energy production in large scale medium and the proposed design performs with an exhaustive material testing. The relation between the interfacial micro-and nano structures and the electrical performance enhancement is comparatively studied. Nanostructures are more beneficial for the effective contact area, but they are not suitable for the anti-adhesion property due to the smaller restoring force. Considering these issues, the nano-patterning is proposed for further enhancement of the effective contact area. By considering these merits of simple fabrication, outstanding performance, robust characteristic and low-cost technology, we believe that TENG can open up great opportunities not only for powering small electronics, but can contribute to large-scale energy harvesting through engineering design being complementary to solar energy in remote areas.

Keywords: triboelectric nanogenerator, wind energy, vortex design, large scale energy

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Authors: In Su Na, Dongyeon Seo, Hwanyong Kim

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This research focuses on new town planning methodology in aspects of Neighborhood Unit Formula and New Urbanism. In Korea, there were built many new towns since 1980’s. The urban design concepts also shifted variously in land use, transportation, open spaces and architectural design. This research aims to find out urban design planning and factors in each new town planning through comparison of four new town cases in aspects of land use, transportation and building design of metropolitan area of Seoul. In conclusion the recent new town has created an area with a unique place that has not been seen in the early new town, and it has a certain aspect that is in line with the planning principles of New Urbanism.

Keywords: compact city, neighborhood unit formula, new town planning, new urbanism

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Authors: Nyashadzashe Chiraga, Anthony Walker, Glen Bright

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The manufacturing industry is currently experiencing a paradigm shift into the Fourth Industrial Revolution in which customers are increasingly at the epicentre of production. The high degree of production customization and personalization requires a flexible manufacturing system that will rapidly respond to the dynamic and volatile changes driven by the market. They are a gap in technology that allows for the optimal flow of information and optimal manufacturing operations on the shop floor regardless of the rapid changes in the fixture and part demands. Information is the reduction of uncertainty; it gives meaning and context on the state of each cell. The amount of information needed to describe cellular manufacturing systems is investigated by two measures: the structural entropy and the operational entropy. Structural entropy is the expected amount of information needed to describe scheduled states of a manufacturing system. While operational entropy is the amount of information that describes the scheduled states of a manufacturing system, which occur during the actual manufacturing operation. Using Anylogic simulator a typical manufacturing job shop was set-up with a cellular manufacturing configuration. The cellular make-up of the configuration included; a Material handling cell, 3D Printer cell, Assembly cell, manufacturing cell and Quality control cell. The factory shop provides manufactured parts to a number of clients, and there are substantial variations in the part configurations, new part designs are continually being introduced to the system. Based on the normal expected production schedule, the schedule adherence was calculated from the structural entropy and operation entropy of varying the amounts of information communicated in simulated runs. The structural entropy denotes a system that is in control; the necessary real-time information is readily available to the decision maker at any point in time. For contractive analysis, different out of control scenarios were run, in which changes in the manufacturing environment were not effectively communicated resulting in deviations in the original predetermined schedule. The operational entropy was calculated from the actual operations. From the results obtained in the empirical study, it was seen that increasing, the efficiency of a factory communication system increases the degree of adherence of a job to the expected schedule. The performance of downstream production flow fed from the parallel upstream flow of information on the factory state was increased.

Keywords: information entropy, communication in manufacturing, mass customisation, scheduling

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Authors: Jana Soler Libran

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The primary aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between power and knowledge suggested in Michel Foucault's theory. Taking into consideration the role of power in knowledge production, the goal is to evaluate to what extent genealogy can be presented as a practical method for epistemic resistance. To do so, the methodology used consists of a revision of Foucault’s literature concerning the topic discussed. In this sense, conceptual analysis is applied in order to understand the effect of the double dimension of power on knowledge production. In its negative dimension, power is conceived as an organ of repression, vetoing certain instances of knowledge considered deceitful. In opposition, in its positive dimension, power works as an organ of the production of truth by means of institutionalized discourses. This double declination of power leads to the first main findings of the present analysis: no truth or knowledge can lie outside power’s action, and power is constituted through accepted forms of knowledge. To second these statements, Foucaultian discourse formations are evaluated, presenting external exclusion procedures as paradigmatic practices to demonstrate how power creates and shapes the validity of certain epistemes. Thus, taking into consideration power’s mechanisms to produce and reproduce institutionalized truths, this paper accounts for the Foucaultian praxis of genealogy as a method to reveal power’s intention, instruments, and effects in the production of knowledge. In this sense, it is suggested to consider genealogy as a practice which, firstly, reveals what instances of knowledge are subjugated to power and, secondly, promotes aforementioned peripherical discourses as a form of epistemic resistance. In order to counterbalance these main theses, objections to Foucault’s work from Nancy Fraser, Linda Nicholson, Charles Taylor, Richard Rorty, Alvin Goldman, or Karen Barad are discussed. In essence, the understanding of the Foucaultian relationship between power and knowledge is essential to analyze how contemporary discourses are produced by both traditional institutions and new forms of institutionalized power, such as mass media or social networks. Therefore, Michel Foucault's practice of genealogy is relevant, not only for its philosophical contribution as a method to uncover the effects of power in knowledge production but also because it constitutes a valuable theoretical framework for political theory and sociological studies concerning the formation of societies and individuals in the contemporary world.

