Search results for: environmental monitoring

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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Authors: Mahmoud M. S. Albattah

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In this paper, to optimize the “Characteristic Straight Line Method" which is used in the soil displacement analysis, a “best estimate" of the geodetic leveling observations has been achieved by taking in account the concept of 'Height systems'. This concept has been discussed in detail and consequently the concept of “height". In landslides dynamic analysis, the soil is considered as a mosaic of rigid blocks. The soil displacement has been monitored and analyzed by using the “Characteristic Straight Line Method". Its characteristic components have been defined constructed from a “best estimate" of the topometric observations. In the measurement of elevation differences, we have used the most modern leveling equipment available. Observational procedures have also been designed to provide the most effective method to acquire data. In addition systematic errors which cannot be sufficiently controlled by instrumentation or observational techniques are minimized by applying appropriate corrections to the observed data: the level collimation correction minimizes the error caused by nonhorizontality of the leveling instrument's line of sight for unequal sight lengths, the refraction correction is modeled to minimize the refraction error caused by temperature (density) variation of air strata, the rod temperature correction accounts for variation in the length of the leveling rod' s Invar/LO-VAR® strip which results from temperature changes, the rod scale correction ensures a uniform scale which conforms to the international length standard and the introduction of the concept of the 'Height systems' where all types of height (orthometric, dynamic, normal, gravity correction, and equipotential surface) have been investigated. The “Characteristic Straight Line Method" is slightly more convenient than the “Characteristic Circle Method". It permits to evaluate a displacement of very small magnitude even when the displacement is of an infinitesimal quantity. The inclination of the landslide is given by the inverse of the distance reference point O to the “Characteristic Straight Line". Its direction is given by the bearing of the normal directed from point O to the Characteristic Straight Line (Fig..6). A “best estimate" of the topometric observations was used to measure the elevation of points carefully selected, before and after the deformation. Gross errors have been eliminated by statistical analyses and by comparing the heights within local neighborhoods. The results of a test using an area where very interesting land surface deformation occurs are reported. Monitoring with different options and qualitative comparison of results based on a sufficient number of check points are presented.

Keywords: Characteristic straight line method, dynamic height, landslides, orthometric height, systematic errors.

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Authors: Mohsen Solimani Babarsad, Habib Musavi Jahromi

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Behavior of turbulent jet is relying on jet parameters, environmental and geometric parameters. In this research, it has attempt to Study effect of jet parameters of internal angle on maximum effective length and velocity on centerline from nozzle experimentally. Toward this end, four internal angles 30, 45, 60 and 90-degree are considered for this study in a flume with 600cm as long, 100cm as high and 150cm in width. Various discharges were used to evaluate effective length for a wide range of densimetric Froude numbers F0, from 17.9 to 39.4 that is defined at the nozzle. As a result, It is revealed that both velocity on centerline and effective length decreases when nozzle angle decreased from 90° to 30°. The results show that, for all range of Fr0 the Um/U0 ratio for nozzle with α=90° on centerline increases 20% - 27% than nozzle with α=30° that has lowest velocity on centerline than other nozzle.

Keywords: Turbulent jet, velocity, effective length, Froude number.

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Authors: A. K. M. De Paula, R. Tenorio

