Search results for: natural products

Authors: Frantisek Bozek, Alexandr Bozek, Eduard Bakos, Jiri Dvorak, Alena Bumbova, Lenka Jesonkova

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The case study deals with the semi-quantitative risk assessment of water resource earmarked for the emergency supply of population with drinking water. The risk analysis has been based on previously identified hazards/sensitivities of the elements of hydrogeological structure and technological equipment of ground water resource as well as on the assessment of the levels of hazard, sensitivity and criticality of individual resource elements in the form of point indexes. The following potential sources of hazard have been considered: natural disasters caused by atmospheric and geological changes, technological hazards, and environmental burdens. The risk analysis has proved that the assessed risks are acceptable and the water resource may be integrated into a crisis plan of a given region.

Keywords: Crisis, emergency, frequency, ground water, hazard, point index, risk, sensitivity, water supply.

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Authors: Jae Moon Lee

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Most of researches for conventional simulations were studied focusing on flocks with a single species. While there exist the flocking behaviors with a single species in nature, the flocking behaviors are frequently observed with multi-species. This paper studies on the flocking simulation for heterogeneous agents. In order to simulate the flocks for heterogeneous agents, the conventional method uses the identifier of flock, while the proposed method defines the feature vector of agent and uses the similarity between agents by comparing with those feature vectors. Based on the similarity, the paper proposed the attractive force and repulsive force and then executed the simulation by applying two forces. The results of simulation showed that flock formation with heterogeneous agents is very natural in both cases. In addition, it showed that unlike the existing method, the proposed method can not only control the density of the flocks, but also be possible for two different groups of agents to flock close to each other if they have a high similarity.

Keywords: Flocking behavior, heterogeneous agents, similarity, simulation

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Authors: Keivan Abdollahi, Alireza Mortezaei

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The main objective of seismic rehabilitation in the foundations is decreasing the range of horizontal and vertical vibrations and omitting high frequencies contents under the seismic loading. In this regard, the advantages of micropiles network is utilized. Reduction in vibration range of foundation can be achieved by using high dynamic rigidness module such as deep foundations. In addition, natural frequency of pile and soil system increases in regard to rising of system rigidness. Accordingly, the main strategy is decreasing of horizontal and vertical seismic vibrations of the structure. In this case, considering the impact of foundation, pile and improved soil foundation is a primary concern. Therefore, in this paper, effective factors are studied on the seismic rehabilitation of foundations applying network micropiles in sandy soils with nonlinear reaction.

Keywords: Micropile network, rehabilitation, vibration, seismic load.

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Authors: Nasrin Bakhshizadeh, Ashkan Forootan

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A major problem that affects the quality control of polymer in the industrial polymerization is the lack of suitable on-line measurement tools to evaluate the properties of the polymer such as melt and density indices. Controlling the polymerization in ordinary method is performed manually by taking samples, measuring the quality of polymer in the lab and registry of results. This method is highly time consuming and leads to producing large number of incompatible products. An online application for estimating melt index and density proposed in this study is a neural network based on the input-output data of the polyethylene production plant. Temperature, the level of reactors' bed, the intensity of ethylene mass flow, hydrogen and butene-1, the molar concentration of ethylene, hydrogen and butene-1 are used for the process to establish the neural model. The neural network is taught based on the actual operational data and back-propagation and Levenberg-Marquart techniques. The simulated results indicate that the neural network process model established with three layers (one hidden layer) for forecasting the density and the four layers for the melt index is able to successfully predict those quality properties.

Keywords: Polyethylene, polymerization, density, melt index, neural network.

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Authors: Mohammad Akbarpour, Reza Nasiri Mahalati, Caro Lucas

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The existence of many biological systems, especially human societies, is based on cooperative behavior [1, 2]. If natural selection favors selfish individuals, then what mechanism is at work that we see so many cooperative behaviors? One answer is the effect of network structure. On a graph, cooperators can evolve by forming network bunches [2, 3, 4]. In a research, Ohtsuki et al used the idea of iterated prisoners- dilemma on a graph to model an evolutionary game. They showed that the average number of neighbors plays an important role in determining whether cooperation is the ESS of the system or not [3]. In this paper, we are going to study the dynamics of evolution of cooperation in a social network. We show that during evolution, the ratio of cooperators among individuals with fewer neighbors to cooperators among other individuals is greater than unity. The extent to which the fitness function depends on the payoff of the game determines this ratio.

