Developing Energy Plants for Biofuels Production may Comply to Organic Principles

Biofuels are the only source of renewable environmentally friendly fuel currently suitable for road transport without any negative traits associated with traditional biodiesel or other green energy alternatives. The combustion of petrol and diesel produces many different types of local air pollutants, but the use of biofuels may result in the reductions in emissions of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide up to 70%. Impacts on land use require careful planning to maximise the gains and minimise the losses. The role of biofuels in organic farming will solve three significant problems: 1) waste will become valuable resources; 2) low quality forage products can be utilized for biofuels and thus get value-added; and 3) the trafficable damage on soil fertilities will be reduced by the minimized recirculation rate of bulky watery waste products

Australia's service sector: a study in diversity

This paper seeks to dispel some of the myths commonly harboured about service jobs, service trade and the contribution services make to productivity improvements and living standards. Services account for more than three-quarters of national output and for four out of every five jobs.services - employment - international service trade - productivity

The influence of demographic change on hospital utilization pattern : a case study of Hiroshima prefecture, Japan

Thesis (Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning)--University of Tsukuba, (A), no. 1461, 1996.3.2

PEMBERDAYAAN EKONOMI MELALUI INCOME GENERATING PELAKU e-WARONG KUBE DI KOTA CIMAHI

e-warong KUBE (Kelompok Usaha Bersama) adalah program pengembangan dari program KUBE dan telah diresmikan pada tanggal 27 Juni 2016 yang bertujuan untuk menyalurkan bantuan Bahan Pangan Non Tunai (BPNT) bagi masyarakat yang telah terdaftar sebagai KPM Program Keluarga Harapan. Tujuan penelitian untuk menggambarkan kondisi pemberdayaan ekonomi pelaku e-warong KUBE berdasarkan analisis SWOT, mengidentifikasi faktor yang mempengaruhi, upaya yang dilakukan serta implikasi praktis pekerja sosial dalam mewujudkan pemberdayaan ekonomi melalui income generating. Metode penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan lokasi studi di Kota Cimahi. Informan penelitian adalah pelaku e-warong KUBE dan penyelia e-warong KUBE serta pendamping PKH sebagai informan sekunder. Pengumpulan data menggunakan wawancara mendalam, observasi partisipan dan penelusuran data sekunder, hasil penelitian dianalisis secara kualitatif dengan menggunakan analisis koding dan kategori serta keabsahan data melalui triangulasi data, member checking, dan rich and thick description. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa e-warong KUBE memiliki kekuatan dan peluang dalam mencapai income generating. Pemberdayaan ekonomi pelaku e-warong KUBE belum bisa terwujud dikarenakan faktor internal dan eksternal yang meliputi rendahnya jiwa kewirausahaan, dinamika kelompok yang masih lemah, ketidaksiapan sistem pelaksanaan, kurangnya sosialisasi program e-warong, serta transaksi non-tunai yang masih asing di kalangan pelaku e-warong KUBE. Sosialisasi program, bimbingan teknis dalam penyaluran BPNT, dan pimbinaan yang berkelanjutan dari pendamping PKH, penyelia, dinas sosial Kota Cimahi, BNI dan Bulog sangat dibutuhkan oleh pelaku e-warong KUBE sebagai bentuk rekomendasi dari hasil penelitian ini. Kata Kunci: e-warong KUBE, pemberdayaan ekonomi, income generatin

