Technology Campus Research Articles

Architecture, Control, and Implementation of Networked Microgrids for Future Distribution Systems

Microgrid (MG) is a small-scale, self-sufficient power system that accommodates various distributed energy resources (DERs), controllable loads, and future distribution systems. Networked microgrids (NMGs) are clusters of MGs, which are physically interconnected and functionally coordinated to enhance distribution systems in terms of economics, resilience, and reliability. This paper introduces the architecture and control of NMGs including nanogrid (NG) and MG. To accommodate variable DERs in NMGs, master and distributed control strategies are adopted to manage the high penetration of DERs, where master control focuses on economic operation, while distributed control focuses on reliability and resilience through active power sharing and voltage and frequency regulation. The initial practices of NG, MG, and NMG in the networked Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) campus microgrid (ICM) and Bronzeville community microgrid (BCM) in the U.S. are presented. The applications of the master and distributed control strategies are illustrated for the networked ICM-BCM to show their benefits to economics, resilience, and reliability.

A Multiple Badge Architectures Open Source RFID Reader with Insight Regarding Room Occupants

The preferred architecture and the source company for radio frequency identification (RFID) badge access cards can vary over time within the same company, depending on what management may envision for the future of working. Additionally, the preferred badge architecture and the company that makes those badges can vary from company to company, and from original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to their supplier partners. These circumstances create some inefficiencies amongst the workforce. Within the same engineering campus of a large OEM, many employees may still have the old key ring style badge, but some of the new RFID device readers may no longer accept this outdated badge architecture, which means these employees may not have access to certain areas until they get their new smart badge ID card. This makes doing their job much more difficult, potentially forcing them to find new ways to access the room or area that they need. Additionally, due to differences in badge architecture, an OEM’s supplier partners do not have access to areas of the OEM’s testing site or offices, even ones in which the OEM would prefer that they have permission to access in order to increase work efficiency (including test tracks and special laboratories). This paper presents a new open sourced RFID card reader which is designed, tested and implemented to read both of the most popular badge architectures (key ring badges and smart cards). The new proposed system also includes a unique function which shows the employee more information about the occupants inside of the room that they are trying to access. After reflecting on the state-of-the-art, the main selling point of the proposed system is that it recognizes multiple different badge architectures, and it doesn’t require the end user to source their RFID devices from a certain company. It provides other benefits including allowing suppliers and OEMs to seamlessly share collaborative spaces, and ensuring older versions of badges don’t become obsolete.

Magnetic Data Acquisition System (MAGDAS) Malaysia: Installation and Performance Analysis of Local Data Logger with Kyushu University Data Logger at USM Transkrian, Pulau Pinang

Magnetic Data Acquisition System (MAGDAS) is a magnetometer that originated from the International Centre for Space and Weather Science and Education at Kyushu University, Japan, to study space weather. The latest real-time Magnetic Data Acquisition System/Circum-pan Pacific Magnetometer Network (MAGDAS/CPMN) was installed at the West Coast Universiti Sains Malaysia Engineering Campus, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. This is the seventh Magnetometer installed under MAGDAS network by Kyushu University in Malaysia (geographic latitude and longitude: 5.117N, 100.00E and geomagnetic latitude and longitude: 4.32S, 173.07E). The magnetic field component represents earth's geomagnetic field by MAGDAS. There is three main magnetic field component which describes the magnetic field which is Horizontal Intensity (H-component), Declination (D-component) and Vertical Component (Z-component). The strength of the earth's magnetic field can be monitored through the magnetometer installed at the targeted location and the value of the magnetic field can be compared with the World Magnetic Map (WMM) or any local magnetometer station in the region the installed magnetometer. This paper studies/narrates the deployment and performance analysis of the newly installed MAGDAS using Local and Kyushu Data Logger at the University Sains Malaysia. The deployment of the magnetometer is referenced with the magnetometer data logger from the Kyushu Universities. The magnetometer. The Kyushu University data logger deployment is becoming a benchmark for localizing the data logger developed locally.

