This book presents a case study on a new approach for the optimum design of rooftop, grid-connected photovoltaic-system installation. The study includes two scenarios using different brands of commercially available PV modules and inverters. It investigates and compares several different rooftop grid-connected PV-system configurations taking into account PV modules and inverter specifications. The book also discusses the detailed dynamic MATLAB/Simulink model of the proposed rooftop grid-connected PV system, and uses this model to estimate the energy production capabilities, cost of energy (COE), simple payback time (SPBT) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for each configuration. The book then presents a comprehensive small signal MATLAB/Simulink model for the DC-DC converter operated under continuous conduction mode (CCM). First, the buck converter is modeled using state-space average model and dynamic equations, depicting the converter, are derived. Then a detailed MATLAB/Simulink model utilizing SimElectronics (R) Toolbox is developed. Lastly, the robustness of the converter model is verified against input voltage variations and step load changes.

This book presents a case study on a new approach for the optimum design of rooftop, grid-connected photovoltaic-system installation. The study includes two scenarios using different brands of commercially available PV modules and inverters. It investigates and compares several different rooftop grid-connected PV-system configurations taking into account PV modules and inverter specifications. The book also discusses the detailed dynamic MATLAB/Simulink model of the proposed rooftop grid-connected PV system, and uses this model to estimate the energy production capabilities, cost of energy (COE), simple payback time (SPBT) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for each configuration. The book then presents a comprehensive small signal MATLAB/Simulink model for the DC-DC converter operated under continuous conduction mode (CCM). First, the buck converter is modeled using state-space average model and dynamic equations, depicting the converter, are derived. Then a detailed MATLAB/Simulink model utilizing SimElectronics (R) Toolbox is developed. Lastly, the robustness of the converter model is verified against input voltage variations and step load changes.

Offering a cross-country examination and comparison of drought awareness and experience, this book shows how scientists, water managers, and policy makers approach drought and water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions of Spain, Mexico, Australia, South Africa and the United States.

Leaving aside human and social capital for a future volume, the book should be viewed as a crucial first step in developing indicators for total wealth in the countries covered by the case studies, which include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique and South Africa. These case studies experiment with implementing the SEAA in sub-Saharan nations known to suffer from the 'resource curse': their wealth in resources and commodities has allowed inflows of liquidity, yet this cash has not funded crucial developments in infrastructure or education. What's more, resource-driven economies are highly vulnerable to commodity price mutability. The new measures of wealth deployed here offer more hope for the future in these countries than they themselves would once have allowed for.

The Qattara Depression is part of the Northwestern Desert in Egypt and is home to the second lowest point in Africa at -133 meters below sea level. Therefore, before any projects can be carried out in this area, we must first understand the geology of the land. The present study deals with the high-resolution sequence stratigraphic analysis of the Lower Miocene Moghra Formation outcrops in the Qattara Depression Region. The literature on the sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of the Moghra Formation has been sparse to date, despite some excellent work over the years by academic and petroleum workers. Moreover, the area studied is within what was once a front-line of World War II, where mine fields and war relics are scattered and cover wide reaches. This has resulted in limited geologic mapping in the past. Thus, great attention is paid in this study to establishing a robust sedimentology and high-resolution sequence stratigraphic framework for the Lower Miocene Moghra Formation. Included are works based on outcrops and, most importantly, new sedimentological and chronostratigraphic information not previously available.

Offering a cross-country examination and comparison of drought awareness and experience, this book shows how scientists, water managers, and policy makers approach drought and water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions of Spain, Mexico, Australia, South Africa and the United States.

Leaving aside human and social capital for a future volume, the book should be viewed as a crucial first step in developing indicators for total wealth in the countries covered by the case studies, which include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique and South Africa. These case studies experiment with implementing the SEAA in sub-Saharan nations known to suffer from the 'resource curse': their wealth in resources and commodities has allowed inflows of liquidity, yet this cash has not funded crucial developments in infrastructure or education. What's more, resource-driven economies are highly vulnerable to commodity price mutability. The new measures of wealth deployed here offer more hope for the future in these countries than they themselves would once have allowed for.

