Abstract:The aim of the paper is to analyse price and quality competition, one-way trade, inter- vs. intra-industry trade (IIT) and its three types 鈥� horizontal IIT, low and high vertical IIT 鈥� in the European Union (EU) countries agri-food trade. In addition, the analysis focuses on four main agri-food trade value chains: grain products, fruit and vegetable products, dairy products, and meat products. In the EU countries an important component of agri-food trade is successful quality competition with trade surplus (export is greater than import), which is achieved at higher export than import price for similar product. The second most important component is successful price competition with trade surplus, but at lower export than import price for similar product. The increased proportion of IIT or similar trade in the matched two-way agri-food products of the EU countries is consistent with economic integration and economic growth. High vertical IIT increased for most of the EU countries. Only the one-way export share or only the one-way import share was less important in the EU countries agri-food trade structures.
Abstract:This study, for which several business organizations in the mining sector are analyzed, is related to mining activity and profitability under the parameters of “well-done mining” in the Colombian context according to Colombian mining and environmental authority. Mining constitutes an important line of the national economy, however, its exploitation processes are carried out under the figure of artisanal, illegal mining or with little technification. To analyze this problem, companies from the department of Huila, in the southwest of Colombia, which are dedicated to the exploitation of non-metallic minerals such as dolomite and calcium carbonate, were selected with the objective of determining their profitability and environmental responsibility over the last year in accordance with the regulations established in the national context. For its development, a qualitative approach was chosen to achieve the proposed objectives related to the profitability of the selected companies. As a result, it was found that the financial profitability margins are practically non-existent for the regions where “well-done mining” is executed. However, there is a high rate of employment generation.
Abstract:A field experiment was conducted during five successive seasons to study the effect of inorganic fertilizers supplemented with irradiated compost on yield and fruit quality of Valencia orange grown in a loamy sand soil. Mineral fertilizers were added throughout five years of the experimental period while compost was added either irradiated or not through three or four years only. Data of five years revealed a significant increase in fruit length, diameter, volume, firmness, number, weight, yield, total soluble solids (TSS) %, TSS/acid ratio, vitamin C, reduced sugars and total sugars in response to addition of irradiated compost. Four years application of compost had a superior effect on the above mentioned measurements over three years application but with few exceptions. Maximum yield and best fruit quality obtained with four years of irradiated compost except juice volume% where the highest value recorded with three years non-irradiated compost. Whereas, fruit shape index, peel thickness and acidity showed no difference among all treatments. Additions of irradiated compost or four years compost application markedly affected post-harvest fruit quality. Such treatments decreased fruit weight loss percentage and increased firmness throughout six weeks storage period. Moreover, the fruits retained more TSS, vitamin C, reduced and total sugars content during storage while no significant effect on juice acidity was recorded. In conclusion, the use of recommended mineral fertilizers combined with irradiated compost significantly improved yield and physicochemical fruit properties of Valencia orange at harvest as well as maintained better post-harvest quality.
Abstract:Polymer materials like silicone rubber, ethylene propylene diene monomer, polyurethane are used in the high voltage power transmission cables. Using these polymer materials individually leads to some technical uncertainties due to poor mechanical strength or poor electrical strength which leads to hazards like electric shock, fire accidents, discontinuity etc. Addressing the key issues of hazards reduction, blending of materials which are having good electrical and mechanical strength has been studied under various compositions of properties of polymeric material silicone rubber and polyurethane. SEM analysis has been done for the verification of mixing of polymeric material. Then Chaotic Particle Swarm Optimization (CPSO) was implemented for finding the optimum blend of Silicon-polyurethane for various cable applications. The proposed method formulates identification of optimal polymeric blend ratio (OPBR) which will assist the manufacturers in choosing the OPBR for their applications based on the priority level which can be assigned for the various parameters. The feasibility of the proposed method for blend ratio determination is implemented on blends of Silicone-Polyurethane with promising results. Finally the proposed CPSO method has been compared with GA to prove the robustness of CPSO.
Abstract:The integration of solar power due to the asynchronous and stochastic nature with conventional energy gives lots of challenges in damping of low frequency oscillations. The design of Unified Power Flow controller (UPFC) with an optimal technique is presented to damping the low frequency oscillations in this dissertation. The optimal technique is the Discrete Binary Cat swarm optimization (DBCSO) technique. By utilizing the DBCSO technique, the UPFC damping controller is formulated. The objective function minimizes the Integral Squared Error (ISE) of change in speed deviation under different loading conditions. The modulation index of series and phase angle of shunt converters of UPFC is simultaneously controlled by the proposed technique. By then, the effectiveness of the proposed technique is actualized through the MATLAB/Simulink working platform. Likewise, the statistical measures and various metrics of proposed and the existing techniques for 50 and 100 number of trials are executed. Finally, the simulation result reveals that the proposed technique damp out the oscillations effectively when compared to the existing techniques such as base, PSO-IGWO and CSO.