Keywords: Evolution of cooperation, Iterated prisoner's dilemma, Model dynamics, Social network structure, Intensity of selection.

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Authors: Ahmed A. D. Sarhan, S. R. Besharaty, Javad Akbaria, M. Hamdi

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The capability of CNC gantry milling machines in manufacturing long components has caused the expanded use of such machines. On the other hand, the machines’ gantry rigidity can reduce under severe loads or vibration during operation. Indeed, the quality of machining is dependent on the machine’s dynamic behavior throughout the operating process. For this reason, these types of machines have always been used widely and are not efficient. Therefore, they can usually be employed for rough machining and may not produce adequate surface finishing. In this paper, a CNC gantry milling machine with the potential to produce good surface finish has been designed and analyzed. The lowest natural frequency of this machine is 202 Hz corresponding to 12000 rpm at all motion amplitudes with a full range of suitable frequency responses. Meanwhile, the maximum deformation under dead loads for the gantry machine is 0.565*m, indicating that this machine tool is capable of producing higher product quality.

Keywords: Finite element, frequency response, gantry design, gantry machine, static and dynamic analysis.

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Authors: Behrouzinia P., Irani R. A., Saidi M.H.

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In this paper, a one-dimensional numerical approach is used to study the effect of applying electrohydrodynamics on the temperature and species mass fraction profiles along the microcombustor. Premixed mixture is H2-Air with a multi-step chemistry (9 species and 19 reactions). In the micro-scale combustion because of the increasing ratio of area-to-volume, thermal and radical quenching mechanisms are important. Also, there is a significant heat loss from the combustor walls. By inserting a number of electrodes into micro-combustor and applying high voltage to them corona discharge occurs. This leads in moving of induced ions toward natural molecules and colliding with them. So this phenomenon causes the movement of the molecules and reattaches the flow to the walls. It increases the velocity near the walls that reduces the wall boundary layer. Consequently, applying electrohydrodynamics mechanism can enhance the temperature profile in the microcombustor. Ultimately, it prevents the flame quenching in microcombustor.

Keywords: micro-combustor, electrohydrodynamics, temperature profile, wall quenching

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Authors: Yuzana, Khin Marlar Tun

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Personal name matching system is the core of essential task in national citizen database, text and web mining, information retrieval, online library system, e-commerce and record linkage system. It has necessitated to the all embracing research in the vicinity of name matching. Traditional name matching methods are suitable for English and other Latin based language. Asian languages which have no word boundary such as Myanmar language still requires sounds alike matching system in Unicode based application. Hence we proposed matching algorithm to get analogous sounds alike (phonetic) pattern that is convenient for Myanmar character spelling. According to the nature of Myanmar character, we consider for word boundary fragmentation, collation of character. Thus we use pattern conversion algorithm which fabricates words in pattern with fragmented and collated. We create the Myanmar sounds alike phonetic group to help in the phonetic matching. The experimental results show that fragmentation accuracy in 99.32% and processing time in 1.72 ms.

Keywords: natural language processing, name matching, phonetic matching

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Authors: Tariq Aljuneidi, Akif Asil Bulgak

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An efficient remanufacturing network lead to an efficient design of sustainable manufacturing enterprise. In remanufacturing network, products are collected from the customer zone, disassembled and remanufactured at a suitable remanufacturing facility. In this respect, another issue to consider is how the returned product to be remanufactured, in other words, what is the best layout for such facility. In order to achieve a sustainable manufacturing system, Cellular Manufacturing System (CMS) designs are highly recommended, CMSs combine high throughput rates of line layouts with the flexibility offered by functional layouts (job shop). Introducing the CMS while designing a remanufacturing network will benefit the utilization of such a network. This paper presents and analyzes a comprehensive mathematical model for the design of Dynamic Cellular Remanufacturing Systems (DCRSs). In this paper, the proposed model is the first one to date that considers CMS and remanufacturing system simultaneously. The proposed DCRS model considers several manufacturing attributes such as multi period production planning, dynamic system reconfiguration, duplicate machines, machine capacity, available time for workers, worker assignments, and machine procurement, where the demand is totally satisfied from a returned product. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the proposed model.

