A rural agricultural-sustainable energy community model and its application to Felton Valley, Australia

Energy and food security require a delicate balance which should not threaten or undermine community prosperity. Where it is proposed to derive energy from conventional fossil fuel resources (such as coal, shale oil, natural gas, coal seam gas) located in established rural areas, and particularly where these areas are used for productive agricultural purposes, there are often both intense community concern as well as broader questions regarding the relative social, economic and environmental costs and benefits of different land uses and, increasingly, different energy sources. The advent of mainstream renewable energy technologies means that alternative energy options may provide a viable alternative, allowing energy demand to be met without compromising existing land uses. We demonstrate how such a Sustainable Energy Rural Model can be designed to achieve a balance between the competing social goals of energy supply, agricultural production, environmental integrity and social well-being, and apply it to the Felton Valley, a highly productive and resilient farming community in eastern Australia. Research into available wind and solar resources found that Felton Valley has a number of attributes that indicate its suitability for the development of an integrated renewable energy precinct which would complement, rather than displace, existing agricultural enterprises. Modelling results suggest a potential combined annual renewable energy output from integrated wind and solar resources of 1,287 GWh/yr from peak installed capacity of 713 MW, sufficient to supply the electrical energy needs of about 160,000 homes, in combination with total biomass food production of 31,000 tonnes per annum or 146 GWh/yr of human food energy. The portfolio of renewable energy options will not only provide energy source diversity but also ensures long-term food security and regional stability. The Felton Valley model provides an example of community-led energy transformation and has potential as a pilot project for the development of smart distributed grids that would negate the need for further expansion of coal mining and coal fired power stations

A Multidimensional Technique for Measuring Consensus within Groups via Conditional Probability

A recent increase in the use of the term consensus in various fields has led researchers to develop various ways to measure the consensus within and across groups depending on the areas. Numerous studies use the mean or the variance alone as a measure of consensus, or lack of consensus. Most of the time, high variance is viewed as more disagreement in a group. Using the variance as a measure of disagreement is meaningful in an exact comparison cases (same group, same mean). However, it could be meaningless when it is used to compare groups that have different sizes, or if the mean is different. In this thesis, we establish the fact that the range of the variance is a function of the mean, we present a new index of disagreement , &phis; , and measure of consensus, psi = 1 -- &phis;, that depend on both, the mean and the variance, by utilizing the conditional distribution of the variance for a given mean. Initially, this new index is developed for comparison of data collected using a Likert scale of size 5. This new measure is compared with the results of two other known measures, to show that in some cases they agree, but in other cases, the new measure provides additional information. Next, to facilitate generalization, a new algorithmic method to determine the index using a geometric approach is presented. The geometric approach makes it easier to compute the measure of consensus and provides the foundational ideas for generalizing the measure to Likert scales for any n. Finally, a multidimensional computational technique was developed to provided the final step of generalization to Likert scales of any n.

Patient-Reported Outcomes following Single- and Multiple-Radius Total Knee Replacement: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

Although single-radius (SR) designs of total knee replacement (TKR) have theoretical benefits, the clinical advantage conferred by such designs is unknown. The aim of this randomized, controlled study was to compare the short-term clinical outcomes of the two design rationales. A total of 105 knees were randomized to receive either a single radius (Scorpio, Stryker; SR Group) or multiple radius (AGC, Zimmer Biomet; MR group) TKR. Patient-reported outcomes (Oxford Knee Score [OKS] and Knee Society Score [KSS]) were collected at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year following surgery. No knees were revised. There was no difference in primary outcomes: OKS was 39.5 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 36.9–42.1) in the SR group and 38.1 (95% CI: 36.0–40.3) in the MR group (p = 0.40). KSS was 168.4 (95% CI: 159.8–177.0) in the SR group; 159.5 (95% CI 150.5–168.5) in the MR group (p = 0.16). There was a small but statistically significant difference in the degree of change of the objective subscale of the KSS, favoring the SR design (p = 0.04), but this is of uncertain clinical relevance. The reported benefits of SR designs do not provide demonstrable functional advantages in the short term

Internal Absorption and Foreign Direct Investment Inflows: A new approach towards Market Size

Abstract. In continuation of the efforts to understand the dynamics of internal market, this study proposes Internal Absorption as an instrument for measuring market size for economies which confront large trade deficit over a longer period of time. The study empirically examines the impacts of Internal Absorption along with trade openness and gross private investment on FDI inflows in Pakistan. The ARDL approach to co-integration and ECM based on ARDL is used to test the existence of long run relationships among variables for the period 1976-2009. The result establishes strong positive relationship between Internal Absorption and FDI inflows in short as well as in the long run.Keywords. Foreign direct investment, Internal absorption, Trade openness, Private investment.JEL. F18, F21, F23, O47

