Search results for: drivers of agricultural growth

Authors: Sergio Luna, Raquel Rodríguez-Carvajal

Abstract:

This research examines the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention in optimizing psychological well-being, with a particular focus on self-esteem, due to the rapid growth and consolidation of social network use and the increased frequency and intensity of upward comparisons of the self. The study aims to assess the potential of a mindfulness-based intervention to improve self-esteem and, in particular, to contribute to its greater stability by reducing levels of contingent self-esteem. Results show that an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program was effective in increasing participants' (n = 206) trait mindfulness, explicit self-esteem, and well-being, while decreasing contingent self-esteem. Furthermore, the study found that improvements in both explicit and contingent self-esteem were significantly correlated with increases in psychological well-being, but that contingent self-esteem had a stronger effect on well-being than explicit self-esteem. These findings highlight the importance of considering additional dimensions of self-esteem beyond levels and suggest that mindfulness-based interventions may be a valuable tool for promoting a healthier form of self-esteem that contributes to personal well-being.

Keywords: Mindfulness-based stress reduction, contingent self-esteem, explicit self-esteem, well-being.

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Authors: G. Trigui, B. Laroche, M. Miquel, B. Dubreucq, A. Trubuil

Abstract:

The subcellular organelles called oil bodies (OBs) are lipid-filled quasi-spherical droplets produced from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and then released into the cytoplasm during seed development. It is believed that an OB grows by coalescence with other OBs and that its stability depends on the composition of oleosins, major proteins inserted in the hemi membrane that covers OBs. In this study, we measured the OB-volume distribution from different genotypes of A. thaliana after 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 days of seed development. In order to test the hypothesis of OBs dynamics, we developed a simple mathematical model using non-linear differential equations inspired from the theory of coagulation. The model describes the evolution of OB-volume distribution during the first steps of seed development by taking into consideration the production of OBs, the increase of triacylglycerol volume to be stored, and the growth by coalescence of OBs. Fitted parameters values show an increase in the OB production and coalescence rates in A. thaliana oleosin mutants compared to wild type.

Keywords: Biogenesis, coalescence, oil body, oleosin, population dynamics.

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Authors: Khaled Elbehiery, Hussam Elbehiery

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Smart cities are a framework of technologies along with sustainable infrastructure to provide their citizens an improved quality of life, safer environment, affordability, and more, which in turn helps with the society's economic growth. The proposed research will focus on the primary building block of the smart city; the infrastructure of the house itself. The traditional method of building houses has been, for a long time, nothing but a costly manufacturing process, and consequently, buying a house becomes not an option for everyone anymore. The smart cities' Modular Houses are not using traditional building construction materials; the design reduces the common lengthy construction times and associated high costs. The Modular Houses are technological homes, low-cost and customizable based on a family's requirements. In addition, the Modular Houses are environmentally friendly and healthy enough to assist with the pandemic situation.

Keywords: Smart cities, modular houses, single-unit property, multi-unit property, mobility features, chain-supply, livable environment, carbon footprint.

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Authors: Jürgen Roßmann, Gerrit Alves

Abstract:

In today-s world, the efficient utilization of wood resources comes more and more to the mind of forest owners. It is a very complex challenge to ensure an efficient harvest of the wood resources. This is one of the scopes the project “Virtual Forest II" addresses. Its core is a database with data about forests containing approximately 260 million trees located in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Based on this data, tree growth simulations and wood mobilization simulations can be conducted. This paper focuses on the latter. It describes a discrete-event-simulation with an attached 3-D real time visualization which simulates timber harvest using trees from the database with different crop resources. This simulation can be displayed in 3-D to show the progress of the wood crop. All the data gathered during the simulation is presented as a detailed summary afterwards. This summary includes cost-benefit calculations and can be compared to those of previous runs to optimize the financial outcome of the timber harvest by exchanging crop resources or modifying their parameters.

Keywords: Timber harvest, simulation, 3-D, optimization.

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Authors: Fatahian Dehkordi RF., Parchami A.