Keywords: Cellular Manufacturing System, Remanufacturing, Mathematical Programming, Sustainability.

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Authors: Yu Shi, Rong Liu, Jingyun Lv

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Compression textiles with ergonomic-fit and controllable pressure performance have demonstrated positive effect on prevention and treatment of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). Well-designed compression textile products contribute to improving user compliance in their daily application. This study explored the effects of multiple knitting variables (yarn-machinery settings) on the physical-mechanical properties and the produced pressure magnitudes of tubular compression fabrics (TCFs) through experimental testing and multiple regression modeling. The results indicated that fabric physical (stitch densities and circumference) and mechanical (tensile) properties were affected by the linear density of inlay yarns, which, to some extent, influenced pressure magnitudes of the TCFs. Knitting variables (e.g., feeding velocity of inlay yarns and loop size settings) can alter circumferences and tensile properties of tubular fabrics, respectively, and significantly varied pressure values of the TCFs. This study enhanced the understanding of the effects of knitting factors on pressure controlling of TCFs, thus facilitating dimension and pressure design of compression textiles in future development.

Keywords: Laid-in knitted fabric, yarn-machinery settings, pressure magnitudes, quantitative analysis, compression textiles.

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Authors: Mahmoud M. Tash, S. Alkahtani

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The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of pre-aging and aging parameters (time and temperature) on the mechanical properties of Al-Mg-Zn (7075) alloys. Ultimate tensile strength, 0.5% offset yield strength and % elongation measurements were carried out on specimens prepared from cast and heat treated 7075 alloys. Aging treatments were carried out for the as solution treated (SHT) specimens (after quenching in warm water). The specimens were aged at different conditions; Natural aging was carried out at room temperature for different periods of time. Double aging was performed for SHT conditions (pre-aged at different time and temperature followed by high temperature aging). Ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and % elongation as a function of different pre-aging and aging parameters are analyzed to acquire an understanding of the effects of these variables and their interactions on the mechanical properties of Be-treated 7075 alloys.

Keywords: Duplex Aging Treatment, Mechanical Properties, Al-Mg-Zn (7075) alloys.

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Authors: Shilpi Lavania

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As the frequency of operation has attained a range of GHz and signal rise time continues to increase interconnect technology is suffering due to various high frequency effects as well as ground bounce problem. In some recent studies a high frequency effect i.e. skin effect has been modeled and its drawbacks have been discussed. This paper strives to make an impression on the advantage side of modeling skin effect for interconnect line. The proposed method has considered a CMOS with RC interconnect. Delay and noise considering ground bounce problem and with skin effect are discussed. The simulation results reveal an advantage of considering skin effect for minimization of ground bounce problem during the working of the model. Noise and delay variations with temperature are also presented.

Keywords: Interconnect, Skin effect, Ground Bounce, Delay, Noise.

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Authors: Gautham Das, Edward Morrone, Erik Treble, Clinton Binder

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a low-cost filter regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS is a commonly used man-made chemical that can be found in a variety of household and industrial products with deleterious effects on humans. The filter consists of a combination of low-cost materials which could be locally procured. Water testing results for 4 different PFAS contaminants indicated that for Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) regulation is 7 ppt, the initial concentration was 15 ppt, and the final concentration was 3.9 ppt. For Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), the ATSDR regulation is 10.5 ppt, the initial concentration was 15 ppt, and the final concentration was 3.9 ppt. For Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), the ATSDR regulation is 11 ppt, the initial concentration was 15 ppt, and the final concentration was 3.9 ppt. For Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), the ATSDR regulation is 70 ppt, the initial concentration was 15 ppt, and the final concentration was 3.9 ppt. The results indicated a 74% reduction in PFAS concentration in filtered samples. Statistical data through regression analysis showed 0.9 validity of the sample data. Initial tests show the efficiency of the proposed filter described could be far greater if tested at a greater scale. It is highly recommended further testing to be conducted to validate the data for an innovative solution to a ubiquitous problem.

