Abstract: The request for a sustainable development challenges
both managers and consumers to rethink habitual practices and
activities. While consumers are challenged to develop sustainable
consumption patterns, companies are asked to establish managerial
systems and structures considering economical, ecological, and social
issues. As this is in particular true for housing associations, this paper
aims first, at providing an understanding of sustainability strategy in
residential trade and industry (RTI) by identifying relevant facets of
this construct and second, at conceptually analyzing the impact of
sustainability strategy in RTI on operational efficiency and
performance of municipal housing companies. The author develops a
model of sustainability strategy in RTI and its effects and further,
sheds light in priorities for future research.
Abstract: In this study Vitaton (an organic supplement which
contains fermentative β-carotene) and synthetic astaxanthin
(CAROPHYLL® Pink) were evaluated as pro-growth factors in
Rainbow trout diet. An 8 week feeding trial was conducted to
determine the effects of Vitaton versus astaxanthin on rearing factors,
survival rate and visual flesh color of Rainbow trout
(Oncorhnchynchus mykiss) with initial weight of 196±5. Four
practical diets were formulated to contain 50 and 80 (ppm) of β-
carotene and astaxanthin and also a control diet was prepared without
any pigment. Each diet was fed to triplicate groups of fish rearing in
fresh water. Fish were fed twice daily. The water temperature
fluctuated from 12 to 15 (C˚) and also dissolved oxygen content was
between 7 to 7.5 (mg/lit) during the experimental period. At the end
of the experiment, growth and food utilization parameters and
survival rate were unaffected by dietary treatments (p>0.05). Also,
there was no significant difference between carcass yield within
treatments (p>0.05). No significant difference recognized between
visual flesh color (SalmoFan score) of fish fed Vitaton-containing
diets. On the contrary, feeding on diets containing 50 and 80 (ppm)
of astaxanthin, increased SalmoFan score (flesh astaxanthin
concentration) from
Abstract: Observations show that power plant efficiency
decreases in hot summer days. Water droplet injection in air
condensers is suggested in order to decrease the inlet air temperature.
Nozzle arrangement, injected water flow rate and droplets diameter
effects on evaporation rate and the resulting air temperature are
investigated using numerical simulation. Decreasing the diameter of
injected droplets and increasing the number of injecting nozzles,
decreases the outlet air temperature. Also a more uniform air
temperature can be obtained using more injecting nozzles. Numerical
results are in good agreement with analytical results.
Abstract: An additive fuzzy system comprising m rules with
n inputs and p outputs in each rule has at least t m(2n + 2 p + 1)
parameters needing to be tuned. The system consists of a large
number of if-then fuzzy rules and takes a long time to tune its
parameters especially in the case of a large amount of training data
samples. In this paper, a new learning strategy is investigated to cope
with this obstacle. Parameters that tend toward constant values at the
learning process are initially fixed and they are not tuned till the end
of the learning time. Experiments based on applications of the
additive fuzzy system in function approximation demonstrate that the
proposed approach reduces the learning time and hence improves
convergence speed considerably.
Abstract: In this paper, a numerical solution based on nonpolynomial
cubic spline functions is used for finding the solution of
boundary value problems which arise from the problems of calculus
of variations. This approximation reduce the problems to an explicit
system of algebraic equations. Some numerical examples are also
given to illustrate the accuracy and applicability of the presented
method.
Abstract: An ecofriendly Citrus paradisipeel extract mediated synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles is reported under sonication. U.V.-vis, Transmission electron microscopy, Dynamic light scattering, and X-ray analyses are performed to characterize the formation of TiO2 nanoparticles. It is almost spherical in shape, having a size of 60–140 nm and the XRD peaks at 2θ = 25.363° confirm the characteristic facets for anatase form. The synthesized nanocatalyst is highly active in the decomposition of methyl orange (64 mg/L) in sunlight (~73%) for 2.5h.
Abstract: This paper adopted the hybrid differential transform approach for studying heat transfer problems in a gold/chromium thin film with an ultra-short-pulsed laser beam projecting on the gold side. The physical system, formulated based on the hyperbolic two-step heat transfer model, covers three characteristics: (i) coupling effects between the electron/lattice systems, (ii) thermal wave propagation in metals, and (iii) radiation effects along the interface. The differential transform method is used to transfer the governing equations in the time domain into the spectrum equations, which is further discretized in the space domain by the finite difference method. The results, obtained through a recursive process, show that the electron temperature in the gold film can rise up to several thousand degrees before its electron/lattice systems reach equilibrium at only several hundred degrees. The electron and lattice temperatures in the chromium film are much lower than those in the gold film.
