Search results for: Environmental impact assessment review

Authors: F.S.Tashimova, A. Mirzabekova, Z. Ismagambetova, Y. Massanov, Z. Gabit

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In the globalization process, when the struggle for minds and values of the people is taking place, the impact of the virtual space can cause unexpected effects and consequences in the process of adjustment of young people in this world. Their special significance is defined by unconscious influence on the underlying process of meaning and therefore the values preached by them are much more effective and affect both the personal characteristics and the peculiarities of adjustment process. Related to this the challenge is to identify factors influencing the reflection characteristics of virtual subjects and measures their impact on the personal characteristics of the students.

Keywords: Coping behavior, overcoming, personalization (representation), psychological defense, values, virtual space, virtual subject, subjective reflection.

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Authors: Timothy Adam Boleratzky

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The goal of this transformative endeavour lies in the repurposing of textile scraps, heralding a renaissance in the creation of wearable art. Through a judicious fusion of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies and cutting-edge techniques, this research embarks upon a voyage of exploration, unravelling the intricate tapestry of environmental implications woven into the fabric of textile waste. Delving deep into the annals of empirical evidence and scholarly discourse, the study not only elucidates the urgent imperative for waste reduction strategies but also unveils the transformative potential inherent in embracing circular economy principles within the hallowed halls of fashion. As the research unfurls its sails, guided by the compass of sustainability, it traverses uncharted territories, charting a course toward a more enlightened and responsible fashion ecosystem. The canvas upon which this journey unfolds is richly adorned with insights gleaned from the crucible of experimentation, laying bare the myriad pathways toward waste minimisation and resource optimisation. From the adoption of recycling strategies to the cultivation of eco-friendly production techniques, the research endeavours to sculpt a blueprint for a more sustainable future, one stitch at a time. In this unfolding narrative, the role of wearable art emerges as a potent catalyst for change, transcending the boundaries of conventional fashion to embrace a more holistic ethos of sustainability. Through the alchemy of creativity and craftsmanship, discarded textile scraps are imbued with new life, morphing into exquisite creations that serve as both a testament to human ingenuity and a rallying cry for environmental preservation. Each thread, each stitch, becomes a silent harbinger of change, weaving together a tapestry of hope in a world besieged by ecological uncertainty. As the research journey culminates, its echoes resonate far beyond the confines of academia, reverberating through the corridors of industry and beyond. In its wake, it leaves a legacy of empowerment and enlightenment, inspiring a generation of designers, entrepreneurs, and consumers to embrace a more sustainable vision of fashion. For in the intricate interplay of threads and textiles lies the promise of a brighter, more resilient future, where beauty coexists harmoniously with responsibility and where fashion becomes not merely an expression of style but a celebration of sustainability.

Keywords: Fabric-manipulation, sustainability, textiles, waste, wearable-art.

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Authors: Fardin Boustani, M Hojati , S Ebrahimzadeh

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The Kowsar dam supply water for different usages such as drinking, industrial, agricultural and aquaculture farms usages and located next to the city of Dehdashat in Kohgiluye and Boyerahmad province in southern Iran. There are some towns and villages on the Kowsar dam watersheds, which Dehdasht and Choram are the most important and populated cities in this area. The study was undertaken to assess the status of water quality in the urban areas of the Kowsar dam. A total of 28 water samples were collected from 6 stations on surface water and 1 station from groundwater on the watershed of the Kowsar dam. All the samples were analyzed for Ni concentration using standard procedures. The results were compared with other national and international standards. Among the analyzed samples, as the maximum value of Nickel (0.01 mg/L) was observed on the station 2 at the autumn 2010, all the samples analyzed were within the maximum admissible limits by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, EU, WHO and the Iranian. In general results of the present study have shown that a Ni mean value of station No. 2 with 0.006 mg/L is higher than the other stations. Ni level of all samples and stations have had normal values and this is an indication of pollution potential and hazards because of human activity and waste water of towns in the areas, which can effect on human health implications in future. This research, therefore, recommends the government and other responsible authorities to take suitable improving measures in the Kowsar dam watersheds.