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The 20th century has brought much development to the practice of Architecture worldwide, and technology has bridged inhabitation limits in many regions of the world with high levels of comfort and conveniences, most times at high costs to the environment. Throughout the globe, the tropical countries are being urbanized at an unprecedented rate and housing has become a major issue worldwide, in light of increased demand and lack of appropriate infra-structure and planning. Buildings and urban spaces designed in tropical cities have mainly adopted external concepts that in most cases do not fit the needs of the inhabitants living in such harsh climatic environment, and when they do, do so at high financial, environmental and cultural costs. Traditional architectural practices can provide valuable understanding on how self-reliance and autonomy of construction can be reinforced in rural-urban tropical environments. From traditional housing knowledge, it is possible to derive lessons for the development of new construction materials that are affordable, environmentally friendly, culturally acceptable and accesible to all.Specifically to the urban context, such solutions are of outmost importance, given the needs to a more democratic society, where access to housing is considered high in the agenda for development. Traditional or rural constructions are also ongoing through extensive changes eventhough they have mostly adopted climate-responsive building practices relying on local resources (with minimum embodied energy) and energy (for comfort and quality of life). It is important to note that many of these buildings can actually be called zero-energy, and hold potential answers to enable transition from high energy, high cost, low comfort urban habitations to zero/low energy habitations with high quality urban livelihood. Increasing access to modern urban lifestyels have also an effect on the aspirations from people in terms of performance, comfort and convenience in terms of their housing and the way it is produced and used. These aspirations are resulting in transitions from localresource dependent habitations- to non-local resource based highenergy urban style habitations. And such transitions are resulting in the habitations becoming increasingly unsuited to the local climatic conditions with increasing discomfort, ill-health, and increased CO2 emissions and local environmental disruption. This research studies one specific transition group in the context of 'water communities' in tropical-equatorial regions: Ribeirinhos housing typology (Amazonas, Brazil). The paper presents the results of a qualitative sustainability assessment of the housing typologies under transition, found at the Ribeirinhos communities.

Keywords: Vernacuilar and Tropical Architecture, SustainableHousing Design, Urban-rural Housing, Living Transitions

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Authors: B. Lefranc, C. Aufauvre-Poupon, C. Martin-Krumm, M. Trousselard

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Isolated and confined environments (ICE) present several challenges which may adversely affect human’s psychology and physiology. Submariners in Sub-Surface Ballistic Nuclear (SSBN) mission exposed to these environmental constraints must be able to perform complex tasks as part of their normal duties, as well as during crisis periods when emergency actions are required or imminent. The operational and environmental constraints they face contribute to challenge human adaptability. The impact of such a constrained environment has yet to be explored. Establishing a knowledge framework is a determining factor, particularly in view of the next long space travels. Ensuring that the crews are maintained in optimal operational conditions is a real challenge because the success of the mission depends on them. This study focused on the evaluation of the impact of stress on mental health and sensory degradation of submariners during a mission on SSBN using cardiac biosignal (heart rate variability, HRV) clustering. This is a pragmatic exploratory study of a prospective cohort included 19 submariner volunteers. HRV was recorded at baseline to classify by clustering the submariners according to their stress level based on parasympathetic (Pa) activity. Impacts of high Pa (HPa) versus low Pa (LPa) level at baseline were assessed on emotional state and sensory perception (interoception and exteroception) as a cardiac biosignal during the patrol and at a recovery time one month after. Whatever the time, no significant difference was found in mental health between groups. There are significant differences in the interoceptive, exteroceptive and physiological functioning during the patrol and at recovery time. To sum up, compared to the LPa group, the HPa maintains a higher level in psychosensory functioning during the patrol and at recovery but exhibits a decrease in Pa level. The HPa group has less adaptable HRV characteristics, less unpredictability and flexibility of cardiac biosignals while the LPa group increases them during the patrol and at recovery time. This dissociation between psychosensory and physiological adaptation suggests two treatment modalities for ICE environments. To our best knowledge, our results are the first to highlight the impact of physiological differences in the HRV profile on the adaptability of submariners. Further studies are needed to evaluate the negative emotional and cognitive effects of ICEs based on the cardiac profile. Artificial intelligence offers a promising future for maintaining high level of operational conditions. These future perspectives will not only allow submariners to be better prepared, but also to design feasible countermeasures that will help support analog environments that bring us closer to a trip to Mars.

Keywords: Adaptation, exteroception, HRV, ICE, interoception, SSBN.

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Authors: O. Babalola Oladapo, A. Igbatayo Samuel

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Climate change and poverty are global issues which cannot be waved aside in welfare of the ever increasing population. The causes / consequences are far more elaborate in developing countries, including Nigeria, which poses threats to the existence of man and his environment. The dominant role of agriculture makes it obvious that even minor climate deteriorations can cause devastating socio-economic consequences. Policies to curb the climate change by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels like oil, gas or carbon compounds have significant economical impacts on the producers/suppliers of these fuels. Thus a unified political narrative that advances both agendas is needed, because their components of an environmental coin that needs to be addressed. The developed world should maintain a low-carbon growth & real commitment of 0.7% of gross national income, as aid to developing countries & renewable energy approach should be emphasized, hence global poverty combated.