Keywords: epistemic resistance, Foucault’s genealogy, knowledge, power, truth

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Authors: Hyun Kyu Cho, Jun Soo Kim, Young Hoon Lee, Sang Hoon Kang, Young Chul Park

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In the study, structure for one of offshore drilling system APV(Air Pressure Vessle) modules was designed by using topology optimum design and performed structural safety evaluation according to DNV rules. 3D model created base on design area and non-design area separated by using topology optimization for the environmental loads. This model separated 17 types for wind loads and dynamic loads and performed structural analysis evaluation for each model. As a result, the maximum stress occurred 181.25MPa.

Keywords: APV, topology optimum design, DNV, structural analysis, stress

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Authors: Haoyang Liang, Dandong Ge

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With the rapid development of Chinese cities, traffic congestion has become more and more serious. At the same time, there are many closed old residential area in Chinese cities, which seriously affect the connectivity of urban roads and reduce the density of urban road networks. After reopening the restricted old residential area, the internal roads in the original residential area were transformed into urban roads, which was of great help to alleviate traffic congestion. This paper uses the spatial syntactic theory to analyze the urban road network and compares the roads with the integration and connectivity degree to evaluate whether the opening of the roads in the residential areas can improve the urban traffic. Based on the road network system within the first loop road in Kunming, the Space Syntax evaluation model is established for status analysis. And comparative analysis method will be used to compare the change of the model before and after the road openness of the old urban residential district within the first-ring road in Kunming. Then it will pick out the areas which indicate a significant difference for the small dimensions model analysis. According to the analyzed results and traffic situation, the evaluation of road openness in the old urban residential district will be proposed to improve the urban residential districts.

Keywords: Space Syntax, Kunming, urban renovation, traffic jam

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Authors: Sreeni K. R.

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Sarvathobhadram-Organic–Farmers Cooperative was helpful in supporting small and marginal farmers in customizing, adapting, and tailoring the system to their specific requirements. The Farmers Club, which has 50 members, was founded in May 2020 to create additional cash while also encouraging farmers to shift to organic farming. The club's mission is to ensure food security, livelihood, and entrepreneurship in the Anthikad Block Panchayat. The project addressed climate change and resilience, collaborating with government departments and utilizing convergence to maximize the schemes accessible to farmers in panchayath. The transformation was sluggish initially, but it accelerated over time, indicating that farmers have variable levels of satisfaction based on a variety of circumstances. This paper examines the changing trend in the area after adopting organic farming using the SRI method, the increase in production, and the success of the convergence method. It also attempts to find out various constraints faced by farmers during the paradigm shift from conventional methods to organic, and the results have proven that SRI should be considered as a potential cultivation method for all farmer's groups (Padasekharam).

Keywords: Sarvathobhadram-Organic, Thanniyam gram Panchayat, organic Joythi rice, convergence method, Jeevamirtham, natural methods, system of rice intensification

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Authors: Sanjiv Kumar Soni, Chetna Janveja

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The approach of utilizing zero cost kitchen waste residues for growing suitable strains of fungi for the induction of a cocktail of hydrolytic enzymes and ethanol generation has been validated in the present study with the objective of developing an indigenous biorefinery for low cost bioethanol production with the generation of zero waste. Solid state fermentation has been carried out to evaluate the potential of various steam pretreated kitchen waste residues as substrates for the co-production of multiple carbohydrases including cellulases, hemicellulases, pectinase and amylases by a locally isolated strain of Aspergillus niger C-5. Of all the residues, potato peels induced the maximum yields of all the enzyme components corresponding to 64.0±1.92 IU of CMCase, 17.0±0.54 IU of FPase , 42.8±1.28 IU of β-glucosidase, 990.0±28.90 IU of xylanase, 53.2±2.12 IU of mannanase, 126.0±3.72 IU of pectinase, 31500.0±375.78 IU of α-amylase and 488.8±9.82 IU of glucoamylase/g dry substrate respectively. Saccharification of various kitchen refuse residues using inhouse produced crude enzyme cocktail resulted in the release of 610±10.56, 570±8.89, 435±6.54, 475±4.56, 445±4.27, 385±4.49, 370±6.89, 490±10.45 mg of total reducing sugars/g of dried potato peels, orange peels, pineapple peels, mausami peels, onion peels, banana stalks, pea pods and composite mixture respectively revealing carbohydrate conversion efficiencies in the range of 97.0-99.4%. After fermentation of released hexoses by Saccharomyces cerevisae, ethanol yields ranging from 80-262 mL/ kg of dry residues were obtained. The study has successfully evaluated the valorization of kitchen garbage, a highly biodegradable component in Municipal Solid Waste by using it as a substrate for the in-house co-production of multiple carbohydrases and employing the steam treated residues as a feed stock for bioethanol production. Such valorization of kitchen garbage may reduce the level of Municipal Solid Waste going into land-fills thus lowering the emissions of greenhouse gases. Moreover, the solid residue left after the bioconversion may be used as a biofertilizer for improving the fertility of the soils.