Comparative Study of Building Envelope Cooling Loads in Al-Amarah City, Iraq

In recent years, the summer season in Iraq has become longer and hotter than before, leading to high cooling loads inside buildings and increased demand for electrical energy. The use of sustainable energy and insulation techniques for building envelopes are reasonable solutions for overcoming harsh weather conditions and reaching acceptable thermal comfort levels. In this study, a survey on more than 60 residential buildings in Al-Amarah City, Iraq, was conducted on 21 July 2018 to examine the nature of the most common construction materials used in the building envelopes. Furthermore, the cooling loads of building envelope elements, e.g. roof, external walls and windows, was calculated using the cooling load temperature difference/solar cooling load/cooling load factor method of ASHRAE. The results were tabulated and compared for each combination of elements. The results showed that reflective glass is the optimal choice for exterior windows. The 'clay"“insulation"“fired clay bricks"“cement mortar' and 'cement mortar"“thermo-stone bricks"“cement mortar"“gypsum mortar' combination layers performed well for roof and external wall installations, respectively. Several recommendations were deduced from this study, which can be used as guidelines for construction authorities in Al-Amarah City and individuals interested in energy-efficient buildings

Transgenerational effect of the endocrine disruptor vinclozolin on male spermatogenesis

The current study was designed to examine the actions of a model endocrine disruptor on embryonic testis development and male fertility. Pregnant rats (F0) that received a transient embryonic exposure to an environmental endocrine disruptor, vinclozolin, had male offspring (F1) with reduced sper-matogenic capacity. The reduced spermatogenetic capacity observed in the F1 male offspring was transmitted to the subsequent generations (F2–F4). The administration of vinclozolin, an androgen receptor antagonist, at 100 mg/kg/day from embryonic day 8–14 (E8–E14) of pregnancy to only the F0 dam resulted in a transgenera-tional phenotype in the subsequent male offspring in the F1–F4 generations. The litter size and male/female sex ratios were similar in controls and the vinclozolin generations. The average testes/body weight index of the postnatal day 60 (P60) males was not significantly different in the vinclozolin-treated generations compared to the controls. However, the testicular spermatid number, as well as the epididymal sperm number and motility, were significantly reduced in the vinclozolin generations compared to the control animals. Postnatal day 20 (P20) testis from the vinclozolin F2 generation had no morphological abnormalities, but did have an increase in spermatogenic cell apoptosis. Although the P60 testis morphology was predominantly normal, the germ cell apoptosis was significantly increased in the testes cross sections of animals from the vinclozolin generations. The increase in apoptosis was stage-specific in the testis, with tubules at stages IX–XIV having the highest increase in apoptotic germ cells. The tubules at stages I–V also had an increase in apoptotic germ cells compared to the control samples, but tubules at stages VI–VIII had no increase in apoptotic germ cells. An outcross of a vinclozolin generation male with a wild-type female demonstrated that the reduced spermatogenic cell phenotype was transmitted through the male germ line. An outcross with a vinclozolin generation female with a wild-type male had no phenotype. A similar phenotype was observed in outbred Sprague Dawley and inbred Fisher rat strains. Observations demonstrate that a transient exposure at the time of male sex determination to the antiandrogenic endocrine disruptor vinclozolin can induce an apparent epigenetic transgenerational phenotype with reduced spermatogenic capacity

Free Convection of Ag/H2O Nanofluid in Square Cavity with Different Position and Orientation of Egg Shaped Cylinder

A numerical simulation was conducted to study the free convection of Ag/H2O nanofluid between a square cavity with cold walls and an egg shaped cylinder with a hot wall. Utilizing the egg equation, dimensionless governing equations were solved using the Galerkin Finite Element Method (GFEM). In this work, several parameters were studied, i.e. Rayleigh number (103 ≤ Ra ≤ 106), volume fraction (0 ≤ φ ≤ 0.05), position (-0.2 ≤ Y ≤ 0.2), and orientation angle (-90° ≤ γ ≤ 90°). The numerical results are presented as streamline contours, isotherm contours, and local and average Nusselt numbers. Moreover, the results were used to analyze the fluids’ structure, temperature distribution, and heat transfer rate. The numerical results confirmed that the stream intensity value increased with an increase of the Rayleigh number as well as the movement of the cylinder towards the bottom wall for all values of the orientation angle. Variation of the vertical position of the cylinder inside the cavity had a noticeable effect on , which increased by 50% at γ = -90°, and by 58% at γ = -45°. However, at Y = -0.2,  increased by 58% at γ = -45° and decreased by 7% at γ = -90°. The highest heat transfer rate was obtained at high Rayleigh number (Ra = 106), volume fraction (φ = 0.05), negative position (Y = -0.2), and the highest positive orientation angle (γ = 90°)

Case study on Agriculture Department of Punjab Province

Institution building / History / Agricultural extension / Farmers' associations / Cost recovery / Irrigation management / Participatory management / Farmer managed irrigation systems / Performance evaluation / Development projects / Water users' associations / Watercourses / Case studies / Pakistan / Punjab Province

Economic impact of frost in the Australian wheatbelt

[Introduction]: Extreme temperatures can cause severe reductions in wheat yield, including in Australia where temperatures are highly variable within and across growing seasons. A single post head-emergence frost (PHEF) event has the potential to devastate individual wheat crop by damaging stems and killing whole head. Management of crop phenology to avoid PHEF is very important in many parts of the world where frost risk is high. Breeding for improved reproductive frost tolerance could allow greater yield and economic benefits to be achieved, by (i) reducing direct frost damage and (ii) allowing earlier sowing to reduce risks of late-season drought and/or heat stresses (Fig. 1). This study aims to provides insights into the frost impact and economic benefits of different improved frost tolerance levels across the Australian wheatbelt