Keywords: Climate Change, Greenhouse gases, Nigeria, Poverty.

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Authors: Vladimir I. Byshev, Victor G. Neiman, Yuri A. Romanov, Ilya V. Serykh

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Since atmosphere pressure field is an actual envoy of climatic signal the atmospheric Highs and Lows should be attributed to the key active focal points within the ocean-atmosphere interplay system. Here we were set a task to determine how the dynamics of those centres of action relates to the climate change both on regional and global scales. For this target the near-surface temperature and atmospheric pressure differences between the Icelandic Low and the Azores High were considered. The secular term of phase states of the system under consideration was found divided into three nonintersecting subsets. Each of that was put in consequence with one of three climatic scenarios related to the periods of 1905-1935 (relatively warm phase), 1940-1970 (cold phase) and 1980-2000 (warm phase).

Keywords: Climate change, climatic scenario, fields of environmental characteristics, North Atlantic region.

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Authors: Khaled M. Khader, Mamdouh I. Elimy, Omayma A. Nada

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Sustainable development is the nominal goal of most countries at present. In general, fossil fuels are the development mainstay of most world countries. Regrettably, the fossil fuel consumption rate is very high, and the world is facing the problem of conventional fuels depletion soon. In addition, there are many problems of environmental pollution resulting from the emission of harmful gases and vapors during fuel burning. Thus, clean, renewable energy became the main concern of most countries for filling the gap between available energy resources and their growing needs. There are many renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and wave energy. Energy can be obtained from the motion of sea waves almost all the time. However, power generation from solar or wind energy is highly restricted to sunny periods or the availability of suitable wind speeds. Moreover, energy produced from sea wave motion is one of the cheapest types of clean energy. In addition, renewable energy usage of sea waves guarantees safe environmental conditions. Cheap electricity can be generated from wave energy using different systems such as oscillating bodies' system, pendulum gate system, ocean wave dragon system and oscillating water column device. In this paper, a multi-criteria model has been developed using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to support the decision of selecting the most effective system for generating power from sea waves. This paper provides a widespread overview of the different design alternatives for sea wave energy converter systems. The considered design alternatives have been evaluated using the developed AHP model. The multi-criteria assessment reveals that the off-shore Oscillating Water Column (OWC) system is the most appropriate system for generating power from sea waves. The OWC system consists of a suitable hollow chamber at the shore which is completely closed except at its base which has an open area for gathering moving sea waves. Sea wave's motion pushes the air up and down passing through a suitable well turbine for generating power. Improving the power generation capability of the OWC system is one of the main objectives of this research. After investigating the effect of some design modifications, it has been concluded that selecting the appropriate settings of some effective design parameters such as the number of layers of Wells turbine fans and the intermediate distance between the fans can result in significant improvements. Moreover, simple dynamic analysis of the Wells turbine is introduced. Furthermore, this paper strives for comparing the theoretical and experimental results of the built experimental prototype.

Keywords: Renewable energy, oscillating water column, multi-criteria selection, wells turbine.

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Authors: N. P. Tsephe, S. D. Eyono Obono

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Rural tourism has many economical, environmental, and socio-cultural benefits. However, the development of rural tourism compared to urban tourism is also faced with several challenges added to the disadvantages of rural tourism. The aim of this study is to design a model of the factors affecting the motivations of rural tourists, in an attempt to improve the understanding of rural tourism motivation for the development of that form of tourism. The proposed model is based on a sound theoretical framework. It was designed following a literature review of tourism motivation theoretical frameworks and of rural tourism motivation factors. The tourism motivation theoretical framework that fitted to the best all rural tourism motivation factors was then chosen as the basis for the proposed model. This study hence found that the push and pull tourism motivation framework and the inner and outer directed values theory are the most adequate theoretical frameworks for the modeling of rural tourism motivation.

Keywords: Motivation factors, rural tourism, tourism motivation theories.