Keywords: kitchen waste, bioethanol, solid waste, bioconversion, waste management

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Authors: Carolina S. Monteiro, Eugénia Pinto, Miguel A. Faria, Sara C. Cunha

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Rice (Oryza sativa) production plays a vital role in reducing hunger and poverty and assumes particular importance in low-income and developing countries. Rice is a sensitive plant, and production occurs strictly where suitable temperature and water conditions are found. Climatic changes are likely to affect worldwide, and some models have predicted increased temperatures, variations in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and modification in precipitation patterns. Therefore, the ongoing climatic changes threaten rice production by increasing biotic and abiotic stress factors, and crops will grow in different environmental conditions in the following years. Around the world, the effects will be regional and can be detrimental or advantageous depending on the region. Mediterranean zones have been identified as possible hot spots, where dramatic temperature changes, modifications of CO₂ levels, and rainfall patterns are predicted. The actual estimated atmospheric CO₂ concentration is around 400 ppm, and it is predicted that it can reach up to 1000–1200 ppm, which can lead to a temperature increase of 2–4 °C. Alongside, rainfall patterns are also expected to change, with more extreme wet/dry episodes taking place. As a result, it could increase the migration of pathogens, and a shift in the occurrence of mycotoxins, concerning their types and concentrations, is expected. Mycotoxigenic spoilage fungi can colonize the crops and be present in all rice food chain supplies, especially Penicillium species, mainly resulting in ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination. In this scenario, the objectives of the present study are evaluating the effect of temperature (20 vs. 25 °C), CO₂ (400 vs. 1000 ppm), and water stress (0.93 vs 0.95 water activity) on growth and OTA production by a Penicillium nordicum strain in vitro on rice-based media and when colonizing layers of raw rice. Results demonstrate the effect of temperature, CO₂ and drought on the OTA production in a rice-based environment, thus contributing to the development of mycotoxins predictive models in climate change scenarios. As a result, improving mycotoxins' surveillance and monitoring systems, whose occurrence can be more frequent due to climatic changes, seems relevant and necessary. The development of prediction models for hazard contaminants presents in foods highly sensitive to climatic changes, such as mycotoxins, in the highly probable new agricultural scenarios is of paramount importance.

Keywords: climate changes, ochratoxin A, penicillium, rice

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Authors: Allen B. Baylosis

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Chamber Theatre has been one of the least articulated staging devices in the field of theatre and performance studies. This creative exploratory-descriptive study responds to this gap by employing the staging technique in a Chamber Theatre production based on Nick Joaquin’s The Summer Solstice. Specifically, this study opts to understand three processes involved in the Chamber Theatre creative thesis production of The Summer Solstice as performance: performance of the theatre-maker, performance of the spect-actors, and performance of the spectators. For this purpose, the theatre-maker describes the creative process of transforming The Summer Solstice text to a Chamber Theatre production—from text to staging. The theatre-maker also analyzes the performers’ experiences and the spectators’ responses as they participate in a Chamber Theatre performance. In doing so, the theatre-maker collects qualitative data from seventeen (17) performers and qualitative feedback from twenty (20) spectators. For the mode of data analysis, this study employed Ranciere’s concept on the Emancipated Spectator (2008) and Schechner’s Performance Theory (1988). The study’s findings examine how the theatre-maker, the performers, and the spectators become distant viewers of their respective restored behavior performances. Through these viewed performances, this study implies that it is possible to ascertain a reasonable definition of purpose for Chamber Theatre. Hence, despite the existence of other modern staging devices in the field of theatre and performance studies, this study concludes that Chamber Theatre remains to be a relevant staging technique.

Keywords: adaptation of text, chamber theatre, experimental theater, oral interpretation

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Authors: Elena Listo Ubeda, Miguel Marchamalo Sacristan

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The demand for water doubles every twenty years, at a rate which is twice as fast as the world´s population growth. Despite it´s great importance, water is one of the most degraded natural resources in the world, mainly because of the reduction of natural vegetation coverage, population growth, contamination and changes in the soil use which reduces its capacity to collect water. This situation is especially serious in Central America, as reflected in the Human Development reports. The objective of this project is to assist in the improvement of water production and quality in Central America. In order to do these two watersheds in Costa Rica were selected as experiments: that of the Virilla-Durazno River, located in the extreme north east of the central valley which has an Atlantic influence; and that of the Jabillo River, which flows directly into the Pacific. The Virilla river watershed is located over andisols, and that of the Jabillo River is over alfisols, and both are of great importance for water supply to the Greater Metropolitan Area and the future tourist resorts respectively, as well as for the production of agriculture, livestock and hydroelectricity. The hydrological reaction in different soil-cover complexes, varying from the secondary forest to natural vegetation and degraded pasture, was analyzed according to the evaluation of the properties of the soil, infiltration, soil compaction, as well as the effects of the soil cover complex on erosion, calculated by the C factor of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). A water balance was defined for each watershed, in which the volume of water that enters and leaves were estimated, as well as the evapotranspiration, runoff, and infiltration. Two future scenarios, representing the implementation of reforestation and deforestation plans, were proposed, and were analyzed for the effects of the soil cover complex on the water balance in each case. The results obtained show an increase of the ground water recharge in the humid forest areas, and an extension of the study of the dry areas is proposed since the ground water recharge here is diminishing. These results are of great significance for the planning, design of Payment Schemes for Environmental Services and the improvement of the existing water supply systems. In Central America spatial planning is a priority, as are the watersheds, in order to assess the water resource socially and economically, and securing its availability for the future.