Abstract:This paper presents the various proposed controllers such as proportional integral (PI) controller, field programmable gate array (FPGA) and fuzzy logic controller (FLC) based fault tolerant scheme for four switch voltage source inverter (VSI) with fault recovery times . The proposed fault tolerant topologyhasonly four switches in the inverter with two legs, two switches in auxiliary leg and two triac switches. In this paperthe above three methods aredesigned to detect and isolate the fault occurring in any one of the switches in the inverter.The merit of this system minimizes the time between the fault occurrence and its isolation. The respective controllers generate desire PWM gate pulses for the power switches to control AC drive.In comparison, the modeling,simulation and experimental results showthat the FPGA based scheme is set up a better dynamic characteristicsand fast fault recovery time of below 100ns.
Abstract:This study aims to report the experience of nursing students about the elaboration of the Nursing Process, using the Nursing Care Systematization, for the elderly with Systemic Arterial Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus. This is a descriptive study of the experience report type. The activities took place between May and June 2019, in the scope of primary health care. Nursing consultations and home visits to the elderly, hypertensive and diabetic patients were performed. The entire course was guided by the Nursing Process, based on Virginia Henderson\'s Theory of Fundamental Needs. For the elaboration of the diagnoses, intervention and expected results, were used, respectively, the Nursing Diagnosis Association, Nursing Intervention Classification and Nursing Outcomes Classification taxonomies. Four priority diagnoses were listed, as well as their respective interventions and expected results. The Theory of Fundamental Needs corroborated critical thinking and the provision of proper care. The use of the systematic process of care strengthens and enriches professional practice, facilitates communication with the team and patient, directs the best care to be provided and favors the implementation and effectiveness of care, ensuring professional autonomy in the face of decisions and interventions.
Abstract:Objetivo: elaborar o aplicativo móvel Pé Diabético para o autocuidado e automonitoramento dos pés das pessoas com diabetes. Método: estudo descritivo de desenvolvimento experimental, desenvolvido em 2 etapas, a saber: elaboração do aplicativo e pré-teste. O protótipo foi construído utilizando-se metodologia de engenharia para softwares e como parte final da sua elaboração foi realizado um pré-teste com 15 indivíduos com diabetes através da aplicação de um questionário onde avaliou-se critérios de ergonomia, usabilidade e conteúdo. A análise dos dados foi realizada por meio de frequência e concordância simples entre avaliadores. Resultados: o protótipo obteve avaliação satisfatória, com 80% de concordância simples entre os avaliadores quanto aos critérios avaliados, demonstrando atender às necessidades de autocuidado dos pés. Conclusão: o aplicativo Pé Diabético pode trazer benefícios para controle de fatores de risco, além de reduzir a chance de traumas nos pés, contribuindo no autocuidado e finalmente, reduzindo a ocorrência do pé diabético.
Abstract:Background: Despite the high success rate of endodontic retreatment there are still cases, when failure occurs. The objective of the presented study was to compare the efficacy of ultrasonic tips in the retreatment of teeth filled with gutta-percha and bioceramic based sealer.\nMaterial and methods: Twenty-two extracted single rooted teeth were used. They were enlarged to size F2, using Pro Taper Universal files. The teeth were then divided into two groups (n=11). Group one was filled using cold lateral compaction technique and group two 閳ワ拷 using single cone technique with matched-taper single cone technique. In both groups as a sealer was used bioceramic based sealer (MTA Fillapex). Both groups were retreated using ultrasound tips. Time needed for the removal of root canal filling was recorded. The teeth were sectioned longitudinally and the amount of the residual filling material was evaluated under magnification x16 and scale score 0-3. Results: There was no significant difference in the time needed for the retreatment of both groups. 59% of the samples had no residual material in the apical part, compared to 45.4% for both the coronal and middle part. When comparing the different filling techniques, best removal was achieved in the apical part for the lateral compaction technique (68,2% with no residual filling material) and in the coronal for the single cone technique (54,5% with no residual material). In the middle part the results were comparable.\nConclusions: Complete removal of filling material was not achieved in any part of the root canal. The time needed for the retreatment of both filling techniques was comparable. Least remnants of filling material were observed in the apical part of the root canal.
Abstract:A study on wood samples (sample cores) collected from different geographical sites has been carried out to reveal a specific nature of climatic signal presence in tree-ring chronologies of Weymouth Pine (Pinus strobus) and Macedonian Pine (Pinus peuce). This has been followed by a cluster analysis of the generalized indexed chronologies of Weymouth Pine performed using the STATISTICA 6.0 software. The study reveals meteorological factors that reliably correlate to the growth dynamics of the tested trees. It has been found that the studied chronologies contain a drought-associated climatic signal, and the nature of such a signal differs among different species and among chronologies of the same species obtained from various geographical areas. The cluster analysis shows similarities in chronologies of the same species for sites located in a closer proximity to each other, thus proving once again that specific site conditions influence the growth dynamics. This regular pattern can be used as a basis for developing methods of wood origin identification.