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Authors: A.R. Ismail, M. R. A. Rani, Z. K. M. Makhbul, M. J. M. Nor, M. N. A. Rahman

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The environmental factors such as temperature and relative humidity are very contribute to the effect of comfort, health, performance and worker productivity. To ensure an ergonomics work environment, it is possible to require a specific attention especially in industries. The aim of this study is to show the effect of temperature and relative humidity on worker productivity in automotive industry by taking a workstation in an automotive plant as the location to conduct the study. From the analysis of the data, there were relationship between temperature and relative humidity on worker productivity. Mathematical equation to represent the relationship between temperatures and relative humidity on the production rate is modelled. From the equation model, the production rate for the workstation can be predicted base on the value of temperature and relative humidity.

Keywords: WBGT, Relative Humidity, Comfort, Productivity.

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Authors: Aleem Khalid Alvi, M. Yousuf Bin Azhar, Mehmood Usman, Suleman Mumtaz, Sameer Rafiq, RaziUr Rehman, Israr Ahmed

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Sign language recognition has been a topic of research since the first data glove was developed. Many researchers have attempted to recognize sign language through various techniques. However none of them have ventured into the area of Pakistan Sign Language (PSL). The Boltay Haath project aims at recognizing PSL gestures using Statistical Template Matching. The primary input device is the DataGlove5 developed by 5DT. Alternative approaches use camera-based recognition which, being sensitive to environmental changes are not always a good choice.This paper explains the use of Statistical Template Matching for gesture recognition in Boltay Haath. The system recognizes one handed alphabet signs from PSL.

Keywords: Gesture Recognition, Pakistan Sign Language, DataGlove, Human Computer Interaction, Template Matching, BoltayHaath

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Authors: Yau-Ting, Sung, Hsueh-Chih, Chen, Hui-Peng, Hsiung, Hsun-Tsum, Huang

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In accordance with environmental impacts contended in Kyoto Protocol, the study aims to explore the different administrative and non-administrative measurements that industrial countries, such as America, German, Japan, Korea, Holland and British take to face with the increasing Global Warming phenomena. By large, these measurements consist of versatile dimensions, including of education and advocating, economical instruments, research developments and instances, restricted instruments, voluntary contacts, exchangeable permit for carbon-release and public investments. The results of discussion for the study are as follows: both economical impacts as well as reformations for nations that are affected via Kyoto Protocol, and human testifying for variables of global surroundings in the age of Kyoto Protocol.

Keywords: Global warming, Kyoto protocol.

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Authors: Fahanim Abdul Rashid, Muhammad Azzam Ismail

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Part and parcel of building green homes (GHs) with favorable thermal comfort (TC) is to design and build with reduced carbon footprint (CF) from embodied energy in the building envelope and reduced operational CF overall. Together, the environmental impact of GHs can be reduced significantly. Nevertheless, there is still a need to identify the base CF value for Malaysian GHs and this can be done by assessing existing ones which can then be compared to conventional and vernacular houses which are built differently with different building materials. This paper underlines the research design and introduces the case studies. For now, the operational CF of the case studies is beyond the scope of this study. Findings from this research could identify the best building material and construction technique combination to build GHs depending on the available skills, financial constraints and the condition of the immediate environment.

Keywords: Embodied carbon footprint, Malaysian green homes.

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Authors: P. Rattanapoltee, P. Kaewkannetra

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According to biodiesel from microalgae is an attractive fuel for several reasons such as renewable, biodegradable and environmental friendly. Thus, this study, green microalgae Scenedesmus acutus PPNK1 isolated from natural water, was selected based on high growth rates, easy cultivation and high lipid content. The Nile red fluorescence method has been successfully applied to the determination of lipids in S. acutus PPNK1. The combination of the method to the lipid composition in algal cells showed the yellow fluorescence under fluorescent microscope. Interestingly, maximum cell numbers and biomass concentration were obtained at 5.44´10⁷ cells/mL and 1.60 g/L when it was cultivated in BG-11 medium while in case of BG-11 with nitrogen deprivation (N 0.25 g/L), accumulated lipid content in cells (44.67%) was achieved that was higher than that found in case of BG-11 medium at about 2 times (22.63%).

Keywords: Biodiesel, Lipid, Microalgae, Nile red.