Keywords: Costa Rica, infiltration, soil, water

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Authors: Abdurraouf O. Gaja, Salah Y. A. Al-Dahash, Guru Solmon Raju, Chikara Kubota

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Corpus luteum cross sectional (by ultrasonography) and plasma progesterone (by DELFIA) were estimated in early pregnant and non pregnant cows on days 14th and 20th to 23rd post insemination. On day 14th, corpus luteum sectional area was 348.43 mm2 in pregnant and 387.84mm2 in non pregnant cows. Within days 20th to 23rd, corpus luteum sectional area ranged between 342.06 and 367.90 mm2 in pregnant and between 193.85 and 270.69 mm2 in non pregnant cows. Plasma progesterone level was 2.43 ng/ml in pregnant and 2.46 ng/ml in non pregnant cows on day 14th, while during days 20th to 23rd the level ranged between 2.47 and 2,84 ng/ml in pregnant and between 0.53 and 1.17 ng/ml in non pregnant cows. Results of both luteal tissue areas as well as plasma progesterone levels were highly significantly deferent (P<0.01) between pregnant and non pregnant cows during days 20th to 23rd, but there were no significant differences on day 14th. The correlation between CL cross-sectional area and plasma progesterone level was 0.4 in pregnant cows and 0.99 in non pregnant cow. It is clear, from this study, that ultrasonic assessment of corpora lutea is a viable alternative to determine plasma progesterone levels for early pregnancy diagnosis in cows.

Keywords: progesterone, ultrasonography, corpus luteum, pregnancy diagnosis, cow

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Authors: Ehsan Heidaryan

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Gas hydrate sediments are ice like permafrost in deep see and oceans. Methane production in sequestration process and reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide, a main source of greenhouse gas, has been accentuated recently. One focus is capture, separation, and sequestration of industrial carbon dioxide. As a hydrate former, carbon dioxide forms hydrates at moderate temperatures and pressures. This phenomenon could be utilized to capture and separate carbon dioxide from flue gases, and also has the potential to sequester carbon dioxide in the deep seabeds. This research investigated the effect of synthetic surfactants on carbon dioxide hydrate formation, catalysis and consequently, methane production from hydrate permafrosts in sediments. It investigated the sequestration potential of carbon dioxide hydrates in ocean sediments. Also, the catalytic effect of biosurfactants in these processes was investigated.

Keywords: carbon dioxide, hydrate, sequestration, surfactant

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Authors: Fouzia Brihmat

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Economic planning models, which are used to build microgrids and distributed energy resources, are the current norm for expressing such confidence (DER). These models often decide both short-term DER dispatch and long-term DER investments. This research investigates the most cost-effective hybrid (photovoltaic-diesel) renewable energy system (HRES) based on Total Net Present Cost (TNPC) in an Algerian Saharan area, which has a high potential for solar irradiation and has a production capacity of 1GW/h. Lead-acid batteries have been around much longer and are easier to understand, but have limited storage capacity. Lithium-ion batteries last longer, are lighter, but generally more expensive. By combining the advantages of each chemistry, we produce cost-effective high-capacity battery banks that operate solely on AC coupling. The financial implications of this research describe the corrosion process that occurs at the interface between the active material and grid material of the positive plate of a lead-acid battery. The best cost study for the HRES is completed with the assistance of the HOMER Pro MATLAB Link. Additionally, during the course of the project's 20 years, the system is simulated for each time step. In this model, which takes into consideration decline in solar efficiency, changes in battery storage levels over time, and rises in fuel prices above the rate of inflation. The trade-off is that the model is more accurate, but it took longer to compute. As a consequence, the model is more precise, but the computation takes longer. We initially utilized the Optimizer to run the model without MultiYear in order to discover the best system architecture. The optimal system for the single-year scenario is the Danvest generator, which has 760 kW, 200 kWh of the necessary quantity of lead-acid storage, and a somewhat lower COE of $0.309/kWh. Different scenarios that account for fluctuations in the gasified biomass generator's production of electricity have been simulated, and various strategies to guarantee the balance between generation and consumption have been investigated. The technological optimization of the same system has been finished and is being reviewed in a recent paper study.

Keywords: battery, corrosion, diesel, economic planning optimization, hybrid energy system, lead-acid battery, multi-year planning, microgrid, price forecast, PV, total net present cost

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Authors: Abdul Mutolib, Yonariza Mahdi, Hanung Ismono

