Search results for: producer organisation

Authors: Olusola Olalekan Elekofehinti, Isaac Gbadura Adanlawo, Joao Batista Teixeira Rocha

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We evaluated the potential neuroprotective effect of Phyllantus nuriri against Fe2+ and SNP induced oxidative stress in mitochondria of rats brain. Cellular viability was assessed by MTT reduction, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was measured using the probe 2,7-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA). Glutathione content was measured using dithionitrobenzoic acid (DTNB). Fe2+ (10µM) and SNP (5µM) significantly decreased mitochondrial activity, assessed by MTT reduction assay, in a dose-dependent manner, this occurred in parallel with increased glutathione oxidation, ROS production and lipid peroxidation end-products (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS). The co-incubation with methanolic extract of Phyllantus nuriri (10-100 µg/ml) reduced the disruption of mitochondrial activity, gluthathione oxidation, ROS production as well as the increase in TBARS levels caused by both Fe2+ and SNP in a dose dependent manner. HPLC analysis of the extract revealed the presence of gallic acid (20.54±0.01), caffeic acid (7.93±0.02), rutin (25.31±0.05), quercetin (31.28±0.03) and kaemferol (14.36±0.01). This result suggests that these phytochemicals account for the protective actions of Phyllantus nuriri against Fe2+ and SNP -induced oxidative stress. Our results show that Phyllantus nuriri consist important bioactive molecules in the search for an improved therapy against the deleterious effects of Fe2+, an intrinsic producer of reactive oxygen species (ROS), that leads to neuronal oxidative stress and neurodegeneration.

Keywords: Phyllantus niruri, neuroprotection, oxidative stress, mitochondria, synaptosome

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Authors: Bhupinder Kaur, P. P. Srivastav

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The fruit and vegetable industries are responsible for producing huge amount of waste, which is a problem to environmental safety and should be utilized efficiently. Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is an important commercially grown fruit and referred as the “King of fruits”. In 2015, India was the largest producer (18.506 MT) of mangoes and out of which 9.16 % lost during post-harvest handling. The mango kernel and peel represent approximately 17-22% and 7-22% of the overall mass of fruit respectively and discarded as waste. Hence, an attempt has been made with three mango cultivars (Langra, Dashehari, Fazli) to investigate the effect of cryogenic grinding on various characteristics of mango peel powder (MPP). The cryogenic grinding is an emerging technology which is used for retention of beneficial volatile and bioactive components. The feed rate was highest for Langra followed by Chausa. The samples have 2-4% fat along with significant amount of protein (4-6%) and crude fiber (9-13%). Mango peel is also a good source of minerals such as calcium, potassium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium. Interestingly, the significant amount of essential minerals like phosphorus and chlorine in all the varieties was found with the highest value in Langra (phosphorus 10.83% and chlorine 2.41%) which are not reported earlier. SEM analysis revealed the surface morphology and shape of the particles. Waste utilization is a promising measure from both an environmental and economic point of view. Chemical characterization of the samples indicated its potential to be used for the fortification of food products which in turn reduces hazards due to waste and improve functional quality of the foods.

Keywords: cryogenic grinding, morphological, mineral composition, SEM

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Authors: PB Venkataraman

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Most of the real-life problems are ill-structured. They do not have a single solution but many competing solutions. The solution paths are non-linear and ambiguous, and the problem definition itself is many times a challenge. Students of professional education learn to solve such problems through internships. The current pandemic situation has constrained on-site internship opportunities; thus the students have no option but to pursue this learning online. This research assessed the learning gain of four undergraduate students in engineering as they undertook an online internship in an organisation over a period of eight weeks. A clinical interview at the end of the internship provided the primary data to assess the team’s problem-solving skills using a tested rubric. In addition to this, change in their learning attitudes were assessed through a pre-post study using a repurposed CLASS instrument for Electrical Engineering. Analysis of CLASS data indicated a shift in the sophistication of their learning attitude. A learning engagement survey adopting a 6-point Likert scale showed active participation and motivation in learning. We hope this new research will stimulate educators to exploit online internships even beyond the time of pandemic as more and more business operations are transforming into virtual.

Keywords: ill-structured problems, learning attitudes, internship, assessment, student engagement

Procedia PDF Downloads 184

Authors: Samira B. R. Prado, Paulo R. Melfi, Beatriz T. Minguzzi, João P. Fabi

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Fruit softening is the main change that occurs during papaya (Carica papaya L.) ripening. It is characterized by the depolymerization of cell wall polysaccharides, especially the pectic fractions, which causes cell wall disassembling. However, it is uncertain how the modification of the two main pectin polysaccharides fractions (water-soluble – WSF, and oxalate-soluble fractions - OSF) accounts for fruit softening. The aim of this work was to correlate molecular weight changes of WSF and OSF with the gene expression of pectin-solubilizing enzymes (pectinases) during papaya ripening. Papaya fruits obtained from a producer were harvest and storage under specific conditions. The fruits were divided in five groups according to days after harvesting. Cell walls from all groups of papaya pulp were isolated and fractionated (WSF and OSF). Expression profiles of pectinase genes were achieved according to the MIQE guidelines (Minimum Information for publication of Quantitative real-time PCR Experiments). The results showed an increased yield and a decreased molecular weight throughout ripening for WSF and OSF. Gene expression data support that papaya softening is achieved by polygalacturonases (PGs) up-regulation, in which their actions might have been facilitated by the constant action of pectinesterases (PMEs). Moreover, BGAL1 gene was up-regulated during ripening with a simultaneous galactose release, suggesting that galactosidases (GALs) could also account for pulp softening. The data suggest that a solubilization of galacturonans and a depolymerization of cell wall components were caused mainly by the action of PGs and GALs.