"Open source" soluciones para la sostenibilidad

No Emission Monday is an ´open source´ community that creates new perspectives and solutions towards a more sustainable future. Accordingly, ´open source´ is a powerful tool to the climate change as a main concern of a growing number of individuals and the attached need for a massive retooling of our life styles towards more sustainable patterns. Naturally, here it is not a software project and therefore the term is used in quotes and in a symbolic meaning. Naturally, the most effective outcomes are reached through constructive collaboration between the community that channels the bottom-up drive and ideas, and the institutional framework established top-down by the governments, global climate negotiations and multinational corporations. NemoBarcelona, with its roots at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and active connections to several partners in Central and South America, is an excellent example of ´open source´ sustainability. The Recycling City project driven by the UNESCO Sustainability Chair at UPC produce local solutions for participating cities and facilitates the exchange of experiences from one country to another. With an extension to other Nemo cities the Recycling City project can have even larger impact.El No Emission Monday (Dilluns Sense Emissions), és una comunitat de ‘codi obert’ que crea solucions i noves perspectives cap a un futur més sostenible. En conseqüència, el ‘codi obert’ és una poderosa eina per a la principal preocupació d’un nombre creixent d’individus, el canvi climàtic, i per la necessitat adherida d’una reorganització massiva dels nostres estils de vida cap a patrons més sostenibles. Naturalment, aquí no tenim un projecte de construcció d’un software i per tant, el terme s’utilitza a manera de cita i en un sentit simbòlic. Naturalment, els resultats més efectius són assolits a través, tant de la col·laboració constructiva entre la comunitat que generi unitat i idees de baix a dalt com el marc institucional establert de dalt a baix pels governs, negociacions del clima global i corporacions multinacionals.NemoBarcelona que té les seves arrels a la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) i connexions actives amb diversos socis a Amèrica Central i del Sud, és un excel·lent exemple de la sostenibilitat de “codi obert”. El projecte Reciclar Ciutat, impulsat per la Càtedra UNESCO de Sostenibilitat de la UPC produeix solucions locals per a les ciutats participants i facilita l’intercanvi d’experiències d’un país a un altre. Amb l’extensió cap a altres ciutats de Nemo, el projecte Reciclar Ciutat pot tenir un impacte encara més gran.El No Emission Monday (Lunes Sin Emisiones), es una comunidad de ‘código abierto’ que crea soluciones y nuevas perspectivas hacia un futuro más sostenible. El ‘código abierto’ es una herramienta poderosa para la principal preocupación de un número creciente de individuos, el cambio climático, y para la necesidad adherida de una reorganización masiva de nuestros estilos de vida hacia patrones más sostenibles. Naturalmente, los resultados más efectivos son alcanzados a través, tanto de la colaboración constructiva entre la comunidad que genere unidad e ideas de abajo hacia arriba, como del marco institucional establecido de arriba hacia abajo por los gobiernos, negociaciones del clima global y corporaciones multinacionales. NemoBarcelona, que tiene sus raíces en la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) y conexiones activas con varios socios en América Central y del Sur, es un excelente ejemplo de sostenibilidad de “código abierto”. El proyecto Reciclar Ciudad, impulsado por la Cátedra UNESCO de Sostenibilidad de la UPC, produce soluciones locales para las ciudades participantes y facilita el intercambio de experiencias de un país a otro. Con la extensión hacia otras ciudades de Nemo, el proyecto Reciclar Ciudad puede tener un impacto aún mayor.Peer Reviewe

Relationship between aggressiveness of Stagonospora sp. isolates on field and hedge bindweeds, and in vitro production of fungal metabolites cercosporin, elsinochrome A and leptosphaerodione

Stagonospora convolvuli LA39, an effective biocontrol agent of Convolvulus arvensis (field bindweed) and Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed) produces phytotoxic metabolites leptosphaerodione and elsinochrome A. Stagonospora isolate 214Caa produces the toxin cercosporin. If toxic metabolite production is not linked to the pathogenic ability of the fungus on bindweeds, selection of aggressive strains with limited or no production of the metabolites would reduce any perceived risk of using strains of the fungus as a mycoherbicide. Therefore, 30 isolates of Stagonospora sp. including LA39 and 214Caa were characterised for aggressiveness on both bindweeds, and production of the three metabolites. Nine isolates were more aggressive than LA39 on both bindweeds. Classification of isolates based on metabolite type agreed largely with previous similar characterisation based on polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism of internal transcribed spacer of ribosomal DNA. Cercosporin producers produced neither leptosphaerodione nor elsinochrome A and together with isolates that produce none of the three metabolites, were less pathogenic on bindweeds. Conversely, there was a positive correlation between elsinochrome A and leptosphaerodione production, and each was positively correlated with aggressiveness of isolates on both bindweeds. Generally, any isolate where elsinochrome A was not detected was not aggressive on any of the two bindweeds. This probably implies that selecting elsinochrome A-negative, but aggressive Stagonospora strain(s) may be difficult. However, aggressive isolates may not produce elsinochrome A in planta at levels that could constitute any risk in the environment. In a preliminary attempt to determine the levels of elsinochrome A and leptosphaerodione produced in diseased bindweeds, none of the toxins was detected in Stagonospora infected bindweed leaves. Detailed investigation focusing on the detection and quantification of in planta production of elsinochrome A by Stagonospora isolates, and determination of the fate of elsinochrome A in the environment, and its relationship with leptosphaerodione may be essential. Similarly, development of molecular tools to monitor the mycoherbicide following field application is vita

