Abstract: Studying on the response of vegetation phenology to
climate change at different temporal and spatial scales is important for
understanding and predicting future terrestrial ecosystem dynamics
and the adaptation of ecosystems to global change. In this study, the
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) dataset and climate
data were used to analyze the dynamics of grassland phenology as well
as their correlation with climatic factors in different eco-geographic
regions and elevation units across the Tibetan Plateau. The results
showed that during 2003–2012, the start of the grassland greening
season (SOS) appeared later while the end of the growing season
(EOS) appeared earlier following the plateau’s precipitation and heat
gradients from southeast to northwest. The multi-year mean value of
SOS showed differences between various eco-geographic regions and
was significantly impacted by average elevation and regional average
precipitation during spring. Regional mean differences for EOS were
mainly regulated by mean temperature during autumn. Changes in
trends of SOS in the central and eastern eco-geographic regions were
coupled to the mean temperature during spring, advancing by about
7d/°C. However, in the two southwestern eco-geographic regions,
SOS was delayed significantly due to the impact of spring
precipitation. The results also showed that the SOS occurred later with
increasing elevation, as expected, with a delay rate of 0.66 d/100m.
For 2003–2012, SOS showed an advancing trend in low-elevation
areas, but a delayed trend in high-elevation areas, while EOS was
delayed in low-elevation areas, but advanced in high-elevation areas.
Grassland SOS and EOS changes may be influenced by a variety of
other environmental factors in each eco-geographic region.
Abstract: Industries produce millions of cubic meters of effluent
every year and the wastewater produced may be released into the
surrounding water bodies, treated on-site or at municipal treatment
plants. The determination of organic matter in the wastewater
generated is very important to avoid any negative effect on the
aquatic ecosystem. The scope of the present work is to assess the
physicochemical composition of the wastewater produced from one
of the brewery industry in South Africa. This is to estimate the
environmental impact of its discharge into the receiving water bodies
or the municipal treatment plant. The parameters monitored for the
quantitative analysis of brewery wastewater include biological
oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total
suspended solids, volatile suspended solids, ammonia, total oxidized
nitrogen, nitrate, nitrite, phosphorus and alkalinity content. In
average, the COD concentration of the brewery effluent was 5340.97
mg/l with average pH values of 4.0 to 6.7. The BOD5 and the solids
content of the wastewater from the brewery industry were high. This
means that the effluent is very rich in organic content and its
discharge into the water bodies or the municipal treatment plant could
cause environmental pollution or damage the treatment plant. In
addition, there were variations in the wastewater composition
throughout the monitoring period. This might be as a result of
different activities that take place during the production process, as
well as the effects of peak period of beer production on the water
usage.
Abstract: The influence of physicochemical water quality
parameters on the abundance and diversity of caddisfly larvae was
studied in seven sampling stations in Mae Tao and Mae Ku
watersheds, Mae Sot District, Tak Province, northern Thailand. The
streams: MK2 and MK8 as reference site, and impacted streams
(MT1-MT5) were sampled bi-monthly during July 2011 to May
2012. A total of 4,584 individual of caddisfly larvae belonging to 10
family and 17 genera were found. The larvae of family
Hydropsychidae were the most abundance, followed by
Philopotamidae, Odontoceridae, and Leptoceridae, respectively. The
genus Cheumatopsyche, Hydropsyche, and Chimarra were the most
abundance genera in this study. Results of CCA ordination showed
the total dissolved solids, sulfate, water temperature, dissolved
oxygen and pH were the most important physicochemical factors to
affect distribution of caddisflies communities. Changes in the
caddisfly fauna may indicate changes in physicochemical factors
owing to agricultural pollution, urbanization, or other human
activities. Results revealed that the order Trichoptera, identified to
species or genus, can be potentially used to assess environmental
water quality status in freshwater ecosystems.
Abstract: Structure-borne noise is an important aspect of
offshore platform sound field. It can be generated either directly by
vibrating machineries induced mechanical force, indirectly by the
excitation of structure or excitation by incident airborne noise.
