Economical Gain Research Articles

Comparative Analysis of the Acoustic Performances of Modular and Ordinary Classrooms

Since 2016, modular construction system was introduced to Korean school buildings as it gave both of benefits in time and economical gain. Though the modular school buildings are temporarily employed during the period while students were rapidly increasing due to the regional developments, government has a responsibility to maintain the building performance for the education purposes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the classroom acoustic performance of modular school buildings. To this end, room acoustic parameters were measured in classrooms in four modular school buildings. In addition, acoustic parameters including standardized sound insulation levels were measured to analyze the sound insulation performance of walls and floor impact noise performance. At the same time, equivalent acoustic parameters were measured in normal school classrooms for comparative analysis. As a result, it was found that background noise levels of each classroom are satisfactory with the standard of 35 dB(A). Concerning room acoustic performance, modular classrooms were found to have better values than ordinary classrooms. Als, as for the sound insulation of walls and floor, it was found that modular classrooms have better sound insulation performance than the ordinary classrooms beyond the general expectations.

Exploiting hyperspectral and multispectral images in the detection of tree species: A review

Classification of tree species provides important data in forest monitoring, sustainable forest management and planning. The recent developments in Multi Spectral (MS) and Hyper Spectral (HS) Imaging sensors in remote sensing have made the detection of tree species easier and accurate. With this systematic review study, it is aimed to understand the contribution of using the Multi Spectral and Hyper Spectral Imaging data in the detection of tree species while highlighting recent advances in the field and emphasizing important directions together with new possibilities for future inquiries. In this review, researchers and decision makers will be informed in two different subjects: First one is about the processing steps of exploiting Multi Spectral and HS images and the second one is about determining the advantages of exploiting Multi Spectral and Hyper Spectral images in the application area of detecting tree species. In this way exploiting satellite data will be facilitated. This will also provide an economical gain for using commercial Multi Spectral and Hyper Spectral Imaging data. Moreover, it should be also kept in mind that, as the number of spectral tags that will be obtained from each tree type are different, both the processing method and the classification method will change accordingly. This review, studies were grouped according to the data exploited (only Hyper Spectral images, only Multi Spectral images and their combinations), type of tree monitored and the processing method used. Then, the contribution of the image data used in the study was evaluated according to the accuracy of classification, the suitable type of tree and the classification method.

PSIV-B-17 Effects of Weaning Method on Performance of Crossbred Beef Calves

Abstract English cross beef calves (n=115; BW = 245 + 40 kg) were used in the first of a three-year project to examine the effects of three weaning systems on post weaning performance. Cattle were stratified by age of dam and assigned to: 1) Drylot (DRY), 2) Pasture (PAST) or 3) Fenceline (FEN) weaning system. Calves in DRY were physically separated from their dams and fed a mixed ration across 4 pens. Calves in PAST were physically separated from their dams and assigned to 2 pastures consisting of Bermudagrass and fed a supplement. Calves in FEN were separated from their dams in adjacent pastures (n = 2) but maintained nose contact with their dams and fed a supplement. Pasture analysis from PAST and FEN were used to calculate the amount of supplement, so that total NE would be similar to that fed to DRY. Cattle were weighed weekly, until d 28, then weighed on d 56. Pen/pasture were the experimental unit, animal within pen was the random effect, data were analyzed using PROC Mixed. No differences (P > 0.10) were noted with BW at d 0, 7 or 28; however, both FEN and PAST had greater BW at d 15 (P = 0.05) and tended to have greater BW at d 21 (P = 0.06); nevertheless, by d 56, DRY had greater BW compared with FEN and PAST (P=0.03). Similarly, ADG tended to be greater in FEN and PAST from d 0-14 (P= 0.06) and from d 0-21 (P = 0.07). Overall ADG from d 0-56 was greater for DRY compared with PAST and FEN (P = 0.03). By design, cattle in DRY had more measurable DMI compared with PAST and FEN at all points (P < 0.0004). Cost of gain was greater (P= 0.02) with more economical gain associated with FEN and PAST compared with DRY (P = 0.02).

