Search results for: Environmental Sustainability

Authors: M.Lanez, M.N.Oudjit, A.Bali

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Reactive powder concretes (RPC) are characterized by particle diameter not exceeding 600 μm and having very high compressive and tensile strengths. This paper describes a new generation of micro concrete, which has an initial, as well as a final, high physicomechanical performance. To achieve this, we replaced the Portland cement (15% by weight) by materials rich in Silica (Slag and Dune Sand). The results obtained from tests carried out on RPC show that compressive and tensile strengths increase when adding the additions, thus improving the compactness of mixtures via filler and pozzolanic effect. With a reduction of the aggregate phase in the RPC and the abundance of dune sand (south Algeria) and slag (industrial byproduct of blast furnace), the use of the RPC will allow Algeria to fulfil economical as well as ecological requirements.

Keywords: High mechanical strength, Reactive Powder Concrete, rheology, superplasticizer, workability

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Authors: Patcharin Worathanakul, Wisaroot Payubnop, Akhapon Muangpet

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Utilization of bagasse ash for silica sources is one of the most common application for agricultural wastes and valuable biomass byproducts in sugar milling. The high percentage silica content from bagasse ash was used as silica source for sodium silicate solution. Different heating temperature, time and acid treatment were studies for silica extraction. The silica was characterized using various techniques including X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy method,. The synthesis conditions were optimized to obtain the bagasse ash with the maximum silica content. The silica content of 91.57 percent was achieved from heating of bagasse ash at 600°C for 3 hours under oxygen feeding and HCl treatment. The result can be used as value added for bagasse ash utilization and minimize the environmental impact of disposal problems.

Keywords: Bagasse ash, synthesis, silica, extraction, posttreatment

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Authors: Zakeia Benmoussa

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Pressure on freshwater systems comes from removing too much water to grow crops; contamination from economic activities, land use practices, and human waste. The paper will be focusing on how water management can influence the design, implementation, and impacts of the ecological principles of biomimicry as sustainable methods in recycling wastewater. At Texas State, United States of America, in particular the lower area of the Trinity River refuge, there is a true example of the diversity to be found in that area, whether when exploring the lands or the waterways. However, as the Trinity River supplies water to the state’s residents, the lower part of the river at Liberty County presents several problem of wastewater discharge in the river. Therefore, conservation efforts are particularly important in the Trinity River basin. Clearly, alternative ways must be considered in order to conserve water to meet future demands. As a result, there should be another system provided rather than the conventional water treatment. Mimicking ecosystem's technologies out of context is not enough, but if we incorporate plants into building architecture, in addition to their beauty, they can filter waste, absorb excess water, and purify air. By providing an architectural proposal center, a living system can be explored through several methods that influence natural resources on the micro-scale in order to impact sustainability on the macro-scale. The center consists of an ecological program of Plant and Water Biomimicry study which becomes a living organism that purifies the river water in a natural way through architecture. Consequently, a rich beautiful nature could be used as an educational destination, observation and adventure, as well as providing unpolluted fresh water to the major cities of Texas. As a result, these facts raise a couple of questions: Why is conservation so rarely practiced by those who must extract a living from the land? Are we sufficiently enlightened to realize that we must now challenge that dogma? Do architects respond to the environment and reflect on it in the correct way through their public projects? The method adopted in this paper consists of general research into careful study of the system of the living machine, in how to integrate it at architectural level, and finally, the consolidation of the all the conclusions formed into design proposal. To summarise, this paper attempts to provide a sustainable alternative perspective in bridging physical and mental interaction with biodiversity to enhance nature by using architecture.

Keywords: Biodiversity, design with nature, sustainable architecture, waste water treatment.

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Authors: E. Halawa

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Solar water heating (SWH) systems are gaining popularity in ASEAN in the midst of increasing number of affluent population in society and environmental concerns from seemingly unchanged reliance on fossil-based fuels. The penetration of these systems and technologies into ASEAN markets is a welcome development; however there is a need for the method of assessment of their thermal performances. This paper discusses the reasons for this need and a suitable method for thermal performance evaluation of SWH systems in ASEAN. The paper also calls on research to be focused on the establishment of reliable data to be entered into the performance rating software. The establishment of accredited solar systems testing facilities can help boost the competitiveness of ASEAN solar industry.

Keywords: ASEAN, solar industry, solar water heating systems, thermal performance rating.