Therefore, limiting of the transmission of vibration energy
throughout the offshore platform is the key to control the structureborne
noise. This is usually done by introducing damping treatment
to the steel structures. Two types of damping treatment using onboard
are presented. By conducting a Statistical Energy Analysis
(SEA) simulation on a jack-up rig, the noise level in the source room,
the neighboring rooms, and remote living quarter cabins are
compared before and after the damping treatments been applied. The
results demonstrated that, in the source neighboring room and living
quarter area, there is a significant noise reduction with the damping
treatment applied, whereas in the source room where air-borne sound
predominates that of structure-borne sound, the impact is not
obvious. The conclusion on effective damping treatment in the
offshore platform is made which enable acoustic professionals to
implement noise control during the design stage for offshore crews’
hearing protection and habitant comfortability.
Abstract: The recent interest in alternative and renewable
energy systems results in increased installed capacity ratio of such
systems in total energy production of the world. Specifically, Wind
Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) draw significant attention
among possible alternative energy options, recently. On the contrary
of the positive points of penetrating WECS in all over the world in
terms of environment protection, energy independence of the
countries, etc., there are significant problems to be solved for the grid
connection of large scale WECS. The reactive power regulation,
voltage variation suppression, etc. can be presented as major issues to
be considered in this regard. Thus, this paper evaluates the
application of a Static VAr Compensator (SVC) unit for the reactive
power regulation and operation continuity of WECS during a fault
condition. The system is modeled employing the IEEE 13 node test
system. Thus, it is possible to evaluate the system performance with
an overall grid simulation model close to real grid systems. The
overall simulation model is developed in
MATLAB/Simulink/SimPowerSystems® environments and the
obtained results effectively match the target of the provided study.
Abstract: The development of transport systems has negative
impacts on the environment although it has beneficial effects on
society. The car policy caused many problems such as: - the
spectacular growth of fuel consumption hence the very vast increase
in urban pollution, traffic congestion in certain places and at certain
times, the increase in the number of accidents. The exhaust emissions
from cars and weather conditions are the main factors that determine
the level of pollution in urban atmosphere. These conditions lead to
the phenomenon of heat transfer and radiation occurring between the
air and the soil surface of any town. These exchanges give rise, in
urban areas, to the effects of heat islands that correspond to the
appearance of excess air temperature between the city and its
surrounding space. In this object, we perform a numerical simulation
of the plume generated by the cars exhaust gases and show that these
gases form a screening effect above the urban city which cause the
heat island in the presence of wind flow. This study allows us: 1. To
understand the different mechanisms of interactions between these
phenomena.2. To consider appropriate technical solutions to mitigate
the effects of the heat island.
Abstract: Public space is essential to strengthen the social and
urban fabric and the social cohesion; there lies the importance of its
study. Hence, the aim of this paper is to analyze the quality of public
space in the XXI century in both quantitative and qualitative terms. In
this article, the concept of public space includes open spaces such as
parks, public squares and walking areas. To make this analysis, we
take Mexico City as the case study. It has a population of nearly 9
million inhabitants and is composed of sixteen boroughs. For this
analysis, we consider both existing public spaces and the government
intervention for building and improving new and existent public
spaces. Results show that on the one hand, quantitatively there is not
an equitable distribution of public spaces due to both the growth of
the city itself as well as due to the absence of political will to create
public spaces. Another factor is the evolution of this city, which has
been growing merely in a “patched pattern”, where public space has
played no role at all with a total absence of urban design. On the
other hand, qualitatively, even the boroughs with the most public
spaces have not shown interest in making these spaces qualitatively
inclusive and open to the general population aiming for integration.
Therefore, urban projects that privatize public space seem to be the
rule, rather than a rehabilitation effort of the existent public spaces.
Hence, state intervention should reinforce its role as an agent of
social change acting in benefit of the majority of the inhabitants with
the promotion of more inclusive public spaces.
