Search results for: Cover crop

Authors: Mohamed Massoud El Sadaawy, Ehab Hasan Ahmed Hasan Ali

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The corrugated steel cladding used to cover most of steel buildings is considered as non-structural element. This research will reflect the effect of cladding as a shear diaphragm in increasing the normal elastic capacity of columns. This study is important because of the lack of information of the behavior of cladding and secondary members in various codes. Mathematical models for six different cases are carried by software. The results extracted from the program have been plotted showing the effects of different variables on the ultimate load of column. The variables considered in our research are the spacing between columns and the thickness of the corrugated sheet representing the sheet stiffness.

Keywords: Stability of frames about minor axis, The effective length factor, Effect of secondary members on elastic buckling load column, The stiffness of sheeting.

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Authors: A. Mohammadi Torkashvand, N. Haghighat

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Some methodologies were compared in providing erosion maps of surface, rill and gully and erosion features, in research which took place in the Varamin sub-basin, north-east Tehran, Iran. A photomorphic unit map was produced from processed satellite images, and four other maps were prepared by the integration of different data layers, including slope, plant cover, geology, land use, rocks erodibility and land units. Comparison of ground truth maps of erosion types and working unit maps indicated that the integration of land use, land units and rocks erodibility layers with satellite image photomorphic units maps provide the best methods in producing erosion types maps.

Keywords: Erosion Features, Geographic Information System, Remote Sensing.

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Authors: Nan Jiang, Jian Wang

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Random Oracle Model (ROM) is an effective method for measuring the practical security of cryptograph. In this paper, we try to use it into information hiding system (IHS). Because IHS has its own properties, the ROM must be modified if it is used into IHS. Firstly, we fully discuss why and how to modify each part of ROM respectively. The main changes include: 1) Divide the attacks that IHS may be suffered into two phases and divide the attacks of each phase into several kinds. 2) Distinguish Oracles and Black-boxes clearly. 3) Define Oracle and four Black-boxes that IHS used. 4) Propose the formalized adversary model. And 5) Give the definition of judge. Secondly, based on ROM of IHS, the security against known original cover attack (KOCA-KOCA-security) is defined. Then, we give an actual information hiding scheme and prove that it is KOCA-KOCA-secure. Finally, we conclude the paper and propose the open problems of further research.

Keywords: Attack, Information Hiding, Provable Security, Random Oracle Model.

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Authors: Babak H. Mamamqani, Alimohammad Entezarmahdi

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There are many researches on parameters affecting seismic behavior of steel moment frames. Great deal of these researches considers cover plate connections with or without haunch and direct beam to column connection for exterior columns. Also there are experimental results for interior connections with equal beam depth on both sides but not much research has been performed on the seismic behavior of joints with unequal beam depth. Based on previous experimental results, a series of companion analyses have been set up considering different beam height and connection detailing configuration to investigate the seismic behavior of the connections. Results of this study indicate that when the differences between beams height on both side increases, use of haunch connection system leads to significant improvement in the seismic response whereas other configurations did not provide satisfying results.

Keywords: Analytical modeling, Haunch connection, Seismic design, Unequal beam depth.

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Authors: M. Safa, A. Sabet, S. MacGillivray, M. Davidson, K. Kaczmarczyk, C. T. Haas, G. E. Gibson, D. Rayside

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In order to address construction project requirements and specifications, scholars and practitioners need to establish taxonomy according to a scheme that best fits their need. While existing characterization methods are continuously being improved, new ones are devised to cover project properties which have not been previously addressed. One such method, the Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI), has received limited consideration strictly as a classification scheme. Developed by the Construction Industry Institute (CII) in 1996, the PDRI has been refined over the last two decades as a method for evaluating a project's scope definition completeness during front-end planning (FEP). The main contribution of this study is a review of practical project classification methods, and a discussion of how PDRI can be used to classify projects based on their readiness in the FEP phase. The proposed model has been applied to 59 construction projects in Ontario, and the results are discussed.

Keywords: Project classification, project definition rating index (PDRI), project goals alignment, risk.