Abstract:

Design of experiments made for correlated the hormonal activity of steroids and their effect on the vaginal structure properties. Vaginal wall consists of distinct layers of cells which strongly differ regarding growth in answer to steroid hormones. The presence study carried out for functional evaluation and sustained replacement effect of the reproductive hormones on the vaginal morphometry in the rabbit. Rabbits were maintained control (Co) or ovariectomized (Ovz) and continuously treated with estradiol (Ovz E) and estradiol mixture with testosterone (Ovz ET). Relative to control rabbits with the distinct tissue distribution pattern, ovariectomized animals displayed declined epithelial thickness and atrophy of the muscularis layer that cause the vaginal wall thinning. Estradiol treatment of Orz rabbits inverted these changes to status of the preovariectomy. Histometric measurements in Ovz ET group completely including of thickness of the epithelial and muscular layers was greater in comparison to that of control animals.

Keywords: Vagina, Ovariectomy, Rabbit, Morphometry

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Authors: S.H. Zulkarnain, E.M.A Zawawi, M.Y. A. Rahman, N.K.F. Mustafa

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Building maintenance plays an important role among other activities in building operation. Building defect and damages are part of the building maintenance 'bread and butter' as their input indicated in the building inspection is very much justified, particularly as to determine the building performance. There will be no escape route or short cut from building maintenance work. This study attempts to identify a competitive performance that translates the Critical Success Factor achievements and satisfactorily meet the university-s expectation. The quality and efficiency of maintenance management operation of building depends, to some extent, on the building condition information, the expectation from the university sector and the works carried out for each maintenance activity. This paper reviews the critical success factor in building maintenance management practice for university sectors from four (4) perspectives which include (1) customer (2) internal processes (3) financial and (4) learning and growth perspective. The enhancement of these perspectives is capable to reach the maintenance management goal for a better living environment in university campus.

Keywords: Building maintenance, Critical Success Factor, Management, University

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Authors: M. F. R. Zuthi, H. H. Ngo, W. S. Guo, T. T. Nguyen

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A novel sponge submerged membrane bioreactor (SSMBR) was developed to effectively remove organics and nutrients from wastewater. Sponge is introduced within the SSMBR as a medium for the attached growth of biomass. This paper evaluates the effects of new and acclimatized sponges for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal from wastewater at different mixed liquor suspended solids- (MLSS) concentration of the sludge. It was observed in a series of experimental studies that the acclimatized sponge performed better than the new sponge whilst the optimum DOC removal could be achieved at 10g/L of MLSS with the acclimatized sponge. Moreover, the paper analyses the relationships between the MLSSsponge/MLSSsludge and the DOC removal efficiency of SSMBR. The results showed a non-linear relationship between the biomass parameters of the sponge and the sludge, and the DOC removal efficiency of SSMBR. A second-order polynomial function could reasonably represent these relationships.

Keywords: Acclimatization, Dissolved organic carbon, Mathematical model, Sponge submerged membrane bioreactor.

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Authors: Chien-Hung Chen, Yan-Chun Hsing, Yung-Chun Chang

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The Internet has grown into a powerful medium for information dispersion and social interaction that leads to a rapid growth of social media which allows users to easily post their emotions and perspectives regarding certain topics online. Our research aims at using natural language processing and text mining techniques to explore the public emotions expressed on Twitter by analyzing the sentiment behind tweets. In this paper, we propose a composite kernel method that integrates tree kernel with the linear kernel to simultaneously exploit both the tree representation and the distributed emotion keyword representation to analyze the syntactic and content information in tweets. The experiment results demonstrate that our method can effectively detect public emotion of tweets while outperforming the other compared methods.

Keywords: Public emotion recognition, natural language processing, composite kernel, sentiment analysis, text mining.

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Authors: S.T. El Sheltawy, A. A. Refaat

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Until recently, energy security and climate change were considered separate issues to be dealt with by policymakers. The two issues are now converging, challenging the security and climate communities to develop a better understanding of how to deal with both issues simultaneously. Although Egypt is not a major contributor to the world's total GHG emissions, it is particularly vulnerable to the potential effects of global climate change such as rising sea levels and changed patterns of rainfall in the Nile Basin. Climate change is a major threat to sustainable growth and development in Egypt, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Egypt-s capacity to respond to the challenges of climate instability will be expanded by improving overall resilience, integrating climate change goals into sustainable development strategies, increasing the use of modern energy systems with reduced carbon intensity, and strengthening international initiatives. This study seeks to establish a framework for considering the complex and evolving links between energy security and climate change, applicable to Egypt.