Abstract: As the Silicon oxide scaled down in MOSFET
technology to few nanometers, gate Direct Tunneling (DT) in
Floating gate (FGMOSFET) devices has become a major concern for
analog designers. FGMOSFET has been used in many low-voltage
and low-power applications, however, there is no accurate model that
account for DT gate leakage in nano-scale. This paper studied and
analyzed different simulation models for FGMOSFET using TSMC
90-nm technology. The simulation results for FGMOSFET cascade
current mirror shows the impact of DT on circuit performance in
terms of current and voltage without the need for fabrication. This
works shows the significance of using an accurate model for
FGMOSFET in nan-scale technologies.
Abstract: Life cycle assessment is a technique to assess the
environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a
product, process, or service, by compiling an inventory of relevant
energy and material inputs and environmental releases; evaluating the
potential environmental impacts associated with identified inputs and
releases; and interpreting the results to help you make a more
informed decision. In this paper, the life cycle assessment of
aluminum and beech wood as two commonly used materials in Egypt
for window frames are heading, highlighting their benefits and
weaknesses. Window frames of the two materials have been assessed
on the basis of their production, energy consumption and
environmental impacts. It has been found that the climate change of
the windows made of aluminum and beech wood window, for a
reference window (1.2m×1.2m), are 81.7 mPt and -52.5 mPt impacts
respectively. Among the most important results are: fossil fuel
consumption, potential contributions to the green building effect and
quantities of solid waste tend to be minor for wood products
compared to aluminum products; incineration of wood products can
cause higher impacts of acidification and eutrophication than
aluminum, whereas thermal energy can be recovered.
Abstract: The use of titanium fluoride and iron fluoride
(TiF3/FeF3) catalysts in combination with polutetrafluoroethylene
(PTFE) in plain zinc- dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) oil is important
for the study of engine tribocomponents and is increasingly a strategy
to improve the formation of tribofilm and provide low friction and
excellent wear protection in reduced phosphorus plain ZDDP oil. The
influence of surface roughness and the concentration of
TiF3/FeF3/PTFE were investigated using bearing steel samples
dipped in lubricant solution at 100°C for two different heating time
durations. This paper addresses the effects of water drop contact
angle using different surface; finishes after treating them with
different lubricant combination. The calculated water drop contact
angles were analyzed using Design of Experiment software (DOE)
and it was determined that a 0.05 μm Ra surface roughness would
provide an excellent TiF3/FeF3/PTFE coating for antiwear resistance
as reflected in the Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and
the tribological testing under extreme pressure conditions. Both
friction and wear performance depend greatly on the PTFE/and
catalysts in plain ZDDP oil with 0.05 % phosphorous and on the
surface finish of bearing steel. The friction and wear reducing effects,
which was observed in the tribological tests, indicated a better micro
lubrication effect of the 0.05 μm Ra surface roughness treated at
100°C for 24 hours when compared to the 0.1 μm Ra surface
roughness with the same treatment.
Abstract: To evaluate the vigor of wheat seeds and stress of
premature aging effects on germination percentage, root length and
shoot length of five wheat cultivars that include Vynak, Karkheh,
Chamran, Star and Kavir which underwent a period of zero, two,
three, four days in terms of premature aging with 41°C temperature
and 100% relative humidity. Seed germination percentage, root
length and shoot length in these conditions were measured. This
experiment was conducted as a factorial completely randomized
design with four replications in laboratory conditions. The results
showed that each of aging treatments used in this experiment can be
used to detect differences in vigor of wheat varieties. Wheat cultivars
illustrated significant differences in germination percentage, root
length and shoot length in terms of premature aging. The wheat
cultivars; Astar and Vynak had maximum germination percentage
and Karkheh, respectively Kavir and Chamran had lowest percentage
of seed germination. Reactions of root and shoot length of wheat
cultivars was also different. The results showed that the seeds with a
stronger vigor affected less in premature aging condition and the
difference between the percentage of seed germination under normal
conditions and stress was significant and the seeds with the weaker
vigor were more sensitive to the premature aging stress and the
premature aging had more severe negative impact on seed vigor.