Green Campus Design for National Institute of Science and Technology: Implementing UI GreenMetric Criteria to Create Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Campus

The National Institute of Science and Technology (ISTN) campus is a strategic location with a large green open space area. However, the ISTN campus has not been included in the ranking of the green campus category based on the UI GreenMetric. The

RANCANG BANGUN APLIKASI UTS IN ME BERBASIS ANDROID MENGGUNAKAN FLUTTER DENGAN METODE RAPID APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

Sumbawa University of Technology or commonly abbreviated as UTS is one of the campuses in Indonesia that is able to take advantage of technological advances, one of which is in the field of Information Technology. Every year UTS accepts hundreds to thousands of new student candidates. Every time the UTS RESPEK event is held, on the first day the committee will distribute booklets to prospective new students who take part in the activity. The budget for printing the booklet is very large, amounting to 30 million rupiah. This study aims to digitize the contents of the booklet in order to minimize the budget. This research uses a mixed approach, and the software development method used is the SDLC (System Development Life Cycle) RAD (Rapid Application Development) model and the beta testing application testing method. The modeling process uses an object-oriented approach and utilizes UML as a tool for application development. The conclusion of this study is to produce an Android-Based UTS IN ME Application that is able to make it easier for students to access basic information about the Sumbawa University of Technology campus.

Seed Germination of Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vell.) Morong. (Fabaceae) under Different Temperatures and Drying Method

Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vell.) Morong a tree commonly known as anglerfish, monkey ear and timbaúva. Due to its wood quality, this tree species is widely used in naval and civil constructions, toys and furniture frames, and can also be used for urban afforestation and restoration of degraded areas. The objective of this work was to standardize the best temperature conditions for conducting the germination tests of E. contortisiliquum seeds under laboratory conditions, considering the fact that the seeds come from coastal tropical Brazil, and to evaluate the desiccation tolerance. The experiments were carried out at the Plant Propagation Laboratory of the Agricultural Engineering and Sciences Campus (CECA) of the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), located in the municipality of Rio Largo, Alagoas, Brazil. The design of the experiment was fully randomized, with four repetitions of 25 seeds per treatment. In test I: The newly harvested seeds were subjected to constant temperatures of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40ºC and alternating temperatures of 20-30ºC, with an eight-hour photoperiod, simulated by four fluorescent lamps 20W daylight type. In trial II: The seeds were divided into two lots. The first was the control (initial moisture content). The second was subjected to slow drying on silica gel. A constant temperature of 30ºC is recommended for the germination and vigor test of E. contortisiliquum seeds. The critical means water content for seeds of this species is below 5%.

Integrating Vehicle Positioning and Path Tracking Practices for an Autonomous Vehicle Prototype in Campus Environment

This paper presents the implementation of an autonomous electric vehicle (EV) project in the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) campus in Taiwan. The aim of this work was to integrate two important practices of realizing an autonomous vehicle in a campus environment, including vehicle positioning and path tracking. Such a project is helpful to the students to learn and practice key technologies of autonomous vehicles conveniently. Therefore, a laboratory-made EV was equipped with real-time kinematic GPS (RTK-GPS) to provide centimeter position accuracy. Furthermore, the model predictive control (MPC) was proposed to perform the path tracking capability. Nevertheless, the RTK-GPS exhibited some robust positioning concerns in practical application, such as a low update rate, signal obstruction, signal drift, and network instability. To solve this problem, a multisensory fusion approach using an unscented Kalman filter (UKF) was utilized to improve the vehicle positioning performance by further considering an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and wheel odometry. On the other hand, the model predictive control (MPC) is usually used to control autonomous EVs. However, the determination of MPC parameters is a challenging task. Hence, reinforcement learning (RL) was utilized to generalize the pre-trained datum value for the determination of MPC parameters in practice. To evaluate the performance of the RL-based MPC, software simulations using MATLAB and a laboratory-made, full-scale electric vehicle were arranged for experiments and validation. In a 199.27 m campus loop path, the estimated travel distance error was 0.82% in terms of UKF. The MPC parameters generated by RL also achieved a better tracking performance with 0.227 m RMSE in path tracking experiments, and they also achieved a better tracking performance when compared to that of human-tuned MPC parameters.

Preface

The role of computation and simulation to support reseach activities in sciences and technologies becomes more important in recent decades. The International Conference on Computation in Science and Engineering (ICCSE) 2019 have been conducted in Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) campus, Bandung, Indonesia, at 14-15 October 2019. This conference is organized by Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB, Indonesia). This conference aims at summarizing recent research activities relevant to the computation application in science and engineering and facilitate communication among relevant experts.More than 50 persons from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Turkey, and some other countries will participate in this conference. About 50 presentations including 8 plenary talk will be presented. The presentations are grouped into 12 areas of particular interest: (1) : Complex system Modelling, (2): Energy System Computation, (3): Fluid Dynamics Computation, (4): Artificial Intelligent and Soft Computing, (5): High Energy Physics, (6): Simulation in general, (7): Quantum Computation, (8) HPC, (9): Material Computation, (10): Sub surface modelling and computation, (11): Nuclear and Radiation Computation, and (12): Atmospheric and meteorological computation.List of Organizer, Editorial Board, Contact are available in this pdf.