Keywords: climate change, climate policy, cnergy policy, energy security, sustainable development

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Authors: Aitor Barbero-López, Soumaya Chibily, Gerhard Scheepers, Thomas Grahn, Martti Venäläinen, Antti Haapala

Abstract:

Wood decay is addressed continuously within the wood industry through use and development of wood preservatives. The increasing awareness on the negative effects of many chemicals towards the environment is causing political restrictions in their use and creating more urgent need for research on green alternatives. This paper discusses some of the possible natural extracts for wood preserving applications and compares the analytical methods available for testing their behavior and efficiency against decay fungi. The results indicate that natural extracts have interesting chemical constituents that delay fungal growth but vary in efficiency depending on the chemical concentration and substrate used. Results also suggest that presence and redistribution of preservatives in wood during exposure trials can be assessed by spectral imaging methods although standardized methods are not available. This study concludes that, in addition to the many standard methods available, there is a need to develop new faster methods for screening potential preservative formulation while maintaining the comparability and relevance of results.

Keywords: Analytics, methods, preservatives, wood decay.

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Authors: Guillermo Vilalta, Félix Nieto, Carlos Vaquero, José A. Vilalta

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Abdominal aortic aneurysms rupture (AAAs) is one of the main causes of death in the world. This is a very complex phenomenon that usually occurs “without previous warning". Currently, criteria to assess the aneurysm rupture risk (peak diameter and growth rate) can not be considered as reliable indicators. In a first approach, the main geometric parameters of aneurysms have been linked into five biomechanical factors. These are combined to obtain a dimensionless rupture risk index, RI(t), which has been validated preliminarily with a clinical case and others from literature. This quantitative indicator is easy to understand, it allows estimating the aneurysms rupture risks and it is expected to be able to identify the one in aneurysm whose peak diameter is less than the threshold value. Based on initial results, a broader study has begun with twelve patients from the Clinic Hospital of Valladolid-Spain, which are submitted to periodic follow-up examinations.

Keywords: AAA, rupture risk prediction, biomechanical factors, AAA geometric characterization.

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Authors: Gholamhossein Hosseini

Abstract:

Two earliness cotton genotypes I and II, which had been developed by hybridization and backcross methods between sindise-80 as an early maturing gene parent and two other lines i.e. Red leaf and Bulgare-557 as a second parent, are subjected to different environmental conditions. The early maturing genotypes with coded names of I and II were compared with four native cotton cultivars in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications in three ecological regions of Iran from 2016-2017. Two early maturing genotypes along with four native cultivars viz. Varamin, Oltan, Sahel and Arya were planted in Agricultural Research Station of Varamin, Moghan and Kashmar for evaluation. Earliness data were collected for six treatments during two years in the three regions except missing data for the second year of Kashmar. Therefore, missed data were estimated and imputed. For testing the homogeneity of error variances, each experiment at a given location or year is analyzed separately using Hartley and Bartlett’s Chi-square tests and both tests confirmed homogeneity of variance. Combined analysis of variance showed that genotypes I and II were superior in Varamin, Moghan and Kashmar regions. Earliness means and their interaction effects were compared with Duncan’s multiple range tests. Finally combined analysis of variance showed that genotypes I and II were superior in Varamin, Moghan and Kashmar regions. Earliness means and their interaction effects are compared with Duncan’s multiple range tests.

Keywords: Cotton, combined, analysis, earliness.

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Authors: Hirich A., Choukr-allah R., Jacobsen S-E., Hamdy A., El youssfi L., El Omari H.

Abstract:

An experiment was performed in the south of Morocco in order to evaluate the effect of deficit irrigation by treated wastewater on chickpea production. We applied six irrigation treatments on a local variety of chickpea by supplying alternatively 50 or 100% of ETm in a completely randomized design. We found a highly significant difference between treatments in terms of biomass production. Drought stress during the vegetative period showed highest yield with 6.5 t/ha which was more than the yield obtained for the control (4.9 t/ha). The optimal crop stage in which deficit irrigation can be applied is the vegetative growth stage, as the crop has a chance to develop its root system, to be able to cover the plant needs for water and nutrient supply during the rest of cycle, and non stress conditions during the flowering and seed filling stages allow the plant to optimize its photosynthesis and carbon translocation, therefore increase its productivity.

