Abstract: The article reviews the current state of large-scale
studies about the impact of electromagnetic field on natural
environment. The scenario of investigations – simulation of natural
conditions at the workplace, taking into consideration the influence
both low and high frequency electromagnetic fields is shown.The
biological effects of low and high frequency electromagnetic fields
are below presented. Results of investigation with animals are shown.
The norms and regulations concerning the levels of electromagnetic
field intensity are reviewed.
Abstract: The paper describes the carbonate microfacies identified in the Sinjar Formation (Late Paleocene–Early Eocene) cropping out in Qara Dagh Mountain, near Sulekan Village approximately 20km south–west of Sulaimani (Iraq). One section (62m thick) has been measured in the field and closely sampled to undertake detailed microfaciesal and micropalaeontological studies to determine the formation-s age and environment of deposition. A samples were collected illustrating all the lithological changes along the section. The limestone in the studied area is hard and extremely rich in large foraminifers (soritids, rotaliids, nummulites, miliolids) and green algae (dasycladales). The investigation of the thin sections allowed us to identify the carbonate microfacies (18 types and subtypes) and the micropaleontological association (foraminifers and green algae), to determine the age of formation and to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of deposition (fore-reef, reef, back-reef). Based on the field observations and the studied thin sections, we determined three Units of a carbonate platform (I, II and III) from the base to the top of the section: Unit I with coralgal associations, Unit II is dominated by larger foraminifers and haracterized by the absence of coralgal associations, while Unit III is dominated by small foraminifers (mostly miliolids), peloids and green algae. It is partially dolomitized.
Abstract: Sustainable development is a concept which was
originated in Burtland commission in 1978. Although this concept
was born with environmental aspects, it is penetrated in all areas
rapidly, turning into a dominate view of planning. Concentrating on
future generation issue, especially when talking about heritage has a
long story. Each approach with all of its characteristics illustrates
differences in planning, hence planning always reflects the dominate
idea of its age. This paper studies sustainable development in
planning for historical cities with the aim of finding ways to deal
with heritage in planning for historical cities in Iran. Through this, it
will be illustrated how challenges between sustainable concept and
heritage could be concluded in planning.
Consequently, the paper will emphasize on:
Sustainable development in city planning
Trends regarding heritage
Challenges due to planning for historical cities in Iran
For the first two issues, documentary method regarding the
sustainable development and heritage literature is considered. As the
next step focusing on Iranian historical cities require considering the
urban planning and management structure and identifying the main
challenges related to heritage, so analyzing challenges regarding
heritage is considered. As the result it would be illustrated that key
issue in such planning is active conservation to improve and use the
potential of heritage while it's continues conservation is guaranteed.
By emphasizing on the planning system in Iran it will be obvious that
some reforms are needed in this system and its way of relating with
heritage. The main weakness in planning for historical cities in Iran
is the lack of independent city management. Without this factor
achieving active conservation as the main factor of sustainable
development would not be possible.
Abstract: The paper contains an investigation of zeros Of Bargmann analytic representation. A brief introduction to Harmonic oscillator formalism is given. The Bargmann analytic representation has been studied. The zeros of Bargmann analytic function are considered. The Q or Husimi functions are introduced. The The Bargmann functions and the Husimi functions have the same zeros. The Bargmann functions f(z) have exactly q zeros. The evolution time of the zeros μn are discussed. Various examples have been given.
Abstract: As the remedy used music becomes active and
meditation effect through the music is verified, people take a growing
interest about psychological balance or remedy given by music. From
traditional studies, it is verified that the music of which spectral
envelop varies approximately as 1/f (f is frequency) down to a
frequency of low frequency bandwidth gives psychological balance.
In this paper, we researched signal properties of music which gives
psychological balance. In order to find this, we derived the property
from voice. Music composed by voice shows large value in NCSD.
We confirmed the degree of deference between music by curvature of
normalized cumulative spectral distribution. In the music that gives
psychological balance, the curvature shows high value, otherwise, the
curvature shows low value.
Abstract: In this paper, we studied some properties of geodesic on some open surfaces: Hyperboloid, Paraboloid and Funnel Surface. Geodesic equation in the v-Clairaut parameterization was calculated and reduced to definite integral. Some geodesics on some open surfaces as mention above were classified by Clairaut's relation.
Abstract: Urban water management in Australia faces increasing pressure to deal with the challenges of droughts, growing population and the climate change uncertainty. Addressing these challenges is an opportunity to incorporate the parallel goals of sustainable water management and climate change adaptation through holistic, non-technical means. This paper presents case studies from Perth and Sydney which show how despite robust adaptation plans and experience, recent efforts to 'drought proof' cities have focused on supply-side measures (i.e. desalination), rather than rethinking how water is used and managing demand. The trend towards desalination as a climate adaptation measure raises questions about the sustainability of urban water futures in Australia.