Abstract: Gold coated silica core nanoparticles have an optical
response dictated by the plasmon resonance. The wavelength at
which the resonance occurs depends on the core and shell sizes,
allowing nanoshells to be tailored for particular applications. The
purposes of this study was to synthesize and use different
concentration of gold nanoshells as exogenous material for skin
tissue soldering and also to examine the effect of laser soldering
parameters on the properties of repaired skin. Two mixtures of
albumin solder and different concentration of gold nanoshells were
prepared. A full thickness incision of 2×20 mm2 was made on the
surface and after addition of mixtures it was irradiated by an 810nm
diode laser at different power densities. The changes of tensile
strength σt due to temperature rise, number of scan (Ns), and scan
velocity (Vs) were investigated. The results showed at constant laser
power density (I), σt of repaired incisions increases by increasing the
concentration of gold nanoshells, Ns and decreasing Vs. It is therefore
important to consider the trade off between the scan velocity and the
surface temperature for achieving an optimum operating condition. In
our case this corresponds to σt =1610 gr/cm2 at I~ 60 Wcm-2, T ~
65ºC, Ns =10 and Vs=0.2mms-1.
Abstract: Coastal resource management, community empowerment and socio economic development are the cornerstones for uplifting the lives of coastal area inhabitants. This paper aims to identify the positive impacts of coastal management projects toward fishermen-s economic well-being, to analyze the role of fishermen and their families in effecting economic change and to analyze the roles of stakeholders in managing coastal resources. Structured and semi-structured questionnaires were prepared to obtain qualitative data, and interviews were conducted with fishermen. Findings show that community empowerment and conservation of coastal resources through local and central government projects have exerted positive impact on the coastal community. Some activities involved women who are more active particularly in “off-fishing" season. Traditionally, local fishermen together with local stakeholders have set up a zoning system to minimize conflicts between fishermen. In addition, zoning is used to protect certain ecosystems that can provide benefits well into the future.
Abstract: Historic religious buildings located in seismic areas
have developed different failure mechanisms. Simulation of failure
modes is done with computer programs through a nonlinear dynamic
analysis or simplified using the method of failure blocks. Currently
there are simulation methodologies of failure modes based on the
failure rigid blocks method only for Roman Catholic churches type.
Due to differences of shape in plan, elevation and construction
systems between Orthodox churches and Catholic churches, for the
first time there were initiated researches in the development of this
simulation methodology for Orthodox churches. In this article are
presented the first results from the researches. The theoretical results
were compared with real failure modes recorded at an Orthodox
church from Banat region, severely damaged by earthquakes in
1991. Simulated seismic response, using a computer program based
on finite element method was confirmed by cracks after earthquakes.
The consolidation of the church was made according to these
theoretical results, realizing a rigid floor connecting all the failure
blocks.
Abstract: Introducing Electromagnetic Interference and Electromagnetic Compatibility, or “The Art of Black Magic", for engineering students might be a terrifying experience both for students and tutors. Removing the obstacle of large, expensive facilities like a fully fitted EMC laboratory and hours of complex theory, this paper demonstrates a design of a laboratory setup for student exercises, giving students experience in the basics of EMC/EMI problems that may challenge the functionality and stability of embedded system designs. This is done using a simple laboratory installation and basic measurement equipment such as a medium cost digital storage oscilloscope, at the cost of not knowing the exact magnitude of the noise components, but rather if the noise is significant or not, as well as the source of the noise. A group of students have performed a trial exercise with good results and feedback.
Abstract: SDMA (Space-Division Multiple Access) is a MIMO
(Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output) based wireless communication
network architecture which has the potential to significantly increase
the spectral efficiency and the system performance. The maximum
likelihood (ML) detection provides the optimal performance, but its
complexity increases exponentially with the constellation size of
modulation and number of users. The QR decomposition (QRD)
MUD can be a substitute to ML detection due its low complexity and
near optimal performance. The minimum mean-squared-error
(MMSE) multiuser detection (MUD) minimises the mean square
error (MSE), which may not give guarantee that the BER of the
system is also minimum. But the minimum bit error rate (MBER)
MUD performs better than the classic MMSE MUD in term of
minimum probability of error by directly minimising the BER cost
function. Also the MBER MUD is able to support more users than
the number of receiving antennas, whereas the rest of MUDs fail in
this scenario. In this paper the performance of various MUD
techniques is verified for the correlated MIMO channel models based
on IEEE 802.16n standard.