Keywords: carica papaya, fruit ripening, galactosidases, plant cell wall, polygalacturonases

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Authors: T. O. Babarinde

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Interest in natural refrigerants, such as hydrocarbons has been renewed in recent years because of the environmental problems associated with synthetic chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and hydro-chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerants. Due to the depletion of ozone-layer and global warming effects, synthetic refrigerants are being gradually phased out in accordance with the international protocols that aim to protect the environment. In this work, a refrigerator designed to work with R134a was used for this experiment, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) which consists of commercial propane and butane in a single evaporator domestic refrigerator with a total volume of 62 litres. In this experiment, type K thermocouples with their probes were used to measure the temperatures of four major components (evaporator, compressor, condenser and expansion device) of the refrigeration system. Also the system was instrumented with two pressure gauges at the inlet and outlet of the compressor for measuring the suction and discharged pressures. Four sets of experiments were carried out using different charges and the charges were measured with a digital charging scale. Thermodynamic properties of the LPG refrigerant were determined. The results obtained showed that the design temperature and pull-down time set by International Standard Organisation (ISO) for refrigerator was achieved using LPG charge of 60g. The system COP increases with 14.6% and the power consumption reduced with 9.8% when compared with R134a. Therefore, LPG can replace R134a in domestic refrigerator.

Keywords: domestic refrigerator, experimental, R290/R600, R134a

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Authors: Julius Denafas, Irina Kliopova, Gintaras Denafas

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Three opportunities for implementation of industrial ecology principles in the real industrial production of c-Si solar cells and modules are presented in this study. It includes: material flow dematerialisation, product modification and industrial symbiosis. Firstly, it is shown how the collaboration between R&D institutes and industry helps to achieve significant reduction of material consumption by a) refuse from phosphor silicate glass cleaning process and b) shortening of silicon nitride coating production step. Secondly, it was shown how the modification of solar module design can reduce the CO2 footprint for this product and enhance waste prevention. It was achieved by implementing a frameless glass/glass solar module design instead of glass/backsheet with aluminium frame. Such a design change is possible without purchasing new equipment and without loss of main product properties like efficiency, rigidity and longevity. Thirdly, industrial symbiosis in the solar cell production is possible in such case when manufacturing waste (silicon wafer and solar cell breakage) also used solar modules are collected, sorted and supplied as raw-materials to other companies involved in the production chain of c-Si solar cells. The obtained results showed that solar cells produced from recycled silicon can have a comparable electrical parameters like produced from standard, commercial silicon wafers. The above mentioned work was performed at solar cell producer Soli Tek R&D in the frame of H2020 projects CABRISS and Eco-Solar.

Keywords: manufacturing, process optimisation, recycling, solar cells, solar modules, waste prevention

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Authors: Henok Asfaw Hailu, P. D. Rwelamila

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Creating a suitable environment for successful projects needs a rethink of the organisational design of the parent organisations. A Project-based organisation (PBO) is a unique organizational form suitable for implementing and managing business activities around projects. A construction firm is inherently a PBO as it executes most of its activities through projects. PBO design and development require an empirical foundation. This study aimed to fill this gap by developing a conceptual model to help transform Ethiopian construction firms (ECFs) into full-fledged PBOs by assimilating the required PBO characteristics. The study used an exploratory QUAL-quant research design approach. A thematic content analysis was performed to analyse the qualitative (Interviews) research data. Means, standard deviations, frequencies, percentages, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation were used to analyse the quantitative data. A transformational conceptual model was proposed and illustrated that transformation needs to begin by assessing the environment, strategic documents, and PBO characteristics. Assimilating missing PBO characteristics into ECFs is vital to realise organisations’ transformation into full-fledged PBOs.

Keywords: project-based organization, organizational design, dimensions, construction firms

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Authors: M. Kamal, Y. Wang, R. Kennon

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Quality Function Deployment is a useful tool in product development with the application of voice of customer. In this paper, it aims to be applied as a product development tool in redesigning fashion and textile product. The purpose of these studies is to apply the effective use of Voice of Customer in redesigning cultural fashion product. The data collection from Voice of Customer or consumers’ feedback might help the producer to improve the quality of merchandise ahead. Voice of Customer could give a specific detailing for quality which needs to be redesigned according to customers’ requirements. Meanwhile, the next objective is to differentiate design specifications and characteristics using House of Quality. In product designing phase, it is very important to distinguish each specification and characteristic which translated from Voice of Customer to House of Quality matrix. This matrix would help designers to development according to qualities that customer wants for the better and successful product in the market. It is hope this research would indicate the customers’ requirements and production team idea might be measured and translated to a systematic data. The specific technical data could be planned ahead with specific design details as well. This could be a sustainable approach for a traditional product which could control the material that they use and sustain the quality as the past production. As a conclusion, this study would benefit the Small Medium Enterprises design team or the designers to style an item from customers view with organised projection of the product. The finding also could assist designers or batik producers’ to recognise specific details Batik sarong from consumers as well as in in advertising and marketing strategy plan.

