Archives-December 

The physicochemical characteristics of water in the Lower Litani River Basin (LLRB) were evaluated. It concerns with analyzing six representatives sites which are investigated over three seasons of the year 2011. The principal component analysis (PCA) method was used to interpret the elemental concentrations in the river water. Many variables were evaluated, especially the components or metals Fe, NO₂^-, CaCO₃, Cu. Three groups were identified and differentiated by PCA according to the seasons. The first group is rich in Fe and NO₂, and low in NH₄ and EC (in the mid rainy season). The second group formed in dry season and the third group with low concentration of K⁺, PO₄^3- and Cl^- (in mid rainy). However, no critical pollution has been reported in this part of the river; except the high concentration of Fe and NO₂ ^- in all investigated sites due to the reject of wastewater and touristic activities.

This paper presents a framework of thermodynamic, energy and exergy, analyses of industrial Wood fired thermic fluid heater. Mass, energy, and exergy analysis were used to develop a methodology for evaluating thermodynamic properties, energy and exergy input and output resources in industrial wood fired thermic fluid heater. Determined methods make available an analytic procedure for the physical and chemical exergetic analysis of wood fired thermic fluid heater for appropriate applications. The energy and exergy ef?ciencies obtained for the entire fluid heater was 60.62% and 27.69% at standard reference state temperature of 25 oC. Chemical exergy of the material streams was considered to offer a more comprehensive detail on energy and exergy resource allocation and losses of the processes in a thermic fluid heater

In this study, an experimental investigation on the strength properties of recycled aggregate concrete M40 incorporating copper slag as partial replacement of fine aggregate and micro silica and nano silica as partial replacement of cement has been carried out. For this purpose, eleven concrete mixes were prepared with different replacement ratios of copper slag, micro silica, and nano-silica. Each set of concrete mix comprised of 12 cubes, tested at the age of 3, 7,14 and 28 days of curing period. The physical properties such as grading, specific gravity, and water absorption were determined. According to the results of the experimental study, it is concluded that with complete replacement of natural aggregates with recycled aggregates there was a decrease in the 28 days compressive strength by 23%. However, the best compressive strength was achieved by mix M7 with an increase of 52.93% in 28 days compressive strength compared to the control R.A.C concrete mix C2. Also with the increasing silica content in the concrete, there was a reduction in both the workability and weight density. Therefore, promising results were obtained showing that recycled aggregate concrete can be very well used in place of natural aggregate concrete with the addition of some strength enhancing materials like micro silica and nano-silica.

Factors affecting customer loyalty have immense weightage in order to identify the reasons or the factors which are accountable to create loyalty among customers for a fastidious brand. The purpose of the study is to classify the role of customer loyalty in terms of sustaining continuous organizational growth in highly competitive Pakistani market and factor affecting customer loyalty and their impact on organization growth. The most recent and relevant studies contained by the literature have been included and summated in this paper. All results are based on the overview of previous studies.The review of previous studies and some research work about the factor affecting customer loyalty and their impact on organization growth and development. In these researches different service providers were embattled as the population whereas customer services and Price Fairness were taken as predicting variables towards criterion variable which is customer’s loyalty. The outcomes conclude that both the factors considerably contributed to explain customer’s satisfaction and loyalty but relatively price fairness had the bigger impact on customer loyalty than customer’s services and organizational growth. Results and implications of the study are also discussed based on the analysis and findings.

The food safety processing and evaluation of powdered pap from maize and malted maize with carrot were carried out. The standard operating procedures in flow chart for the processing of fermented maize flour (plain pap), malted maize flour and carrot powder were used. Recipe for the variables and mixing ratios was formulated. 100% fermented maize flour (plain akamu/ pap) was used as control against other variables (fermented maize flour - FMF, carrot powder - CP and malted maize flour -MMF). The variable with the ratio of 85:5:10 (FMF:CP:MMF) tagged “BOB” was found to be the most acceptable. Result showed that sample BOB pulled the following values to emerge the best in ratio composition: consistency (7.9±0.08), colour (8.3±0.41), taste (8.0±0.04), mouthfeel (7.8±0.11), aroma (7.6±0.02) and overall acceptability (8.0±0.06). Microbial assessment showed that counts were high above thresholds for coliforms (1.9 x101 ±0.14 to 2.0 x102 ±0.39 CFU/g), and moderate for aerobic bacteria (4.1 x103 ±0.37 to 3.7 x104 ±0.14 CFU/g) and fungi (1.3 x102 ±0.12 to 3.2 x103 ±0.10 CFU/g). Five (5) bacterial and three fungal isolates were identified to include Lactobacillus species, Bacillus species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Penicillium species and Aspergillus species respectively. From the results obtained, it could be deduced that the problems of sour taste among infants consuming plain pap and malnutrition have been eliminated by blending with malted maize flour and carrot powder. These were achieved through the process of malting and enrichment with carrot powder which is a good source of beta carotene, a precursor of pro-vitamin A.