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Authors: Sudip K. Ganguly

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In order to meet environmental norms, Indian fuel policy aims at producing ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD) in near future. A catalyst for meeting such requirements has been developed and kinetics of this catalytic process is being looked into. In the present investigations, effect of mass transfer on kinetics of ultra deep hydrodesulphurization (UDHDS) to produce ULSD has been studied to determine intrinsic kinetics over a pre-sulphided catalyst. Experiments have been carried out in a continuous flow micro reactor operated in the temperature range of 330 to 3600C, whsv of 1 hr-1 at a pressure of 35 bar, and its parameters estimated. Based on the derived rate expression and estimated parameters optimum operation range has been determined for this UDHDS catalyst to obtain ULSD product.

Keywords: Diesel, hydrodesulphurization, kinetics, mass transfer.

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Authors: Brigita Altenbaher

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In recent years there has been a continuous increase of axle loads, tonnage, train speed and train length which has increased both the productivity in the rail sector and the risk of rail breaks and derailments. On the other hand, the environmental requirements (e.g. noise reduction) for railway operations will become tighter in the future. In our research we developed a new composite material which does not change braking properties, is capable of taking extremely high pressure loads, reduces noise and is environmentally friendly. Part of our research was also the development of technology which will be able to apply this material to the rail. The result of our research was the system which reduces the wear out significantly and almost completely eliminates the squealing noise at the same time, and by using only one special material.

Keywords: Active protection, composite material, lubrication, noise reduction, reduction at source, railway.

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Authors: Hyun-Koo Kim, Sangmoon Lee, Ho-Youl Jung, Ju H. Park

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We present a system that finds road boundaries and constructs the virtual lane based on fusion data from a laser and a monocular sensor, and detects forward vehicle position even in no lane markers or bad environmental conditions. When the road environment is dark or a lot of vehicles are parked on the both sides of the road, it is difficult to detect lane and road boundary. For this reason we use fusion of laser and vision sensor to extract road boundary to acquire three dimensional data. We use parabolic road model to calculate road boundaries which is based on vehicle and sensors state parameters and construct virtual lane. And then we distinguish vehicle position in each lane.

Keywords: Vehicle Detection, Adaboost, Haar-like Feature, Road Boundary Detection

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Authors: Seyedeh Belin Tavakoly Sany, Majid Rezayi, Rosli Hashim, Aishah Salleh, Omid Safari

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The purpose of this paper is to describe the main characteristics of macroinvertebrate species in response to environmental forcing factors. Overall, 23 species of Mollusca, 4 species of Arthropods, 3 species of Echinodermata and 3 species of Annelida were identified at the 9 sampling stations during four sampling periods. Individual species of Mollusca constituted 36.4% of the total abundance, followed by Arthropods (27.01%), Annelida (34.3%) and Echinodermata (2.4%). The results of Kruskal-Wallis test indicated that a significant difference (p <0.05) in the abundance, richness and diversity of the macro-benthic community in different stations. The correlation analysis revealed that anthropogenic pollution and natural variability caused by these variations in spatial scales.

Keywords: Benthic invertebrates, Diversity, Malaysia, West Port.

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Authors: Cherdvong Saengsupavanich

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Dredging activities inevitably cause sediment dispersion. In certain locations, where there are important ecological areas such as mangroves or coral reefs, carefully planning the dredging can significantly reduce negative impacts. This article utilizes the dredging at Phuket port, Thailand, as a case study to demonstrate how computer simulations can be helpful to protect existing coral reefs. A software package named MIKE21 was applied. Necessary information required by the simulations was gathered. After calibrating and verifying the model, various dredging scenario were simulated to predict spoil movement. The simulation results were used as guidance to setting up an environmental measure. Finally, the recommendation to dredge during flood tide with silt curtains installed was made.

Keywords: Coastal simulation, Dredging, Environmentalprotection, Port. Coastal engineering, Thailand