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Authors: Do-Jin Jang, Sung-Ah Kim

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A kinetic façade responds to user requirements and environmental conditions.  In designing a kinetic façade, kinetic patterns play a key role in determining its performance. This paper proposes a biomimetic method for the multi-objective optimization for kinetic façade design. The autonomous decentralized control system is combined with flocking algorithm. The flocking agents are autonomously reacting to sensor values and bring about kinetic patterns changing over time. A series of experiments were conducted to verify the potential and limitations of the flocking based decentralized control. As a result, it could show the highest performance balancing multiple objectives such as solar radiation and openness among the comparison group.

Keywords: Biomimicry, flocking algorithm, autonomous decentralized control, multi-objective optimization.

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Authors: Altayeb Qasem, Tarek Zayed, Zhi Chen

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Statistics Canada stated that the wastewater treatment facilities in most provinces are aging and passes 63% of their useful life in 2007 the highest ratio among public infrastructure assets. Currently, there is no standard condition rating system for wastewater treatment plants that give a specific rating index that describe the physical integrity of different infrastructure elements in the treatment plant and its environmental performance. The main objective of this study is to develop a condition-rating index for wastewater treatment plants mainly activated sludge systems. The proposed WWTP CRI, is based on dividing the treatment plant into its three treatment phases; primary phase, secondary phase and the tertiary phase. The condition-rating index will reflect the infrastructures state for each phase, mainly tanks, pipes, blowers and pumps.

Keywords: Condition rating index, Wastewater treatment plants, AHP- MUAT.

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Authors: Asfar Ali Khan, Ekram Husain

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Modern Society is strongly dependent on a reliable power supply. The availability of cheap and reliable supply of electrical energy is an indicator of societal welfare. Uninterrupted reliable operation of a modern power system depends to a great extent on reliable and satisfactory performance of insulators under different environmental conditions. This paper reports result of natural pollution tests that have been done at sites around city of Aligarh (India). Flashover voltage per insulation distance (FOVUID) of porcelain disc insulator for different pH values, ESDD has been recorded for proper correlation between electrical and chemical parameters. The pH of the contaminants has been suggested to be an effective pollution severity indicator and may be used as a diagnostic parameter for proper maintenance of porcelain insulators.

Keywords: Porcelain insulators, Flashover Voltage, pH value, Conductivity, ESDD.

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Authors: Z. Liu, K. Cao

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Strategic spatial planning, which is taken as an effective and competitive way for the governors of the city to improve the development and management level of a city, has been blooming in recent years all over the world. In the context of globalization and informatization, strategic spatial planning must transfer its focus on three different levels: global, regional and urban. Internal and external changes in environmental conditions lead to new advances in strategic planning both theoretically and practically. However, such advances or changes respond differently to cities on account of different dynamic mechanisms. This article aims at two cities of Tianjin in China and Melbourne in Australia, through a comparative study on strategic planning, to explore the differentiation of mechanisms in urban planning making. By comparison and exploration, the purpose of this article is to exhibit two different planning worlds between western and Chinese in a new way nowadays.

Keywords: Differentiation, Tianjin China, Melbourne Australia, strategic planning.

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Authors: Salima Hacini, Zahia Guessoum, Zizette Boufaïda

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Human activities are increasingly based on the use of remote resources and services, and on the interaction between remotely located parties that may know little about each other. Mobile agents must be prepared to execute on different hosts with various environmental security conditions. The aim of this paper is to propose a trust based mechanism to improve the security of mobile agents and allow their execution in various environments. Thus, an adaptive trust mechanism is proposed. It is based on the dynamic interaction between the agent and the environment. Information collected during the interaction enables generation of an environment key. This key informs on the host-s trust degree and permits the mobile agent to adapt its execution. Trust estimation is based on concrete parameters values. Thus, in case of distrust, the source of problem can be located and a mobile agent appropriate behavior can be selected.