Abstract: Nowadays, the focus on renewable energy and alternative fuels has increased due to increasing oil prices, environment pollution, and also concern on preserving the nature. Biodiesel has been known as an attractive alternative fuel although biodiesel produced from edible oil is very expensive than conventional diesel. Therefore, the uses of biodiesel produced from non-edible oils are much better option. Currently Jatropha biodiesel (JBD) is receiving attention as an alternative fuel for diesel engine. Biodiesel is non-toxic, biodegradable, high lubricant ability, highly renewable, and its use therefore produces real reduction in petroleum consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Although biodiesel has many advantages, but it still has several properties need to improve, such as lower calorific value, lower effective engine power, higher emission of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and greater sensitivity to low temperature. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is effective technique to reduce NOX emission from diesel engines because it enables lower flame temperature and oxygen concentration in the combustion chamber. Some studies succeeded to reduce the NOX emission from biodiesel by EGR but they observed increasing soot emission. The aim of this study was to investigate the engine performance and soot emission by using blended Jatropha biodiesel with different EGR rates. A CI engine that is water-cooled, turbocharged, using indirect injection system was used for the investigation. Soot emission, NOX, CO2, carbon monoxide (CO) were recorded and various engine performance parameters were also evaluated.
Abstract: This study aims to explore the relationship between the
disposition effect and herding behavior of investors trading Taiwanese
information technology stocks. This study differs from previous
literature in two aspects. First, in contrast with the earlier studies that
focused on investigating investors’ herding behavior, this study
explores the possibility that the disposition effect drives investors’
herding behavior. Additionally, it takes an in-depth look at the
interdependence between the disposition effect and herding behavior
of investors, including lead-lag relationship and volatility transmission
effect. Empirical results show that investors trading Taiwan’s
information technology stocks exhibit pronounced herding behavior
and that the disposition effect has a great impact on their herding
behavior.
Abstract: In this paper, the wear of high speed steel hobs during
hobbing has been studied. The wear mechanisms are strongly
influenced by the choice of cutting speed. At moderate and high
cutting speeds three major wear mechanisms were identified:
abrasion, mild adhesive and severe adhesive. The microstructure and
wear behavior of two high speed steel grades (M2 and ASP30) has
been compared. In contrast, a variation in chemical composition or
microstructure of HSS tool material generally did not change the
dominant wear mechanism. However, the tool material properties
determine the resistance against the operating wear mechanism and
consequently the tool life. The metallographic analysis and wear
measurement at the tip of hob teeth included scanning electron
microscopy and stereoscope microscopy. Roughness profilometery is
used for measuring the gear surface roughness.
Abstract: This paper describes Independent Component Analysis (ICA) based fixed-point algorithm for the blind separation of the convolutive mixture of speech, picked-up by a linear microphone array. The proposed algorithm extracts independent sources by non- Gaussianizing the Time-Frequency Series of Speech (TFSS) in a deflationary way. The degree of non-Gaussianization is measured by negentropy. The relative performances of algorithm under random initialization and Null beamformer (NBF) based initialization are studied. It has been found that an NBF based initial value gives speedy convergence as well as better separation performance
Abstract: In this paper the gradient based iterative algorithms are presented to solve the following four types linear matrix equations: (a) AXB = F; (b) AXB = F, CXD = G; (c) AXB = F s. t. X = XT ; (d) AXB+CYD = F, where X and Y are unknown matrices, A,B,C,D, F,G are the given constant matrices. It is proved that if the equation considered has a solution, then the unique minimum norm solution can be obtained by choosing a special kind of initial matrices. The numerical results show that the proposed method is reliable and attractive.
Abstract: The quantified residence time distribution (RTD)
provides a numerical characterization of mixing in a reactor, thus
allowing the process engineer to better understand mixing
performance of the reactor.This paper discusses computational
studies to investigate flow patterns in a two impinging streams
cyclone reactor(TISCR) . Flow in the reactor was modeled with
computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Utilizing the Eulerian-
Lagrangian approach, implemented in FLUENT (V6.3.22), particle
trajectories were obtained by solving the particle force balance
equations. From simulation results obtained at different Δts, the mean
residence time (tm) and the mean square deviation (σ2) were
calculated. a good agreement can be observed between predicted and
experimental data. Simulation results indicate that the behavior of
complex reactor systems can be predicted using the CFD technique
with minimum data requirement for validation.
Abstract: Grazing and pastoral overloading through human factors result in significant land desertification. Failure to take into account the phenomenon of desertification as a serious problem can lead to an environmental disaster because of the damages caused by land encroachment. Therefore, soil on residential and urban areas is affected because of the deterioration of vegetation. Overgrazing or grazing in open and irregular lands is practiced in these areas almost throughout the year, especially during the growth cycle of edible plants, thereby leading to their disappearance. In addition, the large number of livestock in these areas exceeds the capacity of these pastures because of pastoral land overloading, which results in deterioration and desertification in the region. In addition, rare plants, the extinction of some edible plants in the region, and the emergence of plants unsuitable for grazing, must be taken into consideration, as along with the emergence of dust and sand storms during the dry seasons (summer to autumn) due to the degradation of vegetation. These results show that strategic plans and regulations that protect the environment from desertification must be developed. Therefore, increased pastoral load is a key human factor in the deterioration of vegetation cover, leading to land desertification in this region.
