10 research outputs found
Agricultural Structures and Mechanization
In our globalized world, the need to produce quality and safe food has increased exponentially in recent decades to meet the growing demands of the world population. This expectation is being met by acting at multiple levels, but mainly through the introduction of new technologies in the agricultural and agri-food sectors. In this context, agricultural, livestock, agro-industrial buildings, and agrarian infrastructure are being built on the basis of a sophisticated design that integrates environmental, landscape, and occupational safety, new construction materials, new facilities, and mechanization with state-of-the-art automatic systems, using calculation models and computer programs. It is necessary to promote research and dissemination of results in the field of mechanization and agricultural structures, specifically with regard to farm building and rural landscape, land and water use and environment, power and machinery, information systems and precision farming, processing and post-harvest technology and logistics, energy and non-food production technology, systems engineering and management, and fruit and vegetable cultivation systems. This Special Issue focuses on the role that mechanization and agricultural structures play in the production of high-quality food and continuously over time. For this reason, it publishes highly interdisciplinary quality studies from disparate research fields including agriculture, engineering design, calculation and modeling, landscaping, environmentalism, and even ergonomics and occupational risk prevention
Maize Genetic Resources
Maize is one of the most economically important food crops worldwide. It is used for livestock feeds and human nutrition. Recent strategies have been adopted for improving maize crops. This book brings together recent advances, breeding strategies, and applications in the biological control, breeding, and genetic improvement of maize genetic resources. It also provides new insights and sheds light on new perspectives and future research work that have been carried out for further improvement of maize crops. This book is a useful resource for students, researchers, and scientists
Modelling, Monitoring, Control and Optimization for Complex Industrial Processes
This reprint includes 22 research papers and an editorial, collected from the Special Issue "Modelling, Monitoring, Control and Optimization for Complex Industrial Processes", highlighting recent research advances and emerging research directions in complex industrial processes. This reprint aims to promote the research field and benefit the readers from both academic communities and industrial sectors
Handbook of plant and soil analysis for agricultural systems
[SPA] Este libro recopila diferentes protocolos para el análisis de plantas y suelos para sistemas agrícolas. Nuestro objetivo es proporcionar un conjunto completo de indicadores para evaluar la productividad de los cultivos, la calidad de los cultivos, la calidad del suelo y la fertilidad del suelo con procedimientos y métodos viables y sólidos. La evaluación de la sostenibilidad de los agroecosistemas requiere la selección de indicadores adecuados y su medida. El presente manual ha compilado diferentes indicadores para evaluar el crecimiento de los cultivos, la incidencia de plagas y enfermedades, el rendimiento de la granja, la calidad de los cultivos y las características nutricionales, los análisis físicos del suelo, los análisis químicos del suelo y los análisis biológicos del suelo. El libro está organizado en tres partes: i) análisis de plantas y cultivos, ii) análisis físico-químicos del suelo y iii) análisis biológicos del suelo. En total, proporcionamos 90 procedimientos para el análisis de plantas y suelos, incluida la importancia y las aplicaciones, el principio del método descrito, los reactivos necesarios, los materiales y equipos, la descripción detallada del procedimiento, los cálculos necesarios y algunas observaciones específicas.[ENG] This books compiles different protocols for analysis of plant and soil for agricultural systems. We aim to provide a complete set of indicators to assess crop productivity, crop quality, soil quality and soil fertility with feasible and robust procedures and methods. The assessment of the sustainability of agroecosystems needs the selection of suitable indicators and their measure. The present handbook has compiled different indicators to assess crop growth, incidence of pests and diseases, farm yield, crop quality and nutritional characteristics, soil physical analyses, soil chemical analyses and soil biological analyses. The book is organized in three parts: i) plant and crop analyses, ii) soil physicochemical analyses and iii) soil biological analyses. In total we provide 90 procedures for plant and soil analysis, including the importance and applications, the principle of the method described, the reagents needed, the materials and equipment, the detailed description of the procedure, the calculations required and some specific remarks.This project has received funding from the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation
Programme under grant agreement No 72800
XVIII International Coal Preparation Congress
Changes in economic and market conditions of mineral raw materials in recent
years have greatly increased demands on the ef fi ciency of mining production. This
is certainly true of the coal industry. World coal consumption is growing faster than
other types of fuel and in the past year it exceeded 7.6 billion tons. Coal extraction
and processing technology are continuously evolving, becoming more economical
and environmentally friendly. “ Clean coal ” technology is becoming increasingly
popular. Coal chemistry, production of new materials and pharmacology are now
added to the traditional use areas — power industry and metallurgy. The leading role
in the development of new areas of coal use belongs to preparation technology and
advanced coal processing. Hi-tech modern technology and the increasing interna-
tional demand for its effectiveness and ef fi ciency put completely new goals for the
University. Our main task is to develop a new generation of workforce capacity and
research in line with global trends in the development of science and technology to
address critical industry issues.