Keywords: Internet security, malicious host, mobile agent security, trust management

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Authors: Ashraf M. Elsaid, Magd M. Badr, Mohamed S. Selim

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Water borne polyurethane (PU) based on newly prepared hyperbranched poly (amine-ester) (HBPAE) was applied and evaluated as organic coating material. HBPAE was prepared through one-pot synthesis between trimethylol propane as a core and AB2 branched monomer which was obtained via Michal addition of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and diethanol amine (DEA). PU was prepared from HBPAE using different ratios of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) to form cured coating film. The prepared HBPAE was characterized using; GPC, FT-IR and 1H-NMR. The mechanical properties (impact, hardness, adhesion, and flexibility), thermal properties (DSC and TGA) and chemical resistance of the applied film were estimated. The results indicated 50% of TDI is the selected ratio. This formulation represents a promising candidate to be used as coating material.

Keywords: Curing, Hyperbranched polymer, Polyurethane, Urethane-acrylates, water borne Coatings.

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Authors: K. P. Jain, J. F. J. Pruyn, J. J. Hopman

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In May 2009, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships to address the growing concerns about the environmental, occupational health and safety risks related to ship recycling. The aim of the Hong Kong Convention is to provide a legally binding instrument which ensures that the process of ship recycling does not pose risks to human health, safety and to the environment. In this paper, critical analysis of the Hong Kong Convention has been carried out in order to study the effectiveness of the Convention to meet its objectives. The Convention has been studied in detail including its background, main features, major stakeholders, strengths and weaknesses. The Convention, though having several deficiencies, is a major breakthrough in not only recognizing but also dealing with the ill-practices associated with ship recycling.

Keywords: Hong Kong Convention, IMO, Ship breaking, Ship recycling.

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Authors: Katsumi Hirata

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To develop the useful acoustic environmental recognition system, the method of estimating 3D-position of a stationary random acoustic source using bispectral analysis of 4-point detected signals is proposed. The method uses information about amplitude attenuation and propagation delay extracted from amplitude ratios and angles of auto- and cross-bispectra of the detected signals. It is expected that using bispectral analysis affects less influence of Gaussian noises than using conventional power spectral one. In this paper, the basic principle of the method is mentioned first, and its validity and features are considered from results of the fundamental experiments assumed ideal circumstances.

Keywords: 4-point detection, a stationary random acoustic source, auto- and cross-bispectra, estimation of 3D-position.

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Authors: Manal Bouasria, Mohammed-Hichem Benzaama, Valérie Pralong, Yassine El Mendili

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Reducing the quantity of cement in cementitious composites can help to reduce the environmental effect of construction materials. Byproducts such as ferronickel slags (FNS), fly ash (FA), and waste as Crepidula fornicata shells (CR) are promising options for cement replacement. In this work, we investigated the relevance of substituting cement with FNS-CR and FA-CR on the mechanical properties of mortar and on the thermal properties of concrete. Foraging intervals ranging from 2 days to 28 days, the mechanical properties are obtained by 3-point bending and compression tests. The chosen mix is used to construct a prototype in order to study the material’s hygrothermal performance. The data collected by the sensors placed on the prototype were utilized to build an artificial neural network.

Keywords: Artificial neural network, cement, circular economy, concrete, byproducts.

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Authors: Rana Khalid Naeem, Asif Mansoor

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Periodicities in the environmetric time series can be idyllically assessed by utilizing periodic models. In this communication fugitive emission of gases from open sewer channel Lyari which follows periodic behaviour are approximated by employing periodic autoregressive model of order p. The orders of periodic model for each season are selected through the examination of periodic partial autocorrelation or information criteria. The parameters for the selected order of season are estimated individually for each emitted air toxin. Subsequently, adequacies of fitted models are established by examining the properties of the residual for each season. These models are beneficial for schemer and administrative bodies for the improvement of implemented policies to surmount future environmental problems.

Keywords: Exchange of Gases, Goodness of Fit, Open Sewer Channel, PAR(p) Models, Periodicities, Season Wise Models.

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Authors: Wen-Shan Lin, Shu-Lu Hsu

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Environmental concern and consumer rights have entailed e-tailers to adopt better strategies to facilitate product returns from customers. As the demand for reverse logistics (RL) continues to grow, little is known about what motivates e-tailers to enhance their RL capabilities and about the role RL capabilities plays in enabling e-tailers to achieve better customer satisfaction and economic performance. Based on resource-based theory and institutional theory, this article proposes that the following factors play a critical role in influencing the RL capability of e-tailers: (a) Financial resource commitment to RL, (b) managerial resource commitment to RL, and (c) institutional pressure to implement RL. Based on the role of these factors, the study provides a framework and propositions that serve to guide future research addressing the link among resources, institutional pressure, and RL capability.