Keywords: house of quality, Malaysia batik sarong, quality function deployment, voice of customer

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Authors: Julius Denafas, Irina Kliopova, Gintaras Denafas

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Three opportunities for implementation of industrial ecology principles in the real industrial production of c-Si solar cells and modules are presented in this study. It includes: material flow dematerialisation, product modification and industrial symbiosis. Firstly, it is shown how the collaboration between R&D institutes and industry helps to achieve significant reduction of material consumption by a) refuse from phosphor silicate glass cleaning process and b) shortening of SiNx coating production step. This work was performed in the frame of Eco-Solar project, where Soli Tek R&D is collaborating together with the partners from ISC-Konstanz institute. Secondly, it was shown how the modification of solar module design can reduce the CO2 footprint for this product and enhance waste prevention. It was achieved by implementing a frameless glass/glass solar module design instead of glass/backsheet with aluminium frame. Such a design change is possible without purchasing new equipment and without loss of main product properties like efficiency, rigidity and longevity. Thirdly, industrial symbiosis in the solar cell production is possible in such case when manufacturing waste (silicon wafer and solar cell breakage) are collected, sorted and supplied as raw-materials to other companies involved in the production chain of c-Si solar cells. The obtained results showed that solar cells produced from recycled silicon can have a comparable electrical parameters like produced from standard, commercial silicon wafers. The above mentioned work was performed at solar cell producer Soli Tek R&D in the frame of H2020 projects CABRISS and Eco-Solar.

Keywords: solar cells and solar modules, manufacturing, waste prevention, recycling

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Authors: Osman Yildiz

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As it is predicted 2559 years before there is nothing permanent except change. In our turbulent World, Organizations will always be faced with the challenge of determining the path that will always keep them on balance en route that will bring success. That means from top to bottom, every organisation is exposed to fight to stay afloat and compete while they face the continuous prospect of change in an increasingly competitive and globalized World. Otherwise, they would fail to realize their goals and targets, and ultimately would disappear. But the organizations that will celebrate success five or ten years from now will be the winners of the fight by having recognizing that planning the change was only the first step in the journey and put sufficient efforts into the task of leading change. Increasingly unpredictable and competitive organizational environments have put pressure on leaders across all industries to better manage the change. The key of establishing effective change and transformation in organisations lies on the steps taken before the change happens depending to the quality of the human sources; readiness for change, acknowledgement by management, prepared leaders, motivated employees, overcoming the resistance to change and ultimately adapting change into the organization. Due to these factors, leaders managing the organisational development can ensure organizations and employees to meet new performance targets, motivation and skills rapidly and effectively. Finally, this article will provide some tools for leaders, and discuss how to catch organisational development and manage the innovations in effective ways.

Keywords: managing the change, organizational change, human factor, leaders, globalization, organisational development

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Authors: Alya Al Ghufli, Kelaithim Al Tunaiji, Sara Al Ali, Khalid Samara

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It is well known that health care systems encompass a variety of key knowledge sources that need to be integrated and shared amongst all types of users to attain higher-levels of motivation and productivity. The development of Health Integrated Systems (HIS) is often seen as a crucial step in strengthening the integration of knowledge to help serve the information needs of health care users. As an emergent economy, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is regarded as a new arrival in the area of health information systems. As a new nation, there may be several challenges in terms of organisational climate and the sufficient skills and knowledge activities for effective use of HIS. In this regard, the lack of coordination, attitudes and practice of health-related systems can eventually result in unnecessary data and generally poor use of the system. This paper includes results from a qualitative preliminary study carried out from a case study investigation in a single large primary health care organisation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) comprising various health care users. The study explored health care user’s perceptions about health integration and the impact it has on their practice. The main sources of information were semi-structured interviews and non-obtrusive observations. The authors conclude by presenting various recommendations for the development of HIS and knowledge activities and areas for further study.

Keywords: health integrated systems, knowledge sharing, knowledge activities, health information systems

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Authors: Yousuf N. Al Khamisi, Eduardo M. Hernandez, Khurshid M. Khan

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Purpose: This paper presents a model of a Knowledge-Based (KB) using Lean Six Sigma (L6σ) principles to enhance the performance of healthcare leadership. Design/methodology/approach: Using L6σ principles to enhance healthcare leaders’ performance needs a pre-assessment of the healthcare organisation’s capabilities. The model will be developed using a rule-based approach of KB system. Thus, KB system embeds Gauging Absence of Pre-requisite (GAP) for benchmarking and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) for prioritization. A comprehensive literature review will be covered for the main contents of the model with a typical output of GAP analysis and AHP. Findings: The proposed KB system benchmarks the current position of healthcare leadership with the ideal benchmark one (resulting from extensive evaluation by the KB/GAP/AHP system of international leadership concepts in healthcare environments). Research limitations/implications: Future work includes validating the implementation model in healthcare environments around the world. Originality/value: This paper presents a novel application of a hybrid KB combines of GAP and AHP methodology. It implements L6σ principles to enhance healthcare performance. This approach assists healthcare leaders’ decision making to reach performance improvement against a best practice benchmark.