Keywords: chickpea, crop stages, drought stress, water productivity

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Authors: Debesh R. Roy

Abstract:

The fundamental issue in understanding the origin and growth mechanism of nanomaterials, from a fundamental unit is a big challenging problem to the scientists. Recently, an immense attention is generated to the researchers for prediction of exceptionally stable atomic cluster units as the building units for future smart materials. The present study is a systematic investigation on the stability and electronic properties of a series of bimetallic (semiconductor-alkaline earth) clusters, viz., BxMg3 (x=1-5) is performed, in search for exceptional and/ or unusual stable motifs. A very popular hybrid exchange-correlation functional, B3LYP along with a higher basis set, viz., 6-31+G[d,p] is employed for this purpose under the density functional formalism. The magic stability among the concerned clusters is explained using the jellium model. It is evident from the present study that the magic stability of B4Mg3 cluster arises due to the jellium shell closure.

Keywords: Atomic Clusters, Density Functional Theory, Jellium Model, Magic Clusters, Smart Nanomaterials.

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Authors: V. Vidučić, T. Brešan Ančić, M. Tomelić Ćurlin

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Prior to quantifying the variables of the information model for using school terminology in Croatia's region of Dalmatia from 1884 to 2014, the most relevant model variables had to be determined: historical circumstances, standard of living, education system, linguistic situation, and media. The research findings show that there was no significant transfer of the 1884 school terms into 1949 usage; likewise, the 1949 school terms were not widely used in 2014. On the other hand, the research revealed that the meaning of school terms changed over the decades. The quantification of the variables will serve as the groundwork for creating an information model for using school terminology in Dalmatia from 1884 to 2014 and for defining direct growth rates in further research.

Keywords: Education system, historical circumstances, linguistic situation, media, school terminology, standard of living.

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Authors: Violina R. Angelova, Mariana N. Perifanova-Nemska, Galina P. Uzunova, Krasimir I. Ivanov, Huu Q. Lee

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A field study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) for phytoremediation of contaminated soils. The experiment was performed on an agricultural field contaminated by the Non-Ferrous-Metal Works near Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Field experiments with a randomized, complete block design with five treatments (control, compost amendments added at 20 and 40 t/daa, and vemicompost amendments added at 20 and 40 t/daa) were carried out. The accumulation of heavy metals in the sunflower plant and the quality of the sunflower oil (heavy metals and fatty acid composition) were determined. The tested organic amendments significantly influenced the uptake of Pb, Zn and Cd by the sunflower plant. The incorporation of 40 t/decare of compost and 20 t/decare of vermicompost to the soil led to an increase in the ability of the sunflower to take up and accumulate Cd, Pb and Zn. Sunflower can be subjected to the accumulators of Pb, Zn and Cd and can be successfully used for phytoremediation of contaminated soils with heavy metals. The 40 t/daa compost treatment led to a decrease in heavy metal content in sunflower oil to below the regulated limits. Oil content and fatty acids composition were affected by compost and vermicompost amendment treatments. Adding compost and vermicompost increased the oil content in the seeds. Adding organic amendments increased the content of stearic, palmitoleic and oleic acids, and reduced the content of palmitic and gadoleic acids in sunflower oil. The possibility of further industrial processing of seeds to oil and use of the obtained oil will make sunflowers economically interesting crops for farmers of phytoremediation technology.

Keywords: Heavy metals, organic amendments, phytoremediation, sunflower.

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Authors: H. Sajjadi, M. Gorji, GH.R. Kefayati, D. D. Ganji, M. Shayan Nia

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In this paper Lattice Boltzmann simulation of turbulent natural convection with large-eddy simulations (LES) in a square cavity which is filled by water has been investigated. The present results are validated by finds of other investigations which have been done with different numerical methods. Calculations were performed for high Rayleigh numbers of Ra=108 and 109. The results confirm that this method is in acceptable agreement with other verifications of such a flow. In this investigation is tried to present Large-eddy turbulence flow model by Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) with a clear and simple statement. Effects of increase in Rayleigh number are displayed on streamlines, isotherm counters and average Nusselt number. Result shows that the average Nusselt number enhances with growth of the Rayleigh numbers.