Keywords: Kowsar dam, Drinking water quality, Nickel, Maximum admissible limit, World health organization

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Authors: Zabre Eric, Román Rafael

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This article presents the evolution and technological changes implemented on the full scale simulators developed by the Simulation Department of the Instituto de Investigaciones Eléctricas1 (Mexican Electric Research Institute) and located at different training centers around the Mexican territory, and allows US to know the last updates, basically from the input/output view point, of the current simulators at some facilities of the electrical sector as well as the compatible industry of the electrical manufactures and industries such as Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE*, The utility Mexican company). Tendencies of these developments and impact within the operators- scope are also presented.

Keywords: Control room, communication protocol, instructor console, modeling, controller, training simulator

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Authors: S. Mohajer, R. M. Taha, M. Adel

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Developing our knowledge of when pineapple roots grow can lead to improved water, fertilizer applications, and more precise culture management. This paper presents current understanding of morphological traits in pineapple roots, highlighting studies using incubation periods and various solid MS media treated with different sucrose concentrations and pH, which directly assess in vitro environmental factors. Rooting parameters had different optimal sucrose concentrations and incubation periods. All shoots failed to root in medium supplemented with sucrose at 5 g/L and no roots formed within the first 45 days in medium enriched with sucrose at 10 g/L. After 75 days, all shoots rooted in medium enriched with 10 and 20 g/L sucrose. Moreover, MS medium supplied with 20 g/L sucrose resulted in the longest and the highest number of roots with 27.3 mm and 4.7, respectively. Root function, such as capacity for P and N uptake, declined rapidly with root length. As a result, the longer the incubation period, the better the rooting responses would be.

Keywords: Environmental factors, in vitro rooting, pineapple, tissue culture.

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Authors: Viviane Nascimento, Dania Mehmod

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Introduction: The Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease was firstly reported in Asia at the end of 2019 and became a pandemic at the beginning of 2020. It resulted in a significant impact over the global economy and the health care systems around the world. The immediate measure adopted worldwide to contain the virus was mainly the lockdown and curfews. This certainly had an important impact on expats workers due to the financial insecurity, culture barrier and distance from the family. Saudi Arabia has one of the largest flows of foreign workers in the world and expats are the majority of the workforce. The aim of this essay was assessing the psychological impact of COVID-19 in non-health care expats living in Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study was conducted in a construction company in Riyadh with non-health care employees. The cross-sectional study protocol was approved by the company's executive management. Employees who verbally agreed to participate in the study were asked to anonymously answer a questionnaire validated for behavioral research (DASS-21). In addition, a second questionnaire was created to assess feelings and emotions. Results: More than a third of participants screened positive for one or more psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety and stress) on the DASS-21 scale. Moreover, it was observed an increase on negative feelings on the additional questionnaire. Conclusion: This study reveals an increase on negative feelings and psychological symptoms among non-health care migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of this, it is crucial to understand the emotional effects caused by the pandemic on migrant workers in order to create supportive and informative strategies minimizing the emotional impact on this vulnerable group.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi Arabia, psychological effects, migrant workers.

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Authors: Zayed Freah Zeadat

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The wellbeing of urban dwellers is strongly associated with the quality and quantity of green infrastructure. Nevertheless, urban green infrastructure is still lagging in many Arab cities, and Jordan is no exception. The capital city of Jordan, Amman, is becoming more urban dense with limited green spaces. The unplanned urban growth in Amman has caused several environmental problems such as urban heat islands, air pollution and lack of green spaces. This study aims to investigate the most suitable drivers to leverage the implementation of urban green infrastructure in Jordan through qualitative and quantitative analysis. The qualitative research includes an extensive literature review to discuss the most common drivers used internationally to promote urban green infrastructure implementation in the literature. The quantitative study employs a questionnaire survey to rank the suitability of each driver. Consultants, contractors and policymakers were invited to fill the research questionnaire according to their judgments and opinions. Relative Importance Index has been used to calculate the weighted average of all drivers and the Kruskal-Wallis test to check the degree of agreement among groups. This study finds that research participants agreed that indirect financial incentives (i.e., tax reductions, reduction in stormwater utility fee, reduction of interest rate, density bonus etc.) are the most effective incentive policy whilst granting sustainability certificate policy is the least effective driver to ensure widespread of UGI is elements in Jordan.