Keywords: Lean Six Sigma (L6σ), Knowledge-Based System (KBS), healthcare leadership, Gauge Absence Prerequisites (GAP), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

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Authors: Clarice Zimbili Zondi

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This study investigates the effect of restorative justice programmes offered to offenders in prison environment (Correctional Centres) during their rehabilitation. The study looks specifically to programmes offered by a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO), Phoenix Zululand (PZ) in twelve (12) different prisons in Zululand, South Africa. Document analysis, interviews and participant observation methods were used to test whether the work done by Phoenix Zululand is in line with the remarks made on restorative justice as encapsulated in the White Paper on Corrections 2005 in South Africa. Also tested was whether a better understanding of restorative justice programmes assists in coming up with better strategies to change the behaviour of offenders. The study findings discovered that the work that is done by PZ is not in line with the remarks made in the White Paper on Corrections. Also the importance of a full comprehension of what one is doing in order to be effective in rehabilitation. However, rehabilitation that is aimed at only changing the decision-making processes of offenders not to reoffend, does not serve as a total rehabilitation programme. Rehabilitation is only successful if ex-offenders, whilst still in prison, have developed market-related skills and become employed or self-employed. Restorative Justice Programmes offered by PZ, although they play a critical role, appears to be lacking in equipping offenders with skills for effective reintegration into society and, subsequently, self-reliance.

Keywords: offender, rehabilitation, restorative justice, prison

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Authors: Mengistu Gizaw Gawo, Bisrat Yoseph Gebrehiwot

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Petroleum fuels have become a threat to the world because of their toxic emissions. Besides, it is unknown how long they will last. The only known fact is that they are depleting rapidly and will not last long. So the world’s concern about finding environmentally friendly alternative fuels has increased recently. Hence alcohol fuels are found to be the most convenient alternatives to use in internal combustion engines. This research intends to introduce Ethiopian locally produced alcohol as an alternative in the blended form with gasoline to use in spark ignition engines. The traditionally distilled Arekie was purchased from a local producer and purified using fractional distillation. Then five Arekie-gasoline blends were prepared with the proportion of 5,10,15,20 and 25%v/v (A5, A10, A15, A20, and A25, respectively). Also, absolute ethanol was purchased from a local supplier, and ethanol-gasoline blends were prepared with a similar proportion as Arekie-gasoline blends (E5, E10, E15, E20, and E25). Then an experiment was conducted on a single-cylinder, 4-stroke, spark-ignition engine running at a constant speed of 2500 rpm and variable loads to investigate the performance and emission characteristics. Results showed that the performance and emission parameters are significantly improved as the ratio of Arekie and ethanol in gasoline increases at all loads. Among all tested fuels, E20 exhibited better performance, and E25 exhibited better emission. A20 provided a slightly lower performance than E20 but was much improved compared to pure gasoline. A25 provided comparable emissions with E25 and was much better than pure gasoline. Generally, adding up to 20%v/v Ethiopian Arekie in gasoline could make a better, renewable alternative to spark ignition engines.

Keywords: alcohol fuels, alternative fuels, pollutant emissions, spark-ignition engine, Arekie-gasoline blends

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Authors: Katie Wood

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Cyber criminals are constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to exploit organisation and cause destruction. This could lead to significant cause of economic loss for organisations in the form of destruction in finances, reputation and even the overall survival of the organization. Additionally, this leads to serious consequences on national security. The threat of possible cyber attacks places further pressure on organisations to ensure they are secure, at a time where international scale cyber attacks have occurred in a range of sectors. Stakeholders are wanting confidence that their data is protected. This is only achievable if a business fosters a resilient supply chain strategy which is implemented throughout its supply chain by having a strong cyber leadership culture. This paper will discuss the essential role and need for organisations to adopt a cyber leadership culture and direction to learn about own internal processes to ensure mitigating systemic vulnerability of its supply chains. This paper outlines that to protect national security there is an urgent need for cyber awareness culture change. This is required in all organisations, regardless of their sector or size, to implementation throughout the whole supplier chain to support and protect economic prosperity to make the UK more resilient to cyber-attacks. Through businesses understanding the supply chain and risk management cycle of their own operates has to be the starting point to ensure effective cyber migration strategies.

Keywords: cyber leadership, cyber migration strategies, resilient supply chain strategy, cybersecurity

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Authors: Amjed Rasheed

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Rebellions are driven by several incentives. They do not often occur because of historical grievances or political exclusion. They can be driven by the desire to control over natural resources, or by both. In the case of the Islamic State (ISIL), greed and grievance are both drive this radical group to operate in Iraq and Syria. This article aims to show that grievance was the trigger to the emergence of ISIL. It also aims to demonstrate that ISIL is using oil as a tool, to implements its political ends, than a purpose per se. In other words, the emergence of ISIL is based on socio-political conditions, which are domestically driven, and oil is not ISIL’s aim but a source of revenue to finance its activities. This paper applies conflict analysis methodology to analyse the conflict in Iraq and Syria, with a specific highlight to ISIL. By doing so, it gives ahistorical background on emergence of ISIL. It also provides an insightful explanation on the main dynamics and the tactics this organisation applies. It also delivers a sufficient explanation on how it recruits its members, both local and international. It concludes that tackling ISIL needs a more sophisticated approach than the one Obama administration has adopted. It is more a political issue to be tackled by political means, than a military one to be tackled by military means. The current war is an Intra-Sunni war, and therefore, Sunni states have to be on board to crackdown ISIL. Besides, the article finishes with the argument that democratisation is not necessarily the key answer to bring stability to the region, but a sort of governance that provides security and material needs to individuals.