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Authors: Ahmed A. Hassan

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The agriculture industry in Somalia employs a large portion of the country's workforce. Somalia has been known for its production and notable agriculture for many years, the key sector that fuels the country's economy. Due to decades of civil conflict, poor administration, neglect, and a string of natural calamities, the Somali agricultural industry has suffered significant damage. The irrigation systems in Juba and Shabelle, the two major rivers, have failed and deteriorated. Crop output has decreased because of ongoing drought, poor agricultural techniques, desertification, and the exodus of rural people to neighboring nations. With pandemic levels of hunger and malnutrition brought on by climate change, Somalia has become one of the world's most food-insecure countries. Additionally, there is strong evidence that climate change, particularly in Somalia and other East African nations, has exacerbated civil wars across Africa. The El Nino/Southern Oscillation, which results in drier and warmer weather in tropical regions, may have contributed to numerous civil wars. Additionally, an increase in temperature is believed to raise the risk of internal armed conflict in sub-Saharan African nations. This paper examines Somalia's present extension programs, lists the challenges the nation's agricultural industry faces, and discusses the effects of climate change. Improvement measures are advised based on the analysis presented in the paper. This article's major goals are to highlight the serious challenges that Somali farmers face and to offer potential solutions for achieving sustainable agriculture and food security through the worst of climate change. Farmers, legislators, decision-makers, and academics may find the material in this article useful in developing credible plans, and policies, and in establishing research and extension programs. With improved extension systems, management, encouraging public investments, and an enabling climate, Somalia's agricultural industry can increase its resilience, the quality of life for its population, and the safety and added value of its goods. Offshore and coastal fisheries can contribute more to sector growth and return to and surpass their amazing pre-war output and export levels.

Keywords: Sustainable agriculture, innovation, land use, climate change, farm management, drought management, resilience, agri-business, agri-extension, farmer field schools, agricultural development.

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Authors: Mohanapriya Venkataraman, Rajesh Mishra, Jakub Weiner, Adnan Mazari, Jiri Militky, Veera Kumar Arumugam

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The major objective of this study is to understand the potential of a newly fabricated equipment to study the thermal properties of nonwoven textile fabrics treated with aerogel at subzero temperatures. Thermal conductivity was calculated by using the empirical relation Fourier’s law, The relationship between the thermal conductivity and thermal resistance of the samples were studied at various environmental temperatures (which was set in the clima temperature system between +25oC to -25oC). The newly fabricated equipment was found to be a suitable for measuring at subzero temperatures. This field of measurements is being developed and will be the subject of further research which will be more suitable for measurement of the various thermal characteristics.

Keywords: Thermal Measurements, Aerogel, Nonwoven, Hot plate Heading.

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Authors: Shakila Motamedi, Seyed Azizollah Ghotb, Fatemeh Torfi, Najaf Hedayat

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Since injection engines have a considerable portion, in consumption of energy and environmental pollution, using an alternative source of energy with lower pollutant effects in this regard is necessary. Biodiesel fuel is a suitable alternative for gasoline in diesel engines. In this research the property of biodiesel, the function and the pollution effects of diesel engine, when using 100% biodiesel, using 100% gasoline and mixing ratio of both fuels for comparing them, have been investigated. The researches have shown, using biodiesel fuel in prevalent diesel engine, will reduce the pollutants such as Co, half burned carbohydrate and suspended particles and a little increase in oxidation will achieve while power consumption, particularly fuel and thermal efficiency of diesel fuel has the same.

Keywords: Biodiesel, Diesel Engine, Environment, Gasoline

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Authors: Ekta Singh

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Indices summarizing community structure are used to evaluate fundamental community ecology, species interaction, biogeographical factors, and environmental stress. Some of these indices are insensitive to gross community changes induced by contaminants of pollution. Diversity indices and similarity indices are reviewed considering their ecological application, both theoretical and practical. For some useful indices, empirical equations are given to calculate the expected maximum value of the indices to which the observed values can be related at any combination of sample sizes at the experimental sites. This paper examines the effects of sample size and diversity on the expected values of diversity indices and similarity indices, using various formulae. It has been shown that all indices are strongly affected by sample size and diversity. In some indices, this influence is greater than the others and an attempt has been made to deal with these influences.

Keywords: Biogeographical factors, Diversity Indices, Ecology and Similarity Indices

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Authors: Kyoung Hoon Kim

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Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) has potential in reducing fossil fuels and relaxing environmental problems. In this work performance analysis of ORC is conducted based on the second law of thermodynamics for recovery of low temperature heat source from 100^oC to 140^oC using R134a as the working fluid. Effects of system parameters such as turbine inlet pressure or source temperature are theoretically investigated on the exergy destructions (anergies) at various components of the system as well as net work production or exergy efficiency. Results show that the net work or exergy efficiency has a peak with respect to the turbine inlet pressure when the source temperature is low, however, increases monotonically with increasing turbine inlet pressure when the source temperature is high.

Keywords: Organic Rankine cycle (ORC), low temperature heat source, exergy, source temperature.