Effects of lignite bioorganic product on sunflower growth, water and nitrogen productivity in saline-sodic farmlands at Northwest China

Continuous applications of lignite bioorganic fertilizer (LBF) to the field have achieved substantial improvements in soil physicochemical properties and crop yields in multiple regions throughout China. However, the effects of LBF on crop growth, and water and fertilizer productivity in saline-sodic farmlands were scarcely understood. Thus, in this study, a two-year field experiment with six treatments including a control treatment without any organic fertilizer (CK), a treatment amended with 21 t ha−1sheep manure (SM), and four treatments amended with 1.5 (LBF1), 3 (LBF2), 4.5 (LBF3), and 7.5 t ha−1 (LBF4) LBF, was conducted in 2019 and 2020 in the Hetao Irrigation District (HID), an area known for its saline-sodic conditions located at the upper Yellow River basin, China. The results showed that the LBF2 and LBF3 treatments improved plant height, leaf area index, and dry biomass by 8–76.7 cm, 0.3–2.4, and 309–402 g plant−1, respectively, in comparison with the CK treatment. The root length, root surface area, and root volume in the LBF2 and LBF3 treatment was 18.3–99.7 m, 464.6–2022.6 cm2, and 7.6–46.4 cm3 larger than that in the CK treatment, respectively. Average yield, water productivity, partial nitrogen productivity, and economical gain in the LBF treatments were up to 2.2 t ha−1, 0.4 kg m−3, 23.6 kg kg−1, and 6100 Chinese Yuan ha−1, respectively, substantially higher than those of the CK treatment. In addition, compared with SM treatment, the LBF2 and LBF3 treatments also significantly improved sunflower growth and water and nitrogen productivity. The results of structural equation model analysis and linear regression analysis showed that LBF2 and LBF3 treatments improved sunflower root growth mainly through improving absorption of soil nitrogen. Furthermore, the root indices had a significant positive relation with the sunflower yield, water productivity, and partial nitrogen productivity. The partial nitrogen productivity, water productivity, yield, and economic profits showed a quadratic relationship with the application rate of LBF. A comprehensive assessment of the partial nitrogen productivity, water productivity, yield, and cost versus economic suggested that an application rate of 3.0–4.0 t ha−1 of the lignite bioorganic fertilizer is optimal for achieving a sustainable improvement of crop yield, water productivity, and partial nitrogen productivity in saline-sodic farmlands.

Reclaiming the Landscape as a Common Good in Urbanized Belgium: The Protest Happening Raveel op de Leie Situated in the Socio-Political Context of the Belgian 1960s and 1970s

During the mid-1960s, a part of the Belgian population grew weary of the government’s flawed and untransparent policies for environmental safeguarding and urban planning. They argued that the landscape was reduced to a source of economic profit and advocated for a landscape-sensitive approach to prevent further estrangement from the environment. Roger Raveel’s art wants audiences to experience their contemporary environment in a new way by envisioning modern objects integrated into his rural Heimat. Yet, when a river is threatened for economical gain, his art is used in a protest happening. Despite the media attention and the arguments for a landscape-sensitive alternative, the protest was ineffective and Raveel ultimately resorted to lobbying, illustrating Belgium’s faulty policies.

Multi-criteria research lines on livestock manure biorefinery development towards a circular economy: From the perspective of a life cycle assessment and business models strategies

Livestock manure (LSM) is a profitable waste if handled sensibly, but simultaneously it imposes several environmental and health impacts if managed improperly. Several approaches have been adopted globally to cartel the problem associated with LSM management and recovery of value-added products, still, technological innovation needs further upgradation in consideration with the environment, energy, and economy. This review delivered a vibrant portrait of manure management, which includes, bioenergy generation and resource recovery strategies, their current scenario, opportunities, challenges, and prospects for future researches along with global regulations and policies. Several bioenergy generation and nutrient recoveries technologies have been discussed in details, still, the major glitches allied with these technologies are its high establishment costs, operational costs, manure assortment, and digestate handling. This review also discussed the techno-economic assessment (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) of LSM management operation in the context of their economical and environmental sustainability. Still, extensive researches needed to build an efficient manure management framework to advance the integrated bioenergy production, nutrients recycling, and digestate utilization with least environmental impacts and maximal economical gain, which has critically discussed in the current review.

Legal regulation on protecting marine environment from sea sand mining impact: a case study of spermonde archipelago

The dilemma between development interest, economical gain and preserving the marine environment from the implication of sea sand mining activity has been primarily discussed in the last decade. In essence, the sea sand mining which jeopardizes the marine environment occurs due to sand dredging activity which contributes to abrasion, removal of corals and marine habitat that plays an important role to the continuity of the majority of fishermen activity in coastal society through observing from several previous sea sand mining cases, including the current situation in Spermonde archipelago. This article is purposed to analyze legal regulation in protecting marine environment from sea sand mining in relation to the current situation in Spermonde archipelago. It applies normative legal research and uses a study case approach. The result shows that the existence of the loopholes in legal regulation on protecting marine environment from sea sand mining is still prominent. Thus, the coastal society in Spermonde archipelago has been negatively impacted by the sea sand mining activity. Pertaining plausible legal effort on such sea sand mining activity, local community are able to file a strict liability lawsuit to the concession permit owner.

