Abstract: Organic farmers across Saskatchewan face soil
phosphorus (P) shortages. Due to the restriction on inputs in organic
systems, farmers rely on crop rotation and naturally-occurring
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) for plant P supply. Crop rotation
is important for disease, pest, and weed management. Crops that are
not colonized by AMF (non-mycorrhizal) can decrease colonization
of a following crop. An experiment was performed to quantify soil P
cycling in four cropping sequences under organic management and
determine if mustard (non-mycorrhizal) was delaying the
colonization of subsequent wheat. Soils from the four cropping
sequences were measured for inorganic soil P (Pi), AMF spore
density (SD), phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA, for AMF
biomarker counts), and alkaline phosphatase activity (ALPase,
related to AMF metabolic activity). Plants were measured for AMF
colonization and P content and uptake of above-ground biomass. A
lack of difference in AMF activity indicated that mustard was not
depressing colonization. Instead, AMF colonization was largely
determined by crop type and crop rotation.
Abstract: Due to rapid economic growth, Indonesia's energy needs is rapidly increasing. Indonesia-s primary energy consumption has doubled in 2007 compared to 2003. Indonesia's status change from oil net-exporter to oil net-importer country recently has increased Indonesia's concern over energy security. Due to this, oil import becomes center of attention in the dynamics of Indonesia's energy security. Conventional studies addressing Indonesia's energy security have focused on energy production sector. This study explores Indonesia-s energy security considering energy import sector by modeling and simulating Indonesia-s energy-related policies using system dynamics. Simulation result of Indonesia's energy security in 2020 in Business-As-Usual scenario shows that in term of supply demand ratio, energy security will be very high, but also it poses high dependence on energy import. The Alternative scenario result shows lower energy security in term of supply demand ratio and much lower dependence on energy import. It is also found that the Alternative scenario produce lower GDP growth.
Abstract: In today-s competitive global business environment,
the concept of supply chain management (SCM) continues to become
increasingly market-oriented, shifting the primary driver of the value
chain from supply to demand. Recent recommendations encourage
researchers to focus investigations on the supply chain process
integration (SCPI) capabilities that integrate a focal firm with its
network of suppliers and business customers to create value for it.
However, theoretical and empirical researches pertaining to the
antecedents and consequences of a focal firm-s SCPI capabilities have
been limited and piecemeal. The purpose of this study is to investigate
the critical determinants and consequences of a focal firm-s SCPI
capabilities. We test our proposed research framework using a sample
of 139 sales managers of manufacturing industries in Taiwan, our
research findings show that (1) both perceived business customer-s
power and focal firm-s market-oriented culture positively influences a
focal firm-s SCPI capabilities, and (2) SCPI capabilities positively
influence a focal firm-s SCM performance, both operational and
strategic benefits. Implications for practitioners and researchers and
suggestions for future research are also addressed in this study.
Abstract: A research study was conducted with an objective to propose a collaborative business strategy of a oil and gas trading company, representing PPT Energy Trading Co., Ltd., with its shareholder, especially electricity and power supply companies for LNG Form of Coal Bed Methane in B2B Transaction. Collaborative business strategy is a strategy to collaborate with other organizations due to have future benefits in both parties, or achieve the business objective through the collaboration of business, its strategy and partners. A structured interview was established to collect the required primary data from the company. Not only interview, but also company’s business plan and annual report were collected and analyzed for the company’s current condition. As the result, this research shows a recommendation to propose a new collaborative strategy with limiting its target market, diversifying product, conducting new business model, and considering other stakeholders.
Abstract: Procurement is an important component in the field of
operating resource management and e-procurement is the golden key
to optimizing the supply chains system. Global firms are optimistic
on the level of savings that can be achieved through full
implementation of e-procurement strategies. E-procurement is an
Internet-based business process for obtaining materials and services
and managing their inflow into the organization. In this paper, the
subjects of supply chains and e-procurement and its benefits to
organizations have been studied. Also, e-procurement in construction
and its drivers and barriers have been discussed and a framework of
supplier selection in an e-procurement environment has been
demonstrated. This paper also has addressed critical success factors
in adopting e-procurement in supply chains.