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Authors: Ahmad R. Naghsh-Nilchi, Latifeh Pourmohammadbagher

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Both image steganography and image encryption have advantages and disadvantages. Steganograhy allows us to hide a desired image containing confidential information in a covered or host image while image encryption is decomposing the desired image to a non-readable, non-comprehended manner. The encryption methods are usually much more robust than the steganographic ones. However, they have a high visibility and would provoke the attackers easily since it usually is obvious from an encrypted image that something is hidden! The combination of steganography and encryption will cover both of their weaknesses and therefore, it increases the security. In this paper an image encryption method based on sinc-convolution along with using an encryption key of 128 bit length is introduced. Then, the encrypted image is covered by a host image using a modified version of JSteg steganography algorithm. This method could be applied to almost all image formats including TIF, BMP, GIF and JPEG. The experiment results show that our method is able to hide a desired image with high security and low visibility.

Keywords: Sinc Approximation, Image Encryption, Sincconvolution, Image Steganography, JSTEG.

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Authors: Mathias U. Bonet, Pericles Pilidis, Georgios Doulgeris

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A gas turbine-powered cruise Liner is scheduled to transport pilgrim passengers from Lagos-Nigeria to the Islamic port city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Since the gas turbine is an air breathing machine, changes in the density and/or mass flow at the compressor inlet due to an encounter with variations in weather conditions induce negative effects on the performance of the power plant during the voyage. In practice, all deviations from the reference atmospheric conditions of 15 ^oC and 1.103 bar tend to affect the power output and other thermodynamic parameters of the gas turbine cycle. Therefore, this paper seeks to evaluate how a simple cycle marine gas turbine power plant would react under a variety of scenarios that may be encountered during a voyage as the ship sails across the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea before arriving at its designated port of discharge. It is also an assessment that focuses on the effect of varying aerodynamic and hydrodynamic conditions which deteriorate the efficient operation of the propulsion system due to an increase in resistance that results from some projected levels of the ship hull fouling. The investigated passenger ship is designed to run at a service speed of 22 knots and cover a distance of 5787 nautical miles. The performance evaluation consists of three separate voyages that cover a variety of weather conditions in winter, spring and summer seasons. Real-time daily temperatures and the sea states for the selected transit route were obtained and used to simulate the voyage under the aforementioned operating conditions. Changes in engine firing temperature, power output as well as the total fuel consumed per voyage including other performance variables were separately predicted under both calm and adverse weather conditions. The collated data were obtained online from the UK Meteorological Office as well as the UK Hydrographic Office websites, while adopting the Beaufort scale for determining the magnitude of sea waves resulting from rough weather situations. The simulation of the gas turbine performance and voyage analysis was effected through the use of an integrated Cranfield-University-developed computer code known as ‘Turbomatch’ and ‘Poseidon’. It is a project that is aimed at developing a method for predicting the off design behavior of the marine gas turbine when installed and operated as the main prime mover for both propulsion and powering of all other auxiliary services onboard a passenger cruise liner. Furthermore, it is a techno-economic and environmental assessment that seeks to enable the forecast of the marine gas turbine part and full load performance as it relates to the fuel requirement for a complete voyage.

Keywords:

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Authors: W. Srinuttrakul, V. Permnamtip

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Toxic elements in rice samples are great concern in Thailand because rice (Oryza sativa) is a staple food for Thai people. Furthermore, rice is an economic crop of Thailand for export. In this study, the concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in rice samples collected from the paddy fields in the northern, northeastern and southern regions of Thailand were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The mean concentrations of As, Cd and Pb in 55 rice samples were 0.112±0.056, 0.029±0.037 and 0.031±0.033 mg kg^-1, respectively. All rice samples showed As, Cd and Pb lower than the limit data of Codex. The estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of As, Cd, and Pb from rice consumption were 0.026±0.013, 0.007±0.009 and 0.007±0.008 mg day^-1, respectively. The percentage contribution to Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) values of As, Cd and Pb for Thai male (body weight of 69 kg) was 17.6%, 9.7%, and 2.9%, respectively, and for Thai female (body weight of 57 kg) was 21.3%, 11.7% and 3.5%, respectively. The findings indicated that all studied rice samples are safe for consumption.