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The existence of forests is essential to human lives on earth, but its existence is threatened by forest deforestations and degradations. Forest deforestations and degradations in Indonesia is not only caused by the illegal activity by the company or the like, even today many cases in Indonesia forest damage caused by human activities, one of which cut down forests for agriculture and plantations. In West Sumatra, community forest management are the result supported the enactment of customary land tenure, including ownership of land within the forest. Indigenous forest management have a positive benefit, which gives the community an opportunity to get livelihood and income, but if forest management practices by indigenous peoples is not done wisely, then there is the destruction of forests and cause adverse effects on the environment. Based on intensive field works in Dhamasraya District employing some data collection techniques such as key informant interviews, household surveys, secondary data analysis, and satellite image interpretation. This paper answers the following questions; how the impact of forest management by local communities on forest conditions (foccus in Forest Production and Limited Production Forest) and knowledge of the local community on the benefits of forests. The site is a Nagari Bonjol, Dharmasraya District, because most of the forest in Dharmasraya located and owned by Nagari Bonjol community. The result shows that there is damage to forests in Dharmasraya because of forest management activities by local communities. Damage to the forest area of 33,500 ha in Dharmasraya because forests are converted into oil palm and rubber plantations with monocultures. As a result of the destruction of forests, water resources are also diminishing, and the community has experienced a drought in the dry season due to forest cut down and replaced by oil palm plantations. Knowledge of the local community on the benefits of low forest, the people considered that the forest does not have better benefits and cut down and converted into oil palm or rubber plantations. Local people do not understand the benefits of ecological and environmental services that forests. From the phenomena in Dharmasraya on land ownership, need to educate the local community about the importance of protecting the forest, and need a strategy to integrate forests management to keep the ecological functions that resemble the woods and counts the economic benefits for the welfare of local communities. One alternative that can be taken is to use forest management models agroforestry smallholders in accordance with the characteristics of the local community who still consider the economic, social and environmental.

Keywords: community, customary land, farmer plantations, and forests

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Authors: Murat Sarı, Emin Gundogar, Mumtaz Ipek

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Nowadays, in a furniture sector, competition of market share (portion) and production variety and changeability enforce the firm to reengineer operations on manufacturing line to increase the productivity. In this study, spring mattress manufacturing line of the furniture manufacturing firm is analyzed analytically. It’s intended to search and find the bottlenecks of production to balance the semi-finished material flow. There are four base points required to investigate in bottleneck elimination process. These are bottlenecks of Method, Material, Machine and Man (work force) resources, respectively. Mentioned bottlenecks are investigated and varied scenarios are created for recruitment of manufacturing system. Probable near optimal alternatives are determined by system models built in Arena simulation software.

Keywords: bottleneck search, buffer stock, furniture sector, simulation

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Authors: Danielle Katrina Santos, Koji Shimada

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Environmentally-friendly agriculture has been promoted for over two decades as a response to the environmental challenges brought by climate change and biological loss. Located above the equator, it is possible that Japan may benefit from future climate change, yet Japan is also a rarely developed country located in the Asian Monsoon climate region, making it vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In this regard, the Japanese government has initiated policies to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change through the promotion and popularization of environmentally-friendly farming practices. This study aims to determine profit efficiency among environmentally-friendly rice farmers in Shiga Prefecture using the Stochastic Frontier Approach. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 66 farmers from top rice-producing cities through a structured questionnaire. Results showed that the gross farm income of environmentally-friendly rice farmers was higher by JPY 316,223.00/ha. Production costs were also found to be higher among environmentally-friendly rice farmers, especially on labor costs, which accounted for 32% of the total rice production cost. The resulting net farm income of environmentally-friendly rice farmers was only higher by JPY 18,044/ha. Results from the stochastic frontier analysis further showed that the profit efficiency of conventional farmers was only 69% as compared to environmentally-friendly rice farmers who had a profit efficiency of 76%. Furthermore, environmentally-friendly agriculture participation, other types of subsidy, educational level, and farm size were significant factors positively influencing profit efficiency. The study concluded that substitution of environmentally-friendly agriculture for conventional rice farming would result in an increased profit efficiency due to the direct payment subsidy and price premium received. The direct government policies that would strengthen the popularization of environmentally-friendly agriculture to increase the production of environmentally-friendly products and reduce pollution load to the Lake Biwa ecosystem.

Keywords: profit efficiency, environmentally-friendly agriculture, rice farmers, direct payment subsidies

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Authors: Ali Haratian, Soroosh Emami Meybodi

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Using viable microbial cultures within hydrocarbon reservoirs so as to the enhancement of oil recovery through metabolic activities is exactly what we recognize as microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). In similar to many other processes in industries, there are some cons and pros following with MEOR. The creation of sulfides such as hydrogen sulfide as a result of injecting the sulfate-containing seawater into hydrocarbon reservoirs in order to maintain the required reservoir pressure leads to production and growth of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) approximately near the injection wells, turning the reservoir into sour; however, SRB is not considered as the only microbial process stimulating the formation of sulfides. Along with SRB, thermochemical sulfate reduction or thermal redox reaction (TSR) is also known to be highly effective at resulting in having extremely concentrated zones of ?2S in the reservoir fluids eligible to cause corrosion. Owing to extent of the topic, more information on the formation of ?₂S is going to be put finger on. Besides, confronting the undesirable production of sulfide species in the reservoirs can lead to serious operational, environmental, and financial problems, in particular the transporting pipelines. Consequently, conjuring up reservoir souring control strategies on the way production of oil and gas is the only way to prevent possible damages in terms of environment, finance, and manpower which requires determining the compound’s reactivity, origin, and partitioning behavior. This article is going to provide a comprehensive review of progress made in this field and the possible advent of new strategies in this technologically advanced world of the petroleum industry.