Abstract: A novel chromium-free protective coating films based
on a zeolite coating was growing onto a FeCrAlloy metal using in –
situ hydrothermal method. The zeolite film was obtained using in-situ
crystallization process that is capable of coating large surfaces with
complex shape and in confined spaces has been developed. The
zeolite coating offers an advantage of a high mechanical stability and
thermal stability. The physicochemical properties were investigated
using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy
Dispersive X–ray Analysis (EDX) and Thermogravimetric Analysis
(TGA). The transition from oxide-on-alloy wires to hydrothermally
synthesised uniformly zeolite coated surfaces was followed using
SEM and XRD. In addition, the robustness of the prepared coating
was confirmed by subjecting these to thermal cycling (ambient to
550oC).
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to make an approach to
the Security Studies, exposing their theories and concepts to
understand the role that they have had in the interpretation of the
changes and continuities of the world order and their impact on
policies in facing the problems of the 21st century. The aim is to
build a bridge between the security studies as a subfield and the
meaning that has been given to the world order. The idea of epistemic
communities serves as a methodological proposal for the different
programs of research in security studies, showing their influence in
the realities of States, intergovernmental organizations and
transnational forces, moving to implement, perpetuate and project a
vision of the world order.
Abstract: Spacer grid assembly supporting the nuclear fuel rods
is an important concern in the design of structural components of a
Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). The spacer grid is composed by
springs and dimples which are formed from a strip sheet by means of
blanking and stamping processes. In this paper, the blanking process
and tooling parameters are evaluated by means of a 2D plane-strain
finite element model in order to evaluate the punch load and quality
of the sheared edges of Inconel 718 strips used for nuclear spacer
grids. A 3D finite element model is also proposed to predict the
tooling loads resulting from the stamping process of a preformed
Inconel 718 strip and to analyse the residual stress effects upon the
spring and dimple design geometries of a nuclear spacer grid.
Abstract: Nine Degrees of Freedom (9 DOF) systems are
already in development in many areas. In this paper, an integrated
pressure sensor is proposed that will make use of an already existing
monolithic 9 DOF inertial MEMS platform. Capacitive pressure
sensors can suffer from limited sensitivity for a given size of
membrane. This novel pressure sensor design increases the sensitivity
by over 5 times compared to a traditional array of square diaphragms
while still fitting within a 2 mm x 2 mm chip and maintaining a fixed
static capacitance. The improved design uses one large diaphragm
supported by pillars with fixed electrodes placed above the areas of
maximum deflection. The design optimization increases the
sensitivity from 0.22 fF/kPa to 1.16 fF/kPa. Temperature sensitivity
was also examined through simulation.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine the
relationship of anxiety level between male and female undergraduates
at a private university in Malaysia. Convenient sampling method used
in this study in which the students were selected based on the
grouping assigned by the faculty. There were 214 undergraduates
who registered the probability courses had participated in this study.
Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS) was the instrument used
in study which used to determine students’ anxiety level towards
probability. Reliability and validity of instrument was done before the
major study was conducted. In the major study, students were given
briefing about the study conducted. Participation of this study was
voluntary. Students were given consent form to determine whether
they agree to participate in the study. Duration of two weeks was
given for students to complete the given online questionnaire. The
data collected will be analyzed using Statistical Package for the
Social Sciences (SPSS) to determine the level of anxiety. There were
three anxiety level, i.e., low, average and high. Students’ anxiety
level was determined based on their scores obtained compared with
the mean and standard deviation. If the scores obtained were below
mean and standard deviation, the anxiety level was low. If the scores
were at below and above the mean and between one standard
deviation, the anxiety level was average. If the scores were above the
mean and greater than one standard deviation, the anxiety level was
high. Results showed that both of genders were having average
anxiety level. Among low, average and high anxiety level, frequency
of males were found to be higher as compared to females. Hence, the
mean values obtained for males (M = 3.62) was higher than females
(M = 3.42). In order to be significant of anxiety level among the
gender, the p-value should be less than .05. The p-value obtained in
this study was .117. However, this value was greater than .05. Thus,
there was no significant difference of anxiety level among the gender.