Keywords: ISIL, Iraq, domestic politics, Islamic radicalisation

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Authors: M. Chen, H. Lee, D. M. Weary

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China is the world’s largest egg producer, with more than 90% of production occurring in conventional cages. Cage-free housing systems offer the potential for improving hen welfare, but the growth of this system requires consumer demand, making it is important to understand consumers’ willingness to engage with cage-free eggs. Previous survey research indicates that the majority of Chinese consumers have a basic understanding of cage-free eggs and that some are willing to pay a price premium for these eggs. The aim of this research is to understand consumer behaviour, experience, and motivations when purchasing cage-free eggs in China. Purposive sampling will be used to select 20 participants from each of 2 groups: 1) consumers of cage-free eggs and 2) sales representatives who promote these eggs directly to consumers in supermarkets. This 4-month study will use methods of virtual ethnography to interact with participants repeatedly. Consumers will be asked to share their egg shopping, cooking, and eating experiences, and sales representatives will be asked to share their experiences promoting the eggs to consumers. Data collection will involve audio-recorded interviews, informal conversations (casual texts and calls), participant observation (video calling during shopping, cooking, and eating), and informant diaries (written reflections, photos, videos). All data (field notes, transcripts, diaries, photos, and videos) will be analyzed using Thematic Analysis. We expect that these will result in a nuanced understanding of consumer purchasing behaviour and motivation and will thus help identify strategies to promote higher animal welfare and cage-free egg products in China.

Keywords: animal welfare, cage-free eggs, China, consumer behaviour, ethnography

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Authors: M. Crozet, D. Roudil, T. Branger, S. Boden, P. Peerani, B. Russell, M. Herranz, L. Aldave de la Heras

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The EURATOM work program project INSIDER (Improved Nuclear Site Characterization for Waste minimization in Decommissioning under Constrained Environment) was launched in June 2017. This 4-year project has 18 partners and aims at improving the management of contaminated materials arising from decommissioning and dismantling (D&D) operations by proposing an integrated methodology of characterization. This methodology is based on advanced statistical processing and modelling, coupled with adapted and innovative analytical and measurement methods, with respect to sustainability and economic objectives. In order to achieve these objectives, the approaches will be then applied to common case studies in the form of Inter-laboratory comparisons on matrix representative reference samples and benchmarking. Work Package 6 (WP6) ‘Performance analysis and overall uncertainty’ is in charge of the analysis of the benchmarking on real samples, the organisation of inter-laboratory comparison on synthetic certified reference materials and the establishment of overall uncertainty budget. Assessment of the outcome will be used for providing recommendations and guidance resulting in pre-standardization tests.

Keywords: decommissioning, sampling strategy, research and development, characterization, European project

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Authors: Alban Igwe, Ijeoma Kalu, Alloy Ezirim

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Food insecurity is a global problem, and the search for food security has assumed a central stage in the global development agenda as the United Nations currently placed zero hunger as a goal number in its sustainable development goals. Nigeria currently ranks 107th out of 113 countries in the global food security index (GFSI), a metric that defines a country's ability to furnish its citizens with food and nutrients for healthy living. Paradoxically, Nigeria is a global leader in food production, ranking 1st in yam (over 70% of global output), beans (over 41% of global output), cassava (20% of global output) and shea nuts, where it commands 53% of global output. Furthermore, it ranks 2nd in millet, sweet potatoes, and cashew nuts. It is Africa's largest producer of rice. So, it is apparent that Nigeria's food insecurity woes must relate to a factor other than food production. We investigated the nexus between food security and downstream supply chain losses in the yam industry with secondary data from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAOSTAT) and the National Bureau of Statics for the decade 2012-2021. In analyzing the data, multiple regression techniques were used, and findings reveal that downstream losses have a strong positive correlation with food security (r = .763*) and a 58.3% variation in food security is explainable by post-downstream supply chain food losses. The study discovered that yam supply chain losses within the period under review averaged 50.6%, suggestive of the fact that downstream supply chain losses are the drainpipe and the major source of food insecurity in Nigeria. Therefore, the study concluded that there is a significant relationship between downstream supply chain losses and food insecurity and recommended the establishment of food supply chain structures and policies to enhance food security in Nigeria.