Keywords: Turbulent natural convection, Large Eddy Simulation, Lattice Boltzmann Method

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Authors: Kelvin Rozier, Vladimir E. Bondarenko

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It is known that an analog Hopfield neural network with time delay can generate the outputs which are similar to the human electroencephalogram. To gain deeper insights into the mechanisms of rhythm generation by the Hopfield neural networks and to study the effects of noise on their activities, we investigated the behaviors of the networks with symmetric and asymmetric interneuron connections. The neural network under the study consists of 10 identical neurons. For symmetric (fully connected) networks all interneuron connections aij = +1; the interneuron connections for asymmetric networks form an upper triangular matrix with non-zero entries aij = +1. The behavior of the network is described by 10 differential equations, which are solved numerically. The results of simulations demonstrate some remarkable properties of a Hopfield neural network, such as linear growth of outputs, dependence of synchronization properties on the connection type, huge amplification of oscillation by the external uniform noise, and the capability of the neural network to transform one type of noise to another.

Keywords: Chaos, Hopfield neural network, noise, synchronization

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Authors: Sattam Allahawiah, Haroon Altarawneh, Sameer Alamro

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Because of its global reach, reduction of time restraints, and ability to reduce costs and increase sales, use of the Internet, the World Wide Web (WWW), and related technologies can be a competitive tool in the arsenal of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Countries the world over are interested in the successful adoption of the Internet by SMEs. Because a vast majority of jobs come from that sector, greater financial success of SMEs translates into greater job growth and, subsequently, higher tax revenue to the government. This research investigated the level of Internet usage for business solutions by small and medium enterprises in Jordan. Through the survey of a random sample of 100 firms with less than 500 employees and from data obtained from this survey that formed the basis for our study, we found that a majority of respondents use the Internet in business activities , the adoption of the Internet as a business tool is limited to a brochure where Web site which primarily provides one way. As such, there wasn't interactive information about the company and its products and services.

Keywords: Internet, SMEs, e-commerce, website, e-business, IT.

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Authors: Lubna Shaheen

Abstract:

Palestinian cities face the challenges of land scarcity, high population growth rates, rapid urbanization, uneven development and territorial fragmentation. Due to geopolitical constrains and the absence of an effective Palestinian planning institution, urban development in Palestinian cities has not followed any discernable planning scheme. This has led to a number of internal contradictions in the structure of cities, and adversely affected land use, the provision of urban services, and the quality of the living environment. This paper explores these challenges, and the potential that exists for introducing a more sustainable urban development pattern in Palestinian cities. It assesses alternative development approaches with a particular focus on sustainable development, promoting ecodevelopment imperatives, limiting random urbanization, and meeting present and future challenges, including fulfilling the needs of the people and conserving the scarce land and limited natural resources. This paper concludes by offering conceptual proposals and guidelines for promoting sustainable physical development in Palestinian cities.

Keywords: Palestinian Cities, Rapid urbanization, Sustainableurban development.

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Authors: Ji-Hyon Kil, Kew-Cheol Shim, Kyoung-Ae Park, Kyoungho Kim

Abstract:

Ambrosia trifida L. is designated as invasive alien species by the Act on the Conservation and Use of Biodiversity by the Ministry of Environment, Korea. The purpose of present paper was to investigate the inhibitory effects of aqueous extracts of A.trifida on the development of root hairs of Triticum aestivum L., and Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng and the electrophoretic protein patterns of their radicles. The development of root hairs was inhibited by increasing of aqueous extract concentrations. Through SDS-PAGE, the electrophoretic protein bands of extracted proteins from their radicles were appeared in controls, but protein bands of specific molecular weight disappeared or weakened in treatments. In conclusion, inhibitory effects of A. trifida made two receptor species changed morphologically, and at the molecular level in early growth stage.

Keywords: Ambrosia trifida L., invasive alien species, inhibitory effect, root hair, electrophoretic protein, radicle.

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Authors: M. Byzedi, B. Saghafian

Abstract:

Droughts are complex, natural hazards that, to a varying degree, affect some parts of the world every year. The range of drought impacts is related to drought occurring in different stages of the hydrological cycle and usually different types of droughts, such as meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and socioeconomical are distinguished. Streamflow drought was analyzed by the method of truncation level (at 70% level) on daily discharges measured in 54 hydrometric stations in southwestern Iran. Frequency analysis was carried out for annual maximum series (AMS) of drought deficit volume and duration series. Some factors including physiographic, climatic, geologic, and vegetation cover were studied as influential factors in the regional analysis. According to the results of factor analysis, six most effective factors were identified as area, rainfall from December to February, the percent of area with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) <0.1, the percent of convex area, drainage density and the minimum of watershed elevation that explained 90.9% of variance. The homogenous regions were determined by cluster analysis and discriminate function analysis. Suitable multivariate regression models were evaluated for streamflow drought deficit volume with 2 years return period. The significance level of regression models was 0.01. The results showed that the watershed area is the most effective factor with high correlation with deficit volume. Also, drought duration was not a suitable drought index for regional analysis.