Keywords: sustainable development, urban green infrastructure, relative importance index, urban Jordan

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Authors: Sirimanee Banjong

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This study aimed to 1) develop pre-service teachers’ leadership skills through camp-based learning, and 2) develop preservice teachers’ teamwork skills through camp-based learning. An applied research methodology was used. The target group was derived from a purposive selection. It involved 32 fourth-year students in Early Childhood Education Program enrolling a course entitled Seminar in Early Childhood Education provided during second semester of academic year 2013. The treatment was camp-based learning activities which applied a PDCA process including four stages: 1) plan, 2) do, 3) check, and 4) act. Research instruments were a learning camp program, a camp-based learning management plan, a 5-level assessment form for leadership skills and a 5-level assessment form for assessing teamwork skills. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results were: 1) pre-service teachers’ leadership skills yielded the before treatment average score at x= 3.4, S.D.=0.6 2and the after-treatment average score at x 4.29 , S.D.=0.66 pre-service teachers’ teamwork skills yielded the before-treatment average score at x=3.31, S.D.=0.60 and the after-treatment average score at x=4.42, S.D.=0.66 Both differences were statistically significant at the .05 level. Thus, the pre-service teachers’ leadership and teamwork skills were significantly improved through the camp-based learning approach.

Keywords: Learning camp, leadership skills, teamwork skills.

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Authors: Amir Eghbal Khajeh Rahimi, Fardin Boustani, Omid Tabiee, Masoud Hashemi

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The Beshar River is one of the most important aquatic ecosystems in the upstream of the Karun watershed in south of Iran which is affected by point and non point pollutant sources . This study was done in order to evaluate the effects of pollutants activities on the water quality of the Beshar river and its aquatic ecosystems. This river is approximately 190 km in length and situated at the geographical positions of 51° 20´ to 51° 48´ E and 30° 18´ to 30° 52´ N it is one of the most important aquatic ecosystems of Kohkiloye and Boyerahmad province in south-west Iran. In this research project, five study stations were selected to examine water pollution in the Beshar River systems. Human activity is now one of the most important factors affecting on hydrology and water quality of the Beshar river. Humans use large amounts of resources to sustain various standards of living, although measures of sustainability are highly variable depending on how sustainability is defined. The Beshar river ecosystems are particularly sensitive and vulnerable to human activities. Therefore, to determine the impact of human activities on the Beshar River, the most important water quality parameters such as pH, dissolve oxygen (DO), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Total Dissolve Solids (TDS), Nitrates (NO3-N) and Phosphates (PO4) were estimated at the five stations. As the results show, the most important pollution index parameters such as BOD5, NO3 and PO4 increase and DO and pH decrease according to human activities (P<0.05). However, due to pollutant degradation and dilution, pollution index parameters improve downstream sampling stations.

Keywords: Human activities, Water pollution, Beshar River, Iran.

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Authors: S. Jarernprasert, E. Bazan-Zurita, P. C. Rizzo

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Currently, seismic probabilistic risk assessments (SPRA) for nuclear facilities use In-Structure Response Spectra (ISRS) in the calculation of fragilities for systems and components. ISRS are calculated via dynamic analyses of the host building subjected to two orthogonal components of horizontal ground motion. Each component is defined as the median motion in any horizontal direction. Structural engineers applied the components along selected X and Y Cartesian axes. The ISRS at different locations in the building are also calculated in the X and Y directions. The choice of the directions of X and Y are not specified by the ground motion model with respect to geographic coordinates, and are rather arbitrarily selected by the structural engineer. Normally, X and Y coincide with the “principal” axes of the building, in the understanding that this practice is generally conservative. For SPRA purposes, however, it is desirable to remove any conservatism in the estimates of median ISRS. This paper examines the effects of the direction of horizontal seismic motion on the ISRS on typical nuclear structure. We also evaluate the variability of ISRS calculated along different horizontal directions. Our results indicate that some central measures of the ISRS provide robust estimates that are practically independent of the selection of the directions of the horizontal Cartesian axes.

Keywords: Seismic, Directionality, In-Structure Response Spectra, Probabilistic Risk Assessment.

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Authors: Lucie Novakova, Petr Homola, Vaclav Kafka

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Asymmetric incremental sheet forming (AISF) could significantly reduce costs incurred by the fabrication of complex industrial components with a minimal environmental impact. The AISF experiments were carried out on commercially pure titanium (Ti-Gr2), Timetal (15-3-3-3) alloy, and Ti-6Al-4V (Ti-Gr5) alloy. A special testing geometry was used to characterize the titanium alloys properties from the point of view of the forming zone and titanium structure effect. The structure and properties of the materials were assessed by means of metallographic analyses and microhardness measurements.The highest differences in the parameters assessed as a function of the sampling zone were observed in the case of alpha-phase Ti-Gr2at the expense of the most substantial sheet thinning occurrence. A springback causes a smaller stored deformation in Timetal (β alloy) resulting in less pronounced microstructure refinement and microhardness increase. Ti-6Al-4V alloy exhibited early failure due to its poor formability at ambient temperature.