Keywords: PFAS, PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, low-cost filter.

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Authors: Ákos Malatinszky, Szilvia Ádám

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Climate change causes severe effects on natural habitats, especially wetlands. These challenges require the adaptation of their management to probable effects of climate change. A compilation of necessary changes in land management was collected in a Hungarian area being both national park and Natura 2000 SAC and SCI site in favor of increasing the resilience and reducing vulnerability. Several factors, such as ecological aspects, nature conservation and climatic adaptation should be combined with social and economic factors during the process of developing climate change adapted management on vulnerable wetlands. Planning adaptive management should be determined by a priority order of conservation aims and evaluation of factors at the determined planning unit. Mowing techniques, frequency and exact date should be observed as well as grazing species and their breed, due to different grazing, group forming and trampling habits. Integrating landscape history and historical land development into the planning process is essential.

Keywords: Adaptation, climate change, management, wetland.

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Authors: T. Utarasakul

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Amphawa is the most popular weekend destination for both domestic and international tourists in Thailand. More than 112 homestays and resorts have been developed along the water resources. This research aims to initiate appropriate environmental management system for riverside tourist accommodations in Amphawa by investigating current environmental characteristics. Eighty-eight riverside tourist accommodations were survey from specific questionnaire, GPS data were also gathered for spatial analysis. The results revealed that the accommodations are welled manage in regards to some environmental aspects. In order to reduce economic costs, energy efficiency equipment is utilized. A substantial number of tourist accommodations encouraged waste separation, followed by transfer to local administration organization. Grease traps also utilized in order to decrease chemical discharged, grease and oil from canteen and restaurants on natural environment. The most notable mitigation is to initiate environmental friendly cleansers for tourist accommodation along the riverside in tourism destinations.

Keywords: Environmental Management System, Tourist Accommodations, Amphawa, Samut Songkram

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Authors: Vita Strazdina, Aleksandrs Jemeljanovs, Vita Sterna

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A game animals – elk (Alces alces), deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) or wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa) - every autumn and winter period provide an excellent investment, diversification of many consumer meals. In last years consumption and assortiment of game meat products significantly increase. Investigations about biochemical composition of game meat are not very much. The meat of wild animals is more favourable for human health because it has lower saturated fatty acids content, but higher content of protein. Therefore the aim of investigations was to compare biochemical composition of ungulates obtained in Latvia.Investigations were carried out in wild animals different regions of Latvia. In the studied samples protein, intramuscular fat, fatty acids and cholesterol were determined. The biochemical analysis of 54 samples were done. Results of analysis showed that protein content 22.36 – 22.92% of all types of meat samples is not different statistically, significantly lower fat content 1.33 ± 0.88% had elk meat samples and 1.59 ± 0.59% roe deer samples. Content of cholesterol was various 64.41 – 95.07% in the ruminant meat samples of different species. From the dietetic point of view the best composition of fatty acids has meat samples of roe deer.