Keywords: corrosion, hydrogen sulfide, NRB, reservoir souring, SRB

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Authors: Sushil Pradhan

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Biotechnology contributes to sustainable development in several ways such as biofertilizer production, biopesticide production and management of environmental pollution, tissue culture and biodiversity conservation in vitro, in vivo and in situ, Insectivorous medicinal plant Drosera burmannii Vahl belongs to the Family-Droseraceae under Order-Caryophyllales, Dicotyledoneae, Angiospermeae which has 31 (thirty one) living genera and 194 species besides 7 (seven) extinct (fossil) genera. Locally it is known as “Patkanduri” in Odia. Its Hindi name is “Mukhajali” and its English name is “Sundew”. The earliest species of Drosera was first reported in 1753 by Carolous Linnaeus called Drosera indica L (Indian Sundew). The latest species of Drosera reported by Fleisch A, Robinson, AS, McPherson S, Heinrich V, Gironella E and Madulida D.A. (2011) is Drosera ultramafica from Malaysia. More than 50 % species of Drosera have been reported from Australia and next to Australia is South Africa. India harbours only 3 species such as D. indica L, Drosera burmannii Vahl and D. peltata L. From our Odisha only D. burmannii Vahl is being reported for the first time from the district of Subarnapur near Sonepur (Arjunpur Reserve Forest Area). Drosera plant is autotrophic but to supplement its Nitrogen (N2) requirement it adopts heterotrophic mode of nutrition (insectivorous/carnivorous) as well. The colour of plant in mostly red and about 20-30cm in height with beautiful pink or white pentamerous flowers. Plants grow luxuriantly during November to February in shady and moist places near small water bodies of running water stream. Medicinally it is a popular herb in the locality for the treatment of cold and cough in children in rainy season by the local Doctors (Kabiraj and Baidya). In the present field investigation an attempt has been made to understand the unique reproductive phase and life cycle of the plant thereby planning for its conservation and propagation through various techniques of tissue culture and biotechnology. More importantly besides morphological and anatomical studies, cytological investigation is being carried out to find out the number of chromosomes in the cell and its genomics as there is no such report as yet for Drosera burmannii Vahl. The ecological significance and biodiversity conservation of Drosera with special reference to energy, environmental and chemical engineering has been discussed in the research paper presentation.

Keywords: insectivorous, medicinal, drosera, biotechnology, chromosome, genome

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Authors: Mehrdad Hosseinishakib, Mozhgan Chakani, Gholamreza Babaei

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This study aims to investigate the relationship between the bilateral communication channels, communication technologies with effective communications and communication technologies, employee participation in motivated decision-making of employees using the EFQM excellence model in Education Organization of Area 4 in Karaj. This research is an applied research in terms of the purpose and is a descriptive survey research in terms of nature and method and assesses the current situation using field studies. The statistical population consists of all employees and managers of Education Organization of Area 4 in Karaj including 5442 persons and random sampling was used and sample size is 359 using Cochran formula. Measurement tool is a researcher-made questionnaire with 20 questions including two categories of expertise and general questions. The first category includes general questions about respondents' personal characteristics such as gender and level of education, work experience and courses of study. The second category includes expertise questions of the questionnaire that have been designed to test research hypotheses that its reliability was approved by Cronbach's alpha coefficient 0.916 and its validity was approved according to the vies of teachers and some senior managers of Education Organization of Area 4 in Karaj. The results of the analysis of the findings show that there is a significant relationship between mutual communication channels, communication technologies with effective communication between employees and management. There is also a significant relationship between communication technologies and employee motivation and employee participation in their motivated decision-making in Education Organization of Area 4 in Karaj.

Keywords: communication channels, effective communication, EFQM model, ANOVA

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Authors: Itumeleng Phage

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Students’ comprehension of graphs may be affected by the characteristics of the discipline in which the graph is used, the type of the task as well as the background of the students who are the readers or interpreters of the graph. This research study investigated these aspects of the graph comprehension of 152 first-year undergraduate physics students by comparing their responses to corresponding tasks in the mathematics and physics disciplines. The discipline characteristics were analysed for four task-related constructs namely coordinates, representations, area and slope. Students’ responses to corresponding visual decoding and judgement tasks set in mathematics and kinematics contexts were statistically compared. The effects of the participants’ gender, year of school completion and study course were determined as reader characteristics. The results of the empirical study indicated that participants generally transferred their mathematics knowledge on coordinates and representation of straight line graphs to the physics contexts, but not in the cases of parabolic and hyperbolic functions or area under graphs. Insufficient understanding of the slope concept contributed to weak performances on this construct in both mathematics and physics contexts. Discipline characteristics seem to play a vital role in students’ understanding, while reader characteristics had insignificant to medium effects on their responses.