Keywords: Iran, Streamflow drought, truncation level method, regional analysis.

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Authors: Bostjan Antoncic

Abstract:

Technological newness and innovativeness are important aspects of small firm development, growth and wealth creation. The contribution of the study to entrepreneurship personality research and to technology-related research in entrepreneurship is that the model of the general personality driven technological development was developed and empirically tested. Hypotheses relating the big five personality factors (OCEAN: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) and technological developments were tested by using multiple regression analysis on survey data from a sample of 160 entrepreneurs from Slovenia. The model reveals two personality factors, which are predictive of technological developments: openness (positive impact) and neuroticism (negative impact). In addition, a positive impact of firm age on technological developments was found. Other personality factors (conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness) of entrepreneurs may not be considered important for their firm technological developments.

Keywords: Big five factors, entrepreneur, personality, technology development.

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Authors: Rukayya Ibrahim Muazu, Aiduan Li Borrion, Julia A. Stegemann

Abstract:

Biomass briquette gasification is regarded as a promising route for efficient briquette use in energy generation, fuels and other useful chemicals. However, previous research has been focused on briquette gasification in fixed bed gasifiers such as updraft and downdraft gasifiers. Fluidised bed gasifier has the potential to be effectively sized to medium or large scale. This study investigated the use of fuel briquettes produced from blends of rice husks and corn cobs biomass, in a bubbling fluidised bed gasifier. The study adopted a combination of numerical equations and Aspen Plus simulation software, to predict the product gas (syngas) composition base on briquette density and biomass composition (blend ratio of rice husks to corn cobs). The Aspen Plus model was based on an experimentally validated model from the literature. The results based on a briquette size 32 mm diameter and relaxed density range of 500 to 650kg/m3, indicated that fluidisation air required in the gasifier increased with increase in briquette density, and the fluidisation air showed to be the controlling factor compared with the actual air required for gasification of the biomass briquettes. The mass flowrate of CO2 in the predicted syngas composition increased with an increase in air flow, in the gasifier, while CO decreased and H2 was almost constant. The ratio of H2 to CO for various blends of rice husks and corn cobs did not significantly change at the designed process air, but a significant difference of 1.0 was observed between 10/90 and 90/10 % blend of rice husks and corn cobs.

Keywords: Briquettes, fluidised bed, gasification, Aspen Plus, syngas.

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Authors: Hussain Ali Bekhet, Nor Hamisham Harun

Abstract:

The main objective of this paper is to give a comprehensive review of non-renewable energy and renewable energy utilization in Malaysia, including hydropower, solar photovoltaic, biomass and biogas technologies. Malaysia mainly depends on non-renewable energy (natural gas, coal and crude oil) for electricity generation. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive review of the energy sector and discusses diversification of electricity generation as a strategy for providing sustainable energy in Malaysia. Energy policies and strategies to protect the non-renewable energy utilization also are highlighted, focusing in the different sources of energy available for high and sustained economic growth. Emphasis is also placed on a discussion of the role of renewable energy as an alternative source for the increase of electricity supply security. It is now evident that to achieve sustainable development through renewable energy, energy policies and strategies have to be well designed and supported by the government, industries (firms), and individual or community participation. The hope is to create a positive impact on sustainable development through renewable sources for current and future generations.

Keywords: Malaysia, non-renewable energy, renewable energy, sustainable energy.

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Authors: Ravinesh C. Deo

Abstract:

This article reviews the role of nozzle-exit conditions on the flow field of a plane jet. The jet issuing from a sharp-edged orifice plate at a Reynolds number (Re=18000) with nozzle aspect ratio (AR=72) exhibits the greatest shear-layer instabilities, highest entrainment and jet-spreading rates compared to the radially contoured nozzle. The growth rate of the shear-layer is the highest for the orifice-jet although this property could be amplified for larger Re or AR. A local peak in turbulent energy is found at x»10h. The peak appears to be elevated for an orifice-jet with lower Re or AR. The far-field energy sustained by the orifice-jet exceeds the contoured case although a higher Re and AR may enhance this value. The spectra demonstrated the largest eddy structures for the contoured nozzle. However, the frequency of coherent eddies is higher for the orifice-jet, with a larger magnitude achievable for lower Re and AR. 