Keywords: dietic product, game meat, intramuscular fat

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Authors: Stephen C. W. Kong

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The use of 3D computer-aided design (CAD) models to support construction project planning has been increasing in the previous year. 3D CAD models reveal more planning ideas by visually showing the construction site environment in different stages of the construction process. Using 3D CAD models together with scheduling software to prepare construction plan can identify errors in process sequence and spatial arrangement, which is vital to the success of a construction project. A number of 4D (3D plus time) CAD tools has been developed and utilized in different construction projects due to the awareness of their importance. Virtual prototyping extends the idea of 4D CAD by integrating more features for simulating real construction process. Virtual prototyping originates from the manufacturing industry where production of products such as cars and airplanes are virtually simulated in computer before they are built in the factory. Virtual prototyping integrates 3D CAD, simulation engine, analysis tools (like structural analysis and collision detection), and knowledgebase to streamline the whole product design and production process. In this paper, we present the application of a virtual prototyping software which has been used in a few construction projects in Hong Kong to support construction project planning. Specifically, the paper presents an implementation of virtual prototyping in a residential building project in Hong Kong. The applicability, difficulties and benefits of construction virtual prototyping are examined based on this project.

Keywords: construction project planning, prefabrication, simulation, virtual prototyping.

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Authors: Vasilii V. Ananev

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Oil-and-gas potential of Cuba is found through the discoveries among which there are the most large-scale deposits, such as the Boca de Jaruco and Varadero fields of heavy oils. Currently, the petroleum and petroleum products needs of the island state are satisfied by own sources by less than a half. The prospects of the hydrocarbon resource base development are connected with the adjacent water area of the Gulf of Mexico where foreign companies had been granted license blocks for geological study and further development since 2001. Two Russian companies - JSC Gazprom Neft and OJSC Zarubezhneft, among others, took part in the development of the Cuban part of the Gulf of Mexico. Since 2004, five oil wells have been drilled by various companies in the deep waters of the exclusive economic zone of Cuba. Commercial oil-and-gas bearing prospects have been established in neither of them for both geological and technological reasons. However, only a small part of the water area has been covered by drilling and the productivity of the drill core has been tested at the depth of Cretaceous sediments only. In our opinion, oil-and-gas bearing prospects of the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Cuba in the Gulf of Mexico remain undervalued and the mentioned water area needs additional geological exploration. The planning of exploration work in this poorly explored region shall be carried out systematically and it shall be based on the results of the regional scientific research.

Keywords: Cuba, Catoche, geology, exploration.

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Authors: A. S. Salimzhanova, J. C. Sardinas, O. A. Yanovskaya

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The objective of this research work is to discuss the concept of “green growth” in the Republic of Kazakhstan introduced by its government in the “National Sustainable Development Strategy” with the objective of transition to a resource-efficient, “green economy.” We believe that emerging economies like Kazakhstan can pursue a cleaner and more efficient development path by introducing an environmental tax system based on resource consumption rather than only income and labor. The key issues discussed in this article are the eco-efficiency, which refers to closing the gap between economic and ecological efficiencies, and the structural change of the economy toward “green growth.” We also strongly believe that studying the experience of East Asian countries on “green reform” including eco-innovation and “green solutions” in business is essential to the case of Kazakhstan. All of these will raise the status of Kazakhstan to the level of one of the thirty developed countries over the next decades.

Keywords: Economic strategy, green growth, green solutions, natural resource management, environmental tax system.

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Authors: Jamal S. Yassin

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This paper is to formulate a mathematical model to predict the amounts of the emissions produced from the combustion process of the gas turbine unit of the jet engine. These emissions have bad impacts on the environment if they are out of standards, which cause real threats to all type of life on the earth. The amounts of the emissions from the gas turbine engine are functions to many operational and design factors. In landing-takeoff (LTO) these amounts are not the same as in taxi or cruise of the plane using jet engines, because of the difference in the activity period during these operating modes. These emissions can be affected by several physical and chemical variables, such as fuel type, fuel to air ratio or equivalence ratio, flame temperature, combustion pressure, in addition to some inlet conditions such as ambient temperature and air humidity. To study the influence of these variables on the amounts of these emissions during the combustion process in the gas turbine unit, a computer program has been developed by using the visual basic 6 software. Here, the analysis of the combustion process is carried out by considering it as a chemical reaction with shifting equilibrium to find the products of the combustion of the octane fuel, at different equivalence ratios, compressor pressure ratios (CPR) and combustion temperatures. The results obtained have shown that there is noticeable influence of the equivalence ratio, CPR, and the combustion temperature on the amounts of the main emissions which are considered pollutants, such as CO, CO₂ and NO.

