The retrieval of the bare soil moisture content from TerraSAR-X data is discussed using empirical approaches. Two cases were evaluated: (1) one image at low or high incidence angle, (2) two images, one at low incidence and one at high incidence. This study shows in using three databases collected between 2008 and 2010 over two study sites in France (Orgeval and Villamblain) that TerraSAR-X is a...

Dust is a common atmospheric phenomenon in Iran especially in central arid regions.  This severely affects environment as well as resident’s health. Among the results of this phenomenon are Respiratory diseases, bash radiation, accelerated soil erosion, Desertification and degradation of ecosystems. Some dusts are originated from local desert conditions but adjacency to neighboring countries de...

Dust is a common atmospheric phenomenon in Iran especially in central arid regions.  This severely affects environment as well as resident’s health. Among the results of this phenomenon are Respiratory diseases, bash radiation, accelerated soil erosion, Desertification and degradation of ecosystems. Some dusts are originated from local desert conditions but adjacency to neighboring countries de...

The moisture retention and compression characteristics of municipal solid waste under self-weight are likened to those of an unsaturated soil. By assuming that the solid organic fraction in waste retains a relatively immobile micropore moisture and that deformation at low confining stress occurs at the expense of a relatively large macropore system, an insight into the variation of density and ...

Phase-change materials (PCM) can be used to reduce thermal stress and improve thermal comfort for workers wearing protective clothing. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of PCM in protective clothing used in simulated work situations. We hypothesized that it would be possible to optimize cooling performance with a design that focuses on careful positioning of PCM, minimizing to...

Three isocaloric (3.5 kcal/g) ingredient blends containing 20, 30, and 40% distiller-dried grains with solubles (DDGS) along with 5% whey were prepared with a net protein content adjusted to 28% (wet basis [wb]). Other ingredients in the blends included soy flour, corn flour, fish meal, vitamin, and mineral mix. These blends were extruded in a single-screw extruder at 15, 20, and 25% (wb) moist...

Monitoring of a passively-aerated plastic-wrapped mortality composting system designed for emergency disposal of diseased swine highlighted the importance of the physical characteristics of materials used to envelop the carcasses. Inadequate moisture was a problem when using envelope materials such as ground cornstalks or straw having low density and high air-filled porosity. High O2 concentrat...

The carbon isotopic composition (delta(13)C) of recently assimilated plant carbon is known to depend on water-stress, caused either by low soil moisture or by low atmospheric humidity. Air humidity has also been shown to correlate with the delta(13)C of soil respiration, which suggests indirectly that recently fixed photosynthates comprise a substantial component of substrates consumed by soil ...

Agro-residues were used as the substrate for the production of fibrinolytic enzyme in solid state fermentation. In this study, two-level full factorial design (25) and response surface methodology were applied to optimize a fermentation medium for the production of fibrinolytic enzyme from the marine isolate Shewanella sp. IND20. The 25 factorial design demonstrated that the physical factors (p...

−− Many processes in food technology involve water migration from or into the processed product. Modeling of food water migration knowledge could result speeding up the processes, improving the quality of final products, and reducing energy costs. A mathematical formulation for mass transfer during drying and hydration of a porous solid sphere with volume change was developed in terms of the di...