Keywords: Arsenic, cadmium, ICP-MS, lead, rice.

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Authors: W. S. Mohamed, A. A. Hammam

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Sandy soils under arid and semi-arid conditions are characterized by poor physical and biochemical properties such as low water retention, rapid organic matter decomposition, low nutrients use efficiency, and limited crop productivity. Addition of organic amendments is crucial to develop soil properties and consequently enhance nutrients use efficiency and lessen organic carbon decomposition. Two years field experiments were developed to investigate the feasibility of using poultry manure and its derived biochar integrated with different levels of N fertilizer as a soil amendment for newly reclaimed sandy soils in Western Desert of El-Minia Governorate, Egypt. Results of this research revealed that poultry manure and its derived biochar addition induced pronounced effects on soil moisture content at saturation point, field capacity (FC) and consequently available water. Data showed that application of poultry manure (PM) or PM-derived biochar (PMB) in combination with inorganic N levels had caused significant changes on a range of the investigated sandy soil biochemical properties including pH, EC, mineral N, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic N (DON) and quotient DOC/DON. Overall, the impact of PMB on soil physical properties was detected to be superior than the impact of PM, regardless the inorganic N levels. In addition, the obtained results showed that PM and PM application had the capacity to stimulate vigorous growth, nutritional status, production levels of wheat and sorghum, and to increase soil organic matter content and N uptake and recovery compared to control. By contrast, comparing between PM and PMB at different levels of inorganic N, the obtained results showed higher relative increases in both grain and straw yields of wheat in plots treated with PM than in those treated with PMB. The interesting feature of this research is that the biochar derived from PM increased treated sandy soil organic carbon (SOC) 1.75 times more than soil treated with PM itself at the end of cropping seasons albeit double-applied amount of PM. This was attributed to the higher carbon stability of biochar treated sandy soils increasing soil persistence for carbon decomposition in comparison with PM labile carbon. It could be concluded that organic manures applied to sandy soils under arid and semi-arid conditions are subjected to high decomposition and mineralization rates through crop seasons. Biochar derived from organic wastes considers as a source of stable carbon and could be very hopeful choice for substituting easily decomposable organic manures under arid conditions. Therefore, sustainable agriculture and productivity in newly reclaimed sandy soils desire one high rate addition of biochar derived from organic manures instead of frequent addition of such organic amendments.

Keywords: Biochar, dissolved organic carbon, N-uptake, poultry, sandy soil.

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Authors: A. M. Omoare, E. O. Fakoya, O. E. Fapojuwo, W. O. Oyediran

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Awareness of value addition of sweet potato has received comparatively little attention in Nigeria despite its potential to reduce perishability and enhanced utilization of the crop in diverse products forms. This study assessed the awareness of value addition of sweet potato in Osun State, Nigeria. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents for the study. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. Findings showed that most (75.00%) of the respondents were male with mean age of 42.10 years and 96.70% of the respondents had formal education. The mean farm size was 2.30 hectares. Majority (75.00%) of the respondents had more than 10 years farming experience. Awareness of value addition of sweet potato was very low among the respondents. It was recommended that sweet potato farmers should be empowered through effective and efficient extension training on the use of modern processing techniques in order to enhance value addition of sweet potato. 

Keywords: Awareness, value addition, sweet potato, perishability.

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Authors: Ruma Bhattacharyya

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The basic objective of this paper is to measure and compare the profitability of investments made by the small and marginal farmers of the state of West Bengal in floriculture shifting from the traditional cultivation of paddy. A comparison of IRR is made to establish the fact that cultivation of flowers yield higher returns farmers whose land size is so small that viability of paddy cultivation is raising a question mark. A detailed study of the price behavior of the flower crop has been carried out in which the factors leading to the volatility of the price and the dispersion of the range have also been discussed. Finally the incremental incomes of the farmers have been calculated with the help of imputed income from paddy cultivation and the reported income from the selected flowers. The study shows that the farmers stand gainers if they opt for flower cultivation.

Keywords: Bazar Samity, Floriculture, Marginal Farmers.

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Authors: Mohammadi K., Ghalavand A., Aghaalikhani M., Eskandari M.