Keywords: Mathematical model, gas turbine unit, equivalence ratio, emissions, shifting equilibrium.

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Authors: C. D. Papanikolaou, V. A. Giouvanis, E. A. Karatasiou, D. S. Dimakas, M. A. Sakellariou-Makrantonaki

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Irrigation is one of the most important cultivation practices for each crop, especially in areas where rainfall is enough to cover the crop water needs. In such areas, the farmers must irrigate in order to achieve high economical results. The precise irrigation scheduling contributes to irrigation water saving and thus a valuable natural resource is protected. Under this point of view, in the experimental field of the Laboratory of Agricultural Hydraulics of the University of Thessaly, a research was conducted during the growing season of 2012 in order to evaluate the growth, seed and oil production of sunflower as well as the water saving, by applying different methods of irrigation scheduling. Three treatments in four replications were organized. These were: a) surface drip irrigation where the irrigation scheduling based on the Penman-Monteith (PM) method (control); b) surface drip irrigation where the irrigation scheduling based on a soil moisture sensor (SMS); and c) surface drip irrigation, where the irrigation scheduling based on a soil potential sensor (WM).

Keywords: Irrigation scheduling, soil moisture sensors, sustainable agriculture, water saving.

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Authors: A. López–Vásquez, D. Santamaría, M. Tibatá, C. Gómez

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A study concerning the photocatalytic decolourization of Congo red (CR) dye, over artificial UV irradiation is presented. Photocatalysts based on a commercial titanium dioxide (TiO2) modified with transition metals (Ni, Cu and Zn) were used. The dopage method used was wet impregnation. A TiO2 sample without salt was subjected to the same hydrothermal treatment to be used as reference. Congo red solutions to several pH conditions (natural and basic) were used to evaluate photocatalytic performance of each doped catalysts. Photodecolourization percentage was measured spectrofotrometically after 3 h of treatment to 499 nm as response variable. Kinetics investigations of photodegradation indicated that reactions obey to Langmuir-Hinshelwood model and pseudo–first order law. The rate constant studies of photocatalytic decolourization reactions for Zn–TiO2 and Cu–TiO2 photocatalysts indicated that in all cases the rate constant of the reaction was higher than that of TiO2 undoped. These results show that nature of the metal modifying the TiO2 influence on the efficiency of the photocatalyst evaluated in process. Ni does not present an additional effect compared with TiO2, while Zn enhances the photoactivity due to its electronic properties.

Keywords: Congo red, Dopage, Photodecolourization, Titanium dioxide.

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Authors: Sevil Yucel, Zafer Omer Ozdemir, Cem Kesgin, Pinar Terzioglu, Simten Unlu, Yagmur Erdogan, Kubra Pusat

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Chitosan is an attractive polysaccharide obtained by deacetylation of an abundant natural biopolymer called chitin. Chitin and chitosan are excellent materials. To improve the potential of chitin and chitosan modification is needed. In the present study, grafting of maleic acid on to chitosan by cerium ammonium nitrate in acetic acid solution was investigated with use of a microwave and reflux system. The grafted chitosan was characterized by using a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry. The solubility and swelling behavior of grafted chitosans were determined in acetate buffer (pH 3.6), citrophosphate buffer (pH 5.6 and pH 7.0), and boric buffer (pH 9.2) solutions. The sample obtained by microwave system with use of a chitosan/maleic anhydride/ceric ammonium nitrate 0.2/3.922/0.99 gram of raw material within 30 minute showed the maximum swelling ratio (13.6) in boric buffer solution.

Keywords: Chitosan, cytotoxicity, grafted, maleic acid, swell.