Preface

We are pleased that the 3rd International Conference on Global Issue for Infrastructure, Environment, and Socio-Economic Development (GIESED 2020) have been done. The conference is an annual international conference held by the Graduate School of Hasanuddin University. The international conference of GIESED was held on November 24, 2020 at Hasanuddin University, Tamalanrea Campus, Makassar City, South Sulawesi aProvince, Indonesia.The theme of this International Conference was “Enhancement of science and technology application to support the implementation of SDGs”. The main topics on the 3rd IC GIESED 2020 are:a) Renewable Energy Technologyb) Landfill and Earth Sciencec) Integration of energy and energy networksd) Infrastructure and Environmental Science.e) Gender and Developmentf) Environmental Socio-Economic and Policy Aspectsg) Climate changeh) Implementing sustainable development with the SDGs concept.This time in the conference, we were very happy to have the honourabe Dr. Ir. H. Suharso Monoarfa (Minister of National Development Planning of the Republic of Indonesia) as a keynote speaker; Dr. Peter Davey (Director Bachalor of Environment Management School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Australia); Prof. Hideaki Yasuhara, (Ehime University, Japan), Dr. Zul Fahmi bin Mohamed Jaafar, (Lecturer of Highway and Transportation Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, USM Engineering Campus, Malaysia); Prof. Ir. Sumbangan Baja, M. Phil, PhD., (Hasanuddin University, Indonesia); Dr. rer. nat. Arifuddin Idrus, ST. MT., (Geological Engineering Department, Gajah Mada University, Indonesia); and Prof. Dr. Eng. Adi Maulana, ST, M. Phil, (Head of Center for Disaster Studies of Hasanuddin University, Indonesia), as invited speakers. Therefore the committee would like to thanks for all speakers and also 200 participants and 110 presenters who have joining in our 3rd Giesed 2020 conference. Finally, we would like to express our special gratitude to editors and reviewers who have reviewed 110 paper manuscript during the time from November 2020 to September 2021.We also highly appreciate to Mrs. Anete Ashton (Senior Publisher Conferences Series) and Mrs. Kayleigh Parsons (Conference Coordinator IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science) for the guidance and helping for prepare and submitting our articles manuscript. As a closing remarks, on behalf of the committee for the 3rd International Conference of GIESED, I hope of all our articles will be published in IOP Conference Series “Earth and Environmental Science”. Wishing all of you always health and thank you for your participation.Chairperson of IC-GIESED 2020 Dr. phil. nat. Sri Widodo, ST. MT.List of committees are available in the pdf

Morphometry of Tabebuia aurea (Manso) Benth. & Hook. f. ex S. Moore subjected to different substrates

The morphometry and quality of seedlings of tree species is of fundamental importance to achieve success in reforestation or commercial exploitation project. Due to the lack of information about the ideal substrate for the production of craibeira seedlings and taking into account the diversification of the use of Tabebuia aurea production of native seedlings for the recovery of degraded areas, this work was conducted with the objective of evaluating the development of seedlings of this species produced with bovine manure and coconut fiber. The present work was carried out at the plant ecophysiology laboratory at the Agrarian Engineering and Sciences Campus (CECA), in Rio Largo, north-region of the state of Alagoas. Four treatments were used, which consisted of a mixture of soil + organic material, in the proportion 3:1. The materials used were tanned bovine manure (ESCB), coconut fiber (CFS) and control (soil). Whose proportions of the treatments were: T1: soil + 0% coconut fiber; T2: soil + 11% coconut fiber; T3: soil + 22% coconut fiber; T4: soil + 33% coconut fiber and T5: soil + 33% cattle manure. Macro and micronutrient analyses of the substrates used were performed. To meet the work objective, the following parameters were evaluated: plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves and leaf dry matter, stem and root and chlorophyll content index. It can be concluded that the substrates chosen for evaluation showed few significant differences in relation to seedling development; the mixture of treatment 2 (soil+coconut fiber 11%) provided a higher percentage of survival and the quality of seedlings were higher; The substrate treatment 4 (soil+coconut fiber 33%) showed much lower results in all evaluated results. However, statistically there were no significant differences in relation to the other treatments and the presence of bovine manure (soil+bovine manure 33%) results in benefits such as greater nutrient supply and possible reduction of seedling costs.