Ultra-fast PCR method for the distinguishing between Miichthys miiuy and Sciaenops ocellatus.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-021-00954-4.

Authentication of berries and berry-based food products.

Berries represent one of the most important and high-valued group of modern-day health-beneficial "superfoods" whose dietary consumption has been recognized to be beneficial for human health for a long time. In addition to being delicious, berries are rich in nutrients, vitamins, and several bioactive compounds, including carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and hydrolysable tannins. However, due to their high value, berries and berry-based products are often subject to fraudulent adulteration, commonly for economical gain, but also unintentionally due to misidentification of species. Deliberate adulteration often comprises the substitution of high-value berries with lower value counterparts and mislabeling of product contents. As adulteration is deceptive toward customers and presents a risk for public health, food authentication through different methods is applied as a countermeasure. Although many authentication methods have been developed in terms of fast, sensitive, reliable, and low-cost analysis and have been applied in the authentication of a myriad of food products and species, their application on berries and berry-based products is still limited. The present review provides an overview of the development and application of analytical chemistry methods, such as isotope ratio analysis, liquid and gas chromatography, spectroscopy, as well as DNA-based methods and electronic sensors, for the authentication of berries and berry-based food products. We provide an overview of the earlier use and recent advances of these methods, as well as discuss the advances and drawbacks related to their application.

Value of deterministic day-ahead forecasts of PV generation in PV + Storage operation for the Australian electricity market

During the last decade, numerous solar forecasting tools have been developed to predict the energy generation of photovoltaic (PV) farms. The quality of solar forecasts is assessed by comparing predictions with measured solar data. However, this methodology does not consider the added value of the forecasts for their applications. As a consequence, what value could be given to the improvement of forecasts considering this evaluation framework?To answer this question, this work compares the value of different operational solar forecasts for a specific application. The aim is to look for relationships between the economic value and the error metrics defined to evaluate the forecast quality.A new generation of large-scale PV plants integrates ESS. The aim is to add flexibility to the injection of the production into the grid and thus to maximize the profit by taking advantage of the possibilities offered by the electricity market, such as energy arbitrage. To optimize the operation of these specific ESS, forecasting of the solar production is of paramount importance. The study case considered in this work is a large-scale PV farm of several megawatts associated with Li-ion batteries in the Australian energy market context.For this specific case study, the results show that the metrics used to evaluate the forecast quality based on the mean absolute error (MAE) have an almost linear relationship with the economic gain brought by applying the forecast. More precisely, an improvement of 1% point in MAE results approximately in an increase of 2% points in economical gain.

Present Status and Conservation Strategies of Biodiversity in India

The surroundings in which we live comprises of numerous life forms such as birds, fishes, plants and trees. In simple terms, it is the variability and variety of living organisms together with ecological facilities in which they exist. Over the years, the biodiversity has been facing rapid depletion as a result of habitat loss, excessive exploitation of resources, climatic changes, diseases, pollution, poaching of animals etc. In order to correct this scenario, vital steps for biodiversity conservation have to be taken by public in general along with the government and social organizations. Thus, biodiversity conservation has become a major issue in present times. The term biodiversity was coined as a contraction of biological diversity in 1985. Biodiversity may be defined as the variety and variability of living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they exist. In other words, biodiversity is the occurrence of different types of ecosystems, different species of organisms with the whole range of their variants and genes adapted to different climates, environments along with their interactions and processes. Loss of biodiversity occurs when either the habitat essential for the survival of a species is destroyed, or particular species are destroyed. The former is more common as habitat destruction is a fallout of development. The latter reason is encountered when particular species are exploited for economical gain or hunted for sport or food. Extinction of species may also be due to environmental factors like ecological substitutions, biological factors and pathological causes which can be caused by nature or man. Conservation of biodiversity is protection, upliftment and scientific management of biodiversity so as to maintain it at its threshold level and derive sustainable benefits for the present and future generation.

Corrosion resistances of C30 concrete: Effect of finely ground bronze sawdust waste

Corrosion resistances and service life for concrete structures as well as the recycling of wastes are quite important for either economical gain or the reduction of environmental problems. In this study, finely ground CuAl10Ni bronze sawdust waste (1, 3 and 5% by weight) was incorporated into C30 concrete in order to improve the corrosion resistance, and density, open porosity (%) and corrosion resistances were determined. Additionally, SEM/EDX analyses were performed in order to analyze the microstructures of concretes before and after corrosion test. It was observed that concretes including bronze sawdust generally showed higher corrosion resistances than that of pure concrete due to high corrosion-acid-seawater resistances of bronze addition.