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In order to increase in chickpea quality and agroecosystem sustainability, field experiments were carried out in 2007 and 2008 growing seasons. In this research the effects of different organic, chemical and biological fertilizers were investigated on grain yield and quality of chickpea. Experimental units were arranged in split-split plots based on randomized complete blocks with three replications. The highest amounts of yield and yield components were obtained in G1×N5 interaction. Significant increasing of N, P, K, Fe and Mg content in leaves and grains emphasized on superiority of mentioned treatment because each one of these nutrients has an approved role in chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthesis ability of the crop. The combined application of compost, farmyard manure and chemical phosphorus (N5) had the best grain quality due to high protein, starch and total sugar contents, low crude fiber and reduced cooking time.

Keywords: Agroecosystem, sustainability, chickpea, naturalresources.

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Authors: M. Eickermann, M. K. Class, J. Junk

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Winter oilseed rape, Brassica napus L., is characterized by a high number of herbicide applications. Therefore, its cultivation can lead to massive contamination of ground water and soil by herbicide and their metabolites. A multi-side long-term field experiment (EFFO, Efficient crop rotation) was set-up in Luxembourg to quantify these effects. Based on soil sampling and laboratory analysis, preliminary results showed reduced dehydrogenase activities of several soil organisms due to herbicide treatments. This effect is highly depending on the soil type. Relation between the dehydrogenase activity and the amount of microbial carbon showed higher variability on the test side with loamy Brown Earth, based on Bunter than on those with sandy-loamy Brown Earth, based on calciferous Sandstone.

Keywords: Cropping system, dehydrogenase activity, herbicides, mechanical weed control, oilseed rape.

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Authors: Ana Bobirca, Paul-Gabriel Miclaus

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International competitiveness receives much attention nowadays, but up to now its assessment has been heavily based on manufacturing industry statistics. This paper addresses the need for competitiveness indicators that cover the service sector and sets out a multilevel framework for measuring international services trade competitiveness. The approach undertaken here aims at comparatively examining the international competitiveness of the EU-25 (the twenty-five European Union member states before the 1st of January 2007), Romanian and Bulgarian services trade, as well as the last two countries- structure of specialization on the EU-25 services market. The primary changes in the international competitiveness of three major services sectors – transportation, travel and other services - are analyzed. This research attempts to determine the ability of the two recent European Union (EU) member states to contend with the challenges that might arise from the hard competition within the enlarged EU, in the field of services trade.

Keywords: Bulgaria, EU-25, international competitiveness, international services trade, Romania.

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Authors: C. Ardil

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This paper presents the open science philosophy and paradigm of scientific research on how to transform classical research and innovation approaches. Open science is the practice of providing free and unrestricted online access to the products of scholarly research. Open science advocates for the immediate and unrestricted online access to published, peer-reviewed research in digital format. Open science research is made available for free in perpetuity and includes guidelines and/or licenses that communicate how researchers and readers can share and re-use the digital content. The emergence of open science has changed the scholarly research and publishing landscape, making research more broadly accessible to academic and non-academic audiences alike. Consequently, open science philosophy and its practice are discussed to cover all aspects of cyberscience in the context of research and innovation excellence for the benefit of global society.

Keywords: Open science, open data, open access, cyberscience , cybertechnology.

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Authors: Rashid A. Fayadh, F. Malek, Hilal A. Fadhil, Norshafinash Saudin

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In this paper, a design of ultra wideband (UWB) printed microstrip antennas that fed by microstrip transmission line were presented and printed on a substrate Taconic TLY-5 material with relative dielectric constant of 2.2. The proposed antennas were designed to cover the frequency range of 3.5 to 12 GHz. The antennas of printed patch shapes are rectangular, triangle/rectangular, hexagonal, and circular with the same dimensions of feeder and ground plane. The proposed antennas were simulated using a package of CST microwave studio in the 2 to 12 GHz operating frequency range. Simulation results and comparison for return loss (S₁₁), radiation patterns, and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) were presented and discussed over the UWB frequency.

Keywords: Microstrip patch antenna, ultra-wideband frequency, wireless communication systems, return loss and radiation patterns.