Abstract: The possibility of producing drinking water from
brackish ground water using Vacuum membrane distillation (VMD)
process was studied. It is a rising technology for seawater or brine
desalination process. The process simply consists of a flat sheet
hydrophobic micro porous PTFE membrane and diaphragm vacuum
pump without a condenser for the water recovery or trap. In this
work, VMD performance was investigated for aqueous NaCl solution
and natural ground water. The influence of operational parameters
such as feed flow rate (30 to 55 l/h), feed temperature (313 to 333 K),
feed salt concentration (5000 to 7000 mg/l) and permeate pressure
(1.5 to 6 kPa) on the membrane distillation (MD) permeation flux
have been investigated. The maximum flux reached to 28.34 kg/m2 h
at feed temperature, 333 K; vacuum pressure, 1.5 kPa; feed flow rate,
55 l/h and feed salt concentration, 7000 mg/l. The negligible effects
in the reduction of permeate flux found over 150 h experimental run
for salt water. But for the natural ground water application over 75 h,
scale deposits observed on the membrane surface and 29% reduction
in the permeate flux over 75 h. This reduction can be eliminated by
acidification of feed water. Hence, promote the research attention in
apply of VMD for the ground water purification over today-s
conventional RO operation.
Abstract: Silk sericin (SS) is a glue-like protein from silkworm
cocoon. With its outstanding moisturization and activation collagen
synthesis properties, silk protein is applied for wound healing. Since
wound dressing in film preparation can facilitate patients-
convenience and reduce risk of wound contraction, SS and polyvinyl
alcohol (PVA) films were prepared with various concentrations of
SS. Their physical properties such as surface density, light
transmission, protein dissolution and tensile modulus were
investigated. The results presented that 3% SS with 2% PVA is the
best ingredient for SS film forming.
Abstract: As the resources for naturally occurring aggregates
diminished at an ever increasing rate, researchers are keen to utilize
recycled materials in road construction in harmony with sustainable
development. Steel slag, a waste product from the steel making
industry, is one of the recycled materials reported to exhibit great
potential to replace naturally occurring aggregates in asphalt
mixtures. This paper presents the resilient modulus properties of
steel slag asphalt mixtures subjected to short term oven ageing
(STOA). The resilient modulus test was carried out to evaluate the
stiffness of asphalt mixtures at 10ºC, 25ºC and 40ºC. Previous
studies showed that stiffness changes in asphalt mixture played an
important role in inflicting pavement distress particularly cracking
and rutting that are common at low and high temperatures
respectively. Temperature was found to significantly influence the
resilient modulus of asphalt mixes. The resilient modulus of the
asphalt specimens tested decreased by more than 90% when the test
temperature increased from 10°C to 40°C.
Abstract: Capital structure is one of the most important financial
decisions in corporate financing strategy. It involves the choice of
debt and equity level in financing a company-s operations. This study
aims to investigate whether the capital structure choice of Malaysian
electrical and electronic manufacturing companies that are listed in
the Bursa Malaysia can be explained by factors that have been found
by most studies as dominant determinants of capital structure
(company size, profitability, asset tangibility, liquidity and growth).
Using debt ratio as the proxy for capital structure and applying
pooled ordinary least square multiple regression estimation, the
results showed that on average, Malaysian electrical and electronic
manufacturing companies used less debt in funding their business
operations. The findings also showed that size and asset tangibility
has a significant positive relationship with debt level, while liquidity
has a negative significant relationship with leverage.
Abstract: Manufacturing, production and service industries within Libya have struggled with many problems during the past two decades due to many difficulties. These problems have created a negative impact on the productivity and utilization of many industries around the country. This paper studies the implementation levels of the manufacturing control systems known as Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRPII) being adapted within some Libyan industries. A survey methodology has been applied for this research, based on the survey analysis, the results pointed out that the system within these industries has a modest strategy towards most of the areas that are considered as being very crucial in implementing these systems successfully. The findings also show a variation within these implementation levels with a respect to the key-elements that related to MRPII, giving the highest levels in the emphasise on financial data accuracy. The paper has also identified limitations within the investigated manufacturing and managerial areas and has pointed to where senior managers should take immediate actions in order to achieve effective implementation of MRPII within their business area.
Abstract: This paper presents a numerical study on surface heat
transfer characteristics of laminar air flows in parallel-plate dimpled
channels. The two-dimensional numerical model is provided by
commercial code FLUENT and the results are obtained for channels
with symmetrically opposing hemi-cylindrical cavities onto both
walls for Reynolds number ranging from 1000 to 2500. The influence
of variations in relative depth of dimples (the ratio of cavity depth to
the cavity curvature diameter), the number of them and the thermophysical
properties of channel walls on heat transfer enhancement is
studied. The results are evident for existence of an optimum value for
the relative depth of dimples in which the largest wall heat flux and
average Nusselt number can be achieved. In addition, the results of
conjugation simulation indicate that the overall influence of the ratio
of wall thermal conductivity to the one of the fluid on heat transfer
rate is not much significant and can be ignored.