Energy rationalization for an educational building in Egypt: Towards a zero energy building

Buildings have been consuming energy and resources at an ever-increasing rate worldwide. Given the rising living standard, population growth and global warming, energy saving techniques have been recently adopted in the framework of high performance buildings, also known as near zero-energy buildings. This is particularly true for Egypt since over the past decade, the energy consumption has witnessed an unprecedented increase particularly for the buildings sector whose share in the electricity consumption can reach 66%–74%. Hence, it is timely for Egypt to upgrade its building construction code by mandating energy rationalization. This work investigates the effects of applying energy rationalization for a non-residential building in Egypt. As a case study, the Mechanical Engineering Department building at the Faculty of Engineering Campus of Ain Shams University, was modelled using EnergyPlus as a typical educational building. A number of retrofitting strategies and energy saving techniques have been assessed and compared to reach an optimized building envelope with minimum energy needs (energy rationalization). Retrofitting the building walls resulted in a significant contribution to the energy saving (>20%). Combining various building envelope retrofitting strategies dropped the building energy consumption by more than (>36%). Furthermore, using energy efficient measures by upgrading the mechanical HVAC systems used to condition the retrofitted building led to energy savings of more than 50% and a drop in the system capacity by more than 65%. Subsequently, a solar PV system is sized to cover these rationalized energy needs with a payback period of 4–5 years, thus transforming the sample building with annual energy use intensity (EUI) of ∼ 230 kWh/m2 into a near zero-energy building with an EUI of ∼106 kWh/m2.

Carbon Fiber-Based Cementitious Composites for Traffic Detection and Weighing In Motion

New self-sensing cementitious composites embedded in the highway pavement for vehicle detection and weigh during motion is fabricated. Smart carbon fiber (CF) reinforced cement-based materials with high sensitive property are used as sensors. These smart composites may be able to detect the traffic and sense the weight in motion, thanks to their piezoresistive property. Cement-based sensors capability to vehicle detection was investigated in a real field at the University of Technology campus. Findings clarify that the CF-Based cementitious composites provide have a great potential to use as sensors for detect traffic and its composition also it possibly identifies different vehicular axle loadings (weigh during motion).

Office Indoor PM and BC Level in Lithuania: The Role of a Long-Range Smoke Transport Event

While the impacts of climate change on wildfires and resulting air pollution levels have been observed, little is known about how indoor air filtering systems are performing under intensive smoke conditions. For this aim, particle number size distribution and concentration in a size range 0.5–18 µm and equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentration were measured in a modern office with a mechanical ventilation system. Measurements took place from 30 September to 6 October 2020 in the Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC) campus located in the urban background environment in Lithuania. During the measurement campaign, an intensive pollution episode, related to long-range transport wildfire smoke, was observed. The results indicated that the smoke event increased both indoor and outdoor eBC mass concentrations twice. Filters were non-selective for different eBC sources (biomass burning versus traffic) or chemical composition of carbonaceous aerosol particles (eBC versus brown carbon (BrC)). Air filtering efficiency was found to be highly dependent on particle size. During the smoke event the highest particle number concentration was observed at 2.1 µm and 1.0 µm size particles in outdoor and indoor air, respectively. Differences of indoor to outdoor ratio between event and non-event days were not significant. Because of lower removal rate for small particles, eBC had higher contribution to total PM2.5 mass concentration in indoor air than in outdoor air. The results gained are crucial for decision-making bodies in order to implement higher-quality air-filtering systems in office buildings and, as a result, minimize potential health impacts.

Entrepreneurial Inquisitiveness of Under Graduate Mechanical Engineering Students

State-of-the-art technologies have changed engineering education and the manufacturing industry over the past few years. Now, the markets in electronics and information science arena have variety of products and are easily accessible for the customers through e-commerce. Mostly the start-up companies are wont these online platforms for their business. The start-ups have a potential to flourish their products in the market. The number of student's start-ups in the mechanical engineering stream is relatively less when compared to the ones spawned by other engineering streams. Products from pure mechanical engineering stream is less in the market but has a huge potential that is waiting to be explored. Promotion of mechanical based start-ups can be made only by paving the seed of entrepreneurial culture, which has to be sprout among engineering students through the campus start-up activities. This study analyses the entrepreneurial inquisitiveness of under graduate mechanical engineering students in the state of Kerala, India, in terms of their attitude, involvement in entrepreneurial programs in the campus, policies of universities, influence of Government organizations, barriers faced by the students and the different components behind campus start-ups. A sample of 380 mechanical engineering students from various engineering colleges across Kerala participated in survey through both direct and online methods. The questionnaire for the data collection was prepared based on literature, feedback and market research. A seven-point Likert scale was used to record their responses. The data was analysed using a multiple regression approach, with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results from this research are aimed at providing insights to State Governments in their start-up policy, to the Universities in their curriculum revision and to the Higher education department in the states to sire an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the engineering campus. Educated youth have to fortify as an industrialist for the economic growth of their nation.