 

Keywords: Incremental forming, metallography, hardness, titanium alloys.

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Authors: Supattra Aomumpai, Chutima Prommak

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This paper presents a studyof the impact of reference node locations on the accuracy of the indoor positioning systems. In particular, we analyze the localization accuracy of the RSSI database mapping techniques, deploying on the IEEE 802.15.4 wireless networks. The results show that the locations of the reference nodes used in the positioning systems affect the signal propagation characteristics in the service area. Thisin turn affects the accuracy of the wireless indoor positioning system. We found that suitable location of reference nodes could reduce the positioning error upto 35 %.

Keywords: Indoor positioning systems, IEEE 802.15.4 wireless networks, Signal propagation characteristics

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Authors: An Hong Nguyen, Chatpan Chintanapakdee, Toshiro Hayashikawa

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Presented herein is an assessment of current nonlinear static procedures (NSPs) for seismic evaluation of bucklingrestrained braced frames (BRBFs) which have become a favorable lateral-force resisting system for earthquake resistant buildings. The bias and accuracy of modal, improved modal pushover analysis (MPA, IMPA) and mass proportional pushover (MPP) procedures are comparatively investigated when they are applied to BRBF buildings subjected to two sets of strong ground motions. The assessment is based on a comparison of seismic displacement demands such as target roof displacements, peak floor/roof displacements and inter-story drifts. The NSP estimates are compared to 'exact' results from nonlinear response history analysis (NLRHA). The response statistics presented show that the MPP procedure tends to significantly overestimate seismic demands of lower stories of tall buildings considered in this study while MPA and IMPA procedures provide reasonably accurate results in estimating maximum inter-story drift over all stories of studied BRBF systems.

Keywords: Buckling-restrained braced frames, nonlinearresponse history analysis, nonlinear static procedure, seismicdemands.

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Authors: Mohd K. Yunus, Murni M. Ahmad, Abrar Inayat, Suzana Yusup

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Due to the environmental and price issues of current energy crisis, scientists and technologists around the globe are intensively searching for new environmentally less-impact form of clean energy that will reduce the high dependency on fossil fuel. Particularly hydrogen can be produced from biomass via thermochemical processes including pyrolysis and gasification due to the economic advantage and can be further enhanced through in-situ carbon dioxide removal using calcium oxide. This work focuses on the synthesis and development of the flowsheet for the enhanced biomass gasification process in PETRONAS-s iCON process simulation software. This hydrogen prediction model is conducted at operating temperature between 600 to 1000oC at atmospheric pressure. Effects of temperature, steam-to-biomass ratio and adsorbent-to-biomass ratio were studied and 0.85 mol fraction of hydrogen is predicted in the product gas. Comparisons of the results are also made with experimental data from literature. The preliminary economic potential of developed system is RM 12.57 x 106 which equivalent to USD 3.77 x 106 annually shows economic viability of this process.

Keywords: Biomass, Gasification, Hydrogen, iCON.

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Authors: Waqar Haque, Pai Qi

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The speculative locking (SL) protocol extends the twophase locking (2PL) protocol to allow for parallelism among conflicting transactions. The adaptive speculative locking (ASL) protocol provided further enhancements and outperformed SL protocols under most conditions. Neither of these protocols consider the impact of network latency on the performance of the distributed database systems. We have studied the performance of ASL protocol taking into account the communication overhead. The results indicate that though system load can counter network latency, it can still become a bottleneck in many situations. The impact of latency on performance depends on many factors including the system resources. A flexible discrete event simulator was used as the testbed for this study.

Keywords: concurrency control, distributed database systems, speculative locking

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Authors: H. Erbiyik, A. Bal, M. Sirakaya, Ö. Yesildal, E. Yolcu

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The emergence of many environmental issues began with the Industrial Revolution. The depletion of natural resources and emerging environmental challenges over time requires enterprises and managers to take into consideration environmental factors while managing business. If we take notice of these causes; the design and implementation of environmentally friendly green purchasing, production and waste management systems become very important at green logistics systems. Companies can adopt green supply chain with the awareness of these facts. The concept of green supply chain constitutes from green purchasing, green production, green logistics, waste management and reverse logistics. In this study, we wanted to identify the concept of green supply chain and why green supply chain should be applied. In the practice part of the study an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) study is conducted on an aluminum production company to evaluate suppliers.

