Archives-March 2014

In this study food waste from a restaurant, chicken waste and waste flour are used as feedstock. Along with this, one new biogas unit model is used and compared with the existing one for various features. The outcomes are documented. Different decisive parameters were verified and got compared with those generated from conventional type of feed stock in various AD processes mentioned in different literature searched. With the individual effect all above influensive parameters, the relation between them is also verified which shown consistent results.

It was well known that syntax is a part of language which must be absorbed by the learners. By that way they can use the language in the proper manner. However, the teaching of syntax is not really meeting the objective of learning since it leads the teachers to give detail explanation of the language and create negative perception of the language learning itself. Thus this article will discuss the educator’s perspective on teaching of syntax in foreign language. To obtain a data of the study, researchers have constructed a set of structured questions for interview purpose. Eight respondents were agreeing to participate and to be interviewed. Findings demonstrated that syntax is very crucial for teaching and learning of foreign language. In the other hand, learners cannot avoid this part of language and in the same time, teachers must know how to gradually help learners in their learning process.

There are various types of tests which are to be carried out in wooden furniture such as Chemical Testing, Furniture Flammability testing, Furniture testing for durability and Performance, Furniture Safety Testing, CARB Certification, Children’s Furniture Testing, Furniture Inspection Services, Mattress Testing. Considering the safety aspects of the furniture which is being used from child to the senior citizens it is essential to have reliable and dependable tests to be carried out on the wooden furniture. This paper is aimed at defining the various tests to be carried out in wooden furniture.

The land use activities along River Nzoia Drainage Basin include intensive agricultural practices such as cultivation along the river banks, over grazing, deforestation and draining of wetlands for crop production. These activities have an impact on plant species richness. We quantified the effects of land use practices on plant species richness in Nzoia River Drainage Basin in Bungoma East District. Land use practices along the drainage basin were identified by actual surveying. Plant species were identified through quadrat method. Simpson's diversity index was then used to determine the plant species richness and species richness in each sample plot. Data was subjected to Analysis of Variance to test for the difference between treatment means at 5% level of significance and correlations analysis performed for significant land use practices and plant species richness. Land use practices identified included cultivation and grazing. Undisturbed sites were treated as control sites in the study. A total of 119 plant species from 27 families were recorded. Herbaceous plant species belonging to the following families; Asteraceae, Poaceae, Convolvulaceae, Solanaceae, Amaranthaceae, Commelinaceae and Moraceae comprised more than 65% of the total flora. Cultivation had a significant influence on species richness with a mean value of - 0.07929. Cultivation had negative correlation on plant species richness.

Lignin is a major component of wood, which is recalcitrant in nature and is not easily degraded. Its recycling is essential for the carbon cycle. Waste products from paper, pulp and wood industries impair with soil and water bodies leading to accumulation of lignin. In this review various effective physical, chemical, physico- chemical, thermo- chemicals and electrical method are discussed for lignin removal along with biological deterioration of lignin with the help of organisms (insects, fungus and bacteria). Use of microbes and insect for lignin deterioration is termed as lignin biodegradation. Lignin degradation with the help of fungi is well studied but much less studied in bacteria and insects. The present review deals with the biodegradation of lignin with the help of microbes.

Pressure induced exciton binding energy, optical transition energy, second order optical rectification coefficient and the third order harmonic generation of third order susceptibility are computed in Zn0.1Mg0.9Se / Zn0.8Mg0.2Se / Zn0.1Mg0.9Se quantum well. The effects of geometrical confinement and the contribution from the induced strain are included in the Hamiltonian. The effects of internal electric field comprising spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization are considered throughout the calculations. Exciton binding energies, in the presence of hydrostatic pressure, are computed using single band effective mass approximation. Calculations are done employing the variational method and the density matrix method. The second order optical rectification coefficient and the third order susceptibility with the incident photon energy are calculated in the presence of hydrostatic pressure. It is observed that the effect of pressure has influence on the nonlinear optical properties in the Mg based ZnSe quantum well.

M-learning is the ongoing trend in education with special reference to ELT. This paper advocates the use of smartphone applications to enhance the English speaking skills of tertiary level learners in remedial classes. This study focuses on the latest instant messaging mobile applications to evoke the young learners’ interest in oral discussions. The research has been carried out using Whatsapp, WeChat, and Line, through which instant audio messages are sent in a faster pace. The suggested apps help teachers not only to evoke interest in young learners, who are behind the spell of instant messages, but also help to provide instant feedback from teachers irrespective of time and place. A positive transformation in learners is noted using these instant messaging applications to enrich their English speaking skill. The study proves that the suggested approach to language learning is comparatively positive and convivial.

Green roofs bring ecosystem benefits in urban context, including building energy performance, improved air quality, air pollution mitigation, Urban Heat Island (UHI) mitigation, improved runoff water management, increased roof lifetime span, agricultural productivity, improved physical and mental public health, increased aesthetic values of urban areas, noise pollution mitigation, improved photo-voltaic panels efficiency and improved urban wildlife habitat. This paper reviewed, analyzed and discussed the previous studies for these benefits. The results from these studies acknowledged the capability of green roofs as a key element in order to improve the quality of urban areas. Therefore, this article recommends the implementation of green roofs in urban areas as a key factor in urban sustainability and development. Future research into green roofs technology is recommended in order to evaluate the efficiency of green roofs compared to other approaches aiming to improve the sustainability of urban areas.

The objective of this paper is to investigate the role of self-efficacy as a moderator between individual’s absorptive capacity and knowledge acquisition behaviour among engineers in the electrical and electronic (E&E) sector in Malaysia. The study utilized survey method to collect the data. There were 305 responses for the survey. Partial least square (PLS) properties of structural equation modelling (SEM) were used to measure the interaction between absorptive capacity and self-efficacy and its effect knowledge acquisition. The study found no support for self-efficacy as a moderator between the two variables.

Multi layer Zinc Oxide thin films with different post heating temperatures were prepared by sol-gel spin coating technique. Zinc acetate solution of 0.5M dissolved in isoproponal stabilized by Monoethanolamine was spin coated on glass substrates at 2000 rpm for 30s.After each deposition the films were pre-heated at 200°C for 10 minutes and post heated at 250,350 and 450oC in air atmosphere for 60 minutes. The structural properties were investigated by using X-ray diffraction technique and grain size was calculated. Elemental analysis and surface morphology were studied using EDX spectrum and SEM micrograph. Absorbance spectra were measured by using UV-Vis spectrophotometer and the optical band gap was calculated. The influence of post-heating temperatures on the structural and optical properties of zinc oxide thin films were reported.