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Authors: Khaoula Hidouri, Ali Benhmidene, Bechir Chouachi

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The purification of brackish seawater becomes a necessity and not a choice against demographic and industrial growth especially in third world countries. Two models can be used in this work: simple solar still and simple solar still coupled with a heat pump. In this research, the productivity of water by Simple Solar Distiller (SSD) and Simple Solar Distiller Hybrid Heat Pump (SSDHP) was determined by the orientation, the use of heat pump, the simple or double glass cover. The productivity can exceed 1.2 L/m²h for the SSDHP and 0.5 L/m²h for SSD model. The result of the global efficiency is determined for two models SSD and SSDHP give respectively 30%, 50%. The internal efficiency attained 35% for SSD and 60% of the SSDHP models. Convective heat coefficient can be determined by attained 2.5 W/m²°C and 0.5 W/m²°C respectively for SSDHP and SSD models.

Keywords: Productivity, efficiency, convective heat coefficient, SSD model, SSDHP model.

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Authors: Ružarovský, Roman, Danišová, Nina, Velíšek, Karol

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In this contribution is presented a complex design of individual objects identification in the workplace of intelligent assembly cell. Intelligent assembly cell is situated at Institute of Manufacturing Systems and Applied Mechanics and is used for pneumatic actuator assembly. Pneumatic actuator components are pneumatic roller, cover, piston and spring. Two identification objects alternatives for assembly are designed in the workplace of industrial robot. In the contribution is evaluated and selected suitable alternative for identification – 2D codes reader. The complex design of individual object identification is going out of intelligent manufacturing systems knowledge. Intelligent assembly and manufacturing systems as systems of new generation are gradually loaded in to the mechanical production, when they are removeing human operation out of production process and they also short production times.

Keywords: system, cell, intelligent, mechanics, device

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Authors: M.A.Grigoras, A.Popescu, D.Pamfil, I.Has, L.C.Cota

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An experimental study is presented on the effect of Conservation Agriculture (CA) compared to Conventional Agriculture (ConvA) upon Maize Yield based on split-plot model. Two factors have been considered: A Factor-Fertilization with two variants: A1- N40P40 kg/ha and A2- N90P70 kg/ha; B Factor- Crop protection with 4 variants : B1- 4 treatments, B2-3 treatments, B3- 2 treatments and B4- 1 treatment. In comparison with conventional agriculture, CA determined lower maize yields. Fertilization is the key factor determining a yield gain of 973.58 kg/ha in ConvA and 1,123.33 kg/ha in CA. A reduced number of treatments determined a yield decline. The A-B interaction had a positive effect on maize yield when a larger amount of fertilizer and 4 or 3 treatments were applied in ConvA and a benefic in CA for highest fertilization level and 2 treatments. The B2A2 ConvA variant was the most efficient leading to 302.67 kg/ha gain while B3A2 CA variant brought 181.33 kg production gain.

Keywords: conservation agriculture, conventional agriculture, maize, yield

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Authors: Mahesh Pal

Abstract:

This paper proposes to use ETM+ multispectral data and panchromatic band as well as texture features derived from the panchromatic band for land cover classification. Four texture features including one 'internal texture' and three GLCM based textures namely correlation, entropy, and inverse different moment were used in combination with ETM+ multispectral data. Two data sets involving combination of multispectral, panchromatic band and its texture were used and results were compared with those obtained by using multispectral data alone. A decision tree classifier with and without boosting were used to classify different datasets. Results from this study suggest that the dataset consisting of panchromatic band, four of its texture features and multispectral data was able to increase the classification accuracy by about 2%. In comparison, a boosted decision tree was able to increase the classification accuracy by about 3% with the same dataset.

Keywords: Internal texture; GLCM; decision tree; boosting; classification accuracy.

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Authors: Shiwei Deng, Yang Bao

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In this paper, we present a model-based regression test suite reducing approach that uses EFSM model dependence analysis and probability-driven greedy algorithm to reduce software regression test suites. The approach automatically identifies the difference between the original model and the modified model as a set of elementary model modifications. The EFSM dependence analysis is performed for each elementary modification to reduce the regression test suite, and then the probability-driven greedy algorithm is adopted to select the minimum set of test cases from the reduced regression test suite that cover all interaction patterns. Our initial experience shows that the approach may significantly reduce the size of regression test suites.