The paper was in fact an attempt to investigate the point that if there is any gender-oriented differences between the Persian EFL language learners with regard to the factors influencing an oral presentation. To be more detailed, the study tried to shed light on first, what factors do the language learners think are most important for delivering an effective oral presentation. And second, if there is any significant difference between the male and female language learners in terms of their attitudes on the issue. To fulfill the purpose, 150 male and female EFL Persian language learners from Ahwaz universities were purposefully selected and required to fill in the developed questionnaire. The findings of the study indicated a significant difference between the male and females’ attitudes on the factors leading to a telling oral presentation. The study contributes significantly to the delivery of more effective oral presentations.

Extensive field and site investigations were conducted to assess and evaluate the situation in the presently exploited quarries of cement raw materials in Yemen. These quarries have several geological complications represented mainly by high elevations, steep slopes, rugged topography, heterogeneity in bed thickness, lithologic composition and quality, presence of igneous sills and dykes, intensive fracturing and jointing and abundance of karstification features. Moreover, the processes of quarrying and related operations have several negative environmental impacts the most important of which are soil failure, overburden and land sliding, toppling and rock falls (which result in considerable mass wasting) and emission of dust and noise. Generally, quarrying operations are more hazardous in quarries of gypsum and basement rocks than in those of carbonates and volcanics. Furthermore, the quarries have problems related to the conservation of natural resources. These are represented primarily by the excavation of the valuable agricultural and reclaimed lands and improper exploitation of the cement raw materials and the fresh and underground waters the reserves of which decreased drastically. To deal with the above-mentioned problems, a number of recommendations are outlined. They comprise mitigation measures which must be strictly implemented. Also, it is of almost importance to conduct prospecting for new occurrences of the presently exploited cement raw materials and their possible substitutes as well as additional groundwater resources.

This study examines the Banking Concept of Education as it applies to Ghana’s educational system and to establish whether the educational reforms carried out over the years have made any impact in producing a meaningful alternative to the banking education. Through textual analysis of existing literature on the subject, the study found out that the banking concept of education has persisted in Ghanaian basic schools in spite of the numerous education reforms. This is because the teacher education curriculum does not make provision for any alternative pedagogic approach. The study therefore argues that in order to produce critically thinking students who will be able to proffer solutions to basic problems, creative dramatics must be included in the teacher training curriculum of the University Colleges of education, and incorporated into every discipline, so that every teacher will be trained to apply the concept of creative dramatics to enhance their teaching irrespective of the subject they teach.

The present paper attempts to highlights the historical details of Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills Ltd. (APPM) and narrates in brief about its growth and development strategies since its inception. Over the decades, the company has been identified as one of the top performers in the Indian paper industry, both in terms of employment creation and revenue generation. The business model of the company is primarily based on innovation and development of products, investment in quality, improvement of process efficiency, reduction of utility cost and quality team work for which it has acquired a world-class brand name. Today, the company is both wood positive and energy efficient. It has achieved excellence in sales and profitability due to its value-added product diversification strategy with rational changing keeping in mind the need of its domestic as well as international customers. This success story of the company is certainly encouraging for other hundreds of impaired companies operating in the same industry regarding how to cope up with their business challenges strategically keeping in mind the changing need of the dynamic society so that maximization of their shareholder’s net worth can be significantly achieved.

Fluoxetine is an antidepressant which is also known as the trade names Prozac, and Sarafem. It is used for the treatment of depressive disorders such as depression, obsessive–compulsive disorder, alcohol dependence and panic disorder. In this study, histopathological effects of fluoxetine on zebrafish gill tissue were investigated. 150 ng/L fluoxetine were exposed to adult individuals and after 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes and 8 days fishes were dissected. In 15, 30 and 60 minutes experimental groups, minimal defects were defected. In the 8 day exposure group, thinning at secondary lamellae of gill tissues were observed. Growth were detected in the cell nuclei. Expansion were monitored at the central vena of gills.