Keywords: food security, downstream supply chain losses, yam, nigeria, supply chain

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Authors: Ikudayisi Akinola, Adeyemo Folasade, Adeyemo Josiah

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This study focuses on the hydro-geology and chemistry of Ikogosi Warm Spring in South West Nigeria. Ikogosi warm spring is a global tourist attraction because it has both warm and cold spring sources. Water samples from the cold spring, warm spring and the meeting point were collected, analyzed and the result shows close similarity in temperature, hydrogen iron concentration (pH), alkalinity, hardness, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Iron, total dissolved solid and heavy metals. The measured parameters in the water samples are within World Health Organisation standards for fresh water. The study of the geology of the warm spring reveals that the study area is underlain by a group of slightly migmatised to non-migmatised paraschists and meta-igneous rocks. The concentration levels of selected heavy metals, (Copper, Cadmium, Zinc, Arsenic and Cromium) were determined in the water (ppm) samples. Chromium had the highest concentration value of 1.52ppm (an average of 49.67%) and Cadmium had the lowest concentration with value of 0.15ppm (an average of 4.89%). Comparison of these results showed that, their mean levels are within the standard values obtained in Nigeria. It can be concluded that both warm and spring water are safe for drinking.

Keywords: cold spring, Ikogosi, melting point, warm spring, water samples

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Authors: M. T. Asadollahzadeh, A. Ghasemian, A. R. Saraeian, H. Resalati, P. R. Lennartsson, M. J. Taherzadeh

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Since filamentous fungi are capable of assimilating several types of sugars (hexoses and pentoses), they are potential candidates for bioconversion of spent sulfite liquor (SSL). Three filamentous fungi such as Aspergillus oryzae, Mucor indicus, and Rhizopus oryzae were investigated in this work. The SSL was diluted in order to obtain concentrations of 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90% and supplemented with two types of nutrients. The results from cultivations in shake flask showed that A. oryzae and M. indicus were not able to grow in pure SSL and SSL90% while R. oryzae could grow only in SSL50% and SSL60%. Cultivation with A. oryzae resulted in the highest yield of produced fungal biomass, while R. oryzae cultivation resulted in the lowest fungal biomass yield. Although, the mediums containing yeast extract, (NH₄)₂SO₄, KH₂PO₄, CaCl₂∙2H₂O, and MgSO₄∙7H₂O as nutrients supplementations produced higher fungal biomass compared to the mediums containing NH₄H₂PO₄ and ammonia, but there was no significant difference between two types of nutrients in terms of sugars and acetic acid consumption rate. The sugars consumption in M. indicus cultivation was faster than A. oryzae and R. oryzae cultivation. Acetic acid present in SSL was completely consumed during cultivation of all fungi. M. indicus was the best and fastest ethanol producer from SSL among the fungi examined, when yeast extract and salts were used as nutrients supplementations. Furthermore, no further improvement in ethanol concentration and rate of sugars consumption was obtained in medium supplemented with NH₄H₂PO₄ and ammonia compared to medium containing yeast extract, (NH₄)₂SO₄, KH₂PO₄, CaCl₂∙2H₂O, and MgSO₄∙7H₂O. On the other hand, the higher dilution of SSL resulted in a better fermentability, and better consumption of sugars and acetic acid.

Keywords: ethanol, filamentous fungi, fungal biomass, spent sulfite liquor

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Authors: Chih-Ping Chang

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Different from traditional objective evidence, social media evidence has its own characteristics with easily tampering, recoverability, and cannot be read without using other devices (such as a computer). Simply taking a screenshot from social network sites must be questioned its original identity. When the police search and seizure digital information, a common way they use is to directly print out digital data obtained and ask the signature of the parties at the presence, without taking original digital data back. In addition to the issue on its original identity, this conduct to obtain evidence may have another two results. First, it will easily allege that is tampering evidence because the police wanted to frame the suspect and falsified evidence. Second, it is not easy to discovery hidden information. The core evidence associated with crime may not appear in the contents of files. Through discovery the original file, data related to the file, such as the original producer, creation time, modification date, and even GPS location display can be revealed from hidden information. Therefore, how to show this kind of evidence in the courtroom will be arguably the most important task for ruling social media evidence. This article, first, will introduce forensic software, like EnCase, TCT, FTK, and analyze their function to prove the identity with another digital data. Then turning back to the court, the second part of this article will discuss legal standard for authentication of social media evidence and application of that forensic software in the courtroom. As the conclusion, this article will provide a rethinking, that is, what kind of authenticity is this rule of evidence chase for. Does legal system automatically operate the transcription of scientific knowledge? Or furthermore, it wants to better render justice, not only under scientific fact, but through multivariate debating.

Keywords: federal rule of evidence, internet forensic, printouts as evidence, social media evidence, United States v. Vayner

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Authors: Niranjan Das

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‘Geographical indication’ is a sign which is used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. Geographical Indication is primarily granted to agricultural, natural, manufactured, handicrafts originating from a definite geographical territory. It is defined in Article 22(1) of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 1995 Agreement on ‘Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)’. Assam is literally a ‘Silk country’ where silk culture is rooted in the rural life and culture of Assamese people. This is the only state in India and the world where Muga silk (Antheraea assamensis) is grown. Out of the total production of India’s Muga silk, Assam has the credit of being the sole producer of this 100 percent output, and thus occupies a unique position in the sericulture map of the world. Muga production has been an effective means for generating gainful employment in rural Assam and it has enormous potential in the context of building the rural economy and generating livelihood of this region. Muga, the unique golden-yellow silk of Assam was granted the ‘Geographical Indication (GI)’ registration in 2007. It is the first item from the state of Assam to obtain the GI tag. Besides manufacturing of Muga Silk cloths, the industry is also giving employment to thousands of people, and the silk industry is playing a leading role in the economy of the state. As Brahmaputra Valley is also known for tourist destination, tourists are visiting the valley every year and now the Muga Silk has reached each corner of the country and also in the other parts of the world. This paper tries to emphasizes how the Geographical Indication tag is protecting the traditional right of the Muga Silk of Assam as it has been practised by the Assamese people since times immemorial.

