Biomass, as a renewable source of energy, can be used in many industries to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. However, due to the significantly high and varied moisture content of biomass, its use has several drawbacks, such as low total efficiency and process instability. Drying biomass before combustion or gasification can eliminate these drawbacks. Besides these benefits, there ar...

Today water supply issue in large cities seems to be a big problem. This becomes more important with population growth and urbanization extension. To cope with this problem lots of irrigation and drainage projects have been implemented and operated that subsequently many socio- economic and cultural effects have been brought to the areas . The objective of the present study is to survey the soc...

How will the Internet and related digital technology affect the tendency for innovation activity to cluster geographically? This article argues that innovation has characteristics that make it unique from other types of economic activities. At a fundamental level, innovation is a non-routine social process that involves the creative deployment of knowledge. By examining the individual, the soci...

There are 1.3 billion people living without electricity, a large portion of which is in the bottom of the economic pyramid. Rural electrification via photovoltaic systems is one possible solution to alleviate their poverty. The aim of this article is to qualitatively investigate the potential for the transition towards off-grid photovoltaic systems. Two interrelated aspects are specifically inv...

In this paper, we present a new theoretical framework for the quantification of strategic advantages associated with horizontal mergers through the integration of supply chain networks. The framework is a system-optimization one in which each firm is represented as a network of economic activities associated with manufacturing, distribution, and storage and with explicit capacities imposed on t...

"This paper studies northern European retired immigrants, using data generated by a questionnaire survey of 300 respondents and in-depth interviews with 20 people in 13 municipalities. Reasons for moving to Spain, the advantages and disadvantages reported of living there, and the perceived impacts on the local region were analysed, paying particular attention to cross-national differences betwe...

Femoral-shaft fractures are frequent in children and adolescents. Fortunately, most unite rapidly without significant complications or sequelae. Treatment options include spica casting, traction, external fixation, compression plating, and flexible or locked intramedullary nailing, each of which has advantages and dis-advantages. Treatment is determined primarily on the basis of the age of the ...

Agroforestry is a dynamic, ecologically based, natural resource management system that, through the integration of trees in farm and rangeland, diversifies and sustains production for increased social, economic and environmental benefits (Leakey, 1996). Apart from the social and cultural advantages of growing trees, recreational benefits for human being, as well as improvement in wildlife, ther...

The remote diagnostics of faults and operating states of technical equipment offers increased benefits and cost advantages for consumers and manufacturers. These advantages can also be applied to consumer products but require specific solutions due to the strict resource limitations of the embedded control systems. In this paper a solution concept is presented, to show how remote diagnostics ca...