Entrepreneurial Inquisitiveness of Under Graduate Mechanical Engineering Students

Abstract State-of-the-art technologies have changed engineering education and the manufacturing industry over the past few years. Now, the markets in electronics and information science arena have variety of products and are easily accessible for the customers through e-commerce. Mostly the start-up companies are wont these online platforms for their business. The start-ups have a potential to flourish their products in the market. The number of student's start-ups in the mechanical engineering stream is relatively less when compared to the ones spawned by other engineering streams. Products from pure mechanical engineering stream is less in the market but has a huge potential that is waiting to be explored. Promotion of mechanical based start-ups can be made only by paving the seed of entrepreneurial culture, which has to be sprout among engineering students through the campus start-up activities.This study analyses the entrepreneurial inquisitiveness of under graduate mechanical engineering students in the state of Kerala, India, in terms of their attitude, involvement in entrepreneurialinfluence of Government organizations, barriers faced by the students and the different components behind campus start-ups. A sample of 380 mechanical engineering students from various engineering colleges across Kerala participated in survey through both direct and online methods. The questionnaire for the data collection was prepared based on literature, feedback and market research. A seven-point Likert scale was used to record their responses. The data was analysed using a multiple regression approach, with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results from this research are aimed at providing insights to State Governments in their start-up policy, to the Universities in their curriculum revision and to the Higher education department in the states to sire an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the engineering campus. Educated youth have to fortify as an industrialist for the economic growth of their nation. Keywords: Global market, Entrepreneurship, Campus Start-ups, Inquisitiveness, Engineering students.

Inflammatory Lesions: Cyclic Arginine–Glycine–Aspartate‐Decorated Lipid Nanoparticle Targeting toward Inflammatory Lesions Involves Hitchhiking with Phagocytes (Adv. Sci. 13/2021)

In article number 2100370, Alexandros Marios Sofias, Sjoerd Hak, and co-workers, report that cRGD-decorated lipid nanoparticles target inflammatory lesions via hitchhiking with phagocytes. Through a complementary approach including state-of-the-art intravital microscopy, it is identified that neutrophils and monocytes take up cRGD-decorated liposomes and nanoemulsions in circulation and subsequently home to the inflammatory lesion. Cover art: flowers (red) resemble phagocytes loaded with cRGD-decorated lipid nanoparticles in the inflammatory lesion, grass (green) resembles the inflammatory lesion, foot-path (yellow) resembles a blood vessel proximal to the inflamed tissue. Top-right: distant view of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) campus.

Planning, Design and Simulation of a Network Access Based on FTTH-EPON for Hadhramout University

In our country copper infrastructure from Central Office (CO) to the end user is responsible for delivering poor Broadband services with loss reach 86% of the overall capacity speed. Not to mention the high prices and the impact of this inferior service to the education and economy of the country. Therefore, This paper presents a procedural proposal solution for planning, design and simulation of Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) performance through Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) technology applied on College Of Engineering and Petroleum campus at Hadhramout University as it the best way to overcome all the problems related with copper. Since the fiber terminates at the campus, we termed the network, Fiber To The Campus (FTTCampus). FTTCampus planning the location network was developed through Google Earth and AUTOCAD software which was implemented to map out the college location areas. The proposed optical network system design has been simulated based on EPON IEEE 802.3ah standards through Optisystem software program. Simulation network components such as optical transmitters, Optical network terminals (ONTs), and optical splitters among others were allocated at different coverage areas and various network links were connected among these coverage areas. A downstream network of EPON has been simulated using Continuous Wave Laser (CW Laser) and Directed-modulated Laser (DM Laser) as different optical. Validation was performed with consistent output performance indicators like quality factor, optical source power (dBm) and bit error rate (BER). This paper has a main objective in designing an affordable and feasible network and it is accomplished by utilizing EPON that merges the low-cost Ethernet technology and low-cost PON structure with the DM Laser as an optical source. This unique work revealed that, FTTCampus could be a reliable technology in an educational academic institution, if implemented.