Abstract: This paper presents a pulse doubling technique in a 12-pulse ac-dc converter which supplies direct torque controlled motor drives (DTCIMD-s) in order to have better power quality conditions at the point of common coupling. The proposed technique increases the number of rectification pulses without significant changes in the installations and yields in harmonic reduction in both ac and dc sides. The 12-pulse rectified output voltage is accomplished via two paralleled six-pulse ac-dc converters each of them consisting of three-phase diode bridge rectifier. An autotransformer is designed to supply the rectifiers. The design procedure of magnetics is in a way such that makes it suitable for retrofit applications where a six-pulse diode bridge rectifier is being utilized. Independent operation of paralleled diode-bridge rectifiers, i.e. dc-ripple re-injection methodology, requires a Zero Sequence Blocking Transformer (ZSBT). Finally, a tapped interphase reactor is connected at the output of ZSBT to double the pulse numbers of output voltage up to 24 pulses. The aforementioned structure improves power quality criteria at ac mains and makes them consistent with the IEEE-519 standard requirements for varying loads. Furthermore, near unity power factor is obtained for a wide range of DTCIMD operation. A comparison is made between 6- pulse, 12-pulse, and proposed converters from view point of power quality indices. Results show that input current total harmonic distortion (THD) is less than 5% for the proposed topology at various loads.
Abstract: The tracing methods determine the contribution the
power system sources have in their supplying. These methods can be
used to assess the transmission prices, but also to recover the
transmission fixed cost. In this paper is presented the influence of the
modification of commons structure has on the specific price of transfer
and on active power losses. The authors propose a power losses
allocation method, based on Kirschen-s method. The system operator
must make use of a few basic principles about allocation. The only
necessary information is the power flows on system branches and the
modifications applied to power system buses. In order to illustrate this
method, the 25-bus test system is used, elaborated within the Electrical
Power Engineering Department, from Timisoara, Romania.
Abstract: Transport and logistics are the lifeblood of societies.
There is a strong correlation between overall growth in economic
activity and growth of transport. The movement of people and goods
has the potential for creating wealth and prosperity, therefore the
state of transportation infrastructure and especially the condition of
road networks is often a governmental priority. The design, building
and maintenance of national roads constitute a substantial share of
government budgets. Taking into account the magnitude and
importance of these investments, the expedience, efficiency and
sustainability of these projects are of great public interest. This paper
provides an overview of supply chain management principles applied
to road construction. In addition, road construction performance
measurement systems and ICT solutions are discussed. Road
construction in Estonia is analyzed. The authors propose the
development of a national performance measurement system for road
construction.
Abstract: Due to heightened concerns over environmental and economic issues the growing important of air pollution, and the importance of conserving fossil fuel resources in the world, the automotive industry is now forced to produce more fuel efficient, low emission vehicles and new drive system technologies. One of the most promising technologies to receive attention is the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), which consists of two or more energy sources that supply energy to electric traction motors that in turn drive the wheels. This paper presents the various structures of HEV systems, the basic theoretical knowledge for describing their operation and the general behaviour of the HEV in acceleration, cruise and deceleration phases. The conventional design and sizing of a series HEV is studied. A conventional bus and its series configuration are defined and evaluated using the ADVISOR. In this section the simulation of a standard driving cycle and prediction of its fuel consumption and emissions of the HEV are discussed. Finally the bus performance is investigated to establish whether it can satisfy the performance, fuel consumption and emissions requested. The validity of the simulation has been established by the close conformity between the fuel consumption of the conventional bus reported by the manufacturer to what has achieved from the simulation.
Abstract: Nowadays, new home appliances and office appliances
have been developed that communicate with users through the
Internet, for remote monitor and remote control. However, developments
and sales of these new appliances are just started, then,
many products in our houses and offices do not have these useful
functions. In few years, we add these new functions to the outlet,
it means multifunctional electrical power socket plug adapter. The
outlet measure power consumption of connecting appliances, and it
can switch power supply to connecting appliances, too. Using this
outlet, power supply of old appliances can be control and monitor.