Monensin and mineral supplementation economically increase yearling cattle weight gain on California annual rangeland.

Stocker operators generally graze cattle on California annual rangelands from November to May. The profit margins of these operators is low as cattle sell for less per unit at the end of the season when compared with the beginning. This creates a need for methods to economically increase weight gain, which can help to mitigate market volatility. The use of monensin is common in much of the United States but has not been researched in the unique winter annual rangelands of California. Likewise, research that formally documents weight gain from the correction of selenium deficiency on these rangelands is also lacking. Trials were conducted over 2 years to determine weight gain differences with treatments of salt only (control), salt with monensin, mineral supplement, and mineral supplement with monensin. All three treatments increased weight gain by 12%, 9%, and 15% over feeding straight salt, respectively. It appears that selenium deficiency correction and supplemental monensin should be considered economical weight gain improvement tools for yearling cattle grazing California annual rangeland.

Why people engage in a weight loss intervention at their workplace - a stratified case study

BackgroundThe prevalence of obesity has increased significantly worldwide within the last decade. As obesity is recognised as a contributing factor when developing various health threatening chronic diseases, prevention initiatives focusing on weight loss are becoming more important. Because of the time spent at the workplace, workplaces can be optimal arenas for weight loss programs and these programs have been effective to decrease body weight. Thus, reasons for engaging in weight loss interventions needs exploring, in order to engage more workplaces in weight loss interventions. Such information provides important knowledge that may help to inform decisions of municipalities, employers and other public health decision makers, when and if implementing weight loss interventions. The aim of this study was therefore to explore reasons for employee engagement in weight loss projects at the workplace and the incentives a municipality, a manager at a home-care centre, and a project manager have to launch such project.MethodsA stratified case study was conducted. A representative from the municipality, the manager at a home-care centre, the project manager of the weight loss intervention and six health-care workers were interviewed at the end of a one-year weight loss intervention at the workplace. Data were analysed using Systematic Text Condensation.ResultsAnalysis identified different views and considerations for engaging in a weight loss intervention at the workplace. For the representative of the municipality the possible economical gain of the project was in focus. The project manager and the manager of the home-care centre both reflected mainly on improvement of the healthcare workers health. For the project manager, achieving good scientific results was highlighted as well. However, the employees were influenced by several factors, such as their own health and weight loss, the pressure from the environment and their struggle for recognition.ConclusionsThis study concluded that if targeting the increasing worldwide obesity problem through workplace initiated weight loss programs, the sales pitch to managements and employers have to be tailored in order to increase the participation and the motivation for the initiative.Trial registrationClinicalTrial.gov: NCT01015716, registration data 14.12.2010 (Prospectively registered).

Lives and Economic Loss in Brazil Due to Lack of Radiotherapy Access in Cervical Cancer

Background: Cervical cancer collects the highest survival benefit from radiotherapy (RT) among all malignancies. A large gap between oncological demand and RT availability exists for cervical cancer in Brazilian Public Health System (BPHS). Aim: To evaluate cost-effectiveness of universal access to RT and chemo-radiation (CRT) for untreated cervical cancer patients in the BPHS. Methods: The incremental cost was calculated based on the direct medical cost from a payer's perspective and the proportion of new cases with unmet RT/CRT needs in 2016. The incremental effectiveness was evaluated by life-year (LY) gain based on life expectancy, cervical cancer incidence and the number of cancer deaths due to lack of RT/CRT access as previously described. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated from direct medical costs and LYs. The indirect costs from mortality-related productivity loss (MRPL) were estimated based on life expectancy, wage and labor force participation rate. The MRPL was compared with direct medical cost. All costs and effectiveness were age-adjusted based on 2016 Brazilian data and discounted at 3% per year. Costs were adjusted to 2016 U.S. dollars. One-way sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the robustness of the model. Results: The annual cost to close RT gap was $14.3 million, with additional cost of $4.1 million to close the CRT gap. The average years of potential life lost per death was 20.5. Cost per life saved was $10,820 for RT alone (ICER: $528/LY) and $18,919 for CRT (ICER: $584/LY), respectively. The MRPL due to shortage of RT/CRT were 70/81 million respectively. Conclusion: Providing universal access to RT/CRT for cervical cancer patients in the BPHS will incur low cost per life-year saved and provide large economical gain by saving thousands of lives.