Today Russia, like the rest of the world faces rapid and profound changes
affecting all spheres of life. The de fi ning feature of modern era has been a rapid
development of high technology, intellectual capital being its main asset and
resource. The dynamics of scienti fi c and technological development requires acti-
vation of University research activities. The University must be a generator of ideas
to meet the needs of the economy and national development. Due to the high
intellectual potential, University expert mission becomes more and more called for
and is capable of providing professional assessment and building science-based
predictions in various fi elds.
Coal industry, as well as the whole fuel and energy sector of the global economy
is growing fast. Global multinational energy companies are less likely to be under
state in fl uence and will soon become the main mechanism for the rapid spread of
technologies based on new knowledge. Mineral resources will have an even greater
impact on the stability of the economies of many countries. Current progress in the
technology of coal-based gas synthesis is not just a change in the traditional energy markets, but the emergence of new products of direct consumption, obtained from
coal, such as synthetic fuels, chemicals and agrochemical products. All this requires
a revision of the value of coal in the modern world economy
Variation of Soil Structure in the Foot and Toe Slopes of Mt. Vukan, East-central Serbia
This paper presents the variation of soil structure along the foot and toe slopes of Mt. Vukan, East-Central Serbia. The analysis of aggregate size distribution and structure indices were conducted by means of soil units, characteristic soil horizons and elevation differences along the study area. Soils of Great Field located at different elevations were found to have significant variation in ASD and soil structure indices. Topsoil horizon of Eutric Cambisols have higher MWD after dry sieving, but at the same time it has the highest variation in MWD after wet sieving, indicating low water stability, which is opposite to the coefficient of aggregability. We share an opinion that change in MWD better depicts soils structure stability to water. The results of correlation analysis indicated that clay content is correlated more to structure indices compared with SOM content. SOM is significantly correlated with ASD and soil structure indices only in Calcomelansols, whereas the significant correlation of clay content and soil structure is more evident in Eutric Cambisols and Non-calcaric Chernozems, compared with other soil units. Soil structure variation along the lowest chain of Catena might be strong, and that it has to be analyzed from the point of view of soil unit and their corresponding soil horizons
IMPACT OF GRAZING ON SOIL ORGANIC MATTER AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF A FLUVISOL IN NORTWEST SERBIA
The effects of long-term (>20 yr) grazing on the selected physical properties of a non carbonated silty-clay Fluvisols were studied in the region of the Kolubara Valley, Northwest Serbia. Two adjacent land-use types (native deciduous forest and natural pasture soils converted from forests for more than 20 years) were chosen for the study. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from three sites at each of the two different land-use types from the depths of 0–15, 15–30 and 30–45 cm. In relation to the soil under native forest, soil organic matter content, total porosity and air-filled porosity were significantly reduced after long-term of grazing. The bulk density (0.99–1.48 g cm–3) and the saturated hydraulic conductivity (6.9.10–2–3.2.10–4 cm s–1) were significantly lower in forest compared to the adjacent pasture (ex-forest) soil (1.49–1.55 g cm–3 and 3.4.10–4–5.5.10–4 cm s–1, respectively). In addition, forest had significantly lower dry mean weight diameter (7.0–9.2 mm) and greater wet mean weight diameter (2.0–2.6 mm) for 0–45 cm depth compared with the pasture (8.8–9.4 mm and 1.8–2.3 mm, respectively). The decrease of soil organic matter content and reduction in aggregate stability under long-term grazing rendered the soil more susceptible to compaction. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that removal of permanent vegetation in the conversion process from forest areas to pasture land may lead to loss of soil productivity and serious soil degradation. Obviously, there is a need for greater attention to developing sustainable land use practices in management of these ecosystems to prevent further degradation of pasture soils in the region
Sustainable energy for a resilient future: proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Sustainable Energy Technologies
Volume I, 898 pages, ISBN 9780853583134
Energy Technologies & Renewables
Session 1: Biofuels & Biomass
Session 5: Building Energy Systems