Keywords: kinematics graph, discipline characteristics, constructs, coordinates, representations, area and slope

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Authors: Merertu Wakuma Rundassa

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Global competition and rapidly changing customer requirements are forcing major changes in the production styles and configuration of manufacturing organizations. Increasingly, traditional centralized and sequential manufacturing planning, scheduling, and control mechanisms are being found insufficiently flexible to respond to changing production styles and highly dynamic variations in product requirements. The traditional approaches limit the expandability and reconfiguration capabilities of the manufacturing systems. Thus many business houses face increasing pressure to lower production cost, improve production quality and increase responsiveness to customers. In a textile and apparel manufacturing, globalization has led to increase in competition and quality awareness and these industries have changed tremendously in the last few years. So, to sustain competitive advantage, companies must re-examine and fine-tune their business processes to deliver high quality goods at very low costs and it has become very important for the textile and apparel industries to integrate themselves with information technology to survive. IT can create competitive advantages for companies to improve coordination and communication among trading partners, increase the availability of information for intermediaries and customers and provide added value at various stages along the entire chain. Ethiopia is in the process of realizing its potential as the future sourcing location for the global textile and garments industry. With a population of over 90 million people and the fastest growing non-oil economy in Africa, Ethiopia today represents limitless opportunities for international investors. For the textile and garments industry Ethiopia promises a low cost production location with natural resources such as cotton to enable the setup of vertically integrated textile and garment operation. However; due to lack of integration of their business activities textile and apparel industry of Ethiopia faced a problem in that it can‘t be competent in the global market. On the other hand the textile and apparel industries of other countries have changed tremendously in the last few years and globalization has led to increase in competition and quality awareness. So the aim of this paper is to study the trend of Ethiopian Textile and Apparel Industry on the application of different IT system to integrate them in the global market.

Keywords: information technology, business integrity, textile and apparel industries, Ethiopia

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Authors: W. Schellong

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Industry accounts for one-third of global final energy demand. Crossover technologies (e.g. motors, pumps, process heat, and air conditioning) play an important role in improving energy efficiency. These technologies are used in many applications independent of the production branch. Especially electrical power is used by drives, pumps, compressors, and lightning. The paper demonstrates the algorithm of the energy analysis by some selected case studies for typical industrial processes. The energy analysis represents an essential part of energy management systems (EMS). Generally, process control system (PCS) can support EMS. They provide information about the production process, and they organize the maintenance actions. Combining these tools into an integrated process allows the development of an energy critical equipment strategy. Thus, asset and energy management can use the same common data to improve the energy efficiency.

Keywords: crossover technologies, data management, energy analysis, energy efficiency, process control

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Authors: Jing Hu, Dong Yang

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With the increasingly difficult development and operating environment of exploration, there are many new challenges and difficulties in developing and exploiting oil and gas resources. These include the ability to dynamically monitor wells and provide data and assurance for the completion and production of high-cost and complex wells. A key technology in providing these assurances and maximizing oilfield profitability is real-time permanent reservoir monitoring. The emergence of optical fiber sensing systems has gradually begun to replace traditional electronic systems. Traditional temperature sensors can only achieve single-point temperature monitoring, but fiber optic sensing systems based on the Bragg grating principle have a high level of reliability, accuracy, stability, and resolution, enabling cost-effective monitoring, which can be done in real-time, anytime, and without well intervention. Continuous data acquisition is performed along the entire wellbore. The integrated package with the downhole pressure gauge, packer, and surface system can also realize real-time dynamic monitoring of the pressure in some sections of the downhole, avoiding oil well intervention and eliminating the production delay and operational risks of conventional surveys. Real-time information obtained through permanent optical fibers can also provide critical reservoir monitoring data for production and recovery optimization.

Keywords: PDHM, optical fiber, coiled tubing, photoelectric composite cable, digital-oilfield

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Authors: A. Khalina, K. Shaharuddin, M. S. Wahab, M. P. Saiman, H. A. Aisyah

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This paper investigates the effect of alkali treatment and mechanical properties of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) fibre for the development of yarn. Two different fibre sources are used for the yarn production. Kenaf fibres were treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in the concentration of 3, 6, 9, and 12% prior to fibre opening process and tested for their tensile strength and Young’s modulus. Then, the selected fibres were introduced to fibre opener at three different opening processing parameters; namely, speed of roller feeder, small drum, and big drum. The diameter size, surface morphology, and fibre durability towards machine of the fibres were characterized. The results show that concentrations of NaOH used have greater effects on fibre mechanical properties. From this study, the tensile and modulus properties of the treated fibres for both types have improved significantly as compared to untreated fibres, especially at the optimum level of 6% NaOH. It is also interesting to highlight that 6% NaOH is the optimum concentration for the alkaline treatment. The untreated and treated fibres at 6% NaOH were then introduced to fibre opener, and it was found that the treated fibre produced higher fibre diameter with better surface morphology compared to the untreated fibre. Higher speed parameter during opening was found to produce higher yield of opened-kenaf fibres.

Keywords: alkaline treatment, kenaf fibre, tensile strength, yarn production

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Authors: M. Yusuf

Abstract:

The recent discovery of the phenomenon of RNA interference has led to its application in various aspects of plant improvement. Crops can be modified by engineering novel RNA interference pathways that create small RNA molecules to alter gene expression in crops or plant pests. RNA interference can generate new crop quality traits or provide protection against insects, nematodes and pathogens without introducing new proteins into food and feed products. This is an advantage in contrast with conventional procedures of gene transfer. RNA interference has been used to develop crop varieties resistant to diseases, pathogens and insects. Male sterility has been engineered in plants using RNA interference. Better quality crops have been developed through the application of RNA interference etc. The objective of this paper is to highlight the application of RNA interference in crop improvement and to project its potential future use to solve problems of agricultural production in relation to plant breeding.