Keywords: Aluminum sector, analytic hierarchy process, decision making, green logistics.

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Authors: Alan Dormer

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Business rules are widely used within the services sector. They provide consistency and allow relatively unskilled staff to process complex transactions correctly. But there are many examples where the rules themselves have an impact on the costs and profits of an organisation. Financial services, transport and human services are areas where the rules themselves can impact the bottom line in a predictable way. If this is the case, how can we find that set of rules that maximise profit, performance or customer service, or any other key performance indicators? The manufacturing, energy and process industries have embraced mathematical optimisation techniques to improve efficiency, increase production and so on. This paper explores several real world (but simplified) problems in the services sector and shows how business rules can be optimised. It also examines the similarities and differences between the service and other sectors, and how optimisation techniques could be used to deliver similar benefits.

Keywords: Business rules, services, optimisation.

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Authors: Adesanya Anuoluwapo Olusola

Abstract:

Technology has moved into the classroom, and it becomes difficult talking of achievement in and attitude to learning without making mention of it. The use of technology makes learning easy, real and practical as it motivates learners, sustains their interest and improves their attitude to learning. This study, therefore examined the pre-service teachers’ assessment of information technology application to instruction. The use of technology emphasizes and encourages active learning in the classroom. The study involved 100 pre-service teachers in the selected two (2) Colleges of Education, Nigeria. Purposive random sampling was used in selecting the participants and ex-post facto design was adopted the in which there is no manipulation of variables. Two valid and reliable instruments were used for data collection: Access Point ICT facilities and Application of ICT. The study established that pre-service teachers have less access to ICT facilities and Application of ICT in the college, apart from those students having the access outside the college. Also fewer pre-service teachers used ICT facilities on weekly and monthly bases. It was concluded that the establishment of students’ resources centres and Campus wide wireless connectivity must be implemented so as to improve and enhance students’ achievement in and attitude to learning. The time and attention devoted to learning activities and strategic specialized ICT skills and requisite entrepreneur skills should be increased so as to have easy access to information sources and be able to apply it in teaching process.

Keywords: Computer, ICT Application, Learning Facilities, Pre-Service Teachers.

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Authors: F. F. Howard, C. B. Boye, I. Yakubu, J. S. Y. Kuma

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One of the ways that could be used for the production of land use and land cover maps by a procedure known as image classification is the use of the remote sensing technique. Numerous elements ought to be taken into consideration, including the availability of highly satisfactory Landsat imagery, secondary data and a precise classification process. The goal of this study was to classify and map the land use and land cover of the study area using remote sensing and Geospatial Information System (GIS) analysis. The classification was done using Landsat 8 satellite images acquired in December 2020 covering the study area. The Landsat image was downloaded from the USGS. The Landsat image with 30 m resolution was geo-referenced to the WGS_84 datum and Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone 30N coordinate projection system. A radiometric correction was applied to the image to reduce the noise in the image. This study consists of two sections: the Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) and Accuracy Assessments using the confusion and contingency matrix and the Kappa coefficient. The LULC classifications were vegetation (agriculture) (67.87%), water bodies (0.01%), mining areas (5.24%), forest (26.02%), and settlement (0.88%). The overall accuracy of 97.87% and the kappa coefficient (K) of 97.3% were obtained for the confusion matrix. While an overall accuracy of 95.7% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.947 were obtained for the contingency matrix, the kappa coefficients were rated as substantial; hence, the classified image is fit for further research.

Keywords: Confusion Matrix, contingency matrix, kappa coefficient, land used/ land cover, accuracy assessment.

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Authors: A. Danladi, I. O. Patrick

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Particle boards were prepared from Maize cob (MC) and urea-formaldehyde resin (UFR) on compression moulding machine. The amount of MC was varied from 50-120g while 30g of UFR was kept constant. Some mechanical properties of the particle boards were tested using the standard ASM methods. The results show that as the MC content increased from 50- 120g in 30g UFR, the hardness increased from about 6.89 x 10² to7.51 x 10²MPa. Impact strength decreased from 3.3x 10^-2 to 0.45 x 10^-2J/M², while tensile strength initially increased from 2.63 x 10² to 3.14 x 10² MPa as the MC increased from 50 to 60g in 30g UFR, thereafter, it decreased to about 1.35 x 10²MPa at 120g in 30g content.