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Authors: Poramet Saeng-On

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This research aims to develop ways of lodging business management of Bang Khonthi community in Samut Songkram province that are appropriate with the cultural context of the Bang Khonthi community. Eight lodging business owners were interviewed. It was found that lodging business that are family business must be done with passion, correct understanding of self, culture, nature, Thai way of life, thorough, professional development, environmentally concerned, building partnerships with various networks both community level, and public sector and business cohorts. Public relations should be done through media both traditional and modern outlets, such as websites and social networks to provide customers convenience, security, happiness, knowledge, love and value when travel to Bang Khonthi. This will also help them achieve sustainability in business, in line with the 10 Home Stay Standard Thailand. Suggestions for operators are as follows: Operators need to improve their public relations work. They need to use technology in public relations such as the internet. Management standards must be improved. Souvenir and local products shops should be arranged in the compound. Product pricing must be set accordingly. They need to join hands to help each other. Quality of the business operation should be raised to meet the standards. Educational measures to reduce the impact caused by tourism on the community such as efforts to reduce energy consumption.

Keywords: Homestay, lodging business, management, standard.

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Authors: Danuvasin Charoen

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This research investigates cluster development in the area called the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), which consists of Thailand, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Myanmar, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Cambodia, and Vietnam. The study utilized Porter’s competitiveness theory and the cluster mapping approach to analyze the competitiveness of the region. The data collection consists of interviews, focus groups, and the analysis of secondary data. The findings identify some evidence of cluster development in the GMS; however, there is no clear indication of collaboration among the components in the clusters. GMS clusters tend to be stand-alone. The clusters in Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Cambodia tend to be labor intensive, whereas the clusters in Thailand and the PRC (Yunnan) have the potential to successfully develop into innovative clusters. The collaboration and integration among the clusters in the GMS area are promising, though it could take a long time. The most likely relationship between the GMS countries could be, for example, suppliers of the low-end, labor-intensive products will be located in the low income countries such as Myanmar, Lao PDR, and Cambodia, and these countries will be providing input materials for innovative clusters in the middle income countries such as Thailand and the PRC.

Keywords: Greater Mekong Subregion, competitiveness, cluster, development.

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Authors: Farzad Yavari, Fereydoun Ohadi

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Today, with the development and growth of technology and extreme environmental changes, organizations need to identify opportunities and create creativity and innovation in order to be able to maintain or improve their position in competition with others. In this regard, it is necessary that the resources and assets of the organization are coordinated and reviewed in accordance with the orientation of the strategy. One of the competitive advantages of the present age is knowledge management, which is to equip the organization with the knowledge of the day and disseminate among employees and use it in the development of products and services. Therefore, in the forthcoming research, the impact of dynamic capabilities components (sense, seize, and reconfiguration) has been investigated on knowledge management processes (acquisition, integration and knowledge utilization) in the MAPNA Engineering and Construction Company using a field survey and applied research method. For this purpose, a questionnaire was filled out in the form of 15 questions for dynamic components and 15 questions for measuring knowledge management components and distributed among 46 employees of the knowledge management organization. Validity of the questionnaire was evaluated through content validity and its reliability with Cronbach's coefficient. Pearson correlation test and structural equation technique were used to analyze the data. The results of the research indicate a positive significant correlation between the components of dynamic capabilities and knowledge management.

Keywords: Dynamic capabilities, knowledge management, sense capability, seize capability, reconfigurable capability, knowledge acquisition, knowledge integrity, knowledge utilization.

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Authors: Hyun-Gwang Cho, Wan-Seok Yang, Su-Jin Kim, Jeong-Seok Oh, Chun-Hong Park

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Machine tools are improved capacity remarkably during the 20th century. Improving the precision of machine tools are related with precision of products and accurate processing is always associated with the subject of interest. There are a lot of the elements that determine the precision of the machine, as guides, motors, structure, control, etc. In this paper we focused on the phenomenon that vertical movement system has worse precision than horizontal movement system even they were made up with same components. The vertical movement system needs to be studied differently from the horizontal movement system to develop its precision. The vertical movement system has load on its transfer direction and it makes the movement system weak in precision than the horizontal one. Some machines have mechanical counter balance, hydraulic or pneumatic counter balance to compensate the weight of the machine head. And there is several type of compensating the weight. It can push the machine head and also can use chain or wire lope to transfer the compensating force from counter balance to machine head. According to the type of compensating, there could be error from friction, pressure error of hydraulic or pressure control error. Also according to what to use for transferring the compensating force, transfer error of compensating force could be occur.