One of the early set of reforms that South Africa embarked on after emerging from apartheid was in the water sector, following a remarkable, consultative process. The policy and legal reforms were comprehensive and covered almost all aspects of water management including revolutionary changes in defining and allocating rights to water, radical reforms in water management and supply institutions, the introduction of the protection of environmental flows, and major shifts in charging for water use and in the provision of free basic water. Over ten years of implementation of these policy and legislative changes mean that valu-able lessons have already been learned and useful experiences gained in the challenge of effective water resources management and water services provision in a middle income country.

One of the early set of reforms that South Africa embarked on after emerging from apartheid was in the water sector, following a remarkable, consultative process. The policy and legal reforms were comprehensive and covered almost all aspects of water management including revolutionary changes in defining and allocating rights to water, radical reforms in water management and supply institutions, the introduction of the protection of environmental flows, and major shifts in charging for water use and in the provision of free basic water. Over ten years of implementation of these policy and legislative changes mean that valu-able lessons have already been learned and useful experiences gained in the challenge of effective water resources management and water services provision in a middle income country.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First EurAsian Conference on Information and Communication Technology, EurAsia-ICT 2002, held in Shiraz, Iran, in October 2002. The 116 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from more than 300 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on artificial intelligence, data mining, multimedia, security, neural networks, data and knowledge engineering, XML, mobile communication, computer graphics, digital libraries, natural language processing, Internet and QoS, information society, e-learning, mobile Web information systems, wireless communications, Web-based applications, intelligent agents, real-time sytems, software engineering, algorithms, and theoretical computer science.

This Medical Instrumentation handbook establishes an easy approach for the students going through their studies in Medical Laboratory Technology. This handbook describes the principles, applications, and design of the medical instruments most commonly used in laboratory, because equipment changes with time, we have stressed fundamental principles of operation and general types of equipment, avoiding detailed descriptions and photographs of specific models. Furthermore, because Medical Technology is an interdisciplinary field requiring good communication with health-care personnel, we have provided some applications for each type of instrument. Medical laboratories play a major role in the diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and monitoring of diseases. Moreover it contains in-depth information about the structure and function of each part of Laboratory instruments. In short the aim of this book is to provide a meaningful and comprehensive picture of Medical Instruments including Microscope, Autoclave, PCR, Electrophoresis, Chromatography, Ovens, Blood Gas Analyzers and many other basic instruments of Medical Laboratory.

Proposed Formation of an Arab Union (AU) Modeled on European Union (EU) Awakens and Advances the Arab World Region and population as it did EU

"By the end of the World War II (1945), drastic changes occurred in world political and economic order. The world nations' concept of old style colonialism and super nationalism, which were practiced prior to the war were completely discarded;replaced by a new geopolitical and economic world order. Great emphasis and concern were also directed on how nations can fix the already war damaged pre- and post-war world economy by shifting their effort toward the revival and development of their prewar and postwar techno- economic status. This same R&D-based techno-economic approach was joined by many other already or newly independent nations such as the Pacific Ridge Countries and by the huge lands and massive populations of: Brazil, Russia, India and China. The plan yielded them the recently acquired advanced or merging naion's status. Contrary to these groups, many other nations/regions fail to pursue the same advanced plan; remaining as they were, suffering non-developed status. This chapter deals with the proposal: "how to change the status of those from developing to that of advance developed nations/regions status by following and rigidly implementing advanced nations' techno-economic plan. The proposal utilizes the establishment of the proposed Arab Union modeled on European Union as an example, illustrating the process; also how the proposed plan - the proposal - was generalized to cover other would-be cases that are determined and have the willing power to make the conversion move from poor, developing to that of rich, advanced status."