Keywords: RNA interference, application, crop Improvement, agricultural production

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Authors: Tatsuya Kasuga, Hidehisa Shimada, Kimio Oguchi

Abstract:

Recent rapid progress in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) has advanced the penetration of sensor networks (SNs) and their attractive applications. Agriculture is one of the fields well able to benefit from ICT. Plant factories control several parameters related to plant growth in closed areas such as air temperature, humidity, water, culture medium concentration, and artificial lighting by using computers and AI (Artificial Intelligence) is being researched in order to obtain stable and safe production of vegetables and medicinal plants all year anywhere, and attain self-sufficiency in food. By providing isolation from the natural environment, a plant factory can achieve higher productivity and safe products. However, the biggest issue with plant factories is the return on investment. Profits are tenuous because of the large initial investments and running costs, i.e. electric power, incurred. At present, LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights are being adopted because they are more energy-efficient and encourage photosynthesis better than the fluorescent lamps used in the past. However, further cost reduction is essential. This paper introduces experiments that reveal which color of LED lighting best enhances the growth of cultured radish sprouts. Radish sprouts were cultivated in the experimental environment formed by a hydroponics kit with three cultivation shelves (28 samples per shelf) each with an artificial lighting rack. Seven LED arrays of different color (white, blue, yellow green, green, yellow, orange, and red) were compared with a fluorescent lamp as the control. Lighting duration was set to 12 hours a day. Normal water with no fertilizer was circulated. Seven days after germination, the length, weight and area of leaf of each sample were measured. Electrical power consumption for all lighting arrangements was also measured. Results and discussions: As to average sample length, no clear difference was observed in terms of color. As regards weight, orange LED was less effective and the difference was significant (p < 0.05). As to leaf area, blue, yellow and orange LEDs were significantly less effective. However, all LEDs offered higher productivity per W consumed than the fluorescent lamp. Of the LEDs, the blue LED array attained the best results in terms of length, weight and area of leaf per W consumed. Conclusion and future works: An experiment on radish sprout cultivation under 7 different color LED arrays showed no clear difference in terms of sample size. However, if electrical power consumption is considered, LEDs offered about twice the growth rate of the fluorescent lamp. Among them, blue LEDs showed the best performance. Further cost reduction e.g. low power lighting remains a big issue for actual system deployment. An automatic plant monitoring system with sensors is another study target.

Keywords: electric power consumption, LED color, LED lighting, plant factory

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Authors: Kholik

Abstract:

Nowadays, the demand of renewable energy in general is increasing due to the crisis of fossil fuels. Biohydrogen is an alternative fuel with zero emission derived from renewable resources such as banana pseudo stem of agricultural residues. Banana plant can be easily found in tropical and subtropical areas, so the resource is abundant and readily available as a biohydrogen substrate. Banana pseudo stem has not been utilised as a resource or substrate of biohydrogen production and it mainly contains 45-65% cellulose (α-cellulose), 5-15% hemicellulose and 20-30% Lignin, which indicates that banana pseudo stem will be renewable, sustainable and promising resource as lignocellulosic biomass. In this research, biohydrogen is derived from banana pseudo stem by dark fermentation. Dark fermentation is the most suitable approach for practical biohydrogen production from organic solid wastes. The process has several advantages including a fast reaction rate, no need of light, and a smaller footprint. 321 million metric tonnes banana pseudo stem of 428 million metric tonnes banana plantation residues in worldwide for 2013 and 22.5 million metric tonnes banana pseudo stem of 30 million metric tonnes banana plantation residues in Indonesia for 2015 will be able to generate 810.60 million tonne mol H2 and 56.819 million tonne mol H2, respectively. In this paper, we will show that the banana pseudo stem is the renewable, sustainable and promising resource to be utilised and to produce biohydrogen as energy generation with high yield and high contain of cellulose in comparison with the other substrates.

Keywords: banana pseudo stem, biohydrogen, dark fermentation, lignocellulosic

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Authors: Hafiz Mehtab Gull Nasir

Abstract:

Industrial development and urbanization have significant impacts on air emissions, and their relationship diverges at different stages of economic progress. The revolution further propelled these activities as principal paths to economic and social transformation; nevertheless, the paths also promoted environmental degradation. Resultantly, both developed and developing countries undergone through fast-paced development; in which developed countries implemented legislation towards environmental pollution control however developing countries took the advantage of technology without caring about the environment. In this study, meta-analysis is performed on production of particulate matter (i.e., PM10 and PM2.5) from urbanized cities of first, second and third world countries to assess the air quality. The cities were selected based on ranked set principles. In case of PM10, third world countries showed highest PM level (~95% confidence interval of 0.74-1.86) followed by second world countries but with managed situation. Besides, first, world countries indicated the lowest pollution (~95% confidence interval of 0.12-0.2). Similarly, highest level of PM2.5 was produced by third world countries followed by the second and first world countries. Hereby, level of PM2.5 was not significantly different for both second and third world countries; however, first world countries showed minimum PM load. Finally, the study revealed different that levels of pollution status exist among different countries; whereas developed countries also devised better strategies towards pollution control while developing countries are least caring about their environmental resources. It is suggested that although industrialization and urbanization are directly involved with interference in natural elements, however, production of nature appears to be more societal rather hermetical.

Keywords: meta-analysis, particulate matter, developing countries, urbanization

Procedia PDF Downloads 343