Keywords: Reverse logistics, e-tailing, resource-based theory, institutional theory.

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Authors: Elena M. Capitanul, Carlos A. Nunes Cosenza, Walid El Moudani, Felix Mora Camino

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The construction of a new airport or the extension of an existing one requires massive investments and many times public private partnerships were considered in order to make feasible such projects. One characteristic of these projects is uncertainty with respect to financial and environmental impacts on the medium to long term. Another one is the multistage nature of these types of projects. While many airport development projects have been a success, some others have turned into a nightmare for their promoters. This communication puts forward a new approach for airport investment risk assessment. The approach takes explicitly into account the degree of uncertainty in activity levels prediction and proposes milestones for the different stages of the project for minimizing risk. Uncertainty is represented through fuzzy dual theory and risk management is performed using dynamic programming. An illustration of the proposed approach is provided.

Keywords: Airports, fuzzy logic, risk, uncertainty.

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Authors: Shima Rajabi, Leila Vafajoo

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Compost manufacturing plants are one of units where wastewater is produced in significantly large amounts. Wastewater produced in these plants contains high amounts of substrate (organic loads) and is classified as stringent waste which creates significant pollution when discharged into the environment without treatment. A compost production plant in the one of the Iran-s province treating 200 tons/day of waste is one of the most important environmental pollutant operations in this zone. The main objectives of this paper are to investigate the compost wastewater treatability in hybrid anaerobic reactors with an upflow-downflow arrangement, to determine the kinetic constants, and eventually to obtain an appropriate mathematical model. After starting the hybrid anaerobic reactor of the compost production plant, the average COD removal rate efficiency was 95%.

Keywords: Leachate treatment, anaerobic hybrid reactor

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Authors: Wenhsuan Lee, Yachi Chang, Yingyih Shih

Abstract:

In clinical practices, it is common that while facing the unknown progress of their disease, palliative care patients may easily feel anxious and depressed. These types of reactions are a cause of psychosomatic diseases and may also influence treatment results. However, the purpose of palliative care is to provide relief from all kinds of pains. Therefore, how to make patients more comfortable is an issue worth studying. This study adopted the “bio-psycho-social model” proposed by Engel and applied spontaneous breathing training, in the hope of seeing patients’ psychological state changes caused by their physiological state changes, improvements in their anxious conditions, corresponding adjustments of their cognitive functions, and further enhancement of their social functions and the social support system. This study will be a one-year study. Palliative care outpatients will be recruited and assigned to the experimental group or the control group for six outpatient visits (once a month), with 80 patients in each group. The patients of both groups agreed that this study can collect their physiological quantitative data using an HRV device before the first outpatient visit. They also agreed to answer the “Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)”, the “Taiwanese version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire” before the first outpatient visit, to fill a self-report questionnaire after each outpatient visit, and to answer the “Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)”, the “Taiwanese version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire” after the last outpatient visit. The patients of the experimental group agreed to receive the breathing training under HRV monitoring during the first outpatient visit of this study. Before each of the following three outpatient visits, they were required to fill a self-report questionnaire regarding their breathing practices after going home. After the outpatient visits, they were taught how to practice breathing through an HRV device and asked to practice it after going home. Later, based on the results from the HRV data analyses and the pre-tests and post-tests of the “Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)”, the “Taiwanese version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire”, the influence of the breathing training in the bio, psycho, and social aspects were evaluated. The data collected through the self-report questionnaires of the patients of both groups were used to explore the possible interfering factors among the bio, psycho, and social changes. It is expected that this study will support the “bio-psycho-social model” proposed by Engel, meaning that bio, psycho, and social supports are closely related, and that breathing training helps to transform palliative care patients’ psychological feelings of anxiety and depression, to facilitate their positive interactions with others, and to improve the quality medical care for them.

Keywords: Palliative care, breathing training, bio-psycho-social Model, heart rate variability.

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