Keywords: Dependence analysis, EFSM model, greedy algorithm, regression test.

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Authors: Andreea Maier, Stelian Brad, Mircea Fulea, Diana Nicoară, Dorin Maier

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Today, any organization - regardless of the specific activity - must be prepared to face continuous radical changes, innovation thus becoming a condition of survival in a globalized market. Few managers have a wider vision that includes innovation, to enable better performance of the critical activities, namely the degree of novelty that it must submit an innovation to be considered as such. Companies need not only radical changes in the products or their services, but also to their business strategies. Not all managers have an overall view on the real size of necessary innovation potential. Unfortunately there is still no common understanding (and correct) of the term of innovation among managers. Moreover, not all managers are aware of the need for innovation. In these conditions, increasing the processes adaptability of firms (through innovation) to meet the needs and performance requirements is difficult without a systematic framework. To overcome this disadvantage, the authors propose a framework for designing an innovation management system,, to cover all the important aspects of a business system, to reach the actual performance of an organization.

Keywords: Innovation, innovation framework, innovation management system.

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Authors: Mandep Kaur, Surbhi Gupta, Parvinder S. Sandhu, Jagdeep Kaur

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Steganography meaning covered writing. Steganography includes the concealment of information within computer files [1]. In other words, it is the Secret communication by hiding the existence of message. In this paper, we will refer to cover image, to indicate the images that do not yet contain a secret message, while we will refer to stego images, to indicate an image with an embedded secret message. Moreover, we will refer to the secret message as stego-message or hidden message. In this paper, we proposed a technique called RGB intensity based steganography model as RGB model is the technique used in this field to hide the data. The methods used here are based on the manipulation of the least significant bits of pixel values [3][4] or the rearrangement of colors to create least significant bit or parity bit patterns, which correspond to the message being hidden. The proposed technique attempts to overcome the problem of the sequential fashion and the use of stego-key to select the pixels.

Keywords: Steganography, Stego Image, RGB Image, Cryptography, LSB.

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Authors: Masoud Nasri, Ali Gholami, Ali Najafi

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In recent years, most of the regions in the world are exposed to degradation and erosion caused by increasing population and over use of land resources. The understanding of the most important factors on soil erosion and sediment yield are the main keys for decision making and planning. In this study, the sediment yield and soil erosion were estimated and the priority of different soil erosion factors used in the MPSIAC method of soil erosion estimation is evaluated in AliAbad watershed in southwest of Isfahan Province, Iran. Different information layers of the parameters were created using a GIS technique. Then, a multivariate procedure was applied to estimate sediment yield and to find the most important factors of soil erosion in the model. The results showed that land use, geology, land and soil cover are the most important factors describing the soil erosion estimated by MPSIAC model.

Keywords: land degradation, Soil erosion, Sediment yield, Aliabad, GIS technique, Land use.

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Authors: Dana Kristalova, Jan Mazal

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This article deals with geographical conditions in terrain and their effect on the movement of vehicles, their effect on speed and safety of movement of people and vehicles. Finding of the optimal routes outside the communication is studied in the Army environment, but it occur in civilian as well, primarily in crisis situation, or by the provision of assistance when natural disasters such as floods, fires, storms etc., have happened. These movements require the optimization of routes when effects of geographical factors should be included. The most important factor is the surface of a terrain. It is based on several geographical factors as are slopes, soil conditions, micro-relief, a type of surface and meteorological conditions. Their mutual impact has been given by coefficient of deceleration. This coefficient can be used for the commander`s decision. New approaches and methods of terrain testing, mathematical computing, mathematical statistics or cartometric investigation are necessary parts of this evaluation.

Keywords: Movement in a terrain, geographical factors, surface of a field, mathematical evaluation, optimization and searching paths.