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Authors: Kristoffer Clyde Magsino, H. Srikanth Kamath

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Wireless Sensor Network is widely used in electronics. Wireless sensor networks are now used in many applications including military, environmental, healthcare applications, home automation and traffic control. We will study one area of wireless sensor networks, which is the routing protocol. Routing protocols are needed to send data between sensor nodes and the base station. In this paper, we will discuss two routing protocols, such as datacentric and hierarchical routing protocol. We will show the output of the protocols using the NS-2 simulator. This paper will compare the simulation output of the two routing protocol using Nam. We will simulate using Xgraph to find the throughput and delay of the protocol.

Keywords: data-centric routing protocol, hierarchical routingprotocol, Nam, NS-2, Routing Protocol, sensor nodes, SPIN, throughput, Xgraph

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Authors: F. Nejati Hafdani, N. Sadeghinia

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In recent years application of natural antimicrobials instead of conventional ones, due to their hazardous effects on health, has got serious attentions. On the basis of the results of different studies, chitosan, a natural bio-degradable and non-toxic biopolysaccharide derived from chitin, has potential to be used as a natural antimicrobial. Chitosan has exhibited high antimicrobial activity against a wide variety of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, including fungi, and Gram-positive and Gramnegative bacteria. The antimicrobial action is influenced by intrinsic factors such as the type of chitosan, the degree of chitosan polymerization and extrinsic factors such as the microbial organism, the environmental conditions and presence of the other components. The use of chitosan in food systems should be based on sufficient knowledge of the complex mechanisms of its antimicrobial mode of action. In this article we review a number of studies on the investigation of chitosan antimicrobial properties and application of them in culture and food mediums.

Keywords: Antimicrobial, Chitosan, Preservative

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Authors: Giseob Byun, Ji Yeon Cho, Bong Gyou Lee

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The purpose of this study is to analyze Green IT industry in major developed countries and to suggest overall directions for IT-Energy convergence industry. Recently, IT industry is pointed out as a problem such as environmental pollution, energy exhaustion, and high energy consumption. Therefore, Green IT gets focused which concerns as solution of these problems. However, since it is a beginning stage of this convergence area, there are only a few studies of IT-Energy convergence industry. According to this, this study examined the major developed countries in terms of institution arrangements, resources, markets and companies based on Van de Ven(1999)'s social system framework that shows relationship among key components of industrial infrastructure. Subsequently, the direction of the future study of convergence on IT and Energy industry is proposed.

Keywords: Green IT, Energy industry, Convergence, Social System Framework.

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Authors: Feng Yue, Fei Dai

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

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

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Authors: A. Özyer, N. G. Turan, Y. Ardalı

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The environmental fate of organic contaminants in soils is influenced significantly by the pH, texture of soil, water content and also presence of organic matter. In this study, biodegradation of endosulfan isomers was studied in two different soils (Soil A and Soil B) that have contrasting properties in terms of their texture, pH, organic content, etc. Two Nocardia sp., which were isolated from soil, were used for degradation of endosulfan. Soils were contaminated with commercial endosulfan. Six sets were maintained from two different soils, contaminated with different endosulfan concentrations for degradation experiments. Inoculated and uninoculated mineral media with Nocardia isolates were added to the soils and mixed. Soils were incubated at a certain temperature (30 °C) during ten weeks. Residue endosulfan and its metabolites’ concentrations were determined weekly during the incubation period. The changes of the soil microorganisms were investigated weekly.

Keywords: Endosulfan, biodegradation, Nocardia sp., soil, organochlorine pesticide.

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Authors: Dhaksha Vivekanandan

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DeFi is a network that avoids reliance on financial intermediaries through its peer-to-peer financial network. DeFi operates outside of government control; hence, it is important for us to understand its impacts. This study employs a literature review to understand DeFi and its emergence, as well as its implications on transparency, social impact, and regulation. Further, three case studies are analysed within the context of these categories. DeFi’s provision of increased transparency poses environmental and storage costs and can lead to user privacy being endangered. DeFi allows for the provision of entrepreneurial incentives and protection against monetary censorship and capital control. Despite DeFi's transparency issues and volatility costs, it has huge potential to reduce poverty; however, regulation surrounding DeFi still requires further tightening by governments.

Keywords: DeFi, transparency, regulation, social impact.