Effect of Organic-Cum-Inorganic Sources of Nutrients on Growth, Yield and Economical Gain from Guava

A field experiment find out result during 2015 and 2016 to study the organic-cum-inorganic sources of nutrient management (INM) on growth, yield and economical gain from 6 years old guava trees. Application of 100% NPK with Zn, B, Mn micronutrients and organic mulch (T4) resulted in maximum plant height (4.07 m), circumference of root stock (38.51 m) and of scion (36.57 m), plant spread E-W and N-S (3.79 to 3.80 m), leaf length (17.98 cm) and width (8.94 cm), tree volume (184 m3), fruits (297/tree), fruit weight (220.8 g), fruit yield (65.58 kg/tree and 181.64 q/ha) as well as net income (Rs.167270/ha) and B:C ratio upto 3.96.

Effect of Organic-Cum-Inorganic Sources of Nutrients on Growth, Yield and Economical Gain from Guava

Effect of Organic-Cum-Inorganic Sources of Nutrients on Growth, Yield and Economical Gain from Guava

English

The study was conducted at Abergelle Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia using 24 yearling intact male Abergelle sheep with initial body weight of 17.52 ± 1.13 kg. The objectives were to evaluate substitution of dried mulberry (Morus indica L.) leaf meal (DMLM) for concentrate mix (CM) on feed intake, digestibility, body weight gain and carcass characteristics, and to determine cost benefit analysis of the supplementary regimes. The study comprised 90 days of feeding trial, 7 days of digestibility trial and carcass evaluation at the end. Six sheep were randomly assigned to each treatment using randomized complete block design. The treatments included feeding of ad libitum natural grass hay and supplementation with 100% CM (T1); 75% CM + 25% DMLM (T2); 50% CM + 50% DMLM (T3) and 25% CM + 75% DMLM (T4) on DM basis. The supplements were prepared iso-nitrogenous and they were offered to meet daily CP requirements of 80.4, 95.7 and 108 g for rams with body weight of 15, 20 and 25 kg, respectively. At beginning of experiment, amount of supplements provided were 439.49, 440.51, 440.75 and 440.50 g on DM basis for T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. The CM contained noug seed cake (NSC) and wheat bran (WB) at ratio of 19.28: 80.72, 14.14: 60.86, 9.04: 40.96 and 3.92: 21.08 for T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. The CP content of grass hay, WB, NSC and DMLM were 7.20, 16.80, 33.40 and 20.20%, respectively. The OM, CP, NDF, ADF and ADL intakes and digestibilities were similar among treatments but, hay and total DM intakes as well as DM digestibility were significantly higher (p<0.05) in T3 than T1. Calculated ME was greater (p<0.01) in T3 and T2 than T4 but similar in T1, T2 and T3. There was no significant differences among treatments for feed conversion efficiency, final body weight, ADG and most carcass parameters measured. The partial budget analysis showed that T4 had highest economical gain. Therefore, T4 is recommended on both biologically and economically efficient supplementary regime for Abergelle sheep.   Key words: Economical gain, feed conversion efficiency, isonitrogenous, noug seed cake, wheat bran.

Too Close for Comfort: the Political Telenovela El Candidato and the 2000 Mexican Presidential Election

Explaining the 2000 Mexican presidential election through the telenovela El Candidato that aired in parallel and was based on the actual candidates and events is a cautionary account of how a fictional television series can influence a major national election. To understand how it could impact an election, one needs to go beyond seeing the series as purely entertainment. Instead, it needs to be examined from many perspectives, including media, sociology, political science, anthropology, history, etc. This paper analyzes how the telenovela El Candidato was intertwined with and could have interfered with a key recent political process, and how the television company that produced it also instrumentalized it for economical and political gain. To examine how viewers are influenced by the point of view of a media company that aired both the newscast and the telenovela, I developed a methodology I call cognitive-socio-pragmatics and applied it to the analysis of the 2000 presidential election and the telenovela titled El Candidato .

Reusable and recyclable quartz crystal microbalance sensors

In this communication, we report a simple procedure to recycle quartz crystal microbalance sensors. In particular we show that a sacrificial functional PS thin film deposited on top of silica (or gold) sensor does not influence the features and reproducibility of the benchmarked PSS/PDADMAC polyelectrolyte multilayer growth. A simple rinsing of the assembly with toluene at the end of a given experiment enables the reusing of the same sensor for tenths of times or more providing a neat economical and ecological gain; an approach that hopefully will spread out.