Keywords: Geographical Indication, environment, Muga silk, traditional right and livelihood

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Authors: Laura Jenkins, Tim Eschle, Joanne Ciafone, Colin Hamilton

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An original working memory model suggested the separation of visual and verbal systems in working memory architecture, in which only visual working memory components were used during visual working memory tasks. It was later suggested that the visuo spatial sketch pad was the only memory component at use during visual working memory tasks, and components such as the phonological loop were not considered. In more recent years, a contrasting approach has been developed with the use of an executive resource to incorporate both visual and verbal representations in visual working memory paradigms. This was supported using research demonstrating the use of verbal representations and an executive resource in a visual matrix patterns task. The aim of the current research is to investigate the working memory architecture during both a quantitative and a qualitative visual working memory task. A dual task method will be used. Three secondary tasks will be used which are designed to hit specific components within the working memory architecture – Dynamic Visual Noise (visual components), Visual Attention (spatial components) and Verbal Attention (verbal components). A comparison of the visual working memory tasks will be made to discover if verbal representations are at use, as the previous literature suggested. This direct comparison has not been made so far in the literature. Considerations will be made as to whether a domain specific approach should be employed when discussing visual working memory tasks, or whether a more domain general approach could be used instead.

Keywords: semantic organisation, visual memory, change detection

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Authors: Saud Al Taj

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Employer branding is considered as a useful tool for addressing the global-local problem facing complex organisations that have operations scattered across the globe and face challenges of dealing with the local environment alongside. Despite being an established field of study within the Western developed world, there is little empirical evidence concerning the relevance of employer branding to global companies that operate in the under-developed economies. This paper fills this gap by gaining rich insight into the implementation of employer branding programs in a foreign multinational operating in Pakistan dealing with the global-local problem. The study is qualitative in nature and employs semi-structured and focus group interviews with senior/middle managers and local frontline employees to deeply examine the phenomenon in case organisation. Findings suggest that authenticity is required in employer brands to enable them to respond to the local needs thereby leading to the resolution of the global-local problem. However, the role of signaling theory is key to the development of authentic employer brands as it stresses on the need to establish an efficient and effective signaling environment wherein signals travel in both directions (from signal designers to receivers and backwards) and facilitate firms with the global-local problem. The paper also identifies future avenues of research for the employer branding field.

Keywords: authenticity, counter-signals, employer branding, global-local problem, signaling theory

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Authors: Nurul Aqilah Mohd Zaini, Afroditi Chatzifragkou, Dimitris Charalampopoulos

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D-Lactic acid production is gaining increasing attention due to the thermostable properties of its polymer, Polylactic Acid (PLA). In this study, D-lactic acid was produced in microbial cultures using Lactobacillus coryniformis subsp. torquens as D-lactic acid producer and hydrolysates of Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS) as fermentation substrate. Prior to fermentation, DDGS was first alkaline pretreated with 5% (w/v) NaOH, for 15 minutes (121oC/ ~16 psi). This led to the generation of DDGS solid residues, rich in carbohydrates and especially cellulose (~52%). The carbohydrate-rich solids were then subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis with Accellerase® 1500. For Separate Hydrolysis and Fermentation (SHF), enzymatic hydrolysis was carried out at 50oC for 24 hours, followed by fermentation of D-lactic acid at 37oC in controlled pH 6. The obtained hydrolysate contained 24 g/l glucose, 5.4 g/l xylose and 0.6 g/l arabinose. In the case of Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF), hydrolysis and fermentation were conducted in a single step process at 37oC in pH 5. The enzymatic hydrolysis of DGGS pretreated solids took place mostly during lag phase of L. coryniformis fermentation, with only a small amount of glucose consumed during the first 6 h. When exponential phase was started, glucose generation reduced as the microorganism started to consume glucose for D-lactic acid production. Higher concentrations of D-lactic acid were produced when SSF approach was applied, with 28 g/l D-lactic acid after 24 h of fermentation (84.5% yield). In contrast, 21.2 g/l D-lactic acid were produced when SHF was used. The optical pu rity of D-lactic acid produced from both experiments was 99.9%. Besides, approximately 2 g/l acetic acid was also generated due to lactic acid degradation after glucose depletion in SHF. SSF was proved an efficient towards DDGS ulilisation and D-lactic acid production, by reducing the overall processing time, yielding sufficient D-lactic acid concentrations without the generation of fermentation by-products.