Keywords: Chain chordal action, counter balance, setup error, vertical positioning system.

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Authors: Jude A. Mbanasor, Chigozirim N. Onwusiribe

Abstract:

The enigma climate change is no longer an illusion but a reality. In the recent years, the Nigeria climate has changed and the changes are shown by the changing patterns of rainfall, the sunshine, increasing level carbon and nitrous emission as well as deforestation. This study analyzed the behavioural response of bee keepers to variations in the climate and the adaptation techniques developed in response to the climate variation. Beekeeping is a viable economic activity for the alleviation of poverty as the products include honey, wax, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, venom, queens, bees and their larvae and are all marketable. The study adopted the multistage sampling technique to select 120 beekeepers from the five states of Southeast Nigeria. Well-structured questionnaires and focus group discussions were adopted to collect the required data. Statistical tools like the Principal component analysis, data envelopment models, graphs, and charts were used for the data analysis. Changing patterns of rainfall and sunshine with the increasing rate of deforestation had a negative effect on the habitat of the bees. The bee keepers have adopted the Kenya Top bar and Langstroth hives and they establish the bee hives on fallow farmland close to the cultivated communal farms with more flowering crops.

Keywords: Climate, smart, smallholder, farmer, socioeconomic, response.

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Authors: F. Bamdad, Sh. Dokhani, J. Keramat, R. Zareie

Abstract:

Biologically active peptides are of particular interest in food science and human nutrition because they have been shown to play several physiological roles. In vitro gastrointestinal digestion of lentil and whey proteins in this study produced high angiotensin-I converting enzyme inhibitory activity with 75.5±1.9 and 91.4±2.3% inhibition, respectively. High ACE inhibitory activity was observed in lentil after 5 days of germination (84.3±1.2%). Fractionation by reverse phase chromatography gave inhibitory activities as high as 86.3±2.0 for lentil, 94.8±1.8% for whey and 93.7±1.7% at 5th day of germination. Further purification by HPLC resulted in several inhibitory peptides with IC50 values ranging from 0.064 to 0.164 mg/ml. These results demonstrate that lentil proteins are a good source of peptides with ACE inhibitory activity that can be released by germination or gastrointestinal digestion. Despite the lower bioactivity in comparison with whey proteins, incorporation of lentil proteins in functional food formulations and natural drugs look promising.

Keywords: ACE inhibitory peptides, digestion, germination, lentil proteins, whey proteins

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Authors: N. Mohamad, W. Samiati Andriana Wan Mohd Daud, M. Suhaimi Tohid, M. Fazli Othman, M. Rizal Salleh

Abstract:

This is a collaborative project of the mural art between The Department of Fine Art from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and Petronas Dagangan Berhad (PDB), the most leading retailer and marketer of downstream oil and gas products in Malaysia. Five different states have been identified in showcasing the National Identity of Malaysia at each Petronas gas station; the Air Keroh in Melaka, Pasir Pekan in Kelantan, Pontian in Johor, Simpang Pulai in Perak and also Wakaf Bharu in Terengganu. This project is to analyze the element of national identity that has been demonstrated at the Petronas's Mural. The ultimate aim of the mural is to let the community and local people to be aware about what Malaysians are consists and proud of and how everyone is able to connect with the idea through art. The method that is being explained in this research is by using visual data through research and also self-experience in collecting the visual data in identifying what images are considered as the national identity and idea development and visual analysis is being transferred based upon the visual data collection. In this stage elements and principle of design will be the key in highlighting what is necessary in a work of art. In conclusion, image of the National Identity of Malaysia is able to connect to the audience from local and also to the people from outside the country to learn and understand the beauty and diversity of Malaysia as a unique country with art, through the wall of five Petronas gas stations.

Keywords: Mural art, fine art, national identity, community.

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