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Greek fermentation and distillation industries produce traditional spirit beverages, such as tsipouro and tsikoudia, consumed both in bottles and bulk quantities by the general population or tourists. The same spirits are also produced by individuals at home since previous centuries, as a part of the local culture but mainly due to the Greek agricultural sector unique characteristics (small cultivation areas with great number of farmers). In this study, the concentrations of carcinogenic compounds: ethanol and acetaldehyde; and noncarcinogenic: higher alcohols (1-propanol, isobutanol, and isoamyl alcohol), esters (ethyl acetate), and methanol were measured to estimate the potential cancer risk and daily intake of these compounds. The margin of exposure (MOE) of carcinogenic compounds was found to be less than 500 (mean value), well below the toxic threshold of 10,000, above which there is not public concern, as suggested by the European Food Safety Authority. Additionally, through risk assessment of noncarcinogenic compounds, we identified two specific compounds in-bulk spirits (produced by individuals), namely ethyl acetate and isobutanol, with health risk index (HRI) greater than 1 (indicating a possibility to induce side effects by consumption of high amounts). Our results indicate that bottled spirits, which are produced in a controlled environment (alcohol industries), showed higher human safety level in terms of both carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risk assessment studies, comparing to bulk beverages produced by individuals (with out strict regulations).

AbstractBiochar produced from pellet obtained from grapevine (GV) and sunflower husk (SFH) at different temperature (400 and 500°C) were studied by pyrolysis batch reactor. Chemical and physical evolution of biomass under pyrolysis conditions was determined and products characterization was evaluated, including main organic components in gaseous stream. The Biochar is a “porous carbonaceous solid” produced by thermochemical conversion of organic materials in an oxygen depleted atmosphere, which has physiochemical properties suitable for the safe and long-term storage of carbon in the environment and, potentially, soil improvement. Results have shown a decrease in yield as an increase in temperature. The objective of this work is to improve the acknowledgment for the alternative use of the biochar gained from agro-forestry biomass residuals grapevine and sunflower husks by means of modern chemical and physical characterization tools.

Malaysian firms have been reported to involve in Asset-Backed Securities since 1986s where Cagamas is a pioneer. The objective of this study to determine the primary market spread and analyze on firm financial performance. The methodology for this paper using regression analysis for the study period 2007-2012. They are three determinants that contribute and statistically significant for this research paper. The measurement of financial performance does not have any impact during subprime mortgage crisis. The firm results shows increasing profitability, reducing debt, stronger company value and shareholders earning better dividend.

An analysis of the Gibbs conditions of stable thermodynamic equilibrium based on the constrained minimization of the four fundamental thermodynamic potentials, is presented with a particular attention given to the previously unexplored connections between the second-order variations of thermodynamic potentials. These connections are used to establish the convexity properties of all potentials in relation to each other, which systematically deliver thermodynamic relationships between the specific heats, and the isentropic and isothermal bulk moduli and compressibilities. The comparison with the classical derivation is then given.

The reliability analysis presented in this paper is dealing only with a part of overall power system called the composite generation and transmission system, or hierarchical level II. For reliability assessment of composite systems, a very general and integral computer program, based on the analytical approach, has been developed. The program allows complex reliability analysis of composite systems, considering different impacts, effects and policies, which can influence the system behavior and its operating conditions. Using the proposed approach and program it is possible relatively simple to make an estimation of the importance of any existing element and identify the influences of any of the elements on the values of the reliability indices. Analyzing the influences of the different changes of the possible effects and influences on the reliability indices one can draw the conclusions about the possible and necessary improvements of the observed system and about the effects of the introduced improvements. The practical application and testing of the proposed procedure and the derived computer program is performed on the real Power System of Montenegro

The main aim of this paper is to analyze attitudes toward online violence in order to identify the current state of this problem through psychosocial analysis, as well as the possibility of preventing this kind of violence through the prism of online media and social marketing. The authors developed a conceptual model and conducted an online quantitative research study. The survey was conducted among 277 respondents in Montenegro, which is a developing country and as such is experiencing transitions in many segments. The data were analyzed using standard statistical tests, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, logistic regression and the Relative Importance Index. The results of the research showed that specific vulnerable groups such as women are more exposed to online violence. The results of the logistic regression revealed that female respondents aged 18 to 24 were 76.3% more exposed to online violence than respondents over 55. Regarding the aspect of marital status, the results showed that divorced women were most exposed to online violence, 74% more than widows, while single respondents had a 54.2% greater chance of being a victim of online violence compared to widows. In terms of education, the results of the research highlighted that female respondents with a higher level of education were significantly less likely to be victims of online violence than those with a lower level of education. Respondents who had completed doctoral studies had a 48.6% lower chance of being victims of online violence compared to the respondents who had only completed high school. In terms of online media being used as a tool for spreading online violence, 36.89% of respondents identified Facebook, while 21.61% identified Instagram as the main medium of this type of violence. Thus, the research identified the necessity of continuous work focused on informing the population about online violence, as well as raising awareness about measures that should be carried out in order to reduce online violence, because of the significant influence of online media on forming attitudes toward online violence, which was confirmed by 85.19% of respondents. Furthermore, the results showed that online media—in particular, social marketing—may have a key role in the prevention of online violence, as its preventive role was confirmed by 96.76% of respondents. The findings of the research may be extremely useful for different policymakers in order to help them to better understand and identify cases of online violence, especially against women, as well as to create adequate strategies for its prevention through the prism of online media and social marketing.

An extension of previous studies, which did not treat quantitatively possible effect of diffuse skylight on the enhancement of energy gain of solar thermal collectors when sun-tracking instead of fixed position is used, involved consideration of possible contribution of the former to the overall solar power and energy received on the ground under different conditions (time of a year, degree of overcast). The effect on the efficiency of two types of solar thermal collectors: a standard (fixed) one and one of adjustable orientation, is considered. Also, possible advantage of orienting adjustable-position collectors towards maximum light (light-tracking) instead of the astronomic position of the sun (sun-tracking) was discussed, as to conclude that little is to be gained and even that only at the sky totally covered by clouds. Some experimental proof of the validity of conclusions is presented.

Currently, solar energy is one of the leading renewable energy sources that help support energy transition into decarbonized energy systems for a safer future. This work provides a comprehensive review of mathematical modeling used to simulate the performance of photovoltaic (PV) modules. The meteorological parameters that influence the performance of PV modules are also presented. Various deterministic and probabilistic mathematical modeling methodologies have been investigated. Moreover, the metaheuristic methods used in the parameter extraction of diode models of the PV equivalent circuits are addressed in this article to encourage the adoption of algorithms that can predict the parameters with the highest precision possible. With the significant increase in the computational power of workstations and personal computers, soft computing algorithms are expected to attract more attention and dominate other algorithms. The different error expressions used in formulating objective functions that are employed in extracting the parameters of PV models are comprehensively expressed. Finally, this work aims to develop a comprehensive layout for the previous, current, and possible future areas of PV module modeling.