Keywords: DDGS, alkaline pretreatment, SSF, D-lactic acid

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Authors: Binu Sahayam

Abstract:

HIV/AIDS epidemic is in its third decade and has become a virulent disease that threatens the world population. Many countless efforts had been made yet this has become a social and developmental concern. According to UNAIDS 2013 Report, In India around 2.4 million people are currently living with HIV and third in the infection rate. As every country is facing this health issue, this has become a social and developmental concern for India. In country like India, open discussion on sex and sexuality is not possible due to its conventional culture. Educational institution like schools and colleges can create awareness on sex education, life skill education, information on HIV and STD which is lacking. It is very clear that preventive knowledge remains low and this leads to increase in the HIV/AIDS infection rate. HIV/AIDS is a disease which is not curable but preventable, keeping this in mind religious leaders of various have come forward in addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS using various social strategies. The study has been focused on three main India religious teachings Hinduism, Christianity and Islam in addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS and its possible intervention in dealing with HIV/AIDS prevention. The study is important because it highlights the health issues, stigma discrimination, psychological disturbances and insecurity faced by the infected and affected persons. Therefore, this study privileges the role of religious leadership in the efforts and processes of preventing HIV/AIDS, caring and providing support to People living with HIV/AIDS and argues that intervention of religious leadership is an effective measure to confront many of the barriers associated with HIV/AIDS.

Keywords: HIV and AIDS, STDs, religion and religious organisation

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Authors: P. Valsalal, S. Thangalakshmi

Abstract:

There is a widespread changeover in the electrical power industry universally from old-style monopolistic outline towards a horizontally distributed competitive structure to come across the demand of rising consumption. When the transmission lines of derestricted system are incapable to oblige the entire service needs, the lines are overloaded or congested. The governor between customer and power producer is nominated as Independent System Operator (ISO) to lessen the congestion without obstructing transmission line restrictions. Among the existing approaches for congestion management, the frequently used approaches are reorganizing the generation and load curbing. There is a boundary for reorganizing the generators, and further loads may not be supplemented with the prevailing resources unless more private power producers are added in the system by considerably raising the cost. Hence, congestion is relaxed by appropriate Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) devices which boost the existing transfer capacity of transmission lines. The FACTs device, namely, Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) is preferred, and the correct placement of UPFC is more vital and should be positioned in the highly congested line. Hence, the weak line is identified by using power flow performance index with the new objective function with proposed hybrid Fish – Bee algorithm. Further, the location of UPFC at appropriate line reduces the branch loading and minimizes the voltage deviation. The power transfer capacity of lines is determined with and without UPFC in the identified congested line of IEEE 30 bus structure and the simulated results are compared with prevailing algorithms. It is observed that the transfer capacity of existing line is increased with the presented algorithm and thus alleviating the congestion.

Keywords: available line transfer capability, congestion management, FACTS device, Hybrid Fish-Bee Algorithm, ISO, UPFC

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Authors: Moyosooore A. Babalola, Ayodeji S. Ogunleye

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The main focus of the study was to determine the profitability of investment in the Oil Palm value chain of Osun State, Nigeria in 2015. The specific objectives were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of Oil Palm investors (producers, processors and marketers), to determine the profitability of the investment to investors in the Oil Palm value chain, and to determine the factors affecting the profitability of the investment of the oil palm investors in Osun state. A sample of 100 respondents was selected in this cross-sectional survey. Multiple stage sampling procedure was used for data collection of producers and processors while purposive sampling was used for marketers. Data collected was analyzed using the following analytical tools: descriptive statistics, budgetary analysis and regression analysis. The results of the gross margin showed that the producers and processors were more profitable than the marketers in the oil palm value chain with their benefit-cost ratios as 1.93, 1.82 and 1.11 respectively. The multiple regression analysis showed that education and years of experience were significant among marketers and producers while age and years of experience had significant influence on the gross margin of processors. Based on these findings, improvement on the level of education of oil palm investors is recommended in order to address the relatively low access to post-primary education among the oil palm investors in Osun State. In addition to this, it is important that training be made available to oil palm investors. This will improve the quality of their years of experience, ensuring that it has a positive influence on their gross margin. Low access to credit among processors and producer could be corrected by making extension services available to them. Marketers would also greatly benefit from subsidized prices on oil palm products to increase their gross margin, as the huge percentage of their total cost comes from acquiring palm oil.

Keywords: oil palm, profitability analysis, regression analysis, value chain

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Authors: Mary I. Marire

Abstract:

This seminar examined globalization and civil society organization of Nigeria: The business community. The study examined the effect of globalization on the growth of civil society organizations in Nigeria. It equally evaluated the effect of globalization on the development of Nigerian business environment. The population consists of 562 members of Ohanaeze Ndigbo civil society organisation in Enugu State. The study used the survey approach. The primary sources used were used to administer 290 copies of questionnaire to the sampled members of the group, 282 were returned and accurately filled. The validity of the instrument was tested using content analysis and the result was good. The reliability was tested using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r). It gave a reliability co-efficient of 0.79 which was also good. The hypotheses were analyzed using f-statistics (ANOVA) tool. The findings indicated that that globalization has significant effect on the growth of civil society organizations in Nigeria and development of Nigerian business environment. Based on the findings, the study recommends that efforts should be directed at service delivery and the reduction of corruption to bring about a sustainable socio economic development in Nigeria. This will enable civil society groups to stand the test of time by organizing itself in a manner that will not make them apron or dependent on the government. There is the dire need for government at all levels to show and indeed demonstrate the political will and zeal to cope and meet with the current global realities in its totality.

Keywords: globalization, business environment, civil society, business growth

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