In other words, there was no relationship of anxiety level with the
gender.
Abstract: HR is a department that enhances the power of
employee performance in regard with their services, and to make the
organization strategic objectives. The main concern of HR
department is to organize people, focus on policies and their system.
The empirical study shows the relationship between HRM (Human
Resource Management practices) and their Job Satisfaction. The
Hypothesis is testing on a sample of overall 320 employees of 5
different Pharmaceutical departments of different organizations in
Pakistan. The important thing as Relationship of Job satisfaction with
HR Practices, Impact on Job Satisfaction with HR Practices,
Participation of Staff of Different Departments, HR Practices effects
the Job satisfaction, Recruitment or Hiring and Selection effects the
Job satisfaction, Training and Development, Performance and
Appraisals, Compensation affects the Job satisfaction , and Industrial
Relationships affects the Job satisfaction. After finishing all data
analysis, the conclusion is that lots of Job related activities raise the
confidence of Job satisfaction of employees with their salary and
other benefits.
Abstract: Currently, green rating systems are mainly utilized for
correctly sizing mechanical and electrical systems, which have short
lifetime expectancies. In these systems, passive solar and bio-climatic
architecture, which have long lifetime expectancies, are neglected.
Urban rating systems consider buildings and services in addition to
neighborhoods and public transportation as integral parts of the built
environment. The main goal of this study was to develop a more
consistent point allocation system for urban building standards by
using six different lifetime shearing layers: Site, Structure, Skin,
Services, Space, and Stuff, each reflecting distinct environmental
damages. This shearing-layer concept was applied to internationally
well-known rating systems: Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) for Neighborhood Development, BRE
Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) for Communities
and Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental
Efficiency (CASBEE) for Urban Development. The results showed
that LEED for Neighborhood Development and BREEAM for
Communities focused on long-lifetime-expectancy building designs,
whereas CASBEE for Urban Development gave equal importance to
the Building and Service Layers. Moreover, although this rating
system was applied using a building-scale assessment, “Urban Area +
Buildings” focuses on a short-lifetime-expectancy system design,
neglecting to improve the architectural design by considering bioclimatic
and passive solar aspects.
Abstract: This paper presents the local mesh co-occurrence
patterns (LMCoP) using HSV color space for image retrieval system.
HSV color space is used in this method to utilize color, intensity and
brightness of images. Local mesh patterns are applied to define the
local information of image and gray level co-occurrence is used to
obtain the co-occurrence of LMeP pixels. Local mesh co-occurrence
pattern extracts the local directional information from local mesh
pattern and converts it into a well-mannered feature vector using gray
level co-occurrence matrix. The proposed method is tested on three
different databases called MIT VisTex, Corel, and STex. Also, this
algorithm is compared with existing methods, and results in terms of
precision and recall are shown in this paper.
Abstract: The development of electric vehicle batteries have
resulted in very high energy density lithium-ion batteries. However,
this progress is accompanied by the risk of thermal runaway, which
can result in serious accidents. Heat pipes are heat exchangers that
are suitable to be applied in electric vehicle battery thermal
management for their lightweight, compact size and do not require
external power supply. This paper aims to examine experimentally a
Flat Plate Loop Heat Pipe (FPLHP) performance as a heat exchanger
in thermal management system of lithium-ion battery for electric
vehicle application. The heat generation of the battery was simulated
using a cartridge heater. Stainless steel screen mesh was used as the
capillary wick. Distilled water, alcohol and acetone were used as
working fluids with a filling ratio of 60%. It was found that acetone
gives the best performance that produces thermal resistance of 0.22
W/°C with 50°C evaporator temperature at heat flux load of 1.61
W/cm2.