Keywords: Plane jet, Reynolds number, nozzle-exit conditions, nozzle geometry, aspect ratio.

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Authors: Amir Lotfi, Seyed Hamid Hosseini

Abstract:

During the recent past, due to the increase of electrical energy demand and governmental resources constraints in creating additional capacity in the generation, transmission, and distribution, privatization, and restructuring in electrical industry have been considered. So, in most of the countries, different parts of electrical industry like generation, transmission, and distribution have been separated in order to create competition. Considering these changes, environmental issues, energy growth, investment of private equity in energy generation units and difficulties of transmission lines expansion, distributed generation (DG) units have been used in power systems. Moreover, reduction in the need for transmission and distribution, the increase of reliability, improvement of power quality, and reduction of power loss have caused DG to be placed in power systems. On the other hand, considering low liquidity need, private investors tend to spend their money for DGs. In this project, the main goal is to offer an algorithm for planning and placing DGs in order to reduce the need for transmission and distribution network.

Keywords: Planning, transmission, distributed generation, power security, power systems.

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Authors: Ammar Redza Ahmad Rizal, Shahrina Md Nordin, Mohd Shamsuri Saad, Kamariah Ismail

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Communication is becoming a significant tool to engage stakeholders since half of the century ago. In the recent years, there has been rapid growth of new technology developments. In tandem with such developments, there has been growing emphasis in communication strategies and management especially in determining the level of influence and management strategies among the said stakeholders on particular field. This paper presents a research conceptual framework focusing on stakeholder theories, communication and management strategies to be implied on the engagement of stakeholders of new technology developments of fertilizer industry in Malaysia. Framework espoused in this paper will provide insights into the various stakeholder theories and engagement strategies from different principal necessary for a successful introduction of new technology development in the above stated industry. The proposed framework has theoretical significance in filling the gap of the body of knowledge in the implementation of communication strategies in Malaysian fertilizer industry.

Keywords: Communication Strategies, Fertilizer Industry, New Technology Development, Stakeholders Management.

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Authors: Sayed Abdul Rahman Sadaat, Nsenda Lukumwena

Abstract:

Traffic congestion is a worldwide issue, especially in developing countries. This is also the case of Afghanistan, especially in Kabul-the capital city, whose rapid population growth makes it the fifth fastest growing city in the world. Traffic congestion affects not only the mobility of people and goods but also the air quality that leads to numerous deaths (3000 people) every year. There are many factors that contribute to traffic congestion. The insufficiency and inefficiency of public transportation system along with the increase of private vehicles can be considered among the most important contributing factors. This paper addresses the traffic congestion and attempts to suggest possible solutions that can help improve the current public transportation system in Kabul. To this end, the methodology used in this paper includes field work conducted in Kabul city and literature review. The outcome suggests that improving the public transportation system is likely to contribute to the reduction of traffic congestion and the improvement of air quality, thereby reducing the number of death related to air quality.

Keywords: Air quality, Kabul, Afghanistan, public transportation system, improvements, traffic congestion.

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Authors: Özlem Pelin Can

Abstract:

This study evaluated the microbiological quality and the sensory characteristics of carp fillets processed by the sousvide method when stored at 2 and 10 °C. Four different combinations of sauced–storage were studied then stored at 2 or 10 °C was evaluate periodically sensory, microbiological and chemical quality. Batches stored at 2 °C had lower growth rates of mesophiles and psychrotrophs. Moreover, these counts decreased by increasing the heating temperature and time. Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens and Listeria monocytogenes were not found in any of the samples. The heat treatment of 90 °C for 15 min and sauced was the most effective to ensure the safety and extend the shelf-life of sousvide carp preserving its sensory characteristics. This study establishes the microbiological quality of sous vide carp and emphasizes the relevance of the raw materials, heat treatment and storage temperature to ensure the safety of the product.

Keywords: Sous- vide methods, carp, sauce, microbiological, chemical and sensory quality

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