Antibiotic Sensitivity Pattern of Diverse Soil and Air Flora of Federal University of Technology campus, Akure, Nigeria

Aim: This study was conducted to comparatively investigate the soil and air microflora of selected locations within the Federal University of Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, Nigeria.
 Study design: Experimental design
 Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at The Federal University Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, Nigeria comprising; School of Sciences, School of Agricultural and Agricultural Technology, School of Engineering and Engineering Technology, School of Health and Health Technology, Microbiology department, FUTA Health Centre, postgraduate hostel, female hostels (main Jibowu and Jibowu annex 1) and the male hostels (Akindeko and Abiola hall of residence) between June and July, 2019.
 Methodology: Isolation of bacteria and fungi from soil samples and air was conducted using specified techniques. Antibiotic susceptibility test was conducted via agar disc diffusion technique. Plasmid analysis and curing was conducted via standard protocols.
 Results: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, S. saprophyticus were isolated as soil and air microflora while Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, with Fusarium oxysporium were isolated from soil as A. flavus, A. niger, Penicillium chrysogenum was implicated in air. Bacillus cereus and B. subtilis showed utmost resistance to ceftazidime, cefuroxime, cloxacillin, augmentin, ceftriaxone, whereas Enterobacter aerogenes and Proteus vulgaris were susceptible to gentamycin at 17.66±1.52 mm and 16.00±2.00 mm respectively. Staphylococcus aureus was sensitive to gentamycin and ofloxacin at 17.30±0.57 mm and 18.66±0.57 mm. The multidrug resistant (MDR) bacterial strains were positive for plasmid DNA with 10 kilobase pairs, but were sensitive to all the antibiotics after curing indicating plasmid-borne resistance.
 Conclusion: Findings from this study inferred possible health consequences of MDR soil and air microflora as potential threat to human health which necessitates proper sanitary practices across different sampling areas adopted for this study to reduce potential incidence of bacterial and mycotic infections.

A Concept Proof Approach for Conversion of Leaf Litter into Humus with The Help of Self-Aerated Composting Units

About 68% of leaf litter conversion into humus was attained within 30 days using composting technology, which was made possible by employing the perforated composting unit for self-aeration developed by the author Saveetha School of Engineering campus. It can be related to conventional composting system CHs, but comparatively, it takes longer than these self-generated units to attain the same output say 60days. The self-generated composting units once achieved a sustainable environment and did not show any sign of stress on them since moisture maintenance was done regularly. Within the first 10 days of service of the composting machine, efficiency was under 17%, which might be because the micro-organisms needed time to become acclimatised to feed, which was more texture-hard and nutrient-leaner than the feed (cow dung) the organisms used to feed. In comparison, cow dung has to be supplemented even higher (50% or more). As the days passed by, there was a dramatic rise in humus conversion efficiency, which reached near the ultimate of 100% by the end of 70 days. Overall, the humus production increased with time in a linear fashion in Figure 1; the regression-correlation being significant at r2 = 0.99.

Thermal-biological aspects of germination of seeds in tropical forest tree species

The present study was carried out with the objective of evaluating the ecological and applied aspects of temperature in the germination of Colubrina glandulosa (Rhamnaceae), Chloroleucon dumosum (Fabaceae), Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Fabaceae), Mimosa bimucronata (Fabaceae) and Sapindus saponaria (Sapindaceae). Then we assessed germination, average germination time, germination uniformity and germination activation energy as a function of temperatures. The experiment was conducted at the Plant Propagation Laboratory, on the Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Campus, at the Federal University of Alagoas, Rio Largo, AL, Brazil. The experimental design was completely randomized with four replications of 25 seeds per treatment. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and the means were compared using the Tukey test at 5% probability. The isothermal incubation was performed in Biochemical Oxigen Demand (B.O.D.) germination chamber, at constant temperatures of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 ºC and alternating at 20-30 ºC. The seeds of C. glandulosa, C. dumosum, E. contortisiliquum and M. bimucronata germinated in the range of 10 ºC ≤ T ≤ 35 ºC, and S. saponaria germinated in the range of 20 ºC ≤ T ≤ 35 ºC. We found that seeds in the optimal temperature range has unimodal distribution of relative frequency, concentrating germination in the shortest time. The activation energy was positive in the range of 10 ºC ≤ T ≤ 30 ºC, with an inversion of the signal at a temperature of 35 ºC. The studied species had a wide range of temperature tolerance and the speed was curvilinearly dependent on them. The germination process is predominantly endergonic