Keywords: Hardness, Impact strength, Maize cob, Tensile strength and Urea-formaldehyde resin.

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Authors: M. Margoudi, Z. Smyrnaiou

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The current paper presents the results of a conducted case study. During the past few years the number of children diagnosed with Learning Difficulties has drastically augmented and especially the cases of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). One of the core characteristics of ADHD is a deficit in working memory functions. The review of the literature indicates a plethora of educational software that aim at training and enhancing the working memory. Nevertheless, in the current paper, the possibility of using for the same purpose free, online games will be explored. Another issue of interest is the potential effect of the working memory training to the core symptoms of ADHD. In order to explore the abovementioned research questions, three digital tests are employed, all of which are developed on the E-slate platform by the author, in order to check the levels of ADHD’s symptoms and to be used as diagnostic tools, both in the beginning and in the end of the case study. The tools used during the main intervention of the research are free online games for the training of working memory. The research and the data analysis focus on the following axes: a) the presence and the possible change in two of the core symptoms of ADHD, attention and impulsivity and b) a possible change in the general cognitive abilities of the individual. The case study was conducted with the participation of a thirteen year-old, female student, diagnosed with ADHD, during after-school hours. The results of the study indicate positive changes both in the levels of attention and impulsivity. Therefore, we conclude that the training of working memory through the use of free, online games has a positive impact on the characteristics of ADHD. Finally, concerning the second research question, the change in general cognitive abilities, no significant changes were noted.

Keywords: ADHD, attention, impulsivity, online games.

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Authors: M. Laamim, A. Benazzouz, A. Rochd, A. Ghennioui, A. El Fadili, M. Benzaazoua

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Smart grids have recently sparked a lot of interest in the energy sector as they allow for the modernization and digitization of the existing power infrastructure. Smart grids have several advantages in terms of reducing the environmental impact of generating power from fossil fuels due to their capacity to integrate large amounts of distributed energy resources. On the other hand, smart grid technologies necessitate many field investigations and requirements. This paper focuses on the major difficulties that governments face around the world and compares them to the situation in Morocco. Also presented in this study are the current works and projects being developed to improve the penetration of smart grid technologies into the electrical system. Furthermore, the findings of this study will be useful to promote the smart grid revolution in Morocco, as well as to construct a strong foundation and develop future needs for better penetration of technologies that aid in the integration of smart grid features.

Keywords: Smart grids, microgrids, virtual power plants, digital twin, distributed energy resources, vehicle-to-grid, advanced metering infrastructure.

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Authors: Qasim Hamakhurshid Hamamurad, Normal Mat Jusoh, Uznir Ujang

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The concept of the city with an infrastructure of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) embraces several definitions depending on the meanings of the word "smart" which include: intelligent city, smart city, knowledge city, ubiquitous city, sustainable city, and digital city. Many definitions of the city exist, but this study explores which one has been universally acknowledged. From the literature analysis, it emerges that the term smart city is the most used in the articles to show the smartness of a city. This paper shares exploration of the research from the seven main website digital databases and journals focusing on the smart city from January 2015 to February 2020 to: (a) Time research, to examine the causes of the smart city phenomenon and other concept literature in the last five years; (b) Review of words, to see how and where the smart city specification and relation of different definitions are implemented; (c) Geographical research to consider where smart cities' greatest concentrations are in the world and determine if Malaysians are interacting with the smart city; and (d) How many papers are published in all of Malaysia from 2015 to 2020 about smart cities. Three steps are followed to accomplish the aim of this study: (1) The analysis which covered a systematic literature review search strategy to gather a representative sub-set of papers on the smart city and other definitions utilizing GoogleScholar, Elsevier, Scopus, ScienceDirect, IEEEXplore, WebofScience, and Springer between January 2015-February 2020; (2) The formation of a bibliometric map based on the bibliometric evaluation using the mapping technique VOSviewer to visualize differences; (3) VOSviewer application program to build initial clusters. The bibliometric analytical findings targeted the word harmony.

Keywords: Bibliometric research, smart city, ICT, VOSviewer, urban modernization.