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Authors: Anastasia Katsamaki, Nikolaos Bilalis, Vassilis Dedoussis

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This work proposes a set of actions to assist redesign procedure in existing products of Electric and Electronic Equipment (EEE). The aim is to improve their environmental behavior after their withdrawal in the End-of-Life (EOL) phase. In the beginning data collection takes place. Then follows selection and implementation of the optimal EOL Treatment Strategy (EOL_TS) and its results- evaluation concerning the environment. In parallel, product design characteristics that can be altered are selected based on their significance for the environment in the EOL stage. All results from the previous stages are combined and possible redesign actions are formulated for further examination and afterwards configuration in the design stage. The applied method to perform these tasks is Lean Thinking (LT). At the end, results concerning the application of the proposed method on a distribution transformer are presented.

Keywords: End-of-life treatment, Lean thinking, WEEE

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Authors: Snezhana P. Kostova, Krassi V. Rumchev, Todor Vlaev, Silviya B. Popova

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Air pollution is still considered as one of the major environmental and health issues. There is enough research evidence to show a strong relationship between exposure to air contaminants and respiratory illnesses among children and adults. In this paper we used the Copula approach to study a potential relationship between selected air pollutants (PM10 and NO2) and hospital admissions for respiratory diseases. Kendall-s tau and Spearman-s rho rank correlation coefficients are calculated and used in Copula method. This paper demonstrates that copulas can be used to provide additional information as a measure of an association when compared to the standard correlation coefficients. The results find a significant correlation between the selected air pollutants and hospital admissions for most of the selected respiratory illnesses.

Keywords: Air pollution, Copula, Respiratory Health.

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Authors: Ali Reza Tahavvor, Saeed Hosseini, Nazli Jowkar, Behnam Amiri

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Heat transfer of leaves is a crucial factor in optimal operation of metabolic functions in plants. In order to quantify this phenomenon in different leaves and investigate the influence of leaf shape on heat transfer, natural convection for pine, orange and olive leaves was simulated as representatives of different groups of leaf shapes. CFD techniques were used in this simulation with the purpose to calculate heat transfer of leaves in similar environmental conditions. The problem was simulated for steady state and threedimensional conditions. From obtained results, it was concluded that heat fluxes of all three different leaves are almost identical, however, total rate of heat transfer have highest and lowest values for orange leaves, and pine leaves, respectively.

Keywords: Computational fluid dynamic, heat flux, heat transfer, natural convection.

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Authors: Musa Alhassan, Alhaji Mohammed Mustapha

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Review of studies carried out on the use of bagasse ash for the improvement of deficient soils in Nigeria, with emphasis on lateritic and black cotton soils is presented. Although, the bagasse ash is mostly used as additive to the conventional soil stabilizers (cement and lime), the studies generally showed improvement in the geotechnical properties of the soils, either modified or stabilized with the ash. This showed the potentials of using this agricultural waste (bagasse ash) in the improvement of geotechnical properties of deficient soils, thus suggesting that using this material at large scale level in geotechnical engineering practice could help in the provision of stable and durable structures, reduce cost of soil improvement and also reduces environmental nuisance caused by the unused waste in Nigeria.

Keywords: Bagasse ash, Black cotton soil, Deficient soil, Laterite, Soil improvement.

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Authors: Maria Inês Pinho

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Recent literature on issues of Cultural Management (also called Strategic Management for cultural organizations) systematically seeks for models that allow such equipment to adapt to the constant change that occurs in contemporary societies. In the last decade, the world, and in particular Europe has experienced a serious financial problem that has triggered defensive mechanisms, both in the direction of promoting the balance of public accounts and in the sense of the anonymous loss of the democratic and cultural values of each nation. If in the first case emerged the Troika that led to strong cuts in funding for Culture, deeply affecting those organizations; in the second case, the commonplace citizen is seen fighting for the non-closure of cultural equipment. Despite this, the cultural manager argues that there is no single formula capable of solving the need to adapt to change. In another way, it is up to this agent to know the existing scientific models and to adapt them in the best way to the reality of the institution he coordinates. These actions, as a rule, are concerned with the best performance vis-à-vis external audiences or with the financial sustainability of cultural organizations. They forget, therefore, that all this mechanics cannot function without its internal public, without its Human Resources. The employees of the cultural organization must then have an entrepreneurial posture - must be intrapreneurial. This paper intends to break this form of action and lead the cultural manager to understand that his role should be in the sense of creating value for society, through a good organizational performance. This is only possible with a posture of strategic entrepreneurship. In other words, with a link between: Cultural Management, Cultural Entrepreneurship and Cultural Intrapreneurship. In order to prove this assumption, the case study methodology was used with the symbol of the European Capital of Culture (Casa da Música) as well as qualitative and quantitative techniques. The qualitative techniques included the procedure of in-depth interviews to managers, founders and patrons and focus groups to public with and without experience in managing cultural facilities. The quantitative techniques involved the application of a questionnaire to middle management and employees of Casa da Música. After the triangulation of the data, it was proved that contemporary management of cultural organizations must implement among its practices, the concept of Strategic Entrepreneurship and its variables. Also, the topics which characterize the Cultural Intrapreneurship notion (job satisfaction, the quality in organizational performance, the leadership and the employee engagement and autonomy) emerged. The findings show then that to be sustainable, a cultural organization should meet the concerns of both external and internal forum. In other words, it should have an attitude of citizenship to the communities, visible on a social responsibility and a participatory management, only possible with the implementation of the concept of Strategic Entrepreneurship and its variable of Cultural Intrapreneurship.