And we developed the interface system using web browser to operate
it from users[1]. But, this system need to set up LAN cables between
outlets and so on. It is not convenience that cables around rooms. In
this paper, we develop the system that use wireless mobile ad hoc
network instead of wired LAN to communicate with the outlets.
Abstract: The Yasuj city stream named the Beshar supply
water for different usages such as aquaculture farms , drinking,
agricultural and industrial usages. Fish processing plants
,Agricultural farms, waste water of industrial zones and hospitals
waste water which they are generate by human activity produce a
considerable volume of effluent and when they are released in to the
stream they can effect on the water quality and down stream aquatic
systems. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of outflow
effluent from different human activity and point and non point
pollution sources on the water quality and health of the Beshar
river next to Yasuj. Yasuj is the biggest and most important city in
the Kohkiloye and Boyerahmad province . The Beshar River is one
of the most important aquatic ecosystems in the upstream of the
Karun watershed in south of Iran which is affected by point and non
point pollutant sources . This study was done in order to evaluate the
effects of human activities on the water quality and health of the
Beshar river. This river is approximately 190 km in length and
situated at the geographical positions of 51° 20' to 51° 48' E and 30°
18' to 30° 52' N it is one of the most important aquatic ecosystems of
Kohkiloye and Boyerahmad province in south-west Iran. In this
research project, five study stations were selected to examine water
pollution in the Beshar River systems. Human activity is now one of
the most important factors affecting on hydrology and water quality
of the Beshar river. Humans use large amounts of resources to sustain
various standards of living, although measures of sustainability are
highly variable depending on how sustainability is defined. The
Beshar river ecosystems are particularly sensitive and vulnerable to
human activities. The water samples were analyzed, then some
important water quality parameters such as pH, dissolve oxygen
(DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Chemical Oxygen
Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solids (TDS),Turbidity,
Temperature, Nitrates (NO3) and Phosphates (PO4) were estimated
at the two stations. The results show a downward trend in the water
quality at the down stream of the city. The amounts of
BOD5,COD,TSS,T,Turbidity, NO3 and PO4 in the down stream
stations were considerably more than the station 1. By contrast the
amounts of DO in the down stream stations were less than to the
station 1. However when effluent discharge consequence of human
activities are released into the Beshar river near the city, the quality
of river are decreases and the environmental problems of the river
during the next years are predicted to rise.
Abstract: A new OTA-based logarithmic-control variable gain
current amplifier (LCCA) is presented. It consists of two Operational
Transconductance Amplifier (OTA) and two PMOS transistors
biased in weak inversion region. The circuit operates from 0.6V DC
power supply and consumes 0.6 μW. The linear-dB controllable
output range is 43 dB with maximum error less than 0.5dB. The
functionality of the proposed design was confirmed using HSPICE in
0.35μm CMOS process technology.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to study in depth some
methodological aspects of social interventation, focusing on desirable
passage from social maternage method to peer advocacy method. For
this purpose, we intend analyze social and organizative components,
that affect operator-s professional action and that are part of his
psychological environment, besides the physical and social one. In
fact, operator-s interventation should not be limited to a pure supply
of techniques, nor to take shape as improvised action, but “full of
good purposes".
Abstract: In this paper, based on a novel synthesis, a set of new simplified circuit design to implement the linguistic-hedge operations for adjusting the fuzzy membership function set is presented. The circuits work in current-mode and employ floating-gate MOS (FGMOS) transistors that operate in weak inversion region. Compared to the other proposed circuits, these circuits feature severe reduction of the elements number, low supply voltage (0.7V), low power consumption (60dB). In this paper, a set of fuzzy linguistic hedge circuits, including absolutely, very, much more, more, plus minus, more or less and slightly, has been implemented in 0.18 mm CMOS process. Simulation results by Hspice confirm the validity of the proposed design technique and show high performance of the circuits.