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Authors: Chin-Pin, Chen, Shi-Chi, Shiao, Ting-Hao, Lin

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Current industry is facing the rapid development of new technology in the world and fierce changes of economic environment in the society so that the industry development trend gradually does not focus on labor, but leads the industry and the academic circle with innovation and creativity. The development trend in machinery industry presents the same situation. Based on the aim of Creativity White Paper, Ministry of Education in Taiwan promotes and develops various creativity contests to cope with the industry trend. Domestic students and enterprises have good performance on domestic and international creativity contests in recent years. There must be important creative elements in such creative works to win the award among so many works. Literature review and in-depth interview with five creativity contest awarded instructors are first proceeded to conclude 15 machinery creative elements, which are further compared with the creative elements of machinery awarded creative works in past five years to understand the relationship between awarded works and creative elements. The statistical analysis results show that IDEA (Industrial Design Excellence Award) contains the most creative elements among four major international creativity contests. That is, most creativity review focuses on creative elements that are comparatively stricter. Concerning the groups participating in creativity contests, enterprises consider more creative elements of the creative works than other two elements for contests. From such contest works, creative elements of “replacement or improvement”, “convenience”, and “modeling” present higher significance. It is expected that the above findings could provide domestic colleges and universities with reference for participating in creativity related contests in the future.

Keywords: Machinery, creativity contest, creative elements, creativity works.

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Authors: Paola Lecca

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Modeling and simulation of biochemical reactions is of great interest in the context of system biology. The central dogma of this re-emerging area states that it is system dynamics and organizing principles of complex biological phenomena that give rise to functioning and function of cells. Cell functions, such as growth, division, differentiation and apoptosis are temporal processes, that can be understood if they are treated as dynamic systems. System biology focuses on an understanding of functional activity from a system-wide perspective and, consequently, it is defined by two hey questions: (i) how do the components within a cell interact, so as to bring about its structure and functioning? (ii) How do cells interact, so as to develop and maintain higher levels of organization and functions? In recent years, wet-lab biologists embraced mathematical modeling and simulation as two essential means toward answering the above questions. The credo of dynamics system theory is that the behavior of a biological system is given by the temporal evolution of its state. Our understanding of the time behavior of a biological system can be measured by the extent to which a simulation mimics the real behavior of that system. Deviations of a simulation indicate either limitations or errors in our knowledge. The aim of this paper is to summarize and review the main conceptual frameworks in which models of biochemical networks can be developed. In particular, we review the stochastic molecular modelling approaches, by reporting the principal conceptualizations suggested by A. A. Markov, P. Langevin, A. Fokker, M. Planck, D. T. Gillespie, N. G. van Kampfen, and recently by D. Wilkinson, O. Wolkenhauer, P. S. Jöberg and by the author.

Keywords: Mathematical structure, algorithmic implementation, biochemical network models.

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Authors: Svetlana Pushkar

Abstract:

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system is recognized in Europe. LEED uses regional priority (RP) points that are adapted to different environmental conditions. However, the appropriateness of the RP points is still a controversial question. To clarify this issue, two different parts of Europe: northern Europe (Finland and Sweden) and southern Europe (Turkey and Spain) were considered. Similarities and differences in the performances of LEED 2009-new construction (LEED-NC 2009) in these four countries were analyzed. It was found that LEED-NC 2009 performances in northern and southern parts of Europe in terms of Sustainable Sites (SS), Water Efficiency (WE), Materials and Resources (MR), and Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) were similar, whereas in Energy and Atmosphere (EA), their performances were different. WE and SS revealed high performances (70-100%); EA and EQ demonstrated intermediate performance (40-60%); and MR displayed low performance (20-40%). It should be recommended introducing the following new RP points: for Turkey - water-related points and for all four observed countries - green power-related points for improving the LEED adaptation in Europe.

Keywords: Green building, Europe, LEED, regional priority points.