Abstract: This paper presents an optimization of the hull
separation, i.e. transverse clearance. The main objective is to identify
the feasible speed ranges and find the optimum transverse clearance
considering the minimum wave-making resistance. The dimensions
and the weight of hardware systems installed in the catamaran
structured fuel cell powered USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicle) were
considered as constraints. As the CAE (Computer Aided Engineering)
platform FRIENDSHIP-Framework was used. The hull surface
modeling, DoE (Design of Experiment), Tangent search optimization,
tool integration and the process automation were performed by
FRIENDSHIP-Framework. The hydrodynamic result was evaluated
by XPAN the potential solver of SHIPFLOW.
Abstract: General as well as the MSW management in Thailand is reviewed in this paper. Topics include the MSW generation, sources, composition, and trends. The review, then, moves to sustainable solutions for MSW management, sustainable alternative approaches with an emphasis on an integrated MSW management. Information of waste in Thailand is also given at the beginning of this paper for better understanding of later contents. It is clear that no one single method of MSW disposal can deal with all materials in an environmentally sustainable way. As such, a suitable approach in MSW management should be an integrated approach that could deliver both environmental and economic sustainability. With increasing environmental concerns, the integrated MSW management system has a potential to maximize the useable waste materials as well as produce energy as a by-product. In Thailand, the compositions of waste (86%) are mainly organic waste, paper, plastic, glass, and metal. As a result, the waste in Thailand is suitable for an integrated MSW management. Currently, the Thai national waste management policy starts to encourage the local administrations to gather into clusters to establish central MSW disposal facilities with suitable technologies and reducing the disposal cost based on the amount of MSW generated.
Abstract: This paper studies the dependability of componentbased
applications, especially embedded ones, from the diagnosis
point of view. The principle of the diagnosis technique is to
implement inter-component tests in order to detect and locate the
faulty components without redundancy. The proposed approach for
diagnosing faulty components consists of two main aspects. The first
one concerns the execution of the inter-component tests which
requires integrating test functionality within a component. This is the
subject of this paper. The second one is the diagnosis process itself
which consists of the analysis of inter-component test results to
determine the fault-state of the whole system. Advantage of this
diagnosis method when compared to classical redundancy faulttolerant
techniques are application autonomy, cost-effectiveness and
better usage of system resources. Such advantage is very important
for many systems and especially for embedded ones.
Abstract: It is known that symmetric encryption algorithms are
fast and easy to implement in hardware. Also elliptic curves have
proved to be a good choice for building encryption system. Although
most of the symmetric systems have been broken, we can create a
hybrid system that has the same properties of the symmetric
encryption systems and in the same time, it has the strength of
elliptic curves in encryption. As DES algorithm is considered the
core of all successive symmetric encryption systems, we modified
DES using elliptic curves and built a new DES algorithm that is hard
to be broken and will be the core for all other symmetric systems.
Abstract: This project focuses on the development of a line
follower algorithm for a Two Wheels Balancing Robot. In this
project, ATMEGA32 is chosen as the brain board controller to react
towards the data received from Balance Processor Chip on the
balance board to monitor the changes of the environment through
two infra-red distance sensor to solve the inclination angle problem.
Hence, the system will immediately restore to the set point (balance
position) through the implementation of internal PID algorithms at
the balance board. Application of infra-red light sensors with the PID
control is vital, in order to develop a smooth line follower robot. As a
result of combination between line follower program and internal self
balancing algorithms, we are able to develop a dynamically
stabilized balancing robot with line follower function.
Abstract: This paper presents the design and analysis of a parallel
connected inverter configuration of. The configuration consists of
parallel connected three-phase dc/ac inverter. Series resistors added
to the inverter output to maintain same current in each inverter of the
two parallel inverters, and to reduce the circulating current in the
parallel inverters to the minimum. High frequency third harmonic
injection PWM (THIPWM) employed to reduce the total harmonic
distortion and to make maximum use of the voltage source. DSP was
used to generate the THIPWM and the control algorithm for the
converter. Selected experimental results have been shown to validate
the proposed system.
Abstract: Recently, Thai education system is engaged in serious and promising reforms. One of the crucial elements in most of these educational reforms is the teacher professional development. Teachers today are under growing pressure to perform. However, most new teachers are not adequately prepared to meet the expectation. Consequently, this paper seeks to investigate the opinion of mentor teachers and university supervisors about professional development in the aspect of learning management skill of the preservice teachers in Rajabhat Universities, then compare the opinion between the mentor teachers and university supervisors about professional development in the aspect of learning management skill of the pre-service teachers. The study involved a cohort of 40 university supervisors and 77 mentor teachers. The research concludes by showing that mentor teachers viewed pre-service teacher as a professional teacher with an effective learning management skill. However, in the perspective of the university supervisor, pre-service teachers still have inadequate learning management skill.