Experimental design and construction of an enhanced solar battery charger

A Solar Battery Charger circuit is designed, built and tested. It acts as a control circuit to monitor and regulate the process of charging several batteries ranging from 4 volts to 12 volts, using a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel as the input source for the battery charging process. The circuit is economical and can be easily constructed from discrete electronic components. The circuit operation is based on matching the solar panel terminal load voltage to the input terminal of the charging circuit and the appropriate number of battery cell units to be charged to the output circuit through the use of a current limited voltage regulator, allowing fast charging while limiting heat build-up and gassing and a rotary switch for easy selection of the appropriate voltage depending on the solar light intensity. Experimental results indicate that there is an increase of the overall charging current when fully charging an empty: mobile phone battery and a 6v rechargeable lamp for 4 hours using direct charging between 10.00am to 4.00pm. The success of this device will bridge the gap of power failure that often occur within the hours of the day between 10.00am to 4.00pm, especially in rural communities

A novel time domain protection technique for multi-terminal HVDC networks utilising travelling wave energy

Fault vulnerability and protection issues are major challenge in realising multi-terminal HVDC transmission system, also termed HVDC grids. This paper presents a novel time domain and transient based protection technique for application to HVDC grids. The technique utilises the energy of the forward and backward travelling waves produced by a fault to distinguish between internal and external faults. For an internal fault, the calculated forward or backward travelling wave energy for a pre-set time duration following the occurrence of a fault must exceed a predetermined setting otherwise the fault is external. This characteristic is largely due to the DC inductor located at the cable ends, as per HVDC breakers or fault current limiters, which provides attenuation for the high frequency transients resulting from an external fault. The ratio between the forward travelling wave energy and the backward travelling wave energy provides directional comparison. For a forward directional fault with respect to a local relay, this ratio must be less than unity whereas the ratio is greater than unity for a reverse directional fault. The simulation results presented based on full scale Modular Multilevel Converter Based HVDC grid shows the suitability of the proposed technique. An advantage of this technique is that it is non-unit based and as such no communication delay is incurred. Furthermore, it is simple as it does not require complex mathematical/DSP technique; and as such can be easily implemented at each independent relay since it will require minimal hardware resources hence reduces cost

A transient based protection technique for future DC grids utilising travelling wave power

This study presents a novel time-domain protection technique for application to DC grids. The technique utilises the power developed by the forward and backward travelling waves produced by a fault to distinguish between internal and external faults. For an internal fault, the calculated travelling wave power must exceed a predetermined setting; otherwise the fault is external. The ratio between the forward travelling wave power and the backward travelling wave power provides a directional comparison. For a forward directional fault, this ratio is less than unity, whereas the ratio is greater than unity for reverse directional faults. To improve the sensitivity of the protection scheme for long-distance remote internal fault, a second element utilising the concavity of the forward travelling wave power is proposed. The proposed technique is time domain based and does not require complex mathematical burden; moreover, as such can be easily implemented since it will require fewer hardware resources. Simulations were carried out in power systems computer-aided design/electromagnetic transient simulations, and the results presented considering wider cases of fault scenarios including 500 Ω remote internal fault shows the suitability of the proposed scheme as all fault scenarios indicated were identified within 500 µs following the application of the fault