Abstract: The article deals with the classification of alternative water resources in terms of potential risks which is the prerequisite for incorporating these water resources to the emergency plans. The classification is based on the quantification of risks resulting from possible damage, disruption or total destruction of water resource caused by natural and anthropogenic hazards, assessment of water quality and availability, traffic accessibility of the assessed resource and finally its water yield. The aim is to achieve the development of an integrated rescue system, which will be capable of supplying the population with drinking water on the whole stricken territory during the states of emergency.
Abstract: Ten lactating multiparous Holstein cows were used in
a cross-over design with two dietary treatments and 28-d periods
(with 14 d as an adaptation) to study the effect of restaurant fat on
milk production and composition. Each cow was offered 14.7 kg
DM /d of the basal concentrate diet based on barley and corn (crude
protein = 17.7%, neutral detergent fiber = 23.5%, and acid detergent
fiber = 5.8% of dry matter) with free access to alfalfa. Dietary
treatments were arranged as supplying each cow with 0 (CONTROL)
or 150 g/day (RF) of restaurant fat. Supplemental RF did not
significantly (P > 0.25) affect milk yield, composition, and
composition yields, except for milk fat contents. Milk fat contents
were depressed (P < 0.05) with supplemental RF. Our results indicate
that RF could depress milk fat without affecting milk yield and that
the depression in milk fat in response to RF precedes the depression
in milk yield.
Abstract: The problem of wastewater treatment in Egypt is a two-fold problem; the first part concerning the existing rural areas, the second one dealing with new industrial/domestic areas. In Egypt several agricultural projects have been initiated by the government and the private sector as well, in order to change its infrastructure. As a reliable energy source, photovoltaic pumping systems have contributed to supply water for local rural communities worldwide; they can also be implemented to solve the problem “wastewater environment pollution". The solution of this problem can be categorised as recycle process. In addition, because of regional conditions past technologies are being reexamined to select a smallscale treatment system requiring low construction and maintenance costs. This paper gives the design guidelines of a Photovoltaic Small- Scale Wastewater Treatment Plant (PVSSWTP) based on technologies that can be transferred.
Abstract: New methodologies for XOR-XNOR circuits are
proposed to improve the speed and power as these circuits are basic
building blocks of many arithmetic circuits. This paper evaluates and
compares the performance of various XOR-XNOR circuits. The
performance of the XOR-XNOR circuits based on TSMC 0.18μm
process models at all range of the supply voltage starting from 0.6V
to 3.3V is evaluated by the comparison of the simulation results
obtained from HSPICE. Simulation results reveal that the proposed
circuit exhibit lower PDP and EDP, more power efficient and faster
when compared with best available XOR-XNOR circuits in the
literature.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it attempts to explore potential opportunities for utilizing visual interactive simulations along with Business Intelligence (BI) as a decision support tool for strategic decision making. Second, it tries to figure out the essential top-level managerial requirements that would transform strategic decision simulation into an integral component of BI systems. The domain of particular interest was the application of visual interactive simulation capabilities in the field of supply chains. A qualitative exploratory method was applied, through the use of interviews with two leading companies. The collected data was then analysed to demonstrate the difference between the literature perspective and the practical managerial perspective on the issue. The results of the study suggest that although the use of simulation particularly in managing supply chains is very evident in literature, yet, in practice such utilization is still in its infancy, particularly regarding strategic decisions. Based on the insights a prototype of a simulation based BI-solution-extension was developed and evaluated.
Abstract: The great majority of the electric installations belong
to the first and second category. In order to ensure a high level of
reliability of their electric system feeder, two power supply sources
are envisaged, one principal, the other of reserve, generally a cold
reserve (electric diesel group).
The principal source being under operation, its control can be ideal
and sure, however for the reserve source being in stop, a preventive
maintenance-s which proceeds on time intervals (periodicity) and
for well defined lengths of time are envisaged, so that this source will
always available in case of the principal source failure.
The choice of the periodicity of preventive maintenance of the
source of reserve influences directly the reliability of the electric
feeder system. On the basis of the semi-markovians processes, the
influence of the periodicity of the preventive maintenance of the
source of reserve is studied and is given the optimal periodicity.