Session 9: Low-carbon/ Low-energy Technologies
Session 13: Biomass Systems
Session 16: Solar Energy
Session 17: Biomass & Biofuels
Session 20: Solar Energy
Session 21: Solar Energy
Session 22: Solar Energy
Session 25: Building Energy Technologies
Session 26: Solar Energy
Session 29: Low-carbon/ Low-energy Technologies
Session 32: Heat Pumps
Session 33: Low-carbon/ Low-energy Technologies
Session 36: Low-carbon/ Low-energy Technologies
Poster Session A
Poster Session B
Poster Session C
Poster Session E
Volume II, 644 pages, ISBN 9780853583141
Energy Storage & Conversion
Session 2: Heating and Cooling Systems
Session 6: Heating and Cooling Systems
Session 10: Ventilation and Air Conditioning
Session 14: Smart and Responsive Buildings
Session 18: Phase Change Materials
Session 23: Smart and Responsive Buildings
Session 30: Heating and Cooling System
Session 34: Carbon Sequestration
Poster Session A
Poster Session C
Poster Session D
Policies & Management
Session 4: Environmental Issues and the Public
Session 8: Energy and Environment Security
Session 12: Energy and Environment Policies
Poster Session A
Poster Session D
Volume III, 642 pages, ISBN 9780853583158
Sustainable Cities & Environment
Session 3: Sustainable and Resilient Cities
Session 7: Energy Demand and Use Optimization
Session 11: Energy Efficiency in Buildings
Session 15: Green and Sustainable Buildings
Session 19: Green Buildings and Materials
Session 24: Energy Efficiency in Buildings
Session 27: Energy Efficiency in Buildings
Session 28: Energy Efficiency in Buildings
Session 31: Energy Efficiency in Buildings
Session 35: Energy Efficiency in Buildings
Poster Session A
Poster Session D
Poster Session
Climate Change Issues in Nigeria: A Call For A Sustainable Policy in Agricultural Sector
Climate change has been reported to have been caused by human activities and its impacts on
global economy and the citizen is devastating in nature. This paper aims to identify various
ways through which farmers in the rural community contribute to climate change. This study
intends to contribute to environmental sustainability and farmers’ adoption of cleaner
agricultural production practices. This research adopted descriptive survey design type. The
methodology includes the use of four stage sampling procedure to select 120 farmers from the
study area. Interviewed schedule was used to collect data from the respondents, while the data
collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that majority
(92.4%) engaged in bush burning, 96.7% were involved in deforestation,59 % engaged in soil
nutrient depletion activitieswhile 92.4% engaged in drainage construction. All these activities
contribute to global warming. Therefore, it is recommended that awareness campaign about
the cause of climate change should be organized for the farmers in the zone,while policy should
be formulated to encourage farmers to use climate smart agriculture in their production process
in order to establish environmental sustainability.
Key words: Climate change. Bush burning, Deforestation, Sustainability, Farmers activities
Global warmin
Maritime expressions:a corpus based exploration of maritime metaphors
This study uses a purpose-built corpus to explore the linguistic legacy of Britain’s maritime history found in the form of hundreds of specialised ‘Maritime Expressions’ (MEs), such as TAKEN ABACK, ANCHOR and ALOOF, that permeate modern English. Selecting just those expressions commencing with ’A’, it analyses 61 MEs in detail and describes the processes by which these technical expressions, from a highly specialised occupational discourse community, have made their way into modern English. The Maritime Text Corpus (MTC) comprises 8.8 million words, encompassing a range of text types and registers, selected to provide a cross-section of ‘maritime’ writing. It is analysed using WordSmith analytical software (Scott, 2010), with the 100 million-word British National Corpus (BNC) as a reference corpus. Using the MTC, a list of keywords of specific salience within the maritime discourse has been compiled and, using frequency data, concordances and collocations, these MEs are described in detail and their use and form in the MTC and the BNC is compared. The study examines the transformation from ME to figurative use in the general discourse, in terms of form and metaphoricity. MEs are classified according to their metaphorical strength and their transference from maritime usage into new registers and domains such as those of business, politics, sports and reportage etc. A revised model of metaphoricity is developed and a new category of figurative expression, the ‘resonator’, is proposed. Additionally, developing the work of Lakov and Johnson, Kovesces and others on Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), a number of Maritime Conceptual Metaphors are identified and their cultural significance is discussed