Keywords: Cultural entrepreneurship, cultural intrapreneurship, cultural organizations, strategic management.

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Authors: T. Utarasakul

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Khao Yai National Park is the First National Park in Thailand and approximately 800,000 tourists visited Khao Yai yearly. This study aimed to identify the perception of tourists in Khao Yai National Park according to the implementation of eco-friendly cleansers along their leisure in the campsites. Due to tourist’s activities in the park were affected on quality of environment; especially on water resource. Therefore, eco-friendly cleansers were used in campsites for tourists and restaurants during high tourist season. The results indicated positive effects of environmental friendly cleansers on water quality in Lam Ta Khong River, as well as the tourist’s perception on eco-friendly cleansers.

Keywords: Eco-friendly cleansers, Campsite, Khao Yai National Park.

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Authors: Lori L. Scarlatos, Ryan Courtney

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This paper explores the impact that playing a casual game can have on a player's learning and subsequent behavior. A casual mobile game, Container Chaos, was created to teach undergraduate students about the carbon footprint of various disposable beverage containers. Learning was tested with a short quiz, and behavior was tested by observing which beverage containers players choose when offered a drink and a snack. The game was tested multiple times, under a variety of different circumstances. Findings of these tests indicate that, with extended play over time, players can learn new information and sometimes even change their behavior as a result. This has implications for how other casual games can be used to teach concepts and possibly modify behavior.

Keywords: Behavior, carbon footprint, casual games, environmental impact, material sciences.

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Authors: Bihter Yerli, Mustafa K. Kaymak, Ercan İzgi, Ahmet Öztopal, Ahmet D. Şahin

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As known that efficiency of photovoltaic cells is not high as desired level. Efficiency of PVs could be improved by selecting convenient locations that have high solar irradiation, sunshine duration, mild temperature, low level air pollution and dust concentration. Additionally, some environmental parameters called derating factors effect to decrease PV efficiencies such as cloud, high temperature, aerosol optical depth, high dust concentration, shadow, snow, humidity etc. In this paper, all parameters that effect PV efficiency are considered in detail under climatic conditions of Istanbul. A 750 Wp PV system with measurement devices is constructed in Maslak campus of Istanbul Technical University.

Keywords: Efficiency, Derating Factor, Istanbul, Photovoltaic.

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Authors: Mosses E. Lufuke

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This paper attempted to investigate whether there is Granger-causality running from trade to environment as evidenced in the changing climatic condition and land degradation. Using Tanzania as the reference, VAR-Granger-causality test was employed to rationalize the conundrum of causal-effect relationship between trade and environment. The changing climatic condition, as the proxy of both nitrous oxide emissions (in thousand metric tons of CO₂ equivalent) and land degradation measured by the size of arable land were tested against trade using both exports and imports variables. The result indicated that neither of the trade variables Granger-cause the variability on gas emissions and arable land size. This suggests the possibility that all trade concerns in relation to environment to have been internalized in domestic policies to offset any likely negative consequence.

Keywords: Trade, growth, impact, environment.

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Authors: Jiří Barta

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The paper deals with simulation programs of spread of harmful substances. Air pollution has a direct impact on the quality of human life and environmental protection is currently a very hot topic. Therefore, the paper focuses on the simulation of release of harmful substances. The first part of article deals with perspectives and possibilities of implementation outputs of simulations programs into the system which is education and of practical training of the management staff during emergency events in the frame of critical infrastructure. The last part shows the practical testing and evaluation of simulation programs. Of the tested simulations software been selected Symos97. The tool offers advanced features for setting leakage. Gradually allows the user to model the terrain, location, and method of escape of harmful substances.

Keywords: Computer Simulation, Symos97, spread, simulation software, harmful substances.

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