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Authors: D. Triantakonstantis, D. Stathakis

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Urban areas have been expanded throughout the globe. Monitoring and modelling urban growth have become a necessity for a sustainable urban planning and decision making. Urban prediction models are important tools for analyzing the causes and consequences of urban land use dynamics. The objective of this research paper is to analyze and model the urban change, which has been occurred from 1990 to 2000 using CORINE land cover maps. The model was developed using drivers of urban changes (such as road distance, slope, etc.) under an Artificial Neural Network modelling approach. Validation was achieved using a prediction map for 2006 which was compared with a real map of Urban Atlas of 2006. The accuracy produced a Kappa index of agreement of 0,639 and a value of Cramer's V of 0,648. These encouraging results indicate the importance of the developed urban growth prediction model which using a set of available common biophysical drivers could serve as a management tool for the assessment of urban change.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Networks, CORINE, Urban Atlas, Urban Growth Prediction.

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Authors: Meludu Nkiru T., Fakere Bosede Felicia

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Diversification of the processing of crops is a very important way of reducing food insecurity, perishability of most perishable crops and generates verities. Sweet potato has been diversified in various ways by researchers through processing into different forms for consumption. The study considered diversifying the crop into different drinks by combining it with different high nutrient acceptable cereal. There was significant relationship between the educational background of the respondents and level of acceptability of the sweet potato drinks (χ ² = 1.033 and P = 0.05). Interestingly, significant relationship existed between the most preferred sweet potato drink by the respondents and level of acceptability of the sweet potato drinks (r = 0.394, P = 0.031). The high level of acceptability of the drinks will lead to enhanced production of the crops required for the drinks that would assist in income generation and alleviating food and nutrition insecurity.

Keywords: Diversification, Malnutrition, Sensory Evaluation, Sweet Potato.

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Authors: Abdelaziz Guerrouat, Harald Richter

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In this paper test generation methods and appropriate fault models for testing and analysis of embedded systems described as (extended) finite state machines ((E)FSMs) are presented. Compared to simple FSMs, EFSMs specify not only the control flow but also the data flow. Thus, we define a two-level fault model to cover both aspects. The goal of this paper is to reuse well-known FSM-based test generation methods for automation of embedded system testing. These methods have been widely used in testing and validation of protocols and communicating systems. In particular, (E)FSMs-based specification and testing is more advantageous because (E)FSMs support the formal semantic of already standardised formal description techniques (FDTs) despite of their popularity in the design of hardware and software systems.

Keywords: Formal methods, testing and validation, finite state machines, formal description techniques.

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Authors: Guru Prasad Satsangi, Sanjay Yadav

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Paddy being cultivated since about 10,000 years B.C in Ganga Valley in India, its production reached up to 99 million tons in the year 2012. BGA are of much ecological importance for maintaining the soil fertility and reclaiming the alkalinity. In present investigation attempts were made to identify the local cyanobacterial genera from the paddy fields, BGA application for green farming enabling the paddy to utilize more amount of nitrogen released and to examine its impact along with Urea upon growth and yield responses of the Paddy crop. It was observed that combined treatment of BGA with Urea proved better response in almost all growth parameters and yield attributes except number of tillers/ Plant and grains/ panicle as compared to application of either Urea or BGA alone. The Paddy growers should be encouraged to adopt BGA along with Urea as source of Nitrogen for Paddy cultivation.

Keywords: BGA/Urea fertigation, Response, Paddy.

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Authors: S. Aghainajafi Zadeh, M.R. Hemami., F. Heydari

Abstract:

Asiatic Houbara ( Chlamydotis macqueenii ) is a flagship and vulnerable species. In-situ conservation of this threatened species demands for knowledge of its habitat selection. The aim of this study was to determine habitat variables influencing birds wintering and breeding selection in semi- arid central Iran. Habitat features of the detected nest and pellet sites were compared with paired and random plots by quantifying a number of habitat variables. In wintering habitat use at micro scale houbara selected sites where vegetation cover was significantly lower compard to control sites( p< 0.001). Areas with low number of larger plant species (p=0.03) that were not too close to a vegetation patch(p<0.001) were selected for breeding habitat.

Keywords: Asiatic houbara bustard, Habitat selection, Nest, pellet.

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