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Authors: Fakhrullah Sarwari, Hiroko Ono

Abstract:

Kabul city has suffered a lot in 40 years of conflict of civil war and “The war on terror”. After the invasion of Afghanistan by the United States of America and its allies in 2001, the Taliban was removed from operational power, but The Taliban and other terrorist groups remained in remote areas of the country, they started suicide attacks and bombings. Hence to protect from these attacks officials surrounded their office buildings and houses with concrete blast walls. It gives a bad landscape to the city and creates traffic congestions. Our research contains; questionnaire, reviewing Kabul Municipality documents and literature review. Questionnaires were distributed to Kabul citizens to find out how people feel by seeing the T-Walls on Kabul streets? And what problems they face with T-Walls. “The T-Walls pull down commission” of Kabul Municipality documents were reviewed to find out what caused the failure of this commission. A literature review has been done to compare Kabul with Washington D.C on how they designed the city against terrorism threat without turning the cities into lock down. Bogota city of Columbia urban happiness movement is reviewed and compared with Kabul. The finding of research revealed that citizens of Kabul want security but not at the expense of public realm and creating the architecture of fear. It also indicates that increasing the T-walls do not give secure feeling but instead; it increases terror, hatred and affect people’s optimism. At the end, a series of recommendation is suggested on the issue.

Keywords: Anti-terror design, Kabul, T-Walls, urban happiness.

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Authors: Kanokrat Makkwao, Tassanee Prueksasit

Abstract:

This study aimed to investigate PM₁₀ emitted from different limestone mines in Saraburi province, Thailand. The blasting and crushing were the main processes selected for PM₁₀ sampling. PM₁₀ was collected in two mines including, a limestone mine for cement manufacturing (mine A) and a limestone mine for construction (mine B). The IMPACT samplers were used to collect PM₁₀. At blasting, the points aligning with the upwind and downwind direction were assigned for the sampling. The ranges of PM₁₀ concentrations at mine A and B were 0.267-5.592 and 0.130-0.325 mg/m³, respectively, and the concentration at blasting from mine A was significantly higher than mine B (p < 0.05). During crushing at mine A, the PM₁₀ concentration with the range of 1.153-3.716 and 0.085-1.724 mg/m³ at crusher and piles in respectively were observed whereas the PM₁₀ concentration measured at four sampling points in mine B, including secondary crusher, tertiary crusher, screening point, and piles, were ranged 1.032-16.529, 10.957-74.057, 0.655-4.956, and 0.169-1.699 mg/m³, respectively. The emission of PM₁₀ concentration at the crushing units was different in the ranges depending on types of machine, its operation, dust collection and control system, and environmental conditions.

Keywords: Blasting, crushing, limestone mines, PM10 concentration.

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Authors: Salwa Aftab, Sehrish Riaz

Abstract:

The objective of this study was to check the impact of grade sensitivity on learning motivation and academic performance of students and to remove the degree of difference that exists among students regarding the cause of their learning motivation and also to gain knowledge about this matter since it has not been adequately researched. Data collection was primarily done through the academic sector of Pakistan and was depended upon the responses given by students solely. A sample size of 208 university students was selected. Both paper and online surveys were used to collect data from respondents. The results of the study revealed that grade sensitivity has a positive relationship with the learning motivation of students and their academic performance. These findings were carried out through systematic correlation and regression analysis.

Keywords: Academic performance, correlation, grade sensitivity, learning motivation, regression.

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Authors: A. Abbas Khalaf, L. Issazadeh, Z. Arif Abdullah, J. Hassanpour

Abstract:

In order to evaluate the growth and yield properties of two Sorghum-Sudangrass hybrids under different irrigation levels, an investigation was done in the experiment site of Collage of Agriculture, University of Duhok, Kurdistan region of Iraq (36°5´38^⸗ N, 42°52´02^⸗ E) in the years 2015-16. The experiment was conducted under Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications, which main factor was irrigation treatments (I₁₀₀, I₇₅ and I₅₀) according to evaporation pan class A and type of Sorghum-Sudangrass hybrids (KH12SU9001, G₁) and (KH12SU9002, G₂) were factors of subplots. The parameters studied were: plant height (cm), number of green leaves per plant; leaf area (m²/m²), stem thickness (mm), percent of protein, fresh and dry biomass (ton.ha^-1) and also crop water productivity. The results of variance analysis showed that KH12SU9001 variety had more amount of leaf area, percent of protein, fresh and dry biomass yield in comparison to KH12SU9002 variety. By comparing effects of irrigation levels on vegetative growth and yield properties, results showed that amount of plant height, fresh and dry biomass weight was decreased by decreasing irrigation level from full irrigation regime to 5 _o% of irrigation level. Also, results of crop water productivity (CWP) indicated that improvement in quantity of irrigation would impact fresh and dry biomass yield significantly. Full irrigation regime was recorded the highest level of CWP (1.28-1.29 kg.m^-3).

Keywords: Deficit irrigation, growth, Sorghum-Sudangrass hybrid, yield.

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